Overview of Positioning Techniques for LTE

Technology
M.F.M.Mahyuddin, A.A.M.Isa, M.S.I.M.Zin, Afifah Maheran A.H, Z.Manap and M.K.Ismail
Centre for Telecommunication Research and Innovation (CeTRI),
Faculty of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Malaysia
76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia.
[email protected]

Abstract—This paper explains about the capabilities of enabling LBS and emergency services on the networks, with
location positioning in wireless broadband communications some help from positioning techniques such as Wi-Fi
and potential of hybrid positioning which are based on long positioning. Hence, although the price of the setup and
term evolution (LTE) system. Mobile positioning technology deploy is extremely high, these latest positioning techniques
has become a widely used in condition such as emergency and provides effective and convenient positioning performance
also in commercial services. Nowadays, with the presence of
LTE technology there is a new mission on enabling Enhanced
in form of LTE networks.
911 (E911) and location-based services (LBS) on these 4G/5G Some of methods which are available to locate the user
networks. The positioning methods that were supported for positions is Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), Assisted-Global
LTE technology are Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID) method, Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS) and Observed Time
Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) and Global Difference on Arrival (OTDOA). By comparing their
Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). A hybrid positioning advantages and disadvantages for different kinds of services,
system is a combination of such technologies and improves it is suitable to choose one selection over another. All of
positioning accuracy by implementing the different these positioning methods depend on various aspects
mechanisms of the different technologies. In particular, this including required accuracy indicator such as locality
paper describes a concept and principle of each technique and
(urban, rural and suburban) which will be discussed in this
explores important technical details of the location positioning
techniques. paper.

Index Terms—Hybrid Positioning, Location Positioning II. POSITIONING ARCHITECTURE FOR LTE
Techniques, LTE.
A. Positioning Architecture in LTE Networks
I. INTRODUCTION There are three main network elements in LTE
positioning architecture which are location service (LCS)
Requirement in mobile services is increasing and one of the client, location service (LCS) server and location service
particular things is about Location Based Services (LBS), (LCS) target. LCS server acts as an entity that handles
basically lead by primary necessities such as commercial positioning for a LCS target device which it also gather and
applications and emergency services. In part of emergency collect some of the data of location information, helping the
services, the most important things is the implementing of UE in determining the data when required and measure the
the positioning in FCC’s E911 mandate in the US, which LCS target location. LCS client involves software and
requires location of emergency callers to be supported [1]. A hardware element that interacts with LCS server to get
lot of varieties for commercial applications need faster and location data for LCS targets. LCS client performs an action
accurate positioning performance such as mobile tracker and which sending a request to the LCS server to achieve
location-based advertising. In the generation of networks location data, the LCS server processes the request and
such as Wideband Code Division Multiple Access transmit the positioning results, which the LCS client is
(WCDMA) and Global System for Mobile Communications estimate back by a velocity [2,3,4]. The two positioning
(GSM) have added some improvement for some positioning protocol that operates using the radio network for LTE are
technologies, which in terms in their accuracy and Time to LTE positioning protocol (LPP) and LPP Annex (LPPa).
First Fix (TTFF) performance is slightly different in return LPP allows the positioning data exchange between the
to these requirements. It involved and exists from simple LTE network and UE. LPP is used to position the device
network-based systems and also expands into multi- and also point-to-point protocol for communication between
trilateration and satellite-based solutions. an LCS server and an LCS target device. Both user plane
The release of LTE which is more focusing on E911 on and control plane can be used for LPP and multiple LPP
these 4G/5G networks will improve from previous procedures are allowed for reducing latency whether in
generation. Three independent handsets based positioning series or in parallel. Communication protocol between an
techniques that support LTE standard is Assisted Global eNodeB and an LCS server for control-plane positioning is
Navigation Satellite Systems (A-GNSS), Observed Time called LPPa which it can help user-plane positioning by
Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), and Enhanced Cell ID (E- querying eNodeBs for data and measurements. Transport for
CID). LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) is a new protocol for LPP is used by SUPL protocol in the user plane. Some
LTE, although Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) version protocols are already deployed in 2G and 3G networks such
2.0, remains as a headstone User Plane protocol which as radio resource control (RRC), radio resource location

e-ISSN: 2289-8131 Vol. 9 No. 2-13 43

Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer Engineering

services protocol (RRLP) and IS-801 protocol which are to provide a location, and may send unsolicited Assistance
similar function to LPP [3,4]. Data. MTLR start up by the network, which vary from
Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) is NILR with some addition of privacy element where the user
the key entity in the core network that handles positioning. can deny the location request. MOLR is about the
The E-SMLC is in charge for providing of precise assistance positioning session is triggered by the UE, which contacts
information and calculation of location. 2G, 3G and 4G the MME with the request. The rest of the call flow is
networks can be deployed by SUPL 2.0 to support one identical with NILR. [2,3,4,5].
universal user plane protocol. It is possible to implement
SUPL 2.0 with RRLP over LTE during initial LTE
deployments, which helps in allowing user plane positioning
before applying LPP. Call flows of LPP are procedure
based, where each process has a specific objective. The
main functions of LPP are to supplying the E-SMLC with
the positioning capabilities of the UE in order to transport
assistance data from the E-SMLC to the UE. It is also
providing the E-SMLC with co-ordinate position
information or UE measured signals and to report errors
during the positioning session. Hybrid positioning such as
OTDOA + A-GNSS can also be supported by LPP. E-
SMLC may require data from the eNodeB (such as receive- Figure 2: Control Plane Positioning
transmit time difference measurements for assisting ECID)
in case of network-based positioning techniques. LPPa is
used to transport this information. There are two different C. User Plane Positioning
possibilities for how the device (client) can communicate User Plane Positioning of LTE uses the data link to send
with the location server. There is the option to do this over positioning information which is enabled by the Secure User
the user plane (U-Plane), using a standard data connection, Plane (SUPL) protocol. SUPL was developed to support
or over the control plane (C-Plane) [4,5]. Gateway Mobile LBS for wireless communications which is an encrypted IP
Location Center (GMLC) is the connection for client LBS technology. SUPL can be implemented to multiple wireless
service application to the mobile network. GMLC sends standards including LTE where SUPL 2.0 is commonly used
requests for mobile location data to a Mobile Switching for U-Plane LBS sessions [2]. For a newer version of SUPL,
Center (MSC) and accepts the feedback of such requests. SUPL 2.0 provides a basic user plane medium for all air
interfaces and supports positioning over LTE as well as 2G
and 3G networks. SUPL use existing protocols such as
RRLP, IS-801 and LPP, which does not introduce a new
technique to package and transport Assistance Data. SUPL
Location Platform (SLP) enabled the data link to transmit
positioning information. SUPL is basically able to interface
with the E-SMLC for obtaining Assistance Data and also
operates SUPL messaging. LTE P-GW and the S-GW
elements routed SUPL messages over the data link. A
complex feature set that is compatible to mobile applications
enables by SUPL 2.0 which is including area based
triggering, periodic reporting and batch reporting. SUPL 2.0
also support for major positioning technologies (including
Figure 1: Positioning architecture in LTE release 9/10 [5]. multi-location technologies such as Wi-Fi positioning) and
B. Control Plane Positioning also for emergency positioning over the data link [3,4].
Underlying control plane protocol (such as RRLP or LPP)
Most commonly used in emergency services, positioning is the primary positioning enabler in SUPL 2.0. This states
messages are exchanged between the network and the UE that SUPL 2.0 can be used over any network, as long as the
over the signaling connection with control plane SLP and SMLC are agree upon a common positioning
implementations. Mobility Management Entity (MME) protocol and also able to interface. During initial LTE
enabled the control plane positioning in LTE, which directs rollouts this flexibility is very useful, as it allows operators
LPP messages from the E-SMLC to the UE using NAS to enable SUPL 2.0 positioning over an existing control
Downlink Transfer Messages. plane protocol such as RRLP [4,5,7] .
Control Plane positioning is quick, reliable and secure to
overcome possible network congestion in an emergency III. TYPES OF POSITIONING TECHNIQUES FOR LTE
scenario. C-Plane LBS sessions are the protocol used for
LBS is established and assistance data message exchange is
executed over the ‘control’ channels (LPP). The call flows A. Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID)
of control plane can be characterized by three components In this method, the serving cell identifier (Cell-ID) is
which is Network Initiated Location Request (NILR), implemented to track down the mobile (user) location. Many
Mobile Terminated Location Request (MTLR), Mobile LBS applications provide the location of the user by simply
Originated Location Request (MOLR). NILR basically used determining which base station (or sector) the user is
for emergency positioning which the network orders the UE currently connected to. All GSM handsets supported basic
form of location tracking that involves cell identifier [8]. In

44 e-ISSN: 2289-8131 Vol. 9 No. 2-13

Overview of Positioning Techniques for LTE Technology

every site’s geographic position has its own ID/Mac address GLONASS, European Union (Galileo) and China (BeiDou).
which based on data to be used for cell id. The handset’s GNSS receiver in user mobile devices is functions to obtain
exact geographic area is known when someone obtains the satellite signals and figuring out its position with only
location of this specific id or address the handset is standalone GNSS. The process of receiving the data can be
connected to. GSM network cells sometimes have wide difficult due to capacity of battery and processing
coverage and the location is uncertain due to that factor [9]. performance, and the TTFF can take longer to respond.
This method accuracy is basically compatible with cell Assisted GNSS can enhance the performance of standalone
size or more specifically sector size, though the use of GNSS with some improvement in certain features. When A-
directional antennas can improve location accuracy. The cell GNSS constructed and deployed, data provided by the
size has difference in terms of population density which network was developed by the standalone GNSS equipment
being very small for location of dense urban areas and much of the phone, called as “Assistance Data”, which allow
larger for location of remote rural areas. The smallest size information of the user GNSS receiver can use to speed up
may be between 200 meters and 1 kilometer whilst in the the process of satellite signal transmit and receive. Network
remote rural areas a cell may be 35-100 km [8]. The or User Equipment (UE) can be distributed and shared
accuracy for this particular method relies upon the radius of among third parties (such as emergency PSAPs) to measure
the cell [8,10]. the final position of user.
A network-based location technology which is an A-GNSS increases positioning operation, enhances
improvement of Cell-ID is called Enhanced Cell ID (E- sensitivity of receiver and assist to sustain the usage of
CID). This technique calculates the distance between a battery power. A-GNSS functions perfectly in condition
mobile device and an evolved NodeB (eNB) by measuring such as outdoors which have a clear view of the sky is
the Round Trip Time (RTT) of a signal. This method was available. The disadvantages are it works badly in
introduced by the 3GPP as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial conditions with high obstacle and multipath which is
Radio Access (E-UTRA) Release 9 feature [2]. Some indoors and in dense urban conditions [5]. Some of the main
information and data based on the serving cell and the commercial satellite navigation systems are United States
power level is collected by mobile terminal. Improvement to GPS, Russian GLONASS and European Union GALILEO.
the E-CID technique which further enhances accuracy is Some new programs of navigation system have been
Calibrated E-CID and RF Pattern Matching (RFPM) [11]. E- introduced into the market, like Chinese BeiDou and
CID is now compatible with LTE where purposely for Japanese QZSS [15]. It is possible to utilize both satellite
devices that have no GNSS receiver has been combined. By systems simultaneously to locate a position even though
using data of the geographical coordinates from serving base mobile receivers have basically supported positioning by
station, the location of the device more accurate by undergo deploying A-GPS alone. A-GNSS advantages are to
measurements involves radio signals. enhance the number of satellites available for signal
ECID is based on the acquisition of (RxTx) measurement, and enhance performance in high-obstacle
measurements. This measurement is defined in 3GPP conditions like metropolitan area. LTE network can support
specification TS 36.214 [12]. The process can be defined in assistance data for both type of GNSS such as GPS and
three steps. The eNB measures the RTT of a message GLONASS satellites and also Galileo and QZSS [5].
transmitted by itself as in (1). Assisted-GPS (A-GPS) can become a solution to solve the
choices of user requirement and achieve some expectation
eNBRx  Tx  TeNBRx  TeNBTx (1) which demanded by certain organizations. Nowadays, new
mobile devices are provided with GPS receivers, different
The eNB sends a Timing Advance (TA) command to the devices that lacks of the receivers continue in use and
mobile device to correct its uplink timing. The User providing GPS-capable handsets for free to subscribers
Equipment (UE) measures and reports its RTT as in (2). which does not figure out the problem either, as there is no
single positioning method including GPS works greatly in
UERx  Tx  TUERx  TUETx (2) all types of environments. GPS is unable to provide a
reasonable degree of positioning accuracy in condition of
indoor and urban canyon surroundings. Nowadays, the
Some advantages of baseline E-CID is low price, accurate usage of mobile phone calls are made from indoor is more
for locating and easy to develop. Furthermore, no than 50%, there is a huge demand for positioning methods
improvement to devices and it is also easily working with all that can support the accuracy in all conditions [4].
types of phones. E-CID is restricted and also limited in
terms of precision and not have a constant performance. E-
CID can be caused by various external effects due to the
attribute of power propagation, which involve surroundings
such as foliage or precipitation, altitude above ground level
or motion. E-CID also needs a complete and accurate
database of antenna locations and characteristics for the cell
site which make the mobile operators to provide a precise
and timely data [11].

B. Assisted Global Navigation Satellite Systems (A-

GNSS)
GNSS involves with many types of satellite systems such
as United States Global Positioning System (GPS), Russian

e-ISSN: 2289-8131 Vol. 9 No. 2-13 45

Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer Engineering

of the position approximates with this technique; the

involvement of relative position of the Node-Base station
and is also an element to the results of multipath radio
propagation [10, 11].
The OTDOA geolocation technique was first officially
defined in the 3GPP TS 36.355 Release 9 which contains
one of LPP techniques [19]. The mobile phone does not
require specific hardware assistance in terms of hardware or
software. In order to implement OTDOA in a GSM network,
a huge hardware investment by the network operator is
needed. This is due to GSM BS are not synchronized with
one another and it is cannot be completed without extra
hardware, to measure the relative times at which signals are
obtained at the base stations. Additional network features
that simply transmit a beacon signal from immobile known
locations are needed to figure this problem. Location
Measurement Units (LMUs) is the beacon transmitters and
Figure 3: Example of Assisted-GPS illustration effectively permit base stations to synchronize with each
other. OTDOA isn't a particularly a choice technology for
Pseudo-range is a measurement of the range between the GSM networks due to the requirement of LMUs and mobile
satellite and receiver when multiplying by the speed of devices is not located in between the range of three base
propagation of the signal in order to evaluate the time stations. It is capable to detect the location in an accuracy of
between the transmission of a signal by the satellite and its between 50 and 200 meters in theory. With OTDOA, the
reception [16, 17]. The distance between the transmitter and devices calculate its location by implementation of TOA
the receiver using Earth-centered Earth-fixed (ECEF) downlink signals obtained from many base stations.
coordinates can be written as: Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) in LTE network are
transmitted to improve the number of base stations eNB
true  TxRx  ( xtx  xrx ) 2  ( ytx  yrx ) 2  ( ztx  z rx ) 2 (3) from which downlink signals can be obtained by the
devices. This improves precision of the location. A central
server functions to support assistance data which acquire
Measurement of the true range contaminated by the clock
PRS for the handset and pass on additional data to help the
biases from transmitter and receiver [18]:
handset examine the transmitting antenna [7, 11].
   true  c   rx  c   tx  v (4)

Where  rx and  tx are the clock biases from transmitter

and receiver, and v stands for other errors associated with
the measurement.

C. Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA)

The Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) method
considers that a transmitted signal from the mobile devices
at the three BSs can determine a location of points on a
hyperbola and mobile devices situated at the overlap point
which has three hyperbolas or more [14]. In this technique,
mobile device measures the Reference Signal Time
Difference (RSTD) between several eNBs and reports these
time differences to a specific device in the network called
ESMLC. ESMLC based on these time differences and the
Figure 4: Example of OTDOA illustration
location of eNodeBs calculates the mobile’s location [3].
Although a mobile phone is associated with one base station
at certain period of time, it is constantly trading data with
another nearby base stations. This permits it to be OTDOA is a hyperbolic system based on the difference in
distributed over efficiently if and when it withdraws from time arrival of two signals. The time difference allows
the current cell broadcasting location. Device relative locate the receiver on a curve call hyperbola, which follows
distance from each cell can be measured when measuring in the equation[20]:
terms of time different in the reception of a transmitted
signal at three various cell. A pair of downlink transmissions WBS 2  WBS1  K (5)
draw a line of uniform difference (a hyperbola) along which
the UE position located for each OTDOA calculation. The
where K represents a constant value and WBSi is the
crossover of these lines which requires at least two pairs of
Node-base station which specified the UE's position. The distance between the receivers located in W and the Base
accuracy of the timing calculation relies upon the accuracy Station i. To simplify the notation, this will be denoted as di:

46 e-ISSN: 2289-8131 Vol. 9 No. 2-13

Overview of Positioning Techniques for LTE Technology

radio properties measured by UE. The E - SMLC then

d 2  d1  K (6) examined for a best combination of the measured radio
properties sent by the UE and between its stored
geographical maps of radio properties. The UE position
which d i  ( x  xi ) 2  ( y  yi ) 2  ( z  zi ) 2 . The constant value determines by the best match. Fingerprinting positioning is
K is multiple of the time delay (TD) which is the value of prepared for the LTE positioning standard and enables for
signaling of CIDs, signal strengths, time arrival, and angle
the receiver should measure and report. If  p stands for
of arrival along with OTDOA and A-GPS/A-GNSS
propagation speed, then K can be defined as: measurements between eNodeB, UE and the E - SMLC.
LPP and LPPa protocols can carry over the information. RF
K  TD   p  eTD , (7) fingerprinting or RF pattern matching is denoted the most
common technique for fingerprinting. The UE
measurements of received signal strength would exploit
Where eTD represents the error associated to the time
from a number of eNodeBs in LTE. Advanced radio signal
delay measurement. strength prediction software can created the geographical
From this, OTDOA measurement can be used to form RF maps, using very specified information of the 3-D
equations as (5), which W is the position of mobile devices, geographical topology together with precise data of the cell
BS2 is the neighbor cell, BS1 is the reference cell and K is plan, tower locations, tower heights, antenna directions,
related to the RSTD measurement. By taking consideration antenna tilting, antenna patterns, and transmission power.
of adding time errors at the transmitter and the receiver, τtx Prediction software may need to be complemented with
and τrx: surveying in order to achieve a good accuracy. Another
method would be to depend fully on surveying, which,
however, would be very expensive even for normally sized
RSTDn [ s]  (t Rx, PRSn[ s]   Rx   Tx , n  cellular networks since the positioning accuracy will always
(8)
(t Rx, PRSref [ s]   Rx   Tx , ref )), be limited by the density of the geographical grid of the RF
map [21].
Where tRx,PRSn is the reception time for PRS signal of the
neighbor n. The equation of the time error of the receiver of
the mobile devices will cancels out and the equation will be IV. PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS FOR POSITIONING
written as: From the perspective of positioning, the determination of
user's location can be determined as a simple mechanism
RSTDn [s]  RSTDn,true   Tx,n   Tx,ref , (9) consisting in measuring the geographic positions of the user.
However, in order to obtain the exact location of a user is
Where Eq. (8) plug into Eq. (6) become: extremely difficult which in most of the cases regarding the
position of the user and their environments. The
K  ( RSTDn,true   Tx,n   Tx,ref )   p  eRSTD (10) performance parameters need to be suitable with the user
requirements in order to find a match positioning technology
Where RSTDn,true represents the real RSTD value for a certain application [22-28].

without timing errors and  p equals the speed of light. A. Accuracy

Replacing the extent of the hyperbola equation and the PBSI The accuracy of a system is a major component for user
range between the receiver, P, and the base station i, the requirement which should be mentioned in any details of an
range can been defined OTDOA as: application. The term of accuracy has been explained as the
closeness of agreement between a measured quantity value
and true quantity value of a measured. Basically,
performance metric is implementing mean distance error
 RSTDn,true  c   TX ,n  c   TX ,ref  c  eRSTD
which is average Euclidean distance between true and
estimated location. Positioning system by considering the
accuracy can indicates for a better the system. Some
Potdoa
 RSTDn,true  c   RSTD (11) drawbacks from this parameter which will compromise
between other characteristic that relates to obtain the
suitable accuracy.
 ( x  xn ) 2  ( y  yn ) 2  ( z  zn ) 2  ( x  xref ) 2  ( y  yref ) 2  ( z  zref ) 2
B. Coverage
Coverage is about the spatial extension where system
Where  RSTD represents all the errors associated with the performance must be achieved by a positioning system.
Some of the categories which include local coverage which
RSTD measurement that includes clock errors form base is small and limited area, scalable coverage which is a
station and is modelled as Gaussian random process. systems that can improve the area by inserting hardware
(through deployment of sensors) and global coverage which
D. RF Fingerprinting contains worldwide or specified area of system performance
Fingerprinting is a type of positioning technique that (GNSS). Coverage area for positioning method must be
implemented specifically geographical maps of radio correlates to the area in which the location service is
properties for purpose of positioning. E-SMLC receives the potentially exist.

e-ISSN: 2289-8131 Vol. 9 No. 2-13 47

Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer Engineering

C. Integrity H. Data Output

Integrity corresponds to the output of a system. Others than times and positions, a set of spatio‐temporal
Probability that is not responding in the system result in to data measurement may be requested, many of these can be
an estimated position that contradict from the desired completed without slightly enhancing the data capture or
position by more than sufficient amount and the user is not storage requisite. The following types of data are required in
knowledgeable within the required period of time is called some of the applications such as velocity/speed acceleration,
integrity risk. Integrity performance parameters have been bearing/heading and also estimated position. The
studied by regulatory bodies in some division such as civil requirements parameters should slightly mention if the
aviation, however, in other category, including those related direction of a mobile object is required. There are some
to indoor navigation it is more challenging to obtain applications that need the full spatial orientation, for
quantified integrity parameters. The integrity parameter is example in form of values for 6 Degrees of Freedom.
usually not specified in academic research papers which
involve indoor/outdoor positioning approaches. I. Precision
Accuracy only considers the value of mean distance
D. Availability errors. However, location precision considers how
Availability is about percentage of time during which the consistently the system works, as it is a measure of the
positioning service is available in the coverage area and robustness of the positioning technique as it reveals the
provides with the required accuracy and integrity variation in its performance over many trials. Standard
performance. Availability parameter may be limited by deviation in the location error or the geometric dilution of
random causes such as failures or communications precision (GDOP) is define as the location precision by
congestion as well as by scheduled factors which is routine some literatures, but it is consider as the distribution of
maintenance. Basically the following three levels could be distance error between the estimated location and the true
distinguished, although it will rely upon certain applications, location.
for low availability the condition is below 95%, for regular When comparing the two positioning techniques, if both
availability is more than 99% and high availability is higher accuracies are the same, it is prefer to look for the system
than 99.9%. with the CDF graph, which reaches high probability values
It is assumed that continuity, accuracy and integrity faster, because its distance error is concentrated in small
requirements are fulfilled in order to achieve availability. values. In practice, percentile format is being used for CDF.
Specification of availability usually contains in application For example, if a system has a location precision of 90%
descriptions, whereas availability figure does not specify by within 2.3 m (the CDF of distance error of 2.3 m is 0.9), and
system developers. Availability usually affects the 95% within 3.5 m; another one has a precision of 50%
characteristics of accuracy which relies upon within 2.3 m and 95% within 3.5 m. Based on that, the
former system is chosen because of its higher precision.
E. Continuity
J. Complexity
The continuity is the feature of constant operation of the
system over a connected period of time to undergo a Complexity of positioning system depends on several
particular function. The frequencies of acceptable outages factors such as hardware, operation factors and software.
should be given. The continuity requirement is usually quite Considering the software complexity, the computing
alike with availability [18]. becomes more complex for the positioning algorithm. If the
computation of the positioning algorithm is undergo on a
F. Update Rate server side, the positioning could be measured quickly due
to the powerful processing capabilities and the conditions of
The frequency which the positions are measured on the
power supply. If it is performed on the mobile unit, the
device or at an external processing facility are called update
effects of complexity could be less performed. Most of the
rate. Some of the types of measurements rates that exist are
mobile units contain low processing power and long battery
periodic, on request and on event. For periodic, it has
life; hence it is prefer positioning algorithms with low
regular update and also specified in an interval. While on
complexity. Usually to derive the analytic complexity
request, it is controlled by a remote device or triggered by
formula of different positioning techniques is difficult, thus,
the user. In condition of on event, the local device initiated
the computing time need to be considered. Location rate is
measurement update when a particular event happens.
one of important indicator for complexity. The dual of
G. System Latency location rate is location lag, which is a delay between a
mobile target moving to a new position and reporting the
It is about the delay which contains the requested data that new position of that target by the system.
is available to the user. Latency stands for the duration of
time between the position request and the provision of the K. Robustness
location estimate and basically it is expressed in seconds.
Positioning technique with higher robustness could
The latency contains the following types which are real time
function normally even when some signals are distorted, or
and post processing. Real time system is important in
when some of the RSS value are not the same like before.
navigation and almost all indoor positioning application. It
Sometimes, the signal cannot be obtained from some
is also become most demanding latency requirement. For
measuring units due to the signal from a transmitter unit is
post processing, there is no specific time of delivery.
totally blocked. The signal from other measuring units is the
only information to estimate the position. Sometimes, some
measuring units could be out of function or damaged in a

48 e-ISSN: 2289-8131 Vol. 9 No. 2-13

Overview of Positioning Techniques for LTE Technology

harsh environment hence, the incomplete information need Low any phone requires
(Rural) calibration for
to be used to compute the location. optimal accuracy

L. Scalability GPS High Med Accurate Poor yield in

ium(Ru and urban and indoor
The scalability character of a system ensures the normal ral and widely environment
positioning function when the positioning scope gets large. Suburb deployed
an)
Usually, the positioning performance degrades when the
distance between the transmitter and receiver increases. A Low
(urban
location system may need to scale on two axes which is and
geography and density. The area or volume is covered is indoor)
called geographic scale. The number of units located per A-GNSS High Med Very Line of sight
unit geographic area/space per time period defined for ium(Ru accurate (LOS) access as
density scale. Wireless signal channels may become ral and synchronizati normal case, not
congested, more calculation may be needed to undergo Suburb on of the suitable for urban
an) satellites by / indoor areas[5]
location positioning, or more communication infrastructure atomic
may be required as more area/space is covered or units are clocks and
crowded in an area/space. Dimensional space of the system 3
is another measure of scalability. The current system can dimensional
detect the objects in 2-D or 3-D space while some systems positioning
[5]
can support both spaces.
OTDOA Mediu Mediu Easy to Requires
M. Cost m (Urban m implement synchronized
and sub- and network and
The cost of a positioning system relies on many factors urban) low cost operator
such as money, time, space, weight, and energy. Time factor Low dependency.
(Rural)
is related to installation and maintenance. Mobile units may
have limited space and weight constraints. Measuring unit
density is considered to be a space cost. Sometimes, sunk RF Medium Mediu Low cost Require high
costs also need to be considered. For example, if all the Fingerprint m and provides number of signals
confidentialit parameter
necessary units of that network have already been purchased y of the
for other purposes hence the positioning system layered over transmitted
a wireless network may be considered to have no hardware messages.
cost. The important cost factor of a system is cost. Some
mobile units which contains electronic article surveillance The FCC has determined selected targets which telephone
(EAS) tags and passive RFID tags are completely energy companies have to achieve and penalty fee have to pay if do
passive. These units only react to external fields and could not complete these goals. E-911 have been added with
have an unlimited lifetime. Other mobile units which are various kinds of accuracy and precision value for instance,
devices with rechargeable battery have a lifetime of several the service provider must be able to track a user in a range
hours without recharging. of an accuracy 100m and a precision of 67% or in a range of
300m and a precision of 90% which means that if a person
V. COMPARISON OF LTE POSITIONING TECHNIQUES calls 911 with mobile devices [4], the service provider send
the data about the location user to the Public Safety Access
The first step is to examine the important of each method Point (PSAP) that differs maximum in 100m from the real
with respect to mobile user requirement for setting a position on 67% of the calls [20].
decision rule among the available choices. Even though the Tables 2, 3 and 4 give some overview regarding the
demand for location based services will growing, the accuracy and precision of some positioning techniques that
restricted network and mobile devices resources should be involves in LTE in conditions of rural, suburban and urban
treated among all common services. It is reasonable at some as in [15]. The minuses from the tables mean that it was not
time to spend huge assets to precise positioning, while at possible to find reliable values to fill in. The data must be
same times locating the user in range of an urban cell may mentioned that the values from the tables symbolize
enough. The table below symbolizes the differences for measurement in selected conditions. It cannot be taken as
various types of methods [5, 9, 11]. valid for every status since it relies on the conditions and the
conditions are not static but can be used as a benchmark or
Table 1 guideline. The precision functions as the reliability towards
Comparison Of LTE Positioning Techniques
the positioning techniques [5, 9, 14].
Technolo Accura Yiel Advantag Drawbacks From all of the types of positioning techniques, the
gy cy d es
propose solution for enhancing and improving accuracy can
Cell-ID Low High Inexpensi Very poor be made by A-GNSS, which is able to measure the accurate
ve, accuracy positions with the presence of four satellites, if less than four
reliable and
works with satellites are present, A-GNSS can be combined with
any phone another positioning techniques which is OTDOA or/and E-
Enhanced Mediu High Relatively Variable CID in order to obtain the targeted accuracy. OTDOA and
Cell-ID m (Urban inexpensive accuracy, E-CID without GNSS are suits for measuring two-
and sub- and operator dimensional positions.
urban) works with dependency and

e-ISSN: 2289-8131 Vol. 9 No. 2-13 49

Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer Engineering

Table 2 [5] An overview of LTE Positioning, Spirent White Paper, Spirent,

Accuracy and Precision for Rural Conditions February 2012
[6] Adding Location-Based Services to Existing Architecture,
Type Accuracy Precision Application Note Location Based Services, Dialogic Corporation,
2007.
Cell ID 1746m 95% [7] Sven Fischer, Observed Time Different of Arrival (OTDOA)
Cell ID + 500m-10km - Positioning in 3GPP LTE, Qualcomm Technologies, June 6, 2014.
Timing Advance
Cell ID + 250m-35km 50-550m [8] Assessment of Mobile Location Technology, Final Report, Ofcom,
Timing Advance + Mott Macdonald, 23 April 2013.
Received Signal [9] W. Jonas, "WiFi and Cell-ID based positioning—Protocols, Standards
Strength and Solutions", Jan. 26, 2011
OTDOA 27m 95% [10] A. Clarkson, S. McCallum, N. Solhjoo and S. Velentzas, Hybridised
A-GNSS 10m-15m - Positioning Algorithms in Location Based Services, Proceedings of
the 1st Workshop on Positioning, Navigation and Communication
(WPNC’04).
Table 3
Accuracy and precision for suburban conditions [11] Location Technology Guide, TruePosition Location Technology
Guide, TruePosition Inc, June 2015.
[12] 3GPP TS 36.214, “Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-
Type Accuracy Precision
UTRA); Physical layer; Measurements (Release 13)”, v13.0.0,
Cell ID 1870m 95% January 2016.
Cell ID + 500m-1.5km - [13] S. Pawade, P. Masodkar and P. Hedaoo,”Tracking And Positioning
Timing Advance Of Mobile Systems In Telecommunication Networks”, International
TDOA 1956m 95% Journal of Engineering Research and Applications (IJERA), Vol. 1,
OTDOA 27m 95% Issue 3, pp.1080-1087.
A-GNSS 10m-15m - [14] A. S. Dannert, Positioning Technologies and Mechanisms for mobile
Devices, Seminar Master Module SNET2, TU-Berlin.
Table 4 [15] J. T. J. Penttinen, The Telecommunications Handbook: Engineering
Accuracy and Precision for Urban Areas Guidelines for Fixed, Mobile and Satellite Systems, First Edition,
chapter 17, pp 603-604
Type Accuracy Precision [16] J. J. Spilker Jr., P. Axelrad, B. W. Parkinson, and P. Enge, Global
Positioning System : Theory and Applications Volume I. American
Cell ID 526m 95% Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1996.
Cell ID + 80m-800m - [17] B. Dr. Hofmann-Wellenhof and H. Dr Lichtenegger, GNSS Global
Timing Advance Navigation Satellite Systems. Springer Wien New York, 2008.
TDOA <50m -
OTDOA 97m 67% [18] G. Blewitt, “Basics of the gps technique,” Geodetic applications of
A-GNSS 15m-100m - GPS, 1997.
[19] J. R. Rufa and E. M. Atkinsy, Observed Time Difference of
Arrival/GPS Fusion for Urban UAS Navigation using Particle
VI. CONCLUSION Filtering Techniques, Guidance, Navigation, and Control and Co-
located Conferences, August 19-22, 2013, Boston, MA.
This paper describes about various methods for tracking a [20] Adrian Cardalda Garcia, Hybrid Localization Algorithm for LTE
combining Satellite and Terrestrial Measurements, University of
user mobile which implemented in LTE and also the Oveido, June 2015.
performance parameter that require for positioning. Each [21] Seyed A. (Reza) Zekavat and R. Michael Buehrer, Handbook of
types of positioning have advantages and drawbacks that Position Location : Theory, Practice and Advances, John Wiley &
suits according to the conditions. Exchange happens Sons, Inc, pp 1101-1102, 2012.
between performance and other factors. The best solution in [22] R. Mautz, “Indoor Positioning Technologies”, Institute of Geodesy
most of all cases involves a combination of various location and Photogrammetry, Department of Civil, Environmental and
Geomatic Engineering, ETH Zurich, pp 17-19, February 2012.
positioning (hybrid positioning) designed to suit the
[23] H. Liu, H. Darabi, P. Banerjee, J. Liu “Survey of Wireless Indoor
requirement for the LTE system and to achieve a better Positioning Techniques and Systems”, IEEE Transactions on
accuracy for positioning. Systems, Man, and Cybernatics-Part C: Applications and Reviews,
Vol. 37, No. 6, November 2007.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT [24] M. R. Gholami, “Positioning Algorithms for Wireless Sensor
Networks”, Communication Systems Group, Department of Signals
and Systems, Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg,
The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Education
Sweden 2011.
Malaysia and Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka for their
[25] “Precise Positioning with NovAtel CORRECT Including Performance
contribution and support through research grant funding in Analysis”, NovAtel White Paper, April 2015.
this research. [26] M. Borenovic, “Space-partitioning with Cascade-connected ANN
Structures for Positioning in Mobile Communication Systems”,
REFERENCES School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of
Westminster, pp 6-12, September 2010.
[1] Baker, Edwin L, Wireless enhanced 911 working group: report of [27] A. Awang Md Isa, G. Markarian, M.S. Mohamad Isa, Z. Zakaria,
proceedings. Honolulu, HI: Legislative Reference Bureau, January M.S.I.M. Zin, “Simulation of virtual MIMO base stations for mobile
2004. location in IMT-Advanced networks”, 2012 IEEE Asia-Pacific
Conference on Applied Electromagnetics (APACE),pp 176-181,2012.
[2] M. Thorpe, M. Kottkamp, A. Rössler,J. Schütz, LTE Location Based
Services Technology Introduction, Rohde & Schwarz, April 2013. [28] A. A. M. Isa, M. H. Othman, Z. Manap, M. S. M. Isa, M. S. I. M. Zin,
S. Saat, and Z. Zakaria, “Improved Location and Positioning Utilizing
[3] A. Kaushal, A. Malhotra, H. Vohra, Whitepaper : Location-based
Single MIMO Base Station in IMT-Advanced System,” J.
services & positioning technique using SUPL (Secure User Plane
Telecommun. Electron. Comput. Eng.(JTEC), vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 75–82,
Location), May, 2015. 2016.
[4] Positioning with LTE, Ericsson White Paper, Ericsson, September
2011.

50 e-ISSN: 2289-8131 Vol. 9 No. 2-13