PointPerfect Service Description

Overview

The PointPerfect service is designed to provide high-precision GNSS corrections to suitable receivers (e.g. u-blox F9 platform products) within a client system to allow for decimeter-level location accuracy. The product page for Pointperfect includes technical specifications of the PointPerfect Service including reference frame, GNSS signal support, and more information on data format and other distribution details. Additional information about our PointPerfect service is shared in this Guide.  

GNSS corrections can be distributed to your receiver in various ways to suit your needs.  For more details, see the Data Distribution Protocols section. 

Service Coverage

Our Service Coverage page shows where we currently provide our PointPerfect service. Coverage includes up to 12 nautical miles (roughly 22 kilometers) off continental coastlines. 

Note: some distribution methods may not be available in all areas and bandwidth estimations may vary. 

Device Provisioning

The service allows for device provisioning through the User Interface of the Thingstream platform, or through the API interface for programmatic provisioning.

For more information about Device Provisioning: PointPerfect getting started guide
For more information about Zero Touch Provisioning: PointPerfect Zero Touch Provisioning  

Data Format

Supported SPARTN Messages

PointPerfect correction data consists of a collection of messages in the SPARTN 2.0 format.  SPARTN is an industry-recognized standard that supports wide and global area broadcasts along with other performance requirements.    

The SPARTN message format is an evolution of other legacy state space representation (SSR) formats that have been made available by different players in the GNSS industry. The table below shows supported SPARTN message types which are also described in the F9 Integration Manual. [1] Refer to the output of the UBX-RXM-COR message to review how this information is received.  

Supported RTCM Messages


The RTCM data format applies a standard for the network communication and encoding of GNSS data.  It was the first published standard by the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services for Differential GNSS and is used today by many high-precision GNSS receivers. 

Data Distribution Protocols

PointPerfect corrections can be delivered through NTRIP or MQTT (legacy service for SPARTN corrections only) protocols for IP-based connections, or via L-band satellite.    

The links below go to pages that describe each distribution method, including related architecture and other protocol usage details. 

Client Authentication and Encryption

Each client must authenticate with the PointPerfect service to apply corrections to the device. Credentials are provided for each device (aka ‘Thing’) in our Thingstream platform.  

 Clients using L-band plans must acquire dynamic keys to access the corrections data. Corrections delivered via NTRIP or with the Localized distribution are not encrypted. 

The implementation of encryption & authentication for SPARTN messages is described in section 8.15 of the SPARTN 2.0 specification.[4]

Client Authentication with NTRIP 

Client Authentication for NTRIP uses a device specific username and password.  The port used to connect to the NTRIP caster will designate if you wish to apply additional TLS encryption for your credentials.  For more information, see our PointPerfect NTRIP Distribution  or PointPerfect RTCM Distribution pages. 

Message Decryption with Dynamic Keys for L-band

This section applies to solutions that use our service via L-band satellite delivery.  It does not apply when implementing our NTRIP delivery method or Localized distribution.

The SPARTN messages published as a Continental stream are encrypted per section 8.15 of the SPARTN specification.[4]  For more information on how these messages are delivered see the PointPerfect L-Band Configuration guide.  When using u-blox high precision GNSS receivers (e.g. u-blox F9 platform products), the decryption of the messages and the validation of messages using the SPARTN Group Authentication Message[4] is performed in the module itself. 

Dynamic keys are rotated approximately every 28 days.  When obtaining the dynamic key lease, the message will contain two keys labeled “current” and “next” with details of each key validity period.  You can find these keys under the Credentials tab in Thingstream and compare them to the content of the UBX-RXM-SPARTNKEY message on your device.