China Accelerates Satellite Internet Layout to Boost Space-Earth Integrated Network

This year’s Government Work Report clearly proposes accelerating the development of satellite internet, and the Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan further deploys the acceleration of low-orbit satellite internet constellation networking. A series of policy arrangements for this core track of new information infrastructure have sent strong signals, prompting enterprises along the industrial chain to accelerate the layout of satellite internet new infrastructure, driving China’s space-earth integrated information network construction into the fast lane, People’s Network reported.

Industry insiders believe that with policy support, technological innovation in China’s satellite internet field is expected to accelerate further, application scenarios will expand, and the market scale will continue to grow, making the satellite internet industry a new engine supporting China’s high-quality economic development.

Supply chain reform is empowering mass satellite manufacturing. Inside Galaxy Space’s Nantong Satellite Intelligent Factory, an almost completed satellite is undergoing anechoic chamber testing. Intelligent robotic arms grasp large cabin panels and heavy single-unit equipment with millimeter-level precision, while a digital production scheduling platform ensures orderly progress of all tasks. Zhang Shijie, Chief Scientist of Galaxy Space, said policy support has opened unprecedented development space for the satellite internet and commercial aerospace industries.

Galaxy Space has launched more than 40 independently developed satellites and built the "Little Spider Web" space-ground integration test network, which has achieved overseas application, marking the first overseas landing of China’s low-orbit satellite internet. "We are accelerating the research of core technologies for direct mobile phone-satellite connection and mass production of satellites," Zhang added.

Breaking core bottlenecks is crucial to consolidating the technological foundation. After completing several rounds of strategic financing totaling nearly 1.5 billion yuan in February, StarSi Semiconductor, focusing on baseband chip R&D for 6G satellite internet, reached a strategic cooperation with ZTE in late March. Lin Qing, Chief Technology Officer of StarSi Semiconductor, noted that baseband chips are the core hardware connecting ground terminals to satellites.

StarSi Semiconductor has achieved small-batch shipment of full-band baseband SoC chips and successfully completed the world’s first high-definition video call via direct mobile phone-satellite connection based on the 3GPP 5G NTN standard. "Breaking the core chip bottleneck will drive the emergence of downstream modules, terminal equipment and industry applications," Lin said.

Improving the ground support system is key to building a space-earth integrated network. Sun Shaohui, Chief Scientist of CITIC Mobile, said satellite internet has entered the industrial landing stage. CITIC Mobile has laid out core links such as on-board phased array antennas and ground gateway stations, and launched solutions covering multiple scenarios including low-altitude cultural tourism and logistics. China Daily noted that joint efforts from the industry are needed to address short-term bottlenecks such as fierce international competition for frequency and orbit resources.