A system and method for one-way ranging is disclosed. The system comprises a transmitter, also referred to as tag, transmitting a packet having a first frequency. The receiver, also referred to as the locator, receives the first frequency and measures the phase at a specific point in time. At a predetermined time, the transmitter switches to a second frequency. This is performed while maintaining phase continuity. The receiver also switches to the second frequency at nearly the same time. The receiver then measures the phase of the second frequency at a second point in time. Based on these two phase measurements, the distance between the transmitter and the receiver may be calculated.