Space-based 5G is coming! No matter how experts in the field of communications criticize it as unrealistic and absolutely impossible to realize, it still comes to us resolutely and resolutely.
Recently, AST SpaceMobile announced that the cornerstone of space-based cellular broadband networks, AST5000 ASIC chips have been installed in TSMC current chips, which means that in the near future, our mobile phones can maintain a full signal in any place without a base station, talk and surf the Internet unimpeded, and you won't even realize that you are in the desert or the polar region How can there be a signal.
It may be hard to imagine, but the signal doesn't come out of nowhere, it's right above your head, hundreds of kilometers away in space, and there's a big base station that connects to your phone in both directions and provides a 5G signal. You may still be confused, because communication experts have told you categorically that the coverage range of 5G base stations is only 250 meters, how can mobile phones be directly connected to satellites hundreds of kilometers away?
But AST SpaceMobile, a Texas-based startup, is doing just that, with the goal of building the world's first, and currently the only, space-based cellular broadband network that can be directly accessed by everyday smartphones. And what is surprising is that they actually did this big stupid thing!
On April 25, 2023, AST used satellites and unmodified smartphones, a Samsung Galaxy S22, and an Apple iPhone to connect from Midland, Texas, using AT&T 2G cellular spectrum, to Japan, the world's first space-based two-way phone call.
In September 2023, AST used the Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone to make the world's first, unmodified 5G connection between a standard smartphone and a satellite in space in Hawaii, USA, a dead zone with no wireless signal, reaching a download rate of about 14Mbps.
You might ask, oh my God, how did they do it? AST did all this with a test satellite, BlueWalker 3, which was launched into low-Earth orbit at a distance of 508 to 527 kilometers and had a phased array antenna with an area of 64 square meters, the largest satellite dish in the world.
The so-called phased array antenna is an antenna that allows the radio beam to point in different directions without rotating, which is achieved by computer control and changing the phase or signal delay, which allows efficient and fast adjustment of the signal coverage direction, adapting to dynamic communication needs, especially suitable for use in satellite communications and radar.
Why is the antenna so large? This is the key to the phone's ability to communicate directly with it, allowing it to send and receive signals more accurately, covering a wider ground area, while providing enough signal strength to communicate directly with a standard phone.
Therefore, the reason why AST can do stupid things that are unimaginable to communication experts is that it is a miracle to do a miracle! The mobile phone has a small power and a weak signal, and it can't reach the satellite, so I let the satellite transmit a powerful signal to the surface, and at the same time can receive a weak signal near the surface, which doesn't make the mobile phone and the satellite connected?
Following the success of the test, AST has been in full swing to build the first batch of five BlueBird Block 1 satellites, capable of reaching a peak data rate of 120Mbps, which will be launched in the near future to enable the world's first 5G network with a mobile phone directly connected to satellites, and will begin launching 20 BlueBird Block 2 satellites later this year.
The AST5000 ASIC chips in TSMC's current chips are intended for the BlueBird Block 2 satellite, using a customized low-power architecture that can increase the communication capacity of the satellite by 10 times, with an antenna area of a terrifying 223 square meters when deployed, and each satellite will also have up to 10,000 MHz of processing bandwidth, which means that it can provide greater bandwidth, signal strength, and data processing capabilities.
Unlike Musk's Starlink satellites, Starlink satellite signals need a user terminal to connect to mobile phones, AST's satellites can receive the signals of mobile phones and reflect them back to the gateway, and the gateways are connected to cellular operators, to cover an area as large as the United States, three gateways, about 60 satellites, and 110 low-orbit satellites are needed to cover the world.
In other words, AST provides seamless connectivity to cellular mobile operators with data and cellular networks. This is also reflected in the pricing rules of their plans, such as temporary users who can start a day-long space mobile service via SMS, monthly users who charge a flat rate and automatically connect to space mobile if they have no ground signal or a weak signal, where there is no cellular signal, space mobile can be used as the primary network, and space mobile can also provide uninterrupted service in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.
AST has secured strategic investments from AT&T, Google, and Vodafone, as well as a new contract from the U.S. government through prime contractor AT&T, and has also signed agreements and understandings with more than 40 mobile network operators around the world, covering a total of more than 2 billion subscribers, including AT&T, Vodafone, Rakuten Mobile, Saudi Telecom, and others.
Therefore, space-based 5G may really be coming, and no matter where you are in the world, you can enjoy high-speed Internet connection in the future, and achieve truly seamless global surfing.