A new ruling from the FCC could make GPS devices in the U.S. as much as five times more accurate. The FCC voted on Thursday to permit phones and location trackers to connect with a more modern European satellite system that is generally more reliable and accurate.
The first consumer product connected to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) became available in 1989. The European Union’s counterpart, Galileo, went online in 2004. While GPS location data for consumers is typically accurate within 16 feet, VentureBeat reports that Galileo is accurate within a margin of three feet.