Jan 17, 2023 07:00:00

China is promoting a satellite internet plan similar to Starlink

by

Mark Belokopytov

China's start-up companies are one after another Starlink and similar services to compete with ' Starlink ' aiming to launch 12,000 artificial satellites in satellite orbit and provide Internet access to people all over the world It is said that they are looking to expand.

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https://restofworld.org/2023/china-starlink-global-ambitions/

As of 2023, Starlink has already launched more than 3,000 satellites and has begun to deploy services in some countries, including Japan. China is also developing to lose, and companies that provide a wide range of satellite Internet services that can compete with Starlink are beginning to appear one after another.

With around 20 projects underway in China, startups have flooded the sector since the government allowed private investment in 2014. Beijing-based space development company LinkSpace has been testing reusable rockets since 2019, and LandSpace has successfully raised nearly $111.5 million (15 billion yen). GalaxySpace, which is said to be the most successful of the companies on the list, has raised a large amount of funds from a major domestic fund, and if development progresses, it will eventually provide Internet speeds nearly five times faster than Starlink. It is said that it will be However, the launch of satellites has been surpassed by Starlink, and as of March 2022, only about seven have been launched.

Dozens of startups are entering the once military monopoly on space exploration as the Chinese government encourages technologists to move away from industries such as e-commerce and gaming and into critical high-tech technologies such as satellite internet. It seems that they are doing it, but industry experts say that they will be developed and operated by the state.

'The Chinese government is looking to spur innovation and manufacturing capabilities in private satellite companies, but it doesn't want to let the private sector control internet services from space,' said Blaine Curcio, a satellite industry consultant. No. Ultimately, the construction work of the Chinese version of Starlink should be done by the state, and the companies developing related technologies at best hope to act as suppliers of state-owned satellites. 'He said that a private company like Starlink would not have complete control in China.

Many countries that have partnered with Chinese companies under President Xi Jinping's infrastructure investment project, the Belt and Road Initiative, have agreed to use China's satellite navigation system, BeiDou. Countries interested in these agreements, such as Belarus, Venezuela and Pakistan, may also be interested in China-made satellite internet services, Cursio said. I predicted that critical infrastructure would develop rapidly in China.