Regulatory and spectrum policy challenges for combined airspace and non-terrestrial networks

Bengt Mölleryd, Mustafa Ozger, Morgan Westring, Anders Nordlöw, Dominic Schupke, Ulrika Engström, Cicek Cavdar, Michael Lindborg and Nunzio Sciammetta

Telecommunications Policy, 2025, vol. 49, issue 1

Abstract: The recent advancements in the aviation and space industries facilitate new types of users in the sky, e.g., electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. To unlock the full potential of these innovations, it is crucial to create interconnected three-dimensional networks that integrate airspace and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) with their terrestrial counterparts, also known as Combined Airspace and Non-Terrestrial Networks (ASN). Combined ASN needs a flexible and adaptive network architecture with multiple, and partly converging technologies, such as air-to-ground, satellite, and high-altitude platforms, with a focus to cover both ground and aerial users. In addition to technical challenges, spectrum policy and regulatory aspects will affect the wireless network design and management schemes in three-dimensional space. Hence, this paper introduces regulatory and spectrum policy challenges posed by the development of combined ASN. This paper investigates a hypothetical urban air mobility use case with an eVTOL aircraft that operates as a flying taxi.

Keywords: 6G; Airspace; Institutional structure; Non-terrestrial networks (NTN); Regulation; Spectrum; Terrestrial networks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2024.102875

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