A GPS anti-theft chip uses an internal motion sensor to detect when the hive thief moves, handles, or opens the hive. This sensor will trigger the alarm through the communication capability of the anti-theft box. The most secure operation is based on the existing and internationally deployed GSM/GPRS cellphone networks.
During transportation of your hives, the tracker will use the GPS, GNSS (including Galileo) satellites for localization during the journey and at each stop. The owner can follow all movement in real time. Less successful trackers will only propose live SMS transmission—not very practical to reconstruct the history of a hive’s journey.
The most efficient solutions to help beekeepers against beehive theft record all the elements transmitted by the GPS tracker in the application or the internet server, so it’s easy to work on the map to thwart possible accomplices and especially to provide the most useful information for authorities.
This data isn’t on the device, but rather on the server, so even if the beehive thief notices the presence of the chip before the authorities intervene and destroys it, it’s too late. His position has been recorded, and all beehive displacement remains available without limitation on the server for its owner and anyone else to see.
Whether the SIM card is physical or virtual, the beekeeper will make sure that the telecom subscription is included with the GPS anti-theft device. You should also check that there’s not just one, but several operators included in the subscription. This makes it possible to reduce areas with no service.