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Fifty years since its inception, the GPS is at risk of losing its status as the world’s leading location service. China’s BeiDou system, a newer and more advanced alternative to GPS, is gaining traction and could potentially outperform it in terms of accuracy and capabilities.

The BeiDou constellation currently has more satellites and monitoring stations worldwide compared to GPS. This results in improved accuracy, particularly in the developing world. China’s aim with the BeiDou system is to enhance its diplomatic, economic, and military power, exerting influence over other nations’ economies through superior positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) data.

The Chinese government heavily subsidizes the purchase of specialized equipment that uses BeiDou signals, making it easier for China to encourage other nations to adopt their system. This poses a threat to the United States, as it risks losing its longstanding advantage in GNSS technology and undermines its position as the leader in the field.

Recent enhancements to the BeiDou system include the launch of additional satellites and the introduction of two-way messaging capabilities, which GPS does not have. The messaging feature can be used for communication in areas without ground network cell coverage, but it also raises concerns about surveillance and data privacy.

The U.S. military is in the process of upgrading GPS with modernized satellites to provide more precise coordinates in challenging environments. However, the next-generation GPS service for civilians is not expected to be available for several more years. GPS has become an essential infrastructure that supports various industries and sectors beyond its original military applications.

In addition to GPS and BeiDou, there are other global navigation satellite systems such as Russia’s Glonass, the European Union’s Galileo, and regional systems from Japan and India. BeiDou, once a regional network with limited civilian users, has significantly expanded since its inception and now offers precise location data and basic two-way communication capabilities.

Both GPS and BeiDou have nonmilitary applications that benefit society, ranging from transportation services like Uber to agriculture applications for farmers. However, China’s BeiDou system poses a competitive challenge to GPS’s dominance and could impact the global positioning market.

The U.S. military plans to continue improving GPS with upgraded satellites to maintain its leadership position. GPS remains the gold standard in terms of integrity and is the only system accepted for international flight use, according to the U.S. Space Systems Command.

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