{"slug": "wi-wi-is-wireless-time-sync-at-1-nanosecond", "title": "Wi-Wi Is Wireless Time Sync at 1 Nanosecond", "summary": "The article describes Wi-Wi STAMP, a wireless time synchronization protocol developed by Japan's NICT that uses 900 MHz band interferometry to achieve picosecond-level phase sync and nanosecond-level time sync, with prototypes demonstrating 20ps jitter and 30ns time sync. Practical applications shown at NAB included wireless black burst sync for video cameras and mm-level position tracking using three units, with a wireless range of 0.2-5 km and superior indoor penetration compared to GNSS.", "body_md": "Wi-Wi Is Wireless Time Sync at 1 nanosecond\nAt NAB, I found a demo of Wi-Wi STAMP, a wireless time synchronization protocol that came out of Japan's NICT.\nWi-Wi stands for Wireless 2Way interferometry, and it uses the 900 MHz band for picosecond-level time sync, and mm-level distance accuracy, in a tiny box, currently the size of a smartphone.\nThe system is still in development, but existing prototypes have 20ps of phase synchronization jitter, and time synchronization down to 30ns. The next generation will have time down to 5ns in real-world use.\nI recorded a video on the tech with Nobu (one of Wi-Wi STAMP's co-founders) at Meinberg's booth:\nI witnessed two practical applications:\n- Meinberg used the devices for wireless black burst time synchronization for two remote video cameras1.\n- Nobu and Ahmad demonstrated the mm-level position accuracy with a set of three Wi-Wi units, and a transmitter in a cup, playing the shell game (pictured below).\nThe graph on the laptop (to the left in the picture above) showed the X-Y position of the cup with the Wi-Wi transmitter, updating 20 times per second. The wireless range of the current system seems to be between 0.2-5 km, depending on the RF power.\nUsing the 900 MHz band (920 MHz in North America), signal penetration can be much better than GNSS indoors, or in spaces where running wires may be prohibitively expensive. For some other practical applications, check out this 2024 presentation.\nThere was a lot to see at NAB this year, and my Dad and I covered it on the Geerling Engineering channel: The broadcast industry is changing in 2026.\nBut me being the time-nut I am, I was scanning the floor for timing-related tech, and now it's ubiquitous with the adoption of SMPTE 2110 and protocols like Ravenna, Livewire, and AES67 everywhere in broadcast tech.\nIt's even ubiquitous enough Ubiquiti themselves are getting into the game; they had a full booth, though I didn't get hands-on with their new PTP-aware Enterprise AV switches.\nBut if you're interested in nanosecond-level wireless time sync, or want to learn why commodity WiFi setups can't support it2, watch the video above!\nNote: My trip to NAB 2026 was entirely self-funded. I can work on these posts thanks to the support of readers like you!", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/wi-wi-is-wireless-time-sync-at-1-nanosecond", "canonical_source": "https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2026/wi-wi-is-wireless-time-sync-less-than-5ns/", "published_at": "2026-05-20 15:06:31+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-05-22 21:03:31.580067+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["hardware", "research", "products"], "entities": ["NICT", "Meinberg", "Wi-Wi STAMP", "Nobu", "Ahmad", "NAB"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/wi-wi-is-wireless-time-sync-at-1-nanosecond", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/wi-wi-is-wireless-time-sync-at-1-nanosecond.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/wi-wi-is-wireless-time-sync-at-1-nanosecond.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/wi-wi-is-wireless-time-sync-at-1-nanosecond.jsonld"}}