A small unconnected drone can cross a factory fence or approach a runway without ever joining a mobile network. Manufacturers, airports, ports, and other fixed-site operators already buy cameras and radar for the perimeter. Scaling those sensors across a large campus or a corridor of sites raises capital and maintenance costs. Ericsson's November 2 announcement outlines a potential carrier service for low-altitude tracking, built on the towers, backhaul, and spectrum already in place.

The company introduced the Ericsson Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) System. Sensing-capable fifth-generation radios, edge computing, and signal processing detect and track objects that are not connected to the network. Ericsson expects small-scale, sensing-only commercial pilots with selected customers to begin in 2027 and broader deployments to follow from 2028. Integrated communications arrive later as the product evolves toward sixth-generation standards (Ericsson).

Radio reflections from multiple sites form the track

Mobile networks already broadcast signals that bounce off solid objects. The Ericsson system analyzes those reflections in a multi-static arrangement, where transmission and reception are distributed across geographically separate sites. Each site sees the object from a different angle. Edge processing turns the returns into a continuous track and an artificial-intelligence classification. Ericsson says the data can be shared through standardized interfaces with authorized security and command systems, then combined with other sensors. The radio layer complements radar and cameras.

Home Wi-Fi sensing offers a familiar comparison. Xfinity's WiFi Motion detects movement when a person disrupts the signals between a gateway and up to five selected stationary devices, and it uses no cameras (Xfinity). Ericsson applies the same radio principle outdoors, with separate mobile-network sites viewing a target from multiple angles. Xfinity reports motion inside configured areas of a home. Ericsson reports tracking micro drones at kilometer-scale distances with precise three-dimensional positioning (Xfinity; Ericsson).

In validated tests the system detected and tracked micro drones at kilometer-scale distances with precise three-dimensional positioning. Actual results depend on the target's size and flight path, the geometry of the sites, the terrain, and the system configuration (Ericsson).

Tracking an object differs from identifying it. Ericsson says the system provides AI-based classification, but the November 2 announcement gives no accuracy figures for separating a bird from a drone and no false-alarm rates. Radio-sensing systems can look at motion signatures, such as flapping wings versus spinning rotors, though Ericsson does not say which method it uses. Pilot customers should ask for test results at their own site that show how often birds trigger alerts (Ericsson).

Live network tests already ran in Texas, Finland, and Poland

In July 2026 AT&T and Ericsson demonstrated the approach in authorized airspace outside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Ericsson deployed Massive MIMO radios on existing cell sites near the venue; RCR Wireless reported three sites. Multiple drones flying between 300 and 400 feet were detected, located, and tracked in real time using radio signals typically used for communications (AT&T; RCR Wireless).

A separate demonstration with Erillisverkot in Helsinki showed multiple fifth-generation sites detecting and tracking drones for public-safety use. On October 15 Ericsson, Play, and Asseco ran a live demonstration at Ericsson's research center in Kraków. Ericsson's radio sensing ran in industrial spectrum and was combined with Asseco's acoustic detection system, PUSZCZYK, to improve positioning of low-flying drones. Play's 5G network provided backhaul connectivity (Ericsson).

Operators will check tower geometry before they buy

Freddie Södergren, Ericsson's global head of Mission Critical Networks and Defense, said low-flying drones create a detection gap that no single sensor addresses. The system lets multiple sites deliver coordinated wide-area tracking that integrates with existing tools, and it gives operators a way to create services from assets already in the ground (Ericsson).

If you manage a plant, an airport, a port, or another fixed site, three questions matter. Will your local carrier offer the sensing layer under a usable service agreement? What coverage does the existing tower geometry give your site? How will the carrier handle a missed track? Ask those questions of carriers now, including whether they plan to join the 2027 pilots, and track the service terms that emerge as Ericsson works toward broader deployments from 2028.