TRACKING LOST AND STOLEN MOBILE DEVICES USING LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES AND EQUIPMENT IDENTIFIERS

摘要

A system for geographically locating and tracking mobile stations (40) within a mobile communication network. The system includes an equipment identity register (EIR) (45) comprising equipment identifiers, such as internal mobile equipment identities (IMEIs) (80), subscriber identity modules (SIMs) (85), or some combination thereof, that are each uniquely associated with mobile stations (40) operable within the network. Each IMEI (80) may be used to identify a particular status of an associated mobile station (40). A mobile switching center (MSC) (25) or an external location services (LCS) client (70) may be configured to identify a targeted mobile station (40) based upon its status (for example, lost, stolen, malfunctioning, and the like). A serving mobile location center (SMLC) (65) responsively provides position location information for the targeted mobile station (40).