During the 2nd generation Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) mobile communication, the focus of the mobile positioning was mostly on call setup and messaging. But the evolution of the 3rd generation Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) has changed the focus of mobile positioning. With the increase use of smart phones the mobile positioning is now extensively used for location based services (LBS’s). Mobile positioning becomes extremely important when the user requests any particular LBS, because it directly affects the communication and resource handling between the network and the mobile user MU. In order to reduce cost of messages exchange between the network and the MU it is really important that network should know the location of MU with minimum error. There are many positioning methods that are used today for MU location estimation. In this thesis database correlation method (DCM) is used as a positioning technique to estimate the MU location in the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System UMTS network. The thesis will also explain different penalty techniques for different scenarios that could be used to improve the MU location accuracy in the urban environment. By applying different penalty techniques the best positioning accuracy achieved for 67% of the measurements varies is 88m and for 95% it is 153m. Other penalty techniques results will be compared at the end in order to find the best penalty techniques that offer much improved location accuracy for MU.

Indoor/Outdoor Location of Cellular Handsets Based on Received Signal Strength Jian Zhu 123 pages Directed by Dr. Gregory D. Durgin Accurate geo-location is an important emerging technology for public safety, commercial use, and military application. Especially, in the United States, the wireless Enhanced 911 (E911) rules by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) seek to provide 911 dispatchers with additional information on wireless 911 calls. This dissertation presents a novel technique for indoor/outdoor location of cellular handsets based on received signal strength (RSS) measurements taken by a cellular handset of the surrounding base stations. RSS location accuracy for different environments is studied as a function of base station separation distance, cell sector density, measurement density, radio propagation environment, and accuracy of measurement. The analytical and experimental results in this thesis serve as a guideline for the accuracy of RSS signature location technology under different conditions. Accurate outdoor to indoor penetration models are proposed and validated for dense urban areas by introducing pseudo-transmitters to simulate the wave-guiding effects in urban canyon environments. A set of location algorithms is developed to improve location accuracy. Furthermore, an algorithm to discriminate between indoor and outdoor users is proposed and validated. The research results demonstrate the feasibility of RSS location techniques to meet the FCCs requirements for E911 accuracy in urban and semi-urban environments. The techniques remain accurate for indoor handsets. The results also suggest that a hybridization of the handset-based GPS method and the RSS signature method may prove to be the most effective solution for locating handsets across a range of environments; including rural, suburban, dense urban, and indoor.