Duke of Edinburgh GPS Trackers Comparison: GSM Vs SPOT and Iridium Trackers

Duke of Edinburgh’s supervisors and activity providers now want to provide additional protection to their expeditions, in response to demands from local education authorities and, at times, internal pressures and governance. Many have found that some of these needs can be met by supplementing their existing good practices with GPS tracking technology. There are three main types of GPS tracking devices; GSM, Iridium and SPOT. Everyone has different capabilities and everyone has different costs of ownership. This is the third of three articles that looks at the merits of each. This is about GSM trackers for D of E.

GSM devices, such as SPOT and Iridium, triangulate their location from satellites, but broadcast their location over mobile networks. Some transmit only on 2G and other trackers transmit on 2G and 3G networks. 3G networks transmit data quickly, but the range of 3G masts is only a few km, while the range of 2G can be up to 10 km. Also, while your mobile phone may appear to have no usable signal on a certain mobile network in an area, a good quality GSM tracker will still be able to work normally as they only require a weak 2G signal to work.

It is critical that GSM trackers are paired with a multi-network SIM card to deliver great performance. If, instead, you had to install a GSM tracker with a standard mobile SIM that is fixed to a mobile network, then you will not be able to transmit if you go to an area where that network does not have coverage. This is where multi-network SIMs come in; Depending on their type, they will transmit on 2 or more networks, some 2G and others 2G and 3G. It is essential to ask your GSM tracker provider about the SIMs they use.

1) Does the SIM card work on all mobile networks in the country where it is intended to be used?

2) Does the SIM work abroad?

3) Does the tracker / SIM work on 2G only or does it also work on 3G?

In terms of UK usage, 4-network multi-network SIM GSM trackers will work in all popular dispatch areas for D of E; such as the Lake District, Peak District, Dartmoor and Exmoor. There may be small gaps in coverage, but they are generally small. Only very remote areas, like the more remote areas of Scotland’s Cairngorms, would get good value for money with an Iridium or SPOT.

The next question comes down to hardware. There are many GSM trackers, and not all of them are good. Let’s deal with questions of questionable reliability and operations first. People are often tempted by a deal; tempted to buy a cheap tracker from an auction site or Amazon marketplace, for less than £ 50. These units are often advertised as pet, child or ‘senior’ trackers. Most of them are Chinese in origin, and the instructions that come with them make it difficult to set them up. They generally fall short of expectations when users realize that they are often only able to share their location when SMS is sent to them, resulting in a return SMS, providing only a link to one static view of Google Maps. There are some devices that provide a website login, where the location can be viewed on Google Maps. The reliability of these devices is usually very intermittent. Sometimes the servers they send the data to are unavailable, because most of the tracker data is returned to servers hosted in China. Due to the nature of location-based data and protection concerns, Duke of Edinburgh supervisors should seek our advice from a school safety consultant and verify their LEA policy, to see if it is appropriate that the data location information on your charges are stored outside of the United States.

If you hire or purchase your trackers from a reputable retailer, which hosts data within the EU, a major security hurdle will be addressed immediately. Shipment tracking GPS retailers will host the data on UK or EU servers and then display that data on Google, Openstreet Maps or Ordnance Survey Maps. Some of those types of maps require an additional license which is generally covered in rental fees or may require an additional monthly premium.

Mobile data is considerably less expensive than satellite data, so a typical monthly contract will cost less than £ 10 per month (compared to £ 25 – £ 35 for SPOT and Iridium). Some companies’ GSM trackers can be used on a pay-per-use basis, so you only pay for the months they are used, and the contract can be ‘hibernated’ for a small fee outside of those months. So a typical D of E season could cost the school less than £ 70 per tracker, which is a fraction of the cost of a SPOT or Iridium for a year.

GSM trackers update much faster than SPOT and Iridium; typically every 90 seconds, but can be set to update as fast as once every 15 seconds, although that’s more common for fast cycle or motorsport events. GSM trackers will transmit when under thick tree cover and often while in buildings. They can also be reset or programmed remotely, which SPOT and Iridium cannot. GSM units have an SOS button that can be programmed to perform any required action. A good provider will generally associate the SOS button with a multi-recipient SMS service of their choice. Each recipient will receive the SOS SMS, detailing the time and location of the GPS unit requesting help.

Garmin Iridium trackers run on built-in lithium batteries. It is set to update once every 2 minutes, a standard 1300mAh battery unit will last 4-5 days. A GSM tracker with 2000-2600mAh battery will last 6-10 days. All GSM trackers can be recharged from USB network, solar chargers or power banks, generally in less than 3 hours.

GSM trackers are the most popular choice in the UK Duke of Edinburgh GPS expeditions. Schools deploy hundreds every day during D of E season. The low cost of rent or ownership makes them attractive, along with their fast update speeds and high reliability. The key to remember is not to believe the myth that GSM trackers don’t work in remote areas of the UK. That is simply untrue in most cases. Always check with a supplier who retails all models, and they will tell you what is best for you.

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