CCTV:

Mr. Ran mentioned that since the official commissioning of BDS-3 in 2020, the work focus has shifted from BDS construction to BDS operation management. BDS has been operating stably during the past two years, so what results have been achieved? What deficiencies need to be improved? Thank you.

Ran Chengqi:

Thanks for your questions. On July 31, 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping announced that BDS-3 was formally commissioned, and emphasized to us that the system must be easier to use and more stable in operation. All services are built on the premise that the system is more stable and reliable. If not, competing in the market and providing services to the general public would be difficult. Therefore, operational stability has been considered a top priority since BDS-3 was completed. We have pooled relevant technical resources and teams at home, and unswervingly pursued stable operation and performance improvement.

I have an example. The technical standards of BDS availability we designed in the first place was 99%, which meant that 1% of the accuracy was allowed to exceed standards. Satellite navigation systems all over the world are using 99% availability standards, and the time when 1% of the accuracy exceeds the standards is about 86.4 hours per year. We have increased the availability standards from 99% to 99.9% through various parties' technical and management measures. Although it is only a 0.9% increase, which seems like a small step, it is a real giant stride. Through these methods, we have decreased the time length of BDS accuracy that exceeds the standards from 86.4 hours to 8.64 hours. Of course, 100% availability is guaranteed in the actual work. From 99% to 99.9% and then to 100%, this is the overall performance of BDS. We have realized round-the-clock services and no time period affects the use of the system, and we have made the impossible possible thanks to the joint effort of many scientific researchers. We have also adopted a series of advanced and innovative means. For example, in BDS operation, we carry out early warning and prediction or real-time monitoring to predict the situation of the sensitive single-machine systems or components on the satellite, and to make judgments based on the data of satellite operation. We also have a slogan called "spot problems before users do, identify signs of problems before they appear, and solve problems before they cause any impact," so we ensure that proactive measures are rolled out to eliminate hidden problems, give early warnings, and release information to users in a timely manner. We have made it so that from the beginning of BDS construction to the present, the system ensures stable operation, and offers uninterrupted services. We will continue to uphold this standard in the future to ensure BDS's continuous and stable operation. Thank you.