NETWORK-SIDE REMOVAL OF POSITIONING ASSISTANCE AMBIGUITY VIA SELECTIVE DELAY OF ASSISTANCE DATA TRANSMISSION

摘要

A network node (44) assists a user equipment (36) to perform positioning measurements on positioning signals (46) transmitted by one or more cells during respective positioning occasions of those cells. The node (44) selectively delays transmission of assistance data to the user equipment (36) as needed, based on defined uncertainty in one or more timing parameters, for the network node (44) to identify with certainty between which two consecutive positioning occasions of a reference cell the user equipment (36) will receive that assistance data. The node (44) correspondingly generates the assistance data to be transmitted to indicate positioning occasion timing for at least one cell relative to the latter of those two consecutive positioning occasions of the reference cell. Such calculation and transmission enables the user equipment (36) to be certain that the next reference cell positioning occasion occurring after its reception of the assistance data is the reference cell positioning occasion on which the assistance data is based.