Exploring the Initial Performance of NB-IoT NTN over GEO: Measurement and Analysis

Abstract

With the standardization of Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) to provide direct satellite connectivity to massive, low-power Internet of Things (IoT) devices, 3GPP IoT-NTN bridges the worlds of cellular and satellite communications. While holding great potential for global connectivity with IoT devices, there exist several concerns about the system performance of IoT-NTN over Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO), which covers multiple dimensions such as end-to-end delay and energy consumption considering the ultra-long transmission distance from ground IoT terminals to GEO satellite. To answer these concerns, we have conducted the first comprehensive and in-depth measurement for NB-IoT NTN over GEO. Based on real NB-IoT NTN testbeds including both Skylo and Tiantong, measurements covering more than six months confirm that the available implementation of NB-IoT NTN remains in the initial stage. Amplified by ultra-long Round-Trip Time (RTT) between ground IoT terminals and GEO satellite, there exists plenty of time and energy consumption during the access process. Interestingly, it also reveals that as an energy-saving mechanism, Power Saving Mode (PSM) fundamentally reshapes NB-IoT NTN traffic into a bursty and access-driven communication pattern and thus has a considerable influence on the end-to-end delay and energy consumption. Finally, we propose corresponding optimization schemes to reduce the delay and energy, which lays a good foundation for the implementation of NB-IoT NTN in the near future.