Make standard Mobile Location Protocol (MLP) available for internal and external applications to query mobile subscriber position in the public mobile network.
The GMLC acts as an intermediary between mobile networks and external applications, providing accurate location data of mobile devices to service providers and third-party applications. It supports advanced location technologies such as GPS, cell-based, and hybrid location methods, ensuring compatibility with all generations of mobile networks. It plays a crucial role in supporting services like emergency location tracking, fleet management, and proximity-based marketing, delivering high-precision geolocation data with minimal latency. As mobile networks evolve, our GMLC is designed to scale and integrate with 5G, facilitating real-time location services that are essential for a wide range of applications across industries.
High level feature set:
The GMLC in 5G networks is a highly flexible and scalable component that supports next-generation location-based services. With its integration into the 5G core and radio access network, enhanced precision, and support for new location techniques, the GMLC will be essential in enabling a wide array of location-based applications that will power smart cities, autonomous transportation, and the growing Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.
The GMLC in 5G can gather location information from 5G NR (New Radio) base stations. This includes support for new location techniques such as Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) and Angle of Arrival (AOA), which can provide more accurate positioning in dense urban environments or challenging radio conditions, improving the quality of location-based services.
The GMLC in 5G can leverage advanced location techniques such as Next-Generation Mobile Location Services (NGMLS). This involves the use of a combination of 5G Positioning Reference Signals (PRS), uplink and downlink time synchronization, and beamforming for ultra-precise positioning. These features enable centimeter-level accuracy, which is beneficial for applications requiring high precision, like autonomous vehicles and augmented reality.
Standalone Network Function in the 5GC
In a scenario where one Location Services (LCS) client needs to interact with multiple networks—namely 3G, 4G, and 5G networks—the Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) plays a critical role in providing a unified interface for location-based services (LBS). The LCS client in this case can request location information from any of the mobile networks (3G, 4G, or 5G), and the GMLC coordinates the location data retrieval from the appropriate network, ensuring compatibility and seamless service delivery across multiple generations of mobile technology.
The GMLC ensures that the request is forwarded to the correct network based on the device’s current connection (i.e., whether it is on a 3G, 4G, or 5G network).
In 3G and 4G networks, the GMLC typically communicates with the Serving MLC SMLC or eSMLC, which retrieves the location using methods like Cell ID, UTRAN (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network) measurements, and A-GPS (Assisted GPS).
In 5G, the GMLC communicates with the LMF (Location Management Function) that interfaces with the 5G core network, leveraging more advanced positioning technologies like TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival), AOA (Angle of Arrival), PRS (Positioning Reference Signals), and uplink/downlink synchronization for more accurate positioning.
Network Agnostic Location Services
| Software packaging | Docker images, RPM or DEB packages |
| 3G Interfaces | Lh, Lg, GSM MAP, TCAP, SCCP, M3UA over SCTP |
| 4G Interfaces | SLh, SLg, DIAMETER over SCTP or TCP |
| 5G Interfaces | Ngmlc, NLg, NLh, NL2, NL5, NL6 |
| Application Interfaces | OMA Mobile Location Protocol (MLP) v3.1, v3.2, v3.3 |
