Taiwan Takes Part in the Satellite Showdown at MWC 2026

The race to build the next generation of space connectivity is poised to be the defining theme at MWC 2026 (Mobile World Congress), which is scheduled to take place on March 2, 2026. Leading satellite operators, including SpaceX, Eutelsat, Viasat, and SES, are expected to showcase advances in non-terrestrial network (NTN) communications.

Chipmakers Qualcomm and MediaTek are also preparing new NTN semiconductor platforms, as the growth of satellite links within future 5G-Advanced and pre-6G architectures, alongside Open RAN, AI networks, and quantum computing technologies.

Competition between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos also intensifies as SpaceX has sought regulatory approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expand its satellite constellation and has outlined ambitions for orbital data centers to support AI workloads. Amazon Leo has meanwhile secured authorization for 4,500 internet satellites with onboard processing and transmission speeds capable of 1 Gbps.

Analysts expect the satellite build-out to drive demand across components, ground terminals, and space power systems as operators deploy high-capacity constellations and accelerate launch schedules.

Taiwanese suppliers, including UMT, Compeq, Unitech, Wistron NeWeb Corporation, and TSEC, with expertise in high-frequency passive communication components, PCB production, satellite ground station products, and satellite solar cells and modules, are positioning for follow-on orders.

New entrants are also emerging. U.S. direct-to-device satellite operator AST SpaceMobile is expanding partnerships in Taiwan for commercial satellite connectivity services.

As telecommunications and orbital infrastructure converge, MWC 2026 is likely to highlight a significant shift as satellites move toward a global network architecture.