'Mobile phones may have NaVIC system as early as next yr'

Mobile phones may have the NaVIC system, a home-grown GPS,as early as next year, a senior ISRO scientist said Friday.

Speaking at a panel discussion at the Bengaluru Space Expo 2018, Nilesh Desai, Deputy Director of the ISRO's Space Applications Center,Ahmedabad said some mobile companies are working on having NaVIC in handsets.

"It will be (mobile phones with NaVIC) available as early as 2019," he said.

Requesting anonymity, another Indian Space Research Organisation scientist said a Taiwanese company is working on building a chip that can have the NaVIC system in mobile phones.

However,Desai said asking mobile phone companies to have the NaVIC system may not be compulsory as there is no law in the country that mandates it.

"We don't have such law. Russia has made it compulsory to have their navigation systems in mobile phones in their countries," he said.

Russia has developed Glonass.