By Li Hongmei

Given the dominance of the US-based Global Positioning System (GPS), it will take at least a decade for China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) to be fully implemented in the private sector.

He Zaihua, a senior researcher at CIConsulting, said that 95% of the Chinese market is dominated by GPS and its chips and products, and that it would take a decade or more for BDS to establish itself in ordinary Chinese households.

American technology company Lockheed Martin recently announced that its GPS III - a new generation of satellite system - had completed a series of high-fidelity pathfinding tests and will be delivered to the US Air Force next year. Once GPS III is functional, it will replace the existing GPS.

In comparison, China's BDS began offering regional services last year, with China striking a deal with Pakistan for military services, a significant step in expanding the system's global coverage.

An expert, who has worked with BDS, said that the system covers the Asia Pacific region and will achieve global coverage by 2020.