Integrated Navigation and Communication (INAC) Networks: A NOMA-RIS aided Approach.

As sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks evolve, satellite communication emerges as a compelling solution for offering global connectivity. To establish a cost-effective satellite infrastructure, this paper introduces an innovative integrated-navigation-and-communication (INAC) network, utilizing medium-earth-orbit (MEO) satellites. This network serves a dual role, offering both navigation and communication functionalities to ground users while effectively mitigating the considerable path loss issues commonly associated with MEO satellites. This is achieved through the utilization of non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) technologies. A closed-form equation is developed to describe new channel statistics and outage probabilities for INAC users. We evaluate navigation precision as a key metric for INAC networks. Our analysis indicates that an increase in the number of reconfigurable intelligent surface elements correlates with an enhancement in the channel capacity of the INAC network.