ORIGINAL ARTICLE Analysis of GNSS correction data standards for the automotive market Sudha Vana 1 | John Aggrey 1 | Sunil Bisnath 1 | Rodrigo Leandro 2 | Landon Urquhart 2 | Paola Gonzalez 2 1 York University, Toronto, Canada 2 Sapcorda Services, Scotsdale, Arizona, USA Correspondence Sudha Vana, York University, Toronto, Canada. Email: vana.sudha@gmail.com Abstract In this paper, a new standard that has been developed by Sapcorda Services to target the specific requirements of high‐precision GNSS technology in the auto- motive and mass market industry is assessed within the context of existing data standards. This new standard was created as a joint effort of several organiza- tions and has similarities with the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM) v3 standard and compact state‐space representation messages (CSSR). However, it has different message design rules that specifically target automotive and mass market sectors. Results indicate significant reduction in bandwidth usage particularly for the atmosphere component, as the new for- mat consumes 15% less bandwidth compared with the all‐purpose existing for- mats, increased end‐to‐end positioning performance, and integrity, as well as flexibility for future growth of GNSS correction services. 1 | INTRODUCTION With the demand for improved solution quality and accu- racy standards for various new applications, it has become imperative to address real‐time GNSS data transmissions and formats. The proliferation of satellite constellations has ushered in an era of innovative advancement in the field of navigation. From location‐based services to aug- mented reality applications, real‐time GNSS corrections play a major role in achieving sub‐meter‐level accuracy. The estimation and transmission of real‐time GNSS corrections through signals in space or the Internet are vital to real‐time solution quality and accuracy. Regardless of the GNSS processing mode, eg, network Real‐Time Kinematics (RTK) or Precise Point Positioning (PPP), reli- ability in concisely transmitting necessary real‐time cor- rections is key for any user in a real‐time application scenario. 1 Real‐time satellite and clock products were launched by the International GNSS Service (IGS) over a decade ago. The debut of the products prompted more Analysis Centers (ACs) to provide different flavors of real‐time corrections. Currently, there are over ten ACs distributing real‐time correction products to users as a free service or on a subscription basis. Some of these ACs include Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), 2 Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), 3 Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG), 4 German Aerospace Center (DLR), 5 European Space Agency (ESA), 6 German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ), 7 and Wuhan University (WHU). 8 Considering the effect that a network has on the transmis- sion of real‐time corrections, there are two primary factors that need to be addressed when quality of transmissions is at stake: latency and potential outages. The transmission time for any real‐time correction or message is of utmost importance, as it dictates the fre- quency of the transmitted messages, as well as its correla- tion with bandwidth. User software expects transmitted correction data for processing almost instantaneously. Irrespective of the positioning technique, delayed, irregu- larly transmitted, or missing data correlate to degraded solution quality and accuracy. Various researchers over Received: 11 October 2018 Revised: 27 March 2019 Accepted: 10 May 2019 DOI: 10.1002/navi.323 NAVIGATION. 2019;1–16. © 2019 Institute of Navigation wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/navi 1