India-based Nav Wireless and New Zealand-based 9Rayz deploy Free-Space Optical Communication technology in a real-world environment, advancing next-generation connectivity applications
Mumbai: Indian deep-tech company Nav Wireless Technologies, together with its New Zealand and Australia regional partner 9Rayz, has deployed a Free-Space Optical Communication (FSOC) link across Auckland’s Waitematā Harbour, marking an important international real-world application of India-developed optical wireless communication technology.
The deployment brings together technology developed in India, regional implementation expertise through 9Rayz, and research engagement with researchers at The University of Auckland. It provides a live environment for studying and advancing Free-Space Optical Communication outside controlled laboratory conditions.
FSOC enables high-capacity data transmission between two locations using highly directional beams of light through the atmosphere, without requiring a physical fibre cable between the points.
The technology is increasingly relevant in locations where laying conventional fibre infrastructure can be difficult, expensive or time-consuming, including waterways, remote regions, difficult terrain, temporary networks and infrastructure requiring additional communication resilience.
Taking Indian Deep-Tech into Global Environments
For Nav Wireless, the Auckland deployment represents a broader opportunity for Indian-developed optical and photonic communication technologies to demonstrate their capabilities in international markets and diverse real-world environments.
The Ahmedabad-based company is developing Free-Space Optical Communication, LiFi/VLC and next-generation photonic communication technologies in India, with applications across telecommunications, enterprise connectivity, remote networks, defence and specialised communication requirements.
Commenting on this achievement Hardik Soni, Co-Founder & CTO, Nav Wireless Technologies said, “This deployment is significant for us because it demonstrates how technology developed in India can work alongside international research expertise, regional partners and real-world connectivity requirements. India has strong engineering and scientific capabilities, and our objective is to translate that strength into globally relevant intellectual property, products and communication technologies.”
“Our approach is to innovate in India, collaborate globally and create technologies that can address connectivity challenges across markets. He added”
Falgun Patel, Director of 9 Rayz said, “What makes this initiative important is the combination of technology, research and practical deployment. Through our collaboration with Nav Wireless and researchers in Auckland, we are able to better understand how advanced optical wireless communication can address real connectivity challenges across New Zealand and Australia. Free-Space Optical Communication can become an important complementary technology in locations where extending conventional fibre is difficult. The Auckland deployment gives us a valuable real-world environment to demonstrate and further understand that potential.”
Industry Meets Research in Auckland
The Waitematā Harbour deployment is also supporting continued research into Free-Space Optical Communication. Dr. Nicholas Rattenbury, who leads research efforts at The University of Auckland into free-space optical communications, said the relationship between commercial technology deployment and academic research is important for improving both the theory and practice of FSOC and for developing knowledge and capabilities in the emerging field of high-bandwidth communications.
The real-world installation gives researchers an opportunity to study optical communication systems outside laboratory environments while enabling continued knowledge exchange between researchers, technology developers and regional implementation partners.
A Model for Indian Technology Going Global
The Auckland initiative reflects a broader model through which Indian deep-tech companies can develop technologies domestically, validate them across different geographical and operating environments, collaborate with international researchers and partners, and progressively build relevance in global markets. For Nav Wireless and 9Rayz, the Waitematā Harbour deployment is therefore more than an individual technology installation.
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