u-blox, a global leader in positioning and short-range communication technologies, has announced the integration of Switzerland's UTC-traceable timing infrastructure into its GNSS test laboratory in Thalwil, Switzerland. This collaboration with the Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS) and Switch, operator of Switzerland's national research and education network, provides u-blox with continuous access to a UTC-traceable reference via an unbroken and documented chain of calibrations, ensuring full measurement traceability.
The integration leverages White Rabbit technology, an Ethernet-based synchronization method originally developed at CERN, to disseminate the Swiss official time (UTC(CH)) over fiber-optic networks with sub-nanosecond accuracy. METAS realizes, maintains, and disseminates UTC(CH), Switzerland's contribution to Coordinated Universal Time, while Switch provides the fiber-optic network for the timing signal. This service delivers nanosecond-level time synchronization directly within the u-blox laboratory, allowing for rapid validation of GNSS timing receivers and supporting the development of next-generation timing products.
For GNSS timing technologies, performance depends fundamentally on precise synchronization, timing stability, and validation against trusted UTC references. By bringing the METAS time service directly into its lab, u-blox can now validate new hardware and software releases for GNSS timing receivers in-house, eliminating the need for repeated visits to external metrology facilities. This infrastructure also enables long-term timing stability measurements over periods ranging from weeks to months against a stable UTC-traceable reference, strengthening the development and validation workflow.
“High-performance GNSS timing products depend on rigorous and traceable timing validation throughout the development cycle,” said Samuli Pietilä, Director of Product Line Management for Timing and Infrastructure at u-blox. “This infrastructure allows us to validate and continuously improve GNSS timing receiver performance directly in our own laboratory against a UTC-traceable reference.”
The collaboration highlights the strength of Switzerland's precision technology ecosystem, combining national metrology expertise, optical timing infrastructure, and advanced GNSS timing technologies. Jacques Morel, Head of the Laboratory Photonics, Time and Frequency at METAS, noted, “We are pleased to support u-blox with our time dissemination service. This collaboration demonstrates how national metrology infrastructure can support advanced industrial applications requiring highly accurate synchronization, timing precision, and traceable validation against UTC references.”
The timing infrastructure is now operational in the u-blox GNSS laboratory and will support ongoing development and validation activities for GNSS timing products. This move underscores the increasing importance of traceable time in GNSS applications, where precise timing is critical for synchronization in telecommunications, financial transactions, and power grid management. By embedding a national standard directly into its testing environment, u-blox is setting a new benchmark for timing validation in the industry.
