Data-Oriented NOMA for Semi-Grant-Free Hybrid Satellite Terrestrial Networks

Satellite networks have become central to the evolution of modern communications systems due to their potential for extensive global coverage. However, high latency in satellite systems poses critical challenges for delay-sensitive applications, underscoring the need for performance metrics that characterize ultra-reliable low-latency communications. To address these challenges, data-oriented approach, which is already widely studied in terrestrial networks, provides a fresh perspective by evaluating the transmission performance where it prioritizes both reliability and latency. This work introduces the data-oriented approach to uplink hybrid satellite-terrestrial networks (HSTNs), focusing on non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA)-assisted semi-grant-free (SGF) transmission where terrestrial relays support the transmission between the satellite and users. Specifically, a novel grant-free user (GFU) admission protocol based on distributed contention control, the corresponding power allocation scheme for GFUs, and the relay selection procedure presented following the data-oriented approach. Then, the maximum number of GFUs that can be admitted under given data-oriented design requirements is determined. The analytical results are verified by extensive Monte-Carlo simulations, while a wide body of numerical results are also offered to understand and demonstrate the impacts of different system parameters. The proposed analytical framework offers useful insights toward the design of practical HSTNs, particularly in the context of delay-sensitive applications, by revealing the relationship between the amount of information data, the power consumption, and the satellite distance. The results demonstrate that the proposed scheme improves the DOR performance compared to conventional grant-free access and frequency division multiple access methods by dynamically selecting GFUs and allocating transmit power based on channel conditions. It is also shown that more GFUs can be admitted, especially with larger bandwidths and/or relaxed threshold settings.