Nearly 600 miles above the Earth’s surface in low orbit, a satellite constellation is circling the planet, transmitting data at the speed of light.
This is the vision of Declan Ganley for the “Outernet,” a self-sustaining space data ark designed to carry the world’s most critical digital communications as a backup internet. Ganley is the chairman and CEO of Rivada Networks, a telecommunications company based in Washington D.C.
According to Ganley, all global communication networks, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX-operated Starlink, currently rely on internet infrastructure to transmit data, creating a vulnerable “public highway” riddled with malicious threats.
In contrast, the Outernet is described as “completely closed and self-contained.” The signals stay in space throughout the transmission process, bypassing traditional ground-based infrastructure through a satellite network using laser links, directly delivering data to end-users.
Ganley told The Epoch Times, “This technology is a game-changer and will become the fastest network available, ensuring data sovereignty remains intact.”
To conquer the skies, Ganley has been engaged in a fierce legal battle on Earth.
His adversary is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which views outer space as the next frontier for global dominance.
After approximately three years and over 160 legal clashes, Ganley mentioned that he is determined to continue moving forward.
“We will respond to every lawsuit the CCP files against us as we always have. We will win them all as we always have,” he said.
Backed by tech billionaire Peter Thiel and with a service contract signed with the U.S. Navy, the Outernet project is set to deploy 600 satellites in early 2026. Ganley claims that the CCP is trying to obstruct the project’s implementation, hinting that decisions to engage in legal battles come from the “highest echelons.”
In times of global emergency, the significant application of the Outernet holds practical significance for Ganley himself. However, the necessity of building a second internet backbone is equally real. Submarine fiber optic cables that sustain modern civilization are inherently fragile. If these cables are cut by malevolent actors, the internet would grind to a halt.
In such a global emergency, an unaffected data network would hold immeasurable value.
Ganley stated, “If the CCP can’t have the network, they want to make sure no one else can have it either.”
Therefore, the best strategy for Beijing is to stifle the project in its infancy.
This battle began in the tiny European country of Liechtenstein.
In 2018, a small company secured hard-to-obtain radio frequency licenses before major international competitors, acquiring priority usage rights for Ka-band spectrum. The wider bandwidth of the Ka-band spectrum is crucial for high-speed satellite communication, making it highly favored in the industry.
German-based satellite startup, Kleo Connect, obtained authorization for a project to launch 300 to 600 satellites into polar orbit. To fund this endeavor, the company entered into a partnership with Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, a Chinese state-owned enterprise, exchanging a 10% stake for funding.
However, disagreements arose between the two parties before substantial progress was made in the project. Within a year, the Chinese side increased its stake to 53%. Without consulting the German side, Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology launched two test satellites in China, raising suspicions of Chinese motives using the project’s license to advance its agenda.
When Rivada Networks intervened in 2022, the dispute between the two sides had escalated into a geopolitical conflict.
Ganley, in collaboration with a German entrepreneur, acquired the Liechtenstein company, wresting back the spectrum usage rights from China. Based on the constellation design by the German founder, his team crafted a commercial plan and technological innovations, culminating in the current Outernet project.
Ganley mentioned he has proposed buying back the shares held by Chinese shareholders.
He said, the Chinese side not only rejected the buyback offer but also “aggressively responded with legal warfare.”
Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology plays a crucial role in China’s race for dominance in space.
Established in 2018 with funding from the Shanghai municipal government, SSST is a rising star in China’s satellite industry. The company is currently developing the SpaceSail project in response to Starlink, a massive constellation project highlighted by Chinese state media.
As a key player, SSST is instrumental in achieving China’s goal of building a satellite internet as a national priority in the 2026-2030 timeframe. By October, the SpaceSail project had launched over a hundred satellites and signed agreements with emerging markets like Kazakhstan and Brazil.
The real value of the Outernet project lies in its potential to serve as an effective backup for current wired digital infrastructure. In comparison, the $36 million spent by the Chinese on lawsuits is only a fraction of the project’s worth, according to Ganley.
Ganley emphasized that over 95% of international data, like blood flowing in arteries, is transmitted through around 500 undersea cables. These cables enable communication anywhere on Earth.
However, these lifelines of information are incredibly vulnerable. Improper placement of heavy equipment, dragging anchors, or entanglement with fishing gear can damage the cable infrastructure.
Malevolent actors deliberately causing damage is another threat.
For more than a decade, Chinese civilian and military entities have been refining precise and cost-effective methods to locate and sever undersea cables. A Chinese university has patented a cable-cutting solution for emergency situations.
Over the past two years, numerous incidents of cable cuts have been attributed to CCP interests. These include disruptions to Taiwan’s telecommunications cables, damage to Baltic Sea communication lines, and sabotage of natural gas pipelines connecting Finland and Estonia alongside two adjacent fiber optic cables.
While not requiring the CCP to engage as a state actor for disruption, Ganley stressed that “they could easily do it.”
If undersea cables cease to function, all connected devices, such as smartphones, televisions, flights, food supplies, among others, would be paralyzed.
Ganley believes the CCP regime has prepared for this. Beijing will stockpile the necessary supplies before severing global connections, maintaining a land-based network that covers the entire mainland.
“Destroying the global undersea cable network requires just $60 million,” he said. “The global undersea cable infrastructure is vulnerable because of its massive scale; its vast coverage area makes complete protection impossible.”
Ganley stated that he made a firm decision long ago never to do business in Communist China.
“I have to answer to my soul,” he said.
A 57-year-old born in the UK, Ganley, an Irish telecommunications entrepreneur, plunged into the wireless communication industry at age 19, scouting for opportunities in the Soviet Union.
“I witnessed the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union during my university years,” he said.
Traversing regions ravaged by communism like Moscow, Latvia, Lithuania, and Siberia, Ganley witnessed firsthand the aftermath of 70 years of Soviet communist rule, from political Potemkin villages to churches turned into prisons, a litany of oppressions.
(“Potemkin villages” were originally deceptive villages designed to mislead. According to tradition in 1787, following victories in the Russian-Turkish war, Catherine the Great was shown villages built along the Dnieper River that were mobile and created illusions to deceive her and accompanying dignitaries. In modern political and economic terms, “Potemkin villages” refer to construction or initiatives specifically carried out to create false impressions, akin to the concept of “window dressing.”)
“It was an evil empire, and the root of evil was Marxism, which is communism. To hold a high position in those organizations, you had to sell your soul,” he remarked.
However, within a few years, Western companies flooded into China. By partnering with local enterprises and offering technology in exchange for market share in China, they expanded their foothold in the Chinese market.
Ganley pointed out that these companies didn’t conquer China; rather, they turned themselves into captives of China.
“Lenin once said: Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them. Not only have we arranged to sell the rope, we have handed the rope over to the CCP, allowing them to hang us and our economy with it,” he said.
“We’ve transferred our industrial base to China. Our energy prices are far higher than China’s. We’ve handed over dominance of the data network to them. Now, they want control over the Outernet too.”
Ganley stated he would “rather see it burn” than hand over the project to the CCP.
“Sometimes you feel like you’re fighting alone. The reinforcements aren’t coming anytime soon, and even when they do, you can only rely on yourself,” he remarked.
Nevertheless, Ganley mentioned that the value of courage in the long run is what he can depend on.
“I’m a Roman Catholic. I believe that my actions or inactions will be held accountable by the ultimate judgment giver,” he said.