The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has been selected as the general organization for the 6G low-orbit satellite communication system development project, and is expected to lead the global satellite communication market.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute have recently confirmed the lead research institute for the '6G International Standard-Based Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Communication System Development' project.

The project aims to build a satellite communications system including two low-orbit communications satellites, a ground station, and a terminal station by 2030.

ETRI will oversee cooperation between research institutes and plans to develop a low-orbit satellite communication demonstration network that will perform satellite-to-ground and satellite-to-satellite communication functions.

Lee Moon-sik, head of the Satellite Communication Research Center and the key person in charge of this project, will lead the research and development direction.

ETRI's sub-project 1 is the development of core technologies for low-orbit satellite communication payloads and ground stations based on the 3GPP 6G standard, and it is cooperating with Hanwha Systems, LIG Nex1, and Satrec Initiative.

Task 2 will be handled by Solid, which will develop the terminal station, and task 3 will be handled by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), which will carry out the satellite body and system integration.

In addition, major domestic telecommunication companies such as KT, KT SAT, SK Telecom, and LG Uplus are also participating in the research project to lay the foundation for commercialization.I plan to do it.

Through this project, ETRI plans to secure world-class technologies such as △regenerative repeaters, △on-board digital signal processing, △inter-satellite links, and △high-efficiency phased array antennas.

In particular, by applying the 6G NTN technology of the international standardization organization 3GPP, it is expected to bring forward the 'era of hyperspace communications' that integrates terrestrial and air communications.

Currently, the global market is led by SpaceX, Eutelsat OneWeb, and Amazon, but these companies are showing limitations in terminal dependency due to low interoperability based on proprietary technologies.

On the other hand, the 6G low-orbit satellite communication system developed by ETRI based on international standards is characterized by openness and versatility that allows free selection of desired terminal models like smartphones and Internet communication anytime, anywhere.

ETRI President Seung-chan Bang expressed his expectations, saying, “The verification of the world’s first 6G international standard-based low-orbit satellite communication system will be an important opportunity for domestic technology to enter the global market.”

This study is being conducted as part of the 'Development of a low-orbit satellite communication system based on 6G international standards' project of the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and the Institute of Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation (IITP).