On September 4, a work conference on the authorized operations of service data from China's Satellite Navigation and Positioning Reference Station Network was held in Beijing. The "One Network" of China's satellite navigation and positioning reference stations, coordinated and built by the Ministry of Natural Resources, officially launched authorized operations of its service data. This marks the first time that public data authorized operations have been carried out in China's national-level spatial information infrastructure sector, signaling that BDS high-precision spatiotemporal data has officially entered a new stage driven by both public welfare guarantees and market-oriented operations.

If BDS satellites are the "navigation lighthouses" in space, ground-based satellite navigation and positioning reference stations are the "ground calibrators" for precise positioning—by continuously observing satellite signals and correcting errors such as orbital deviations and atmospheric propagation delays, they can improve positioning accuracy from meter-level to centimeter-level or even millimeter-level, serving as core infrastructure supporting high-precision applications.

For a long period prior, the construction of reference stations in China suffered from a "fragmented governance" approach. By the end of 2025, China had over 33,000 reference stations of various types, managed by different government departments, local authorities, and enterprises. Inconsistent technical standards and non-interoperable observation data not only led to redundant construction and resource waste, but also forced users operating across regions to interface with multiple systems, resulting in high usage costs and poor data consistency.

To address this, the Ministry of Natural Resources took the lead in breaking down industry barriers, integrating China's reference station data resources, and building the "One Network" of China's satellite navigation and positioning reference stations, which now operates on a routine basis. At present, the network comprises 7,569 stations, forming a three-tier architecture of national stations, provincial stations, and collaborative stations, with balanced overall coverage. Relying on unified technical standards and an intelligent operation and maintenance system, the network's online rate has remained stable at over 95%, with daily service requests exceeding 30 million, providing unified high-precision positioning services to nearly 200,000 professional users and truly achieving "one-time registration, nationwide roaming" across China.

As data becomes a new factor of production, unlocking the value of accumulated public data has become a core issue in the development of the digital economy. From the "Twenty Measures on Data" establishing the authorized operations model for public data, to the "1+3" policy system for public data streamlining the entire process of registration, operations, and pricing, and further to the "Measures for the Administration of Satellite Navigation and Positioning Reference Stations" clarifying unified regulatory requirements, the authorized operations of reference station data now have complete institutional support.

This authorized operations initiative, while safeguarding public welfare services and upholding security bottom lines, authorizes compliant operating entities to conduct commercial development of service data generated by the reference station network through market-oriented means. This signifies that spatiotemporal data, previously treated as a public resource, has been formally transformed into a tradable, value-appreciating data element, breaking the traditional model of "emphasizing construction over operations."

For industry users, the most direct benefit of authorized operations is cost reduction and efficiency improvement. In the past, many enterprises had to build their own reference stations to meet high-precision positioning needs, incurring substantial investment and high maintenance costs. Now, relying on China's unified "One Network" data, enterprises can access stable, standardized high-precision positioning services without duplicating station construction, significantly lowering technical barriers and operational costs.

More importantly, the unified spatiotemporal foundation will provide essential support for industrial innovation: from millimeter-level displacement monitoring for geological hazard early warning and centimeter-level precision inspections of urban underground pipeline networks, to lane-level navigation, unmanned agriculture, and the low-altitude economy—all depend on unified, continuous high-precision spatiotemporal data. Authorized operations have opened up the "main pipeline" of data supply, accelerating the expansion of BDS high-precision applications from traditional fields such as surveying and mapping and land management to emerging scenarios like intelligent transportation, smart cities, and emergency management, fostering the growth of new business models and formats.

It is worth noting that authorized operations do not mean full market liberalization; rather, they adhere to the principle of "public welfare as a safety net, security and compliance, and market empowerment." Public welfare services will continue to be guaranteed, while data transmission employs national cryptographic algorithms for encryption, and a full-process security control system has been established to ensure data security and controllability. Operating entities are selected through open bidding, with rigorous screening across comprehensive strength, security systems, and technical capabilities, ensuring standardized and orderly operations. At the promotion conference, initial user intent agreements were also signed, covering public welfare services, key industries, and other sectors, with a batch of typical application scenarios set to be implemented first.

Zhang Bing, Chief Planner of the Ministry of Natural Resources, stated that from building China's "One Network," to promulgating the "Measures for the Administration of Satellite Navigation and Positioning Reference Stations," and now to this authorized operations initiative, a leap has been achieved in national critical spatiotemporal infrastructure from "well-built" and "well-managed" to "well-utilized," also providing a replicable practical model for China's public data authorized operations. Zhang Wang, Director of the Data Resources Department of the National Data Administration, stated that this authorized operations initiative is conducive to unleashing the factor value of reference station network data. It is hoped that all parties will work together to create more typical scenarios, enabling the data from the satellite navigation and positioning reference station network to deliver greater results through authorized operations and empower high-quality economic and social development.