Ericsson and MediaTek achieve sub-30cm 5G network positioning accuracy

This technical milestone shifts high-precision location services from proprietary, expensive hardware to standardized cellular infrastructure. By embedding RTK data directly into the 5G Core, operators can support mission-critical industrial applications like autonomous drone delivery and robotic logistics at scale. For the streaming and media ecosystem, this level of spatial awareness enhances localized content delivery and augmented reality synchronization in outdoor environments. The removal of complex hardware requirements lowers the barrier for device manufacturers to adopt advanced location services. Watch for the commercial rollout of Ericsson’s 5G Advanced location services to see how quickly enterprises transition from legacy GNSS systems to 3GPP-based positioning.

Ericsson has been building a broader portfolio of AI-native network capabilities that complement its positioning work. In early 2026, T-Mobile tested Ericsson's AI-native Scheduler with Link Adaptation across approximately 43 live sites in Los Angeles, New York, New Jersey, and Salt Lake City, achieving up to 10 percent gains in spectral efficiency and 15 percent higher downlink throughput compared to legacy rule-based methods. The feature runs on existing Ericsson baseband hardware without requiring GPU additions, demonstrating the vendor's approach of embedding intelligence directly into RAN software rather than bolting on external accelerators. Johan Hultell, who leads Ericsson's Product Line RAN Software, described the work as central to the company's vision for programmable networks that deliver real-time performance gains while helping operators maximize spectrum value.

The commercial positioning of these capabilities aligns with Ericsson's stated strategy of extracting more value from mid-cycle 5G investments rather than waiting for 6G. At MWC 2026, Ericsson's networks chief Per Narvinger emphasized that public safety and defense sectors are beginning to adopt 3GPP-based mobile networks in place of proprietary systems, signaling that standardized cellular infrastructure is displacing dedicated hardware in mission-critical verticals. That same logic applies to the RTK positioning demonstration with MediaTek: by moving decimetre-level accuracy into the 5G Core via 3GPP Release 16 standards, operators can serve industrial use cases like drone navigation and autonomous logistics without requiring enterprises to deploy separate positioning infrastructure.

On the technical side, Ericsson has reported that AI-driven link adaptation can yield even larger gains in certain deployments. At the ET 5G Congress in New Delhi, Ericsson's Ng Thiaw Seng stated that AI-based link adaptation on the radio interface improved cell-edge spectral efficiency by 20 percent, exceeding the 10 percent figures seen in U.S. trials. These spectral efficiency improvements matter for positioning accuracy because tighter beam management and better signal quality at cell edges directly enhance the timing and angle-of-arrival measurements that underpin 3GPP-based location services. T-Mobile is targeting commercialization of the AI-native scheduler in the third quarter of 2026, following its milestone as the first U.S. operator to deploy 5G Advanced nationwide in 2025, which provides the network foundation for advanced location features like the RTK integration Ericsson and MediaTek demonstrated.