BANGALORE, INDIA: Getting navigation advice from GPS-based service has just become simpler. And all this on basic phones!

SatNav, the pioneers in GPS technology in India, has come up with India’s first voice-based navigation direction service – SatGuide LCU (Lost? Need Directions? Call Us!) to all phone users across India.

SatNav has simplified GPS technology that can be accessed by millions of basic phone users in India without having to buy a GPS-based navigation device or a smart phone. When you call in, a live agent will ask you for your details of present location and destination. The call center would then provide live guidance or would send you an SMS with distances and road names along with landmarks ensuring that SatGuide navigation will accompany you to your destination.

LCU is an integrated solution to the yellow pages and directory services. GPS is an upcoming phenomenon in India and not all the strata of society are able to access this service due to the high cost factor.

The service can be availed by the end user by buying a prepaid voucher and call toll free calling accessibility 1 800 103 5656. The company has tied up with Reliance Infocom, which enables all Reliance Mobile users to directly call the call center (No. 56694) without having to use a voucher.

Amit Prasad, CEO and founder MD, SatNav Technologies, told CIOL the company has been working since 1999 for aggregation map data and invested about Rs. 50 crore on it. 

The application for LCU and the maps have been built in-house; the product is patented by SatNav. The maps have detailed street level roads of 200+ cities and have more than 15 lakh destinations (points-of-interest) mapped with LCU apart from national and state highways.

The CEO said that the primary aim of LCU is to provide easy navigation and educate the people of the availability of resources within their own vicinity. The agents who provide directions are multilingual and can assist the customers in English and Hindi.