In the heat of summer, drones glide across the sky above the clear waters of Baiyangdian Lake. On the large screen at Xiong'an New Area's Low-Altitude Integrated Service Center, data such as drone position, heading, and speed updates in real-time. This scene represents the daily exploration of future urban three-dimensional space in Xiong'an, where advanced technologies like 6G are rapidly moving from the laboratory to practical application in the low-altitude domain.

The 2026 China Langfang International Economic and Trade Fair was recently held. During the special event for Xiong'an's aerospace information and satellite internet industry, participants gained a tangible sense of the future's pulse through a series of forward-looking plans and substantive breakthroughs related to 6G.

In recent years, Hebei Province has been actively planning future industry pilot zones under an overall framework of "one core leading, multiple zones cooperating." Within this strategy, Xiong'an New Area has been designated as the front line for establishing a 6G development pilot zone, with the goal of building a large-scale 6G application demonstration network by 2027.

From the low-altitude test sites by Baiyangdian Lake to the integrated communication and sensing base stations in the start-up area, the framework of an "air-space-ground integrated" 6G industry is rapidly taking shape on this promising land.

Building the Foundational Communication Technology

Hebei recognized early in its planning of future industry pilot zones that without 6G, the low-altitude economy would be severely hampered. This clear understanding has driven the province to take a leading position in the 6G race.

Currently, most low-altitude flights operate below 120 meters, where 4G and 5G can still meet communication needs. However, when aircraft ascend to 300 meters or even 3000 meters, the issue of insufficient communication signal coverage becomes prominent, creating "blind zones."

6G technology is the key to eliminating these blind zones. On the rooftop of Building C in Xiong'an Science Park, workers are swiftly and precisely installing 6G antenna mounts. "A 6G antenna array will be deployed here," said Sun Liang, Deputy General Manager of the Low-Altitude Operation and Maintenance System Division at China Railway Signal & Communication Corporation Ltd. (CRSC), as he looked up at the roof. "In the urban low-altitude space, we are exploring a 'one tower, one city' layout, utilizing existing tall structures to install 6G antennas, achieving low-altitude communication coverage with a single base station radius of approximately 60 kilometers."

While 5G addresses person-to-person connectivity, 6G aims to achieve intelligent "space-ground integrated" connectivity. In Sun Liang's view, this distinction is fundamental. "6G's communication speed is four to five times faster than 5G, with latency approaching zero," he explained. "The key lies in the integration of communication, sensing, computing, and intelligence—it not only transmits data but also perceives and identifies the environment, enabling computation and decision-making based on that."

To this end, CRSC has established a joint venture with the Purple Mountain Laboratories to jointly promote the industrialization of seamless 6G communication technology. "Currently, this technology is still in the laboratory stage. To achieve industrialization, engineering adaptation, optimization, and design are necessary—this is precisely our strength," Sun Liang revealed, adding that future R&D成果 will be brought to Xiong'an for industrial application.

"Spatial information is the first core industrial chain prioritized for development in Xiong'an," said Yu Guoyi, Member of the Xiong'an New Area Party Working Committee and Deputy Director of the Management Committee, at the Langfang Economic and Trade Fair. Xiong'an will focus on cutting-edge fields such as aerospace information, 6G communications, and artificial intelligence, systematically advancing the construction of the future industry pilot zone.

Accelerating Scenario-Based Demonstration Applications

The key to developing 6G technology lies in promoting its industrial application. On the second floor of the Xiong'an New Area Low-altitude Economy Industrial Park, the large screen of the Anxin County Low-altitude Airspace Intelligent Management Platform displays eight blue low-altitude logistics test routes extending in different directions.

"This is an intelligent system that serves both service and regulatory roles," introduced Chen Yi, General Manager of the CRSC Low-altitude Control Division. In September 2025, CRSC collaborated with SF Express's Xiong'an company to open a logistics delivery route, operating 3 to 6 flights daily. Operators like SF Express are the "athletes," while this intelligent system acts as the "referee"—all flight plans must be submitted to it.

Currently, this intelligent system not only supports the eight SF Express routes but also manages airspace over more than 700 square kilometers in Anxin County, providing services such as inspections for dozens of application scenarios for departments like water resources, urban management, and ecology.

Simultaneously, CRSC is cooperating with China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd. (China SatNet) to access low-orbit satellites via multi-mode airborne communication terminals, enabling satellite communication as a supplement when ground network signals are insufficient, gradually forming an "air-space-ground integrated" communication system.

China Mobile Communications Group Hebei Co., Ltd. Xiong'an New Area Branch (China Mobile Xiong'an) is also accelerating the construction of integrated communication and sensing networks.

In a 5G-A integrated communication and sensing base station equipment room north of Haiyue Street in the Xiong'an start-up area, workers are debugging the near-end equipment. "This AI intelligent board is the key component for receiving, processing, and transmitting data," said Yang Xuan, a network engineer at China Mobile Xiong'an, pointing to the device. Once completed, the number of integrated communication and sensing base stations covering the entire start-up area will reach 20.

The transition from 5G-A to 6G is not instantaneous. "At this stage, 5G-A uses 5G frequency bands, but the algorithms and design concepts are already those of 6G," Yang Xuan explained. From December 2025 to the present, the 27 networked drones deployed by China Mobile in Xiong'an have logged 2,710 flight hours, covering 63,000 kilometers, with 43 AI algorithms serving multiple application scenarios—all this flight data is accumulating "nourishment" for 6G's "intellectual development."

Beyond technical攻坚, strong policy support is paving a solid "runway" for Xiong'an's 6G industry. Yu Guoyi介绍, to seize the high ground in next-generation communication technology, Xiong'an has introduced policies such as the "Ten Measures for Aerospace Information," "Several Measures to Support Enterprise Innovation and Development," and the "Xiongcai Sixteen Measures," establishing a 20-billion-yuan industrial investment fund and a venture capital fund. It is building an investment and financing service system covering the entire enterprise lifecycle to provide sustained support for 6G industry development.

Constructing a Full-Chain Industrial Ecosystem

"Within the mapping range of the low-altitude domain in the Xiong'an New Area start-up area, we have deployed 32 regular flight routes, operating 54 flights daily," Yang Xuan介绍. The inspection data from these drones is initially used for algorithm training and will later be applied to actual inspections. "We have built an air-ground communication network—handling both low-altitude communication and low-altitude perception."

The finish line of this "technological marathon" points to a vast industrial ecosystem. Yu Guoyi revealed that Xiong'an has already built four major industrial systems around aerospace information: a satellite manufacturing industrial chain led by China SatNet, a commercial satellite manufacturing chain spearheaded by aerospace technology companies, an application system led by the three major telecom operators and terminal manufacturers, and a standards-setting and supporting service system led by the aerospace alliance.

"Currently, Xiong'an has gathered academician teams, including that of Academician You Xiaohu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and has attracted 68 enterprises related to aerospace information," Yu Guoyi said. The industrial chain covers the entire spectrum from satellite assembly, payload manufacturing, and network communication to Beidou application.

The successful下线 of the "Xiong'an-1" satellite, the steady progress of the satellite manufacturing共享 factory, and the orderly construction of the satellite public testing platform... "The spatial information industry has moved from single-point breakthroughs to a cluster development stage," Yu Guoyi stated.

6G is precisely the "neural中枢" that connects all these elements. Peng Chao, department head at Blue Arrow Hongqing (Xiong'an) Space Technology Co., Ltd.,介绍 that the company, in collaboration with the Zhejiang Laboratory and Xiong'an Science Park, has initiated the "Olive Leaf Plan," China's first globally open public welfare space science experiment platform. "Integrating the entire satellite with satellite payloads and ground base stations achieves seamless global coverage, facilitating 6G-enabled intelligent interconnection of all things," Peng Chao said.

Lu Xiao, Deputy Director of the Xiong'an New Area Science Park Management Committee,介绍 that Xiong'an is jointly establishing a "6G Innovation Research Institute" with Academician You Xiaohu's team to work on exploring future industry frontiers and布局 emerging industries. In terms of application scenarios, Xiong'an has already planned 22 fixed low-altitude routes for regular operation, with 52 application scenarios achieving integrated 6G network promotion.

As Yu Guoyi aptly stated: "Come to Xiong'an, engage in aerospace. Investing in Xiong'an and building Xiong'an is the right time." From fortifying the technological foundation, to weaving the three-dimensional sky网, to creating an industrial ecosystem... 6G is transitioning from concept to reality in the land of Hebei.

Looking ahead, Hebei will continue to深耕 the 6G frontier, leveraging the construction of future industry pilot zones to establish a national innovation highland for the future communications industry.