Malaysia’s Altel Group and Chinese LEO satellite firm Zhejiang Geespace Technology reportedly formed a joint venture to create regional industrial communications solitions leveraging satellite and 4G.
According to the official Bernama news agency, the new JV – Altel Digital – will leverage Altel’s LTE infrastructure and Geespace’s LEO satellite constellation to deliver services across Malaysia and Southeast Asia such as LEO satellite connectivity, satellite IoT, high-precision positioning and the development of localised ground infrastructure.
Altel Digital aims to set up satellite and communication services infrastructure in Malaysia, including two ground earth stations, two telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) centres, application data centres and a PPP-RTK network for centimetre-accuracy positioning services.
Altel Digital deputy chief executive officer Khoo Yuen Hing said the while infrastructure will be rolled out in phases over the next 24 months, commercial operations will start this year, offering solutions for maritime, agriculture, transportation and energy sectors, the report said.
Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, who attended the launch ceremony, said Altel Digital will collaborate with key government agencies on “strategic national projects” aligned with frameworks such as the National Space Policy 2030, the Governance National Digital Network (Jendela) plan and Cybersecurity Act 2024, the report added.
Fahmi also said Altel Digital’s focus on maritime, agriculture, transportation and energy verticals aligns with the government’s Fourth Industrial Revolution ambitions.
Altel is the majority shareholder in the JV at 51%, with Geespace owning the remaining 49%.
The JV follows an agreement by Geespace and Altel Communications in September 2024 to establish an R&D centre and a centre of excellence to develop use cases for direct-to-device (D2D) satellite communications technology.
Under its current roadmap, Geespace plans to deploy 72 LEO satellites by the end of 2025 for the first phase of the constellation, which will target connected cars – it currently has 30 LEOsats in orbit. The second phase will add another 264 satellites for D2D satellite communications, while the third phase will launch 5,676 satellites for high-speed broadband services.
