Direct connection of mobile phones to satellites, technology not difficult but commercialization not easy
2023-05-16
Recently, high-end mobile phones that can be "on the satellite" have been attracting high attention from people. The connection between satellites and mobile phones may not be difficult, but it is not easy to go into commercial use. The dream of using low orbit communication satellites to achieve global dead angle mobile communication is very rich, but the reality is still bone like. Recently, a report has once again raised the public's attention to direct satellite connection with mobile phones. According to reference information, Ericsson is developing a new communication method: at any location on Earth, without the need for large ground equipment or ground base stations to transfer, data can be exchanged with artificial satellites with just one smartphone. It is expected that this new communication method will be commercially available by 2025 and is expected to achieve communication speeds comparable to the current 5G specifications by 2050. As early as the 1990s, relevant institutions were envisioning a "ubiquitous" communication network, and a group of research and development institutions and commercial companies pursued this goal one after another. From 2017 to 2022, 3GPP and other institutions vigorously carried out and promoted the exploration of 5G based satellite communication. On April 25th, American satellite communication startup AST SpaceMobile announced the world's first space-based cellular voice call. As 3GPP classified Satellite Network into non terrestrial network (NTN) and carried out research and standardization work, satellite ground integration began slowly. Technology and business models need to be balanced. Recently, high-end mobile phones that can be "on the satellite" have been attracting high attention from people. The connection between satellites and mobile phones may not be difficult, but it is not easy to go into commercial use. The dream of using low orbit communication satellites to achieve global blind spot mobile communication is very rich, but the reality is a bone feeling. From 1997 to 1998, Iridium Satellite Communications Corporation of the United States (hereinafter referred to as Iridium Corporation) commissioned Motorola to design a global satellite mobile communication system. Due to the arrangement of 72 artificial satellites (6 of which are backup satellites) resembling the distribution of electrons outside the iridium nucleus, the system is called Iridium Star. As the pioneer of commercial low orbit satellites, Iridium can achieve global coverage without relying on ground facilities. However, this world's most creative system came to an end in March 2000 when Iridium Star announced bankruptcy. Recalling this past, Chen Shanzhi, Deputy General Manager of China Information and Communication Technology Group Co., Ltd., expressed a special emotion: "In the 1990s, almost the same period as the emergence of the Iridium satellite system (low orbit satellite communication) and ground cellular mobile communication (GSM) Despite competing with each other, Iridium Star filed for bankruptcy due to its huge R&D and system construction costs, while ground based cellular mobile communication developed successfully from 2G to 5G due to its large user base and significant cost advantages Objectively speaking, at that time, Iridium had already broken through key technical issues such as inter satellite links, and the basic structure and regulations of the system were initially established. It began to provide main services including mobile phones, paging, and data transmission. From this perspective, Iridium has succeeded. However, the planned total investment of 2.3 billion US dollars in Iridium Star was over 5 billion US dollars when the network was completed in 1998. The huge costs caused Iridium Star Company to bear over 4 billion US dollars in debt when it went bankrupt, but its customers at that time were only 20000 US dollars
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