Japan will grant up to 148 billion yen (US$912 million) to Rakuten Group to help build a low-Earth-orbit satellite communications network, as the country seeks to cut reliance on foreign providers.

Rakuten, a Japanese ecommerce, financial services, and telecommunications group, said it is in talks with the US satellite company AST SpaceMobile to form a joint venture for the project.

Japan currently relies on foreign companies, including SpaceX’s Starlink, for low-Earth-orbit satellite communications.

The government wants to support domestic operators to strengthen economic security.

Low-Earth-orbit satellite communications can keep smartphones and other devices connected when users are outside the range of cellular base stations or when natural disasters have knocked those base stations out of service.

🔗 Source: Reuters