Using a mobile phone to make satellite calls on an airplane? Huawei executives responded

On September 11th, the topic of "making Huawei satellite phone calls on airplanes is considered a violation" topped the hot search on Weibo.

Huawei's BG CTO Bruce Lee posted on Weibo, saying, "Recently, some users have been using the satellite phone function of Mate 60 Pro to make calls and record videos during the flight phase of civil aviation planes, which violates relevant flight safety regulations. Please remember to turn on the flight mode during the flight phase and comply with various flight safety regulations."

It is understood that the recently released Huawei Mate 60 Pro is the world's first Volkswagen smartphone to support satellite communication. This is another breakthrough for Huawei in the field of satellite communication, following the first support for satellite short messages in the Huawei Mate 50 series.

However, due to the fact that the application of satellite communication on civilian mobile phones is still in its early stages globally, many consumers are not familiar with the usage standards of satellite communication. With the continuous expansion of the domestic outdoor sports market, the value of satellite communication and other functions is expected to gradually be reflected.

Huawei Goes into Space

Initiate a new transformation in the mobile phone industry

On August 29th, Huawei Mall released the Huawei Mate 60 series smartphones. The Huawei Mate 60 Pro has become the world's first Volkswagen smartphone to support satellite calls. It can also make and answer satellite calls directly through the "Tiantong Satellite" without ground network signal.

On September 8th, Huawei Mall launched the Huawei Mate 60 Pro+, the world's first mobile phone equipped with dual satellite communication, which supports Tiantong satellite phone and two-way Beidou satellite messaging.

It is understood that Tiantong Satellite Business is a business established by China Telecom based on China's independently developed "Tiantong-1" satellite mobile communication system and network. The Tiantong satellite service adopts the 1740 exclusive segment to provide customers with satellite mobile voice, SMS, data, and value-added services. The Tiantong satellite service achieves comprehensive coverage of the communication network in China's territory and territorial waters, filling areas that cannot be covered by existing communication. It is widely used in multiple applications such as marine fisheries, emergency rescue, tourism exploration, and the Internet of Things.

Before the release of the Huawei Mate 60 series, making satellite calls required professional equipment, which not only had a large size but also required a relatively high-power antenna. If users in foreign regions subscribe to SpaceX Star Chain broadband, they need to install a matching receiver like a "big pot" in order to use it.

Through the Mate 60 Pro dedicated satellite phone card, products in the form of mobile phones can be connected to satellites tens of thousands of kilometers away, making and receiving calls and sending text messages, achieving a technological breakthrough in the field of "direct satellite connection with mobile phones".

So, what is the price of Huawei's mobile satellite calls, and can ordinary people afford it? This satellite call is a collaboration between Huawei and China Telecom. In terms of package pricing, China Telecom provides a basic function package of 10 yuan/month, with a complimentary 2-minute monthly call to the caller. In addition, it also offers voice packages for 200 yuan, 300 yuan, and 500 yuan, corresponding to 50 minutes, 100 minutes, and 200 minutes of direct satellite call duration, respectively. In terms of external charges for the package, both domestic and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan voice calls are priced at 9 yuan/minute, international long-distance calls are priced at 20 yuan/minute, international satellite calls are priced at 50 yuan/minute, and domestic satellite text messages are priced at 5 yuan/message.

Overall, satellite communication, due to its high price, will mainly be used in outdoor emergency response, tourism exploration and other fields. With Huawei's breakthrough in the field of "direct satellite connection for mobile phones", several companies are actively laying out this track. Recently, Apple's satellite service provider Globalstar paid $64 million to SpaceX, a subsidiary of Musk, to launch satellites between 2023 and 2025 to further expand Apple's iPhone series of SOS satellite services. In addition to Apple, Qualcomm has also announced the collaboration with manufacturers such as Honor, Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, and Motorola to develop smartphones with satellite communication capabilities.

According to a research report by Dongguan Securities, as multiple companies such as Huawei and Apple announce support for direct satellite connection of mobile phones, it is expected that satellite communication applications will become increasingly popular in civilian mobile phones in the future.

The outdoor sports market is vast

Will become an important scene for satellite communication

The importance that mobile phone manufacturers attach to the field of satellite communication is driven by the booming development of the outdoor sports market.

In 2022, the "Development Plan for Outdoor Sports Industry" jointly issued by the General Administration of Sport of China and eight other departments showed that by the end of 2021, the number of participants in outdoor sports nationwide had exceeded 400 million.

The Plan proposes that by 2025, the high-quality development of the outdoor sports industry will have achieved significant results, and a basic development pattern will be formed, which includes effective connection between supply and demand, coordinated development between industry and ecology, showcasing product and service brands, and continuous innovation in business formats and models. Outdoor sports facilities continue to increase, with a significant increase in popularity and an increasing number of participants. The total scale of the outdoor sports industry exceeds 3 trillion yuan.

According to data from the Head Leopard Research Institute, as of 2022, China has 130 million enthusiasts in outdoor sports, with an industry scale exceeding 60 billion yuan. The revenue scale of the outdoor products industry reached 169.327 billion yuan in 2020 and increased to 183.12 billion yuan in 2022.

According to a research report by Guohai Securities, outdoor sports have become a popular lifestyle in developed countries such as the United States and Europe. In the post pandemic era, the participation rate of outdoor sports is expected to further increase, and the industry will maintain stable growth. Outdoor sports are one of the important sub sectors of the rapidly growing global sports industry, covering various forms such as mountaineering, rock climbing, cycling, camping, skiing, and rafting. With policy guidance and consumer demand, the scale of China's sports outdoor industry continues to expand.

For outdoor enthusiasts, whether it's hiking, rock climbing, or camping, they often pass through areas without internet signals. If the mobile phone supports satellite call function, it can prevent outdoor athletes from losing contact at critical moments, adding a guarantee to their safety. Therefore, the rapid growth of the outdoor sports industry is expected to boost the development of the satellite communication industry.