Huawei reveals satellite internet test results for the first time

Huawei has become the next rare company in the world to test a low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet network, similar to SpaceX's Starlink service.

In early November 2023, at the "Aerospace Information Industry International Ecosystem" conference held in Chongqing (China), initial information about Huawei's satellite Internet test was revealed by Wang Jun, chief scientist of Huawei's 6G Wireless Technology Laboratory.

The company representative announced that the data download speed in their system has reached 660 Mbps. Huawei's Mate 60 Pro smartphone line has the ability to connect to geostationary satellites (GEO).

However, Huawei has yet to announce the exact timing of its commercial satellite Internet launch.

Apple will be the first company in the world to launch satellite communication feature on smartphones in 2022, with the launch of the iPhone 14 series.

“Emergency Satellite Calling” allows iPhone owners in the US, Canada and 14 other regions around the world to send messages to emergency services in conditions where there is no cellular signal.

In recent years China has been very interested in developing satellite communications for its smartphones.

It is not clear which satellite Huawei used to test LEO communications, but China has begun launching its own LEO broadband satellites.

One such launch will take place in March 2023, when a Long March 2C rocket will launch into orbit a remote sensing satellite and six LEO satellites manufactured by GalaxySpaceX.

In June 2023, Chinese researchers tested these satellites in the South China Sea, marking the first such test in China.