Multiple Access Schemes for 6G enabled NTN-assisted IoT Technologies:
Recent Developments, Prospects and Challenges
Abstract
The transition from 5G to 6G will result in an explosion of Internet of
Things (IoT) devices that provide pervasive and constant connection
across all spheres of human activities. In this regard, non-terrestrial
networks (NTNs) will play a crucial role in supporting and supplementing
terrestrial systems in order to cope with such a vast number of IoT
devices and to fulfill the massive capacity needs of the most
sophisticated of them. This study investigates the implication of
several multiple access techniques for 6G enabled NTN-assisted IoT
technologies. First, general architecture of NTN, NTN-assisted IoT
technologies, and key features and challenges of NTNs are presented.
Then, different types of multiple access schemes are discussed and
compared in the context of NTN-assisted IoT systems. Simulation results
are presented and important performance parameters such as energy
efficiency and spectrum efficiency are examined for the discussed
multiple access schemes. Furthermore, challenges and future research
directions are discussed.