RAN1 #125 adopts S-band satellite antenna assumption for two LEO cases

RAN1, the radio layer 1 working group, recorded the agreement under agenda item 10.7.1. The RAN1 #125 meeting report was approved at RAN1 #126. The satellite access node (SAN) antenna assumption covers both orbit cases at S-band's 2 gigahertz frequency. The report says "the following assumption for SAN antenna model is adopted". Our reading: this is a modelling assumption, not a satellite hardware requirement.

Source: R1-2605181, ETSI MCC, 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #126, report, agenda item 10.7.1.

LEO-600 uses 1,296 antenna elements in a 36 by 36 phased array. LEO-300 uses 400 elements in a 20 by 20 phased array. Both phased arrays use fully connected transceiver unit (TXRU) mapping, half-wavelength element spacing and one or two polarizations. The report lists a reflector antenna as Option 2 but gives parameters only for the phased array. Other separate assumptions may be considered for other satellite payload types.

MediaTek, NTT DOCOMO, Xiaomi and CSCN each proposed confirming a working assumption. All four contributions were marked not treated at RAN1 #125. CSCN's proposal describes the cases as "S-band LEO-600km and LEO-300km". Our reading: those labels indicate orbit altitudes of 600 and 300 kilometres, respectively.

Source: R1-2604821, CSCN, 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #125. © CSCN.