[amluto]

How would the server even know the client’s location? By IP address? That would make GPS work poorly when using a VPN or a wireless network with unusual routing.

edit: y’all are reading this backwards. My point is that the Qualcomm server does not know the location of the client and therefore cannot usefully send anything other than a static file.

[jcrawfordor]

The data isn't location based, it's the same for everyone. The GPS control center updates it once an hour or so, but it's applicable globally. As the article explains, GPS satellites broadcast it, but at a low bitrate so it takes a long time to receive. Much faster to just download it from the internet. Because of the architecture of GPS in phones (which is basically a historic artifact, the chipset is expected to provide NMEA sentences and the OS doesn't want to be more deeply involved than that) AGPS needs to happen at a fairly low level.

[iudqnolq]

It's not that unreasonable an assumption. Qualcomm offers a different opt-in service under the same name that does use location data.

Basically your phone uploads sensor data like cell tower strength and WiFi strength, and their service estimates your location. The your device locally uses gyro/accelerometer to fine-tune.

See Qualcomm Location Service (formerly “IZat Location Services” or “IZat”) on https://www.qualcomm.com/site/privacy/services

[tialaramex]

In principle AGPS can send the GPS radio data to a remote server and have the server do the difficult maths then send back your position. This is apparently a thing somebody actually designed, however since "doing difficult maths" is now very cheap you'd obviously just do that on the phone.