The integration of Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks (TN-NTNs), introduced in 5G, is advancing toward a unified and seamless network of networks in Sixth-Generation (6G). This evolution markedly increases the volume of generated and exchanged data, imposing stringent technical and operational requirements along with higher cost and energy consumption. Consequently, efficient management of data generation and transmission within this unified architecture has become essential. In this article, we investigate semantics-aware information handling in unified TN-NTNs, where data communication between distant TN nodes is enabled via an NTN. We consider an Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring system in which status updates from a remote Energy Harvesting (EH) device are delivered to a destination monitor through a network of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. We leverage semantic metrics, such as Query Version Age of Information, which collectively capture the timeliness, relevance, and utility of information. This approach minimizes the transmission of stale, uninformative, or unusable information, thereby reducing the volume of data that must be transmitted and processed. The result is a substantial reduction in energy consumption and data exchange within the network-achieving up to 73% lower energy-charging requirements and fewer transmission demands than the state of the art-without compromising the conveyed information.

翻译：5G中引入的地面与非地面网络（TN-NTNs）融合技术，正朝着第六代（6G）统一无缝的"网络之网"演进。这一演进显著增加了生成与交换的数据量，对技术和运营提出了更严苛的要求，同时带来了更高的成本与能耗。因此，在这种统一架构中高效管理数据生成与传输变得至关重要。本文研究了统一TN-NTNs中的语义感知信息处理方法，其中远距离TN节点间的数据通信通过NTN实现。我们考虑一个物联网（IoT）监测系统：来自远程能量收集（EH）设备的状态更新通过低地球轨道（LEO）卫星网络传输至目标监测器。我们采用语义度量指标（如查询版本信息年龄），从时效性、相关性与实用性三个维度综合评估信息价值。该方法能最大限度减少陈旧、无信息量或不可用信息的传输，从而降低需传输和处理的数据总量。最终在保证信息传递质量的前提下，实现了网络能耗与数据交换量的大幅降低——相较于现有最优方案，能量补给需求最高可减少73%，传输需求也显著下降。