Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom signed a satellite deal with UK government-invested OneWeb.
Following the announcements that Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Development was cooperating with SES, a veteran mid-earth orbit satellite operator from Luxembourg, and Eutelsat OneWeb, a European satellite operator, progress in the sector has been fast. Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom signed an exclusive agency contract with OneWeb for low-earth orbit satellites.
In addition to actively seeking opportunities in the low-earth orbit satellite industry, Taiwan continues negotiating with satellite operators to strengthen its digital resilience. The country hopes to ensure communication services in emergencies.
Officials from the Ministry of Digital Development said that services are expected to be provided in southern Taiwan by the second quarter of 2024. Full satellite coverage across the entire island is expected by the end of the year.
Officials said there are ongoing discussions with other operators but did not provide further details. The collaborations are being implemented according to the Ministry of Digital Development's Program for the Digital Resilience Validation of Emerging Technologies for Contingency or Wartime Applications.
The primary goal is to establish interconnection with OneWeb as soon as possible. Based on current progress, satellite services should commence in southern Taiwan before the second quarter of 2024 and expand to northern Taiwan by the end of the year, achieving full coverage nationwide.
As OneWeb has not yet planned to set up gateways in Taiwan, service provision relies on regions with existing OneWeb ground equipment. Japan provides service in northern Taiwan, while Thailand provides service in southern Taiwan.
OneWeb's progress in Thailand has been relatively rapid. In Japan, the company has applied for a license from the Japanese government with approval still pending.
Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Development has already granted permission to Chunghwa Telecom to collaborate with OneWeb and use the required frequencies. No other companies have applied to date.
Officials from the Ministry of Digital Development confirmed that Taiwan is seeking its own ground equipment for Taiwan. It hopes to gain equipment independence and data security by asking OneWeb to install gateways in Taiwan.
The ministry said that progress in Thailand and Japan does not conflict with installing gateways in Taiwan. From the perspective of risk diversification, having gateways located in other countries can prevent equipment damage in Taiwan during emergencies and ensure continuity of communication services, it said.
For Taiwan, obtaining low-earth orbit satellite services is a crucial step to ensuring communication backups during emergencies. However, cooperating with just one operator is not enough, so Taiwan is continuously seeking to diversify communication sources.
Collaborations with international low-earth orbit satellite operators can lead to deeper connections between Taiwan and other countries. The Minister of Digital Development Audrey Tang has said that the partnership with UK government-invested OneWeb is crucial for Taiwan to establish a trusted supply chain.
By collaborating with an increasing number of operators, Taiwan also hopes to encourage opportunities for Taiwanese companies interested in entering the low-earth orbit satellite supply chain.
Insiders said that Amazon's Project Kuiper and Telesat, a Canadian satellite company have also approached Chunghwa Telecom suggesting that new partnerships are in the pipeline. By collaborating with an increasing number of operators, Taiwan also hopes to encourage opportunities for Taiwanese companies interested in entering the low-earth orbit satellite supply chain.
