SoftBank, in collaboration with Sceye, completed the verification of a Japanese stratospheric base station: The world’s first mobile core network HAPS system operated for over 7 days
2026-09-07 11:24Products & Apps🔥 47.3 heat score
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On September 2, 2026, the US HAPS company Sceye collaborated with SoftBank to successfully conduct validation of stratospheric base station technology in Japan. The base station equipment carried by the helium balloon took off from New Mexico, USA, and flew for 13 days, covering 15,000 kilometers across the Pacific Ocean to reach Japan’s airspace. After operating continuously in that area for over 7 days, it returned home. The system operated at an altitude of approximately 16.5 kilometers with a addressing radius of as low as 5 kilometers. Its communication performance was comparable to that of ground networks, and its theoretical coverage equivalent to 500 ground-based base stations. This mission was the first globally to integrate a mobile core network and web servers on HAPS, with an average round-trip response time of 68 ms, which is more than 40% faster than Internet-based cloud processing solutions.
On September 2nd, the US HAPS company Sceye, in collaboration with SoftBank, successfully conducted technical verification of its stratospheric high-altitude base station in Japan. The helium balloon base station took off from New Mexico, USA, and flew for 13 days, covering a distance of 15,000 kilometers to reach Japanese airspace. It operated continuously for over 7 days at an altitude of approximately 16.5 kilometers. The system’s coverage capacity is equivalent to that of 500 ground-based bases, with an addressing radius of 5 kilometers, and communication performance comparable to that of ground networks. For the first time, it integrated a mobile core network with a web server, achieving an end-to-end response time of 68ms, which is more than 40% faster than internet cloud processing. The equipment is currently returning home.
SoftBank and Sceye successfully completed the technical verification of a stratospheric high-altitude base station in Japan. The system consisted of base station equipment carried by helium balloons, which were launched from New Mexico, USA. Over 13 days, they traveled 15,000 km across the Pacific Ocean to reach Japan. They operated within the designated airspace for more than 7 days and are now returning. The range of this mission was as low as 5 km, and the operating altitude was approximately 16.5 km, achieving communication performance comparable to that of ground networks. The theoretical coverage area was equivalent to that of 500 ground base stations. This test system was the first in the world to install a mobile core network and web servers on HAPS, with an average round-trip response time of 68 ms, which is more than 40% faster than Internet-based cloud processing.