Originally Posted by
DropBarFan
I'm a bit confused, thought GPS satellite data was free to receive.
It is.
Spot Trackers obtain your location using GPS, and then connect to communications satellites to report your location. They're the only commercially available device I know of that works like this. Everything else obtains your location using GPS, and reports it back via the cellular network (indirectly via a phone, in the case of Garmins).