Chinese Low Earth Orbit company Geespace deployed 10 additional satellites last week which are now in normal operation, bringing its total to 30.
Geespace calls its Geesatcom constellation “China’s private equivalent” to Starlink. The company said that it now covers 90% of the globe within a 24-hour period, and added that its deployment “marks the first time a Chinese commercial aerospace company has offered LEO satellite communication services on a global scale.” The company says that it expects to offer global communications services by the end of this year.
Geespace began launching satellites in 2022 and this year, and says that nearly half of its first phase of satellites are now in orbit. That first phase will consist of 72 satellites when complete; Geespace expects all of them to be launched by the end of 2025, and at that point, says it will be able to offer “seamless global coverage.” The company said that Geesatcom’s first phase will support “mid-to-low-speed satellite services” for more than 200 million users.
The first phase will be followed by a Phase 2 that comprises 264 satellites for direct-to-cellular communications, and then an ambitious third phase consisting of a nearly 6,000 multimedia satellites for high-speed LEO broadband services for consumers and industry.
Geesatcom is already offering some commercial services. Geespace worked with Malaysia’s Altel to offer satellite solutions in Southeast Asia as of October 2023, and in June of this year, the company said that it completed its first overseas deployment test with Azyan Telecom in Oman, with plans to expand satellite services across the Middle East and Africa by 2025.
Geesatcome is only one of China’s challengers to Starlink; in August, China launched 18 satellites for its Qianfan LEO “megaconstellation” that is planned to include nearly 14,000 satellites; it is a project of Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology. That launch reportedly resulted in space debris that poses a threat to LEO satellites.
In an August post for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s publication, Emissary, senior fellow Steven Feldstein wrote about China’s ambitions in space, from LEO constellations to the moon. The country has been pouring state backing into its space industry, and while its LEO efforts are still relatively new, they represent both important new military technology as well as global political influence—particularly if telecom companies and unconnected users in places where China’s tech influence is strong, opt for space-based connectivity from Chinese companies. “The democracy implications from China’s satellite internet push are worrying,” Feldstein wrote. “China’s products could enhance authoritarian regimes by facilitating digital censorship: In areas dependent on satellite internet, Beijing’s version of Starlink would feature extensive internet controls and content restrictions. Satellite technologies also offer new surveillance capacities that could help governments spy on their domestic opponents and rival states. … China’s satellite industry is still nascent. It would be quite a leap for its companies to go from launching small batches of LEO satellites to becoming market leaders. Qianfan and its cohorts first need to resolve a host of technical and logistical complications. In the meantime, Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb will continue to grow. But China’s commitment to advancing its space-based technologies should give pause to U.S. policymakers.”
