Abstract
Absolute time synchronization (timing) is a constant demand in various fields. There are many timing techniques at present. They are mainly based on dedicated equipments such as GNSS or specific protocols such as NTP, PTP, SIB16, etc. Different timing methods are applied according to the scenario, cost and demands for timing accuracy. Recently, the timing demands for some wireless scenarios have become increasingly urgent, like power IoT and auto-driving. However, due to the instability and complexity of radio link, the current methods can hardly meet the demands of high-precision and low cost simultaneously in mobile network. Here we propose a timing method over air interface based on physical layer signals (TAP). Periodic physical layer signals in both downlink and uplink channel are considered to reduce the impact of radio link instability on timing. We implemented the proposed method on an open source LTE software defined radio platform named OpenAirInterface and conducted a series of tests. Our tests prove that TAP can provide microsecond-level timing over the air interface, and it is more stable and precise than PTP. Further simulation shows that using TAP in 5G NR can improve the timing accuracy.
Highlights
There is a constant demand for timing in many aspects of the society as time is the benchmark
Recently Garg et al [25] propose the concept of Wireless Precision Time Protocol aiming to extend PTP for multi-hop wireless networks. These works show that PTP can work in wireless networks the performance is far worse, we propose TAP and compare TAP with PTP in mobile network
Describe the proposed high-precision timing method over air interface based on physical-layer signals (TAP)
Summary
There is a constant demand for timing in many aspects of the society as time is the benchmark. The ‘‘timing’’ here refers to absolute time synchronization. Different application scenarios have different demands for timing, e.g., the bank financial system requires millisecond level time synchronization accuracy with Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the base stations in 5G NR system require timing accuracy up to 65 ns [1]. Plenty of timing methods have already been widely applied based on dedicated equipments like GNSS or protocols like NTP, PTP, and SIB16 in LTE. Recently some new timing demands have emerged in fields like Internet of Things (IoT) and Vehicle to everything (V2X). There’s an urgent demand in wireless power IoT to keep all devices highly synchronized to guarantee the effectiveness of
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