Performance evaluation of LTE radio fingerprinting using field measurements

This paper evaluates positioning accuracy of radio fingerprinting algorithm in commercially deployed LTE (Long Term Evolution) network operating on 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz frequency bands. Training database required for fingerprint positioning is constructed from field measurements that resemble LTE Release 10 Minimization of Drive Test (MDT) trace records. Performance is compared between LTE and LTE+WLAN grid-based RF fingerprint measurements utilizing partial fingerprint matching. Results indicate that partial fingerprints that consist of LTE and WLAN radio measurements decrease positioning errors at least by a factor of 3.5x while the percentage of discarded samples is kept low. This emphasizes the importance of having generic MDT functionality for automating the collection and correlation of radio measurements in heterogeneous LTE and WLAN networks.