What Are the Characteristics of 5G Positioning ?

The communications network provides the positioning capability and features integrated design of communications and positioning. Similar to positioning in LTE, 5G positioning has low deployment, use, and maintenance costs without requiring an independent positioning network or a customized UE. The positioning function, boosted by 5G network capabilities and smart UE capabilities, keeps upgrading and evolving.

High Positioning Accuracy

1. The 5G system features large bandwidth and low latency. The minimum granularity of air interface measurement is much greater than that of LTE (the sampling interval of 5G is shorter than that of LTE and the measurement time resolution is higher). The timing measurement accuracy is high, and the accuracy of the positioning technology that depends on the latency measurement is higher.
2. 5G massive MIMO has dense antenna arrays and supports beamforming. It can use multi-dimensional space/angle information. The more antenna arrays, the narrower the beam width, and the higher the beam/angle domain resolution of the system. In this way, the geographic location of a UE can be determined more accurately, improving the positioning accuracy of the angle-based positioning technology.
3. It features dense network deployment and cloud-based processing. The more densely deployed sites, the higher the accuracy of cellular-based positioning. In addition, with the edge or cloud computing processing capability, the super-resolution algorithm technology can be used to significantly improve the positioning accuracy even when the bandwidth is relatively narrow.
4. Multiple frequency bands and coexistence of high- and low-frequency bands are supported. The positioning accuracy can be further improved by combining the signal measurements of FR1 and FR2 frequencies.
5. With the sidelink (SL) mechanism introduced in 3GPP Release 16 (direct communications between devices), 5G can extend and enhance NR positioning. All link information is combined to assist UE positioning.
6. Multi-RAT technologies are integrated. Measurement information is accumulated from multiple RAT-independent solutions to improve positioning performance.