Kazakhstan left broadband off KazSat-3R on cost grounds

Kazakhstan's next communications satellite, KazSat-3R, will be built without high-throughput satellite (HTS) technology, mainly on cost grounds, an official government reply to a deputy's inquiry said, BES.media reported on 22 April.

A satellite with an expanded payload in the Ku and Ka bands would have cost the budget 153 billion tenge, and with limited resources the authorities considered such a project unprofitable, the outlet reported. In October, the two foreign low-orbit systems the state uses for remote villages and schools moved to commercial licences. Starlink and OneWeb obtained them on 2 October, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev told deputies of the Kurultai, Kazinform reported on 22 October. Read side by side, the two replies show high-throughput capacity left off the national satellite on cost grounds and foreign constellations licensed to sell satellite broadband. Neither sets out the terms of that arrangement.

The same BES.media report cited the digital ministry as saying the communications and broadcasting satellite KazSat-3 will be replaced as planned in 2029, and noted that the Republican Space Communications Centre had earlier announced a tender to build KazSat-3R. It does not give the cost of KazSat-3R as specified. The government's later funding for the project is covered in our report on KazSat revenue and the new imaging satellites.

A deputy of the Mazhilis objected in an inquiry addressed to Madiyev, Kazinform reported on 22 April. He criticised the use of Starlink and OneWeb as an alternative to the national KazSat system, said the emphasis on them as alternatives to domestic satellites carried direct risks to the country's sovereignty, and argued that the refusal to include satellite internet had been justified only by the 153 billion tenge cost, without a thorough comparative analysis being presented. He asked the government to review the parameters of KazSat-3R, taking into account the priority of national security and the need for full autonomy of strategic communication channels. BES.media reported that he also said the participation of world leaders in the space industry in state procurement should be considered.

The October licences

Madiyev's October reply lists what the two operators did before they were licensed: they met requirements on special investigative measures, connected to the telecommunications network management centre and built ground infrastructure, according to Kazinform. Those conditions bear on the sovereignty concern the deputy raised in April, although the reply as reported does not refer to it. Madiyev said satellite links can provide backup communications if ground infrastructure is damaged, and that two more foreign systems, Amazon Leo and China's Shanghai SpaceSail, are expected to enter the market in 2027.

The expectation of further foreign entrants predates both replies. In January, the government's summary of a session on digital transformation said that "in addition to the three current operators, the entry of two foreign companies is expected" in satellite internet. The same summary planned the production of five to six Earth remote sensing satellites at a domestic facility and did not mention KazSat or broadband capacity on a national satellite.

What each document says

Date	Document	What it says	What it leaves out
6 January 2026	Government session summary	Two foreign satellite internet companies expected in addition to three current operators; five to six Earth remote sensing satellites to be produced at a domestic facility	Which operators; any broadband capacity on a national satellite
Reported 22 April 2026	Government reply to a deputy's inquiry	KazSat-3R without HTS; an expanded Ku- and Ka-band payload estimated at 153 billion tenge; KazSat-3 to be replaced as planned in 2029	The cost of KazSat-3R as specified
Reported 22 April 2026	Inquiry by a deputy of the Mazhilis	Treating Starlink and OneWeb as alternatives to domestic satellites carries direct risks to sovereignty; review of the KazSat-3R parameters requested	The government's answer, not found in the documents reviewed
Reported 22 October 2026	Madiyev's reply to deputies of the Kurultai	Starlink and OneWeb licensed on 2 October after meeting requirements including special investigative measures; Amazon Leo and SpaceSail expected in 2027	Licence terms, duration, fees and holders

Method: each row comes from the document named, linked above: the government's English-language summary of 6 January, the Russian-language reports of BES.media and Kazinform of 22 April, and Kazinform's Chinese-language report of 22 October, translated by Corridor Signal.

Two entrants expected in 2027, a replacement satellite in 2029

• 2027: the expected entry of Amazon Leo and SpaceSail, and whether their licences carry the conditions Starlink and OneWeb met;
• 2029: the planned replacement of KazSat-3, whose service life ends that year, by KazSat-3R;
• not yet dated: publication of the Starlink and OneWeb licence terms.