Feeder Communication for Integrated Networks

The integrated communication system has received increasing attention to establish a fully connected world in the eras of beyond fifth generation wireless communication and sixth generation wireless communication systems, where a wide range of services with distinct requirements needs to be accommodated, covering distinct scenarios such as terrestrial, ocean, outer space, and underwater. In this article, we first propose the idea of feeder communication, which aims to provide truly seamless and ubiquitous on-demand coverage for any human activity. Compared to the traditional integrated networks, feeder communication focuses on reliable data transmission over multiple propagation media such as outer space, stratosphere, troposphere, and underwater. Due to the significant differences of radio propagation characteristics in different media, feeder communication requires a large number of feeder nodes for inter-medium transmissions, a well-designed network structure, and intelligent wireless transmission and control schemes. The basic concepts, features, application scenarios, network architecture, and the corresponding wireless transmission technologies of feeder communication are presented in detail, and challenges and future directions are also pointed out in this article.