Leveraging low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite bandwidth, AccelerComm has developed a physical-layer (PHY) solution for 5G New Radio (NR) non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) with bit-transfer rates up to 6 Gb/s. By linking to LEO satellites, the communications technology supports as many as 128 beams and 4,096 users per chipset. And with multiple chipsets per LEO satellite, it can exceed 500 beams and bit rates of 20 Gb/s for a significant increase in commercial wireless communications capacity.
The new physical-layer solution also operates with medium-Earth-orbit (MEO) and geosynchronous-Earth-orbit (GEO) satellites. It builds on the firm’s single-chip NTN device selected by Lockheed Martin for its regenerative space-based 5G.MIL efforts to establish a 5G base station in space.
The 5G NR NTN physical-layer approach features a regenerative architecture and efficient use of vector processing cores for signal processing. It can employ a diversity of processing devices from different vendors for space links. The physical-layer technology is available on AMD Versal space-hardened embedded RF system-on-chip (SoC) devices from Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
Concerning the role of NTNs in mobile communications networks, Rob Maunder, CTO and Founder of AccelerComm, said, “The mobile industry is embracing NTN as a critical component of its network offerings, delivering huge amounts of additional coverage that complements existing terrestrial networks, with high profile demonstrations and proof of concepts.” He added, “The next stage of 5G satellite will see the industry build on this early work to deliver these services at scale with high performance.”
Maunder also noted, “Through our innovative algorithms and architecture using AMD’s Versal AI chip and the vector processing of its AI engines, we have managed to supercharge the performance of space-based 5G NR modems. We are now primed to deliver a commercial solution, deployable on space-hardened hardware that delivers a leap forward in capacity.”
Jake Saunders, vice-president (VP) of ABI Research, explained, “There is growing industry consensus that regenerative payloads are the solution to unlock the potential power of 5G NTN, delivering improved latency through reductions in round-trip time (RTT) as well as store-and-forward functionality.
"AccelerComm’s solution shows how the challenge of these architectures can already be met today, resulting in an accelerated standards-based approach to the commercialization of space-based communications and 5G compliant NR-NTN. We anticipate rapid growth in this sector with the number of 3GPP NTN direct-to-cellular and IoT connections growing to 39.4 million by 2030.”
The latest version of AccelerComm's 5G NR NTN physical-layer solution will be on display at Mobile World Congress 2025 (Barcelona, Spain) on March 3-8, 2025, and at Satellite 2025 (Washington, DC) on March 10-13, 2025.
