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On August 6, the "Opinions of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Innovating the Management of the Information and Communications Industry and Optimizing the Business Environment" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions") was released to the public, which clearly mentioned: "Expand the opening of telecommunications services. Promote the formation of a new situation of high-level opening up to the outside world, and further pilot the expansion of value-added telecommunications services. Deepen the opening of telecommunications services to private capital, increase support for private enterprises to participate in mobile communications resale and other business and service innovations, orderly promote the reform of the satellite Internet business access system, and better support the development of private telecommunications enterprises."

On the afternoon of the same day, the launch ceremony of the first batch of satellites of the "Thousand Sails Constellation" was held at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, and 18 satellites were successfully launched into orbit. As the proposer of the "Thousand Sails Constellation" plan, Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. completed a RMB 6.7 billion A round of financing in February this year, creating the largest single round of financing in the domestic satellite industry to date.

At the end of June this year, Changguang Satellite, another satellite Internet unicorn that is accelerating the construction of the "Jilin-1" network, has inquired about its IPO on the A-share Science and Technology Innovation Board.

Obviously, under the attention of national policies and capital from all parties, satellite Internet as a new blue ocean track is attracting more players to join.

Satellite Internet is not just the "Plus version" of traditional Internet

When it comes to the concept of satellite Internet, many people will think of SpaceX's Starlink. As a new network architecture based on satellite communication technology to access the Internet, satellite Internet can be generally understood as moving the functions of ground base stations into satellite platforms in the air. Each satellite becomes a mobile base station in the sky, providing high-bandwidth, flexible and convenient Internet access services to users around the world.

Compared with traditional Internet, satellite Internet can cover remote areas, sea areas, air areas and other areas where ground base stations cannot be built, thus solving the problem of limited coverage of traditional ground networks.

"First of all, the constellation relies on rockets to send a large number of satellites into the low-orbit environment of space, which requires the ability to launch low-cost massive orbits in the early stage." Shengbang Security Senior Vice President solemnly told Titanium Media APP that satellite Internet is based on the capabilities of traditional Internet and uses satellites to achieve wide coverage and connectivity, which is usually achieved using low-orbit constellations.

When the number of satellites in the sky reaches a certain scale, satellite communication networking and satellite operation and maintenance will also become a difficult point. In terms of communication, information is transmitted between satellites and between satellites and ground communication gateways through radio. "Therefore, it is very important to choose the right band," Zheng Zhong told Titanium Media APP. "At the same time, the altitude of the satellite, the orbital position of the satellite...all these are very important for satellite communication."

In terms of operation, maintenance and control, because satellites are different from the ground, ground base stations can be easily maintained. Therefore, how to control and maintain satellites in the "sky" through electromagnetic waves is also a difficult problem that needs to be faced in the process of true commercialization and large-scale application of satellite Internet.

In addition to basic skills,From “usable” to “easy to use”, satellite Internet also needs to have four comprehensive capabilities.

• The first is the ability to provide wide coverage.Satellite Internet can achieve seamless all-day coverage around the world by launching a large number of satellites to form a constellation, including every corner of the land, sea, and air. This wide coverage capability enables satellite Internet to provide users with Internet access services anytime and anywhere.
• The second is the capability of low latency and high bandwidth.As we all know, the bandwidth and latency of the network directly affect the user experience of end users. If satellite Internet wants to move from "usable" to "easy to use", an essential step is to have the ability of high bandwidth and low latency. The "bottom line" of this capability is to be comparable to the current traditional communication network.
• Again, it is the ability to be flexible and scalable.With the continuous growth of user demand and the continuous development of technology, satellite Internet needs to be flexible and scalable. In this regard, it can be achieved through technical means such as modular design, online reconstruction, and upgrade iteration. Satellite Internet can flexibly respond to various changes and meet the needs of future development.
• Last but not least is the ability to be safe.Similar to traditional Internet, security is also the primary prerequisite for satellite Internet to truly have mature applications on the enterprise side. However, unlike traditional Internet, satellite Internet will face more severe and complex security challenges.

Overall, satellite Internet has put forward higher requirements in terms of satellite manufacturing, rocket launch, communication, operation and maintenance, and security. In Zheng Zhong's view, satellite Internet is not just a seemingly simple matter of launching satellites and then establishing communication networks, but requires a complete set of system solutions. "This involves many industries, including manufacturing, communication, security, etc.," Zheng Zhong emphasized. "Just like the United States' moon landing, satellite Internet is also a manifestation of systematic capabilities and a manifestation of the country's comprehensive scientific and technological capabilities."

Safety is the primary challenge

As mentioned above, satellite Internet security faces more severe and complex situations than traditional Internet. Security is also the first problem that needs to be solved in the large-scale application of satellite Internet on the enterprise side.

Zheng Zhong told Titanium Media APP that the security challenges encountered in the application of satellite Internet are more numerous and complex than those faced by traditional ground communication networks. "In addition to the security challenges faced by traditional Internet, because satellites use electromagnetic waves to transmit information, and electromagnetic waves in space can be obtained by anyone, there are more security challenges in the communication process."

Satellite Internet security can be mainly divided into two levels: one is business-level security; the other is physical-level security.

From a business perspective, the main security challenges facing satellite Internet are concentrated in the communication process. Because satellite Internet uses electromagnetic wave communication, unlike traditional optical fiber, the electromagnetic wave band is more susceptible to hacker attacks, and it is less likely for users to detect information leakage.

At the same time, compared with traditional satellite communication networks, although there is not much difference in the literal sense, there is a world of difference between satellite Internet and traditional satellite networks in terms of communication security. Quan Xiaowen, chairman of Shengbang Security, once told Titanium Media APP that traditional satellite networks do not have cross-network transmission, and it is sufficient to ensure the security of the channel between the ground satellite station and the satellite. "Satellite Internet is different. The satellite network and the Internet form an organic whole. Satellite Internet naturally needs to ensure the security of cross-domain networks and multi-end communications, which requires higher security." Quan Xiaowen further pointed out.

In response to this, Quan Xiaowen once told Titanium Media APP that the more common way in the industry is to use encryption technology to ensure the security and reliability of user data. "This encryption technology is similar to the VPN in traditional communication networks, that is, virtual private networks," he solemnly pointed out, "This proprietary network turns the originally open channel into a proprietary channel. Logically speaking, all information transmitted in space will not be 'exposed'."

In addition to facing security threats such as signal interference, link hijacking, vulnerability exploitation, eavesdropping and malicious programs at the business level, satellites will also face tracking and control channel attacks and physical collision attacks at the physical level. Satellites are the core component of satellite Internet, and their security directly affects the performance and reliability of the entire system. I solemnly told Titanium Media APP that at the physical level, satellites may face security threats including electromagnetic interference, space debris impact, malicious control, etc. These threats may cause satellite failure, payload damage, information leakage and other problems, posing a serious threat to the stability and security of satellite Internet.

In addition to the challenges faced by the "business layer" and "physical layer", as solemnly stated - satellite Internet is a manifestation of systematic capabilities, supply chain security is also a challenge that satellite Internet faces. The supply chain of satellite Internet includes multiple links such as satellite manufacturing, launch, operation and maintenance. Security issues in any of these links may have an impact on the entire system. The security threats that the supply chain may face include supplier fraud, product defects, technology leaks, etc. These threats may cause security risks in the satellite Internet system, affecting its normal operation and security.

Commercialization is the key to quickly grabbing a position

Obviously, the security challenges faced by satellite Internet are similar to those of traditional Internet, but not exactly the same. As satellite Internet gradually becomes a reality, solutions for satellite Internet security have become the focus of many security companies.

According to Titanium Media APP, there are many traditional network security vendors on the market, including Shengbang Security, Qi'anxin, and Topsec, which have made arrangements in satellite Internet security, especially in the field of satellite Internet communication security.

Topsec once stated on an investor interaction platform that the company has already made arrangements in the field of satellite Internet security, and has launched network security solutions such as satellite application service platforms and satellite remote sensing systems, which have been implemented in China and in many countries along the "Belt and Road". In the future, the company will continue to provide customers with satellite Internet security products and solutions.

Shengbang Security has made specific arrangements in the fields of analyzing satellite Internet vulnerabilities, satellite Internet space mapping, and satellite Internet communication security. In a conversation with Quan Xiaowen, he told Titanium Media APP that the primary task of ensuring the security of satellite Internet communications is to achieve the security of the communication process through encryption technology. Satellite Internet communication security is also one of the new tracks that Shengbang Security focuses on.

"Using encryption technology is equivalent to encrypting both end-side devices in the satellite communication process. If there is a third person who wants to steal information from the middle, it will be extremely difficult." Quan Xiaowen further pointed out.

The secure communication protocol also plays a vital role in ensuring the security of the entire satellite communication. The use of secure communication protocols can ensure the integrity and confidentiality of data transmission. These protocols can provide end-to-end secure communications, including data encryption, data integrity verification and identity authentication.

In addition, key management is also a key link to ensure the security of satellite Internet communications. Enterprises need to establish a complete key management process to ensure the security of key generation, distribution, storage, use and destruction. At the same time, secure key storage and transmission methods are used to ensure the security and availability of key use.

In terms of development speed, the development speed of satellite Internet has already surpassed the speed of the Internet when it first appeared. In the few years since satellite Internet entered the public eye, the number of subscribers has been growing at an astonishing rate. It took Hughesnet, a traditional satellite network manufacturer in the United States, more than a decade to accumulate 1.5 million subscribers, while Starlink has added more than 1 million subscribers in just one year. Obviously, satellite Internet has become an important part of the future network.

Behind this speed of development is, on the one hand, the decline in the cost of satellite manufacturing and launching. "Although the current manufacturing cost is still high, with the development of technology and the development of the industry, the cost will show a gradual downward trend." Zheng Zhong told Titanium Media APP.

On the other hand, with more and more satellites in the sky, service coverage and communication bandwidth have been significantly improved, which directly improves the user experience. However, in Zheng Zhong's view, with more and more satellites in the sky, good orbital positions are becoming fewer and fewer. In the future, if China wants to better develop satellite Internet, it must launch satellites faster and more frequently to seize more and better orbital positions, so that the coverage area of ​​the entire satellite network will be larger. "The time for low-orbit satellites to 'pass the top' is generally 5 to 7 minutes. Only after launching more satellites can the communication service time be ensured, and finally there will be commercial value." Zheng Zhong said.

Looking at Starlink, which is currently the most developed, as of August 10, the total number of Starlink satellites launched has reached 6,849. The total number of Starlink satellites directly connected to mobile phones has reached 142. "If we want to reach the commercialization standard, we need to launch at least 4,000 satellites to have commercial value." Zheng Zhong told Titanium Media APP.

It is believed that under the guidance of relevant policies, more and more private capital will be invested in the satellite Internet market in China. In Quan Xiaowen's view, in this process, satellite Internet security will be a "safety first" and will be present throughout the entire life cycle of the satellite, which is naturally one of the prerequisites for the popularization of satellite Internet.(This article was first published on Titanium Media APP, author: Zhang Shenyu, editor: Gai Hongda)