This company is critical to the success of India’s smartphone revolution

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India's tech landscape, the Indian government has ordered all smartphone companies to start supporting NavIC, India's navigation satellite system. The announcement, made in September 2023, makes it mandatory for 5G smartphones to support NavIC, short for Navigation with Indian Constellation, by 1 January 2025, and other phones by December 2025. The new rule comes after Apple's groundbreaking decision to incorporate NavIC support in some of its latest iPhone 15 models.

NavIC is a navigation system developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro). It operates on similar principles and functions akin to the GPS (Global Positioning System). The key difference is that the GPS is owned and operated by the United States, whereas NavIC is owned and operated by India.

Additionally, NavIC is still a regional navigation system, meaning that it provides more accurate coverage over India and the surrounding region than other global navigation satellite systems such as US-developed GPS. It covers the Indian subcontinent and offers a positional accuracy of 5 meters. Relying on a constellation of seven satellites, it provides comprehensive coverage over India and its adjacent regions, including the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean.

However, its efficacy is set to expand as additional satellites join the network, paving the way for NavIC to extend its reach to international destinations beyond Indian borders. But presently, not every smartphone or navigation device is compatible with the NavIC. To unlock the potential of NavIC signals, a device needs a built-in NavIC-compatible chipset or microchip.