BOOSTED stands for: Belgium Optical network for Optical frequency Standards and TimE Dissemination and aims to transfer time and frequency signals over the Belnet network. This innovative challenge is being addressed by Belnet, which is being closely collaborated with the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB).
In 2024, the focus was on designing and validating the Time & Frequency infrastructure. This was to determine whether the T&F signal loses strength too much when transported over the network and whether it negatively impacts our data traffic. In parallel, a BTFS (Belgian Time & Frequency) service is being developed, building on the BOOSTED project. Specifically, this involves delivering an optical time signal based on the White Rabbit protocol (IEEE 1588 - 2019). The service would use optical fibers to transport synchronization signals parallel to existing data traffic over the same fiber through multiplexing. There is already concrete interest in this from the telecom and energy sectors, but because of its high accuracy compared to GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), applications are also possible in quantum communication, autonomous vehicles, high-speed trading, smart grids, etc. To be continued …
Total length
The total length of the time and frequency network implemented in the BOOSTED project (in km)