Chunghwa teams up with Astranis to build Taiwan-focused satellite

Chunghwa Telecom has partnered with Astranis to develop a geostationary satellite dedicated to Taiwan.

The agreement marks a shift in the provider’s strategy to expand coverage and improve resilience of the network, and is scheduled for launch by the end of 2025.

According to Chunghwa Telecom, the satellite will support full bandwidth services as early as next year and represents the first communications satellite designed specifically for Taiwan. It’s part of a broader batch of satellites – collectively called Block 3 – that are expected to be deployed aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket later this year.

Astranis spokesperson Christian Keil confirmed that the Chunghwa project is the company’s largest commercial deal so far. While financial details were not disclosed, Keil said the Taiwanese firm is paying a premium due to the urgency of the deployment and the mission’s national importance.

The satellite will operate on Ka-band frequencies and is intended to support Chunghwa’s expanding satellite network architecture, which already includes a mix of satellites across multiple orbits – geostationary (ST-2), low Earth orbit (via OneWeb), and medium Earth orbit (through SES).

Chunghwa Telecom said the collaboration aligns with its broader goal of building a robust non-terrestrial network. The satellite will contribute to Taiwan’s efforts to strengthen its “Sky, Land, Sea, and Air” infrastructure and maintain connectivity during natural disasters or other disruptions that may affect undersea cables.

The company’s chairman, Alex C.C. Chien, said in a statement that integrating the MicroGEO satellite into its network will support the development of secure communications infrastructure for the island. He emphasised the need for backup systems in an increasingly unpredictable global environment.

Astranis CEO John Gedmark echoed this view, highlighting the firm’s original mission to offer secure satellite capacity in regions that require dedicated and independent connectivity. The company builds and operates its own satellites, leasing capacity directly to customers.

Each Astranis satellite is smaller than traditional geostationary spacecraft, and are designed to support regional markets. The satellite intended for Chunghwa Telecom will join four others in the upcoming Block 3 launch – two for Mexico’s Apco Networks, one for Thailand’s Thaicom, and one for Orbits Corp in the Philippines.

Astranis has been scaling up its satellite production, but its recent deployments have not been without issue. Earlier this year, the company said that its Block 2 satellites had started using electric propulsion systems to reach geostationary orbit. However, according to satellite tracking data from CelesTrak, one of the Block 2 satellites – UtilitySat – hasn’t changed its orbital parameters since mid-February.

Astranis says UtilitySat is functioning and remains in a safe state, and that the orbit-raising process was paused while engineers work through a technical issue. The company didn’t share details but said its other satellites in Block 2 are moving ahead as planned.

UtilitySat was introduced as a temporary replacement for a previous satellite that experienced a solar array failure and was supposed to provide internet services over Alaska. Originally, UtilitySat was intended to fill that gap while a new satellite was being built for Pacific Dataport, but launch delays and changes to Block 3’s payload lineup pushed plans back.

Despite the hiccups, Astranis continues to market its small satellites as an alternative to larger, more traditional systems.

(Photo by NASA)

See also: FCC chair calls EU satellite strategy ‘anti-American’

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Tags: connectivity, satellites, taiwan, telecoms