NEW DELHI: In a breakthrough in satellite communications, Chinese scientists have developed the world’s first satellite that can make calls directly from smartphones without the need for ground infrastructure. Named “Tiantong”, which means “connected to the heavens”, the initiative is inspired by the biblical story of the Tower of Babel and aims to bridge communications gaps rather than create them.
The Tiantong-1 satellite series, whose first launch began on August 6, 2016, currently has three satellites in geostationary orbit at an altitude of 36,000 km, covering the entire Asia-Pacific region. According to a report by the South China Morning Post, this breakthrough came after Huawei launched the world’s first smartphone with satellite calling capabilities in September last year, paving the way for other manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Honor and Oppo to follow suit.
These technological advances have proven invaluable, especially in emergency situations when traditional communication networks fail. For example, during the magnitude 6.2 earthquake that hit Gansu province on December 18, victims were able to stay in touch with the outside world thanks to the satellite calling capabilities of their smartphones.
“Direct satellite connection for mobile phones will become a new development trend, and satellite communications will gradually be popularized among the general public,” noted the team led by Cui Manzhao of the China Academy of Space Science and Technology. Their research, detailed in the journal Aerospace Science and Technology, focuses on overcoming significant technical challenges associated with passive intermodulation (PIM), which can degrade the quality of satellite calls.
By addressing the PIM issue, the team was able to make the Tiantong satellites so sensitive that they could receive signals from a standard smartphone without the need for an external antenna, a feature that is especially important given that the satellites are subject to extreme temperature changes and operate on multiple frequency bands.
The idea for such a satellite was born after the tragic events in 2008, when southwest China’s Sichuan province was hit by a devastating magnitude 8 earthquake, killing more than 80,000 people.
To make the situation worse, at the time, communications in the affected areas were cut off, severely hindering rescue efforts and further exacerbating the crisis.
In response to the disaster, the Chinese government launched the Tiantong Project, a satellite communications system whose goal is to provide universal access to communications services, regardless of socio-economic status.
China’s progress in this field has cemented its position as a world leader in satellite communications technology, ushering in a new era in which geographic isolation no longer leads to communications isolation.
