Time synchronization of data within communication systems

A method for operating a communication subsystem, the method comprising:

• receiving, by a first processing device operatively coupled to a data transmission interface of a first digital beamforming (DBF) device, a data packet from the data transmission interface, wherein the data packet comprises (i) in-phase and quadrature (IQ) data and (ii) a first timestamp representing a first time at which to transmit the IQ data;
• and
• sending, by the first processing device, the IQ data at a second time when the first time is equal to a current local time of the first processing device;
• and
• sending, by the first processing device, the IQ data at a third time after the second time when the first time is greater than the current local time and less than a fourth time;
• and
• discarding, by the first processing device, the IQ data when the first time is less than the current local time or greater than the fourth time, wherein the fourth time is determined by offsetting the current local time by an amount corresponding to a size of a packet buffer of the first processing device.