Wireless Networks

ZTE and China Unicom deploy 5G-A ISAC private network at airport

ZTE and China Unicom deploy 5G-A ISAC private network at airport

Technology giant ZTE, operator China Unicom Liaoning and Dalian Changhai Airport have announced the successful launch of a 5G-Advanced (5G-A) ISAC private network aimed at improving low-altitude security and airport safety.

The 5G-A private network sited at Dalian Changhai Airport's test flight field in Liaoning, a coastal province in Northeastern China, integrates intelligent computing, sensing and communications (ISAC).

As ZTE explains, situated amid a maritime climate and complex island terrain, Dalian Changhai Airport faces distinctive security challenges in low-altitude airspace management.

Conventional patrols and single-sensor radars leave material blind spots for ‘low, slow, small’ targets such as drones and bird flocks, while response cycles to runway intrusions can extend to minutes – constraints that are incompatible with safe, efficient test flight operations.

To address these gaps, the partners have deployed a 5G-A ISAC architecture that unifies high-throughput connectivity and precision sensing in the same network element.

ZTE's millimetre-wave ISAC base stations operating in mmWave spectrum transmit 5G signals whose reflections are analysed for time-of-arrival, Doppler and phase characteristics, reconstructing target position, velocity and trajectory with sub-metre precision – achieving radar-like capability without separate radar hardware.

At the edge, intelligent computing boards run AI models that fuse cellular sensing with video and geographic data for real-time multi-target classification, including bird-versus-drone discrimination.

The system design incorporates RedCap (5G Reduced Capability) lightweight access to extend coverage across airspace, runway and ground operations and to onboard cameras and sensors in traditionally hard-to-reach locations.

China Unicom Liaoning led planning, private network deployment, integration and operations, while ZTE delivered the ISAC base stations, on-premises core network and end-to-end private network solution. Dalian Changhai Airport provided the scenario, requirements and operational coordination.

It appears that the system entered routine 24/7 service a while ago (it’s not clear precisely when), but this has allowed time to see how the solution has performed and, according to ZTE, it has improved low-altitude target detection accuracy and reduced blind-spot rate, as well as bringing down response time for runway intrusions and equipment anomalies, requiring less frequent manual patrols and maintaining zero safety incidents across 120 secured test flight missions.

ZTE adds that security and trustworthiness are embedded end-to-end in the system and that, beyond airport security, the architecture lays a foundation for low-altitude economy services and value-chain expansion.

Indeed, ZTE aims to explore scenario replication with additional regional airports and closed-campus environments, and evolve towards fusion sensing networks with broader coverage and higher precision.

The approach also shortens investment payback compared to traditional radar-centric systems by nearly 60%, improving scalability for wider adoption.

Could this be, as ZTE suggests, a replicable template for intelligent low-altitude security – and a milestone for 5G-A private networks in critical infrastructure? It certainly seems to be a high-profile example of a very useful application of the private 5G concept.



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