For civil engineers and surveyors working on infrastructure projects, achieving centimetre level positioning accuracy has traditionally required significant capital investment in base station equipment or reliance on proprietary correction services with limited coverage.
RTKdata.com is changing that equation by providing subscription based RTK corrections via the standard NTRIP protocol, compatible with equipment from any manufacturer.
The service delivers real time kinematic corrections to GNSS receivers worldwide, enabling 1cm to 2cm horizontal and 2cm to 3cm vertical accuracy for construction layout, topographic surveys, machine guidance, and structural monitoring applications.
With access to more than 20,000 reference stations in more than 140 countries, RTKdata provides consistent correction quality whether engineers are working on a single site or managing projects across multiple regions.
Practical applications for civil engineering
The technology addresses several common challenges in construction and civil engineering. During site establishment, engineers can verify boundary coordinates and set out control networks without deploying dedicated base stations. For earthworks and groundworks, machine control systems receive corrections directly via mobile data connection, maintaining grade accuracy throughout operations.
Structural monitoring applications benefit from the network's consistent coordinate reference frame. Deformation surveys conducted months or years apart remain comparable because corrections derive from the same continuously monitored reference stations. This repeatability is particularly valuable for bridge inspections, retaining wall assessments, and building settlement monitoring.
Drone survey operators can connect RTK enabled UAVs directly to the correction network, reducing or eliminating ground control point requirements for photogrammetric mapping. The resulting orthomosaics and digital surface models achieve survey grade accuracy suitable for volumetric calculations and progress documentation on major infrastructure programmes.
Open protocol, universal compatibility
RTKdata transmits corrections using RTCM 3.2, the industry standard format supported by virtually all professional GNSS receivers. Engineers can use existing equipment from Trimble, Leica, Topcon, Emlid, and other manufacturers without modification.
The service supports multi-constellation positioning, receiving signals from GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou satellites for faster initialisation and improved performance in challenging environments such as urban corridors and sites with restricted sky visibility.
Flexible subscription model
Subscriptions start at $40 per month or $400 annually for single user access. For engineering consultancies and contractors operating multiple rovers, RTKdata offers volume licensing and white label OEM partnerships. A 30-day free trial provides full network access with no commitment, allowing engineers to evaluate performance on live projects before subscribing.
rtkdata.com/try-rtk-corrections-free-for-30-days
As global infrastructure investment continues to grow, tools that improve surveying efficiency while reducing equipment overhead are becoming increasingly relevant. RTKdata provides chartered engineers and surveying professionals with an accessible route to centimetre level positioning without the capital expenditure traditionally associated with RTK technology.
Author: Konstantin Nidens, Co-Founder of RTKdata