A simplified environment is shown in FIG. 4 for illustrating an exemplary technique for determining a position of a UE 102. The UE 102 may communicate wirelessly with a plurality of gNodeBs 202-206 using radio frequency (RF) signals and standardized protocols for the modulation of the RF signals and the exchanging of information packets. By extracting different types of information from the exchanged signals, and utilizing the layout of the network (i.e., the network geometry) the UE 102 or any of the gNodeBs 202-206 may determine the UE 102′s position in a predefined reference coordinate system. As shown in FIG. 4, the position (x, y) of the UE 102 may be specified using a two-dimensional coordinate system; however, the aspects disclosed herein are not so limited, and may also be applicable to determining positions using a three-dimensional coordinate system, if the extra dimension is desired. Additionally, while three gNodeBs 202-206 are shown in FIG. 4, aspects may utilize additional gNodeBs.
If the UE 102 is to determine its position (x, y), the UE 102 may first need to determine the network geometry. The network geometry can include the positions of each of the gNodeBs 202-206 in a reference coordinate system ((xk, yk), where k=1, 2, 3). The network geometry may be provided to the UE 102 in any manner, such as, for example, providing this information in beacon signals, providing the information using a dedicated server external on an external network, providing the information using uniform resource identifiers, providing the information through base station almanac (BSA), etc.
