The HELENA project – when the sky is no longer the limit for 5G

The HELENA project promoted the development of enhancements to the NTN standard. Magister contributed to the project by improving the mobility of the 5G satellite network, investigating new use cases, and planning for Release 19.

The definition of the 3GPP 5G NTN standard constitutes the first technology framework capable of supporting both terrestrial and satellite network deployment scenarios.

The HELENA project contributed to the development of enhancements to the NTN standard. The goal of HELENA was to improve 5G NTN service experience, address new bands, and support new use cases. The project was launched in February 2023, running for two years until 2025.

HELENA was a project funded by the European Space Agency and led by Nicolas Chuberre from Thales Alenia Space France.

Magister Solutions worked on this project together with Thales Alenia Space France, Novamint, Fraunhofer IIS, TNO, CNIT, Airbus, and Eutelsat.

Magister had several areas of responsibility in the HELENA project

Magister’s role in the HELENA project was mainly related to the following three tasks:

1. Release 18 enhancements: How can the network performance be improved and new use cases generated? One goal was to improve the mobility of the 5G satellite network.  
2. Enabling new use cases: New use cases requiring higher frequencies were investigated. Terminal devices would no longer only be mobile devices, but, for example, VSATs or ESIMs mounted on ships, cars or airplanes. 
3. Planning for Release 19: In late spring and summer 2023, we discussed and planned the contents of the next release and contributed it to the 3GPP.

Influencing the definitions of future standardized technologies

ESA projects of the past couple of years have set the basis for this project, and Magister has also participated in these projects. HELENA was a continuation of the ALIX project, which promoted the standardization of the Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN).

While ALIX focused on Release 17 implementation and Release 18 planning, HELENA concentrated on Release 18 implementation and Release 19 planning.

HELENA was, however, a separate project that was selected through an ESA competitive tender. This world-class project gives Magister a remarkable opportunity to make an impact.

“It’s great to be part of a project like this: to influence the definitions of future standardized technologies. In the global context, we are a small company, but in this project, our impact can be significant”, stated Magister’s former CEO, Jani Puttonen.

HELENA aims to make NTN solutions more performant, enabling new use cases

Unlike most of Magister’s projects, HELENA was not a simulator development project. Instead, it focused completely on 3GPP standardization. The main objectives of the HELENA project were:

• to continue supporting the standardization effort of NTN within the 3GPP
• to capitalize on the investments made to date and secure the native integration of SatCom within the next generation of mobile networks
• to encompass the support to the NTN-related work items recently agreed for Release 18, as well as the preparation of NTN-related items for Release 19 and beyond.

Overall, HELENA aimed to make NTN solutions more performant and enable new use cases. 

Laying the foundation for future NTN solutions

What makes the HELENA project especially remarkable is how it combined the forces of various satellite industry players. The satellite industry is quite a small sector within the 3GPP. However, through a project like this, industry players can connect and make an impact.

The project involved eight players from the satellite industry. The project also maintained and nourished the Satellite Standardization Interest Group (SSIG). SSIG is a community that consists of dozens of satellite industry actors whose goal is to influence the NTN standardization in 3GPP. 

What can be achieved by promoting the standardization of NTN?

• New end users can be reached with satellite systems using NTN technology. Technology can enable, for example, automatic communication with cars, ships, or air traffic. There may also be NTN use cases on IoT technology. 
• With higher frequencies, larger frequency bands become available, and we can send larger amounts of data. This also increases the number of use cases. 
• NTN brings better opportunities for implementing more reliable emergency services. Emergency calls and text messages using NTN can be introduced globally. For example, the governmental and emergency services will benefit from this technology. 
• Standardization fosters a development of an ecosystem in which products and services can be developed and brought to the market more quickly. It also encourages the involvement of many manufacturers, leading to healthy competition. This, in turn, leads to lower prices for end users.

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