Editor's note: Air-ground integration organically combines air communication with ground communication to achieve extensive network coverage and efficient data transmission, which has broad development prospects and huge application potential. In recent years, the rise of commercial spaceflight, the development of spaceborne technology, and the significant reduction in the cost of satellite manufacturing and launch have injected new vitality into air-ground integration. The clear vision of 6G air-space-ground integration wireless ubiquity and the ITU's proposal for the frequency planning of "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" have clarified the direction of the air-ground integration industry. In order to explore the current situation, opportunities, challenges and future of air-ground integration, Communication World Omnimedia specially planned a special report on "6G Leading, Starting the 'Star' Journey", in order to provide suggestions and suggestions for the development of the industry.
In recent years, due to the sluggish growth of 5G mobile phone sales, the consumer mobile phone market urgently needs new technology hotspots to lead, since Huawei, Apple and other companies have launched mobile phones with satellite communication functions, more and more companies have paid attention to the market value of satellite communications, and are vying to join the market competition of "mobile phone direct connection to satellite". After MWC 2024 (Mobile World Congress 2024), the field of satellite communications has attracted much attention, and many operators, chip and terminal manufacturers have launched their own satellite communication products. However, in view of the fact that satellite communication is naturally not limited by the environment, it not only brings convenient communication services, but also brings new risks and challenges to the national regulatory information security and network interconnection.
01
"Phone Direct" turns on satellite internet
Civilian market space
In the past, the "mobile phone directly connected to satellite" service mostly referred to the provision of voice or short message services for professional satellite mobile communication terminals. With the increasing demand for full-time and all-domain personal communication, the industry has reached a consensus that mobile phones based on terrestrial cellular mobile communication technology to support "direct connection to satellite" technology will become one of the important directions for the development of next-generation mobile communications. In 2024, the "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" technology has become a hot spot of focus and competition in the domestic and foreign markets, and it is expected that the "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" function will become the standard configuration of consumer smartphones in the future.
Smartphone companies are accelerating their shift to satellite communications
Smartphone companies are essentially looking to find new differentiated selling points and seize market share in the context of saturated user network demand, extended replacement cycles, and slowing down the overall pace of innovation in the industry.
Since the release of Huawei's Mate50 series mobile phones and Apple's iPhone 14 series mobile phones, domestic and foreign mobile phone companies represented by Huawei and Apple have used various technologies to accelerate the launch of "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" services, such as connecting satellite systems that have been networked and operational, and installing baseband, RF chips and antennas that conform to satellite communication protocols on mobile phone terminals to realize "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" services, from short messages to voice communication, to meet the emergency communication needs of users in areas without terrestrial cellular network coverage.
Domestic smartphone companies: Since Huawei released the Huawei Mate60 Pro, the world's first mainstream smartphone that supports satellite calling, on August 29, 2023, terminal manufacturers, operators, and upstream and downstream enterprises in the satellite industry have actively invested in seizing the "high ground" of the industry. On February 22, 2024, Xiaomi released the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, which supports two-way satellite communication functions, including real-time voice, two-way SMS services, and achieves global communication coverage in specific situations. Coincidentally, Honor also released the Honor Magic6 Pro that supports satellite calls at the beginning of this year, and subsequent manufacturers such as OPPO and vivo will also carry this function on top flagship products.
Foreign smartphone companies: The development of domestic "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" business is in full swing, and foreign smartphone companies are also stepping up to launch their own products. At MWC 2023 (Mobile World Congress 2023), Motorola unveiled a small device called Defy Satellite Link, which allows any iPhone or Android phone to connect with satellites via Bluetooth for two-way satellite communication. On January 8, 2024, the American company SpaceX launched a new Direct to Cell satellite, which successfully sent and received the first text message using the T-Mobile spectrum, enabling mobile phones using the terrestrial LTE standard to realize satellite communication functions without modifications. SpaceX plans to implement SMS services in 2024 and voice, data, and IoT (Internet of Things) services in 2025.
Mobile phone chip manufacturers help
Smartphones enable satellite communication
Mobile phone chip manufacturers represented by Qualcomm and MediaTek have successively launched new chips that support 5G NTN (non-terrestrial network) technology, which use mobile satellite service frequencies to help Android mobile phones or smart hardware achieve "direct connection to satellites".
Domestic chip manufacturers: MediaTek will release the MT6825 5G NTN chipset in 2023, and at MWC 2024, it will demonstrate a new generation of NR-NTN satellite test chip that supports the 5G-A standard, which can provide broadband services of more than 100Mbit/s for mobile phones, cars and other terminal devices through the Ku-band with LEO (low orbit) satellite technology. Also at MWC 2024, UNISOC won the "Mobile Technology Innovation Breakthrough Award" issued by GTI, an international authoritative organization, for its technological innovation in the frontier field of satellite communication, after winning domestic authoritative awards such as "China Chip".
Foreign chip manufacturers: As a leading enterprise in global chip manufacturing, Qualcomm has launched a variety of communication chip solutions that support "mobile phone direct connection to satellite", among which Qualcomm 212S modem conforms to the 3GPP R17 standard, supports IoT-NTN protocol, supports S and L frequency bands and Qualcomm Aware platform, and can seamlessly connect to the terrestrial 5G network, allowing users to stay online at all times. At MWC 2024, Continental Hisense Communications and Qualcomm released 5G NTN satellite handheld terminals.
Multiple technical routes to achieve "mobile phone direct connection to satellite"
At present, the development path of "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" mainly includes the use of satellite operator frequency and ground operator frequency, which has formed different technical development routes.
Satellite operator frequencies are used. The "mobile phone directly connected to satellite" service using mobile satellite service frequency can rely on the satellite systems such as "Iridium", "Global Star", "International Inmarsat", "Beidou" and "Tiantong" that have been networked and operated, and realize the function of "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" by installing baseband, radio frequency chips and antennas that conform to satellite communication protocols on mobile phone terminals, so as to meet the emergency information and communication needs of users in areas without terrestrial cellular network coverage. For example, Apple, Huawei and other mobile phone manufacturers have taken the lead in selling mobile phones that support "direct connection to satellites", and chip manufacturers such as Qualcomm and MediaTek have also successively launched new chips that support 5G NTN technology to help other Android mobile phones or smart hardware achieve "direct connection to satellites".
Terrestrial operator frequencies are used. The "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" service, which uses the frequencies of terrestrial mobile network operators, requires the satellite system to adopt the same communication frequency as the terrestrial mobile network, and integrate it into the terrestrial mobile communication protocol system, so that users can realize "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" without replacing existing terminals. For example, satellite communication companies such as SpaceX, AST SpaceMobile, and Lynk Global are establishing low-orbit satellite constellations that support the function of "mobile phone direct connection to satellites", and cooperate with terrestrial mobile operators such as T-Mobile and Vodafone to achieve landing applications.
Satellite Operators vs. Terrestrial Operators
Strengthen cooperation to achieve win-win results
With the increasing demand for mobile terminals and Internet of Things to access satellite communication networks, the pace of cooperation between satellite operators and terrestrial operators is accelerating.
Domestic operators: At present, China Satellite Network Group has taken the overall lead, and together with more than 10 relevant units in the industry such as China Telecom, China Mobile, China Satcom, China Unicom, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology and Boding Shihua, and the TC12 WG1 Working Group of China Communications Standards Association has discussed and approved the application for the establishment of the industry standard of "Satellite Internet Based on 5G Part 1: General Requirements", which will take the technical standards of terrestrial mobile communication networks and 3GPP R17 NTN technical standards as the standard baseline, forming a project including core network, Overall technical specifications for bearer networks, access networks, and operation and maintenance systems. At the same time, China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, Boding Shihua and other units took the lead, and more than 10 units in the industry actively participated, and discussed and adopted the "Internet of Things Narrowband Access (NB-IoT) Series Equipment Specifications Based on Non-terrestrial Network (NTN)" at the 60th Plenary Session of the Wireless Communication Technology Working Committee (TC5) (including overall technical requirements, satellite access node technical requirements and test methods, terminal technical requirements and test methods) industry standard project application, which will benchmark 3GPP's R17 IoT-NTN satellite Internet of Things narrowband access technology standard, and study and formulate a complete series of industry standards on the access network side.
Foreign operators: foreign countries mainly launch the "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" service using the frequency of terrestrial mobile network operators, and the communication satellite system needs to use the same communication frequency as the terrestrial mobile network, and integrate it into the terrestrial mobile communication protocol system, so that users can realize "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" without replacing the existing mobile phone terminals. SpaceX has cooperated with T-Mobile, a terrestrial operator, to reuse T-Mobile's terrestrial communication frequencies to provide Starlink satellite-based direct communication services, and T-Mobile users will not have to change their mobile phones to enjoy the "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" service. In April 2023, AST SpaceMobile announced the world's first space-based cellular voice call, using Samsung's commercial smartphone Galaxy S22 with the support of the AST BlueWalker 3 satellite to connect satellite voice calls between Texas and Japan using the Band 5 (850MHz) band of terrestrial operator AT&T. The scheme verifies the potential service capability of space-based 3GPP technology to provide emergency communication services to more than 8 billion mobile phones on the ground.
02
"Mobile phone direct connection" technology pair
Satellite Internet regulation poses new challenges
The private satellite regime adds to the technical difficulty of regulation
As a new type of communication, there are various application scenarios, service types, and communication systems of "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" communication. At present, foreign "mobile phone directly connected to satellite" communication services generally adopt a private satellite communication system, and its characteristics of information closure and technical confidentiality have greatly increased the difficulty of supervision. From a hardware point of view, some mobile phones realize satellite communication services by installing radio frequency chips, baseband chips, and antennas that support the relevant satellite system, but the modulation mode, protocol signaling process, frequency used, antenna and other parameters of these chips are not disclosed to the public, and they are completely in a "black box" state; It can be seen that from the perspective of hardware and software, there is a risk that "mobile phone directly connected to satellite" communication will be used by criminals and then endanger national security.
The cross-border transmission of illegal information threatens national security
At present, the world's mainstream communication satellites can be divided into high-orbit satellites and low-orbit satellites according to the different orbits they are in. Although the communication methods of the two satellites are different, there is a risk that illegal information can be transmitted across borders through satellites.
High-orbit satellite communication: The orbit of high-orbit satellite is about 36,000 kilometers from the ground to geostationary orbit, at present, most of the world's mainstream high-orbit communication satellites do not support the "inter-satellite link" technology, the satellite itself mainly plays the role of a transponder, and the communication link needs to pass through the ground information customs station for the return journey to establish communication. Under this technical characteristic, there is no foreign satellite communication service officially commercialized in China, although there is no corresponding information and customs station in the mainland, but because the high-orbit satellite has the characteristics of wide coverage and long communication distance, there is still a risk that the satellite signal covers the area within China, and the use of unapproved information customs stations of neighboring countries to achieve cross-border communication, which will threaten national information security. Therefore, any foreign communication satellite operating globally, if the communication signal can cover the mainland, there is a potential risk of unauthorized use of satellite Internet services, and its satellite communication link is not subject to the supervision of the mainland, which will seriously threaten national information security and homeland security.
Low-orbit satellite communication: The orbit of low-orbit satellite is 500 km ~ 2000 km from the ground in low-earth orbit, in this orbit, the communication transmission delay between the ground and the satellite can reach the millisecond level, which is more convenient to provide "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" service. At present, most of the world's mainstream commercial low-orbit communication satellites plan to support or have supported the "inter-satellite link" technology, with the support of this technology, the satellite communication link does not need to carry out backhaul communication through the service local information customs station, but can be established in any regional information customs station. It can be said that satellite communications that support "inter-satellite link" technology will bring greater potential security risks.
03
Take multiple measures to ensure satellite communications
Information Security and Interconnection
Enrich the risk management methods of satellite Internet
Traditional satellite communication requires the use of dedicated terminals and has a small audience, while the "mobile phone directly connected to satellite" technology can enable the mass smartphone to directly support the satellite communication function, which promotes the surge of satellite communication users, so it is necessary to evaluate and improve risk management methods from multiple perspectives.
Key technologies: Accelerate the verification of the possibility of overseas satellite technology being used in the mainland, take the initiative to grasp the frequency and orbit resource use of transit satellites, and do a good job in the reserve of frequency and orbit information. Actively participate in the international exchange meeting on the research of "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" technology, in-depth study of the content of foreign satellite private communication system, follow up the latest technology development direction of "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" communication in real time, and lay a technical foundation for follow-up demonstration and testing methods.
Detection technology: In view of the possible risks of cross-border transmission of illegal information and information leakage, for satellite communication space links, carry out research on technical means such as radio detection and information interception, block the chain of cross-border transmission of illegal information, and prevent potential information security risks. For the public smartphones, improve the verification ability of the operating system and software, through the operating system vulnerability scanning, application software sensitive behavior monitoring, chip/module "black box" testing, radio frequency signal demodulation analysis and other technical means, the use of software and hardware to carry out testing from the system, application, interface and other aspects, effectively verify the possibility of "illegal mobile phones directly connected to foreign satellites".
Technical standards: At present, the foreign satellite private communication system is not public, the mainland can refer to the domestic satellite communication system, combined with the research results of the foreign private system, plan and formulate the continental satellite technical standard system, compile general technical standards, carry out key technology testing and verification in a timely manner, and jointly optimize the content of satellite technical standards with industry enterprises, promote the release and implementation of standards, and consolidate the foundation of "industry-university-research-application" cooperation.
Strengthen the coordination and cooperation of the satellite Internet industry
Different from the traditional satellite communication industry, the introduction of "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" technology will promote the combination of the traditional satellite communication industry chain and the cellular mobile communication industry chain, bringing technology integration in multiple directions such as chips, devices, and antennas. In order to better ensure the legitimate communication services of the mainland and refuse the use of the "illegal mobile phone direct connection to satellite" service in the mainland, it is necessary to study in advance the possible impact of foreign "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" communication on the mainland, carry out industry supervision and security threat assessment for the whole chain of "mobile phone direct connection to satellite" communication, and strengthen the research on risk management and response strategies. At the same time, coordinate with relevant departments, establish a joint working mechanism of multiple regulatory departments, and do a good job in the collaborative management of all aspects of enterprise manufacturing, network operation, government supervision, market circulation and user use. In addition, the regulatory authorities need to do a good job in publicizing and implementing the policy requirements of the industry, such as resource licensing, business authorization, and equipment compliance, and improve the legal compliance awareness of upstream, midstream and downstream enterprises in the satellite communication industry chain in the development, production, and sales.
*This article was published in Communication World Issue 942 April 25, 2024 Issue 8 Original title: "Mobile Phone Direct Connection to Satellite" Industry Status and Regulatory Implications
END
Author: Boding Shihua, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology
Jin Jian, Ji Hongyan, Wang Yukun
Editor-in-charge/layout: Wang Yurong
Reviewer: Wang Tao, Mei Yaxin
Producer: Liu Qicheng
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