5G Location Management Function for Scalable UE Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing control plane location solutions for 4G LTE and anticipated 5G wireless access face challenges such as high impact on Mobility Management Entities, difficulty in supporting location during inter-MME handovers, and scalability issues for large numbers of user equipments, particularly in IoT scenarios.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a Location Management Function (LMF) based location solution using service-based interfaces (SBIs) to manage location services, reducing the burden on Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs) and enabling efficient location support for user equipments through a 5G Core Network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional control plane location solution is used in 4G LTE and 5G wireless access, then location services can be provided, but high impact on Mobility Management Entity (MME) occurs and scalability is poor for millions or billions of UEs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the location service functionality from the MME by introducing a separate Location Management Function (LMF) entity. The LMF handles all location-related operations including receiving location requests, determining UE locations, and managing location sessions, while the MME focuses on mobility management. This segmentation eliminates the high processing burden on the MME and enables the system to scale to millions or billions of UEs.
2Productivity
If traditional control plane location solution is used, then location services are supported, but difficulty in supporting location during inter-MME handover occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The LMF acts as an intermediary entity that maintains location service continuity during inter-MME handovers. When a UE moves between MMEs, the LMF retains the location session and coordinates with both the source and target MMEs to ensure uninterrupted location services. This mediator approach solves the handover problem by decoupling location management from mobility management.
3Productivity
If traditional control plane location solution is used, then location services can be provided, but difficulty supporting location by Home PLMN for roaming UE occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The LMF is designed as a universal location management entity that can serve both home PLMN and visited PLMN scenarios. For roaming UEs, the home LMF can directly manage location services or coordinate with the visited LMF, providing consistent location support regardless of whether the UE is roaming. This multi-functional design enables the system to support location services for both domestic and roaming UEs without additional complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and techniques are described for supporting location services for a user equipment (UE) using a location server and service based interfaces (SBIs) and SBI service operations in a Fifth Generation wireless network. The location server may be, e.g., a Location Management Function (LMF). The LMF may be in either a serving Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) for a UE or in a Home PLMN for a roaming UE. The LMF may receive a location service request for the UE using an SBI and may communicate with another entity in the network, through a second entity and using an SBI, to obtain location information for the UE measured by the other entity. The LMF may determine a location for the UE based on the location information.