What Are the Characteristics of 5G Positioning ?

When considering what are the characteristics of 5G positioning, it’s important to note that 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. In fact, what are the characteristics of 5G positioning can be better understood by considering how 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. In summary, among the important topics in wireless technology, people often ask, “What are the characteristics of 5G positioning?” Answering this, we see it includes high timing accuracy and improved granularity over previous generations.
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. To put it another way, 5G positioning characteristics rely on high accuracy deployments and advanced algorithms.
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. Thus, what are the characteristics of 5G positioning also includes support for multiple frequency bands and improved accuracy through their combination.
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. Moreover, what are the characteristics of 5G positioning is answered by integrating sidelink mechanisms for further enhancements.
6. Multi-RAT technologies are integrated. Considering what are the characteristics of 5G positioning, one answer is the integration of multi-RAT technologies to enhance overall positioning performance by accumulating measurement information from multiple sources.