Towards Integration 6G NTN Non-Terrestrial Networks with 5G NTN Satellite Connectivity : A Practical Approach Using MATLAB®

The aim of the book is to provide fundamental motivation, trends and benefits in convergence of terrestrial and satellite technology, standardization timeline and requirements of integration NTN in 5G, use cases, system architecture, design aspects, enabling technologies, challenges and opportunities.

Integrated mobile 5G&6G non-terrestrial networks (NTN), low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, and direct-to-device networks (D2D) are rapidly becoming the backbone of global communications. Direct-to-device networks enable standard smartphones and IoT devices to connect directly to LEO satellites without specialized hardware, providing ubiquitous coverage. In recent years, advancements in LEO satellite manufacturing and reusable launch vehicle technologies have stimulated the emergence of LEO mega-constellations, driving significant engineering efforts and commercial innovations in mobile satellite Internet. Welcome to the New Space race!Recent plan to launch commercial direct-to-device D2D satellite services in 2026, means the boundary between terrestrial cellular networks and non-terrestrial networks NTN is becoming increasingly blurred. Network design is no longer limited to ground-based coverage — satellite links will increasingly become part of the overall connectivity architecture. From base stations to terminals, antenna performance, radiation patterns, link budgets and coexistence will play a critical role in enabling reliable hybrid networks. A prominent example is SpaceX’s Starlink, which aims to deploy over 10 000 LEO satellites on several different orbital altitudes to provide global broadband Internet services. In 2025, SpaceX completed first direct-to-cell (DtC) constellation, enabling unmodified smart phones to achieve Internet connectivity in remote areas. The aim of the book Towards integration 6G NTN non-terrestrial networks with 5G satellite connectivity: A practical approach using MATLAB is to provide fundamental motivation, trends and benefits in convergence of terrestrial and satellite technology, standardization timeline and requirements of integration NTN in 5G, use cases, system architecture, design aspects, enabling technologies, challenges and opportunities. It gives an in-depth coverage of ITU-R and 3GPP standardization process of 5G-Advanced as well as initial 6G NTN study items. It also reviewing research activities from academia and industry on 3D opportunities and pointing challenges. Finally, book provide results some of NTN system experiments, Matlab models for energy consumption, capacity simulation and coverage maps visualization, satellite scenarios and 6G NTN channel/link simulator. The book is divided into three major parts:· Convergence of mobile networks and satellite communications· Research in integrated TN and NTN networking· NTN system modelling in simulations and emulationThe main originality of this book is a practical guide to developing a multi-layered NTN simulator in MATLAB with strong emphasis on user configurability and can be used for research or practical design. Next, a GUI-based MATLAB simulator is lllustrated in details with the explanations of the codes in performance evaluation 3GPP-compliant NTN link-level model. Overall, this book is intended for readers with a basic engineering background who seek to develop a solid foundation in the fundamental concepts of 5G&6G hybrid non-terrestrial networking.