Time acquisition in a wireless position determination system

Abstract

A system and method provide aiding information to a wireless device. The wireless device extracts a snippet of a received reference signal, generates a timestamp representing the time of reception thereof, and transmits the snippet and timestamp to a position determination entity (PDE). The PDE receives and stores a reference signal along with its reception time, and receive the snippet and timestamp from the wireless device. The PDE matches the snippet to a portion of the stored reference signal, and determines a time offset between the timestamp and the time of reception of the matched portion of the stored reference signal, The PDE then prepares the aiding information, synchronizes it to the wireless device using the time offset, and transmits the synchronized aiding information to the wireless device.