AccelerComm® announces 5G NR NTN Physical Layer Solution that delivers over 6Gbps, 128 beams and 4,096 user connections per chipset

AccelerComm's innovative use of vector processing cores for signal processing moves 5G satellite beyond proof-of-concept stage delivering 30X performance improvement over single chip integrated solution, with roadmap to scale to 400X.

Southampton, UK - February 18, 2025 – AccelerComm, the leading provider of high-performance, error-resilient physical layer solutions for 5G and beyond, today announced the latest release of its 5G NR NTN physical layer solution, designed to deliver up to 6Gbps and supporting 128 beams and 4,096 users per chipset for LEO satellites. The solution represents a 30x increase in performance compared to the previous generation, with a roadmap to increase this by more than 400x.

Each LEO satellite can contain multiple chipsets to scale for commercial constellations, allowing performance in excess of 20Gbps and 500 beams and the solution can also be deployed on MEO or GEO constellations. The new solution builds on the success of the company’s NTN single chip integrated solution unveiled last year for proof of concept and trial projects, which was selected by Lockheed Martin for its regenerative 5G.MIL project and is set to be the first 5G base station in space.

The solution focuses on the specific requirements of commercial NTN constellations using a regenerative architecture. Key to delivering this leap forward in performance levels within the tight power constraints of satellite payloads is the innovative use of vector processing cores for signal processing, such as the AI Engines on the AMD Versal™ devices. AccelerComm has achieved more efficient processing using these cores than is typically achieved with industry-standard processor cores.

Designed from the ground up to be portable, the solution can utilise a range of silicon platforms from other vendors that meet the highly challenging requirements of the space environment. The new solution is initially available on the AMD Versal series of Space Hardened embedded devices.

“The mobile industry is embracing NTN as a critical component of its network offerings, delivering huge amounts of additional coverage that complements existing terrestrial networks, with high profile demonstrations and proof of concepts,” said Rob Maunder, CTO and Founder of AccelerComm. “The next stage of 5G satellite will see the industry build on this early work to deliver these services at scale with high performance.

“Through our innovative algorithms and architecture using AMD’s Versal AI chip and the vector processing of its AI Engines, we have managed to supercharge the performance of space-based 5G NR modems. We are now primed to deliver a commercial solution, deployable on space-hardened hardware that delivers a leap forward in capacity.”

The new generation solution complements AccelerComm’s extensive portfolio of 5G Physical Layer IP, including its flexible and high-performance LDPC channel coding accelerators. These solutions deliver performance beyond typical 3GPP LDPC decoders, offering robust support for custom-standard FEC implementations across ASIC and FPGA platforms, making them ideal for diverse network applications.

Commenting on the launch of AccelerComm’s new solution, ABI Research’s Vice-President, Jake Saunders said: “There is growing industry consensus that regenerative payloads are the solution to unlock the potential power of 5G NTN, delivering improved latency through reductions in round-trip time (RTT) as well as store-and-forward functionality. AccelerComm’s solution shows how the challenge of these architectures can already be met today, resulting in an accelerated standards-based approach to the commercialization of space-based communications and 5G compliant NR-NTN. We anticipate rapid growth in this sector with the number of 3GPP NTN Direct to Cellular and IOT connections growing to 39.4 million by 2030.”

AccelerComm will be demonstrating this new version of its 5G NR NTN physical layer solution at MWC 2025 (Barcelona, 3-8 March) and Satellite 2025 (10-13 March, Washington DC) for further details and to book meetings visit https://www.accelercomm.com/mwc-satellite-show-2025