From the point of view of comfort, a GPS dog collar without a subscription is the ideal solution, since you’ll keep your furry friend safe without having to rely on periodic subscriptions to take advantage of the GPS and its maps.
GPS dog collars, in fact, were made to allow owners to keep track of the movements of their pet and, if necessary, to pinpoint its position when it’s gone too far or even has gotten lost. The technology behind it is the same as what our smartphones use, and not many people know that it was originally created by the military. GPS or Global Positioning System (in turn short for the acronym NAVSTAR GPS, NAVigation Satellite Timing And Ranging Global Positioning) is one of the satellite tracking systems: in this case it’s the one managed by the government of the United States, but more and more often it’s coupled with GLONASS, the equivalent system developed by the Russians – but there are others, and even Europe is working to build its own network of satellites with Galileo.
Of course, for it to be really useful, the coordinates which these devices are able to calculate should be displayed on a map, but currently several manufacturers are only providing this service with a subscription. Fortunately for us this isn’t always the case, and a GPS dog collar without a subscription isn’t too hard to find.
The smartphone, using a special app, has become the best tool for interacting with the collar, but this is only possible because it transmits its position to a server which we can access via the internet. Communication takes place via GSM or 2G: some manufacturers require the end user to cover this aspect, so you’ll need a SIM and a tariff plan; others just integrate the GSM module into the collar to use the networks of several operators and not just one, as is the case when buying a SIM. In this case, therefore, even when buying a GPS dog collar without a subscription, it will be necessary to pay the fees related to the connection costs and any additional services which are considered appropriate.