Propagation channel impact on LTE positioning accuracy: A study based on real measurements of observed time difference of arrival

The goal with this work is to evaluate the performance of the observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) positioning method using real measured channel data in a macro-cellular urban LTE scenario. This has been made possible using a highly accurate channel sounder developed within Ericsson Research. A wideband (20 MHz bandwidth) measurement campaign at 2.66 GHz was performed using three separate base station sites in a realistic deployment. One main conclusion is that the measured channel allows a positioning accuracy of 20 m and 63 m at the median and 95% level respectively. This is a very encouraging result since the FCC requirements are fulfilled with a safe margin in this urban scenario.