5G LEO Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) MUOS Augmentation

Fairwinds Technologies (FWT) proposes leveraging the existing 3G WCDMA MUOS satellite communications system and its associated MUOS tactical radios to establish connection with the 3GPP 5G direct-to-device satellite link through the AST SpaceMobile USA constellation by utilizing a purpose-built conversion kit between MUOS and 5G. This solution enhances the overall tactical connectivity by offering significant redundancy, reliability, and resiliency by augmenting the current MUOS system architecture with 5G NTN. This proposed approach extends the operational lifespan of the MUOS system by augmenting connectivity through the commercial 5G NTN system.  The technical foundation of the proposed solution comes from the existing validated commercial building blocks, such as AST satellite connectivity, Curtiss-Wright’s PacStar Radio over Internet Protocol (RoIP) Module, Router Module and Agile 4G/5G Twin Core. The novel thing in the proposed system is augmenting the MUOS system with a 5G conversion kit enabling MUOS voice and data calls via 5G NTN. To our knowledge this would be a unique solution as of the date of this proposal submission.  5G NTN is projected to have significant commercial outlook over the next decades starting 2024. The current AST LEO system can work with regular 5G smart phones for speech, messaging, and data. According to the ABI Research the overall NTN market value in 2030 is expected to exceed $16B with over 175M users. For government the value comes from the fact that majority of the existing MUOS investment remain active for the years to come, and the investment needed for modernizing to 5G and beyond can be pushed out by several years. Technical risks of the proposed solution are mainly expected to deal with the MUOS-5G compatibility in terms of signal timing and doppler compensations. AST has an advanced patented system to address these issues, so we expect this risk will be manageable. The technical building blocks (AST, RoIP, router and 5G core) have a current maturity level of 5 to 6. For the entire system solution, during the project Phase II there will be integration and testing done in the operational environment to demonstrate level 6, and eventually to level 7 in Phase III.