An Emulated LEO Satellite-Fiber-FSO-5G New Radio MMW Non-Terrestrial Network

An optical wireless communication (OWC)-fiber-free-space optical (FSO)-fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) millimeter-wave (MMW) integrated system is employed to emulate a low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite-fiber-FSO-5G NR MMW non-terrestrial network (NTN). To closely approximate practical LEO satellite laser communications, the beam divergence angle and beam diameter are matched to realistic system parameters. In addition, the OWC links and FSO propagations are evaluated under diverse atmospheric turbulence and weather conditions to further enhance the realism of the emulation. MMW signal transmission at 24 GHz and 48 GHz over the proposed OWC-fiber-FSO-5G NR integrated system is successfully demonstrated, confirming the capability to support high-speed 5G NR communications with aggregate data rates of 20 Gbps. The proposed architecture effectively combines the advantages of OWC links, optical fiber transmissions, FSO propagations, and 5G NR MMW communications. The system serves as a practical and robust emulation platform for LEO satellite-fiber-FSO-5G NR MMW NTNs, providing a solid foundation for the development of next-generation global communication networks.