China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System

IV. BDS Application and Industrial Development

China strives to enhance BDS application development, in an effort to build a BDS industrial chain which comprises the basic products, application terminals, application systems and operational services, keeps strengthening BDS-related industrial supporting, promotion and innovation systems, continuously improves the industrial environment, expands the application scale for integrated development, and increases the economic and social benefits of the satellite navigation industry.

(I) Establishing an Industrial Supporting System

- Industrial policies. China has formulated development plans for the satellite navigation industry, making overall arrangement for medium- and long-term satellite navigation industrial development, and encourages competent departments and local governments to enact relevant policies to support BDS application and industrial development.

- Equitable market environment. China is making efforts to build a development environment for the satellite navigation industry marked by orderly competition, and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of resource allocation. It encourages and supports domestic and overseas organizations, including scientific research institutions, enterprises, colleges, universities and social organizations, to actively develop BDS applications, and fully release market vitality.

- Standardization process. In 2014 the National Technical Committee on BeiDou Satellite Navigation of Standardization Administration of China was established, and the BeiDou Satellite Navigation Standard System was set up, which has been constantly improved. China promotes the standards verification and implementation, and expedites the formulation and revision of standards which are fundamental, generally applicable and in urgent need, so as to enhance the quality and benefits of the procedure-based development of satellite navigation.

- Product quality system. China is working to establish and improve a public service platform for satellite navigation product quality assurance. It also actively promotes third-party quality test, type approval and authentication efforts of BDS basic products used in the security sector and application products in key fields. It is regularizing satellite navigation application services and operations, and cultivating the BeiDou brand. It aims to gradually establish satellite navigation product test and authentication institutions, strengthen admissibility of third-party certification, promoting the upgrading of the core competitiveness of BDS products on all scales, and pushing forward BDS applications in line with international conventions.

- Comprehensive service system of location data. China welcomes commercial operation to be introduced to help build the basic platform of location service based on its BDS augmentation systems, which will have extensive coverage of application fields and interconnections, and provide support services to different regions and industries and to public customers.

(II) Establishing an Industrial Application Promotion System

- Application in key sectors. Great efforts are being made to promote the application of BDS technologies and products, which are compatible with other systems, in the key sectors related to national security and economy, to provide important assurance for the steady and safe running of the national economy.

- Industrial and regional applications. China is pushing forward close integration between satellite navigation and each industry in the national economy, carrying out demonstrations of BDS industrial applications, formulating comprehensive application solutions for industries, and promoting transformation and enhancement in the areas of transportation, national land resources, disaster prevention and reduction, agriculture, forestry and water conservancy, surveying and exploration, and emergency response and rescue. It encourages BDS regional application demonstrations to meet the requirements of the state strategies on regional development, such as the "Coordinated Development for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region", the building of "Yangtze River Economic Zone" and the development of smart cities. It is also promoting commercial and large-scale BDS applications, and enhancing BDS-related industries, as well as regional economic and social development.

- Mass market application. The goal is to produce miniaturized, low power-consuming and highly-integrated BDS-related products, oriented to the mass market in the sectors of smart phones, vehicle-borne terminals and wearable devices. The focus is on pushing forward the adoption of satellite navigation and positioning functions based on the BDS and other compatible systems as a standard configuration in the fields of vehicle-borne and intelligent navigation, and promoting diversified applications in social services, transportation, caring for vulnerable groups, and smart cities.

(III) Establishing an Industrial Innovative System

- Research and development of basic products. To make breakthroughs in key technologies, China is developing chips, modules, antennae and other basic products based on the BDS and other compatible systems, and fostering an independent BDS industrial chain.

- Establishment of an innovation system. China encourages and supports the construction and development of key laboratories for satellite navigation application technologies, research centers of engineering (technology), technology centers of enterprises, and other innovative bodies, enhances the capacity of engineering experiment platforms and achievement transformation platforms, supports relevant enterprises, and makes more efforts to protect intellectual property rights, so as to form a technology innovation system which relies on the enterprise as the main body and combines the efforts of universities, research institutes and application.

- Integrated industrial development. China encourages the integrated development of the BDS and Internet+, big data, and cloud computing, supports the integrated positioning and innovative utilization of satellite navigation together with mobile communications, WLAN, pseudo-satellites, ultra-wide band and Ad Hoc Network signals, promotes integrated development of satellite navigation and emerging industries such as the Internet of Things, geographic information, satellite remote sensing and communication, and mobile Internet, and encourages people to start their own businesses and make innovations, so as to vigorously upgrade the innovation capability of the industry.

V. International Cooperation and Exchanges

China will push forward the international development of the BDS, actively carry out international cooperation and exchanges in this field, so as to serve the Belt and Road Initiative, promote the development of global satellite navigation, and enable the BDS to serve the world and benefit mankind better.

(I) Strengthening Compatibility and Joint Applications with Other Navigation Satellite Systems

China actively pushes forward the cooperation and exchanges between the BDS and other navigation satellite systems in the fields of system construction and application from all perspectives, strengthening compatibility and interoperability, achieving resource sharing, complementarity and technology advancement, improving the services of navigation satellite systems, and providing users with more qualified, diversified, safe and reliable services.

(II) Utilizing Frequency and Orbital Slot Resources According to International Rules

As limited and valuable natural resources, frequencies and orbital slots provide a critical foundation for the development of navigation satellite systems. Adhering to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) rules, China works to facilitate coordination of BDS frequencies and orbital slots through negotiations, actively participates in the research and formulation of ITU rules and other relevant activities, and expands radio-navigation frequency resources through cooperation with other nations. Since 2000 China has held effective coordination activities on more than 300 satellite networks with more than 20 countries, regions and international organizations.

(III) Promoting the Ratification of the BDS by International Standards

The ratification of the BDS by international standards is a milestone for the integration of the BDS into international systems. China spares no effort to get the BDS ratified by the International Organization for Standardization and other international organizations in the industrial and professional application sectors. Currently, positive efforts are being made to advance the recognition of the BDS in the International Civil Aviation Organization, International Maritime Organization, Third-Generation Mobile Communication Standard Partnership Project, and other organizations. China advocates the involvement of enterprises, scientific research, colleges and universities in the formulation of satellite navigation terminals and application standards. In November 2014 the BDS gained recognition from the International Maritime Organization.

(IV) Participating in Multilateral Activities in the Field of International Satellite Navigation

The BDS is one of the major GNSS providers, and China actively participates in international satellite navigation affairs, attends the activities held by the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG) and other relevant international organizations, supports academic exchanges and cooperation in this area, and promotes satellite navigation applications with the contribution of the BDS. China actively takes part in relevant tasks within the orbit of the United Nations, successfully held the Seventh Meeting of the ICG in 2012, when the proposals for the international GNSS Monitoring and Assessment and the BDS/GNSS Application Demonstration and Experience Campaign were initiated, and the Joint Statement of Global Navigation Satellite Systems for serving the whole was issued. The China Satellite Navigation Conference is held annually, and plays a positive role in the development of satellite navigation technologies and applications worldwide.

(V) Promoting International Satellite Navigation Applications

- To intensify publicity and popularization in this field, China has implemented the "BDS Tour" series of events, pushed forward the establishment of BDS Centers to enable better understanding of the BDS. BDS Centers have been jointly set up in a number of nations. The BeiDou International Exchange and Training Center has been opened, and a demonstration platform for education and training in the field of satellite navigation has been set up. In addition, academic education, summer schools, short-term training courses and symposiums, and other international education and training activities have been regularly held.

- To advance and implement internationalization projects, China is promoting research and consultancy services regarding the policies, markets, laws and finance related to international satellite navigation applications, and improving comprehensive international service capabilities. In line with the Belt and Road Initiative, China will jointly build satellite navigation augmentation systems with relevant nations, provide highly accurate satellite navigation, positioning and timing services, improve the overseas BDS service performances, and promote international applications of navigation technologies. China will also carry out application demonstrations in the fields of transportation, tourism, maritime application, disaster reduction and relief, and agriculture, and boost application on a large scale, through establishing an operation and service platform for highly accurate satellite navigation, positioning and timing services.

Conclusion

Navigation satellite systems are the common wealth of the development of mankind, and also a space infrastructure which can provide all-time precise time and space information. They promote the development of emerging industrial clusters that are technology- and knowledge-intensive with huge growth potentials and sound comprehensive benefits, thus becoming critical support for national security, economic and social development, and increasingly improve the people' s production and living activities.

China will continue its BDS construction, improve the system performance, and fulfill its service commitments. It will persist in opening up and cooperation, promote the popularization in this field, strive to advance satellite navigation applications worldwide, and make satellite navigation better benefit the wellbeing of the people and the progress of mankind.