Special Session 10: “Unified Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks for 6G: Towards Seamless 3D Connectivity”
Date, hour and room to be defined
Session chairs:
- Cicek Cavdar (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE)
- Mustafa Ozger (Aalborg Univ., DK)
Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) including LEO/MEO/GEO satellite systems and aerial platforms are evolving from a “coverage add-on” to a first-class component of 6G. In parallel, terrestrial 6G development (AI-native control, cloud-native RAN/Core/Edge, and deterministic service delivery) is converging with NTN capabilities. This makes a unified TN/NTN design timely and necessary, enabling seamless service continuity across ground–air–space and supporting new mobility-centric and mission-critical use cases.
This Special Session brings together four complementary initiatives—6G-SKY, 3D-NET, 6G-NTN and 6G-TakeOff—to share recent results and lessons learned on: (i) architectural convergence and interoperable service models; (ii) RAN integration, mobility/handovers, and spectrum/coexistence; (iii) end-to-end orchestration and slicing across heterogeneous TN/NTN resources (communications + compute); and (iv) deployment readiness including terminals, regulation/standardization, and validation approaches.
The session will culminate in a moderated panel bringing together the four project speakers as also organizers (Cicek Cavdar (6G-SKY), Dominic Schupke (Airbus), Alessandro Vanelli‑Coralli (6G-NTN), Markus Breitbach (6G-Takeoff)), with an additional perspective from the European Space Agency, to synthesize insights and sharpen the open research agenda. In addition to sustainability—e.g., energy-efficient TN/NTN operation, intelligent resource optimization (communication + compute), and meaningful “green KPIs” that capture both operational efficiency and lifecycle considerations—the panel will discuss (i) what “unified” TN/NTN should mean in practice (architecture, interfaces, and service models), (ii) mobility and service continuity across ground–air–space, (iii) spectrum/coexistence and interference management, (iv) end-to-end orchestration and slicing including AI assistance and automation boundaries, (v) validation and experimentation needs (KPIs, testbeds, and realistic assumptions), and (vi) pathways to deployment via standardization, regulation, and ecosystem alignment.
Programme
This special session will feature four 15-minute presentations from NTN-focused EU projects (including brief Q&A after each talk), followed by a moderated panel discussion with the speakers. The moderator and the speakers are the co-organizers of this special session.
Project presentations (60 minutes) — moderated by Mustafa Ozger (Aalborg University)
The talks will highlight key results and ongoing activities from the respective projects.
- Talk #1 (15 min): 6G-SKY — 6G for Connected Sky
Speaker: Prof. Cicek Cavdar (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) - Talk #2 (15 min): 3D-NET — 3D NETworks for 6G Mobile Communications Applications
Speaker: Dr. Dominic A. Schupke (Airbus) - Talk #3 (15 min): 6G-NTN — 6G Non-Terrestrial Networks
Speaker: Prof. Alessandro Vanelli-Coralli (University of Bologna) - Talk #4 (15 min): 6G-TakeOff
Speaker: Dr. Markus Breitbach (Deutsche Telekom)
Moderated panel discussion (30 minutes)
Topic: Opportunities, challenges, sustainability considerations, and deployment pathways for unified terrestrial–non-terrestrial networking in 6G.
• Moderator: Mustafa Ozger, Aalborg University, Denmark
• Panelists:
- Cicek Cavdar (KTH, Sweden)
- Dominic A. Schupke (Airbus, Germany)
- Alessandro Vanelli Coralli (University of Bologna, Italy)
- Markus Breitbach (Deutsche Telekom AG, Germany)
- Maria Gouta (European Space Agency)
Tentative panel questions:
- How will unified TN/NTN be natively integrated into 6G architectures to support seamless ground–air–space services, and what should be prioritized first for practical integration?
- What role should public space infrastructure and institutional actors play in the 6G TN/NTN ecosystem (e.g., anchoring services, enabling interoperability, supporting experimentation, accelerating adoption)?
- How should we define “deployment readiness” for TN/NTN in 6G, and what evidence (trials, KPIs, validation pathways) is needed to move from pilots to operational services?
- How will spectrum and coexistence constraints shape realistic TN/NTN designs, and what are the key regulatory/coordination challenges that the community must plan for early?
- What are the most critical gaps in end-to-end service assurance across TN/NTN (availability, reliability, resilience, continuity), and what architectural or operational changes are needed to close them?
- How should multi-stakeholder interoperability be achieved (operators, satellite/space actors, vendors, regulators)—and which interfaces or service models need alignment most urgently?
- How can sustainability be embedded as a first-class objective in TN/NTN (energy/resource efficiency, infrastructure sharing, compute placement, operational optimization), and which “green KPIs” should be adopted for credible reporting?
- What long-term research directions will matter most for 2026–2030 to make unified TN/NTN scalable and economically viable (technology, operations, standardization, ecosystem governance)?
