Near a balcony close to the World Cup site at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, a point suddenly appeared on a monitor, indicating an intruding drone moving toward a defined restricted airspace. In moments, a cooperative drone launched from the balcony to meet it and guide the intruder away.

The intruding drone was detected without conventional tools like radar. Its path was instead followed using 5G cellular radios identical to those mounted on towers and structures.

AT&T and Ericsson staged this proof-of-concept test to showcase their Integrated Sensing and Communication system, aligned with a major global sports event. While drones were the test focus, the approach could extend to monitoring vehicles or individuals near the 5G coverage area.

Though limited in scale, the test occurs as drone activity rises in restricted zones. Reuters reported that the FBI noted over 700 drones seized by US authorities during the World Cup, including cases where operators were unaware of expanded no-fly areas around the games.

Events in Ukraine and Russia illustrate how small drones can evade detection yet cause damage, raising concerns for planners of events such as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics or local gatherings.

Live information from three towers

The test used a multistatic sensing setup with three cell towers, each fitted with Ericsson Massive MIMO radios similar to those on nearby sites and equipped with sensing functions. The towers stood roughly 1.6 miles from the test zone.

Once the network detected the object outside the restricted area, software identified it via signal processing and AI methods as a drone traveling near 11 mph. In an actual incident, agencies including law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security would receive the same real-time feed to decide on next steps.

Although the test followed only two drones, AT&T states the system can handle groups of them.

Reasons for relying on 5G networks in tracking

Locating airborne items is established practice, with radar systems worldwide scanning skies for planes and hazards. These systems usually focus on higher altitudes and need specialized equipment.

A cellular network already features widespread towers and sites delivering ongoing coverage across much of the country. The test followed drones at 300 to 400 feet, though detection can reach up to 6 kilometers.

Robert Soni, vice president of Radio Access Network technology at AT&T, highlighted the firm's 75,000 sites in North America.

"This represents a large scale that would be hard to match by constructing dedicated radar," Soni noted in a post-demo discussion. "We sit nearer the ground, and our elevation angle allows coverage at lower heights than traditional airborne radar, letting us observe more of the country."

Akhil Gokul, vice president and head of technology for the Americas at Ericsson, noted that tower density improves precision "since reflections of radio frequency waves arrive from several towers," yielding richer data for models.

The method also adds resilience, avoiding single points of failure, as cell networks reroute automatically when a tower is offline for upkeep or weather issues.

Testing fresh applications for current hardware forms a key attraction of ISAC, since upgrades to towers involve high costs and delays.

"The industry constantly seeks additional functions for the wireless network," said Yigal Elbaz, senior vice president and network chief technology officer at AT&T. "As with other systems, the goal is to maximize what existing infrastructure already supports."

Advancing 6G features in the present

The demonstrated sensing approach is slated for future 6G standards, yet AT&T and Ericsson chose to begin testing without delay.

"Technically this was seen as a 6G feature under development in standards," Gokul said. "Our work with AT&T moves the timeline forward."

Soni aims to avoid waiting until around 2030 for 6G deployment before starting the process.

"Standards used to finish first, followed by proofs of concept, then trials, and finally home use," Soni said. "We aim to shorten that sequence for the Gs by introducing capabilities sooner."

The Texas drone test used two aircraft near an empty stadium yet confirmed real-time tracking and identification with existing 5G equipment. Practical applications, from threat response to support for autonomous vehicles, will not pause for standards, and neither will the two companies.