Location by reference for an over-the-top emergency call

A method of locating a user equipment (UE) performed at a location server, comprising:

• receiving a request for a location reference for the UE from an access network node serving the UE;
• sending the location reference for the UE to the access network node, wherein the location reference for the UE comprises an identification of a protocol, an address of the location server, and a UE reference for the UE;
• receiving a location request for a location of the UE from a network entity other than the access network node, the location request including the location reference for the UE;
• determining a location estimate for the UE;
• and
• sending the location estimate for the UE to the network entity.

A method of locating a user equipment (UE) performed at a location server, comprising:

• receiving a location request for a location of the UE from a network entity, the location request including a location reference for the UE, wherein the location reference comprises an identification of a protocol, an address of the location server, and a UE reference for the UE;
• authenticating the location reference for the UE;
• determining a location estimate for the UE based on the UE reference in the location reference for the UE;
• and
• sending the location estimate for the UE to the network entity.

A method of locating a user equipment (UE) making a call performed by the UE, comprising:

• sending a first message to an access network node serving the UE, wherein the first message comprises a request for the UE to attach to the access network node;
• receiving a second message from the access network node comprising a location reference for the UE, wherein the second message comprises an acceptance of the request for the UE to attach to the access network node, wherein the location reference is for a location server belonging to an operator for the access network node, wherein the location reference enables the UE to be located for the call, and wherein the location reference for the UE comprises an identification of a protocol, an address of the location server, and a UE reference for the UE local to the location server;
• receiving a request for the call from a user of the UE;
• and
• sending a request for the call to an over-the-top (OTT) service provider (SP), the request for the call including the location reference for the UE.