Method, apparatus and system for synchronizing a cellular communication system to gps time

Abstract

A ranging receiver ( ) including a cellular module ( ), for providing time according to a positioning system to enable synchronizing a wireless system to the positioning system. The ranging receiver ( ) includes both the cellular module ( ) and a main module ( ) that provides ranging receiver functionality. When the cellular module ( ) receives a time-stamped frame from the wireless system, it sends a trigger signal over a special hardware path to the main module ( ), which then relates the time of trigger receipt to time according to the positioning system by calculating a position-velocity-time (PVT) solution, using a local clock ( ) to get the difference in time between receipt of the trigger and the instant to which the PVT solution applies, and then communicates to the cellular module ( ) when it received the trigger, according to positioning system time.