The company also said they would continue their work with the ISRO to accelerate NavIC's adoption, which will enhance geolocation capabilities and overall robustness of mobile, automotive and Internet of Things solutions in the region

Qualcomm Technologies is scheduled to demonstrate support for the newly-launched NavIC L1 signals in the Snapdragon Mobile Platforms at its Qualcomm Innovation Forum event in Bengaluru in mid-December 2023

Chip maker Qualcomm Technologies Inc on December 6 announced their support for India's navigation satellite system NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) in select commercial chipset platforms across the company's upcoming portfolio. The company also said they would continue their work with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to accelerate NavIC's adoption which will enhance geolocation capabilities and overall robustness of mobile, automotive and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions in the region.

The solution is built on Qualcomm Technologies’ leading foundational inventions in location-based position technology. Qualcomm® Location Suite now supports up to seven satellite constellations concurrently, including the use of all of NavIC’s L1 and L5 signals for more accurate location performance, faster time-to-first-fix (TTFF) position acquisition, and further improved robustness of location-based services, the company said in a release.

"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, who is leading efforts to work with device manufacturers globally in developing smartphones with satellite communication capabilities. A company release said they would achieve this with the backing of engineering talent in India.

“Qualcomm Technologies is focused on building long-term partnerships within the Indian industry utilizing our extensive engineering expertise and cutting-edge technologies to enable and propel India-centric innovations and use cases. Working with ISRO on the addition of next-generation NavIC L1 signal to L5 signal to our Snapdragon mobile platforms is a prime example of India-focused collaboration and our commitment to deliver premium experiences to our users in the Indian sub-continent. Enabling next-generation NavIC on Snapdragon will drive innovative use cases for Indian consumers across multiple segments including smartphones, IoT and automotive.” said Savi Soin, President, Qualcomm India.

Director of Satellite Navigation Programme Office at ISRO headquarters Manish Saxena was quoted as saying in the statement that NavIC is a significant step towards using space technology for national development and that ISRO is proud to see the increasing adoption of NavIC and is eager to bring the benefits of this indigenous solution to all users.

"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," Saxena said.

These enhancements will enable select mobile, automotive and IoT platforms to better serve key industries and technology ecosystems in the region and will help improve user experience for location-based applications, especially in dense urban environments where geolocation accuracy tends to degrade, the company's release added.

Additional support for the NavIC L1 signals will be available in select Qualcomm Technologies’ chipset platforms starting in the second half of 2024, and commercial devices supporting the NavIC L1 signals are expected to be available during the first half of 2025. Qualcomm Technologies is scheduled to demonstrate support for the newly-launched NavIC L1 signals in the Snapdragon Mobile Platforms at its Qualcomm Innovation Forum event in Bengaluru in mid-December 2023.