How can you receive TV in the middle of the desert or ocean?
Via; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skywave
The thread is discussing high bandwidth data transmission (not TV or radio) - this is impossible via "Skywave".
And, as for GPS functions, there are known ground based positioning technologies such as Locata
Locata is a company who don't appear to have actually sold any products, and from their own website:
Locata is not designed to replace GPS; it is a local extension and expansion of GPS. It works with GPS
You guys should really read your own links, you just end up providing evidence for the other side..
and Pseudolite which are more accurate than "GPS" and use no "satellites."
There is no world wide network of pseudolites, they are locally set up networks that often link up to satellites - unless you have to the contrary?
I mention these only to illustrate that satellites are not needed for global positioning -- all you need is a network of surface transmitters in known positions.
What network? What positions? How to they calculate altitude?
Which method do you suppose is cheaper and easier: launching satellites into space or positioning transmitters on the ground or sea?
Satellites. GPS only uses 24 satellites - you are suggesting a network of millions of transceivers, many of them mid ocean, with all the set up costs, maintenance, upgrades and power demands would be cheaper than this?