The future of communication in "no man's land" depends on them! Satellite Internet accelerates the arrival of 6G

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In sparsely populated deserts and Gobi, in disaster areas where communication base stations have been destroyed by earthquakes and other disasters, in mountainous areas where base station signals are weak... 4G and 5G network coverage is difficult to reach, and satellite Internet will play a role, allowing more people in such environments to communicate with the outside world conveniently and economically.

On October 28, the my country Satellite Application Conference and China International Satellite Application Technology and Equipment Exhibition, the most popular and largest event in the field of satellite applications in China, was held in Beijing. The reporter learned from the preparatory meeting of the Satellite Internet Branch of the China High-Tech Industrialization Research Association that as the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain work together to develop low-orbit satellite communication technology and promote the implementation of the satellite Internet industry, 6G communication under the "5G+satellite network" model is expected to be accelerated in China. In the near future, in sparsely populated areas without base station signal coverage, off-road enthusiasts and small and medium-sized enterprises will also be able to use satellite communication terminals within tens of thousands of yuan.

"Convenient and fast Internet communications are only fully covered in cities and places with high population density. At present, 70 to 80 percent of the country's land area does not have good network coverage or even no network coverage. After the 5G era, it will definitely be an era in which satellite communications and ground communications will work together to meet human communication needs. We are making every effort to welcome the arrival of this era." said Ji Wentao, Secretary-General of the Satellite Internet Branch of the China High-Tech Industrialization Research Association and Chairman of Ruosen Intelligent.

At present, many countries have begun research on 6G communications, but the specific standards have not yet been finalized. Some industry experts believe that the next generation of 6G communications will achieve global coverage through the "5G + satellite network" model that integrates satellite networks on the basis of 5G, and is expected to be commercialized in 2025.

Take the low-orbit constellation handheld satellite Internet terminal concept machine released at the Satellite Application Conference as an example. Its volume is only equivalent to the volume of an ordinary 14-inch laptop after unfolding, and the price does not exceed US$1,000. In the past, satellite communication terminal equipment often cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, which was only affordable by government departments and large enterprises. Small businesses and individuals still found it difficult to use satellite Internet for communication. As the cost of satellite Internet terminals decreases and their size gradually shrinks, the market vacuum of handheld satellite Internet terminals for ordinary consumers will be gradually filled.

Satellite Internet refers to the Internet based on satellite communications. In April 2020, the country officially included satellite Internet in the scope of new infrastructure, marking that satellite Internet construction has become a national strategic project.

On the 28th, the Satellite Internet Branch of the China High-Tech Industrialization Research Association was established in Beijing. In the future, it will work with authoritative experts and scholars in the satellite communications industry and upstream and downstream enterprises in the industry chain to promote the academic advancement and industrialization of communication satellite Internet. The reporter noted that its initiators are composed of important institutions in the fields of satellite development, satellite launch, satellite operation, terminal development, system application, and standard setting, including both "national teams" and excellent private enterprises that have entered the commercial aerospace industry in recent years.

Liang Xiaohong, executive vice president of the China High-Tech Industrialization Research Association, believes that with the acceleration of the global satellite Internet layout of the "Starlink Project" of the US Space Exploration Company led by Musk, it has become an inevitable strategic choice for China's communications industry and the entire country to "occupy a space position" as soon as possible. After the establishment of the Satellite Internet Branch of the China High-Tech Industrialization Research Association, it will focus on satellite Internet, an important future technology and industrial highland, promote the development of my country's satellite Internet industry, and occupy a place in the new round of space resource competition.