Developing an NTN Architecture for End-to-End Performance Evaluation

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Main Authors: Rahman, Md Mahfuzur, Tripathi, Nishith, Reed, Jeffrey H., Liu, Lingjia
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Rahman, Md Mahfuzur
Tripathi, Nishith
Reed, Jeffrey H.
Liu, Lingjia
author_facet Rahman, Md Mahfuzur
Tripathi, Nishith
Reed, Jeffrey H.
Liu, Lingjia
contents Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) are emerging as critical enablers of global connectivity, particularly in remote, unserved, underserved, or maritime regions lacking traditional infrastructure. While much of the existing work on NTN focuses on theoretical or simulated evaluations, practical implementations remain limited. In this paper, we present SpaceNET, a transparent NTN testbed that leverages the Starlink Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation in conjunction with Mininet-based emulation to perform end-to-end performance assessments across real-world maritime and terrestrial endpoints that can also be applied to 5th generation (5G). Specifically, we establish a bidirectional link between a ground terminal located in Blacksburg, Virginia, and a maritime terminal aboard a cruise ship near Key West, Florida. We report detailed transmission control protocol (TCP) throughput, user datagram protocol (UDP) throughput, and latency measurements using two different user terminals - a) Smartphone, and b) very small aperture terminal (VSAT), emphasizing the transparent nature of the NTN payload, where the satellite acts solely as a relay node. Our results provide new insights into the performance limits and reliability of commercial LEO-based NTN applications. The SpaceNET testbed offers a reproducible and extensible platform for future research in NTN routing, mobility support, and cross-layer optimization.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_20103
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Developing an NTN Architecture for End-to-End Performance Evaluation
Rahman, Md Mahfuzur
Tripathi, Nishith
Reed, Jeffrey H.
Liu, Lingjia
Emerging Technologies
Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) are emerging as critical enablers of global connectivity, particularly in remote, unserved, underserved, or maritime regions lacking traditional infrastructure. While much of the existing work on NTN focuses on theoretical or simulated evaluations, practical implementations remain limited. In this paper, we present SpaceNET, a transparent NTN testbed that leverages the Starlink Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation in conjunction with Mininet-based emulation to perform end-to-end performance assessments across real-world maritime and terrestrial endpoints that can also be applied to 5th generation (5G). Specifically, we establish a bidirectional link between a ground terminal located in Blacksburg, Virginia, and a maritime terminal aboard a cruise ship near Key West, Florida. We report detailed transmission control protocol (TCP) throughput, user datagram protocol (UDP) throughput, and latency measurements using two different user terminals - a) Smartphone, and b) very small aperture terminal (VSAT), emphasizing the transparent nature of the NTN payload, where the satellite acts solely as a relay node. Our results provide new insights into the performance limits and reliability of commercial LEO-based NTN applications. The SpaceNET testbed offers a reproducible and extensible platform for future research in NTN routing, mobility support, and cross-layer optimization.
title Developing an NTN Architecture for End-to-End Performance Evaluation
topic Emerging Technologies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.20103