The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and Vodafone have completed a series of trials to test a new terrestrial timing signal, using NPL’s NPLTime® service as an alternative to GPS‑based timing signals. The work aims to provide a more resilient and secure source of precise time for mobile networks as the industry rolls out 5G and prepares for 6G.
For the past three decades, NPL has operated the UK’s national time scale, UTC (NPL) and for the past eight years it has delivered NPLTime®, an end‑to‑end fibre‑based timing service that supports the finance sector with regulatory compliance. NPL and Vodafone are now developing a telecoms version of NPLTime® that meets stringent ITU standards for accuracy, stability, resilience and traceability.
The telecoms sector has increasingly relied on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) for accurate timing and this has become the default. However, operators are increasingly looking for alternative timing sources that can withstand disruption and reduce reliance on space‑based signals.
In the UK, VodafoneThree is the first Mobile Network Operator to test the performance of a terrestrial time source provided by a National Metrology Institute as an alternative to GNSS‑based time.
The new service under trial will deliver a terrestrial reference signal traceable to UTC (NPL) and is designed to maintain accuracy within 40 ns, meeting the accuracy requirements of most sectors in the UK.
The partnership will support the security and resilience of VodafoneThree’s £11bn network investment programme, which aims to create the UK’s best network by reaching 99% 5G SA population coverage by 2030 and 99.96% by 2034. Vodafone also intends to replicate the same telecoms timing infrastructure across all its markets, extending the reach of a UK sovereign time source to other industries.
The collaboration builds on NPL’s role in delivering the National Timing Centre (NTC) programme. “Accurate and resilient timing is fundamental to the UK’s digital infrastructure,” said Dr Peter Thompson, NPL’s CEO, “This partnership with Vodafone showcases how UK innovation can deliver secure and resilient timing solutions. By leveraging NPL’s expertise in time dissemination we are helping the telecoms sector to strengthen the foundations for future technologies.”
