GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is the collective term for all satellite-based positioning systems. It includes the US GPS, the European Galileo, the Russian GLONASS, and the Chinese BeiDou, along with regional augmentation systems like the European EGNOS and the US WAAS.

In short: Industrial IoT devices often include GNSS receivers for one of three purposes. Asset tracking and fleet telematics, where the device's position is itself the data being collected (vehicles, plant equipment, freight, mobile assets). Time synchronisation, where GNSS provides accurate timing for applications like smart grid measurement, financial transaction logging, or distributed control systems. And geofencing, where the device triggers events based on entering or leaving defined geographic areas. Multi-constellation receivers (using GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou together) acquire position faster and remain accurate in environments with limited sky visibility, like urban canyons.

For mobile IoT deployments, GNSS is now near-standard. Most industrial cellular routers from Teltonika, Proroute, and Robustel include built-in GNSS modules, with antenna connectors for active external GPS antennas where the router itself is mounted out of sky-view.

Where higher accuracy is required (typically below 1 metre, where consumer GPS achieves around 3 to 5 metres), correction services like NTRIP (Networked Transport of RTCM via Internet Protocol) deliver real-time correction data over a cellular link, allowing the GNSS receiver to achieve centimetre-level accuracy. NTRIP is widely used in precision agriculture, surveying, and autonomous mobile equipment.