Real-Time Tracker With No Fees
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- Category: GPS Tracking
Why Real-Time GPS Trackers Have Service Fees
The majority of consumers and companies seeking a GPS tracking solution want a device that offers real-time access to driving activity. They want to be able to go to a website via cellular phone or computer and quickly locate where a driver is at and everywhere that driver has been. Of course, real-time GPS trackers provide this ability, but what surprises most of these people is that in order to have this live monitoring service a monthly service obligation is required.
Why Are There Fees For GPS Tracking?
Real-time GPS trackers such as the SilverCloud system acquire low-level radio frequencies from satellites in constant orbit of the Earth. These satellites operated by the Department of Defense communicate with a component of the real-time GPS tracker known as a GPS receiver to determine speed, altitude, position and a variety of other locational information and data. Basically, all of this positional and locational data is stored to internal memory on the GPS tracker, but in order for the end-user to access it from a computer in a remote location, the GPS data stored upon internal memory must be transmitted to an off-site server. In order to do this, the GPS tracker must communicate with local telematics networks (cellular towers) using a component on the device known as a cellular data module. As anyone with a cellular phone already probably understands, telematics companies such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T don't let people use their networks for free. Therefore, in order to transmit data to the off-site server that will allow the user to access positional information on a website in real-time, the data must first be transmitted over cellular towers. The monthly service comes from the transmission of data over those cellular towers.
Does Each GPS Tracker Need A Data Plan?
Since each real-time GPS tracker has its own independent data it must transmit, each unit in operation will be required to have its own monthly data plan. A good way to think of a real-time GPS tracker is like a cellular phone. Every phone must be activated and set-up with a data plan before it can make a phone call, the same way every GPS tracking device must be set-up with a data plan before live locational data can be accessed.
Are There GPS Trackers With No Monthly Fees?
Although there are no real-time GPS vehicle trackers available on the market with no monthly service fees due to the costs associated with data transmission, passive trackers known as GPS data loggers allow a user to acquire driving activity without any monthly service fees whatsoever! The reason GPS data loggers such as GPS Tracking Key do not have monthly service fees is because they simply do not depend on telematics to transfer data. Instead, the user manually downloads data stored upon the GPS tracker to a computer to access where a driver has been along with other vehicle driving activity. Although GPS data loggers are excellent cost-effective tools for vehicle management, it is very important to remember that they do not have any hybrid capabilities. That means a person using a GPS data logger would not be able make their device a real-time GPS tracker if a situation occurred where they needed too. Therefore, a person using a GPS data logger will not have the ability to remote access driving activity, or locate a vehicle if it were ever stolen by automobile thieves.
What Is Better: Real-Time GPS Tracker Or GPS Data Logger?
Both real-time GPS trackers and GPS data loggers can be advantageous, depending on what the end-user is trying to accomplish. Both forms of monitoring technology can enhance driver safety, improve fleet automotive management or help a business improve operations. The best advice for consumers or companies looking into investing in a GPS tracker is to contact a fleet tracking specialist who can identify the best possible solution for the intended application. Personal tracking experts will lay out all of the possible options on the table, and will work hands-on with the user to pinpoint the absolute best system available for that user.