Polaris – Top RTK Correction Network in Colorado

Polaris is the best RTK network in Colorado. While most RTK networks just provide basic corrections, Polaris RTK corrections network offers 99.99% uptime, over 1,700 modern base stations, and a convergence time of less than 5 seconds.

Polaris has other standout features:

• It is the most comprehensive network with unmatched density
• It has the most modern and reliable base stations
• Supports automatic connection/transfer to the closest local base station
• Has predictable and transparent pricing
• Offers the best coverage and works in areas without cell coverage (L-band, future feature) and positioning in occluded sky environments
• It works with most GNSS receivers
• It also has a self-service portal for device activation, credentials, and management

With this RTK network, Colorado professionals will enjoy exceptional reliability and speed in setting up their RTK and getting accurate results for precision surveying and mapping.

Yes, there are public RTK networks for RTK corrections in Colorado, including Mesa County (Trimble network) and Plate Boundary Observatory (single baseline). While these RTK networks provide basic GNSS correction services, they don’t offer the same level of precision and coverage as private RTK networks. Plus, users still have to switch between base stations manually, causing potential interruptions to their work. 

Polaris by Point One is the best RTK service option in Colorado. You can set up in minutes—no maintenance required–connect once to a single mount point anywhere in Colorado, and enjoy an RTK network built from the ground up for accuracy, reliability, and lightning-fast location fix.

It also has over 1,700 base stations across several regions, including the UK, the US, and the EU. The best part is that you only need a single subscription to start using this service across the different locations.

Polaris has comprehensive coverage in Colorado, through Carson National Forest, White Sands Missile Range, Big Bend National Park, Mount Rosa, Pikes Peak, and more. It has the highest overall density of the RTK corrections network in the United States and even extra RTK base station redundancy in urban centers. 

And, you don’t have to worry about which base station to choose: Polaris automatically assigns you to the nearest base station. 

While it’s now popular for RTK service providers to say, “You’re covered everywhere,” without clearly stating the locations or regions they cover, Polaris follows through. Polaris RTK is the only RTK service that is transparent about where its base stations are, and you can use the Polaris RTK network map to see Polaris’s coverage in any state in the U.S. and even in the UK, EU, CAD, and AU.

To use RTK in Colorado, you’d need a base station near your location to transmit correction data to your RTK receiver. Without a base station, positioning accuracy would be significantly reduced. You’d be limiting your RTK to the capabilities of a standard GPS—typically within a few meters rather than the centimeter-level precision RTK offers.

GPS (Global Positioning System) is a satellite-based navigation system that allows a receiver to determine its location on Earth by timing signals from a constellation of satellites orbiting the planet. GPS provides accuracy within several meters and is used for car navigation, basic surveying, and mobile mapping. 

As one of the constellations within the GNSS framework, GPS is limited due to  GNSS errors such as ionospheric delays, multipath errors, and satellite clock inaccuracies. These factors can cause unacceptable positional errors in areas where precision is important. 

But with RTK technology (Real-Time Kinematic), you get data from satellites and nearby base stations, improving positioning accuracy up to cm-level—an ideal accuracy level required for a wide range of applications, from precision agriculture to construction surveying. 

Integrating RTK with GPS technology ​​ transforms GNSS technology from one of approximate location to one of precision and reliability. This shift is not just a matter of improved accuracy; it's about enabling new capabilities and applications in a world increasingly reliant on precise geospatial data. 

Choose the best RTK service in Colorado—Polaris RTK.

The range of RTK base stations in Colorado can vary depending on several factors, such as terrain, signal interference, and the density of base stations. These factors can affect signal strength and accuracy. For instance, mountain regions or areas with heavy tree cover may experience reduced range and signal quality, while open areas will typically have stronger and more reliable signals. 

Regardless of these challenges, Polaris RTK still provides the most accuracy with the highest overall density of RTK correction networks for your RTK-enabled drones and other survey equipment in the US. Polaris is built for centimeter-accurate GNSS positioning with 99.9% network uptime, so you don’t have to worry about GNSS signal errors or network downtime.

RTK stands for Real-Time Kinematic, a technology that increases the accuracy of GNSS signals using fixed-positioned base stations that send GNSS corrections to an RTK receiver. With these corrections, the GNSS receivers can achieve within 1-2 centimeter accuracy.

Using a GNSS receiver without RTK for surveying results in significantly poorer accuracy, typically ranging between 2 and 10 meters. However, RTK surveying can achieve centimeter accuracy, making it the most reliable technology for survey accuracy. 

But, survey accuracy with RTK can still vary between different RTK service providers. So, if you want the highest level of survey accuracy, use Polaris. Polaris offers unparalleled GNSS accuracy. Surveyors can access cm-accurate positioning on your hardware–even in challenging environments such as urban canyons and occluded sky-views.

RTK is a technology that powers the correction of GNSS signal errors by providing correction data for RTK-enabled receivers used for surveying. This data is called RTK corrections, and it is sent by the base station to the RTK-enabled receiver. On the other hand, RTCM (Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services) is just the language or protocol used to transmit the correction data.

GNSS includes all satellite navigation systems providing geo-spatial positioning with global coverage. This includes systems like GPS (United States), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (European Union), and BeiDou (China). GNSS receivers calculate their position by timing the signals sent by satellites in the system.

RTK is used to enhance the precision of position data derived from GNSS. It involves a fixed base station that knows its exact location; RTK can correct the position data obtained from GNSS, achieving centimeter-level accuracy.

Point One builds high precision GNSS solutions. Standard GNSS accuracy ranges from 1m to 10m and can be worse based on the operating environment. Point One’s high precision GNSS delivers accuracy from 10cm to 1cm, and does so even in challenging environments such as urban canyons and occluded sky-views.

Standard GNSS systems observe position uncertainty from sources such as atmospheric signal delay, satellite orbit variation, clock drift, and signal multi-path. Precision GNSS systems use additional sources of information, in our case from our Polaris corrections network, reducing uncertainty down to just a few centimeters.

Purchase a Standard Dev Kit, purchase an Advanced Development Kit, or create a Point One account to access Polaris corrections and services.

Many, including series production automobiles, consumer electronics products, and autonomous vehicle prototypes.

Real Time Kinematics; a fixed base station communicates with a roving GNSS system to remove sources of error common to the base and rover (satellite clock, satellite orbit, ionosphere delay, troposphere delay). Rover performance depends on survey accuracy of base location, quality of sky view at base location, and distance between base and rover.

Yes. The Polaris network performs as an  RTK network. Non-Point One systems can access the Polaris network using standard NTRIP protocol. Access credentials and documentation are available at app.pointonenav.com.

Both Polaris and NTRIP are methods for delivering network RTK corrections, and both are available through the Point One Polaris service. The NTRIP standard is a legacy delivery method, used by a wide range of GNSS devices. The Polaris protocol uses secure connection methods for both authentication and transport to add layers of reliability and security to RTK corrections data.

RTK corrections account for various ambiguities present in navigation constellation signals, which can stem from sources such as satellite orbital errors and atmospheric disturbances. By sharing correctional data in real time, the fixed base station and rover together improve positional accuracy from meter-level to centimeter-level.

Let’s get a little more technical:

• Standalone GNSS positioning relies mostly on very accurate–but not very precise–pseudorange measurements of code phase. RTK relies on extremely precise– but ambiguous–RF carrier phase measurements.
• The heart of RTK is integer carrier phase ambiguity resolution. This process turns the ambiguous carrier phase measurements into highly precise measurements of pseudorange, which can be about 100x more precise than the code phase pseudorange measurements–but they are ambiguous to within an integer number of radio carrier wave cycles.
• An RTK-enabled receiver is equipped with a very heavy math routine that’s able to resolve the ambiguities in the carrier measurements. This unlocks the use of the previously unusable carrier phase and enables position determination to within a couple centimeters.

Fortunately, when using an RTK service like Point One Polaris, you don’t have to worry about any of this. You can get set up in five minutes by connecting to a single NTRIP mount point–and then access cm-accurate positioning lighting-fast convergence times.

An RTK base station is an integral part of any RTK positioning system. In order to correct errors in satellite signal data, RTK positioning requires stationary sites with known, precise locations to serve as reference points. These are called fixed base stations, which send observations to the rover in real time.

It’s important not to think of RTK base stations as standalone units, but rather as pieces of broader, interconnected networks that together offer more expansive coverage. For example, Point One’s Polaris RTK network has global coverage across the US, EU, UK, CA, and AU and boasts the highest overall density of US RTK corrections networks.

This allows the network to offer scalable solutions and ensure high accuracy, even in areas without cellular coverage or in challenging environments in urban canyons.

RTK offers unparalleled accuracy in positioning at centimeter-level precision. This high level of accuracy is essential for applications where even the slightest deviation can have significant consequences.

Point One’s RTK solutions are engineered to deliver exceptional precision within a few centimeters. This level of accuracy is made possible by Point One’s advanced algorithms, Polaris Network infrastructure, and commitment to using the latest technological advancements in GNSS corrections.

Point One’s RTK system is not just about precise measurements; it’s about providing reliable data you can trust for critical decision-making.

RTK technology is essential in many areas where exact positioning is needed. In farming, RTK helps guide machinery perfectly for planting and harvesting, boosting crop quality and farm efficiency. Robots in outdoor settings work better with RTK because it helps them navigate through the world with precision.

For preventing damage, especially during construction, RTK is vital for safely locating things like pipes and cables underground. Surveyors and mapmakers rely on RTK for precise measurements of land and buildings, which is important for planning new projects. In construction, RTK is key for correctly setting up sites and ensuring buildings are constructed accurately.

RTK is also crucial for self-driving cars to navigate safely, especially on busy streets. RTK is even changing how deliveries are made by helping to track and direct delivery vehicles, making sure packages get where they’re going on time.

Several GPS correction methods, including RTK, PPP, and SSR, improve the accuracy of satellite-based positioning. Each method has its unique approach to correcting GNSS data.

RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) provides real-time corrections, offering centimeter-level accuracy. It’s ideal for applications needing immediate precision, such as autonomous vehicle navigation and precision agriculture. RTK works by comparing the signals from a network of fixed base stations to the satellite data, quickly correcting any discrepancies.

PPP (Precise Point Positioning), on the other hand, doesn’t use a network of base stations. Instead, it uses a single reference station and precise orbit and clock data to offer high accuracy. While PPP can achieve a somewhat similar level of precision to RTK, it takes much longer to converge, making it more suitable for applications where immediate accuracy isn’t critical.

SSR (State Space Representation) is a more advanced method that provides correctional data in a state space format. This technique models the GNSS errors, including satellite orbits and clocks, and atmospheric delays, offering high accuracy over large areas. However, many GNSS receivers aren’t equipped to effectively process all the data provided by SSR, making it difficult to convert into meaningful positions.

Note that discussing GPS, by itself, isn’t standard practice in RTK corrections. Today, unless specifically discussing the USA constellation system, we say “GNSS ” exclusively.

RTK correction ranges vary depending on the use case. It’s challenging to put a definite number on this question, since many variables can affect accuracy, including how much of the sky is visible, the weather, and more.