GSM Spectrum Allocation

P-GSM Spectrum (Primary GSM)

E-GSM Spectrum (Extended GSM)
DCS-1800 Spectrum
PCS-1900 Spectrum

1
P-GSM Spectrum (Primary GSM)
The initial allocation of spectrum for
GSM provided 124 carriers with
Frequency Division Duplex for uplink
and downlink:
 Duplex sub bands of width 25 MHz -
duplex spacing 45 MHz
 Uplink sub band: 890 MHz to 915
MHz
 Downlink sub band: 935 MHz to 960
MHz
 Frequency spacing between carriers  Uplink frequencies: Fu(n) = 890 + 0.2 n ()
is 200 kHz (0.2 MHz)  Downlink frequencies: Fd(n) = Fu(n) + 45
 One carrier is used for guard bands.  Where n = ARFCN
 Total number of carriers (ARFCNs) = (ARFCN – Absolute Radio Frequency Carrier
(25 – 0.2) / 0.2 = 124 Number)

2
E-GSM Spectrum (Extended GSM)
 E-GSM allocated extra carriers at the low
end of the spectrum. The ARFCN
numbers of P-GSM were retained (with 0
now included) and new ARFCNs
introduced for the lower end, numbered 0
975 – 1023.
 Duplex sub bands of width 35 MHz -
duplex spacing 45 MHz (same as PGSM)
 Uplink sub band: 880 MHz to 915 MHz
 Downlink sub band: 925 MHz to 960  Total number of carriers (ARFCNs) =
MHz
 (35 – 0.2) / 0.2 = 174
Frequency spacing of 200 kHz
 Uplink frequencies:
 One carrier used to provide guard bands
Fu(n) = 890 + 0.2n
()
Fu(n) = 890 + 0.2 (n – 1024)
()
 Downlink frequencies: Fd(n) = Fu(n) + 45

3
900 MHz Utilization in Jordan

880 885 890 902.5 915 MHz

Zain Orange Zain

925 930 935 947.5 960 MHz

4
DCS-1800 Spectrum
 Digital Communication System – 1800
MHz introduced a further spectrum
range for GSM, typically used for smaller
microcells overlaid over existing
macrocells.
 Duplex sub bands of width 75 MHz -
duplex spacing 95 MHz
 Uplink sub band: 1710 MHz to 1785 MHz
 Downlink sub band: 1805 MHz to 1880
MHz
 Frequency spacing of 200 kHz  Total number of carriers (ARFCNs) =
 One carrier used to provide guard bands (75 – 0.2) / 0.2 = 374
 Uplink frequencies: Fu(n) =
1710.2 + 0.2 (n – 512)
()
 Downlink frequencies: Fd(n) = Fu(n) + 95

5
1800 MHz Utilization in Jordan

1710 1740 1755 1785 MHz

Umniah

1805 1835 1850 1880 MHz

6
1800 MHz Utilization in UK

7
PCS-1900 Spectrum
 Personal Communication System –
1900 MHz is used in USA and Central
America to provide a service similar to
GSM.
 Duplex sub bands of width 60 MHz -
duplex spacing 80 MHz
 Uplink sub band: 1850 MHz to 1910
MHz
 Downlink sub band: 1930 MHz to 1990
MHz
 Frequency spacing of 200 kHz  Total number of carriers (ARFCNs) =
 One carrier used to provide guard (60 – 0.2) / 0.2 = 299
bands  Uplink frequencies: Fu(n) =
1850.2 + 0.2 (n – 512)
()
 Downlink frequencies: Fd(n) = Fu(n) + 80

8
Multiple Access Techniques
 Purpose: to allow several users to share the
resources of the air interface in one cell
 Methods:
 FDMA - Frequency Division Multiple
Access
 TDMA - Time Division Multiple Access
 CDMA - Code Division Multiple Access

9
FDMA - Frequency Division Multiple Access
 Divide available frequency spectrum into channels
each of the same bandwidth Frequency

 Channel separation achieved by filters:

 Good selectivity
Channel BW
 Guard bands between channels
 Signalling channel required to allocate a traffic
channel to a user
Time
 Only one user per frequency channel at any time
 Used in analog systems, such as AMPS, TACS
 Limitations on:
 frequency re-use
 number of subscribers per area

10
TDMA - Time Division Multiple Access
Access to available spectrum is limited to timeslots
 User is allocated the spectrum for the duration of one
timeslot
 Timeslots are repeated in frames

Frequency
TS0
TS1
TS2
TS3
TS4
TS5
TS6
TS7
TS0
TS1
TS2
TS3
TS4
TS5
TS6
TS7

Frame Time
Time slot

11
CDMA - Code Division Multiple Access
 Each user is assigned a unique digital code
(pseudo - random code sequence)
 Code is used at Mobile Station and Base
Station to distinguish different user’s
signals
Frequency
 Many users’ communications can be
transmitted simultaneously over the same Code

frequency band
 Advantages:
 very efficient use of spectrum
 does not require frequency planning
Time
 Used in IS - 95 (cdmaOne)
 Not used in GSM
 Wideband CDMA techniques used in UMTS

12
 GSM - TDMA/FDMA
Using FDMA and TDMA techniques, each carrier is divided into 8 Physical channels (timeslots)
935-960 MHz
124 channels (200 kHz)
downlink
cy
en
qu

890-915 MHz 124 channels (200 kHz) uplink

fre

higher GSM frame structures

time

GSM TDMA frame

TS0 TS1 TS2 TS3 TS4 TS5 TS6 TS7
4.615 ms

GSM time-slot (normal burst)

“Physical Channel”
guard guard
space tail user data S Training S user data tail space
3 bits 57 bits 1 26 bits 1 57 bits 3
546.5 µs
577 µs
156.25 bit periods ⇒ ≈ 270.8 𝑘𝑏𝑝𝑠 13
Uplink and Downlink Synchronization

 TDMA is used to provide a set of 8 physical channels (timeslots) on each

carrier
 One cycle of 8 timeslots forms the TDMA frame of 4.615 ms duration
 Each timeslot lasts for 0.577 ms (156.25 bit periods) and can contain one
of several types of data burst
 A mobile station cannot transmit and receive simultaneously.
 The MS transmit burst is delayed by 3 timeslots after the BTS burst.
 This delay allows the MS to compare signal quality from neighboring cells

14
GSM Channels
A timeslot is the basic physical resource (channel) in GSM,
which is used to carry all forms of logical channel
information, both user speech/data and control signaling.
Logical Channels - the various ways we use the resource-
one physical channel may support many logical channels.
logical channels are piggybacked on the
physical channels
Multiframe structures is used to provide all the logical
channels required.
Different structures of data burst are used in the timeslot
for different purposes.

15
Logical Channels TCH Traffic Channels
TCH/F Traffic Channel (full rate) (U/D)
 GSM uses a set of logical channels to carry call traffic, signaling, system TCH/H Traffic Channel (half rate) (U/D)
information, synchronization etc. BCH Broadcast Channels
FCCH Frequency Correction Channel (D)
 The logical channels are divided into traffic channels and control SCH Synchronization Channel (D)
channels BCCH Broadcast Control Channel (D)
CCCH Common Control Channels
 They can then be further divided as shown: PCH Paging Channel (D)
RACH Random Access Channel (U)
AGCH Access Grant Channel (D)
CBCH Cell Broadcast Channel (D)
NCH Notification Channel (D)
DCCH Dedicated Control Channels
SDCCH Stand alone Dedicated Control Channel (U/D)
SACCH Slow Associated Control Channel (U/D)
FACCH Fast Associated Control Channel (U/D)
U = Uplink D = Downlink

16
Traffic Channels (TCH)
TCH carries payload data - speech, fax, data- normally time slots 1 - 7
if TS0 is used for control signaling
Connection may be:
 Circuit Switched - voice or data or
 Packet Switched – data
TCH may be:
o Full Rate (TCH/F)
 one channel per user

 13 kbps voice, 9.6 kbps data

or
o Half Rate (TCH/H)
 one channel shared between two users (alternatively from frame to frame)

 6.5 kbps voice, 4.8 kbps data

17
Broadcast Channels (BCH)
BCH channels are all downlink and are allocated to timeslot zero some times called BCCH. The RF
carrier used to transmit the BCCH is referred to as the BCCH carrier.
BCH Channels are:
o FCCH: Frequency correction channel sends the mobile a burst of all ‘0’ bits which allows it to fine
tune to the downlink frequency
o SCH: Synchronization channel, the SCH carries the information to enable the MS to synchronize to
the TDMA frame structure and know the timing of the individual timeslots, it sends the absolute
value of the frame number (FN), which is the internal clock of the BTS, together with the Base Station
Identity Code (BSIC).
o BCCH: Broadcast Control Channel sends radio resource management and control messages:
 Location Area Identity (LAI).
 List of neighboring cells that should be monitored by the MS.
 List of frequencies used in the cell.
 Cell identity.
 Power control indicator.
 DTX permitted.
 Access control (i.e., emergency calls, call barring ... etc.).
 CBCH description.
Some messages go to all mobiles, others just to those that are in the idle state.
 As the name suggests, the broadcast channels send information out to all mobiles in a cell. These
channels are also important for mobiles in neighboring cells which need to monitor power levels and
identify the base stations. 18
Common Control Channels (CCCH)
CCCH contains all point to multi-point downlink channels (BTS to several MSs)
and the uplink Random Access Channel:
o CBCH: Cell Broadcast Channel is an optional channel for general information such
as road traffic reports sent in the form of SMS.
o PCH: Paging Channel sends paging signal to inform mobile of a call, (paging can
be performed by an IMSI, TMSI or IMEI).
o RACH: Random Access Channel is sent by the MS to request a channel from the
BTS or accept a handover to another BTS. A channel request is sent in response to a
PCH message.
o AGCH: Access Grant Channel allocates a dedicated channel (SDCCH) to the
mobile.
o NCH: Notification Channel informs MS about incoming group or broadcast calls.
 The main use of common control channels is to carry the information needed to set
up a dedicated channel. Once a dedicated channel (SDCCH) is established, there is
a point to point link between the base station and mobile. Associated control
channels carry additional signalling to support dedicated channels. SACCH is
associated with either SDCCH or TCH. FACCH is only associated with TCH.
19
Dedicated Control Channels (DCCH)
DCCH comprise the following bi-directional (uplink / downlink)
point to point control channels:
o SDCCH: Standalone Dedicated Control Channel is used for call set
up, Authentication, location updating and also point to point SMS.
o ACCH: Associated Control Channels can be associated with either an
SDCCH or a TCH, they are used for carrying information associated
with the process being carried out on either the SDCCH or the TCH.
o SACCH: Slow Associated Control Channel conveys power control and
timing information in the downlink direction (towards the MS) and
Receive Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), and link quality reports in the
uplink direction during a call or operations associated with SDCCH.
o FACCH: Fast Associated Control Channel is used (when needed) for
signalling during a call, mainly for delivering handover messages and
for acknowledgement when a TCH is assigned.
20
Multiframes
 To provide all the logical channel operations with the physical resources (timeslots)
available, an additional time frame structure is required in which the logical
channels are multiplexed onto the timeslots. This is the concept of multiframes.
 Multiframes provide a way of mapping the logical channels on to the physical
channels (timeslots).
 A multiframe is a series of consecutive instances of a particular timeslot.
 GSM uses multiframes of 26 and 51 timeslots.

21
Traffic Channel Multiframe
 The TCH multiframe consists of 26 timeslots.
 This multiframe maps the following logical channels:
 TCH
 SACCH
 FACCH
 TCH Multiframe structure:

Frame #

T = TCH, S = SACCH, I = Idle

FACCH is not allocated slots in the multiframe. It steals TCH slots when required - indicated by the stealing flags in
the normal burst.

• TCH is always allocated on the 26 frame multiframe structure shown above.

• During a call the mobile is continually monitoring power levels from neighboring base stations.
It does this in the times between its allocated timeslot. Once each traffic channel multiframe there
is a SACCH burst which is used to send a report on these measurements to the current serving
base station.
• The downlink uses this SACCH burst to send power control and other signals to the mobile.
22
Control Channel Multiframe
 The control channel multiframe is formed of 51 timeslots.
 CCH multiframe maps the following logical channels:
Downlink Uplink
FCCH
SCH RACH
BCCH
CCCH (combination of PCH and AGCH)

 A basic BCCH multiframe is shown below which use TS0. The main
reason for other structures is the allocation of SDCCH/SACCH.

23
 Different Control Channel structures

TS0

TS1
While TS0 as in the
previous slide

24
GSM hierarchy of frames
hyperframe
0 1 2 ... 2045 2046 2047 3 h 28 min 53.76 s

superframe
0 1 2 ... 48 49 50 traffic
6.12 s
0 1 ... 24 25 control

multiframe
0 1 ... 24 25 traffic 120 ms

0 1 2 ... 48 49 50 control 235.4 ms

frame
0 1 ... 6 7 4.615 ms
slot
The timing of the hyperframe relates to the cycle of frame numbers transmitted on
burst 577 µs the synchronization channel (SCH). After 26 x 51 x 2048 = 2715648 frames, the
frame number (which consists of 22 bits) resets to zero. 25
Types of Data Burst
The 156.25 bit periods of a timeslot can hold different
types of data burst:

26
Timing Advance
Timing Advance is needed to compensate for different time delays in
the transmission of radio signals from different mobiles.
 Signal from MS1 takes longer to arrive at BTS than that from MS2
 Timeslots overlap - collision

 Timing Advance signal causes mobiles further from base station to

transmit earlier - this compensates for extra propagation delay

27
TA Cont.
 The maximum value of Timing Advance sets a limit on the size of the cell.
 Timing Advance is calculated from delay of data bits in the RACH burst
received by the base station – long guard period allows space for this
delay

 It is adjusted during the call in response to subsequent normal burst

positions.
 TA signal is transmitted on SACCH as a number between 0 and 63 in units
of bit periods
 TA value allows for ‘round trip’ from MS to BTS and back to MS
 Each step in TA value corresponds to a MS to BTS distance of 550 metres
 Maximum MS to BTS distance allowed by TA is 35 km
28
TA Cont.
Timing Advance value reduces the 3 timeslot offset
between downlink and uplink

TA
Uplink

Actual delay

The Timing Advance technique is known as adaptive

frame alignment
29
GSM Modulation Technique
Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK):
Frequencies are arranged so there is no phase discontinuity at
the change of bit period.
Data pulses are shaped using a Gaussian filter:
 Smoothes phase transitions
 Gives a constant envelope
QPSK is used in IS-95 (CDMA).
Comparison of GMSK and QPSK:
GMSK requires greater bandwidth
QPSK reduces interference with adjacent carrier frequencies
GMSK is more power efficient - less battery drain from MS on uplink
GMSK has greater immunity to signal fluctuations

30
Speech over the Radio Interface

31
Speech Coding
GSM transmits using digital modulation - speech must
be converted to binary digits
Coder and decoder must work to the same standard
Simplest coding scheme is Pulse Code Modulation
(PCM):
Sampling every 1/(2*4k)=125 μs
Assume each sample is mapped to an 8 bit codeword
(256 levels of an equalizer) then this requires data rate
of 8k*8=64 kbps
This is too high for the bandwidth available on the
radio channels

32
Advanced Speech Coding
 Several approaches to modeling human speech which requires less
data than PCM have been attempted.
 Estimates are that speech only contains 50 bits per second of
information

 Compare time to speak a word or sentence with time to transmit

corresponding text
 Attempts to encode speech more efficiently:
 speech consists of periodic waveforms -so just send the frequency and
amplitude
 model the vocal tract - phonemes, voiced and unvoiced speech
 Vocoder - synthetic speech quality
33
ASC Cont.
Speech obviously contains far more information than the
simple text transcription of what is being said. We can
identify the person speaking, and be aware of much
unspoken information from the tone of voice and so on.
Early vocoders which reduced the voice to just simple
waveform information lacked the human qualities which
we need to hold a meaningful communication.
Hybrid encoders give greater emphasis to these qualities
by using regular pulse excitation which encodes the
overall tone of the voice in great detail.

34
GSM Voice Coder
 Hybrid model using multi-pulse excitation linear predictive coding
 Regular Pulse Excitation - Long Term Prediction (RPE-LTP)
 Divides speech into three parts:
 Short term prediction Sent as frequency and amplitude
 Long term prediction
 Residual periodic pulse - sent as coded waveform like PCM - requires more bits than
the other two parts , this is to ensure that the characteristic tone of the voice is
reproduced well.
 Speech is divided into blocks of 20 ms
 Each block of 20 ms is represented by a pattern of 260 bits:

 260 bits every 20 ms, gives an output rate of : kbps

35
Error Correction Coding
To reproduce speech, decoder needs bit error rate no
more than 0.1%
Radio channel typically gives error rate of 1% - need
error correction
Two approaches to error correction:
Backward error correction: Automatic Repeat Request
(ARQ)
Forward error correction

36
ARQ
In backward error correction, we assume that if the known
check bits have been transmitted correctly, the rest of the
data is correct. If the check bits do not match what is
expected, the system asks for re-transmission.

Not suitable for speech as the timing could become

unintelligible if several repeats were necessary. However, in
normal conversation, we naturally apply backward error
correction by asking the person to repeat something we have
not understood. 37
FEC
Coding is added to the information bits which enable the
original to be reconstructed even if there are errors -
redundancy
Repeat transmission is not required - suitable for speech

Two types of FEC:

 Block codes
 Convolutional codes
GSM uses a combination of both code types
38
GSM Error Correction Scheme
 The GSM coding scheme is described as ‘concatenated’. It divides the
data into three prioritized sections and applies different levels of
coding to each, the resultant code is then put together (concatenated)
for transmission.
 260 bits from voice coder are divided into 3 classes, according to their
importance for speech reproduction:

 Rate of coding describes the amount of redundancy in the coded data:

 1/2 rate code transmits twice as many bits as actual data
 Data rate is halved
39
Interleaving
 The algorithms used to recover the data are based on an assumption that errors will be
randomly distributed.
 In practice errors tend to clump together as the mobile passes in and out of fade
regions.
 To overcome this, the data bursts are not sent in their natural order, but are interleaved
according to a pseudo-random pattern among a set of timeslots within the multiframe.
 Interleaving is applied after error coding and removed at the receiver before the
decoding. Thus the coding algorithm has a more random distribution of errors to deal
with.

40
Protocol Stack
 A protocol is a set of rules, agreed by both sides, to allow meaningful
communication to take place
 Protocols are needed whenever systems need to pass information from one to
another
 ISO 7-Layer OSI Reference Model:

41
 Vertical vs. Horizontal Communications

Horizontal (Peer-to-Peer) Communication

Vertical (Entity-to-Entity) Communication

42
Vertical (Entity-to-Entity) Communication
 Each layer requests a service from the layer below
 The layer below responds by providing a service to the layer
above
 Each layer can provide one or more services to the layer above
 Each service provided is known as a service ‘Entity’
 Each Entity is accessed via a Service Access Point (SAP) or a ‘gate’.
 Each SAP has a unique SAP Identifier (SAPI)

43
GSM Protocols
In the OSI Reference Model, the
logical channels of the air interface
are at the Service Access Point (SAP)
of the Physical Layer (Layer 1)
ISDN Reference Model divides the
protocol plane into a Control Plane
and a User Plane
corresponds to the control and traffic
channels of the logical channels
some user data (notably SMS text
messages) is carried by the control
plane
44
Protocols on the GSM Air Interface

45
User Plane - Speech Transmission
 Speech is encoded at the MS by the GSM Speech Codec (GSC) using hybrid
encoders to give a data rate of 13 kbps. Then Forward Error Correction (FEC)
is applied
 At the BSS the FEC and any encryption is decoded by the TRX and the data is
converted to the ISDN format (ITU-T A-law) by a Transcoding and Rate
Adaption Unit (TRAU).
 The A-law format carries data at 64 kbps across the fixed network.
 The TRAU may be part of the BTS or part of the BSC.
 If the TRAU is located at the BSC, then up to 4 speech channels may be
multiplexed at the BTS (MPX in the diagram) onto an ISDN B channel which
reduces the bandwidth required across the Abis interface.

46
Control Plane-GSM Signalling Protocols
CM: Connection Management
MM: Mobility Management
RR: Radio Resources Management
LAPD: Link Access Procedure D
LAPDm: Link protocol adapted for air interface (Um)
BTSM: Base Transceiver Station Management
BSSMAP: Base Station System Management
Application Part
DTAP: Direct Transfer Application Part
SCCP: Signalling Connection Control Part
TCAP: Transaction Capabilities Application Part
MTP: Message Transfer Part
MAP: Mobile Application Part
UP: User Part

ITU-T G.703, G705, G.732: Protocols for digital

transfer of signalling messages on the Abis and A
interfaces at 2048 kb/s or 64 kb/

47
Protocols Functionality
 Layer 1 – Physical Layer
 On the air interface, the physical layer uses FDMA/TDMA,
multiframe structure, channel coding etc. to implement the logical
control channels.
 Services provided by layer 1 are:
 Access capabilities – multiplexing logical onto physical channels
 Error protection – error detection / correction coding mechanisms
 Encryption
 Layer 2 – LAPDm – Link Access Procedure on Dm channels
 Data link protocol responsible for protected transfer of signalling
messages between MS and BTS.
 LAPDm supports the transport of messages between protocol
entities on Layer 3, in particular: BCCH, PCH, AGCH and SDCCH
signalling.
48
Cont.
 Within Connection Management, Call Control
 Layer 3 - Network (CC) is responsible for:
Sub-layers:  Set up of normal calls (MS originated, MS
 Radio Resource Management (RR) terminated)
 Set up of emergency calls (MS originated
 Mobility Management (MM)
only)
 Connection Management – 3 entities:  Terminating calls
 Call Control (CC)  DTMF signalling
 Supplementary Services (SS)  Call related supplementary services
 Short Message Service (SMS)  Service modification during a call (e.g.
 RR is responsible for: speech/data, speech/fax)
 Monitoring BCCH and PCH
 Administering RACH
 Requests for and assignments of data and signalling channels
 Measurements of channel quality
 MS power control and synchronization
 Handover
 Synchronization of data channel encryption and decryption
 MM is responsible for:
 TMSI assignment
 Location updating
 Identification of MS (IMSI, IMEI)
 Authentication of MS
 IMSI attach and detach
 Confidentiality of subscriber identity 49
Enhancing GSM
 AMR (Adaptive multi-rate) speech coder
 Trade off speech and error correction bits
 Fewer dropped calls
 DTX — discontinuous transmission
 Less interference (approach 0 bps during silences)
 More calls per cell
 Frequency hopping
 Overcome fading
 Synchronization between cells
 DFCA: dynamic frequency and channel assignment
 Allocate radio resources to minimize interference
 Also used to determine mobile’s location
 TFO — Tandem Free Operation
Tandem Free Operation (TFO) Concepts
Enchance GSM operation through Improve voice quality
by disabling unneeded transcoders during mobile-to-
mobile calls
Operate with existing networks (BSCs, MSCs)
New TRAU negotiates TFO in-band after call setup
TFO frames use LSBits of 64 Kbps circuit to carry
compressed speech frames and TFO signaling
MSBits still carry normal G.711 (PCM)speech samples
Limitations
Same speech codec in each handset
Digital transparency in core network (EC off!)
TFO disabled upon cell handover, call transfer, in-band
DTMF, announcements or conferencing
 TFO – Tandem Free Operation
 No TFO : 2 unneeded transcoders in path

A GSM Coding D G.711 / 64 kb A GSM Coding D

D A D A

Abis Ater A
TRAU PSTN* TRAU
MS BTS BTS MS
BSC BSC
MSC MSC

 With TFO (established) : no in-path transcoder

A GSM Coding T [GSM Coding + TFO Sig] (2bits) + G.711 (6bits**) / 64 Kb T GSM Coding D
F F
D O O A

Abis Ater A
TRAU PSTN* TRAU
MS BTS BTS MS
BSC BSC
MSC MSC

(*) or TDM-based core network

(**) or 7 bits if Half-Rate coder is used
GSM Evolution
A lot of developments within GSM leads towards 3G
technology and the high data rates which this is intended
to offer. These technologies are collectively known as 2.5
or B2G Generation GSM technologies and include:
High Speed Circuit-Switched Data (HSCSD)
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE)
CAMEL (Customized Application for Mobile Enhanced
Logic)

53
2.5 G
In GSM data transmission standardized with maximum
9.6 kbit/s
advanced coding allows 14,4 kbit/s
not enough for Internet and multimedia applications
 Main requirement is for increased data rates
Mobile access to:
Internet
E-mail
Corporate networks

54
GSM Evolution for Data Access
2 Mbps
UMTS

384 kbps
115 kbps EDGE
GPRS

9.6 kbps
GSM

1997 2000 2003 2003+

GSM evolution 3G
HSCSD (High-Speed Circuit Switched Data)
 Increases bit rate for GSM by a mainly software upgrade
 Uses multiple GSM channel coding schemes to give 4.8 kb/s, 9.6 kb/s or 14.4 kb/s per
timeslot
 Multiple timeslots for a connection e.g. using two timeslots gives data rates up to 28.8 kb/s
 Timeslots may be symmetrical or asymmetrical, e.g. two downlink, one uplink, giving 28.8
kb/s downloads but 14.4 kb/s uploads
 HSCSD handsets are typically limited to 4 timeslots, allowing:
 2 up / 2 down (28.8 kb/s in both directions)
 3 down and 1 up (43.2 kb/s down 14.4 kb/s up)
 This limitation arises because the handset operates in half duplex and needs time to change
between transmit and receive modes
 Advantage: ready to use, constant quality, simple
 Disadvantage: channels blocked for voice transmission

56
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)
Packet switching:
 Data divided into packets
 Packets travel through network individually
 Connection only exists while packet is transferred from one node
to next
 When packet has passed a node, the network resources become
available for another packet
 User sees an ‘always on’ virtual connection through the network
Using free slots only if data packets ready to send
(e.g., 115 kbit/s using 8 slots temporarily)
Standardization 1998, introduction 2000.
Advantage: one step towards UMTS, more flexible
Disadvantage: more investment needed
57
GPRS Network Elements
GPRS network elements
GSN (GPRS Support Nodes): GGSN and SGSN
 GGSN (Gateway GSN)
 interworking unit between GPRS and PDN (Packet Data Network)
 acts as an interface and a router to external networks. The GGSN 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.
 SGSN (Serving GSN)
 responsible for authentication of GPRS mobiles, registration of mobiles in
the network, mobility management, and collecting information for
charging for the use of the air interface.
GR (GPRS Register)
 user addresses
58
GPRS architecture and interfaces
SGSN

Gn

BSS SGSN GGSN PDN

MS

Um Gb Gn Gi

MSC HLR/
GR

VLR EIR

59
GPRS modifications on GSM network
GSM Network Element Modification or Upgrade Required for GPRS

Mobile Station (MS) New Mobile Station is required to access GPRS services. These new
terminals will be backward compatible with GSM for voice calls.

BTS A software upgrade is required in the existing base transceiver site.

BSC The base station controller (BSC) requires a software upgrade and the
installation of new hardware called the packet control unit (PCU). The
PCU directs the data traffic to the GPRS network and can be a separate
hardware element associated with the BSC.

GPRS Support Nodes (GSNs) The deployment of GPRS requires the installation of new core network
elements called the serving GPRS support node (SGSN) and gateway
GPRS support node (GGSN).

Databases (HLR, VLR, etc.) All the databases involved in the network will require software upgrades
to handle the new call models and functions introduced by GPRS.

60
GPRS Circuit/Packet Data Separation

61
 2.5G Architectural Detail
2G MS (voice only)
NSS

BSS

Abis E PSTN
A
PSTN
B
BSC C
MS MSC GMSC
D
BTS VLR
Gs
SS7
H
Gb
2G+ MS (voice & data)
Gr HLR AuC

Gc
Gn Gi
PSDN
SGSN IP GGSN

BSS — Base Station System
BTS — Base Transceiver Station
BSC — Base Station Controller
NSS — Network Sub-System SGSN — Serving GPRS Support Node
MSC — Mobile-service Switching Controller GGSN — Gateway GPRS Support Node
VLR — Visitor Location Register
HLR — Home Location Register
AuC — Authentication Server
GPRS — General Packet Radio Service
GMSC — Gateway MSC

62
GPRS protocol architecture

MS Um BSS Gb SGSN Gn GGSN Gi

apps.

IP/X.25 IP/X.25

SNDCP GTP
SNDCP GTP
LLC LLC UDP/TCP UDP/TCP

RLC BSSGP IP IP
RLC BSSGP

MAC MAC
FR FR L1/L2 L1/L2
radio radio

63
GPRS Air Interface
New ‘Packet’ logical channels defined - PBCCH, PDTCH
etc.
New multiframe structure based on ‘radio blocks’ of 4
timeslots
Allows up to 8 mobiles to share a timeslot
For high data rates, several physical channels may be
allocated to one user
4 levels of channel coding schemes (CS-1 to CS-4):
Decreasing level of error checking
Greater data throughput rates
Scheme selected according to interference level (C/I)
64
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE)
 Use 8 Phase-Shift Keying (8PSK) modulation - 3
bits per symbol
 Improved link control allows the system to adapt 𝜓 2 (𝑡 )
to variable channel quality - leads to slightly
reduced coverage area ⃗
𝑠3
 Applied to GSM, EDGE allows a maximum data ⃗
𝑠2
⃗𝑠4
rate of 48 kb/s per timeslot, giving the quoted
figure of 384 kb/s per carrier (8 timeslots)
⃗
𝑠 ⃗
𝑠1
 EDGE can be applied to HSCSD (ECSD) and GPRS 5
(EGPRS) 𝜓 1 (𝑡 )
 EDGE will be expensive for operators to
⃗
𝑠6 ⃗
𝑠8
implement:
 Each base station will require a new EDGE
⃗
𝑠7
transceiver
 Abis interface between BTS and BSC must be
upgraded

65