Due to the ongoing standardization and deployment activities, satellite networks will be supplementing the 5G and beyond Terrestrial Networks (TNs). For the satellite communications involved to be as efficient as possible, techniques to achieve that should be used. Multi-Connectivity (MC), in which a user can be connected to multiple Next Generation Node Bs simultaneously, is one such technique. However, the technique is not well-researched in the satellite environment. In this paper, an algorithm to activate MC for users in the weakest radio conditions is introduced. The algorithm operates dynamically, considering deactivation of MC to prioritize users in weaker conditions when necessary. The algorithm is evaluated with a packet-level 5G non-terrestrial network system simulator in a scenario that consists of a TN and transparent payload low earth orbit satellite. The algorithm outperforms the benchmark algorithms. The usage of MC with the algorithm increases the mean throughput of the users by 20.3% and the 5th percentile throughput by 83.5% compared to when MC is turned off.

翻译：鉴于正在进行中的标准化和部署活动，卫星网络将补充5G及未来的地面网络。为了使卫星通信尽可能高效，应采用相应的技术手段。多连接技术——即用户可同时连接至多个下一代基站——正是其中一种方法。然而，该技术在卫星环境中的研究尚不充分。本文提出了一种激活弱无线条件用户多连接的算法。该算法动态运行，在必要时可停用部分用户的多连接，以优先保障条件更差用户的连接需求。通过基于数据包的5G非地面网络系统仿真器，在含地面网络与透明转发低轨卫星的场景中对算法进行了评估。结果表明，该算法优于基准算法。与关闭多连接相比，采用本算法的多连接技术使用户平均吞吐量提升20.3%，第5百分位吞吐量提升83.5%。