3GPP Release 19, finalized in December 2025, is an incremental step between the more foundational changes in Releases 18 and 20 that enhances integration and interoperability across technologies and systems. It builds on the 5G Advanced (5.5G) standard introduced in Release 18, which included positioning capabilities down to centimeter-range accuracy. Release 19 provides new opportunities to operationalize location services in diverse environments, from satellite networks to smart factories to connected vehicles, in tandem with the expanding role of AI in location intelligence.
The State of Change in Location Services
With advances in synchronization and interoperability, Release 19 helps ensure reliable location intelligence in complex or constrained conditions. These enhancements translate into practical improvements in how networks capture, interpret, and act on positioning data while setting the stage for standardized, AI-driven future enhancements.
Non-Terrestrial Networks
Release 19 integrates non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) based on low-orbit satellites or other high-altitude platforms into 5G positioning frameworks. Mobile operators are signing agreements with NTN providers to close global connectivity gaps using existing handset hardware, extending connectivity beyond terrestrial cell towers and creating a gap in lawful access to positioning information.
Provisions in the new standard make location data from NTNs available alongside existing terrestrial sources. That interoperability offers the ability to accurately locate devices when traditional ground-based references are unavailable. It also makes it possible for analysts to fuse satellite-derived location data with terrestrial network logs to create a unified, more robust operational picture based on hybrid GNSS-5G positioning.
Another area of development is to enhance AGPS by pushing GPS assistance data for NTN satellites to handsets. Extending AGPS capabilities to handsets connected through NTNs is a crucial capability for timely positioning in emergency services as well as for real-time lawful intelligence.
Industrial IoT and Smart Factories
For industrial usages, Release 19 provides for ultra-precise, low-latency positioning to track assets, robots, and workers in near-real-time with sub-meter accuracy. These capabilities support consistent location of tracked endpoints, including in indoor, multipath-rich industrial environments with heavy interference, where metallic structures and machinery often degrade signal quality. A new generation of automation, safety, and asset tracking applications shift location from its former support role to become a core operational requirement.
The refreshed standard increases accuracy for time-of-arrival (ToA) and angle-of arrival (AoA) location techniques, which calculate distance based on transmission time and direction based on phase differences between antennas, respectively. It also improves interoperability between private 5G networks and public infrastructure, allowing seamless handoff of location data across domains. Tighter coupling between positioning functions and distributed compute resources more fully integrates high-accuracy location with real‑time analytics and decision‑making in edge environments.
Vehicular Positioning and V2X Communication
Release 19 increases the sophistication of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications and provides decimeter-level positioning accuracy. In addition, Release 19 increases responsiveness with updates at rates of 10 Hz or more and enhances support for accuracy with vehicles traveling at high speed. These advances improve safety for services that depend on lane-level navigation and positioning accuracy, such as autonomous driving, collision avoidance, and traffic management.
Release 19 improves positioning by integrating GNSS corrections with 5G NR signals, ensuring that vehicles can be located precisely even in dense urban environments. These refinements reduce errors caused by multipath reflections and signal blockages, which are common in cities. Release 19 emphasizes interoperability between vehicular systems and GNSS, 5G NR sidelink, and real-time kinematic (RTK) techniques for correcting satellite navigation signals. It also improves support for multi-sensor fusion across data sources such as LIDAR, radar, and cameras.
Novel AI Capabilities for 5G Positioning
While AI-driven positioning will become far more mature in Release 20, Release 19 provides a standards-based groundwork for enhancements including smarter real-time selection of positioning methods and predictive location. Multi-source fusion combines information from GNSS, 5G NR signals, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, inertial sensors, and other sources to provide seamless hybrid positioning, coordinated by AI. Release 19 informs ongoing development of the AI engine in SS8 LocationWise to help drive the next generation of location intelligence.
Emerging capabilities include improvements to RF fingerprinting, which maps the ambient RF signals at a specific physical location and uses that signature to locate devices based on the dynamic signal measurements they report. AI can increase accuracy by predictively modeling the background RF signature at a specific time and place and intelligently locating devices based on that information. Release 19 also provides first standardization steps for future extensions of predictive modeling, such as to infer where a subject of interest will go next during an investigation. Context-aware positioning will build situational awareness into location intelligence, such as preemptively locating devices in a disaster zone or high-risk location automatically so authorities can respond more effectively.
Release 19 advances the precision, adaptability, and AI‑readiness of 5G positioning, setting the stage for the capabilities that will follow in Release 20 and beyond.
About Dr. Keith Bhatia
About Michael Gebretsadik
Michael has worked in the telecommunication industry for the better part of two decades, in roles ranging from engineering to product management, and business development. He has been involved with location technology since 2003, when he joined SnapTrack (a Qualcomm subsidiary). Prior to joining SS8 in 2020, Michael was responsible for growing the global Location-Based Services business for Comtech Telecommunications through channel partners and IoT OEMs. You can learn more about Michael on his LinkedIn profile.
About SS8 Networks
As a leader in Lawful and Location Intelligence, SS8 is committed to making societies safer. Our mission is to extract, analyze, and visualize critical intelligence, providing real-time insights that help save lives. With 25 years of expertise, SS8 is a trusted partner of the world’s largest government agencies and communication providers, consistently remaining at the forefront of innovation.
Discovery is the latest solution from SS8. Provided as a subscription, it is an investigative force multiplier for local and state police to fuse, filter, and analyze massive volumes of investigative data – in real time.
Intellego® XT monitoring and data analytics portfolio is optimized for Law Enforcement Agencies to capture, analyze, and visualize complex data sets for real-time investigative intelligence.
LocationWise delivers the highest audited network location accuracy worldwide, providing active and passive location intelligence for emergency services, law enforcement, and mobile network operators.
Xcipio® mediation platform meets the demands of lawful intercept in any network type and provides the ability to transcode (convert) between lawful intercept handover versions and standard families.
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