Abstract
This disclosure describes techniques that enable explicit control over a user equipment (UE) modem to determine the start and the stop of GPS acquisition. An indication is provided that GPS acquisition is about to start, which is useful under circumstances such as: the UE is pointing to a non-terrestrial network (NTN) satellite awaiting a response; the UE is idle but in clear view of the sky; the user equipment is in a location with poor GPS satellite visibility; etc. The techniques employ user-provided information about the UE status (pointing to NTN satellites; in clear view of sky or not; etc.) to coordinate NTN communications and GPS positioning in an energy-efficient manner. Unnecessary power drain that occurs when the modem attempts a GPS fix when GPS satellites are unavailable is avoided, as is the unnecessary pointing towards or searching for satcomm satellites while obtaining a GPS fix. The user experience is enhanced, particularly in situations where time or battery life is critical, e.g., when broadcasting an SOS message over an NTN.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Pandith, Ashwin; Wang, Andy (Jibing); Gulia, Nidhi; Ananth, Sharath; and Dhodapkar, Chinmay, "Interface to Control GPS Search While a Device is in Satellite Communication Mode", Technical Disclosure Commons, (July 17, 2025)
https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/8368