Sistema's telecom venture (MTS India) in India is at stake due to cancellation of licenses and 'unjustified spectrum prices' for upcoming auctions, Russian business major Sistema is joining hands with country's telecom major BSNL to offer sattelite based navigation system.
Sistema will offer sat-nav services to BSNL via Russia's GLONASS (Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema), the second satellite navigation system with global coverage after United States' Global Positioning System (GPS).
The deal will go on very soon, as reported by The Hindu. BSNL will start a pilot soon after before launching commercial services. BSNL, which offers many toll free customer services of emergency services will bring police patrol monitoring, transport monitoring, city bus fleet management and accident emergency response system.
It should be noted that many smartphones including Apple iPhone, Sony and Nokia has GLONASS support along with GPS. Recently NIS GLONASS has started a showroom in Mumbai to bring commercial and social services. There are plans to make an accident and emergency response system.
In case you are interested India space research wing ISRO is working on to launch similar sat nav system - Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) by 2014. It will not provide global coverage by that time and will be open for civilian and authorised use.
