Starlink’s Chinese Rivals Speed ​​Up Race for Satellite Internet Dominance

The Starlink satellite communications service will face serious competition in the foreseeable future. And it’s not just Project Kuiper, which is being developed by Amazon, but also China’s SpaceSail. In November 2024, SpaceSail signed an agreement to enter the Brazilian market, and two months later it began operations in Kazakhstan and is negotiating with more than 30 countries. Project Kuiper, in turn, has secured the support of the Canadian operator Telesat.

Image source: NASA

Since 2020, Starlink has launched more satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO), an altitude of less than 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), than all of its competitors combined. Satellites operating at such low altitudes transmit data extremely efficiently, providing high-speed internet to remote locations, ships, aircraft, and the military. Starlink currently has about 7,000 satellites in LEO, with that number expected to grow to 42,000 by the end of the decade.

Starlink’s primacy in space is seen as a threat by Beijing, which has invested heavily in similar projects and is funding military research into tracking satellite constellations. Hongqing Technology, founded in 2017 and developing a 10,000-satellite constellation, raised 340 million yuan ($4 billion) from government-linked investors this month. SpaceSail received 6.7 billion yuan ($80 billion) from a state investment fund last year.

Image source: SpaceX

Last year, China launched a record 263 satellites into LEO, according to consultancy Analysys Mason. SpaceSail has announced plans to launch 648 satellites into LEO this year and up to 15,000 by 2030. SpaceSail’s satellites will eventually form the Thousand Sails constellation, which will mark China’s first international push into satellite broadband. Three other similar constellations are in development, and China plans to launch about 43,000 satellites into LEO in total, as well as continue to develop its satellite-delivery capabilities.

«Thousand Sails is a key part of the space component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The trillion-dollar global infrastructure plan is a pillar of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s policies and a tool for Beijing to expand its geopolitical influence. China’s push for more LEO slots has raised concerns among Western policymakers, who believe Washington must “seriously confront China’s growing ambitions for digital dominance.”

China is set to file a record 2,449 patents related to LEO satellite technology in 2023, up from 162 in 2019, according to data from Anaqua. Most of these patents focus on cost-effective satellite networks and low-latency communications systems, highlighting China’s push to narrow the technology gap.

Beijing is actively developing tools to track and monitor satellite constellations. “Given the growing trend of militarization of space, developing tools to monitor and track these mega-constellations is becoming critical,” one of the researchers said.

China’s Foreign Ministry has officially stated that Beijing seeks space cooperation with other countries for the benefit of their people. SpaceSail sees its main goal as providing reliable internet to more users, especially in remote areas and during recovery from emergencies and natural disasters.

Image source: Pixabay

«The space world is fast-paced and experimental, says Antoine Grenier, head of Analysys Mason. “Pioneers are enjoying this relative freedom and using it to their advantage to take key positions before the rules become stricter – like the Wild West.”