Beidou, China’s home-developed satellite navigation system, has launched its global service ahead of schedule as the country looks to challenge the dominance of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Ran Chengqi, Director General of the China Satellite Navigation Office, announced completion of the global coverage of the third-generation positioning system, ahead of the previous roll-out target of 2020. Beidou, the Chinese name for the seven stars that make up the Big Dipper, offers a worldwide location service with an accuracy of 5 meters in the Asia-Pacific region and 10 meters in other parts of the world. One of only four global navigation satellite systems, along with America’s Global Positioning System, Russia’s Glonass and Europe’s Galileo, it is part of the country’s wider efforts to become a world leader in space.

“Compared with other satellite navigation systems, we are confident of maintaining good performance and bringing new added services,” Ran said. “Beidou will provide stable non-stop service to countries along the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the rest of the world.” The U.S. GPS offers accuracy to within centimeters, but concerns over Washington’s ability to shut off service during wartime, prompted China, Russia and other nations to develop their own system. China has already shipped more than 70 million Beidou systems, which include microchips and modules, domestically and to over 90 countries.

Completion of the navigation system comes after China launched 19 positioning satellites last year, enough to provide basic coverage. Twelve more will be launched over the coming two years to improve the precision of the system. By the end of 2018, there were a total of 33 BDS satellites operating in orbit, including 15 BDS-2 satellites and 18 BDS-3 satellites. More than 14,000 companies and organizations are doing business related to BDS, employing more than 500,000 people. The total number of satellite navigation patent applications in China has reached 54,000, ranking first in the world. In China, about 6.17 million vehicles, 35,600 postal and express delivery vehicles, as well as 80,000 buses in 36 major cities, use BDS. Most of the shared bicycles in cities now employ Beidou-based positioning services, more than 6 million taxis, buses and cargo trucks nationwide have been equipped with Beidou devices, and about two-thirds of smartphones in China can access Beidou services. Worldwide, Beidou-based devices have been sold in more than 90 countries.