Free or Paid, which one to use?
In the list of providers, a difference is made between paid and free services. Free services are typically government or crowd based funded. Paid services are professional companies providing the services. Both with their advantages and disadvantages.
Free services
One of the more popular free service providers is RTK2GO, it is a global caster which relies on local stations typically of private persons who have set them up for own use, and allow others to use it as well. The big advantage is of course that they are free to use (often a registration is required), and available in many locations around the world.
Paid services
Paid services are also available globally. These services are hosted by professional companies who’s business it is to provide the correction signals. The main benefits are:
– typically a very high or guaranteed up time
– customer support
Which one to choose?
So which one is better? That is a question which depends on your situation. As a rule of thumb, for feasibility studies, temporary setup or hobby projects, using one of the free provides is the best way to go.
When your application relies on the correction signals to be available, and also your customers or users rely on it, that is a good reason to look into paid providers. Both are good, and both have their uses.
To view the lists per continent, use the following links:
North America
South America
Europe
Africa
Asia
Oceania