Code Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) is widely used in satellite navigation and positioning because of its simple algorithm and preferable precision. Multi-Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is expected to enhance the accuracy, reliability and availability of Differential GNSS (DGNSS) positioning. Traditional DGNSS models should set separate clock parameters due to the clock differences between the different systems. Awareness of the Inter-System Bias (ISB) could help to maximise the redundancy of the positioning model, thus improving the performance of multi-GNSS positioning. This paper aims to examine the inter-system bias of GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou (BDS)/Galileo and their benefits in DGNSS positioning. Results show that Differential ISB (DISB) characteristics vary with different receiver types and systems. The size of DISB could reach metre-level and the precision of estimated DISBs can reach approximately several centimetres within tens of epochs. Therefore, a new real-time DGNSS model that accounts for ISB is proposed. After differential ISBs are initialised, positioning with four satellites from arbitrarily the same or different systems can be realised. Moreover, compared with the traditional DGNSS model, the precision of the positioning results with the new model are obviously improved, especially in harsh environments.

As the field of high-precision applications based on carriers continues to expand, the development of low-cost, small, modular receivers and their application in diverse scenarios and situations with complex data quality has increased the requirements of carrier-phase data preprocessing. A new geometry-based cycle slip detection and repair method based on Global Position System (GPS) + BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is proposed. The method uses a Time-differenced Carrier Phase (TDCP) model, which eliminates the Inner-System Bias (ISB) between GPS and BDS, and it is conducive to the effective combination of GPS and BDS. It avoids the interference of the noise of the pseudo-range with cycle slip detection, while the cycle slips are preserved as integers. This method does not limit the receiver frequency number, and it is applicable to single-frequency data. The process is divided into two steps to detect and repair cycle slip. The first step is cycle slip detection, using the Improved Local Analysis Method (ILAM) to find satellites that have cycle slips; The second step is to repair the cycle slips, including estimating the float solution of changes in ambiguities at the satellites that have cycle slips with the least squares method and the integer solution of the cycle slips by rounding. In the process of rounding, in addition to the success probability, a decimal test is carried out to validate the result. Finally, experiments with filed test data are carried out to prove the effectiveness of this method. The results show that the detectable cycle slips number with GPS + BDS is much greater than that with GPS. The method can also detect the non-integer outliers while fixing the cycle slip. The maximum decimal bias in repair is less than that with GPS. It implies that this method takes full advantages of multi-system.

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Communication networks rely on time synchronization information generated by base station equipment (either the Global Navigation Satellite System receiver or rubidium atomic clock) to enable wireless networking and communications. Meanwhile, the time synchronization among base stations depends on the Network Time Protocol. With the development of mobile communication systems, the corresponding time synchronization accuracy has increased as well. In this case, the use of sparsely distributed-high-precision synchronization points to synchronize time for an entire network with high precision is a key problem and is the foundation of the enhanced network communication. The current receiver equipment for China's digital synchronous network typically includes dedicated multi-channel GPS receivers for communication; however, with the development of GPS by the USA, network security has been destabilized and reliability is low. Nonetheless, network time synchronization based on Beidou satellite navigation system timing devices is an inevitable development trend for China's digital communications network with the establishment of the independently developed BDS, especially the implementation and improvement of the Beidou foundation enhancement system. Beidou satellite navigation system precision timing, time synchronization, Beidou foundation enhancement system, communication network time synchronization Citation: Liu H, Zhang R F, Liu J N, et al. Time synchronization in communication networks based on the Beidou foundation enhancement system. Sci China Tech Sci, 2016, 59: 915,

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