6G Non-Terrestrial Networks-Enhanced IoT Service Coverage: Injecting New Vitality into Ecological Surveillance

Diverse Internet of Things (IoT) devices strategically deployed in remote geographical areas, spanning remote lands and offshore locations, play a crucial role in environmental surveillance. The inherent limitations in terrestrial network accessibility have necessitated the integration of these devices with satellites in 6G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs), offering unparalleled flexibility and affordability through extensive coverage and robust connectivity. However, challenges such as constrained timeliness and data processing errors have posed significant obstacles to the efficacy and reliability of NTN-enabled IoT service coverage. In this article, we propose two innovative IoT service coverage approaches: the satellite-assisted manner (SAM) and the satellite-dedicated manner (SDM), to enhance IoT service coverage through IoT data acquisition and IoT-based remote sensing, respectively. Leveraging these approaches, we present a pioneering NTN-enabled surveillance architecture to facilitate efficient ecological data collection, processing, and transmission by coordinating networked communication, perception, and computing functions. Specifically, we introduce a novel multi-dimensional IoT service coverage pattern by designing three service modes—Mode C, Mode T, and Mode P—to flexibly switch, match, and collaborate, catering to specific ecological service requirements. Finally, simulation results validate that IoT service coverage can be significantly improved by 9.99% compared to the typical existing NTN IoT service pattern.