Location Determination using In-Band Signaling for Mobility Management in Future Networks

This paper covers positioning techniques for future cellular networks using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing communications signals. These methods are based on symbol- timing synchronization algorithms to find the starting point for the underlying in-band pilots in the preamble. Commonly used approaches as like the Schmidl-Cox algorithm and the Minn algorithm are discussed and investigated w.r.t. their positioning capabilities. Furthermore, they are extended to improve the performance in multipath environments and to achieve a sufficient accuracy with weak signals from neighboring out-of-cell base stations. Additionally, system-side applications that can make use of the estimated location information are analyzed.