Jin Daily Tech Trivia: China version of Starlink soon?

Jin Daily Tech Trivia: China version of Starlink soon?

China just launched 38 Qianfan satellites in two days.

That brings Qianfan / Spacesail to around 238 satellites in orbit, moving closer to its 324-satellite early network for regional broadband coverage. Basically, China’s “Starlink-style” LEO internet network is finally becoming something usable in orbit.

But Starlink is still the final boss.

Current rough LEO satellite count:

Starlink: 10,000 - 10,700+ OneWeb / Eutelsat: 600+ Amazon Leo: around 394 - 400 China Qianfan / Spacesail: 238 China Guowang / GW: early deployment

So yes, China is catching up. But Starlink is still dominating by a crazy margin. The scary part is the cost.

In Malaysia, Starlink’s cheapest Residential plan is around RM135/month, and the Starlink Mini hardware is around RM930.

And this is why Qianfan matters. This is not just “China wants its own Starlink”. This is sovereign connectivity.

When satellite internet becomes the backup layer for phones, ships, IoT, emergency response, remote areas and future 6G, you don’t want that layer fully controlled by another country.

PS: OneWeb already works as a Starlink alternative today, especially for enterprise, maritime, aviation and government.

But the service can easily go from hundreds to thousands of USD per month depending on data and SLA.

So yes, OneWeb works. But your wallet may need its own satellite rescue mission :P

hope you learn something new today !! See ya !!