I L E CO MM U N I C AT I O N &

MOB
CO M P U T I N G :
MODULE 2
PREPARED BY:
MS. PRITI RUMAO
CONTENTS
• EVOLUTION FROM 1G TO 5G • GPRS SYSTEM • UMTS
• GSM INTRODUCTION • GPRS PROTOCOL • UTRAN
• GSM SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTURE
• UTMS CORE NETWORK
• RADIO INTERFACE
• PROTOCOLS • IMPROVEMENTS ON CORE
NETWORK
• LOCALIZATION
• CALLING
• HANDOVER
• SECURITY
EVOLUTION FROM 1G TO 5G
GSM
GSM INTRODUCTION
• GLOBAL SYSTEM FOR MOBILE (GSM) IS A SECOND GENERATION CELLULAR STANDARD DEVELOPED TO CATER VOICE
SERVICES & DATA DELIVERY USING DIGITAL MODULATION TECHNIQUES.

• GSM IS A CIRCUIT-SWITCHED SYSTEM THAT DIVIDES EACH 200 KHZ CHANNEL INTO EIGHT 25 KHZ TIME-SLOTS. GSM
OPERATES ON THE MOBILE COMMUNICATION BANDS 900 MHZ AND 1800 MHZ IN MOST PARTS OF THE WORLD. IN THE
US, GSM OPERATES IN THE BANDS 850 MHZ AND 1900 MHZ.

• GSM MAKES USE OF NARROWBAND TIME DIVISION MULTIPLE ACCESS (TDMA) TECHNIQUE FOR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS.
GSM DIGITIZES AND COMPRESSES DATA, THEN SENDS IT DOWN A CHANNEL WITH TWO OTHER STREAMS OF USER DATA,
EACH IN ITS OWN TIME SLOT.

• GSM WAS DEVELOPED USING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY. IT HAS AN ABILITY TO CARRY 64 KBPS TO 120 MBPS OF DATA RATES.
• PRESENTLY GSM SUPPORTS MORE THAN ONE BILLION MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS IN MORE THAN 210 COUNTRIES
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

• GSM PROVIDES BASIC TO ADVANCED VOICE AND DATA SERVICES INCLUDING ROAMING SERVICE. ROAMING IS THE ABILITY
TO USE YOUR GSM PHONE NUMBER IN ANOTHER GSM NETWORK.
CONT…

FEATURES OF GSM:
• IMPROVED SPECTRUM EFFICIENCY
• INTERNATIONAL ROAMING
• LOW-COST MOBILE SETS AND BASE STATIONS (BSS)
• HIGH-QUALITY SPEECH
• COMPATIBILITY WITH INTEGRATED SERVICES DIGITAL NETWORK (ISDN) AND OTHER TELEPHONE COMPANY
SERVICES

• SUPPORT FOR NEW SERVICES

CONT…

DISADVANTAGES OF GSM:
• ELECTRONIC INTERFERENCE: AS IT USES PULSE-TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGY, IT IS KNOWN TO INTERFERE
WITH ELECTRONICS LIKE HEARING AIDS. HENCE MOBILE PHONES NEEDS TO SWITCHED OFF NEAR GAS
STATIONS.

• BANDWIDTH LAG: WHEN USING GSM TECHNOLOGIES, MULTIPLE USERS ACCESS THE SAME BANDWIDTH,
SOMETIMES RESULTING IN CONSIDERABLE LATENCY.

• LIMITEDRATE OF DATA TRANSFER: GSM OFFERS A SOMEWHAT LIMITED DATA TRANSFER RATE. TO
ACHIEVE HIGHER DATA RATES, A USER MUST SWITCH TO A DEVICE WITH MORE ADVANCED FORMS OF
GSM. OR HAVING ADDITIONAL PROTOCOLS LIKE GPRS OR UMTS.

• REPEATERS: GSM TECHNOLOGIES REQUIRE CARRIERS TO INSTALL REPEATERS TO INCREASE COVERAGE.

CONT…
• GSM SERVICES:

• TELE SERVICES :
• TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES THAT ENABLE VOICE COMMUNICATION VIA MOBILE PHONES
• OFFERED SERVICES- MOBILE TELEPHONY- EMERGENCY CALLING.

• DATA (BARER) SERVICES :

• INCLUDE VARIOUS DATA SERVICES FOR INFORMATION TRANSFER BETWEEN GSM AND OTHER NETWORKS LIKE PSTN, ISDN
ETC AT RATES FROM 300 TO 9600 BPS.
• OFFERED SERVICES: SHORT MESSAGE SERVICE (SMS)UP TO 160 CHARACTER, ALPHA-NUMERIC DATA TRANSMISSION
TO/FROM THE MOBILE TERMINAL, UNIFIED MESSAGING SERVICES(UMS), GROUP 3 FAX, VOICE MAILBOX, E- MAIL

• SUPPLYMENTARY SERVICES:
• CALL RELATED SERVICES - CALL WAITING- NOTIFICATION OF AN INCOMING CALL WHILE ON THE HANDSET, CALL HOLD- PUT A CALLER ON
HOLD TO TAKE ANOTHER CALL, CALL BARRING- ALL CALLS, OUTGOING CALLS, OR INCOMING CALLS, CALL FORWARDING- CALLS CAN BE
SENT TO VARIOUS NUMBERS DEFINED BY THE USER, MULTI PARTY CALL CONFERENCING - LINK MULTIPLE CALLS TOGETHER, CLIP – CALLER
LINE IDENTIFICATION PRESENTATION, CLIR – CALLER LINE IDENTIFICATION RESTRICTION, CUG – CLOSED USER GROUP
CONT…
GSM MOBILE SERVICES:
• A MOBILE STATION (MS) IS CONNECTED TO GSM-PUBLIC LAND MOBILE NETWORK (PLMN) VIA THE U M

INTERFACE. THIS NETWORK IS FURTHER CONNECTED TO TRANSIT NETWORKS LIKE ISDN, PSTN. ADDITIONAL
SERVICES CAN BE ADDED AFTER THAT. INTERFACES LIKE U, S, R ARE DECIDED BY SPECIFIC NETWORK IF ISDN
IS NOT DEFINED OR USED.

• WITHIN MS, MOBILE TERMINATION (MT) PERFORMS ALL NETWORK SPECIFIC TASKS (TDMA, FDMA ETC.) &
OFFERS AN INTERFACE FOR DATA TRANSMISSION (S) TO THE TERMINAL (TE) WHICH CAN THEN BE NETWORK
INDEPENDENT.
FUNCTIONAL ARCHITECTURE
OF GSM SYSTEM
CONT…

RADIO SUBSYSTEM (RSS):

• THE RADIO SUBSYSTEM (RSS) COMPRISES THE CELLULAR MOBILE NETWORK UP TO THE SWITCHING
CENTERS

• COMPONENTS
• MOBILE STATIONS (MS)
• BASE STATION SUBSYSTEM (BSS):
• BASE TRANSCEIVER STATION (BTS): RADIO COMPONENTS INCLUDING SENDER, RECEIVER, ANTENNA - IF DIRECTED
ANTENNAS ARE USED ONE BTS CAN COVER SEVERAL CELLS
• BASE STATION CONTROLLER (BSC): SWITCHING BETWEEN BTSS, CONTROLLING BTSS, MANAGING OF NETWORK
RESOURCES, MAPPING OF RADIO CHANNELS
• BSS = BSC + SUM(BTS) + INTERCONNECTION
CONT…
MOBILE STATION (MS):
• THE MOBILE STATION CONSISTS OF:
• MOBILE EQUIPMENT (ME)
• SUBSCRIBER IDENTITY MODULE (SIM)

• THE SIM STORES ALL SPECIFIC DATA THAT IS RELEVANT TO GSM - PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY DATA ABOUT THE MOBILE,
THE SUBSCRIBER AND THE NETWORK, INCLUDING:
• THE INTERNATIONAL MOBILE SUBSCRIBER IDENTITY (IMSI)
• MS ISDN NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBER (PHONE NUMBER)
• AUTHENTICATION KEY AND ALGORITHMS FOR AUTHENTICATION CHECK
• CHARGING INFORMATION, LIST OF SUBSCRIBED SERVICES
• PERSONAL IDENTITY NUMBER (PIN), AND PIN UNBLOCKING KEY (PUK)
• TEMPORARY LOCATION INFORMATION WHILE LOGGED ONTO GSM SYSTEM
• TEMPORARY MOBILE SUBSCRIBER IDENTITY (TMSI)
• LOCATION AREA IDENTIFICATION (LAI)
CONT…

• THE MOBILE EQUIPMENT HAS A UNIQUE INTERNATIONAL MOBILE EQUIPMENT IDENTITY (IMEI), WHICH IS
USED FOR THEFT PROTECTION

• WITHOUT THE SIM, ONLY EMERGENCY CALLS ARE POSSIBLE

• FOR GSM 900, MS TRANSMITS POWER OF UP TO 2W, FOR GSM 1800 1W DUE TO SMALLER CELL-SIZE
• MS CAN ALSO HAVE OTHER COMPONENTS AND SERVICES FOR THE USER (DISPLAY, LOUDSPEAKER,
BLUETOOTH INTERFACE, IRDA,...ETC). THESE ARE NON GSM FEATURES
CONT…

• BASE STATION SUB-SYSTEM (BSS):

• A GSM NETWORK COMPRISES MANY BSSS.
• THE BSS PERFORMS ALL THE FUNCTIONS NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN RADIO CONNECTION TO AN MS
(CODING/DECODING OF VOICE, RATE ADAPTATION,…)

• BASE STATION SUBSYSTEM IS COMPOSED OF TWO PARTS THAT COMMUNICATE ACROSS THE STANDARDIZED
ABIS INTERFACE ALLOWING OPERATION BETWEEN COMPONENTS MADE BY DIFFERENT SUPPLIERS:
• BASE STATION CONTROLLER (BSC)
• ONE OR MORE BASE TRANSCEIVER STATIONS (BTSS)
• BTS CONTAINS:
• RADIO TRANSMITTER/RECEIVER (TRX)
• SIGNAL PROCESSING AND CONTROL EQUIPMENT
• ANTENNAS AND FEEDER CABLES
CONT…
• THE PURPOSE OF THE BTS IS TO:
• PROVIDE RADIO ACCESS TO THE MOBILE STATIONS
• MANAGE THE RADIO ACCESS ASPECTS OF THE SYSTEM
• ENCODE, ENCRYPT, MULTIPLEX, MODULATE AND FEED THE RF SIGNALS TO THE ANTENNA.
• FREQUENCY HOPPING
• COMMUNICATES WITH MOBILE STATION AND BSC
• THE BSC:
• ALLOCATES A CHANNEL FOR THE DURATION OF A CALL
• MAINTAINS THE CALL:
• MONITORING QUALITY
• CONTROLLING THE POWER TRANSMITTED BY THE BTS OR MS
• GENERATING A HANDOVER TO ANOTHER CELL WHEN REQUIRED

• BTSS CAN BE LINKED TO PARENT BSC BY MICROWAVE, OPTICAL FIBER OR CABLE

CONT…
NETWORK & SWITCHING SUB-SYSTEM (NSS):
• NSS IS THE MAIN COMPONENT AND THE HEART OF THE GSM SYSTEM
• CONNECTS THE WIRELESS NETWORK WITH STANDARD PUBLIC NETWORKS (MANAGES COMMUNICATION BETWEEN GSM
AND OTHER NETWORKS)
• PERFORMS HANDOVER BETWEEN DIFFERENT BSSS
• SUPPORTS ROAMING OF USERS BETWEEN DIFFERENT PROVIDERS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
• PERFORMS FUNCTIONS FOR WORLDWIDE LOCALIZATION OF USERS
• CHARGING AND BILLING INFORMATION, ACCOUNTING INFORMATION
IN SUMMARY SWITCHING, MOBILITY MANAGEMENT, INTERCONNECTION TO OTHER NETWORKS, SYSTEM CONTROL ARE THE
MAIN FUNCTIONS OF NSS.
• Components
• Mobile Services Switching Center (MSC)
• Gateway Mobile Switching Center
• Databases (important: scalability, high capacity, low delay)
• Home Location Register (HLR)
• Visitor Location Register (VLR)
• All components connect using the SS7 signaling system
CONT…

MOBILE SERVICE SWITCHING CENTER (MSC):

• MSCs are high-performance digital ISDN switches
• They set-up and control connections to other MSCs and to BSCs via the A-interface
• They form the backbone network of a GSM system
• Typically, an MSC manages several BSCs in a geographical region
• Controls all connections via a separated network to/from a mobile terminal within the domain of the MSC
CONT…
• FUNCTIONS OF THE MSC:
• SWITCHING CALLS, CONTROLLING CALLS AND LOGGING CALLS
• SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS FOR PAGING AND CALL FORWARDING
• MOBILITY SPECIFIC SIGNALING
• MOBILITY MANAGEMENT OVER THE RADIO NETWORK AND OTHER NETWORKS.
• RADIO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT – HANDOVERS BETWEEN BSCS
• BILLING INFORMATION
• LOCATION REGISTRATION AND FORWARDING OF LOCATION INFORMATION
• PROVISION OF NEW SERVICES (FAX, DATA CALLS)
• SUPPORT OF SHORT MESSAGE SERVICE (SMS)
• GENERATION AND FORWARDING OF ACCOUNTING AND BILLING INFORMATION
• INTERFACE WITH PSTN, ISDN, PSPDN - INTERWORKING FUNCTIONS VIA GATEWAY MSC (GMSC)
CONT…

• GATEWAY MOBILE SWITCHING CENTER (GMSC):

• A PARTICULAR MSC CAN BE ASSIGNED TO ACT AS A GMSC (GATEWAY MOBILE SWITCHING CENTRE)
• A GMSC IS A DEVICE WHICH ROUTES TRAFFIC ENTERING A MOBILE NETWORK TO THE CORRECT
DESTINATION

• THE GMSC ACCESSES THE NETWORK’S HLR TO FIND THE LOCATION OF THE REQUIRED MOBILE SUBSCRIBER
• THE OPERATOR MAY DECIDE TO ASSIGN MORE THAN ONE GMSC
CONT…
HOME LOCATION REGISTRY (HLR):

• MOST IMPORTANT DATABASE IN GSM SYSTEM, STORES ALL USER-RELEVANT INFORMATION PERMANENT
AND SEMI-PERMANENT
• STATIC INFORMATION SUCH AS MOBILE SUBSCRIBER ISDN NUMBER, SUBSCRIBED SERVICES (E.G CALL
FORWARDING, ROAMING RESTRICTIONS), AND THE INTERNATIONAL MOBILE SUBSCRIBER IDENTITY
(IMSI))
• DYNAMIC INFORMATION SUCH AS THE CURRENT LOCATION AREA (LA) OF THE MS, THE MOBILE
SUBSCRIBER ROAMING NUMBER (MSRN), THE CURRENT VLR AND MSC.
AS SOON AS AN MS LEAVES ITS CURRENT LA, THE INFORMATION IN THE HLR IS UPDATED. THIS
INFORMATION IS NECESSARY TO LOCALIZE A USER IN THE WORLDWIDE GSM NETWORK

• ALL THESE USER-SPECIFIC INFORMATION ELEMENTS ONLY EXIST ONCE FOR EACH USER IN A SINGLE HLR
WHICH ALSO SUPPORTS CHARGING AND ACCOUNTING.
CONT…
HOME LOCATION REGISTRY (HLR) IMPLEMENTATION:

• THERE
IS LOGICALLY ONE HLR IN A NETWORK, ALTHOUGH IT MAY CONSIST OF SEVERAL SEPARATE
COMPUTERS

• MAY BE SPLIT REGIONALLY

• HLRS CAN MANAGE DATA FOR SEVERAL MILLION CUSTOMERS
• CONTAIN HIGHLY SPECIALISED DATABASES TO FULFILL REAL-TIME REQUIREMENTS AND ANSWER REQUESTS
WITHIN CERTAIN TIME BOUNDS.

• STAND ALONE COMPUTER – NO SWITCHING CAPABILITIES

• MAY BE LOCATED ANYWHERE ON THE SS7 NETWORK
• COMBINE WITH AUC
CONT…
• VISITOR LOCATION REGISTRY (VLR):
• EACH MSC HAS A VLR
• VLR IS A DYNAMIC LOCAL DATABASE WHICH STORES ALL IMPORTANT INFORMATION NEEDED FOR MS USERS CURRENTLY IN
THE LA (LOCATION AREA) ASSOCIATED TO THE MSC (THE DOMAIN OF THE VLR)
• IF A NEW MS COMES INTO THE LA OF THE VLR, IT COPIES ALL RELEVANT INFORMATION FOR THIS USER FROM THE HLR, AND
STORES THIS DATA TEMPORARILY.
• INFORMATION STORED INCLUDES:
– INTERNATIONAL MOBILE SUBSCRIBER IDENTITY (IMSI)
– MOBILE STATION ISDN NUMBER (MSISDN)
– MOBILE STATION ROAMING NUMBER (MSRN)
– TEMPORARY MOBILE STATION IDENTITY (TMSI)
• LOCAL MOBILE STATION IDENTITY
– THE LOCATION AREA WHERE THE MOBILE STATION HAS BEEN REGISTERED
– SUPPLEMENTARY SERVICE PARAMETERS
CONT…

OPERATIONAL SUB SYSTEM (OSS):

• THE OSS (OPERATION SUBSYSTEM) ENABLES CENTRALIZED OPERATION, MANAGEMENT, AND MAINTENANCE
OF ALL GSM SUBSYSTEMS. IT ACCESSES OTHER COMPONENTS VIA SS7 SIGNALING. IT CONSISTS OF THE
FOLLOWING THREE COMPONENTS:
• OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE CENTER (OMC)
• AUTHENTICATION CENTER (AUC)
• EQUIPMENT IDENTITY REGISTER (EIR)
• OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE CENTER (OMC)
• DIFFERENT CONTROL CAPABILITIES FOR THE RADIO SUBSYSTEM AND THE NETWORK SUBSYSTEM VIA
THE O-INTERFACE (SS7)
• TRAFFIC MONITORING, STATUS REPORTS OF NETWORK ENTITIES, SUBSCRIBER AND SECURITY
MANAGEMENT, OR ACCOUNTING AND BILLING
CONT…
• AUTHENTICATION CENTER (AUC):
• A SEPARATE AUC IS DEFINED TO PROTECT USER IDENTITY AND DATA TRANSMISSION (WIRELESS PART)
• AUTHENTICATION PARAMETERS USED FOR AUTHENTICATION OF MOBILE TERMINALS AND ENCRYPTION OF USER DATA
ON THE AIR INTERFACE WITHIN THE GSM SYSTEM
• GENERATES USER SPECIFIC AUTHENTICATION PARAMETERS ON REQUEST OF A VLR
• SITUATED IN A SPECIAL PROTECTED PART OF THE HLR

• EQUIPMENT IDENTITY REGISTER (EIR):

• EIR IS A DATABASE FOR ALL IMEI. IT STORES ALL DEVICE IDENTIFICATIONS REGISTERED FOR THIS NETWORK
• THE EIR CONTROLS ACCESS TO THE NETWORK BY RETURNING THE STATUS OF A MOBILE IN RESPONSE TO AN IMEI QUERY
• POSSIBLE STATUS LEVELS ARE:
• WHITE-LISTED - THE TERMINAL IS ALLOWED TO CONNECT TO THE NETWORK
• GREY-LISTED - THE TERMINAL IS UNDER OBSERVATION BY THE NETWORK FOR POSSIBLE PROBLEMS
• BLACK-LISTED - THE TERMINAL HAS EITHER BEEN REPORTED STOLEN, OR IS NOT A TYPE APPROVED FOR A GSM NETWORK.
THE TERMINAL IS NOT ALLOWED TO CONNECT TO THE NETWORK.
CONT…
NETWORK INTERFACES
OF GSM:
CONT…

ABIS INTERFACE:

• IT IS A BSS INTERNAL INTERFACE LINKING BSC AND BTS, AND IT HAS NOT BEEN TOTALLY STANDARDIZED.
• THE ABIS INTERFACE ALLOWS CONTROL OF THE RADIO EQUIPMENT AND RADIO FREQUENCY ALLOCATION IN
THE BTS.
A INTERFACE:

• THE A INTERFACE IS USED TO PROVIDE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE BSS AND THE MSC.
• THE INTERFACE CARRIES INFORMATION TO ENABLE THE CHANNELS, TIMESLOTS AND THE LIKE TO BE
ALLOCATED TO THE MOBILE EQUIPMENTS BEING SERVICED BY THE BSSS.

• THE MESSAGING REQUIRED WITHIN THE NETWORK TO ENABLE HANDOVER ETC TO BE UNDERTAKEN IS
CARRIED OVER THE INTERFACE.
CONT…
B INTERFACE:

• THE B INTERFACE EXISTS BETWEEN THE MSC AND THE VLR .

• IT USES A PROTOCOL KNOWN AS THE MAP/B PROTOCOL.
• AS MOST VLRS ARE COLLOCATED WITH AN MSC, THIS MAKES THE INTERFACE PURELY AN "INTERNAL" INTERFACE.
• THE INTERFACE IS USED WHENEVER THE MSC NEEDS ACCESS TO DATA REGARDING A MS LOCATED IN ITS AREA.
C INTERFACE:

• THE C INTERFACE IS LOCATED BETWEEN THE HLR AND A GMSC OR A SMS-G.

• WHEN A CALL ORIGINATES FROM OUTSIDE THE NETWORK, I.E. FROM THE PSTN OR ANOTHER MOBILE NETWORK IT HAS
TO PASS THROUGH THE GATEWAY SO THAT ROUTING INFORMATION REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE CALL MAY BE GAINED.

• THE PROTOCOL USED FOR COMMUNICATION IS MAP/C, THE LETTER "C" INDICATING THAT THE PROTOCOL IS USED FOR
THE "C" INTERFACE. IN ADDITION TO THIS, THE MSC MAY OPTIONALLY FORWARD BILLING INFORMATION TO THE HLR
AFTER THE CALL IS COMPLETED AND CLEARED DOWN.
CONT…
D INTERFACE:

• THE D INTERFACE IS SITUATED BETWEEN THE VLR AND HLR. IT USES THE MAP/D PROTOCOL TO EXCHANGE THE DATA
RELATED TO THE LOCATION OF THE ME AND TO THE MANAGEMENT OF THE SUBSCRIBER
E INTERFACE:

• THE E INTERFACE PROVIDES COMMUNICATION BETWEEN TWO MSCS.

• THE E INTERFACE EXCHANGES DATA RELATED TO HANDOVER BETWEEN THE ANCHOR AND RELAY MSCS USING THE MAP/E
PROTOCOL.
F INTERFACE:

• THE F INTERFACE IS USED BETWEEN AN MSC AND EIR. IT USES THE MAP/F PROTOCOL. THE COMMUNICATIONS ALONG
THIS INTERFACE ARE USED TO CONFIRM THE STATUS OF THE IMEI OF THE ME GAINING ACCESS TO THE NETWORK.
G INTERFACE:

• THE G INTERFACE INTERCONNECTS TWO VLRS OF DIFFERENT MSCS AND USES THE MAP/G PROTOCOL TO TRANSFER
SUBSCRIBER INFORMATION, DURING E.G. A LOCATION UPDATE PROCEDURE.
CONT…

H INTERFACE:

• THE H INTERFACE EXISTS BETWEEN THE MSC THE SMS-G. IT TRANSFERS SHORT MESSAGES AND USES THE
MAP/H PROTOCOL.
I INTERFACE:

• THE I INTERFACE CAN BE FOUND BETWEEN THE MSC AND THE ME. MESSAGES EXCHANGED OVER THE I
INTERFACE ARE RELAYED TRANSPARENTLY THROUGH THE BSS.
O INTERFACE:

• THE O INTERFACE CONNECTS NSS TO OSS WITH THE HELP OF SS7 SIGNALING.
THE RADIO INTERFACES

Um INTERFACE OR AIR INTERFACE OR RADIO INTERFACE IS THE BASIC INTERFACE WHICH WORKS IN RSS
PART OF GSM.
CONT…
• THE UM INTERFACE IS THE RADIO (AIR) INTERFACE FOR THE GSM MOBILE TELEPHONE STANDARD. IT IS THE
INTERFACE BETWEEN THE MOBILE STATION (MS) AND THE BASE TRANSCEIVER STATION (BTS) WHERE IT
IMPLEMENTS SDMA USING CELLS WITH BTS AND CONNECTS MS TO BTS .

• IT IS CALLED UM BECAUSE IT IS THE MOBILE ANALOG TO THE U INTERFACE OF ISDN (CONNECTS TELEPHONE TO
ISDN NETWORK IN FULL DUPLEX MODE).

• THIS
AIR INTERFACE (RF INTERFACE) USES THE TIME DIVISION MULTIPLE ACCESS (TDMA) TECHNIQUE TO
TRANSMIT AND RECEIVE TRAFFIC AND SIGNALING INFORMATION BETWEEN THE GSM’S BTS AND THE GSM
MOBILE STATION.

• THEINTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION (ITU) WHICH MANAGES THE ALLOCATION OF RADIO

SPECTRUMS HAS ALLOCATED THE FOLLOWING BANDS FOR GSM AIR INTERFACE WHERE FDD IS USED TO
SEPARATE UPLINK & DOWNLINK:
• UPLINK: 890-915 MHZ (MOBILE STATION TO BASE STATION)
• DOWNLINK: 935-960 MHZ (BASE STATION TO MOBILE STATION
CONT…

• IT WORKS ON BASIC PRINCIPLE OF COMBINATION OF TDMA & FDMA.

• IN GSM 900, 124 CHANNELS UPLINK + 124 CHANNELS DOWNLINK, EACH 200KHZ WIDE, ARE USED FOR FDMA.

• EACH OF THE 248 CHANNELS IS FURTHER DIVIDED INTO FRAMES THAT ARE REPEATED CONTINUOUSLY. THE
DURATION OF THE FRAME IS 4.615 MS.

• EACH FRAME IS SUBDIVIDED INTO 8 GSM TIMESLOTS, WHERE EACH SLOT REPRESENTS A PHYSICAL CHANNEL AND
LASTS FOR 577 ΜSEC. EACH TDM CHANNEL OCCUPIES THE 200 KHZ CARRIER FOR 577 ΜSEC EVERY 4.615 MS.

• THESE TIME SLOTS ARE THEN ASSIGNED TO SPECIFIC USERS, ALLOWING UP TO EIGHT CONVERSATIONS TO BE
HANDLED SIMULTANEOUSLY BY THE SAME CARRIER.

• IN TDMA/FDMA A PHYSICAL CHANNEL IS A SEQUENCE OF TIME SLOTS (DENOTED BY THE ASSIGNED SLOT NO.) WHICH
ARE PLACED ON A SELECTED CARRIER
CONT…

• PHYSICALCHANNELS ARE ARRANGED IN PAIRS – ONE PHYSICAL

CHANNEL IN EACH DIRECTION – THEY ARE MARKED WITH THE SAME
TIME SLOT NO AND THEY FREQUENCY DIFFERS BY 45 MHZ.

• THETIME SLOTS NUMBERING IN THE DOWNLINK DIRECTION IS

DELAYED BY 3 .

• THUS MOBILE STATION NEVER TRANSMITS AND RECEIVES SIGNALS

TO AND FROM BS AT THE SAME TIME.

• THIS REDUCES REQUIREMENT FOR RF AND DSP BLOCKS .

• COMPUTATION POWER CAN BE SHARED BETWEEN TRANSMITTER
AND RECEIVER.
CONT…
• DATA IS TRANSMITTED IN SMALL PORTIONS CALLED BURSTS, THE BURST IS ONLY 546.5 ΜSEC LONG AND
CONTAINS 148 BITS. THE REMAINING 30.5 ΜSEC ARE USED AS GUARD SPACE TO AVOID OVERLAPPING
WITH OTHER BURSTS.

FIG: GSM TDMA

FRAME, SLOTS &
BURST
CONT…
• THE FIRST & THE LAST 3 BITS OF A NORMAL BURST (TAIL) ARE ALL SET TO 0 & CAN BE USED TO ENHANCE
THE RECEIVER’S PERFORMANCE.

• THE TRAINING SEQUENCE IN THE MIDDLE OF A SLOT IS USED TO ADAPT THE PARAMETERS OF THE RECEIVER
TO THE CURRENT PATH PROPAGATION (GENERATION) CHARACTERISTICS & TO SELECT THE STRONGEST
SIGNAL IN CASE MULTI-PATH PROPAGATION.

• A FLAG S INDICATES WHETHER THE USER DATA FIELD CONTAINS USER OR NETWORK CONTROL DATA.
• THERE ARE 4 MORE BURSTS IN THE SYSTEM:
• FREQUENCY CORRECTION BURST: ALLOWS MS TO CONNECT TO CORRECT LOCAL OSCILLATOR
• SYNCHRONIZATION BURST: SYNCHRONIZES MS WITH BTS IN TIME
• ACCESS BURST: INITIATES CONNECTION SETUP BETWEEN MS & BTS
• DUMMY BURST: USED WHEN NO DATA IS AVAILABLE FOR A SLOT
CONT…
LOGICAL CHANNELS & FRAME HIERARCHY:
• GSM SPECIFIES TWO BASIC GROUPS OF LOGICAL CHANNELS:
• TRAFFIC CHANNELS (TCH): TO TRANSMIT USER DATA (E.G., VOICE, FAX, SMS,..)
• CONTROL CHANNEL (CCH): MANY DIFFERENT CCHS ARE USED IN GSM SYSTEM TO CONTROL MEDIUM
ACCESS, ALLOCATION OF TRAFFIC CHANNELS, OR MOBILITY MANAGEMENT. THE FOLLOWING THREE
GROUPS OF CCH HAVE BEEN DEFINED:
• BROADCAST CONTROL CHANNEL (BCCH) : A BTS USED THIS CHANNEL TO SIGNAL INFORMATION TO
ALL MSS WITHIN A CELL (E.G. CELL IDENTIFIER)
• COMMON CONTROL CHANNEL (CCCH): ALL INFORMATION REGARDING CONNECTION SETUP
BETWEEN MS AND BS IS EXCHANGED VIA THE CCCH (E.G. PAGING REQUEST) – RANDOM ACCESS
SCHEME (ALOHA)
• DEDICATED CONTROL CHANNEL (DCCH): BEFORE ESTABLISHING A TCH, AN MS AND BTS USES THIS
BIDIRECTIONAL CHANNEL FOR SIGNALLING (E.G. AUTHENTICATION)
CONT…

TS0- First Time slot

CONT…

TRAFFIC CHANNEL:

• TRAFFIC CHANNELS (TCH) –FULL-RATE OR HALF RATE (DATA SENT EVERY SECOND FRAME), CARRY EITHER
SPEECH OR DATA.

• FULL-RATE CHANNEL [SPEECH OR DATA] (TCH/FS OR FD)–RAW DATA AT 13 KB/S PLUS CHANNEL CODING
RESULTS IN 22.8 KB/S SIGNAL.

• HALF-RATE [SPEECH OR DATA] CHANNEL (TCH/HS OR HD) –SPEECH SAMPLED AT HALF THE SPEED OF FULL
RATE CHANNEL. 6.5 KB/S + CODING RESULTS IN 11.4 KB/S .

• TRAFFIC SIGNAL CHANNELS USED FOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE MS AND BSS WHEN A CALL IS IN
PROGRESS.
CONT…

• BROADCAST CHANNELS –TRANSMITTED ALWAYS ON FIRST FREQUENCY IN THE FIRST TIME SLOT (TS0) IN
DOWNLINK DIRECTION ONLY

• FREQUENCY CORRECTION CHANNEL (FCCH) –TRANSMITTED EVERY 10 FRAMES STARTING WITH THE FIRST
ONE, ALLOWS THE MS TO SYNCHRONIZE TO BS LOCAL OSCILLATOR

• SYNCHRONIZATION CHANNEL (SCH) –EVERY 10 FRAME FOLLOWS FCCH, FRAME NO, BS IDENTITY CODE,
TIMING ADVANCE COMMAND, TRAINING SEQUENCE – CALCULATION OF IMPULSE RESPONSE OF THE
CHANNEL FOR SIGNAL DETECTION; SYNCHRONIZATION WITHIN THE TIME HIERARCHY OF SYSTEM

• BROADCAST CONTROL CHANNEL (BCCH) –FRAME 2-5, CELL AND NETWORK ID, CHANNEL AVAILABILITY ETC.
(DISSEMINATION OF GENERAL INFORMATION FROM THE BS TO MS)
CONT…

• COMMON CONTROL CHANNELS (CCCH) – IT’S TRANSMITTED ON BCH FREQUENCY IN TS0 NOT OCCUPIED BY
BCH

• PAGING CHANNEL (PCH) –DOWNLINK DIRECTION, FOR LOCATING THE MS, CALLING A MOBILE STATION,
BROADCASTING SMS

• RANDOM ACCESS CHANNEL (RACH) –UPLINK DIRECTION, REPLAY TO A PAGE FROM PCH, RESOURCE
REQUEST BY THE MS

• ACCESS GRANTED CHANNEL (AGCH) –DOWNLINK, RESPONSE TO RACH, FOR SUBSCRIBER AUTHORIZATION,
RESOURCE ALLOCATION
CONT…

• DEDICATED CONTROL CHANNEL (DCCH)-

• IT’S BIDIRECTIONAL, ANY TS EXCEPT TS0 ON BCH:
• STAND-ALONE DEDICATED CONTROL CHANNEL (SDCCH) –ENSURING CONNECTION DURING USER
IDENTIFICATION AND RESOURCES ALLOCATION, PHYSICAL CHANNEL OR ON TS0 OF BCH IF FREE, ASSIGNED
TO CONNECTION BEFORE TCH ASSIGNMENT

• SLOW ASSOCIATED CONTROL CHANNEL (SACCH) E.G. CHANGE POWER OF MS, TIMING ADVANCE, SEND
REPORT ON MEASUREMENTS DONE BY MS, SEND WITHIN THE TCH

• FAST ASSOCIATED CONTROL CHANNEL (FACCH) –URGENT MESSAGES, STEAL FRAMES FROM TCH, WHICH IT
IS ASSOCIATED WITH

• NON-ASSOCIATED VERSION OF FACCH –TRANSMISSION OF SHORT MESSAGE

CONT…
PROTOCOLS

CM: Communication Management

MM: Mobility Management
RR: Radio Resource Management
BSSAP: Base Station Subsystem
Application Part
SCCP: Signalling Connection Control
Part
MAP: Mobile Application Part
TCAP: Transaction Capabilities
Application Part
ISUP: ISDN User Part
MTP: Message Transfer Part Fig: GSM Protocol
Layer for Signalling
CONT…

• GSM PROTOCOL ARCHITECTURE FOR SIGNALLING AND MAPPING ONTO THE CORRESPONDING OSI LAYER IS
SHOWN IN FIGURE.

• FOR SIGNALLING GSM USES COMBINATION OF TDMA/FDMA THROUGH A SEPARATE SIGNALLING NETWORK.
• AT DATA LINK LAYER, THE UM INTERFACE OF MS USES LAPDM PROTOCOL.
• THE HIGHER LAYER PROTOCOLS OF GSM ARE GROUPED INTO THE THIRD LAYER (RR). GSM LAYER 3 INCLUDES
FUNCTIONALITY OF HIGHER OSI LAYER SUCH AS CONNECTION MANAGEMENT, SUBSCRIBER IDENTIFICATION
& AUTHENTICATION.

• ATTHE INTERFACE BETWEEN BTS, BSC & MSC LOWER LAYERS ARE REPRESENTED BY MTP OF SS7
SIGNALLING. IT COVERS FUNCTIONALITY OF LAYER 1,2 & PART OF 3 OF OSI REFERENCE MODEL.

• HIGHER PART OF NETWORK LAYER IS PROVIDED BY SCCP. IT COVERS FUNCTIONALITY OF TRANSPORT,

SESSION & PRESENTATION LAYER AS WELL.
CONT…

• THE BSSAP SERVES AS A GAP BETWEEN RR & MSC, HANDLING FOR THE ASSIGNMENT & SWITCHING AT CALL
SETUP & HANDOVER PROCESSING HENCE PROVIDES FUNCTIONALITY OF NETWORK MANAGEMENT PART OF
LAYER 3 AS WELL AS LAYER 4,7 OF OSI.

• MSC IS CONNECTED TO SIGNALLING NETWORK VIA SS7 & IS RESPONSIBLE FOR EXCHANGE OF ALL
INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR CALL SETUP, MAINTENANCE AND MANAGEMENT. TCAP PROTOCOL WHICH IS
PART OF SS7, CONTAINS FUNCTIONS TO PROVIDE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TWO TCAP USERS AS WELL AS
PROVIDES SERVICES TO PERFORM REMOTE OPERATIONS HENCE RELATED TO APPLICATION LAYER &
TRANSPORT LAYER OF OSI.

• THE CALL RELATED SIGNALLING BETWEEN MSCS & EXTERNAL NETWORK USES ISDN USER PART (ISUP),
WHILE ALL GSM SPECIFIC SIGNALLING BETWEEN MSC & LOCATION REGISTERS IS PERFORMED VIA MAP
WHICH COMES UNDER CM & MM RESPECTIVELY.
LOCALIZATION

• ONE FUNDAMENTAL FEATURE OF GSM IS THE AUTOMATIC WORLDWIDE LOCALIZATION OF USERS.

• THE SYSTEM ALWAYS KNOW WHERE A USER CURRENTLY IS, AND THE SAME PHONE NUMBER IS VALID WORLDWIDE.
• TO PROVIDE THIS SERVICE, GSM PERFORMS PERIODIC LOCATION UPDATES EVEN IF A USER DOESN’T USE THE MS (STILL
LOGGED IN GSM AND NOT SWITCHED OFF).

• THE HLR ALWAYS CONTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT THE CURRENT LOCATION (THE LA, NOT THE PRECISE GEOGRAPHICAL
LOCATION)

• THE VLR RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MS INFORMS THE HLR ABOUT LOCATION CHANGES.
• AS SOON AS AN MS MOVES INTO THE RANGE OF A NEW VLR, THE HLR SENDS ALL USER DATA NEEDED TO THE NEW VLR
• CHANGING VLRS WITH UNINTERRUPTED AVAILABILITY OF ALL SERVICES IS CALLED HANDOVER – ROAMING.
CONT…

TO LOCATE THE MS AND TO ADDRESS IT, SEVERAL NUMBERS ARE NEEDED:

• MOBILE STATION INTERNATIONAL ISDN NUMBER (MSISDN): THIS NUMBER CONSISTS OF THE COUNTRY CODE, THE
ADDRESS OF NETWORK PROVIDER AND THE SUBSCRIBER NUMBER
• INTERNATIONAL MOBILE SUBSCRIBER IDENTITY (IMSI): THIS NUMBER IS USED FOR INTERNAL UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION OF
A SUBSCRIBER
• TEMPORARY MOBILE SUBSCRIBER IDENTITY (TMSI): TO HIDE THE IMSI WHICH WOULD GIVE AWAY THE EXACT IDENTITY
OF THE USER. TMSI IS A FOUR BYTE NUMBER SELECTED BY THE CURRENT VLR AND IS ONLY VALID TEMPORARILY WITHIN
THE LOCATION AREA OF THE VLR.
• MOBILE STATION ROAMING NUMBER (MSRN): THIS IS ANOTHER TEMPORARY ADDRESS THAT HIDES THE IDENTITY AND
LOCATION OF A SUBSCRIBER. THE VLR GENERATES THIS ADDRESS ON REQUEST FROM THE MSC. THIS ADDRESS CONTAINS
THE CURRENT VISITOR COUNTRY CODE, THE VISITOR NETWORK PROVIDER, IDENTIFICATION OF CURRENT MSC WITH THE
SUBSCRIBER NUMBER. THIS NUMBER IS ALSO SAVED IN THE HLR AND HELPS THE HLR TO FIND A SUBSCRIBER FOR AN
INCOMING CALL.
• ALL THESE NUMBERS ARE NEEDED TO FIND A SUBSCRIBER AND TO MAINTAIN THE CONNECTION WITH A MOBILE STATION.
CALLING

TO DESCRIBE HOW THE CALLING PROCESS WORKS, CONSIDER TWO MAIN CASES FOR A CALL:
• OUTGOING CALL – MOBILE ORIGINATED CALL (MOC):
• A GSM MOBILE STATION CALLS A STATION OUTSIDE THE GSM NETWORK
• INCOMING CALL - MOBILE TERMINATING CALL (MTC):
• A STATION OUTSIDE THE GSM NETWORK CALLS A GSM MOBILE STATION.
CONT…
• MOBILE ORIGINATED CALL (MOC):
• 1, 2: CONNECTION REQUEST
• MS SENDS DIALLED NUMBER TO BSS
• BSS SENDS DIALLED NUMBER TO MSC
• 3, 4: SECURITY CHECK
• MSC CHECKS VLR IF MS IS ALLOWED
THE REQUESTED SERVICE. IF SO, MSC ASKS
BSS TO ALLOCATE RESOURCES FOR CALL.

• 5-8: CHECK RESOURCES (FREE CIRCUIT)

• MSC ROUTES THE CALL TO GMSC
• GMSC ROUTES THE CALL TO LOCAL EXCHANGE OF CALLED USER
• 9-10: SET UP CALL
• ANSWER BACK(RING BACK) TONE IS ROUTED FROM CALLED USER TO MS VIA
GMSC,MSC,BSS
CONT…
• MOBILE TERMINATING CALL (MTC):
• 1: CALLING A GSM SUBSCRIBER
• 2: FORWARDING CALL TO GMSC
• 3: SIGNAL CALL SETUP TO HLR
• 4, 5: REQUEST MSRN FROM VLR
• 6: FORWARD RESPONSIBLE MSC TO GMSC
• 7: FORWARD CALL TO CURRENT MSC
• 8, 9: GET CURRENT STATUS OF MS
• 10, 11: PAGING OF MS
• 12, 13: MS ANSWERS
• 14, 15: SECURITY CHECKS
• 16, 17: SET UP CONNECTION
CONT…
• MTC / MOC
MESSAGE FLOW
HANDOVER
• HANDOVER IS THE PROCESS OF TRANSFERRING AN ONGOING CALL OR DATA SESSION FROM ONE CELL TO
ANOTHER CELL OF GSM NETWORK.

• CELLULAR SYSTEMS REQUIRE HANDOVER PROCEDURE AS SINGLE CELLS DO NOT COVER THE WHOLE SERVICE
AREA.

• ONLY UP TO 35 KM AROUND EACH ANTENNA ON THE COUNTRYSIDE AND SOME HUNDRED METERS IN
CITIES.

• THE SMALLER THE CELL-SIZE AND THE FASTER THE MOVEMENT OF A MS (UP TO 250 KM/H FOR GSM), THE
MORE HANDOVERS ARE REQUIRED.

• A HANDOVER SHOULD NOT CAUSE A CUT-OFF (CALL-DROP).

• GSM AIMS AT MAXIMUM HANDOVER DURATION OF 60MS .
• HANDOVER CAN BE INITIATED BY EITHER MS OR MSC.
CONT…
TWO BASIC REASONS FOR A HANDOVER:
• MOBILE INITIATED HANDOVER: THE MS MOVES OUT OF THE RANGE OF A BTS OR A CERTAIN ANTENNA OF A BTS.
• THE RECEIVED SIGNAL DECREASES CONTINUOUSLY UNTIL IT FALLS BELOW THE MINIMAL REQUIREMENTS FOR
COMMUNICATION
• THE ERROR RATE GROW DUE TO INTERFERENCE
• THE QUALITY OF THE RADIO LINK IS NOT SUITABLE FOR THE NEAR FUTURE
• NETWORK INITIATED HANDOVER: THE WIRED INFRASTRUCTURE (MSC, BSC) MAY DECIDE THAT THE TRAFFIC IN ONE CELL IS
TOO HIGH AND SHIFT SOME MS TO OTHER CELLS WITH A LOWER LOAD; I.E.; FOR LOAD BALANCING

• THERE ARE FOUR DIFFERENT TYPES OF HANDOVER IN THE GSM SYSTEM, WHICH INVOLVE TRANSFERRING A CALL BETWEEN:
• INTERNAL:
• CHANNELS (TIME SLOTS) IN THE SAME CELL
• CELLS WITHIN THE SAME BSS (SAME BSC)
• EXTERNAL:
• CELLS IN DIFFERENT BSSS (DIFFERENT BSCS) BUT UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE SAME MSC
• CELLS UNDER THE CONTROL OF DIFFERENT MSCS
CONT…

HANDOVER SCENARIOS:
1. INTRA-CELL HANDOVER (CHANNELS, TIME-SLOTS WITHIN
THE SAME CELL – E.G. BECAUSE OF NARROW BAND
INTERFERENCE WITH SOME FREQUENCIES)
2. INTER-CELL, INTRA-BSC HANDOVER (CELLS WITHIN THE
SAME BSS, BSC)
3. INTER-BSC, INTRA-MSC HANDOVER (CELLS IN DIFFERENT
BSS BUT UNDER CONTROL OF SAME MSC)
4. INTER MSC HANDOVER (CELLS UNDER CONTROL OF
DIFFERENT MSCS)
CONT…

• INTRA-BTSHANDOVER: THIS SCENARIO OF GSM

HANDOVER OCCURS IF IT IS REQUIRED TO CHANGE
THE FREQUENCY OR SLOT BEING USED BY A MOBILE
BECAUSE OF INTERFERENCE, OR OTHER REASONS.
IN THIS FORM OF GSM HANDOVER, THE MOBILE
REMAINS ATTACHED TO THE SAME BASE STATION
TRANSCEIVER, BUT CHANGES THE CHANNEL OR
SLOT.
CONT…

•INTER-BTS INTRA BSC HANDOVER THIS FOR

OF GSM HANDOVER OR GSM HANDOFF
OCCURS WHEN THE MOBILE MOVES OUT OF
THE COVERAGE AREA OF ONE BTS BUT INTO
ANOTHER CONTROLLED BY THE SAME BSC. IN
THIS INSTANCE THE BSC IS ABLE TO PERFORM
THE HANDOVER AND IT ASSIGNS A NEW
CHANNEL AND SLOT TO THE MOBILE, BEFORE
RELEASING THE OLD BTS FROM
COMMUNICATING WITH THE MOBILE.
CONT…

Inter-BSC handover When the mobile

moves out of the range of cells controlled
by one BSC, a more involved form of
handover has to be performed, handing
over not only from one BTS to another but
one BSC to another. For this the handover
is controlled by the MSC.
CONT…

• INTER-MSC HANDOVER THIS FORM OF

HANDOVER OCCURS WHEN CHANGING
BETWEEN NETWORKS. THE TWO MSCS
INVOLVED NEGOTIATE TO CONTROL THE
HANDOVER.
CONT…
TYPES OF HANDOVER:
•HARD HANDOVER :
•
THE HANDOVER IN WHICH ALL THE OLD RADIO LINKS IN MS ARE REMOVED BEFORE THE NEW RADIO
LINKS ARE ESTABLISHED IS KNOWN AS HARD HANDOVER.
•
THIS CAN ALSO BE SIMPLIFIED AS BREAK BEFORE MAKE.
•
IN THIS CASE HIGHER RATES OF CALL DROPS ARE FOUND.
•
INTER- BSC, INTER- MSC FOLLOWS HARD HANDOVER.

•SOFT HANDOVER :
• THE HANDOVER IN WHICH RADIO LINKS ARE ADDED AND REMOVED IN A WAY THAT MS ALWAYS
KEEPS AT LEAST ONE RADIO LINK TO THE BSC IS KNOWN AS SOFT HANDOVER.
• THIS CAN ALSO BE SIMPLIFIED AS MAKE BEFORE BREAK.
• AS CALL DROP RATE IS LOWER THIS HANDOVER IS USED TO LOWER THE RATE OF CALL DROP.
• INTRA- BTS, INTER- BTS INTRA- BSC FOLLOWS SOFT HANDOVER.
GSM SECURITY
• GSM IS THE MOST SECURED CELLULAR TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM AVAILABLE TODAY.
GSM HAS ITS SECURITY METHODS STANDARDIZED.

• GSM MAINTAINS END-TO-END SECURITY BY RETAINING THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF CALLS

AND ANONYMITY OF THE GSM SUBSCRIBER.

• TEMPORARY IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS ARE ASSIGNED TO THE SUBSCRIBER’S NUMBER TO

MAINTAIN THE PRIVACY OF THE USER.

• THEPRIVACY OF THE COMMUNICATION IS MAINTAINED BY APPLYING ENCRYPTION

ALGORITHMS AND FREQUENCY HOPPING THAT CAN BE ENABLED USING DIGITAL SYSTEMS
AND SIGNALING.
CONT…
MOBILE STATION AUTHENTICATION:

• THE GSM NETWORK AUTHENTICATES THE IDENTITY OF THE SUBSCRIBER THROUGH THE USE OF A CHALLENGE-
RESPONSE MECHANISM.

• A 128-BIT RANDOM NUMBER (RAND) IS SENT TO THE MS. THE MS COMPUTES THE 32-BIT SIGNED RESPONSE
(SRES) BASED ON THE ENCRYPTION OF THE RAND WITH THE AUTHENTICATION ALGORITHM (A3) USING THE
INDIVIDUAL SUBSCRIBER AUTHENTICATION KEY (KI).

• UPON RECEIVING THE SRES FROM THE SUBSCRIBER, THE GSM NETWORK REPEATS THE CALCULATION TO
VERIFY THE IDENTITY OF THE SUBSCRIBER.

• THE INDIVIDUAL SUBSCRIBER AUTHENTICATION KEY (KI) IS NEVER TRANSMITTED OVER THE RADIO CHANNEL,
AS IT IS PRESENT IN THE SUBSCRIBER'S SIM, AS WELL AS THE AUC, HLR, AND VLR DATABASES.

• IF THE RECEIVED SRES AGREES WITH THE CALCULATED VALUE, THE MS HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY
AUTHENTICATED AND MAY CONTINUE. IF THE VALUES DO NOT MATCH, THE CONNECTION IS TERMINATED AND
AN AUTHENTICATION FAILURE IS INDICATED TO THE MS.
CONT…

• THE CALCULATION OF THE SIGNED

RESPONSE IS PROCESSED WITHIN THE SIM.
IT PROVIDES ENHANCED SECURITY, AS
CONFIDENTIAL SUBSCRIBER INFORMATION
SUCH AS THE IMSI OR THE INDIVIDUAL
SUBSCRIBER AUTHENTICATION KEY (KI) IS
NEVER RELEASED FROM THE SIM DURING
THE AUTHENTICATION PROCESS.
CONT…
KEY GENERATION & ENCRYPTION:

• THE SIM CONTAINS THE CIPHERING KEY GENERATING ALGORITHM (A8) THAT IS USED TO PRODUCE THE 64-
BIT CIPHERING KEY (KC).

• THIS KEY IS COMPUTED BY APPLYING THE SAME RANDOM NUMBER (RAND) USED IN THE AUTHENTICATION
PROCESS TO CIPHERING KEY GENERATING ALGORITHM (A8) WITH THE INDIVIDUAL SUBSCRIBER
AUTHENTICATION KEY (KI).

• GSM PROVIDES AN ADDITIONAL LEVEL OF SECURITY BY HAVING A WAY TO CHANGE THE CIPHERING KEY,
MAKING THE SYSTEM MORE RESISTANT TO EAVESDROPPING. THE CIPHERING KEY MAY BE CHANGED AT
REGULAR INTERVALS AS REQUIRED.

• AS IN CASE OF THE AUTHENTICATION PROCESS, THE COMPUTATION OF THE CIPHERING KEY (KC) TAKES
PLACE INTERNALLY WITHIN THE SIM. THEREFORE, SENSITIVE INFORMATION SUCH AS THE INDIVIDUAL
SUBSCRIBER AUTHENTICATION KEY (KI) IS NEVER REVEALED BY THE SIM.
CONT…

• ENCRYPTED VOICE AND DATA COMMUNICATIONS

BETWEEN THE MS AND THE NETWORK IS
ACCOMPLISHED BY USING THE CIPHERING
ALGORITHM A5.

• ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION IS INITIATED BY A

CIPHERING MODE REQUEST COMMAND FROM
THE GSM NETWORK.

• UPON RECEIPT OF THIS COMMAND, THE MOBILE

STATION BEGINS ENCRYPTION AND DECRYPTION
OF DATA USING THE CIPHERING ALGORITHM (A5)
AND THE CIPHERING KEY (KC).
GPRS
GPRS SYSTEMS
• GPRS STANDS FOR GENERAL PACKET RADIO SERVICE, AND IT IS EMPLOYED IN 2G OR 3G CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS. 
• THE TECHNOLOGY OF GPRS IS BASED ON UNUSED SEGMENTS OF GSM BANDWIDTH TO TRANSFER AND ACCEPT THE
DATA PACKETS.

• IT ENABLES PACKET-SWITCHED SERVICES ON THE RESOURCES OF THE ALREADY EXISTING GSM NETWORK
INFRASTRUCTURE.

• GPRS IS CAPABLE OF PROVIDING SINGLE USER THROUGHPUT RATES OF UP TO 160 KBPS .

• IT PROVIDES AN “ALWAYS ON” FUNCTIONALITY, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS CONSUMPTION OF RESOURCES. HENCE USER
CAN BE "ONLINE" OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME BUT WILL BE BILLED BASED ON THE TRANSMITTED DATA VOLUME.

• IT IS STANDARDIZED IN 1998 & INTRODUCED IN 2001.

• IT APPLIES A PACKET RADIO PRINCIPLE TO TRANSFER USER DATA PACKETS IN AN EFFICIENT WAY.
• THIS PRINCIPLE OFFERS A MORE USER-FRIENDLY BILLING THAN THAT OFFERED BY CIRCUIT SWITCHED SERVICES.
GPRS ARCHITECTURE
MS: Mobile Station
BSS: Base Station Subsystem
SGSN: Service GPRS Support Node
GGSN: Gateway GPRS Support Node
PDN: Packet Data Network
MSC: Mobile Service Switching Centre
HLR/ GR: Home Location Registry /
GPRS Registry
CONT…
GPRS MOBILE STATIONS:

• NEW MOBILE STATIONS (MS) ARE REQUIRED TO USE GPRS SERVICES BECAUSE EXISTING GSM PHONES DO NOT
HANDLE THE ENHANCED AIR INTERFACE OR PACKET DATA.

• A VARIETY OF MS EXIST, INCLUDING A HIGH-SPEED VERSION OF CURRENT PHONES TO SUPPORT HIGH-SPEED

DATA ACCESS.
GPRS BASE STATION SUBSYSTEM:

• EACH BSC REQUIRES THE INSTALLATION OF ONE OR MORE PACKET CONTROL UNITS (PCUS) AND A SOFTWARE
UPGRADE.

• THE PCU PROVIDES A PHYSICAL AND LOGICAL DATA INTERFACE TO THE BASE STATION SUBSYSTEM (BSS) FOR
PACKET DATA TRAFFIC.

• THEBTS CAN ALSO REQUIRE A SOFTWARE UPGRADE BUT TYPICALLY DOES NOT REQUIRE HARDWARE
ENHANCEMENTS.
CONT…
GPRS SUPPORT NODES:
• FOLLOWING TWO NEW COMPONENTS, CALLED GATEWAY GPRS SUPPORT NODES (GSNS) AND, SERVING GPRS SUPPORT
NODE (SGSN) ARE ADDED:

GATEWAY GPRS SUPPORT NODE (GGSN):

• THE GATEWAY GPRS SUPPORT NODE ACTS AS AN INTERFACE AND A ROUTER TO EXTERNAL NETWORKS. IT CONTAINS
ROUTING INFORMATION FOR GPRS MOBILES, WHICH IS USED TO TUNNEL PACKETS THROUGH THE IP BASED INTERNAL
BACKBONE TO THE CORRECT SERVING GPRS SUPPORT NODE.

• THE GGSN ALSO COLLECTS CHARGING INFORMATION CONNECTED TO THE USE OF THE EXTERNAL DATA NETWORKS AND
CAN ACT AS A PACKET FILTER FOR INCOMING TRAFFIC.

SERVING GPRS SUPPORT NODE (SGSN):

• THESERVING GPRS SUPPORT NODE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR AUTHENTICATION OF GPRS MOBILES, REGISTRATION OF
MOBILES IN THE NETWORK, MOBILITY MANAGEMENT, AND COLLECTING INFORMATION ON CHARGING FOR THE USE OF
THE AIR INTERFACE.
GPRS PROTOCOL ARCHITECTURE
GTP: GPRS Tunnelling Protocol
TCP: Transmission Control Protocol
UDP: User Datagram Protocol
IP: Internet Protocol
SNDCP: SubNetwork Dependent
Convergence Protocol
BSSGP: Base Station Subsystem GPRS
Protocol
FR: Frame Relay
RLC: Radio Link Protocol
LLC: Logical Link Control
MAC: Media Access Control
CONT…

• DATA BETWEEN SGSN & GGSN IS TRANSFERRED USING GPRS TUNNELLING PROTOCOL (GTP).
• GTP USES 2 DIFFERENT TRANSPORT PROTOCOLS, TCP (CONNECTION-ORIENTED SERVICES) & UDP (CONNECTION-LESS SERVICES)
• IP IS USED AS NETWORK LAYER PROTOCOL FOR GPRS SUPPORT NODES.
• TO COMMUNICATE AND ADAPT CHARACTERISTICS OF UNDERLYING NETWORKS, MS & SGSN USE SUBNETWORK DEPENDANT
CONVERGENCE PROTOCOL (SNDCP).

• COMBINATION OF SNDCP & GTP IS USED TO TUNNEL USER DATA PACKETS TO & FRO MS TO GGSN.
• FOR ROUTING BETWEEN BSS & SGSN, BASE STATION SUBSYSTEM GPRS PROTOCOL (BSSGP) IS USED.
• TO ROUTE THE PACKETS, FRAME RELAY IS USED BETWEEN BSS & SGSN.
• MAC MAPS LLC FRAMES ONTO GSM PHYSICAL CHANNEL AND CONTROLS THE ACCESS OF RADIO SIGNALS FOR RADIO CHANNELS.
• LLC IS USED TO MAINTAIN HIGH RELIABILITY OF PACKETS.
• TO TRANSFER THE DATA OVER RADIO INTERFACE UM, RADIO LINK PROTOCOL IS USED.
UMTS
UMTS
• UMTS STANDS FOR UNIVERSAL MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM.
• UMTS IS DEVELOPED BY 3GPP (3 GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT) A JOINT VENTURE OF SEVERAL
ORGANIZATION.

• IT SPECIFIES A COMPLETE NETWORK SYSTEM AND THE TECHNOLOGY DESCRIBED IN IT IS POPULARLY

REFERRED AS FREEDOM OF MOBILE MULTIMEDIA ACCESS (FOMA) AS EXPECTED DATA RATE PROVIDED BY
THIS SYSTEM IS UP TO 2048KBPS.

• UMTS USES A WIDEBAND VERSION OF CDMA OCCUPYING A 5 MHZ WIDE CHANNEL, HENCE THE
MODULATION SCHEME WAS KNOWN AS WIDEBAND CDMA, OR WCDMA / W-CDMA. THIS NAME WAS OFTEN
USED TO REFER TO THE WHOLE SYSTEM.

• USING THIS BANDWIDTH (5 MHZ) IT HAS THE CAPACITY TO CARRY OVER 100 SIMULTANEOUS VOICE CALLS,
OR IT IS ABLE TO CARRY DATA AT SPEEDS UP TO 2 MBPS IN ITS ORIGINAL FORMAT.
UMTS SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
• FIGURE SHOWS VERY SIMPLIFIED UMTS REFERENCE
ARCHITECTURE.

• IN THIS USER EQUIPMENT (UE) (USIM + MOBILE EQUIPMENT) IS Uu Iu

CONNECTED TO UMTS TERRESTRIAL RADIO ACCESS NETWORK
(UTRAN) VIA UU INTERFACE WHOSE FUNCTIONALITY IS SIMILAR
UE UTRAN CN
TO UM INTERFACE OF GSM NETWORK.

• UTRAN HANDLES CELL LEVEL MOBILITY AND IT HAS MANY RADIO

NETWORK SUBSYSTEMS (RNS), WHICH HANDLES RADIO CHANNEL Fig: UMTS Reference Architecture
CIPHERING & DECIPHERING, HANDOVER, RADIO RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT ETC.
UE: User Equipment
• UTRAN IS CONNECTED TO CORE NETWORK (CN) VIA IU INTERFACE UTRAN: UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
WHOSE FUNCTIONALITY IS SIMILAR TO A INTERFACE OF GSM. CN: Core Network
• CORE NETWORK PERFORMS INTER-SYSTEM HANDOVER, LOCATION
MANAGEMENT, GATEWAY TO OTHER SYSTEMS ETC.
USER EQUIPMENT
• IT IS NOT A SIMPLE MOBILE PHONE BUT RATHER, A MOBILE MULTIMEDIA TERMINAL PROVIDES SIMULTANEOUSLY VOICE, VIDEO AND
DATA SERVICES.

• UE IS COMPOSED OF TWO PARTS:

• MOBILE EQUIPMENT(ME)
• UNIVERSAL SUBSCRIBER IDENTITY MODULE (USIM).

MOBILE EQUIPMENT:

• IT PERFORMS RELIABLE DATA AND SIGNALLING MESSAGE TRANSFER THROUGHOUT THE RADIO INTERFACE.
• USER DATA IS GENERATED IN UPLINK AND PROCESSED IN THE DOWNLINK, APPLICATION PROTOCOLS SUCH AS WAP/IP ARE LOCATED
IN THE ME
USIM:

• INFORMATION LOCATED IN USIM ARE:

• THE PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER(PIN), THE PREFERRED LANGUAGES, THE CODES TO ENABLE EMERGENCY CALL, ONE OR
SEVERAL IMSI AND MSISDN, THE USER’S TEMPORARY IDENTITIES ALLOCATED, CIRCUIT AND PACKET SWITCHED TEMPORARY
LOCATION INFORMATION
UTRAN
• UMTSSTANDS FOR UMTS TERRESTRIAL RADIO ACCESS
NETWORK (UTRAN).

• IT IS THE FIXED NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE THAT CONTAINS

THE FACILITIES FOR THE TRANSMISSION TO AND FROM THE
MOBILE USERS OVER RADIO.

• THE COMPONENTS OF THE UTRAN ARE THE BASE STATIONS,

WHICH ARE CALLED NODE B IN UMTS, AND CONTROL NODES,
WHICH ARE CALLED RADIO NETWORK CONTROLLER (RNC).

• THE RADIO NETWORK CONTROLLERS ARE CONNECTED TO THE

CORE NETWORK (CN).
CONT…
RADIO NETWORK CONTROLLER (RNC):

• THE RNC ENABLES AUTONOMOUS RADIO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (RRM) BY UTRAN.

• THE RNC HANDLES PROTOCOL EXCHANGES BETWEEN IU, IUR AND IUB INTERFACES
• THE RNC USES THE IUR INTERFACE FOR ELIMINATING THE BURDEN FROM CN.
• PROVIDE AIR INTERFACE BETWEEN UE’S AND CORE NETWORK.
NODE B:

• NODE B IS THE PHYSICAL UNIT FOR RADIO TX/RX WITH CELLS.

• A SINGLE NODE B CAN SUPPORT BOTH FDD AND TDD MODES.
• THE MAIN TASK OF NODE B IS THE CONVERSION OF DATA TO AND FROM TH UU RADIO INTERFACE, INCLUDING
FORWARD ERROR CORRECTION (FEC) .

• NODE B ALSO PARTICIPATES IN POWER CONTROL.

CORE NETWORK (CN)
THE UMTS CORE NETWORK MAY BE SPLIT INTO TWO
DIFFERENT AREAS:

• CIRCUIT SWITCHED ELEMENTS:

• CARRY DATA IN A CIRCUIT SWITCHED MANNER,
I.E. A PERMANENT CHANNEL FOR THE
DURATION OF THE CALL.

• PACKET SWITCHED ELEMENTS:

• CARRY PACKET DATA. THISENABLES MUCH
HIGHER NETWORK USAGE AS THE CAPACITY
CAN BE SHARED AND DATA IS CARRIED AS
PACKETS WHICH ARE ROUTED ACCORDING TO
THEIR DESTINATION.
CONT…

CIRCUIT SWITCHED ELEMENTS:

• THE CIRCUIT SWITCHED ELEMENTS OF THE UMTS CORE NETWORK ARCHITECTURE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING NETWORK
ENTITIES:

• MOBILE SWITCHING CENTER (MSC): AN EXCHANGE PERFORMING ALL THE SWITCHING AND SIGNALLING FUNCTIONS
• FUNCTIONS: CALL MANAGEMENT, MOBILITY MANAGEMENT(HANDLING ATTACH AND AUTHENTICATION),
SUBSCRIBER ADMINISTRATION, MAINTENANCE OF CHARGING DATA(FOR RADIO NETWORK USAGE,
SUPPLEMENTARY CALL SERVICES (CALL FORWARDING, ETC.)

• GATEWAY MSC (GMSC) –PROVIDES INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN THE UMTS CORE NETWORK AND EXTERNAL
PSTN/ISDN NETWORKS.
CONT…

PACKET SWITCHED ELEMENTS:

THE PACKET SWITCHED ELEMENTS OF THE UMTS CORE NETWORK ARCHITECTURE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING
NETWORK ENTITIES:

• SERVING GPRS SUPPORT NODE (SGSN):

• THE SGSN PROVIDES A NUMBER OF FUNCTIONS WITHIN THE UMTS NETWORK ARCHITECTURE. THRY ARE: MOBILITY
MANAGEMENT, SESSION MANAGEMENT, INTERACTION WITH OTHER AREAS OF THE NETWORK, BILLING

• GATEWAY GPRS SUPPORT NODE (GGSN):

• CENTRAL ELEMENT IN UMTS.
• IT HANDLES INTER-WORKING BETWEEN THE UMTS PACKET SWITCHED NETWORK AND EXTERNAL PACKET SWITCHED
NETWORKS.
CONT…

SHARED ELEMENTS:
THE SHARED ELEMENTS OF THE 3G UMTS CORE NETWORK ARCHITECTURE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING
NETWORK ENTITIES:

• HOME LOCATION REGISTER (HLR):

• CONTAINS ALL THE ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT EACH SUBSCRIBER ALONG WITH THEIR LAST KNOWN
LOCATION

• EQUIPMENT IDENTITY REGISTER (EIR):

• THE EIR IS THE ENTITY THAT DECIDES WHETHER A GIVEN UE EQUIPMENT MAY BE ALLOWED ONTO THE NETWORK
OR NOT ON THE BASIS OF IMEI.

• AUTHENTICATION CENTRE (AUC) :

• THE AUC IS A PROTECTED DATABASE THAT CONTAINS THE SECRET KEY ALSO CONTAINED IN THE USER'S USIM CARD
CONT…

INTERFACES:
THERE ARE FOUR MAJOR NEW INTERFACES DEFINED IN UMTS:

• IU: THE INTERFACE BETWEEN UTRAN AND THE CN

• IUR: THE INTERFACE BETWEEN DIFFERENT RNCS
• IUB: THE INTERFACE BETWEEN THE NODE B AND THE RNC
• UU: THE AIR INTERFACE.
IMPROVEMENTS ON CORE NETWORK
• AFTER IMPLEMENTATION OF 3G CELLULAR SYSTEM FOR DATA COMMUNICATION IN GSM-GPRS SYSTEM,
FOR DATA SPEED IMPROVEMENT, EVEN UMTS CORE NETWORK WENT THROUGH A TRANSMISSION.
THANK YOU!!!