China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology approved Geespace for a two-year commercial trial of satellite IoT services. Geespace will use its low-Earth-orbit constellation to provide global satellite IoT connectivity during the trial.
Coverage, device classes, and service scope
Geespace said the trial is meant to deliver wide coverage, low-power, and highly reliable connectivity for intelligent connected vehicles, construction machinery, maritime and fisheries, energy and water infrastructure, logistics, and low-altitude mobility.
The company said it has already completed commercial validation in intelligent connected vehicles and robotaxis, and has expanded applications into maritime, energy, logistics, and emergency communications. Geespace is a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and was established in 2018.
Constellation buildout and satellite counts
Geespace said it currently has 64 low-Earth-orbit satellites covering the globe. The company had initially planned to launch 72 satellites by the end of last year for the first phase of the constellation.
The second phase will add 264 satellites to support direct-to-device satellite communications. Geespace ultimately plans to build a network of more than 5,600 satellites offering global high-speed broadband services.
Benchmarks for satellite IoT licensing
Geespace said it is the only privately owned Chinese company licensed by MIIT for satellite IoT commercial trials. For satellite IoT vendors and adjacent operators, that makes the approval a licensing marker rather than a broad market signal: the disclosed term is a two-year commercial trial, not a nationwide commercial launch.
Geespace also said it has completed ground-based technical trials of 3GPP IoT NTN technology and will accelerate development of its second-generation LEO constellation in preparation for 6G.
Commercial partnerships across three regions
Geespace said it has established commercial partnerships across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, including with Advanced Telecommunications Solutions and Services in Saudi Arabia, Systems & Services Limited in Bangladesh, SATLAS in Kazakhstan, Orbith in Argentina, Paksat International in Pakistan, Altel Group in Malaysia, and Azyan Telecom in Oman.
The company is one of several Chinese firms seeking to compete in the low-Earth-orbit satellite market alongside Guodian Gaoke and Shanghai SpaceSail Technologies, with Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, and Amazon Leo named as the established names in the segment.
Read for satellite IoT licensing teams
For regulators and satellite IoT licensing teams, the key number is the two-year trial term: MIIT has allowed Geespace to operate, but only within a trial framework. The same approval also makes Geespace the only privately owned Chinese company with an MIIT license for satellite IoT commercial trials.