NavIC

NavIC is an independent regional satellite navigation system developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Its services support positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) for users in India and a region extending approximately 1,500 kilometres beyond the country's boundary. It is intended for applications including transport, location-based services, surveying, resource monitoring and time synchronization.

NavIC provides a Standard Positioning Service (SPS) for civilian users and a Restricted Service (RS) for strategic users. ISRO describes the legacy SPS and RS as being provided in L5 and S bands; a civilian signal in the L1 band is being introduced, and the NVS generation is designed to broadcast SPS signals in L1, L5 and S bands. An ISRO description gives design performance for NavIC signals of better than 20 metres for user position and better than 50 nanoseconds for timing, while an ISRO account of the newer generation specifies SPS position accuracy better than 20 metres (2σ) and timing accuracy better than 40 nanoseconds (2σ) over the primary service area. These are stated service performance figures, not a guarantee for every receiver or environment.

ISRO describes the system as designed around a constellation of seven satellites supported by a continuously operating network of ground facilities. The space and ground segments together provide the satellite signals and system monitoring and control required for navigation services. Satellite availability and geometry at a receiver affect the position solution; buildings, foliage, receiver quality and other local conditions can also affect practical reception.

The system was initially called IRNSS and was later given the operational name NavIC. ISRO's second-generation NVS series is intended to augment the base constellation and add features for continuity of service. NVS-01, the first of that series, was launched aboard GSLV-F12 on 29 May 2023 and carried an indigenous atomic clock. The NVS series incorporates L1-band navigation signals in addition to the earlier bands.

NavIC is a regional system rather than a global coverage constellation. Its civilian signals are designed to be interoperable with signals from other global navigation satellite systems, including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou. Receivers that support the appropriate NavIC signals can use them alone or alongside compatible signals from other systems, subject to receiver design and coverage conditions. ISRO identifies transportation, personal mobility, surveying, scientific research and time dissemination among potential application areas.