Introduction These general applications are mentioned here only for additional information, since in a very few cases rubidium standards are used or proposed. Applications needing high accurate or reliable time references: E-commerce, Time stamping authorities, Computer networks synchronization Timekeeping protocol devices Measurement laboratories inside manufacturers producing electronic equipment Factories and industrial laboratories needing time and frequency references for their daily activities NTP / Encrypted NTP (Network time protocol) The security features of NTP / encrypted NTP could be enhanced by the implementation of accurate time signals. Secure Electronic Document Transfer By companies, institutes, hospitals, notaries Date and time stamping These applications are spreading rapidly all over the world, and in every country special dedicated services are being implemented. The needed reliability and traceability usually are provided by the national metrological centers. Computer network synchronization As regards the computer networks synchronization market, the customers’ needs are satisfied in addition to the the already mentioned ones by the Internet network time protocol services, These are in most case synchronized by GPS time signals. The number of users of some of these services differs enormously from the number of the receivers purchased because they are frequently distributed along a dedicated network. A typical example of such a configuration is the Internet time synchronization, provided by a limited number of primary (stratum 1) servers, which can be accessed by millions of users.

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