Multiple drones are conducting new route tests in the bustling commercial district of Shenzhen. The low altitude environment in bustling commercial districts poses a great challenge to flight, and drones need to accurately identify surrounding buildings in real time and have millisecond level response capabilities to avoid various obstacles. With the doubling of the number of flight routes, the flight frequency and operational density of drones will significantly increase.

Since 2026, over 70% of Shenzhen's airspace below 120 meters has been opened up, and various types of aircraft are gathering in the same airspace, bringing new management challenges. On a large screen displaying the real-time air situation of the entire city, an alarm suddenly sounded - two aircraft were too close and there was a risk of collision.

Low altitude flight is similar to ground transportation, the busier the flight, the more coordination is needed. In the first four months of 2026, there were 383000 drone logistics flights in Shenzhen alone, a year-on-year increase of 38.5%. The ground command system needs to real-time grasp the position, trajectory, and emergency situation of the aircraft, all of which rely on faster and more complete communication network support.

The communication network is being upgraded to a versatile player, escorting air highways. Like ground transportation, the increase in aerial vehicles requires more infrastructure to assist in collaborative management. The new base station is deployed in densely populated areas, and compared with the nearby 5G base station, its antenna angle has been adjusted, and a single base station integrates multiple functions.

At present, Shenzhen has built 220 multi-functional base stations and upgraded tens of thousands of original 5G base stations with high bandwidth. Renovation is not limited to the ground. The low altitude economy has a 3D demand for the network, and the local area is cooperating with satellite operators to build a satellite private network to provide communication support for distant seas, mountainous areas, and higher airspace.

The integration of air, space, earth, and sea is the construction goal of the new generation communication network. Continuous coverage without blind spots enables various types of aircraft to have the conditions to move from pilot projects to large-scale and commercial applications. A new route designed by a low altitude data operation service enterprise is expanding from the core urban area to the surrounding mountainous areas. In the future, combined with technologies such as artificial intelligence, communication networks are expected to support the safe and efficient operation of 100000 class aircraft over Chinese cities.

This article was reprinted by: CCTV     editor/Gao Xue