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Beidou satellite service cheaper than GPS

CHINESE drivers are expected to use the positioning service provided by the country's Beidou (Big Dipper) satellites at a much lower price compared with the current Global Positioning System (GPS) next year.

China has launched seven satellites for the Beidou positioning network which will start providing positioning, navigation and telecommunication services in 2012 to users in the Asia Pacific region, said Sun Jiadong, the chief engineer of the Beidou system and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The system is expected to provide global navigation service by 2020, according to a Beijing News report.

Beidou satellites are more versatile than the GPS. Besides positioning service, it can also be used for telecommunication, said Liu Jingnan, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Based on current prices, a chip for Beidou service will be cheaper than those for GPS at around 100 yuan (US$15), Liu added.

The Beidou system can also be used to monitor the movement of the Earth's tetonic plates and guide traffic to prevent congestion, Liu said.

Currently, the Beidou system only is used for military, agricultural and fishery purposes.

There are 32 satellites for the US GPS system, 22 for the Russian GLONASS system and two for the European Galileo system, said Yang Yuanxi, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

 

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