What if the Stars Go Out?

Written By Edward Luck

There’s been a few articles in the media lately about Australia’s dependence on Satellites, and what would happen if they suddenly all went offline. It’s mostly fear-based-media, but it’s not impossible.

So, what would happen if there was a solar flare, or some kind of man made event that took down the GPS system? What happens to users of GPS systems such as ImmoTrack Online?

First, Assumptions!

We have to first assume that all our remaining technology keeps operating. By this we mean the mobile network and what we all consider “The Internet”.

So, let’s imagine that these keep operating and the only thing we lose is GPS yeah? Right, moving on.

Now for the nerdy bit.

Let’s talk about “GPS”. Technically what we all call “GPS” is actually a technology called the Global Navigation Satellite System or “GNSS” and there are multiple providers of GNSS services, each with their own constellation of satellites.

Calling the entire thing “GPS” is a bit like calling every vacuum cleaner a “Hoover”. It just kind of got baked into the vernacular even though “Hoover” is (was?) just a brand of vacuum cleaner.

Getting back to GNSS, the service providers are:

  • The US-operated Global Positioning System or - wait for it - “GPS”. They were the first, hence becoming the common name we all use for what is GNSS.

  • Russia’s GLONASS

  • China’s BeiDou (BDS)

  • India’s NavID (IRSS)

  • Japan’s Michibiki (QZSS)

At any given time, a modern GNSS terminal - which is technically what every GPS tracker is - can see anywhere between 21 and 50 satellites in Australia. The older the terminal the less it will see as it may not support locking on to all providers at the same time.

Fun facts about Teltonika Trackers

Customers using our ImmoTrack Essentials and ImmoTrack Go trackers will note that they will often “see” upwards of 40 satellites, and that out ImmoTrack Secure trackers generally “see” about 21 satellites. From late 2026 onwards and as Teltonika update the GNSS receiver chips in their product line, all of our products will “see” the higher number of satellites.

It’s a lot of satellites up there.

Yes, but What If the satellites all went offline?

The summary for all customers of ImmoTrack Online is this:

  • All trackers would remain online

  • All trackers would automatically fall back to using Geolocation, aka “Location Based Services” (LBS)

This means a drop in accuracy, not a loss of service. Accuracy will vary between 2km2 and 200m2, depending on your tracker model installed in your vehicle. It’s not perfect - far from it - but you maintain visibility and control of your vehicle, including your immobiliser.

But in reality…

It’s highly unlikely for every single GNSS provider to go offline. Yes it can happen, but you can also win the lottery. Both are extremely rare, and outside the control of mere mortals.

The closing message though is one we should all live by: if there was ever a massive disruption to the systems that we all rely on day to day, we may have bigger things to worry about.

Please focus on what really matters in life, and don’t focus too much on the Doom and Gloom that the media likes to use to get clicks.

Edward Luck
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