User-Centric Comparison of 5G NTN and DVB-S2/RCS2 Using OpenAirInterface and OpenSAND
Sumit Kumar, Juan Carlos Estrada-Jimenez, Ion Turcanu
TL;DR
The paper addresses end-to-end user experience in satellite-integrated 5G by comparing 5G-NTN and DVB-S2/RCS2 using open-source tools OpenAirInterface and OpenSAND within the 6G Sandbox. It adopts a controlled, end-to-end evaluation of application-layer KPIs (jitter, video startup, webpage load, and file download) under realistic traffic with fixed configurations to ensure reproducibility. Key findings show that 5G-NTN delivers significantly lower jitter and faster video startup due to its integrated 3GPP stack and grant-based access, while DVB-S2/RCS2 excels in scheduled, bulk delivery but incurs higher delays from framing and return-link operations. The work demonstrates the value of open, reproducible NTN emulation for informing deployment decisions and outlines future work on mobility and more complex traffic scenarios.
Abstract
The integration of satellite networks into next-generation mobile communication systems has gained considerable momentum with the advent of 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (5G-NTN). Since established technologies like DVB-S2/RCS2 are already widely used for satellite broadband, a detailed comparison with emerging 5G NTN solutions is necessary to understand their relative merits and guide deployment decisions. This paper presents a user-centric, end-to-end evaluation of these technologies under realistic traffic conditions, showing how differences in architecture and protocols impact application-layer performance. Utilizing the 6G Sandbox platform, we employ OpenAirInterface to emulate 5G NTN and OpenSAND for DVB-S2/RCS2, replicating transparent payload GEO satellite scenarios under uniform downlink conditions. A range of real-world applications, such as web browsing, file downloads, and video streaming, are tested across both systems and systematically analyzed. While the emulation lacks real-time capability, it reveals key strengths and limitations of each approach, helping identify suitable deployment scenarios for 5G NTN and DVB-S2/RCS2.