Recent news reveals that leading semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company, Qualcomm Technologies, has announced the release of mobile chipsets that offer support for India’s regional satellite navigation system – NavIC (Navigation in Indian Constellation). These chipsets will further enable users in the Indian region and neighbouring countries to utilize NavIC.
Promotion of NavIC Adoption by Smartphone OEMs
The launch of these chipsets is a significant step forward as it will hasten the uptake of NavIC by smartphone Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Now, OEMs are at liberty to introduce new models in the Indian market that are compatible with NavIC. This step could potentially pave the way for embedding NavIC as a standard feature in the forthcoming handsets, applications, processors and other hardware. An OEM is defined traditionally as a company that manufactures and supplies goods used as components in products marketed by another company.
Enhanced Geolocation Capabilities
The broader availability of NavIC across multiple mobile platforms will substantially improve the geolocation capabilities of smartphones in the region.
| OEM | Role |
|---|---|
| Qualcomm Technologies | Launches chipset supporting NavIC |
| Smartphone OEMs | Can now release any new models NavIC-enabled for the Indian market |
NavIC as a Crime Deterrent
In an effort to enhance safety provisions and in response to the verdict of the Nirbhaya case, the Indian government made NavIC-based vehicle trackers mandatory for all commercial vehicles in April 2019. Incorporating NavIC in mobiles would ease the implementation of this mandate, which necessitates the installation of vehicle tracking systems and panic buttons in all commercial vehicles. Due to its localised nature, NavIC will serve as the key component for public vehicle tracking systems in India, offering flexibility to law enforcement agencies to monitor vehicles, a feature not available with international systems like GPS (Global Positioning System).
Universally Compatible
Apart from NavIC, these newly launched chipsets will also offer support for the globally used GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). This compatibility extends to USA’s GPS, European Union’s Galileo, Russia’s GLONASS and China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, thus ensuring worldwide coverage.
About NavIC
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is responsible for the development of NavIC. The primary goal of this system is to provide reliable position, navigation and timing services over India and its neighbourhood. Named after Indian fishermen and navigators, NavIC offers two types of services – Standard Positioning Service (SPS) for general public use, and Restricted Service (RS), an encrypted service accessible only to authorised users and agencies.
NavIC operates through a constellation of 7 satellites, unlike the globally adopted GPS with its network of 24 satellites. NavIC covers India and its surrounding regions up to 1,500 km from the country’s border. Even with fewer satellites, NavIC manages to offer superior position accuracy compared to GPS, which has an accuracy range of 20-30 metres, while NavIC can pinpoint locations to an estimated accuracy of under 20 metres.
