National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research, Innovation and Training (NTIPRIT), the apex training institute of Department of Telecommunications, Government of India conducted a webinar on April 28, 2021 on the topic "NavlC — Opportunities for the Telecom Industry" in collaboration with ISRO and Telecom Industry.

The webinar was inaugurated by Shri Anshu Prakash, Union Telecom Secretary and Chairman Digital Communications Commission (DCC). The inaugural session was also addressed by Shri K Ram Chand, Member (Technology), Digital Communications Commission (DCC), Sh. R Umamaheswaran, Scientific Secretary, ISRO, and Sh. U.K. Srivastava, Sr DDG, NTIPRIT.

Shri K Ram Chand, Member (Technology), DCC in his keynote address highlighted the importance and relevance of NavIC technology. He praised NTIPRIT for continuously organizing events on latest technologies even in the midst of Covid crisis.

Sh. R Umamaheswaran, Scientific Secretary, ISRO briefed about the NaviC system and informed that it has higher accuracy than the peer systems. He further informed that there are plans to make NavIC available on L-1 band in addition to the presently used L-5 band. He felt that the NavIC system should be made mandatory for mobile phones released in Indian markets to adopt.

Shri Anshu Prakash, Union Telecom Secretary and Chairman DCC, while formally launching the webinar, underscored the importance of integration of technology with applications so as to reap the benefits of technology to the fullest. He supported the views of Sh. R Umamaheswaran for making NavlC mandatory for all mobile phones in India. Secretary (Telecom) also stressed the use of tracking potential of NavIC in the present Covid pandemic in tracking the oxygen tankers and other essentials. He also said that the topic of the webinar is directly linked to the fruition of vision of AatmNirbhar Bharat. Secretary (Telecom) congratulated NTIPRIT for taking initiative to organize a webinar on this promising indigenous technology in the present difficult times. He also appreciated the efforts of telecom industry, including that of chipset and handset manufacturers in their efforts to adopt the NaviC service.

About NaviC:

NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) is an autonomous regional satellite navigation system established and maintained by ISRO. It covers India and a region extending up to 1 ,500 km beyond Indian mainland (primary coverage area). It provides position accuracy better than 20 m (20) and timing accuracy better than 50 ns (20). The actual measurements demonstrate accuracy better than 5 m and 20 ns respectively.

NavIC based applications are being used in various civilian sectors, including, transport, map applications, and timekeeping. Today major mobile chipset manufacturers like Qualcomm, MediaTek and Broadcom already support NavIC across various chipset platforms. A few mobile phone OEMs have also released handsets which can be enabled to receive NavlC through Over the Air firmware   update. Some examples for NavlC enabled mobile phones include the Redmi Note 9 series from Xiaomi, the Realme 6 series, the OnePlus Nord, etc.

NavlC is an indigenous positioning system that is under Indian control. There is no risk of the service being withdrawn or denied in a given situation.

About NTIPRIT:

National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research Innovation and Training (NTIPRIT) is the apex training institute of Department of Telecommunications involved in conduction of induction Training for probationary officers of Indian Telecommunication Service Group — A (ITS Group A) recruited through All India based Engineering Services Examination conducted by UPSC. Apart from Induction Training, NTIPRIT also conducts various In-Service Trainings, Management Development Programmes, Regional and International Trainings, Capacity Building workshops for Officers of Government of India in various aspects of Information and Communication Technology Administration in India.

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RKJ/M