Indicates the type of a location. Location Type Defined by CCTVPLUS Indicates the role that a specific instance of a description takes among all descriptions. Description Role Defined by CCTVPLUS The role in the overall content stream. Part Role Indicates a kind of content rendition. Content Rendition Defined by CCTVPLUS CCTV Newscontent Co.,Ltd. CCTV Newscontent Co.,Ltd. All Rights Reserved. No access Chinese mainland CCTV Newscontent www.cctvplus.com +86-10-83949886 +86-10-63978447 contact@cctvplus.com 2026-10-06T23:34:20Z 2026-10-06T23:34:20Z 2026-10-06 2014-11-06T09:22:45Z China Central Television Others Tech Sept 25/26, 2026/File Arctic-Chinese Expedition/Video Call China holds first video call between North, South Poles via homegrown satellite system China's 16th Arctic Ocean expedition achieved the country's first video call spanning the North and South Poles on September 25, coinciding with the Mid-Autumn Festival, using a domestically developed satellite system with a delay of no more than one second. The expedition deployed four vessels -- Xuelong, Xuelong 2, Jidi, and Tansuo 3 -- to study extreme environmental changes in the Arctic amid accelerating global warming. On September 29, China's research icebreakers Xuelong and Xuelong 2 returned to Shanghai after completing their missions, while Jidi and Tansuo 3 continue their expedition tasks and are expected to return in mid-October following a three-month journey. The expedition team held a satellite video conversation with China's Antarctic Qinling Station, extending festive greetings to their polar scientific research counterparts and testing a large-scale constellation designed to provide global broadband internet and support integrated space-Earth 6G networks. "This is the first time that China has used a domestically developed communications satellite system to make a video call across the largest latitude span," said Liu Feng, a senior engineer at the National Marine Data and Information Service. The around-13,000-satellite GW constellation, led by China Satellite Network Group (SatNet), is China's first mega low Earth orbit satellite internet project. During the polar test, the maximum uplink and downlink speed reached around 30 megabits per second, equivalent to taking about 10 minutes to download a 1GB file. The equipment can also be used for emergency rescue and maritime communications. "During the test period, it also supported real-time communications among Xuelong, Jidi, Tansuo 3, the National Marine Data and Information Service and the Polar Research Center. After Jidi and Tansuo 3 entered ice zone operation areas, their communication could not be guaranteed. So file transfers and navigation logs had to be transmitted through the SatNet equipment," said Zhang Bin, an engineer at the National Marine Data and Information Service. The successful test of the domestically produced satellite communication equipment marks China's independent control over polar region communications. The equipment ensures that data remains within the country, effectively safeguarding data security. Chinese/Nats/Part Mute FILE: Arctic - July-October 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 1. Aerial shot of Chinese ice breaker sailing Arctic - Sept 25, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 2. Various of China's 16th Arctic Ocean expedition team members having video call with China's Antarctic Qinling Station 3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Liu Feng, senior engineer, National Marine Data and Information Service: "This is the first time that China has used a domestically developed communications satellite system to make a video call across the largest latitude span." FILE: Arctic - July-Oct 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 4. Various of Chinese ice breaker sailing 5. Sea waves Arctic - Sept 25, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhang Bin, engineer, National Marine Data and Information Service: "During the test period, it also supported real-time communications among Xuelong, Jidi, Tansuo 3, the National Marine Data and Information Service and the Polar Research Center. After Jidi and Tansuo 3 entered ice zone operation areas, their communication could not be guaranteed. So file transfers and navigation logs had to be transmitted through the SatNet equipment." FILE: Arctic - July-October 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 7. Various of Chinese expedition team members collecting ice samples Arctic - Sept 26, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 8. Various of researcher operating device, working on computer FILE: Arctic - July-Oct 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 9. Aerial shots of Chinese ice breaker sailing