Ericsson launched 5G-Advanced location services that use the technology’s embedded capabilities to power more efficient location-reliant services that operators can use to extend the reach of their networks to new revenue-generating use cases.

The location technology relies on a 5G standalone (SA) core and technology embedded in a single base station to pinpoint a device’s location, rather than more traditional triangulation models that require the device to connect to multiple base stations to gauge a location. This cuts down on broader compute resources needed to process those multiple base station signals and makes the system device agnostic.

The platform uses real-time kinematics to provide sub-10-centimeter location precision in outdoor environments and sub-1-meter indoor precision indoors. It can also seamlessly connect with Ericsson radio equipment in outdoor and indoor locations to provide a consistent location in mixed environments.

The platform can also take GPS-based location information from satellite or other infrastructure mediums to help improve location accuracy in environments that might be outside of a traditional 5G-Advanced network deployment.

Andreas Hansson, product manager for location-based services at Ericsson, explained that the platform abstracts away “all of the underlying technologies for the network to sort out.”

The system is also viewed as superior for indoor applications where typical GPS-based systems are limited due to building design or vertical floor-spacing challenges in those environments.

“You either have GPS, and then you have maybe Bluetooth indoors, you might have Wi-Fi for connectivity, use that to some extent, and then you have to mesh this together in the application and do a bespoke solution out of it all,” Hansson explained of current location-based systems.

The system does require a 5G SA core, and an “active antenna system,” with Andersson explaining that radio support is currently targeting “mid-band” deployments, which allows the vendor to “basically capture 90 percent of the use case spread.”

The platform also targets individual device battery concerns.

“The only thing we require is the modem itself, and that brings down battery drain, battery power, and battery usage. That brings down the cost of the device itself and the time to market for the ecosystem to form,” Andersson said. “Basically a [communication service provider] wanting to launch, they can launch on anything connected from day one rather than having to wait for a device ecosystem to form and then deploy it in a certain use case format.”

In furthering that cause, Ericsson is offering an open API model that can allow operators to market the service to different industry segments, with the vendor specifically calling out manufacturing, health care, automotive, drones, and public safety.

“At the end of the day … a big part of the growth is going to come from connecting industries and new verticals rather than just packing on new SIM cards that represent smartphones,” Andersson said. “It's not so much about solving the location problem itself. We are a network infrastructure provider, mostly famous for our networking skills and radio, so what we realized is that connectivity, the time is now. The enterprises are looking to switch their connectivity from what they have today to 5G and beyond. And as they take that leap, they can see that if 5G and 3GPP-type networks and CSPs can offer them capabilities within that narrative that actually is directly something that they can use in their business process, that actually gives them some value here, and now beyond the connectivity itself that makes CSPs much more attractive as an alternative, and the timing is right.”