Since 2022, when the Huawei Mate 50 mobile phone first launched the Beidou satellite messaging function, Huawei has been continuously cultivating in the field of aerospace communications, and has steadily promoted the construction of satellite communications and networks with the original intention of the Internet of Everything.
Of course, Huawei is not satisfied with this, after all, the dream of the sea of stars is far from end, what Huawei wants, is to "pierce the sky" satellite communication technology, which includes satellite Internet function, so that users can directly connect to satellite Internet access without terrestrial network signal and Wi-Fi.
Recently, China Mobile used Huawei Mate 60 mobile phone as the terminal carrier to test the latest satellite Internet system, and successfully achieved a good result of 1Mbps uplink and 5Mbps downlink. In this test, the Huawei Mate 60 mobile phone does not rely on terrestrial mobile communication signals, and completely relies on the connection of low-orbit satellites to achieve high-speed data transmission and network browsing.
The "Xingyuan System" builds a network of heaven and earth
The satellite network used in the Huawei Mate 60 mobile phone is a spaceborne network system developed by China Mobile and industry partners, that is, the "Xingyuan System", which is reported to be used to provide on-orbit data forwarding services in on-board regeneration mode, relying on low-orbit satellites to realize the network interconnection between the ground and the space environment.
Considering the requirements of low cost and high reliability of network services, the spaceborne core network launched by China Mobile is designed entirely based on the SBA mechanism of the 5G core network, and adopts mature domestic industrial components and domestic Linux operating system, so in addition to being completely independent and controllable in core technology, the mobile spaceborne network is also fully adapted to the complex environment of space radiation, vacuum, and cold and hot crossing.
At present, China Mobile's spaceborne core network has completed environmental tests such as mechanics, high and low temperature, thermal vacuum, and electromagnetic compatibility, and has passed the performance test of the wireless environment, which has met the necessary on-orbit operating conditions.
In the applicability test, China Mobile, together with partners such as Huawei, Shanghai Weiwei, Aipulu, and Rongwei Technology, jointly built a network link from the test mobile phone to the spaceborne core network, verifying the applicability of LEO satellite communication in the transmission environment of high dynamic, large latency, narrow beam, and IP over CCSDS transmission.
The terminal equipment used in the test is a Huawei Mate 60 series mobile phone, with the blessing of the mobile spaceborne core communication network, this Huawei flagship mobile phone, in addition to supporting satellite calls, now also has the function of satellite Internet access.
In a complex test environment, the Internet speed of Huawei Mate 60 mobile phones is between 1Mbps and 5Mbps, which can fully meet the requirements of WeChat, QQ and other communication software, and there will be no big problem in browsing the web. Of course, if users still have the need to consume a lot of data such as games and short videos, there may still be some lag.
Satellite Internet is the trend of the times
Compared with traditional terrestrial network communication, satellite Internet relies on communication satellites as radio communication relay stations, and does not need to set up a large number of ground communication base stations as before, but instead of low-earth orbit satellites: a constellation composed of thousands of low-orbit satellites can realize the operation and coverage of the global network, and the ground receiving terminal only needs the user's mobile phone and computer.
At present, satellite Internet has been regarded as an important development direction of 6G communication, and in recent years, the number of global low-orbit communication satellites has exploded. Among them, Space X, the world's richest man under Musk, has proposed a large-scale "Starlink" plan and is preparing to launch 42,000 satellites into space to form a near-Earth satellite Internet. Today, Musk's "Starlink" plan has laid out 5,144 Internet satellites, forming the largest satellite constellation in human history.
Once Space X really completes the global networking of "Starlink" in 2027, as Musk wishes, then Space X will occupy more than 70% of the space in the entire Earth's low-earth orbit, and for other countries and enterprises that want to develop near-Earth satellite Internet, the speed of entry into the game must be accelerated, otherwise their satellites will soon lose their "foothold".
China builds domestic "Starlink"
According to the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" to the "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan", the mainland has always paid close attention to the development of satellite Internet technology, and has begun to focus on building its own low-orbit satellite communication network. It is planned to establish a constellation network of 26,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit to achieve global coverage. At that time, people will be able to communicate with the Internet at a high level in the mountains, islands, and disaster-stricken areas where infrastructure is damaged where it is difficult to reach the base station.
In April 2021, China Satellite Network Group was established, which is responsible for the overall planning of the development of satellite Internet in mainland China. In addition, Shanghai has also planned the "G60 Starlink" satellite Internet project, and has invested in large-scale local factories to build satellites, planning to reach 300 satellites a year, and by 2027, more than 12,000 satellites will be sent into low earth orbit.
Perhaps for many of us, it is difficult for us to have an intuitive feeling of the extent to which the domestic satellite Internet has developed. Starting from 2023, with the release of Huawei Mate 60 series mobile phones, ordinary consumers will be able to make satellite calls through their mobile phones, and at the same time, many foreign mobile phone brands in the same period do not have this advanced function.
Since the Mate 60, domestic mobile phone manufacturers such as Meizu, Honor, and OPPO have also launched their own mobile phones that support satellite calls, and they rely on China's own satellites and satellite networks. It is foreseeable that with the advancement of technology, the function of satellite call will be more widely popularized, and it may not be long before satellite Internet access will also enter our daily life, so we can surf the Internet smoothly in remote places without signal!