ETE 424/EEE 424

Mobile and Wireless Communications

GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) Network Architecture

Saif Ahmed
Lecturer
Dept. of Electrical and Computer
Engineering
Dept. of Mathematics and Physics
North South University
 GSM – The idea of a common European
mobile communications system
• 1982: A Nordic group is considering the next
generation of mobile telephone. – NMT (Nordisk
Mobil Telefon), the analogue first generation
system has only just been started
• These ideas are presented to CEPT (European
Conference of Postal and Telecommunications
Administrations) in June 1982
• September 1982: The first meeting in CEPT GSM
– Groupe Spécial Mobile
• In 1988 ETSI (European Telecommunications
Standards Institute) is established and the work
is continued under a new name: SMG – Special
Mobile Group
 GSM - Specifications

• Original specifications for the GSM system:

– Good subjective voice quality
– Low terminal and service cost
– Support for international roaming
– Support for handheld terminals
– Support for new services
– Spectrum efficient
– Compatible with ISDN
 Competing standards

• The ”CDMA family” of standards is the second

largest group of mobile communications
systems
– 340 million connections (November 2006)
• Standard developed in USA
• Strongest standing in the Americas

• Also other
Network Architecture
 High level network architecture
Services / Applications

Access Core Network Ext.

Network (CN) network
(AN)
SIM

ME: Mobile equipment

UE: User equipment

• Functional units: User Equipment (UE), Access Network (AN), and Core Network (CN)
– User equipment: Interfaces the user, handles radio functionality
– Access network: Communication to and from the user equipment, handles all radio
related functionality in the network
– Core network: Communication between access network and external networks, handles
all switching and routing
• Services and applications lie above the network
 GSM user equipment
User equipment: Mobile equipment (ME) + SIM card

• Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) contains

SIM =
encryption key and personal data Subscriber Identity Module
• The user is uniquely identified through
”International Mobile Subscriber Identity” SIM
(IMSI)
• The mobile equipment is uniquely identified
through ”International Mobile Equipment ME
Identity” (IMEI)
• Both equipment and user uniquely identified
 GSM Radio Access Network (GRAN)
Um Packet domain
Abis Gb
BTS
BSC A
MS
BTS Circuit domain
BSC

• Base Transceiver Station (BTS):

– The base station, radio access point. The coverage area of one BTS is a cell
• Base Station Controller (BSC):
– Controls a number of BTSs. Owns and controls the radio resources within its domain

Interfaces in GRAN:
Um: The air interface between the mobile equipment and the BTS
Abis: Interface between BTS and BSC
A: Interface between GRAN and circuit switched part of core network (CN).
Gb: Interface between GRAN and packet switched part of the core network (CN)
Some Base Station Equipment
 GSM core network
Service
platforms External networks
HLR

A PSTN/ISDN

GRAN
MSC GMSC
Gb

SGSN GGSN IP network

MSC – Mobile Switching Centre

GMSC – Gateway MSC
HLR – Home Location Register
SGSN – Serving GPRS Support Node
GGSN – Gateway GPRS Support
 Elements in GSM core network
• MSC – Mobile Switching Centre
– Switch in the circuit domain. Contains copy of service profile for all users
currently in the MSC coverage area (Visiting Location Register –VLR, not shown
explicitly in figure)
• GMSC – Gateway MSC
– Handles all traffic to and from GSM and external circuit switched networks,
such as PSTN, ISDN or other mobile networks
• HLR – Home Location Register
– Database containing a master copy of all the mobile operator’s subscribers.
There is only one logical HLR per GSM network. HLR contains information about
e.g. permitted services and permitted roaming networks
• SGSN – Serving GPRS Support Node and GGSN – Gateway GPRS
Support Node have similar functionality as MSC / GMSC, but for the packet
switched part of the network. GGSN handles connections to external IP network
Functionality
 Fundamental functionality
– Circuit switched connectivity
– Packet switched connectivity
– Mobile messaging
– Security
– Roaming
– Choice of network
– Location update
– Handover
 Identifying users and mobile terminals
•Identification of users:
✔”Mobile number”: MS-ISDN number follows numbering plan for
telephony/ISDN (max. 15 digits):
✔Calling number associated with a subscription
✔Used on interface towards users
Country
National mobile number
code
(1- 3)

•Identification of a mobile subscription:

✔IMSI : International Mobile Subscription Identity [max 15 siffer]
MCC [3] NC[2-3]
mobile country code
network Subscription Identification
code

•Identification of terminal:
✔IMEI : International Mobile Equipment Identity. Not used in fundamental
service handling, but to identify stolen or black listed equipment
 Circuit Switched connectivity

ISDN
Mobile network

• Fixed connection and reserved resources while the communication lasts.

– (Mobile) telephony
– Circuit switched data, e.g. WAP, mobile office solutions using data cards etc.
• Transparent channel with defined performance
• Billing typically per time unit and dependant on transport data rate
• Standard GSM: up to 14.4 kbit/s (more using HSCSD - High Speed Circuit Switched
Data)
 Packet Switched connectivity

Internet or
Mobile network different IP network

• Resources allocated only when data is transferred

• Same ”path” through network can be maintained (but not necessarily)
• Billing typically dependant on amount of data transferred (or fixed tarrifs)
• GPRS: Theoretically up to 171 kbit/s, typically 40 – 50 kbit/s
- 4 different quality classes for packet ”bearer services”:

Background Typically automatic download of email, MMS

Interactive Typically web/WAP-browsing, MMS, games
Streaming ”Network radio”, video streaming, web TV
Conversational Voice, video conferencing
 Mobile messaging formats

•SMS: Short Message Service

– Text based service to transfer up to 160 characters per message (solutions exist to
connect messages into longer messages, and also to carry other types of content –
ring tones, logos…)

•MMS: Multimedia Messaging Service

– A service for multimedia content, such as text, picture, sound, video

•Both SMS and MMS are ”store and forward”

services, i.e. messages are intermediately stored in
the network
 Security functions
• The purpose of security functions is to protect users and
network against improper and illegal use:
– Verify that the user has a valid subscription
– Protect the user’s identity against tracking
– Protection against wiretapping on the radio connection

• The mechanisms in GSM are based on secure storage of

information in the user’s SIM card
 Roaming
Circuit switched call to a mobile in a visiting network

Home network

ISDN (country A)

International
network

Visiting network
ISDN (country B)
 Roaming
Mobile to mobile call in a visiting network

Home network

ISDN (country A)

International
network

Visiting network
ISDN (country B)
 Choice of network
• In GSM the following procedure is followed:
– The latest used network is stored on the SIM
– As long as a cell that fulfils the criteria is available from this
network, the mobile will not search for alternatives (the
exception is national roaming, in which case the mobile will
periodically search for the home network and connect when this
becomes available)
– If the previously used network is not available, the mobile
searches for alternative networks
– The mobiles can perform manually or automatic choice of
network
 Location Area / Routing Area
HLR
RA 1
LA 1 ..IMSI
>LAI,RAI
..............
RA 2
LA 2

• In GSM this is defined as follows:

Location area – LA is the area in which the network is ”searching” for a
registered mobile (not currently active) – for circuit switched services
Routing area – RA: Similarly for packet switched service
• The dependency between LA and RA is dependant on the practical realisation of
the network. Normally they will be identical
• LA and RA contain a number of cells that can be reached from the MSC or SGSN
• LA and RA information for each mobile is stored in the HLR (in home network)
• The mobile is responsible for updating the LA/RA information
 Location update
• A location update is performed when:
– The mobile is connecting to a cell and discovers that the LAI read is different
than the one stored in the mobile
– The mobile has been turned on, but not used, for a pre-defined period of
time since the last location update (periodic location update)
• IMSI detach/attach:
– An additional function where the mobile informs that it is turned on or off
(in the same LA), saves resources on the radio interface and leads to fater
response on incoming calls
• Periodic detach
– A network functionality where the network assumes that the mobile has
been turned off if periodic location update has not been performed and no
other activity has been observed for a pre-defined amount of time
 Handover / Handoff
• Occurs as a mobile moves into a different cell during an
existing call, or when going from one cellular system into
another.
• When a mobile moves into a different cell while a
conversation is in progress, the MSC automatically
transfers the call to a new channel belonging to the new
base station
– It must be user transparent, successful and not too
frequent.
– Not only involves identifying a new BS, but also
requires that the voice and control signals be allocated
to channels associated with the new BS.
 Handover / Handoff
• Once a particular signal level Pmin is specified as the
minimum usable signal for acceptable voice quality at
the BS receiver, a slightly stronger signal level PHO is used
as a threshold at which a handover is made.

Δ (handoff threshold) : Minimum acceptable signal to

maintain the call
 Handover / Handoff

• Δ too small:
– Insufficient time
to complete handoff
before call is lost
– More call losses
• Δ too large:
– Too many handoffs
– Burden for MSC
 Handoff Strategy
• The dropped call can happen when there is an excessive delay by
the MSC in assigning a channel (during high traffic conditions) as
well.

• On the other hand, in deciding when to handoff, it is important to

ensure that the mobile is actually moving away from the serving
base station, (not that the drop in the measured signal level is due
to momentary fading.)

• In order to ensure this, the base station monitors the signal level
for a certain period of time before a handoff is initiated.

• The length of monitoring needed depends largely on the speed of

mobile units.

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 Dwell Time
• The time over which a user remains within one cell is
called the dwell time.
• The statistics of the dwell time are important for the
practical design of handover algorithms.
• The statistics of the dwell time vary greatly, depending
on the speed of the user and the type of radio coverage.
 Handover indicator
• Base Station Assisted Handoff:
- In the first generation analog cellular systems, Signal strength
Measurements are made by the BS and supervised by the MSC to
determine the relative location of each mobile user with respect to the base
station.

-Each BS constantly monitors the signal strengths of all of its reverse voice
channels to determine the relative location of each mobile user with respect
to the BS.

- This information is forwarded to the MSC who makes decisions regarding

handover

- Additionally, a spare receiver in each BS, called the location receiver, is

used to determine signal strengths of mobile users which are in neighboring
cells (and appear to be in need of handoff.)

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 Handover indicator
• Mobile Assisted Handoff (MOHA):

-In second generation systems that use digital TDMA technology, handoff
decisions are made by mobile assisted handoff .

- Every mobile station measures the received power from surrounding base
stations and continually reports the results of these measurements to the
serving base station.

- A handoff is initiated when the power received from the base station of a
neighboring cell begins to exceed the power received from the current base
station by a certain level or for a certain period of time.

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 Intersystem handoff
– User may move from one cellular system to a different
cellular system controlled by a different MSC.

– It may become a long-distance call and a roamer.

– Compatibility between the two MSCs need to be

determined.

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 Prioritizing handoffs
• Dropped call is considered a more serious event than call blocking.
• Channel assignment schemes must give priority to handover
requests.
• Prioritizing Scheme:
- Guard channel concept: A fraction of total available channels in
a cell is reserved exclusively for handoff requests from ongoing
calls which may be handed off into the cell. However, this
reduces the total carried traffic. Dynamic allocation can
improve this.

- Queuing of handoff requests: is another method to decrease

the probability of forced termination of a call due to lack of
available channels. The time span over which a handover is
usually required leaves room for queuing handover request.
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 Practical handoff considerations
• High speed users and low speed users have vastly different dwell
times which might cause a high number of handover requests for high
speed users. This will result in interference and traffic management
problem.
•Umbrella cell approach : Using different antenna heights and
different power levels it is possible to provide large and small cells
which are co-located at a single location.
• Provide large (macro) area coverage to high speed users while
providing small (micro) area coverage to users traveling at low speeds.
• Number of handoffs is minimized for high speed users and provides
additional microcell channels for pedestrian users.

Micro cell
(low speed users)
Macro cell
( high speed users)
 Hard Handoff
• When the signal strength of a neighboring cell exceeds that of the
current cell, plus a threshold, the mobile station is instructed to
switch to a new frequency band that is within the allocation of the
new cell.
• A hard handover does “break before make”, ie. The old channel
connection is broken before the new allocated channel connection is
setup. This obviously can cause call dropping.
• For 1st generation analog systems: Handoff time: about 10 seconds
and Δ = 6dB to 12dB.
• For 2nd generation digital systems,
Handoff time: only 1 or 2 seconds, and Δ =
between 0 dB and 6 dB. Also, make handoff
decisions based on a wide range of metrics
other than signal strength, such as co-channel
and adjacent channel interference levels, to
develop a multi- dimensional handoff
algorithm.
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 Soft Handoff in CDMA
• Spread spectrum share the same channel in every cell. Consequently,
handoff does not mean a physical change in the assigned channel
• In soft handover, we do “make before break”, ie. The new channel
connection is established before the old channel connection is
released.
• Mobile station is temporarily connected to more than one base station
simultaneously. A mobile unit may start out assigned to a single cell.
If the unit enters a region in which the transmissions from two base
stations are comparable (within some threshold of each other), the
mobile unit enters the soft handoff state in which it is connected to the
two base stations. The mobile unit remains in this state until one base
station clearly predominates, at which time it is assigned exclusively
to that cell.

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 Types of Handoffs in GSM
1. Intra cell - to another channel in the same cell
2. Inter cell - intra BSC
3. Inter BSC - intra MSC
4. Inter MSC - intra system (service provider)

✔ Inter system handover can sometimes be performed, e.g. GSM to UMTS (

Complicated, special rules apply )
✔ Type of handover has network implications, but the algorithms to decide
handover are the same
Physical Layer/Radio Interface
 GSM radio interface – Main characteristics
• Frequency bands:
– GSM 900:
• 890 – 915 MHz: Uplink (MS transmit)
• 935 - 960 MHz: Downlink (MS receive)
– GSM 1800:
• 1710 - 1885 MHz: Uplink
• 1805 - 1880 MHz: Downlink

• Carrier bandwidth: 200 kHz

• Channels / carrier: 8
• Multiple access: TDMA / FDMA
• Duplex: FDD
• Gross bit rate pr carrier: 270,833 kbit/s
• Modulation: GMSK
• Spectrum efficiency: 1.35 bps/Hz
 Radio parameters:
(Numbers in parenthesis for GSM-1800)

MS:
• Sensitivity: -104 (-102) dBm
Typical -106 dBm
• Max. output power: 33 (30) dBm

BTS:
• Sensitivity: -104 (-104) dBm
Typical: -107 dBm
• Max. output power: 43 dBm
 Channels in GSM900
20 MHz
25 MHz 25 MHz

78 78
6 6
45 45
23 23
1 2 3 44 1 123 124 1 1 2 3 4 123124

200 kHz
890 MHz 915 MHz 935 MHz 960 MHz
MS transmit MS receive

Carrier bandwidth: 200 kHz

TDMA Channels / carrier: 8
 TDMA - principle
• GSM uses TDMA within each carrier
• Each user occupies the entire carrier one time slot pr. time frame
– 8 slots per frame
 GSM Channel structure
25 MHz
124 carriers

Burst period (BP) Time slot 1 577 μs

Time slot 2 =Physical
….. channel

TDMA frame
= 4.615 ms

Time slot 8

• Logical channels built up of physical channels

– Control channels and Traffic channels
• Logical channels divided between:
– Dedicated channels and Common channels
 GSM Burst
• The GSM burst, or transmission can fulfill a variety of functions.
– Carrying data
– Carrying Control information
• Types of GSM burst:
– Normal burst (uplink and downlink) : Normal burst (Traffic channels) are
used to carry voice or data
– Synchronization burst (downlink) : to provide synchronization for the mobiles
on the network.
– Frequency correction burst (downlink): With the information in the burst all
set to zeros, the burst essentially consists of a constant frequency carrier with no
phase alteration.
– Random Access (Shortened) burst (uplink) : used when accessing the network
and it is shortened in terms of the data carried, having a much longer guard
period.
 GSM Normal Burst (traffic channel )
Multi-frame: 26 frames length: 120 ms
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5

B B B B B B B B
P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 TDMA frame length: 4.6 ms (8 time slots)

8.2
3 57 1 26 1 57 3
5
Data bit Training Data bit Guard periods
Tail bits sequence Tail bits
TX to ramp Flag Flag RX to ramp
up its power type of data type of data down its power
• Normal burst (Traffic channels) are used to carry voice or data
– Typically uses one time slot per frame
– Gross data rate per TCH: 22 kbps (Effective data rate lower because of FEC)
• Training sequence
– For timing reference and for equalization.
– Eight different bit sequences for eight slots, each 26 bits long.
– Co-channel base stations use different sequences to enable Mobile devices to
differentiate between the various cells using the same frequency.
 Synchronization Burst
8.2
3 39 64 39 3
5
Info bit Long Info bit Guard Period
Tail bits Training Tail bits
sequence

Frequency Correction Burst

8.2
3 142 3
5
Info bit All zero bits Guard Period
Tail bits Tail bits

Random Access Burst

7 41 36 3 69.25
training data Tail bits Long Guard Period
Tail bits
 GSM Control Channels

BCCH Broadcast Control CHannel – Continuously transmitted from the

BTS. Contains information about cell identity, frequency etc.

FCCH Frequency Correction CHannel / Synchronisation CHannel – Used

to correct/synchronise the frequency (FCCH) + time synchronise to
SCH
the frame structure. Each cell has a FCCH and a SCH

RACH Random Access CHannel – Used by the mobile to send a request

to the network for access. This is a slotted Aloha channel, no
pre-allocation possible

AGCH Access Grant CHannel – Used by the network to inform the mobile
that access has been granted and information about which
channel to use

PCH Paging CHannel – Used by the network to notify users about

incoming calls.
 Radio Planning
• Planning and deploying a GSM network is from an operator’s point of view a
question of:
–Build as few sites as possible, while maintaining required coverage and
capacity
–Trade off

• A network can be either

– Coverage limited:
• The radio coverage decides the
BTS density
• Typically rural areas, large cells,
high masts
• Macrocells

– Capacity limited:
• The traffic decides the BTS density
• Typically urban areas, small cells,
low BTS position
• Microcells
 Frequency reuse
• Frequencies can not be reused in every cell due
to co-channel interference (CCI)
• A cell cluster uses all the operator’s frequencies
(A, B, C, E, F, G, H in Figure)
• Co channel interference level decided by
– Cell clustre size, and thereby Frequency
reuse distance (D in Figure)
– Propagation properties
– Can be reduced by different techniques:
• Sectorisation
• Cell splitting

• Typical cell cluster size in GSM: 7

 Hierarchical cell structures
• In a GSM system it is common that cells of different sizes co-exist
in that same area:
– Picocells, microcells, macrocells
• This is called hierarchical cell structure
• Can make handover (cell change) complicated. Often different
types of users are reserved for one cell type, e.g.:
– Users walking indoors on picocell, users walking outdoor on
microcell, users driving use macrocell
 Radio planning tools
• Radio planning is most often
performed assisted by an automated
process using a computer
• Underlying functionality
– Digital maps
– Propagation modelling
– System parameters and system
performance
– Traffic assumptions and theory

• Often theoretical computer based Example of Radio

Planning Tool – Astrix
modelling can be tuned by real life
data
– Propagation measurements
– Live network traffic data
 Error correction coding in GSM
• The different channels in GSM require different degree of protection,
and therefore have different Forward Error Correction (FEC) schemes
• Three types of techniques are often combined:
– Block coding: well suited to detect and correct bursts of error
– Convolutional coding: high performance but not optimal for bursts of errors
– Interleaving: spreading neighbouring bits out, to decorrelate the relative
position
 Modulation
• Considerations upon choosing modulations
scheme:
– Spectrum efficiency
– Out of band emission (rapid drop off
desired to limit adjacent channel
interference)
– Constant envelope desired for low cost
amplifiers, e.g. in handheld equipment

• Always a trade off

• In GSM: GMSK – Gaussian Minimum Shift

Keying is used

✔ MSK has constant envelope, relatively low

sidelobes
✔ GMSK further reduces sidelobes by using a
Gaussian filter
✔ GSM uses BT = 0.3
 Channel Equaliser
• Because of reflections, diffractions etc. in the radio channel, time
dispersion is often experienced
– Transmitted signal arriving at the receiver from various directions
over a multiplicity of paths
– Broadening of transmitted pulse, inter symbol interference (ISI)
– Frequency selective fading
• Must be counteracted by using some sort of equalisation
 Maximum likelihood sequence estimator
• GSM uses a Maximum Likelihood Sequence estimator (MLSE)
• MLSE looks conceptually like shown in the figure below
• The impulse response of the radio channel is calculated
• A Viterbi algorithm is used to estimate the most likely (Maximum
Likelihood - ML) symbol sequence
• MLSE is an optimal technique in terms of removing ISI, but the
complexity increases exponentially with the length of the channel
response
• GSM uses a MLSE which operates over 5 bit periods (approx. 16 μs)
Power Control For Reducing Interference
In practical cellular radio and personal communication systems the
power levels transmitted by every subscriber unit are controlled by
the serving base stations
Need for Power Control:
• Received power must be sufficiently above the background noise for
effective communication
• Desirable to minimize power in the transmitted signal from the
mobile. Reduce co-channel interference, alleviate health concerns,
save battery power
• In Spread Spectrum systems using CDMA, it’s desirable to equalize
the received power level from all mobile units at the Base station.

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56
 Power Control
•Power control enable the transmitter side to adapt its
output power according to pilot signal’s strength.
•Aims to solve the ‘near-far’ problem with the goal to
achieve uniform signal to interference ratio (SIR) for all
the active users.
•Near-far problem: a condition in which a receiver captures
strong signal and thereby makes it impossible to detect a
weaker signal
•Two methods of power control:
a) open-loop Power Control
b) closed-loop Power Control.

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 Open-loop Power Control
• In open-loop PC, the mobile
measures the pilot strength
(continuously transmitted by
the BS) which is related to
path loss. If the pilot gets
weak it powers-up, when the
pilot gets strong it powers
down.
• It assumes that the forward
and reverse link are similar.--
• Quickly react. – e.g. mobile
emerges from behind a
large building.
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 Closed-loop Power Control
• In closed-loop PC, feedback is
used whereby the base-station
measures the signal-quality of
mobile; e.g. frame error rate (FER)
and commands each mobile to
power up and down accordingly in
order to keep the overall FER at
desired level. – reverse link.

• The mobile provides information

about received signal quality to
the BS, which then adjusts
transmitted power. – forward link. 59
 Power control
• GSM uses power control, adjusting transmit power level in
accordance with path loss
• Advantages:
– Reduces interference
– Reduces power consumption

• Can also be used on downlink

• Manner of operation, GSM:

– The system (BSC) measures bit error rate (BER)
– Transmit power adjusted up or down according to target value
– Step size 2 dB
– Maximum update interval: 60 ms
 GSM 900M transmitter classes

The transmission power in the handset is limited to a maximum of 2 watts

in GSM850/900 and 1 watt in GSM1800/1900.

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