“PNT in 5G”- Clarification No. 2 to Invitation to Tender: AO/1-10516/20
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ESA UNCLASSIFIED – For ESA Official Use Only Thematic Window dedicated to “PNT in 5G”- Clarification no. 2 to Invitation to Tender: AO/1-10516/20/NL/MP/mk (Issue 1.0) NAVISP Element 2 9th October 2020 Potential Tenderers are invited to take note of the following Clarification to the above Call for Proposals: In the framework of this permanent Open Call for Proposals under NAVISP Element 2, the European Space Agency (ESA) is opening a Thematic Window dedicated to “PNT in 5G”. Tenderers are hereby invited to submit an Outline Proposal on this topic preferably by January 31st 2021, within the Open Call overall duration. Further proposals on the topic could still be submitted after that deadline. They may not however benefit from the increased visibility and priority that this Thematic Window will offer. The scope of the Thematic Window is to support the implementation of pilot projects to demonstrate the contribution that the new 5G technology can do to address the PNT needs of users operating in a 5G environment, being these needs not yet adequately satisfied with the current technologies. Namely: Industry 4.0 applications in indoor environments and the related seamless outdoor/indoor scenarios Complementary PNT solutions for critical applications Network time and frequency distribution applications The Tenderers shall justify the interest of their project on the basis of: - the contribution of the project results to the consolidation of the economic viability of the introduction of a PNT related feature/service in the operational 5G networks, or - the contribution of the results to advance the definition of future releases of the standards. A typical project would take the form of the implementation of a test-bed of 5G infrastructure and/or hybrid GNSS/5G implementing the PNT-related functionalities, the development of the necessary user equipment and a demonstration phase in a pre-operational environment. All the documentation of the AO10516 remain valid and applicable with the exception of the composition of the consortium, which shall include (one or more) members representing the stakeholders involved in the value-added chain of the application, namely: - 5G infrastructure developer, ESA UNCLASSIFIED – For ESA Official Use Only - telecom operator - provider (current or prospective) of navigation services - developer of PNT user equipment - end-user of the application(s) to be demonstrate either as bidding team members or supporting parties with a letter of interest. This is in order to render the results of the projects readily applicable in an operational environment. On October 21st, the Executive organizes a workshop with interested stakeholders in order to raise general awareness about the initiative and clarify any issues potential Tenderers may have. At the workshop, a prominent role is given to presentations from future users of the results of the projects (e.g. logistic operators, telecom operators). Please find in the Annex further details of the scenarios the Thematic Window intends to address. ESA UNCLASSIFIED – For ESA Official Use Only Annex ESA UNCLASSIFIED – For ESA Official Use Only Table of content TABLE OF CONTENT ............................................................................................................... 4 ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................. 5 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 6 2. THE EVOLUTION OF PNT IN CELLULAR NETWORKS: GENERAL STATUS AND RELATED ESA ACTIVITIES ..................................................................................... 6 3. CHALLENGING PNT USER SCENARIOS IN 5G NETWORKS .................................... 9 3.1. INDUSTRY 4.0 ....................................................................................................................... 10 3.2. COMPLEMENTARY SOLUTIONS FOR PNT IN CRITICAL APPLICATIONS ....... 11 3.3. NETWORK SYNCHRONISATION AND OTHER TIME AND FREQUENCY ASPECTS 12 4. TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT PNT IN 5G NETWORKS ......................................... 13 4.1. ENHANCED POSITIONING TECHNIQUES ................................................................... 14 4.2. WIDE-BANDWIDTH SIGNALS ......................................................................................... 14 4.3. MASSIVE MIMO (WITH BEAMFORMING) .................................................................. 14 4.4. OPTIMISED POSITIONING SIGNALS ............................................................................ 15 4.5. SENSORS BASED ENHANCEMENTS .............................................................................. 15 4.6. VERY DENSE COVERAGE IN SPECIFIC AREAS SUCH AS INDOOR .................... 15 APPENDIX A. 3GPP TS 22.261 5G POSITIONING SERVICE LEVELS .......................... 16 APPENDIX B. LIST OF COMPANIES CONTRIBUTING TO 3GPP 5G PNT STUDIES ................................................................................................................................ 18 ESA UNCLASSIFIED – For ESA Official Use Only Acronyms 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project C-V2X Cellular – Vehicle to Everything EC European Commission eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband ESA European Space Agency FCC Federal Communications Commission FOD Foreign Object Debris / Damage FR1 Frequency Range 1 FR2 Frequency Range 2 GNSS Global Navigation Satellite Systems IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IIOT Industrial Internet of Things IMU Inertial Measurement Unit LTE Long Term Evolution MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output mMTC Massive Machine Type Communication NAVAC NAVISP Advisory Committee NAVISP Navigation Innovation and Support Programme NR New Radio NTP Network Transport Protocol PNT Positioning, Navigation, and Timing PRS Positioning Reference Signal PTP Precise Time Protocol RAT Radio Access Technology SyncE Synchronized Ethernet UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicles URLLC Ultra Reliable Low-Latency Communication UTC Universal Time Coordinated ESA UNCLASSIFIED – For ESA Official Use Only 1. Introduction The greatest contribution to the introduction of PNT in every day applications has come from the introduction of the GNSS technology. GNSS offers unique features that are difficult, if not impossible for other technologies to match, such as global coverage and service to an unlimited number of users on land, sea, air and space. The level of performance of GNSS is increasing and new services are being added with every generation of the systems, the latest examples being high accuracy and authentication. However, there are still a number of use cases where GNSS alone cannot fulfill all the expectations of the users. It is on those cases where the synergies of GNSS and cellular-based PNT techniques have the greatest potential, even more when considering the advancements to the brought about by the new features of 5G technologies to support PNT services. The objective of this document is to present what those opportunities are. In the next section (Section 2), the gradual introduction of PNT requirements in the standardization of cellular networks is presented. This leads to the identification of a list of positioning service levels to be supported in the 5G coverage areas. It appears that a few but relevant of those service levels are not yet fulfilled, for example, precise positioning in indoor environments to support Industry 4.0 applications. In Section 3, the focus of the document is open to cover as well other use cases within the cellular network coverage areas where the requirement of PNT are not yet fully resolved. This includes, in addition to the cases identified in Section 2, the case of the provision of a robust back-up to GNSS for critical applications (e.g. autonomous vehicles) and the distribution of precise time and frequency through the different assets of the network including the users. In Section 4, the possibilities offered by the 5G technologies are briefly outlined. 2. The Evolution of PNT in Cellular Networks: General Status and Related ESA Activities The 5G technology will be the next and newest wireless technology planned to be implemented commercially by telecommunication operators as from 2020. The main innovative features of 5G may be classified into three wider areas: Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) and Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC). Even before 5G, location-based services were considered a significant feature of the modern cellular networks which allow the users to locate themselves. In the United States, as from 31 December 2005, it became mandatory for network operators to comply with the FCC´s E911 mandate. This requires mobile network operators to locate and to share the position of emergency calls with emergency dispatchers. Cellular network operators were made responsible for positioning wireless terminals with an accuracy of 50m in 80% of all positioning attempts. These accuracy requirements had to be fulfilled and guaranteed no matter what position estimation technology was used, or in which environment the call was being made (i.e., indoor or outdoor). ESA UNCLASSIFIED – For ESA Official Use Only In Europe, the 112 emergency service has been updated in a location-enhanced version called E112. Similar to eCall systems for cars, emergency responders receive the position of the person in distress. To support this, in December 2018, the European Commission