Back in 2016, ISRO put the last two of a network of seven navigational satellites into orbit for its planned Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) program.

Now, it looks like India has finally managed to get its positioning system into consumer devices.

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Qualcomm Technologies has just announced a partnership with the Indian Space Research Organization, offering it support for the IRNSS and Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) platforms. A few select chipsets from their upcoming portfolio will support the new GPS alternative, allowing India to accelerate the adoption of our own home-grown satellite navigation system.

Qualcomm Technologies' location-based position technology was just updated to support up to seven satellite constellations concurrently. This means it'll use all of NavIC's operating satellites for more accurate location performance and faster time-to-first-fix (TTFF) position acquisition.

Based on the chipsets in use, it'll be available to select smartphones, automotive services, and IoT platforms. If it works in tandem with standard GPS, it should greatly improve navigation in even dense urban environments, where GPS is normally less accurate.

The partnership demonstrated the technology for the first time last month, and will reportedly do so again at the India Mobile Congress over the next couple of days.

NavIC will officially be available on certain Qualcomm chips starting later this year, and on consumer devices in the first half of 2020.

"NavIC is a critical step forward in our pursuit of harnessing space technology for national development and we are eager to make it accessible to everyone for their day to day use, ISRO Chairman Dr K Sivan said. "Qualcomm Technologies' leadership and support for NavIC on their mobile platforms will bring the benefits of this indigenous solution to every Indian."

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NavIC was first conceptualised after the Kargil War of 1999. At the time, India requested information on Pakistani troops from the GPS navigation system run by the US Air Force, 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.

Over two decades and Rs 1,420 crore later, we have a constellation of seven geosynchronous and geostationary satellites that ISRO claims offers navigation accurate up to 5 m. It's primary range also extends to about 1,500 km outside our borders, with an Extended Service Area wider than that. The plan is also for the Indian military to use this, with sufficient authorizations and using encrypted connections.