Data transmission Chinese satellite beats Elon Musk's Starlink

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A Chinese company has surpassed Elon Musk and Starlink in terms of transmitting satellite data to Earth: At the end of December, the Chinese achieved a record data transmission rate of 100 Gbps using a laser.

This technological breakthrough enables a range of infrastructure improvements in space, experts say, including in the areas of remote sensing of the Earth's surface, navigation, and mobile communication with 6G. The Chinese company that set the record is called Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., often referred to simply as "Chang Guang." It operates a constellation of 117 satellites for remote sensing.

Transmit 100 feature films in one second

At the end of December, Chang Guang reportedly successfully beamed data at 100 Gbps from one of its satellites to a novel laser reception station on Earth, according to the newspaper Lianhe Zaobao in Singapore and Chinese state media. This new rate allows "100 full-length movies to be transmitted from space to Earth within a single second," one report states. This eliminates or at least greatly alleviates a bottleneck currently plaguing global satellite communication: increasingly powerful sensors and cameras are causing an explosion of observational data in space, which can no longer be processed and applied quickly enough on Earth with current transmission methods.

Musk's Starlink has introduced its communication system between satellites but has not yet installed satellite-to-ground communication via laser.

Wang Hanghang

The 100 Gbps (gigabits per second) via laser are ten times faster than Chang Guang's previous record, said the company's head of ground stations, Wang Hanghang, to reporters in China. This currently puts them a step ahead of Elon Musk's Starlink. "Musk's Starlink has introduced their inter-satellite communication system but has not yet installed satellite-to-ground communication via laser," said Wang. "We believe they might have the technology, but we have already started large-scale installations," said the company spokesperson.

Significant progress possible in the use of satellite data

Chang Guang plans to equip all of its 117 remote-sensing satellites with the new laser technology to increase their efficiency. By 2027, 300 satellites are expected to be networked with it. This laser system lays a new "foundation for the deployment and efficient operation of the Chinese satellite infrastructure, including navigation, 6G Internet, and remote sensing," Wang is quoted by the South China Morning Post.

The transmission of large amounts of data via laser is not only more reliable but also more cost-effective than other methods. This enables many advances in the civilian and military use of satellite data, according to the company's official report, in areas such as "disaster monitoring, national defense, smart cities, environmental protection, first response by emergency responders, and 6G Internet via satellite," writes Chang Guang.

Usable for both civilian and military purposes

Like almost all satellite technologies, this one is "dual use," meaning it can be employed for both civilian and military purposes. Chang Guang was sanctioned by the EU last June for allegedly providing satellite images to the Russian mercenary group Wagner, reports Lianhe Zaobao. The Chinese company, which makes no secret of its strong ties to the Chinese military and state, has developed a mobile ground station for its new satellite link that can be moved during bad weather or other atmospheric turbulence, increasing the reliability and stability of data transmission. To achieve this, a number of technical hurdles were overcome.

Race in space—point for China

Civilian and military research institutes in other countries are also working to increase data transmission rates from space. NASA and MIT have already reached 200 Gbps in tests of their "TeraByte Infrared Delivery System" (TBIRD). France is also conducting research in this area. However, Chang Guang is the first commercial company to make such a high, laser-based transmission speed available.

Not only Elon Musk, but the American military is also likely displeased that China now has the lead in another area of the space race.

*Henrik Bork, a long-time China correspondent for the German 'Süddeutsche Zeitung' and the 'Frankfurter Rundschau', is Managing Director at Asia Waypoint, a consulting agency specializing in China, based in Beijing. "China Market Insider" is a joint project of the Vogel Communications Group, Würzburg, and Jigong Vogel Media Advertising in Beijing.