• Drone activity increasingly poses a growing challenge to national security and critical infrastructure. Ericsson, Play and Asseco, demonstrated how a multi-layered sensingsolution using mobile networks can detect drones to protect sensitive locations in Polandsuch as airports, ports and borders.

The live drone detection demonstration showcased the potential of Ericsson’s Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) technology, using Play’s mobile network for transferring the data. The event took place at Ericsson R&D Center in Kraków, October 15. Together with Asseco’s acoustic sound detection technology – integrated and visualized on Asseco’s drone detection system called PUSZCZYK – the aim is to develop a multi-layered detection system in Poland with accurate, detailed positioning of low-flying drones.

The event gathered representatives from the Polish government, the Parliamentary Committee on Digitalisation, New technologies and Innovation, representatives of the Polish defense sector, the Military University of Technology (WAT), military research institutes, the Embassy of Sweden, UKE (Poland’s telecommunications regulator), Business Sweden, ORLEN (Poland's largest gas and oil company) and the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency as well as Ericsson customers and partners.

Martin Mellor, Head of Ericsson Poland, says: “Together with Asseco and using Play’s mobile network for the backhaul, we can create an advanced, situational awareness platform for drone detection and tracking. We are proud to work together to show how this can look in real life, protecting critical infrastructure in Poland.” 

Michał Ziółkowski, Member of the Management Board and Chief Technology Officer of Play, says: “Today, a modern telecommunications network is far more than a communication tool. It is a strategic and critical infrastructure asset that serves as a foundation for economic growth, digital transformation and, crucially, the security of the state and its citizens. Thanks to its scale, availability and resilience, the Play network can support the development of advanced monitoring and airspace protection systems by leveraging existing infrastructure and resources.” 

Grzegorz Bartler, Vice President, Asseco Poland, says: “With a powerful combination of technologies and detection methods integrated into our PUSZCZYK platform, we can gather a rich set of data to see what is happening in our airspace. This is crucial for protecting sensitive areas and critical infrastructure.” 

Ericsson’s Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) technology uses reflections from transmitted radio signals to understand characteristics of the surrounding environment, enabling advanced positioning and motion estimation capabilities of non-connected flying objects. 

Asseco’s PUSZCZYK drone detection system can use sensors (based on Codequest and DGT ZVOOK sensors), installed for example on existing lighting infrastructure, and Asseco’s IoT Platform to analyze drone sounds and other data with AI, locate drones and track their flight paths. 

The demonstration used industrial spectrum, with Play’s 5G network providing backhaul connectivity.

More information about ISAC 

Ericsson’s ISAC technology combines its Massive MIMO 5G radio platform and beam steering with specialized edge computing, signal processing and sensing software. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will further enhance sensing processing for target detection and classification. 

ISAC supports the evolution toward 5G Advanced and 6G, where networks are expected to integrate sensing and communication more closely. Early deployments will likely focus on defense and public safety users, with broader commercialization expected in the 6G timeframe as standards and the ecosystem mature.