In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said, NavIC finds utilisation in national projects like public vehicle safety, power grid synchronisation, real-time train information system, fishermen safety, etc. Other upcoming initiatives viz. common alert protocol-based emergency warning, time dissemination, geodetic network, unmanned aerial vehicles, etc. are in the process of adopting NavIC system, the Minister informed.
- He also informed that the current version of NavIC is compatible with L5 and S bands. This is as per the international frequency coordination and compatibility.
- The current version has been able to penetrate the civilian sector. The addition of signal in L1 band will help in faster penetration in the civilian sector.
- The next satellites starting from NVS-01 onwards will have an L1 band for civilian navigational use.
Bands
- The L1 is the oldest and most established GPS signals, which even the less sophisticated, civilian-use devices such as smartwatches are capable of receiving. Thus, with this band, the use of NavIC in civilian-use gadgets can go up.
- The L1 signal uses the frequency 1575.42 MHz. Since the L1 is the oldest and most established signal, even the cheapest GPS units are capable of receiving it. However, because its frequency is relatively slow it is not very effective at traveling through obstacles.
- L5 is the third GPS signal, operating at 1176 MHz. It is the most advanced GNSS signal yet. It will be used for safety-of-life transportation and other demanding applications such as aviation.
- S-band (2–4 GHz) is useful for weather radar, surface ship radar, and some communications satellites.
NavIC: Other uses
- NavIC is India’s homegrown alternative to GPS. Developed by ISRO, the navigation satellite system was first approved in 2006 at a cost of $174 million, but became operational only by 2018.
- At present, it consists of eight satellites, covering the whole of India and up to 1,500 km from its boundaries.
- Signals provided by NavIC system are agnostic to the end-user application. Hence, a mobile phone which has NavIC compatibility automatically uses NavIC signals when showing position on maps.
- Performance of NavIC system is at par with the other positioning systems.
