Extending communication range with 5G NR multi-hop UE-to-UE relays

Published

January 1, 2026

Author(s)

Samantha Gamboa Quintiliani, Thomas Henderson, Wesley Garey, Chunmei Liu, Richard Rouil

Abstract

This paper describes how fifth-generation (5G) New Radio (NR) sidelink (SL) multi-hop UE-to-UE (U2U) relays can extend communication range in off-network scenarios. We study the operation and effectiveness of such relays with a focus on the key challenges introduced by SL's distributed resource allocation (Mode 2) in multi-hop topologies, particularly when semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) is used. In our study, we show how intra-path interference and half-duplex constraints impact communication performance. This evaluation is performed by analyzing the system-level simulation results of a tactical scenario with mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT) traffic. Furthermore, the insights we gain from our evaluation include the identification of key configuration parameters as well as their impact on application performance and achievable communication range.

Proceedings Title

IEEE Military Communications Conference

Conference Dates

October 6-10, 2025

Conference Location

Los Angeles, CA, US

Pub Type

Conferences

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1109/MILCOM64451.2025.11310034

Local Download

Keywords

New Radio (NR), Sidelink (SL), Proximity Services (ProSe), multi-hop UE-to-UE (U2E) relay

Citation

Gamboa Quintiliani, S. , Henderson, T. , Garey, W. , Liu, C. and Rouil, R. (2026), Extending communication range with 5G NR multi-hop UE-to-UE relays, IEEE Military Communications Conference, Los Angeles, CA, US, [online], https://doi.org/10.1109/MILCOM64451.2025.11310034, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=959978 (Accessed February 14, 2026)