GPS has made a major impact on our world. How is it a free service that anyone with a phone can access? How is it profitable for companies to offer services like navigation without subscription fees or ads?
In: Technology
So GPS is actually a network of satellites all over the world that each emit a signal. By measuring how strong the signal is you can tell how far you are from a satellite, by using 3 of those signals you can pinpoint where you are on earth. Since it’s just listening to a signal being broadcast you cannot make it not free , at least not without tearing it down and building something different.
Now knowing your position on earth is very useful in some cases but not super useful to your average person on your average day. Companies do use resources of different types to map the area and even to monitor traffic conditions. Apple and Google give this as a benefit of using their platform , but google among others sell this data in bulk to companies who have high use cases.
Also it should be noted that what most people have in their phones also uses nearby wifi signals to help lock down where they are quicker.
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