Garmin 2010 Annual Report Download - page 15

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The efeee to Gais esite addess does ot ostitute iopoatio  efeee of the
information contained on this website, and such information should not be considered part of this report on Form
10-K.
Company Overview
Garmin is a leading, worldwide provider of navigation, communication and information devices and
appliatios, ost of hih ae ealed  Gloal Positioig Sste GPS teholog. Gai desigs,
develops, manufactures and markets a diverse family of hand-held, portable and fixed-mount GPS-enabled
products and other navigation, communications and information products for the automotive/mobile,
outdoor/fitness, marine, and general aviation markets.
Overview of the Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a worldwide navigation system which enables the precise determination
of geographic location using established satellite technology. The system consists of a constellation of orbiting
satellites. The satellites and their ground control and monitoring stations are maintained and operated by the
United States Department of Defense, which maintains an ongoing satellite replenishment program to ensure
continuous global system coverage. Access to the system is provided free of charge by the U.S. government.
Prior to May 2000, the U.S. Department of Defense intentionally degraded the accuracy of civilian GPS
sigals i a poess ko as Seletie Aailailit SA fo atioal seuit puposes. SA aial degaded GPS
position accuracy to a radius of 100 meters. On May 2, 2000, the U.S. Department of Defense discontinued SA. In a
presidential policy statement issued in December 2004, the Bush administration indicated that the U.S. does not
intend to implement SA again and is committed to preventing hostile use of GPS through regional denial of service,
minimizing the impact to peaceful users. With SA removed, a GPS receiver can calculate its position to an accuracy
of approximately 10 meters or less, enhancing the utility of GPS for most applications.
The accuracy and utility of GPS can be enhanced through augmentation techniques which compute any
remaining errors in the signal and broadcast these corrections to a GPS device. The Federal Aviation Administration
FAA has deeloped a Wide Aea Augetatio Sste WAAS opisig goud efeee statios ad
additional satellites that improve the accuracy of GPS positioning available in the United States and portions of
Canada and Mexico to approximately 3 meters. WAAS supports the use of GPS as the primary means of enroute,
terminal and approach navigation for aviation in the United States. The increased accuracy offered by WAAS also
enhances the utility of WAAS-enabled GPS receivers for consumer applications. The FAA announced on July 11,
2003 that the WAAS system had achieved initial operating capability and that the system was available for
instrument flight use with appropriately certified avionics equipment. Since that time, the FAA has installed
additional ground reference stations and has launched additional WAAS satellites.
Japas MTSAT-based Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS) achieved initial operating capability for en
route, terminal and approach navigation for aviation in September 27, 2007. Garmin is working closely with the
European Satellite Services Provider (ESSP) in preparation for the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay
Service (EGNOS) aviation Safety of Life (SoL) service declaration which is planned in 2011.
Recent Developments i the Copay’s Busiess
Since the inception of its business, Garmin has delivered over 81 million products, which includes the
delivery of over 16 million products during 2010.