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China plans to send out whopping number of about 13,000 satellites in space, that will encircle the Earth in the lower orbit (LEO), similar to Elon Musk promoted SpaceX's Starlink, said a report by the Daily Mail.
This "megaconstellation" made up of thousands of satellites will work together to cover all areas of the Earth, most operating a few hundred miles above the surface of the planet, to deliver internet services.
The report further said that it will to be part of the Chinese 5G mobile internet rollout, with the first firms given contracts to begin development work in the city of Chongqing. China plans to send about 12,992 satellites into in low earth orbit. These satellites will be placed between 498.89 kilometres to 1144.24 kilometres above the surface of the Earth.
This fresh move from China comes amid international rush for frequencies, that allow data to flow from Earth to space. China is concerned over western dominance of satellite constellation.
Notably, SpaceX's Startlink constellation has grown to over 1,700 satellites through 2021, and will eventually consist of many thousands of mass-produced small satellites in LEO, which communicate with designated ground transceivers.
A 2019 report also suggested that SpaceX Starlink is aiming to put out nearly 12,000 satellites into LEO, with a possible later extension to massive 42,000 satellites, eventually. As of December last year, SpaceX has launched 1,892 Starlink satellites, including demo satellites Tintin A and B.
Besides SpaceX, Amazon -- with its Kuiper project -- also plans to launch thousands of satellites in LEO, and the European Union is exploring its options too.
With this mega-constellation of satellites, China aims to plans to operate across a range of frequency bands and potentially operate around the world, providing services to different countries.
In addition to this, China has also completed the rollout of BeiDou, its answer to the U.S.-owned GPS navigation system, making it available globally. The Beidou -related products have been exported to about 120 countries, serving more than 100 million users worldwide.
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