As remote mountainous areas, vast oceans, and deep skies that are unreachable by terrestrial networks are seamlessly covered by satellite signals, the logistics industry is undergoing an unprecedented revolution.
On November 22, 2025, at the 2025 China 5G + Industrial Internet Conference held in Wuhan, Hubei, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially announced the launch of commercial trials for satellite IoT services, with a trial period of two years.This significant initiative aims to enrich the supply of the satellite communication market, stimulate the vitality of market entities, support the safe and healthy development of commercial aerospace, and serve the construction of a manufacturing powerhouse, aerospace powerhouse, cyber power, and digital China.
Satellite IoT: Bridging the “Last Mile” of Logistics with a Space-Based Network
Satellite IoT is a new type of infrastructure that utilizes satellite communication technology to connect a vast number of devices on the ground, at sea, and in the air, providing data collection and transmission services. Compared to traditional IoT, which relies on terrestrial base stations, satellite IoT has the unique advantage of global coverage.Yu Xiaohui, director of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, pointed out: “The previous IoT connected objects through terrestrial networks, but many areas are unreachable, such as remote regions, the sky, and the ocean, which are ‘blank spots’ in IoT communication where network coverage is absent.”The application scenarios of satellite IoT widely cover marine fisheries, transportation logistics, energy and water conservancy, emergency communications, low-altitude economy, and industrial internet, among others. This means that 70% of areas traditionally not covered by terrestrial networks in the logistics industry will now have solutions.The launch of this commercial trial is an important measure to implement the “Guiding Opinions on Optimizing Business Access to Promote the Development of the Satellite Communication Industry” released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in August this year, marking that the development of satellite communication in China has officially entered the fast lane.
How Satellite IoT Reshapes the Logistics Industry Landscape
In the logistics field, the application of satellite IoT will bring revolutionary changes. Through a space-based network, it will enable global real-time tracking and data transmission of low-altitude aircraft, precisely addressing the communication shortcomings of the low-altitude economy.Zhu Keli, founder of the National Research Institute for New Economy, illustrated: “When agricultural drones operate across countries, satellite communication can support their cross-regional scheduling and operational data return; emergency rescue drones can maintain contact with the command center via satellite when terrestrial networks are lost in disaster areas.”This technological integration will attract more capital and resources into the low-altitude field, promoting the collaborative development of the drone manufacturing, airspace management, and data service industries, forming a virtuous cycle of “technology – scenario – industry.”The practice of embedding domestic satellite chips in the Xinjiang drone delivery system has proven that by real-time trajectory calibration of cross-mountain packages, it can effectively solve the logistics signal breakpoints in remote areas. This is of great significance for improving the rural logistics system and assisting the upward movement of agricultural products.
Existing Achievements in Smart Logistics and the Accelerating Role of Satellite IoT
In recent years, China’s logistics industry has made significant progress in digitalization and intelligence. By the end of 2024, the ratio of total social logistics costs to GDP in China is expected to be 14.1%, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from the previous year, showing a steady downward trend.Logistics platforms represented by China Storage Intelligent Transportation have formed an intelligent “transport capacity network” covering 60,000 highway transport routes and over 4,300 water transport routes, serving more than 50,000 enterprises in manufacturing, commerce, and other sectors.Artificial intelligence technology has also shone in the logistics field. China Storage Intelligent Transportation uses AI technology to achieve intelligent matching, route planning, and multimodal transport, generating optimal transportation plans.For example, a “road-water combined transport” plan designed for a large mining company effectively reduces overall costs by more than 25% while meeting customer needs and delivery requirements.The addition of satellite IoT will further accelerate the breadth and depth of these innovative technologies, achieving true global interconnectivity, especially in areas where traditional terrestrial networks are insufficient.
From “Beidou” to Satellite IoT: An Integrated Logistics Network is Taking Shape
In fact, the application of satellite technology in the logistics field is not a new concept. China’s independently built Beidou system has long played an important role in the logistics industry.The Beidou system has five major functions: real-time navigation, rapid positioning, precise timing, location reporting, and short message communication services. It has been widely used in transportation, basic surveying, and search and rescue operations, and has shown great value in smart logistics.Logistics management based on Beidou can achieve a one-stop connection of “people, vehicles, goods, stations, and electricity,” building a new ecosystem of intelligent and efficient logistics. By monitoring vehicle speed and routes in real-time, it ensures driving safety; combined with geographic location data, it conducts data analysis and mining, customizing service routes to improve logistics efficiency.The launch of the satellite IoT commercial trial will further enhance the capabilities of the integrated logistics network. In particular, its bidirectional communication function will break the limitations of the traditional Beidou system in data transmission capacity and real-time performance, providing more comprehensive technical support for the logistics industry.
Satellite IoT Promotes a New Leap in the Logistics Industry
With the launch of the satellite IoT commercial trial, the logistics industry will usher in a new round of development opportunities. In the future, we can foresee:No Blind Spots in Logistics Coverage: Satellite IoT will fill 70% of the coverage blind spots of terrestrial networks, achieving seamless coverage nationwide and providing communication guarantees for logistics activities in remote areas, oceans, and the air.More Efficient Cross-Border Logistics: Based on satellite communication and space-based high-precision positioning technology, logistics companies can grasp the real-time status of fleets during overseas transport, manage overseas transport progress, and develop remote intelligent control technologies to enhance cross-border cooperation efficiency.Smarter Multimodal Transport: By integrating advanced technologies such as blockchain, 5G, big data, and artificial intelligence, satellite IoT will help build a collaborative business and information interconnection system for ports, railways, highways, and other operational units, providing real-time geographical location information and status of transported goods to customers.More Reliable Emergency Logistics: When terrestrial communication networks are disrupted by natural disasters and other factors, satellite IoT can quickly establish emergency communication links to meet the communication needs of rescue commands and affected populations.During the two-year trial period, we will see more logistics companies connect to the satellite IoT system and explore more innovative application models. With the deep integration of satellite IoT with 5G, artificial intelligence, big data, and other technologies, a fully covered, intelligent, and highly efficient modern logistics system is accelerating to take shape.The satellite IoT not only achieves technological breakthroughs but also represents a fundamental enhancement of service capabilities in the logistics industry.