Recently, Huawei's executive director and chairman of the board of directors of the consumer business group (BG), Richard Yu, announced that the new foldable flagship smartphone, Mate X6, will feature a triple-network satellite version. In addition to supporting two-way satellite messaging and two-way calling, the device will now also incorporate low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet.
Huawei stressed that the LEO satellite internet system is currently undergoing testing, with public trials expected to commence in the second half of 2025.
The market anticipates that under the leadership of Huawei, triple-network satellite connectivity will gradually become standard for flagship smartphones, prompting more Chinese smartphone manufacturers to follow suit and creating additional market opportunities for related industries, particularly for chipmakers.
Previously, at the Aerospace Information Industry Talents Development Conference held in Chongqing, China, Yu stated that Huawei smartphones are the first to support precise positioning and messaging via BeiDou. He stated that China's 5G technology will transition into 5.5G starting in 2024, an indication that the integration of air, space, and ground communications may be achieved before 6G.
The LEO satellite market is rapidly emerging, especially in China and the US, where development has been swift. LEO satellites operate at altitudes ranging from approximately 160km to 2,000km above the Earth's surface, making them closer than medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, which have longer operational cycles.
The capability of mobile terminals to connect directly to satellites is set to improve progressively, marking an important application scenario for future 6G communications.
Major chipmakers rapidly releasing satellite communication chips
Since the launch of satellite communication features in the Huawei Mate 50, there has been a surge in interest in direct satellite connections in smartphones. In 2023, the Huawei Mate 60 Pro became the first dual-satellite communication phone, supporting Tiantong satellite telephony and two-way BeiDou messaging.
Currently, other Chinese smartphone brands including Honor Magic6, Xiaomi 14 Ultra, and Nubia Z70 Ultra have also integrated satellite communication. In November 2024, the Honor Magic7, Xiaomi 15, and Vivo X200 introduced dual-satellite communication, while the Huawei Mate X6 added LEO satellite capabilities, elevating its offering to triple-network satellite communication.
Reportedly, the satellite network in the Huawei Mate 60 Pro utilizes CT's Tiantong-1 service, powered by core chips developed by Hwa Create, which has also created a satellite communication module for smartphones, launching a civilian channel baseband chip HTD1001 that supports Tiantong satellite mobile communication modes, BDSB1, and GPS L1. This chip employs a 40nm process and LFBGA packaging, supporting standard communication interfaces.
In August 2023, Unisoc introduced its first 5G IoT-NTN satellite communication SoC chip V8821. The V8821 is Unisoc's first chip to support the 3GPP R17 NTN standards, utilizing a 22nm process and integrating functions like baseband, radio frequency, power management, and storage. Unisoc showcased a Vivo satellite phone prototype using the V8821 chip at a conference in Guangzhou.
Major players Qualcomm and MediaTek have also launched new chips supporting 5G NTN targeting the Android smartphone market.
MediaTek presented the MT6825 3GPP NTN chip at an exhibition in September 2024. This chipset supports the 3GPP R17 NTN standard and integrates ARM Cortex-M4F architecture, combining PSRAM, flash memory, mobile/satellite communication RF, and power management unit (PMU) into a single IC, providing seamless satellite communication functionality.
In February 2024, Qualcomm unveiled its flagship 5G Snapdragon X80, the first 5G baseband chip to integrate narrowband non-terrestrial networks (NB-NTN). With the rise of the direct satellite connection market, major chip manufacturers have launched NTN product platforms, paving the way for new growth opportunities in the satellite network sector.
Article translated by Charlene Chen
