“In India, our main focus is on govt projects”
What is NIS GLONASS’ plan for the Indian market?
NIS GLONASS, a satellite navigation player, is planning to start its India operation in the 1st quarter of 2012. The company is focusing on landline transportation and consumer segment, as India is a huge growing market for location based services. The company is planning to set up its head office in Mumbai and regional offices in Delhi and Chandigarh. Also, on the plan is to set up experience centers in these cities for showcasing solutions relevant to different verticals, so that corporates and government departments can experience these applications. The India office will be headed by Vladimir Finov.
Initially, which verticals will your company be focusing on?
Outside Russia, India is the number one priority for the company. For its India operations, the company is focusing on the central government, state governments, police, and utility vertical. Initially, the company is focusing to participate in government projects related to passenger information system, fleet management system, and police modernization. To start with, the focus is on corporate and government vertical; and the company has 20 different applications for these verticals.
What is your go-to-market strategy for India?
The company has done pilots with Glonis Solutions and HBL Power Systems in the Indian market related to fleet management system. For embedded system, the company has signed up with Tata Elxsi, a company focusing on customized design solutions for companies across the globe. We plan to appoint state partners across the country. The state partners will focus on installation, commissioning, support and maintenance of products, and solutions related to telematics for the Indian market. The USP of the company is that it provides fleet management planning, optimization, and cost reduction, unlike others who provide only tracking and reporting.
The company has done pretty well in the tolling system in Europe and Russia. Would you explain how it works?
In Europe and Russia, the biggest application is tolling and we are the strongest brand in these markets. Once the systems are installed, the on-board units will transmit information about position to the positioning center and the fare will be free. This way the government compensate heavy trucks. This type of concept is approved and accepted for GNSS Communication System and works in countries like France, Germany, Slovakia, and Russia.
What is the system design of NIS GLONASS constellation?
NIS GLONASS, is a Russian space based system of 24 satellites, evenly distributed in 3 orbital planes for navigation information system. The satellites operate in circular orbits at the altitude of 19,100 km. This configuration permits an uninterrupted global coverage of the Earth’s surface and terrestrial space by the navigation field. The company has invested close to $4 bn for building an on-orbit satellite for navigation.
pravinp@cybermedia.co.in