The integration of satellite networks into next-generation mobile communication systems has gained considerable momentum with the advent of 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (5G-NTN). Since established technologies like DVB-S2/RCS2 are already widely used for satellite broadband, a detailed comparison with emerging 5G NTN solutions is necessary to understand their relative merits and guide deployment decisions. This paper presents a user-centric, end-to-end evaluation of these technologies under realistic traffic conditions, showing how differences in architecture and protocols impact application-layer performance. Utilizing the 6G Sandbox platform, we employ OpenAirInterface to emulate 5G NTN and OpenSAND for DVB-S2/RCS2, replicating transparent payload GEO satellite scenarios under uniform downlink conditions. A range of real-world applications, such as web browsing, file downloads, and video streaming, are tested across both systems and systematically analyzed. While the emulation lacks real-time capability, it reveals key strengths and limitations of each approach, helping identify suitable deployment scenarios for 5G NTN and DVB-S2/RCS2.

翻译：随着5G非地面网络（5G-NTN）的出现，卫星网络与下一代移动通信系统的融合已获得显著发展动力。鉴于DVB-S2/RCS2等成熟技术已广泛用于卫星宽带服务，有必要将其与新兴的5G NTN解决方案进行详细比较，以理解其相对优势并指导部署决策。本文在真实流量条件下对这两种技术进行了以用户为中心的端到端评估，揭示了架构与协议差异如何影响应用层性能。借助6G沙盒平台，我们采用OpenAirInterface仿真5G NTN，使用OpenSAND仿真DVB-S2/RCS2，在均匀下行链路条件下复现透明载荷地球静止轨道卫星场景。通过网页浏览、文件下载、视频流传输等一系列实际应用对两个系统进行测试与系统化分析。虽然仿真缺乏实时能力，但揭示了两种方法的核心优势与局限，有助于确定5G NTN与DVB-S2/RCS2各自适用的部署场景。