LOCATION ESTIMATION IN END-USER DEVICES USING PUBLIC RADIO SIGNALS

A device ( 20 ) is capable of making location determinations from publicly available broadcasting signals that contain programming such as radio or television programming. A location estimating portion ( 26 ) in one example uses a determined received power of a detected signal from a transmitter and information regarding the location and transmit power of the transmitter for determining a distance between the device ( 20 ) and the known location of the transmitter. At least one other location indicator is used for making a determination regarding the location of the device ( 20 ). In one example, the other location indicator is a determined distance between the device and at least one other transmitter, which is based upon a determined received power of a signal from the other transmitter and the transmit power used by that transmitter. Another example includes determining where the coverage areas of a plurality of transmitters overlap as an indication of the location of the device ( 20 ). In one example, the coverage areas and identities of the transmitters are determined based upon the carrier frequencies of a plurality of detected signals.