Nowadays, in the starry sky above us, there are tens of thousands of active satellites operating. Although far away, satellites are inseparable from modern life. It can be used for making telephone Congee, driving navigation, weather forecasting, outdoor travel, emergency disaster relief, etc. The Guiding Opinions on Optimizing Business Access and Promoting the Development of Satellite Communication Industry issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in August this year proposed that by 2030, new models and formats such as direct connection of mobile phones to satellites should be applied on a large scale, and satellite communication users should exceed ten million, promoting the full integration of satellite communication into the new development pattern and effectively serving the high-quality development of the economy and society. The 'star' in the sky will be more closely connected to our fingertips. Wang Chaohui, a comprehensive outdoor sports enthusiast with the ability of the "satellite family", is preparing for a camping trip. The equipment he is most looking forward to this time is his newly replaced satellite phone. In the past, when I went to the wilderness, I was often in the fear of being dominated by 'your phone is not in the service area', "Wang Chaohui smiled. Compared with cellular mobile communication that connects mobile phones to base stations, satellite communication directly connected to mobile phones has the characteristics of wide coverage, long communication distance, limited geographical conditions, large transmission capacity, and stable and reliable lines. It can help remote mountainous areas, wilderness deserts, and vast oceans get rid of "signal islands". In addition, satellite communication networks have a short construction period, fast deployment, and flexible scheduling. They often play a "communication fallback" role in extreme scenarios such as emergency relief and accident rescue. Some cross-border financial transactions that are particularly sensitive to time also rely on satellite communication. At present, multiple mobile phone brands such as Huawei, Honor, Xiaomi, and OPPO have launched models that directly connect to satellites. Among the operators, China Telecom alone has supported satellite phone shipments exceeding 23 million units, with a user base of over 2.4 million. After opening the service, there is no need to change cards or numbers, further improving convenience. For users, resolving "internet anxiety" and achieving "signal freedom" are undoubtedly the biggest attractions. Low orbit satellites have high throughput and short latency, while high orbit satellites have wide coverage and stable signals. Medium orbit satellites can balance coverage range and positioning accuracy, and the capabilities of the "satellite family" are very comprehensive. In the eyes of satellites, not only mobile phones, but also terminal devices such as cars, drones, and outdoor equipment that can "shake hands". In recent years, direct satellite terminals have gradually been optimized in terms of hardware miniaturization, low power consumption, and high transmission and reception performance, enriching and expanding the types and application scenarios of satellite terminals. After combining satellite communication with map services, deep binding between communication functions and geographical locations can be achieved, such as automatic attachment of precise positioning for distress messages, thereby improving rescue efficiency. ”According to Fang Xing, chief expert of Gaode positioning system, relying on Gaode satellite distress function, users can send distress information and coordinates with one click through mobile phones, cars and other terminals. Currently, hundreds of people have been successfully rescued. The direct connection of ground terminals to satellites marks the practical implementation of the "sky earth integration" communication service, which is mainly based on ground networks and supplemented by satellite networks, achieving a leap from "regional" to "global" communication coverage. The year 2025 is referred to by the industry as the first year of satellite oriented mass consumption, and the satellite economy is entering the fast lane of development. Driven by technological breakthroughs, cost reductions, and policy support, satellite applications have entered people's lives from professional fields, presenting a flourishing trend of flourishing and flourishing. In addition to traditional communication fields, innovative applications have also emerged in areas such as intelligent driving, smart transportation, and urban management, continuously expanding the satellite economy in Xinjiang. In harsh and rarely visited environments, satellite positioning can provide protection for industrial, agricultural, and transportation production. For example, with the centimeter level high-precision positioning and all-weather stable service of China's Beidou satellite navigation system, workers can sit in the cockpit of big cities and remotely control operations to complete tasks in mines, ports, and other scenarios thousands of miles away, which is both efficient and safe. In more common scenarios, satellite positioning has seamlessly integrated into our lives: as soon as we step out of our homes, we can step into the self driving ride hailing service that comes to pick us up; In the campus and surrounding areas, unmanned buses can take you to the station on time; The "traffic light read second prompt" in the navigation software can help you get rid of "red light anxiety disorder"... Currently, cloud supported automatic emergency braking (C-AEB) and cloud supported green wave speed guidance (C-GLOSA) are landing. ”Cao Zhong, an assistant researcher at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan, stated that C-AEB can mitigate the risk of rear end collisions caused by obstruction from the preceding vehicle, while C-GLOSA can calculate traffic lights and other information ahead to adjust vehicle speed and achieve "green light traffic on all roads". In invisible places, the massive driving data generated by satellite positioning builds the data foundation for smart cities. The reporter learned that the transportation department of Jinan, Shandong has cooperated with ride hailing platforms to optimize urban traffic signals using their ride hailing data, successfully improving the efficiency of traffic operations throughout the city and becoming a vivid epitome of satellite positioning technology empowering refined urban management. From small screens to wheels, from production safety to urban pulse, satellites are silently serving the public and reshaping social production and living patterns, making people's lives smarter and more convenient. Where is the direction of the "satellite economy"? While the satellite economy is moving forward with great success, there are still bottlenecks to be overcome in terms of cost, technology, and industrial ecology. The primary challenge is the high cost of satellite construction and user fees. Currently, the cost of satellite calls is much higher than that of cellular mobile communications. A few minutes of phone calls can generate tens of yuan in phone bills, and sending a text message also costs around 5 yuan. Satellite launch and ground station maintenance costs are high, and the cost of a single satellite can easily exceed tens of millions. The cost of hardware such as antennas, RF front-end, and communication chips is also 'hard' and difficult to reduce, "said Zhong Rui, a satellite communication architect at Honor Terminal. In the future, it will be necessary to further reduce costs through mass production and rocket recovery technology. Interstellar laser communication technology is another key challenge. The technical challenges of laser alignment caused by satellite vibration and the sudden increase in error rate caused by solar flares urgently need to be solved. The large-scale and widespread application of satellite economy also needs to address the issue of insufficient industrial synergy. At present, satellite manufacturing, launch services, and terminal applications have not yet formed an integrated force of "satellite, management, and use", and there are still fragmented links in the industrial chain. The sustainable profit model of satellite IoT is not fully mature, and potential risks of "heavy construction, light operation" need to be vigilant. Consumer grade terminal devices also need to be further miniaturized, simplified to operate, and further reduce power consumption. It is worth noting that the competition for spectrum and orbital resources is a special issue facing the satellite economy. The global low orbit resources are tight, and there is an uneven distribution of spectrum among countries. The resource game is difficult to say the end point. How to maximize the use of limited resources, strengthen cross-border cooperation, and strive for more development space within the framework of international rules requires comprehensive allocation and systematic layout. Although it is not a smooth path, the future prospects of the satellite economy are already within reach, with independent research and development, technological integration, scene expansion, and ecological improvement being the core directions. Through AI deep empowerment, quantum encryption technology embedding, and 6G satellite ground fusion, satellite communication can provide intelligent, stable, and reliable support for more complex application scenarios. ”Zhong Rui said. From the perspective of "satellite+life", Fang Xing stated that in the future, satellite communication terminals may accelerate their integration with mobile terminals such as cars and drones, expanding the coverage of application scenarios. At the same time, satellite communication will also be deeply integrated with navigation, rescue, travel services, etc., forming an integrated solution of "positioning+communication+service", achieving the integrated development of application scenarios. The high-quality development of satellite economy cannot be separated from the industrial development of scale and integration. Taking China Telecom as an example, it is gradually building an "integrated satellite, sky, and earth" network, collaborating with upstream and downstream manufacturers to create a complete industrial ecosystem. In the future, it will also collaborate with domestic and foreign industry partners through an open platform to promote China's satellite business to the world. (New Society)