[LEAPSECS] draft revision of ITU-R TF.460-6

[Steve Allen]

On Thu 2011-12-08T19:43:33 +0000, Zefram hath writ:

> "TAI is not physically realized and consequently is not suitable for

> time dissemination." -- what on Earth is that supposed to mean?


I think some seeds of the meaning are in the following:  BIPM is not
tasked, funded, nor insured for the implied liability of setting up a
robust distribution scheme for time and frequency signals.
Those are the operational concerns of national metrology institutes
and corporations who manufacture equipment.  The BIPM must
nevertheless preserve its hegemony, so we end up with Platonic or
Zen-like statements using forms of the word "realize".

On Thu 2011-12-08T21:05:02 +0100, Nero Imhard hath writ:

> I have read the dreaded piece, and I'm somewhat relieved to see that

> in its present form is very unlikely to be adopted (unless all

> delegates are really asleep, bonkers, or both).


It is important to keep in mind that the ITU-R is not the IETF/IESG
who require two interoperating implementations before anything can
become an internet standard.  As PHK has pointed out about the ISO/OSI
network model, and as is seen in the initial version of Rec.  460 from
1970, the ITU is capable of producing recommendations without even
having an implementation plan.  There is a tremendous difference in
the amount of cooperation and communication.  I opine that the ITU-R
exists in order to produce by fiat what cannot be achieved by
consensus and to hide that process in documents which will become
lost to history.

I suspect that there are domains where such an agency is necessary,
but I remain mystified about how exactly anyone is supposed to
construct a robust operational system based on such documents.

--
Steve Allen                 <sla at ucolick.org>                WGS-84 (GPS)
UCO/Lick Observatory--ISB   Natural Sciences II, Room 165    Lat  +36.99855
1156 High Street            Voice: +1 831 459 3046           Lng -122.06015
Santa Cruz, CA 95064        http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/     Hgt +250 m