Next-generation networks explore the opportunistic assistance of airliner/high-altitude platforms (HAPs) in delivering high data rates for terrestrial networks to ensure consistent and reliable communication. When an airliner/HAP moves at very high speeds, its mobility has a substantial impact on ensuring seamless connectivity, stable signal strength, and reliable data transmission. Orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) modulation has been shown to provide notable improvement in performance when handling Doppler effects during high-mobility situations. This paper presents an OTFS-based airplane-aided next-generation networking system. In the proposed system, the airliner/HAPs are equipped with a planar antenna array that applies null steering beamforming (NSB) at the transmitter for communication with terrestrial users. A comprehensive performance comparison between OTFS and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is performed under varying airliner altitude, velocity, array dimension, and Rician factor conditions. The simulation results show that OTFS consistently outperforms OFDM, achieving a lower bit error rate (BER) and more stable performance across different airliner altitudes, velocities, array dimensions, and propagation environments.

翻译：下一代网络探索利用客机/高空平台（HAPs）的机遇性辅助，为地面网络提供高数据速率，以确保一致且可靠的通信。当客机/HAP以极高速度移动时，其移动性对确保无缝连接、稳定的信号强度和可靠的数据传输具有重大影响。正交时频空间（OTFS）调制已被证明在处理高移动性场景中的多普勒效应时能显著提升性能。本文提出了一种基于OTFS的飞机辅助下一代网络系统。在所提系统中，客机/HAP配备平面天线阵列，该阵列在发射端采用零陷导引波束成形（NSB）技术与地面用户进行通信。在变化的客机高度、速度、阵列尺寸和莱斯因子条件下，对OTFS与正交频分复用（OFDM）进行了全面的性能比较。仿真结果表明，OTFS在不同客机高度、速度、阵列尺寸和传播环境下均持续优于OFDM，实现了更低的误码率（BER）和更稳定的性能。