Broadband India Forum (BIF) has lauded the acceptance of the interface specifications of Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) by the global standards body 3GPP. NavIC is an autonomous regional satellite navigation system developed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This acceptance will boost the mobile telecommunications industry by utilising advanced regional navigational services from NavIC that has already made India one amongst a handful of countries/regions such as the USA, Europe, Russia and China to possess and operate a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), with an operational name of NavIC, is an autonomous regional satellite navigation system that uses a constellation of eight satellites developed by ISRO. It covers India and a region extending 1,500 km around it, with plans for further extension. The constellations of IRNSS are in orbit as of 2018, and the NavIC system is presently operational.

Some applications of IRNSS are as follows:

• Terrestrial, Aerial and Marine Navigation

• Disaster Management

• Vehicle tracking and fleet management

• Integration with mobile phones

• Precise Timing

• Mapping and Geodetic data capture

• Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travellers

• Visual and voice navigation for drivers

During the 3GPP RAN meeting, 3GPP has approved inclusion of NavIC in Rel-16 LTE and Rel-17 5G NR specification. These 3GPP specifications that support NavIC will be available in a few months’ time. TSDSI will soon adopt these specifications as a national standard consequently. Smart phones and cellular-internet-of-things (cellular IoT) devices that use location information will begin to use the NavIC system in contrast to the current usage of the American GPS system. 3GPP presently has GNSS support from BDS (Chinese), Galileo (European), GLONASS (Russian) & GPS (USA) for cellular positioning systems.

The implications of NavIC’s acceptance by 3GPP would be of paramount importance to the country, as:

1. It brings the indigenously developed NavIC technology to mass market for use in 4G, 5G and IoT.

2. Indian companies and startups have an opportunity to design ICs and products based on NavIC. The potential market for these chipsets and products can be very large as it can be exported to other countries as well.

3. This will result in significant increase in NavIC usage and the uptake of NavIC enabled services and applications throughout the country.

4. With TSDSI preparing to adopt these specifications and develop our own National Standard, the market is likely to be flooded with smart phones and cellular IoT devices that use location information – all of which will begin to use the Indian standard.

5. It alleviates security concerns of the country since now India need not depend on American or European Satellites for commercial operations.

Hailing this as a ‘Historic step forward in placing India’s indigenous standard development on the Global Map’, BIF President TV Ramachandran said,“The applications of NavIC have the potential to bring immense benefits to everyone in the country and the entire region. I would like to extend my warm felicitation to ISRO; TSDSI; the Indian members of 3GPP; Reliance Jio, Professor Kiran Kuchi of IIT Hyderabad; and Satish Jamadagni, Vice Chairman of TSDSI and VP (Standardisation), Reliance Jio; for playing a pivotal role in getting this proposal accepted in a timely manner for adoption in global 4G and 5G standards. This event is a watershed moment for India since we join the exclusive GNSS club comprising of USA, EU, China and Russia who depend on their own Satellites for navigation applications in their respective regions.”