but,appleGlobalstar’s satellite partner, Globalstar, said that customers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on 17 new satellites for continued satellite service. There is no doubt that this customer is Apple,It seems that Apple’s technology should not be delayed again this year. I didn’t expect that Apple finally has a technology that is more advanced than Android.
Just when everyone is still wondering what the use of satellite communication is, Huawei Yu Chengdong revealed in the latest interview,Huawei is also about to release a new communication technology that can “pierce the sky upwards”, which will be launched by the Mate50 series. If nothing else, this should be the Beidou satellite communication technology speculated by the outside world, which indeed pierces the sky to directly connect with satellites outside the atmosphere. If the guess is true, then Huawei Mate50 will be better thaniPhone14 The application of satellite communication technology was realized earlier.
Coincidentally, Google also suddenly jumped out to announce that the next-generation Android system will also support the satellite communication function of mobile phones, and the Android 14 developer preview is expected to be launched in March next year. In this way, it means that all Android phones that can upgrade the Android 14 system are expected to support this new technology. Several big technology giants are rushing to use it, is this satellite communication technology really that fragrant? What are the implications for the future development of mobile phone technology? Xiao Lei will give you a simple popular science below.
What exactly is such a sought-after satellite communication?
The accurate description of satellite communication should be “satellite emergency short message contact function”, which can send some brief distress messages directly through the communication satellites in the sky. It is not a new black technology, but an extremely mature and widely used communication technology. It is often used in geological exploration, ocean transportation, forest patrol and other characteristic fields and people. The communication efficiency is relatively low and the price is very expensive. .At present, phones that support satellite communication all require antennas with high power, directivity, and anti-interference. Therefore, common satellite phones are basically equipped with a long antenna, which can only be used in outdoor scenarios.
Satellite communication is not such an advanced and easy-to-use technology. It has great restrictions on equipment and usage scenarios, and cannot enhance the signal strength of mobile phones connected to 4G/5G. In other words, even if the iPhone 14 supports satellite communication, the mobile phone signal is still the same as before. Even, Apple may use more space for antennas connected to satellites, resulting in fewer antennas connected to base stations and worse signal. Why are Apple, Huawei, etc. rushing to use this new technology that does not seem to be of much help for signal enhancement? There must be some secret.
In fact, satellite communication is still very useful in some scenarios, and wide signal coverage is one of its advantages. The development of 5G technology in China has been very fast. 5G base stations basically cover major cities and townships and counties. The coverage of 4G base stations is even wider. Usually, there is also a signal by high-speed rail through mountains and mountains. But even so, 4G/5G networks can only cover about 20% of the world, and larger areas such as oceans, deserts, forests, etc. are “information wasteland”. Once you set foot in these areas, no matter how strong the mobile phone signal is, you will lose the ability to play. The ability to call and send text messages, if in danger, may be called the sky should not be called the earth.
The satellite communication directly connects the satellites in space, and its signal basically covers all the activities that humans can reach on the earth. If your mobile phone supports this technology, once you encounter an accident while exploring or traveling in the wild, you can call for help through the satellite communication function to avoid accidents.For example, the X3 geek version launched by AGM mobile phone a few years ago is equipped with a satellite communication module, so that it will not lose contact with relatives and friends during outdoor activities. In recent years, we have seen a lot of accidents caused by wild adventures and mountain climbing. If they had a mobile phone that supports satellite communication at the time, the ending might have changed. Therefore, it is actually very meaningful for mobile phones to support satellite communication technology, which can complement the current 4G/5G technology and maximize the scope of mobile phone communication.
Of course, satellite communication also has great limitations. First of all, its signal transmission is subject to relatively large interference and high delay, and even a dedicated satellite phone cannot guarantee good call quality. However, there is no receiving/transmitting antenna with too strong power on the mobile phone, and there is a high probability that it cannot support satellite calls, at most, sending text messages or multimedia messages. Secondly, the launch, operation and maintenance costs of communication satellites are very high. It is impossible for mobile phone manufacturers to launch satellites by themselves, and can only adopt the method of cooperation with operators, which may cause great differences in the experience of different brands of mobile phones.
At present, the mobile phone satellite communication technology is not as powerful as imagined, and can only be used as a backup emergency rescue function at most. Its network speed is far from comparable to 5G, or even inferior to the previous 2G/3G, but it does have great significance for the development of mobile phones. With the popularization of this technology on mobile phones, it should help to promote the rapid development of this technology, and it is not impossible to achieve real satellite calls or Internet access.
Satellite communications may be about 6G technology
Some friends may feel that they usually do not venture out in the wild, and satellite communication cannot improve the mobile phone signal. This technology does not have much practical significance for me at this stage, so can it be used? We still don’t know how Apple and Huawei will promote this feature. It may be free to use, or it may be charged on demand. It stands to reason that it will not change the habit of using mobile phones. Satellite communication is just a feature that adds luster to mobile phones. Selling point. However, we cannot guarantee whether the price of mobile phones supporting satellite communication will increase, after all, the cost of technology should not be cheap.
Mobile phones supporting satellite communication functions may not have much effect on consumers, but it is of great significance to mobile phone manufacturers and communication operators, because it is related to the future development of 6G technology.
It is only two or three years before the commercial use of 5G technology, and many small partners may not have used the 5G network. However, it must be admitted that the strategic layout of 6G research and development in countries around the world has already begun. The content of “6G Overall Vision and Potential Key Technologies” released by my country pointed out that,6G will realize the global seamless coverage of air-space-ground integration, and the satellite-ground integration networking technology will also become one of the most important potential technologies of the 6G network. In recent years, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, industry and information technology departments have issued many relevant documents on supporting the development of satellite communication technology.
In the past, 3G/4G/5G relied on the communication base stations on the ground. In the 2G/3G era, the network speed of mobile phones was slow, the signal power requirements of the base stations were lower, and the base stations did not consume too much power in a wide range. However, with the advent of the 5G era, the bandwidth and delay requirements of the network speed are very high, which requires the base station to have higher power to support signal transmission. According to the official statistics of operators, the power consumption of a 5G base station is about 3-4 times that of a 4G base station, but the coverage is only about 1/4 of the latter. In order for 5G base stations to cover the current area of 4G base stations, the number must be at least three times that of 4G base stations, and the total electricity bill in the future may reach about 10 times that of 4G base stations.
If 6G also pursues the improvement of network speed, the requirements for base stations will be higher, and it may be necessary to build a base station every 100 meters, which is not realistic at all.Therefore, 6G technology puts the core on satellite communication, relying on communication satellites of different orbits, different types, and different performances to achieve global coverage of mobile phone signals, and there is a network wherever you go.6G technology is expected to be commercialized in 2030. At that time, satellite communication will definitely not stop at the level of sending text messages. It may be possible to make calls, surf the Internet, and even watch videos. It truly realizes the freedom of Internet access, and there is no need to worry about the problem of no mobile phone signal and poor network.
For a long time, global communication technology standards have been monopolized by several overseas giants, and my country has little say in this regard. But in the 5G era, Huawei, as one of the promoters of 5G technology, has the most patents and standards in the world. This is a symbol of my country’s strong technological strength, but it also touches the interests of several overseas giants and makes them feel threatened. Soon after 5G technology came out, Nokia, Ericsson, etc. all said that they would speed up the research and development of 6G technology, and many countries are not even ready to use 5G. It can be seen that they all want to avoid 5G, and also want to overtake in a corner to bypass the 5G patent standard that Huawei has mastered.
Taking advantage of the opportunity of 5G technology, my country has mastered the right to speak in the field of global communication, but it has also been excluded by many countries such as the United States. In order to gain the recognition and support of the whole industry, we may need to make greater breakthroughs in the field of 6G technology that they are optimistic about, and develop 6G faster than several other giants. As the most important potential technology in the 6G era, satellite communication is now too far away from consumers. Naturally, it is necessary to let it enter everyone’s life step by step. Even if it is not very useful to everyone now, the popularization of technology requires a process of cognition, understanding, use, and promotion. Huawei and Apple support satellite communication on mobile phones, in fact, to pave the way for 6G technology, which is of great significance to the future development of the mobile phone industry.