China Mobile has been awarded the business license, allowing all three major telecom operators to offer direct satellite connectivity services for mobile phones.

Image source: Jiemian Image Library

On September 29th, the official WeChat account of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, "Industry and Information Micro News", announced that, in accordance with the relevant arrangements in the "Guiding Opinions on Optimizing Business Access to Promote the Development of the Satellite Communication Industry", the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently issued a satellite mobile communication business operation license to China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as China Mobile). Currently, following China Telecom, two basic telecommunications enterprises, China Mobile and China Unicom, have also obtained the business qualification for satellite mobile communication. They can legally carry out services such as direct satellite connection for mobile phones, deepen the application in scenarios such as emergency communication, maritime communication, and communication in remote areas, and enrich the supply of communication services and products.

Next, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, balance development and security, further optimize the market access for satellite communication, strengthen full - chain supervision and security guarantees, promote the high - quality development of China's satellite communication industry, and strongly support the construction of a network - powerful, space - powerful, and digital China.

In terms of satellite - terrestrial integrated communication, China Mobile has made many arrangements. In June 2024, China Mobile completed the laboratory verification of the world's first voice call based on the operator's network IoT - NTN IMS for mobile phones directly connected to high - orbit satellites. In July 2024, China Mobile established the Satellite - Terrestrial Integration Technology Research Institute to comprehensively conduct research on satellite communication technology. In November 2024, China Mobile jointly launched the Beidou short - message service with China Space - Time, making communication possible in areas without network coverage.

China Mobile is the second telecommunications enterprise to be issued a satellite mobile communication business operation license this month. On September 8th, China Unicom officially announced that recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a satellite mobile communication business operation license to China United Network Communications Group Co., Ltd. (China Unicom).

After that, according to China Economic Net, China Unicom quickly launched the direct satellite connection service for mobile phones. The "Unicom Satellite" service is priced at 10 yuan per month, including 2 minutes of free domestic outgoing and incoming calls.

China Telecom launched its direct satellite connection service for mobile phones as early as September 2023, becoming the world's first communication operator to offer direct satellite connection for mass - market smartphones.

China Telecom's direct satellite connection service for mobile phones has gone global. On May 8th, China Telecom held a press conference in Hong Kong, China, to officially announce the launch of the direct satellite connection service for mobile phones based on the Tiantong satellite system in Hong Kong. On May 16th, China Telecom and Lao Telecommunications Co., Ltd. (ETL) jointly held a press conference in Laos to officially announce that the Tiantong satellite has gone abroad and the Tiantong direct satellite connection service for mobile phones has been launched in Laos.

The semi - annual report for 2025 shows that currently, China Telecom's direct satellite connection service for mobile phones has been officially launched in Laos, and the service has expanded to Southeast Asian countries. In the first half of this year, China Telecom's satellite business revenue increased by 20.5% year - on - year.

This article is from "Jiemian News", reporter: Chen Xiaotong. Republished by 36Kr with authorization.