Patent ID: 8554172

Claim:
A method, implemented in a mobile wireless network to provide an estimate of a location of a mobile station to an authorized agency, comprising: detecting, at a network element, a surveillance event in the mobile wireless network, wherein the surveillance event comprises a non-telephone-call-related event selected from a group of events consisting of: (i) a text message originating at the mobile station; (ii) a text message being directed to the mobile station; and (iii) the mobile station accessing a web site; sending, from the network element, in response to detecting the surveillance event, a surveillance event message to a call data delivery function, the surveillance event message comprising identifying information related to the mobile station; determining, by the call data delivery function, a selected surveillance location server from a plurality of surveillance location servers to which the surveillance event message is forwarded; sending, from the call data delivery function, the surveillance event message to the selected surveillance location server; extracting, at the selected surveillance location server, upon receipt of the surveillance event message, the identifying information from the surveillance event message; receiving, at a gateway mobile location center, from the selected surveillance location server, a location estimate request prepared by the surveillance location server based on the identifying information; obtaining, at the gateway mobile location center, an identity of a last known edge switch serving the mobile station; sending, from the gateway mobile location center, the location estimate request for the mobile station to the last known edge switch serving the mobile station; paging, by the last known edge switch and in response to receiving the location estimate request by the last known edge switch, the mobile station to obtain an active signal from the mobile station; obtaining, by the last known edge switch, a location estimate using the active signal received from the mobile station; receiving, at the gateway mobile location center, the location estimate from the last known edge switch serving the mobile station; predicting, by the gateway mobile location center, an accuracy of the location estimate; sending, from the gateway mobile location center, the location estimate and information indicating the accuracy of the location estimate to the selected surveillance location server; and sending, from the selected surveillance location server, the location estimate to the authorized agency.