NTN Terminal Sleep Scheduling for Long Round-Trip Delays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Non-terrestrial networks face challenges in efficiently managing power consumption and latency due to large round trip times, especially for IoT devices with limited battery power, leading to increased energy consumption and potential standard procedure failures.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a reduced power mode for terminals based on round trip time, where the terminal reduces receiver power consumption during periods when no downlink data is expected, using explicit signaling from the base station or self-determined sleep modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If standard communication procedures are used in NTN, then coverage and connectivity are provided, but power consumption increases and battery life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal device enters a reduced power mode during specific time periods (e.g., during the round trip time for signal transmission) and wakes up at predetermined intervals to check for downlink data. This periodic operation allows the device to maintain connectivity while significantly reducing power consumption compared to continuous monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal device autonomously determines when to enter reduced power mode based on the round trip time parameter received from the base station. The device self-manages its power consumption by calculating appropriate sleep durations and wake-up times without requiring continuous network intervention, thereby extending battery life while maintaining reliable communication.
2Loss of time
If the terminal remains active to monitor for downlink data, then data transmission delays are reduced, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The base station provides the terminal with a round trip time parameter in advance, which allows the terminal to pre-calculate optimal wake-up times and sleep durations. This preliminary information enables the terminal to enter reduced power mode confidently, knowing when to wake up to check for downlink data, thus minimizing delays while maximizing power savings.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If the terminal enters reduced power mode frequently, then battery life is extended, but communication reliability may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system establishes a feedback mechanism where the base station monitors the terminal's communication status and can adjust the round trip time parameter or provide downlink data notifications. This feedback ensures that even when the terminal is in reduced power mode, the network remains aware of the terminal's state and can maintain communication reliability by coordinating wake-up periods with data arrival times.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a method of operating a terminal in a mobile telecommunications system comprising a Non-Terrestrial Network “NTN”, the network comprising a base station and the terminal, the terminal being configured to communicate with the base station via an air interface provided by infrastructure equipment of the NTN. The method comprises receiving a downlink transmission from the base station; in response to the downlink transmission, transmitting an uplink transmission to the base station; based on the uplink transmission and on a round trip time, determining whether the terminal will enter a reduced power mode during a time period, wherein the round trip time is a time for a signal to travel back and forth between the terminal and the base station and wherein, in the reduced power mode the terminal is configured to reduce a power consumption of at least a receiver of the terminal for communicating via the air interface.