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A salesman demonstrates how to operate the
Beidou navigation system for drivers at a trade market in Ningbo,
in East China's Zhejiang province. As part of its efforts to
establish an independent satellite navigation system, in 2000
the Chinese government launched the first Beidou system, which
is to offer services to customers across the Asia-Pacific region
by 2012 and globally by 2020. (Photo / China Daily)
In China's dynamic high technology industry dominated by young
entrepreneurs in their 20s and 30s, 59-year-old Lu Jianguang
might seem out of place. But he is involved in a business that
perhaps only the more elderly can best understand - "selling
time".
As the president of Beijing Guozhiheng Power Management
Technology, one of the first companies to provide a civilian
service based on China's Beidou navigation system, Lu's job is
to sell devices that can measure time to a nanosecond - one
billionth of a second.
By tracing and synchronizing time to such a precise level, Lu's
products ensure the safety of many electricity power stations,
telecom carriers and even financial institutions.
"Many of China's key industries rely on the global positioning
system (GPS), which was developed and is controlled by the
United States," said Lu.
He said because the GPS system service in China is free and
unreliable, there will be a huge market for China's own
navigation system in commercial areas.
As part of its efforts to establish an independent satellite
navigation system, in 2000 the Chinese government launched the
first Beidou system, which consists of three satellites with
limited coverage and applications.
The government plans to upgrade the system to offer services to
customers in the Asia-Pacific region by 2012 and globally by
2020.
Lu said just as the launch of the GPS system in the 1990s
created a huge market across the world, the development of
Beidou will also foster a huge market in China.
"In the auto navigation market alone, the GPS system created a
60 billion yuan ($11 billion) industry in China last year," said
Lu. He estimated the market would reach 150 billion yuan by
2015.
The United States government controls the export of some
civilian GPS receivers and has a history of disrupting or
paralyzing foreign GPS services for military or political
reasons.
That prompted many regions and countries, including the European
Union, Russia and China, to develop their own satellite
navigation systems.
China aims to have at least 10 Beidou navigation satellites in
orbit before 2012 to cover the Asia-Pacific region and the final
global system will consist of 35 satellites.
Lu said his company is expected to see explosive growth next
year when China's Beidou system finishes its coverage in
Asia-Pacific, which will mean the system will be able to provide
reliable services for civilian use.
Lu said his company's major business came from Chinese
electricity power stations, which require perfect synchronizing
of time to assure the safety of high electricity voltage
transmission. He estimates that the business can bring in about
300 million yuan in revenue for his company this year.
Currently, the Beidou system is mainly used for military
navigation and to monitor agriculture and fisheries, as well as
for big engineering projects. China has said that it will start
to offer a GPS service aimed at drivers in 2012.
Liu Jingnan, a world renowned GPS technology specialist, said at
a GPS conference that the cost of the new Beidou GPS chips will
be lower than chips in the US.
Lu said as China's Beidou system becomes more mature, there will
be an increasing number of civilian services in China and even
in some overseas markets.
He added that his company also expanded in the telecom and
financial markets, which also require accurate measurement of
time.
Source: China Daily
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