Over-the-air Tests of a Satellite-backhauled 5G SA Network with Edge Computing and Local Breakout

The use of satellite as backhaul in 5G networks is currently the most mature approach for satellite/5G integration, extending the coverage of 5G to underserved areas, beyond the reach of terrestrial backhaul infrastructures. This paper presents an actual implementation and over-the-air tests of a 5G Stand-Alone network, where a satellite link is used to interconnect the 5G Core with the RAN. Furthermore, local breakout is adopted to enable edge computing at the satellite edge; this is achieved by virtualizing and off-loading the 5GC User Plane Function to the edge. The performance of each configuration is evaluated with generic traffic, using the Open5GENESIS experiment automation suite, as well as in the context of an actual use case (5G smart agriculture).