Time synchronization devices address 5G deployment issues

By Majeed Ahmad, contributing writer

Microchip Technology Inc. has extended its Precision Time Protocol (PTP) PackeTime portfolio that came with its acquisition of Microsemi with the addition of the TimeProvider 4100 Release 2.0 . It’s aimed at two major 5G network deployment challenges: synchronizing higher volumes of more densely packed base stations and keeping services operating through Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) lapses due to vulnerabilities such as jamming, spoofing, or loss of signal.

The new TimeProvider release adds support for 10-Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and a Boundary Clock operation mode that lowers operational costs. It accommodates increasing bandwidth requirements of high-speed mobile and cable network devices through an optional expansion module that provides 10-GbE interfaces. The TimeProvider 4100’s Gateway Clock operation mode was also extended with its High-Performance Boundary Clock (HP-BC) operation mode that enables it to support the latest high-accuracy ITU-T Class C & D boundary clock standards.

Microchip has also made other enhancements to improve how timing flows are distributed from multiple sources to a network’s base stations and other endpoints. For instance, it has expanded monitoring functions that enable service providers to understand how time and phase performance is affected by network elements.

The chipmaker has also unveiled Release 3.0 for its Integrated GNSS Master (IGM) family to allow service providers to deploy more compact PTP 1588 v2 Grandmasters to fewer base stations closer to the network’s edge. IGM 3.0 combines an IEEE-1588v2 PTP Grandmaster with a GNSS receiver and antenna to simplify indoor or outdoor installations. Each of the three IGM 3.0 additions delivers precise time and phase as well as new capabilities enabled by IGM Plus hardware models with enhanced oscillators and GNSS receivers, said Microchip. The IGM 3.0 software includes higher PTP capacity to 60 clients and IPv6 support for traffic and management flows.

Both TimeProvider 4100 Release 2.0 and IGM Release 3.0 are managed with TimePictra, Microchip’s centralized and unified management platform for its precise timing systems. Both releases are available now. The TimeProvider 4100 2.0 expansion module and three IGM Plus models with enhanced features can be ordered separately.