【#Tech24H】This June, two satellites with special missions were launched into orbit to test a disruptive technology, allowing ordinary smartphones to connect directly to satellites, with internet speeds potentially as fast as home WiFi. What exactly does directtocell satellite connectivity mean? It requires no external equipment; phones can directly link to satellites for communication services. Currently, our video streaming and video calls rely on groundbased base stations to transmit signals. Direct satellite connectivity essentially “moves” base stations into space, using satellites as “spacebased base stations”, so that signals can cover deserts, oceans, deep mountains, and other areas unreachable by terrestrial networks. In the future, once this technology matures, speeds could even match home WiFi levels. In the years ahead, children in mountain areas can engage with the world via satellite internet, and fishermen can livestream sales at sea. Technology changes lives and enables civilization to transcend mountains and oceans. This is not only the golden era of commercial spaceflight but also an era in which every ordinary person can reach for space. [ By Zhang Liyan | Tang Ruohan ]