Today, when we look up at the starry sky, what meets our eyes is not only the eternal stars but also a "satellite network" woven by countless communication satellites. Like "mobile base stations" in the vast universe, they keep us connected to network coverage anytime, anywhere, enabling true "uninterrupted connectivity".
In this space race for the dominance of future communications, China’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation has entered a critical phase of large-scale networking. On the ground, Nanjing Diange Communication Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Diange Communications") is leveraging its profound technological accumulation and forward-looking layout to focus on the R&D of satellite Internet terminal equipment, laying a solid foundation for connecting the space-ground link and realizing integrated space-air-ground communications.
Tackling the "Sky-High" Signal Challenge, Ingeniously Using "Building Blocks" to Verify Links
In 2021, He Yujun, now Chairman of Diange Communications, officially joined the company. At that time, a huge opportunity emerged: in October of the same year, Diange Communications received the first-phase terminal equipment R&D task from China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China SatNet"). Only six months had passed since the establishment of China SatNet, and the group was fully advancing the overall layout of LEO satellite construction.
Satellite Internet forms a large-scale network through a certain number of satellites to cover the globe and build a communication system with real-time information processing capabilities. Unlike traditional ground base stations that rely on optical fibers and iron towers, satellite Internet directly sends communication nodes into Earth’s orbit, offering significant advantages such as wide coverage, low latency, and broadband connectivity.
Among them, LEO satellite Internet (with an orbital altitude of 200–2000 kilometers) can extend network coverage from the two-dimensional surface of the ground to the three-dimensional near-Earth space, providing stable network access to areas that have long been "signal deserts", such as remote mountainous regions, oceans, and deserts. China’s "SatNet" is a super project aiming to "wrap" the Earth with tens of thousands of satellites to provide all-weather, global coverage of Internet services.
Why did China SatNet choose a Nanjing-based enterprise to take on the important R&D task? The answer lies in its technological DNA.
Founded in 2014, Diange Communications has always focused on the R&D, production, and sales of wireless communication products such as 5G public networks and 5G private networks. "In short, China SatNet’s technical path is ‘5G + broadband LEO satellites’, and Diange Communications has long been deeply engaged in the 5G field, with profound technological accumulation and industrialization experience," He Yujun further revealed. The two parties had previously collaborated multiple times, and China SatNet highly recognized the company’s 5G technical strength.
In fact, the entire team was already eager to take action. Having worked on ground base stations for more than a decade, the idea of sending communication signals into space was not only meaningful but also interesting.
However, the team was faced with "sky-high" technical challenges. The R&D of satellite Internet terminals has two core difficulties: first, the Doppler effect. Due to the high-speed relative motion between satellites and ground terminals, the frequency of signals received by terminals shifts, and terminals must predict and compensate for this deviation in advance; second, high coverage requirements. Ground terminals need to be compatible with multiple orbits and frequency bands to achieve frequent and seamless inter-satellite handover, as well as capture and track signals under weak signal conditions.
There was no shortcut—only innovation. The team built the system from the ground up. When there were no dedicated chips, they used general-purpose chips instead; when there was a lack of chipset support, they independently wrote code and modified components. "It’s equivalent to using the most basic component ‘building blocks’ to build a theoretical space communication prototype, which we successfully delivered in 2022, verifying the technical feasibility," He Yujun said.
Standing in the Most Remote Corners, Guarding the Most Passionate Dreams
In early 2022, as SpaceX’s "Starlink" system demonstrated military value in actual combat, the strategic position of LEO satellites became unprecedentedly prominent. Since then, the construction of China SatNet’s LEO satellites has accelerated in an all-round way, and Diange Communications once again undertook the equipment development task.
Transforming a theoretical model into stable and usable terminal equipment is a real "tough battle" that can only be achieved through repeated testing, continuous trial and error, and constant optimization.
To simulate real application scenarios to the greatest extent, the team traveled to Tongchuan, Jiamusi, Korla, and other places to establish a number of "Starlight Stations". TheseStarlight Stations". These stations are distributed in different climate zones and topographic areas, allowing simulation of complex environments such as high temperatures, extreme cold, deserts, and mountains to fully test the reliability and adaptability of the equipment under extreme conditions.
However, the real wild environment was far more harsh than imagined. The stations were often in uninhabited areas, and "we occasionally saw wolves during field operations". Nevertheless, this group of young engineers still fought on the front line for a long time, integrating their youth and passion into every day and night of R&D and debugging, silently weaving a signal network connecting heaven and earth in the quiet wilderness.
In July 2023, China successfully launched a satellite Internet technology test satellite using the Long March-2C carrier rocket, realizing for the first time the interconnection between the remote test network system and the remote auxiliary launch and test system of the satellite launch center, laying an important foundation for subsequent networking applications.
Three months later, China SatNet achieved a major technological breakthrough: for the first time, ground 5G base station terminals established a two-way communication connection directly with space satellites over a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers. Even more inspiring, the system successfully completed a "four-party call" involving Beijing, Xiongan, Jiamusi, and ocean-going ships in the Gulf of Aden. This achievement is also a global first, marking the breakthrough of the entire chain of technologies from core chips and terminal equipment to system networking.
At this historic moment, the core team of Diange Communications was conducting on-site support at the wild station in Tongchuan. When the news of the successful call came, the entire team burst into enthusiastic cheers, and many people’s eyes turned red with excitement: standing in the most remote corner, they participated in and witnessed the milestone breakthrough of China’s satellite Internet in their own way.
Since 2023, Diange Communications has fully invested in the technological research of satellite Internet terminals and gradually formed a series of product achievements.
In that year, the company’s first-generation terminal products completed R&D and gradually realized mass delivery, meeting the communication needs of special scenarios. The second-generation terminal products were successfully developed in December 2024. Based on the first generation, they achieved multi-mode compatibility with LEO, high-Earth orbit (HEO), and SatNet, and had advantages such as miniaturization, low power consumption, and light weight.
The Wave of New Space Infrastructure Rises, the "Chinese Solution" Sails to the Deep Blue
Since this year, China’s LEO satellite Internet construction has entered a period of rapid development. The interval between satellite launches has been significantly shortened, the number of in-orbit satellites has grown rapidly, and a "Chinese Network" is being woven in space.
Although China’s satellite Internet started a little late, it has shown strong development momentum. At present, two major LEO constellation systems represented by the GW Constellation and Qianfan Constellation have been formed, with a planned total of about 28,000 satellites to be launched.
In this global "race" for satellite Internet, an entire industrial chain ecosystem from satellite R&D, launch services to ground equipment and operation applications is emerging. The "national team" and private enterprises are advancing in coordination—the former focuses on building infrastructure and standard systems, while the latter promotes technology implementation with industrialization capabilities.
Driven by the industrial wave, Diange Communications recently announced the successful completion of a new round of financing. "Investment institutions have given us continuous support, especially with a very high level of participation from Nanjing’s local capital. They not only invested money but also actively connected us with high-quality resources in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain," He Yujun said. The recognition from the capital market stems not only from firm optimism about the prospects of the track but also contains an industrial sentiment to help the "Chinese solution" go global.
A relevant person in charge of the First Investment Department of Nanjing Venture Capital Group also pointed out that the national core strategy is accelerating the construction of the third-generation communication infrastructure centered on LEO constellations. As early as 2021, Diange Communications began the R&D of LEO satellite Internet products, becoming one of the first suppliers of China SatNet and realizing the mass delivery of SatNet user terminals. It leads its peers by 2–3 years in terms of SatNet protocol system and space-ground equipment joint debugging experience. At the same time, the company has built a broad market expansion model with satellite Internet business as the main body and private network business and operator business as the "two wings", with strong sustainable self-financing capabilities and risk resistance capabilities.
After this round of financing, Diange Communications will focus on its core satellite Internet business, accelerate the large-scale coverage of the second-generation terminals in China SatNet and Yuanxin Satellite systems, and increase R&D investment in phased array antennas and integrated terminal products. As the application scenarios of satellite Internet continue to expand, the company will also gradually enter consumer-side scenarios such as NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) direct mobile phone connection, in-vehicle satellite communication, and UAV wide-area interconnection.
Currently, Diange Communications is fully investing in the development of the next-generation terminal products. This product is benchmarked against SpaceX’s Starlink commercial all-in-one machine, highly integrating functional modules such as the host, antenna, and wave control unit, and is expected to complete development in December 2025. He Yujun looked forward to the future: "With the in-depth advancement of the ‘Belt and Road’ cooperation, we hope to promote China’s satellite Internet solutions to the overseas market and provide reliable communication services for more regions."
In this unfolding blueprint for the development of space Internet, pathfinders like Diange Communications are becoming the key foundation for consolidating space-ground connectivity with their technological wisdom and industrial resilience. When the faint light of private enterprise innovation merges into the vast sea of stars of national development, it will surely illuminate a future full of more possibilities.
Source: Venture Capital Group
Reviewer: Xue Yao
Publisher: You Yi
