China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica achieves independent satellite network communication

(ECNS) -- China’s Zhongshan Station in Antarctica has achieved independent satellite network communication for the first time, according to the Polar Research Institute of China.

Internet speeds at the station reach nearly 100 Mbps, equivalent to an upgrade from 2G to 4G.

Hu Zejun, chief of Zhongshan Station during China’s 40th Antarctic expedition, said that the previous connection was just 8 Mbps, which had to be shared among 80 to 100 people. This limited bandwidth only allowed basic activities like browsing text-based websites, while communication with colleagues in China was mostly restricted to text messages.