Navigating devices using Russian satellites will appear in the shops this year as the first alternative to the widely used GPS network of the United States, officials said.
"The individual devices receiving signals from Glonass will appear in shops in our country by the end of this year," Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said.
The Glonass satellite network, which is also used by the Russian military, was set up to compete with the US’ GPS network, which is widely used around the world, and Europe’s planned Galileo system.
But development of the system has lagged behind schedule, and Mr Ivanov conceded that it would only have global coverage – with a planned total of 24 satellites – by 2009.
The Russian devices, which will also receive signals from the GPS network, can be used by planes, ships, armoured vehicles and trains, as well as by individual users, Mr Ivanov said.
Source: France-Presse