Despite immense progress along different tracks, wireless connectivity for machine applications in remote areas is still very challenging. To address this vital need, in this article, we discuss and advocate the convergence between low-pow-er wide area network (LPWAN) grade massive machine-type communication (mMTC) wireless technologies and satellite (especially low Earth orbit, LEO) systems. In the article, we discuss the alternative implementation approaches allowing such convergence and highlight some of their pros, cons, and challenges. Furthermore, we obtain more in-depth insight into the matter by simulating and analyzing the LoRaWAN LPWAN sensors' performance served by a LEO satellite-based gateway. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of such a system and illustrate some of the relevant trade-offs between the network configurations and communication performance. These results motivate us to take a more profound look at such systems and the challenges they introduce. We highlight some of them and the potential directions for further studies in the final sections.

中文翻译：

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面向偏远地区的大规模机器型通信和卫星集成

尽管在不同的轨道上取得了巨大进展，但偏远地区机器应用的无线连接仍然非常具有挑战性。为了满足这一至关重要的需求，在本文中，我们讨论并倡导低功率广域网 (LPWAN) 级大规模机器类型通信 (mMTC) 无线技术与卫星（尤其是低地球轨道，LEO）系统之间的融合. 在本文中，我们讨论了允许这种融合的替代实施方法，并强调了它们的一些优点、缺点和挑战。此外，我们通过模拟和分析由基于 LEO 卫星的网关服务的 LoRaWAN LPWAN 传感器的性能，获得了对该问题的更深入了解。我们的结果证明了这种系统的可行性，并说明了网络配置和通信性能之间的一些相关权衡。这些结果促使我们更深入地研究此类系统及其带来的挑战。我们在最后几节重点介绍了其中的一些以及进一步研究的潜在方向。