ETtech Explainer: What is NavIC? Indian GPS alternative will be mandatory in all smartphones by 2025
NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) will soon be a must in all smartphones, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said.
The minister said that by January 1, 2025, 5G phones will need to provide mandatory support for NavIC while all other phones that currently use the Global Positioning System (GPS) will need to provide NavIC support by December 2025.
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Offering CollegeCourseWebsiteIndian School of BusinessISB Professional Certificate in Product ManagementVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Digital Marketing and AnalyticsVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Applied Business AnalyticsVisitIIM LucknowIIML Executive Programme in Data ScienceVisitBut what is NavIC?
Here’s all you need to know:
Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), NavIC is an Indian alternative to systems such as the widely used GPS. It was earlier known as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).
NavIC’s ground network consists of a control centre, precise timing facility, range and integrity monitoring stations, and two-way ranging stations, as per Isro’s website.
The navigation is powered by seven Isro satellites as of now and the space agency aims to increase this to 12 in the coming years.
NavIC currently covers India and up to 1,500 km beyond India’s borders, as per Isro.
Its SPS signals are interoperable with other global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals, namely GPS, Glonass, Galileo and BeiDou.
NavIC can be used for transportation (terrestrial, aerial and marine), location-based services, personal mobility, resource monitoring surveying and geodesy, scientific research, time dissemination and synchronisation, and safety-of-life alert
