Q. Is internet access required for car navigation?

Answer

There is no requirement for an active internet connection to use GPS. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based positioning system that determines a location using timing data collected from a network of satellites. The car navigation system has a rather sluggish time to first fix (TTFF) and it might take up to 15 minutes to receive the data it needs from the satellites to determine a position from a cold start (mean without a last known position). By relaying satellite data to the phone across a cellular network a navigation significantly reduces this lag time. More information cannot be gleaned from GPS alone.