Since Earthgov is based out of Earthdome in Geneva, Switzerland, EST is essentially the local timezone for Central Europe (CET or UTC+1, CDT or UTC+2 if daylight saving time is used). While the rest of the planet still operates on local timezones, EST is used as a central point of reference by global and interplanetary news services such as ISN and all off-world military outposts, ships and installations.