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Previous discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7142290
I thought the existing html5 geolocation api used cell tower and wifi networks to get your location.
The API itself doesn't provide any mechanism to get your location; it merely assumes that such a mechanism exists. For example it would be totally valid for a browser to implement geolocation by asking the user to pick their location on a map. Of course it wouldn't be a very useful implementation for many purposes.

It is true that many existing implementation use data about WiFi access points and similar information to do the location. However the functionality is implemented by accessing a remote API fronting a database of access point locations. The data in this database is typically privately owned and there is no assurance that it will continue to be available in the future.