摘要 |
Determining the position of a mobile terminal operating in a packet-switched communications system based on timing advance values obtained through network initiated artificial cell hops. The mobile terminal may be instructed to perform a series of artificial cell changes so that timing advance values may be obtained for the mobile terminal with respect to a plurality of base stations. The position of the mobile terminal is then determined based on the timing advance values, optionally supplemented by signal strength measurements. The mobile terminal may contact a network entity via the base station in each cell before being instructed to change to the next base station. Or, the mobile terminal may be supplied with a list of base stations to contact, with the mobile terminal transmitting short access bursts to the base station in a given cell before automatically tuning to the next cell, without waiting for an acknowledgement.
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