ITU-R and BIPM work together at the World Radiocommunication Conference
Dr Patrizia Tavella, Director of the BIPM Time Department, together with NMI representatives, successfully contributed to the negotiation of several important outcomes for the global time metrology community at the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23), which was held in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) from 20 November to 15 December 2023.
The negotiations centered around the importance of UTC becoming a continuous time scale and the revision of ITU-R resolution 655 (WRC 2015). Key outcomes included:
- Formal recognition of Resolution 2 of the 26th CGPM (2018) and Resolution 4 of the 27th CGPM (2022).
- Continuation of the fruitful collaboration between BIPM and ITU-R, in preparation for the decision at the 28th meeting of the CGPM (2026) regarding the new maximum tolerance for UT1-UTC and its application date.
- Provision for a potential delay in the transmission of UT1-UTC by radio stations providing time and frequency services, if essential equipment needs to be updated.
The support of the NMIs and CIPM collaborating with their respective ITU national delegations has been instrumental in achieving this significant milestone and further strengthening the enduring collaboration with ITU R.
* UTC - Coordinated Universal Time - is a time scale produced by the BIPM with the same rate as International Atomic Time (TAI). It differs from TAI only by an integral number of seconds.