English Zulu Time (Dual Time) Instructions Manual The world is divided into 24 time zones. For easy reference, a letter of the alphabet has been assigned to each time zone (less the letters "I" and "O"). Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT, is used as the standard time for international reference in the fields of communications, military, maritime, and others that cross time zones. The letter designation for this time zone in England is Z, pronounced ZULU in the phonetic alphabet.