The UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has launched an upgraded Network Time Protocol (NTP) service, reinforcing the country’s national timing infrastructure. The improvements are part of the broader National Timing Centre (NTC) programme, which aims to provide a distributed, resilient framework for accurate time and frequency across the UK. Accurate timekeeping is essential for modern digital operations, from financial transactions to communication networks. NTP enables computers and devices to align their internal clocks with reliable external references. Without regular synchronisation, clocks can drift, potentially causing errors or vulnerabilities in systems that depend on precise timing. Dr Leon Lobo, Head of the NTC programme at NPL, added: “Precise and resilient timekeeping is fundamental to the UK’s digital infrastructure. “This updated service reflects our commitment to supporting the reliability and security of essential systems we depend on, technological innovation and economic growth.” Expanding the UK’s timing infrastructure NPL’s revised Network Time Protocol service now operates five stratum 1 servers across three separate UK locations, up from two previously. These servers are connected directly to NPL’s atomic clocks, …