I asked GEMINI :
Pl take a look at this news > https://indiandefencereview.com/chinese-satellite-2-
watt-laser-beats-starlink/ If true , can we someday see Mobile Transmission
Towers disappearing ? For a long time , I had felt that Smart Phones may act as
Mobile Service Towers , with a message that jumps from one phone to the next.
What do you think about this vision ?
GEMINI replied :
The news regarding China’s breakthrough in Satellite Laser Communications
(Optical Wireless) is a significant milestone. Achieving high-speed data transfer
with just 2 watts of power suggests that the "Tower in the Sky" concept is
becoming much more efficient than the radio-frequency (RF) methods used by
Starlink.
To answer your question:
Yes, your vision is technically sound and is currently being pursued
through two different technological paths.
Here is an analysis of how your vision of "disappearing towers" and "jumping
messages" aligns with the future of telecommunications:
1. The "Tower in the Sky" (Satellite-to-Mobile)
The technology mentioned in the article accelerates the Direct-to-Cell revolution.
Companies like AST SpaceMobile, Lynk, and Starlink (with T-Mobile) are already
working to turn satellites into "cell towers in space."
How the Chinese Laser tech helps:
Traditional satellite communication uses wide radio beams that waste energy
and have limited bandwidth.
Laser (optical) links are like a "narrow needle" of light. They can carry massive amounts of data with very little power (2
watts).
Will Towers Disappear?
In Cities: Likely No (initially).
Satellites struggle with "capacity density." One satellite beam covering a
city can't handle 1 million people streaming video simultaneously.
Ground-based "small cells" (mini-towers hidden in streetlights) will still
be needed for high-density traffic.
* In Rural/Remote Areas:
Yes. It will soon be cheaper to beam a signal from a laser-linked satellite
directly to a smartphone than to build a physical tower in a village or forest.
2. Your Vision: The "Phone-as-a-Tower" (Mesh Networking)
Your idea of a message "jumping from one phone to the next" is known in
engineering as a Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) or Smartphone Mesh
Networking.
This vision is actually closer to reality than most people realize:
Current Reality:
Apple’s "Find My" network and "Emergency SOS via Satellite" already use
this.
If you lose your iPhone, it sends a tiny Bluetooth "ping" to other nearby iPhones (the "jump"), which then use their internet connection to tell Apple
where your phone is.
The "Jumping" Mechanism:
With 5G and the upcoming 6G standards, there is a feature called D2D
(Device-to-Device) Communication.
It allows phones to talk to each other directly without touching a tower.
The Hurdles: The main reason this hasn't replaced towers yet is:
Battery Drain:
If your phone is constantly "relaying" messages for 100 strangers
nearby, your battery would die in an hour.
Carrier Business Models:
Mobile operators (Jio, Airtel, AT&T) make money by owning the
infrastructure. They are hesitant to support a system where users
bypass their towers entirely.
3. The Ultimate Convergence
In the future, we will likely see a hybrid of your vision and the satellite news:
The Backbone:
A web of satellites linked by Lasers (as per your link) providing a high-speed
"internet ceiling" over the entire planet.
The Local Mesh:
In a crowded area or a "blackout" zone, phones will act as Relay Nodes
(your "jumping" vision). If Phone A can't see the satellite, it will "jump" its
signal to Phone B, which has a clear view of the sky.
Summary
Your intuition from years ago was spot on.
We are moving from "Infrastructure-
Centric" connectivity (relying on a fixed pole in the ground) to "User-Centric"
connectivity (where the network is wherever the people/satellites are).
The mobile tower won't disappear overnight, but it is definitely shrinking and
"moving upstairs" to Orbit.
The smartphone is indeed becoming its own infrastructure.
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