A method and apparatus is disclosed herein for determining the location of a device with the assistance of fixed receivers. In one embodiment, the method comprises receiving a first request from the mobile device in the wireless network; wirelessly transmitting one or more positioning requests in response to the first request; receiving signal strength information from one or more receivers in the wireless network sent in response to the one or more positioning requests; determining a location of the mobile device based on received signal strength information by comparing the received signal strength information with signal strength information of reference locations; and sending location information to the mobile device, where the location information is indicative of the location of the mobile device.