System and method for determining device location in an IP-based wireless telecommunications network
First Claim
1. A system for determining a location associated with a mobile device configured for voice communication over an Internet Protocol (IP)-based wireless telecommunications network, the system comprising:
- a network controller with a processor and memory in an IP-based wireless telecommunications network that is configured to identify data associated with the mobile device,wherein the mobile device is communicably coupled to the network controller via an access point that operates on an unlicensed frequency spectrum and is coupled to an IP-based network,wherein the mobile device is configured for voice communication over the IP-based wireless telecommunications network via the access point,wherein the identified data includes at least one of an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) or a media access control (MAC) address of the access point, andwherein the identified data is received by the network controller over the IP-based wireless telecommunications network; and
a location database that is communicably coupled to the network controller, wherein the location database is configured for indexing with the identified data associated with the mobile device;
wherein the network controller is further configured to communicate a query to the location database that includes the identified data associated with the mobile device,wherein the location database is further configured to provide a response to the query,wherein the response includes location information associated with the mobile device, the location information including at least one of;
an address of the subscriber,a location of the access point, ora serving area of the access point, andwherein the response further includes an indication of a degree of accuracy of the location information.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method determines a geographic position of a mobile device in communication with an IP-based wireless telecommunications network. A wireless connection between the mobile device and the IP-based wireless telecommunications network is established when the mobile device registers with a network controller (NC) through an access point (AP). When a geographical position is needed for the mobile device (e.g., a 911 call), messages are exchanged between the NC and the SMLC, where the SMLC retrieves information from a database that is used to identify the geographic position of the mobile device. The database can store a variety of information related to mobile devices such as: last known position, IP address, MAC address, device or subscriber identifier, last CGI, etc. The geographical position is communicated back to the NC, which can then forward the position information to a switch for processing such as for 911 calls.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A system for determining a location associated with a mobile device configured for voice communication over an Internet Protocol (IP)-based wireless telecommunications network, the system comprising:
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a network controller with a processor and memory in an IP-based wireless telecommunications network that is configured to identify data associated with the mobile device, wherein the mobile device is communicably coupled to the network controller via an access point that operates on an unlicensed frequency spectrum and is coupled to an IP-based network, wherein the mobile device is configured for voice communication over the IP-based wireless telecommunications network via the access point, wherein the identified data includes at least one of an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) or a media access control (MAC) address of the access point, and wherein the identified data is received by the network controller over the IP-based wireless telecommunications network; and a location database that is communicably coupled to the network controller, wherein the location database is configured for indexing with the identified data associated with the mobile device; wherein the network controller is further configured to communicate a query to the location database that includes the identified data associated with the mobile device, wherein the location database is further configured to provide a response to the query, wherein the response includes location information associated with the mobile device, the location information including at least one of; an address of the subscriber, a location of the access point, or a serving area of the access point, and wherein the response further includes an indication of a degree of accuracy of the location information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A network controller that is arranged in an IP-based wireless telecommunications network that includes facilities for a mobile device configured for voice communication over the IP-based wireless telecommunications network, the network controller comprising:
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a memory; a processor coupled to the memory; a component configured to receive a request for a location determination, wherein the request for the location determination is associated with the mobile device, and wherein the mobile device accesses the IP-based wireless telecommunications network for voice communication via an access point operating on unlicensed frequency spectrum and coupled to an IP-based network; a component configured to identify data associated with the mobile device, wherein the identified data includes at least one of an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) or a media access control (MAC) address of the access point, and wherein the identified data is received by the network controller over the IP-based network; a component configured to communicate a location query to a location database, wherein the location database is configured for indexing with the identified data associated with the mobile device; and wherein the location query includes the identified data associated with the mobile device; a component configured to receive a location response from the location database, the location response includes location information for the mobile device, including at least one of; an address of the subscriber, a location of the access point, or a serving area of the access point, wherein the response further includes an indication of a degree of accuracy of the location information; a component configured to process the location response from the location database to provide a positioning response; and a component configured to send a reply to the request for the location determination with the positioning response. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for determining a location associated with a mobile device in an IP-based wireless telecommunication network, the method comprising:
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identifying data associated with the mobile device, wherein the mobile device is communicably coupled to an IP-based wireless telecommunications network via an access point that operates on an unlicensed frequency spectrum and is communicably coupled to an IP-based network, wherein the mobile device is configured for voice communication over the IP-based wireless telecommunications network via the access point, and wherein the identified data includes at least one of an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) or a media access control (MAC) address of the access point; transmitting a query over the IP-based network to a location database that includes the identified data associated with the mobile device, wherein the location database is configured for indexing with the identified data associated with the mobile device; and transmitting a reply to the query, wherein the reply includes location information associated with the mobile device, the location information including at least one of; an address of the subscriber, a location of the access point, or a serving area of the access point, wherein the reply further includes an indication of a degree of accuracy of the location information. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method in a network controller of determining a location of a dual-mode mobile device configured for voice communication over a cellular network and for voice communication over an Internet Protocol (IP)-based wireless telecommunication network, the method comprising:
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determining that the dual-mode mobile device is registered for voice communication over the IP-based wireless telecommunication network through a wireless access point that operates on an unlicensed frequency spectrum and is communicably coupled to an IP network; receiving identifying data over the IP-based network associated with at least one of the dual-mode device and the wireless access point, wherein the identifying data includes at least one of— a media access control (MAC) address of the wireless access point, an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), a cell global identity value of a cell of the cellular network, wherein the cell is associated with the dual-mode mobile device at the time of the voice communication over the IP-based wireless telecommunication network, or an IP address of the wireless access point; based on the identifying data, determining location information usable to determine a location of the mobile device, wherein the location information includes at least one of— a location of the wireless access point, a location of the subscriber of the dual-mode device, a location of the cell associated with the dual-mode mobile device at the time of the voice communication over the IP-based wireless telecommunication network, or a location of a public IP address serving area; determining a degree of accuracy of the location information; and based on the location information, determining a location of the dual-mode mobile device and providing the location in conjunction with the degree of accuracy. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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Specification