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：由于正在进行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。为了使涉及的卫星通信尽可能高效，应采用相应技术手段。多连接技术允许用户同时与多个下一代节点B建立连接，正是这样一种技术。然而，该技术在卫星环境中的研究尚不充分。本文提出了一种针对无线条件最差用户的动态多连接激活算法，该算法可在必要时通过停用部分用户的多连接功能，优先保障条件更差用户的通信需求。基于包含地面网络和透明转发低轨卫星的5G非地面网络系统级分组仿真器评估表明，该算法性能优于基准算法。与关闭多连接功能相比，采用该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%。