A Hybrid Approach in IoT: GPS and Cellular Location Tracking

The number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices worldwide is forecast to more than double from 19.8 billion in 2025 to more than 40.6 billion IoT devices by 2034. From logistics operators moving goods across borders to construction teams monitoring valuable machinery, knowing where things are in real time has never been more important. 

While GPS remains the cornerstone of IoT positioning due to its high accuracy, global availability, and reliability in open environments, it faces practical limitations that require a resilient hybrid approach to location tracking - combining GPS for precision with cellular as a fallback to ensure availability where GPS signals may be weak or absent. 

Explore the benefits and complementary strengths of GPS and cellular positioning - and 1NCE’s Whereabouts - part of our integrated IoT software toolkit. 

GPS in IoT: Strengths & Limitations 

The global GPS tracking device market size has grown steadily in the last five years. In 2022, this market amounted to roughly $1.66 billion USD, and will peak to over $2 billion by the end of 2025. It remains the go-to technology for location tracking in IoT, and for good reason. With accuracy often within 2 to 10 meters in open environments, GPS delivers the kind of precision businesses rely on. 

Key strengths from a technical standpoint include: 

• High Positional Accuracy: Aimed at high-precision tracking, GPS can determine location with a high degree of granularity when enough satellite signals are available. 

• Global Coverage: GPS provides consistent global availability based on a robust, satellite-based infrastructure. 

• Outdoor Optimization: Performs best in devices operating outdoors, where an unobstructed view of the sky enables optimal signal reception. 

• Integration Flexibility: Uses standardized NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association) protocols and widely available GPS modules for integration in a wide range of devices. 

However, the practical implementation of GPS in diverse IoT environments exposes several critical limitations: 

• Signal Attenuation and Obstruction: GPS signals are weak (around -130 dBm) and susceptible to attenuation, reflection, and blockage. This means GPS may be unreliable or non-functional in indoor environments, like warehouses and basements, urban canyons and dense foliage/underground. 

• High Power Consumption: A typical GPS module can draw 20-30mA during active acquisition and tracking. For battery-constrained IoT devices designed for multi-year deployments without maintenance, this significantly impacts battery life and increases the device cost due to larger battery requirements or shorter operational lifespans. 

• Hardware BOM and Complexity: Integration of a dedicated GPS module adds to the Bill of Materials (BOM) and circuit board complexity. This increases manufacturing costs and often implies larger device form factors, which may not be suitable for all asset types (e.g., small tools). 

• Security Vulnerabilities: GPS signals are unencrypted and public, making them susceptible to spoofing and jamming attacks.  

When GPS Is Not an Option... 

Here’s a common scenario in industrial IoT: a construction rental company tracking a heterogeneous fleet. This includes modern telematics-enabled heavy machinery alongside older, non-GPS-equipped generators, tools, and temporary infrastructure. Retrofitting older assets with GPS modules is often technically and economically infeasible due to power supply constraints, form factor limitations, or prohibitive costs for large numbers of lower-value assets. Yet, the demand for location intelligence for these assets remains critical for theft prevention, utilization optimization, and logistical efficiency. 

This is where cellular-based location  provides a complementary solution. Unlike GPS, which is satellite-dependent, cellular location utilizes the mobile network infrastructure. It estimates a device's position by analyzing parameters from surrounding cell towers.  

Cell-ID is the simplest method, returning the unique identifier of the serving cell tower. This provides a coarse location (e.g., the general area covered by the tower). Enhanced Cell-ID (E-CID) / Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) / Uplink-Time Difference of Arrival (U-TDOA) utilize signal strength (RSSI), timing advances (TA), and signal differences from multiple towers to provide a more precise estimate. Accuracy can range from 50 to 500 meters depending on cell density and the specific technology (e.g., 2G vs. LTE-M). 

Here are the key advantages of cellular location tracking: 

• Ubiquitous Coverage: Operates anywhere a device can establish a cellular connection, including indoors, underground, and in urban canyons.  

• Lower Power Consumption: Cellular modules, especially those utilizing LPWAN technologies like LTE-M or NB-IoT, are designed for low power consumption, typically drawing significantly less current than active GPS modules for location acquisition.  

• Reduced Hardware Overhead: For devices already equipped with a cellular modem for data transmission, cellular location capabilities are often accessible with no additional hardware components, lowering BOM and simplifying device design. 

• Faster Time-to-First-Fix (TTFF): Cellular location can provide a position estimate in sub-second times, as it relies on readily available network information rather than satellite signal acquisition.  

This makes cellular location particularly valuable for IoT devices that usually rely on cellular, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth for connectivity, often without dedicated GPS hardware. 

Choosing a Hybrid Approach in Location Tracking 

Architecting IoT solutions with a single point of failure for location data can bring high risk for mission-critical applications. The adoption of hybrid tracking, combining GPS with cellular-based positioning, is rapidly becoming a best practice for building resilient and reliable IoT systems. 

• Fallback When GPS Fails: Whether due to tunnels, thick walls, or interference, cellular fills in the gaps. 

• Faster First Fix: Get a quick initial position via cellular while GPS locks in. Determine whether a device has left a predefined area - activating GPS only if it moves outside that zone, for example, in the event of theft. 

• Data Validation: Use one method to cross-check the other - detect spoofing or anomalies. 

• Power Efficiency: Switch dynamically between GPS and cellular to conserve battery life. 

Geofencing adds another layer to hybrid tracking: instead of just locating, businesses can automatically trigger alerts or actions when assets move across boundaries. This makes GPS + cellular both resilient and actionable. 

What’s 1NCE’s Whereabouts? 

To support the implementation of such solutions, 1NCE has integrated its Whereabouts which includes Device Locator and Geofencing directly into the 1NCE OS platform. The Device Locator Plus mode is a cellular-based location service that doesn’t require additional GPS hardware, offering immediate and cost-effective location capability for any device utilizing 1NCE and providing geofencing alerts. 

With built-in Geofencing, Device Locator doesn’t just tell you where your devices are - it lets you define virtual zones and receive instant ENTER/EXIT alerts. This strengthens security, prevents unauthorized use, and reduces roaming or misuse costs. 

¹ Percentage of location requests that successfully return a valid location. Depends on network availability, radio access technology, and backend data quality. 

² An estimated confidence area (in meters) provided with each location fix. Indicates the expected accuracy range around the reported position. 

As IoT expands into every corner of our world - from farms to freeways—relying on a single location source isn’t enough. With 1NCE Whereabouts supporting GPS-based devices, customers can track assets with more confidence, flexibility, and security. By combining satellite precision with cellular reach and geofencing intelligence, you don’t just locate assets — you gain automation, control, and real-time security. 

Get started now with the trial package for just $14 and start locating your devices today!