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What’s new: The U.K. government’s PNT office is asking about use of the nation’s legacy time signal, MSF, broadcast on 60kHz. Respondents can access an easy tool on-line to provide input.
Why it’s important: National time signals can be used as authoritative references for synchronizing systems, doing forensics, sequencing events, etc. They are often used to synchronize clocks, watches, and other systems.
What else to know:
- The UK, USA, and Japan transmit time on 60kHz, A frequency reserved internationally for time signals.
- The theoretical best accuracy of the signal is +/- 8 microseconds.
- Most consumer products use a crystal oscillator in the receiver limiting accuracy to +/- 15 microseconds.
- Because signals travel via ground wave, ionospheric sky waves, distance and atmospheric bounce introduce variable delays making real world received accuracy usually +/- 10 milliseconds.
Open call for evidence
Use of the MSF radio time and frequency signal: call for evidence
Call for evidence description
This call for evidence seeks to understand:
- how the MSF signal is currently being used and the services, systems and applications that depend upon it
- current and future demand for the service
- the potential dependence of users on the MSF signal
It also looks to identify:
- the benefits that users derive from the MSF signal and any unique capabilities it provides
- barriers to adopting the MSF signal to support a more resilient timing ecosystem in the UK
Documents
