A self-driving tractor utilizes a BeiDou Navigation Satellite System application in Tongling, East China's Anhui Province. Photo: cnsphoto

China will provide unique services to global users of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) after its construction is completed in 2020, an official said on December 27.

Along with basic positioning, navigation and time services, BDS will provide six categories of special services which will distinguish it from other systems, said BDS spokesperson Ran Chengqi at a press conference.

BDS' satellite-based augmentation system will provide high-precision and high-integrity services to users in the civil aviation, maritime and railway industries, among others.

It will provide users in China and surrounding areas with decimeter-level dynamic positioning and centimeter-level static positioning, meeting the demand for high-precision services in fields like land surveying and mapping, agriculture and automatic driving.

Another unique service is regional short message communication. Users can send a message of up to 1,000 Chinese characters. 

The service is expected to be integrated into mobile platforms including smartphones.

China has launched 14 medium Earth orbit satellites carrying payloads for global short message communications.

For the ground-based augmentation system, China has built more than 2,000 stations, forming a nationwide network providing positioning services at different accuracy levels.

For international search and rescue, six medium Earth orbit satellites will work with other global medium-orbit search and rescue systems to provide more efficient and high-quality services. People in need of rescue can obtain rescue confirmation information through the services.

Friday marks the one-year anniversary of China's BDS-3 system's global services. China will finish the construction of BDS-3, and another two satellites are to be launched before June 2020.

In total, China has exported its basic BDS products to more than 120 countries and regions, said Ran.

BDS has entered a new era of global service, benefiting ASEAN, South Asia, Eastern Europe, West Asia and Africa when it comes to precision farming, digital construction and smart port construction, Ran said.

China has implemented international exchanges and cooperation in the area of satellite navigation systems, according to Ran. 

An intergovernmental cooperation agreement on satellite navigation between China and Russia has come into force, and a China-Russia satellite navigation monitoring and assessment platform has been put into operation.

China and the US have deepened their coordination of signal interoperability. China and the EU have cooperated in frequency coordination.

China has continuously promoted BDS' compatibility with other navigation systems to benefit global users, Ran said. 

Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper constellation, China's BDS is one of the four space-based navigation networks operating globally, along with the US' GPS system, Russia's GLONASS and the Europe Union's Galileo.