Efficient procedures enabling RAN node as a positioning client

Abstract

An apparatus including means for transmitting, with a Radio Access Network, RAN, node 170, a location service request for a user equipment, UE, 110; wherein the location service request for the UE is

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The examples and non-limiting example embodiments relate generally to communications and, more particularly, to efficient procedures enabling a RAN node as a positioning client. BACKGROUND

[0002] It is known to implement positioning systems in a communication network, such as a wireless communication network. SUMMARY

[0003] In accordance with an aspect, an apparatus includes means for transmitting, with a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node; wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; and means for receiving, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0004] In accordance with an aspect, an apparatus includes means for transmitting, with a radio access network node to a database, an update to a sounding reference signal configuration; means for transmitting, with the radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node; and means for receiving, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0005] In accordance with an aspect, an apparatus includes means for receiving, from a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; and means for transmitting, to the radio access network node, a response to the 1 location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0006] In accordance with an aspect, an apparatus includes means for receiving, from a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is received from the radio access network node without a sounding reference signal configuration; means for selecting a location management function; means for transmitting, to the location management function, a request to determine the location of the user equipment without the sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function without the sounding reference signal configuration due to the location management function being configured to retrieve the sounding reference signal configuration from a database; means for receiving, from the location management function, the location of the user equipment based on the sounding reference signal configuration; and means for transmitting, to the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising the location of the user equipment received from the location management function.

[0007] In accordance with an aspect, an apparatus includes means for receiving a request to determine a location of a user equipment; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; means for determining the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; and means for transmitting a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment.

[0008] In accordance with an aspect, an apparatus includes means for receiving a request to determine a location of a user equipment; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received without a sounding reference signal configuration; means for retrieving the sounding reference signal configuration from the database; means for determining the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration retrieved from the database; and means for transmitting a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment.

[0009] In accordance with an aspect, an apparatus includes means for storing, with a database, a sounding reference signal configuration for a user equipment; means for receiving, from a radio access network node, an update to the sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment; means for storing, with the database, the update to the sounding reference signal configuration; means for receiving, from a location management function, a request to access the updated sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment; and means for providing, to the location management function, access to the updated sounding reference signal configuration.

[0010] In accordance with an aspect, an apparatus includes means for receiving, from a radio access network node, a sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the sounding reference signal configuration received from the radio access network node is configured to be used to determine a location of the apparatus based on a location service request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration initiated with the radio access network node; and means for transmitting, to the radio access network node, a periodic sounding reference signal or an aperiodic sounding reference signal, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the sounding reference signal transmitted to the radio access network node is configured to be used for positioning measurement based on the location service request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration initiated with the radio access network node. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The foregoing aspects and other features are explained in the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting system in which the example embodiments may be practiced.

[0013] FIG. 2 shows RAN node-initiated UE positioning.

[0014] FIG. 3 shows RAN node-initiated UE positioning, where an SRS configuration is sent to a database.

[0015] FIG. 4 is an example apparatus configured to implement the examples described herein.

[0016] FIG. 5 shows a representation of an example of non-volatile memory media used to store instructions that implement the examples described herein.

[0017] FIG. 6 is an example method, based on the examples described herein.

[0018] FIG. 7 is an example method, based on the examples described herein.

[0019] FIG. 8 is an example method, based on the examples described herein.

[0020] FIG. 9 is an example method, based on the examples described herein.

[0021] FIG. 10 is an example method, based on the examples described herein.

[0022] FIG. 11 is an example method, based on the examples described herein.

[0023] FIG. 12 is an example method, based on the examples described herein.

[0024] FIG. 13 is an example method, based on the examples described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Turning to FIG. 1, this figure shows a block diagram of one possible and nonlimiting example in which the examples may be practiced. A user equipment (UE) 110, radio access network (RAN) node 170, and network element(s) 190 are illustrated. In the example of FIG. 1, the user equipment (UE) 110 is in wireless communication with a wireless network 100. A UE is a wireless device that can access the wireless network 100. The UE 110 includes one or more processors 120, one or more memories 125, and one or more transceivers 130 interconnected through one or more buses 127. Each of the one or more transceivers 130 includes a receiver, Rx, 132 and a transmitter, Tx, 133. The one or more buses 127 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, and the like. The one or more transceivers 130 are connected to one or more antennas 128. The one or more memories 125 include computer program code 123. The UE 110 includes a module 140, comprising one of or both parts 140-1 and / or 140-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The module 140 may be implemented in hardware as module 140-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 120. The module 140-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the module 140 may be 4 implemented as module 140-2, which is implemented as computer program code 123 and is executed by the one or more processors 120. For instance, the one or more memories 125 and the computer program code 123 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 120, cause the user equipment 110 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. The UE 110 communicates with RAN node 170 via a wireless link 111.

[0026] The RAN node 170 in this example is abase station that provides access for wireless devices such as the UE 110 to the wireless network 100. The RAN node 170 may be, for example, a base station for 5G, also called New Radio (NR). In 5G, the RAN node 170 may be a NG-RAN node, which is defined as either a gNB or an ng-eNB. A gNB is a node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface (such as connection 131) to a 5GC (such as, for example, the network element(s) 190). The ng-eNB is a node providing E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface (such as connection 131) to the 5GC. The NG-RAN node may include multiple gNBs, which may also include a central unit (CU) (gNB-CU) 196 and distributed unit(s) (DUs) (gNB-DUs), of which DU 195 is shown. Note that the DU 195 may include or be coupled to and control a radio unit (RU). The gNB-CU 196 is a logical node hosting radio resource control (RRC), SDAP and PDCP protocols of the gNB or RRC and PDCP protocols of the en-gNB that control the operation of one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU 196 terminates the Fl interface connected with the gNB-DU 195. The Fl interface is illustrated as reference 198, although reference 198 also illustrates a link between remote elements of the RAN node 170 and centralized elements of the RAN node 170, such as between the gNB-CU 196 and the gNB-DU 195. The gNB-DU 195 is a logical node hosting RLC, MAC and PHY layers of the gNB or en-gNB, and its operation is partly controlled by gNB-CU 196. One gNB-CU 196 supports one or multiple cells. One cell may be supported with one gNB-DU 195, or one cell may be supported / shared with multiple DUs under RAN sharing. The gNB-DU 195 terminates the Fl interface 198 connected with the gNB-CU 196. Note that the DU 195 is considered to include the transceiver 160, e.g., as part of a RU, but some examples of this may have the transceiver 160 as part of a separate RU, e.g., under control of and connected to the DU 195. The RAN node 170 may also be an eNB (evolved NodeB) base station, for LTE (long term evolution), or any other suitable base station or node.

[0027] The RAN node 170 includes one or more processors 152, one or more memories 155, one or more network interfaces (N / W I / F(s)) 161, and one or more transceivers 160 interconnected through one or more buses 157. Each of the one or more transceivers 160 includes a receiver, Rx, 162 and a transmitter, Tx, 163. The one or more transceivers 160 are connected to one or more antennas 158. The one or more memories 155 include computer program code 153. The CU 196 may include the processor(s) 152, one or more memories 155, and network interfaces 161. Note that the DU 195 may also contain its own memory / memories and processor(s), and / or other hardware, but these are not shown.

[0028] The RAN node 170 includes a module 150, comprising one of or both parts 150-1 and / or 150-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The module 150 may be implemented in hardware as module 150-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 152. The module 150-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the module 150 may be implemented as module 150-2, which is implemented as computer program code 153 and is executed by the one or more processors 152. For instance, the one or more memories 155 and the computer program code 153 are configured to, with the one or more processors 152, cause the RAN node 170 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. Note that the functionality of the module 150 may be distributed, such as being distributed between the DU 195 and the CU 196, or be implemented solely in the DU 195.

[0029] The one or more network interfaces 161 communicate over a network such as via the links 176 and 131. Two or more gNBs 170 may communicate using, e.g., link 176. The link 176 may be wired or wireless or both and may implement, for example, an Xn interface for 5G, an X2 interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other standards.

[0030] The one or more buses 157 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, wireless channels, and the like. For example, the one or more transceivers 160 may be implemented as a remote radio head (RRH) 195 for LTE or a distributed unit (DU) 195 for gNB implementation for 5G, with the other elements of the RAN node 170 possibly being physically in a different location from the RRH / DL 195, and the one or more buses 157 could be implemented in part as, for example, fiber optic cable or other suitable network connection to connect the other elements (eg., a central unit (CU), gNB-CU 196) of the RAN node 170 to the RRH / DU 195. Reference 6 198 also indicates those suitable network link(s).

[0031] A RAN node / gNB can comprise one or more TRPs to which the methods described herein may be applied. FIG. 1 shows that the RAN node 170 comprises TRP 51 and TRP 52, in addition to the TRP represented by transceiver 160. Similar to transceiver 160, TRP 51 and TRP 52 may each include a transmitter and a receiver. The RAN node 170 may host or comprise other TRPs not shown in FIG. 1.

[0032] A relay node in NR is called an integrated access and backhaul node. A mobile termination part of the IAB node facilitates the backhaul (parent link) connection. In other words, the mobile termination part comprises the functionality which carries UE functionalities. The distributed unit part of the IAB node facilitates the so called access link (child link) connections (i.e. for access link UEs, and backhaul for other IAB nodes, in the case of multi-hop IAB). In other words, the distributed unit part is responsible for certain base station functionalities. The IAB scenario may follow the so called split architecture, where the central unit hosts the higher layer protocols to the UE and terminates the control plane and user plane interfaces to the 5G core network.

[0033] It is noted that the description herein indicates that “cells” perform functions, but it should be clear that equipment which forms the cell may perform the functions. The cell makes up part of a base station. That is, there can be multiple cells per base station. For example, there could be three cells for a single carrier frequency and associated bandwidth, each cell covering one-third of a 360 degree area so that the single base station’s coverage area covers an approximate oval or circle. Furthermore, each cell can correspond to a single carrier and a base station may use multiple carriers. So if there are three 120 degree cells per carrier and two carriers, then the base station has a total of 6 cells.

[0034] The wireless network 100 may include a network element or elements 190 that may include core network functionality, and which provides connectivity via a link or links 181 with a further network, such as a telephone network and / or a data communications network (e.g., the Internet). Such core network functionality for 5G may include location management functions (LMF(s)) and / or access and mobility management function(s) (AMF(S)) and / or user plane functions (UPF(s)) and / or session management function(s) (SMF(s)). Such core network functionality for LTE may include MME (mobility management entity) / SGW (serving gateway) functionality. Such core network functionality may include SON (self- organizing / optimizing network) functionality. These are merely example functions that may be supported by the network element(s) 190, and note that both 5G and LTE functions might be supported. The RAN node 170 is coupled via a link 131 to the network element 190. The link 131 may be implemented as, e.g., an NG interface for 5G, or an SI interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other standards. The network element 190 includes one or more processors 175, one or more memories 171, and one or more network interfaces (N / W I / F(s)) 180, interconnected through one or more buses 185. The one or more memories 171 include computer program code 173. Computer program code 173 may include SON and / or MRO functionality 172.

[0035] The wireless network 100 may implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software-based administrative entity, or a virtual network. Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized as either external, combining many networks, or parts of networks, into a virtual unit, or internal, providing network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. Note that the virtualized entities that result from the network virtualization are still implemented, at some level, using hardware such as processors 152 or 175 and memories 155 and 171, and also such virtualized entities create technical effects.

[0036] The computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, non-transitory memory, transitory memory, fixed memory and removable memory. The computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be means for performing storage functions. The processors 120, 152, and 175 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as nonlimiting examples. The processors 120,152, and 175 may be means for performing functions, such as controlling the UE 110, RAN node 170, network element(s) 190, and other functions as described herein.

[0037] In general, the various example embodiments of the user equipment 110 can include, but are not limited to, cellular telephones such as smart phones, tablets, personal digital 8 assistants (PDAs) having wireless communication capabilities, portable computers having wireless communication capabilities, image capture devices such as digital cameras having wireless communication capabilities, gaming devices having wireless communication capabilities, music storage and playback devices having wireless communication capabilities, internet appliances including those permitting wireless internet access and browsing, tablets with wireless communication capabilities, head mounted displays such as those that implement virtual / augmented / mixed reality, as well as portable units or terminals that incorporate combinations of such functions. The UE 110 can also be a vehicle such as a car, or a UE mounted in a vehicle, a UAV such as e.g. a drone, or a UE mounted in a UAV. The user equipment 110 may be terminal device, such as mobile phone, mobile device, sensor device etc., the terminal device being a device used by the user or not used by the user.

[0038] UE 110, RAN node 170, and / or network element(s) 190, (and associated memories, computer program code and modules) may be configured to implement (e.g. in part) the methods described herein. Thus, computer program code 123, module 140-1, module 140-2, and other elements / features shown in FIG. 1 of UE 110 may implement user equipment related aspects of the examples described herein. Similarly, computer program code 153, module 150-1, module 150-2, and other elements / features shown in FIG. 1 of RAN node 170 may implement gNB / TRP related aspects of the examples described herein. Computer program code 173 and other elements / features shown in FIG. 1 of network element(s) 190 may be configured to implement network element related aspects of the examples described herein.

[0039] Having thus introduced a suitable but non-limiting technical context for the practice of the example embodiments, the example embodiments are now described with greater specificity.

[0040] Radio positioning has been a part of specifications for many generations. Positioning requests come from external clients (LCS clients) attached to the core network (CN) via GMLC or NEF and are forwarded to radio access network (RAN) nodes via the CN. Described herein are methods where, in some examples, a location service request for a user equipment is not initiated with a location sendees client, and the location service request for the user equipment is not initiated with a core network.

[0041] 3GPP TS 38.305 “NG-RAN; Stage 2 functional specification of User Equipment (UE) positioning in NG-RAN”: This technical specification defines DL and UL positioning procedures. DL positioning methods rely on positioning reference signals (PRSs) while UL positioning methods rely on sounding reference signals (SRSs).

[0042] It is worth to note that SRSs aren’t only used for positioning purposes. An important usage of SRSs is the estimation of UL radio channels (denoted SRS for communication in the following). This is necessary for numerous Ll / 2 tasks, e.g., scheduling and resource allocation, link adaptation and MIMO processing when: 1. The UE has data to transmit in the UL in both time-division-duplex (TDD) and frequency-division-duplex (FDD) modes, and 2. The gNB has data to transmit in the DL in TDD mode (exploiting UL / DL channel reciprocity).

[0043] These scenarios correspond to many practical cases of interest: Frequency range (FR) 1 uses a mix of TDD and FDD modes while FR 2 operates solely in TDD mode.

[0044] The configuration of SRS for communication in the time-frequency domain is a valid configuration of SRS for positioning: 1. In the time domain, SRSs for communication can span {1,2,4} consecutive OFDM symbols, while SRSs for positioning can span {1,2,4,8,12} consecutive OFDM symbols, 2. In the frequency domain, SRSs for communication can be transmitted on every Nth subcarrier where N = 2,4 (denoted comb-2 or comb-4), while SRSs for positioning can be configured with comb-2, comb-4, or the less dense comb-8 patterns.

[0045] For both communication and positioning, SRSs are generated from Zadoff-Chu sequences.

[0046] It is not possible according to current standards for a given RAN node to start a UE positioning procedure. Nonetheless, UE positioning can help and optimize many radio communications procedures (more generally referred to as radio resource management (RRM) and mobility robustness optimization (MRO)) that are performed by RAN nodes.

[0047] Described herein is an efficient procedure that enables a RAN node to start the positioning procedure. More specifically, a given RAN node would trigger the positioning request to the location management function (LMF) and send the configuration of the (already ongoing) UL SRS transmission to the LMF with the initial request, so that the LMF may send it to neighbor RAN nodes in a further step.

[0048] As mentioned above, this can be beneficial for time critical RRM tasks where the UE is already in RRC connected mode. Such tasks include (1-5):

[0049] 1. Efficient selection of cooperating transmission-reception point (TRP) cluster in a user-centric / cell-less system: Currently this selection is done based on signal strength measurements, and potentially requires measurements from numerous TRPs. UE position can be used to reduce the number of measurements and correspondingly reduce the signaling overhead.

[0050] 2. Data collection for machine learning (ML): For many Ll / 2 ML problems it is useful to associate collected data with UE location, as it could serve as an additional input for training / inference. For example, UE location can be used for labeling the data for supervised ML.

[0051] 3. Beam management / alignment, especially in FR2 band.

[0052] 4. Enhancement of mobility procedures.

[0053] 5. Classification of UE movement either as random or static to be excluded from or included in the MRO processes, respectively.

[0054] A simple but important observation was described herein previously: SRS transmission is already activated for numerous Ll / 2 tasks independently of the FR, and thus there is no need to use the NRPPa / LPP positioning protocols for this. Furthermore, the employed configuration for these tasks is a valid configuration for positioning. Therefore described herein is a method where the received SRS at the gNB / TRPs is simply re-used to obtain a UE position (with help of the LMF) using an UL positioning method, e.g., angle of arrival or time difference of arrival method. This has the following advantages: 1. It removes the need for additional configuration of the UE, which is the case for DL positioning methods relying for instance on PRSs, and 2. As a consequence, it renders the positioning protocol simpler and faster, as shown in the flow charts below.

[0055] The methods described herein do not violate the current specifications. As mentioned in TS 38.305 Sections 8.13.1. and 8.14.1, it is up to the gNB and not the LMF to make the decision on the SRS configuration for positioning. The LMF merely receives the chosen configuration from the gNB and forwards it to other neighboring gNBs / TRPs The methods described herein are consistent with this.

[0056] The main changes to enable an efficient UE Location Service request by a gNB are the following (1-5): 1. A new NG-c procedure from gNB to AMF allowing UE Location Service request. Location Service is only requested from GMLC currently, 2. To make this an efficient procedure, RAN may already send the SRS configuration IE as part of the Location Service Request message, 3. After selecting an LMF instance, AMF would send the SRS configuration as part of the DetermineLocation Request message, 4. Involvement of UDM is not required in this case because the destination NF (serving AMF) is clearly known, 5. No need to have network triggered service request because it is assumed that UE is in connected mode for all aforementioned use-cases.

[0057] FIG. 2 shows the herein described procedure for RAN node initiated UE positioning, where the serving RAN node 170-1 sends the SRS configuration IE as part of the location service request message. Neighbor gNBs, gNB2 170-2 and gNB3 170-3, are collectively referred to as neighbor gNBs 220.

[0058] Flow diagram steps of FIG. 2:

[0059] 0. At 200, gNB 170-1 configures / updates SRS with UE 110 using RRC IEs or MAC CEs.

[0060] 1. At 201, SRS transmission starts for L1 / L2 procedures. UE 110 transmits SRS to serving gNB 1 170-1.

[0061] 2. At 202, gNB 170-1 requires UE location: gNB 170-1 sends a UE Location Service Request to AMF 190-1 and includes SRS Config in the request.

[0062] 3. At 203, AMF 190-1 invokes a Nudm SDM Get service operation towards the UDM 230 of the target UE 110 to get the privacy settings of the UE 110 identified by its GPSI or SUPI. The UDM 230 returns the target UE Privacy setting of the UE 110. AMF 190-1 checks the privacy profile and, if the UE 110 is not allowed to be located, AMF 190-1 rejects the measurement request and the procedure ends. Otherwise, the method transitions to step 4 (204).

[0063] 4. At 204, AMF 190-1 selects LMF 190-2.

[0064] 5. At 205, AMF 190-1 sends a Determine Location Request to LMF 190-2 and includes SRS config.

[0065] 6, 7, 8. At 206, 207, 208, UE Positioning (collectively 240) following TS 23.273 and steps 6, 7, 8 of TS 38.305, section 8.14.3.4 is performed. Here, the LMF 190-2 sends the SRS configuration obtained in step 5 (205) to neighboring gNBs (170-2, 170-3) in step 6 (206).

[0066] As shown in FIG. 2, at 206 the LMF 190-2 transmits to the serving gNBl 170-1, neighbor gNB 2 170-2, and neighbor gNB3 170-3 a positioning measurement request. At 207, serving gNBl 170-1, neighbor gNB2 170-2, and neighbor gNB3 170-3 perform UL SRS measurement. At 208, serving gNBl 170-1, neighbor gNB2 170-2, and neighbor gNB3 170-3 transmit to LMF 190-2 a positioning measurement response in response to the positioning measurement request transmitted at 206.

[0067] 9. At 209, after calculating the UE position (e.g. the position of UE 110), LMF 190-2 sends the location to AMF 190-1.

[0068] 10. At 210, AMF 190-1 forwards the UE location (e.g. location of UE 110) to gNB 170-lin the UE Location Service Response message.

[0069] The benefit and technical effect of the herein described procedure (such as illustrated with the call flow diagram of FIG. 2) for periodic SRS transmission is as follows: SRS for positioning is a "one shot" aperiodic signal, i.e., it can't be repeated over multiple slots / subframes. When the used SRS for communication is periodic or semi persistent, it is advantageous for positioning since it allows repetitive position estimation or position tracking. More specifically, steps 2 (202), 3 (203), 4 (204), 5 (205), and 6 (206) in FIG. 2 would be executed once, while 8-10 (208-210, including 9 (209)) could be repeated based on the periodic SRS transmission. This is not possible according to current specifications. As used herein, aperiodic may be referred to as non-periodic, and non-periodic may be referred to as aperiodic.

[0070] FIG. 3 shows a different embodiment where the RAN node 170-1 sends the SRS configuration IE to a common UE database (DB 350) whenever the configuration changes. This DB 350 is assumed to have direct connection to gNBs (170-1, 170-2, 170-3) and the LMF 190-2, and can be part of, e.g., O&M. A benefit of saving the SRS configuration into a DB is the reduced message sizes over the NG and CN interfaces. Positioning is likely to become a more important feature in 6G, and for this reason positioning may become a frequently triggered procedure. Having the SRS configuration stored into a database can reduce the repetitive and unnecessary exchange of SRS configuration between the gNB (e.g. 13 gNB 170-1) and the AMF 190-1 as well as between the AMF 190-1 and the LMF 190-2.

[0071] The DB 350 can be implemented in the core network and / or reside in the core network. The DB 350 may for example be implemented in a network element that includes the LMF 190-2, such as for example within one or more network elements 190. The DB 350 may also be a logical function or virtualized function, and / or be distributed throughout the network 100.

[0072] Flow diagram steps of FIG. 3 are as follows:

[0073] 0. At 300, gNB 170-1 updates SRS configuration with UE 110.

[0074] 1. At 301, SRS transmission starts for L1 / L2 procedures. UE 110 transmits SRS to serving gNB 1 170-1.

[0075] 2. At 302, gNB 170-1 sends the updated IE SRS configuration to a DB 350.

[0076] 3. At303,gNB 170-1 requires UE location: gNB 170-1 sends a UE Location Service Request to AMF 190-1.

[0077] 4.At 304, AMF 190-1 invokes a NudmSDMGet service operation towards the UDM 230 of the target UE 110 to get the privacy settings of the UE 110 identified by its GPSI or SUPI. The UDM 230 returns the target UE Privacy setting of the UE 110. AMF 190-1 checks the privacy profile and, if the UE 110 is not allowed to be located, AMF 190-1 rejects the measurement request and the procedure ends. Otherwise, the method transitions to step 5 (305).

[0078] 5. At 305, AMF 190-1 selects LMF 190-2.

[0079] 6. At 306, AMF 190-1 sends a Determine Location Request to LMF 190-2.

[0080] 7. At 307, LMF 190-2 gets UE SRS configuration from the DB 350.

[0081] 8, 9, 10. At 308, 309, and 310, UE Positioning (collectively 340) following TS 23.273 and steps 6-8 of TS 38.305, section 8.14.3.4 is performed. Here, the LMF 190-2 sends the SRS configuration that LMF 190-2 obtained in step 7 (307) to neighboring gNBs (170-2, 170-3) in step 8 (308).

[0082] As shown in FIG. 3, at 308 the LMF 190-2 transmits to the serving gNBl 170-1, 14 neighbor gNB 2 170-2, and neighbor gNB3 170-3 a positioning measurement request. At 309, serving gNBl 170-1, neighbor gNB2 170-2, and neighbor gNB3 170-3 perform UL SRS measurement. At 310, serving gNBl 170-1, neighbor gNB2 170-2, and neighbor gNB3 170-3 transmit to LMF 190-2 a positioning measurement response in response to the positioning measurement request transmitted at 308.

[0083] 11. At 311, after calculating UE position (e.g. position of UE 110), LMF 190-2 sends the location to AMF 190-1.

[0084] 12. At 312, AMF 190-1 forwards the UE location (e.g. location of UE 110) to gNB 170-1 in the UE Location Service Response message.

[0085] The methods described herein are valid for the current 5G architecture as well as future 6G architectures. For instance, in steps 6 and 8 of FIG. 2, the messages have to go through the AMF given the current 5G architecture, but this was not shown for simplicity (TS 38.305 also does not show this). In case the gNB control plane is attached to the core network control plane service-based interface in a 6G architecture, then messages 6 and 8 in FIG. 3 can bypass the AMF. Same for messages 8 and 10 in FIG. 3.

[0086] One use case that makes use of UE position at the gNB is elaborated upon here. This relates to mobility optimization, namely deciding between L3 mobility and lower layer triggered mobility (LTM). There is currently a gap in the standards concerning which mobility should be triggered and based on which side information. There is also a gap in selective activation or LTM when the configured candidate cells are outside of the UE mobility range. When the UE is outside the range of the configured candidate cells, the gNB may notice the change via the drop in the measurement values. It may take a long time until a link failure or beam failure is declared, and a UE action is followed through the drops in the measurement value. The UE position at the gNB (whether specifically acquired for mobility optimization or readily available as a result of being acquired for different use cases, e.g., the use cases discussed with reference to time critical RRM tasks 1-5 described previously) can be used in addition to traditional measurements to optimize the mobility procedures. For instance, L3 mobility or LTM can be chosen based on whether the UE is at the border between cells served by two different gNBs. Such optimization would be implementation specific.

[0087] The examples described herein may be included in upcoming 3GPP specifications for 6G and may be relevant to the standard and over the standardized interfaces. Namely, 15 NGAP TS 38.413, TS 38.305 and TS 23.273 are affected due to the herein described NGAP messages between RAN and AMF in which a RAN node acting as an external client requests LCS services from CN. The resulting procedure is shorter (has a smaller number of steps) than all other current non-gNB initiated positioning and some steps are ordered differently than in current procedures, which facilitates technical implementation.

[0088] FIG. 4 is an example apparatus 400, which may be implemented in hardware, configured to implement the examples described herein. The apparatus 400 comprises at least one processor 402 (e.g. an FPGA and / or CPU), one or more memories 404 including computer program code 405, the computer program code 405 having instructions to carry out the methods described herein, wherein the at least one memory 404 and the computer program code 405 are configured to, with the at least one processor 402, cause the apparatus 400 to implement circuitry, a process, component, module, or function (implemented with control module 406) to implement the examples described herein. The memory 404 may be a non-transitory memory, a transitory memory, a volatile memory (e.g. RAM), or a non-volatile memory (e.g. ROM).

[0089] Positioning 430 implements the examples described herein related to efficient procedures enabling a RAN node as a positioning client.

[0090] The apparatus 400 includes a display and / or VO interface 408, which includes user interface (UI) circuitry and elements, that may be used to display aspects or a status of the methods described herein (e.g., as one of the methods is being performed or at a subsequent time), or to receive input from a user such as with using a keypad, camera, touchscreen, touch area, microphone, biometric recognition, one or more sensors, etc. The apparatus 400 includes one or more communication e.g. network (N / W) interfaces (I / F(s)) 410. The communication I / F(s) 410 may be wired and / or wireless and communicate over the Internet / other network(s) via any communication technique including via one or more links 424. The link(s) 424 may be the link(s) 131 and / or 176 from FIG. 1. The link(s) 131 and / or 176 from FIG. 1 may also be implemented using transceivers) 416 and corresponding wireless link(s) 426. The communication I / F(s) 410 may comprise one or more transmitters or one or more receivers.

[0091] The transceiver 416 comprises one or more transmitters 418 and one or more receivers 420. The transceiver 416 and / or communication I / F(s) 410 may comprise standard well-known components such as an amplifier, filter, frequency-converter, (de)modulator, and encoder / decoder circuitries and one or more antennas, such as antennas 414 used for communication over wireless link 426.

[0092] The control module 406 of the apparatus 400 comprises one of or both parts 406-1 and / or 406-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The control module 406 may be implemented in hardware as control module 406-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 402. The control module 406-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the control module 406 may be implemented as control module 406-2, which is implemented as computer program code (having corresponding instructions) 405 and is executed by the one or more processors 402. For instance, the one or more memories 404 store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 402, cause the apparatus 400 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. Furthermore, the one or more processors 402, the one or more memories 404, and example algorithms (e.g., as flowcharts and / or signaling diagrams), encoded as instructions, programs, or code, are means for causing performance of the operations described herein.

[0093] The apparatus 400 to implement the functionality of control 406 may be UE 110, RAN node 170 (e.g. gNB), or network element(s) 190 (e.g. LMF 190). Thus, processor 402 may correspond to processor(s) 120, processor(s) 152 and / or processor(s) 175, memory 404 may correspond to one or more memories 125, one or more memories 155 and / or one or more memories 171, computer program code 405 may correspond to computer program code 123, computer program code 153, and / or computer program code 173, control module 406 may correspond to module 140-1, module 140-2, module 150-1, and / or module 150-2, and communication I / F(s) 410 and / or transceiver 416 may correspond to transceiver 130, antenna(s) 128, transceiver 160, antenna(s) 158, N / W 1 / F(s) 161, and / or N / W I / F(s) 180. Alternatively, apparatus 400 and its elements may not correspond to either of UE 110, RAN node 170, or network element(s) 190 and their respective elements, as apparatus 400 may be part of a self-organizing / optimizing network (SON) node or other node, such as a node in a cloud.

[0094] Apparatus 400 may also correspond to serving gNBl 170-1, neighbor gNB2 170-2, neighbor gNB3 170-3, AMF 190-1, LMF 190-2, UDM 230, or a network entity hosting or controlling DB 350. Serving gNBl 170-1, neighbor gNB2 170-2, and neighbor gNB3 170-3 17 may be configured similarly to RAN node 170, for example with the aspects of RAN node 170 described with reference to FIG. 1. AMF 190-1 and LMF 190-2 may be configured similarly to one or more network elements 190, for example with the aspects of one or more network elements 190 described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0095] The apparatus 400 may also be distributed throughout the network (e.g. 100) including within and between apparatus 400 and any network element (such as a network control element (NCE) 190 and / or the RAN node 170 and / or UE 110).

[0096] Interface 412 enables data communication and signaling between the various items of apparatus 400, as shown in FIG. 4. For example, the interface 412 may be one or more buses such as address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, and the like. Computer program code (e.g. instructions) 405, including control 406 may comprise object-oriented software configured to pass data or messages between objects within computer program code 405 or computer program code (e.g. instructions) 405 including control 406 may comprise functional language, procedural language, or scripting language. The apparatus 400 need not comprise each of the features mentioned, or may comprise other features as well. The various components of apparatus 400 may at least partially reside in a common housing 428, or a subset of the various components of apparatus 400 may at least partially be located in different housings, which different housings may include housing 428.

[0097] FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation of non-volatile memory media 500a (e.g. computer / compact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD)) and 500b (e.g. universal serial bus (USB) memory stick) and 500c (e.g. cloud storage for downloading instructions and / or parameters 502 or receiving emailed instructions and / or parameters 502) storing instructions and / or parameters 502 which when executed by a processor allows the processor to perform one or more of the steps of the methods described herein. Instructions and / or parameters 502 may represent a non-transitory computer readable medium.

[0098] FIG. 6 is an example method 600, based on the example embodiments described herein. At 610, the method includes transmitting, with a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment. At 620, the method includes wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node. At 630, the method includes wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration. At 640, the method includes receiving, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment. At 650, the method includes wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration. Method 600 may be performed with RAN node 170, serving gNBl 170-1, neighbor gNB2 170-2, neighbor gNB 3 170-3, or apparatus 400.

[0099] FIG. 7 is an example method 700, based on the example embodiments described herein. At 710, the method includes transmitting, with a radio access network node to a database, an update to a sounding reference signal configuration. At 720, the method includes transmitting, with the radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment. At 730, the method includes wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node. At 740, the method includes receiving, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment. At 750, the method includes wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration. Method 700 may be performed with RAN node 170, serving gNBl 170-1, neighbor gNB2 170-2, neighbor gNB3 170-3, or apparatus 400.

[0100] FIG. 8 is an example method 800, based on the example embodiments described herein. At 810, the method includes receiving, from a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment. At 820, the method includes wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration. At 830, the method includes transmitting, to the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment. At 840, the method includes wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration. Method 800 may be performed with one or more network elements 190, AMF 190-1, or apparatus 400.

[0101] FIG. 9 is an example method 900, based on the example embodiments described herein. At 910, the method includes receiving, from a radio access network node, a location 19 service request for a user equipment. At 920, the method includes wherein the location service request for the user equipment is received from the radio access network node without a sounding reference signal configuration. At 930, the method includes selecting a location management function. At 940, the method includes transmitting, to the location management function, a request to determine the location of the user equipment without the sounding reference signal configuration. At 950, the method includes wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function without the sounding reference signal configuration due to the location management function being configured to retrieve the sounding reference signal configuration from a database. At 960, the method includes receiving, from the location management function, the location of the user equipment based on the sounding reference signal configuration. At 970, the method includes transmitting, to the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising the location of the user equipment received from the location management function. Method 900 may be performed with one or more network elements 190, AMF 190-1, or apparatus 400.

[0102] FIG. 10 is an example method 1000, based on the example embodiments described herein. At 1010, the method includes receiving a request to determine a location of a user equipment. At 1020, the method includes wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration. At 1030, the method includes determining the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration. At 1040, the method includes transmitting a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment. Method 1000 may be performed with one or more network elements 190, LMF 190-2, or apparatus 400.

[0103] FIG. 11 is an example method 1100, based on the example embodiments described herein. At 1110, the method includes receiving a request to determine a location of a user equipment. At 1120, the method includes wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received without a sounding reference signal configuration. At 1130, the method includes retrieving the sounding reference signal configuration from the database. At 1140, the method includes determining the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration retrieved from the database. At 1150, the method includes transmitting a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment. Method 1100 may be performed with one or more network elements 190, LMF 190-2, or apparatus 400.

[0104] FIG. 12 is an example method 1200, based on the example embodiments described herein. At 1210, the method includes storing, with a database, a sounding reference signal configuration for a user equipment. At 1220, the method includes receiving, from a radio access network node, an update to the sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment. At 1230, the method includes storing, with the database, the update to the sounding reference signal configuration. At 1240, the method includes receiving, from a location management function, a request to access the updated sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment. At 1250, the method includes providing, to the location management function, access to the updated sounding reference signal configuration. Method 1200 may be implemented with DB 350, one or more network elements 190, LMF 190-2, AMF 190-1, RAN node 170, serving gNBl 170-1, neighbor gNB2 170-2, neighbor gNB3 170-3, or apparatus 400.

[0105] FIG. 13 is an example method 1300, based on the example embodiments described herein. At 1310, the method includes receiving, from a radio access network node, a sounding reference signal configuration. At 1320, the method includes wherein the sounding reference signal configuration received from the radio access network node is configured to be used to determine a location of a user equipment based on a location service request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration initiated with the radio access network node. At 1330, the method includes transmitting, to the radio access network node, a periodic sounding reference signal or an aperiodic sounding reference signal, based on the sounding reference signal configuration. At 1340, the method includes wherein the sounding reference signal transmitted to the radio access network node is configured to be used for positioning measurement based on the location service request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration initiated with the radio access network node. Method 1300 may be implemented with UE 110 or apparatus 400.

[0106] The following examples are provided and described herein.

[0107] Example 1. An apparatus including: means for transmitting, with a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node; wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; and means for receiving, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0108] Example 2. The apparatus of example 1, wherein: the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to an access and mobility management function; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the access and mobility management function.

[0109] Example 3. The apparatus of example 2, wherein: the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to a location management function indirectly via the access and mobility management function; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the location management function indirectly via the access and mobility management function.

[0110] Example 4. The apparatus of any of examples 1 to 3, wherein: the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to a location management function; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the location management function.

[0111] Example 5. An apparatus including: means for transmitting, with a radio access network node to a database, an update to a sounding reference signal configuration; means for transmitting, with the radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node; and means for receiving, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0112] Example 6. The apparatus of example 5, further including: means for determining that the sounding reference signal configuration has changed; wherein the update to the 22 sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to the database in response to determining that the sounding reference signal configuration has changed.

[0113] Example 7. The apparatus of any of examples 5 to 6, wherein the update to the sounding reference transmitted to the database is configured to be used with a location management function to determine the location of the user equipment.

[0114] Example 8. The apparatus of any of examples 5 to 7, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is transmitted with the radio access network node without the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0115] Example 9. The apparatus of example 8, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is transmitted with the radio access network node without the sounding reference signal configuration due to a location management function being configured to retrieve the sounding reference signal configuration from the database.

[0116] Example 10. An apparatus including: means for receiving, from a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; and means for transmitting, to the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0117] Example 11. The apparatus of example 10, further including: means for selecting a location management function; means for transmitting, to the location management function, a request to determine the location of the user equipment; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function with the sounding reference signal configuration; and means for receiving, from the location management function, the location of the user equipment based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0118] Example 12. The apparatus of example 11, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function in response to receiving, from the radio access network node, the location service request for the user equipment; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment transmitted to the radio access network node is based on the location of the user equipment received from the location management function.

[0119] Example 13. An apparatus including: means for receiving, from a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is received from the radio access network node without a sounding reference signal configuration; means for selecting a location management function; means for transmitting, to the location management function, a request to determine the location of the user equipment without the sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function without the sounding reference signal configuration due to the location management function being configured to retrieve the sounding reference signal configuration from a database; means for receiving, from the location management function, the location of the user equipment based on the sounding reference signal configuration; and means for transmitting, to the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising the location of the user equipment received from the location management function.

[0120] Example 14. The apparatus of any of examples 10 to 13, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node.

[0121] Example 15. An apparatus including: means for receiving a request to determine a location of a user equipment; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; means for determining the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; and means for transmitting a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment.

[0122] Example 16. An apparatus including: means for receiving a request to determine a location of a user equipment; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received without a sounding reference signal configuration; means for retrieving the sounding reference signal configuration from the database; means for determining the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration retrieved from the database; and means for transmitting a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment.

[0123] Example 17. The apparatus of example 15 or 16, further including: means for transmitting, to at least one radio access network node, a positioning measurement request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration; and means for receiving, from the at least one radio access network node, a response to the positioning measurement request, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the location of the user equipment is determined based on the response to the positioning measurement request.

[0124] Example 18. The apparatus of example 17, wherein the at least one radio access network node to which the positioning measurement request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted comprises a node neighboring a serving radio access network node that initiates a location service request that comprises the sounding reference signal configuration or does not comprise the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0125] Example 19. The apparatus of any of examples 15 to 18, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from an access and mobility management function; and the response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the access and mobility management function.

[0126] Example 20. The apparatus of example 19, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from a radio access network node indirectly via the access and mobility management function; and the response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the radio access network node indirectly via the access and mobility management function.

[0127] Example 21. The apparatus of any of examples 15 to 20, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from a radio access network node; and the response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the radio access network node.

[0128] Example 22. The apparatus of any of examples 15 to 21, wherein request to determine the location of the user equipment is based on a location service request initiated with a radio access network node.

[0129] Example 23. An apparatus including: means for storing, with a database, a sounding reference signal configuration for a user equipment; means for receiving, from a radio access network node, an update to the sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment; means for storing, with the database, the update to the sounding reference signal configuration; means for receiving, from a location management function, a request to access the updated sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment; and means for providing, to the location management function, access to the updated sounding reference signal configuration.

[0130] Example 24. The apparatus of example 23, wherein the request to access the updated sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment is based on a location service request initiated with the radio access network node.

[0131] Example 25. An apparatus including: means for receiving, from a radio access network node, a sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the sounding reference signal configuration received from the radio access network node is configured to be used to determine a location of the apparatus based on a location service request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration initiated with the radio access network node; and means for transmitting, to the radio access network node, a periodic sounding reference signal or an aperiodic sounding reference signal, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the sounding reference signal transmitted to the radio access network node is configured to be used for positioning measurement based on the location service request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration initiated with the radio access network node.

[0132] Example 26. An apparatus including: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: transmit, with a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node; wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; and receive, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0133] Example 27. The apparatus of example 26, wherein: the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to an access and mobility management function; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the access and mobility management function.

[0134] Example 28. The apparatus of example 27, wherein: the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to a location management function indirectly via the access and mobility management function; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the location management function indirectly via the access and mobility management function.

[0135] Example 29. The apparatus of any of examples 26 to 28, wherein: the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to a location management function; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the location management function.

[0136] Example 30. An apparatus including: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: transmit, with a radio access network node to a database, an update to a sounding reference signal configuration; transmit, with the radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node; and receive, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0137] Example 31. The apparatus of example 30, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: determine that the sounding reference signal configuration has changed; wherein the update to the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to the database in response to determining that the sounding reference signal configuration has changed.

[0138] Example 32. The apparatus of any of examples 30 to 31, wherein the update to the sounding reference transmitted to the database is configured to be used with a location 27 management function to determine the location of the user equipment.

[0139] Example 33. The apparatus of any of examples 30 to 32, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is transmitted with the radio access network node without the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0140] Example 34. The apparatus of example 33, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is transmitted with the radio access network node without the sounding reference signal configuration due to a location management function being configured to retrieve the sounding reference signal configuration from the database.

[0141] Example 35. An apparatus including: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; and transmit, to the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0142] Example 36. The apparatus of example 35, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: select a location management function; transmit, to the location management function, a request to determine the location of the user equipment; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function with the sounding reference signal configuration; and receive, from the location management function, the location of the user equipment based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0143] Example 37. The apparatus of example 36, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function in response to receiving, from the radio access network node, the location service request for the user equipment; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment transmitted to the radio access network node is based on the location of the user equipment received from the location management function.

[0144] Example 38. An apparatus including: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is received from the radio access network node without a sounding reference signal configuration; select a location management function; transmit, to the location management function, a request to determine the location of the user equipment without the sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function without the sounding reference signal configuration due to the location management function being configured to retrieve the sounding reference signal configuration from a database; receive, from the location management function, the location of the user equipment based on the sounding reference signal configuration; and transmit, to the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising the location of the user equipment received from the location management function.

[0145] Example 39. The apparatus of any of examples 35 to 38, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node.

[0146] Example 40. An apparatus including: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive a request to determine a location of a user equipment; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; determine the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; and transmit a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment.

[0147] Example 41. An apparatus including: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive a request to determine a location of a user equipment, wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received without a sounding reference signal configuration; retrieve the sounding reference signal configuration from the database; determine the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration retrieved from the database; and transmit a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment.

[0148] Example 42. The apparatus of example 40 or 41, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: transmit, to at least one radio access network node, a positioning measurement request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration; and receive, from the at least one radio access network node, a response to the positioning measurement request, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the location of the user equipment is determined based on the response to the positioning measurement request.

[0149] Example 43. The apparatus of example 42, wherein the at least one radio access network node to which the positioning measurement request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted comprises a node neighboring a serving radio access network node that initiates a location service request that comprises the sounding reference signal configuration or does not comprise the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0150] Example 44. The apparatus of any of examples 40 to 43, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from an access and mobility management function; and the response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the access and mobility management function.

[0151] Example 45. The apparatus of example 44, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from a radio access network node indirectly via the access and mobility management function; and the response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the radio access network node indirectly via the access and mobility management function.

[0152] Example 46. The apparatus of any of examples 40 to 45, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from a radio access network node; and the response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the radio access network node.

[0153] Example 47. The apparatus of any of examples 40 to 46, wherein request to determine the location of the user equipment is based on a location service request initiated with a radio access network node.

[0154] Example 48. An apparatus including: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: store, with a database, a sounding reference signal configuration for a user equipment; receive, from a radio access network node, an update to the sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment; store, with the database, the update to the sounding reference signal configuration; receive, from a location management function, a request to access the updated sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment; and provide, to the location management function, access to the updated sounding reference signal configuration.

[0155] Example 49. The apparatus of example 48, wherein the request to access the updated sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment is based on a location service request initiated with the radio access network node.

[0156] Example 50. An apparatus including: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a radio access network node, a sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the sounding reference signal configuration received from the radio access network node is configured to be used to determine a location of the apparatus based on a location service request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration initiated with the radio access network node; and transmit, to the radio access network node, a periodic sounding reference signal or an aperiodic sounding reference signal, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the sounding reference signal transmitted to the radio access network node is configured to be used for positioning measurement based on the location service request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration initiated with the radio access network node.

[0157] Example 51. A method including: transmitting, with a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node; wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; and receiving, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0158] Example 52. The method of example 51, wherein: the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to an access and mobility management function; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the access and mobility management function.

[0159] Example 53. The method of example 52, wherein: the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to a location management function indirectly via the access and mobility management function; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the location management function indirectly via the access and mobility management function.

[0160] Example 54. The method of any of examples 51 to 53, wherein: the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to a location management function; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the location management function.

[0161] Example 55. A method including: transmitting, with a radio access network node to a database, an update to a sounding reference signal configuration; transmitting, with the radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node; and receiving, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0162] Example 56. The method of example 55, further including: determining that the sounding reference signal configuration has changed; wherein the update to the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to the database in response to determining that the sounding reference signal configuration has changed.

[0163] Example 57. The method of any of examples 55 to 56, wherein the update to the sounding reference transmitted to the database is configured to be used with a location management function to determine the location of the user equipment. 32

[0164] Example 58. The method of any of examples 55 to 57, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is transmitted with the radio access network node without the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0165] Example 59. The method of example 58, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is transmitted with the radio access network node without the sounding reference signal configuration due to a location management function being configured to retrieve the sounding reference signal configuration from the database.

[0166] Example 60. A method including: receiving, from a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; and transmitting, to the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0167] Example 61. The method of example 60, further including: selecting a location management function; transmitting, to the location management function, a request to determine the location of the user equipment; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function with the sounding reference signal configuration; and receiving, from the location management function, the location of the user equipment based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0168] Example 62. The method of example 61, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function in response to receiving, from the radio access network node, the location service request for the user equipment; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment transmitted to the radio access network node is based on the location of the user equipment received from the location management function.

[0169] Example 63. A method including: receiving, from a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is received from the radio access network node without a sounding reference signal configuration; selecting a location management function; transmitting, to the location management function, a request to determine the location of the user equipment without the 33 sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function without the sounding reference signal configuration due to the location management function being configured to retrieve the sounding reference signal configuration from a database; receiving, from the location management function, the location of the user equipment based on the sounding reference signal configuration; and transmitting, to the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising the location of the user equipment received from the location management function.

[0170] Example 64. The method of any of examples 60 to 63, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node.

[0171] Example 65. A method including: receiving a request to determine a location of a user equipment; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; determining the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; and transmitting a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment.

[0172] Example 66. A method including: receiving a request to determine a location of a user equipment; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received without a sounding reference signal configuration; retrieving the sounding reference signal configuration from the database; determining the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration retrieved from the database; and transmitting a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment.

[0173] Example 67. The method of example 65 or 66, further including: transmitting, to at least one radio access network node, a positioning measurement request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration; and receiving, from the at least one radio access network node, a response to the positioning measurement request, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the location of the user equipment is determined based on the response to the positioning measurement request.

[0174] Example 68. The method of example 67, wherein the at least one radio access network node to which the positioning measurement request comprising the sounding 34 reference signal configuration is transmitted comprises a node neighboring a serving radio access network node that initiates a location service request that comprises the sounding reference signal configuration or does not comprise the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0175] Example 69. The method of any of examples 65 to 68, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from an access and mobility management function; and the response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the access and mobility management function.

[0176] Example 70. The method of example 69, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from a radio access network node indirectly via the access and mobility management function; and the response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the radio access network node indirectly via the access and mobility management function.

[0177] Example 71. The method of any of examples 65 to 70, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from a radio access network node; and the response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the radio access network node.

[0178] Example 72. The method of any of examples 65 to 71, wherein request to determine the location of the user equipment is based on a location service request initiated with a radio access network node.

[0179] Example 73. A method including: storing, with a database, a sounding reference signal configuration for a user equipment; receiving, from a radio access network node, an update to the sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment; storing, with the database, the update to the sounding reference signal configuration; receiving, from a location management function, a request to access the updated sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment; and providing, to the location management function, access to the updated sounding reference signal configuration.

[0180] Example 74. The method of example 73, wherein the request to access the updated sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment is based on a location service request initiated with the radio access network node.

[0181] Example 75. A method including: receiving, from a radio access network node, a sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the sounding reference signal configuration received from the radio access network node is configured to be used to determine a location of a user equipment based on a location service request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration initiated with the radio access network node; and transmitting, to the radio access network node, a periodic sounding reference signal or an aperiodic sounding reference signal, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the sounding reference signal transmitted to the radio access network node is configured to be used for positioning measurement based on the location service request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration initiated with the radio access network node.

[0182] Example 76. A computer readable medium including instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: transmitting, with a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node; wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; and receiving, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0183] Example 77. The computer readable medium of example 76, wherein: the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to an access and mobility management function; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the access and mobility management function.

[0184] Example 78. The computer readable medium of example 77, wherein: the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to a location management function indirectly via the access and mobility management function; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the location management function indirectly via the access and mobility management function.

[0185] Example 79. The computer readable medium of any of examples 76 to 78, wherein: the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to a location management function; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the location management function.

[0186] Example 80. A computer readable medium including instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: transmitting, with a radio access network node to a database, an update to a sounding reference signal configuration; transmitting, with the radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node; and receiving, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0187] Example 81. The computer readable medium of example 80, further including instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: determining that the sounding reference signal configuration has changed; wherein the update to the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to the database in response to determining that the sounding reference signal configuration has changed.

[0188] Example 82. The computer readable medium of any of examples 80 to 81, wherein the update to the sounding reference transmitted to the database is configured to be used with a location management function to determine the location of the user equipment.

[0189] Example 83. The computer readable medium of any of examples 80 to 82, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is transmitted with the radio access network node without the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0190] Example 84. The computer readable medium of example 83, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is transmitted with the radio access network node without the sounding reference signal configuration due to a location management function being configured to retrieve the sounding reference signal configuration from the database.

[0191] Example 85. A computer readable medium including instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: receiving, from a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; and transmitting, to the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment; wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0192] Example 86. The computer readable medium of example 85, further including instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: selecting a location management function; transmitting, to the location management function, a request to determine the location of the user equipment; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function with the sounding reference signal configuration; and receiving, from the location management function, the location of the user equipment based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0193] Example 87. The computer readable medium of example 86, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function in response to receiving, from the radio access network node, the location service request for the user equipment; and the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment transmitted to the radio access network node is based on the location of the user equipment received from the location management function.

[0194] Example 88. A computer readable medium including instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: receiving, from a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment; wherein the location service request for the user equipment is received from the radio access network node without a sounding reference signal configuration; selecting a location management function; transmitting, to the location management function, a request to determine the location of the user equipment without the sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function without the sounding reference signal configuration due to the location management function being configured to retrieve the sounding reference signal configuration from a database; receiving, from the location management function, the location of the user equipment based on the sounding reference signal configuration; and transmitting, to the radio access network node, a response 38 to the location service request, the response comprising the location of the user equipment received from the location management function.

[0195] Example 89. The computer readable medium of any of examples 85 to 88, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node.

[0196] Example 90. A computer readable medium including instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: receiving a request to determine a location of a user equipment; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; determining the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; and transmitting a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment.

[0197] Example 91. A computer readable medium including instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: receiving a request to determine a location of a user equipment; wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received without a sounding reference signal configuration; retrieving the sounding reference signal configuration from the database; determining the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration retrieved from the database; and transmitting a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment.

[0198] Example 92. The computer readable medium of example 90 or 91, further including instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: transmitting, to at least one radio access network node, a positioning measurement request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration; and receiving, from the at least one radio access network node, a response to the positioning measurement request, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the location of the user equipment is determined based on the response to the positioning measurement request.

[0199] Example 93. The computer readable medium of example 92, wherein the at least one radio access network node to which the positioning measurement request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted comprises a node neighboring a serving radio access network node that initiates a location service request that comprises the sounding 39 reference signal configuration or does not comprise the sounding reference signal configuration.

[0200] Example 94. The computer readable medium of any of examples 90 to 93, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from an access and mobility management function; and the response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the access and mobility management function.

[0201] Example 95. The computer readable medium of example 94, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from a radio access network node indirectly via the access and mobility management function; and the response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the radio access network node indirectly via the access and mobility management function.

[0202] Example 96. The computer readable medium of any of examples 90 to 95, wherein: the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from a radio access network node; and the response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the radio access network node.

[0203] Example 97. The computer readable medium of any of examples 90 to 96, wherein request to determine the location of the user equipment is based on a location service request initiated with a radio access network node.

[0204] Example 98. A computer readable medium including instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: storing, with a database, a sounding reference signal configuration for a user equipment; receiving, from a radio access network node, an update to the sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment; storing, with the database, the update to the sounding reference signal configuration; receiving, from a location management function, a request to access the updated sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment; and providing, to the location management function, access to the updated sounding reference signal configuration.

[0205] Example 99. The computer readable medium of example 98, wherein the request to access the updated sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment is based on a location service request initiated with the radio access network node.

[0206] Example 100. A computer readable medium including instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: receiving, from a radio access network node, a sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the sounding reference signal configuration received from the radio access network node is configured to be used to determine a location of a user equipment based on a location service request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration initiated with the radio access network node; and transmitting, to the radio access network node, a periodic sounding reference signal or an aperiodic sounding reference signal, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; wherein the sounding reference signal transmitted to the radio access network node is configured to be used for positioning measurement based on the location service request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration initiated with the radio access network node.

[0207] References to a ‘computer’, ‘processor’, etc. should be understood to encompass not only computers having different architectures such as single / multi-processor architectures and sequential or parallel architectures but also specialized circuits such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific circuits (ASICs), signal processing devices and other processing circuitry. References to computer program, instructions, code etc. should be understood to encompass software for a programmable processor or firmware such as, for example, the programmable content of a hardware device whether instructions for a processor, or configuration settings for a fixed-function device, gate array or programmable logic device etc.

[0208] The memories as described herein may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, non-transitory memory, transitory memory, fixed memory and removable memory. The memories may comprise a database for storing data.

[0209] As used herein, the term ‘circuitry’ may refer to the following: (a) hardware circuit implementations, such as implementations in analog and / or digital circuitry, and (b) combinations of circuits and software (and / or firmware), such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of processor(s) or (ii) portions of processor(s) / software including digital signal processor(s), software, and memories that work together to cause an apparatus to perform various functions, and (c) circuits, such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that require software or firmware for operation, even if the software or firmware is not physically present. As a further example, as used herein, the term ‘circuitry’ would also cover an implementation of merely a processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term ‘circuitry’ would also cover, for example and if applicable to the particular element, a baseband integrated circuit or applications processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or another network device.

[0210] It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative. Various alternatives and modifications may be devised by those skilled in the art. For example, features recited in the various dependent claims could be combined with each other in any suitable combination(s). In addition, features from different example embodiments described above could be selectively combined into a new example embodiment. Accordingly, this description is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

[0211] The following acronyms and abbreviations that may be found in the specification and / or the drawing figures are given as follows (the abbreviations and acronyms may be appended / combined with each other or with other characters using e.g. a dash, hyphen, slash, letter, or number, and may be case insensitive): 3GPP third generation partnership project 4G fourth generation 5G fifth generation 5GC 5G core network 6G sixth generation AMF access and mobility management function ASIC application-specific integrated circuit CD compact / computer disc CN core network Config configuration CPU central processing unit CU central unit or centralized unit DB database DL DSP downlink digital signal processor DU distributed unit DVD digital versatile disc 5 eNB evolved Node B (e.g., an LTE base station) EN-DC E-UTRAN new radio - dual connectivity en-gNB node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and acting as a secondary node in EN- DC 10 E-UTRA evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access, i.e., the LTE radio access technology E-UTRAN E-UTRA network Fl interface between the CU and the DU FDD frequency division duplex 15 FPGA field-programmable gate array FR frequency range (e.g. FR2) GMLC gateway mobile location center gNB base station for 5G / NR, i.e., a node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected 20 via the NG interface to the 5GC GPSI generic public subscription identifier IAB integrated access and backhaul IE information element I / F interface 25 VO input / output LI layer 1 Ll / 2 layer 1 (LI) or layer 2 (L2) L2 layer 2 L3 layer 3 30 LCS location services LMF location management function LPP LTE positioning protocol LTE long term evolution (4G) LTM lower layer triggered mobility MAC MIMO medium access control multiple input multiple output ML machine learning MME mobility management entity 5 MRO mobility robustness optimization NCE network control element NEF network exposure function NF network function ng or NG new generation 10 NGAP next generation application protocol NG-c NG control plane interface ng-eNB new generation eNB NG-RAN new generation radio access network Nlmf interface defined for LMF services 15 NR new radio NRPPa NR positioning protocol A Nudm interface defined for UDM services N / W network O&M orchestration and management, or operations, administration and 20 maintenance OFDM orthogonal frequency division multiplexing PDA personal digital assistant PDCP packet data convergence protocol PHY physical layer 25 PRS positioning reference signal RAM random access memory RAN radio access network RLC radio link control ROM read-only memory 30 RRC radio resource control RRM radio resource management RU radio unit Rx receive, or receiver, or reception SDAP service data adaptation protocol SDM subscriber data management SGW serving gateway SMF session management function SON self-organizing / optimizing network 5 SRS sounding reference signal SUPI subscription permanent identifier TDD time division duplex TRP transmission-reception point TS technical specification 10 Tx transmit, or transmitter, or transmission UAV unmanned aerial vehicle UDM unified data management UE user equipment (e.g., a wireless, typically mobile device) UI user interface 15 UL uplink UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System UPF user plane function USB universal serial bus UTRAN UMTS terrestrial radio access network 20 X2 network interface between RAN nodes and between RAN and the core network Xn network interface between NG-RAN nodes

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:means for transmitting, with a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment;wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node;wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; andmeans for receiving, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment;wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to an access and mobility management function; andthe response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the access and mobility management function.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein:the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to a location management function indirectly via the access and mobility management function; andthe response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the location management function indirectly via the access and mobility management function.

4. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein:the location service request for the user equipment comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to a location management function; andthe response to the location sendee request comprising the location of the user equipment is received from the location management function.

5. An apparatus comprising:means for transmitting, with a radio access network node to a database, an update to a sounding reference signal configuration;means for transmitting, with the radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment;wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node; andmeans for receiving, with the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment;wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising:means for determining that the sounding reference signal configuration has changed;wherein the update to the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted to the database in response to determining that the sounding reference signal configuration has changed.

7. The apparatus of any of claims 5 to 6, wherein the update to the sounding reference transmitted to the database is configured to be used with a location management function to determine the location of the user equipment.

8. The apparatus of any of claims 5 to 7, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is transmitted with the radio access network node without the sounding reference signal configuration.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is transmitted with the radio access network node without the sounding reference signal configuration due to a location management function being configured to retrieve the sounding reference signal configuration from the database.

10. An apparatus comprising:means for receiving, from a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment;wherein the location service request for the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration; andmeans for transmitting, to the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising a location of the user equipment;wherein the response to the location service request comprising the location of the user equipment is based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:means for selecting a location management function;means for transmitting, to the location management function, a request to determine the location of the user equipment;wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function with the sounding reference signal configuration; andmeans for receiving, from the location management function, the location of the user equipment based on the sounding reference signal configuration.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function in response to receiving, from the radio access network node, the location service request for the user equipment; andthe response to the location sendee request comprising the location of the user equipment transmitted to the radio access network node is based on the location of the user equipment received from the location management function.

13. An apparatus comprising:means for receiving, from a radio access network node, a location service request for a user equipment;wherein the location service request for the user equipment is received from the radio access network node without a sounding reference signal configuration;means for selecting a location management function;means for transmitting, to the location management function, a request to determine the location of the user equipment without the sounding reference signal configuration;wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the location management function without the sounding reference signal configuration due to the location management function being configured to retrieve the sounding reference signal configuration from a database;means for receiving, from the location management function, the location of the user equipment based on the sounding reference signal configuration; andmeans for transmitting, to the radio access network node, a response to the location service request, the response comprising the location of the user equipmentreceived from the location management function.

14. The apparatus of any of claims 10 to 13, wherein the location service request for the user equipment is initiated with the radio access network node.

15. An apparatus comprising:means for receiving a request to determine a location of a user equipment;wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprises a sounding reference signal configuration;means for determining the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration; andmeans for transmitting a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment.

16. An apparatus comprising:means for receiving a request to determine a location of a user equipment;wherein the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received without a sounding reference signal configuration;means for retrieving the sounding reference signal configuration from the database;means for determining the location of the user equipment, based on the sounding reference signal configuration retrieved from the database; andmeans for transmitting a response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment, the response comprising the location of the user equipment.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 or 16, further comprising:means for transmitting, to at least one radio access network node, a positioning measurement request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration; andmeans for receiving, from the at least one radio access network node, a response to the positioning measurement request, based on the sounding reference signal configuration;wherein the location of the user equipment is determined based on the response to the positioning measurement request.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one radio access network node to which the positioning measurement request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration is transmitted comprises a node neighboring a serving radio access network node that initiates a location service request that comprises the sounding reference signal configuration or does not comprise the sounding reference signal configuration.

19. The apparatus of any of claims 15 to 18, wherein:the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from an access and mobility management function; andthe response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the access and mobility management function.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein:the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from a radio access network node indirectly via the access and mobility management function; andthe response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the radio access network node indirectly via the access and mobility management function.

21. The apparatus of any of claims 15 to 20, wherein:the request to determine the location of the user equipment is received from a radio access network node; andthe response to the request to determine the location of the user equipment comprising the location of the user equipment is transmitted to the radio access network node.

22. The apparatus of any of claims 15 to 21, wherein request to determine the location of the user equipment is based on a location service request initiated with a radio access network node.

23. An apparatus comprising:means for storing, with a database, a sounding reference signal configuration for a user equipment;means for receiving, from a radio access network node, an update to the sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment;means for storing, with the database, the update to the sounding reference signal configuration;means for receiving, from a location management function, a request to access the updated sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment; andmeans for providing, to the location management function, access to the updated sounding reference signal configuration.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the request to access the updated sounding reference signal configuration for the user equipment is based on a location service request initiated with the radio access network node.

25. An apparatus comprising:means for receiving, from a radio access network node, a sounding reference signal configuration;wherein the sounding reference signal configuration received from the radio access network node is configured to be used to determine a location of the apparatus based on a location service request comprising the sounding reference signalconfiguration initiated with the radio access network node; andmeans for transmitting, to the radio access network node, a periodic sounding reference signal or an aperiodic sounding reference signal, based on the sounding reference signal configuration;5 wherein the sounding reference signal transmitted to the radio access networknode is configured to be used for positioning measurement based on the location service request comprising the sounding reference signal configuration initiated with the radio access network node.

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