Applications such as the Industrial Internet, Internet of Vehicles, smart cities and emergency response require positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services with high precision, low latency, high reliability and stable operation. Fifth-Generation (5G) offers Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) and massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), creating a possible pathway for large-scale BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) service delivery. Yet existing BDS high-precision services face three bottlenecks: high operation-and-maintenance costs for reference stations and limited coverage; inefficient user-plane point-to-point unicast of augmentation data for massive users; and insufficient fine-grained monitoring and assurance of service quality. Because of these challenges, in-depth research is needed on 5G control-plane-enabled BDS ubiquitous spatiotemporal networks, from integrated base-station hardware and control-plane data broadcasting to deployment optimization and multi-domain service assurance.
A research team led by Beihang University, with collaborators from ZTE, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, China Mobile, China Unicom and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, published (DOI: 10.1186/s43020-026-00230-y) the review online on 19 October 2026 in Satellite Navigation. The paper systematically examines 5G control-plane-enabled BDS ubiquitous spatiotemporal networks, focusing on integrated base-station upgrades, control-plane transmission of augmentation information, site selection and deployment, five application domains, and future communication–navigation and space–ground integration challenges, and key technologies and typical implementation pathways.
The review’s central argument is that 5G should be used not only as a data pipe but as a control platform for organizing, scheduling and assuring spatiotemporal services. At the infrastructure layer, BDS/5G integrated base stations can reuse 5G sites, power and operation-and-maintenance systems while adding BDS signal-receiving modules, thereby reducing reference-station redundancy and improving station density. At the transmission layer, control-plane mechanisms—including the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Location Management Function (LMF), LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) and Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) positioning protocols—can support regional broadcast of BDS augmentation data, identity authentication, policy control and quality-of-service (QoS) assurance, shifting delivery from user-plane point-to-point unicast toward point-to-multipoint and service-aware distribution. At the deployment layer, site selection must balance signal coverage, satellite-observation quality, construction cost, construction difficulty and maintenance. The paper maps these technologies to positioning, navigation, timing, communication and sensing, and highlights implementation paths such as centimeter-level positioning, nanosecond-level timing distribution, dense monitoring of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference, and integrated communication–sensing–navigation base stations for low-altitude applications. It also notes that control-plane broadcasting adds protocol processing and may increase latency, so control-plane and user-plane bearers should be coordinated by data volume, update frequency, terminal scale and real-time requirements.
The authors said the key shift is to treat 5G as a control platform that organizes and assures spatiotemporal services, not merely as a transmission pipe. They said integrated base stations can reuse existing 5G sites, while control-plane broadcasting can turn point-to-point correction delivery into regional, service-aware distribution. They said this matters most when millions of terminals need continuous, trustworthy positioning, navigation and timing—and when operators must monitor service quality rather than simply transmit data. They said deployment planning must also protect satellite-observation quality and service continuity.
The approach has implications for autonomous driving, smart highways, railway and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) inspection, precision agriculture, industrial time-sensitive networking, power-grid fault location, disaster monitoring and low-altitude traffic management. By combining BDS high-precision references with 5G wide-area connectivity and control-plane assurance, operators could deliver differentiated positioning, navigation and timing services to massive terminals while monitoring integrity and reliability. The review also points to future work on space–ground integrated infrastructure, standardized BDS/5G service descriptions, edge-cloud location computing and cross-domain security assurance. Before deployment, however, regulators and industry must validate electromagnetic compatibility, protocol scalability and service-level guarantees in complex environments, including urban canyons and remote regions.
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References
DOI
10.1186/s43020-026-00230-y
Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.1186/s43020-026-00230-y
Funding information
This work was supported in part by the National Key Research and Development Program of China under Grant No. 2024YFB3910103, the Hong Kong Scholars Program under Grant No. XJ2025037, the Beijing Natural Science Foundation under Grant No. 3264040, the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation under Grant No. 2025M784291, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grant No. 501QYJC2025133002.
About Satellite Navigation
Satellite Navigation (ISSN: 2662-1363; ISSN: 2662-9291) Satellite Navigation is the official journal of the Aerospace Information Research Institute. The journal aims to report innovative ideas, new results, and progress in the theories, techniques, and applications of satellite navigation. The journal welcomes original articles, reviews and commentaries.