Industrial chain developed for Beidou system

BEIJING: China has developed a complete industrial chain of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), according to the China Satellite Navigation Office (CSNO).

BDS has become a global constellation in stable operation.

By now, 45 in-orbit BDS satellites are operational and in good mechanical health, ensuring the sustainable development of the industrial chain, said the CSNO.

China has developed a complete BDS industrial chain with innovative breakthroughs in basic BDS products such as the basic chips, modules, boards and antennas, and leapfrog development in performance and large-scale application.

China officially commissioned BDS on July 31, 2020, opening the new BDS-3 system to global users.

China-developed BDS is now operating alongside three other systems: GPS of the United States, Galileo of the European Union and Glonass of Russia.

The BDS can provide diverse services and powerful functions. Globally, the system can provide services of positioning, navigation and timing, global message communication and international search and rescue.

In the Asia-pacific region, its services include regional short message communication, precise point positioning, satellite-based augmentation and ground-based augmentation.

In 2020, the total output value of China’s satellite navigation and positioning services industry reached 403.3 billion yuan (Rm266.7bil), up 16.9% compared with the volume in 2019.

Nearly 80% of smartphones put into use in the first half of 2021 in China supported the BDS.