Discover how Combain’s Cell ID Positioning can revolutionize your location-based services today
Cell ID positioning - the GNSS alternative
Combain’s Cell ID Positioning is a cutting-edge location service that utilizes cellular network infrastructure to deliver fast, reliable, and cost-efficient positioning data. By harnessing location data from crowdsourcing, Combain Cell ID positioning offers a low-power alternative in scenarios where GNSS is unreliable or unavailable.
This solution is designed for seamless integration through the Combain Location API, offering businesses an accessible and efficient way to enhance their location-based services. Whether for asset tracking, IoT deployments, or forensic and analytics, Combain’s Cell ID Positioning ensures optimal performance, energy efficiency, and scalability to meet diverse industry needs.
How It Works
Combain’s service identifies nearby cell towers using a device’s network connection and matches this data to the vast global database of towers. By processing the data on its cloud platform, Combain minimizes device resource use and provides near-instant location results through an easy-to-integrate API.
- Cell Tower Identification: The solution identifies the nearest cellular towers using Cell ID data from the device’s network.
- Database Matching: Combain’s extensive global database cross-references the Cell ID to determine an approximate location.
- Cloud-Based Service: The positioning calculation happens in Combain’s cloud platform, minimizing device power consumption.
- API Integration: Businesses can seamlessly integrate the positioning service into their applications using Combain’s Location API.
How You Access It
You access the service through Combain’s Location API, which comes with detailed documentation for quick integration. Customizable deployment options ensure the solution meets specific business needs, supported by Combain’s technical support team.
- API Access: Customers access the service via an API key obtained through Combain’s platform.
- Integration Options: These are available for integrating mobile applications, IoT devices, and software platforms.
- Customizable: Combain provides tailored solutions for specific use cases, ensuring the service meets individual business needs.
- Deployment: Normally, Combain hosts the service in the Combain Cloud, but on-prem and offline options are available.
Benefits
Combain’s solution outperforms GNSS in power efficiency and reliability in challenging environments. With one of the world’s largest crowdsourced cell tower and locations database, it provides superior global coverage and enables faster, more efficient positioning compared to traditional GNSS and other alternatives.
Enhanced Coverage:
It works effectively indoors, in urban canyons, and remote areas, ensuring global reliability. It also provides a secure alternative to GNSS jamming or spoofing.
Energy Efficiency:
GNSS drains significant battery life, especially in IoT devices. Cell ID Positioning offers a more energy-efficient alternative, extending operational longevity.
Cost-Effective Solution:
It eliminates the need for GNSS hardware and large batteries or power supplies, lowering production costs. It also reduces operational costs, such as that batteries don’t need to be replaced for years.
Speed and Performance:
GNSS systems can take time to lock onto a position, especially in challenging conditions. Cell ID Positioning provides near-instant results.
Scalability for IoT:
It is ideal for IoT devices, asset tracking, and location-based analytics. It easily supports large-scale deployments, from individual devices to entire fleets. If the device does not need to know its location, we can send it directly to subscribing services.
Global Database Leadership:
Combain boasts one of the world’s largest databases of cell tower locations and crowdsourced location data, ensuring better coverage and accuracy than competing services.
Privacy-Conscious Design:
Relying on cell tower signals minimizes direct device tracking, offering a more privacy-conscious solution than some GNSS-based alternatives.
Applications
- Asset Tracking: Efficiently track goods, vehicles, and devices in real-time without GNSS dependency.
- IoT Devices: Enable location-based functionalities for low-power IoT systems.
- Personal safety: Provide reliable location data for safety and security systems in locations where GNSS is less reliable.
Key Takeaways
What is Cell ID Positioning?
- Outdoor positioning that uses mobile cell IDs and signal strengths to return a fast, low-power location.
- You integrate through the Combain Location API.
How does it work end to end?
- A device reads nearby cell towers.
- The service matches those IDs to a global database.
- The location is calculated on Combain Cloud or on your on-prem server and returned through the API.
What scale of data supports accuracy and coverage?
- More than 185 million cell IDs and over 150 billion positions across 195 countries.
- The database updates continuously from global crowdsourcing.
What coverage figures are listed by region?
- Europe 99.2 with over 61 million cells.
- North America 99.7 with over 23 million.
- Asia 97 with over 59 million. Pacific 98.5 with over 17 million.
- Africa 97.2 with over 11 million.
- South America 98.8 with over 12 million.
- USA 99.9 with over 17 million.
What are the main benefits versus GNSS?
- Better power efficiency
- Reliable results in indoor, urban canyons, and remote areas.
- You also gain resilience when GNSS is jammed or spoofed.
What is the business value for IoT and fleets?
- Lower device power use and smaller batteries.
- No need for GNSS hardware in many use cases.
- You scale from single devices to large fleets with near-instant responses.
How do you deploy and integrate?
- Request a free API key.
- Call the Location API from apps, IoT devices, or platforms.
- Choose hosting in Combain Cloud, on-prem, or fully offline with periodic database packages.
How is privacy handled?
- Training data is anonymized and never shared with third parties.
- Your API usage is private.
- On-prem and offline modes keep processing and storage inside your environment.
Submit anonymized training data to enhance service. Training data never shared with any third party.
> 185 million cell IDs
> 150 billion positions
195 of 195 countries
GROWING FAST
Cloud, OnPrem, and Offline deployments available
Download Combain Cell ID positioning Leaflet
Truly global
Based on billions of positions from global crowdsourcing
The service uses Combain’s global database of Cell IDs. Our algorithms continuously update the database by processing millions of positions from global crowdsourcing. Your usage of the API is private and not shared with any third party.
| Type | Total number |
|---|---|
| GSM | > 35 000 000 |
| WCDMA | > 78 000 000 |
| CDMA | > 2 000 000 |
| LTE | > 68 000 000 |
| NR | > 2 000 000 |
| Region | Coverage | Nr. of cells |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | 99.2 | >61 000 000 |
| North America | 99.7 | >23 000 000 |
| Asia | 97 | >59 000 000 |
| Pacific | 98.5 | >17 000 000 |
| Africa | 97.2 | >11 000 000 |
| South America | 98.8 | >12 000 000 |
| USA | 99.9 | >17 000 000 |