SES 03b mPOWER rendering provided by SES

Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan’s major telco, has made another move in the satellite arena as it looks to provide better services to customers. It secured an SES O3b Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) commercial license. The company said it is now the first telecom operator in Taiwan authorized to deliver Geostationary Orbit (GEO), MEO, and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite services. Chunghwa Telecom made the announcement, Nov. 3.

This full multi-orbit capability strengthens Taiwan’s ‘Sea, Land, Sky’ communications backbone, as it aims to position Taiwan as a resilient digital hub in the Indo-Pacific. This move aims to bridge global satellite networks, subsea cable systems, and advanced information and communication technology infrastructure. It previously secured a commercial license for Eutelsat’s OneWeb constellation in June of this year.

“Chunghwa Telecom will continue to invest in forward-looking technologies, promote the deployment and integration of multi-orbit satellite networks, develop more satellite application services, create complete and reliable multi-orbit satellite solutions for governments and enterprises, and also drive the growth and innovation of related industries such as domestic satellite ground equipment, satellite communication system integration, and testing verification through cooperation with the satellite industry chain,” Chunghwa Telecom Network Technology Division General Manager Chia Chung-yung said in a press release, translated on the company’s website.

Earlier this year in April, Chunghwa Telecom formed a strategic partnership with Astranis to bring a dedicated microGEO satellite to Taiwan. The satellite is scheduled for launch by the end of this year, with full bandwidth availability as early as next year. It will be the first communications satellite ever exclusively dedicated to Taiwan.

In the nine months to the end of September this year, Chunghwa Telecom generated $170.6 billion New Taiwan dollar ($5.53 billion) in revenue.