Chunghwa Telecom Co yesterday said it has signed a strategic deal with Astranis Space Technologies Corp, a California-based satellite start-up, to develop Taiwan’s first dedicated compact geostationary orbit (MicroGEO) satellite.
The MicroGEO satellite, with features such as rapid deployment, high performance and exceptional reliability, is expected to significantly expand satellite capacity over Taiwan, Chunghwa Telecom said in a statement.
The satellite is scheduled to be launched at the end of this year with full-bandwidth services available as early as next year, it said, adding that it would be the first communications satellite exclusively dedicated to Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of Chunghwa Telecom Co
Astranis specializes in agile, flexible and MicroGEO satellite development, it said.
The partnership would complement the telecom’s multi-orbit satellite architecture, which includes in-orbit ST-2 GEO satellites, OneWeb’s low Earth orbit satellites and Luxembourg-based SES’ medium Earth orbit satellites, Chunghwa Telecom said.
The cooperation with Astranis is expected to improve Taiwan’s “sky, land, sea and air” network and advance the nation’s non-terrestrial network strategy, Chunghwa Telecom said.
As a leading and trusted communications service provider in Taiwan, Chunghwa Telecom has expanded its satellite initiatives in the past few years, company chairman Alex Chien (簡志誠) said in the statement.
“Astranis’ MicroGEO solution introduces vital flexibility and resilience to our satellite strategy,” Chien said. “This collaboration enables us to build a dedicated, secure digital infrastructure for Taiwan — one that can serve as a critical real-time backup against natural disasters, submarine cable disruptions and evolving global uncertainties.”
Astranis chief executive officer John Gedmark said that the company’s founding vision about a decade ago was to provide dedicated satellite capacity where it is most needed to ensure secure and independent communications.
With Chunghwa Telecom committed to building a globally connected, always-on digital resilience network, “we are honored to partner with Chunghwa Telecom to enhance the resilience of Taiwan’s critical communications infrastructure,” Gedmark said.
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