Roaming device location determination for emergency communications

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12167310-B2
Application number	US-202117529234-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 17, 2021
Priority date	Nov 17, 2021
Publication date	Dec 10, 2024
Grant date	Dec 10, 2024

Abstract

Techniques for determining a location of a roaming device on a host telecommunications network are described herein. The host telecommunications network can implement a location server to determine a geographical location of a user equipment (UE) that generates an emergency message to an emergency service center. The location server can exchange data representing device information, network information, or user information with a subscriber server of a home telecommunications network, and use the data to initiate determination of the geographical location. The location server can initiate, establish, maintain, or otherwise determine a geographical location of the UE for sending to the emergency service center (e.g., to enable the UE to exchange text communications with a Public Service Answering Point).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions executable by the one or more processors, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the system to perform operations comprising:
receiving, by a server of a visiting network and from a Public Agency Gateway, a first communication requesting location information associated with a first device operating outside a coverage area of a home network of the first device, wherein the Public Agency Gateway is configured to establish an emergency communication between the first device and a second device associated with a Public Service Answering Point and the first device is a roaming device connected to the visiting network;
sending, by the server and to a Home Subscriber Server of the home network, a second communication requesting network node information associated with the first device;
receiving, by the server and from the Home Subscriber Server, an identification of a serving node in the visiting network, wherein the serving node is in communication with the first device;
sending, by the server and based at least in part on the identification of the serving node, a third communication to a network node requesting a geographical location of the first device within the visiting network;
receiving, by the server and from the network node, the geographical location indicating a position of the first device relative to a map coordinate system; and
sending, by the server and to the Public Agency Gateway, the geographical location of the first device for associating with the emergency communication.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the second communication further includes a request for user information associated with the first device, the user information comprising emergency contact information, medical information, or personal information about a user of the first device, and further comprising:
causing the Public Agency Gateway to append the user information and the geographical location to a communication session between the first device and the Public Service Answering Point.

3. The system of claim 1 , the operations further comprising:
causing, based at least in part on sending the geographical location of the first device to the Public Agency Gateway, the emergency communication to be associated with the geographical location for sending to the Public Service Answering Point; or
causing, by the server, the Public Agency Gateway to select a Public Service Answering Point from a set of available Public Service Answering Points based at least in part on the geographical location.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
sending the third communication requesting the geographical location of the first device within the visiting network comprises sending the third communication using a Mobile Location Protocol or a web service.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the server comprises a Gateway Mobile Location Center, and
the network node comprises a Mobile Management Entity, an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center, or an Access and Mobility Management Function implementing a location technique to locate the geographical location of the first device.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the identification of the serving node comprises a Fully Qualified Domain Name.

7. A method comprising:
receiving, by a server of a visiting network and from a Public Agency Gateway, a first request for location information associated with a first device operating outside a coverage area of a home network of the first device, wherein the first device is a roaming device connected to the visiting network;
transmitting, by the server and to a second device of the home network, a second request for network node information associated with the first device based at least in part on the first request;
receiving, by the server and from the second device of the home network, a location of a network element in the visiting network, wherein the network element is in communication with the first device;
transmitting, by the server and to the network node, a third request for a geographical location of the first device;
receiving, by the server and from the network node, the geographical location of the first device; and
transmitting, by the server and to the Public Agency Gateway, the geographical location of the first device for associating with a communication between the first device and a Public Service Answering Point.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
causing, based at least in part on the geographical location, the Public Agency Gateway to establish an emergency communication between the first device and the Public Service Answering Point; or
causing, by the server, the Public Agency Gateway to select the Public Service Answering Point from a set of available Public Service Answering Points based at least in part on the geographical location.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein:
the visiting network is associated with a host network provider hosting the first device, and
the home network is associated with a home network provider that authenticates an identity of the first device or verifies an amount of data available to the first device for communicating with the Public Service Answering Point.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein:
the location of the network element comprises a location of a cell, an antennae, a transceiver, or a base station of the visiting network, and
the geographical location of the first device is more precise than the location of the network element,
a communication between the first device and a Public Service Answering Point.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the second request further includes a request for user information associated with the first device, the user information comprising emergency contact information, medical information, or personal information about a user of the first device, and further comprising:
causing the Public Agency Gateway to append the user information and the geographical location to a communication session between the first device and the Public Service Answering Point.

12. The method of claim 7 , wherein transmitting the second request or the third request comprises using a Diameter Routing Agent.

13. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
causing a communication session to be established between the first device and the Public Service Answering Point, the communication session comprising one or more of: a transmission control protocol (TCP), an internet protocol (IP), a user datagram protocol (UDP), a simple mail transport protocol (SMTP), a file transfer protocol (FTP), a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), or a hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS).

14. The method of claim 7 , wherein the geographical location is based at least in part on the server implementing a Mobile Location Protocol or a web service.

15. The method of claim 7 , wherein:
the communication between the first device and the Public Service Answering Point is associated with an emergency event,
the server comprises a Gateway Mobile Location Center, and
the second device comprises a Home Subscriber Server.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein:
the first request further indicates a subscriber identifier usable by the server for querying the Home Subscriber Server.

17. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions executable by one or more processors, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perf

Assignees

• T Mobile Usa Inc

Inventors

• Hooker William Michael

Classifications

• H04W8/04

  Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server] · CPC title

• H04W4/029

  Location-based management or tracking services · CPC title

• H04W64/00

  Locating users or terminals {or network equipment} for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management · CPC title

• H04W8/08

  Mobility data transfer · CPC title

• H04W4/20

  Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel · CPC title