Patent ID: 11696106

Abstract:
User equipment (UE) access to a non-terrestrial network (NTN) via a satellite to a Fifth Generation (5G) public land mobile network (PLMN) is supported using fixed tracking areas (TAs) and fixed cells. The fixed TAs and fixed cells are defined in the NTN independently of NTN radio cells. Network elements in the NTN are provided with configuration information for the fixed TAs and fixed cells from a server (e.g., an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) server). The configuration information includes location related information for the fixed TAs and fixed cells, which may not be standardized. The network entities perform one or more services for the UE based on the location related information for the fixed TAs and fixed cells, such as determining a fixed TA or fixed serving cell for a UE, locating the UE, routing emergency calls, and supporting wireless emergency alerting (WEA).