Tag: National Physical Laboratory

UK invests in satellite timing infrastructure to strengthen national PNT resilience

GMV is leading the development of a secure two-way satellite time and frequency transfer system under the European Space Agency’s TOUCAN project.

The initiative safeguards critical infrastructure by reducing reliance on GNSS and enhancing national positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) capabilities.
Funded by the UK Space Agency through its membership in ESA’s Navigation Innovation and Support Program (NAVISP), the project is an important part of the UK Government’s Framework for Greater PNT Resilience.

Through a competitive process, GMV was selected to enhance the UK’s national capabilities in delivering nationally assured, secure and continuous PNT services for critical infrastructure, defense and the broader economy.

TOUCAN, the two-way satellite time and frequency transfer capability demonstration (TWSTFT), will draw on GMV’s expertise in time transfer and system-level engineering, reinforcing the company’s role in supporting the government’s PNT resilience efforts.

“ TOUCAN represents a strategic milestone for GMV. It underscores our commitment to delivering cutting-edge, nationally assured, PNT solutions that are vital to the UK’s critical infrastructure and national security,” said Mark Dumville, general manager of GMV in the UK.

eLoran support

TOUCAN complements efforts to reestablish a UK eLoran system, which will serve as a terrestrial backup to satellite-based services. A critical goal is to ensure that this system operates independently of the more vulnerable GNSS.

The project’s primary objective is to establish an accurate, independently verifiable TWSTFT link between the eLoran transmitter and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK’s official timekeeping authority. The new link will address GNSS-dependence within eLoran, maintaining a time traceable to UTC (NPL).

In addition, the system will provide a TWSTFT connection to a facility that operates an R&D timescale, a secure reference that will one day be essential for synchronizing operations, maintaining communication integrity, and supporting mission-critical systems.

“Precise and secure timing is at the heart of so much we rely on every day, from banking and transport to energy and communications,” said Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency. “This investment in UK satellite timing through TOUCAN is about more than technology; it’s about protecting the everyday services people and businesses depend on. By working with GMV, the PNT Office and ESA’s NAVIS program, we’re helping to build a stronger, more resilient space ecosystem that safeguards our security and keeps the UK at the forefront of innovation.

GMV is delivering the design, integration and operational demonstration of the system, building on its proven track record in delivering secure national timing products and infrastructure. Project partner Viasat is supplying satellite bandwidth, as well as supporting GMV in analyzing innovative TWSTFT technology evolutions.

February 3, 2026
NPL to propel UK’s advancement in timing

Peter Thompson, Ph.D., CEO of NPL, left, with Jim McDonald, professor at the University of Strathclyde. (Image: NPL)

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has marked the inauguration of the first of three innovation nodes designed to enhance the United Kingdom’s capabilities in the development of time-critical technologies. The initiative is aimed at sectors such as transport, telecommunications, fintech and quantum with the application of accurate and precise timing.

In a collaborative effort between NPL and host organizations, including the University of Strathclyde, the University of Surrey and Cranfield University, the Innovation Nodes stand as a cornerstone of NPL’s National Timing Centre Programme. It represents the UK’s nationally distributed time infrastructure and offers secure, reliable, resilient and highly accurate time and frequency data. This infrastructure is crucial for the development of new technologies in time-critical 5G and 6G applications, next-generation automated factories and connected autonomous vehicles.

Throughout the development phase, the node sites at the Universities of Strathclyde, Surrey and Cranfield have hosted feasibility and demonstrator projects funded by Innovate UK, the United Kingdom’s innovation agency. These projects have benefited from technical consultancy and access to high-accuracy timing signals, which encourage the development of new products and services. These initiatives were created as an effort to establish an evidence base for redistributing positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) data to air and ground-based autonomous systems within a smart city infrastructure. This will ensure the safety, reliability and security of autonomous transport.

NPL welcomes collaboration with industry and academia to leverage the Innovation Nodes for access to traceable and high-accuracy timing signals and promises to stimulate further innovation and development in critical sectors.

Professor Paul Griffin of Strathclyde’s Department of Physics pointed out the vulnerabilities of GNSS to jamming and spoofing, underscoring the NTC’s mission to provide robust timing for the UK independent of GNSS. The initiative includes the use of atomic clocks at Anthorn in Cumbria, aligning with UTC through the NPL Time Over eLoran (NTOL) project, led by Chronos Technology. This project demonstrates the transmission of NPL’s timebase via eLORAN and its decoding by Strathclyde’s Power Networks Demonstration Center (PNDC), which is a significant advancement in securing the country’s timing infrastructure against potential threats.

March 25, 2024
UK takes £6.7M step toward resilient timing architecture

The United Kingdom’s National Timing Centre will conduct a two-phase series of funded studies and demonstrations focusing on “innovation in the dissemination and application of resilient time, frequency and synchronisation.”

The first round now being advertised is for feasibility studies of projects costing between £50,000 and £250,000. Total funding for the round is £2M. A briefing for interested parties will be held on April 20.

The second round and remaining funding will be devoted to technology demonstrations.

The UK’s National Timing Centre was established in response to several national studies and concerns about the vulnerability of space-based timing services.

Severe solar storms, called coronal mass ejections, were listed on the UK National Risk Register in 2012. While rare, these events can damage assets in space and on the ground.

Next month marks the 100th anniversary of the New York Railroad Storm. It was so powerful, telegraph offices were set on fire in the U.S. and Europe, fuses were blown, and equipment damaged. Even underwater telegraph cable traffic was affected.

Experts say if such a storm were to strike the Earth today, it would likely damage GPS and other GNSS satellites. At a minimum, it would charge the atmosphere and prevent signals from getting through for days.

Projects that will be considered for the UK competition must be technologies and application areas providing trust, assurance, security and resilience for time distribution.

While supported by Innovate UK, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), which operates the virtual National Timing Centre, appears to be the primary agent for execution. NPL will offer applicants who are selected to participate in the feasibility study phase free technical consultation up to 12 hours, and free access to highly precise and accurate time signals from four NPL locations in the southeast of England.

Since its inception, the National Timing Centre seems to have concentrated on establishing distributed suites of atomic clocks, probably linked by fiber, as a first step to improving the nation’s timing resilience.

Industry observers have opined that future efforts are likely to focus on wireless distribution.

“Wireless requires less infrastructure and has no user limit,” said one. “It only makes sense they would go there once they feel they have a solid clock foundation.”

The competition is open to UK entities. Applications will be accepted April 19-June 9, with accepted participants notified on July 30.

Image: Arkadiusz Warguła// iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

April 9, 2021