BeiDou boosts tech support in Chinese smartphone industry

People visit the first International Summit on BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) Applications, in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Sept. 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Chen Sihan)

BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- China-developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is boosting the country's mobile phone industry by enhancing product performance.

Mobile phones equipped with the BDS-3 short message communication function will soon be available in the consumer market. It will help expand the application and function of smartphones and effectively ensure the safety of people's lives and property, according to the China Satellite Navigation Office.

This also demonstrates BDS' ability to deeply integrate with a variety of other industries, such as telecommunication, transportation, disaster prevention and mitigation, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and power supply.

BDS has achieved a comprehensive breakthrough in mass consumption represented by its extensive application in smartphones and smart wearable devices, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

In 2021, the number of China-made smartphones with BDS application support reached 324 million units, accounting for 94.5 percent of the country's smartphone shipment that very year, showed statistics from the NDRC.

BDS ground-based augmentation messaging has been applied in smartphones, with meter-level positioning capabilities, the NDRC said.

The world's major chip makers, including component providers for smartphones, can provide products that widely support BDS.

In China, BDS has also shown its worth in sustaining key service industries of the country's socioeconomic sphere. By the end of 2021, more than 7.9 million road transport vehicles nationwide had been installed with BDS, and around 8,000 BDS terminals were in use on the country's railway network.

BDS can also serve the medical health, epidemic prevention, remote monitoring and online service sectors nationwide.

A carrier rocket carrying the last satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, June 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Hu Xujie)

On July 31, 2020, China officially commissioned BDS, opening the new BDS-3 system to global users.

The BDS can provide diverse services and powerful functions. Globally, the system can provide positioning, navigation and timing, global message communication, and international search and rescue services.

In the Asia-Pacific region, its services include regional short message communication, precise point positioning, satellite-based augmentation and ground-based augmentation.