Methods and systems for supporting unified location of a mobile device in a 5G network

A Network Exposure Function (NEF) for supporting location services for a user equipment (UE) comprising:

• an external interface for receiving and sending messages to entities in a network;
• at least one memory and
• one or more processors coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, the one or more processors configured to:
• receive via the external interface a location request for the UE from a second entity, wherein the NEF is in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) that is a Home PLMN (HPLMN) for the UE or a Visited PLMN (VPLMN) for the UE, the location request including a type of location request, a required location accuracy, a required location response time or some combination of these;
• select between a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) and a serving Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) to obtain a UE location, wherein the selection of the GMLC or the serving AMF is based on:
• the type of location request, the required location accuracy, or the required location response time or a combination thereof;
• send via the external interface the location request to the selected GMLC or the selected serving AMF;
• receive via the external interface the UE location or a confirmation of acceptance of the location request from the selected GMLC or the selected serving AMF;
• and
• send via the external interface the UE location or the confirmation of the acceptance of the location request to the second entity.

A Network Exposure Function (NEF) for supporting location services for a user equipment (UE) comprising:

• means for receiving by the NEF a location request for the UE from a second entity, wherein the NEF is in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) that is a Home PLMN (HPLMN) for the UE or a Visited PLMN (VPLMN) for the UE, the location request including a type of location request, a required location accuracy, a required location response time or some combination of these;
• means for selecting, by the NEF, between a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) and a serving Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) to obtain a UE location, wherein the selecting of the GMLC or the serving AMF is based on:
• the type of location request, the required location accuracy, or the required location response time or a combination thereof;
• means for sending, by the NEF, the location request to the selected GMLC or the selected serving AMF;
• means for receiving, by the NEF, the UE location or a confirmation of acceptance of the location request from the selected GMLC or the selected serving AMF;
• and
• means for sending, by the NEF, the UE location or the confirmation of the acceptance of the location request to the second entity.

A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor of a Network Exposure Function (NEF) for supporting location services for a user equipment (UE) cause the processor to:

• receive by the NEF a location request for the UE from a second entity, wherein the NEF is in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) that is a Home PLMN (HPLMN) for the UE or a Visited PLMN (VPLMN) for the UE, the location request including a type of location request, a required location accuracy, a required location response time or some combination of these;
• select, by the NEF, between a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) and a serving Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) to obtain a UE location, wherein the selection of the GMLC or the serving AMF is based on:
• the type of location request, the required location accuracy, or the required location response time or a combination thereof;
• send, by the NEF, the location request to the selected GMLC or the selected serving AMF;
• receive, by the NEF, the UE location or a confirmation of acceptance of the location request from the selected GMLC or selected serving AMF;
• and
• send, by the NEF, the UE location or the confirmation of the acceptance of the location request to the second entity.