Greenwich Time Signal broadcasts the pips every hour. Pips can also be heard on many BBC Local Radio stations although their use is up to the discretion of individual stations. A rare quarter-hour Greenwich Time Signal can be heard at 05:15 weekdays on Wally Webb's programme on six BBC Local Radio stations in the east of England, as part of his "sychronised cup of tea" feature. In 1999, pip-like sounds were incorporated into the themes written by composer David Lowe to introduce BBC Television News programmes. They are still used today on BBC One, BBC World News and BBC News. The BBC does
Time signal Observatory as a source of time signals: The telegraphic distribution of time signals was made obsolete by the use of AM, FM, shortwave radio, Internet Network Time Protocol servers as well as atomic clocks in satellite navigation systems. Since 1905 time signals have been transmitted by radio. There are dedicated radio time signal stations around the world. Time stations operating in the longwave radio band have highly predictable radio propagation characteristics, which gives low uncertainty in the received time signals. Stations operating in the shortwave band can cover wider areas with relatively low-power transmitters, but the varying distance that the