Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Beijing, October 17 (Xinhua) the release of iPhone 14 has made satellite phones the focus of attention. In fact, satellite phones are nothing new. The technology industry began to study satellite phones more than 30 years ago, but the results were not very good.

Satellite phones are once again embracing the concept of more than 30 years ago in the late 1980s, when mobile phones first became popular, it was not clear whether the call network was centered on ground services or satellite services. Neither of these two systems was very perfect at that time.

Satellites are attractive because they can provide connections in the most remote parts of the planet, including polar regions, at sea and even on aircraft, where there is no ground network to cover. This kind of satellite phone needs to work under a clear sky, but this has not diminished people's interest in its research.

So when Motorola announced its first mobile satellite phone project called Iridium in 1990, mobile phone users and investors were excited.

Other companies that Motorola executives showed off in 1990 for Iridium satellites and mobile phone models soon joined the wave and built more satellite companies. In 1991, defense contractor Loral and Qualcomm established Global Star (Globalstar) to compete with Motorola's Iridium. Teledesic, backed by investors such as telecom billionaires Craig McCaw and Bill Gates, announced plans in 1994 to develop a satellite that would provide both voice and data connections. Other smaller companies don't want to miss this trend and start planning their own networks.

On November 1, 1998, Iridium officially launched a global communications service using its 66 satellites. At the opening ceremony, the first call was made by then US Vice President Al Gore to Gilbert Grosvenor (Gilbert Grosvenor), the great-grandson of Alexander Graham Bell (Alexander Graham Bell), the inventor of the phone.

Bankruptcy, however, rocket launches are costly, take years to get approval from international governments, and services require spectrum, which are a drag on the satellite phone industry. As a result, by the time Iridium's satellite phone service comes online, there will be plenty of time for ground cellular service to become popular on a large scale.

To make matters worse, Iridium's satellite phone was huge at the beginning of its launch, selling for more than $3000 and charging users as much as $7 per minute for service.

As a result, after investing more than $5 billion and having few users, Iridium filed for bankruptcy protection less than a year after the launch of satellite phones. Teledesic also launched only one satellite and shut down operations in 2002. In the same year, Global Star entered bankruptcy protection.

Prakash Prakash Sangam, founder of Tantra Analyst, a 1998 Iridium satellite telephone technology research and consulting company, says other problems have also led to the failure of these companies, including the limited battery life of satellite phones and the cost of maintaining satellite networks.

A new round of "space race" now, mobile phone giants have once again set their sights on the satellite field. In September, Apple launched a satellite emergency call function in its latest iPhone 14 series of phones, which can send a distress signal from anywhere in the United States and Canada. Apple has agreed to pay Global Star up to $230 million next year for most of its network capacity, according to securities regulatory filings. Apple plans to launch the feature in November.

IPhone 14 supports satellite connectivity. Apple is just one of the companies to enter the satellite smartphone business. Huawei says its latest phone can send one-way emergency messages through the Beidou system. Iridium, a competitor to Global Star, said it was developing its own smartphone service with an unnamed partner.

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, is also interested in satellite phones. His rocket company, SpaceX, said in August that it would work with US operator T-Mobile US to make its "star chain" service compatible with T-Mobile 's network. The two companies said they would start testing the service by the end of 2023.

High risk and big challenge for satellite companies, such a bet is risky because it costs billions of dollars for each company to just start the launch network. Of course, if these companies can make their services run globally, even if they cover a small fraction of the world's more than 6 billion smartphones, the potential rewards will be equally lucrative.

Any real satellite phone service must overcome basic challenges. Today's satellite phones require large battery packs that power large antennas to connect to satellites. Companies also need more powerful smartphones, more sensitive satellites, or a combination of both to transmit high-speed data from space to the hands of ordinary consumers.

Global satellite communications engineers at Iridium say improved satellite technology and cheaper rockets are key factors for satellite companies to fully target the mobile device market. But these proposals still require billions of dollars in investment to succeed.

In the 1960s, the first space-based communications satellites followed a geosynchronous orbit of more than 22000 miles above the equator. The first successful Internet satellites occupy an equally high orbital space. This orbit is synchronized with the earth's rotation and maintains a constant position in the sky, making the coverage wider. However, long-distance links have high power requirements for both satellite and ground-based link equipment. Signal round trip takes more than 500 milliseconds, which is a long time for modern Internet applications.

Other companies have adopted a compromise, using a middle-earth orbit closer to the earth's surface. However, such orbits usually require bulky, sturdy equipment to protect against solar radiation from the outer Van Allen belt.

Today, most space companies that covet the mobile market operate in low-Earth orbits of 1200 miles (1931 kilometers) or lower, allowing satellites to fly close to customers on the ground. Such an orbit requires satellites to fly through space at a speed of more than 17,000 miles per hour, and it takes a large number of satellites to cover any place on Earth for more than a few minutes.

Regulatory approval for satellite networks to flourish, satellite executives need not only engineering know-how and large amounts of money, they also need permission. Companies must survive the intricacies of domestic and international regulations. These regulations control not only the satellites they launch, but also the voice and data services they plan to provide.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a United Nations agency responsible for overseeing the registration of the satellite fleet, which involves many countries. Companies that want to build a satellite fleet must register with the International Telecommunication Union, and then usually they must obtain a license from the country where their satellites are covered. National agencies also manage services through regulations that often benefit those who have already launched satellites.

For example, Global and Iridium have been licensed in many countries to transmit data at lower frequencies, which are considered more suitable for connecting to the smallest equipment on the ground.

The registration of the International Telecommunication Union will not prevent new satellite companies from using the same airwaves, although this often creates new obstacles for companies, because they must prove that their new satellite fleet will not interfere with other satellites that are already using these airwaves. This flexibility has allowed SpaceX's broadband business to flourish, even though the company lacks major licenses.

However, many countries require newcomers to prove that their plans will not interfere with existing space networks that are already in operation. Established satellite companies say the licenses they have accumulated over the years have put them ahead of newer start-ups.

To sum up, mobile phone users should manage their expectations for satellite phones. The first version of this technology is a big step forward for mobile phones, but it may not soon bring people the coveted "always online" life.

Welcome to subscribe "Shulou Technology Information " to get latest news, interesting things and hot topics in the IT industry, and controls the hottest and latest Internet news, technology news and IT industry trends.