As demand grows for greater accuracy across construction, surveying, agriculture and drone operations, Ireland now has a new independently owned provider of high-precision GNSS correction services.
RTK.ie, operated by Sentrinav Ltd in Rathcoole, Co Dublin, has completed the rollout of a network of more than 30 continuously operating reference stations (CORS), providing comprehensive RTK correction coverage across the entire island of Ireland.
Designed, built and operated in Ireland, the network offers centimetre-level positioning accuracy through the open NTRIP standard and is compatible with RTK-capable receivers from all major manufacturers.
Independence built into the infrastructure
What sets RTK.ie apart is its independence. Every commercial reference station within the network is owned, installed and maintained by the company itself, rather than relying on third-party infrastructure or belonging to a GNSS equipment manufacturer.
For customers, this means a neutral correction service that isn’t tied to any particular hardware ecosystem and is insulated from changes in ownership, licensing or manufacturer strategy. The company also operates dedicated private reference stations for construction projects and reports a network availability of 99.987%.
Built over the years, not months
The network is the result of a long-term engineering project rather than a rapid commercial rollout. Co-founders Philip Hanrahan and Dariusz Liszka first began working together in 2017, bringing together more than sixty years of combined experience in construction engineering, surveying, and the servicing and calibration of precision surveying instruments.
Development of the RTK.ie network began in 2018 with extensive planning, field testing and consultation across the industry. Over the following four years, different receiver technologies, communications systems and network architectures were evaluated before the first commercial reference stations became operational in 2022.
Engineered for precision
Today, the network is built on a European technology platform, incorporating Septentrio multi-constellation GNSS receivers from Belgium, Teltonika industrial communications hardware from Lithuania, the Navmatix/Glopos NTRIP distribution platform from the Czech Republic, and the GEO++ GNSmart correction engine from Germany. Together, these technologies process signals from GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou to generate highly accurate virtual reference station corrections.
The service supports a wide range of applications, including construction machine control, GNSS rover surveying, UAV mapping, precision agriculture and GIS data collection. Because corrections are delivered via the industry-standard NTRIP protocol, users can connect quickly without the need to establish and maintain their own local base station.
Supporting research beyond industry
Beyond commercial services, RTK.ie is also contributing to scientific research. Selected GNSS data is shared with the International GNSS Monitoring and Assessment Programme and the German Aerospace Center to support space weather monitoring and forecasting. The company also makes reference station data available to universities and research organisations studying geodynamics, crustal movement and long-term Earth observation.
Looking ahead
As Ireland’s newest independent RTK correction network, RTK.ie represents a significant investment in national positioning infrastructure. By combining locally managed operations with internationally recognised GNSS technology, the company aims to provide engineers, surveyors, contractors and researchers with a reliable, manufacturer-neutral platform for precision positioning across the island.