Synopsis of timing measurement techniques used in telecommunications

Historically, Maximum Time Interval Error (MTIE) and Maximum Relative Time Interval Error (MRTIE) have been the main measurement techniques used to characterize timing performance in telecommunications networks. Recently, a new measurement technique, Time Variance (TVAR) has gained acceptance in the North American (ANSI) standards body. TVAR was developed in concurrence with NIST to address certain inadequacies in the MTIE approach. The advantages and disadvantages of each of these approaches are described. Real measurement examples are presented to illustrate the critical issues in actual telecommunication applications. Finally, a new MTIE measurement is proposed (ZTIE) that complements TVAR. Together, TVAR and ZTIE provide a very good characterization of network timing.