Featured Pakistan becomes the first foreign country to use China-based global positioning system

[beijingwalker]

Pakistan ‘key partner’ of China’s satellite programme
By APP
Published: June 22, 2020
BEIJING:

Pakistan has become the first foreign country to use China-based global positioning system (GPS), following a bilateral agreement aimed at strengthening cooperation in satellite navigation system, officials told APP.

They said Pakistan was one of the key and important partners of China in its satellite navigation programme and both the countries were cooperating with each other in the training, application systems besides performance monitoring and assessment.

“We perceive a better cooperation perspective with Pakistan in the field of satellite navigation system,” said, Ran Chengqi, Directer General of China Satellite Navigation Office (CSNO) and spokesperson for Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS).


Pakistan was the first foreign country to use the Chinese GPS made by Beidou Satellite System. Beidou, or Compass, has also set up network in Pakistan, Ran told APP during a visit to Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Beidou, China’s largest space-based system and one of the four global navigation networks, along with the United States’ GPS, Russia’s GLONASS and the European Union’s Galileo, began providing positioning, navigation, timing and messaging services to civilian users in China and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region in December 2012.

At the end of 2018, Beidou started to provide global services. Ran said services provided by the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) were wide-ranging and would benefit the entire world through more international cooperation.

He said that enterprises of over 200 countries have so far applied for BDS-based technology. The products manufactured by the Chinese companies are being exported to over 100 countries. “The users of the countries along the Belt and Road region will be our target and we will provide our service to South East Asia, South Asia and African,” he added.

“The BDS services are used in various fields, including transportation, agriculture, fishing, disaster reduction and relief. The services are available in more than 70% of smartphones in China, making people’s lives smarter and more convenient, he added.

During Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s trip to Pakistan in May 2013, the two sides reached a consensus to create a new pattern of strategic cooperation. The two sides signed an agreement to introduce Beidou Satellite Navigation System to Pakistan.

By covering Karachi and its surrounding areas with the high-precision navigation network, the project has helped basic geographic surveying, land management and port dispatching with reduced costs and enhanced efficiency.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2247760/1-pakistan-key-partner-chinas-satellite-programme/

 

[Rafi]

Brilliant.

 

[PDF]

I would like to see Beidou Navigation in cars. Currently, Not even, Google provide dedicated coverage in Pakistan for navigation but we rely on google maps on smartphones or connect them to car's multimedia.

 

[Ghessan]

BDS cooperation has put boundaries aside for Pakistan with a global and a strategic reach, we must not be only very active on our part but also should take initiative to be an active partner in this technology with China.

 

[Pak_Sher]

GPS is bigger and stable. Not sure about the accuracy of the Chinese System

 

[Armchair]

Beidou is technologically superior to GPS. It has an added functionality over GPS. Once it covers Pakistan, it doesn't matter whether Beidou also covers Timbuktu or any other boon docks or not.

 

[Foxtrot Delta]

Yay! Baidu! they announced it. Army has been using it since 2013 though.

 

[darksider]

I hope it will covers whole Pakistan soon.
Then it will be our main navigation provider.

 

[RuralHunter]

Yay! Baidu! they announced it. Army has been using it since 2013 though.

Beidou is not Baidu!

 

[Foxtrot Delta]

Beidou is not Baidu!

I meant the settalite.

 

[ghazi52]

Pakistan has become the first foreign country to use China-based global positioning system (GPS), following a bilateral agreement aimed at strengthening cooperation in satellite navigation system, officials told APP.

They said Pakistan was one of the key and important partners of China in its satellite navigation programme and both the countries were cooperating with each other in the training, application systems besides performance monitoring and assessment.

“We perceive a better cooperation perspective with Pakistan in the field of satellite navigation system,” said, Ran Chengqi, Directer General of China Satellite Navigation Office (CSNO) and spokesperson for Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS).

Pakistan was the first foreign country to use the Chinese GPS made by Beidou Satellite System. Beidou, or Compass, has also set up network in Pakistan, Ran told APP during a visit to Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Beidou, China’s largest space-based system and one of the four global navigation networks, along with the United States’ GPS, Russia’s GLONASS and the European Union’s Galileo, began providing positioning, navigation, timing and messaging services to civilian users in China and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region in December 2012.

At the end of 2018, Beidou started to provide global services. Ran said services provided by the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) were wide-ranging and would benefit the entire world through more international cooperation.

He said that enterprises of over 200 countries have so far applied for BDS-based technology. The products manufactured by the Chinese companies are being exported to over 100 countries. “The users of the countries along the Belt and Road region will be our target and we will provide our service to South East Asia, South Asia and African,” he added.

“The BDS services are used in various fields, including transportation, agriculture, fishing, disaster reduction and relief. The services are available in more than 70% of smartphones in China, making people’s lives smarter and more convenient, he added.

During Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s trip to Pakistan in May 2013, the two sides reached a consensus to create a new pattern of strategic cooperation. The two sides signed an agreement to introduce Beidou Satellite Navigation System to Pakistan.

By covering Karachi and its surrounding areas with the high-precision navigation network, the project has helped basic geographic surveying, land management and port dispatching with reduced costs and enhanced efficiency.

 

[ghazi52]

 

[Tair-Lahoti]

China’s Alternative to GPS and its
Implications for the United State
Jordan Wilson, Policy Analyst, Security and Foreign Affairs

Executive Summary
China’s Beidou satellite navigation system is projected to achieve global coverage by 2020, providing position accuracies of under ten meters (one meter or less with regional augmentation) using a network of 35 satellites.While the United States has provided GPS signals to users worldwide for free since the 1980s, China has sought to field its own satellite navigation system in order to (1) address national security requirements by ending military
reliance on GPS; (2) build a commercial downstream satellite navigation industry to take advantage of the quickly expanding market; and (3) achieve domestic and international prestige by fielding one of only four such global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) yet developed, cementing China’s status as a leading space power and opening The door to international cooperation opportunities. Beidou is consistently referenced as one of China’s top space projects in its government white papers on space activities, most recently in December 2016.
China’s development and promotion of Beidou presents implications for the United States in security, economic, and diplomatic areas. It is of foremost importance in allowing China’s military to employ Beidou-guided conventional strike weapons—the buildup of which has been a central feature of Beijing’s efforts to counter a U.S. Intervention in a potential contingency—if access to GPS is denied. The concern has also been raised that Beidou
could pose a security risk by allowing China’s government to track users of the system by deploying malware transmitted through either its navigation signal or messaging function (via a satellite communication channel), once the technology is in widespread use. However, industry professionals interviewed for this report (1) are not aware of ways to feasibly transmit malware through a navigation signal and (2) assess that manufacturers will be unlikely to include the messaging function due to cost factors. Restrictions on technology purchases from China by U.S. government and military users can help guard against malware being physically installed. As Beidou-equipped smartphones become more prevalent, U.S. consumers should know there are no inherent risks to receiving Beidou signals when the satellite communication function is not included.
In economic terms, GPS and Beidou signals are both provided for free and are not in “competition” for market share. Further, experts widely agree that the satellite navigation industry is trending toward “multi-constellation” receivers that work with all GNSS. This development will bring greater accuracy to consumers at minimal marginal cost and is supported by governments around the world. The U.S. firms that currently dominate the downstream satellite navigation industry will thus likely be able to incorporate Beidou functionality and continue to compete both in China and the global market, despite steps China has taken to protect its companies in the industry. China’s subsidies and preferential taxation policies pose a larger problem, as these are likely to primarily benefit domestic companies. Further, state-affiliated customers in China will probably avoid U.S. technologies once China’s industry becomes mature. This development will likely narrow opportunities for U.S. firms in the long term, as has been typical of non-Chinese firms’ experience in the China market across a wide range of industries.
Finally, Beidou will likely bring enhanced prestige and diplomatic opportunities for China’s government. The
system could provide Beijing with leverage to obtain more influence in several international and regional
organizations that deal with global satellite navigation issues. Further, China plans to expand Beidou coverage to most of the countries covered in its “One Belt, One Road” initiative by 2018, indicating it sees the system as playing a role in its economic diplomacy efforts. China has also sought to incentivize nearby countries, most notably
Thailand, to begin using Beidou receivers, and seeks access to build a network of differential ground stations Throughout Asia—perhaps 1,000 in Southeast Asia alone—to improve the system’s accuracy and, by extension, Chinese companies’ commercial prospects. These stations will not have a direct effect on U.S. regional influence or U.S. firms in downstream industries (which can also build receivers that utilize them), should trends towards
interoperability continue.
In response to these developments, the United States can: consider allowing government and military users to take advantage of multi-constellation devices, continuing to monitor the industry to assure that security threats do not materialize; promote interoperability to ensure its firms remain competitive; and continue to invest in maintaining its leadership in space.

 

[Tair-Lahoti]

 

[ghazi52]

BeiDou: China launches final satellite in challenge to GPS

China has successfully put into orbit the final satellite in its BeiDou-3 navigation system, further advancing the country as a major power in space.

Tuesday's launch will allow China to no longer rely on the US government-owned Global Positioning System (GPS).

The $10bn (£8bn) network is made up of 35 satellites and provides global navigation coverage.

It comes as tensions between Beijing and Washington are increasing over the coronavirus, trade and Hong Kong.

The launch had been scheduled for last week but was delayed after technical problems were found with the rocket in pre-launch tests.

The third version of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) offers an alternative to Russia's GLONASS and the European Galileo systems, as well as America's GPS.

Future plans promise to support a more accessible and integrated system scheduled to come online by 2035 with BDS at its core.


The first version of BeiDou, meaning "Big Dipper," was decommissioned in 2012.

China's space programme has developed rapidly over the last 20 years as Beijing has provided significant funding to develop the country's own high-tech systems.

In 2003, China became only the third country to launch its own crewed space mission. Since then it has built an experimental space station and sent two rovers to the moon.

The moves are seen as preparation for a permanent space station, a potential crewed flight to the moon, and a possible first attempt to send an orbiter and rover to Mars.

That would make China a serious contender to America in space exploration.