Satellite tracking has been around ever since the American military and the Department of Defense began to use the global positioning system about two decades ago. With about 24 satellites (different from wireless communication satellites!) orbiting the earth, the number of applications that are possible with this system is mind-boggling.

Of course, all this was only possible once the Department of Defense allowed for the use of this system for civilian and commercial purposes. Apart from surveying, tectonics and map-making, geofencing is an important application that has helped the transportation industry to a large extent.

Since vehicle tracking is one large part of geofencing, one can track the position and time of any vehicle at any given time, thanks to the “eyes in the sky”. All one has to do is install a GPS receiver in the vehicle that doesn’t need any special technology knowledge on the user’s part.

While the transportation industry gets a huge boost from this system, not only are insurance rates lower for companies that have these real-time devices to their vehicles but the ability to optimize productivity using this system is the biggest advantage of them all.

Cell phone GPS tracking, even though it is less reliable than conventional GPR receiver units sold, has also become a large part of the technology that civilians can use to track their whereabouts through their cell phones.

One is thing is for certain: GPS technology is here to stay!