BEIJING, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The application of China's homegrown BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has expanded to include more overseas and domestic clients, heightening expectations for a full-fledged information industry based on domestically-produced satellites.
A state laboratory under Wuhan University in central China's Hubei Province and Wuhan city's information technology outsourcing center signed an agreement in Bangkok on Friday with the Ministry of Science and Technology of Thailand, committing to cooperation on the construction of Thailand's geospatial system for disaster forecasting.
With an expected total investment of 2 billion yuan (319 million U.S. dollars), the project will give Thailand access to China's advanced technology, products and services in the field of geospatial information.
The cooperation will also include manufacturing BDS hardware in a China-Thailand industrial park, marking the first time for the BDS technology to land in a foreign market, according to Wednesday's Shanghai Securities News.
In late December, the BDS began providing civilian users in China and surrounding areas in the Asia-Pacific region with a range of services including positioning, navigation, timing and short messaging.
By the end of 2012, the system had over 130,000 military and civilian users, including those in the financial, power, fishery and fire-fighting sectors, and it served as an important means of communication during relief work, according to the China Satellite Navigation Office.
Meanwhile, more Chinese cities are applying BDS services in their tech-focused sectors.
In January, the Ministry of Transport instructed major transportation vehicles in nine provinces and provincial-level cities to install the BDS service when they renew their mobile navigation terminals.
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