The emergence of massive ultra-reliable and low latency communications (mURLLC) as a category of time/reliability-sensitive service over 6G networks has received considerable research attention, which has presented unprecedented challenges. As one of the key enablers for 6G, satellite-terrestrial integrated networks (STIN) have been developed to offer more expansive connectivity and comprehensive 3D coverage in space-aerial-terrestrial domains for supporting 6G mission-critical mURLLC applications while fulfilling diverse and rigorous quality of service (QoS) requirements. In the context of these mURLLC-driven satellite services, data freshness assumes paramount importance, as outdated data may engender unpredictable or catastrophic outcomes. To effectively measure data freshness in satellite-terrestrial integrated communications, age of information (AoI) has recently surfaced as a new dimension of QoS metric to support time-sensitive applications. It is crucial to design new analytical models that ensure stringent and diverse QoS metrics bounded by different key parameters, including AoI, delay, and reliability, over 6G satellite-terrestrial integrated networks. However, due to the complicated and dynamic nature of satellite-terrestrial integrated network environments, the research on efficiently defining new statistical QoS schemes while taking into account varying degrees of freedom has still been in their infancy. To remedy these deficiencies, in this paper we develop statistical QoS provisioning schemes over 6G satellite-terrestrial integrated networks in the finite blocklength regime. Particularly, we firstly introduce and review key technologies for supporting mURLLC. Secondly, we formulate a number of novel fundamental statistical-QoS metrics in the finite blocklength regime. Finally, we conduct a set of simulations to evaluate our developed statistical QoS schemes.

翻译：作为6G网络中一类对时间/可靠性敏感的服务，海量超可靠低时延通信(mURLLC)的出现已引起广泛研究关注，并带来了前所未有的挑战。作为6G的关键使能技术之一，星地融合网络(STIN)旨在为空间-空中-地面全域提供更广阔的连接与立体覆盖，以支持6G关键任务型mURLLC应用，同时满足多样化且严格的服务质量(QoS)要求。在这些mURLLC驱动的卫星服务场景中，数据新鲜度至关重要，因为过时数据可能导致不可预测甚至灾难性后果。为有效度量星地融合通信中的数据新鲜度，信息年龄(AoI)近期已成为支撑时敏应用的新型QoS度量维度。设计能够确保AoI、时延、可靠性等关键参数约束下严格多样化QoS指标的新型分析模型，对6G星地融合网络至关重要。然而，由于星地融合网络环境的复杂动态特性，如何在考虑不同自由度的情况下有效定义新型统计QoS方案的研究仍处于起步阶段。为弥补这些不足，本文在有限块长机制下开发了面向6G星地融合网络的统计QoS保障方案。具体而言，我们首先系统介绍并综述了支撑mURLLC的关键技术；其次，在有限块长机制下构建了一系列新型基础统计QoS度量指标；最后通过多组仿真实验评估了我们提出的统计QoS方案。