New Delhi: Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and CSIR-National Physical laboratory (NPL) have entered into an agreement to develop a NavIC based IST traceable Primary Reference Time Clock (PRTC) for the Telecom Sector.
The agreement has been signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme of the DoT. This scheme provides funding support to domestic companies and institutions that are involved in the design, development, and commercialization of telecommunication products and solutions. The aim is to enable affordable broadband and mobile services in rural and remote areas.
The project focuses on the development of a device which shall provide direct Indian Standard Time (IST) traceability to all the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) within ± 20 ns. This will have multiple benefits for India, including reducing dependence on GPS and transitioning to IRNSS/NavIC, enabling digital forensic analysis of transactions, establishing secure cyber networks, reducing call drops, and synchronizing all telecom services with the IST time source developed by CSIR-NPL.
Time synchronization of telecom networks is crucial for a highly secure nation, as all banking, stock market transactions, and information exchange occur through telecom service providers (TSPs) and internet service providers (ISPs).
Time synchronization of the telecom networks will be foundation for a strong cyber secured nation, as every bank transaction, stock market transactions and exchange of information is through the TSPs and ISPs. The initiative to develop a Primary Reference Time Clock (PRTC) based on NavIC, aims to achieve the objective of establishing a unified time system for the entire nation.
Speaking at the Agreement signing ceremony, Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay, CEO, C-DOT underscored the tremendous potential of Indian R&D in developing futuristic innovative solutions for the benefit of our nation’s prosperity and improving the quality of life. He emphasized the need to collaborate in other areas of joint interest for realizing the vision of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.
The event was attended by Dr. Ashish Agarwal & Dr. K. K. Maurya, Senior Principal Scientists along with other senior scientists of NPL. Dr. Pankaj Kumar Dalela, Ms. Shikha Srivastava- Directors of C- DOT were also present during the agreement signing ceremony.