Taiwan in talks with Amazon’s Kuiper over satellite communications amid China concerns
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Taiwan’s government is in talks with Amazon’s Project Kuiper unit to collaborate on satellite communications, as Taipei steps up efforts to make its mobile phone and internet infrastructure safe from potential attacks by China.
Science and Technology Minister Francis Ng told foreign media on Tuesday that French satellite operator Eutelsat’s OneWeb network, which it partnered with Taiwan’s government-backed Chunghwa Telecom last year, was unable to provide enough capacity for the country’s needs.
Taipei is now exploring more international cooperation, Wu said.
“We found that their bandwidth was too small for practical applications,” the minister said of OneWeb. “As far as I know, the company is currently facing financial problems, so they have a [delay] Committed to developing second-generation satellites.
“There are other companies in the Western world, including some from Europe, North America and Canada, but Amazon Kuiper is by far the most mature in its development stage. So we are now discussing with them the possibility of collaborating in the future.
Asked about Wu’s comments, European telecommunications satellite company OneWeb said it was “definitely not in financial difficulty” and that development of its next-generation constellation was proceeding as planned with “no delays.”
OneWeb and Kuiper are the largest of a number of emerging communications service providers that offer or plan satellite networks in low-Earth orbit, a region of space about 2,000 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, to compete with Musk’s Starlink.
Kuiper plans to begin launching its constellation soon, with low-Earth orbit service expected to begin next year.
Eutelsat OneWeb said it is the only low-Earth orbit network “ready to provide services in Taiwan” and that its new constellation has the “full support of our shareholders”.
After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Taiwan strengthened its defense capabilities in response to what it feared was the growing risk of Chinese aggression. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to annex the island if Taipei refuses to accept its control indefinitely.
Starlink’s role in maintaining wartime communications in Ukraine prompted Taiwan’s government to seek low-Earth orbit communications as a backup in case the undersea cables supporting its mobile phone and internet systems were cut.
Taiwanese government officials separately said Starlink itself was not an option for them, adding that Musk’s company would not agree to a joint venture in which Chunghwa Telecom or another Taiwanese entity would hold at least 50% of the shares, which Taipei requires.
Musk’s extensive business interests in China and past comments about Taiwan’s political status and future are another obstacle, officials said.
Musk has repeatedly hinted that he sides with China in the sovereignty dispute. Last year, he said Taiwan was an integral part of China, as Beijing claimed, adding that the island was “arbitrarily” outside Beijing’s control because the U.S. military was preventing reunification.
Two years ago, he suggested resolving the conflict by handing at least partial control of Taiwan to China.
In addition to Chunghwa Telecom’s partnership with OneWeb, Taiwan’s space agency is also working to develop a national provider with its own constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites.
Wu said the government aims to select a site in southeastern Taiwan to launch its own rockets, with launches expected to begin within five years.
Eutelsat is highly leveraged, with net debt totaling four times EBITDA in September. Earlier this year, the group was forced to cut its revenue guidance for 2024 and 2025 amid uncertainty over OneWeb’s prospects.
Amazon and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Additional reporting by Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu in London
