Terrestrial-Satellite Integration in Dynamic 5G Backhaul Networks The SANSA Project Solution

This paper presents a dynamic backhaul network in order to face some of the main 5G challenges such as 100% coverage, improved capacity or reduction in energy consumption. The proposed solution, elaborated within the SANSA H2020 project, is based on the seamless integration of the satellite component in a terrestrial network capable of reconfiguring its topology according to the traffic demands. The paper highlights the benefits of this hybrid network and describes the technology enablers to bring it to the reality. Finally, the SANSA's network simulation framework based on ns3 is presented, jointly with a preliminary analysis of the routing and load balancing needs for a hybrid and dynamic network.