What are the advantages and disadvantages of satellite communication networks compared with 5G?

On May 24, 2019, Musk's SpaceX launched the first batch of 60 communication satellites of the "Starlink Project" into space. The "Starlink Project" claims to build a global communications network composed of 12,000 satellites in space. In fact, more than 20 years ago, Motorola launched a similar satellite project, the "Iridium" project. However, due to the low speed and extremely high cost of the satellite communication network, the "Iridium Project" ultimately failed.

The communication frequency band of satellites is theoretically possible to be faster than the 5G network. However, the distance is too far and there is too much interference, which weakens the communication capabilities and causes the actual communication speed to be lower than 5G.

Let’s talk about cost. The construction cost of a 5G base station is in the order of one million yuan; in comparison, the launch cost of a high-orbit communication satellite requires hundreds of millions of yuan.

So in terms of network speed and cost, satellite loses to 5G.

However, currently, the largest number of satellites in orbit are communication satellites, accounting for 40%. And in the foreseeable future, communication satellites will continue to be sent into space. What a contradiction. Is there anything we don’t know here? Of course, because we did not consider the important element of application scenarios at this time.

Without satellites, human activities can only occur in the "two-dimensional sphere" more than ten kilometers away from the earth's surface; in this sense, humans can also be called "two-dimensional life" ". The emergence of satellites has broken through this two-dimensional space and allowed humans to truly move in three-dimensional space. We call this the three-dimensional advantage of satellites. So what are the application scenarios for satellites with three-dimensional advantages?

First of all, we must realize that the area that 5G networks can cover will not exceed 20% of the total area of ??the earth; that is to say, the remaining 80% of the area is an "information wasteland." Then in places where 5G base stations cannot be laid or maintenance costs are extremely high, satellite communications will be the only option. Such as the sea, mountains and rainforests. If we focus beyond the Earth, in the future, satellite communications can provide services for asteroid development and even space immigration.

In addition, satellites can be used as an information broadcasting platform. For example, the live broadcast of news reports we see now still mainly relies on satellites for relay broadcasting.

Finally, the biggest driving force for countries to build satellite communication networks is national defense needs, and more to provide services for military activities. Like unmanned fighter jets, missiles, and aircraft carrier battle groups, they all need to be coordinated and controlled through satellites. During the military parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, various aircraft formations appeared. They relied on satellites to design and execute navigation routes.

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