The Qualcomm/SnapTrack Wireless-Assisted GPS Hybrid Positioning System and Results from Initial Commercial Deployments

Abstract

During 2001/2002, several major CDMA-based wireless network carriers deployed Location Based Services (LBS) in Japan, Korea and the USA. The carriers chose Qualcomm’s gpsOneTM end-to-end system solution for these deployments. The two main components of the system are Qualcomm’s gpsOneTM client implementation and SnapTrack’s Position Determination Entity (PDE) server product. The applications range from gaming and personal navigation services to commercial security and Enhanced 911 (E911). It is anticipated that the number of future applications will expand to include a wide range of value added services (VAS). This paper describes the network architectures, messaging protocols, and positioning measurements used to support these applications. Processing GPS, terrestrial and other measurements concurrently presents several challenges. These complexities and the characteristics of the various measurement types are discussed. Positioning results from actual network data are presented to demonstrate the initial performance achieved.