Ya'an Highlights the Importance of Communication: Satellite Communication Integration into Civilian Mobile Phones Becoming a Reality
Introduction
From the Wenchuan earthquake to the Ya'an earthquake, the issue of delayed rescue operations caused by communication disruptions has drawn increasing attention. In particular, recognizing the significant role that China's BeiDou satellite system played in ensuring communications during earthquake relief, recent media reports and netizens have called for the promotion of civilian applications of satellite communication to establish a fast track for saving lives in the first critical moments.
Regarding the feasibility of integrating satellite communication into civilian mobile phones, our reporter interviewed Mr. Chen Xinbao, former director of the PLA Satellite Positioning General Station and president of Shenzhou Tianhong, China's first civilian operator of the BeiDou system and a manufacturer and seller of related equipment.
Communication Facilities in Quake-hit Areas Are Vulnerable to Damage, Making Lifeline Hotlines Difficult to Guarantee
Among all natural disasters, strong earthquakes cause the greatest destruction and damage, particularly by disrupting communication facilities and causing communication outages. This severely hampers external rescue operations and the transmission of information.
After the Ya'an earthquake, the three major telecom operators took 56 hours of emergency repairs to basically restore communication facilities in the epicenter area.
Let us review the damage to communications caused by earthquakes in recent years:
In June 2001, a magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck Peru. Some roads to the disaster area were blocked by landslides, communication facilities were damaged, and large-scale communication outages directly hindered rescue operations.
On December 26, 2004, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake near Sumatra, Indonesia triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, causing significant damage to telecommunications in the region. Communication services were interrupted after the quake. After the disaster, the global telecommunications community extended assistance to the affected areas, and telecom services in South Asia were gradually restored.
On December 26, 2006, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred in the South China Sea. Due to the strong earthquake, several international submarine communication cables, including the China-US Cable Network, Asia Pacific 1, and Asia Pacific 2, were interrupted at a point 15 km south of Taiwan, severely affecting international and regional communications in the surrounding areas.
Similarly, the 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake caused severe damage to the communication systems in the disaster area, with all communication facilities destroyed. Telegraph, telephone, mobile phone, and internet—these modern communication methods embodying a century of human ingenuity—lost their former power in the face of natural disaster. Wenchuan became an information island overnight, creating enormous difficulties for earthquake relief and post-disaster recovery. Communication outages directly affected rescue operations in the disaster area, preventing precious time from being gained to save lives.
Fixed Network Outages Are Inevitable; BeiDou Satellite System Becomes the Key to Survival
Under specific times, specific areas, and specific conditions, existing fixed network and mobile network communication systems have inherent shortcomings. Fixed network communication lines are vulnerable to damage. Mobile networks are formed by connecting multiple wireless base stations via fixed networks, making them equally vulnerable to damage. Additionally, base station power failures or damage can cause local communication outages, and overload can lead to congestion and unavailability.
From the overall perspective of emergency disaster relief communications, the priority task remains the rapid repair of optical cables. However, under conditions of continuous aftershocks, temporary optical cables laid along the ground—neither buried nor overhead—are extremely fragile and highly prone to re-interruption.
Therefore, given the severe damage earthquakes cause to communication facilities, advancing the construction of satellite communication systems and promoting their application and popularization among the public are important tasks.
In the complex environment of northwestern Sichuan, where communication signals are severely shielded and interfered with, the US GPS can only display terminal location information without communication capabilities. While satellite mobile phones can provide voice communication, they lack positioning and navigation functions. In 2007, during a mudslide in the mountainous areas of Sichuan, two foreign tourists were trapped. Their GPS phones could only tell them where they were but could not transmit their location information. Had they used BeiDou satellite system phones, they could have sent their location to the outside world and used short message communication to request rapid rescue.
During the Wenchuan earthquake, due to the complex mountainous terrain of the disaster area, portable satellite communication equipment was scarce and could not be transported in time. At that time, the domestically developed "BeiDou-1" satellite navigation system played an irreplaceable role in the early stages of earthquake relief.
The positioning terminals of the "BeiDou-1" positioning and navigation system can not only report their position to the base at any time but also have two-way communication capabilities. In modern communications, satellite communication cannot be replaced by other communication methods. All communication functions provided by existing commonly used communication systems have already been applied in satellite communications.
Furthermore, drawing on the experience of countries such as the United States and Japan, popularizing high-precision positioning LBS in mobile communications can enable disaster relief centers to quickly obtain the precise location and status of each person requesting help.
Dispelling Misconceptions about Satellite Communication: Integration into Civilian Mobile Phones Is Becoming a Reality
Due to the current small number of satellite communication users and the lack of widespread adoption, communication tariffs are higher than those of conventional cable and microwave communications—ten times or even dozens of times higher. This is related to the inadequate promotion and application of satellite communication and the failure to develop the public user market. Making the public aware of advances in satellite technology and changing one-sided perceptions is the most important responsibility in expanding the satellite communication market.
Especially now that terrestrial mobile communications and the internet are household names used by everyone, the promotion, popularization, and application of satellite phones and satellite broadband have lagged far behind the pace of satellite communication technology development. As a result, people have a sense of "mystery" about satellite communication, feeling that their lives have little to do with satellites. In reality, satellites have already entered everyone's daily life—the television programs people watch are transmitted via satellites, and satellite distance education, satellite telemedicine, and satellite navigation and positioning all serve millions of users.
In addition, due to some one-sided views on the technological development and characteristics of satellite communication, some believe that satellite communication bandwidth is insufficient. Regarding this view, it can be said that in a certain sense it is narrow—it may not simultaneously provide terabit-level bandwidth. However, for users with substantial international business or those who need supplementary critical communications, installing a satellite backup line allows for rapid switching to the satellite link in the event of terrestrial communication outages. If satellite broadband equipment could be added to key enterprises, core business departments, and remote grassroots townships in mountainous areas, it would not only resolve large-scale network outages caused by earthquakes but also address network failures resulting from common incidents such as terrestrial broadband faults, terrestrial line interruptions, and equipment damage. Technically, this is not very complex and does not require significant investment.
Mr. Chen Xinbao stated that civilian mobile phones with BeiDou system integration are currently under development in China and are not far from market launch. Their prices will be roughly comparable to mid-to-high-end phones currently on the market, significantly reducing the high cost that has hindered the popularization of satellite phones and providing greater protection for life.
We believe that as the state places increasing emphasis on satellite communication technology, favorable conditions and space will be created for the civilian application and popularization of China's satellite communication services, promoting the healthy, orderly, and rapid development of satellite communication integration into civilian mobile phones in China.