Shanghai has unveiled an action plan aimed at building a globally influential innovation hub for the satellite internet industry, targeting more than 3,000 satellites in orbit and a core industry scale exceeding 80 billion yuan by 2030.
The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization released and interpreted the Shanghai Satellite Internet Industry Innovation and Development Action Plan (2027-2030) at the 2026 Satellite Internet Industry Ecosystem Conference held in the city.
Under the plan, Shanghai aims to achieve more than 3,000 satellites in orbit, a core industry scale surpassing 80 billion yuan, the transformation of more than 100 pieces of scientific research, the cultivation of more than 100 high-quality market entities, and the creation of more than 100 benchmark demonstration applications by 2030, according to the plan.
Qi Chao, head of the Information Infrastructure Management Division of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, said the global satellite internet sector has entered a critical window period of accelerated networking and commercial deployment.
As a core component of next-generation communication networks and a key foundation for integrated air-space-ground-sea networks, the sector is both a focus of national strategic emerging industry cluster development and an important track for fostering new quality productive forces, Qi said.
Shanghai will next organize leading enterprises and component suppliers into joint research bodies spanning industry, academia, research and application, concentrating on breakthroughs in three key technology areas: network architecture, platform payloads and ground equipment, so as to promote the transformation of key technological achievements and enhance the integration capability of air-space-ground networks.
On the same day, the preparation of a satellite internet industry fund was launched. The fund, jointly initiated by municipal and district-level investment platforms together with social capital, will leverage state-owned capital to empower technological innovation and cultivate the industrial ecosystem.
An accelerator oriented toward a 5G-A (6G) intelligent sensing and communication integrated ecosystem was also launched. Shanghai will coordinate industry, capital, talent and other resources, with Yangtze River Delta Investment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. taking the lead in building an accelerator for the next-generation communication industry ecosystem, covering the full chain of services including technology verification, prototype testing, commercial validation and market promotion.
The conference also launched trial operation of the Shanghai Yangtze River Delta Satellite Internet Industry Supply and Demand Platform. Focusing on the full chain of satellite internet and new communications, the platform aims to effectively address pain points such as poor information flow and inefficient resource matching between upstream and downstream players.
The platform has so far gathered more than 2,000 pieces of supply and demand information and completed matchmaking for more than 100 units, with core functions including supply and demand list publishing, an intention database for connections, and intelligent matching, promoting efficient coordination and resource docking in the Yangtze River Delta satellite internet industry.
An initiative on the integrated development of satellite communications and mobile communications was also formally launched on the same day, along with an ecosystem partner program. The initiative will carry out cooperation in areas including space-ground coordination, industry chain collaboration, integrated application innovation, open ecosystems, and joint research and international exchanges, promoting complementary advantages between ground networks and satellite networks and advancing industry coordination and integrated application practices.
Wang Huajie, Party Secretary of Songjiang District, said the satellite internet sector is an important pillar of future information infrastructure and a core track for cultivating new quality productive forces.
As the core industrial cluster area for Shanghai's satellite internet industry, the location of the Qianfan constellation and a future industry cultivation zone for 6G in Shanghai, Songjiang is advancing the construction of an air-space-ground integrated industrial cluster featuring 6G plus AI plus satellite internet plus space-based computing, driving the industry to accelerate its clustering and growth, Wang said.
The district has now gathered more than 100 upstream and downstream enterprises, with the scale of its satellite internet industry above designated size reaching 23 billion yuan in 2025, up 26.2 percent year on year in the first eight months of this year.
Next, Songjiang will focus on key directions such as satellite-ground integrated applications and space computing power, while improving the full-chain industrial ecosystem of policy, finance and talent.
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