Electrical phase computation using RF media

A network, comprising:

• a first metrology unit of a first network node to obtain first data indicating a first zero-crossing at a first time;
• a second metrology unit of a second network node to obtain a packet comprising second data indicating a second zero-crossing at a second time and to send zero-crossing information to a powerline communication (PLC) process and to a radio frequency (RF) process;
• and
• a processor of the first network node to:
• obtain the packet comprising the second data, the packet comprising at least one free-run timer value defining a period between the second zero-crossing until a time of transmission of the packet;
• record, at the first network node, a time of reception of the packet, the time of reception being based on the reception of a middle portion of the packet;
• and
• determine a time-difference between the first zero-crossing and the second zero-crossing, wherein the time-difference is based at least in part on:
• the first data, the second data and the time of reception of the packet;
• and
• a first value of a first free-run timer of a first device and a second value of a second free-run timer of a second device;
• wherein the processor of the first network node is configured to determine a phase difference between the first zero-crossing and the second zero-crossing based at least in part on the determined time-difference.

One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

• sending, at a first network node, zero-crossing information to a powerline communication (PLC) process and to a radio frequency (RF) process;
• obtaining, at the first network node, first data indicating a first zero-crossing at a first time at the first network node;
• obtaining, from a second network node, a packet comprising second data indicating a second zero-crossing at a second time, the packet comprising a free-run timer value defining a period between the second zero-crossing until a time of transmission of the packet;
• recording, at the first network node, a time of reception of the packet, the time of reception being based on the reception of a middle portion of the packet;
• determining, by operation of a processor of the first network node, a time-difference between the first zero-crossing and the second zero-crossing, wherein the time-difference is based at least in part on the first data and the second data and the time of reception of the packet;
• and
• determining, by operation of the processor of the first network node, a phase difference between the first zero-crossing and the second zero-crossing based at least in part on the determined time-difference.