OTDOA in LTE networks

A computer implemented method for providing Observed Time-Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) timing information comprising:

• defining a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) window pair for estimating a value of reference signal time difference (RSTD) for at least one base station and a reference cell;
• receiving a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) from the at least one base station and the reference cell;
• executing an FFT per OFDM symbol of the PRS for each FFT window of the FFT window pair;
• obtaining a first FFT output vector per OFDM symbol of each FFT window;
• for each first output vector, descrambling tones corresponding to the known position of the PRS, wherein all other tones are set to zero;
• combining vectors based on respective first FFT output vectors;
• executing an inverse Fast Fourier Transform (iFFT) to convert to the time domain;
• and
• calculating an estimated value of RSTD for the at least one base station and the reference cell;
• the method further comprising attempting to find a single pair of FFT windows wherein the first FFT window spans search windows from the at least one base station and the reference cell to be measured, and when the single pair of FFT windows cannot be found that spans the search windows, using a plurality of FFT window pairs.