In 2020, the country included satellite Internet in the scope of new infrastructure for the first time, and satellite Internet construction rose to a national strategic project. It is estimated that by 2030, the overall scale of China's satellite Internet market will reach 100 billion yuan. --Liu Baiqi, CEO of Galaxy Power (Beijing) Space Technology Co., Ltd.

Recently, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said at the 2021 World Mobile Communications Conference held in Barcelona, ​​Spain that SpaceX's Starlink satellite Internet plan is advancing rapidly, with a total investment of between US$20 billion and US$30 billion, and may have more than 500,000 users within 12 months.

"As of the first quarter of 2020, the number of low-orbit communication satellites in orbit accounted for 58.8%. With the rise of the concept of low-orbit broadband satellite Internet, people are full of expectations for the services that satellite Internet can provide." On July 16, Yan Jun, chairman of Zhuhai Orbita Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd., said in an interview with Science and Technology Daily.

"In 2020, the country included satellite Internet in the scope of new infrastructure for the first time. Satellite Internet construction has risen to a national strategic project. Remote sensing engineering and navigation engineering have become important components of my country's integrated space-ground information system. It is estimated that by 2030, the overall scale of China's satellite Internet market will reach 100 billion yuan." Liu Baiqi, CEO of Galaxy Power (Beijing) Space Technology Co., Ltd. said.

my country's satellite Internet is still in the stage of program demonstration.

"Satellite Internet means providing Internet access services to the world through satellites. According to incomplete statistics, nearly 30 companies around the world have announced the deployment of satellite Internet constellations, and they plan to launch more than 100,000 satellites." Yan Jun pointed out.

Liu Baiqi introduced that with commercial aerospace companies represented by SpaceX and OneWeb announcing plans to launch tens of thousands of satellites, according to a report by Morgan Stanley in the United States, the global satellite Internet market will reach about US$45.4 billion by 2030.

"Companies that have deployed satellite Internet abroad mainly include SpaceX, OneWeb, Amazon, etc.; China is in the early planning stage, and is currently mainly organized by China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd. In terms of constellation construction, SpaceX has launched 1,737 Starlink satellites, and OneWeb has launched 182 OneWeb satellites." Hao Haisheng, chairman of Jinghang Weitai Measurement and Control Instrument (Beijing) Co., Ltd., mentioned in an interview.

In recent years, with the launch of multiple low-Earth orbit satellite constellation plans in China, my country's satellite Internet industry has ushered in opportunities for rapid development, and many places have begun to actively deploy in the field of satellite Internet industry. "At present, North China, Central South and East China lead the development of the domestic satellite Internet industry, while Southwest, Northwest and Northeast China have formed distinctive characteristics in the construction of key links in the industrial chain." Yan Jun said.

However, my country's satellite Internet is still in the stage of program demonstration and test satellites. "The main technical development trends include the integration of high, medium and low-level satellite networks, user access based on low-orbit satellite networks, and data landing that does not rely on overseas station intersatellite links. The domestic commercial satellite design system is relatively backward, and the establishment of a new design system based on model-defined satellite technology has become one of the key technical trends for the development of the satellite Internet industry in the future." Hao Haisheng said.

"Since low-orbit satellites have the advantages of wide coverage and low cost, satellite Internet may be the best choice for connecting remote areas that are not covered by ground base stations." Yan Jun analyzed that the higher-frequency Q band, V band and terahertz band are expected to become the focus of the layout and competition of the next generation of satellite Internet.

The combination with 5G/6G will bring more possibilities

"The satellite Internet industry includes satellite manufacturing, satellite launch, ground infrastructure construction, satellite network operation, terminal application, etc. It is an extension of the new information industry in space." Liu Baiqi said.

The development of 5G technology brings more possibilities for the future space information industry. "Judging from the dimensions of demand, application, technology, etc., satellite Internet and 5G are complementary. In the 6G era, mobile communications will move towards the integration of heaven and earth, and low-orbit constellations will be organically integrated with ground mobile communication systems to achieve seamless Internet coverage for anyone, anywhere and at any time." Yan Jun pointed out that the application scenarios of 6G are based on 5G, but the future will be broader, including high-speed Internet access in the air, holographic communications, advanced intelligent industry, intelligent mobile manned platforms, etc., which are all possible application areas of 6G in the future.

"The combination of 5G and future 6G with satellite Internet will bring revolutionary innovation breakthroughs in the fields of autonomous driving, aviation WiFi, ocean shipping, field exploration, etc., and create a new trillion-scale industry." Liu Baiqi said.

In Hao Haisheng's view, in addition to launching satellites, China should also carry out the construction of information gateway stations, high-performance terminals using phased array antennas, low-cost terminals using flat/reflector antennas, and the construction of unmanned border integrated monitoring stations.

"Due to inherent characteristics, the density of 5G/6G base station deployment is much higher than that of traditional 3G/4G networks. The cost of comprehensive deployment is too high. In the short term, it can only guarantee urban coverage. Satellite Internet can provide supplementary network coverage in remote and marine areas. A large number of new online business models may emerge in industries such as ocean, petroleum, electricity, agriculture and forestry. Field exploration, remote live broadcasting and other fields may be further developed."