Geespace, the space subsidiary of Geely, is stepping up a gear. Geespace — the commercial name of Zhejiang Spacetime Daoyu Technology Co., Ltd. — has secured $281 million (2 billion yuan) to of its Geesatcom Internet of Things (IoT) constellation and establish its global headquarters in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. The operation is accompanied by new launches, international agreements, and a clear political signal: public and state funds from China are driving commercial constellations as part of the growth model of the so-called “new productive forces”.
On September 19, Geespace signed a strategic cooperation agreement with three government and municipal investment vehicles — Zhejiang Financial Holdings Investment, Hangzhou State-owned Capital Investment and Operation, and Hangzhou High-Tech Jintou Holding Group — receiving funding from the Zhejiang New Energy Vehicle Industry Fund, closely linked to the automotive/electric vehicle ecosystem led by Geely in the province. The allocated capital is aimed at: building the global headquarters and international development of the Geesatcom constellation.
64 satellites this year (and 72 in the initial phase): near-real-time coverage and 20 million potential users
Geespace reports 52 satellites in orbit for its IoT constellation and claims it will complete the first phase of 64 units this year. The company adds that once the initial phase of 72 satellites is finished, the network will reach 3 to 4 overlapping layers in its target areas, increasing capacity and service reliability.
Operationally, the company details several key parameters:
- Coverage: With 64 satellites (including verification units), the system will offer real-time communication anywhere on the globe, except polar regions, with 1 to 2 layers of simultaneous coverage between the 60°N and 60°S parallels.
- Capacity: The system will support up to 340 million daily messages and support 20 million users.
- Payload / Service: 1,900 bytes per message, supporting text, voice messaging, and images.
The race to reach 64 satellites has been accompanied by a more consistent launch pace: in early August, a Jielong-3 launched from a maritime platform off Rizhao (Shandong), completing a trio of oceanic launches with Geesatcom satellites. Choosing the Eastern maritime spaceport hints at an industrial strategy: logistical flexibility, rapid campaigns, and capacity to sustain higher cadences when the constellation enters maintenance and replenishment phases.
From Middle East to Latin America: agreements with over 20 national operators
Meanwhile, Geespace affirms that it has deployed services across Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Latin America, with agreements already signed with over 20 national operators. Partners include Azyan Telecom (Oman), ATSS (Saudi Arabia), Soremar (Morocco), ALTEL (Malaysia), and Orbith (Argentina). This commercial advance is vital in the satellite IoT market, where sales are often country-specific, involving local licenses, sectoral use cases, and integration with connectivity and data regulations.
The company’s target sectors include: connected and smart vehicles, fishing and maritime economy, construction machinery, low-altitude mobility (low-altitude mobility), , transport and logistics, public infrastructure, energy and water, and agriculture, forestry, and livestock. In other words, the classic M2M/IoT application catalog for environments with unreliable ground coverage or demanding resilience.
Own “full-stack”: from orbit to chip and terminal
Geespace emphasizes its end-to-end development capability: design and validation of the constellation, proprietary platform and payload, mass production of satellites, autonomous control and operation, and — crucial for the business — communications chips, modules, and specific terminals. Controlling this value chain — space, ground, and device — provides cost optimization, faster iteration, and easier integration with industrial clients seeking turnkey solutions (hardware, connectivity, backend, and applications).
The announced global headquarters in Hangzhou — located in the Binjiang district, a tech hub on the Qiantang River — will serve as the nerve center for R&D, operations, and international business. The project’s launch brought together authorities from Zhejiang, Hangzhou, and Binjiang, along with leadership from Geely Holding and Spacetime Daoyu. It was explicitly stated that the province aims to transform the Hangzhou-Ningbo corridor into a space commerce node, alongside the electric vehicle engine.
Funding the “new space” through electric vehicles: Beijing’s convergence strategy
Notably, the investment fund providing the 2 billion yuan — the Zhejiang New Energy Vehicle Industry Fund — is focused on electric vehicle industry and mobility. This cross-sector signals a broader industrial policy trend in China: to fuse efforts in automotive, satellite communications, and digital services under the banner of the “new productive forces”. Practically, the connected vehicle and autonomy (Level 3 and above) require always-on connectivity and improved positioning; a proprietary IoT constellation — eventually complemented by broadband — is a key element of this puzzle.
It’s no coincidence that Geespace has publicly expressed plans to deploy, beyond IoT, a mega broadband constellation of over 5,000 satellites and a high-precision navigation service for autonomous driving. Although initial plans slowed after 2022 launches, recent agreements, launch campaigns, and investments seem poised to revive it.
A competitive landscape with giants: Starlink, Guowang, and Qianfan
Geespace operates amid China’s progress on two national LEO broadband fronts: Guowang and Qianfan (also called Thousand Sails). Abroad, SpaceX has established Starlink as a global leader in satellite count, bandwidth, and residential and corporate use cases. The strategic thinking is clear: China aims to compete in constellations both at home and internationally, requiring capital, industry, and diplomatic effort. The operation in Zhejiang — involving several state-owned companies — exemplifies how this ambition is financed.
What sets Geesatcom apart from other satellite IoT networks?
Satellite IoT is not uncharted territory: Iridium, Globalstar, Orbcomm, and Swarm (SpaceX-owned) have offered low-rate messaging for years; SatIoT by Eutelsat and Inmarsat (now part of Viasat) adds other variants. If Geesatcom seeks a niche in the coming wave, its edge will be in five areas:
- Capability and density: 340 million messages per day and 20 million potential users—ambitious figures for mass telemetry, tracking, and alerts.
- Overlapping coverage: the promise of 3–4 layers in the core zone (after completing 72 satellites) improves latency and reliability for critical sectors.
- Vertical integration: chips, modules, and terminals developed internally reduce total costs and speed deployment.
- Bridge with automotive and low-altitude: the connection to Geely’s EV/autonomous ecosystem and a network of new low-altitude operators (drones, air taxis) opens use cases where satellite redundancy will be a safety requirement.
- Market access: cross-border agreements — Oman, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Malaysia, Argentina, among others — set high barriers; Geespace has prioritized regions with clear needs and where satellite connectivity fills a gap.
Looking ahead: headquarters, satellites, and services
The company’s roadmap features three main tracks:
- Infrastructure: complete 64 satellites (scale to 72 in phase 1), build the global headquarters in Hangzhou, and sustain a launch cadence that supports replenishment and incremental improvements.
- Market: expand regional agreements, deepen verticals with paying capacities (connected vehicles, logistics, energy, maritime, agriculture), and monetize via services and hardware (modules, terminals).
- Technology: advance high-precision navigation — critical for autonomy — and, if plans are reactivated, prepare for broadband deployment with a megaconstellation suited to markets and frequency bands.
The institutional commitment — from province to municipality to district — confirms that commercial space is no longer a peripheral experiment but a core element of China’s industrial policy. The clear message: constellations and electric vehicles are converging, not competing.
Operational insights: what to expect on the ground
For industrial clients outside China, the most immediate questions are pragmatic:
- Availability: effective coverage zones and overlap layers from 2025–2026.
- Integration: SDKs, APIs, payload formats (1,900 bytes/message), QoS, and SLA.
- Cost: message/device tariff models, CAPEX for modules and terminals, and certification kits for partners.
- Regulatory: satcom licenses and frequency rights in each country, plus data compliance per sector.
- Resilience: fallbacks and redundancies combining ground networks and other links (cellular, LPWAN) within a hybrid architecture.
Geespace asserts that its installed capacity and commercial rollout across five regions enable it to tackle these fronts locally, leveraging local providers. Pilot tests — especially in connected vehicles, maritime, and logistics — will serve as benchmarks in the coming quarters.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many satellites does Geesatcom have, and what is the short-term goal?
Geesatcom currently has 52 satellites in orbit and aims to reach 64 by the end of this year. The initial phase plans for 72 satellites to achieve 3–4 coverage layers over the target area, enhancing service reliability.
What capacity and services does Geespace’s IoT network promise?
The constellation targets 340 million messages daily, supporting 20 million users. Each message can carry 1,900 bytes, with text, voice, and images; it offers near-real-time coverage outside the poles; between 60°N and 60°S, there will be 1-2 layers, rising to 3–4 layers once 72 satellites are operational.
Regions of operation and partners?
Geespace reports active services in Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Latin America, with agreements with over 20 operators such as Azyan Telecom (Oman), ATSS (Saudi Arabia), Soremar (Morocco), ALTEL (Malaysia), and Orbith (Argentina).
How does it compare to Starlink and other constellations?
Geesatcom focuses on IoT (low-rate messaging) and industrial verticals. Long-term, it has announced plans to deploy broadband (>5,000 satellites) and high-precision navigation, putting it in the megaconstellation arena alongside Starlink and Chinese projects Guowang and Qianfan.