An experimental evaluation of network-based methods for mobile station positioning

Abstract

Different methods for network-based mobile positioning were compared experimentally. The method using cell-ID and the GSM timing advance (TA) parameter provided limited accuracy, the uncertainty ranging from 500 m to 3000 m for the median, dependant on area type. This could be reduced up to 25% by using alternative radii based on observations in the "doughnut" shaped prediction area. The planning tool method improved the accuracy by approximately 30-50% compared to this in an urban area. The forced handover method provided the best overall performance. In a rural area, the improvement was approximately 40-55% compared to cell-ID and TA.