Roles of Artificial Intelligence in Non-Terrestrial Network Communication Management
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This paper examines the roles of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in managing communication operations within Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs). A review research method was adopted to examine recent studies on AI applications in satellite and integrated NTN communication systems. The review focused on eight major roles: satellite handover optimisation, beam steering management, traffic routing, link quality adaptation, predictive maintenance, spectrum management, energy optimisation, and security monitoring. The reviewed studies indicate that AI can improve network adaptability by enabling predictive decision-making, intelligent resource allocation, dynamic routing, and automated network optimisation. AI also contributes to improved communication reliability, energy efficiency, interference management, satellite health monitoring, and protection against communication threats. Furthermore, AI enables NTN systems to respond intelligently to changing user demands, satellite mobility, traffic conditions, and communication link variations. The integration of machine learning and deep learning can reduce dependence on fixed network configurations and support more autonomous communication management. These capabilities are particularly important for future 5G and 6G NTN systems that require scalable, reliable, and efficient network operations across heterogeneous environments. The study concludes that AI provides an important foundation for developing more autonomous, efficient, reliable, secure, and adaptive NTN communication management systems.
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