The Tiantong-01 satellite will establish a mobile network serving China, the Middle East, Africa and other areas, the state run Xinhua news agency reported.
It was sent into space after midnight local time in Beijing (16:00 GMT) on Sunday.
The ground service will be operated by China Telecom, which is owned by the Chinese state.
The country is also preparing for the next round of its manned space mission.
China's science revolution
