China has used a domestically developed satellite communication system to make video calls with those in the Arctic for the first time, supporting scientific data transmission, emergency medical response, and other purposes.

The breakthroughs occurred between polar research vessels on the country’s latest Arctic expedition, the country’s Qinling research base in Antarctica, and a base in the southwestern Xizang Autonomous Region, domestic media reported Monday.

The system uses the GW constellation, the country’s first state-backed satellite internet constellation project. The constellation launched its first satellites in December 2024 and plans to deploy almost 13,000 satellites by 2035. It aims to provide broadband services to areas beyond the reach of terrestrial networks through a system of low-orbit satellites operating below 2,000 kilometers above Earth.

The expedition has transmitted and received more than 300 files totaling over 100 gigabytes and held more than 40 video conferences via the system. Connectivity reportedly remained stable in harsh conditions, including extreme cold, high altitudes, strong winds, blowing sand, and ice fog.

The first breakthrough came on Aug. 3, when the research vessel Xuelong, then in the Arctic Ocean, completed a video call with China’s Qinling Station in Antarctica, the country’s highest-latitude communication ever performed using a domestic satellite system.

On Sept. 25, as the Xuelong returned to China, its crew exchanged Mid-Autumn Festival greetings via the satellite system with researchers at the Qinling Station and those aboard the Jidi and Tansuo-3 vessels during their ongoing Arctic expeditions. 

A separate video call connected the Jidi, Qinling Station, a test station on the Lhasa River in Xizang, and the North China Sea Bureau of the Ministry of Natural Resources in the eastern Shandong province.  

The communication system also reportedly enabled a video consultation with medical experts in Shandong’s port city of Qingdao, who provided remote medical support for a crew member in the Arctic.

Video call lag was no more than one second, according to state media outlet CCTV. After the vessels entered ice-covered waters, files and navigation logs were also transmitted via the GW constellation, with peak one-way speeds of around 30 megabits per second, enough to download a 1 GB file in about 10 minutes.

The event also marked the first time domestically developed buoys had transmitted ocean observation data in real time via Chinese satellites rather than international satellite services, state media outlet People’s Daily reported.

“The tests have improved the ‘information isolation’ faced by polar expeditions … offering practical evidence and experience for fully domestic communications support for China’s polar expeditions and marine equipment,” Zhang Meng, a member of the expedition and an on-site tester with the North China Sea Bureau, told state news agency Xinhua.

Previously, maritime communications along Arctic shipping routes relied mainly on shore-based radio and satellite systems, but coverage was limited and signals were often constrained. Earlier media reports said Chinese polar expeditions had used satellite services including the U.S.-based Iridium and British Inmarsat systems.

China’s latest Arctic expedition departed from the northeastern Liaoning province on July 3. The Xuelong and Xuelong 2 returned to Shanghai on Sept. 29 after completing their missions.

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: Visuals from VCG, reedited by Sixth Tone)