• Korea to build world's first satellite communication system based on 3GPP 6G NTN technology
• Gathering domestic industry, academia, and research capabilities...leading the era of open satellite communication

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has been selected as the lead organization for the development of a low-orbit satellite communication system based on the 6G standard of 3GPP, an international standardization organization led by the government.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Administration announced the lead research and development organizations for the three projects of the 'Development of Low Earth Orbit Satellite Communication System Based on 6G International Standards' project on the 27th, and ETRI will be in charge of the project, including project 1.

The project aims to build a low-orbit satellite communication system consisting of two low-orbit communication satellites, a ground station, and a terminal station by 2030, and will develop a low-orbit satellite communication pilot network by building a communication satellite and ground system that performs satellite-to-ground and satellite-to-satellite communication functions.

ETRI is the lead research institute for this project and plans to establish a close cooperation system among research institutes to carry out large-scale system development projects. 

The project will be led by Dr. Moon-Sik Lee, head of ETRI's Satellite Communication Research Center.

ETRI, as the lead organization of the project, will be responsible for the development of core technologies for low-orbit satellite communication payloads and ground stations based on the 3GPP 6G standard along with Hanwha Systems, LIG NexOne, and Cetrek Eye.

The second part of the project will be led by THiLD to develop the terminal station, and the third part will be led by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to develop the satellite body and system integration.

In addition, major telecommunications companies such as KT, KT SAT, SK Telecom, and LG U+ will also participate in the overall project to reflect their requirements from the beginning of system development and lay the foundation for future commercialization.

Through this project, ETRI plans to secure world-class technologies such as ▲ core technology for regenerative repeaters, ▲ on-board digital signal processing technology, ▲ inter-satellite link technology, and ▲ high-efficiency phased-array antenna technology.

In particular, by applying the 6G NTN standard technology of the international standardization organization 3GPP, it plans to lay the foundation for the era of hyperspace communication that encompasses ground and air communication.

Currently, the global market is led by SpaceX, and Eutelsat One Web and Amazon are also entering the market in earnest. 

All of them are based on proprietary technologies, which have low compatibility between services and are limited by device dependency.

In contrast, the 6G low-orbit satellite communication system that ETRI will develop by applying international standard technologies will be more open and universal, allowing users to freely choose their favorite terminal model like smartphones and use internet communication services anytime, anywhere.

Through this project, the researchers plan to strengthen the competitiveness of the domestic industry by laying the foundation for global market entry in addition to technological independence in the domestic satellite communication field and supporting domestic participating companies in securing space verification (heritage).

It also plans to expand domestic and international cooperation to create a low-orbit satellite communication ecosystem and revitalize the industry.

“This project is expected to enable the verification of the world's first 6G international standard-based low-orbit satellite communication system, and is expected to be an important opportunity for domestic technologies to enter the global communication service market,” said ETRI President Seung-chan Bang.

The research is part of the 'Development of Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Communication System Based on 6G International Standards' project of the Ministry of Science and ICT, Korea Aerospace Administration, and the Institute for Information Technology Planning and Evaluation (IITP).