Elon Musk’s Starlink is now one of the biggest players in satellite internet. China is set to challenge this dominance, and has launched its own satellites.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX currently dominates the satellite launch market thanks to its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. The company’s Starlink internet satellites, meanwhile, account for almost 60 percent of all satellites orbiting Earth.

Although the ambitions are high, the path to success may be challenging. SpaceX is currently at the forefront of the race for dominance in space-based internet.

China has taken its first step toward building the Guowang satellite constellation, launching 10 internet satellites into orbit on Monday to compete with SpaceX's Starlink for global high-speed internet coverage.

A group of satellites lifted off aboard a Long March-5B rocket coupled with the Yuanzheng-2 upper stage from southern China’s Wenchang spaceport at 6pm and later reached their designated low-Earth orbit, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The EU has finalized plans to build a €10.6 billion ($11.1 billion) satellite network that will provide high-speed internet to remote locations.

The European Union is committing to build a EUR10.6 billion (approx. US$11.13 billion) constellation of satellites that will provide the bloc with encrypted global internet connectivity in a bid to provide a homegrown alternative to Elon Musk's Starlink.

The EU's flagship satellite constellation project officially took off Monday, as the bloc signed a concession contract with a European consortium to develop a secure space-based communication system.