Existing mobile phone networks can be used to detect fast, low-flying drones across wide areas, says Ericsson, the European communications giant based in Sweden. Ericsson says its new Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) technology, which it sees as part of layered defense against drones, will begin deployment next year. Ericsson expects widespread use by 2028.

“Detecting small drones across large areas is a growing operational challenge,” said Carl Lundqvist, chief architect at Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters. “The possibility of using distributed infrastructure to complement existing sensors could provide an important layer of situational awareness.”

ISAC uses sensing-capable 5G radios, edge computing, AI, and signal processing to track objects not connected to the network across a wide area. ISAC is designed to supplement radar and other sensors by using existing mobile phone towers, backhaul links and spectrum so it doesn’t require a separate detection network, making it appealing from a cost point of view.

ISAC analyzes radio signals reflected by objects, using geographically separated sites to transmit and receive sensing signals. Observing an object from several angles helps accurately pinpoint its position and maintain tracking.

“Low-flying drones create a detection coverage gap that no single sensor can effectively address,” says Freddie Sodergren, the company’s global head of mission critical networks and defense. “Ericsson ISAC system enables multiple 5G sites to deliver coordinated wide-area detection and continuous tracking, with data that can be integrated with traditional sensing technologies and operational systems.”

Ericsson says testing reliably detected and tracked micro drones at kilometer-scale distances although performance variables included a drone’s flight path, the arrangement of sensing sites, terrain, environmental conditions and system configuration.

ISAC is being well received by a number of international mobile phone network operators. ISAC already has undergone trials with AT&T in Arlington, Texas in the U.S., for example. “The next evolution of connectivity is about networks that don’t just move data but help organizations with insights to better understand and respond to events in the real world,” says Shawn Hakl, senior vice president and head of product at AT&T Business. “Bringing ISAC capabilities into existing 5G infrastructure can provide telemetry and intelligence in situations where it is not possible or desirable to pre-deploy cameras.”

While military and police use are obvious applications, Ericsson sees a role for ISAC in other areas. These include the monitoring of critical infrastructure, transport and industry as well as the developing “low-altitude economy” that includes drone traffic management, urban airspace monitoring and digital twins for environmental mapping.

Mobile phone networks are now the focus of dual-use innovation. For example, Israeli drone developer Elsight says it can use existing cellular phone infrastructure to determine its drone position in GPS-denied environments. The Elsight system cross-references GPS against a cellular-derived position in real time and issues an alert when the two deviate significantly. The Elsight navigation mode is engaged when GPS becomes unavailable.