The United States is about to give the now nearly ubiquitous Global Positioning System an $8 billion overhaul. The improvements, which involve replacing each of the 24 aging GPS satellites, are estimated to take over a decade to complete, and will see the triangulation margin of error decrease from 20 feet to around 3 feet. The move comes as more and more devices, from phones to parking meters, are incorporating GPS units into their design. The L.A. Times estimates that there are over 1 billion GPS receivers ...

The Galileo navigation satellite project has been in the works for some time now in Europe, spearheaded mainly by the drive to mitigate reliance on U.S. foreign satellite guidance systems. Galileo will, in theory, “offer greater accuracy — down to a meter and less; and greater penetration — in urban centers, inside buildings, and under trees; and a faster fix” when compared to the U.S. run GPS satellites. The new system is set to be offered with a tiered service model, five tiers to be...