A GPS time server is often called a GPS clock although this is a misnomer. In fact a GPS time server simply relays the time from an external source around a network it doesn’t keep time itself.
The GPS time server receives its timing signal from the GPS network (Global Positioning System) and has revolutionised the way computers are able to keep track of time.
The GPS network is controlled by the US military and it was due to a military accident involving an airliner that the US government allowed the GPS network to be utilised by civilians around the globe.
The GPS system works by relaying precise time information which can be calculated by a GPS receiver to work out distances. This precise timing information is generated by an onboard atomic clock in the satellite and it is this atomic clock that a GPS time server receives the time from.
Without GPS the only other alternatives to receiving a time signal that relays UTC time (coordinated universal time) would be to use the national time and frequency radio broadcasts transmitted by several national physics laboratories, although these are not available everywhere. Alternatively the only other solution is to use the Internet which means using a device external to your firewall and also a time server that cannot be proven accurate.
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