Why don't cell towers do this?

_3u10 · on Oct 19, 2011

Cell towers kind of do by providing an accurate time and other features in AGPS.

modeless · on Oct 19, 2011

Not really. AGPS improves the time it takes to lock on to the GPS signal, but it doesn't improve accuracy.

nobody314159 · on Oct 19, 2011

You need a receiver in the phone that can phase track, which costs 50x as much as the simple GPS chip they fit.

You also need either a lot of storage locally or a fast data link between the base station and the rover - phones actually have both of these but they cost money

jrockway · on Oct 19, 2011

You need a receiver in the phone that can phase track, which costs 50x as much as the simple GPS chip they fit.

So, $0.50 instead of $0.01? :)

nobody314159 · on Oct 20, 2011

I think Phase tracking GPS chipsets are still pricey - outside surveying applicatiosn there isn't much demand.