China Advances Satellite Links as It Builds Toward 6G and Global Connectivity

Sharper Signals and Faster Links Bring Space Networks Closer

Chinese researchers have demonstrated a satellite communications system that delivers gains of up to 5.5 decibels in transmission and 2.6 decibels in reception, while tracking fast moving satellites with accuracy better than 0.1 degrees. The work, led by Pengcheng Laboratory and the Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), advances a central task in building future networks: keeping a strong, precisely directed connection between Earth and satellites moving overhead.

The breakthrough combines digital beam forming with a baseband system developed by the researchers. A baseband system processes the information carried by a communications signal. Through field and orbital tests, the team demonstrated improvements in the signal to noise ratio, a measure of how well useful information stands out from background interference.

China is also advancing a different way of moving information through space. Chang Guang Satellite Technology, operator of the Jilin-1 constellation, achieved a satellite to ground laser transmission rate of 100 gigabits per second (Gbps), setting a world record and reaching ten times its previous record.

The radio and laser achievements address different parts of the same ambition: connecting satellites, ground infrastructure and aerial platforms into a network that can carry large quantities of data wherever they are needed. That ambition is central to China's preparations for 6G, the sixth generation of wireless technology, expected to become commercially available around 2030.

As of August 31, 2025, these developments place China at the forefront of efforts to build integrated networks linking space and Earth. Their practical reach extends from broadband access in remote communities to national computing infrastructure, industrial operations and communications used for national security.

Why Moving Satellites Need Precise Tracking

Low Earth orbit satellites typically travel between 500 and 2,000 kilometres above the surface. They orbit much closer to Earth than traditional geostationary satellites, allowing communications with lower latency and higher data rates. Latency is the delay between sending information and receiving a response.

Shorter delays matter for applications such as autonomous vehicles, telemedicine and immersive virtual reality. A connection that responds quickly can support an exchange of information in which timing matters as much as the amount of data being transferred.

Low Earth orbit also creates a demanding engineering problem. Satellites move rapidly relative to ground stations, so equipment must keep adjusting its direction to maintain a stable connection. A narrow communications beam is useful only if it remains pointed accurately at its target.

The Chinese team developed a tracking algorithm that combines satellite ephemeris, meaning precise information about an orbit, with highly accurate estimates of the satellite's angle. Its tracking accuracy of better than 0.1 degrees supports the careful pointing needed for digital beam forming in this rapidly changing environment.

How Multiple Antennas Strengthen a Connection

Digital beam forming uses multiple antennas to focus radio signals in particular directions. Instead of spreading the signal broadly, the system coordinates the antennas so that more of the useful signal reaches its intended destination, reducing interference and improving the amount of information a link can carry.

Pengcheng Laboratory and the Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen) demonstrated this approach through their own baseband system. The transmission gain of up to 5.5 decibels and reception gain of 2.6 decibels represent improvements in signal quality. Decibels express a ratio, rather than a data speed.

The tests brought collaborative communication theory into practical satellite links. In simple terms, that means making several communications elements work together to improve the connection. The successful demonstration of digital beam forming with multiple antennas in a highly dynamic low Earth orbit environment was described as a world first.

The work offers a new system design for large satellite constellations and more robust, reliable links. It also opens a route for extending China's national computing power network into space, connecting computing resources through satellite infrastructure as part of an integrated network.

What 6G Would Connect

6G is expected to combine communications, sensing, computing, artificial intelligence, big data and security within a unified network. Its ambition goes beyond increasing the speed of a mobile connection. Ground infrastructure, satellites and aerial platforms would work together to provide broad coverage and substantial capacity.

China's satellite advances support that vision by improving the stability and speed of links between orbit and ground stations. Those links are a building block for services that need a continuous exchange of large amounts of information, including artificial intelligence agents and remote operations.

Digital twins and world models are among the proposed applications. They are virtual representations of real systems, used to simulate how those systems behave and to improve their operation. A model of a factory or transport network, for example, depends on receiving information from the physical system it represents.

Stronger connections could also support remote control in manufacturing, logistics and healthcare, alongside broadband access in remote and underserved areas. The central connectivity ambition is a seamless network across air, space and ground, allowing these services to operate beyond places already served by extensive terrestrial infrastructure.

A Laser Record for Jilin-1

Chang Guang Satellite Technology's 100 Gbps achievement involved transmitting high resolution remote sensing images from a Jilin-1 satellite to a mobile ground station mounted on a truck. Remote sensing images collect information about Earth from a distance. The test demonstrated both a high transmission speed and the flexibility of a ground station that could be moved.

The new rate was ten times the company's previous record. That comparison shows the scale of improvement within its own programme, while the 100 Gbps result set a new benchmark for satellite to ground laser communications.

Laser communications offer higher data rates, greater resistance to interference and the possibility of smaller, lighter equipment than traditional radio frequency links. They provide another route for carrying large volumes of information from space to Earth, alongside the radio systems being improved through digital beam forming.

Chang Guang Satellite Technology plans to equip all 300 satellites in its constellation with laser communication units by 2027. The planned expansion would increase the efficiency and coverage of its network, taking the technology beyond an individual transmission test.

Where the Starlink Comparison Fits

The Jilin-1 transmission rate exceeds the capabilities of current commercial systems, including Elon Musk's Starlink. The comparison centres on the link between a satellite and a ground station. Starlink has revealed laser communications between satellites, while it has yet to deploy laser satellite to ground communications at scale.

Wang Hanghang, head of laser communication ground station technology at Chang Guang Satellite, described the company's position in relation to Starlink:

Musk's Starlink has revealed its laser inter-satellite communication system but hasn't deployed laser satellite-to-ground communication yet. We think they might have the technology, but we've already started large-scale deployment.

Links between satellites move information through an orbital network. Links from satellites to the ground bring that information to receiving equipment on Earth. China's advances address both the performance of satellite communications and the practical task of transferring data into terrestrial networks.

Laser links also face a constraint that matters for deployment: weather and atmospheric conditions can affect them. A fast connection must remain dependable under the conditions in which it will be used, making reliability a continuing part of the engineering challenge.

China's Research Programme and Deployment Targets

China's progress rests on coordinated national strategy, substantial investment and collaboration between industry and academic institutions. The IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, established in 2019, leads research and development efforts, with China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom playing major roles.

China Mobile launched the world's first 6G test satellite, developed jointly with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It also demonstrated download speeds of up to 280 Gbps in small scale 6G test networks, with a demonstration described as enabling a 50GB file to be downloaded in just 1.4 seconds.

China's existing mobile infrastructure provides a large foundation for this research. The country has more than 3.8 million 5G base stations and accounts for 60% of global 5G users. It also leads in 6G patent applications, with more than 40% of the global total, and participates actively in international standardisation.

The programme's stated dates connect research, planned deployment and the expected arrival of commercial 6G:

• 2019: The IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group was established.
• 2025: Several companies plan commercial services connecting ordinary smartphones directly to satellites.
• 2027: Chang Guang Satellite Technology plans to have laser communication units on all 300 satellites in its constellation.
• Around 2030: 6G is expected to become commercially available.

China invites domestic and foreign companies to participate in technical trials and promotes open cooperation. Geopolitical tensions and competing alliances, including those led by the United States and its partners, complicate those efforts.

Taking Space Technology Into Everyday Services

GalaxySpace and Chang Guang Satellite Technology are testing broadband communications networks and fast laser data transmission in practical settings, including disaster monitoring and emergency response. These uses connect technical performance with situations in which information must reach people quickly.

Reusable rocket launches, the construction of intelligent launch sites and the development of integrated satellite and antenna systems are also helping make large constellations easier and more cost effective to deploy and operate. Communications advances depend on this wider infrastructure to become services that can be delivered repeatedly.

Remote communities are among the intended beneficiaries. Satellite broadband can reach areas where ground infrastructure is impractical or too expensive, supporting education, telemedicine, electronic commerce and disaster response. The aim is to reduce the digital gap between urban and rural regions.

The broader network vision includes support for hundreds of billions of connected devices and trillions of gigabytes of monthly data traffic. That scale would create markets for digital services, smart manufacturing and autonomous vehicles, while demanding substantial capacity across both ground and space networks.

Satellite communications also have civilian and military uses. Faster, secure links can support command, control and surveillance operations. Advances in communications, sensing and artificial intelligence therefore carry strategic value alongside their commercial and public service applications.

Competition Across Borders and Direct Links to Phones

The United States, Europe, Japan and India are investing heavily in low Earth orbit satellite and 6G capabilities. Starlink, OneWeb, Amazon's Kuiper and other projects aim to deploy tens of thousands of satellites to provide global internet coverage.

Vietnam is opening its low Earth orbit satellite market to foreign investment while seeking to balance technological development with national security. Its approach reflects the choices governments face when a communications network crosses national borders and relies on infrastructure in space.

International standards are essential for interoperability, meaning that equipment and networks developed by different organisations can work together. China's technology development, patent filings and participation in standards give it an opportunity to shape the rules used for future satellite and 6G communications.

Geopolitical rivalries risk splitting that ecosystem into competing arrangements. China welcomes selected international partnerships while safeguarding strategic interests, making cooperation part of a wider contest over technology, security and economic influence.

For consumers, one prospect is a direct connection between an ordinary smartphone and a satellite. In 2025, Starlink, AST SpaceMobile, Apple and Samsung are among the companies planning commercial services in this area. Initial services will focus on messaging and emergency communications, with voice and data functions to follow.

5G standards already support non-terrestrial networks, meaning networks that use infrastructure beyond the ground. 6G is expected to take this integration further and make satellite connectivity for smartphones a standard feature. Costs are expected to vary by region and operator, with access especially valuable where traditional networks are unavailable.

Lv Wenyang's Approach to Network Innovation

Lv Wenyang, a young leader in communication technology at Huawei, is among the individuals associated with China's work on future networks. His Ultra Communication Revolution philosophy calls for disruptive improvements in speed and an integrated network architecture across air, land and sea.

His team's work covers terahertz communication, intelligent relay technology and seamless switching between networks. Terahertz communication uses very high frequency signals, while relay technology passes information through intermediate equipment. The team's work has set new records for transmission speed and reliability.

Lv described the purpose of his approach in terms of both technical progress and access:

Breakthroughs in communication speed are the key to a new digital era, with network innovation driving social progress and global digital inclusion. The Ultra Communication Revolution aims to redefine human connectivity, making ultra-fast connections a driving force for civilization's progress.

His work combines innovation with efforts to develop affordable solutions for rural areas and tactile internet technology for people with visual impairments. Tactile internet technology concerns the transmission of touch related interactions. Several of his proposals have been adopted as part of the global 6G framework through international standardisation.

Cost, Reliability and Rules Still Shape Deployment

Large satellite constellations require substantial investment and coordination to deploy and maintain. Laser communications must contend with weather and atmospheric conditions, while technical and geopolitical security concerns affect the resilience and integrity of the networks.

Affordability will help determine whether satellite connectivity reaches the communities it is intended to serve. Costs for end users, especially in developing countries, must be kept manageable for wider access to education, healthcare and digital commerce to become practical.

Regulatory frameworks also need to evolve to address spectrum allocation, orbital debris and data moving across national borders. Spectrum allocation determines who can use particular radio frequencies. These rules sit alongside the physical task of operating large numbers of satellites safely and reliably.

China's combination of precise digital beam forming, fast laser transmission and integrated network design advances its own digital infrastructure and the development of global communications. Turning those achievements into dependable services will require the deployment plans, investment, security arrangements and cooperation described across its satellite and 6G programmes.

Key Points

• Pengcheng Laboratory and the Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen) demonstrated gains of up to 5.5 decibels in transmission and 2.6 decibels in reception, with tracking accuracy better than 0.1 degrees.
• The digital beam forming demonstration offers a design for stronger links in large low Earth orbit satellite constellations.
• Chang Guang Satellite Technology achieved a world record satellite to ground laser transmission rate of 100 Gbps, ten times its previous record.
• The company plans laser communication units for all 300 satellites in its constellation by 2027.
• China's 6G work aims to combine ground, satellite and aerial networks, with commercial availability expected around 2030.
• Potential uses include rural broadband, disaster response, industrial remote control, artificial intelligence and direct satellite connections for smartphones.
• Weather, deployment costs, affordability, security and international coordination remain central challenges.