GNSS
Global Navigation Satellite System
A system comprised of multiple satellites in space orbiting the earth, transmitting precise radio timing signals, and receiver devices on earth that use the signals to determine their precise location on the planet.
There are many types of receiver devices, but nearly all modern phones include a GNSS technology.
There are multiple GNSSs, created by different governments and organizations around the world. Each system has its own separate fleet of satellites, although many intentionally use overlapping radio frequencies, making it easy for receiver devices to use multiple networks at the same time, which improves accuracy and speed.
GPS is the GNSS created by the United States.
See: GPS
GLONASS is the Russian system, Galileo is run by the European Union, BeiDou is the Chinese system, and India's is called NavIC. Japan also has a system called QZSS, which initially works by piggybacking on GPS, but is planned to eventually be a fully independent GNSS.
Last updated Jan 22, 2020 by Rich Brome
Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.
