Ahmedabad-based Nav Wireless Technologies is making a bigger international push around a deceptively simple idea: carry high-speed data through open air using light instead of laying another physical fibre cable.
The deeptech company expects overseas markets to contribute nearly 30% of its total revenue over the next three years and currently has an international order pipeline of up to ₹15 crore. It is evaluating deployments across the US, Europe and New Zealand while continuing to pursue telecom and critical-infrastructure opportunities in India.
Behind that expansion is a sizeable technology bet. Nav Wireless says it has invested around ₹80–90 crore in research and development to build indigenous optical wireless communication and photonics systems. Its technology uses highly directional beams of light to transmit data between points, creating high-capacity links without requiring conventional radio-frequency spectrum or a physical fibre path.
The model is particularly useful where fibre is difficult, expensive or slow to deploy. Nav Wireless’ Free Space Optical Communication systems are being developed for telecom backhaul, enterprise networks, defence communications and remote connectivity.
Its OpticSpectra platform, for instance, is designed to adjust bandwidth as atmospheric conditions change, while its broader portfolio also includes indoor optical communication products based on visible and infrared light.
The technology has already moved outside the lab. In August, Nav Wireless and regional partner 9Rayz deployed an India-developed FSOC link across Auckland’s Waitematā Harbour, demonstrating how the system can bridge locations where extending fibre infrastructure is difficult.
Nav Wireless will now showcase three India-developed optical communication systems at India Mobile Congress 2026. The larger ambition is not simply to sell connectivity hardware abroad, but to establish Indian-built photonics as a viable alternative layer for global telecom, enterprise and defence networks.
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Startup Unplugged
