Next Year Phones May Have 'NavIC', India's Own GPS Alternative For More Accurate Navigation

Odds are every single one of you has used GPS at least once, whether it's to find a restaurant, get to a friend's place, or otherwise.

But India wants to change things up by switching over to a new positioning system, one that's built by Indian homegrown technology.

MaxPixel

What Is NavIC?

The system in question is called Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), and it's meant to be India's substitute for the Global Positioning System. Apparently ISRO, the group behind NavIC, is currently in talks with chip manufacturers like Qualcomm and Broadcom in order to get them to include support for NavIC alongside GPS.?

Difference between GPS and NavIC

To let you know what's up, first you need to know a little about the GPS you take for granted. GPS is a satellite-based radio navigation system that lets you pinpoint the location of a supported device. Now, GPS is owned and operated by the US Air Force. It also has counterparts in the form of GLONASS in Russia, Galileo in the European Union and BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) in China.

What's wrong with GPS?

It absolutely still is, but the Indian government has its issues with the power behind GPS. You see back in the 1999 Kargil War, India requested information on Pakistani troops from the US but was denied. That made it apparent to the government we need our own satellite navigation system, and so a plan was put into place. Two decades later and here we are.

ISRO

NavIC is Made in India

NavIC is a product of ISRO's Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) program. There are seven satellites required for the positioning system to work, the last two of which ISRO launched in 2016 using the PSLV workhorse rocket.?

They now make up a constellation of geosynchronous and geostationary satellites that offer navigation ability for both civilian and military purposes. The total cost to the government was Rs 1,420 crore.

NavIC Features

The satellite network has a navigation system that ISRO claims is accurate up to 5 m, making it much more efficient than GPS. It's primary range also extends to about 1,500 km outside our borders, with an Extended Service Area wider than that. And aside from regular positioning services, it will also supposedly allow military-based navigation to authorized users over an encrypted connection.