Patent ID: 7529550

Claim:
A method of providing location service for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) subscribers with a location subsystem preset in a WLAN and the WLAN subscribers having access to a 3 rd Generation (3G) network via the WLAN location subsystem, the method comprising: a) the WLAN location subsystem detecting whether a location request is received from a Location Service (LCS) client in the 3G network, if yes, going to b), otherwise repeating a); b) the WLAN location subsystem locating a target User Equipment (UE) in the WLAN based on the received location request and returning a location result of the target UE in the WLAN to a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC); c) the GMLC forwarding the locating result to the LCS client; wherein the WLAN location subsystem and the GMLC are connected with an Authentication, Authorization, Accounting (AAA) Server, respectively, the method further comprising before a): a1) the LCS client sending the location request to the AAA Server; a2) the AAA Server obtaining a subscription LCS information of the target UE, and detecting whether the target UE is permitted to be located based on the subscription LCS information; if yes, going to a3), otherwise returning to the LCS client the location result with error information, and ending; a3) the AAA Server detecting whether the target UE is in an idle state, if not, sending the location request to the WLAN location subsystem and going to a), otherwise going to a4); a4) the AAA Server further detecting whether there has been the location result corresponding to the target UE in the WLAN location subsystem, if yes, going to a5), otherwise sending the location request to the WLAN location subsystem and going to a); a5) the AAA Server detecting whether the AAA Server is permitted to return the location result of the target UE in the WLAN location subsystem, if yes, returning the location result to the LCS client via the GMLC and then ending, otherwise returning to the LCS client the location result with error information, and ending; and, further comprising in b) before the WLAN location subsystem locates the target UE based on the received location request, the WLAN location subsystem detecting whether there has been the location result of the target UE in the WLAN, if not, locating the target UE, storing the location result obtained, then returning the location result to the GMLC, otherwise obtaining the location result existing already in the WLAN location subsystem and returning the location result to the GMLC; wherein the WLAN location subsystem returning the location result to the GMLC comprises the WLAN location subsystem sending via the AAA Server the location result corresponding to the target UE to the GMLC.