Due to the ability of satellite communication to provide a low-cost network coverage solution for areas with relatively weak infrastructure, there has been a global surge in the construction of low Earth orbit satellite internet…
Source｜Science and Technology Daily
Author｜Xiu Ying Cao
Editor｜An Qing
In recent years, the industrial technology foundation for the “Internet of Everything” has matured, and the industry scale continues to expand. Because satellite communication can provide a low-cost network coverage solution for areas with relatively weak infrastructure, there has been a global surge in the construction of low Earth orbit satellite internet.
Since 2020, SpaceX’s Starlink program has entered an intensive construction phase, having launched over 4,100 satellites. It is reported that there are more than 74,000 satellites yet to be launched globally. Many regions in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Anhui, Henan, Sichuan, and Chongqing, have introduced policies to support the development of the satellite internet-related industry.
At the eighth “China Space Day” event, Beijing Guodian Gaoke Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Guodian Gaoke) showcased its “Tiankai Constellation” low Earth orbit satellite IoT system, attracting widespread attention.
Bringing Satellite Communication into Every Household and Industry
As China’s first operational low Earth orbit satellite IoT constellation, the “Tiankai Constellation” consists of 38 low Earth orbit satellites covering the globe. Its ground communication terminals can upload short message information from around the world to the Tiankai satellites, which then relay the data back to ground stations, and after big data processing, push it to customer platforms. Whether in city centers, deserts, or Gobi regions, in mountainous areas or forests, regardless of sunny or severe weather, whether domestically or internationally, the “Tiankai Constellation” satellite communication can operate unobstructed, providing global users with “air, land, and sea, four-dimensional” satellite narrowband IoT data communication application services.
More importantly, the “Tiankai Constellation” provides global users with low-cost, low-power, miniaturized, and high-capacity satellite IoT communication products, thanks to its advanced technology that fills domestic gaps, making satellite communication truly accessible to every household and industry.
It is reported that the “Tiankai Constellation” satellite IoT application platform currently covers 8 major industries and 16 fields, including the State Grid, containers, marine ranching, coal hydrology, smart agriculture, smart forestry, ecological environment, and oil pipelines. It addresses the pain points of information monitoring data transmission in previously signal-blind areas, forming a series of mature solutions, such as monitoring millions of electric tower bases, monitoring ice on over 100,000 kilometers of power transmission lines, monitoring mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and ice, crop growth monitoring, and environmental monitoring.
At the same time, the “Tiankai Constellation” has developed standardized and various industry-specific communication terminals, with products already standardized and mass-produced, and is simultaneously advancing applications for personal users and specialized fields, such as the standardized terminal “Tiankai Tong” for industrial internet, personal emergency rescue terminals, Tiankai gateways, global intercoms, mobile companions, and satellite communication wearable devices.
For example, the personal emergency rescue terminal, unlike regular mobile phones that rely on ground base stations, connects directly to satellites for communication, allowing personal users to send rescue signals even in remote desert areas, at sea during emergencies, or in earthquake situations, where there is no ground network signal coverage.
Moreover, after the successful networking of the 38 low Earth orbit satellites of the “Tiankai Constellation”, terminal power consumption will drop to below 100 milliwatts (one kilowatt-hour can last a year), with prices potentially reaching around 100 yuan. At that time, there will be no more worries about signal issues when going out, and everything will be “never disconnected.” “Perhaps, the curtain on consumer-grade satellite communication products has officially been raised,” said a relevant person in charge of Guodian Gaoke.
“Economical and Practical” Global IoT Solution
The “Tiankai Constellation” is a communication satellite within the entire satellite industry chain of “communication, navigation, and remote sensing,” achieving a fusion of high and low orbit constellations and wide and narrowband satellite communication capabilities, thereby realizing a space-based integrated information network and data utilization efficiency; at the same time, by constructing a technologically advanced, globally covered, secure, and smooth, independently controllable satellite IoT, it builds national strategic space capabilities. Satellite IoT is one of the important construction directions in the IoT industry, utilizing satellite technology to solve the data transmission issues of IoT sensors, establishing a dedicated basic communication service platform for IoT through low Earth orbit constellations.
Industry experts analyze that currently, there is no dedicated network behind the Internet of Things as its communication foundation. At present, over 70% of land, sea, and air areas in China lack ground network coverage, and these areas are precisely the main battlefield for IoT applications.
The aforementioned person in charge of Guodian Gaoke stated that low Earth orbit satellite IoT achieves global IoT communication through low Earth orbit satellite constellations, having comparative advantages in power consumption, latency, and cost, making it an “economical and practical” global IoT solution, characterized by small investment, quick results, strong driving force, significant economic and social benefits, and high national defense value. It is a key extension and supplement to ground IoT and is the fundamental way to solve the communication problems of over 70% of land, sea, and air IoT.
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