China's indigenous SatNav finds increasing market presence
Xinhua, September 10, 2015 Adjust font size:
China's indigenous satellite navigation system is achieving increasing market presence in the country, with most new GPS gadgets compatible with it, according to an industry report released on Thursday.
At least 80 percent of such gadgets and services sold in 2014 in China were compatible with the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), an alternative to U.S.-operated GPS, said the report by the CNSS and LBS Association of China.
Services based on the BDS have been used not only for industrial purposes such as geographic surveying, traffic monitoring and agriculture, but also car navigation and positioning services on mobile phones, the report said.
China launched the 18th and 19th satellites for the BDS in July, a step closer to the target of a complete constellation of 35 satellites and achieving global coverage by 2020.
According to the report, China's satellite navigation industry reported an annual revenue of 134.3 billion yuan (21.32 billion U.S. dollars) in 2014, up 29.1 percent from 2013. Endi