Global Positioning System satellites transmit signals to equipment on the ground. GPS receivers passively receive satellite signals; they do not transmit. GPS operations depend on a very accurate time reference, which is provided by atomic clocks at the U.S. Naval Observatory. Each GPS satellite has atomic clocks on board.

Each GPS satellite transmits data that indicates its location and the current time. All GPS satellites synchronize operations so that these repeating signals are transmitted at the same instant. The signals, moving at the speed of light, arrive at a GPS receiver at slightly different times because some satellites are farther away than others. The distance to the GPS satellites can be determined by estimating the amount of time it takes for their signals to reach the receiver. When the receiver estimates the distance to at least four GPS satellites, it can calculate its position in three dimensions.

The system consists of 24 satellites orbiting about 12,000 miles above the Earth and five ground stations to monitor and manage the satellite constellation. These satellites provide 24-hour-a-day coverage. A GPS receiver on or above the Earth's surface picks up at least three satellite signals simultaneously and uses these signals to determine exactly how far your GPS receiver is from the GPS satellites in space. It is then possible to pinpoint its exact location on earth. This is known as Triangulation.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a constellation of satellites that orbit the earth twice a day, transmitting precise time and position (latitude and longitude) information. With a GPS receiver, users can determine their location anywhere on Earth. Detailed mapping and navigational programs can be used in conjunction with GPS technology to track the movement and location of vehicles and assets.

GPS vehicle tracking systems use the Internet as an interface to allow you to control your GPS system, while wireless & cellular technologies are utilized to send and receive GPS requests and location information to and from the vehicle.

The Internet has allowed several "fly-by-night" GPS vendors to enter the market, and many companies that are seeking to install a quality system do not take the time to examine the company from whom they are considering purchasing. Many GPS vendors selling products over the Internet are barely educated on the product they are selling, and many are selling out-dated systems that operate on out-dated wireless networks. We ask you to please take the time to learn about your vendor.

The reputable companies generally will react quickly to your inquiry, make it easy to view a demonstration of their system(s), give references, offer multiple products to review and display their customers on their web site. At TSO Mobile, we allow you to view our product demonstrations online. We are proud of our list of customers, and we promote many of them on our website.

Always check references and examine the companies who are currently using the products and services that you are considering.

The nearly non-existent growth in the economy has been pushing gas and diesel prices in both directions in recent weeks, leading the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to adjust its projections for fuel prices heading into 2012. How much, though, remains at the mercy of the economic recovery.

On a retail basis, EIA is predicting on-highway diesel fuel will finish 2011 averaging $3.80/gal. and then average $3.73/gal. in 2012.

The group is predicting U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.8% next year, also down slightly from previous forecasts. And it's that economic growth, EIA noted, that continues to put downward pressure on oil prices, offsetting supply uncertainties.

“Downside demand risks predominate as fears persist about the rate of global economic recovery, contagion effects of the debt crisis in the European Union, and other fiscal issues facing national governments,” EIA said. “On the supply side, there may be downward price pressure if Libya is able to ramp up oil production and exports sooner than anticipated.”

“The main factor to watch in the next few months is just how much Libyan crude comes back on the market, and whether other producers need to make way for it,” said John Kingston, of research firm Platts, in a recent report. “Long term, there's one thing to note: There are a few examples of oil exporting countries that have gone through enormous change recently — Iran, Iraq, Nigeria and Venezuela — and had their production return to pre-turmoil levels. Libya would be challenging the odds to get back to its original 1.6-million-barrel per day production level.”

EIA expects global consumption to continue growing, reaching 89.8 million barrels per day in 2012, up from 88.4 this year, mainly due to increased use in China.

Even with all the supply uncertainties that exist, it is the economic recovery that will likely play the largest role in determining future retail diesel fuel prices.

SOURCE: FleetOwner Magazine.

Just months after NASA ended its shuttle program, Microsoft co-funder Paul Allen is investing his own money in a new venture to launch satellites*, people, and supplies into space. Instead of relying in ground based rockets, Allen's Stratolaunch Systems would transport cargo into the atmosphere on a mammoth airplane and then blast it into space. The plane's wingspan will be more than 380 feet, and it will be powered by six engines culled from Boeing 747 jumbo jets. The first flight is planned within five years. The cost of funding construction of the new megaplane is expected to exceed the $25 million Allen sank into earlier rocket venture, SpaceShipOne, in 2004.

SOURCE: Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine.

*Does this mean improvements for the GPS tracking industry and other industries that rely on satellites and space related activites? We shall see.

In the early days of FMCSA's Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program, the vehicle maintenance BASIC proved to be the most troublesome for many motor carriers. This isn't particularly surprising as vehicle-related defects frequently top the annual violation lists released by FMCSA.

Maintenance issues can also cause driver retention problems. Vehicle defect and maintenance violations now go on a drivers' CSA score as well as the carrier's. If a fleet becomes a frequent target of inspectors, it becomes even more likely that its drivers will get flagged for other CSA issues such as logbook violations. If maintenance issues bring unwanted eye of inspectors more frequently, drivers are likely to look elsewhere for employment.

"We have to bust these guys a little bit if they get a maintenance violation. If we find out something was wrong on a trailer two days ago and they didn't notify us, the drivers need to know they will get a call from an unhappy safety director when that trailer gets a violation. We need to rely on the driver's eyes,".

SOURCE: FleetOwner Magazine.

A GPS tracking system not only tracks vehicles. It does a bunch of other things including the monitoring of maintenance tasks, helping to avoid the issues mentioned in the article above. Learn more at about the logistics capabilities of our GPS tracking system by CLICKING HERE.

Sales of stolen goods, particularly pharmaceuticals, may hurt large-scale public health in the U.S., according to a cargo theft analysis conducted by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).

"Cargo theft is not only a property crime that hurts the national economy, it can have a serious impact on public health and safety," stressed Jow Wehrle, NICB president & CEO, in the group's 2010 National Cargo Theft Report.

"In one case, a load of insulin was stolen and stored at a warehouse while the thieves made arrangements to sell it on the black market," he said. "There is no way to know if it was properly refrigerated during storage, and unsuspecting consumers may have been at tremendous risk had they used tainted insulin."

"The public health impact is the most frightening part of the cargo theft problems," Brian Smidt, vice president of NICB Data Analytics, told Fleet Owner. "We’re seeing an increase in theft of medicines and pharmaceuticals from previous years because it’s far more valuable. And these goods are not like stolen DVDs or televisions; if they aren’t stored properly, they can cause serious physical harm."

NICB said there were 747 cargo thefts across the U.S in 2010 with an estimated loss value of $171 million; most freight was stolen from trucks or railroad cars, althought the group stressed intermodal and air freight shipments are vulnerable as well.

That number may be quite low as the FBI estimates cargo theft costs the U.S $15 billion to $30 billion a year, resulting in an estimated 20% markup in retail prices for customers.

The occurence of cargo theft may be even higher, however, since some businesses are reluctant to report thefts out of concern for their reputations or insurance premiums, the agency noted.

According to NICB research, the states with the most cargo theft incidents were California (247), Texas (91), Florida (66), Illinois (56), Tennessee (40) and Georgia (39). Electronics were most often the theft target (139 thefts) followed by food (108) and clothing (73). February saw the most thefts with 113 followed by August (78) and June (76).

SOURCE: FleetOwner Magazine

GPS tracking has shown to be a great solution to this issue, or at least to help control it. TSO Mobile has dealt with a lot of theft incidents from their customers’ cargo in which the installed GPS tracking system has help catch the thieves, in one ocassion even trying to cross the Mexican border. Like the article says, some companies have not reported the incident, but others have been kindly enough to give us their testimonials. You can read one of the testimonials and impressive story by clicking here.

From engineering to training, truck operators have a range of options to improve MPG.

Speeding and Idling the main reasons of fuel consumption.

GPS Tracking a smart practice to save money.

Trucking is an industry with already thin profit margins, and especially in an economic downturn, the effects of escalating and volatile fuel costs are a major cause of concern for even the most conscientious fleet operator. Fuel continues to be the second largest expense for trucking companies, just behind labor costs, therefore, increasing fuel efficiency and minimizing fuel consumption should be a major goal of any truck fleet operator.

While the price of fuel may be out of the industry's control, there are many ways fleet managers can manage fuel consumption. The first step in reducing fuel consumption, according to the American Trucking Assns. (ATA), is reducing speed. A truck traveling at 75 mph consume 27% more fuel than one going 65 mph; so limiting truck speed to 65 mph would save 2.8 billion gals. of diesel fuel over a decade.

Idling is another huge fuel guzzler. ATA is also pursuing a federal solution that reduces nondiscretionary idling through highway infrastructure improvements and reduces discretionary idling through incentives for new technology. Nondiscretionary idling is when the truck is stuck in congested traffic. Discretionary idling is when drivers idle their engines during rest periods to provide heat or air conditioning for the sleeper compartment, keep the engine warm during cold weather, and provide electrical power for in-cab appliances. These types of idling consume and estimated 1.1 billion gals. of diesel fuel every year.

SOURCE: FleetOwner Magazine

Installing the right GPS vehicle tracking solution has the ability to provide company owners and fleet managers with a tool that can significantly increase productivity and reduce the cost of fuel. Many fleet managers report that the GPS unit created a huge savings on the cost of fuel. GPS tracking systems are great because they include management features that will help you to be sure that your fleets fuel efficiency is as high as it should be.

A GPS tracking and vehicle monitoring system like the one TSO Mobile provides, helps to control the main causes of fuel consumption, speeding and idling.

GPS trackers not only help to monitor drivers and employees but to improve their security in case of emergencies.

Employee-tracking devices have gained steam thanks to ever-more-accurate GPS technology and a U.S. mandate requiring wireless companies to develop ways for emergency workers to find the physical location of people who dial 911 on a cell phone. Employees and drivers not even have to call 911. Their dispatchers can monitor through the GPS tracking system if they have an emergency.

Developed in the 1970s by the U.S. military, GPS uses signals from low orbit satellites to triangulate the position of a ground-based receiver. GPS trackers were once an expensive luxury, but costs have plunged with the expansion of cellular-phone services.

Enhanced 911 (E911) emergency regulations governing wireless carriers unleashed profitable new GPS services, analysts say. To comply with the rules, carriers began running more accurate GPS technology capable of supporting a range of commercial services that go beyond emergency location.

SOURCE: news.cnet.com

Anticipating needs delivers benefits in customer service, sales/marketing, and government.

Proactive customer care (PCC) is an exciting concept that, when executed properly, delivers benefits to both enterprises and their customers. The challenge for businesses and other organizations is to create useful communications that their customers welcome and to deliver these messages in each customer's channel of choice: phone; email; SMS; fax; and, in the future, video.

SOURCE: Speech Technology Magazine | www.speechtechmag.com // July/August 2011

The meaning of PCC is a business strategy that makes consumers' lives easier by addressing issues before a problem or a need arises. A GPS tracking system like the one that TSO Mobile offers sure helps with this purpose.

Through the "Tracking Number" feature, customers of those companies delivering or transporting the merchandise, can stay up-to-date with the location of their merchandise through a personalized mapping module until it arrives to them. This delivers benefits to both parties and creates a great level of communication and understanding. The tracking number feature is just one of the many ways that a GPS tracking system can contribute to Proactive Customer Care (PCC).

Joe Lore, Partner, Lore Sweeping Company, Nutley, N.J.

Another proof of how a GPS tracking system like TSO Mobile's helps you and your company save money.

As fuel costs began to rise over the past few years, we really began to look at how we could be sure we are being most efficient. As we learned more about GPS systems in our trucks, it seemed like a good way to be sure that drivers were being as efficient as possible and not wasting fuel. Since we've started tracking drivers, we're saving about 2 gallons per machine per shift at a bare minimum. That's 12 trucks and 24 gallons every shift and 12,480 gallons per year. The GPS tracking system also tells us when drivers are running the trucks too fast or when we can avoid other wear and tear, so we're saving on truck repairs. The trucks are being run more carefully since drivers know we can track them. We estimate our minimum total savings at around $36,000 per year.
-As told to Gwen Moran

SOURCE: Entrepreneur Magazine // November 2011

Smart, connected devices open up revenue opportunity for field service companies.

The development of relatively low-cost and reliable remote monitoring systems based on machine to machine (M2M) communications technology has presented an enormous opportunity to field service organizations.

By tying equipment directly to the network, service companies can lower cost and improve overall customer service by receiving automatic status updates from remote assets.

"The process improvements vary based on the business," says Scott Constien, vice president of technology at Enfora. "It can be as simple as monitoring a vending machine and reporting inventory levels... or, it could be remotely monitoring the data to manage maintenance and predictive failures in an attempt to minimize service downtime for customers."

This type of automation helps with:
• Remote troubleshooting capabilities.
• Avoiding of making unnecessary maintenance visits.
• Improving escalations.
• Lowering the cost of software upgrades by performing them via the cloud.

TSO Mobile's GPS tracking, security, and logistics services are one example of the many M2M applications that are popping up in different markets all the time.

Lower M2M Costs = Faster Return On Investment (ROI)
A key driver of this expansion has been the drop in price of the technology due to the mainstream adoption. "The investment cost has gone down, which means that in asset tracking applications, you can now profitably track a $2,000 or $3,000 asset, which was not the case in the past," says Darren Koenig , vice president of marketing and products at Numerex.

SOURCE: Field Technologies Online (fieldtechnologiesonline.com).

To learn more about M2M solutions and assets tracking/monitoring feel free to visit our website and looking at our products and services.

Olga Kharif, On Tuesday November 1, 2011, 12:01 am EDT

“You can only copy to a certain degree,” ... “It’s not necessarily about hardware but the software, and it’s very difficult to copy that,”.

The success of Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPad isn’t just drawing more competition to the tablet market. It’s attracting thousands of counterfeit and knockoff products.

On a single day in July, almost 18,000 fakes and clones resembling the iPad and Android devices were available for sale on 23 e-commerce sites, according to MarkMonitor Inc., a San Francisco-based firm that helps companies protect their brands.

The tablets can be illegal -- for instance, if they have a bogus Apple logo -- and often they don’t work well and have no warranty protection, said Fred Felman, chief marketing officer of MarkMonitor. The copycat products and suspected counterfeits found in MarkMonitor’s survey were offered by more than 5,000 sellers, many of them located in China.

Counterfeiters are increasingly focusing on mobile technology after years of copying pharmaceuticals, handbags, software and other products. Tablets are obvious targets because they’re the most-desired technology gifts this holiday season -- beating out laptops, televisions, e-readers and video-game consoles, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.

To avoid getting cheated, shoppers should stick with retail sites they know, Felman said. A dramatically low price is another red flag, he said. The clone tablets in MarkMonitor’s survey were typically 69 percent less than the retail price of the genuine item.

SOURCE: Yahoo (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Fake-IPads-Flood-Market-as-bloomberg-3096691335.html?x=0).

This article talks about exactly what we recommend. The purchase of a GPS tracking system should be carefully done. There are many GPS tracking companies out there but not all of them offer the right thing. Many sell fake, low tech made, cheap GPS tracking devices that do not do the right job and to make things worse, they do not come with a powerful GPS tracking system (the software) which is one of the most important things.

TSO Mobile offers high tech GPS tracking devices that have been in the industry for years and that are made here in the USA by some of the same people involved in satellites and space related projects. These kind of things are a mean of guarantee and of a product really worth buying. On the other hand, as far the GPS tracking system (the software), TSO Mobile is the developer of its own real time online GPS tracking and management platform. This again, means guarantee and a product really worth buying.

The Red Cross in Beijing will give 20,000 mobile GPS trackers to young kids as part of a campaign to improve the schools security. Parents will have to pay a biannual fee for these devices. AFP

BEIJING, CHINA (JAN/09/2011). - About 200,000 kids disappear every year in Beijing, Yu Ruling, many victims of abductions. The Red Cross hopes to help this matter with the GPS Tracking devices.

These mobile GPS tracking devices look like wrist watches. They will allow parents of school kids to keep track at all moments of their kids whereabouts.

To prevent these "toys" from causing distractions during class, it will be prohibited to use them in the class rooms except if there is an emergency.

Last year, many attacks to schools were reported, in which 20 people died (mostly kids). These acts of violence motivated the increase of security in the schools of the asian country.

On the other hand, networks of abduction in the entire country, especially in rural areas, abduct about 60,000 kids to sell them in the black market.

Families buying kids seem to be the main issue. Many couples that cannot have kids or cannot go through a legal adoption, choose to go to mafias, especially in poor areas.

Credits: EFE / IAMR

The decision that Beijing's authorities are taking to solve these type of issues, proves once again that GPS tracking systems like the one provided by TSO Mobile help improve security, not only for kids, but for anyone out there.

Our technology leadership in GPS Tracking has demonstrated our experience throughout the years. 10 years for us have been of continuous learning for the improvement of our processes and the use of technology. This has given us the possibility of offering unique and high-end solutions in the market to guarantee security, quality, and an excellent price to the users of our products and services.

TSO Mobile is a multinational in expansion, currently with direct offices in Miami (USA), Colombia, and Peru. We adjust to the needs of our customers and the market. Everything we are and that we have achieved, have given us the privilege of currently be tracking more than 60,000 vehicles in around 12 countries.

Some of our products and services are:

• TSO Fleet: Complete GPS Fleet Management solution.
• TSO Logistics: Real time transportation management including dispatching, routing and scheduling optimization.
• TSO Field: Complete field service solution using mobile devices and GPS.
• TSO Field Sales: Distribution sales control and Sales Force Automation (SFA) system.
• TSO Public Transportation: Tracking, passenger information, current and next stop, estimated time of arrival.

Visit us at www.TSOmobile.com for more info.

Like we all know, the smart phones have had a huge impact in today's society. The concept of Apps has been a big deal and has set a new standard to the way we do things.

Very popular apps that everyone seems to get excited about are the tracking apps. One of these apps that everyone is talking about is "Find My Friends" for iPhone which lets you see where your friends and family members are at. What users do not know is that these apps have limitations.

Limitations such as being able to track people only if you have them added to the app contact list, high monthly service fees (some apps), and relying on your cellphone provider coverage area, do not make tracking apps the right tool for everyone.

Transportation companies, public transportation entities, individuals wanting to track kids or elderly people, and basically everyone, need a robust GPS tracking system that lets them go beyond just the tracking. A GPS tracking system like the one TSO Mobile provides, lets anyone track from any computer. This tracking system lets you receive alerts of the whereabouts of the assets or people that someone is tracking, generate reports of the activities, tracking numbers to share tracking locations with others, access to routing and dispatching platforms, integration with Garmin GPS navigators, and many many more functionalities that a tracking app for a smartphone could not offer. The best thing, it is also available for smart phones but with improved functionality! A GPS tracking system like the one TSO Mobile provides, charges a monthly fee as well, but this fee is a lot more economic and it is worth everything that you can do with the GPS tracking system. Also, you do not have to worry about coverage or anything else.

There is a lot to know about a robust GPS tracking system; TSO Mobile can help you learn about it.

"Many satellites and spacecraft require accurate timing signals to ensure the proper operation of scientific operation. In the case of GPS satellites, accurate timing is essential, otherwise anything relying on GPS signals to navigate could be misdirected. The third technology demonstration planned by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is the Deep Space Atomic Clock. The DSAC team plans to develop a small, low-mass atomic clock based on mercury-ion trap technology and demonstrate it in space" ~Slashdot at Tech News.

Will TSO Mobile and its GPS tracking services be affected by this test? Definitely not. As the title says, this is only a test and the technology of an atomic clock would not be implemented if it does not work as expected. Will it work as expected? Most likely yes! come on, it is NASA!

It was not enough with providing GPS Tracking solutions in the United States only. TSO Mobile has been expanding its services over the last years to many countries such as Canada and Mexico.

TSO Mobile is proud to announce its new offices/headquarters in South America! Colombia and Peru are now in the list of countries where TSO Mobile offers its GPS Tracking services through its direct offices which makes it a lot more convenient than having dealers; This is a great advantage for its customers in such countries. That being said, TSO Mobile now provides GPS Tracking services to over 60,000 vehicles in more than 12 countries!

This GPS Tracking, security, and logistics company will be expanding and opening new offices in the following months in more countries all over south america.

Follow this blog or follow TSO Mobile on Twitter or Facebook to stay up-to-date with TSO Mobile's expansion process.