Systems and methods are described, and one method includes receiving at a first network a request for a second network configuration data and an identifier of a first network home service plan of the mobile terminal, and transmitting to the second network an inter-network configuration data request. The inter-network configuration data request carries the request for the second network configuration data and an identifier of the mobile terminal's first network home service plan. The first network receives from the second network an inter-network configuration data response that carries the second network configuration data and, in response, transmits the second network configuration data to the mobile terminal.

A communication device can be configured to operate in a non-terrestrial network that includes a network node communicatively coupled to the communication device via a satellite. The communication device can determine when to perform an access offset determination (“AOD”) relative to a paging occasion (“PO”).

Satellite access to a PLMN with a Fifth Generation (5G) core network (5GCN) is supported by a serving satellite NodeB (gNB). The gNB determines or verifies the country in which a user equipment (UE) is located to ensure that the UE is located in the same country as the PLMN. The gNB may determine the country of the UE based on UE measurements from broadcast satellite signals and a positioning ID (PID) broadcast for each radio cell. The PID frequently changes to prevent spoofing. The gNB may use multiple UE measurements from a moving radio cell over a period of time to generate a more accurate location for the UE. The gNB may indicate to a 5GCN whether the country of the UE has been verified. The 5GCN will determine the location and country of the UE if the gNB indicates that the country is not fully verified.

Access, mobility management and regulatory services are supported for satellite access to a Fifth Generation (5G) core network (5GCN). Signaling including data and voice for radio cells supported by a satellite is transported between UEs and a core network via an earth station. When the satellite is transferred to a new earth station, the signaling can be transferred to the new earth station and possibly to a new base station. The UEs may remain with their current radio cells with a regenerative satellite or be assisted to remain with their current radio cells with a transparent satellite. The signaling transfer between the earth stations may occur at a Level 1 or Level 2. A modified handover procedure may be used with a regenerative satellite with split architecture when there is a change of base station.

Systems, methods, and apparatus for user mobility in a system with time-varying user-satellite and satellite-ground Ethernet links are disclosed. In some embodiments, A method for user mobility in a satellite system comprises transmitting, by a user device, a first signal comprising internet protocol (IP) data packets encapsulated in an Ethernet frame to a satellite. The method further comprises transmitting, by the satellite, a second signal comprising the IP data packets encapsulated in the Ethernet frame to a ground modem of a ground terminal. Further, the method comprises transmitting, by the ground modem, a third signal comprising the IP data packets encapsulated in the Ethernet frame to a default gateway, which is associated with user device, of a customer ground location via a virtual Ethernet switch. The virtual Ethernet switch utilizes one of a layer two (L2) overlay or a wide area network (WAN) L2 virtual private network (VPN) implementation.

Devices, methods, and systems for uplink synchronization in time division multiple access (TDMA) satellite network. In one embodiment, an earth-based satellite terminal is configured to communicate with a satellite hub through a satellite using the TDMA communication protocol. The earth-based satellite terminal is configured to determine its own location, a location of the satellite, estimate a distance between the location of the terminal and the location of the satellite, determine a Coarse Timing Advance based on the distance that is estimated, and transmit data to the satellite based on the Coarse Timing Advance and the TDMA communication protocol. The Coarse Timing Advance may allow uplink TDMA communication without a preamble transmission on a random access channel, the preamble transmission being required in many conventional systems.

A radio communication system for transmitting data to a ground station includes plural stochastically distributed orbiting satellites with plural antennas traversing a portion of the earth's surface divided into zones. The ground station has a unique address identifying itself and the zone where it is located. A local area network associated with the ground node includes at least one satellite that stores the identity of a satellite antenna paired with a ground station antenna to form a radio link for transmitting data onboard the satellite to the ground station. Other satellites in the local area network store the ground node address and the identity of an antenna paired with an antenna in another satellite that also has stored the ground node address. A wide area network includes at least one satellite, each of which stores the identity of an antenna paired with an antenna of another satellite that has stored the ground node zone to form at least one inter-satellite radio link. If a satellite with data onboard is not in a local area network associated with the destination ground node or a wide area network, the satellite transmits the data toward the ground node zone.

Access, mobility management and regulatory services are supported for satellite access to a 5G core network. Radio cells supported by a satellite may be moving as the satellite moves and may undergo changes, e.g. when a satellite is transferred from one earth station to another. A base station may broadcast a remaining lifetime for a radio cell (e.g. in a system information block) which indicates to UEs how much longer the radio cell can be accessed before a change occurs. A radio cell may also indicate support for one or more fixed tracking areas (TAs) in coverage of the radio cell. A base station may broadcast a remaining lifetime for each TA to indicate to UEs how much longer a TA will be supported by the radio cell. UEs can use the indications to perform cell change or handover to other radio cells and/or other satellites.

Access, mobility management and regulatory services are supported for satellite access to a Fifth Generation (5G) core network (5GCN). A location of a UE may be obtained by a UE or by a base station and used to determine a country in which the UE is located. The UE can then select a serving PLMN in the country of the UE which is accessible from a radio cell supported by a satellite. The UE can register with the serving PLMN and receive information from the serving PLMN concerning fixed cells and fixed tracking areas supported by the serving PLMN. If the UE attempt to register with a PLMN not in the country of the UE, a serving base station can reject the attempt and indicate the country to the UE.

Access, mobility management and regulatory services are supported for satellite access to a 5G core network. A coverage area, e.g., a country or region, is divided into fixed virtual cells and fixed tracking areas. The UE receives configuration information for fixed cells and fixed tracking areas associated with a serving PLMN. The fixed cells and the fixed tracking areas are defined, independently of each other, as fixed geographic areas. A position of the UE is used to determine a fixed serving cell and/or fixed tracking area for the UE. A service operation for the UE is enabled for the serving PLMN based on the fixed serving cell or the fixed tracking area. A fixed cell may be associated with an overlapping fixed tracking area by assigning a color code to the tracking area and appending the color code to an ID for the fixed cell.