HAPS for 6G Networks: Potential Use Cases, Open Challenges, and Possible Solutions

High altitude platform station (HAPS), which is deployed in the stratosphere at an altitude of 20-50 kilometres, has attracted much attention in recent years due to their large footprint, line-of-sight links, and fixed position relative to the Earth. Compared with existing network infrastructure, HAPS has a much larger coverage area than terrestrial base stations and is much closer than satellites to the ground users. Besides small-cells and macrocelis, a HAPS can offer one mega-cell, which can complement legacy networks in 6G and beyond wireless systems. This article explores potential use cases and discusses relevant open challenges of integrating HAPS into legacy networks, while also suggesting some solutions to these challenges. The cumulative density functions of spectral efficiency of the integrated network and cell-edge users are studied and compared with terrestrial networks. The results show the capacity gains achieved by the integrated network are beneficial to cell-edge users. Furthermore, the advantages of a HAPS for backhauling aerial base stations are demonstrated by the simulation results.