Why GPS + NavIC is better than GPS?

Using both GPS and NavIC (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System [IRNSS], with an operational name of NavIC) is better than GPS alone for several critical reasons, especially in terms of accuracy, availability, reliability, and regional resilience.

Key Advantages of GPS + NavIC over GPS Alone:

1. Improved Accuracy:
• Combining GPS (global) with NavIC (Indian Satellite System) increases the number of visible satellites, improving positional accuracy - especially in urban areas, dense forests, or mountainous terrain.
• Dual-constellation solutions reduce multi-path errors and provide better dilution of precision (DOP).
2. Enhanced Availability and Coverage:
• NavIC provides strong signal coverage over India and up to 1500 km around it.
• This complements GPS, especially in South Asia, where GPS satellite geometry may be suboptimal at times.
3. Precise Time Synchronization for Grid Stability:
• Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs), Wide Area Monitoring Systems (WAMS), and SCADA rely on sub-microsecond time accuracy.
• Distance protection (Teleprotection/DTPC), line differential protection (IEEE C37.94) and grid islanding schemes depend on time-coordinated relay triggers.
• Using both GPS and NavIC increases timing precision and reduces timing errors due to ionospheric disturbances.
4. Higher Signal Reliability:
• NavIC’s dual-frequency signals (L5 and S-band) are better at compensating ionospheric delay, improving time accuracy in India's region, while there is a limitation in GPS’s civilian L1 signal.
• Combined use improves robustness against signal loss due to weather, jamming, or obstructions.
• NavIC’s geostationary and inclined geosynchronous satellites provide stronger and more consistent signal strength over India, especially for fixed ground stations like substations or control centers.
5. Resilience and Redundancy:
• Relying on GPS alone creates a single point of failure, particularly during:
• GPS jamming/spoofing attacks.
• Satellite outages or geopolitical restrictions.
• NavIC adds a sovereign layer of redundancy, vital for critical infrastructure, defense, and national security in India.
6. Faster Time to First Fix (TTFF):
• With more satellites and better regional signal strength, devices using GPS + NavIC can achieve quicker position lock.
7. Policy and Security Independence:
• GPS is U.S. military-controlled; in contrast, NavIC is Indian-controlled.
• This ensures strategic autonomy for navigation, timing, and synchronization services in defense, telecom, finance, and disaster management, in India.

Applications Benefiting from GPS + NavIC:

• Banking and Finance systems: More resilient timestamping and synchronization.
• Power: Distance protection (Teleprotection/DTPC), line differential protection and grid islanding schemes depend on time-coordinated relay triggers and Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs), Wide Area Monitoring Systems (WAMS), and SCADA rely on sub-microsecond time accuracy.
• Telecom: Stable time sources for 5G and cellular networks.
• Transportation & logistics: Better route tracking, even in difficult terrain.
• Defense and aviation: Independent and redundant navigation capability.

VCL Product with GPS + NavIC Receiver:

In Summary:

GPS + NavIC is superior to GPS alone in the Indian sub-continent because it offers greater accuracy, signal reliability, regional coverage, and strategic resilience, making it essential for critical infrastructure and national security.

About Valiant Communications: Valiant Communications is a manufacturer and exporter of a wide range of communications, transmission, protection, synchronization, NAS data storage equipment and cybersecurity products. It is an approved manufacturer to some of the major power utilities including Power Grid Corporation (India) and various National and State Electricity Boards, with track record of successful installations in more than 5,500+ power sub-stations worldwide including at 765kV, 440kV, 400kV, 384kV, 220kV, 132kV, 110kV, 66kV and 33kV power sub-stations.