China’s Alternative To GPS Could Be Launching In 2020

Due to the ongoing tensions between various countries, we’ve seen how some governments have taken it upon themselves to try and distance themselves. For example, it was recently that it was revealed that Russia had successfully tested its own internet in a bid to try and filter content from external websites.

We’ve also seen how some countries such as China have also been trying to reduce influence from the West by censoring content and blocking certain apps from working. Now it looks like China might be taking things a bit further by launching its own take on GPS which could be arriving in 2020.

In a report from Nikkei Asian Review, China’s Beidou network of satellites could launch in 2020 which would essentially see devices used in the country decouple itself from US tech. In case you didn’t know, GPS is operated by the US which means that in theory, the US government does have the ability to disabling it for foreign entities in the name of political or military interests.

We’ve sort of seen this happen with the US putting Huawei on the Entity List, essentially blocking Huawei from using US-based products and technologies, affecting devices like smartphones and computers. With China launching its own GPS alternative, it brings them one step closer to reducing their dependence on foreign technologies.

Tyler Lee
Categories: General
Tags: China