A small form-factor pluggable (SFP) time signal adapter module includes a printed circuit board, a cable connector mounted to the printed circuit board, and a differential receiver coupled to the cable connector, one or more of the plurality of wire traces, and an SFP edge connector. The printed circuit board has a plurality of wire traces and a plurality of pads of the SFP edge connector is at least coupled to two of the plurality of wire traces. The cable connector is coupled to at least one or more of the plurality of wire traces. The cable connector coupes to a connector of a cable to receive a differential time reference signal. The differential receiver receives and differentiates the differential time input signal to generate a single ended time reference signal that is coupled to a pad of the SFP edge connector.