By Zhou Deqing, Kegong Liliang
At 3:27 a.m. on October 10, the Long March 12 carrier rocket lifted off from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site, sending the 27th batch of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for the satellite internet into their predetermined orbits. Only 17 days had passed since the launch of the previous batch of satellites.
China is accelerating the construction of its own satellite internet. Between these two launches, a communication test conducted at the North and South Poles demonstrated the practical application capabilities already possessed by this yet-to-be-completed space network.
On September 25, the Mid-Autumn Festival, China's 16th Arctic Expedition, while on mission, connected across the globe via a video call with the Qinling Station in Antarctica, located far away in the Southern Hemisphere. On October 6, CCTV News disclosed the technical details of this special call: relying on China's "SatNet" GW constellation, the end-to-end latency of the video communication between the North and South Poles was controlled within 1 second, and the peak uplink and downlink rates during the test were approximately 30 Mbps.
China SatNet was established in April 2021. The GW constellation it builds and operates is China's first mega satellite internet project, aiming to provide broadband services to areas unreachable by terrestrial networks through the networking of a massive number of LEO satellites. Unlike traditional methods that rely on a small number of communication satellites to provide limited connectivity, such constellations ultimately aim to establish a space communication network with broader coverage and the ability to provide continuous services.
Liu Feng, a senior engineer at the National Marine Data and Information Service, introduced that this test marks the first time in China to achieve real-time video communication across an ultra-large latitudinal span relying on a domestically developed LEO satellite internet system. Behind this achievement is the realization of fully autonomous and controllable full-link polar region communication in China. Data transmission no longer needs to be relayed through overseas nodes, making up for the security shortcomings in polar communication.
SatNet did not just complete a video demonstration this time. According to the National Marine Data and Information Service, when the "Jidi" and "Tan Suo San Hao" entered the ice zone and the original communication was difficult to guarantee, SatNet equipment also undertook tasks such as scientific research file transmission and voyage log return, and supported real-time communication between the scientific research vessels and the National Marine Data and Information Service, the Polar Research Institute of China, and the news live broadcast room.
"It is equivalent to proving that communication was completed under the worst communication conditions and over the longest distance," Xing Ruolin, founder and CEO of Yiwei Yuhang, told Kegong Liliang. Compared to mere communication rates, what is more worthy of attention is that China SatNet has completed network connection and service verification under extreme conditions. The particularity of this call lies not only in the ability of two expedition teams separated by thousands of miles to meet in real time, but more importantly, in the fact that the space network supporting the communication comes from China's independently built and operated LEO satellite internet system.
In his view, this is a phased achievement and also reflects that China's satellite internet is approaching an important industrial turning point. "The technical conditions for the networking of our current LEO constellation have basically been finalized, and the next step is large-scale deployment."
The Polar Regions: A Boundary Test
The North and South Poles have always been among the most difficult regions to cover by global communication networks. Traditional geostationary orbit (GEO) communication satellites are located about 36,000 kilometers above the equator. The closer to the North and South Poles, the lower the position of the satellites in the sky, until they cannot be used directly near the geographical poles. Therefore, polar expeditions have long needed to rely on satellite systems in different orbits to piece together communication capabilities.
The U.S. Antarctic Program has previously used inclined geosynchronous orbit satellites to provide limited daily broadband connections to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station; China has also relied on different systems such as Iridium, Intelsat, and domestically developed medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites to improve polar expedition communication conditions. However, none of these can meet the needs of real-time transmission.
For polar observation, one of the most precious resources is on-site operation time. Weather windows, sea ice conditions, and ship routes can all determine whether an observation can be implemented. If researchers in the rear cannot obtain data and judge quality in a timely manner, by the time equipment anomalies or data loss are discovered, the scientific research vessel may have already sailed away from the operation area.
Therefore, the value of polar broadband communication is not just to enable researchers to hold video conferences at any time, but to reduce information delay between the scientific research site and the rear team, allowing operations originally constrained by communication conditions to be organized more efficiently.
Xing Ruolin believes that this is precisely the most noteworthy aspect of the GW constellation test: it simultaneously solves several complex technical problems.
First, two high-latitude terminals are simultaneously connected to the same constellation network. LEO satellites orbit the Earth at high speeds, and the time a single satellite can cover a certain area is limited. A usable data transmission path also needs to be established between the North and South Poles. This requires the entire system to have network scheduling, communication relay, and service continuation capabilities.
Second, factors such as high-energy particle radiation in the polar space environment pose higher requirements for the reliability of satellite-borne equipment. Even if the terminals can connect to the satellites, it is necessary to ensure that on-orbit communication services can operate normally.
More importantly, what this test carries is not simple voice or text messages, but real-time video. "It connects the entire link of the base station, core network, and terminal," Xing Ruolin explained. Video communication requires the coordinated work of all links, not only allowing the terminals to connect but also ensuring that data reaches the other end through the network.
Therefore, this call can be understood as a concentrated test of the domestically developed satellite internet system: completing actual service connections in two distant regions with difficult terrestrial communication conditions.
Security reflects value in another aspect. According to public reports, this test achieved data transmission without relay through overseas nodes. This means that China can rely on its independently built space communication system to guarantee the communication needs of special regions and key industries.
With an independently built and operated space communication system, China can gradually improve coverage, scheduling, and terminal adaptation capabilities around polar expedition routes, key exploration areas, and scientific research needs, reducing the reliance of key services on overseas network services. The value of independent operation will be infinitely amplified along this link.
After Technical Verification Comes Large-Scale Deployment
Xing Ruolin also stated that what is worth looking forward to after this test is the large-scale commercial operation of future satellite internet constellations. "Ordinary consumer-grade terminals with 5G broadband communication functions will all be able to connect to the satellite internet constellation, with the satellites directly providing network services."
For current communication tasks with a small number of users in specific scenarios, the satellite network can arrange resources around predetermined times, locations, and terminals. However, if a large number of ships, industrial facilities in remote areas, and even ordinary consumers are to use it in the future, the same communication capabilities must be provided stably in more locations and over longer periods.
This depends not only on the performance of a single satellite but also on the constellation scale, orbital layout, ground facilities, terminal costs, and the scheduling capabilities of the entire network.
Currently, China SatNet is still in the construction phase of this infrastructure. According to the plan disclosed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the GW constellation plans to deploy 12,992 satellites, with about 1,300 to be deployed by the end of 2029, and the complete networking to be finished by 2035.
This means that for a considerable period in the future, China's aerospace industry still needs to solve engineering problems such as mass satellite manufacturing, high-frequency and low-cost launches, and the long-term operation of complex networks.
However, overall, China is making rapid progress in the commercial aerospace field. Xing Ruolin stated that this year, our country has achieved successful verification of reusable rocket technology. After SatNet operates successfully in extreme environments, we actually have no unsolvable problems in carrier rocket technology and constellation networking technology.
In addition, the technical and standard capabilities accumulated by China in the terrestrial mobile communication industry are also extending to satellite communication. One important route is 5G NTN, that is, 5G Non-Terrestrial Network technology.
Simply put, traditional satellite communication usually requires specialized communication equipment and protocol systems, while 5G NTN aims to further integrate satellite networks with existing mobile communication technologies, enabling terminals such as mobile phones to connect to satellites using a unified communication technology system.
In May last year, China SatNet had already completed a mobile phone direct-to-satellite broadband video call based on the 5G NTN standard through a new technology test satellite, verifying the relevant space-terrestrial integrated network technology.
From completing the mobile phone direct-to-satellite broadband video call based on the 5G NTN standard to now achieving real-time video communication in polar regions, the former focuses on testing the feasibility of mobile phone direct-to-satellite and communication protocols, while the latter demonstrates the ability of domestic constellations to support actual communication services in complex geographical environments. China SatNet is steadily verifying key technical capabilities in different scenarios.
Xing Ruolin believes that China has already formed its own advantages in communication technology systems, protocols, and network configurations. The next focus will be on making up for satellite launch and large-scale deployment.
A Bigger Variable May Be Taking Computing Power to Space
If satellite internet is only understood as a broadband network capable of covering oceans, deserts, and polar regions, its long-term value might be underestimated.
As LEO satellite networks gradually mature, the significance of communication constellations may no longer be limited to sending data back to the ground; they may also become important connection infrastructure for future space computing systems. This is an extension of the satellite internet business model. The core business of traditional satellite internet is to enable terminals to connect to terrestrial networks via satellites, while the cloud computing, storage, and AI (Artificial Intelligence) services accessed by users still mainly run in terrestrial data centers.
But if computing devices themselves are deployed in space in the future and can be connected to other computing nodes and terrestrial terminals through satellite networks, then some data may be processed in orbit, further integrating communication and computing.
SpaceX has already begun exploring this direction. According to its publicly available capital market documents and related reports, SpaceX is planning orbital AI computing infrastructure, attempting to use satellite networks and inter-satellite laser communication technology to connect space computing nodes, and plans to carry out related technology demonstrations by the end of 2027.
China also has independent space computing explorations. In May 2025, the first batch of 12 computing satellites of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation" led by Zhejiang Lab successfully entered orbit. The satellites are equipped with satellite-borne intelligent computing systems and inter-satellite communication equipment, attempting to process data directly in space.
Although the technical goals of the two types of constellations are different, there is potential for synergy: the communication network is responsible for connection, transmission, and scheduling, while the computing satellites are responsible for processing data. If compatible network interfaces and sufficient bandwidth are available in the future, the space network may be further expanded from communication infrastructure to a part of computing infrastructure.
Xing Ruolin believes that terminals connected to the satellite internet in the future may directly use computing and AI services from space. This is the industrial direction he considers more worthy of attention than a single video call.
However, there is still great uncertainty here.
Space computing needs to solve problems such as chip radiation resistance, equipment heat dissipation, energy supply, high-speed inter-satellite interconnection, and computing costs. The connection capability of the communication network cannot directly prove the support for large-scale orbital AI services. Even less can this polar video test be understood as indicating that the space AI cloud already has commercial operation capabilities.
For China, satellite internet and space computing power are currently two relatively independent industrial routes being advanced separately. Whether a unified network and service system can be established in the future depends on technical standards, actual needs, and commercial costs.
But this at least provides another perspective to observe the development of China's satellite internet. In the past, the most important issue for the industry was whether satellites could be sent into orbit at low cost and on a large scale; as satellites enter space, the competition has begun to shift to whether they can be connected into a truly operable network.
Further down the line, when communication becomes a basic capability, the satellite internet may also take on more data processing and computing services. From satellite launch to satellite networking, and then to the integration of communication and computing, industrial value is extending downstream along this chain.
Returning to the video call between the North and South Poles on the Mid-Autumn Festival, it did not directly solve the problem of large-scale deployment of LEO communication constellations in the coming years, nor did it prove the commercial prospects of space computing power. However, in a scenario where terrestrial communication conditions are extremely difficult, it verified that the domestically developed LEO satellite internet system can complete cross-regional actual communication services, taking a solid step towards building commercially operated LEO constellations in the future.
For China SatNet, this is a key phased achievement. From the perspective of the entire industry, the change truly worthy of attention is: as the basic communication capabilities of the satellite internet are gradually verified, what China's commercial aerospace will compete for next is not just how many satellites are sent into space, but how to turn them into space infrastructure capable of long-term operation and continuous service provision.