Low cost, global and resilient time distribution using satellites

连接到互联网的设备数量已经在指数级增长，这通常被称为第四次工业革命，即5G或物联网(IoT)。通过结合大规模计算、廉价传感器和无处不在的连接，我们可以在生活和商业的几乎每个方面获得有价值的见解。然而，5G和其他地面通信网络集中在人口中心或传感器密度可以支持部署成本的地方。卫星提供全球户外覆盖，在全球任何地方和所有地区提供单一网络。开放的大众市场协议和低成本卫星的结合使物联网能够进入不相连的地方，并实现新的服务。这份清单是无穷无尽的，包括食品供应链管理、智能电网或环境监测。我们为传感器连接提供服务的许多部门也是英国关键国家基础设施的一部分，并根据最终应用的不同精度水平要求弹性、准确的计时。这个为期六个月的项目将研究利用我们的全球卫星网络实现低成本、全球传播时间的商业和技术可行性。我们将着眼于验证业务模式，将技术概念开发为模型原型，以测试技术可行性并研究监管合规性。我们将通过确定该服务开发和商业化的下一步来结束该项目。布莱克特报告由英国政府委托研究对卫星得出的时间和位置的关键依赖，该报告明确了为关键的国家基础设施提高频率和定时分配网络的弹性的明显需要，这些基础设施几乎完全由全球导航卫星系统(GNSS)提供服务。我们的系统将通过提供一个补充的解决方案来做到这一点，该解决方案的精度略低，但成本低得多，而且不依赖于GNSS。

An exponential increase in the number of connected devices to the internet is already underway, in what is often referred to as the fourth industrial revolution, 5G or The Internet of Things (IoT). By combining massive scale computing, cheap sensors and ubiquitous connectivity, we can gain valuable insight in almost every aspect of life and business.However 5G and other ground communication networks are concentrated around population centers or where the density of sensors can support the cost of deployment. Satellites provide global outdoor coverage, offering a single network wherever on the globe and across all territories. The combination of open, mass market protocols and low-cost satellites enables the IoT to reach into unconnected places and enables new services. The list is endless and includes food supply chain management, the smart grid or environmental monitoring.Many of the sectors we serve for sensor connectivity are also part of the UK's critical national infrastructure and have a requirement for resilient, accurate timing at different levels of accuracy depending on the end application. This six-month project will study the commercial and technical feasibility of using our global satellite network for the low cost, global dissemination of time. We will be looking at validating the business model, developing the technical concepts into mock-up prototypes to test technical feasibility and study regulatory compliance. We will conclude the project by identifying next steps in the development and commercialisation of the service.The Blackett report, commissioned by UK Government to study critical dependencies on satellite derived time and position, identified a clear need for increasing the resilience of the frequency and timing distribution networks for critical national infrastructure, which is been served almost exclusively by GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems). Our system will do just that by offering a complementary solution, of somewhat lower accuracy, but much lower cost and non-dependent on GNSS.