WO2021219357A1

WO2021219357A1 - User positioning validation service

Info

Publication number: WO2021219357A1
Application number: PCT/EP2021/059419
Authority: WO
Inventors: Amedeo Imbimbo; Massimo Iovene
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2020-04-27
Filing date: 2021-04-12
Publication date: 2021-11-04

Abstract

Embodiments include methods performed by an application function (AF) for a communication network. Such methods include sending a subscription request, to a network function (NF), for notifications about out-of-credit and reallocation-of-credit events associated with one or more users of a service provided by the AF. Such methods also include, in response to a first notification, from the NF, of an out-of-credit event associated with one of the users, performing one or more first actions with respect to the service; and in response to a second notification, from the NF, of a reallocation-of-credit event associated with the user, performing one or more second actions with respect to the service. Other embodiments include complementary methods performed by a NF, as well as AFs and NFs configured to perform such methods.

Description

Title

USER POSITIONING VALIDATION SERVICE

Technical field

The present application relates generally to the field of communication networks and more specifically to techniques for validating positions determined and/or provided by wireless devices (e.g., user equipment) operating in a wireless network.

Background

Currently the fifth generation (“5G”) of cellular systems, also referred to as New Radio (NR), is being standardized within the Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). NR is developed for maximum flexibility to support multiple and substantially different use cases. These include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), machine type communications (MTC), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), side-link device-to-device (D2D), and several other use cases. The present disclosure relates generally to 5G, but similar principles can be applied to earlier-generation Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks.

LTE is an umbrella term for so-called fourth-generation (4G) radio access technologies developed within the Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and initially standardized in Release 8 (Rel-8) and Release 9 (Rel-9), also known as Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN). LTE is targeted at various licensed frequency bands and is accompanied by improvements to non-radio aspects commonly referred to as System Architecture Evolution (SAE), which includes Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network. LTE continues to evolve through subsequent releases.

LTE Rel-10 supports bandwidths larger than 20 MHz. One important requirement on Rel-10 is to assure backward compatibility with LTE Release-8. As such, a wideband LTE Rel-10 carrier (e.g., wider than 20 MHz) should appear as a number of carriers to an LTE Rel-8 (“legacy”) terminal. Each such carrier can be referred to as a Component Carrier (CC). For an efficient use of a wide carrier also for legacy terminals, legacy terminals can be scheduled in all parts of the wideband LTE Rel-10 carrier. One exemplary way to achieve this is by means of Carrier Aggregation (CA), whereby a Rel-10 terminal can receive multiple CCs, each preferably having the same structure as a Rel-8 carrier. LTE Rel-12 introduced a dual connectivity (DC) framework in which a UE can connect to two network nodes simultaneously, thereby improving connection robustness and/or capacity.

An overall exemplary architecture of a network comprising LTE and SAE is shown in Figure 1. E-UTRAN 100 includes one or more evolved Node B’s (eNB), such as eNBs 105, 110, and 115, and one or more user equipment (UE), such as UE 120. As used within the 3GPP standards, “user equipment” or “UE” means any wireless communication device (e.g., smartphone or computing device) that is capable of communicating with 3GPP-standard-compliant network equipment, including E- UTRAN as well as UTRAN and/or GERAN, as the third-generation (“3G”) and second- generation (“2G”) 3GPP RANs are commonly known.

As specified by 3GPP, E-UTRAN 100 is responsible for all radio-related functions in the network, including radio bearer control, radio admission control, radio mobility control, scheduling, and dynamic allocation of resources to UEs in uplink and downlink, as well as security of the communications with the UE. These functions reside in the eNBs, such as eNBs 105, 110, and 115. Each of the eNBs can serve a geographic coverage area including one more cells, including cells 106, 111, and 116 served by eNBs 105, 110, and 115, respectively.

The eNBs in the E-UTRAN communicate with each other via the X2 interface, as shown in Figure 1. The eNBs also are responsible for the E-UTRAN interface to the EPC 130, specifically the S1 interface to the Mobility Management Entity (MME) and the Serving Gateway (SGW), shown collectively as MME/S-GWs 134 and 138 in Figure 1. Generally speaking, the MME/S-GW handles both the overall control of the UE and data flow between the UE and the rest of the EPC. More specifically, the MME processes the signaling (e.g., control plane) protocols between the UE and the EPC, which are known as the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocols. The S-GW handles all Internet Protocol (IP) data packets (e.g., data or user plane) between the UE and the EPC and serves as the local mobility anchor for the data bearers when the UE moves between eNBs, such as eNBs 105, 110, and 115.

EPC 130 can also include a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 131 , which manages user- and subscriber-related information. HSS 131 can also provide support functions in mobility management, call and session setup, user authentication and access authorization. The functions of HSS 131 can be related to the functions of legacy Home Location Register (HLR) and Authentication Centre (AuC) functions or operations.

HSS 131 can communicate with MMEs 134 and 138 via respective S6a interfaces, and with a user data repository (UDR) - labelled EPC-UDR 135 in Figure 1 - via a Ud interface. EPC-UDR 135 can store user credentials after they have been encrypted by AuC algorithms. These algorithms are not standardized (/.e., vendor- specific), such that encrypted credentials stored in EPC-UDR 135 are inaccessible by any other vendor than the vendor of HSS 131.

In addition, S-GWs 134 and 138 can communicate with a packet gateway (P- GW) 139 via respective S5 interfaces. P-GW 135 provides access to external Packet Data Networks (PDNs), such as PDN 140 shown in Figure 1. For example, PDN 140 can be the point of entry to (or exit from) EPC 130 of traffic for UE 120. However, if UE 120 has multiple data sessions to multiple PDNs, UE 120 can be connected with multiple P-GWs, but it will still be served by only one SGW (e.g., 134 or 138). In some cases, P-GW 135 can also act as an Internet Protocol (IP) router with support for mobile-specific tunneling and signaling protocols. In some deployments, PDN 140 can include an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).

P-GW 135 also communicates with a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 138 over an S7 interface. PCRF 138 provides policy control decisions and charging control functionalities for users (e.g., UE 120) operating in the LTE network. PCRF 138 also provides network control of service data flow detection, gating, quality of service (QoS), and flow-based charging (except credit management). PCRF 138 performs these functions (referred to collectively as “policy and charging control” or PCC) together with a Policy Control Enforcement Function (PCEF), which can be part of P-GW 135. For example, PCRF 138 can communicate with the PCEF over the Gx interface as shown in Figure 1. More generally, these functions are part of a PCC architecture that is defined in 3GPP TS 23.203 (for EPC/LTE).

For example, as a packet data (e.g., IMS) session is being set up, signaling (e.g., SIP signaling) containing media requirements is exchanged between UE 120 and PDN 140. At some time in the session establishment process, PCRF 138 receives those requirements from the PDN (e.g., an IMS P-CSCF) and makes decisions based on network operator rules. Such decisions can include Allowing or rejecting the media request, using new or existing packet data context for the media request, and checking the allocation of new resources against the maximum authorized for UE 120. PCRF 138 communicates with PDN 140 over an RXi interface.

Users can be charged for services (e.g., packet data sessions) provided by the LTE network by either an online charging system (OCS) or an offline charging system (OFCS), shown collectively in Figure 1 as OCS/OFCS 150. A primary difference is that online charging can affect provisioning of services to users in real-time, while offline charging is applied after services are rendered and, thus, does not affect real-time provisioning. Both OCS and OFCS can utilize account control whereby a user's credit balance is checked and maintained in relation to (e.g., deducted for) services provided. As shown in Figure 1 , PCRF 138 communicates with OCS/OFCS 150 via respective Gy/Gz interfaces.

Figure 2 shows a high-level view of an exemplary 5G network architecture, including a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) 299 and a 5G Core (5GC) 298. As shown in the figure, NG-RAN 299 can include gNBs 210 (e.g., 210a, b) and ng-eNBs 220 (e.g., 220a, b) that are interconnected with each other via respective Xn interfaces. The gNBs and ng-eNBs are also connected via the NG interfaces to 5GC 298, more specifically to the AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) 230 (e.g., AMFs 230a, b) via respective NG-C interfaces and to the UPF (User Plane Function) 240 (e.g., UPFs 240a, b) via respective NG-U interfaces. Moreover, the AMFs 230a, b can communicate with one or more policy control functions (PCFs, e.g., PCFs 250a, b) and network exposure functions (NEFs, e.g., NEFs 260a, b). The AMFs, UPFs, PCFs, and NEFs are described further below.

Each of the gNBs 210 can support the NR radio interface including frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination thereof. In contrast, each of ng-eNBs 220 can support the LTE radio interface but, unlike conventional LTE eNBs (such as shown in Figure 1), connect to the 5GC via the NG interface. Each of the gNBs and ng-eNBs can serve a geographic coverage area including one more cells, including cells 211a-b and 221a-b shown as exemplary in Figure 2. As mentioned above, the gNBs and ng-eNBs can also use various directional beams to provide coverage in the respective cells. Depending on the particular cell in which it is located, a UE 205 can communicate with the gNB or ng-eNB serving that particular cell via the NR or LTE radio interface, respectively.

Deployments based on different 3GPP architecture options (e.g., EPC-based or 5GC-based) and UEs with different capabilities (e.g., EPC and 5GC) may coexist at the same time within one network (e.g., PLMN). It is generally assumed that a UE that can support 5GC NAS procedures can also support EPC NAS procedures (e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS 24.301) to operate in legacy networks, such as when roaming. As such, the UE will use EPC NAS or 5GC NAS procedures depending on the core network (CN) by which it is served.

Another change in 5G networks (e.g., in 5GC) is that traditional peer-to-peer interfaces and protocols (e.g., those found in LTE/EPC networks) are modified by a so-called Service Based Architecture (SBA) in which Network Functions (NFs) provide one or more services to one or more service consumers. This can be done, for example, by Hyper Text Transfer Protocol/Representational State Transfer (HTTP/REST) application programming interfaces (APIs). In general, the various services are self-contained functionalities that can be changed and modified in an isolated manner without affecting other services.

Furthermore, the services are composed of various “service operations”, which are more granular divisions of the overall service functionality. In order to access a service, both the service name and the targeted service operation must be indicated. The interactions between service consumers and producers can be of the type “request/response” or “subscribe/notify”. In the 5G SBA, network repository functions (NRF) allow every network function to discover the services offered by other network functions, and Data Storage Functions (DSF) allow every network function to store its context.

As discussed above, services can be deployed as part of a network function (NF) in the 5G SBA. This SBA model, which further adopts principles like modularity, reusability and self-containment of NFs, can enable deployments to take advantage of the latest virtualization and software technologies. Figure 3 shows an exemplary non roaming 5G reference architecture with service-based interfaces and various 3GPP- defined NFs within the Control Plane (CP). These include the following NFs, with additional details provided for those most relevant to the present disclosure: • Application Function (AF, with Naf interface) interacts with the 5GC to provision information to the network operator and to subscribe to certain events happening in operator^'s network. An AF offers applications for which service is delivered in a different layer (i.e. , transport layer) than the one in which the service has been requested (i.e. signaling layer), the control of flow resources according to what has been negotiated with the network. An AF communicates dynamic session information to PCF (via N5 interface), including description of media to be delivered by transport layer.

• Policy Control Function (PCF, with Npcf interface) supports unified policy framework to govern the network behavior, via providing PCC rules (e.g., on the treatment of each service data flow that is under PCC control) to the SMF via the N7 reference point. Similar to LTE PCRF, PCF provides policy control decisions and flow based charging control, including service data flow detection, gating, QoS, and flow-based charging (except credit management) towards the SMF. The PCF receives session and media related information from the AF and informs the AF of traffic (or user) plane events.

• User Plane Function (UPF) with Nupf interface - supports handling of user plane traffic based on the rules received from SMF, including packet inspection and different enforcement actions (e.g., event detection and reporting).

• Session Management Function (SMF, with Nsmf interface) interacts with the decoupled traffic (or user) plane, including creating, updating, and removing Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions and managing session context with the User Plane Function (UPF), e.g., for event reporting. For example, SMF performs data flow detection (based on filter definitions included in PCC rules), online and offline charging interactions, and policy enforcement.

• Charging Function (CHF, with Nchf interface) is responsible for converged online charging and offline charging functionalities. It provides quota management (for online charging), re-authorization triggers, rating conditions, etc. and is notified about usage reports from the SMF. Quota management involves granting a specific number of units (e.g. bytes, seconds) for a service. CHF also interacts with billing systems. • Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF, with Namf interface) terminates the RAN CP interface and handles all mobility and connection management of UEs (similar to MME in EPC).

• Network Exposure Function (NEF) with Nnef interface - acts as the entry point into operator^'s network, by securely exposing to AFs the network capabilities and events provided by 3GPP NFs and by providing ways for the AF to securely provide information to 3GPP network.

• Network Repository Function (NRF) with Nnrf interface - provides service registration and discovery, enabling NFs to identify appropriate services available from other NFs.

• Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) with Nnssf interface - a “network slice” is a logical partition of a 5G network that provides specific network capabilities and characteristics, e.g., in support of a particular service. A network slice instance is a set of NF instances and the required network resources (e.g. compute, storage, communication) that provide the capabilities and characteristics of the network slice. The NSSF enables other NFs (e.g., AMF) to identify a network slice instance that is appropriate for a UE’s desired service.

• Authentication Server Function (AUSF) with Nausf interface - based in a user’s home network (HPLMN), it performs user authentication and computes security key materials for various purposes.

The Unified Data Management (UDM) function shown in Figure 3 is similar to the HSS in LTE/EPC networks discussed above. UDM supports Generation of 3GPP authentication credentials, user identification handling, access authorization based on subscription data, and other subscriber-related functions. To provide this functionality, the UDM uses subscription data (including authentication data) stored in the 5GC unified data repository (UDR). In addition to the UDM, the UDR supports storage and retrieval of policy data by the PCF, as well as storage and retrieval of application data by NEF.

3GPP standards provide various ways for positioning (e.g., determining the position of, locating, and/or determining the location of) UEs operating in LTE networks. In general, an LTE positioning node (referred to as “E-SMLC” or “location server”) configures the target device (e.g., UE), an eNB, or a radio network node dedicated for positioning measurements (e.g., a “location measurement unit” or “LMU”) to perform one or more positioning measurements according to one or more positioning methods. For example, the positioning measurements can include timing (and/or timing difference) measurements on UE, network, and/or satellite transmissions. The positioning measurements are used by the target device (e.g., UE), the measuring node, and/or the E-SMLC to determine the location of the target device. UE positioning is also expected to be an important feature for NR networks. Many of the solutions are based on UE measurements on global navigation satellite system (GNSS, e.g., GPS) transmissions, with position computation by the UE itself. Other UE-determined positions can be based on proximity to known terrestrial transmitters, such as WiFi access points. While UE-determined positions can be accurate, they are also subject to manipulation by the UE (e.g., the user and/or an application running on the UE), such that they cannot be fully relied upon in scenarios (e.g., emergencies, public health crises, etc.) where their validity is necessary and/or important for determining a responsive action.

Summary

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide specific improvements to validity of user-determined positions used for various purposes in a communication network, such as by facilitating solutions to overcome the exemplary problems summarized above and described in more detail below

Exemplary embodiments include methods (e.g., procedures) for validating one or more positions determined by a user equipment (UE). These exemplary methods can be performed by a network function (NF, e.g., PVSF, LMF) of a communication network (e.g., EPC, 5GC).

The exemplary method can include receiving, from an application function (AF), a first request for validating one or more first positions determined by a user equipment (UE) operating in the communication network In various embodiments, the NF can be a position verification service function (PVSF) or a location management function (LMF). The exemplary method can also include, based on the first positions and first timestamps, retrieving information from the communication network. The information can include one or more second positions, of the UE, that were determined by the communication network, and respective one or more second timestamps for the second positions. The exemplary method can also include sending, to the AF, a first response including the one or more second positions and the one or more second timestamps.

In some embodiments, the AF can be a user tracking service, and the first request can be received from the user tracking service via a network exposure function (NEF) in the communication network. In such embodiments, the first response can be sent to the user tracking service via the NEF. In some embodiments, an identity of the user or of the UE is included in the first request, the retrieved information, and the first response. The identity can be an MSISDN, an I MSI , etc.

In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include determining whether the one or more first timestamps includes a current time. In such embodiments, the retrieving operations can also include, based on determining that the one or more first timestamps includes the current time, send a second request, to a mobile positioning system (MPS) of the communication network, for a network- determined current position of the UE. In various embodiments, the MPS can be one of the following: a location management function (LMF), an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC), a gateway mobile location center (GMLC), and a secure user plane location platform (SLP).

In some of these embodiments, the retrieving operations can also include receiving, from the MPS, a second response including the network-determined current position and an associated timestamp. In such case, the one or more second positions include the network-determined current position, and the one or more second timestamps include the associated timestamp.

In other of these embodiments, the retrieving operations can also include can receive, from the MPS, a second response indicating that a current position of the UE cannot be determined by the MPS; and sending a third request, to one or more data repositories in the communication network, for a network-determined past position of the UE that is proximate to the current time.

In other embodiments, the exemplary method can also include determining whether the one or more first timestamps include one or more past times. In such embodiments, the retrieving operations can also include, based on determining that the one or more first timestamps include one or more past times, sending a third request, to one or more data repositories in the communication network, for network- determined past positions of the UE that are proximate to the one or more past times. In embodiments that include sending a third request, the retrieving operations can also include receiving, from the one or more data repositories, a third response that includes one or more network-determined past positions of the UE and respective one or more associated timestamps. In such case, the one or more second positions include the one or more network-determined past positions, and the one or more second timestamps include the one or more associated timestamps.

In various embodiments, the one or more data repositories can include a data retention function and/or a charging function. In various embodiments, the data retention function can be a user data repository (UDR), a home location register (HLR), or a unified data management (UDM) function. In various embodiments, the charging function can be an online charging system (OCS), an offline charging system (OFCS), or a charging function (CHF).

Exemplary embodiments also include network functions (NFs, e.g., PVSF, LMF), for a communication network, that are configured to perform operations (e.g., using processing circuitry) corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein. Exemplary embodiments also include non-transitory, computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry associated with such NFs, configure the same to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein.

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for validating, by a Network Function, NF, in a communication network, one or more positions determined by a User Equipment, UE, operating in the communication network, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, from an Application Function, AF, operating in the communication network, a first request for validating one or more first positions determined by said UE, wherein the first request comprises said one or more first positions; validating said one or more first positions by retrieving, from the communication network, one or more second positions of the UE that were determined by the communication network; sending, to said AF, a first response thereby indicating validation of said one or more first positions determined by said UE.

The inventors have found to introduce a new service in the communication network to validate any UE positioning provided by the UE for, for example, tracking purposes. For example, GPS coordinates may be provided by the UEs. The GPS coordinates may be validated by using positioning information known in the network, and established by the network. The GPS coordinates may be correlated, or matched, to the known coordinates of the UE in the communication network to see whether the GPS coordinates are correct. This entails the validation process.

In an example, the first request comprises said one or more first positions and respective one or more first timestamps for the first positions, and wherein said step of validating further comprises: validating said one or more first positions by retrieving, from the communication network, one or more second positions of the UE that were determined by the communication network based on the respective one or more first timestamps.

In a further example, said first response further comprises said one or more second positions.

In an example, the step of validating comprises determining that said one or more first positions correspond to said one or more second positions.

In another example, the step of retrieving further comprises sending a second request, to a mobile positioning system, MPS, of the communication network, for a network-determined current position of the UE.

In yet another example, the step of retrieving further comprises: receiving, from the MPS, a second response including the network- determined current position and an associated timestamp; the one or more second positions include the network-determined current position, and the one or more second timestamps include the associated timestamp.

In an example, the step of retrieving further comprises: receiving, from the MPS, a second response indicating that a current position of the UE cannot be determined by the MPS; and sending a third request, to one or more data repositories in the communication network, for a network-determined past position of the UE that is proximate to the current time.

In a further example, the MPS is one of the following: a location management function, LMF, an enhanced serving mobile location center, E-SMLC, a gateway mobile location center, GMLC, and a secure user plane location platform, SLP.

In another example, the method further comprises the step of: determining whether the one or more first timestamps include one or more past times; and based on determining that the one or more first timestamps include one or more past times, sending a third request, to one or more data repositories in the communication network, for network-determined past positions of the UE that are proximate to the one or more past times.

In a further example, the method further comprises: receiving, from one or more data repositories, a third response that includes one or more network-determined past positions of the UE and respective one or more associated timestamps; the one or more second positions include the one or more network- determined past positions; and the one or more second timestamps include the one or more associated timestamps.

In an example, the one or more data repositories include any of the following: a data retention function and a charging function.

In an example, the data retention function is one of the following: a user data repository, UDR, a home location register, HLR, or a unified data management, UDM, function.

In another example, the charging function is one of the following: an online charging system, OCS, an offline charging system, OFCS, or a charging function, CHF.

In an example, the identity of the user or of the UE is included in the first request, the retrieved information, and the first response.

In a further example: the AF is a user tracking service; the first request is received from the user tracking service via a network exposure function (NEF) in the communication network; and the first response is sent to the user tracking service via the NEF.

In yet another example, the NF is one of the following: a position verification service function, PVSF, or a location management function, LMF.

In a second aspect, there is provided a network function (810, 820, 930, 1360, 1520) for a communication network (198, 298), the network function comprising: interface circuitry (1390, 1570) configured to communicate with at least an application function (AF) in the communication network; and processing circuitry (1370, 1560) operably coupled to the interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of examples as provided above.

In a third aspect, there is provided a network function (810, 820, 930, 1360, 1520) for a communication network (198, 298), the network function being arranged to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of the examples as provided above

These and other objects, features, and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent upon reading the following Detailed Description in view of the Drawings briefly described below.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a high-level block diagram of an exemplary architecture of the Long- Term Evolution (LTE) Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN) and Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network, as standardized by 3GPP.

Figure 2 illustrate an exemplary high-level view of a 5G network architecture.

Figure 3 shows an exemplary non-roaming 5G reference architectures with service-based interfaces and various network functions (NFs) in a core network, as further described in 3GPP TS 23.501 (v16.1.0).

Figures 4-5 illustrate exemplary positioning architectures for LTE and 5G/NR networks, respectively.

Figures 6-7 show various views of an exemplary network configuration for position validation, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 8 illustrates how a position validation service function (PVSF) can be integrated into the non-roaming 5G reference architecture shown in Figure 3.

Figures 9-11 show flow diagrams of various exemplary procedures for validating one or more user positions determined by a user equipment (UE), according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary method (e.g., procedures) performed by a network function (NF, e.g., PVSF, LMF) of a communication network (e.g., 5GC, EPC), according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 13 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a wireless network, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 14 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a UE, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary virtualization environment usable for implementation of various embodiments described herein.

Detailed Description

Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided as examples to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and/or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods and/or procedures disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and/or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments can apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objects, features, and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

Furthermore, the following terms are used throughout the description given below:

• Radio Node: As used herein, a “radio node” can be either a “radio access node” or a “wireless device.”

• Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” (or equivalently “radio network node,” “radio access network node,” or “RAN node”) can be any node in a radio access network (RAN) of a cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly transmit and/or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a 3GPP Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP LTE network), base station distributed components (e.g., CU and DU), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., micro, pico, femto, or home base station, or the like), an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a transmission point, a remote radio unit (RRU or RRH), and a relay node.

• Core Network Node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a serving gateway (SGW), a PDN Gateway (P-GW), a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane function (UPF), a Charging Function (CHF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), or the like.

• Wireless Device: As used herein, a “wireless device” (or “WD” for short) is any type of device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a cellular communications network by communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Communicating wirelessly can involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. Unless otherwise noted, the term “wireless device” is used interchangeably herein with “user equipment” (or “UE” for short). Some examples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cell phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, gaming consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback appliances, wearable devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptops, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart devices, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), mobile-type communication (MTC) devices, Internet-of-Things (loT) devices, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, etc.

• Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is either part of the radio access network (e.g., a radio access node or equivalent name discussed above) or of the core network (e.g., a core network node discussed above) of a cellular communications network. Functionally, a network node is equipment capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the cellular communications network, to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device, and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the cellular communications network.

Note that the description given herein focuses on a 3GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3GPP system. Furthermore, although the term “cell” is used herein, it should be understood that (particularly with respect to 5G NR) beams may be used instead of cells and, as such, concepts described herein apply equally to both cells and beams.

In the present disclosure, the term “service” is used generally to refer to a set of data, associated with one or more applications, that is to be transferred via a network with certain specific delivery requirements that need to be fulfilled in order to make the applications successful. In the present disclosure, the term “component” is used generally to refer to any component needed for the delivery of the service. Examples of components are RANs (e.g., E-UTRAN, NG-RAN, or portions thereof such as eNBs, gNBs, base stations (BS), etc.), CNs (e.g., EPC, 5GC, or portions thereof, including all type of links between RAN and CN entities), and cloud infrastructure with related resources such as computation and storage. In general, each component can have a “manager”, a term used generally to refer to an entity that can collect historical information about utilization of resources as well as provide information about the current and the predicted future availability of resources associated with that component ( e.g ., a RAN manager).

As briefly mentioned above, various positioning solutions are based on UE measurements on global navigation satellite system (GNSS, e.g., GPS) transmissions, with position determined by the UE based on such measurements. Other UE- determined positions can be based on proximity to known terrestrial transmitters, such as WiFi access points. While UE-determined positions can be accurate, they are also subject to manipulation such that they cannot be fully relied upon in scenarios where their validity is necessary and/or important for determining a responsive action. An example of such a scenario is the current global COVID-19 pandemic in which it has become desirable to track locations of individuals to prevent and/or lessen the spread of the virus causing the disease. This is discussed in more detail after the following discussion of LTE and NR positioning architectures.

Figure 4 shows an exemplary positioning architecture within an LTE network. Three important functional elements of the LTE positioning architecture are the LCS Client, the LCS target and the LCS Server. The LCS Server is a physical or logical entity managing positioning for an LCS target (e.g., as embodiments by the UE in Figure 4) by collecting measurements and other location information, assisting the terminal in measurements when necessary, and estimating the LCS target location. For example, the LCS Server can be embodied by the enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) or the secure user-plane location platform (SLP) in Figure 4.

An LCS Client is a software and/or hardware entity that interacts with an LCS Server for the purpose of obtaining location information for one or more LCS targets (i.e. , the entities being positioned) such as the UE in Figure 4. LCS Clients may also reside in the LCS targets themselves. An LCS Client sends a request to an LCS Server to obtain location information, and the LCS Server processes and serves the received requests and sends the positioning result and optionally a velocity estimate to the LCS Client. A positioning request can be originated from the terminal or a network node or external client.

In the LTE architecture shown in Figure 4, position calculation can be conducted, for example, by the LCS Server (e.g., E-SMLC or SLP) or by the LCS target (e.g., a UE). The former approach corresponds to the UE-assisted positioning mode when it is based on UE measurements, whilst the latter corresponds to the UE-based positioning mode. The following positioning methods are supported in LTE:

• Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID). Utilizes information to associate the UE with the geographical area of a serving cell, and then additional information to determine a finer granularity position. The following measurements are supported for E-CID: AoA (base station only), UE Rx-Tx time difference, timing advance (TA) types 1 and 2, reference signal received power (RSRP), and reference signal received quality (RSRQ).

• Assisted GNSS. GNSS information retrieved by the UE, supported by assistance information provided to the UE from the E-SMLC.

• OTDOA (Observed Time Difference of Arrival). The UE receives and measures Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, supported by assistance information provided to the UE from E-SMLC.

• UTDOA (Uplink TDOA). The UE is requested to transmit a specific waveform that is detected by multiple location measurement units (LMUs, which may be standalone, co-located or integrated into an eNB) at known positions. These measurements are forwarded to the E-SMLC for multilateration.

In addition, one or more of the following positioning modes can be utilized in each of the positioning methods listed above:

• UE-Assisted: The UE performs measurements with or without assistance from the network and sends these measurements to the E- SMLC where the position calculation may take place.

• UE-Based: The UE performs measurements and calculates its own position with assistance from the network.

• Standalone: The UE performs measurements and calculates its own position without network assistance.

The detailed assistance data may include information about network node locations, beam directions, etc. The assistance data can be provided to the UE via unicast or via broadcast.

As mentioned above, positioning is also expected to be an important application in 5G/NR networks. Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating a high-level architecture for supporting UE positioning in NR networks. As shown in Figure 5, the NG-RAN 520 can include radio access nodes such as gNB 522 and ng-eNB 521 , which are similar to LTE eNBs. Each ng-eNB may control several transmission points (TPs), such as remote radio heads.

In addition, the NG-RAN nodes communicate with an AMF 530 in the 5GC via respective NG-C interfaces (both of which may or may not be present), while the AMF and LMF 540 communicate via an NLs interface 541. In addition, positioning-related communication between UE 510 and the NG-RAN nodes occurs via the RRC protocol, while positioning-related communication between NG-RAN nodes and LMF occurs via an NRPPa protocol. Optionally, the LMF can also communicate with an E-SMLC 550 in an LTE network.

LMF 540 can also include, or be associated with, various processing circuitry 542, by which the LMF performs various operations described herein. Processing circuitry 542 can include similar types of processing circuitry as described herein in relation to other network nodes. LMF 540 can also include, or be associated with, a non-transitory computer-readable medium 543 storing instructions (also referred to as a computer program program) that can facilitate the operations of processing circuitry 542. Medium 543 can include similar types of computer memory as described herein in relation to other network nodes.

In a typical operation, the AMF can receive a request for a location service associated with a particular target UE from another entity (e.g., a gateway mobile location center (GMLC)), or the AMF itself can initiate some location service on behalf of a particular target UE (e.g., for an emergency call from the UE). The AMF then sends a location services (LS) request to the LMF. The LMF processes the LS request, which may include transferring assistance data to the target UE to assist with UE- based and/or UE-assisted positioning; and/or positioning of the target UE. The LMF then returns the result of the LS (e.g., a position estimate for the UE and/or an indication of any assistance data transferred to the UE) to the AMF or to another entity (e.g., GMLC) that requested the LS.

An LMF may have a signaling connection to an E-SMLC, enabling the LMF to access information from E-UTRAN, e.g., to support E-UTRA OTDOA positioning using downlink measurements obtained by a target UE. An LMF can also have a signaling connection to an SLP, the LTE entity responsible for user-plane positioning.

Various interfaces and protocols are used for, or involved in, NR positioning. The LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) is used between a target device (e.g., UE in the control-plane, or SET in the user-plane) and a positioning server (e.g., LMF in the control-plane, SLP in the user-plane). LPP can use either the control- or user-plane protocols as underlying transport. NRPP is terminated between a target device and the LMF. RRC protocol is used between UE and gNB (via NR radio interface) and between UE and ng-eNB (via LTE radio interface).

Furthermore, the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) carries information between the NG-RAN Node and the LMF, and is transparent to the AMF. As such, the AMF routes the NRPPa PDUs transparently (e.g., without knowledge of the involved NRPPa transaction) over NG-C interface based on a Routing ID corresponding to the involved LMF. More specifically, the AMF carries the NRPPa PDUs over NG-C interface either in UE associated mode or non-UE associated mode. The NGAP protocol between the AMF and an NG-RAN node (e.g., gNB or ng-eNB) is used as transport for LPP and NRPPa messages over the NG-C interface. NGAP is also used to instigate and terminate NG-RAN-related positioning procedures.

LPP/NRPP are used to deliver messages such as positioning capability request, OTDOA positioning measurements request, and OTDOA assistance data to the UE from a positioning node (e.g., location server). LPP/NRPP are also used to deliver messages from the UE to the positioning node including, e.g., UE capability, UE measurements for UE-assisted OTDOA positioning, UE request for additional assistance data, UE configuration parameter(s) to be used to create UE-specific OTDOA assistance data, etc. NRPPa is used to deliver the information between ng- eNB/gNB and LMF in both directions. This can include LMF requesting some information from ng-eNB/gNB, and ng-eNB/gNB providing some information to LMF. For example, this can include information about PRS transmitted by ng-eNB/gNB that are to be used for OTDOA positioning measurements by the UE.

NR networks will support positioning methods similar to LTE E-CID, OTDOA, and UTDOA but based on NR measurements. NR may also support one or more of the following position methods:

• Multi-RTT : The device (e.g. UE) computes UE Rx-Tx time difference and gNBs compute gNB Rx-Tx time difference. The results are combined to find the UE position based upon round trip time (RTT) calculation.

• DL-AoD: gNB or LMF calculates the UE angular position based upon UE DL RSRP measurement results. • UL-AoA: gNB calculates the UL AoA based upon measurements of a UE’s UL

SRS transmissions.

Each of the NR positioning methods can be supported in UE-assisted, UE- based or UE-standalone modes, similar to LTE discussed above.

Positions determined via UE-based or UE-standalone positioning methods described above can be unreliable and/or untrustworthy for a variety of reasons. For example, GNSS (including GPS, a type of GNSS) signals may be very weak in certain locations (e.g., indoors) due to the distance of the satellites, transmitting power of the satellites, and receiving capabilities of UEs (e.g., limited battery capacity, small antennas, UE damage). These factors can cause a UE-determined position from GNSS to be inaccurate or unreliable; in the worst case, the UE may not be able to determine a position from GNSS. In such case, the UE may substitute a position determined by other, less reliable means.

Other reasons can be related to deceptive, fraudulent, and/or illegal behavior rather than technical difficulties. For example, even if a UE’s GNSS receiver is capable of producing an accurate position in a certain scenario, the GNSS-determined position is subject to manipulation by the user, e.g., via an application that can be downloaded and installed on the UE. In this manner, it is possible for a UE (or an application) to provide a falsified position associated with the user, e.g., to an application server. Simply put, there are very few limitations and/or restrictions that prevent such behavior.

Positions determined by the network (e.g., by E-SMLC or SLP) based on UE- assisted methods are generally more reliable and trustworthy than those determined from UE-based on UE-standalone techniques. This is particularly true when the network performs both the measurements and the position determination, such as for UTDOA and UL-AoA. However, the attainable accuracy for these methods is generally lower than the GNSS-based techniques. This is problematic for scenarios where accurate tracking of locations is needed, such as to prevent, reduce, and/or mitigate the spread of the virus causing COVID-19.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can address these and other issues, problems, and/or difficulties by providing novel, flexible, and efficient techniques for validating UE-determined positions provided for user tracking during emergencies, disasters, and/or public health risks, such as for mitigation of COVID-19 spread. Such UEs can be equipped with position determination equipment (e.g., GPS receiver) and a position tracking application. To support such UEs, a Positioning Validation Service (PVS) can be provided in a cellular network to validate the location information determined and provided by such UEs. For example, the PVS can be implemented as a network function (e.g., PVSF) or a service of an existing NF, and exposed to other applications and NFs via the NEF in the 5GC.

In various embodiments, the PVS can validate by crosschecking the UE-provided location information with the other location information obtained from a user data storage (or retention) repository associated with the cellular network. For example, the user data repository can be a Unified Data Management (UDM) function, user data repository (UDR), home location register (HLR), online charging system (OCS), offline charging system (OFCS), etc.

At a high level, PVS embodiments can provide real-time validation of one or more user positions at corresponding one or more times (or a time range), depending on the accuracy of the other user location information available in the network for the given time(s) or time range. In various embodiments, this can include validation of current location information as well as validation of past, collected, and/or historical location information provided by the user (e.g., for tracking or tracing).

Embodiments can provide various benefits and/or advantages. For example, embodiments can a standard and reliable technique for cross-checking position information provided by UEs when such information is used for public safety purposes, e.g., mass events, natural disasters, pandemics, etc.. In this manner, embodiments can facilitate providing useful guidance to the public and monitoring whether such guidance is being properly observed, based on validating position information that is generally accurate but conventionally can be unreliable or untrustworthy. More specifically, such embodiments can support a large variety of use cases, including tracking individuals and compiling aggregate statistics on location and/or movement of individuals within a particular area and/or in particular time period. Such statistics can facilitate and/or inform government responses to natural disasters, pandemics, etc.

Figure 6 shows a high-level view of a network configuration according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, Figure 6 shows PVS as part of a public land mobile network (PLMN) cloud, such as a 4G or 5G cellular network. PVS is responsible the collection and reporting of all data that are required for validation. Figure 6 also shows a UE with GPS and a tracking application; however, this single UE can be representative of many UEs with the same capabilities operating in conjunction with the PLMN. The UE(s) can also communicate with a location tracking service, whose purpose is to track the locations of the respective users for lawful purposes, such as those described above. The tracking service also communicates with the PVS in the PLMN.

Figure 7 shows a more detailed view of a network configuration according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, Figure 7 shows that the tracking service acts as an application function (AF) that accesses services of other NFs via exposure by the NEF. In this arrangement, PVS is a NF (also referred to as PVS Function, or PVSF) that offers services over an Npvsf interface that are exposed to AFs via the NEF. Figure 8 illustrates how the PVSF (labelled 810) can be integrated into the non-roaming 5G reference architecture shown in Figure 3. In other embodiments, the PVS can be an extension of location-related services provided by the LMF (labelled 820). Such services are described in 3GPP TS 23.501 and 23.273. Figure 7 also shows other elements, functions, and/or nodes of the PLMN that communicate with the PVS for purposes of validating UE-determined positions. For example, the PVS can communicate with a charging system, such as an OCS or OFCS found in an EPC or a charging function (CHF) found in a 5GC. In some embodiments, the charging system can provide information concerning user location (e.g., in a particular cell of the PLMN) at a particular time. In addition, the PVS can communicate with a data retention system (or repository) for user-related data, which can be a UDR found in an EPC or a UDM found in a 5GC. The data retention system can also provide information concerning user location at a particular time. Finally, the PVS can communicate with a mobile positioning system (MPS) that can provide current user location, such as a E-SMLC, GMLC, SLP, or LMF.

In various embodiments, AFs such as the tracking service can request the PVS to validate a current location, a previous (or deferred) location, a location history over a time range, etc. Upon such request, the PVS can provide various data that can be used for position validation by the tracking service. Embodiments associated with specific use cases are described below with reference to Figures 9-11. In particular, Figures 9-11 are flow diagram of exemplary procedures according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Although Figures 9-11 show numbered operations, these numbers are used to facilitate description of the procedures and neither require nor imply a particular order of the operations. In other words, the operations shown in Figures 9-11 can be performed in a different order than shown, and can be combined and/or divided into operations different than those shown. The operations in each of the figures are among a data retention/charging function 910, a mobile positioning system (MPS) 920, a PVSF 930, an NEF 940, and a tracking service 950. For brevity, the reference numbers for these entities will not be used in the following description of Figures 9-11. Furthermore, these entities can be substantially identical to similarly named entities shown in other figures, such as Figures 2-8.

In particular, Figure 9 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary procedure for validating a current user position determined by a UE, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, the tracking service has received a current user position from a monitored UE (operation 1) and wants to validate the trustworthiness of the information by cross-checking it with relevant network location information for the same UE.

In operation 2, the tracking service sends a User Position Validation request to the NEF. The request includes a user identity such as a Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSIDSN), an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), or other similar information. The request can also include the position to be validated (e.g., GPS coordinates) and the current time. In operation 3, the NEF forwards the request to the PVSF.

In operation 4, the PVSF queries the MPS with a User Positioning Request, which includes the MSIDN. If the UE is currently operational in the network, in operation 5 the MPS will report the UE’s current location information as determined by the MPS (e.g., via UL-AoA or UTDOA) in a User Positioning Report. The PVSF can validate the UE-determined position (received in operation 3) against the network- determined position (received in operation 5) and report the results to the tracking service via the NEF in a User Positioning Validation Report (operations 6-7).

On the other hand, if the UE is not currently operational and/or unreachable, MPS will not return a valid position. Rather than operations 6-7, PVSF will query the data Retention/charging functionality (in operation 8) to request the UE’s last position known to that function. This User Positioning Request can include the MSISDN as well as the geographic coordinates and time stamp provided by the tracking service.

The data retention/charging function can retrieve the last known location and corresponding time (operation 9) and provide that information to the PVSF in operation 10. The PVSF can validate the UE-determined position (received in operation 3) against the last known position (received in operation 10) and report the results to the tracking service via the NEF in a User Positioning Validation Report (operations 11- 12). The PVSF can include the last known location and associated timestamp received in operation 10. If the data retention/charging function reports no last known position, the PVSF will report this instead in operations 11-12 (e.g., as a validation error).

In addition, Figure 10 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary procedure for validating a user position determined by a UE at a specific time (e.g., in the past), according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, the tracking service may have previously received a user position from a monitored UE (operation 1) and now wants to validate the trustworthiness of the information by cross-checking it with relevant network location information for the same UE at the specific time. The tracking service’s validation request can be triggered by an outside request (e.g., from a government agency), an internal timer, etc.

Operations 2-3 are similar to those in Figure 9, except that the messages include a time stamp of the user position rather than the current time. In operation 4, the PVSF sends a User Positioning Request to the data retention/charging function, including the information received via the NEF in operation 3. Note that the PVSF does not query the MPS because it is assumed that the MPS does not maintain past location records for the UEs; if that assumption is not true, the PVSF could also query the MPS for the network-determined location information corresponding to the time stamp.

In operation 5, the data retention/charging function determines one or more known locations of the user at one or more times that are proximate to the received time stamp. Alternately or in addition, the data retention/charging function can determine one or more known locations of the user that are proximate to the received geographic coordinates, along with the times associated with those know locations. In operation 6, the data retention/charging function provides this information and the MSISDN to the PVSF in a User Positioning Report.

The PVSF can validate the UE-determined position and time stamp (received in operation 3) against the known positions and corresponding time stamps (received in operation 6) and report the results to the tracking service via the NEF in a User Positioning Validation Report (operations 7-8). The PVSF can also include the known positions and associated time stamps. If the data retention/charging function reports no known positions that are relevant to the position and time stamp of interest, the PVSF will report this instead in operations 7-8 (e.g., as a validation error).

In addition, Figure 11 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary procedure for validating a series of user position (e.g., a path or track) determined by a UE over a time range, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, the tracking service may have previously received the series of user positions from a monitored UE (operation 1) and now wants to validate the trustworthiness of the information by cross-checking it with relevant network location information for the same UE at during the time range. Note that the time range may or may not include the current time. The tracking service’s validation request can be triggered by an outside request (e.g., from a government agency), an internal timer, etc.

Operations 2-3 are similar to those in Figures 9-10, except that the messages include a series of geographic coordinates and corresponding time stamps (or a corresponding time range) rather than a single location/time pair. If the time stamps include the current time (or a relatively recent time), operations 4-5 are performed; otherwise, operations 4-5 are omitted.

In operation 4, the PVSF queries the MPS with a User Positioning Request, which includes the MSIDN. In operation 5 the MPS reports the UE’s current location information as determined by the MPS (e.g., via UL-AoA or UTDOA) in a User Positioning Report.

In operation 6, the PVSF sends a User Positioning Request to the data retention/charging function, including the information received via the NEF in operation 3. More specifically, the PVSF sends the received information pertaining to past (e.g., not current) UE-determined locations but can optionally omit a current UE-determined location (if provided). In operation 7, the data retention/charging function determines known locations of the user at times that are proximate to the respective received time stamps. Alternately or in addition, the data retention/charging function can determine known locations of the user that are proximate to the respective received geographic coordinates, along with the times associated with those known locations. In operation 8, the data retention/charging function provides this information and the MSISDN to the PVSF in a User Positioning Report.

The PVSF can validate the UE-determined position and time stamp (received in operation 3) against the known positions and corresponding time stamps (received in operation 8 and optionally in operation 5) and report the results to the tracking service via the NEF in a User Positioning Validation Report (operations 9-10). The PVSF can also include the known positions and associated time stamps. If the data retention/charging function reports no known positions that are relevant to positions and times of interest, the PVSF will report this instead in operations 9-10 (e.g., as a validation error).

The embodiments described above can be further illustrated by the exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) shown in Figure 12, described below. For example, features of various embodiments discussed above are included in various operations of the exemplary methods shown in Figure 12.

More specifically, Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for validating one or more positions determined by a user equipment (UE), according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method can be performed by a network function (NF, e.g., PVSF, LMF) of a communication network (e.g., EPC, 5GC). For example, the NF can be hosted and/or provided by one or more network nodes in or associated with the communication network, such as described elsewhere herein. Although the exemplary method is illustrated in Figure 12 by specific blocks in a particular order, the operations corresponding to the blocks can be performed in different orders than shown and can be combined and/or divided into blocks and/or operations having different functionality than shown. Furthermore, the exemplary method shown in Figure 12 can be complementary to other exemplary disclosed herein (e.g., Figures 9-11), such that they can be used cooperatively to provide benefits, advantages, and/or solutions to problems described herein. Optional blocks and/or operations are indicated by dashed lines. The exemplary method can include the operations of block 1210, in which the NF can receive, from an application function (AF), a first request for validating one or more first positions determined by a user equipment (UE) operating in the communication network In various embodiments, the NF can be a position verification service function (PVSF, e.g., as shown in Figures 9-11) or a location management function (LMF). The exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1240, in which the NF can, based on the first positions and first timestamps, retrieve information from the communication network. The information can include one or more second positions, of the UE, that were determined by the communication network, and respective one or more second timestamps for the second positions. The exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1250, in which the NF can send, to the AF, a first response including the one or more second positions and the one or more second timestamps.

In some embodiments, the AF can a user tracking service, and the first request can be received from the user tracking service via a network exposure function (NEF) in the communication network. In such embodiments, the first response can be sent to the user tracking service via the NEF. In some embodiments, an identity of the user or of the UE is included in the first request, the retrieved information, and the first response. The identity can be an MSISDN, an I MSI , etc.

In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1220, in which the NF can determine whether the one or more first timestamps includes a current time. In such embodiments, the retrieving operations of block 1240 can also include the operations of sub-block 1241 , where the NF can, based on determining that the one or more first timestamps includes the current time, send a second request, to a mobile positioning system (MPS) of the communication network, for a network-determined current position of the UE. In various embodiments, the MPS can be one of the following: a location management function (LMF), an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC), a gateway mobile location center (GMLC), and a secure user plane location platform (SLP).

In some of these embodiments, the retrieving operation of block 1240 can also include the operations of sub-block 1242, where the NF can receive, from the MPS, a second response including the network-determined current position and an associated timestamp. In such case, the one or more second positions include the network- determined current position, and the one or more second timestamps include the associated timestamp.

In other of these embodiments, the retrieving operation of block 1240 can also include the operations of sub-blocks 1243-1244. In sub-block 1243, the NF can receive, from the MPS, a second response indicating that a current position of the UE cannot be determined by the MPS. In sub-block 1244, the NF can send a third request, to one or more data repositories in the communication network, for a network- determined past position of the UE that is proximate to the current time.

In other embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1230, in which the NF can determine whether the one or more first timestamps include one or more past times. In such embodiments, the retrieving operations of block 1240 can also include the operations of sub-block 1245, where the NF can, based on determine that the one or more first timestamps include one or more past times, send a third request, to one or more data repositories in the communication network, for network-determined past positions of the UE that are proximate to the one or more past times.

In embodiments that include one of sub-blocks 1244-1245 (i.e. , sending a third request), the retrieving operations of block 1240 can also include the operations of sub-block 1246. In sub-block 1246, the NF can receive, from the one or more data repositories, a third response that includes one or more network-determined past positions of the UE and respective one or more associated timestamps. In such case, the one or more second positions include the one or more network-determined past positions, and the one or more second timestamps include the one or more associated timestamps.

Although the subject matter described herein can be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustrated in Figure 13. For simplicity, the wireless network of Figure 13 only depicts network 1306, network nodes 1360 and 1360b, and WDs 1310, 1310b, and 1310c. In practice, a wireless network can further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node 1360 and wireless device (WD) 1310 are depicted with additional detail. The wireless network can provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices’ access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wireless network.

The wireless network can comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network can be configured to operate according to specific standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless network can implement communication standards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards.

Network 1306 can comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.

Network node 1360 and WD 1310 comprise various components described in more detail below. These components work together in order to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network can comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.

Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations can be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and can then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station can be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node can also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station can also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

Further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs, S-GW, M-GW, etc.), core network functions (e.g., PCEF, PCRF, AMF, UPF, NEF, SMF, PCF, etc.), application functions (AF) associated with the core network, O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs. As another example, a network node can be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. More generally, however, network nodes can represent any suitable device (or group of devices) or function capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with access to the wireless network or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless network.

In Figure 13, network node 1360 includes processing circuitry 1370, device readable medium 1380, interface 1390, auxiliary equipment 1384, power source 1386, power circuitry 1387, and antenna 1362. Although network node 1360 illustrated in the example wireless network of Figure 13 can represent a device that includes the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments can comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods and/or procedures disclosed herein. Moreover, while the components of network node 1360 are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a network node can comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium 1380 can comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules).

Similarly, network node 1360 can be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which can each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which network node 1360 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components can be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC can control multiple NodeB’s. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, can in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node 1360 can be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components can be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium 1380 for the different RATs) and some components can be reused (e.g., the same antenna 1362 can be shared by the RATs). Network node 1360 can also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1360, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies can be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1360.

Processing circuitry 1370 can be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 1370 can include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 1370 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Processing circuitry 1370 can comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide various functionality of network node 1360, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1360 components (e.g., device readable medium 1380). Such functionality can include any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein.

For example, processing circuitry 1370 can execute instructions stored in device readable medium 1380 or in memory within processing circuitry 1370. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1370 can include a system on a chip (SOC). As a more specific example, instructions (also referred to as a computer program product) stored in medium 1380 can include instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry 1370, can configure network node 1360 to perform operations corresponding to various exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) described herein.

In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1370 can include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1372 and baseband processing circuitry 1374. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1372 and baseband processing circuitry 1374 can be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1372 and baseband processing circuitry 1374 can be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or other such network device can be performed by processing circuitry 1370 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 1380 or memory within processing circuitry 1370. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality can be provided by processing circuitry 1370 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 1370 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 1370 alone or to other components of network node 1360 but are enjoyed by network node 1360 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

Device readable medium 1380 can comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that can be used by processing circuitry 1370. Device readable medium 1380 can store any suitable instructions, data or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 1370 and, utilized by network node 1360. Device readable medium 1380 can be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 1370 and/or any data received via interface 1390. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1370 and device readable medium 1380 can be considered to be integrated. Interface 1390 is used in the wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between network node 1360, network 1306, and/or WDs 1310. As illustrated, interface 1390 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 1394 to send and receive data, for example to and from network 1306 over a wired connection. Interface 1390 also includes radio front end circuitry 1392 that can be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 1362. Radio front end circuitry 1392 comprises filters 1398 and amplifiers 1396. Radio front end circuitry 1392 can be connected to antenna 1362 and processing circuitry 1370. Radio front end circuitry can be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1362 and processing circuitry 1370. Radio front end circuitry 1392 can receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 1392 can convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1398 and/or amplifiers 1396. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna 1362. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1362 can collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 1392. The digital data can be passed to processing circuitry 1370. In other embodiments, the interface can comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, network node 1360 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 1392, instead, processing circuitry 1370 can comprise radio front end circuitry and can be connected to antenna 1362 without separate radio front end circuitry 1392. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 1372 can be considered a part of interface 1390. In still other embodiments, interface 1390 can include one or more ports or terminals 1394, radio front end circuitry 1392, and RF transceiver circuitry 1372, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 1390 can communicate with baseband processing circuitry 1374, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

Antenna 1362 can include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1362 can be coupled to radio front end circuitry 1390 and can be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna 1362 can comprise one or more omni-directional, sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni directional antenna can be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sector antenna can be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna can be a line of sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna can be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna 1362 can be separate from network node 1360 and can be connectable to network node 1360 through an interface or port.

Antenna 1362, interface 1390, and/or processing circuitry 1370 can be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals can be received from a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 1362, interface 1390, and/or processing circuitry 1370 can be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals can be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Power circuitry 1387 can comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry and can be configured to supply the components of network node 1360 with power for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry 1387 can receive power from power source 1386. Power source 1386 and/or power circuitry 1387 can be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 1360 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 1386 can either be included in, or external to, power circuitry 1387 and/or network node 1360. For example, network node 1360 can be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry 1387. As a further example, power source 1386 can comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry 1387. The battery can provide backup power should the external power source fail. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, can also be used.

Alternative embodiments of network node 1360 can include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 13 that can be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 1360 can include user interface equipment to allow and/or facilitate input of information into network node 1360 and to allow and/or facilitate output of information from network node 1360. This can allow and/or facilitate a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 1360.

In some embodiments, a wireless device (WD, e.g., WD 1310) can be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a WD can be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network. Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cell phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, gaming consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback appliances, wearable devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptops, laptop- embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart devices, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), mobile-type communication (MTC) devices, Internet-of-Things (loT) devices, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, etc.

A WD can support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and can in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device. As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (loT) scenario, a WD can represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node. The WD can in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which can in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the WD can be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD can represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above can represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device can be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above can be mobile, in which case it can also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

As illustrated, wireless device 1310 includes antenna 1311 , interface 1314, processing circuitry 1320, device readable medium 1330, user interface equipment 1332, auxiliary equipment 1334, power source 1336 and power circuitry 1337. WD 1310 can include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 1310, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wireless technologies can be integrated into the same or different chips or set of chips as other components within WD 1310.

Antenna 1311 can include one or more antennas or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface 1314. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 1311 can be separate from WD 1310 and be connectable to WD 1310 through an interface or port. Antenna 1311 , interface 1314, and/or processing circuitry 1320 can be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data and/or signals can be received from a network node and/or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna 1311 can be considered an interface.

As illustrated, interface 1314 comprises radio front end circuitry 1312 and antenna 1311. Radio front end circuitry 1312 comprise one or more filters 1318 and amplifiers 1316. Radio front end circuitry 1314 is connected to antenna 1311 and processing circuitry 1320 and can be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1311 and processing circuitry 1320. Radio front end circuitry 1312 can be coupled to or a part of antenna 1311. In some embodiments, WD 1310 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 1312; rather, processing circuitry 1320 can comprise radio front end circuitry and can be connected to antenna 1311. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1322 can be considered a part of interface 1314. Radio front end circuitry 1312 can receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 1312 can convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1318 and/or amplifiers 1316. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna 1311. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1311 can collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 1312. The digital data can be passed to processing circuitry 1320. In other embodiments, the interface can comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

Processing circuitry 1320 can comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide WD 1310 functionality either alone or in combination with other WD 1310 components, such as device readable medium 1330. Such functionality can include any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry 1320 can execute instructions stored in device readable medium 1330 or in memory within processing circuitry 1320 to provide the functionality disclosed herein. More specifically, instructions (also referred to as a computer program product) stored in medium 1330 can include instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry 1320, can configure wireless device 1310 to perform operations corresponding to various exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) described herein.

As illustrated, processing circuitry 1320 includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry 1322, baseband processing circuitry 1324, and application processing circuitry 1326. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry can comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain embodiments processing circuitry 1320 of WD 1310 can comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 1322, baseband processing circuitry 1324, and application processing circuitry 1326 can be on separate chips or sets of chips. In alternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry 1324 and application processing circuitry 1326 can be combined into one chip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry 1322 can be on a separate chip or set of chips. In still alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1322 and baseband processing circuitry 1324 can be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processing circuitry 1326 can be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet other alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1322, baseband processing circuitry 1324, and application processing circuitry 1326 can be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 1322 can be a part of interface 1314. RF transceiver circuitry 1322 can condition RF signals for processing circuitry 1320.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by a WD can be provided by processing circuitry 1320 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 1330, which in certain embodiments can be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality can be provided by processing circuitry 1320 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 1320 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 1320 alone or to other components of WD 1310, but are enjoyed by WD 1310 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

Processing circuitry 1320 can be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, as performed by processing circuitry 1320, can include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 1320 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD 1310, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Device readable medium 1330 can be operable to store a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 1320. Device readable medium 1330 can include computer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that can be used by processing circuitry 1320. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1320 and device readable medium 1330 can be considered to be integrated.

User interface equipment 1332 can include components that allow and/or facilitate a human user to interact with WD 1310. Such interaction can be of many forms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment 1332 can be operable to produce output to the user and to allow and/or facilitate the user to provide input to WD 1310. The type of interaction can vary depending on the type of user interface equipment 1332 installed in WD 1310. For example, if WD 1310 is a smart phone, the interaction can be via a touch screen; if WD 1310 is a smart meter, the interaction can be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected). User interface equipment 1332 can include input interfaces, devices and circuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interface equipment 1332 can be configured to allow and/or facilitate input of information into WD 1310 and is connected to processing circuitry 1320 to allow and/or facilitate processing circuitry 1320 to process the input information. User interface equipment 1332 can include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface equipment 1332 is also configured to allow and/or facilitate output of information from WD 1310, and to allow and/or facilitate processing circuitry 1320 to output information from WD 1310. User interface equipment 1332 can include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibrating circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, of user interface equipment 1332, WD 1310 can communicate with end users and/or the wireless network and allow and/or facilitate them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

Auxiliary equipment 1334 is operable to provide more specific functionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This can comprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary equipment 1334 can vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario.

Power source 1336 can, in some embodiments, be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or power cells, can also be used. WD 1310 can further comprise power circuitry 1337 for delivering power from power source 1336 to the various parts of WD 1310 which need power from power source 1336 to carry out any functionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry 1337 can in certain embodiments comprise power management circuitry. Power circuitry 1337 can additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case WD 1310 can be connectable to the external power source (such as an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power circuitry 1337 can also in certain embodiments be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source 1336. This can be, for example, for the charging of power source 1336. Power circuitry 1337 can perform any converting or other modification to the power from power source 1336 to make it suitable for supply to the respective components of WD 1310. Figure 14 illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE can represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE can represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which can be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE 1400 can be any UE identified by the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-loT UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. UE 1400, as illustrated in Figure 14, is one example of a WD configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP’s GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards. As mentioned previously, the term WD and UE can be used interchangeable. Accordingly, although Figure 14 is a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, and vice-versa.

In Figure 14, UE 1400 includes processing circuitry 1401 that is operatively coupled to input/output interface 1405, radio frequency (RF) interface 1409, network connection interface 1411 , memory 1415 including random access memory (RAM) 1417, read-only memory (ROM) 1419, and storage medium 1421 or the like, communication subsystem 1431 , power source 1433, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 1421 includes operating system 1423, application program 1425, and data 1427. In other embodiments, storage medium 1421 can include other similar types of information. Certain UEs can utilize all of the components shown in Figure 14, or only a subset of the components. The level of integration between the components can vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs can contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

In Figure 14, processing circuitry 1401 can be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuitry 1401 can be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute machine instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory, such as one or more hardware- implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.)] programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1401 can include two central processing units (CPUs). Data can be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

In the depicted embodiment, input/output interface 1405 can be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, output device, or input and output device. UE 1400 can be configured to use an output device via input/output interface 1405. An output device can use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port can be used to provide input to and output from UE 1400. The output device can be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. UE 1400 can be configured to use an input device via input/output interface 1405 to allow and/or facilitate a user to capture information into UE 1400. The input device can include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display can include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor can be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another like sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device can be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.

In Figure 14, RF interface 1409 can be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna. Network connection interface 1411 can be configured to provide a communication interface to network 1443a. Network 1443a can encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 1443a can comprise a Wi-Fi network. Network connection interface 1411 can be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communication network according to one or more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, or the like. Network connection interface 1411 can implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate to the communication network links ( e.g ., optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiver functions can share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively can be implemented separately.

RAM 1417 can be configured to interface via bus 1402 to processing circuitry 1401 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as the operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 1419 can be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry 1401. For example, ROM 1419 can be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory. Storage medium 1421 can be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives.

In one example, storage medium 1421 can be configured to include operating system 1423; application program 1425 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application; and data file 1427. Storage medium 1421 can store, for use by UE 1400, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems. For example, application program 1425 can include executable program instructions (also referred to as a computer program product) that, when executed by processor 1401 , can configure UE 1400 to perform operations corresponding to various exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) described herein.

Storage medium 1421 can be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppy disk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 1421 can allow and/or facilitate UE 1400 to access computer-executable instructions, application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system can be tangibly embodied in storage medium 1421 , which can comprise a device readable medium.

In Figure 14, processing circuitry 1401 can be configured to communicate with network 1443b using communication subsystem 1431. Network 1443a and network 1443b can be the same network or networks or different network or networks. Communication subsystem 1431 can be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with network 1443b. For example, communication subsystem 1431 can be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such as another WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN) according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.14, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, or the like. Each transceiver can include transmitter 1433 and/or receiver 1435 to implement transmitter or receiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to the RAN links (e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further, transmitter 1433 and receiver 1435 of each transceiver can share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively can be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of communication subsystem 1431 can include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, communication subsystem 1431 can include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. Network 1443b can encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 1443b can be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near-field network. Power source 1413 can be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE 1400.

The features, benefits and/or functions described herein can be implemented in one of the components of UE 1400 or partitioned across multiple components of UE 1400. Further, the features, benefits, and/or functions described herein can be implemented in any combination of hardware, software or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem 1431 can be configured to include any of the components described herein. Further, processing circuitry 1401 can be configured to communicate with any of such components over bus 1402. In another example, any of such components can be represented by program instructions stored in memory that when executed by processing circuitry 1401 perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any of such components can be partitioned between processing circuitry 1401 and communication subsystem 1431. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components can be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions can be implemented in hardware.

Figure 15 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which can include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device or any other type of communication device) or components thereof and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein can be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 1500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes 1530. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity ( e.g ., a core network node), then the network node can be entirely virtualized.

The functions can be implemented by one or more applications 1520 (which can alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, application functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications 1520 (including, e.g., network functions and/or application functions) are run in virtualization environment 1500 which provides hardware 1530 comprising processing circuitry 1560 and memory 1590. Memory 1590 contains instructions 1595 executable by processing circuitry 1560 whereby application 1520 is operative to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein.

Virtualization environment 1500 can include general-purpose or special- purpose network hardware devices (or nodes) 1530 comprising a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry 1560, which can be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors. Each hardware device can comprise memory 1590-1 which can be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 1595 or software executed by processing circuitry 1560. For example, instructions 1595 can include program instructions (also referred to as a computer program product) that, when executed by processing circuitry 1560, can configure hardware node 1520 to perform operations corresponding to various exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) described herein. Such operations can also be attributed to virtual node(s) 1520 that is/are hosted by hardware node 1530.

Each hardware device can comprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 1570, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interface 1580. Each hardware device can also include non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage media 1590-2 having stored therein software 1595 and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry 1560. Software 1595 can include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 1550 (also referred to as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines 1540 as well as software allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.

Virtual machines 1540, comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and can be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1550 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of the instance of virtual appliance 1520 can be implemented on one or more of virtual machines 1540, and the implementations can be made in different ways.

During operation, processing circuitry 1560 executes software 1595 to instantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer 1550, which can sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 1550 can present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to virtual machine 1540.

As shown in Figure 15, hardware 1530 can be a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1530 can comprise one or more antennas 15205 and can implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1530 can be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO) 15100, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1520.

Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

In the context of NFV, virtual machine 1540 can be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non- virtualized machine. Each of virtual machines 1540, and that part of hardware 1530 that executes that virtual machine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or hardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtual machines 1540, forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE).

Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more virtual machines 1540 on top of hardware networking infrastructure 1530 and corresponds to application 1520 in Figure 15. In some embodiments, one or more radio units 15200 that each include one or more transmitters 15220 and one or more receivers 15210 can be coupled to one or more antennas 15205. Radio units 15200 can communicate directly with hardware nodes 1530 via one or more appropriate network interfaces and can be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. Nodes arranged in this manner can also communicate with one or more UEs, such as described elsewhere herein.

In some embodiments, some signaling can be performed via control system 15230, which can alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes 1530 and radio units 15200.

As described herein, device and/or apparatus can be represented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module comprising such chip or chipset; this, however, does not exclude the possibility that a functionality of a device or apparatus, instead of being hardware implemented, be implemented as a software module such as a computer program or a computer program product comprising executable software code portions for execution or being run on a processor. Furthermore, functionality of a device or apparatus can be implemented by any combination of hardware and software. A device or apparatus can also be regarded as an assembly of multiple devices and/or apparatuses, whether functionally in cooperation with or independently of each other. Moreover, devices and apparatuses can be implemented in a distributed fashion throughout a system, so long as the functionality of the device or apparatus is preserved. Such and similar principles are considered as known to a skilled person.

Furthermore, functions described herein as being performed by a wireless device or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of wireless devices and/or network nodes. In other words, it is contemplated that the functions of the network node and wireless device described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, can be distributed among several physical devices. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

In addition, certain terms used in the present disclosure, including the specification, drawings and exemplary embodiments thereof, can be used synonymously in certain instances, including, but not limited to, e.g., data and information. It should be understood that, while these words and/or other words that can be synonymous to one another, can be used synonymously herein, that there can be instances when such words can be intended to not be used synonymously. Further, to the extent that the prior art knowledge has not been explicitly incorporated by reference herein above, it is explicitly incorporated herein in its entirety. All publications referenced are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

As used herein unless expressly stated to the contrary, the phrases “at least one of” and “one or more of,” followed by a conjunctive list of enumerated items (e.g., “A and B”, “A, B, and C”), are intended to mean “at least one item, with each item selected from the list consisting of” the enumerated items. For example, “at least one of A and B” is intended to mean any of the following: A; B; A and B. Likewise, “one or more of A, B, and C” is intended to mean any of the following: A; B; C; A and B; B and C; A and C; A, B, and C.

As used herein unless expressly stated to the contrary, the phrase “a plurality of” followed by a conjunctive list of enumerated items (e.g., “A and B”, “A, B, and C”) is intended to mean “multiple items, with each item selected from the list consisting of” the enumerated items. For example, “a plurality of A and B” is intended to mean any of the following: more than one A; more than one B; or at least one A and at least one B.

The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure. Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems, arrangements, and procedures that, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and can be thus within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Various exemplary embodiments can be used together with one another, as well as interchangeably therewith, as should be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art.

Claims

1. A method for validating, by a Network Function, NF, in a communication network, one or more positions determined by a User Equipment, UE, operating in the communication network, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, from an Application Function, AF, operating in the communication network, a first request for validating one or more first positions determined by said UE, wherein the first request comprises said one or more first positions; validating said one or more first positions by retrieving, from the communication network, one or more second positions of the UE that were determined by the communication network; sending, to said AF, a first response thereby indicating validation of said one or more first positions determined by said UE.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said first request comprises said one or more first positions and respective one or more first timestamps for the first positions, and wherein said step of validating further comprises: validating said one or more first positions by retrieving, from the communication network, one or more second positions of the UE that were determined by the communication network based on the respective one or more first timestamps.

3. A method in accordance with any of the previous claims, wherein said first response further comprises said one or more second positions.

4. A method in accordance with any of the previous claims, wherein said step of validating comprises determining that said one or more first positions correspond to said one or more second positions.

5. A method in accordance with any of the previous claims, wherein the step of retrieving further comprises sending a second request, to a mobile positioning system, MPS, of the communication network, for a network-determined current position of the UE.

6. A method in accordance with claim 5, wherein the step of retrieving further comprises: receiving, from the MPS, a second response including the network- determined current position and an associated timestamp; the one or more second positions include the network-determined current position, and the one or more second timestamps include the associated timestamp.

7. A method in accordance with claim 5, wherein the step of retrieving further comprises: receiving, from the MPS, a second response indicating that a current position of the UE cannot be determined by the MPS; and sending a third request, to one or more data repositories in the communication network, for a network-determined past position of the UE that is proximate to the current time.

8. A method in accordance with any of the claims 5 - 7, wherein the MPS is one of the following: a location management function, LMF, an enhanced serving mobile location center, E-SMLC, a gateway mobile location center, GMLC, and a secure user plane location platform, SLP.

9. A method in accordance with claim 6, wherein the method further comprises the step of: determining whether the one or more first timestamps include one or more past times; and based on determining that the one or more first timestamps include one or more past times, sending a third request, to one or more data repositories in the communication network, for network-determined past positions of the UE that are proximate to the one or more past times.

10. A method in accordance with any of the previous claims, wherein the method further comprises: receiving, from one or more data repositories, a third response that includes one or more network-determined past positions of the UE and respective one or more associated timestamps; the one or more second positions include the one or more network- determined past positions; and the one or more second timestamps include the one or more associated timestamps.

11. A method in accordance with any of the claims 7, 9, 10, wherein one or more data repositories include any of the following: a data retention function and a charging function.

12. A method in accordance with claim 11 , wherein the data retention function is one of the following: a user data repository, UDR, a home location register, HLR, or a unified data management, UDM, function.

13. A method in accordance with any of the claims 11- 12, wherein the charging function is one of the following: an online charging system, OCS, an offline charging system, OFCS, or a charging function, CHF.

14. A method in accordance with any of the claims 1 - 13, wherein an identity of the user or of the UE is included in the first request, the retrieved information, and the first response.

15. A method in accordance with any of the previous claims, wherein the AF is a user tracking service; the first request is received from the user tracking service via a network exposure function (NEF) in the communication network; and the first response is sent to the user tracking service via the NEF.

16. A method in accordance with any of the claims 1 - 15, wherein the NF is one of the following: a position verification service function, PVSF, or a location management function, LMF.

17. A network function (810, 820, 930, 1360, 1520) for a communication network (198, 298), the network function comprising: interface circuitry (1390, 1570) configured to communicate with at least an application function (AF) in the communication network; and processing circuitry (1370, 1560) operably coupled to the interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments 1-16.

18. A network function (810, 820, 930, 1360, 1520) for a communication network (198, 298), the network function being arranged to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments 1-16.

19. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium (1380, 1590) storing computer- executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (1370, 1560) associated with a network function (810, 820, 930, 1360, 1520) for a communication network (198, 298), configure the network function to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments 1-16.

20. A computer program product (1595) comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (1370, 1560) associated with a network function (810, 820, 930, 1360, 1520) for a communication network (198, 298), configure the network function to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments 1-16.