Introduction
This interface responds to standard-compliant HELD requests to return latest location in standard XML schemas per the NENA i3 architecture. It retrieves a Location Object using the HELD (HTTP-Enabled Location Delivery) Protocol according to IETF RFC 5985. Location objects are in the format of PIDF-LOs, Presence Information Data Format Location Objects (RFC 5139).
This interface is for use by authorized public-safety entities, to pull location data for emergency calls.
LIS Standards Info
At its core, a LIS HELD interface is simply a webserver that responds to HTTP requests with XML. This is extensively defined in a set of IETF RFCs, which also specify the XML schemas defining the data formats for passing information back and forth.
- HELD
- Device URIs in HELD
- Location Conveyance in SIP Signaling
- PIDF-LO
- Additional Data Links
- Circle and radius in geodetic responses
- Schemas for all are aggregated here:
These documents contain all the information needed to build a HELD client conformant to the standards (or have references to other RFCs that contain missing information).
Flow
The recommended i3 mechanism is to pass dereferencing URIs around in SIP signaling. For the purposes of over-the-top integration using these mechanisms, RapidSOS proposes the following:
- Query the LIS with HELD with the caller’s identity (phone number) to retrieve location information
- Repeat LIS location queries periodically for the duration of the call
Limitations/Caveats
Some caveats should be kept in mind when considering using the i3 mechanisms:
- LIS location de-referencing will only return the latest location available at the time of the query, and not the entire location history stored by RapidSOS
Authentication Options
This interface is authenticated as described in API Environments & Credential Management.
LIS Methods
Further details on the particular interface of the methods and descriptions can be found in our Reference Documentation section of this API article.
Additional Considerations
Additional information for consideration for LIS - (NENA i3 Location Information Server) include the following:
- Does not support OAuth2.0
- Does not receive text-to-911 data
- Does not receive Z coordinate data
- We do not provide location data for landlines
- Devices must be iOS12+ or Android 4.0+ to provide location. Microsoft and Blackberry devices do not send location data
- The partner must have the caller ID to query the API