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Experts consider consequences of ‘leap second’ elimination
ITU and BIPM hold first joint workshop on international time scale
Geneva, 16 September 2013 – ITU
experts and membership along with other organizations have been studying the
consequences of eliminating the so-called ‘leap second’ to adjust to the earth’s
rotation in relation to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the current standard
for measuring time.
In January 2012, the ITU Radiocommunication Assembly deferred the decision to
develop a continuous time standard that would entail the elimination of the
‘leap second’. The decision was reached to ensure that all technical options
have been fully addressed before the matter is referred to next
Radiocommunication Assembly and World Radiocommunication Conference in 2015.
The suppression of the leap second would make continuous time scale available
for all the modern electronic navigation and computerized systems to operate
with and eliminate the need for specialized ad hoc time systems.
A workshop will be conducted at ITU headquarters in Geneva jointly with the
International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), which maintains UTC in
cooperation with the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service
(IERS).
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What:
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Press conference
on ‘Future of International Time Scale’:
Workshop organized by ITU and
International Bureau of Weights and Measures
(BIPM)
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When:
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20 September at 14:30
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Where:
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ITU Press room (Tower Building)
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Why:
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Discuss consequences of eliminating the leap
second in UTC and examine Future Development of
GNSS – global navigation systems
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Who:
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Experts from ITU and International Bureau of
Weights and Measures (BIPM): Ron Beard,
Chairman, ITU-R Working Party on time signals
and frequency standard emissions; Vincent Meens,
Chairman, ITU-R Study Group for Science Services
on dissemination, reception and coordination of
standard-frequency and time-signal services;
Elisa Felicitas Arias, Director of Time
Department, BIPM; and Vadim Nozdrin, ITU
Radiocommunication Bureau Study Group
Counsellor.
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Note to
media: Video interviews
will be available on ITU’s YouTube channel:
www.youtube.com/itutelecommunication
For more
information, please contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations & Public
Information, ITU
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Grace Petrin
Communications Officer
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Note for media:
please register in ITU’s video newsroom for access to broadcast quality footage
and news packages at
http://www.itu.int/en/newsroom/Pages/videos.aspx
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