Veon's move into satellite-powered mobile services began during the Russia-Ukraine war, when its Ukrainian unit Kyivstar relied on Starlink's orbital network to restore connectivity after Russian attacks damaged cellular infrastructure.
As low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite networks move from development into full commercial deployment, major operators are racing to expand and secure their global supply chains. Among them, Eutelsat OneWeb is deepening its footprint in Taiwan, now treating the island as an essential pillar of its worldwide ecosystem.
Japanese industrial machinery maker IHI Corp. has signed a satellite procurement agreement with Finnish synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite operator ICEYE, marking the launch of a joint satellite constellation program aimed at strengthening Japan's national security and expanding into commercial and public markets. The companies plan to begin acquiring satellite data in fiscal year 2026 (April 2026-March 2027).
As the global deployment of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites accelerates, the Asia-Pacific region has become a strategic frontier for satellite operators. Rising demand driven by economic growth, geopolitical complexity, and the need for disaster resilience has turned the region into a coveted market. Yet, regulatory fragmentation across countries has slowed commercial rollout compared with the United States and Europe. That is now changing, as several governments move to open their skies to LEO operators, triggering a new wave of deployments.
As Nvidia's value soars past US$5 trillion and SpaceX cuts launch costs, the next data center boom may not be on Earth at all.
The Asia-Pacific Space Community Council (APSCC) held its annual meeting in Taipei this week, marking both Taiwan's first time hosting the international gathering and APSCC's inaugural visit to the island in its 31-year history. APSCC President Terry Bleakley said that although Taiwan's visibility in the satellite industry has historically been limited, its strong supply chain is gaining recognition as the sector moves into mass production.
On November 2, local US time, Nvidia made history by sending its powerful H100 GPU into orbit for the first time. Just two days later, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the company's TPU chips would soon follow, signaling the start of an unprecedented new frontier — the race to build gigawatt-scale AI data centers in space.
As 3GPP integrates Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) into global standards, the long-standing walls of incompatible satellite systems are finally coming down. Leo Chien, chairman of Ubiqconn Technology, stated that that this transformation could create critical opportunities for Taiwanese companies familiar with terrestrial devices, especially in the emerging Direct-to-Device (D2D) sector.
As China completes the global deployment of its BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System, officials are now focused on exporting the technology under Beijing's "Belt and Road" initiative, signaling a shift from building the constellation to driving widespread international adoption. The move also opens a new frontier for China's navigation chipmakers, which see rising opportunities to challenge Western dominance in positioning and timing technologies.
Amazon's satellite internet venture, Project Kuiper, could soon make its debut in Taiwan — and the island's two leading telecom operators, Chunghwa Telecom and Far EasTone Telecommunications, are already vying for partnership rights.
Both Japan and South Korea are accelerating plans for Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), aiming to expand satellite-based communications beyond traditional ground infrastructure. In the early stages, both nations collaborated with Starlink, but Japan has outpaced South Korea in developing mobile direct-to-satellite services.
As China accelerates its ambitions in low-Earth-orbit (LEO) communications, the country's push for homegrown satellite technology is sparking optimism across its printed circuit board (PCB) industry. Many see the dawn of what Beijing calls an "integrated sky-and-space economy," with potentially enormous commercial returns.
China successfully launched its Kinetica-1 rocket this week, sending two Zhongke satellites and Pakistan's PRSC-HS1 remote-sensing satellite into orbit — the third Pakistani satellite China has helped deploy since 2025. The mission underscores Beijing's deepening cooperation with Islamabad in space and its growing ambitions in the global commercial launch market.
China's next phase of technology strategy is injecting fresh uncertainty into global supply chains, signalling a new round of strategic recalibration across industries worldwide.
