6G-Enabled NB-IoT Framework for Satellite-Integrated Industrial IoT
C. Rajabhushanam *
Department of Computer Science Engineering, Bharath Institute of Science & Technology, Bharath Institute of Higher Education & Research, Chennai, Tamilnadu-600073, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study develops a 6G-enabled NB-IoT framework for satellite-integrated Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applications, with emphasis on signal generation, routing, and cloud service enablement for device-centric industrial and smart-city environments. The proposed framework is aligned with the ISRO-RESPOND Basket 2024 requirements for NB-IoT in satellite communication and considers IEEE 802.15.4-based wireless sensor networking, 3GPP-oriented cellular access, and edge-cloud platform services. The manuscript presents a conceptual architecture in which wireless sensor nodes, relay links, base station interfaces, and cloud resources support producer-consumer data flows between device, machine, and application layers. At the physical layer, the study discusses SC-FDMA uplink and OFDMA downlink operation, pulse-shaping, cyclic-prefix use, sub-carrier mapping, and RF power-amplifier design to minimise peak-to-average power ratio and intersymbol interference. The proposed use of a Zener-diode-assisted RF power-amplifier circuit is positioned as a mechanism for maintaining voltage stability and supporting energy-aware transmission in narrowband channels. At the networking layer, the framework incorporates TCP/IP encapsulation, link-state routing, BGP, OSPF, RIP, ZRP, VLAN/WLAN/PAN connectivity, and packet retransmission logic to support end-to-end data transport. The service layer maps NB-IoT and wireless-sensor data flows to cloud and edge orchestration for fire services, waste management, transport, street lighting, emergency medical services, and smart-meter applications. It also organises assumptions on topology, data acquisition, quality of experience, and routing resilience for later technical evaluation. The chapter therefore provides an integrated design-oriented description of a satellite-assisted NB-IoT/IIoT framework that combines waveform considerations, routing procedures, data acquisition, and cloud-based service access. The work is primarily architectural and is intended to inform subsequent simulation, implementation, and validation.
Keywords: 6G, NB-IoT, satellite communication, industrial internet of things, wireless sensor networks, edge-cloud orchestration, smart city