Ericsson and MediaTek demonstrate sub-30 cm 5G positioning

Ericsson and MediaTek have demonstrated stable outdoor positioning accuracy below 30 cm over a commercial 5G network using standardised 3GPP GNSS Real-Time Kinematic technology. The end-to-end test used a handset’s built-in antenna and carried correction data through the cellular network, linking high-precision positioning to existing 5G infrastructure rather than a separate proprietary radio system.

The technique combines satellite positioning with assistance data generated from reference stations. Conventional GNSS can be several metres out because of atmospheric delays, satellite orbit and clock errors, and other signal impairments. RTK reduces those errors by supplying corrections that a compatible receiver can apply while calculating its position.

Ericsson and MediaTek carried that information using the LTE Positioning Protocol defined by 3GPP. In unicast mode, LPP messages are delivered through Secure User Plane Location over standard IP connections. In broadcast mode, Positioning System Information Blocks distribute GNSS-RTK information to compatible devices across a cell.

Broadcast delivery changes the scaling characteristics of the system. A unicast session provides correction data to an individual device, while broadcast can distribute the same information to many receivers without creating a separate session for each one. The test covered both approaches, and the 3GPP framework also provides for encrypted broadcast so that only authorised subscribers receive the required decryption keys.

The demonstration supported both Observation State Representation and State Space Representation correction methods. OSR supplies direct corrections to receiver observations, while SSR describes errors associated with specific GNSS components and is designed to scale across wider areas. Ericsson’s 5G Core, Ericsson Network Location functions, and radio access network distributed the correction data, while MediaTek’s modem technology processed it at the device.

Using the handset’s integrated antenna is an important qualification to the result. Precision positioning demonstrations often depend on specialist external antennas that are difficult to reproduce in compact commercial equipment. Ericsson and MediaTek achieved stable sub-30 cm accuracy with the built-in antenna and state that a geodetic-grade antenna can take the same architecture to centimetre-level performance.

The device side also has to reconcile precise positioning with the normal constraints of a cellular terminal. GNSS reception competes for antenna space, power, and processing resources, while the modem has to receive and apply correction information quickly enough for the application. A robot or vehicle moving at speed cannot treat location as a slow background calculation if the result is feeding navigation or control.

Broadcast correction data introduces a different design consideration: many devices can consume the same assistance information, but access control still has to be managed. The 3GPP mechanism demonstrated by Ericsson and MediaTek supports encrypted broadcast, with authorised subscribers receiving decryption keys through the core network rather than exposing precision data indiscriminately.

Real industrial sites will present a less controlled RF environment. Buildings, machinery, containers, and metal structures can obstruct or reflect satellite signals, while antenna placement and orientation can affect reception. Factories, ports, construction sites, and logistics yards therefore remain difficult environments for GNSS, even when the correction data arrives reliably over the cellular network.

The advantage of the 3GPP approach is that the correction-delivery mechanism is part of the same standards framework used by cellular infrastructure and modem suppliers. That gives equipment makers a clearer interoperability route than a closed positioning system, although operators, device vendors, and application developers still have to expose and support the required functions in commercial networks and products.

Autonomous vehicles, drones, and industrial robots are among the applications identified for the technology, particularly where ordinary metre-level GNSS is not accurate enough. The electronics design consequence is that high-precision location can increasingly be handled within the modem, antenna, and network stack rather than through a separate positioning radio. Deployment will depend on how consistently that integrated approach performs once receivers leave open test areas and enter the obstructed environments where industrial positioning is usually hardest.