"Crossing the river by touching Huawei" Major mobile phone manufacturers are aiming at the field of satellite communications
Satellite communications are becoming the primary battlefield targeted by major mobile phone manufacturers.
Recently, mobile phone brands including OPPO, Honor, Meizu, Xiaomi, etc. have reported the layout of satellite communications, among which OPPO announced that it will release satellite antenna pattern control technology to achieve handset/hands-free dual-mode satellite call experience for the next generation of flagships, and Honor is equipped with Hongyan satellite communication technology on the Magic6 series. From the perspective of industry trends, Xiangcai Securities expects that from the second half of 2023, more mobile phone manufacturers will launch mobile phones that support satellite communications, and satellite communication technology may usher in a climax of development.
Respond positively to the policy
Huawei takes the lead in "breaking the sky"
As we all know, compared with the mainstream means of communication, satellite communication is off the ground, less affected by terrain, moving speed, natural disasters and other factors, although the long-distance transmission signal attenuation is larger, but its advantage is reflected in the ability to achieve a maximum communication distance of 18100km, large coverage, so it has an important role in disaster emergency communication, military defense. At the same time, satellite communication is also one of the important application scenarios of commercial aerospace.
In recent years, a number of favorable policies have boosted the development of the satellite communication industry in mainland China. In November 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Information and Communication Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), which proposes that the mainland will accelerate the deployment of satellite communications during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. On November 20, 2023, Shanghai issued the Action Plan for Promoting Commercial Aerospace Development (000547) and Building a Highland for the Spatial Information Industry (2023-2025). The plan proposes to promote the direct connection of mobile phones to satellite networks, continue to promote technical tests such as direct connection of mobile phones, accelerate the deployment of satellite Internet landing operation services, and break through the bottlenecks of mobile phone direct connection to satellites in terms of frequency resources, link budget, data rate and service experience.
On December 30, 2023, the mainland successfully launched a satellite Internet technology test satellite, which is an important step forward in the field of satellite Internet for China. It means that the mainland's technical strength in the fields of satellite communication, remote sensing and navigation has been further improved, and it is expected to achieve seamless communication on a global scale, and at the same time, the industrial chain has also ushered in new development opportunities.
From the "14th Five-Year Plan" period in 2021 to accelerate the deployment of satellite communications, to the successful launch of satellite Internet technology test satellites in 2023, it is foreseeable that the application demand for satellite communications may usher in explosive growth in the future.
In September 2022, Huawei launched its flagship Mate50 series, becoming the first smartphone on the market to support Beidou satellite messaging, which allows users to send SMS messages without a terrestrial network, and in early 2023, Huawei implemented two-way satellite communication on the P60 series, supporting the sending and receiving of SMS, significantly upgrading the first-generation technology.
At the end of August 2023, Huawei released the world's first mass smartphone that supports satellite calls, the Huawei Mate60 Pro, which allows users to make and receive satellite calls through Tiantong satellites, whether they are in remote mountain villages, Gobi, wilderness, or open seas, and can also generate trajectory maps based on positioning information, so as to keep in touch with the outside world at all times. In addition, Huawei has also added a "strong reminder" function to ensure that every satellite message can be conveyed instantly without being missed, which is crucial for users in extreme environments.
With the tremendous breakthrough in satellite communication technology, Huawei has not only led a new wave in the terminal communication industry, but also successfully created an industry-leading "cross-generation" advantage. This previously unattainable satellite communication technology will bring tangible changes to people in emergency response, scientific research, and mountaineering expeditions.
Behind the "touching Huawei across the river".
It is the technology that overcomes difficulties
Behind the rise of the industry's "satellite fever" is the wave after wave of competition between mobile phone manufacturers in following up satellite communication technology. While domestic manufacturers are "touching Huawei to cross the river one after another" and promote terminal products to accelerate the embrace of satellite communication technology, Huawei's "far ahead" in the field of satellite communication has once again sparked discussions.
The reason why satellite communication technology has been difficult to enter the homes of ordinary people is that it involves many challenges and problems. For example, how to realize the miniaturization of satellite antennas, how to integrate satellite communication modules on baseband chips, how to solve the energy consumption problem of satellite call function, how to ensure the stability and security of satellite call function, and so on. In order to realize the function of direct connection of mobile phones to satellite calls, Li Yihuan, deputy general manager of China Satcom Group Corporation, has also consulted a number of authoritative experts in the industry, and the answer is impossible - because to establish a communication connection with orbital satellites 36,000 kilometers away, the requirements for antennas and transmitting power are higher, and the technical difficulty is greater.
And Huawei rose to the challenge and took the lead in being a crab eater. In September 2023, the Huawei Mate60 Pro was released, breaking through the major difficulties of satellite communication technology, realizing ultra-long-distance communication RF links, and finally connecting to the Tiantong-1 satellite mobile communication system, allowing holders to make and receive satellite calls even when there is no ground signal. In terms of portability, it has replaced the long antenna of traditional satellite phones and achieved the miniaturization of high-performance antennas in the thin and light body of smartphones, which is a remarkable achievement.
Huawei's confidence comes from years of continuous technology exploration and R&D capabilities.
It is reported that as early as 2020, Huawei set up a satellite communication team. In order to ensure the stability of the "Beidou Satellite Message" in multiple scenarios and regions, 18 months of field tests were carried out in outdoor scenarios such as uninhabited areas, and finally the BeiDou Satellite Message was successfully implemented into commercial products.
In order to improve the coverage of Tiantong's satellite signals and further optimize the user experience, Huawei's R&D team spent more than 60 days scanning and testing 100+ cities on the entire network, solving 1,000+ technical bugs, and optimizing satellite signals in 30+ cities without network scanning, ultimately ensuring 100% signal coverage of the entire network, clearing network blind spots, and greatly improving the success rate of network access and calls.
Turbulence test at sea
These forward-looking efforts demonstrate Huawei's strength and innovation capabilities as a technology giant, and also lay a solid foundation for other mobile phone manufacturers to deploy and follow up on satellite communication technology, and ultimately provide a good technical model for other manufacturers in the industry to help popularize satellite communications.
The industry's first five-star rating for comprehensive evaluation
Huawei is committed to creating an all-ecosystem satellite communications experience
Recently, the Huawei Mate60 RS Extreme Master and Mate60 Pro+ have become the first public smartphones in the industry to obtain the double five-star certification of Tiantong and Beidou satellite communication performance.
The test covers five dimensions: OTA, satellite voice call quality, latency test, service success rate, and user experience enhancement. The results show that the Huawei Mate60 RS Extreme Master and Mate60 Pro+ both achieved perfect scores in terms of business success rate and enhanced user experience.
As the world's first mass smartphone to support dual satellite communication, the Huawei Mate60 RS Titu Master and Mate60 Pro+ support the connection of two different satellite systems, Tiantong and Beidou, in the field of satellite communication, and can communicate with the outside world through multiple satellite systems when there is no terrestrial network, providing users with more layers of protection in emergency satellite communication scenarios.
In addition, Huawei has always been one step ahead of others in the advanced layout of satellite communications. At present, in addition to the Huawei Mate60 series, satellite communication capabilities have been implemented on more than 10 products such as Huawei P series, folding screens, nova series, tablets, and watches, covering mid-to-high-end mobile phones and full-scene ecological products in multiple industries.
Huawei is committed to creating an all-ecosystem satellite communication experience for users, allowing more people to enjoy the dividends of technological development, paving a path to success for the industry in terms of industrial layout and promoting the popularization of satellite communication technology, and making great contributions to the development of satellite communication technology in China and around the world.
Edited by Meng Jintao
National Business Daily