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Mobile Location Protocol

application-level protocol for receiving the position of Mobile Stations

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 18, 2026
Entity authorityQ17104026 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Mobile Location Protocol (MLP) is an application-level protocol for receiving the position of Mobile Stations (MS: mobile phones, wireless devices, etc.) independent of underlying network technology.

The MLP serves as the interface between a Location Server and a location-based application. Basic MLP Services are based on location services defined by 3GPP. The Mobile Location Protocol (MLP) is described in LIF TS 101 Specification.

Background

The purpose of this technology is to define a simple and secure access method that allows mobile application to query location information from a wireless network, regardless of its underlying network technology and positioning methods.

The MLP can be used by a location-based application to request mobile station location information from a location server (GMLC/MPC or other entity in the wireless network). This protocol has been prepared by Location Interoperability Forum (LIF: Open Mobile Alliance in nowadays) to provide a simple and secure API (Application Programmer’s Interface), but also could be used for other kinds of location servers and entities in the wireless network.

The API is based on XML and is defined to be transported in HTTP or SOAP. Only mapping to HTTP is defined in present days. For security reasons Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) cryptographic protocols can be used to carry HTTP (HTTPS). Apart from HTTPS Mobile Location Protocol which uses authentication by user and password, the information is carried in header part of MLP message.

Features

Last draft of MLP specification is OMA-TS-MLP v 3.3 from March 2009.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Mobile Location Protocol” as application-level protocol for receiving the position of Mobile Stations. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2009—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Mobile, Location and Protocol can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as application-level protocol for receiving the position of Mobile Stations. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q17104026. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2009.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Mobile Location Protocol”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Mobile Location Protocol primary sources, Mobile Location Protocol archive and Mobile research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Mobile Location Protocol”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Mobile Location Protocol” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.