3GPP Release 19 continues the evolution of 5G-Advanced and, among many other areas, brings important enhancements for satellite access, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS), Air-to-Ground networks and positioning. While NTN was initially seen by many as a way of extending mobile coverage to remote areas, Release 19 shows that the ambition is now much broader. The aim is to make satellite and aerial connectivity more practical, more resilient and better integrated with the 5G ecosystem.
Release 17 introduced the first major NR NTN framework, largely focused on transparent satellite payloads. Release 18 added further improvements, including mobility and service continuity enhancements. Release 19 now moves the discussion towards more advanced capabilities, including regenerative payloads, Store-and-Forward satellite operation, UE-Satellite-UE communication, improved support for IoT NTN and better support for aircraft and drones.
One of the key areas in Release 19 is NR NTN Phase 3. Satellite links face challenges that are very different from terrestrial mobile networks. The distances are much greater, propagation delays are longer, satellite beams can cover very large geographical areas and satellite payload power is limited. Release 19 addresses these constraints through improved coverage and capacity mechanisms. For example, important control and system information can be repeated to improve the chance that devices can successfully receive and decode it. This is especially important for handset-type terminals and power-limited devices operating in challenging satellite conditions.
This also connects to the wider industry discussion around Direct-to-Device satellite connectivity. 3GPP does not always use the marketing phrase Direct-to-Device, but the work on improved downlink performance for handset-type terminals is clearly relevant to that vision. It is worth being careful with the abbreviation D2D, as in standards discussions it can also mean Device-to-Device. For this reason, Direct-to-Device is probably the clearer term when talking about phones or lightweight devices connecting directly to satellites.
Release 19 also improves uplink capacity in NTN through multiplexing techniques such as Orthogonal Cover Codes. This matters because a satellite beam can cover a large area with many potential users, while the available spectrum and power remain limited. Better multiplexing means more users and devices can be supported with the same satellite resources. This will become increasingly important as NTN expands beyond emergency messaging towards IoT, broadband and more diverse services.
Perhaps the most interesting architectural shift is the support for regenerative payloads and gNB functions on board the satellite. In a traditional transparent payload model, the satellite mainly acts as a relay, with most processing taking place on the ground. With regenerative payloads, more intelligence moves into space. The satellite can process, switch or route signals, making the network more flexible and less dependent on a continuous feeder link to the ground.
This helps enable one of the most distinctive Release 19 capabilities, Store-and-Forward satellite operation. In some non-geostationary satellite scenarios, the satellite may be visible to the UE but may not have a simultaneous active feeder link to the ground network. Store-and-Forward allows the satellite to temporarily store data and forward it later when connectivity to the ground segment becomes available. This is especially useful for delay-tolerant IoT applications such as asset tracking, environmental sensing, remote monitoring and logistics.
Another new area is UE-Satellite-UE communication. Normally, traffic between two users would travel via the satellite, the ground network and then back again. Release 19 starts enabling a more direct path via a regenerative satellite architecture. The initial scope is limited, including IMS voice and video services for users in the same PLMN and in non-roaming scenarios, but it is still an important step. It shows how NTN can evolve from simple coverage extension towards a more capable communication platform.
IoT NTN also receives significant attention in Release 19. Enhancements include Store-and-Forward operation for IoT, improved uplink capacity and support for Public Warning System messages over NB-IoT NTN. Release 19 also introduces IoT NTN TDD mode, which is important because earlier NB-IoT NTN work was focused on FDD operation. TDD support gives satellite operators more flexibility and opens the door to additional deployment scenarios.
Public warning support is another practical and important enhancement. Satellite connectivity can be extremely valuable in areas where terrestrial networks are unavailable, damaged or overloaded. Supporting warning messages over satellite and IoT NTN can help extend emergency alerting capabilities to remote regions, maritime environments and disaster-affected areas.
Release 19 is not only about satellites. It also includes enhancements for Air-to-Ground networks and UAS Phase 3. Air-to-Ground connectivity uses ground-based cellular infrastructure to serve aircraft, rather than relying on satellites. Release 19 work in this area supports improvements such as downlink carrier aggregation and MIMO for better throughput and more efficient spectrum use.
For UAS, Release 19 continues the work needed to make drones better integrated into mobile networks and service platforms. This includes support for pre-mission planning, in-mission monitoring, command and control reliability, network-assisted Detect and Avoid, No-Transmit Zones and interaction with UAS traffic management systems. These capabilities matter because drones are increasingly being used for inspection, logistics, public safety, disaster response, smart cities and future urban air mobility.
Positioning is another important part of the Release 19 satellite and aerial story. Enhancements include on-demand broadcast of GNSS assistance data, support for BeiDou B2b in A-GNSS for LTE and NR, and support for NavIC L1 SPS in NR and LTE. These improvements help make positioning more flexible and globally relevant, especially for NTN, IoT, maritime, aviation and UAS use cases.
Taken together, Release 19 shows how NTN is maturing. The focus is no longer just on whether a device can connect to a satellite. The bigger question is how satellite, aerial and terrestrial networks can work together as part of a wider 5G-Advanced system. With regenerative payloads, Store-and-Forward operation, UE-Satellite-UE communication, IoT NTN enhancements, public warning support, Air-to-Ground improvements and UAS integration, Release 19 takes another important step towards making non-terrestrial connectivity practical, resilient and service-rich.
The video below provides a visual walkthrough of these Release 19 satellite, NTN, UAS and aerial enhancements.
Related Posts:
- The 3G4G Blog: 3GPP Release 19 Description and Summary of Work Items
- Free 6G Training: ATIS Webinar on 'Introduction to 3GPP Release 19 and 6G Planning'
- Connectivity Technology Blog: The Evolution of NTN in 3GPP from Release 17 to Release 19
- Free 6G Training: The Visible and Invisible Technologies That Will Power Future 6G Networks
- Free 6G Training: HAPS as the Middle Layer for Making 6G Truly Ubiquitous
- Connectivity Technology Blog: 3D Communication Networks and the Future of Connectivity
- The 3G4G Blog - 5G-Advanced Store and Forward (S&F): Enabling Resilient IoT Communications via Satellite
- The 3G4G Blog: Tutorial Session on Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) and 3GPP Standards from 5G to 6G
- Connectivity Technology Blog: Tutorial Session on Current Trends and Key Challenges of Satellite communications
- Connectivity Technology Blog: Qualcomm Webinar - 5G from space: The final frontier for global connectivity
- Connectivity Technology Blog: 5G NB-IoT NTN Coverage Extension by Sateliot
- Connectivity Technology Blog: 5G NR-NTN Demos make a Debut at MWC 2023
- The 3G4G Blog: 3GPP 5G Non Terrestrial Networks (NTN) Standardization Update
