From data centres to trading floors, precise time is everything. Microchip Technology has launched BlueSky Firewall 2200, to measure and align clocks across long distances within nanoseconds.
Keeping clocks perfectly in sync across different locations has become a growing challenge for industries that rely on precise timing. Power grids, telecom networks, stock exchanges, and data centres all depend on clocks that run in exact coordination. Even a tiny difference of a few nanoseconds can cause network errors, data loss, or transaction delays.
To address this, Microchip Technology has launched SkyWire, a new system that helps measure and align clocks across long distances within nanoseconds. The tool is built into the company’s BlueSky GNSS Firewall 2200, allowing operators to check that their clocks match an official global time standard, known as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Microchip Technology’s new SkyWire system is built to detect and correct those differences. It allows organisations to measure how far their clocks have drifted from the official global time standard — Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) — and bring them back into alignment.
Here’s how it works: SkyWire is embedded in Microchip’s BlueSky GNSS Firewall 2200, a device that connects directly to satellite-based global navigation systems (GNSS). These satellites carry atomic clocks that are synced to UTC. SkyWire measures the signal timing from these satellites and compares it to the timing data from network clocks at different sites.
It then calculates how much each clock leads or lags behind UTC and reports the difference down to the nanosecond (one-billionth of a second). Operators can then adjust their local systems or feed this data into Microchip’s TimePictra software, which tracks and logs all timing differences across the network.
Skywire builds on the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Time Measurement and Analysis Service (TMAS). It enables infrastructure operators to confirm their clocks are running in sync worldwide, a key requirement for maintaining reliable communication, power and financial systems.
