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What’s new: A presentation about GNSS disruption impacts on telecom by Umut Keten of Turk Telekom and Bryan Hovey of Calnex at the recent meeting of the International Timing and Synchronization Forum (ITSF 2026).
Why it’s important: Based on real-world measurements during interference they found:
- When GNSS becomes unavailable for whatever reason at the base station, there will be no reference to validate the timing received from the network.
- A base station will be unaware that its timing is wrong.
- The base station will remain operational and continue transmitting despite a significant phase error.
- The impact will cross operator boundaries causing bad or no service.
What else to know:
- The presentation reported on experience and measurements during the NATO Summit in Ankara on 7 & 8 July 2026.
- From the ITSF website – “The International Timing and Sync Forum is the world’s largest timing and sync event, and the leading platform where operators, end users and vendors exchange ideas, showcase innovation and drive the industry forward.”
- This year’s ITSF was in Geneva, Switzerland. To the best of our knowledge, meetings have always been held in Europe.
- The North American equivalent of ITSF is WSTS. The next WSTS meeting will be in Ottawa, Canada 10 – 13 May 2027. RNT Foundation’s President will be a keynote speaker.
