Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) Analysis on GNSS Signals and Effects on Positioning Errors

Radio frequency interference (RFI) frequently exists in the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals. Conventionally, the monitoring of carrier-to-noise density ratio (C/N0) values can be used to detect the RFI levels. Since RFI affects the quality of GNSS signals and applications, we determine three RFI levels (low, moderate, and high) based on C/N0 then statistically analyze the RFI occurrences in Bangkok, Thailand. The percentage of RFI occurrences is computed based on the average C/N0 technique. We compare the RFI occurrence statistics of 2 GNSS stations in the urban (DPT9) and suburban (KMIT) areas in Bangkok in June 2021 (COVID-19 lockdown period) and 2023 (Post COVID-19 period). The results show that during the COVID-19 period, the RFI occurrences are much reduced at the DPT9 station in the center of the city. The high (severe) RFI levels at DPT9 (urban) are mostly higher than those at KMIT station (suburban). In addition, we investigate the effects of high (severe) RFI events on single-point and real-time kinematics (RTK) positioning errors.