<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">China today said, it plans to launch 300 low-orbit satellites to provide worldwide communication services, with the first in the series to be launched later this year. Known as the Hongyan constellation, the first in the 300-satellite array, is set to be launched by the end of this year. The constellation will be built in three stages. </span></div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said, once completed, the satellite communication network will take the place of the ground-based network and allow a mobile phone to be connected everywhere on the planet, either in a remote desert or at sea.</div>''<div class="yj6qo" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></div>