China licensed Geely's satellite arm to sell IoT connectivity commercially
MIIT granted Geespace a two-year commercial trial licence for satellite Internet of Things services on Geely's own constellation, naming intelligent transportation among the target sectors.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on August 20 that it had approved Zhejiang Geespace Technology, the satellite unit of the carmaker Geely, to run a commercial trial of satellite Internet of Things services. The trial period is two years.
The ministry’s notice, published by its Information and Communications Administration Bureau, said Geespace may operate satellite IoT services on a trial basis during that period, drawing on the Geely Future Mobility Constellation (Phase 1) to provide users with wide-coverage, low-power and high-reliability IoT connectivity. It named intelligent transportation alongside marine fisheries and energy and water resources as fields where the service is intended to support all-weather, intelligent data collection and remote interaction.
MIIT framed the approval as implementing two of its own policy documents: guiding opinions on optimizing business access to promote the satellite communications industry, and a notice organizing commercial trials of satellite IoT services. It described satellite IoT as an important complement to China’s broadband satellite internet, and said the approval was a step in opening the business further to private enterprise and supporting commercial spaceflight.
It is the second such licence the ministry has issued. MIIT approved Beijing Guodian Gaoke for a satellite IoT commercial trial in May.
The notice named no licence number and gave no figures for satellites in orbit or terminals in service. Reported constellation and vehicle-fitment numbers circulating alongside the approval come from trade coverage rather than from the ministry.
Source: MIIT Information and Communications Administration Bureau · First reported by CnEVPost