WO2022005796A1

WO2022005796A1 - Power-optimized channel scans for positioning

Info

Publication number: WO2022005796A1
Application number: PCT/US2021/038326
Authority: WO
Inventors: Guttorm Ringstad Opshaug; Grant Marshall; Mukesh Kumar
Original assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
Priority date: 2020-06-30
Filing date: 2021-06-22
Publication date: 2022-01-06

Abstract

Techniques are provided for positioning a user equipment (UE) with different radio access technologies. An example method for determining a location of a mobile device includes providing location information to a network server, receiving channel information associated with one or more different radio access technologies, scanning for station identification information based on the received channel information, wherein the station identification information is associated with the one or more different radio access technologies, providing the station identification information to the network server, and receiving a current location estimate from the network server.

Description

POWER-OPTIMIZED CHANNEL SCANS FOR POSITIONING

BACKGROUND

[0001] Wireless communication systems have developed through various generations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service (1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), a third-generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-capable wireless service, a fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax), and a fifth-generation (5G) service (e.g., 5G New Radio (NR)). There are presently many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including Cellular and Personal Communications Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), the Global System for Mobile access (GSM) variation of TDMA, etc.

[0002] It is often desirable to know the location of a user equipment (UE), e.g., a cellular phone, with the terms "location" and "position" being synonymous and used interchangeably herein. A location services (LCS) client may desire to know the location of the UE and may communicate with a location center in order to request the location of the UE. The location center and the UE may exchange messages, as appropriate, to obtain a location estimate for the UE. The location center may return the location estimate to the LCS client, e.g., for use in one or more applications.

[0003] Obtaining the location of a mobile device that is accessing a wireless network may be useful for many applications including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating a friend or family member, etc. Existing positioning methods include methods based on measuring radio signals transmitted from a variety of devices including satellite vehicles and terrestrial radio sources in a wireless network such as base stations and access points.

SUMMARY

[0004] An example method for determining a location of a mobile device according to the disclosure includes providing location information to a network server, receiving channel information associated with one or more different radio access technologies, scanning for station identification information based on the received channel information, wherein the station identification information is associated with the one or more different radio access technologies, providing the station identification information to the network server, and receiving a current location estimate from the network server.

[0005] Implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features.

The location information may be a named geographic region. The location information may be a cell identification of a current serving cell. The channel information may include channel numbers. The station identification information may include a cell or sector identification. The station identification information may include a beam identification. The one or more different radio access technologies may include at least two technologies from a group comprised of Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and 5G new radio (NR). Scanning for station identification information may include determining a modem activation period for a modem, scheduling a channel scan based on the modem activation period, and performing the channel scan when the modem is active. The modem may be configured to utilize a discontinuous reception mode with periodic scan windows and scheduling the channel scan may include scheduling a channel scan window adjacent to a periodic scan window.

[0006] An example method for determining a location of a mobile device according to the disclosure includes receiving location information from the mobile device, determining channel information associated with one or more different radio access technologies based on the location information, providing the channel information to the mobile device, receiving station identification information associated with the one or more different radio access technologies from the mobile device, determining a current location estimate for the mobile device based on the station identification information, and providing the current location estimate to the mobile device.

[0007] Implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features.

The location information may be a named geographic region. The location information may be a cell identification of a current serving cell. Determining the channel information may include selecting records from a scan history database comprising scan results previously obtained by a plurality of mobile devices. The method may include computing one or more sector centers associated with the station identification information based on the previously obtained scan results. Determining the current location estimate for the mobile device may include determining one or more sector centers based on the station identification information. The one or more of different radio access technologies include at least two technologies from a group comprised of Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and 5G new radio (NR).

[0008] An example method for performing a channel scan with a mobile device according to the disclosure includes determining a modem activation period for a modem, scheduling the channel scan based on the modem activation period, and performing the channel scan when the modem is active.

[0009] Implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features.

The modem may be configured to utilize a discontinuous reception mode with periodic scan windows and scheduling the channel scan includes scheduling a channel scan window adjacent to a periodic scan window. Performing the channel scan may include performing a blind scan to detect proximate base stations. The method may include determining a location of the mobile device with a satellite navigation system, and storing a result of the channel scan and the location of the mobile device in a scan history database. Performing the channel scan may include scanning a short list of channels based at least in part on a location of the mobile device. The modem may be configured for parallel operation and the channel scan may be performed when the modem is active. The modem may be configured for serial operation and the channel scan may be performed adjacent to the modem activation period.

[0010] An example method of determining a location of a mobile device according to the disclosure includes receiving channel information associated with a plurality of different radio access technologies, scanning for station identification information based on the channel information, wherein the station identification information is associated with the plurality of different radio access technologies, and determining the location of the mobile device based on the station identification information.

[0011] Implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features.

The channel information may be stored in a data structure in a memory of the mobile device. The plurality of different radio access technologies include at least two technologies from a group comprised of Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and 5G new radio (NR). [0012] An example apparatus according to the disclosure includes a memory, at least one transceiver, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one processor and configured to provide location information to a network server, receive channel information associated with one or more different radio access technologies, scan for station identification information based on the received channel information, wherein the station identification information is associated with the one or more different radio access technologies, provide the station identification information to the network server, and receive a current location estimate from the network server.

[0013] Implementations of such an apparatus may include one or more of the following features. The location information may be a named geographic region. The location information may be a cell identification of a current serving cell. The channel information may include channel numbers. The station identification information may include a cell or sector identification. The station identification information may include a beam identification. The one or more different radio access technologies may include at least two technologies from a group comprised of Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and 5G new radio (NR). The apparatus may further include a modem, such that the at least one processor is communicatively coupled to the modem and configured to determine a modem activation period for the modem, schedule a channel scan based on the modem activation period, and perform the channel scan when the modem is active. The at least one processor may be further configured to utilize a discontinuous reception mode with periodic scan windows and to schedule a channel scan window adjacent to a periodic scan window.

[0014] An example apparatus according to the disclosure includes a memory, at least one transceiver, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver and configured to receive location information from a mobile device, determine channel information associated with one or more different radio access technologies based on the location information, provide the channel information to the mobile device, receive station identification information associated with the one or more different radio access technologies from the mobile device, determine a current location estimate for the mobile device based on the station identification information, and provide the current location estimate to the mobile device. [0015] Implementations of such an apparatus may include one or more of the following features. The location information may be a named geographic region. The location information may be a cell identification of a current serving cell. The at least one processor may be further configured to select records from a scan history database comprising scan results previously obtained by a plurality of mobile devices. The at least one processor may be further configured to compute one or more sector centers associated with the station identification information based on the previously obtained scan results, to determine the current location estimate based on one or more sector centers.

[0016] Items and/or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as other capabilities not mentioned. A mobile device may perform a blind channel scan to find local base stations associated with one or more radio access technologies. The scan results and location information may be stored in a scan history database. One or more sector centers may be determined based on the scan history database. Channel information may be provided to a mobile device based on a general location of the mobile device. The mobile device may perform a channel scan based on the received channel information. The channel scan may be scheduled based on the state of modem and receiver circuits. A location estimated may be determined based on the channel scan results. Channel information used to assist the scanning process may utilize less time and power than a blind scan. Power savings for enhanced cell identification (E-CID) positioning may be realized. Other capabilities may be provided and not every implementation according to the disclosure must provide any, let alone all, of the capabilities discussed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communications system.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components of an example user equipment.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of components of an example transmission/reception point.

[0020] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of components of an example server.

[0021] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example network with a plurality of radio access technologies.

[0022] FIG. 6 is a geographic chart of position reporting and the resulting sector centers. [0023] FIG. 7 is an example data structure for power-optimized channel scans for positioning.

[0024] FIG. 8 is a timing diagram conceptually illustrating a channel scan period based on a scheduled modem activation.

[0025] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an example method for generating a data structure for power- optimized channel scans for positioning.

[0026] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an example method for determining a location of a mobile device with a network server.

[0027] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an example method performed by a mobile device for determining a location.

[0028] FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of an example method performed by a server for determining a location of a mobile device.

[0029] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of an example method for performing a channel scan.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Techniques are discussed herein for positioning a user equipment (UE). Intra-frequency enhanced cell identification (E-CID) techniques may be used to provide coarse positioning accuracy for a UE. In general, the position accuracy of an E-CID fix is inversely proportional to the density of the cellular deployment (e.g., the number of stations available to the mobile device). Existing E-CID techniques utilize a single radio access technology (RAT) from a single operator, and thus the position accuracy is limited to the fixed number of towers owned by the operator.

[0031] The power-optimized channel scans for positioning described herein utilize inter- frequency measurements (e.g., from other RATs) to improve positioning accuracy since different frequency bands may have different coverage areas and thus increase the number of stations available to the UE. A UE may be configured to search for inter-frequency stations (i.e., including other RATs), however, such blind searches can be time consuming and may increase power consumption. The power-optimized channel scans provided herein overcome these limitations. In one example, an intra-frequency serving sector-center (SC) position may be used to represent the typical location of any UE that is camped on a specific cell. In another example, an intra-frequency E-CID position may be determined and may provide an improvement to the position accuracy by utilizing the serving station measurement as well as measurements from neighboring cells and different RATs. [0032] In an example, assistance data may be provided to a UE to enable it to scan a short-list of RATS, such that each RAT may include a short-list of channels where each channel may have a short-list of physical cell identities. The assistance data may also include information about relative cell timing and frequency offsets with respect to neighboring cells or a common reference location (e.g., geographic position). The assistance data may be self-learned by the UE or it may be provided by an external entity such as a location server. The assistance data may be associated with a geographic region such as a continent, a country, a state, as city, or a coverage area of a given cell. The UE may be configured to scan measurements during or adjacent to time periods where the modem and one or more receive chains are active (e.g., powered on). For example, during paging periods in a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode. Performing the channel scans when the modem is active may reduce the power consumed as compared to other processes which require powering the modem and receive chains on and off, and allowing the receive chain oscillators to settle once powered on. These techniques and configurations are examples, and other techniques and configurations may be used.

[0033] Referring to FIG. 1, an example of a communication system 100 includes a UE 105, a Radio Access Network (RAN) 135, here a Fifth Generation (5G) Next Generation (NG) RAN (NG- RAN), and a 5G Core Network (5GC) 140. The UE 105 may be, e.g., an IoT device, a location tracker device, a cellular telephone, or other device. A 5G network may also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) network; NG-RAN 135 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or as an NR RAN; and 5GC 140 may be referred to as an NG Core network (NGC). Standardization of an NG-RAN and 5GC is ongoing in the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Accordingly, the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may conform to current or future standards for 5G support from 3 GPP. The RAN 135 may be another type of RAN, e.g., a 3G RAN, a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc.

The RAN 135 may utilize millimeter wave (mmW) and sub 6 GHz radio access technologies. The communication system 100 may utilize information from a constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 for a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) like the Global Positioning System (GPS), the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, or Beidou or some other local or regional SPS such as the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components. [0034] As shown in FIG. 1, the NG-RAN 135 includes NR nodeBs (gNBs) 110a, 110b, and a next generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) 114, and the 5GC 140 includes an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, a Session Management Function (SMF) 117, a Location Management Function (LMF) 120, and a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125. The gNBs 110a, 110b and the ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, are each configured to bi-directionally wirelessly communicate with the UE 105, and are each communicatively coupled to, and configured to bi-directionally communicate with, the AMF 115. The AMF 115, the SMF 117, the LMF 120, and the GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and the GMLC is communicatively coupled to an external client 130. The SMF 117 may serve as an initial contact point of a Service Control Function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and delete media sessions.

[0035] FIG. 1 provides a generalized illustration of various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may be duplicated or omitted as necessary. Specifically, although one UE 105 is illustrated, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be utilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include a larger (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNBs 114, AMFs 115, external clients 130, and/or other components. The illustrated connections that connect the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections which may include additional (intermediary) components, direct or indirect physical and/or wireless connections, and/or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and/or omitted, depending on desired functionality.

[0036] While FIG. 1 illustrates a 5G-based network, similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. Implementations described herein (be they for 5G technology and/or for one or more other communication technologies and/or protocols) may be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure directional signals at UEs (e.g., the UE 105) and/or provide location assistance to the UE 105 (via the GMLC 125 or other location server) and/or compute a location for the UE 105 at a location-capable device such as the UE 105, the gNB 110a, 110b, or the LMF 120 based on measurement quantities received at the UE 105 for such directionally-transmitted signals. The gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 125, the location management function (LMF) 120, the access and mobility management function (AMF) 115, the SMF 117, the ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114 and the gNBs (gNodeBs) 110a, 110b are examples and may, in various embodiments, be replaced by or include various other location server functionality and/or base station functionality respectively.

[0037] The UE 105 may comprise and/or may be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Enabled Terminal (SET), or by some other name. Moreover, the UE 105 may correspond to a cellphone, smartphone, laptop, tablet, PDA, tracking device, navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, asset tracker, health monitors, security systems, smart city sensors, smart meters, wearable trackers, or some other portable or moveable device. Typically, though not necessarily, the UE 105 may support wireless communication using one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (W CDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G new radio (NR) (e.g., using the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140), etc. The UE 105 may support wireless communication using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) which may connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or packet cable, for example. The use of one or more of these RATs may allow the UE 105 to communicate with the external client 130 (e.g., via elements of the 5GC 140 not shown in FIG.

1, or possibly via the GMLC 125) and/or allow the external client 130 to receive location information regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC 125).

[0038] The UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities such as in a personal area network where a user may employ audio, video and/or data I/O (input/output) devices and/or body sensors and a separate wireline or wireless modem. An estimate of a location of the UE 105 may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geographic, thus providing location coordinates for the UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude) which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above or depth below ground level, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, a location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or the designation of some point or small area in a building such as a particular room or floor). A location of the UE 105 may be expressed as an area or volume (defined either geographically or in civic form) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with some probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). A location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a relative location comprising, for example, a distance and direction from a known location. The relative location may be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to some origin at a known location which may be defined, e.g., geographically, in civic terms, or by reference to a point, area, or volume, e.g., indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the term location may comprise any of these variants unless indicated otherwise. When computing the location of a UE, it is common to solve for local x, y, and possibly z coordinates and then, if desired, convert the local coordinates into absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0039] The UE 105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. The UE 105 may be configured to connect indirectly to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. The D2D P2P links may be supported with any appropriate D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, and so on. One or more of a group of UEs utilizing D2D communications may be within a geographic coverage area of a Transmission/Reception Point (TRP) such as one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and/or the ng- eNB 114. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage areas, or may be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station. Groups of UEs communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. A TRP may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communications.

In other cases, D2D communications may be carried out between UEs without the involvement of a TRP.

[0040] Base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1 include NR Node Bs, referred to as the gNBs 110a and 110b. Pairs of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 may be connected to one another via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communication between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, which may provide wireless communications access to the 5GC 140 on behalf of the UE 105 using 5G. In FIG. 1, the serving gNB for the UE 105 is assumed to be the gNB 110a, although another gNB (e.g. the gNB 110b) may act as a serving gNB if the UE 105 moves to another location or may act as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to the UE 105.

[0041] Base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1 may include the ng-eNB 114, also referred to as a next generation evolved Node B. The ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135, possibly via one or more other gNBs and/or one or more other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE wireless access and/or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to the UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and/or the ng-eNB 114 may be configured to function as positioning -only beacons which may transmit signals to assist with determining the position of the UE 105 but may not receive signals from the UE 105 or from other UEs.

[0042] The BSs 110a, 110b, 114 may each comprise one or more TRPs. For example, each sector within a cell of a BS may comprise a TRP, although multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., share a processor but have separate antennas). The system 100 may include macro TRPs or the system 100 may have TRPs of different types, e.g., macro, pico, and/or femto TRPs , etc. A macro TRP may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscription. A pico TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscription. A femto or home TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access by terminals having association with the femto cell (e.g., terminals for users in a home).

[0043] As noted, while FIG. 1 depicts nodes configured to communicate according to 5G communication protocols, nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols, such as, for example, an LTE protocol or IEEE 802.1 lx protocol, may be used. For example, in an Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to the UE 105, a RAN may comprise an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) which may comprise base stations comprising evolved Node Bs (eNBs). A core network for EPS may comprise an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). An EPS may comprise an E-UTRAN plus EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to the NG-RAN 135 and the EPC corresponds to the 5GC 140 in FIG. 1.

[0044] The gNBs 110a, 110b and the ng-eNB 114 may communicate with the AMF 115, which, for positioning functionality, communicates with the LMF 120. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell change and handover and may participate in supporting a signaling connection to the UE 105 and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 may communicate directly with the UE 105, e.g., through wireless communications. The LMF 120 may support positioning of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135 and may support position procedures / methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), Real Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), angle of arrival (AOA), angle of departure (AOD), and/or other position methods. The LMF 120 may process location services requests for the UE 105, e.g., received from the AMF 115 or from the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be connected to the AMF 115 and/or to the GMFC 125. The FMF 120 may be referred to by other names such as a Focation Manager (FM), Focation Function (FF), commercial FMF (CFMF), or value added FMF (VFMF). A node / system that implements the FMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location-support modules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Focation Center (E-SMFC) or a Secure User Plane Focation (SUPF) Focation Platform (SEP). At least part of the positioning functionality (including derivation of the location of the UE 105) may be performed at the UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by the UE 105 for signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as the gNBs 110a, 110b and/or the ng-eNB 114, and/or assistance data provided to the UE 105, e.g. by the FMF 120).

[0045] The GMFC 125 may support a location request for the UE 105 received from the external client 130 and may forward such a location request to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the FMF 120 or may forward the location request directly to the FMF 120. A location response from the FMF 120 (e.g., containing a location estimate for the UE 105) may be returned to the GMFC 125 either directly or via the AMF 115 and the GMFC 125 may then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client 130. The GMFC 125 is shown connected to both the AMF 115 and FMF 120, though one of these connections may be supported by the 5GC 140 in some implementations.

[0046] As further illustrated in FIG. 1, the FMF 120 may communicate with the gNBs 110a,

110b and/or hte ng-eNB 114 using a New Radio Position Protocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa), which may be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the FTE Positioning Protocol A (FPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, with NRPPa messages being transferred between the gNB 110a (or the gNB 110b) and the FMF 120, and/or between the ng-eNB 114 and the FMF 120, via the AMF 115. As further illustrated in FIG. 1, the FMF 120 and the UE 105 may communicate using an FTE Positioning Protocol (FPP), which may be defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. The FMF 120 and the UE 105 may also or instead communicate using a New Radio Positioning Protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of FPP. Here, FPP and/or NPP messages may be transferred between the UE 105 and the FMF 120 via the AMF 115 and the serving gNB 110a, 110b or the serving ng-eNB 114 for the UE 105. For example, FPP and/or NPP messages may be transferred between the FMF 120 and the AMF 115 using a 5G Focation Services Application Protocol (FCS AP) and may be transferred between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 using a 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The FPP and/or NPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and/or UE-based position methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA and/or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using network-based position methods such as E-CID (e.g., when used with measurements obtained by the gNB 110a, 110b or the ng-eNB 114) and/or may be used by the LMF 120 to obtain location related information from the gNBs 110a, 110b and/or the ng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining directional SS transmissions from the gNBs 110a, 110b, and/or the ng-eNB 114.

[0047] With a UE-assisted position method, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 120) for computation of a location estimate for the UE 105. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Round Trip signal propagation Time (RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and/or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), transmitter identity, for the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, and/or a WLAN AP. The location measurements may also or instead include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and/or carrier phase forthe SVs 190-193.

[0048] With a UE-based position method, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to location measurements for a UE-assisted position method) and may compute a location of the UE 105 (e.g., with the help of assistance data received from a location server such as the LMF 120 or broadcast by the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, or other base stations or APs).

[0049] With a network-based position method, one or more base stations (e.g., the gNBs 110a,

110b, and/or the ng-eNB 114) or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or Time of Arrival (TOA) for signals transmitted by the UE 105) and/or may receive measurements obtained by the UE 105. The one or more base stations or APs may send the measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 120) for computation of a location estimate forthe UE 105.

[0050] Information provided by the gNBs 110a, 110b, and/or the ng-eNB 114 to the LMF 120 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for directional SS transmissions and location coordinates. The LMF 120 may provide some or all of this information to the UE 105 as assistance data in an LPP and/or NPP message via the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140.

[0051] An LPP or NPP message sent from the LMF 120 to the UE 105 may instruct the UE 105 to do any of a variety of things depending on desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message could contain an instruction for the UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A- GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and/or OTDOA (or some other position method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message may instruct the UE 105 to obtain one or more measurement quantities (e.g., beam ID, beam width, mean angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted within particular cells supported by one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and/or the ng- eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station such as an eNB or WiFi AP). The UE 105 may send the measurement quantities back to the LMF 120 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., inside a 5G NAS message) via the serving gNB 110a (or the serving ng-eNB 114) and the AMF 115.

[0052] As noted, while the communication system 100 is described in relation to 5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc., that are used for supporting and interacting with mobile devices such as the UE 105 (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functionalities). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, the 5GC 140 may be connected to a WLAN using a Non-3GPP InterWorking Function (N3IWF, not shown FIG. 1) in the 5GC 150. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for the UE 105 and may comprise one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF may connect to the WLAN and to other elements in the 5GC 140 such as the AMF 115. In some embodiments, both the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in an EPS, the NG-RAN 135 may be replaced by an E-UTRAN containing eNBs and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by an EPC containing a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in place of the AMF 115, an E-SMLC in place of the LMF 120, and a GMLC that may be similar to the GMLC 125. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPa in place of NRPPa to send and receive location information to and from the eNBs in the E-UTRAN and may use LPP to support positioning of the UE 105. In these other embodiments, positioning of the UE 105 using directional PRSs may be supported in an analogous manner to that described herein for a 5G network with the difference that functions and procedures described herein for the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, the AMF 115, and the LMF 120 may, in some cases, apply instead to other network elements such eNBs, WiFi APs, an MME, and an E- SMLC.

[0053] As noted, in some embodiments, positioning functionality may be implemented, at least in part, using the directional SS beams, sent by base stations (such as the gNBs 110a, 110b, and/or the ng-eNB 114) that are within range of the UE whose position is to be determined (e.g., the UE 105 of FIG. 1). The UE may, in some instances, use the directional SS beams from a plurality of base stations (such as the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, etc.) to compute the UE’s position.

[0054] Referring also to FIG. 2, a UE 200 is an example of the UE 105 and comprises a computing platform including a processor 210, memory 211 including software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for a transceiver 215 (that includes a wireless transceiver 240 and/or a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) receiver

217, a camera 218, and a position (motion) device 219. The processor 210, the memory 211, the sensor(s) 213, the transceiver interface 214, the user interface 216, the SPS receiver 217, the camera

218, and the position (motion) device 219 may be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 220 (which may be configured, e.g., for optical and/or electrical communication). One or more of the shown apparatus (e.g., the camera 218, the position (motion) device 219, and/or one or more of the sensor(s) 213, etc.) may be omitted from the UE 200. The processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 210 may comprise multiple processors including a general-purpose/ application processor 230, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and/or a sensor processor 234. One or more of the processors 230-234 may comprise multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, the sensor processor 234 may comprise, e.g., processors for radio frequency (RF) sensing (with one or more wireless signals transmitted and reflection(s) used to identify, map, and/or track an object) and/or ultrasound, etc. The modem processor 232 may support dual SIM/dual connectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module or Subscriber Identification Module) may be used by an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), and another SIM may be used by an end user of the UE 200 for connectivity. The memory 211 is a non- transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disc memory, and/or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 211 stores the software 212 which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor 210 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 212 may not be directly executable by the processor 210 but may be configured to cause the processor 210, e.g., when compiled and executed, to perform the functions. The description may refer to the processor 210 performing a function, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 210 executes software and/or firmware. The description may refer to the processor 210 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of the processors 230-234 performing the function. The description may refer to the UE 200 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the UE 200 performing the function. The processor 210 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and/or instead of the memory 211. Functionality of the processor 210 is discussed more fully below.

[0055] The configuration of the UE 200 shown in FIG. 2 is an example and not limiting of the disclosure, including the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, an example configuration of the UE includes one or more of the processors 230-234 of the processor 210, the memory 211, and the wireless transceiver 240. Other example configurations include one or more of the processors 230-234 of the processor 210, the memory 211, the wireless transceiver 240, and one or more of the sensor(s) 213, the user interface 216, the SPS receiver 217, the camera 218, the PMD 219, and/or the wired transceiver 250.

[0056] The UE 200 may comprise the modem processor 232 that may be capable of performing baseband processing of signals received and down-converted by the transceiver 215 and/or the SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing of signals to be upconverted for transmission by the transceiver 215. Also or alternatively, baseband processing may be performed by the processor 230 and/or the DSP 231. Other configurations, however, may be used to perform baseband processing.

[0057] The UE 200 may include the sensor(s) 213 that may include, for example, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) 270, one or more magnetometers 271, and/or one or more environment sensors 272. The IMU 270 may comprise one or more inertial sensors, for example, one or more accelerometers 273 (e.g., collectively responding to acceleration of the UE 200 in three dimensions) and/or one or more gyroscopes 274. The magnetometer(s) may provide measurements to determine orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and/or true north) that may be used for any of a variety of purposes, e.g., to support one or more compass applications. The environment sensor(s) 272 may comprise, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and/or one or more microphones, etc. The sensor(s) 213 may generate analog and/or digital signals indications of which may be stored in the memory 211 and processed by the DSP 231 and/or the processor 230 in support of one or more applications such as, for example, applications directed to positioning and/or navigation operations.

[0058] The sensor(s) 213 may be used in relative location measurements, relative location determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by the sensor(s) 213 may be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based location determination, and/or sensor-assisted location determination. The sensor(s) 213 may be useful to determine whether the UE 200 is fixed (stationary) or mobile and/or whether to report certain useful information to the LMF 120 regarding the mobility of the UE 200. For example, based on the information obtained/measured by the sensor(s) 213, the UE 200 may notify/report to the LMF 120 that the UE 200 has detected movements or that the UE 200 has moved, and report the relative displacement/distance (e.g., via dead reckoning, or sensor-based location determination, or sensor- assisted location determination enabled by the sensor(s) 213). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensors/IMU can be used to determine the angle and/or orientation of the other device with respect to the UE 200, etc.

[0059] The IMU 270 may be configured to provide measurements about a direction of motion and/or a speed of motion of the UE 200, which may be used in relative location determination. For example, the one or more accelerometers 273 and/or the one or more gyroscopes 274 of the IMU 270 may detect, respectively, a linear acceleration and a speed of rotation of the UE 200. The linear acceleration and speed of rotation measurements of the UE 200 may be integrated over time to determine an instantaneous direction of motion as well as a displacement of the UE 200. The instantaneous direction of motion and the displacement may be integrated to track a location of the UE 200. For example, a reference location of the UE 200 may be determined, e.g., using the SPS receiver 217 (and/or by some other means) for a moment in time and measurements from the accelerometer(s) 273 and gyroscope(s) 274 taken after this moment in time may be used in dead reckoning to determine present location of the UE 200 based on movement (direction and distance) of the UE 200 relative to the reference location.

[0060] The magnetometer(s) 271 may determine magnetic field strengths in different directions which may be used to determine orientation of the UE 200. For example, the orientation may be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The magnetometer(s) 271 may include a two- dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide indications of magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. Also or alternatively, the magnetometer(s) 271 may include a three- dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide indications of magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer(s) 271 may provide means for sensing a magnetic field and providing indications of the magnetic field, e.g., to the processor 210.

[0061] The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 240 may include a transmitter 242 and receiver 244 coupled to one or more antennas 246 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and/or one or more side link channels) and/or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and/or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals 248 and transducing signals from the wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g., electrical and/or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and/or optical) signals to the wireless signals 248. Thus, the transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components, and/or the receiver 244 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with TRPs and/or one or more other devices) according to a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System),

CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), UTE (Uong-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3 GPP LTE-Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) (Uu, PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.1 lp), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee etc. New Radio may use mm-wave frequencies and/or sub-6GHz frequencies. The wired transceiver 250 may include a transmitter 252 and a receiver 254 configured for wired communication, e.g., with the network 135 to send communications to, and receive communications from, the gNB 110a, for example. The transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components, and/or the receiver 254 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components. The wired transceiver 250 may be configured, e.g., for optical communication and/or electrical communication. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214, e.g., by optical and/or electrical connection. The transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with the transceiver 215.

[0062] The user interface 216 may comprise one or more of several devices such as, for example, a speaker, microphone, display device, vibration device, keyboard, touch screen, etc. The user interface 216 may include more than one of any of these devices. The user interface 216 may be configured to enable a user to interact with one or more applications hosted by the UE 200. For example, the user interface 216 may store indications of analog and/or digital signals in the memory 211 to be processed by DSP 231 and/or the general-purpose processor 230 in response to action from a user. Similarly, applications hosted on the UE 200 may store indications of analog and/or digital signals in the memory 211 to present an output signal to a user. The user interface 216 may include an audio input/output (I/O) device comprising, for example, a speaker, a microphone, digital-to-analog circuitry, analog-to-digital circuitry, an amplifier and/or gain control circuitry (including more than one of any of these devices). Other configurations of an audio I/O device may be used. Also or alternatively, the user interface 216 may comprise one or more touch sensors responsive to touching and/or pressure, e.g., on a keyboard and/or touch screen of the user interface 216.

[0063] The SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver) may be capable of receiving and acquiring SPS signals 260 via an SPS antenna 262. The antenna 262 is configured to transduce the wireless SPS signals 260 to wired signals, e.g., electrical or optical signals, and may be integrated with the antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process, in whole or in part, the acquired SPS signals 260 for estimating a location of the UE 200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine location of the UE 200 by trilateration using the SPS signals 260. The general-purpose processor 230, the memory 211, the DSP 231 and/or one or more specialized processors (not shown) may be utilized to process acquired SPS signals, in whole or in part, and/or to calculate an estimated location of the UE 200, in conjunction with the SPS receiver 217. The memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of the SPS signals 260 and/or other signals (e.g., signals acquired from the wireless transceiver 240) for use in performing positioning operations. The general-purpose processor 230, the DSP 231, and/or one or more specialized processors, and/or the memory 211 may provide or support a location engine for use in processing measurements to estimate a location of the UE 200.

[0064] The UE 200 may include the camera 218 for capturing still or moving imagery. The camera 218 may comprise, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge coupled device or a CMOS imager), a lens, analog-to-digital circuitry, frame buffers, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and/or compression of signals representing captured images may be performed by the general-purpose processor 230 and/or the DSP 231. Also or alternatively, the video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and/or manipulation of signals representing captured images. The video processor 233 may decode/decompress stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown), e.g., of the user interface 216.

[0065] The position (motion) device (PMD) 219 may be configured to determine a position and possibly motion of the UE 200. For example, the PMD 219 may communicate with, and/or include some or all of, the SPS receiver 217. The PMD 219 may also or alternatively be configured to determine location of the UE 200 using terrestrial-based signals (e.g., at least some of the signals 248) for trilateration, for assistance with obtaining and using the SPS signals 260, or both. The PMD 219 may be configured to use one or more other techniques (e.g., relying on the UE’s self- reported location (e.g., part of the UE’s position beacon)) for determining the location of the UE 200, and may use a combination of techniques (e.g., SPS and terrestrial positioning signals) to determine the location of the UE 200. The PMD 219 may include one or more of the sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscope(s), accelerometer(s), magnetometer(s), etc.) that may sense orientation and/or motion of the UE 200 and provide indications thereof that the processor 210 (e.g., the processor 230 and/or the DSP 231) may be configured to use to determine motion (e.g., a velocity vector and/or an acceleration vector) of the UE 200. The PMD 219 may be configured to provide indications of uncertainty and/or error in the determined position and/or motion.

[0066] Referring also to FIG. 3, an example of a TRP 300 of the BSs 110a, 110b, 114 comprises a computing platform including a processor 310, memory 311 including software (SW) 312, a transceiver 315, and (optionally) an SPS receiver 317. The processor 310, the memory 311, the transceiver 315, and the SPS receiver 317 may be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 320 (which may be configured, e.g., for optical and/or electrical communication). One or more of the shown apparatus (e.g., a wireless interface and/or the SPS receiver 317) may be omitted from the TRP 300. The SPS receiver 317 may be configured similarly to the SPS receiver 217 to be capable of receiving and acquiring SPS signals 360 via an SPS antenna 362. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 310 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., including a general-purpose/ application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and/or a sensor processor as shown in FIG. 2). The memory

311 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM)), flash memory, disc memory, and/or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 311 stores the software

312 which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor 310 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 312 may not be directly executable by the processor 310 but may be configured to cause the processor 310, e.g., when compiled and executed, to perform the functions. The description may refer to the processor 310 performing a function, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 310 executes software and/or firmware. The description may refer to the processor 310 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of the processors contained in the processor 310 performing the function. The description may refer to the TRP 300 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the TRP 300 (and thus of one of the BSs 110a, 110b, 114) performing the function. The processor 310 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and/or instead of the memory 311. Functionality of the processor 310 is discussed more fully below.

[0067] The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and/or a wired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a transmitter 342 and receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and/or one or more downlink channels) and/or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and/or one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 348 and transducing signals from the wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g., electrical and/or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and/or optical) signals to the wireless signals 348. Thus, the transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components, and/or the receiver 344 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and/or one or more other devices) according to a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3 GPP LTE-V2X (Uu, PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.1 lp), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee etc. The wired transceiver 350 may include a transmitter 352 and a receiver 354 configured for wired communication, e.g., with the network 140 to send communications to, and receive communications from, the LMF 120, for example. The transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components, and/or the receiver 354 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured, e.g., for optical communication and/or electrical communication.

[0068] The configuration of the TRP 300 shown in FIG. 3 is an example and not limiting of the disclosure, including the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses that the TRP 300 is configured to perform or performs several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the LMF 120 and/or the UE 200 (i.e., the LMF 120 and/or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0069] Referring also to FIG. 4, an example of the server 400 comprises a computing platform including a processor 410, memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and a transceiver 415. The processor 410, the memory 411, and the transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 420 (which may be configured, e.g., for optical and/or electrical communication). One or more of the shown apparatus (e.g., a wireless interface) may be omitted from the server 400. The processor 410 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 410 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., including a general-purpose/ application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and/or a sensor processor as shown in FIG. 2). The memory 411 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM)), flash memory, disc memory, and/or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 411 stores the software 412 which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor 410 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 412 may not be directly executable by the processor 410 but may be configured to cause the processor 410, e.g., when compiled and executed, to perform the functions. The description may refer to the processor 410 performing a function, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 410 executes software and/or firmware. The description may refer to the processor 410 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of the processors contained in the processor 410 performing the function. The description may refer to the server 400 (or the LMF 120) performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the server 400 (e.g., the LMF 120) performing the function. The processor 410 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and/or instead of the memory 411. Functionality of the processor 410 is discussed more fully below.

[0070] The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and/or a wired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a transmitter 442 and receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and/or receiving (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 448 and transducing signals from the wireless signals 448 to wired (e.g., electrical and/or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and/or optical) signals to the wireless signals 448. Thus, the transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components, and/or the receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and/or one or more other devices) according to a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) (Uu, PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.1 lp), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee etc. The wired transceiver 450 may include a transmitter 452 and a receiver 454 configured for wired communication, e.g., with the network 135 to send communications to, and receive communications from, the TRP 300, for example. The transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components, and/or the receiver 454 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured, e.g., for optical communication and/or electrical communication.

[0071] The configuration of the server 400 shown in FIG. 4 is an example and not limiting of the disclosure, including the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Also or alternatively, the description herein discusses that the server 400 is configured to perform or performs several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the TRP 300 and/or the UE 200 (i.e., the TRP 300 and/or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0072] Referring to FIG. 5, with further reference to FIGS. 1-4, a block diagram of an example network 500 with a plurality of radio access technologies is shown. The network 500 includes a positioning server 502 and a scan history database 504 in communication with a first RAT 506, a second RAT 508 and a third RAT 510. The positioning server 502 is an example of a server 400. The RATs 506, 508, 510 are examples of different radio access technologies and may be a variety of technologies such as 5GNR, including millimeter Wave (mmW) and sub 6 GHz networks,

GSM, UMTS, AMPS, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE, LTE-D, 3 GPP LTE-V2X (Uu, PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.1 lp), WiFi, WiFi-D, Bluetooth®, Zigbee etc. In an example, the first RAT 506 may be the communication system 100 in FIG. 1. The positioning server 502 may be operably coupled to the RATs 506, 508, 510 via the Internet or other network infrastructures. In an example, the LMF 120 may be configured as the positioning server 502 and the scan history database 504. Each of the RATs 506, 508, 510 may include one or more TRPs 300 (e.g., base stations) configured to wirelessly communicate with mobile devices, such as the UE 105. For example, the first RAT 506 may include a gNB 506a. The second RAT 508 may be an LTE network with a eNB 508a.

The third RAT 510 may be a CDMA network with a base station (BTS) 510a. The number of RATs and the technologies are examples and not limitations as each RAT may have multiple base stations and a variety of different technologies may be used. In an example, such as a dynamic spectrum sharing scheme, a station may be configured to operate with different RATs simultaneously (e.g., 5G and LTE).

[0073] In general, E-CID positioning techniques may provide position estimates which are less accurate than satellite based technologies, but they provide advantages in reduced power consumption and coverage area. For example, GNSS signals often cannot be used for indoor positioning or in other areas, such as urban canyons, where the satellite signals may be obstructed or the receiver is saturated with multipath signals (e.g., reflections). The base stations of a Wide Area Network (WAN) such as a cellular network may provide signals of significantly higher power as compared to satellite transmissions. The base station signals in a given area may be anchored to a specific position (e.g., a known location) and stored in a data structure. The location of a mobile device may be determined based on a subsequent detection of the base station signals and the previously stored location information. For example, the UE 105 may be camped in a coverage area associated with the first RAT 506 and may be actively communicating with the gNB 506a via a first communication link 512. The second RAT 508 and the third RAT 510 may provide coverage areas which overlap with the first RAT 506. The UE 105 is configured to detect signals transmitted from other RATs such as a LTE signal 514 from the eNB 508a, and a CDMA signal 516 from the BTS 510a. The eNB 508a and the BTS 510a may be configured to transmit periodic synchronization signals which will enable the UE 105 to determine station identification information for the respective base stations. For example, the UE 105 may be configured to scan for the Primary and Secondary Synchronization Signals (PSS/SSS) transmitted from the eNB 508a. The information in the PSS/SSS signals may be used to detect Cell Specific Reference Signals (CRS), which may then be used to detect System Information Blocks (SIBs) which include cell identity information such as Mobile Country Codes (MCC), Mobile Network Codes (MNC), Tracking Area Codes (TAC), Location Area Codes (LAC), and Cell Identification (Cl). In an initial example, the UE 105 may be configured to determine its current location based on satellite and/or terrestrial techniques. The current location may also be estimated based on the cell identification and corresponding location of its current serving cell (e.g., the gNB 506a). The UE 105 may then perform a blind scan of the RF spectrum to detect signals from other stations in different RATs. The UE 105 may then provide the location information (e.g., position coordinates, serving cell ID) and scan results (e.g., channel information) to the positioning server 502, which may store the information in the scan history database 504.

[0074] In a subsequent example, the UE 105 or another UE may be camped on the first RAT 506 via the gNB 506a and request positioning assistance from the positioning server 502. The positioning server may provide the UE 105 with a list of expected channels for the plurality of RATS 506, 508, 510 based on a current serving cell ID. The expected channels may also be based on rough location information such as a state, county, city or other general estimate of the UE’s current location. The UE 105 may then limit its scans to the expected channels to determine a new position estimate. The list of expected channels reduces the amount of time and power the UE 105 must spend to determine the station IDs of stations in other RATs as compared to a blind scanning procedure. The identification information of the detected stations is then used to determine the location of the UE. In an example, cell sector centers and mixed cell sector centers may be computed based on the aggregation of the position and channel reports in the scan history database 504 for individual cell IDs, or combinations of cell IDs. The resulting sector centers and mixed sector centers may be used to determine an estimated position of the UE 105.

[0075] Referring to FIG. 6, with further reference to FIGS. 1-5, a geographic chart 600 of position reporting and the resulting sector centers are shown. The chart 600 includes a first base station 602 configured to provide coverage to a first coverage area 602a, a second base station 604 provides coverage to a second coverage area 604a, and a third base station 606 provides coverage to a third coverage area 606a. The base stations 602, 604, 606 and corresponding coverage areas 602a, 604a, 606a are examples to demonstrate the concepts of power-optimized channel scans for positioning. Each of the base stations 602, 604, 606 may be different radio access technologies. In operation, the base stations 602, 604, 606 may include coverage areas in multiple sectors around the respective stations, with each sector having a respective sector center. Each of the locations marked with an ‘X’ on the chart 600 represents a measurement point 601 obtained by a mobile device and stored in the scan history database 504. The measurement points 601 include location information (e.g., lat/long/alt) for a mobile device reporting scan information. The positioning server 502 is configured to aggregate to the individual measurement points 601 to determine sectors centers 610 and mixed sector centers 620. For example, a first sector center 612 may be based on the measurement points 601 within the first coverage area 602a which include the first base station 602 in the scan history data. Similarly, a second sector center 614 and a third sector center 616 may be based on measurement points 601 within the respective coverage areas 604a, 606a in which the mobile device detects the second or third base stations 604, 606.

[0076] In an example, a plurality of mixed sector centers 620 may be computed based on aggregating the individual measurement points 601. For example, a first mixed sector center 622 may be based on the measurement points 601 at which the mobile device detects both the first base station 602 and the third base station 606. A second mixed sector center 624 may be based on the measurement points 601 at which the mobile device detects both the first base station 602 and the second base station 604. A third mixed sector center 626 may be based on the measurement points 601 at which the mobile device detects the second base station 604 and the third base station 606.

A fourth mixed sector center 628 may be based on the measurement points 601 at which the mobile device detects the first, second and third base stations 602, 604, 606. The sector centers 610 and mixed sector centers 620 may be computed based on the mean or median geographic coordinates for the corresponding measurement points.

[0077] In an example, the mixed sector centers 620 may be determined based on the combinations of the sector centers 610. For example, the first mixed sector center 622 may be computed based on the locations of the first sector center 612 and the third sector center 616. Thus, an estimated position based on detecting the first base station 602 and the third base station 606 may be a location between the first sector center 612 and the third sector center 616. Weighting functions may also be applied to the sector centers to determine the location of a mixed sector center. For example, the weighting may be based on the number of measurement points 601 used to determine the respective sector centers. The location of high traffic corridors such as a road 608 through a coverage area may be used to refine the mixed sector center. For example, the location of the second mixed sector center 624 may be weighted towards the road 608. Other statistical techniques such as filtering (e.g., outlier removal) and grouping may be used to generate the sector and mixed sector centers 610, 620.

[0078] Referring to FIG. 7, with further reference to FIGS. 1-6, an example data structure 700 for power-optimized channel scans is shown. The data structure 700 may persist on the scan history database 504, on another networked server 400 such as the LMF 120, or on a UE 200. The data structure 700 may include a plurality of data records stored in a relational database application (e.g., Amazon Aurora, Oracle Database, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, DB2, etc.), or stored in one or more flat files (e.g., JSON, XML, CSV, etc.). The table structures and fields in the data structure 700 are examples, and not a limitation, as other data fields, tables, stored procedures and indexing schemas may be used to construct the data structure 700. In an example, a measurements table 704 may include data fields associated with scan data obtained by a plurality of UEs. The scan data may be based on the measurement points 601 depicted in FIG. 6. The measurements table 704 may include data fields such as a unique measurement index (measlndex) and location information associated with a UE obtaining the measurements at the time the measurement is obtained. A UEID field may be used to identify the reporting UE. Such identification information may be used in an associated business process to encourage the collection of scan data by providing rewards or other compensation to a user based on the UEID. The current location of the UE (e.g., UELatitude, UELongitude, UEAltitude) may be obtained via an SPS receiver 217, or based on other terrestrial positioning techniques. The measurement information may include one or more station identification fields to uniquely identify a base station. For example, the station identification fields may include the MCC, MNC, TAC, and Cl for a base station. Other RATs may use other data or signals to uniquely identify a base station and/or cell. The channel information field(s) (channellnfo) indicates the frequencies (e.g., channels) the UE utilized to communicate with the base station. The channel information and cell identification fields may be indexed in the scan history database 504 such that a query based on channel information and/or cell identification may provide location information. Other measurement parameters may be stored in the measurements table 704 based on information provided by a base station during the measurement process.

[0079] The scan history database 504 may be configured to execute one or more stored procedures or other code to append or update a sector center table 706 based on an aggregation of the records in the measurements table 704. For example, the UE locations associated with a particular station ID may be aggregated to determine a sector center 610. The aggregation process may include determining a mean or median location based on the records in the measurement table. Other statistical processes may be used to compute a sector center based on records in the measurement.

In an example, the sector location information (e.g., scLatitude, scLongitude, scAltitude) may be associated with the channel information (channellnfo) such that each stationID/celllD/sectorlD may include a sector center for each channel the base station is configured to utilize. In an embodiment, a mixed sector center table 708 may be generated to store the location of the mixed sector centers 620 associated with a plurality of station, cell and/or sector identifications. A query of station, cell, or sector IDs on the sector center table may produce a result including a plurality of sector centers. The location results may be averaged to determine the mixed sector centers (e.g., mcsLatitude, mscLongitude, mscAltitude). Other statistical and weighting techniques may be used to determine the mixed sector centers 620. In an example, the scan history database 504 may be configured to compute the mixed sector centers 620 based on the records in the measurements table 704 (i.e., without computing the individual sector centers). The mixed sector centers 620 may also be associated with specific channel information such that different channels may produce different sector centers 610 and/or different mixed sector centers 620. Other data fields such as measurement and update dates and times may also be included in the tables to track stale or aging measurement data points. Other tables configured to correlate named geographic positions (e.g., countries, states, counties, cities, coverage areas, etc.) with geographic coordinates (e.g., lat/long/alt) may be used. Still other data fields may be used based on the capabilities and other signals generated by the RATs.

[0080] Referring to FIG. 8, with further references to FIGS. 1-7, a timing diagram 800 conceptually illustrating a channel scan period based on a schedule modem activation is shown. The UE 200 may be configured to operate in a connected mode 802 such that the wireless transceiver 240 is on continuously to monitor what might be continuous transmission on one or more downlink channels. Utilizing the transceiver 240 continuously may not be needed when the UE 200 transitions from the connected mode to low-power state (e.g., a CELL PCH mode). The UE 200 may be configured to utilize a discontinuous reception mode (e.g., DRX/eDRX) to turn off the transceiver 240 when not needed and wait for periods corresponding to scan windows 804 during which the UE 200 monitors for page messages. If a page message is received, the UE 200 may react by setting up a call with the network, or responding to the paging message, or performing other suitable procedures. Conversely, if the UE 200 does not detect a paging message, the transceiver 240 may be shut back off until the next wake up period. The scan windows 804 may have a period of DT which is known. The scan windows 804 are an example of when the transceiver 240 and the modem are in a powered on state. For example, the scan measurements described herein may be scheduled during or adjacent to the scan windows 804 such as the channel scan window 806. In one example, the channel scan window 806 may be a period when the UE 200 completes a blind scan in an effort to generate a measurement point 601 and then provide the measurement results to the current serving cell. A channel scan period 808 may be configured based on user criteria such as conserving power when operating on batteries. The channel scan period 808 may decrease when the UE 200 is connected to an external power source (e.g., wired or wireless charging). Other criteria such as current location, cell hand-offs, or other UE state changes may be used to schedule a channel scan window 806 and/or the channel scan period 808. A user may configure the channel scan period 808 based on business incentives associated with the amount of scan data the UE provides to the positioning server 502. [0081] In another example, the UE 200 may utilize the channel scan window 806 to perform a positioning scan based on a short list of channel information associated with proximate stations, including stations in other RATs. The UE 200 may receive, or determine locally, a short list of channels to scan based on a rough location such as a cell ID of the current serving cell. The channel scan window 806 may be used to refine the current position estimate of the UE based on the scan results and the corresponding sector and/or mixed sector center data. A location based application running on the UE 200 or in the network 500 may determine the channel scan period 808. Other UE state changes such as a change in speed or direction as detected by the IMU 270 may be used to schedule the channel scan windows 806. Scheduling the channel scan windows 806 concurrent with, or adjacent to periods when the transceiver 240 and corresponding modem circuitry are active, enables increased power savings by reducing the startup and settle time for the transceiver circuits that would be required if the channel scans were scheduled when the transceiver was in a shutdown state.

[0082] Referring to FIG. 9, with further reference to FIGS. 1-8, a method 900 for generating a data structure for power optimized channel scans for positioning includes the stages shown. The method 900 is, however, an example and not limiting. The method 900 may be altered, e.g., by having stages added, removed, rearranged, combined, performed concurrently, and/or having single stages split into multiple stages. For example, one or more stages may occur before, and/or one or more stages may occur after, the stages shown in FIG. 9.

[0083] At stage 902, the method includes receiving a plurality of locations and channel scan results information from a plurality of user equipment. A server 400, such as the positioning server 502, including a processor 410 and a transceiver 415, is a means for receiving the plurality of locations and channel scan results. The method 900 may be used to crowdsource the channel scan results data. Multiple UEs (such as the UE 105) may be configured to determine their current locations and then perform blind scans across multiple frequencies / channels and different radio access technologies. For example, referring to FIG. 5, the UE 105 may be camped on the first RAT 506 and then initiate a scan across the spectrums associated with the first, second and third RATs 506, 508, 510, as well as any other frequencies which may detect a wireless network station. The UE 105 may provide its current location based on satellite or terrestrial positioning and/or the cell ID of the gNB 506a (i.e., the cell on which the UE is currently camped) along with the scan results. The channel scan results may include identification information (e.g., transmitter identity) for the other stations detected during the scan as well as the channel information used to obtain the information. For example, the identification information may be based on transmitter identity, on system information blocks, or other transmissions provided by the detected station. The UE 105 may utilize the first RAT 506 and other network infrastructure (e.g., the Internet) to provide the location and channel scan results to the positioning server 502.

[0084] At stage 904, the method includes determining one or more station identifications and associated channel information based on the channel scan results information. The positioning server 502, including the processor 410, is a means for determining the station identifications and associated channel information. The positioning server 502 is configured to receive the channel scan results from the plurality of UEs across different RATs. The different RATs may use different formats to uniquely identify a transmitting station. For example, station IDs in LTE systems may utilize combinations of the MCC, MNC, TAC and Cl to uniquely identify a base station and a sector associated with a base station. In 5G and other beam forming based systems, a beam identification may be associated with a base station. Other station identification information may be used for other RATs. The unique identification and the corresponding channel information may be stored in the scan history database 504. The location of the UE reporting the scan results may also be stored. In an example, the scan history database 504 may include a measurements table 704 configured to store and index the scan results from the plurality of UEs. The channel information, UE locations and the corresponding stationID, celllD, sectorlD and/or beam ID information may be stored in the measurements table 704.

[0085] At stage 906, the method includes calculating a sector center location associated with each of the one or more station identifications based on the plurality of locations received from the plurality of user equipment. The positioning server 502, including the processor 400, is a means for calculating the sector center locations. The measurements table 704 may include scan history records comprising fields such as the UE locations (i.e., measurement points 601), stationIDs, cell IDs and channel information for multiple RATs. The station ID or cell ID information may also include sector identification information and beam identification information based on the RAT.

The measurement points 601 associated with a specific cell ID or sector ID or beamID maybe aggregated to determine a sector center. In an example, the positioning server may be configured to execute a stored procedure to query the measurements table 704 based on a station ID information (e.g., stationID, celllD, sectorlD value) and determine the average latitude and the average longitude for the measurement points 601 for the query results. Other statistical techniques may be used to aggregate the scan results in the measurements table 704 to generate the sector center locations. [0086] At stage 908, the method includes storing the sector center location, the station identification, and the associated channel information in a data structure. The positioning server 502, including the processor 410 and the memory 411, is a means for storing the sector center location. In an example, the aggregation function discussed at stage 906 may include an update or append function to add the resulting sector center results (e.g., lat/long/alt) to the sector center table 706 with the corresponding cell ID, sector ID and/or beam ID information as well as the associated channel information. In an example, the channel information may include a plurality of channels for each sector center location. Each sector center location may be associated with a single channel. Other data normalization and indexing schemes may be used to enable the scan history database 504 to output a sector center location based on a query containing one of stationID, celllD, sectorlD information, and/or channel information, or to enable the scan history database to output channel information based on a query containing stationID, celllD, sectorlD information and/or location information. In an embodiment, the data structure may be provided to a UE 200 for local storage, and the UE 200 may be configured to determine a position locally (i.e., on the UE 200) based on the data structure.

[0087] Referring to FIG. 10, with further reference to FIGS. 1-8, a method 1000 for determining a location of a mobile device with a network server includes the stages shown. The method 1000 is, however, an example and not limiting. The method 1000 may be altered, e.g., by having stages added, removed, rearranged, combined, performed concurrently, and/or having single stages split into multiple stages. For example, one or more stages may occur before, and/or one or more stages may occur after, the stages shown in FIG. 10.

[0088] At stage 1002, the method includes providing location information to a network server. A UE 200, such as the UE 105, including the processor 230 and the transceiver 240, is a means for providing the location information. The location information may be coordinate information such as latitude and longitude (and optionally altitude) based on satellite positioning (e.g., GPS), or other terrestrial positioning techniques. The location information may be a station ID (e.g., WiFi) cell ID, and/or sector ID that the UE 105 is currently camped on. For example, the cell ID associated with the gNB 506a. A station ID may be associated with an access point. The location information may be a named geographic region such as a state, county, province, or city, which defines a geographic area. The UE 105 may utilize the first communication link 512 to provide the location information to the positioning server 502 via the first RAT 506 (and other network resources such as the Internet). [0089] At stage 1004, the method includes receiving channel information associated with one or more different radio access technologies. The UE 105, including the processor 230 and the transceiver 240, is a means for receiving the channel information. The positioning server 502 may utilize the location information provided by the UE at stage 1002 to determine a list of channels across different RATs which the UE may detect. In general, a UE may be configured with a subscriber identification module (SIM card) which includes channel information associated with a single wireless operator (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, Mobile, etc.). The UE, however, may be capable of scanning for and utilizing a larger range of licensed and unlicensed RF spectrum. The channel information received from the positioning server 502 may be configured to utilize the full RF range of the UE and thus include channels for many different RATs. The channel information may be channel numbers as described in wireless communication standards such as E-UTRA Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (EARFCN), UTRA Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (UARFCN), Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (ARFCN), or other system based indications of frequency designations.

[0090] At stage 1006, the method includes scanning for station identification information based on the received channel information, wherein the station identification information is associated with the one or more different radio access technologies. The UE 105, including the processor 230 and the transceiver 240, is a means for scanning. The UE 105 may be configured to passively or actively scan the channels provided in the channel information. The received channel information enables the UE 105 to scan for the stations that are relevant to its current location estimate as opposed to completing a full blind scan, which may take several minutes and use additional power. In an embodiment, the scan may be scheduled during a time the modem is powered on, such as a scan window 806. The scans enable the UE 105 to determine the station identifications of the detected stations. The station identifications may be based on the detected RAT and generally provide a unique identification for the detected station and/or sector of the station.

[0091] At stage 1008, the method includes providing the station identification information to the network server. The UE 105, including the processor 230 and the transceiver 240, is a means for providing the station identification information. The UE 105 is configured to provide the scan results via the first communication link 512 to the positioning server 502. The positioning server 502 may query the scan history database 504 using the station identification information to obtain a sector center 610 or a mixed sector center 620 based on the stations the UE detected. The computed sector center may be used as an estimated position for the UE 105. The positioning server 502 is configured to provide the location estimate to the UE 105 via the first RAT 506. [0092] At stage 1010, the method includes receiving a current location estimate from the network server. The UE 105, including the processor 230 and the transceiver 240, is a means for receiving the current location estimate. The first RAT 506 may utilize the appropriate wireless messaging protocols (e.g. RRC, LPP) or other network based protocols (e.g., HTTP) to provide the location estimate determined at stage 1008 to the UE 105.

[0093] Referring to FIG. 11, with further reference to FIGS. 1-8, a method 1100 performed by a mobile device for determining a location includes the stages shown. The method 1100 is, however, an example and not limiting. The method 1100 may be altered, e.g., by having stages added, removed, rearranged, combined, performed concurrently, and/or having single stages split into multiple stages. For example, one or more stages may occur before, and/or one or more stages may occur after, the stages shown in FIG. 11.

[0094] At stage 1102, the method includes receiving channel information associated with a plurality of different radio access technologies. A UE 200, such as the UE 105, including the processor 230 and the transceiver 215, are a means of receiving the channel information. The plurality radio access technologies may include, for example, one or more technologies such as Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), ETE, V2X (Uu, PC5), High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and 5G new radio (NR). 5G NR systems may also include millimeter Wave (mmW) and sub 6 GHz radio access technologies. Some or all of the records in the scan history database 504 may be stored locally on the UE 105 in the memory 211. In an example, records in the measurements table 704 and/or the sector center table 706 may be provided to the UE 105 based on a general description of the area the UE 105 is expected to operate. For example, based on the country, state, or city the UE 105 is expected to be located in. The positioning server 502 may be configured to provide subsets of the scan history database 504 based on a trajectory of the UE 105. In an example, the UE 105 may be associated with a vehicle (e.g., interstate tractor-trailer) and subsets of the scan history database 504 may be provided as the UE 105 enters a new state or other subdivided geographic area. The size of the geographic area may be based on the density of stations and the bandwidth available to provide the relevant scan history database. The relevant subset of the scan history database may be stored in the memory 211. The UE 105 may be configured to determine an estimated position within the geographic area, such as based on the cell ID of the current serving cell, or based on inertial sensor input, and then query the data subset in the memory 211 based on the location information. The query results may include the channel information associated with a plurality of RATs the UE 105 is likely to detect. In an embodiment, the UE 105 may be configured to create a scan history database 504 locally (i.e., without the positioning server 502) by performing periodic scans to create measurement points 601 over a period of time. The UE 105 may then accumulate the measurement points 601 and compute the corresponding sector centers 610 and mix sector centers 620 locally.

[0095] At stage 1104, the method includes scanning for station identification information based on the channel information, wherein the station identification information is associated with the plurality of different radio access technologies. The UE 105, including the processor 230 and the transceiver 240, is a means for scanning. The UE 105 may be configured to passively or actively scan the channels in the channel information determined at stage 1102. The channel information enables the UE 105 to scan for the stations that are relevant to its current geographic area as opposed to completing a full blind scan, which may take several minutes and use additional power. In an embodiment, the scan may be scheduled during, or adjacent to, a time when the modem is powered on, such as a scan window 806. The scans enable the UE 105 to determine the station identifications of the detected stations. The station identifications may be based on the detected RAT and generally provide a unique identification for the detected station and/or sector.

[0096] At stage 1106, the method includes determining a current location estimate based on the station identification information. The UE 105, including the processor 230, is a means for determining the current location estimate. The UE 105 may be configured to query the subset of the scan history database stored in the memory 211 using the station identification information to obtain a sector center 610 or a mixed sector center 620 based on the stations detected at stage 1104. The computed sector center 610 or mixed sector center 620 may be used as the current location estimate for the UE 105.

[0097] Referring to FIG. 12, with further reference to FIGS. 1-8, a method 1200 performed by a server 400 for determining a location of a mobile device includes the stages shown. The method 1200 is, however, an example and not limiting. The method 1200 may be altered, e.g., by having stages added, removed, rearranged, combined, performed concurrently, and/or having single stages split into multiple stages. For example, one or more stages may occur before, and/or one or more stages may occur after, the stages shown in FIG. 12.

[0098] At stage 1202, the method includes receiving location information from a mobile device. A server 400 such as the positioning server 502, including the processor 410 and the transceiver 415, is a means for receiving the location information. A positioning server 502 may be operably coupled to one or more communication networks such as the first, second and third RATs 506, 508, 510 in FIG. 5. The positioning server 502 may be included within one of the communication networks, such as the LMF 120 or other external client 130. A mobile device such as the UE 105 may provide a general location such as a state, city, or station ID of the RAT to the positioning server 502. In an example, the location information may be based on geographic coordinates (e.g., lat/long/alt) based on a dead reckoning position estimate performed by the UE.

[0099] At stage 1204, the method includes determining channel information associated with one or more different radio access technologies based on the location information. The server 400, including the processor 410, is a means for determining the channel information. The one or more radio access technologies may include, for example, one or more technologies such as Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, V2X (Uu, PC5), High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and 5G new radio (NR). The positioning server 502 includes a scan history database 504 containing one or more data structures configured to associate location information with channel information. In an example, the positioning server may be configured to determine one or more measurement points 601 (e.g., records in the measurements table 704) with locations that are within or proximate to the location information received from the mobile device at stage 1202. If the location information includes a geographic area (e.g., state, county, city, cell coverage area), the positioning server 502 is configured to determine a set of measurement points within the geographic area. If the location information includes coordinates, the positioning server 502 may be configured to determine the measurement points within a threshold range of the received coordinates (e.g., 1km, 2km, 5km, 10km, etc.). The positioning server 502 is configured to determine the channel information stored in the measurements table 704 that is associated with the measurement points. The channel information may include multiple stations in multiple RATs which may be detected from the UE’s estimated position.

[00100] At stage 1206, the method includes providing the channel information to the mobile device. The server 400, including the processor 410 and the transceiver 415, is a means for providing the channel information. The positioning server 502 may provide the channel information determined at stage 1204 to the UE 105 via the first RAT 506. The channel information may include channels for multiple different RATs (e.g., the second RAT 508, the third RAT 510, etc.). In an example, the positioning server 502 may include an application programming interface (API) and the UE 105 may be configured to provide the location information at stage 1202 to the positioning server 502 programmatically (e.g., HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Post / Get commands) and receive the channel information in a response. Other network messaging technologies, such as RRC, may be used to exchange information between the positioning server 502 and the UE 105.

[00101] At stage 1208, the method includes receiving station identification information associated with the one or more different radio access technologies from the mobile device. The server 400, including the processor 410 and the transceiver 415, is a means for receiving the station information. The UE 105 may utilize the channel information received at stage 1206 to perform active or passive scans for the stations associated with the channel information. The UE 105 may utilize the content of messages transmitted by the stations (e.g., PSS/SSS, CRS, SIB, etc.) to determine station information, including cell, sector or beam information. The station identification information may include one or more of a station ID, cell ID, sector ID, or beam ID. The UE 105 may utilize the first communication link 512 to provide the cell identification information to the positioning server 502. The cell identification may be provided via an API (e.g., HTTP messaging) or via other messaging associated with the serving RAT.

[00102] At stage 1210, the method includes determining a current location estimate for the mobile device based on the station identification information. The server 400, including the processor 410, is a means for determining the current location estimate. The positioning server 502 may query the scan history database 504 to determine the sector center 610 or mixed sector center 620 that is associated with the station identification information. In an example, the positioning server 502 may determine a plurality of sector centers 610 based on the station identification information and then compute a single mix sector center 620 based on sector centers 610. Weighting functions such as the number of measurement points 601 associated with a sector center 610 may be used to modify the position of the mixed sector center 620. The single mixed sector center 620 may be used as the current location estimate for the mobile device.

[00103] At stage 1212, the method includes providing the current location estimate to the mobile device. The server 400, including the processor 410 and the transceiver 415, is a means for providing the current location estimate. In an example, the UE 105 may utilize network messaging to provide station identification information to the positioning server 502 and then receive the current location estimate determined at stage 1210 in response. The positioning server 502 may include an API or other instructions to provide the results of stage 1210 to the UE 105 or another network resource. Providing the current location estimate to the mobile device may include providing the location estimate to a communication network that is serving the mobile device. In an example, a network server in the first RAT 506 may be configured to trigger a stored procedure on the positioning server 502 based on the station identification information and receive the current location estimate in response. Other messaging and data access techniques may also be used.

[00104] Referring to FIG. 13, with further reference to FIGS. 1-8, a method 1300 for performing a channel scan includes the stages shown. The method 1300 is, however, an example and not limiting. The method 1300 may be altered, e.g., by having stages added, removed, rearranged, combined, performed concurrently, and/or having single stages split into multiple stages. For example, one or more stages may occur before, and/or one or more stages may occur after, the stages shown in FIG. 13.

[00105] At stage 1302, the method includes determining a modem activation period. The UE 200, including the processor 230, is a means for determining the modem activation period. In an example, the UE 200 may be configured for discontinuous reception (DRX) including scheduled periods when the wireless transceiver 240 and the modem processor 232 may be active for sending and/or receiving data. Other higher level processes executing on the UE 200 may also control when the modem processor 232 may be active or shut down. In an example, the UE 200 may be configured to check the current state of the modem processor 232 to determine that the modem processor 232 is in an activation period.

[00106] At stage 1304, the method includes scheduling a channel scan based on the modem activation period. The UE 200, including the processor 230, is a means for scheduling a channel scan. In an example, a channel scan window 806 may be schedule based on the DRX scan windows 804. Scheduling the channel scan may include utilizing a channel scan period 808 to perform multiple scans based on the DRX scan windows 804. In an example, the UE 200 may be configured to periodically determine if the modem processor 232 is in an active state and then schedule the channel scan when the modem processor 232 completes its current operation and before it enters a power save state. In another example, the modem processor 232 may be configured to raise an interrupt when in an active state and the UE 200 may be configured to schedule a channel scan based in part on detecting the interrupt signal. The channel scan may be schedule concurrently with the activation period, or adjacent (e.g., immediately before or immediately after) the activation period.

[00107] At stage 1306, the method includes performing the channel scan when the modem is active. The UE 200, including the processor 230 and the wireless transceiver 240, is a means for performing the channel scan. The modem processor 232 may be configured for parallel operations and the channel scan may be scheduled when the modem processor 232 is active. In an example, the modem processor 232 may be configured to operate in a serial mode and the channel scan may be performed adjacent (e.g., immediately before or after) to an active period. In an example, the channel scan may be a blind scan to search for proximate stations across multiple RATs and operating channels. The scan results may be provided to a positioning server 502 in an effort to generate a crowdsourced scan history database. In an example, the scan results may be stored locally on the UE 200 to build a local scan history database. The channel scan period may also be used to determine an estimated location of the UE 200. For example, the UE 200 may receive or determine channel information based on a general location estimate. A location based application may utilize the channel scan windows 806 to update a position estimate for the UE 200.

[00108] Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, functions described above can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or a combination of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations. For example, one or more functions, or one or more portions thereof, discussed above as occurring in the server 400 may be performed outside of the server 400 such as by the TRP 300.

[00109] Components, functional or otherwise, shown in the figures and/or discussed herein as being connected or communicating with each other are communicatively coupled unless otherwise noted. That is, they may be directly or indirectly connected to enable communication between them.

[00110] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, “a processor” may include one processor or multiple processors. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

[00111] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, a statement that a function or operation is “based on” an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the stated item or condition and may be based on one or more items and/or conditions in addition to the stated item or condition.

[00112] Also, as used herein, “or” as used in a list of items (possibly prefaced by “at least one of’ or prefaced by “one or more of’) indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C,” or a list of “one or more of A, B, or C” or a list of “A or B or C” means A, or B, or C, or AB (A and B), or AC (A and C), or BC (B and C), or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or combinations with more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a recitation that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured to perform a function regarding at least one of A or B, or a recitation that an item is configured to perform a function A or a function B, means that the item may be configured to perform the function regarding A, or may be configured to perform the function regarding B, or may be configured to perform the function regarding A and B. For example, a phrase of “a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B” or “a processor configured to measure A or measure B” means that the processor may be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or may be configured to measure A and measure B (and may be configured to select which, or both, of A and B to measure). Similarly, a recitation of a means for measuring at least one of A or B includes means for measuring A (which may or may not be able to measure B), or means for measuring B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or means for measuring A and B (which may be able to select which, or both, of A and B to measure). As another example, a recitation that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured to at least one of perform function X or perform function Y means that the item may be configured to perform the function X, or may be configured to perform the function Y, or may be configured to perform the function X and to perform the function Y. For example, a phrase of “a processor configured to at least one of measure X or measure Y” means that the processor may be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or may be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or may be configured to measure X and to measure Y (and may be configured to select which, or both, of X and Y to measure).

[00113] Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, etc.) executed by a processor, or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed. [00114] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For instance, features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Also, technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.

[00115] A wireless communication system is one in which communications are conveyed wirelessly, i.e., by electromagnetic and/or acoustic waves propagating through atmospheric space rather than through a wire or other physical connection. A wireless communication network may not have all communications transmitted wirelessly, but is configured to have at least some communications transmitted wirelessly. Further, the term “wireless communication device,” or similar term, does not require that the functionality of the device is exclusively, or evenly primarily, for communication, or that the device be a mobile device, but indicates that the device includes wireless communication capability (one-way or two-way), e.g., includes at least one radio (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver) for wireless communication.

[00116] Specific details are given in the description to provide a thorough understanding of example configurations (including implementations). However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the configurations. This description provides example configurations, and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of the configurations provides a description for implementing described techniques. Various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[00117] The terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine -readable medium,” and “computer- readable medium,” as used herein, refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. Using a computing platform, various processor- readable media might be involved in providing instructions/code to processor(s) for execution and/or might be used to store and/or carry such instructions/code (e.g., as signals). In many implementations, a processor-readable medium is a physical and/or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, without limitation, dynamic memory.

[00118] A statement that a value exceeds (or is more than or above) a first threshold value is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds a second threshold value that is slightly greater than the first threshold value, e.g., the second threshold value being one value higher than the first threshold value in the resolution of a computing system. A statement that a value is less than (or is within or below) a first threshold value is equivalent to a statement that the value is less than or equal to a second threshold value that is slightly lower than the first threshold value, e.g., the second threshold value being one value lower than the first threshold value in the resolution of a computing system.

[00119] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[00120] 1. A method for determining a location of a mobile device, comprising:

[00121] providing location information to a network server;

[00122] receiving channel information associated with a plurality of different radio access technologies;

[00123] scanning for station identification information based on the received channel information, wherein the station identification information is associated with the plurality of different radio access technologies;

[00124] providing the station identification information to the network server; and [00125] receiving a current location estimate from the network server.

[00126] 2. The method of clause 1 wherein the location information is a named geographic region.

[00127] 3. The method of clause 1 wherein the location information is a cell identification of a current serving cell.

[00128] 4. The method of clause 1 wherein the channel information includes channel numbers.

[00129] 5. The method of clause 1 wherein the station identification information includes a cell or sector identification.

[00130] 6. The method clause 1 wherein the station identification information includes a beam identification. [00131] 7. The method of clause 1 wherein the plurality of different radio access technologies include at least two technologies from a group comprised of Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and 5G new radio (NR).

[00132] 8. The method of clause 1 wherein scanning for the station identification information comprises:

[00133] determining a modem activation period for a modem;

[00134] scheduling a channel scan based on the modem activation period; and [00135] performing the channel scan when the modem is active.

[00136] 9. The method of clause 8 wherein the modem is configured to utilize a discontinuous reception mode with periodic scan windows and scheduling the channel scan includes scheduling a channel scan window adjacent to aperiodic scan window.

[00137] 10. A method for determining a location of a mobile device, comprising:

[00138] receiving location information from the mobile device;

[00139] determining channel information associated with a plurality of different radio access technologies based on the location information;

[00140] providing the channel information to the mobile device;

[00141] receiving station identification information associated with the plurality of different radio access technologies from the mobile device;

[00142] determining a current location estimate for the mobile device based on the station identification information; and

[00143] providing the current location estimate to the mobile device.

[00144] 11. The method of clause 10 wherein the location information is a named geographic region.

[00145] 12. The method of clause 10 wherein the location information is a cell identification of a current serving cell. [00146] 13. The method of clause 10 wherein determining the channel information includes selecting records from a scan history database comprising scan results previously obtained by a plurality of mobile devices.

[00147] 14. The method of clause 13 further comprising computing one or more sector centers associated with the station identification information based on the previously obtained scan results.

[00148] 15. The method of clause 14 wherein determining the current location estimate for the mobile device includes determining one or more sector centers based on the station identification information.

[00149] 16. An apparatus, comprising:

[00150] a memory;

[00151] at least one transceiver;

[00152] at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one processor and configured to:

[00153] provide location information to a network server;

[00154] receive channel information associated with a plurality of different radio access technologies;

[00155] scan for station identification information based on the received channel information, wherein the station identification information is associated with the plurality of different radio access technologies;

[00156] provide the station identification information to the network server; and [00157] receive a current location estimate from the network server.

[00158] 17. The apparatus of clause 16 wherein the location information is a named geographic region.

[00159] 18. The apparatus of clause 16 wherein the location information is a cell identification of a current serving cell.

[00160] 19. The apparatus of clause 16 wherein the channel information includes channel numbers.

[00161] 20. The apparatus of clause 16 wherein the station identification information includes a cell or sector identification. [00162] 21. The apparatus clause 16 wherein the station identification information includes a beam identification.

[00163] 22. The apparatus of clause 16 wherein the plurality of different radio access technologies include at least two technologies from a group comprised of Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and 5G new radio (NR).

[00164] 23. The apparatus of clause 16 further comprising a modem, wherein the at least one processor is communicatively coupled to the modem and configured to:

[00165] determine a modem activation period for the modem;

[00166] schedule a channel scan based on the modem activation period; and

[00167] perform the channel scan when the modem is active.

[00168] 24. The apparatus of clause 23 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to utilize a discontinuous reception mode with periodic scan windows and to schedule a channel scan window adjacent to a periodic scan window.

[00169] 25. An apparatus, comprising:

[00170] a memory;

[00171] at least one transceiver;

[00172] at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver and configured to:

[00173] receive location information from a mobile device;

[00174] determine channel information associated with a plurality of different radio access technologies based on the location information;

[00175] provide the channel information to the mobile device;

[00176] receive station identification information associated with the plurality of different radio access technologies from the mobile device;

[00177] determine a current location estimate for the mobile device based on the station identification information; and

[00178] provide the current location estimate to the mobile device. [00179] 26. The apparatus of clause 25 wherein the location information is a named geographic region.

[00180] 27. The apparatus of clause 25 wherein the location information is a cell identification of a current serving cell.

[00181] 28. The apparatus of clause 25 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to select records from a scan history database comprising scan results previously obtained by a plurality of mobile devices.

[00182] 29. The apparatus of clause 28 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to compute one or more sector centers associated with the station identification information based on the previously obtained scan results.

[00183] 30. The apparatus of clause 29 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the current location estimate based on one or more sector centers.

[00184] 31. An apparatus for determining a location of a mobile device, comprising:

[00185] means for providing location information to a network server;

[00186] means for receiving channel information associated with a plurality of different radio access technologies;

[00187] means for scanning for station identification information based on the received channel information, wherein the station identification information is associated with the plurality of different radio access technologies;

[00188] means for providing the station identification information to the network server; and

[00189] means for receiving a current location estimate from the network server.

[00190] 32. An apparatus for determining a location of a mobile device, comprising:

[00191] means for receiving location information from the mobile device;

[00192] means for determining channel information associated with a plurality of different radio access technologies based on the location information;

[00193] means for providing the channel information to the mobile device;

[00194] means for receiving station identification information associated with the plurality of different radio access technologies from the mobile device; [00195] means for determining a current location estimate for the mobile device based on the station identification information; and

[00196] means for providing the current location estimate to the mobile device.

[00197] 33. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to determine a location of a mobile device, comprising:

[00198] code for providing location information to a network server;

[00199] code for receiving channel information associated with a plurality of different radio access technologies;

[00200] code for scanning for station identification information based on the received channel information, wherein the station identification information is associated with the plurality of different radio access technologies;

[00201] code for providing the station identification information to the network server; and

[00202] code for receiving a current location estimate from the network server.

[00203] 34. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to determine a location of a mobile device, comprising:

[00204] code for receiving location information from the mobile device;

[00205] code for determining channel information associated with a plurality of different radio access technologies based on the location information;

[00206] code for providing the channel information to the mobile device;

[00207] code for receiving station identification information associated with the plurality of different radio access technologies from the mobile device;

[00208] code for determining a current location estimate for the mobile device based on the station identification information; and

[00209] code for providing the current location estimate to the mobile device.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method for determining a location of a mobile device, comprising: providing location information to a network server; receiving channel information associated with one or more different radio access technologies; scanning for station identification information based on the received channel information, wherein the station identification information is associated with the one or more different radio access technologies; providing the station identification information to the network server; and receiving a current location estimate from the network server.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the location information is a named geographic region.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the location information is a cell identification of a current serving cell.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the channel information includes channel numbers.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the station identification information includes a cell or sector identification.

6. The method claim 1 wherein the station identification information includes a beam identification.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more different radio access technologies include at least two technologies from a group comprised of Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and 5G new radio (NR).

8. The method of claim 1 wherein scanning for the station identification information comprises: determining a modem activation period for a modem; scheduling a channel scan based on the modem activation period; and performing the channel scan when the modem is active.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the modem is configured to utilize a discontinuous reception mode with periodic scan windows and scheduling the channel scan includes scheduling a channel scan window adjacent to aperiodic scan window.

10. A method for determining a location of a mobile device, comprising: receiving location information from the mobile device; determining channel information associated with one or more different radio access technologies based on the location information; providing the channel information to the mobile device; receiving station identification information associated with the one or more different radio access technologies from the mobile device; determining a current location estimate for the mobile device based on the station identification information; and providing the current location estimate to the mobile device.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the location information is a named geographic region.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the location information is a cell identification of a current serving cell.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein determining the channel information includes selecting records from a scan history database comprising scan results previously obtained by a plurality of mobile devices.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising computing one or more sector centers associated with the station identification information based on the previously obtained scan results.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein determining the current location estimate for the mobile device includes determining one or more sector centers based on the station identification information.

16. An apparatus, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one processor and configured to: provide location information to a network server; receive channel information associated with one or more different radio access technologies; scan for station identification information based on the received channel information, wherein the station identification information is associated with the one or more different radio access technologies; provide the station identification information to the network server; and receive a current location estimate from the network server.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the location information is a named geographic region.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the location information is a cell identification of a current serving cell.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the channel information includes channel numbers.

20. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the station identification information includes a cell or sector identification.

21. The apparatus claim 16 wherein the station identification information includes a beam identification.

22. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the one or more different radio access technologies include at least two technologies from a group comprised of Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and 5G new radio (NR).

23. The apparatus of claim 16 further comprising a modem, wherein the at least one processor is communicatively coupled to the modem and configured to: determine a modem activation period for the modem; schedule a channel scan based on the modem activation period; and perform the channel scan when the modem is active.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to utilize a discontinuous reception mode with periodic scan windows and to schedule a channel scan window adjacent to a periodic scan window.

25. An apparatus, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver and configured to: receive location information from a mobile device; determine channel information associated with one or more different radio access technologies based on the location information; provide the channel information to the mobile device; receive station identification information associated with the one or more different radio access technologies from the mobile device; determine a current location estimate for the mobile device based on the station identification information; and provide the current location estimate to the mobile device.

26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the location information is a named geographic region.

27. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the location information is a cell identification of a current serving cell.

28. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to select records from a scan history database comprising scan results previously obtained by a plurality of mobile devices.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to compute one or more sector centers associated with the station identification information based on the previously obtained scan results.

30. The apparatus of claim 29 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the current location estimate based on the one or more sector centers.