Deny 5G and believe in Starlink? IQ is a good thing

Not long ago, a foreign artist "made" a Tesla mobile phone, which caused heated discussions on the Internet.

Among them, when the artist introduced the mobile phone, he stated that the mobile phone can be directly connected to Starlink and can access the Internet without the support of the operator's cellular network.

Tesla phone made by artist

After being carried by domestic self-media, it was directly mentioned that "the network speed is as high as 210Mbps; and it also supports the use of Starlink satellite communication technology to access the Internet, without the need for SIM cards and signal base stations."

After seeing this, many netizens developed a blind admiration for Starlink, and even more netizens launched a fierce attack on the construction of 5G in China. "5G is not the future, Starlink is", "5G is a waste of money and labor, Starlink is much more advanced than 5G" and other such remarks are endless.

From a purely technical perspective, we can clearly see that both domestic 5G construction and Starlink satellite communication technology are developed based on the characteristics of their own countries.

Low-orbit satellites cover different latitudes of the earth

First, let me look at the Starlink satellite communication system. Simply put, Starlink is a network connection method that provides data transmission services to ground receiving terminals through satellites covering low-orbit satellites in outer space, satellites transmitting data to ground base stations and satellites. Specifically, when it comes to Internet access, what paths does the data take?

Taking watching videos as an example, I visit a video website. The need to visit the video website is transmitted through the satellite transmitting terminal in my home to send a signal to the satellite. The satellite sends this data to other satellites. Finally, the satellite closest to the ground receiving base station sends the data to the base station. After the ground base station receives the data, it is connected to the data center of the video website via optical fiber.

Starlink user receiving terminal

It can be seen that the transmission of a piece of data has gone through multiple transmissions, so its delay is definitely very high. It is okay to watch videos and browse web pages, but applications such as games that have relatively high requirements for delay are not suitable for surfing the Internet through Starlink. The data measured by foreign netizens is also the same. The average Internet speed can reach the level of 100M broadband at home, but the delay is generally between 50ms and 100ms, and sometimes the delay will be more than 100ms.

Why did Starlink come into being? This is determined by the actual situation in the United States. Since the United States has a vast territory and a sparse population, telecom operators are private enterprises and will only carry out network construction for large towns with large crowds. Moreover, since the construction of fiber-optic networks requires the complete replacement of the original copper telephone lines, the construction volume is large and the cost is high, so many places do not have high-speed broadband coverage. Not to mention remote areas, the large farms that everyone sees in American TV series are still using telephone lines to access the Internet, and even using 4G networks, and there will be no high-speed fiber-optic broadband coverage, which is not in the economic interests of operators.

The satellite receiving terminal is connected to the router via an Ethernet cable

However, if satellites are used to provide high-speed Internet, it becomes very simple, and operators no longer need to lay fiber-optic broadband over long distances. Users only need to spend $499 to buy Starlink's receiver and router to enjoy 100M broadband.

Seeing this, some netizens may wonder why 100 Mbps is considered high-speed broadband in the United States? In our villages, it is 100 Mbps, and in cities, it is 300 Mbps, 500 Mbps, or even 1,000 Mbps. Even 5G network speeds are usually between 100 Mbps and 300 Mbps. Yes, you read it right. High-speed broadband only exists in some areas of large cities in the United States, and remote areas do not have such fast Internet.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of now, China has built 1.396 million 5G base stations, accounting for more than 70% of the global 5G base stations. 5G base stations have brought about information highways, but many friends always say that "it feels not much different from 4G", "5G signals are not as good as 4G, and it consumes more power", etc. In fact, for individual users, 5G provides a soil for innovation, and its more applications are in industry users.

5G autonomous harvester

For example, in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, because 5G base stations have been built, herders can use drones connected to the 5G network to remotely herd yaks. In the southeast coast, because 5G base stations have been built at the seaside, farmers can use 5G network connections to check the status of each breeding cage. If there is a lack of oxygen or other conditions, an alarm will be issued in real time through the farmer's mobile phone.

Not to mention that 5G has helped my country's ports such as Qingdao Port and Yangshan Port to realize automatic container handling; in mines, 5G has realized unmanned underground operations. Workers in clean and bright offices use 5G network to control equipment to remotely mine coal, and large trucks transporting coal are also unmanned through 5G networks, which improves efficiency and ensures safety.

5G Smart Port

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also mentioned in its 2022 plan that it will do a good job in expanding the application of "5G + Industrial Internet", "steadily and orderly carry out the construction of 5G and gigabit optical networks, accelerate the large-scale construction of 5G industry virtual private networks, lay a solid foundation for network infrastructure for digital transformation, focus on key industries such as manufacturing, mining, and electricity, and deeply explore typical application scenarios of "5G + Industrial Internet".

It can be seen from this that 5G not only makes personal Internet access faster, but is also an important infrastructure to promote national economic development.

Therefore, 5G and Starlink are not mutually exclusive, but are determined by their respective national conditions. There is no need to blindly praise Starlink, as it cannot be applied in the above industries. At the same time, my country is also developing satellite Internet, mainly to provide communication guarantee and network services for remote areas, outposts, scientific research, and ocean shipping. I have covered everything that should be covered, with 5G and optical fiber. I use satellites in places where there are few people or no people. This is our strategy.