Potentialities of 5G Terrestrial & Non-Terrestrial Networks for European Governmental Users and Services

#5G #6G #NTN #TN/NTN #integration #3GPP #Mission-Critical #Services #PPDR

Webinar organized by the Satellite WG of IEEE Future Networks / INGR

“Potentialities of 5G Terrestrial & Non-Terrestrial Networks for European Governmental Users and Services”

February 11, 2026, 15:30 - 19:15 CET

This webinar is organized within the 5G-GOVSATCOM project (https://5g-govsatcom.eu/), a Horizon Europe initiative that aims to advance the integration of 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (5G-NTN) into the EU’s GOVSATCOM framework. As Europe moves toward more resilient, secure, and ubiquitous governmental communications, the convergence of Terrestrial (TN) and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) technologies becomes a strategic necessity. The webinar will bring together researchers, satellite operators, MCx service developers, public authorities, and end-user communities to discuss key developments in 5G-GOVSATCOM. Participants will explore advances, including improved X-band radio access, seamless TN–NTN handover, and platforms that enable mission-critical services. The event will also showcase upcoming demo trials, including maritime telemedicine and crisis-management scenarios. Overall, the webinar aims to foster collaboration and expert dialogue toward Europe’s next-generation secure 5G- and 6G-integrated satellite communications.

For more details, please see the event webpage: https://5ggovsatcom-webinar.diism.unisi.it/

15:30 – 15:45 Welcome Session 
•    Giovanni Giambene (University of Siena, Italy)
•    Miguel A. Vazquez (Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya - CTTC, Spain)
•    Theodoros Tsiftsis (University of Thessaly, Greece)

15:45 – 17:00 Session 1- Benefits of Satellite-Enabled 5G for GOVSATCOM Users

David Lund (PSC Europe Forum),"The journey towards the Establishment of the European Critical Communication System (EUCCS)"

This presentation will introduce the European Critical Communication system (EUCCS) and the steps being taken to prepare for its technical and legislative establishment by 2030; providing critical mobile communication capability across Europe. Satellite Communication is a key capability enabler for EUCCS,  where land mobile communications system components need to be interconnected and where land mobile coverage is not present. Availability of mobile communication is crucial for public safety operations. Satellite communication provides an important resilience dimension for the mission-critical mobile communication capability enabled by EUCCS.

Francesco Matera (Fondazione Ugo Bordoni), “Role of the TN–NTN integration for 5G for GOVSATCOM Users”

In this talk, a general description of the main NTN architectures will be illustrated, including satellites, UAVs, and aerial platforms, and their integration with the TN networks, considering the main contributions in terms of resilience, coverage, and service continuity. The current normative will be examined mainly in terms of spectrum allocation, management, and orchestration. Some results from the ITA-NTN project will be reported about the main innovations in terms of transmission systems and orchestration supported by AI approaches.

Alessandro Guidotti (University of Bologna), “Exploring the Future of Non-Terrestrial Networks: Challenges and Innovations for 6G NTN”

Following their inclusion in the 5G architecture defined by the 3GPP Release 17 and the announcement of several related commercial initiatives, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) have emerged from their traditional niche to become a fundamental topic of connectivity for the global academic and industry communities. While the initial inclusion of NTNs in the global 5G architecture was primarily aimed at minimizing the impact of the necessary air interface adaptation for the satellite environment, and 5G-Advanced, has focused on the integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, the evolution toward 6G aims for their native inclusion for delivering enhanced performance for the identified key use cases. In this talk, after a short overview of the path that brought SatCom to NTN and the current status in the 5G/5G-Advanced ecosystem, we discuss the trends, innovations, and challenges that are driving the definition of a natively integrated NTN component in 6G systems.

17:00 – 17:15 Small break

17:15 – 18:30 Session 2 – Mission-Critical Services over Integrated 5G TN-NTN Systems

Olga Chukhno (Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria), "XR Mission Critical in Integrated TN/NTN"

The emergence of eXtended Reality (XR) technologies is revolutionizing Mission Critical (MC) operations by enhancing situational awareness and decision-making. However, the high computational demands of XR MC applications, coupled with the limited capabilities of battery-powered wearable XR devices worn, e.g., by first responders, necessitate offloading strategies to more processing-powerful network nodes. Traditional terrestrial networks, while supporting XR MC services, may not be reliable in all scenarios, especially during emergencies or in remote areas. To address this, the integration of Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) with Terrestrial Networks (TNs) offers various options to place and run in-network computing tasks, e.g., Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The potential of these offloading options for XR MC services has not yet been fully explored. In this webinar, we close this gap and analyze the performance of application-driven offloading of computational tasks of XR MC services at different locations in the integrated TN/NTN environment. We assess the end-to-end latency cost under different traffic loads at the various system layers and analyze the energy consumption of XR device, identifying practical insights for system designers.

Marco Viali (Croce Rossa Italiana - CRI), “User Perspective on Crisis Response”

This talk aims to illustrate the telecommunications technologies currently used by the Red Cross and the scenarios in which they are employed, including peacetime operations, wartime contexts, and emergency situations. Through real-world examples, it will show how these technologies support communication, coordination, and service delivery in diverse and often critical environments. The talk will then address how these technologies may be replaced or evolve over time, outlining potential future developments in the healthcare sector. In particular, it will consider applications related to medical support, telemedicine, and psychological assistance, and the role telecommunications play in enabling these services.

Jorge Proença (OneSource), “Mobitrust - Bridging 5G TN-NTN for Mission-Critical Operations”

Integrated 5G terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (TN–NTN) are becoming a cornerstone for delivering resilient, ubiquitous connectivity to mission-critical operations, particularly where conventional infrastructure is unavailable or compromised. Within this landscape, Mobitrust provides a unified platform for real-time situational awareness, data fusion, and operational coordination tailored to Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) and comparable high-risk missions, leveraging multimodal streams (video, sensor, biometric) over high-availability networks. Mobitrust’s architecture is designed to ingest, process, and visualise heterogeneous data feeds to support informed decision-making and remote command-and-control functions under stringent reliability, security, and latency constraints. This presentation will also present the Mobitrust platform's role in the 5G-HUB use cases as an end-user application, contributing to the validation of the G-HUB developments within the project, illustrating the practical operation of mission-critical services over integrated 5G TN–NTN infrastructures.

18:30 – 19:15 Final Roundtable - Future Opportunities for European 5G-NTN GOVSATCOM Services

With the invited speakers and moderated by Sara Nasirian – University of Siena, Italy