Cellular positioning using fingerprinting based on observed time differences

Cellular positioning has been a very active research area for the last decade. Large improvement in accuracy has been made to support, for example, e-call and other location-based services. Traditionally, cellular positioning has been limited to cellular operators equipped with expensive synchronization hardware in order to achieve good accuracy. Lately, third parties have employed fingerprinting methods to enable positioning systems independent from the cellular operators. With improved available processing power, denser cellular networks, cheaper data collection and efficient pattern matching algorithms, the fingerprinting positioning methods have also gained popularity. In this paper, we analyzed the potential of using System Frame Number (SFN) — SFN observed time differences, which are traditionally used in Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) positioning, for fingerprinting-based positioning. A field test was performed using measurements from TEMS (Telecommunication Management System) Investigation. By combining SFN-SFN observed time differences with Received Signal Code Power (RSCP) measurements, we demonstrated an improved accuracy of the fingerprinting method by 20% compared to only using RSCP measurements. The results are promising and show good potential in using SFN-SFN observed time differences for positioning based on fingerprinting.