Qualcomm Partners With ISRO To Integrate NavIC L1 Into Upcoming Chipsets

Qualcomm has announced a collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to support India's indigenous regional navigation satellite system, NavIC. Qualcomm will integrate support for the newly launched L1 signals from NavIC through select upcoming chipset platforms.

NavIC is India's answer to global navigation systems like GPS and GLONASS. The addition of L1 signal support will enhance geolocation capabilities for mobile devices, vehicles, and IoT solutions in India. It allows concurrent usage of up to seven satellite constellations, including NavIC L1 and L5 signals. It brings benefits like more precise positioning, faster location fixes, and improved reliability - especially useful in dense urban environments.

Support for NavIC L1 is planned for select chipset platforms beginning in late 2024. Commercial devices with the new capabilities are expected to launch in the first half of 2025.

Qualcomm will be demonstrating L1 signal support at its Qualcomm Innovation Forum event in Bengaluru later this month.

“We’re pleased to enhance our commitment to India by enabling support for the newly launched NavIC L1 signals in our chipset platforms. We continue our work with ISRO to further accelerate NavIC’s adoption and to enable more advanced geolocation applications with the latest NavIC technologies,” said Francesco Grilli, Vice President, Product Management, at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Manish Saxena, Director, Satellite Navigation Programme Office at ISRO Headquarters said, "The L1 signals will be a critical next step by enabling better performance of location-based services in the consumer segment. ISRO appreciates Qualcomm Technologies for enabling NavIC L1 on its upcoming mobile platforms thereby accelerating its adoption".