Starlink Faces Competition in Brazil From China’s Qianfan Satellite Constellation

Forget Amazon or AST SpaceMobile: Starlink’s newest competitive threat may be the Qianfan “Thousand Sails” satellite constellation from China’s Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite Technology, which just signed an agreement with the Brazilian government.  

The company says it signed a memorandum of cooperation with Brazil’s state-owned telecommunication firm Telecomunicacoes Brasileiras to supply satellite internet in remote and rural areas, much like Starlink already does for 250,000+ customers in Brazil. 

(Credit: Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite Technology)

“According to the memorandum of cooperation, Yuanxin Satellite will provide formal commercial services to Brazil in 2026,” the Chinese company said, adding that the cooperation with Brazil is the official launch of Qianfan’s overseas business. 

“At present, Yuanxin Satellite has started business negotiations with more than 30 countries and is actively promoting the commercial application service promotion of Qianfan Constellation around the world,” it added. (In contrast, Starlink is already being used in over 100 countries and markets across the world with its user base nearing 5 million.)

Yuanxin Satellite is looking to start offering satellite internet service on the Qianfan network next year. The upcoming space-based network from China aims to span up to 14,000 satellites. But Qianfan has had a rocky start. In August, the first 18 satellites for the network were deployed into Earth’s orbit. But during the same flight, the rocket carrying the satellites accidentally broke apart, creating hundreds of pieces of orbital debris. 

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Yuanxin Satellite has since launched another batch of 18 satellites into space, bringing the total to 36. Bloomberg adds that the company is preparing to send up 600 more by the end of next year to complete the first phase of the network. 

The news highlights the competition Starlink could face in the coming years. Despite delays, Amazon’s Project Kuiper is also looking to offer a Starlink-like service to consumers starting next year. Meanwhile, the Texas-based AST SpaceMobile is vying to compete with SpaceX in offering a cellular satellite service for mobile phones. 

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