Expected Positioning Accuracy of 5G

Like 4G, the new 5G mobile communications standard is developing over several years, with new functions constantly being added. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standardization committee has summarized this development in so-called releases, each of which contains new functions as well as improvements to functions already introduced. One of these functions is positioning. In the context of 4G, positioning was almost exclusively dealt with due to regulatory requirements, which only made possible a positioning accuracy of 20 - 50 meter.

While 5G in Release 15 retains the positioning accuracy already defined in 4G, this is to be significantly improved with Release 16 where 3 meters was set as a goal. Further improvements are planned with Releases 17 (less than 1 metre) and Release 18. Since standardization is a continuous process that is subject to change, the targets for the coming Releases 17 and 18 may still change until their adoption.

Based on the technical possibilities of 5G the following development of positioning accuracy is conceivable: