BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) — In the remote and rugged Yulong Naxi Autonomous County of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, deploying land-based base stations used to be a difficult task. Local power grid personnel often faced unstable signals, slow internet speeds and poor connectivity. But these problems are now a thing of the past.
Electrical inspectors can now easily transmit video, instructions and other data in real time to a monitoring center 300 miles away, a technological advancement that comes from satellite Internet.
Not only in the mountains, but also at sea and in the air, people can now enjoy the pleasure of surfing the Internet thanks to satellite Internet. The industry is booming in China, often making headlines in the country with its progress, from the establishment of the first high-orbit satellite Internet to the launch of the first medium-Earth orbit communication satellite. In May, the space technology service was introduced and tested in Thailand, demonstrating its global potential.
Satellite Internet is a type of Internet connection that involves satellites in space acting as a base station on the ground. Each satellite can serve as a mobile base station, providing users around the world with convenient Internet access services.
Satellite communications were originally intended for transoceanic television broadcasting and long-distance telephone calls. But we have now entered the era of satellite Internet, where personal access to high-speed broadband is central, according to He Shanbao, a researcher at the University of Information Science and Technology in Beijing.
Current mobile Internet coverage covers only a small portion of the Earth’s surface. Internet access in deserts, oceans and jungles depends on satellite connections. In addition, during natural disasters, when ground-based base stations are damaged, satellite communications become especially crucial, said Yin Haoqiong, a senior researcher at China Satellite Communications Co., Ltd.
Satellite Internet continues to expand its application possibilities. Yin’s company, in collaboration with airlines, has launched a service that allows passengers to connect to in-flight Wi-Fi using their mobile phones or other devices and enjoy streaming videos, browsing the web and watching live sports events at speeds comparable to 4G.
Geespace, a technology company of Chinese automaker Geely, has launched the development of satellite Internet services for vehicles. With this technology, users can make calls via satellite and send and receive messages via the vehicle system when there is no terrestrial network. In addition, in the event of a collision, the vehicle can use satellite communication links to trigger emergency alarms and report its status.
In February, telecommunications giant China Mobile released a white paper highlighting the gradual integration of satellite Internet into various industries. On the one hand, the industry will promote technological advances in emergency rescue, ocean navigation and aircraft operations. On the other hand, it will create new application scenarios, including unmanned maritime and industrial operations.
For satellite Internet to be accessible to the masses, a direct connection between mobile phones and satellites is essential. In 2023, China Telecom pioneered the launch of a direct satellite service for mobile phones. Domestic smartphone brands such as Huawei, Honor, and OPPO have also launched new phone models with satellite calling functions.
China’s satellite Internet has also expanded its reach to the overseas market. In June, Chinese private company GalaxySpace and Thailand’s Mahanakorn University of Technology held a seminar in Bangkok, where they presented a real-time demonstration of satellite Internet applications. At the event, elderly people from a nursing home 160 km away participated in a live video call via satellite Internet with the seminar participants. The demonstration highlighted the strong supporting capabilities of satellite Internet in telemedicine scenarios.
Since 2020, the Chinese government has actively supported the satellite internet sector, integrating it into the national development infrastructure. Regions such as Beijing and Shanghai have implemented policies to support this booming sector.
In 2019, Elon Musk and SpaceX spearheaded the creation of high-speed satellite internet services. Many Chinese private companies, including satellite and rocket manufacturers, have actively invested in the sector since then. According to industry insiders’ estimates, the market size of China’s satellite internet is expected to reach 44.7 billion yuan (about 6.3 billion U.S. dollars) by 2025.
Liu Tun, a senior analyst at an institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said the involvement of the private sector “will not only boost economic growth but also help strengthen the country’s capacity for independent innovation in industry.” ■