China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has recently launched a two-year program of commercial trials of Internet of Things (IoT) services.
The aims of the program include expanding the range of satellite communication services and assisting new industries such as commercial aerospace and the low-altitude economy with data link ups.
What is satellite IoT?
It utilizes satellite communication technology to connect a large number of devices on the ground, in the oceans and in the air, providing data collection and transmission services. Its application scenarios include marine fisheries, transportation and logistics, energy and water resources, emergency communications, the low-altitude economy, and industrial Internet.
Yu Xiaohui, president of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), said that previous IoT networks relied on terrestrial connections, which left many areas inaccessible, including remote regions, the sky and the ocean. Satellite IoT offers comprehensive coverage.
What role can it play in new industries?
Relying on space-based networks, satellite IoT can achieve real-time global tracking and data transmission of low-altitude aircraft, precisely addressing the communication shortcomings in the low-altitude economy. In low-altitude fields such as drone logistics, for example, insufficient terrestrial base station coverage previously caused signal interruptions, affecting flight safety and efficiency. Satellite IoT enables real-time global tracking and data transmission of low-altitude aircraft via space-based networks.
Satellite IoT can also expand the range of applications in the low-altitude economy. Zhu Keli, founding president of the China Institute of New Economy, provided the following examples: when agricultural drones operate across borders, satellite communication can facilitate cross-regional scheduling and data transmission.
Similarly, when emergency rescue drones lose terrestrial network coverage in disaster-hit areas, they can rely on satellites to maintain communication with the command centre. He believes that this technological integration will attract more capital and resources to low-altitude airspace, promoting the coordinated development of the entire industry chain, including drone manufacturing, airspace management and data services. This will create a virtuous cycle of technology-scenario-industry.
What is the future of the 'Internet of Everything?'
Currently, the three major telecommunications companies — China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom — are all qualified to legally operate satellite mobile communications services. This enables them to provide direct mobile phone connections to satellites, deepen the application of emergency, maritime, and remote area communications, and enrich the supply of communication services and products.
On November 21, China Telecom launched a trial commercial service for its domestically developed, satellite-based, high-precision positioning service, "Tiantong + Beidou", which provides coverage to remote areas, oceans, low-altitude regions, and low-orbit areas where there is currently no or weak network coverage.
In the future, scenarios such as drone inspections and delivery, and low-altitude general aviation, will benefit from stronger signal support.