66 GPS channels for 22 satellites - why the factor of 3?
Adafruit Ultimate GPS is in no way representative of all GPS receivers out there. Many good receivers have more channels than that; 256 is common in high-end devices.  Note that 256 is not divisible by 3, so the factor of 3 you're seeing is a red herring.   

Also, you rarely get a signal from 22 satellites, and it's not necessary to have a fix.  Having a signal from 7-10 satellites is quite common in real-world conditions.