I’m at sea now, and the video call is very clear!” On February 15, China Fisheries 32550 entered distant seas from Haimen District, Nantong City, Jiangsu Province. The captain was communicating with colleagues on China Mobile’s 5G network about the details of his work. Relying on the Apstar 6D satellite and a shipboard satellite ground station, China Mobile activated China’s first Distant Seas 5G Network in the First Island China, enabling oceangoing vessels to maintain all-weather, blind-spot-free 5G communications inside our country’s First Island Chain.
“我现在在海上，视频通话很清晰！”2月15日，中国渔政32550从江苏省南通市海门区开赴远海，船长正通过中国移动5G网络与同事沟通工作细节。依托亚太6D卫星和船上卫星站，中国移动在我国首次开通第一岛链远海5G网络，实现了远洋船舶在我国第一岛链内全天候、无盲区5G网络通信。
“5G Reaches the First Island Chain for the First Time” (5G网络首次抵达第一岛链), People’s Posts and Telecommunications, February 17, 2023, Page 1.
Executive Summary
On February 15, 2023, China Mobile demonstrated satellite-supported maritime 5G communications aboard a Chinese fisheries enforcement vessel operating from Nantong, Jiangsu Province. Using the Apstar 6D satellite and shipboard communications equipment, the system extended mobile connectivity beyond conventional coastal networks. Chinese reporting described the development as bringing 5G to the “First Island Chain,” an interesting formulation with broader geographic and strategic associations. The deployment illustrates how satellite infrastructure can extend China’s digital communications capabilities into distant maritime environments, although it does not establish continuous terrestrial 5G coverage throughout the First Island Chain.
Extending 5G Beyond the Coast
On February 15, 2023, China Mobile activated a satellite-supported maritime 5G communications system aboard a Chinese fisheries enforcement vessel, describing the development as its first “First Island Chain Distant Seas 5G Network.” The People’s Posts and Telecommunications report said the network relied on the Apstar 6D satellite and shipboard satellite stations. Other Chinese media reporting at the same time explained that a portable 5G base station was installed aboard the fisheries vessel, with communications carried back to the terrestrial network through the satellite link. The distinction is important: it is not equivalent to establishing an uninterrupted network of shore-based 5G towers extending across the First Island Chain. The “no blind spots” claim refers to the coverage potential of this vessel-based communications arrangement within the satellite service area.
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