Survey of existing location based technologies in GSM network and Future scope

Abstract. With the rapid development of information technology, the need of various types of information service emerges. Among them the location sensitive applications are of the utmost importance. There are several techniques to identify the location of a particular mobile using cellular signal system, but these approaches differ from each other on the basis of accuracy. We can broadly classify these techniques into two categories, Satellite based technique and non-satellite based technique. In this paper we are only considering the non-satellite based techniques, their advantages, disadvantages and future prospect. Keywords. LBS, CI, GSM, E-OTD, U-TDOA.
I. INTRODUCTION

the user by providing valuable information. One of the driving forces is the obligation set by the FCC (Federal Communications Committee) in the United States to provide enhanced 911 (E911) wireless services. According to the obligation, cellular systems will be able to locate a cellular phone in connection of an emergency, with certain schedules and accuracy requirements [2]. There are two basic approaches for identifying a mobile phone, satellite based system i.e. the phone will the equipped with a GPS receiver that takes care all the location determination functionalities and the second approach is non-satellite based i.e. the phone can be located only by using cellular systems signal. Here we are concentrating on non-satellite-based techniques.
II.MOTIVATION

A location-based service (LBS) is information and entertainment service, accessible with mobile devices through the mobile network and utilizing the ability to make use of the geographical position of the mobile device [1].Location Based Services (LBS) are one of the most highly sought services which are targeted to generate heavy revenues for the cellular communication industry. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan finds that the mobile LBS market covering 13 Asia-Pac countries earned revenues of US$383.6 million in 2007 and expects this to reach US$2.8 billion by end-2013, at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 39.3 percent (20072013).These services are aimed to benefit

"Concerns regarding privacy infringement, erroneous detection and interoperability issues, high roaming charges, and the lack of global positioning system (GPS)-enabled handsets have to a large extent thwarted large-scale deployment of LBS systems in most Asia-Pac countries other than Japan and South Korea," says Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst M. Kumaresan. So the motivation of this paper is to detect the gaps between existing technologies and requirement of LBS and also to estimate whether any of the existing technology can be modified to match up with the requirement.
III. LOCATION DETERMINATION TECHNIQUES

Based on the functionalities of mobile station and network, location determination techniques can be classified into. 1. Network based, 2.handset based and 3.hybrid (fig.1)
Location Based Systems

Fig Systems

Handset Based

1.

Classification

Network Baesd

Hybrid

of

Location

Network based. In network based techniques, all the necessary calculation is performed by the network elements, like base station (BS), location center (SMLC) etc. No extra hardware or changes is required to determine the location and hence it goes fine with the existing handsets. This feature makes it significant than other technologies. However the MS must be in active mode to calculate the position. Handset based. In handset-based technologies the handset makes measurements and position determination. Handset based technologies have the best accuracy but need some upgradation to the existing handsets. Handset based techniques are again divided into Mobile assisted and Mobile assisted. In mobile-based implementation the MS makes measurements and position determination. This allows positioning in idle mode by measuring control channels which are continuously transmitted. Some assisting information, e.g. BS coordinates, might be

needed from the network to enable location determination in the MS. In mobile-assisted implementation, MS makes measurements and sends the results to a location center in the network for further processing. Thus, the computational burden is transferred to a location center where powerful processors are available. However, signaling delay and signaling load increase compared to a mobile based solution, especially if the location result is needed at MS [3]. Hybrid. Here upgrades are needed both on the mobile terminals and in the network. Mobile terminals need software upgradation new elements must be deployed in the mobile network. Cell Identification (CI). This is the simplest method for locating a mobile phone. Since cell id is an inherent feature of all cellular systems, minimal changes to existing systems are needed. The cell ID only has to be associated with location, i.e. the coordinates of the BSs must be known (fig.2). The accuracy of this approach depends on the size of the cell. Another advantage of this method is that no calculations are needed to obtain location information. The drawback is that the cell size can vary largely and the shape of the cell also varies. This technique can be both network based as well as handset based. This approach can be modified by using signal strength as a parameter along with CI. But accuracy of this approach is also very less.

Fig.2. Positioning based on CellIdentification CI and TA. Timing Advance (TA) can be embedded along with CI to determine location. In the GSM cellular mobile phone standard, timing advance value corresponds to the length of time a signal takes to reach the base station from a mobile phone. So TA along with CI can give a better result than CI only. TA values are divided into 64 slots (063), each with a radius of 550 m. This means that a MS which is 600 m away from the serving BTS, will have a TA value of 1. By using the TA value, the location of the MS can be constrained further than the cell identity, as the location of the terminal can be narrowed to a circle or a sector in steps of a 550 meters radius from the BTS [4]. However this approach also suffers from same problems as the previous one. This is also handset based as well as network based. Time of Arrival (TOA) / Uplink time of arrival (UL-TOA). Signal time of arrival (TOA) measurements, performed either at the BSs or at the MS, can be used for positioning. Since the propagation time of the radio wave is directly proportional to its

traversed range, multiplying the speed of light to the time obtains the range from the mobile phone to the communicating base station the BS-MS can be measured if the network is fully synchronized. However, if the network is not synchronized, such as GSM network, TOA measurements can only be used in differential manner. Even in this case, a common time reference for the BSs is needed. Two TOA measurements then define a hyperbola, and four measurements are needed for unambiguous 2D location. In the downlink time difference techniques, the MS observes time differences of signals from several BSs. These signals are typically control channel signals and therefore the MS can perform the measurements in idle mode as well as in dedicated mode (fig.3). The clock differences of the BSs can be solved by having a reference receiver at known location continuously measuring the observed time differences. This is much simpler and more economical than synchronizing the BS transmissions. The accuracy of all time difference based techniques (uplink as well as downlink) depends on several factors. The accuracy of an individual time difference measurement depends on signal bandwidth and multipath channel [3]. This is a network based approach.

Fig.3. Location determination by Time Of Arrival Angle of arrival (AOA). The angle of arrival (AOA) method requires the installation of directional antennas or antenna arrays (fig.4). The method determines location of the MS based on triangulation. The intersection of two directional lines each formed by a radial from a BTS define a unique position for the MS [5]. This method requires the Mobile station to have knowledge of a minimum of two BTSs. If available, more than one pair can be used (most common is tree BTSs which yields two pairs). Considering twodimensional geometry, angle of arrival measurement at two BSs is sufficient for unique location. In Figure, the user location is determined as the point of intersection of two lines drawn from the BSs. It has been observed that AOA technique requires line of sight between the MS and the BSs for accurate results. Also, AOA measurement causes a position uncertainty that increases with MS-BS distance. The accuracy of this method varies according to the knowledge of the surrounding BTSs. The method also requires line-of-sight to the involved BTSs for the position estimate to be accurate.

Fig.4. Location determination by Angle Of Arrival A major barrier to implement AOA method in existing 2G networks is the need for an antenna array at each BS. It would be very expensive to build an overlay of AOA sensors to existing cellular network. This is a network based approach. Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA). The time difference of arrival (TDOA) system determines the mobile phone position based on trilateration method . This system uses time difference measurements rather than absolute time measurements. It is called as the hyperbolic system because the time difference is converted to a constant distance difference to two base stations (as foci) to draw a hyperbolic curve (fig.5). Considering the geometry we know the intersection of two hyperbolas determines a position. Therefore, it utilizes two pairs of base stations (at least three) for positioning. The accuracy of the system is a function of the relative base station geometric locations [5].

Fig 5. Location determination by Hyperbolic system

Both TOA and TDOA are time-based measurement technologies. They can be implemented either based on the forward (down) link signal or reserved (up) link signal. E-OTD. Enhanced Observed Time Difference (EOTD) is a hybrid technique. The E-OTD method is based on measurements in the MS of the Observed Time Difference of arrival of bursts of nearby pairs of BTSs. For E-OTD measurement, normal and dummy bursts are used. We know in GSM network BTSs are not synchronized so the network needs to measure the Relative or Absolute Time Differences (RTDs or ATDs) between the transmission frames. To obtain accurate triangulation for non-synchronized BTSs, RTD or ATD measurements are needed for at least three distinct pairs of geographically dispersed BTSs. Based on the measured EOTD values the location of MS can be calculated either in the network or in the MS itself, if all the needed information is available in MS [6]. The method requires additional measurement unit (LMU) hardware in the network at the geographical vicinity of the mobile to be positioned to accurately measure the TOA of the bursts. Since the geographical coordinates of the measurement units are known, the mobile position can be calculated via hyperbolic triangulation. This method will work with existing mobiles without any modification. An LMU makes radio measurements to support one or more positioning methods.

These measurements fall into one of two categories: a) Location measurements specific to one MS used to compute the location of this MS b) Assistance measurements specific to all MSs in a certain geographic area All location and assistance measurements obtained by an LMU are supplied to a particular SMLC associated with the LMU. Instructions concerning the timing, the nature and any periodicity of these measurements are either provided by the SMLC or are pre-administered in the LMU. Two types of LMU are defined: Type A LMU: accessed over the normal GSM air interface. Type B LMU: interface. accessed over the Abis

Position Calculation Types The location estimate is performed by a Position Calculation Function (PCF) located in the MS or in the network. With the same network architecture, MS functions, LMU functions and measurement inputs the PCF can be based on one of two possible types of E-OTD location calculation; known as 'hyperbolic' and 'circular'. The Positioning Calculation Function (PCF) is responsible for calculating the position of the mobile. It obtains BTS related data e.g. BTS geographic co-ordinates and stores this data. This function implies an algorithmic computation on the collected signal measurements to compute the final location estimate and accuracy. It also supports conversion of mobile's location estimate between different geographic reference systems.

The hyperbolic type is introduced in section (a) below followed by a brief description of the circular type in section (b). a) Hyperbolic Type There are three basic timing quantities associated with this type of E-OTD location calculation: - Observed Time Difference (OTD). This means the time interval that is observed by a mobile station (MS) between the receptions of signals (bursts) from two different Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) in the cellular network. A burst from the BTS 1 is received at the moment t1, and a burst from the BTS 2 is received at the moment t2. Thus the OTD value in this case is: OTD = t2 t1. If the two bursts arrive exactly at the same moment, then OTD = 0. - Real Time Difference (RTD). This means the relative synchronization difference in the network between two BTSs. If the BTS 1 sends a burst at the moment t3, and the BTS 2 at the moment t4, the RTD between them is: RTD = t4 - t3. If the BTSs transmit exactly at the same time that means that the network is synchronized and there is no need to calculate RTDs, hence RTDs = 0. - Geometric Time Difference (GTD). This is the time difference between the receptions (by an MS) of bursts from two different base stations due to geometry. If the length of the propagation path between the BTS 1 and the mobile station is d1, and the length of the path between the BTS 2 and the MS is d2, then GTD = (d2 d1) / , where is the speed of radio

waves. If both BTSs are exactly as far from the MS, GTD = 0. The relationship quantities is: OTD = RTD + GTD. OTD is the quantity measured by the mobile station to be located. RTD is a quantity related to the network (BTSs). GTD is a quantity related to the geometry of the situation (positions of the mobile and BTSs). GTD is the actual quantity that is useful for location purposes, since it contains information about the position of the MS. If only OTD values are known, no location can be calculated, thus also RTD values must be known. The MS location estimate can be computed in the MS or by the network depending on implementation. Whichever method is used the MS location estimate is calculated from the GTD (as calculated from the measured OTD and known or measured RTD) based on the fact that the possible location for the MS observing a constant GTD value (d2 - d1 = constant) between two BTSs is a hyperbola. The MS can be located in the intersection of two hyperbolas obtained with three base stations and two GTDs. If more GTDs are available the possible location area can be reduced (fig.6). between these three

B ase S ta tio n

M e a s u re m e n t e rro r m a rg in

d1
B ase S ta tio n

The Observed Time at the LMU (LOT) at which a signal arrives from a BTS. This is a time measured against the LMU's internal clock. In general there will be a time offset between the MS's internal clock and the LMU's internal clock. The geometrical Distance from MS to BTS (DMB). The geometrical Distance from LMU to BTS (DLB).

d2

B ase S ta tio n

Fig.6. E-OTD location (hyperbolic) The dashed line represents the determined GTD, i.e., represents a constant difference in distance to two BTSs. The measurement result is not exact, thus the gray area represents the area of uncertainty for the MS based on that OTD measurement. The black area at the intersection of the hyperbolas is the calculated most likely location for the MS. b) Circular Type The E-OTD Circular location calculation type does not measure time differences at the MS and LMU between the receipts of signals from pairs of BTSs. Rather, it measures the arrival time of those signals individually. There are five quantities associated with the circular type of E-OTD: The Observed Time at the MS (MOT) at which a signal arrives from a BTS. This is a time measured against the MS's internal clock.

These quantities are related by: DMB - DLB = (MOT - LOT + ) in which is the speed of the signals (speed of radio waves) and there will be one such equation for each BTS. Since there are three unknown quantities (MS position x, y and clock offset) at least three BTSs are required to solve for the MS location and the unknown clock offset . This is the same total number of BTSs as is required for the hyperbolic type of E-OTD. The position of the MS is defined by the intersection of circles centered on the BTSs common to observations made by the MS and LMUs, hence the notation 'circular' as the E-OTD type as shown in Figure below.

Fig.7. E-OTD location (circular) The hyperbolic and circular types differ in the relationship between the MS measurement error margin and the geographic location of the MS relative to BTSs. In all other respects the implementation is identical. E-OTD method cannot be used in the following cases: i. when there is a repeater in the network. ii. When the number of neighboring cells are less. iii. When all the BTSs are in a line, for example when they are all in a line running directly away from the mobile. These problems are most common in rural areas, where base station density is low and where those base stations that exists run along the side of a highway. Another major drawback of EOTD is the cost of Location Measurement Unit (LMU). According to the requirements of the E-911 regulations LMU (Location Measurement Units) has to insert at virtually every base station, a near 1:1 ratio (i.e. one LMU to one base station). This is considerably incurs very high cost. Other than that many factors, including the relative positions of a BTS and an MS, multipath fading, and channel conditions,

can impact the accuracy of the E-OTD estimation. The E-OTD method, based on time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, requires a synchronous network. A GSM network, however, is not synchronous. Recent field (around july 2005) studies implementing the E-OTD have shown two dimensional(2-D) position estimation accuracies ranging from 50 to 500 ms. EOTD methods offer greater positioning accuracy than OTDs but have a slower response time, typically around 5s. In addition, they require software-modified handsets, which mean that they cannot be used to provide location-specific services to existing customer bases. U-TDOA. The U-TDOA method compares and calculates the difference in time required for a mobile's signal to reach different BTS (base stations) sites. The mobile device transmits a signal that is received by different base stations. Since the mobile's signal travels at a constant speed (the speed of light), when the arrival time of the signal is compared for any two sites (for example, site A received the signal at time X, site B received at time Y, the difference being |X -Y|), it is a straightforward calculation to determine the mobile's relative position to each site. When plotted, this relationship describes an imaginary hyperbola (a broad curve) in space. The mobile is located somewhere on this curve, although additional information is required to determine precisely where. When the same calculation is made involving measurements from a third base station site, calculating the difference of

arrival times between either sites A and C or between sites B and C, an independent, positional hyperbola can be described. The point at which the two hyperbolas (A-B and B-C) intersect is the location of the target mobile [7]. The network component that measures the signal and transfers the measurement to the location server is LMU (Location Measurement Unit). The LMU is usually placed in the base station. The LMUs must be synchronized with each other. Otherwise comparing the measurements would lead to a wrong location calculation. The arrival time measurements are made by location measurement units (LMUs) installed at selected BTS sites (one LMU per selected site). The LMUs forward the signal arrival time measurements to the SMLC/SAS serving mobile location center (SMLC). The SMLC then calculates the mobile's position. U-TDOA requires that the target mobile's signal can be measured by at least three LMUs. Steps of UTDOAs operation are given here.

Fig.8. U-TDOA operation 1. Location request originated by MSC or LBS application 2. SMLC initiates request to appropriate LMUs to measure signal TOAs from target mobile 3. LMUs measure TOA from target mobile, forward measurements to SMLC 4. SMLC calculates mobile's position 5. Location Center forwards position data to GMLC (through BSC and MSC) 6. GMLC forwards position data to LBS application The advantage of this network-based solution is that the cellular system modifications are done only on the cellular network side and not on the handset. Unlike

handset-based solutions that rely on specialized technology in the handset to calculate the location, network technologies rely entirely on equipment placed within the wireless network to do the location calculation. Because of this, network technologies are not limited by the processing capacity of the phone and have the ability to devote substantially greater processing power to the calculation of a location. A disadvantage of the approach is any network-based solution is sometimes inaccurate and inefficient. The major reason for this is the limitation of having at least two (or three) connections to base stations in order to get the location of the handset. In urban areas the cells sizes are small and usually the handset will be able to connect to nearby base stations. However, in rural areas the cells areas are usually large and it is sometimes impossible to connect to nearby base stations. The network wont be able to provide the cell phone location. The network-based solutions also face a number of difficulties other than base station availability like multipath propagation and diffraction of signals, weak signal conditions, and expensive upgrades. Propagation delay of the signal leads to false calculation of the position in U-TDOA method.lt utilizes low-cost
location measurement units, installed in the operator's base stations, to precisely calculate location, using triangulation. It works with any wireless phone. Works well in urban, suburban and obstructed environments. Accuracy: 50m.

Here we are comparing different technologies according to the merits and demerits. Performance of a location determination method can be determined by accuracy say a, latency L and few related factor say e. Accuracy. Accuracy of a geolocation technology is a measure that defines how close the location measurements are to the actual location of the mobile station being located. Latency. Latency measure is basically the time from request to the instant when the first location measurement is obtained. This is also called round trip time. Speed. Latency and accuracy are related to the condition of the user. If the requested user is in idle condition then if the latency is less than some threshold value then it is valid, but when the requested user is in moving condition then latency should be less than the previous. At that time the speed of the vehicle by which the person is moving has to be considered. Other factors are. Power consumption. If the position determination system use all the resources of the mobile handset then battery power of the handset is a concerned factor. H/W and S/W Size and cost. If any additional H/W or S/W has to be installed in the network or in the handset then the size of the handset or network becomes larger and in turn incur cost. Processing overhead. If the location determination system use complex calculation then it incur processing overhead.

IV. Comparison.

Network overhead. Too many broadcast messages and sent receive message is the cause of network jamming and as a result some relevant information may receive at late or it may lost. So, performance (p) can be defined as. P= a+L+e. The ideal characteristics of any location determination technology should be like this. Accuracy <= 20 m. Latency <= 5 sec. A location system should report locations accurately and consistently from measurement to measurement. If any location system has accuracy greater than 20 m that means 85% of accuracy is achieve. Minimum 80-85% accuracy is desirable. On the other hand if the requested mobile is in idle position then latency should be like 1 min. but if the mobile is in moving condition then, it must be less than 5 sec, because if it is greater than that then the location could be changed. If we consider an urban area then the speed of any vehicle is on an average 30km/hr, so in 5 sec it can move to 41m. From Table 1 we judge the performance of location systems. Apart from accuracy and latency AOA, EOTD and UTDOA require additional H/W and S/W.EOTD and UTDOA use complex calculation incur processing overhead and network overhead.
IV. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE

From the above discussion we can see that none of the non satellite based technique achieves the desired performance. If we could eliminate the limitations then it would give better result and thus non satellite based technique can give a challenge to satellite based technique by providing better service at low cost.

Positionin g Method CellID+TA AOA

LBS Type Networ k Based Networ k based Networ k Based + Hands et Assiste d Networ k Based + Hands et Assiste d Networ k Based + Hands et Assiste d

Location Accuracy 100-1500 m 100-500 m 100-500 m

Latency <5 sec ~ 10 sec

Network Requireme nts None H/W and S/W Modificatio n H/W and S/W Modificatio n

TOA

<10 sec

E-OTD

100-400 m

<10sec

Addl. H/W and S/W(LMU)

UTDOA

~ 50 m

<10 sec

Addl. H/W and S/W

Table 1. Comaprison of different LBS technologie.

REFERENCES

Location-based service, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locationbased_service. 2. FCC Wireless 911 Requirements, available http://www.fcc.gov/e911. 3. Cellular network optimization based on mobile location(CELLO), Heikki Laitinen (editor), Suvi Ahonen, Sofoklis Kyriazakos, Jaakko,Lhteenmki, Raffaele Menolascino, Seppo Parkkila. 4. Estimated accuracy of location in mobile networks using E-OTD, Dan Kenneth Jonsson Jrgen Olavesen, Grimstad, May 2002. 5. 3GPP TSG SA2 LCS Workshop, Motorola Inc (January 2001): Overview of 2G LCS technologies and standard. 6. Location services,3GPP TS 03.71 V8.9.0(2004-2006). 7. Assisted GPS Solution in Cellular Networks by Gidon Lissai, Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Telecommunications Engineering Technology
1.