The US satellite-based tracking systems are one of the most renowned and well-liked GPS, or Global Positioning Systems, till date. But now NavIC, India’s new GPS can replace the well renowned navigating system. Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi have been requested to make changes
One of the most widely used satellite-based navigation systems in India and the rest of the globe to date is the US government’s GPS, or Global Positioning System.
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To reduce dependency on GPS and other systems, India is now attempting to promote its own navigation system. The suppliers of new smartphones that will be sold next year have been requested to incorporate compatibility for India’s new navigation system. This includes suppliers like Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi. However, the smartphone manufacturers appear to be concerned. In the meantime manufactures are concerned because of “extra expenditures” and “a tight schedule.”
What is NavIC?
For users in India, Navigation with Indian Constellation is intended to deliver “more precise domestic tracking.”
Although it received approval in 2006, it didn’t begin full operations until 2018 when seven satellites began to cover the whole country of India. Three geostationary satellites and four geosynchronous satellites, all in far higher orbits, are part of the NavIC network.
Due to the two frequency bands (L5-band and S-band) provided by NavIC satellites, the system is comparatively more precise than GPS. In the main service area, the new system is anticipated to have a location accuracy of greater than 20 meters.
Why is India pressuring smartphone manufacturers to back NavIC?
India has aggressively promoted it to make NavIC a common service on par with GPS. It was created in part because India wanted to lessen its reliance on foreign systems by developing its own technology. Connectivity to foreign government-controlled global navigation satellite systems is not always assured in hostile environments.
Prior to that, India wants IT companies to make their products compliant with the new standard. This’ll help to increase NavIC coverage abroad.
The NavIC Grand Challenge was introduced to Indian entrepreneurs in July by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and ISRO. The goal of the project was to encourage the use of NavIC as a geopositioning tool.
What Issues Do Smartphone Manufacturers Have?
According to reports, the smartphone manufacturers, including Apple, Xiaomi, and Samsung are concerned. As adding NavIC support will sharply raise the cost of manufacturing their products.
Furthermore, the corporations argue that the January 2023 deadline is excessively severe. They say that deploying such technologies would require “additional testing permits.”
Additionally, new chipsets and other hardware modifications are needed to enable NavIC. The majority of businesses are “already prepared for models to be introduced in 2024.” According to a Reuters story that cited a Samsung executive, it won’t be practical to install NavIC on smartphones until 2025.
Tech firms are also concerned about the frequency at which the NavIC system operates. The L5 satellite frequency, which is now used by the Indian government but much less frequently by cellphones. India is being urged by the firms to utilize the L1 frequency, which is the same as the GPS frequency.
GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou are already supported by a number of handsets, including the iPhone. However, as these systems were introduced much earlier than NavIC, it took some for manufacturers to add support for them.
NavIC vs. GPS
NavIC is seen as being on par with GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo due to its seven satellites. GPS now has 31 satellites in orbit and requires almost 24 working satellites. All 55 of the satellites are geosynchronous, which means they rotate with the earth’s axis rather than remaining fixed in orbit.
Navic’s signal is less susceptible to interference. This is because of 3 geostationary satellites and 4 geosynchronous satellites in significantly higher orbits than the Earth.
The NavIC is precise than GPS as NavIC satellites employ two frequency bands as opposed to GPS’s single frequency band.
On the Indian mainland and in the Indian Ocean, NavIC is intended to deliver an absolute location accuracy of less than 10 meters and less than 20 meters, respectively.
For both GPS and NavIC, the Standard Positioning Service accuracy is 20 meters. However, in metropolitan areas where geolocation accuracy tends to deteriorate, NavIC’s location accuracy may significantly increase.
How the government is promoting the use of NavIC?
NavIC is already employed in public vehicle monitoring systems in India. Given that it enables law enforcement to track automobiles, something that is not feasible with global systems like GPS,
All commercial vehicles in the nation are required to have NavIC-based vehicle trackers as of April 1, 2019, according to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The DGCA changed the drone regulations for India in August 2021, making it mandatory to utilize made-in-India products such as NavIC.
India’s NavIC navigation system’s chipsets
In the Indian market, there are more versions of smart phones with NavIC capabilities. A number of NavIC-compatible chipsets, including the Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 765, have been released by Qualcomm.
This month, Qualcomm unveiled two new Snapdragon SoCs for mid-range and low-cost phones: the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and Snapdragon 4 Gen 1. Both chips enable dual frequency (L1+L2) support as well as BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS, NavIC, GPS, and QZSS.
Why Are Some Nations Examining Alternatives to GPS?
Many nations utilize GPS to precisely track and monitor the location and path of navigation, but some nations are investigating, testing, and installing satellites to improve their positioning capabilities.
As an illustration, Russia has completely operationalized GLONASS (Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema, or Global Navigation Satellite System).
The European Union began rolling out the Galileo system in 2016 and intends to shortly finish the system of about 24 satellites. China’s BeiDou, or BDS, was officially launched in 2020. Japan’s QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) services were launched in 2018 with four operational satellites.
