The RTK Correction Services Landscape: Networks, PPP-RTK and Who Offers What

A decade ago, getting RTK corrections usually meant setting up your own base or buying a regional subscription from a survey dealer. Today there are several distinct kinds of service, each with its own strengths, coverage pattern and pricing model. Knowing the categories makes it much easier to shortlist the right provider.

1. Government and national networks

Many countries run continuously operating reference station networks through their national mapping or land agency. Examples in our directory include SAPOS in Germany, SWEPOS in Sweden, CZEPOS in the Czech Republic and ROMPOS in Romania. These networks are usually tied directly to the official national coordinate system, which makes them a natural choice for cadastral and engineering work.

• Strengths: high-quality, monitored stations and official reference frame.
• Limits: coverage stops at the border, and pricing, licensing and sign-up vary widely from country to country.

2. Commercial network RTK

Commercial providers such as Hexagon SmartNet and other regional operators run large networks of reference stations and deliver network RTK (VRS or similar) over NTRIP. They tend to offer support, uptime commitments and coverage across several countries.

• Strengths: dense coverage, support and consistent service across regions.
• Limits: annual subscriptions, and coverage is still bounded by station density.

3. Satellite- and internet-delivered PPP-RTK

Services such as Swift Navigation Skylark model errors over very wide areas rather than relying on a nearby base. Corrections can cover whole continents, and some services can be delivered by satellite where there is no mobile data. Accuracy is typically a few centimetres, with convergence that is fast in good conditions.

• Strengths: wide-area coverage and simple onboarding, well suited to vehicles, robotics and drones.
• Limits: accuracy and convergence may not match a dense local network for demanding survey tasks.

4. Community casters

Volunteer networks such as RTK2go and Centipede share bases run by individual users. They are free and can be surprisingly dense in some areas.

• Strengths: free, open and easy to start with.
• Limits: no guarantees, base coordinates are not always verified, and stations can disappear without notice.

5. Your own base station

Running your own base gives you full control and no subscription, at the cost of hardware, setup and responsibility for accurate base coordinates. It works well for a fixed site such as a farm or quarry.

How the options compare at a glance

• Best for official survey work: government networks, or commercial networks tied to the national frame.
• Best for multi-country operations: commercial networks or PPP-RTK.
• Best for vehicles, robots and remote areas: PPP-RTK, ideally with satellite delivery.
• Best for hobbyists and testing: community casters.
• Best for a single fixed site: your own base.

Prices change often and differ by region, so check each provider's current terms. The directory lists pricing where known, along with coverage maps and contact links for each service.