China’s GPS Rival Beidou Starts Global Service

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By Zhang Erchi / Dec 28, 2018 11:51 AM / Business & Tech

Photo: VCG

Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has begun to provide global service, China announced on Thursday – making it officially a competitor of the U.S.’s own navigation system, GPS.

The Beidou system now has a total of 33 satellites in operation, and China has completed the system’s third phase of construction, BDS spokesman Ran Chengqi said at a press conference of the State Council Information Office. That means BDS is now functional beyond the Asia Pacific region.

China began to construct its navigation system in the 1990s and launched its Asia Pacific coverage in 2012. China plans to launch an additional 12 satellites dedicated to the network over the next two years in order to make it complete.

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