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Chinese GPS System To Be Offered Free

MattSparkes writes, "The Chinese GPS system, Beidou, is apparently to be opened up for free access within China, worrying European investors on the €2.5 billion competing project, Galileo. Initially, China had declared that access to their system would be restricted to the military, and Europe had planned to recoup some of the cost of their system by selling licenses to China. Michael Shaw, from the US government's National Space-based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Coordination Office in Washington DC, said, 'Frankly, China's behavior towards Europe is not so different to how Europe behaved with us when GPS was the only game in town a decade ago.'"

7 of 131 comments (clear)

  1. China by thejrwr · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can see it now, a billion people running into each other looking down at there GPS device.

  2. Free by TheBogie · · Score: 4, Funny

    Each of their citizens will get a free tracking device implanted inside them. What a great country!!

    1. Re:Free by ATMD · · Score: 5, Funny

      In communist China, global system positions YOU!

      --
      Nobody else has this sig.
  3. But... by ElBuf · · Score: 5, Funny

    Aren't they afraid of how all those people are going react when they find out they live in China?

  4. What? by timeOday · · Score: 2, Funny

    You mean China is going to make, manufacture, and use technology themselves without paying us royalties? I'm outraged. We're screwed.

  5. A dark day for GPS by Asrynachs · · Score: 2, Funny

    The trouble with China offering free GPS is it's all gonna be censored. Anything the government deems unacceptable won't show up on the GPS device. Things like lakes and rivers will both be blotted out since they are commonly associated with revolution and high volume disobediance. The houses of suspected revolunionaries also won't show up, so they'll have to actually tell friends and relatives directions to their house rather than just let them use GPS to find their way. On the ironic side the government won't be able to come and arrest the revolutionaries since after their houses are blotted out they won't know where they live either.

    It is indeed a dark day for GPS

  6. Re:How many do we need? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I think he was referring to the Retard in Chief. Nobody in hi right mind would trust that guy. "We're shutting them out of GPS as part of 'Operation Red White and Blue God Fearing True American Good Christians Against Smelly Europeans.' All people opposed to this may register complaints by lining up in Guantanamo."