{"id":"https://openalex.org/W4412873427","doi":"https://doi.org/10.3390/network5030025","title":"Exploring the Performance of Transparent 5G NTN Architectures Based on Operational Mega-Constellations","display_name":"Exploring the Performance of Transparent 5G NTN Architectures Based on Operational Mega-Constellations","publication_year":2025,"publication_date":"2025-07-18","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W4412873427","doi":"https://doi.org/10.3390/network5030025"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.3390/network5030025","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.3390/network5030025","pdf_url":"https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8732/5/3/25/pdf?version=1752828598","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4210214347","display_name":"Network","issn_l":"2673-8732","issn":["2673-8732"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":true,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310310987","host_organization_name":"Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310310987"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute"],"type":"journal"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Network","raw_type":"journal-article"},"type":"article","indexed_in":["crossref","doaj"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"gold","oa_url":"https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8732/5/3/25/pdf?version=1752828598","any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5093097105","display_name":"Oscar Baselga","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5583-4083"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4210130845","display_name":"i2CAT","ror":"https://ror.org/02rkks755","country_code":"ES","type":"nonprofit","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4210130845","https://openalex.org/I4387153040"]},{"id":"https://openalex.org/I9617848","display_name":"Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya","ror":"https://ror.org/03mb6wj31","country_code":"ES","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I9617848"]}],"countries":["ES"],"is_corresponding":true,"raw_author_name":"Oscar Baselga","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Network Engineering, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain","Space Communications Research Group, i2CAT Foundation, 08034 Barcelona, Spain"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5583-4083","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Network Engineering, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I9617848"]},{"raw_affiliation_string":"Space Communications Research Group, i2CAT Foundation, 08034 Barcelona, Spain","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4210130845"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5050152373","display_name":"Anna Calveras","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6371-8595"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I9617848","display_name":"Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya","ror":"https://ror.org/03mb6wj31","country_code":"ES","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I9617848"]}],"countries":["ES"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Anna Calveras","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Network Engineering, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6371-8595","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Network Engineering, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I9617848"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5086659759","display_name":"Joan A. Ruiz-de-Azua","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5892-3404"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4210130845","display_name":"i2CAT","ror":"https://ror.org/02rkks755","country_code":"ES","type":"nonprofit","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4210130845","https://openalex.org/I4387153040"]},{"id":"https://openalex.org/I9617848","display_name":"Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya","ror":"https://ror.org/03mb6wj31","country_code":"ES","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I9617848"]}],"countries":["ES"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Joan Adri\u00e0 Ruiz-de-Azua","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Network Engineering, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain","Space Communications Research Group, i2CAT Foundation, 08034 Barcelona, Spain"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5892-3404","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Network Engineering, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I9617848"]},{"raw_affiliation_string":"Space Communications Research Group, i2CAT Foundation, 08034 Barcelona, Spain","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4210130845"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":1,"institutions_distinct_count":2,"corresponding_author_ids":["https://openalex.org/A5093097105"],"corresponding_institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4210130845","https://openalex.org/I9617848"],"apc_list":{"value":1000,"currency":"CHF","value_usd":1114},"apc_paid":{"value":1000,"currency":"CHF","value_usd":1114},"fwci":14.8928,"has_fulltext":true,"cited_by_count":6,"citation_normalized_percentile":{"value":0.9846268,"is_in_top_1_percent":false,"is_in_top_10_percent":true},"cited_by_percentile_year":{"min":95,"max":99},"biblio":{"volume":"5","issue":"3","first_page":"25","last_page":"25"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T12042","display_name":"Satellite Communication Systems","score":0.9994000196456909,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2202","display_name":"Aerospace Engineering"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/22","display_name":"Engineering"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T12042","display_name":"Satellite Communication Systems","score":0.9994000196456909,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2202","display_name":"Aerospace Engineering"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/22","display_name":"Engineering"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11392","display_name":"Energy Harvesting in Wireless Networks","score":0.9990000128746033,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2208","display_name":"Electrical and Electronic Engineering"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/22","display_name":"Engineering"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T12079","display_name":"IoT Networks and Protocols","score":0.9990000128746033,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2208","display_name":"Electrical and Electronic Engineering"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/22","display_name":"Engineering"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/mega","display_name":"Mega-","score":0.744605541229248},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/constellation","display_name":"Constellation","score":0.6494084000587463},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/computer-science","display_name":"Computer science","score":0.4452301263809204},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/telecommunications","display_name":"Telecommunications","score":0.3524405062198639},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/physics","display_name":"Physics","score":0.10922902822494507}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2781078984","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107205","display_name":"Mega-","level":2,"score":0.744605541229248},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C70352696","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8928","display_name":"Constellation","level":2,"score":0.6494084000587463},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.4452301263809204},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C76155785","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q418","display_name":"Telecommunications","level":1,"score":0.3524405062198639},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C121332964","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q413","display_name":"Physics","level":0,"score":0.10922902822494507},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C1276947","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q333","display_name":"Astronomy","level":1,"score":0.0}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":3,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.3390/network5030025","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.3390/network5030025","pdf_url":"https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8732/5/3/25/pdf?version=1752828598","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4210214347","display_name":"Network","issn_l":"2673-8732","issn":["2673-8732"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":true,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310310987","host_organization_name":"Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310310987"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute"],"type":"journal"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Network","raw_type":"journal-article"},{"id":"pmh:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/449728","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2117/449728","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4377196262","display_name":"UPCommons institutional repository (Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I9617848","host_organization_name":"Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I9617848"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"acceptedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Article"},{"id":"pmh:oai:doaj.org/article:58d77ac27d8545edad400bccf2d25e52","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doaj.org/article/58d77ac27d8545edad400bccf2d25e52","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306401280","display_name":"DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":"cc-by-sa","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by-sa","version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":"Network, Vol 5, Iss 3, p 25 (2025)","raw_type":"article"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.3390/network5030025","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.3390/network5030025","pdf_url":"https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8732/5/3/25/pdf?version=1752828598","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4210214347","display_name":"Network","issn_l":"2673-8732","issn":["2673-8732"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":true,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310310987","host_organization_name":"Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310310987"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute"],"type":"journal"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Network","raw_type":"journal-article"},"sustainable_development_goals":[],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"grobid_xml":true,"pdf":true},"content_urls":{"pdf":"https://content.openalex.org/works/W4412873427.pdf","grobid_xml":"https://content.openalex.org/works/W4412873427.grobid-xml"},"referenced_works_count":18,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W2064125442","https://openalex.org/W2162037860","https://openalex.org/W2549540448","https://openalex.org/W2808024758","https://openalex.org/W2895059999","https://openalex.org/W2971608133","https://openalex.org/W3118034437","https://openalex.org/W4206578783","https://openalex.org/W4285310810","https://openalex.org/W4295308776","https://openalex.org/W4323646012","https://openalex.org/W4379527166","https://openalex.org/W4379528201","https://openalex.org/W4389109226","https://openalex.org/W4396758450","https://openalex.org/W4399358748","https://openalex.org/W4401879382","https://openalex.org/W4404299040"],"related_works":["https://openalex.org/W4391375266","https://openalex.org/W2899084033","https://openalex.org/W2748952813","https://openalex.org/W4402810557","https://openalex.org/W4385584191","https://openalex.org/W3112226121","https://openalex.org/W102059279","https://openalex.org/W3191105034","https://openalex.org/W2163047545","https://openalex.org/W4403255782"],"abstract_inverted_index":{"The":[0,22,101],"evolution":[1],"of":[2,20,103,149,205],"3GPP":[3],"non-terrestrial":[4],"networks":[5],"(NTNs)":[6],"is":[7,89,106,170],"enabling":[8],"new":[9,97],"avenues":[10],"for":[11,195],"broadband":[12,207],"connectivity":[13],"via":[14],"satellite,":[15],"especially":[16],"within":[17],"the":[18,50,58,93,130,136,166,174,203],"scope":[19],"5G.":[21],"parallel":[23],"rise":[24],"in":[25,135],"satellite":[26,47,81],"mega-constellations":[27],"has":[28,39],"further":[29],"fueled":[30],"efforts":[31],"toward":[32],"ubiquitous":[33],"global":[34],"Internet":[35],"access.":[36],"This":[37,74],"convergence":[38],"fostered":[40],"collaboration":[41],"between":[42],"mobile":[43,64],"network":[44],"operators":[45],"and":[46,57,96,114,126,144,189,200],"providers,":[48],"allowing":[49],"former":[51],"to":[52,60,91,161,172],"leverage":[53],"mature":[54],"space":[55],"infrastructure":[56],"latter":[59],"integrate":[61],"with":[62],"terrestrial":[63],"standards.":[65],"However,":[66],"integrating":[67],"these":[68,104],"technologies":[69],"presents":[70],"significant":[71],"architectural":[72],"challenges.":[73],"study":[75],"investigates":[76],"5G":[77,137],"NTN":[78],"architectures":[79,86,105,185,192],"using":[80],"mega-constellations,":[82],"focusing":[83],"on":[84],"transparent":[85,184],"where":[87],"Starlink":[88],"employed":[90],"relay":[92],"backhaul,":[94],"midhaul,":[95],"radio":[98],"(NR)":[99],"links.":[100],"performance":[102],"assessed":[107],"through":[108],"a":[109],"testbed":[110],"utilizing":[111],"OpenAirInterface":[112],"(OAI)":[113],"Open5GS,":[115],"which":[116,169],"collects":[117],"key":[118],"user-experience":[119],"metrics":[120],"such":[121],"as":[122],"round-trip":[123],"time":[124,198],"(RTT)":[125],"jitter":[127],"when":[128],"pinging":[129],"User":[131],"Plane":[132],"Function":[133],"(UPF)":[134],"core":[138],"(5GC).":[139],"Results":[140],"show":[141],"that":[142,182],"backhaul":[143],"midhaul":[145],"relays":[146,154],"maintain":[147],"delays":[148,156],"50\u201360":[150],"ms,":[151],"while":[152,183],"NR":[153,175],"incur":[155],"exceeding":[157],"one":[158],"second":[159],"due":[160],"traffic":[162],"overload":[163],"introduced":[164],"by":[165],"RFSimulator":[167],"tool,":[168],"indispensable":[171],"transmit":[173],"signal":[176],"over":[177],"Starlink.":[178],"These":[179],"findings":[180],"suggest":[181],"provide":[186],"valuable":[187],"insights":[188],"utility,":[190],"regenerative":[191],"are":[193],"essential":[194],"addressing":[196],"current":[197],"issues":[199],"fully":[201],"realizing":[202],"capabilities":[204],"space-based":[206],"services.":[208]},"counts_by_year":[{"year":2026,"cited_by_count":4},{"year":2025,"cited_by_count":2}],"updated_date":"2026-08-18T07:49:30.821534","created_date":"2025-10-10T00:00:00"}
