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.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party