Computing in Integrated Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks: A Comprehensive Survey

TL;DR

This survey explores the integration of cloud, fog, and edge computing into Integrated Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks (ITNTN) to enhance connectivity and meet the stringent QoS demands of future IoT and 6G services.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of current efforts and identifies challenges and future research directions for full integration of computing into ITNTN.

Findings

Limited existing efforts in integrating computing into ITNTN

Highlights the importance of edge computing for QoS in ITNTN

Proposes future research directions for full integration

Abstract

The rapid growth of Internet-of-things (IoT) devices, smart vehicles, and other connected objects is driving demand for ubiquitous connectivity and intensive computing capacity. 5G and upcoming 6G networks are crucial to meeting these demands and the fast-evolving services and applications. However, traditional terrestrial networks face limitations in coverage and capacity. Integrated Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks (ITNTN) are emerging to address these challenges. In essence, ITNTN combines ground-based infrastructure with aerial, space, and water surface networks to provide seamless connectivity and computing resources anytime, anywhere. Given the stringent quality-of-service (QoS) of future services, edge computing will be an inseparable component of ITNTN. Consequently, we dive in this survey into current efforts of integrating cloud/fog/edge computing into ITNTN layers to facilitate stringent QoS services and address the data processing needs of modern applications. Since there have been only limited and partial efforts in integrating computing functionalities within ITNTN, we aim to extend the discussion to the full integration of computing and identifying the challenges and future research directions to achieve it.