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 What is GSM
 GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communication

 It is a digital cellular network system used for transmitting

mobile voice and data services including roaming

 It is referred as 2G(second generation mobile communication)

 It was developed as a digital system using time division multiple

access(TDMA) technique for communication purpose
 HISTORY OF GSM
 The idea of GSM came in 1975, when Henry Kieffer from
Swiss PTT(Swiss postal telegraph and telephone agency)
suggested Europe needed to find new spectrum/frequency
for mobile at 900 MHz ( a vital material for radio ).
 In the year 1982 under the support of European posts and
telegraphs(CEPT) a work group was established and
named Groupe Special Mobile(GSM) to study and develop
a public land mobile system. Over the next few year, GSM
became an attraction for every lab, institution and
universities in Europe.1G was introduced in early 1980s.
 In 1988, European telecommunication standards
institutes (ETSI) was founded . Its task was to work out
GSM standard for digital radio telephony network.
There were various GSM standards such as
GSM900,1800,1900 which worked a different
frequencies(800/900 and 1800/1900MHz)
 By the end of 1996,there were already 120 GSM
networks in operation and by 2000 there were already
150 million GSM users world wide.
How does GSM Work
GSM network can be divided into 4 sections:
 Mobile Station (MS)
 Base Station Sub-system (BSS)
 Network Switching Sub-system (NSS)
 Operation Support Sub-system (OSS)
Mobile Station(MS)
Mobile station offers various functions such as:

• Access to sim (mobile phone is identified by sim card)

which is the key feature
• Radio transmission and handover
• Speech encoding and decoding
• Error detection and correction
Base Station Sub-system(BSS)
 It is the section which is responsible for handling
traffic and signaling between mobile phone and
network switching sub-system (NSS)
 Base transceiver station (BTS ): It consists of an
antenna and the radio equipment necessary to
communicate by radio with mobile station(ms). It
covers a defined area known as cell.
 Base station controller (BSC): It is responsible for
the distribution of radio sources to a mobile call and
for the handovers that are made between one or more
BTS under its control. It controls traffic in BTS.
Network switching sub-
system(NSS)
It is the component that allows call between two users
and provides mobility management function for the
mobile phones roaming on the network. The aim of
mobility management is to track the location of
subscriber, allowing calls, SMS and other phone services .
The NSS has five components:
 Mobile switching centre (MSC): It is the central
component of the network. It acts as the primary delivery
node for GSM which is responsible for call setup ,release
,routing voice calls ,SMS as well as other services(conference
calls, fax).
 Home location register (HLR): It is a central database
that contains details of each mobile phone subscriber .
 Visitor location register (VLR): It contains the
exact location of all mobile subscribers currently
present in the service area of the MSC. This
information is necessary to route a call to the right
base station.
 Equipment identity register (EIR): It contains the
list of all valid mobile equipment on network , where
its international mobile equipment identity(IMEI)
identifies each mobile station(MS).An IMEI is marked
as invalid if it has been reported stolen.
 Authentication centre (AUC): It is used for the
verification of a mobile subscriber(checking their sim
no) and sends detail to MSC that wants to connect to
the network. sim card has a secret code in it.
Operation support sub-
system(OSS)
 It is an element within the overall GSM network
architecture that is connected to the components of
the NSS and BSC. It is used to control and monitor the
overall GSM network and is also used to control the
traffic load of the BSS.
ADVANTAGES OF GSM
 Allows you to do multiple task at the same time(while
talking on your phone u can do other things as surfing
the internet)
 It is much faster in comparison to CDMA network
 Ease of changing phones-GSM uses IMEI to store
costumers account info .If you buy a new GSM phone ,
you can simply remove the sim for your old phone and
place it in new one and begin using the phone .You are
not required to register your new phones IMEI no.
with the GSM provider.
 Most of the GSM carries enables very fast simultaneous
transfers of voice and data.

DISADVANTAGES OF GSM

 Insecure radio channel

 Unencrypted packets
 False base station attack(IMSI catching and many more)