The stratosphere is a deal because it is really high up. Airbus SpaceRAN is going to make a difference in how we use the internet and our phones.

• ✸ It will help us get signals
• ✸ It will help us get internet

This is all because of Airbus SpaceRAN. What it can do. Airbus SpaceRAN is taking 5G to the stratosphere. That is really exciting. Airbus SpaceRAN is the key to making this happen. The stratosphere is where Airbus SpaceRAN will be working its magic. This is a step, for Airbus SpaceRAN and for all of us who use 5G. Airbus SpaceRAN is going to change the way we think about the internet and our phones.

Being offline is a strange feeling it is like you are not a part of the world anymore. There are a lot of places on earth, like oceans and deserts and mountains where you just cannot get a good internet connection. This is because the regular 5G internet that we use needs big metal towers to work. If you do not have one of these towers around then you will not have any internet signal. The 5G internet needs these metal towers to be stuck in the ground to work properly. If the 5G internet towers are not there then the 5G will not work.

Airbus is doing something different. They have this thing called UpNext SpaceRAN. It is like moving the control tower up into the air. This UpNext SpaceRAN thing, from Airbus is really changing things. Airbus is taking the control tower. Putting it in the sky with UpNext SpaceRAN.

How SpaceRAN Works

To get the "Magic" we need to look at the "Logic". So when you use your phone it talks to a Base Station that's usually, on a big tower. What Airbus is doing is basically taking that Base Station. Putting it on a really high platform.

1. Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN)

SpaceRAN uses something called Non-Terrestrial Networks. So it does not need cables and poles like we normally see. SpaceRAN uses High-Altitude Platform Stations which're like big machines that fly really high in the air. For example it can use the Zephyr aircraft, which gets its power from the sun. It can also use Low Earth Orbit satellites. These things are like cell towers. They float in the air really high, above the earth about 20 kilometers up. SpaceRAN. Non-Terrestrial Networks are really interesting because they can send signals from these high places.

2. No Specialized Hardware Required

The thing that is really smart about the Logic is that you do not need a big and heavy satellite phone with a huge antenna. Airbus is trying out this technology so it works with 5G smartphones that people use every day. The Logic uses techniques like Beamforming and it follows the 3GPP software standards so the signal that comes from high up in the air in the stratosphere is kind of fooled into thinking it is actually coming from a regular phone tower that is just nearby maybe just down the street, from where you are. The Logic and the way it uses Beamforming is really important here.

3. Solar-Powered Persistence

The Zephyr aircraft that they used for these tests can stay up in the air for months at a time. It gets all its power, from the sun. This means the Zephyr aircraft can make a network that is always working. The Zephyr aircraft does not need to use the power from the power grid to stay working.

A World Without Borders

When we move from the side of things to how people really experience it the results are really amazing. This is because the human experience is what the technical logic is about. The technical logic is meant to make the human experience better. So when we focus on the experience we get results that are really special, like the human experience and the technical logic are working together in a great way and that is really cool.

◉ Connectivity for the people who do not have it: Imagine a village in the countryside or a research place in the Arctic getting the same super fast internet as a big technology center in London. SpaceRAN makes this happen and helps the people who did not have internet before it makes sure everyone has the same good internet. SpaceRAN is, like a bridge that connects people who have internet to the people who do not have it and it does this very quickly.

◉ In-Flight Connectivity: We do not have to pay a lot of money for internet on planes anymore. Now we have Space-based 5G. This means our phone still works when we are on a plane even when it is really high up like 35,000 feet. This makes being on a plane feel like being, in our office with Space-based 5G. We can use our phone with Space-based 5G. It feels normal.

◉ The Ultimate Safety Net: During natural disasters—floods, earthquakes, or tsunamis—ground-based towers are often the first things to fail. SpaceRAN provides a "guardian signal" from above that cannot be knocked down by the elements, ensuring emergency services stay connected when it matters most.