Standardization of mobile phone positioning for 3G systems

Finding the location of the mobile phone is one of the important features of the 3G mobile communication system. Many valuable location-based services can be enabled by this new feature. Telecommunication managers and engineers are often puzzled by location terminologies and techniques as well as how to implement them, since location systems are not natural evolution from past generations of telecommunication systems. In this paper, we discuss briefly why locating mobile phone becomes a hot topic and what technologies are being studied. We then describe and clarify the latest standards issues surrounding the positioning methods specified for 3G systems. These include cell-ID-based, assisted GPS, and TDOA-based methods, such as OTDOA, E-OTD, and A-FLT.