6G Satellite Direct-to-Cell Connectivity: "To distribute, or not to distribute, that is the question"

TL;DR

This paper explores a novel 6G satellite architecture using a swarm of small, distributed CubeSats to achieve direct-to-cell connectivity, emphasizing scalability, cost-effectiveness, and fault tolerance.

Contribution

It proposes decomposing a single satellite into a distributed swarm of small platforms to enhance 6G satellite connectivity capabilities.

Findings

Distributed satellite swarms can create large virtual apertures.

Small satellites reduce costs and improve scalability.

Distributed systems offer fault tolerance advantages.

Abstract

Direct-to-cell connectivity between satellites and common terrestrial handheld devices represents an essential feature of 6G. The industry is considering different type of constellations but using classical single satellite solutions based on phased array antennas. This article proposes to decompose a classical single satellite into a swarm of multiple small platforms (e.g. CubeSats) each equipped with one or a small number of radiating elements. The platforms are spaced far apart to create a large virtual aperture. The use of small satellites promises cost reduction for production and launch, while the distributed nature of the system introduces interesting features, such as scalability and fault tolerance. This perspective article provides insights into the opportunities and a discussion of the research challenges for the feasibility of the proposed approach.