SATURN - Satellite Assured Time service supporting UK Resilience

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Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK

£302,350

March 31, 2022

Sept. 30, 2022

The dissemination of accurate and robust time information is a challenge even nowadays. The main methods in use are GNSS (very accurate and inexpensive, but based on the reception of very weak signals susceptible to jamming), and network-based protocols such as PTP or White Rabbit (which require point-to-point network engineering and dedicated hardware support). To overcome these limitations our project explores two innovative ideas:
1. The generation of a local UTC time scale, combining GNSS and atomic clocks.
2. The dissemination of UTC over low-cost, commercially available network services (in particular home Internet) using two protocols: DTM, and an enhanced version of NTP (eNTP).

The system will generate its own independent time scale that is aligned to UTC(NPL) and reduces its dependency on GNSS by means of an atomic clock. The combination of GNSS and atomic clocks provides a synchronization source, which provides the necessary precision, robustness and reliability required by todays and next-generation telecom, banking, data centres and energy distribution networks.

Regarding network protocols, GMVNSL has been experimenting in recent years with the proprietary protocol DTM, and with a modified version of NTP (enhanced NTP or eNTP). These two protocols have been tested over low cost network links offered by commercial telecom providers with promising results. This project will aim to improve further and demonstrate the accuracy of eNTP on a par with DTM.