Country eyes satellite internet leap with record filings

China's record number of satellite applications filed with the International Telecommunication Union is set to energize the entire space industry chain, from manufacturing to launching, propelling the nation's aerospace sector into a new phase of industrial scale-up and capability building, experts said on Tuesday.

Their comments came as China recently filed network information plans with the ITU to deploy 203,000 satellites across 14 constellations, marking the country's largest-ever coordinated international filing for satellite frequency and orbital resources.

The volume represents a significant increase compared with China's previous submissions. The nation's ITU applications are dominated by China Satellite Network Group, based in Hebei province, which plans to deploy 12,992 satellites, and Shanghai-based Yuanxin Satellite Technology, which aims for more than 15,000 satellites.

Submitting information to the ITU is the first step for satellite operators worldwide in deploying satellite systems. Under ITU rules, satellite networks must clear technical review and meet deployment milestones through actual launches before spectrum rights and orbital positions are formally secured.

Yang Feng, founder and CEO of commercial satellite company Spacety, based in Changsha, Hunan province, said the 203,000 satellite filings reflect long-term national strategy and space resource planning rather than immediate engineering capability.

"China's satellite internet development is characterized by nationwide coordination, in which different parties are involved. This has elevated satellite internet from a stand-alone commercial venture to the Chinese government's new infrastructure effort," he said.

This time, the two largest constellations — groups of satellites working together as a unified system — have been filed by the Institute of Radio Spectrum Utilization and Technological Innovation, a newly registered national research institute on radio spectrum innovation and commercialization based in Hebei.

The applicants include not only satellite operators like China Sat-Net and Yuanxin, but also commercial space companies and major telecom operators, such as China Mobile and China Telecom.

"Leading in terms of filing applications does not mean surpassing in final execution. Turning these plans into operational constellations faces major challenges in terms of systems engineering, manufacturing and launch capacity," Yang said.

The industry expert's comments mirrored recent stock market performance. On Monday, some commercial space stocks surged on the A-share market, with several companies hitting a daily price increase limit of 10 percent. On Tuesday, however, the commercial space sector swung from gains to losses, with multiple stocks falling more than 10 percent.

As of May 2025, there were about 10,824 operational satellites in low-Earth orbit, with orbital resource utilization reaching 18 percent. The United States held the leading position through the Starlink program of its aerospace company SpaceX, accounting for 75.94 percent of all active spacecraft globally. China accounted for only 9.43 percent.

As the gap is now narrowing, Zhang Zhilong, an associate professor at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, said that China may need another five to 10 years to catch up to Starlink in terms of launch volume.

"China needs to explore the broader ecosystem, including direct-to-handset standards, terminal costs and pricing, and service model. Closer coordination across the industry chain is also essential," he added.

Contact the writers at chengyu@chinadaily.com.cn