Geolocation and Assisted-GPS

Wireless geolocation systems are rapidly entering the commercial implementation phase as the October 2001 deadline approaches The deadline was set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for service providers to provide the location of wireless callers to 911. This memo describes and compares proposed geolocation technologies, including handset-based, network- based, and hybrid approaches. Particular attention is paid to the Assisted-GPS technique, which will likely have a central role in the Lucent offerings for wireless geolocation. A review is given of the status of geolocation technologies within key wireless standards: analog AMPS; TIA/EIA-95 CDMA and the next- generation 3GPP2; GSM and TIA/EIA-136 TDMA, and their next- generation convergence 3GPP. This memo is expected to be published in a future issue of IEEE Computer Magazine.