Using electronic surveillance data as event triggers for lawful location tracking

• US 8,554,172 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2008
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dammrose, John Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOLLIDAY, JAIME MICHELE
• Application Number:
  US12/255,368
• Publication Number:
  US 20100099436A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,813 Days
• Field of Search: 455/40.1, 455/404.2, 455/410, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/404.1, 4554561-4566
• US Class Current: 455/404.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/30 for supporting lawful interception, monitoring or retaining of communications or communication related information circuit switched telephony call monitoring H04M3/2281
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A system and method to automatically provide a location estimate of a mobile station in communication with a mobile wireless network to an appropriate law enforcement agency in response to detecting an electronic surveillance event within a mobile wireless network. A surveillance location server extracts pertinent information from a surveillance event message and sends a request for a location estimate to network components that generate and return the location estimate. The surveillance location server forwards to the location estimate to an appropriate law enforcement agency.

Claims

1. A method, implemented in a mobile wireless network to provide an estimate of a location of a mobile station to an authorized agency, comprising:

detecting, at a network element, a surveillance event in the mobile wireless network, wherein the surveillance event comprises a non-telephone-call-related event selected from a group of events consisting of;

(i) a text message originating at the mobile station;

(ii) a text message being directed to the mobile station; and

(iii) the mobile station accessing a web site;

sending, from the network element, in response to detecting the surveillance event, a surveillance event message to a call data delivery function, the surveillance event message comprising identifying information related to the mobile station;

determining, by the call data delivery function, a selected surveillance location server from a plurality of surveillance location servers to which the surveillance event message is forwarded;

sending, from the call data delivery function, the surveillance event message to the selected surveillance location server;

extracting, at the selected surveillance location server, upon receipt of the surveillance event message, the identifying information from the surveillance event message;

receiving, at a gateway mobile location center, from the selected surveillance location server, a location estimate request prepared by the surveillance location server based on the identifying information;

obtaining, at the gateway mobile location center, an identity of a last known edge switch serving the mobile station;

sending, from the gateway mobile location center, the location estimate request for the mobile station to the last known edge switch serving the mobile station;

paging, by the last known edge switch and in response to receiving the location estimate request by the last known edge switch, the mobile station to obtain an active signal from the mobile station;

obtaining, by the last known edge switch, a location estimate using the active signal received from the mobile station;

receiving, at the gateway mobile location center, the location estimate from the last known edge switch serving the mobile station;

predicting, by the gateway mobile location center, an accuracy of the location estimate;

sending, from the gateway mobile location center, the location estimate and information indicating the accuracy of the location estimate to the selected surveillance location server; and

sending, from the selected surveillance location server, the location estimate to the authorized agency.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein extracting identifying information from the surveillance event message further comprises extracting a mobile directory number or an international mobile system identity from the surveillance event message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the location estimate request further comprises sending a standard location immediate request or an emergency location immediate request.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the surveillance event further comprises detecting a particular interaction between the mobile wireless network and the mobile station, wherein the particular interaction has been previously identified in the mobile wireless network as a surveillance event.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the surveillance event in the mobile wireless network further comprises detecting the surveillance event in the mobile wireless network at a device selected from a group of devices consisting of a mobile switching center and a home location register.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the surveillance event message to the call data delivery function further comprises sending the surveillance event message to the call data delivery function at a device selected from a group of devices consisting of a mobile switching center and a home location register.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein sending, from the surveillance location server, the location estimate to the authorized agency further comprises sending, from the selected surveillance location server, the location estimate to a law enforcement agency.

8. A system, for estimating a location of a mobile station implemented by a mobile wireless network, comprising:

a network element in the mobile wireless network configured to detect a surveillance event and send a surveillance event message in response to detecting the surveillance event, wherein the surveillance event comprises an event selected from a group of non-telephone-call-related events consisting of;

(i) a text message originating at the mobile station;

(ii) a text message being directed to the mobile station; and

(iii) the mobile station accessing a web site;

the surveillance event message comprises identifying information related to the mobile station;

a call data delivery function configured to receive surveillance event messages from a plurality of network elements and forward the surveillance event messages to a surveillance location server selected from a plurality of destinations according to the nature of the surveillance event and the identity of the mobile station;

the surveillance location server configured to, upon receipt of the surveillance event message, extract the identifying information from the surveillance event message, send a location estimate request based on the extracted identifying information to a gateway mobile location center, and forward a location estimate received from the gateway mobile location center to an authorized agency; and

the gateway mobile location center configured to, upon receipt of the location estimate request, cause paging of the mobile station, obtain a location estimate based on the extracted identifying information and an active signal in response to the paging of the mobile station, predict an accuracy of the location estimate, and forward the location estimate and information indicating the accuracy of the location estimate to the surveillance location server.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the surveillance location server is further configured to extract identifying information, which is selected from a group consisting of a mobile directory number and an international mobile system identity, from the surveillance event message.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the surveillance location server is further configured to send a standard location immediate request.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the network element is further configured to detect a particular interaction between the mobile wireless network and the mobile station, wherein the particular interaction has been previously identified to the network element as a surveillance event.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the network element is further configured to detect one of registering mobile stations, originating a call from the mobile station, sending a text message from the mobile station and accessing a web site from the mobile station.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the network element further comprises a mobile switching center.

14. A method, for a surveillance location server in a mobile wireless network to estimate a location of a mobile station, comprising:

extracting identifying information associated with the mobile station from the surveillance event message, upon receipt of a surveillance event message in response to detection of a surveillance event by the mobile wireless network, the surveillance event comprises an event selected from a group of non-telephone-call-related events consisting of;

(i) a text message originating at the mobile station;

(ii) a text message being directed to the mobile station; and

(iii) the mobile station accessing a web site;

generating a location estimate request based on the identifying information extracted from the surveillance event message;

sending location estimate request to a gateway mobile location center;

receiving a location estimate, calculated using an active signal resulting from a last known edge switch paging the mobile station, with information indicating the accuracy of the location estimate from the gateway mobile location center, wherein the gateway mobile location center predicted the accuracy of the location estimate;

and sending the location estimate to the authorized agency.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein receiving a surveillance event message further comprises receiving a surveillance event message from a call data delivery function.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein extracting identifying information from the surveillance event message further comprises extracting identifying information, which is selected from a group consisting of a mobile directory number and an international mobile system identity, from the surveillance event message.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein sending the location estimate request further comprises sending a standard location immediate request message.

18. A non-transitory computer readable storage media encoded with instructions that, when executed by a network processing element of a mobile wireless network, causes the processing element to perform operations, to estimate a location of a mobile station, comprising:

extracting identifying information associated with the mobile station from the surveillance event message, upon receipt of a surveillance event message, in response to detecting a surveillance event, related to the mobile station, the surveillance event comprises an event selected from a group of non-telephone-call-related events consisting of;

(i) a text message originating at the mobile station;

(ii) a text message being directed to the mobile station; and

(iii) the mobile station accessing a web site;

generating a location estimate request based on the identifying information extracted from the surveillance event message;

sending a location estimate request to a gateway mobile location center;

receiving a location estimate, calculated using an active signal resulting from a last known edge switch paging the mobile station, with information indicating the accuracy of the location estimate from the gateway mobile location center, wherein the gateway mobile location center predicted the accuracy of the location estimate; and

sending the location estimate to the authorized agency.