Chunghwa Telecom Chairman Dr. Alex C.C. Chien, center, with Astranis CEO John Gedmark. Photo: Astranis

Taiwan’s largest telco, Chunghwa Telecom, is investing in a dedicated MicroGEO satellite built by Astranis, to increase access to satellite capacity. The companies said this will be the first communications satellite to be exclusively dedicated to Taiwan. 

Announced April 15, the satellite is scheduled for launch by the end of this year, with full bandwidth availability as early as next year. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Chunghwa Telecom Chairman Dr. Alex C.C Chien said the company has actively expanded its satellite initiatives in recent years. “Astranis’s MicroGEO solution introduces vital flexibility and resilience to our satellite strategy. 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,” Chien said. 

Chunghwa Telecom’s multi-orbit satellite strategy includes the ST-2 Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellite launched in 2011, a deal with SES for Medium-Earth Orbit, and multi-million dollar agreement with Eutelsat for OneWeb for Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite services. 

Taiwan is also investing in its own LEO capabilities with the Taiwan Space Agency recently announcing an agreement with U.S.-based CesiumAstro to supply software-defined payloads and ground user terminals for its Beyond 5G LEO satellite program.