SIM-based positioning

A method for determining position of user equipment (UE), comprising:

• deploying a positioning applet on a subscriber identification module (SIM) of the UE that is configured to collect positioning measurements from a baseband processor of the UE and transmit the positioning measurements to a location platform, the positioning measurements including at least (i) a serving cell identifier (ID) and a neighbor measurement report (NMR) indicating characteristics of observed neighboring cells and/or (ii) a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position estimated based on observed GNSS satellites;
• receiving, by a backend system of a network operator, an estimated position of the UE from the location platform based on the positioning measurements;
• and
• using, by the backend system of a network operator, the estimated position of the UE to at least one of track users, manage cellular profiles, or provide value-added services,
• wherein the deploying the positioning applet omits installation of application, operating system (OS), or a baseband software into main memory of the UE.

A method for determining position of user equipment (UE), comprising:

• receiving, by a location platform from a positioning applet executing on a subscriber identification module (SIM) of the UE via a communication path and absent of execution on a central processing unit (CPU) or a baseband processor of the UE, positioning measurements for the UE, the positioning measurements including at least (i) a serving cell identifier (ID) and a neighbor measurement report (NMR) indicating characteristics of observed neighboring cells and/or (ii) a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position estimated based on observed GNSS satellites;
• estimating, by the location platform, the position of the UE based on the positioning measurements;
• and
• providing an estimated position of the UE to a designated recipient system separate from the UE without notification to the user of the UE.

A subscriber identification module (SIM) configured for determining position of user equipment (UE), comprising:

• storage configured to store a positioning applet;
• and
• a processor configured to execute the positioning applet on the SIM, the positioning applet configured, when executed on the SIM, to
• collect positioning measurements from a baseband processor of the UE, the positioning measurements including at least (i) a serving cell identifier (ID) and a neighbor measurement report (NMR) indicating characteristics of observed neighboring cells and/or (ii) a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position estimated based on observed Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites,
• pack the positioning measurements into a payload of a packet, and
• cause the packet to be transmitted from the UE via a communication path to a location platform that estimates the position of the UE based on the positioning measurements,
• wherein the positioning applet is configured to execute solely on the processor of the SIM without support of application, operating system (OS), or baseband software executing on a central processing unit (CPU) or the baseband processor of the UE.

A non-transitory electronic device readable media having software that is a positioning applet stored thereon, the software, when executed on a processor of a subscriber identification module (SIM) of user equipment (UE) and absent execution on a central processing unit (CPU) or a baseband processor of the UE, operable to:

• collect positioning measurements, the positioning measurements including at least (i) a serving cell identifier (ID) and a neighbor measurement report (NMR) indicating characteristics of observed neighboring cells and/or (ii) a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position estimated based on observed Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites;
• pack the positioning measurements into a payload of a packet;
• and
• cause transmission of the packet from the UE via a communication path to a location platform that estimates the position of the UE based on the positioning measurements.

A method for determining position of user equipment (UE), comprising:

• installing a positioning applet on a subscriber identification module (SIM) of the UE in response to an over-the-air (OTA) update received by a baseband processor of the UE from a backhaul network;
• executing the positioning applet on the SIM;
• collecting, by the positioning applet executing on the SIM, positioning measurements from the baseband processor of the UE, the positioning measurements including both:
• characteristics of cells observed by the baseband processor, and
• information determined based on observed Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites;
• packing, by the positioning applet executing on the SIM, the positioning measurements from the baseband processor into a payload of a packet;
• and
• transmitting the packet from the UE via a communication path to a location platform that estimates the position of the UE based on the positioning measurements,
• wherein the executing the positioning applet is performed solely on the SIM without support of application, operating system (OS), or baseband software executing on a central processing unit (CPU) or the baseband processor of the UE.