GSM: Network Architecture

The GSM technical specifications define the different entities that form the GSM network by defining their functions and interface requirements. The GSM network can be divided into four main parts:

The Mobile Station (MS). The Base Station Subsystem (BSS). The Network and Switching Subsystem (NSS). The Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS).

The architecture of the GSM network is presented in figure 1.

figure 1: Architecture of the GSM network

Mobile Station A Mobile Station consists of two main elements:

The Subscriber Identity Module (SIM): It is protected by a four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN). In order to identify the subscriber to the system, the SIM card contains amongst others a unique International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). User mobility is provided through maping the subscriber to the SIM card rather than the terminal as we done in past cellular systems. Mobile equipment/terminal (ME): There are different types of terminals (MN) distinguished principally by their power and application:
o

`fixed' terminals mainly installed in cars. Their maximum allowed output power is 20W portable terminals can also be installed in vehicles. Their maximum allowed output power is 8W. handheld terminals; their popularity is owed to their weight and volume, which is continuously decreasing. According to some specification these terminals may emit up to 0.8W. However, as technology has evolved their maximum allowed power ouput is limited to 0.1W.

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Base Station Subsystem The BSS provides the interface between the ME and the NSS. It is in charge of the transmission and reception. It may be divided into two parts:

Base Station Controller (BSC): It controls a group of BTSs and manages their radio ressources. A BSC is principally in charge of handoffs, frequency hopping, exchange functions and power control over each managed BTSs. Base Transceiver Station (BTS) or Base Station: it maps to transceivers and antennas used in each cell of the network. It is usually placed in the center of a cell. Its transmitting power defines the size of a cell. Each BTS has between 1-16 transceivers depending on the density of users in the cell.

NSS Its main role is to manage the communications between the mobile users and other users, such as mobile users, ISDN users, fixed telephony users, etc. It also includes data bases needed in order to store information about the subscribers and to manage their mobility. The different components of the NSS are described below.

MSC: the central component of the NSS. The MSC performs the switching functions of the network. It also provides connection to other networks. GMSC: A gateway that interconnects two networks: the cellular network and the PSTN. It is in charge of routing calls from the fixed network towards a GSM user. The GMSC is often implemented in the same machines as the MSC. HLR: The HLR stores information of the suscribers belonging to the coverage area of a MSC; it also stores the current location of these subscribers and the services to which they have access. The location of the subscriber maps to the SS7 address of the Visitor Location Register (VLR) associated to the MN. VLR: contains information from a subscriber's HLR necessary to provide the subscribed services to visiting users. When a subscriber enters the covering area of a new MSC, the VLR associated to this MSC will request information about the new subscriber to its corresponding HLR. The VLR will then have enough data to assure the subscribed services without needing to ask the HLR each time a communication is established. The VLR is always implemented together with a MSC; thus, the area under control of the MSC is also the area under control of the VLR. Authentication Center (AuC): It serves security purposes; it provides the parameters needed for authentication and encryption functions. These parameters allow verification of the subscriber's identity. Equipment Identity Register (EIR): EIR stores security-sensitive information about the mobile equipments. It maintains a list of all valid terminals as identified by their International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). The EIR allows then to forbid calls from stolen or unauthorized terminals (e.g, a terminal which does not respect the specifications concerning the output RF power). GSM Interworking Unit (GIWU): The GIWU provides an interface to various networks for data communications. During these communications, the transmission of speech and data can be alternated.

Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS) It is connected to components of the NSS and the BSC, in order to control and monitor the GSM system. It is also in charge of controlling the traffic load of the BSS. It must be noted that as the number of BS increases with the scaling of the subscriber population some of the maintenance tasks are transferred to the BTS, allowing savings in the cost of ownership of the system.

Geographical areas

A cell, as identified by its Cell Global Identity (CGI) number, maps to the radio coverage of a BTS. Similarly an LA as identified by its Location Area Identity (LAI) number , is a cluster of cells served by asingle MSC/VLR. A group of LA under the control of the same MSC/VLR defines the MSC/VLR area. A Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) is the area served by one network operator.

Network operations In this paragraph, the description of the GSM network is focused on the differents functions to fulfil by the network and not on its physical components. In GSM, five main functions can be defined:

Transmission: of data and signaling. Not all the components of the GSM network are strongly related with both types of types of Tx. While the MSC, BTS and BSC, among others, are involved with data and signaling, components such as HLR, VLR or EIR registers, are only concerned with signaling. Radio Resources Management (RRM). Mobility Management (MM). Communication Management (CM). Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM).

Radio Resources Management (RRM) The role of the RR function is to establish, maintain and release communication links between mobile stations and the MSC. The elements that are mainly concerned with the RR function are the MN and the BTS. However, since the RR component performs connection management also during cell handoffs, it also affects the MSC which is the handoff management component. The RR is also responsible for the management of frequency resources as well as varying radio interface conditions. Main component operations are:

Channel assignment, change and release. Handoff Frequency hopping. Power-level control. Discontinuous transmission and reception. Timing advance.

Handoff The user movements may result a change in the channel/cell, when the quality of the communication is degrading; this is known as handoff. Handoffs occur between:

between channels within a cell between cells controlled by the same BSC between cells under the same MSC but controlled by different BSCs between cells controlled by different MSCs.

Handoffs are mainly controlled by the MSC. However to avoid unnecessary signalling, the first two types of handoffs are managed by the respective BSC (thus, the MSC is only notified of the handoff). To perform the handoff the mobile station controls continuously its own signal strengh and the signal strengh of the neighboring cells. The list of cells that must be monitored by the mobile station is given by the base station. Power measurements allow to decide which is the best cell in order to maintain the quality of the communication link. Two basic algorithms are used for handoffs:

The `minimum acceptable performance' algorithm. When the quality of the transmission degrades, the power level of the mobile is increased, until the increase of the power level has no effect on the quality of the signal. Upon this link layer hint, a handoff is initiated.

The `power budget' algorithm. Here the handoff pre-empts the power increase, to obtain a good SIR. Mobility Management (MM) The MM component handles:

Location Management: Location is managed through periodicaly or ondemand. At power-on time, the MH signals an IMSI attach. Ondemand location updates are signalled when the MN moves to a different PLMN or new location area (LA). The signal is sent to the new MSC/VLR, which forwards it to the subscriber's HLR. Upon authorization in the new MSC/VLR, the subscriber's HLRremoves the registration entry of the MN at the old MSC/VLR. If after the update time interval, the MN has not registered, it is then deregistered. On power-off, the MN performs an IMSI detach.

security and authentication: Authentication involves the SIM card and the Authentication Center. A secret key, stored in the SIM card and the AuC together with a ciphering algorithm called A3, are used to authenticate the user. The MN and the AuCcompute a SRES through A3 using the secret key and a nonce generated by the AuC. If the two computed SRES are the same, the subscriber is authenticated. The different services to which the subscriber has access are also checked. Next the a security check is performed in the equipment identity (IMEI). If the IMEI number of the mobile is authorized in the EIR, the mobile station is allowed to connect the network. To assure user confidentiality, the user is registered with a Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) after its firstlocation update procedure. Enciphering is another option to guarantee a very strong security.

Communication Management (CM) The CM component manages:

Call control (CC): it controls call setup, management and tear-down in relation to management of type of service. Call routing is the primary task for this component. To reach a mobile subscriber, a user dials the Mobile Subscriber ISDN (MSISDN) number which includes: o a country code o a national destination code; this identifies the subscriber's operator o a code mapping to the subscriber's HLR. o The call is then passsed to the GMSC (if the call is originated from a fixed network) that 'knows' the HLR corresponding to the particular MSISDN number. The GMSC signals the HLR for call routing information. The HLR requests this information from the subscriber's current VLR. This VLR allocates temporarily a Mobile Station Roaming Number (MSRN) for the call. The MSRN number is the information returned by the HLR to the GMSC. It is latter that routes the call through the MSRN number, to the subscriber's current MSC/VLR. In the subscriber's current LA, the mobile is paged. Supplementary Services management: This involves the MN and the HLR. SMS management: Here the GSM network contacts the Short Message Service Center through the two following interfaces:

o o

SMS-GMSC for Mobile Terminating Short Messages (SMS-MT/PP). It has the same role as the GMSC. SMS-IWMSC for Mobile Originating Short Messages (SMS-MO/PP).

Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) The OAM component allows the operator to monitor and control the system as well as modify the configuration of the elements of the system. Not only the OSS is part of the OAM, but also the BSS and NSS participate in functions such as:

provide the operator with all the information it needs. This information is forwarded to the OSS to control the network. perform self-test tasks in addition to the OAM functions. control of multiple BTSs by the BSS.

Cellular systems
The covering area of an operator is divided into cells. A cell corresponds to the covering area of one transmitter or a small collection of transmitters. The size of a cell is determined by the transmitter's power. The concept of cellular systems is the use of low power transmitters in order to enable the efficient reuse of the frequencies. In fact, if the transmitters used are very powerful, the frequencies can not be reused for hundred of kilometers as they are limited to the covering area of the transmitter. The frequency band allocated to a cellular mobile radio system is distributed over a group of cells and this distribution is repeated in all the domain of an operator. The whole number of radio channels available can then be used in each group of cells that form the covering area of an operator. Frequencies used in a cell are reused several cells away. The distance between the cells using the same frequency must be sufficient to avoid interference. The frequency reuse will increase considerably the capacity in number of users. In order to work properly, a cellular system must verify the following two main conditions:

The power level of a transmitter within a single cell must be limited in order to reduce the interference with the transmitters of neighboring cells. The interference will not produce any damage to the system if a distance of about 2.5-3 times the diameter of a cell is reserved between transmitters. This also depends on the performance of the receiver's filters. Neighboring cells can not share the same channels. To reduce the interference, the frequencies must be reused only within a certain pattern.

In order to exchange the information needed to maintain the communication links within the cellular network, several radio channels are reserved for the signaling information.

Cluster The cells are grouped into clusters. The number of cells in a cluster must be determined so that the cluster can be repeated continuously within the covering area of an operator. Typical clusters contain 4, 7, 12 or 21 cells. The number of cells in each

cluster is very important. The smaller the number of cells per cluster is, the bigger the number of channels per cell . The capacity of each cell will, therefore, increase. However, this must be balanced with the reduction of to interference occuring between neighboring clusters. This interference is produced by the small size of the clusters (cluster size is defined as the number of cells/cluster). The total number of channels per cell depends on the number of available channels and the type of cluster used.

Cell types The density of population in a country is so varied that different types of cells are used:

Macrocells: The macrocells are large cells for remote and sparsely populated areas. Microcells: These cells are used for densely populated areas. By splitting the existing areas into smaller cells, the number of channels available is increased as well as the capacity of the cells. The power level of the transmitters used in these cells is then decreased, reducing the possibility of interference between neighboring cells. Selective cells: It is not always useful to define a cell with a full coverage of 360 degrees. In some cases, cells with a particular shape and coverage are needed. These cells are called selective cells. A typical example of selective cells are the cells that may be located at the entrances of tunnels where a coverage of 360 degrees is not needed. In this case, a selective cell with a coverage of 120 degrees is used. Umbrella cells: A terminal crossing very small cells produces increased number of handoffs among different small neighboring cells. To solve this problem, the concept of umbrella-cell is introduced. An umbrella cell covers several microcells. The power level inside an umbrella cell is increased comparing to power levels used in microcells that form the umbrella cell. When the speed ofthe mobile is too high, the mobile is handed off to the umbrella cell. The mobile will then stay longer in the same cell (in this case the umbrella cell). This will reduce the number of handoffs and the work of the network. The speed of the vehicle is detected by means of the number of handoffs and its propagation characteristics

From analog to digital

In the 1980s most cellular systems were based on analog systems. The GSM system is the first digital cellular system. Such transition has been instigated by a number of reasons, such as:

System capacity: The rapid growth of cellular telephony resulted a push of analog systems to their physical limits. To overcome this problem, new frequency bands and new technologies were proposed. The introduction of new frequency bands was, however, rejected by a big number of countries because of the restricted spectrum (even if later on, other frequency bands have been allocated for the development of mobile cellular radio). The new analog technologies proposed were able to overcome the problem to some degree but at considerable cost. Interoperability: The decision of adopting a digital technology for GSM was made during the standardisation effort of GSM . To allow interoperability with the services offered by other technologies such as ISDN, it was decided that the digital cellular was the best option. This also encompassed future developments and enhancements. Quality of Service: Qos would be considerably enhanced by adopting a digital technology. Analog systems pass the physical disturbances in radio transmission (such as fades, multipath reception, spurious signals or interferences) to the receiver. These disturbances tend to degrade the quality of communications as they produce effects such as fadeouts, crosstalks, hisses, etc. On the other hand, digital systems avoid these effects transforming the signal into bits. The improvement of digital systems comparing to analog systems is more noticeable under difficult reception conditions than under good reception conditions.

Some historical perspective Cellular systems Cellular structure Cluster Cell classification From analog to digital Network Architecture Span of Controling entities Functions Radio interface Frequency allocation Medium acces From bits to radio Discontinuous reception Multipath and equalisation Discontinuous transmission (DTX) Timing advance Power control Services Tele Bearer Supplementary Bibliography Abbreviations

Some historical perspective

The idea of cell-based mobile radio systems appeared at Bell Laboratories (in USA) in the early 1970s. However, mobile cellular systems were not introduced for commercial use until the 1980s. During the early 1980s, analog cellular telephone systems experienced a very rapid growth in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia. But in the early cellular systems were primarily legacy; that is each country developed its own one; an undesirable situation for the following reasons:

The equipment was limited to operate only within the boundaries of each country. The market for each mobile equipment was limited.

To overcome these problems, the Conference of European Posts and Telecommunications (CEPT) formed, in 1982, the Groupe Spcial Mobile (GSM) to develop a pan-European mobile cellular radio system (the GSM acronym became later the acronym for Global System for Mobile communications). The standardized system had to meet certain criterias:

International roaming Spectrum efficiency Low ME and BS costs Good subjective voice quality Interoperability with PSTN or other services Ability to support new services

Unlike the existing cellular systems, which were developed using an analog technology, the GSM system was developed using digital technology. In 1989 the responsability for the GSM specifications passed from the CEPT to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). The aim of the GSM specifications is to describe the functionality and the interface for each component of the system, and to provide guidance on the design of the system. These specifications will then standardize the system in order to guarantee the proper interworking between the different elements of the GSM system. In 1990, the phase I of the GSM specifications were published but the commercial use of GSM did not start until mid1991. The most important events in the development of the GSM system are presented in the table 1.

Year 1982 1985 1986

Events CEPT establishes a GSM group in order to develop the standards for a pan-European cellular mobile system Adoption of a list of recommendations to be generated by the group Field tests were performed in order to test the different radio techniques proposed for the air interface TDMA is chosen as access method (in fact, it will be used with FDMA) Initial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by telecommunication operators (representing 12 countries) Validation of the GSM system The responsability of the GSM specifications is passed to the ETSI Appearance of the phase 1 of the GSM specifications Commercial launch of the GSM service Enlargement of the countries that signed the GSM- MoU> Coverage of larger cities/airports Coverage of main roads GSM services start outside Europe Phase 2 of the GSM specifications Coverage of rural areas

1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1995

Table 1: Events in the development of GSM

From the evolution of GSM, it is clear that GSM is not anymore only a European standard. GSM networks are operationnal or planned in over 80 countries around the world. The rapid and increasing acceptance of the GSM system is illustrated with the following figures (world-wide):

1.3 million subscribers (1Qt 1994). Over 5 million subscribers (1Qt 1995). Over 10 million subscribers only in Europe by (4Qt 1995).

Since the appearance of GSM, other digital mobile systems have been developed. The table 2 charts the different mobile cellular systems developed since the commercial launch of cellular systems.
Year 1981 1983 1985 1986 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 Mobile Cellular System Nordic Mobile Telephony (NMT), 450> American Mobile Phone System (AMPS) Total Access Communication System (TACS) Radiocom 2000 C-Netz Nordic Mobile Telephony (NMT), 900> Global System for Mobile communications> North American Digital Cellular (NADC) Digital Cellular System (DCS) 1800 Personal Digital Cellular (PDC) or Japanese Digital Cellular (JDC) Personal Communications Systems (PCS) 1900- Canada> PCS-United States of America>

Table 2: Mobile cellular systems

Cellular systems
The covering area of an operator is divided into cells. A cell corresponds to the covering area of one transmitter or a small collection of transmitters. The size of a cell is determined by the transmitter's power. The concept of cellular systems is the use of low power transmitters in order to enable the efficient reuse of the frequencies. In fact, if the transmitters used are very

powerful, the frequencies can not be reused for hundred of kilometers as they are limited to the covering area of the transmitter. The frequency band allocated to a cellular mobile radio system is distributed over a group of cells and this distribution is repeated in all the domain of an operator. The whole number of radio channels available can then be used in each group of cells that form the covering area of an operator. Frequencies used in a cell are reused several cells away. The distance between the cells using the same frequency must be sufficient to avoid interference. The frequency reuse will increase considerably the capacity in number of users. In order to work properly, a cellular system must verify the following two main conditions:

The power level of a transmitter within a single cell must be limited in order to reduce the interference with the transmitters of neighboring cells. The interference will not produce any damage to the system if a distance of about 2.5-3 times the diameter of a cell is reserved between transmitters. This also depends on the performance of the receiver's filters. Neighboring cells can not share the same channels. To reduce the interference, the frequencies must be reused only within a certain pattern.

In order to exchange the information needed to maintain the communication links within the cellular network, several radio channels are reserved for the signaling information.

Cluster The cells are grouped into clusters. The number of cells in a cluster must be determined so that the cluster can be repeated continuously within the covering area of an operator. Typical clusters contain 4, 7, 12 or 21 cells. The number of cells in each cluster is very important. The smaller the number of cells per cluster is, the bigger the number of channels per cell . The capacity of each cell will, therefore, increase. However, this must be balanced with the reduction of to interference occuring between neighboring clusters. This interference is produced by the small size of the clusters (cluster size is defined as the number of cells/cluster). The total number of channels per cell depends on the number of available channels and the type of cluster used.

Cell types The density of population in a country is so varied that different types of cells are used:

Macrocells: The macrocells are large cells for remote and sparsely populated areas. Microcells: These cells are used for densely populated areas. By splitting the existing areas into smaller cells, the number of channels available is increased as well as the capacity of the cells. The power level of the transmitters used in these cells is then decreased, reducing the possibility of interference between neighboring cells. Selective cells: It is not always useful to define a cell with a full coverage of 360 degrees. In some cases, cells with a particular shape and coverage are needed. These cells are called selective cells. A typical example of selective cells are the cells that may be located at the entrances of tunnels where a coverage of 360 degrees is not needed. In this case, a selective cell with a coverage of 120 degrees is used.

Umbrella cells: A terminal crossing very small cells produces increased number of handoffs among different small neighboring cells. To solve this problem, the concept of umbrella-cell is introduced. An umbrella cell covers several microcells. The power level inside an umbrella cell is increased comparing to power levels used in microcells that form the umbrella cell. When the speed ofthe mobile is too high, the mobile is handed off to the umbrella cell. The mobile will then stay longer in the same cell (in this case the umbrella cell). This will reduce the number of handoffs and the work of the network. The speed of the vehicle is detected by means of the number of handoffs and its propagation characteristics

From analog to digital

In the 1980s most cellular systems were based on analog systems. The GSM system is the first digital cellular system. Such transition has been instigated by a number of reasons, such as:

System capacity: The rapid growth of cellular telephony resulted a push of analog systems to their physical limits. To overcome this problem, new frequency bands and new technologies were proposed. The introduction of new frequency bands was, however, rejected by a big number of countries because of the restricted spectrum (even if later on, other frequency bands have been allocated for the development of mobile cellular radio). The new analog technologies proposed were able to overcome the problem to some degree but at considerable cost. Interoperability: The decision of adopting a digital technology for GSM was made during the standardisation effort of GSM . To allow interoperability with the services offered by other technologies such as ISDN, it was decided that the digital cellular was the best option. This also encompassed future developments and enhancements. Quality of Service: Qos would be considerably enhanced by adopting a digital technology. Analog systems pass the physical disturbances in radio transmission (such as fades, multipath reception, spurious signals or interferences) to the receiver. These disturbances tend to degrade the quality of communications as they produce effects such as fadeouts, crosstalks, hisses, etc. On the other hand, digital systems avoid these effects transforming the signal into bits. The improvement of digital systems comparing to analog systems is more noticeable under difficult reception conditions than under good reception conditions.

The GSM network

Network Architecture The GSM technical specifications define the different entities that form the GSM network by defining their functions and interface requirements. The GSM network can be divided into four main parts:

The Mobile Station (MS). The Base Station Subsystem (BSS). The Network and Switching Subsystem (NSS). The Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS).

The architecture of the GSM network is presented in figure 1.

figure 1: Architecture of the GSM network

Mobile Station A Mobile Station consists of two main elements:

The Subscriber Identity Module (SIM): It is protected by a four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN). In order to identify the subscriber to the system, the SIM card contains amongst others a unique International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). User mobility is provided through maping the subscriber to the SIM card rather than the terminal as we done in past cellular systems.

Mobile equipment/terminal (ME): There are different types of terminals (MN) distinguished principally by their power and application:
o

`fixed' terminals mainly installed in cars. Their maximum allowed output power is 20W portable terminals can also be installed in vehicles. Their maximum allowed output power is 8W. handheld terminals; their popularity is owed to their weight and volume, which is continuously decreasing. According to some specification these terminals may emit up to 0.8W. However, as technology has evolved their maximum allowed power ouput is limited to 0.1W.

o o

Base Station Subsystem The BSS provides the interface between the ME and the NSS. It is in charge of the transmission and reception. It may be divided into two parts:

Base Station Controller (BSC): It controls a group of BTSs and manages their radio ressources. A BSC is principally in charge of handoffs, frequency hopping, exchange functions and power control over each managed BTSs. Base Transceiver Station (BTS) or Base Station: it maps to transceivers and antennas used in each cell of the network. It is usually placed in the center of a cell. Its transmitting power defines the size of a cell. Each BTS has between 1-16 transceivers depending on the density of users in the cell.

NSS Its main role is to manage the communications between the mobile users and other users, such as mobile users, ISDN users, fixed telephony users, etc. It also includes data bases needed in order to store information about the subscribers and to manage their mobility. The different components of the NSS are described below.

MSC: the central component of the NSS. The MSC performs the switching functions of the network. It also provides connection to other networks. GMSC: A gateway that interconnects two networks: the cellular network and the PSTN. It is in charge of routing calls from the fixed network towards a GSM user. The GMSC is often implemented in the same machines as the MSC.

HLR: The HLR stores information of the suscribers belonging to the coverage area of a MSC; it also stores the current location of these subscribers and the services to which they have access. The location of the subscriber maps to the SS7 address of the Visitor Location Register (VLR) associated to the MN. VLR: contains information from a subscriber's HLR necessary to provide the subscribed services to visiting users. When a subscriber enters the covering area of a new MSC, the VLR associated to this MSC will request information about the new subscriber to its corresponding HLR. The VLR will then have enough data to assure the subscribed services without needing to ask the HLR each time a communication is established. The VLR is always implemented together with a MSC; thus, the area under control of the MSC is also the area under control of the VLR. Authentication Center (AuC): It serves security purposes; it provides the parameters needed for authentication and encryption functions. These parameters allow verification of the subscriber's identity. Equipment Identity Register (EIR): EIR stores security-sensitive information about the mobile equipments. It maintains a list of all valid terminals as identified by their International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). The EIR allows then to forbid calls from stolen or unauthorized terminals (e.g, a terminal which does not respect the specifications concerning the output RF power). GSM Interworking Unit (GIWU): The GIWU provides an interface to various networks for data communications. During these communications, the transmission of speech and data can be alternated.

Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS) It is connected to components of the NSS and the BSC, in order to control and monitor the GSM system. It is also in charge of controlling the traffic load of the BSS. It must be noted that as the number of BS increases with the scaling of the subscriber population some of the maintenance tasks are transferred to the BTS, allowing savings in the cost of ownership of the system.

Geographical areas A cell, as identified by its Cell Global Identity (CGI) number, maps to the radio coverage of a BTS. Similarly an LA as identified by its Location Area Identity (LAI) number , is a cluster of cells served by asingle MSC/VLR. A group of

LA under the control of the same MSC/VLR defines the MSC/VLR area. A Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) is the area served by one network operator.

Network operations In this paragraph, the description of the GSM network is focused on the differents functions to fulfil by the network and not on its physical components. In GSM, five main functions can be defined:

Transmission: of data and signaling. Not all the components of the GSM network are strongly related with both types of types of Tx. While the MSC, BTS and BSC, among others, are involved with data and signaling, components such as HLR, VLR or EIR registers, are only concerned with signaling. Radio Resources Management (RRM). Mobility Management (MM). Communication Management (CM). Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM).

Radio Resources Management (RRM) The role of the RR function is to establish, maintain and release communication links between mobile stations and the MSC. The elements that are mainly concerned with the RR function are the MN and the BTS. However, since the RR component performs connection management also during cell handoffs, it also affects the MSC which is the handoff management component. The RR is also responsible for the management of frequency resources as well as varying radio interface conditions. Main component operations are:

Channel assignment, change and release. Handoff Frequency hopping. Power-level control. Discontinuous transmission and reception. Timing advance.

Handoff

The user movements may result a change in the channel/cell, when the quality of the communication is degrading; this is known as handoff. Handoffs occur between:

between channels within a cell between cells controlled by the same BSC between cells under the same MSC but controlled by different BSCs between cells controlled by different MSCs.

Handoffs are mainly controlled by the MSC. However to avoid unnecessary signalling, the first two types of handoffs are managed by the respective BSC (thus, the MSC is only notified of the handoff). To perform the handoff the mobile station controls continuously its own signal strengh and the signal strengh of the neighboring cells. The list of cells that must be monitored by the mobile station is given by the base station. Power measurements allow to decide which is the best cell in order to maintain the quality of the communication link. Two basic algorithms are used for handoffs:

The `minimum acceptable performance' algorithm. When the quality of the transmission degrades, the power level of the mobile is increased, until the increase of the power level has no effect on the quality of the signal. Upon this link layer hint, a handoff is initiated.

The `power budget' algorithm. Here the handoff pre-empts the power increase, to obtain a good SIR. Mobility Management (MM) The MM component handles:

Location Management: Location is managed through periodicaly or ondemand. At power-on time, the MH signals an IMSI attach. Ondemand location updates are signalled when the MN moves to a different PLMN or new location area (LA). The signal is sent to the new MSC/VLR, which forwards it to the subscriber's HLR. Upon authorization in the new MSC/VLR, the subscriber's HLRremoves the registration entry of the MN at the old MSC/VLR. If after the update time interval, the MN has not registered, it is then deregistered. On power-off, the MN performs an IMSI detach.

security and authentication: Authentication involves the SIM card and the Authentication Center. A secret key, stored in the SIM card and the AuC together with a ciphering algorithm called A3, are used to authenticate the user. The MN and the AuCcompute a SRES through A3 using the secret key and a nonce generated by the AuC. If the two computed SRES are the same, the subscriber is authenticated. The different services to which the subscriber has access are also checked. Next the a security check is performed in the equipment identity (IMEI). If the IMEI number of the mobile is authorized in the EIR, the mobile station is allowed to connect the network. To assure user confidentiality, the user is registered with a Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) after its firstlocation update procedure. Enciphering is another option to guarantee a very strong security.

Communication Management (CM) The CM component manages:

Call control (CC): it controls call setup, management and tear-down in relation to management of type of service. Call routing is the primary task for this component. To reach a mobile subscriber, a user dials the Mobile Subscriber ISDN (MSISDN) number which includes: o a country code o a national destination code; this identifies the subscriber's operator o a code mapping to the subscriber's HLR. o The call is then passsed to the GMSC (if the call is originated from a fixed network) that 'knows' the HLR corresponding to the particular MSISDN number. The GMSC signals the HLR for call routing information. The HLR requests this information from the subscriber's current VLR. This VLR allocates temporarily a Mobile Station Roaming Number (MSRN) for the call. The MSRN number is the information returned by the HLR to the GMSC. It is latter that routes the call through the MSRN number, to the subscriber's current MSC/VLR. In the subscriber's current LA, the mobile is paged. Supplementary Services management: This involves the MN and the HLR.

SMS management: Here the GSM network contacts the Short Message Service Center through the two following interfaces:

o o

SMS-GMSC for Mobile Terminating Short Messages (SMS-MT/PP). It has the same role as the GMSC. SMS-IWMSC for Mobile Originating Short Messages (SMS-MO/PP).

Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) The OAM component allows the operator to monitor and control the system as well as modify the configuration of the elements of the system. Not only the OSS is part of the OAM, but also the BSS and NSS participate in functions such as:

provide the operator with all the information it needs. This information is forwarded to the OSS to control the network. perform self-test tasks in addition to the OAM functions. control of multiple BTSs by the BSS.

Radio interface
One of the main objectives of GSM is roaming. Thus, to allow for interoperability between MNs stations and disparate networks of the radio interface must be standardised. Spectrum efficiency depends on aspects of the radio interface and transmission, such as system capacity or techniques used to optimize SIR and frequency reuse. It thus, becomes clear that the specification of the radio interface can influence the spectrum efficiency. Frequency allocation Two frequency bands, of 25 Mhz each, are allocated for the GSM system:

890-915 Mhz for the uplink (MN to BTS). 935-960 Mhz for the downlink (BTS to M).

However, for reasons related to the military as well as the existence of past analog systes (that use part of the two frequency bands), not all the countries can use the whole GSM frequency bands. Medium access GSM employs a mix of Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), combined with frequency hopping.

Using FDMA, a frequency is assigned to each user. So for large number of users in a FDMA system, the larger the number of required frequencies. The limited available radio spectrum and the fact that a user will not free its assigned frequency until he does not need it anymore, reasons about scalability problems in an FDMA system. TDMA allows several users to share the same channel. Each subscriber multiplexes the shared channel, scheduling their frame for transmission. Usually TDMA is used with an FDMA structure. In GSM, a 25 Mhz frequency band is divided, using a FDMA scheme, into 124 carrier frequencies with a 200khz spacing. Normally a 25 Mhz frequency band can provide 125 carrier frequencies; however, the first carrier frequency is used as a guardband between GSM and other services working on lower freq. band. Each carrier is time-divided using a TDMA scheme. This scheme splits a 200khz channel, into 8 bursts. A burst is the unit of time in a TDMA system, and it lasts approximately 0.577ms. Thus a TDMA lasts 4.615ms. Each burst is assigned to a single user. Channel structure A channel maps to the recurrence of one burst every frame. It is defined by its frequency and the position of its corresponding burst within a TDMA frame. In GSM there are two types of channels:

traffic channels used for speech and data. control channels used for network management messages and channel maintenance tasks. Traffic channels (TCH)

Full-rate traffic channels (TCH/F) are defined using a group of 26 TDMA frames called a 26-Multiframe. The 26-Multiframe lasts 120 ms. In this frame group traffic channels for the downlink and uplink are separated by 3 bursts. That implies, the mobiles will not need to transmit and receive at the same time which simplifies considerably the electronics of the system. The frames that form the 26-Multiframe structure have different functions:

24 frames are reserved to traffic. 1 frame is used for the Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH).

The last frame is unused. It allows the MN to perform other functions, such as measuring the signal strength of neighboring cells.

Half-rate traffic channels (TCH/H), which double the capacity of the system, are also grouped in a 26-Multiframe but the internal structure is different.

Control channels

According to their functions, 4 different classes of control channels are defined: Broadcast channels (BCH) The BCH channels are used, by BTS to provide the MN with synchronization information from the network. 3 different types of BCHs can be distinguished:

Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH): gives to the MN the parameters needed to identify and access the network. Synchronization Channel (SCH): gives the MN the training symbol sequence to demodulate the information transmitted by BTS. Frequency-Correction Channel (FCCH): provides the MN with the frequency reference of the system for the purposes of syncronisation. Common Control Channels (CCCH)

The CCCH channels help to establish the calls from the mobile station or the network. These are:

Paging Channel (PCH): used to alert the MN of an incoming call. Random Access Channel (RACH): used by the MN to request network access. Access Grant Channel (AGCH): used, by the BTS, to inform the MN about the channel it should use. This channel is the answer of a BTS to a RACH request from the MN. Dedicated Control Channels (DCCH)

The DCCH channels are used for message exchange between several mobiles or a mobile and the network. These are:

Standalone Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCH): used to exchange signaling in the downlink and uplink. Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH): used for channel maintenance and control. Associated Control Channels (ACCH)

Fast Associated Control Channels (FACCH) replace all or part of a traffic channel when urgent signaling must be transmitted. The FACCH channels carry the same signaling as SDCCH channels.

Burst structure Four different types of bursts can be distinguished in GSM:

Frequency-correction, used on the FCCH. It has the same length as the normal one but a different structure. Synchronization burst used on the SCH. It has the same length as the normal one but a different structure. Random access used on the RACH and is shorter than the normal burst. Normal burst used to carry speech or data information. It lasts approximately 0.577 ms and has a length of 156.25 bits. Its structure is presented below.

Structure of the 26-Multiframe, the TDMA frame and the normal burst

The tail bits (T) are a group of 3 bits set to zero and placed at the beginning and the end of a burst. They cover the periods of ramping up and down of the mobile's power. The coded data bits corresponds to two groups, of 57 bits each, containing signaling or user data. The stealing flags (S) indicate, to the receiver, whether the data bits are data or signaling traffic. The training sequence has a length of 26 bits. It synchronizes the receiver, thus masking out multipath propagation effects. The guard period (GP), with a length of 8.25 bits, is used to avoid a possible overlap of two mobiles during the ramping time. Frequency hopping Propagation effects and thus, multipath fading depend on the radio frequency. To eliminate significant differences in channel quality, slow frequency hopping is introduced; it changes the frequency with every TDMA frame (fast frequency hopping changes the frequency many times per frame but it is not used in GSM). The frequency hopping also reduces the effects of co-channel interference. There are different types of frequency hopping algorithms. The algorithm selected is sent through BCCH. Frequency hoping is optional for a BTS but must be supported by the MN. From bits to radio The following figure shows the steps involved to transform speech audio to radio waves and vice versa.

From bits to radio

If the source of information is data (not speech), the speech coding is not performed.

Speech coding Talkspurts transmission (voice audio) is the mainstream service of a cellular system. The GSM speech codec that transforms the analog signal (voice) into a digital representation, must meet the following criteria:

Maintain speech quality at least equal to previous cellular systems. Reduce redundancy in voice utterances. This reduction is essential due transmission capacity limitation on the data channel. Adopt low complexity speech codec to reduce production costs.

The standard GSM speech codec is RPE-LTP (Regular Pulse Excitation Long-Term Prediction). This codec uses statistics from previous samples (information that doesn't

change very quickly) to predict the current sample. The speech signal is divided into blocks of 20ms. These blocks are then passed to the speech codec of 13 kbps, to obtain sppech frames of 260 bits each. Channel coding Channel coding adds redundancy bits to the original information to detect and correct, if possible, transmission errors. Channel coding for the GSM data TCH channels Channel coding is performed using two codes: a block and a convolutional code. The block code is defined in the GSM Recommendations 05.03. It receives an input block of 240 bits and adds 4-zero tail bits at the end of the input block; this results a block output of 244 bits. A convolutional code adds redundancy bits to protect the data. A convolutional encoder contains memory. This property differentiates the two types of code. A convolutional code can be defined by three variables : n, k and K. The value n corresponds to the number of output bits from the encoder, k to the number of input bits and K to the memory of the encoder. The ratio (R) of the code is defined as R = k/n. For example, a convolutional code with k=1, n=2 and K=5, uses a ratio of R = 1/2 and delay of K=5, which means that it will add oneredundant bit for each input bit (1 in 2 output bits is an input bit). The code uses 5 consecutive bits to compute the redundancy bit. As the convolutional code is a 1/2 rate for an input block of 244 bits an output block of 488 bits is generated. These 488 bits arepunctured to produce a block of 456 bits. 32 bits, obtained as follows, are not transmitted : C (11 + 15 j) for j = 0, 1, ..., 31 The output block of 456 bits is then passed to the interleaver.

Channel coding for the GSM speech channels Before applying channel coding, the 260 bits of a GSM speech frame are divided in 3 different classes according to function and importance. The most important class is

the class Ia containing 50 bits. Next in importance is the class Ib, which contains 132 bits. The least important is the class II, which contains the remaining 78 bits. The different classes are coded differently:

Class Ia bits are block-coded. 3 parity bits are added to the 50 class-Ia bits. The Ia output (53 bits) are added to the Class Ib bits (50+3+132); 4 zero bits are added to the Ia+Ib bits (185+4). A convolutional code, with r = 1/2 and K = 5, is then applied, obtaining an output block of 378 bits (189*2). Class II bits are added (378+78), without any protection, to the output block of the convolutional coder. The 456-bit block is finally constructed.

Channel coding for the GSM control channels In GSM, signalling information is contained in just 184 bits. 40 bits parity, obtained using a fire code, and 4-zero bits are added to the 184 bits before applying the convolutional code (r = 1/2 and K = 5). The output of the convolutional code is then a block of 456 bits; it does not need to be punctured.
Interleaving

This method rearranges a group of bits in a particular way. It is combined with FEC codes in order to improve the performance of the error correction mechanisms. Interleaving decreases the possibility of losing whole bursts during the transmission, by dispersing the errors. Since the errors become less concentrated, it is then easier to correct them.

Interleaving for the GSM control channels At the physical layer a burst in GSM transmits 2 blocks of 57 data bits each. Thus, the 456-bit block output of the channel coder fit into 4 bursts (4*114 = 456). The 456 bits are, thus, divided into 8*57-bit blocks. As interleaving is applied during the forming of the blocks, the 1st block of 57 bits contains the bit numbers (0, 8, 16, .....448), the second one the bit numbers (1, 9, 17, .....449), etc. The last block of 57 bits will then contain the bit numbers (7, 15, .....455).

The first 4 *57-bit blocks are placed in the even-numbered bits of four bursts. The other 4 are placed in the odd-numbered bits of the same four bursts. Therefore, the interleaving depth of GSM interleaving for control channels is 4 and a new data block starts every 4 bursts. The interleaver for control channels is called a block rectangular interleaver. Interleaving for the GSM speech channels The 456-bit block, obtained after the channel coding, is divided in 8*57-bit blocks in the same way as it is explained in the previous paragraph. But these 8 blocks are distributed differently. The first 4 blocks of 57 bits are placed in the even-numbered bits of 4 consecutive bursts. The other four blocks are placed in the odd-numbered bits of the next four bursts. The interleaving depth of the GSM interleaving for speech channels is then 8. A new data block also starts every 4 bursts. The interleaver for speech channels is called a block-diagonal interleaver. Interleaving for the GSM data TCH channels A particular interleaving scheme, with an interleaving depth equal to 22, is applied to the block of 456 bits obtained after the channel coding. The block is divided into 2 blocks of 6 bits each, 2 blocks of 12 bits each, 2 blocks of 18 bits each and 16 blocks of 24 bits each. It is spread over 22 bursts in the following way :

the 1st and 22nd bursts carry one block of 6 bits each (2) the 2nd and 21st bursts carry one block of 12 bits each (2) the 3rd and 20th bursts carry one block of 18 bits each (2) from 4th to 19th burst, a block of 24 bits is placed in each burst (16)

A burst will then carry information from 5-6 consecutive data blocks. The data blocks are said to be interleaved diagonally. A new data block starts every four bursts.

Burst assembling The burst assembling step manages the grouping the bits into bursts.

Encryption It is used to protect signaling and data. An encryption key is computed using: 1. algorithm A8 (stored on the SIM card), 2. the subscriber key 3. a random number (nonce) delivered by the network (same as the one used for authentication). A 114-bit sequence is produced using: 1. the encryption key, 2. algorithm A5 3. the burst numbers. This bit sequence is then XORed with the two 57 bit blocks of data included in a normal burst. To decrypt correctly, the receiver has to use the same algorithm A5 for the deciphering procedure.

Modulation The modulation chosen for the GSM system is the Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK). The GMSK modulation has been chosen as a compromise between spectrum efficiency, complexity and low spurious radiations (that reduce the possibilities of adjacent channel interference). The GMSK modulation has a rate of 270 5/6 kbauds and a BT product equal to 0.3.

GMSK modulator

Discontinuous transmission (DTX) DTX is used to suspend the radio transmission during the silence periods. This exploits the observation that only 40-50% during a conversation does the speaker actually talk. DTX helps also to reduce interference between different cells and to increase system capacity. It prolongs battery charge life. The DTX function is performed by means of:

Voice Activity Detection (VAD), which has to determine whether the sound represents speech or noise, even if the background noise is very important. If the voice signal is considered as noise, thetransmitter is turned off producing then, an unpleasant effect called clipping. Comfort noise. A side-effect of the DTX function is that when the signal is considered as noise, the transmitter is turned off and therefore, a total silence is heard at the receiver. This can be very annoying to the receiving user since it appears as a dead connection. In order to overcome this problem, the receiver creates a minimum of background noise called comfort noise. Comfort noiseeliminates the impression that the connection is dead.

Timing advance The timing of the bursts transmissions is very important. Mobiles are at different distances from the BTS. Their delay depends, consequently, on their distance. Timing advance allows signals coming from different distances to arrive to the BTS at the right time. The latter measures the timing delay of the MNs. If the bursts corresponding to an MN arrive too late and overlap with other bursts, the BTS tells, the MN to advance the timing in transmission of its bursts.

Power control The BTSs perform timing measurements; they also perform measurements on the power level of the different mobile stations. These power levels are adjusted so that the power is nearly the same for each burst.

The BTS controls its power level. The MN measures the strength and the quality of the signal between itself and the BTS. If the mobile station does not receive correctly the signal, the BTS changes its power level and retransmits.

Discontinuous reception It is a method used to conserve the MN's power. The paging channel is divided into subchannels corresponding to single mobile stations. Each MN 'listens' only to its subchannel while it stays in sleepmode for the duration of the rest subchannels of the paging channel. Multipath and equalisation At the GSM frequency bands, radio waves reflect from buildings, cars, hills, etc. So not only the 'right' signal (the output signal of the emitter) is received by an antenna, but also many reflected signals, which corrupt the information, with different phases. An equaliser is in charge of extracting the 'right' signal from the received signal. It estimates the channel impulse response of the GSM system and then constructs an inverse filter. The receiver knowswhich training sequence it must wait for. By means of comparing the received training sequence with the expected one, the receiver computes the coefficients of the channel impulse response. In order to extract the 'right' signal, the received signal is passed through the inverse filter.

GSM services
Not all services were not introduced since the very start of GSM deployment. The GSM Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) defined 4 classes of deployed services.

E1: introduced at the start of the service. E2: introduced at 4Q 1991. Eh: introduced on availability of half-rate channels. A: these services are optional.

Three categories of services can be distinguished into:

Teleservices. o Telephony (E1 Eh). o Facsmile group 3 (E1). o Emergency calls (E1 Eh). o Teletex. o SMS (E1, E2, A). Using these services, a message of a maximum of 160 chars can be sent to/from an MN. If the mobile is powered off, the message is stored. With the SMS Cell Broadcast (SMS-CB), a message of a maximum of 93 chars can be broadcast to all mobiles in a certain geographical area. o Fax mail. Thanks to this service, the subscriber can receive fax messages at any fax machine. o Voice mail. This service corresponds to an answering machine. Bearer services: used for transporting user data. Some of the bearer services are listed below: o Asynchronous and synchronous data, 300-9600 bps (E1). o Alternate speech and data, 300-9600 bps (E1). o Asynchronous PAD (packet-switched, packet assembler/disassembler) access, 300-9600 bps (E1). o Synchronous dedicated packet data access, 2400-9600 bps (E2). Supplementary Services o Call Forwarding (E1). The subscriber can forward incoming calls to another number if the called mobile is busy (CFB), unreachable (CFNRc) or if there is no reply (CFNRy). Call forwarding can also be applied unconditionally (CFU). o Call Barring. Different types of barring are offered: All Outgoing Calls, BAOC (E1). Outgoing International Calls, BOIC (E1). Outgoing International Calls unless directed toward the Home PLMN Country, BOIC-exHC (E1). All Incoming Calls, BAIC (E1). Incoming calls when roaming (A). o Call hold (E2). o Call Waiting, CW (E2). o Advice of Charge, AoC (E2). On-line charge information.

o o

o o o o o

Multiparty service (E2). Possibility of establishing a multiparty conversation. Closed User Group, CUG (A). It corresponds to a group of users with limited possibilities of calling (only the people of the group and certain numbers). Calling Line Identification Presentation, CLIP (A). It supplies the called user with the MSISDN of the calling user. Calling Line Identification Restriction, CLIR (A). It enables the calling user to restrict the presentation. Connected Line identification Presentation, CoLP (A). It supplies the calling user with the directory number he gets if his call is forwarded. Connected Line identification Restriction, CoLR (A). It enables the called user to restrict the presentation. Operator determined barring (A). Restriction of different services and call types by the operator.

Bibliography

`An introduction to GSM' by Redl, Weber and Oliphant. Published by Artech House. ISBN 0-89006-785-6. 'Overview of the Global System for Mobile communications' by John Scourias (University of Waterloo). Web document found in: http://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/~jscouria/GSM/index.html 'The GSM System for Mobile communications' by Mouly and Pautet. Published by Cell & Sys. ISBN 2-9507190-0-7. `Telecommunications Engineering' by J.Dunlop and D.G. Smith. Published by Chapman & Hall. ISBN 0-412-56270-7. `Modern Personal Radio Systems'. Edited by R.C.V. Macario. The Institution of Electrical Engineers. ISBN 0-85296-861-2.

`Mobile Radio Communications' by Raymond Steele. Pentech Press publishers and IEEE Press. ISBN 0-7803-1102-7. 'A brief overview of the GSM radio interface' by Thierry Turletti (Laboratory for Computer Science, Massachussets Institute of Technology). 'An introduction to GSM' from the book 'Cellular Radio Systems', edited by Balston and Macario. Published by Artech House. 'The GSM tutorial'. Web document found in: http:/www.iec.org

Abbreviations
A3 A5 A8 AGCH AMPS AoC ARQ AUC BAIC BAOC BOIC BOIC-exHC BCCH Authentication algorithm Ciphering algorithm Ciphering key computation Access Grant CHannel Advanced Mobile Phone Service Advice of Charge Automatic Repeat reQuest mechanism Authentication Center Barring of All Incoming Calls Barring of All Outgoing Calls Barring of Outgoing International Calls Barring of Outgoing International Calls except those directed toward the Home PLMN Country Broadcast Control CHannel

BCH BER bps BSC BSS BTS CC CCCH CDMA CEPT CFB CFNRc CFNRy CFU CGI C/I C/I CLIP CLIR CM CoLP CoLR

Broadcast CHannel Bit Error Rate bits per second Base Station Controller Base Station Subsystem Base Transceiver Station Call Control Common Control CHannel Code Division Multiple Access Conference of European Posts and Telecommunications Call Forwarding on mobile subscriber Busy Call Forwarding on mobile subscriber Not Reachable Call Forwarding on No Reply Call Forwarding Unconditional Cell Global Identity Carrier-to-Interference ratio Carrier-to-Interference ratio Calling Line Identification Presentation Calling Line Identification Restriction Communication Management Connected Line identification Presentation Connected Line identification Restriction

CUG CW DCS DCCH DTX EIR ETSI FACCH FCCH FDMA FEC FER GIWU GMSC GMSK GP GSM HLR IMEI IMSI ISDN JDC

Closed User Group Call Waiting Digital Cellular System Dedicated Control CHannel Discontinuous transmission Equipment Identity Register European Telecommunications Standards Institute Fast Associated Control CHannel Frequency-Correction CHannel Frequency Division Multiple Access Forward Error Correction code Frame Erasure Rate GSM Interworking Unit GSM Mobile services Switching Center Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying Guard Period Global System for Mobile communications Home Location Register International Mobile Equipment Identity International Mobile Subscriber Identity Integrated Services Digital Network Japanese Digital Cellular

LA LAI LOS MM MoU MS MSC MSISDN MSRN NADC NMT NSS OAM OSS PAD PCH PCS PDC PIN PLMN PSPDN PSTN

Location Area Location Area Identity Line-Of-Sight Mobility Management Memorandum of Understanding Mobile Station Mobile services Switching Center Mobile Station ISDN number Mobile Station Roaming Number North American Digital Cellular Nordic Mobile Telephone Network and Switching Subsystem Operation, Administration and Maintenance Operation and Support Subsystem Packet Assembler Disassembler Paging CHannel Personal Communications Services Personal Digital Cellular Personal Identification Number Public Land Mobile Network Packet Switched Public Data Network Public Switched Telephone Network

RACH RF RPE-LTP RR S SACCH SCH SDCCH SDCCH SIM SMS SMS-CB SMS-MO/PP SMS-MT/PP SNR SRES SS T TACS TCH TCH/F TCH/H

Random Access CHannel Radio Frequency Regular Pulse Excitation Long-Term Prediction Radio Resources management Stealing flags Slow Associated Control CHannel Synchronisation CHannel Standalone Dedicated Control CHannel Standalone Dedicated Control CHannel Subscriber Identity Module Short Message Services Short Message Services Cell Broadcast Short Message Services Mobile Originating/Point-to-Point Short Message Services Mobile Terminating/Point-to-Point Signal to Noise Ratio Signed RESult Supplementary Services Tail bits Total Access Communication System Traffic CHannel Traffic CHannel/Full rate Traffic CHannel/Half rate

TDMA TMSI UMTS VAD VLR

Time Division Multiple Access Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Voice Activity Detection Visitor Location Register

GSM Links
The Telecoms Virtual Library about mobile communications. An overview of the GSM as well as some useful links. Belgian GSM GSM World, the world wide web site of the GSM MoU Association GSMag International A list of GSM operators and network codes by country Send SMS to GSM Mobile phones Mobile World ITU Selected Sites-Telecom-Wireless GSM information network Radiophone SMS reference GSM reference site

GSM: Radio interface

One of the main objectives of GSM is roaming. Thus, to allow for interoperability between MNs stations and disparate networks of the radio interface must be standardised. Spectrum efficiency depends on aspects of the radio interface and transmission, such as system capacity or techniques used to optimize SIR and frequency reuse. It thus, becomes clear that the specification of the radio interface can influence the spectrum efficiency. Frequency allocation Two frequency bands, of 25 Mhz each, are allocated for the GSM system:

890-915 Mhz for the uplink (MN to BTS). 935-960 Mhz for the downlink (BTS to M).

However, for reasons related to the military as well as the existence of past analog systes (that use part of the two frequency bands), not all the countries can use the whole GSM frequency bands. Medium access GSM employs a mix of Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), combined with frequency hopping. Using FDMA, a frequency is assigned to each user. So for large number of users in a FDMA system, the larger the number of required frequencies. The limited available radio spectrum and the fact that a user will not free its assigned frequency until he does not need it anymore, reasons about scalability problems in an FDMA system. TDMA allows several users to share the same channel. Each subscriber multiplexes the shared channel, scheduling their frame for transmission. Usually TDMA is used with an FDMA structure. In GSM, a 25 Mhz frequency band is divided, using a FDMA scheme, into 124 carrier frequencies with a 200khz spacing. Normally a 25 Mhz frequency band can provide 125 carrier frequencies; however, the first carrier frequency is used as a guardband between GSM and other services working on lower freq. band. Each carrier is time-divided using a TDMA scheme. This scheme splits a 200khz channel, into

8 bursts. A burst is the unit of time in a TDMA system, and it lasts approximately 0.577ms. Thus a TDMA lasts 4.615ms. Each burst is assigned to a single user. Channel structure A channel maps to the recurrence of one burst every frame. It is defined by its frequency and the position of its corresponding burst within a TDMA frame. In GSM there are two types of channels:

traffic channels used for speech and data. control channels used for network management messages and channel maintenance tasks. Traffic channels (TCH)

Full-rate traffic channels (TCH/F) are defined using a group of 26 TDMA frames called a 26-Multiframe. The 26-Multiframe lasts 120 ms. In this frame group traffic channels for the downlink and uplink are separated by 3 bursts. That implies, the mobiles will not need to transmit and receive at the same time which simplifies considerably the electronics of the system. The frames that form the 26-Multiframe structure have different functions:

24 frames are reserved to traffic. 1 frame is used for the Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH). The last frame is unused. It allows the MN to perform other functions, such as measuring the signal strength of neighboring cells.

Half-rate traffic channels (TCH/H), which double the capacity of the system, are also grouped in a 26-Multiframe but the internal structure is different.

Control channels

According to their functions, 4 different classes of control channels are defined: Broadcast channels (BCH)

The BCH channels are used, by BTS to provide the MN with synchronization information from the network. 3 different types of BCHs can be distinguished:

Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH): gives to the MN the parameters needed to identify and access the network. Synchronization Channel (SCH): gives the MN the training symbol sequence to demodulate the information transmitted by BTS. Frequency-Correction Channel (FCCH): provides the MN with the frequency reference of the system for the purposes of syncronisation. Common Control Channels (CCCH)

The CCCH channels help to establish the calls from the mobile station or the network. These are:

Paging Channel (PCH): used to alert the MN of an incoming call. Random Access Channel (RACH): used by the MN to request network access. Access Grant Channel (AGCH): used, by the BTS, to inform the MN about the channel it should use. This channel is the answer of a BTS to a RACH request from the MN. Dedicated Control Channels (DCCH)

The DCCH channels are used for message exchange between several mobiles or a mobile and the network. These are:

Standalone Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCH): used to exchange signaling in the downlink and uplink. Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH): used for channel maintenance and control. Associated Control Channels (ACCH)

Fast Associated Control Channels (FACCH) replace all or part of a traffic channel when urgent signaling must be transmitted. The FACCH channels carry the same signaling as SDCCH channels.

Burst structure

Four different types of bursts can be distinguished in GSM:

Frequency-correction, used on the FCCH. It has the same length as the normal one but a different structure. Synchronization burst used on the SCH. It has the same length as the normal one but a different structure. Random access used on the RACH and is shorter than the normal burst. Normal burst used to carry speech or data information. It lasts approximately 0.577 ms and has a length of 156.25 bits. Its structure is presented below.

Structure of the 26-Multiframe, the TDMA frame and the normal burst

The tail bits (T) are a group of 3 bits set to zero and placed at the beginning and the end of a burst. They cover the periods of ramping up and down of the mobile's power. The coded data bits corresponds to two groups, of 57 bits each, containing signaling or user data. The stealing flags (S) indicate, to the receiver, whether the data bits are data or signaling traffic. The training sequence has a length of 26 bits. It synchronizes the receiver, thus masking out multipath propagation effects.

The guard period (GP), with a length of 8.25 bits, is used to avoid a possible overlap of two mobiles during the ramping time. Frequency hopping Propagation effects and thus, multipath fading depend on the radio frequency. To eliminate significant differences in channel quality, slow frequency hopping is introduced; it changes the frequency with every TDMA frame (fast frequency hopping changes the frequency many times per frame but it is not used in GSM). The frequency hopping also reduces the effects of co-channel interference. There are different types of frequency hopping algorithms. The algorithm selected is sent through BCCH. Frequency hoping is optional for a BTS but must be supported by the MN. From bits to radio The following figure shows the steps involved to transform speech audio to radio waves and vice versa.

From bits to radio

If the source of information is data (not speech), the speech coding is not performed.

Speech coding Talkspurts transmission (voice audio) is the mainstream service of a cellular system. The GSM speech codec that transforms the analog signal (voice) into a digital representation, must meet the following criteria:

Maintain speech quality at least equal to previous cellular systems. Reduce redundancy in voice utterances. This reduction is essential due transmission capacity limitation on the data channel. Adopt low complexity speech codec to reduce production costs.

The standard GSM speech codec is RPE-LTP (Regular Pulse Excitation Long-Term Prediction). This codec uses statistics from previous samples (information that doesn't change very quickly) to predict the current sample. The speech signal is divided into blocks of 20ms. These blocks are then passed to the speech codec of 13 kbps, to obtain sppech frames of 260 bits each. Channel coding Channel coding adds redundancy bits to the original information to detect and correct, if possible, transmission errors. Channel coding for the GSM data TCH channels Channel coding is performed using two codes: a block and a convolutional code. The block code is defined in the GSM Recommendations 05.03. It receives an input block of 240 bits and adds 4-zero tail bits at the end of the input block; this results a block output of 244 bits.

A convolutional code adds redundancy bits to protect the data. A convolutional encoder contains memory. This property differentiates the two types of code. A convolutional code can be defined by three variables : n, k and K. The value n corresponds to the number of output bits from the encoder, k to the number of input bits and K to the memory of the encoder. The ratio (R) of the code is defined as R = k/n. For example, a convolutional code with k=1, n=2 and K=5, uses a ratio of R = 1/2 and delay of K=5, which means that it will add oneredundant bit for each input bit (1 in 2 output bits is an input bit). The code uses 5 consecutive bits to compute the redundancy bit. As the convolutional code is a 1/2 rate for an input block of 244 bits an output block of 488 bits is generated. These 488 bits arepunctured to produce a block of 456 bits. 32 bits, obtained as follows, are not transmitted : C (11 + 15 j) for j = 0, 1, ..., 31 The output block of 456 bits is then passed to the interleaver.

Channel coding for the GSM speech channels Before applying channel coding, the 260 bits of a GSM speech frame are divided in 3 different classes according to function and importance. The most important class is the class Ia containing 50 bits. Next in importance is the class Ib, which contains 132 bits. The least important is the class II, which contains the remaining 78 bits. The different classes are coded differently:

Class Ia bits are block-coded. 3 parity bits are added to the 50 class-Ia bits. The Ia output (53 bits) are added to the Class Ib bits (50+3+132); 4 zero bits are added to the Ia+Ib bits (185+4). A convolutional code, with r = 1/2 and K = 5, is then applied, obtaining an output block of 378 bits (189*2). Class II bits are added (378+78), without any protection, to the output block of the convolutional coder. The 456-bit block is finally constructed.

Channel coding for the GSM control channels

In GSM, signalling information is contained in just 184 bits. 40 bits parity, obtained using a fire code, and 4-zero bits are added to the 184 bits before applying the convolutional code (r = 1/2 and K = 5). The output of the convolutional code is then a block of 456 bits; it does not need to be punctured.
Interleaving

This method rearranges a group of bits in a particular way. It is combined with FEC codes in order to improve the performance of the error correction mechanisms. Interleaving decreases the possibility of losing whole bursts during the transmission, by dispersing the errors. Since the errors become less concentrated, it is then easier to correct them.

Interleaving for the GSM control channels At the physical layer a burst in GSM transmits 2 blocks of 57 data bits each. Thus, the 456-bit block output of the channel coder fit into 4 bursts (4*114 = 456). The 456 bits are, thus, divided into 8*57-bit blocks. As interleaving is applied during the forming of the blocks, the 1st block of 57 bits contains the bit numbers (0, 8, 16, .....448), the second one the bit numbers (1, 9, 17, .....449), etc. The last block of 57 bits will then contain the bit numbers (7, 15, .....455). The first 4 *57-bit blocks are placed in the even-numbered bits of four bursts. The other 4 are placed in the odd-numbered bits of the same four bursts. Therefore, the interleaving depth of GSM interleaving for control channels is 4 and a new data block starts every 4 bursts. The interleaver for control channels is called a block rectangular interleaver. Interleaving for the GSM speech channels The 456-bit block, obtained after the channel coding, is divided in 8*57-bit blocks in the same way as it is explained in the previous paragraph. But these 8 blocks are distributed differently. The first 4 blocks of 57 bits are placed in the even-numbered bits of 4 consecutive bursts. The other four blocks are placed in the odd-numbered bits of the next four bursts. The interleaving depth of the GSM interleaving for speech channels is then 8. A new data block also starts every 4 bursts. The interleaver for speech channels is

called a block-diagonal interleaver. Interleaving for the GSM data TCH channels A particular interleaving scheme, with an interleaving depth equal to 22, is applied to the block of 456 bits obtained after the channel coding. The block is divided into 2 blocks of 6 bits each, 2 blocks of 12 bits each, 2 blocks of 18 bits each and 16 blocks of 24 bits each. It is spread over 22 bursts in the following way :

the 1st and 22nd bursts carry one block of 6 bits each (2) the 2nd and 21st bursts carry one block of 12 bits each (2) the 3rd and 20th bursts carry one block of 18 bits each (2) from 4th to 19th burst, a block of 24 bits is placed in each burst (16)

A burst will then carry information from 5-6 consecutive data blocks. The data blocks are said to be interleaved diagonally. A new data block starts every four bursts.

Burst assembling The burst assembling step manages the grouping the bits into bursts. Encryption It is used to protect signaling and data. An encryption key is computed using: 1. algorithm A8 (stored on the SIM card), 2. the subscriber key 3. a random number (nonce) delivered by the network (same as the one used for authentication). A 114-bit sequence is produced using: 1. the encryption key, 2. algorithm A5 3. the burst numbers. This bit sequence is then XORed with the two 57 bit blocks of data included in a normal burst. To decrypt correctly, the receiver has to use the same algorithm A5 for

the deciphering procedure.

Modulation The modulation chosen for the GSM system is the Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK). The GMSK modulation has been chosen as a compromise between spectrum efficiency, complexity and low spurious radiations (that reduce the possibilities of adjacent channel interference). The GMSK modulation has a rate of 270 5/6 kbauds and a BT product equal to 0.3.

GMSK modulator

Discontinuous transmission (DTX) DTX is used to suspend the radio transmission during the silence periods. This exploits the observation that only 40-50% during a conversation does the speaker actually talk. DTX helps also to reduce interference between different cells and to increase system capacity. It prolongs battery charge life. The DTX function is performed by means of:

Voice Activity Detection (VAD), which has to determine whether the sound represents speech or noise, even if the background noise is very important. If

the voice signal is considered as noise, thetransmitter is turned off producing then, an unpleasant effect called clipping. Comfort noise. A side-effect of the DTX function is that when the signal is considered as noise, the transmitter is turned off and therefore, a total silence is heard at the receiver. This can be very annoying to the receiving user since it appears as a dead connection. In order to overcome this problem, the receiver creates a minimum of background noise called comfort noise. Comfort noiseeliminates the impression that the connection is dead.

Timing advance The timing of the bursts transmissions is very important. Mobiles are at different distances from the BTS. Their delay depends, consequently, on their distance. Timing advance allows signals coming from different distances to arrive to the BTS at the right time. The latter measures the timing delay of the MNs. If the bursts corresponding to an MN arrive too late and overlap with other bursts, the BTS tells, the MN to advance the timing in transmission of its bursts.

Power control The BTSs perform timing measurements; they also perform measurements on the power level of the different mobile stations. These power levels are adjusted so that the power is nearly the same for each burst. The BTS controls its power level. The MN measures the strength and the quality of the signal between itself and the BTS. If the mobile station does not receive correctly the signal, the BTS changes its power level and retransmits.

Discontinuous reception It is a method used to conserve the MN's power. The paging channel is divided into subchannels corresponding to single mobile stations. Each MN 'listens' only to its subchannel while it stays in sleepmode for the duration of the rest subchannels of the paging channel. Multipath and equalisation

At the GSM frequency bands, radio waves reflect from buildings, cars, hills, etc. So not only the 'right' signal (the output signal of the emitter) is received by an antenna, but also many reflected signals, which corrupt the information, with different phases. An equaliser is in charge of extracting the 'right' signal from the received signal. It estimates the channel impulse response of the GSM system and then constructs an inverse filter. The receiver knowswhich training sequence it must wait for. By means of comparing the received training sequence with the expected one, the receiver computes the coefficients of the channel impulse response. In order to extract the 'right' signal, the received signal is passed through the inverse filter.