China’s Beidou GPS-substitute opens to public in Asia

China communications satellite launchChina has opened up its domestic sat-nav network to commercial use across the Asia-Pacific region.

Beidou – named after the Chinese word for the Big Dipper constellation – offers an alternative to the US’s global positioning system (GPS).

It had previously been restricted to the Chinese military and government.

A spokesman said that Beidou is targeting a 70-80% share of the Chinese market in related location services by 2020.

The China Satellite Navigation Office added that by that time it also intended the service to be available across the globe.

Growth plan

Chinese officials say that Beidou can identify a user’s location to 10m (33ft), their velocity to within 0.2 metres per second, and clock synchronisation signals to within 50 nanoseconds.

At present the receiver chips cost several times more than their GPS equivalents.

However – assuming prices fall – the Chinese government believes manufacturers will want to build them into equipment alongside those made for the US system, to offer users improved coverage.

Six satellites are already in orbit, but officials said they planned to add a further 40 to the system over the next decade, according to a report by China Daily.

 

BBC has the full article

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