China Clear Private Operator Geespace for Multi-Year Satellite IoT Trial

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has approved a two-year commercial trial of satellite IoT services by Zhejiang Geespace Technology, marking a further opening of the country’s satellite communications market to private-sector participation.

Geespace, the commercial space subsidiary of Geely, will use the trial to provide wide-area, low-power IoT connectivity for applications including smart transport, connected vehicles, marine fisheries, energy, water infrastructure, logistics, construction machinery and emergency communications.

Satellite IoT is designed to connect sensors, vehicles, vessels, aircraft and other devices in areas where terrestrial networks are limited or unavailable. Unlike broadband constellations, the focus is on low-data-rate, reliable and power-efficient connectivity for large numbers of devices operating across remote or mobile environments.

The approval makes Geespace the first privately owned Chinese company cleared by MIIT for a satellite IoT commercial trial. Earlier this year, Beijing Guodian Gaoke Technology received approval for a similar two-year trial, but that company is backed by state-owned China Mobile.

Geespace currently operates 64 LEO satellites and says it has already completed commercial validation in areas such as intelligent connected vehicles and robotaxis. The company is also expanding into maritime, energy, logistics and emergency communications, supported by partnerships across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

The company’s longer-term roadmap includes a second phase of 264 satellites to support direct-to-device satellite communications, followed by a much larger planned constellation of more than 5,600 satellites for global high-speed broadband services.

Geespace also said it has completed ground-based technical trials of 3GPP IoT NTN technology, positioning the company for future 6G-aligned satellite services as China accelerates commercial space development.

The trial reflects Beijing’s broader effort to expand satellite communications beyond state-owned operators, while maintaining stronger oversight of spectrum, security and market access. It also underlines the growing importance of satellite IoT as a practical NTN segment, serving industries where terrestrial mobile networks cannot deliver continuous coverage.