| Purpose | Navigation and positioning |
| Benefits | Improved maritime and aviation navigation • Increased accuracy and reliability • Enhanced real-time tracking capabilities |
| Challenges | High costs for smaller firms and individual users |
| Device Type | Satellite GPS |
| Invention Date | 20 years earlier than our reality |
| Related System | |
| Commercial Owners | Air Transportation Companies • Maritime Industry • Commercial Satellite Companies |
In this timeline, navigation differs significantly from our reality:
Prior to the development of GPS, navigators relied on a variety of tools and techniques to determine their position. These included:
The Loran system, a network of ground-based radio beacons that provided accurate navigational information throughout the North Atlantic Ocean and North Sea areas.
The Inertial Navigation System, which consisted of gyroscopes and accelerometers to determine a vehicle's position and orientation.
Celestial navigation, which used the positions of celestial bodies such as the sun, moon, and stars to calculate latitude and longitude.
Global Positioning System (GPS) was developed much earlier in this timeline, with the first satellites launched in the late 1960s. GPS was primarily designed for military use and was gradually rolled out to civilian users in the 1970s. Unlike in our reality, GPS quickly became a viable alternative to ground-based navigation systems in this timeline, due to its accuracy and global coverage.
In this alternative timeline, GPS was often used in conjunction with ground-based beacons for increased accuracy and efficiency. Maritime and aviation industries used both GPS and Loran systems, while ground-based inertial navigation systems were used in conjunction with GPS for land-based navigation.
One major difference between our reality and this timeline is that global navigation satellites are owned and operated by commercial concerns rather than governments. Major tech companies, such as Google and Apple, own and operate the majority of global satellite navigation networks. The use of GPS and other satellite-based navigation systems is governed by commercial agreements and licensing fees, rather than being freely available to all users.
The early adoption of GPS and the accuracy of ground-based navigation systems had a significant impact on the maritime and aviation industries. GPS was integrated into ship and airplane navigation systems much earlier, improving efficiency and reducing the risk of accidents. However, the high cost of using commercial satellite-based navigation systems was a significant barrier to entry for smaller firms and individual users, which led to concerns about monopolies and anti-competitive behavior. Nonetheless, the overall benefits of improved navigation systems far outweighed the potential drawbacks.
