A suggestion has emerged that the timeline for building the "Korean low Earth orbit satellite communication network," which the government is pursuing to secure sovereignty in low Earth orbit satellite communications, should be moved up.
Choi Kyung-il, KT SAT CEO, said at the "6G satellite communication conference" at the Korea Science and Technology Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 21st, "Because the country that secures orbit effectively gains 'territory in space,' the timeline for building the Korean low Earth orbit satellite communication network set for 2035 is too late," and stated accordingly. Earlier this month, the Korea AeroSpace Administration announced, "We will launch up to 512 low Earth orbit satellites by 2035 to build a Korean satellite communication network."
Choi said, "Germany, Japan, and India have set plans to build their own satellite communication networks by 2029 through 'sovereign network' policies," and added, "Satellites that go up late cannot be placed at the same altitude as existing satellites due to collision risks, so to secure territory in space, the timeline for building the satellite network should be moved up to 2031." He continued, "For Korean space materials, parts, and equipment corporations to gain export competitiveness, they need to build a track record, but by 2035 global corporations will already have established their own supply chains, so it will be too late."
Low Earth orbit satellite communication networks are drawing attention because they are central to 6G (sixth-generation mobile communications). Up to 5G (fifth-generation mobile communications), satellite communications and terrestrial networks were separate domains, but 6G integrates satellite and terrestrial networks. Choi predicted, "The 6G Network combined with satellite and terrestrial networks will go beyond connecting people's mobile phones to also connect humanoids, drones, driverless taxis, unmanned surface vessels, and a variety of Internet of Things (IoT) devices."
They also play a major role as military infrastructure, because they can provide uninterrupted communications in extreme battlefield situations where terrestrial networks are destroyed. Their strategic value has already been proven in the Russia-Ukraine war. Lt. Col. Kim Jeong-hwan of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said, "While geostationary satellites have a latency of about 641 milliseconds (ms, one-thousandth of a second), low Earth orbit satellites have a latency of about 30 ms, so low Earth orbit satellites respond much faster," adding, "When operating unmanned aircraft or loitering munitions and ordering course changes, short latency is essential for precise control."
As a result, competition to build low Earth orbit satellite communication networks is overheating in the global market. Starlink has submitted to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) a plan to operate 100,000 low Earth orbit satellites, nearly 10 times more than the approximately 11,000 currently in operation, and China has submitted to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) a plan to launch 200,000 low Earth orbit satellites. Japan regards satellite communications as economic security infrastructure and has decided to provide up to 150 billion yen (about 1.36 trillion won) in subsidies over three years to build its own satellite communication network. Rakuten Mobile, a subsidiary of Rakuten, has been designated as the project operator.
Lt. Col. Kim said, "If Korea, a latecomer, thinks it must secure every technology before moving on to the next step of building a satellite communication network, it could be too late," adding, "We feel acutely that a leap forward is necessary."
There was also an opinion that, because the number of satellites to be secured through building a Korean low Earth orbit satellite communication network is insufficient, global partnerships are needed. Attorney Son Geum-ju of YulChon said, "As seen in the Anthropic Mythos case, if you do not hold ownership of essential infrastructure, that infrastructure can be restricted at any time by a great power that does," noting, "Satellite communications are essential in the 6G era, but the number of satellites we launch is not large, and their dwell time over Korea is short."
Aju University Professor Kim Jae-hyun said, "Satellite communications are shifting into national strategic infrastructure," and added, "Government and industry must become one team to build the Korean low Earth orbit satellite communication network."