Ground segment: gateways, PoPs, interconnection to 5GC

Ground Segment Components

The ground segment is the terrestrial infrastructure that makes satellite connectivity usable. It consists of three main elements: gateway earth stations that terminate feeder links from satellites, points of presence that provide peering and interconnection with terrestrial networks, and the network operations center that manages constellation health and traffic. Gateway earth stations typically house multiple tracking antennas under protective radomes, each following a different satellite across the sky. As one satellite sets below the minimum elevation angle, traffic seamlessly transfers…