China faces a difficult task as it tries to catch up with Elon Musk's SpaceX satellite service.
SpaceX already has nearly 7,000 operational satellites in orbit and serves approximately 5 million customers in more than 100 countries, according to SpaceX. The service is intended to provide fast Internet access to customers from remote and underdeveloped areas.
SpaceX hopes to expand its mega-constellation to as many as 42,000 satellites. China is aiming for a similar scale and hopes to have about 38,000 satellites in three of its low-Earth orbit internet projects, known as Qianfan, Guo Wang and Honghu-3.
Apart from Starlink, based in Europe Eutelsat OneWeb it also launched more than 630 internet satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). Amazon also has plans for a large LEO constellation, now called Project Kuiper, consisting of over 3,000 satellites, although the company has only launched two prototype satellites yet.
With so much competition, why should China even bother investing money and effort into such mega constellations?
“Starlink has really demonstrated that it can bring Internet access to individuals and citizens in remote places and give citizens access to the Internet, any websites and any applications they want,” said Steve Feldstein, senior research fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for international peace.
“In the case of China, the big push was censorship of what citizens had access to,” Feldstein said. “So for them they say, 'Well, this is a real threat. “If Starlink can deliver uncensored content to our citizens or those from countries that are allied with us, that will be something that can really break through our censorship regime.” That's why we need to find an alternative.
Blaine Curcio, founder of Orbital Gateway Consulting, agrees. “In some countries, China could see it as almost a differentiator. Something like, 'Well, we may not be that quick to market, but hey, we censor your internet if you want it.' and we will do it with a smile on our faces.”
Experts say that while Chinese constellations won't be the best internet provider for places like the US, Western Europe, Canada and other US allies, many other regions may be open to Chinese service.
“There are several geographic areas that could be particularly attractive for a Starlink-like competitor, particularly one made by China, including China itself,” said Juliana Suess, an associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “For example, Russia, but also Afghanistan and Syria, are not yet covered by the Starlink service. There are also large areas of Africa that are not yet covered.”
“We have observed that 70% of 4G infrastructures on the African continent have already been built by Huawei,” Suess added. “So the space perspective can kind of contribute to further development there.”
Having your own satellite Internet constellation is not only a tool for geopolitical influence, but is increasingly becoming a necessity for national security, especially when terrestrial Internet infrastructure is damaged during war.
“In terms of the difference Starlink technology has made on the Ukrainian battlefield, one of the big advances we have seen is the emergence of drone warfare and the connected battlefield,” Feldstein said. “Having satellite weapons is seen as a key military advantage. So I think China sees all this and says investing in this is absolutely critical to our national security goals.”
Watch video to learn more about why China is building these mega constellations and the challenges the country will face.