GPS vs A-GPS | Difference between GPS and GPS-A

This GPS tutorial covers GPS system basics, applications and also provide link to GPS
module/chip/components manufacturers. It covers difference between GPS vs A-GPS and GPS
vs GLONASS.

This page on GPS vs A-GPS describes difference between GPS and GPS-A. Both the
technologies help determine location on the earth. GPS is mainly employed in cars, planes and
ships, while AGPS is employed in mobile phones. Though both have same application, let us
see how both the features differ below. GPS stands for Global Positioning System and AGPS
stands for Assisted Global Positioning System.

GPS devices determine location information by directly communicating with satellites moving
around the earth. AGPS devices determine location information from network stations (BTS/
NodeB/ eNodeB) based on GSM, CDMA or LTE technology employed in the mobile terminal.
Base station systems in the A-GPS technology in turn communicate with satellite and keep the
information ready and provide the information to the mobile terminals upon request.

As GPS devices are communicating with satellite, it can get information only under clear sky
conditions and when satellite is reachable without any interference. Due to this it is slower in
responding the requested service. While A-GPS devices are communicating with network
stations, it gets information even in cloudy atmosphere and worst network conditions, but it
will have problem when network is not reachable. Under this conditions AGPS devices fall
back to GPS feature if available to provide location information as per user request. A-GPS
devices are faster as it need not have to go to satellite for information.

About GPS-A Modes-MSA and MSB

As mentioned, GPS-A is the short form of Assisted GPS. There are two modes of operation in
GPS-A. They are MSA and MSB. MSA is the short form of

MSA (Mobile Station Assisted):

In this mode MSA, GPS-A device gets reference time, acquisition help and other optional data
information from mobile system operator. This operator obtains GPS information using GPS-
A server from satellite and store in its database. From the information GPS-A server calculates
the satellite position and provides the same to the GPS-A device. Hence in MSA mode it is
server which calculates the position and not the GPS-A device.

MSB (Mobile Station Based):

In MSB mode, GPS-A device gets reference time and location, ephemeris and other data from
the GPS-A server. With this data GPS-A device itself calculates satellite position. This is the
difference between GPS modes MSA and MSB.
What's The Differences Between the 5 GNSS
Constellations?

Before we dive into the differences between the 5 GNSS constellations... It's important that
we're all on the same page with the difference between GNSS and GPS.

Many people get GNSS and GPS technology confused. A good way to think about the Global
Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) is as the backbone (or underlying technology) behind
GPS. The Global Positioning System (GPS) GPS is a GNSS constellation, but GNSS is not
always GPS. GPS one of the 5 GNSS constellations used around the world.

The 5 GNSS constellations include GPS (US), QZSS (Japan), BEIDOU (China), GALILEO
(EU), and GLONASS (Russia). We'll cover each of these constellations in depth in this post.

The main reason for all 5 satellite constellations is availability and redundancy. If one system
fails, another GNSS constellation can help take over. System failures don't happen often, but
it's comforting to know there are backup options.

So, what's the difference between these 5 constellations? Let's take a closer look at each one...
1. GPS
GPS is the pioneer in the world of GNSS. It's the oldest GNSS system that began operation in
1978 and was made available for global use in 1994.

GPS was invented from the need for an independent military navigation system. The United
States Department of Defense (DoD) was the first to realize this. A lot of complexity was used
in the system to provide high accuracy and also to make it secure against jamming and spoofing
attempts. GPS was then made public later down the road.

GPS operates in a frequency band referred to as the L-Band, a portion of the radio
spectrum between 1 and 2 GHz. L-Band was chosen for several reasons, including:

• Ionospheric delay is more significant at lower frequencies

• Simplification of antenna design
• Minimize the effect that weather has on GPS signal propagation

Today, GPS is the most accurate navigation system in the world. The latest generation of GPS
satellites use rubidium clocks that are accurate up to ±5 parts in 1011. These clocks are
synchronized by even more accurate ground-based cesium clocks.

2. QZSS
The Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) is the regional satellite system from Japan and is
sometimes referred to as the "Japanese GPS".

QZSS currently uses one geostationary satellite orbit and three in the QZO orbit (highly
inclined, slightly elliptical, geosynchronous orbit).

The first generation QZSS timekeeping system (TKS) will be based on the Rubidium clock.
However, the first QZSS satellites will carry a basic prototype of an experimental crystal clock
synchronization system. TKS technology is a novel satellite timekeeping system which does
not require on-board atomic clocks and is used by existing navigation satellite systems such as
the GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo systems. This allows the system to operate optimally when
satellites are in direct contact with the ground station, making it a great solution for the QZSS
constellation.

A great benefit of QZSS is this it's compatible with GPS. This ensures a sufficient number of
satellites for stable, high-precision positioning.

3. BEIDOU
BEIDOU is a Chinese satellite navigation system that consists of two separate satellite
constellations, BeiDou-1 and BeiDou-2 (and soon-to-be BeiDou-3)...

Source: China Daily

BeiDou-1

BeiDou-1 (AKA the BeiDou Satellite Navigation Experimental System) consists of three
satellites that offered limited navigation services and coverage. It was mainly used by users in
China and neighboring regions. BeiDou-1 was decommissioned at the end of 2012.

BeiDou-2

BeiDou-2 (sometimes called COMPASS) is the second generation of the system. It started
operating in December 2011 with a partial constellation of 10 satellites. It has been providing
services to customers in the Asia-Pacific region since the end of 2012.

BeiDou-3

China started to build their 3rd generation of the system, BeiDou-3, in 2015. This time... for
global coverage.
As of October 2018, there are 15 satellites in orbit. The goal is to have 35 satellites in orbit by
2020 which will provide the global services when completed.

Once fully launched and operational, BeiDou-3 will provide an alternative to U.S GPS,
GLONASS, or GALILEO. BeiDou-3 is expected to be even more accurate with millimetre-
level accuracy (with post-processing).

Fun fact: According to China Daily, in 2015 (fifteen years after the BeiDou-1 system was
launched) it was generating a turnover of $31.5 billion per year for major companies such as
China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, AutoNavi Holdings Ltd, and China North
Industries Group Corp.

4. GALILEO
GALILEO is Europe's GNSS system that's compatible with GPS and GLONASS. It started
providing service in December 2016.

GALILEO's receivers track the satellite constellation's position in what's called the "GALILEO
Reference System" using satellite technology and triangulation principles.

The Galileo system is divided into three main segments...

1. Space
2. Ground
3. User

The space segment's function is to generate and transmit code and carrier phase signals with a
specific Galileo signal structure. It also stores and retransmits the navigation data sent by
the Ground Segment.

The ground segment is the major system element that controls the entire constellation
including navigation system facilities and dissemination services. The ground segment is made
up of:

• Two Ground Control Centres (GCC)

• A network of Telemetry
• Tracking and Control (TT&C) stations
• Network of Mission Uplink Stations (ULS)
• Network of Galileo Sensor Stations (GSS)

The user segment is made up of GALILEO receivers. The main purpose here is to track the
satellite constellation's coordinates and provide very accurate timing. This is done by of course
receiving the Galileo signals, determining pseudo ranges (and other observables), and solving
the navigation equations.

GALILEO is expected to reach its Full Operating Capability (FOC) by 2020.

5. GLONASS
Finally, GLONASS is Russia's version of GPS. Development began in 1976 by the Soviet
Union. There are 5 versions of GLONASS including:

1. GLONASS (1982)
2. GLONASS-M (2003)
3. GLONASS-K (2011)
4. GLONASS-K2 (2015)
5. GLONASS-KM (2025 - Currently in research phase)

Assisted GLONASS

Assisted GLONASS (A-GLONASS) is pretty much the same as GLONASS but has more
features for smartphones. These features include turn by turn navigation, real-time traffic data,
and more. A-GLONASS uses nearby cell towers to lock your precise location quickly. It also
improves the performance of in chip-sets that come with GLONASS support.

The Difference Between GLONASS and GPS GNSS

For starters, the US GPS network includes 31 satellites, while GLONASS uses 24 satellites.
The 2 systems also differ somewhat on accuracy. GLONASS position accuracy is 5-10m while
GPS is 3.5-7.8m. Therefore, GPS outweighs GLONASS in accuracy as lower error numbers
are better.

As far as frequencies go, GLONASS operates at 1.602 GHz and GPS at 1.57542 GHz (L1
signal).

When used alone, GLONASS doesn't provide as strong of coverage compared to GPS. In fact
There are no significant advantages of GLONASS over GPS.

GLONASS is a great back-up for GPS. When GPS signals are lost (like when you're between
tall buildings) GLONASS has your back.
What Do All GNSS Constellations Have In Common?
The short answer is the need for accurate timing and accuracy. This is typically achieved by
high-performance rubidium atomic clocks or LEO Satellite GPSDOs. Here at Bliley
Technologies, we've applied over 85 years of frequency control experience to bring the world
some of the best timing solutions for GNSS constellations and LEO satellites.

You should definitely consider downloading the full datasheet for Hyas, our new GPS
Disciplined Oscillator (GPSDO) specifically designed for LEO Satellites and GNSS
constellations. I think you'll like what you see!