71

C H A P T E R

5

GSM Architecture
and Interfaces

5.1 I

NTRODUCTION

I n thi s chapter we present an overvi ew of the GSM as descri bed i n ETSI s rec-
ommendati ons. The chapter di scusses GSM frequency bands, the GSM Publ i c
Land Mobi l e Network (PLMN) and i ts objecti ves and servi ces, GSM archi tec-
tur e and GSM subsystem enti ti es, i nter faces, and pr otocol s between GSM
enti ti es. We address the mappi ng between GSM protocol s and OSI l ayers and
present the archi tecture of the North Ameri can PCS-1900.

5.2 GSM F

REQUENCY

B

ANDS

The GSM system i s a fr equency- and ti me-di vi si on system; each physi cal
channel i s characteri zed by a carri er frequency and a ti me sl ot number. GSM
system fr equenci es i ncl ude two bands at 900 MHz and 1800 MHz commonl y
r efer r ed to as the GSM-900 and DCS-1800 systems. For the pr i mar y band i n
the GSM-900 system, 124 r adi o car r i er s have been dened and assi gned i n
two sub-bands of 25 MHz each i n the 890915 MHz and 935960 MHz ranges,
wi th channel wi dths of 200 kHz. Each carri er i s di vi ded i nto frames of 8 ti me
sl ots (for ful l r ate), wi th a fr ame dur ati on of about 4.6 ms. For DCS-1800,

GSM.05 Page 71 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM

72 GSM Architecture and Interfaces Chap. 5

ther e ar e two sub-bands of 75 MHz i n the 17101785 MHz and 18051880
MHz ranges.

5.3 GSM PLMN

ETSI or i gi nal l y dened GSM as a Eur opean di gi tal cel l ul ar tel ephony stan-
dar d. GSM i nter faces dened by ETSI l ay the gr oundwor k for a mul ti vendor
networ k appr oach to di gi tal mobi l e communi cati on. Fi gur e 5.1 shows a GSM
PLMN.
GSM offer s user s good voi ce qual i ty, cal l pr i vacy, and networ k secur i ty.
SI M cards provi de the securi ty mechani sm for GSM. SI M cards are l i ke credi t
car ds and i denti fy the user to the GSM networ k. They can be used wi th any
GSM handset, pr ovi di ng phone access, ensur i ng del i ver y of appr opr i ate ser-
vi ces to that user and automati cal l y bi l l i ng the subscr i ber s networ k usage
back to the home network.
A Public Land Mobile
Network (PLMN)
AUC
HLR
VLR VLR
MSC MSC MSC
EIR
AUC
HLR EIR
VLR VLR
MSC MSC MSC MSC MSC
Public Switched
Telephone Network
(PSTN)
Signaling Network
Fig. 5.1 GSM PLMN

GSM.05 Page 72 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM

5.4 O

BJECTIVES



OF



A

GSM PLMN 73

Roami ng ar r angements between most GSM networ ks i n Eur ope al l ow
subscr i ber s to have access to the same ser vi ces no matter wher e they tr avel .
The real gem of GSM i s i ts MAP and i ts exi bi l i ty. Thi s coupl ed wi th the SI M
tool ki t wi l l al l ow servi ce provi ders far more exi bi l i ty i n the future than any-
thi ng currentl y offered even i n I S-41.
A major i mportance of GSM i s i ts potenti al for del i veri ng enhanced ser-
vi ces r equi r i ng mul ti medi a communi cati on: voi ce, i mage, and data. Sever al
mobi l e ser vi ce pr ovi der s offer fr ee voi ce mai l boxes and phone answer i ng ser-
vi ces to subscri bers.
The key to del i ver i ng enhanced ser vi ces i s SS7, a r obust set of pr otocol
l ayers desi gned to provi de fast, efci ent, rel i abl e transfer and del i very of si g-
nal i ng i nfor mati on acr oss the si gnal i ng networ k and to suppor t both the
swi tched voi ce and nonvoi ce appl i cati ons. Wi th SS7 on the enhanced servi ces
pl atfor m and i ntegr ated mai l box par ameter s, subscr i ber s can be noti ed
about the number of stor ed messages i n thei r mai l boxes, ti me and sour ce of
l ast messages, message ur gency, and whether the messages ar e voi ce or fax.
Future appl i cati ons such as fax store-and-forward, and audi otex can al so use
the pl atforms voi ce and data handl i ng capabi l i ti es.

5.4 O

BJECTIVES



OF



A

GSM PLMN

A GSM PLMN cannot establ i sh cal l s autonomousl y other than l ocal cal l s
between mobi l e subscri bers. I n most cases, the GSM PLMN depends upon the
exi sti ng wi rel i ne networks to route the cal l s. Most of the ti me the servi ce pro-
vi ded to a subscr i ber i s a combi nati on of the access ser vi ce by a GSM PLMN
and the ser vi ce by some exi sti ng wi r el i ne networ k. Thus, the gener al objec-
ti ves of a GSM PLMN network wi th respect to servi ces to a subscri ber are

To pr ovi de the subscr i ber a wi de r ange of ser vi ces and faci l i ti es, both
voi ce and nonvoi ce, that ar e compati bl e wi th those offer ed by exi sti ng
networks (e.g., PSTN, I SDN)

To i ntroduce a mobi l e radi o system that i s compati bl e wi th I SDN

To provi de certai n servi ces and faci l i ti es excl usi ve to mobi l e si tuati ons

To gi ve access to the GSM networ k for a mobi l e subscr i ber i n a countr y
that operates the GSM system

To pr ovi de faci l i ti es for automati c r oami ng, l ocati ng, and updati ng of
mobi l e subscri bers

To provi de servi ce to a wi de range of MSs, i ncl udi ng vehi cl e-mounted sta-
ti ons, portabl e stati ons, and handhel d stati ons

To provi de for efci ent use of the frequency spectrum

To al l ow for a l ow-cost i nfr astr uctur e and ter mi nal and to keep cost of
servi ce l ow

GSM.05 Page 73 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM

74 GSM Architecture and Interfaces Chap. 5

5.5 GSM PLMN S

ERVICES

A tel ecommuni cati on ser vi ce suppor ted by the GSM PLMN i s dened as a
gr oup of communi cati on capabi l i ti es that the ser vi ce pr ovi der offer s to the
subscr i ber s. The basi c tel ecommuni cati on ser vi ces pr ovi ded by the GSM
PLMN are di vi ded i nto three mai n groups (for addi ti onal detai l s on GSM ser-
vi ces, refer to chapter 9):

Bearer services.

These ser vi ces gi ve the subscr i ber the capaci ty
r equi r ed to tr ansmi t appr opr i ate si gnal s between cer tai n access poi nts
(i .e., user-network i nterfaces).

Teleservices.

These ser vi ces pr ovi de the subscr i ber wi th necessar y
capabi l i ti es i ncl udi ng ter mi nal equi pment functi ons to communi cate
wi th other subscri bers.

Supplementary services.

These ser vi ces modi fy or suppl ement basi c
tel ecommuni cati ons ser vi ces and ar e offer ed together or i n associ ati on
wi th basi c tel ecommuni cati ons servi ces.
The GSM system offer s the oppor tuni ty for a subscr i ber to r oam fr eel y
thr ough countr i es wher e a GSM PLMN i s oper ati onal . Agr eements ar e
requi red between the vari ous servi ce provi ders to guarantee access to servi ces
offered to subscri bers.

5.6 GSM S

UBSYSTEMS

A seri es of functi ons are requi red to support the servi ces and faci l i ti es i n the
GSM PLMN. The basi c subsystems of the GSM ar chi tectur e ar e (Fi gur e 5.2)
the Base Stati on Subsystem (BSS), Network and Swi tchi ng Subsystem (NSS),
and Operati onal Subsystem (OSS).
The BSS pr ovi des and manages tr ansmi ssi on paths between the MSs
and the NSS. Thi s i ncl udes management of the r adi o i nter face between MSs
and the rest of the GSM system. The NSS has the responsi bi l i ty of managi ng
communi cati ons and connecti ng MSs to the r el evant networ ks or other MSs.
The NSS i s not i n di r ect contact wi th the MSs. Nei ther i s the BSS i n di r ect
contact wi th exter nal networ ks. The MS, BSS, and NSS for m the oper ati onal
par t of the GSM system. The OSS pr ovi des means for a ser vi ce pr ovi der to
contr ol and manage the GSM system. I n the GSM, i nter acti on between the
subsystems can be grouped i n two mai n parts:

Operational.

Exter nal networ ks to/fr om NSS to/fr om BSS to/fr om MS
to/from subscri ber

Control.

OSS to/from servi ce provi der
The oper ati onal par t pr ovi des tr ansmi ssi on paths and establ i shes them. The
control part i nteracts wi th the trafc-handl i ng acti vi ty of the operati onal part
by moni tori ng and modi fyi ng i t to mai ntai n or i mprove i ts functi ons.

GSM.05 Page 74 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM

5.6 GSM S

UBSYSTEMS

75

5.6.1 GSM Subsystem Entities

Fi gure 5.3 shows the functi onal enti ti es of the GSM and thei r l ogi cal i ntercon-
necti on. We wi l l bri ey descri be these functi onal enti ti es here.

5.6.1.1 MS

The MS consi sts of the physi cal equi pment used by the sub-
scri ber to access a PLMN for offered tel ecommuni cati on servi ces. Functi onal l y,
the MS i ncl udes a Mobi l e Termi nati on (MT) and, dependi ng on the servi ces i t
can suppor t, var i ous Ter mi nal Equi pment (TE), and combi nati ons of TE and
Ter mi nal Adaptor (TA) functi ons (the TA acts as a gateway between the TE
and the MT) (see Fi gur e 5.4). Var i ous types of MS, such as the vehi cl e-
mounted stati on, portabl e stati on, or handhel d stati on, are used.
The MSs come i n ve power cl asses whi ch dene the maxi mum RF
power l evel that the uni t can transmi t. Tabl es 5.1 and 5.2 provi de the detai l s
of maxi mum RF power for var i ous cl asses i n GSM and DCS-1800. Vehi cul ar
and portabl e uni ts can be ei ther cl ass I or cl ass I I , whereas handhel d uni ts can
be cl ass I I I , I V, and V. The typi cal cl asses are I I and V. Tabl e 5.3 provi des the
detai l s of maxi mum RF power for GSM and DCS-1800 mi cro-BSs.
Fig. 5.2 GSM Subsystems

GSM.05 Page 75 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM

76 GSM Architecture and Interfaces Chap. 5
Fig. 5.3 GSM Reference Model
Table 5.1 Maximum RF Power for MS in GSM
Class MS Max. RF Power (watts)
I 20 (not currentl y i mpl emented)
I I 8
I I I 5
I V 2
V 0.8
Table 5.2 Power Level in DCS-1800
Power Class
Max. MS RF Power
watts (dBm)
Max. BS RF Power
watts (dBm)
1 1 (30) 20 (43)
2 0.25 (24) 10 (40)
3 5 (37)
4 2.5 (34)

GSM.05 Page 76 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM

5.6 GSM S

UBSYSTEMS

77

Basi cal l y, an MS can be di vi ded i nto two par ts. The r st par t contai ns
the har dwar e and softwar e to suppor t r adi o and human i nter face functi ons.
The second par t contai ns ter mi nal /user-speci c data i n the for m of a smar t
car d, whi ch can effecti vel y be consi der ed a sor t of l ogi cal ter mi nal . The SI M
card pl ugs i nto the rst part of the MS and remai ns i n for the durati on of use.
Wi thout the SI M car d, the MS i s not associ ated wi th any user and cannot
mak e or r ecei ve cal l s (except possi bl y an emer gency cal l i f the networ k
al l ows). The SI M card i s i ssued by the mobi l e servi ce provi der after subscri p-
ti on, whi l e the rst part of the MS woul d be avai l abl e at retai l shops to buy or
Table 5.3 Power Levels for Micro-BS in GSM and DCS-1800
Power Class
Max. RF Power of GSM
Micro-BS, watts (dBm)
Max. RF Power of DCS-1800
Micro-BS, watts (dBm)
M1 0.25 (24) 1.6 (32)
M2 0.08 (19) 0.5 (27)
M3 0.03 (14) 0.16 (22)
Fig. 5.4 Types of MSs

GSM.05 Page 77 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM

78 GSM Architecture and Interfaces Chap. 5

r ent. Thi s type of SI M car d mobi l i ty i s anal ogous to ter mi nal mobi l i ty, but
pr ovi des a per sonal -mobi l i ty-l i ke ser vi ce wi thi n the GSM mobi l e networ k
(refer to chapter 11 for more detai l s).
An MS has a number of i denti ti es i ncl udi ng the I nter nati onal Mobi l e
Equi pment I denti ty (I MEI ), the I nter nati onal Mobi l e Subscr i ber I denti ty
(I MSI ), and the I SDN number. The I MSI i s stor ed i n the SI M. The SI M car d
contai ns al l the subscri ber-rel ated i nformati on stored on the users si de of the
radi o i nterface.

IMSI.

The I MSI i s assi gned to an MS at subscr i pti on ti me. I t uni quel y
i denti es a gi ven MS. The I MSI wi l l be transmi tted over the radi o i nter-
face onl y i f necessary. The I MSI contai ns 15 di gi ts and i ncl udes

Mobi l e Country Code (MCC)3 di gi ts (home country)

Mobi l e Network Code (MNC)2 di gi ts (home GSM PLMN)

Mobi l e Subscri ber I denti cati on (MSI N)

Nati onal Mobi l e Subscri ber I denti ty (NMSI )

Temporary Mobile Subscriber I dentity (TMSI ).

The TMSI i s
assi gned to an MS by the VLR. The TMSI uni quel y i denti es an MS
wi thi n the area control l ed by a gi ven VLR. The maxi mum number of bi ts
that can be used for the TMSI i s 32.

IMEI.

The I MEI uni quel y i denti es the MS equi pment. I t i s assi gned by
the equi pment manufacturer. The I MEI contai ns 15 di gi ts and carri es

The Type Approval Code (TAC)6 di gi ts

The Fi nal Assembl y Code (FAC)2 di gi ts

The seri al number (SN) 6 di gi ts

A Spare (SP)1 di gi t

SIM.

The SI M carri es the fol l owi ng i nformati on (see chapter 11 for more
detai l s):

I MSI

Authenti cati on Key (K

i

)

Subscri ber i nformati on

Access control cl ass

Ci pher Key (K

c

)

*

TMSI

*

Addi ti onal GSM servi ces

*

Locati on Area I denti ty (LAI )

*

Forbi dden PLMN

*Updated by the network.

GSM.05 Page 78 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM

5.6 GSM S

UBSYSTEMS

79

5.6.1.2 BSS

The BSS i s the physi cal equi pment that provi des radi o coverage
to pr escr i bed geogr aphi cal ar eas, known as the cel l s. I t contai ns equi pment
r equi r ed to communi cate wi th the MS. Functi onal l y, a BSS consi sts of a con-
trol functi on carri ed out by the BSC and a transmi tti ng functi on performed by
the BTS. The BTS i s the radi o transmi ssi on equi pment and covers each cel l . A
BSS can serve several cel l s because i t can have mul ti pl e BTSs.
The BTS contai ns the Transcoder Rate Adapter Uni t (TRAU). I n TRAU,
the GSM-speci c speech encodi ng and decodi ng i s car r i ed out, as wel l as the
rate adaptati on functi on for data. I n certai n si tuati ons the TRAU i s l ocated at
the MSC to gai n an advantage of more compressed transmi ssi on between the
BTS and the MSC.

5.6.1.3 NSS

The NSS i ncl udes the mai n swi tchi ng functi ons of GSM, data-
bases requi red for the subscri bers, and mobi l i ty management. I ts mai n rol e i s
to manage the communi cati ons between GSM and other networ k user s.
Wi thi n the NSS, the swi tchi ng functi ons ar e per for med by the MSC. Sub-
scr i ber i nfor mati on r el evant to pr ovi si oni ng of ser vi ces i s kept i n the HLR.
The other database i n the NSS i s the VLR.
The MSC



per for ms the necessar y swi tchi ng functi ons r equi r ed for the
MSs l ocated i n an associ ated geogr aphi cal ar ea, cal l ed an MSC ar ea (see
Fi gure 5.5).
A
PSN/ISDN
Network
Other
MSC
Other
MSC
OMC VLR EIR
BSS
BSS
HLR
HLR
MSC
A
C
C
E
E
B
F
BSS 1
MSC
BSC1 BSC2
A
bis
A
bis
U
M
BTS BTS BTS
CELL
A
A
Fig. 5.5 MSC Area i n GSM
a. BSS Archi tecture b. MSC

GSM.05 Page 79 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM

80 GSM Architecture and Interfaces Chap. 5

The MSC moni tor s the mobi l i ty of i ts subscr i ber s and manages neces-
sary resources requi red to handl e and update the l ocati on regi strati on proce-
dur es and to car r y out the handover functi ons. The MSC i s i nvol ved i n the
i nter wor ki ng functi ons to communi cate wi th other networ ks such as PSTN
and I SDN. The i nter wor ki ng functi ons of the MSC depend upon the type of
the networ k to whi ch i t i s connected and the type of ser vi ce to be per for med.
The cal l routi ng and control and echo control functi ons are al so performed by
the MSC.
The HLR i s the functi onal uni t used for management of mobi l e subscri b-
er s. The number of HLRs i n a PLMN var i es wi th the char acter i sti cs of the
PLMN. Two types of i nfor mati on ar e stor ed i n the HLR: subscr i ber i nfor ma-
ti on and part of the mobi l e i nformati on to al l ow i ncomi ng cal l s to be routed to
the MSC for the parti cul ar MS. Any admi ni strati ve acti on by the servi ce pro-
vi der on subscri ber data i s performed i n the HLR. The HLR stores I MSI , MS
I SDN number, VLR addr ess, and subscr i ber data (e.g., suppl ementar y ser-
vi ces).
The VLR i s l i nked to one or more MSCs. The VLR i s the functi onal uni t
that dynami cal l y stor es subscr i ber i nfor mati on when the subscr i ber i s
l ocated i n the ar ea cover ed by the VLR. When a r oami ng MS enter s an MSC
ar ea, the MSC i nfor ms the associ ated VLR about the MS; the MS goes
thr ough a r egi str ati on pr ocedur e. The r egi str ati on pr ocedur e for the MS
i ncl udes these acti vi ti es:

The VLR recogni zes that the MS i s from another PLMN.

I f roami ng i s al l owed, the VLR nds the MSs HLR i n i ts home PLMN.

The VLR constructs a Gl obal Ti tl e (GT) from the I MSI to al l ow si gnal i ng
from the VLR to the MSs HLR vi a the PSTN/I SDN networks.

The VLR generates a Mobi l e Subscri ber Roami ng Number (MSRN) that
i s used to route i ncomi ng cal l s to the MS.

The MSRN i s sent to the MSs HLR.
The i nfor mati on i n the VLR i ncl udes MSRN, TMSI , the l ocati on ar ea i n
whi ch the MS has been regi stered, data rel ated to suppl ementary servi ce, MS
I SDN number, I MSI , HLR address or GT, and l ocal MS i denti ty, i f used.
The NSS contai ns more than MSCs, HLRs, and VLRs. I n order to del i ver
an i ncomi ng cal l to a GSM user, the cal l i s r st r outed to a gateway swi tch,
r efer r ed to as the Gateway Mobi l e Ser vi ce Swi tchi ng Center (GMSC). The
GMSC i s r esponsi bl e for col l ecti ng the l ocati on i nfor mati on and r outi ng the
cal l to the MSC thr ough whi ch the subscr i ber can obtai n ser vi ce at that
i nstant (i .e., the vi si ted MSC). The GMSC r st nds the r i ght HLR fr om the
di r ector y number of the GSM subscr i ber and i nter r ogates i t. The GMSC has
an i nter face wi th exter nal networ ks for whi ch i t pr ovi des gateway functi on,
as wel l as wi th the SS7 si gnal i ng networ k for i nter wor ki ng wi th other NSS
enti ti es.

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5.7 GSM I

NTERFACES

81

5.6.1.4 Operation and Maintenance Subsystem (OMSS)

Th e OMSS i s
r esponsi bl e for handl i ng system secur i ty based on val i dati on of i denti ti es of
var i ous tel ecommuni cati ons enti ti es. These functi ons ar e per for med i n the
Authenti cati on Center (AuC) and EI R.
The AuC



i s accessed by the HLR to deter mi ne whether an MS wi l l be
granted servi ce.
The EI R provi des MS i nformati on used by the MSC. The EI R mai ntai ns
a l i st of l egi ti mate, fraudul ent, or faul ty MSs.
The OMSS i s al so i n charge of remote operati on and mai ntenance func-
ti ons of the PLMN. These functi ons ar e moni tor ed and contr ol l ed i n the
OMSS. The OMSS may have one or mor e Networ k Management Center s
(NMCs) to central i ze PLMN control .
The Operati onal and Mai ntenance Center (OMC) i s the functi onal enti ty
thr ough whi ch the ser vi ce pr ovi der moni tor s and contr ol s the system. The
OMC pr ovi des a si ngl e poi nt for the mai ntenance per sonnel to mai ntai n the
enti re system. One OMC can serve mul ti pl e MSCs.

5.7 GSM I

NTERFACES
5.7.1 The Radio Interface (MS to BTS)

The U

m

r adi o i nter face (between MS and base tr anscei ver stati ons [BTS]) i s
the most i mpor tant i n any mobi l e r adi o system, i n that i t addr esses the
demandi ng characteri sti cs of the radi o envi ronment. The physi cal l ayer i nter-
faces to the data l i nk l ayer and r adi o r esour ce management subl ayer i n the
MS and BS and to other functi onal uni ts i n the MS and networ k subsystem
(whi ch i ncl udes the BSS and MSC) for supporti ng trafc channel s. The physi -
cal i nter face compr i ses a set of physi cal channel s accessi bl e thr ough FDMA
and TDMA.
Each physi cal channel suppor ts a number of l ogi cal channel s used for
user tr afc and si gnal i ng. The physi cal l ayer (or l ayer 1) suppor ts the func-
ti ons requi red for the transmi ssi on of bi t streams on the ai r i nterface. Layer 1
al so pr ovi des access capabi l i ti es to upper l ayer s. The physi cal l ayer i s
descri bed i n the GSM Recommendati on 05 seri es (part of the ETSI documen-
tati on for GSM). At the physi cal l evel , most si gnal i ng messages carri ed on the
radi o path are i n 23-octet bl ocks. The data l i nk l ayer functi ons are mul ti pl ex-
i ng, error detecti on and correcti on, ow control , and segmentati on to al l ow for
l ong messages on the upper l ayers.
The r adi o i nter face uses the Li nk Access Pr otocol on Dm channel
(LAPDm). Thi s pr otocol i s based on the pr i nci pl es of the I SDN Li nk Access
Protocol on the D channel (LAPD) protocol . Layer 2 i s descri bed i n GSM Rec-
ommendati ons 04.05 and 04.06. The fol l owi ng l ogi cal channel types ar e sup-
ported (see chapter 7 for the detai l s of l ogi cal channel types):

GSM.05 Page 81 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM

82 GSM Architecture and Interfaces Chap. 5

Speech trafc channel s (TCH)

Ful l -rate TCH (TCH/F)
Hal f-rate TCH (TCH/H)
Broadcast channel s (BCCH)
Frequency correcti on channel (FCCH)
Synchroni zati on channel (SCH)
Broadcast control channel (BCCH)
Common control channel s (CCCH)
Pagi ng channel (PCH)
Random access channel (RACH)
Access grant channel (AGCH)
Cel l broadcast channel (CBCH)
Cel l broadcast channel (CBCH) (the CBCH uses the same physi cal
channel as the DCCH)
Dedi cated control channel s (DCCH)
Sl ow associ ated control channel (SACCH)
Stand-al one dedi cated control channel (SDCCH)
Fast associ ated control channel (FACCH)
The r adi o r esour ce l ayer manages the di al og between the MS and BSS
concer ni ng the management of the r adi o connecti on, i ncl udi ng connecti on
establ i shment, contr ol , r el ease, and changes (e.g., dur i ng handover ). The
mobi l i ty management l ayer deal s wi th suppor ti ng functi ons of l ocati on
update, authenti cati on, and encrypti on management i n a mobi l e envi ronment.
I n the connecti on management l ayer, the cal l contr ol enti ty contr ol s end-to-
end cal l establ i shment and management, and the suppl ementar y ser vi ce
enti ty suppor ts the management of suppl ementar y ser vi ces. Both pr otocol s
are si mi l ar to those used i n the xed wi rel i ne network (for more detai l s refer
to chapter 9). The SMS protocol of thi s l ayer supports the hi gh-l evel functi ons
rel ated to the transfer and management of short message servi ces.
5.7.2 A
bis
Interface (BTS to BSC)
The i nter connecti on between the BTS and the BSC i s thr ough a standar d
i nterface, A
bi s
(most A
bi s
i nterfaces are vendor speci c). The pri mary functi ons
carri ed over thi s i nterface are trafc channel transmi ssi on, terrestri al channel
management, and r adi o channel management. Thi s i nter face suppor ts two
types of communi cati ons l i nks: trafc channel s at 64 kbps carryi ng speech or
user data for a ful l - or hal f-rate radi o trafc channel and si gnal i ng channel s at
16 kbps carryi ng i nformati on for BSC-BTS and BSC-MSC si gnal i ng. The BSC
handl es the LAPD channel si gnal i ng for every BTS carri er. The rst three l ay-
ers are based on the fol l owi ng OSI /I TU-T recommendati ons:
GSM.05 Page 82 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM
5.7 GSM INTERFACES 83
Physi cal l ayer : I TU-T Recommendati on G.703 and GSM Recommenda-
ti on 0-8.54
Data l i nk l ayer: GSM Recommendati on 08.56 (LAPD)
Network l ayer: GSM Recommendati on 08.58
There are two types of messages handl ed by the trafc management pro-
cedur e par t of the si gnal i ng i nter facetransparent and nontransparent.
Transparent messages are between the MS and BSC-MSC and do not requi re
anal ysi s by the BTS. Nontransparent messages do requi re BTS anal ysi s.
5.7.3 A Interface (BSC to MSC)
The A i nterface al l ows i nterconnecti on between the BSS radi o base subsystem
and the MSC. The physi cal l ayer of the A i nterface i s a 2-Mbps standard Con-
sul tati ve Commi ttee on Tel ephone and Tel egraph (CCI TT) di gi tal connecti on.
The si gnal i ng tr anspor t uses Message Tr ansfer Par t (MTP) and Si gnal i ng
Connecti on Control Part (SCCP) of SS7 (see chapter 17 for detai l s). Error-free
transport i s handl ed by a subset of the MTP, and l ogi cal connecti on i s handl ed
by a subset of the SCCP. The appl i cati on par ts ar e di vi ded between the BSS
appl i cati on par t (BSSAP) and BSS oper ati on and mai ntenance appl i cati on
part (BSSOMAP). The BSSAP i s further di vi ded i nto Di rect Transfer Appl i ca-
ti on Par t (DTAP) and BSS management appl i cati on par t (BSSMAP). The
DTAP i s used to tr ansfer l ayer 3 messages between the MS and the MSC
wi thout BSC i nvol vement. The BSSMAP i s responsi bl e for al l aspects of radi o
resource handl i ng at the BSS. The BSSOMAP supports al l the operati on and
mai ntenance communi cati ons of BSS (refer to chapter 15 for more detai l s).
5.7.4 Interfaces between Other GSM Entities
I nfor mati on tr ansfer between GSM PLMN enti ti es uses the MAP. The MAP
contai ns a mobi l e appl i cati on and sever al Appl i cati on Ser vi ce El ements
(ASEs). I t uses the ser vi ce of the Tr ansacti on Capabi l i ti es Appl i cati on Par t
(TCAP) of SS7. I t empl oys the SCCP to offer the necessary si gnal i ng functi ons
requi red to provi de servi ces such as setti ng mobi l e faci l i ti es for voi ce and non-
voi ce appl i cati on i n a mobi l e networ k. The major pr ocedur es suppor ted by
MAP are
Locati on regi strati on and cancel l ati on
Handover procedures
Handl i ng suppl ementary servi ces
Retri eval of subscri ber parameters duri ng cal l setup
Authenti cati on procedures.
Fi gur e 5.3 shows the var i ous i nter faces between the GSM enti ti es. I n Fi gur e
5.6, protocol s used between the GSM enti ti es are gi ven.
GSM.05 Page 83 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM
84 GSM Architecture and Interfaces Chap. 5
Fig. 5.6 Si gnal i ng Protocol s between GSM Enti ti es
GSM.05 Page 84 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM
5.8 MAPPING OF GSM LAYERS ONTO OSI LAYERS 85
5.8 MAPPING OF GSM LAYERS ONTO OSI LAYERS
When an MS i s swi tched on somewher e, i t r st has to deter mi ne whether i t
has access to a PLMN. I t i ni ti ates a l ocati on update to i nform i ts home PLMN
about i ts cur r ent l ocati on i n or der to enabl e the r outi ng of i ncomi ng cal l s to
the subscri ber. The l ocati on of an MS i s stored i n a central database, the HLR
of the PLMN where the customer has purchased servi ce. I n addi ti on to other
user-speci c i nformati on, the HLR mai ntai ns the routi ng number to an MSC.
The MSC i s pr i mar i l y r esponsi bl e for swi tchi ng and mobi l i ty management
(MM). Once connected to an MSC, a BSS communi cates wi th the MS vi a the
radi o i nterface. Each MS, posi ti oned i n a cel l of a BSS of an MSC, i s regi stered
wi th a speci c database associ ated wi th the MSC and the VLR. I f a cal l to a
GSM subscri ber i s generated from an external network, the cal l i s routed to a
Gateway MSC (GMSC) r st. Thi s GMSC i nter r ogates the HLR of the cal l ed
subscr i ber to obtai n the r outi ng number of the vi si ted MSC. The l atter then
i ni ti ates the tr ansmi ssi on of a pagi ng message wi thi n each of i ts associ ated
cel l s. I f the cal l ed subscri ber answers, the BSS assi gns a trafc channel to be
used for the communi cati on, and the l i nk i s ful l y establ i shed.
Dur i ng a cal l , the MS i s al l owed to move fr om cel l to cel l i n the whol e
GSM ser vi ce ar ea, and GSM mai ntai ns the communi cati on l i nks wi thout
i nterrupti on of the end-to-end connecti on. The handover procedure i n GSM i s
mobi l e assi sted and per for med by the BSS. The MS per i odi cal l y measur es
downl i nk si gnal qual i ty and reports i t to i ts servi ng BTS, as wel l as to al l cel l s
i n i ts nei ghbor hood that ar e pr ospecti ve candi dates for handover. Di ffer ent
handover types can be per for med, changi ng ei ther a channel i n the ser vi ng
cel l (i .e., the ser vi ng BTS r emai ns the same) or changi ng the cel l i nsi de the
ar ea contr ol l ed by a BSC; between two BSCs wi thi n a l ocati on ar ea; or
between two l ocati on areas (i .e., MSCs).
The GSM protocol archi tecture for si gnal i ng and mappi ng onto the corre-
spondi ng OSI l ayer s i s shown i n Fi gur e 5.7. GSM uses out-of-band si gnal i ng
through a separate si gnal i ng network.
As di scussed i n secti on 5.7, at the data l i nk l ayer the r adi o i nter face of
the MS uses LAPDm protocol . The hi gher-l ayer protocol s of GSM are grouped
i nto the thi r d l ayer. GSM l ayer 3 i ncl udes functi onal i ty of hi gher OSI l ayer s
and OSI management, such as connecti on management, subscri ber i denti ca-
ti on, and authenti cati on.
At the i nterface between BSC and MSC, the l ower l ayers are real i zed by
MTP of SS7. I t cover s functi onal i ty of l ayer 1, l ayer 2, and par t of l ayer 3 of
the OSI reference model . The MTP i tsel f i s l ayered i nto three l evel s. The two
l ower l evel s are mapped di rectl y onto the correspondi ng OSI l ayers, and l evel
3 covers the l ower part of the OSI network l ayer. The mi ssi ng functi onal i ty of
the hi gher part of the network l ayer i s provi ded by SCCP. The BSSAP serves
pr i mar i l y as a br i dge between the r adi o r esour ce (RR) management and the
MSC, handl i ng for i nstance the assi gnment and swi tchi ng at cal l setup and
GSM.05 Page 85 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM
86 GSM Architecture and Interfaces Chap. 5
handover processi ng. I t therefore provi des the functi onal i ty typi cal l y provi ded
by the transport l ayer, appl i cati on l ayer, and network management of OSI .
The MSC i s connected to the si gnal i ng network vi a SS7 and i s responsi -
bl e for exchange of al l i nfor mati on r equi r ed for cal l setup, mai ntenance, and
management. TCAP contai ns functi ons to pr ovi de associ ati ons between two
TCAP users as wel l as protocol s and servi ces to perform remote operati ons. I t
i s cl osel y rel ated to the Remote Operati on Servi ce El ement (ROSE) of the OSI
appl i cati on l ayer. Si nce TCAP di r ectl y uses the ser vi ces of SCCP, the tr ans-
por t, sessi on, and pr esentati on l ayer s ar e nul l l ayer s. Hence, thi s par t of the
SS7 i s a typi cal exampl e of a system usi ng a r educed pr otocol stack wher e
functi ons of di fferent OSI protocol l ayers are i ncorporated i nto the remai ni ng
l ayers. TCAP provi des functi onal i ty of the OSI transport l ayer.
The cal l -rel ated si gnal i ng between MSCs and external networks uses the
I SDN User Par t (I SUP), whi l e al l GSM-speci c si gnal i ng between MSC and
l ocati on regi sters i s performed vi a the MAP. These protocol s correspond to the
OSI appl i cati on l ayer, al though thei r functi onal i ty i s mai nl y used to mai ntai n
networ k-l evel connecti ons. I t can be noti ced that the networ k compl exi ty of
tel ecommuni cati on networks seems to yi el d protocol s that combi ne functi onal -
Fig. 5.7 Mappi ng of GSM onto OSI Layers
ISUP
SCCP SCCP
BSSAP


T
C
A
P
MAP
CM
MM
MTP MTP
MTP
SCCP
BSSAP
RR
LAPDm
TDMA/
FDMA
CM
MM
RR
LAPDm
TDMA/
FDMA
1
2
3
MS BSS MSC
OSI
Ref.
Model
CM = Communication Management
MM = Mobility Management
RR = Radio Resource Management
BSSAP = Base Station Subsystem Application Part
SCCP = Signaling Connection Control Part
MAP = Mobile Application Part
TCAP = Transaction Capabilities Application Part
ISUP = ISDN User Part
MTP = Message Transfer Part
CM
MM
GSM.05 Page 86 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM
5.9 NORTH AMERICAN PCS-1900 87
i ty di stri buted across the hi gher l ayers and management part of the OSI pro-
tocol stack (for detai l s of si gnal i ng protocol s refer to chapter 17).
5.9 NORTH AMERICAN PCS-1900
Fi gur e 5.8 shows the functi onal model that has been der i ved fr om the T1P1
r efer ence model [1]. Sever al physi cal scenar i os can be devel oped usi ng the
functi onal enti ti es shown i n Fi gur e 5.8. Fi gur e 5.9 shows the Functi onal
Enti ty (FE) gr oupi ng i n whi ch the physi cal i nter face between the Radi o Sys-
tem (RS) and the Swi tchi ng System Pl atform (SSP) carri es both the cal l con-
trol (CC) and mobi l i ty management messages.
Radi o Ter mi nal Functi on (RTF) FEi t i s the subscr i ber uni t (SU). The
onl y physi cal i nter face i s to the Radi o System (RS) usi ng the ai r i nter-
face.
Radi o Contr ol Functi on (RCF) FE and Radi o Access Contr ol Functi on
(RACF) FEthese are i ncl uded i n the RS. Combi ni ng these FEs onto the
same pl atform al l ows ai r-i nterface-speci c functi ons (such as those that
woul d i mpact handover ) to be i sol ated fr om the other i nter faces. OS
Fig. 5.8 Functi onal Model Deri ved from T1P1 Reference Model [1]
GSM.05 Page 87 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM
88 GSM Architecture and Interfaces Chap. 5
i nformati on, i ncl udi ng performance data and accounti ng records, i s gen-
erated, col l ected, and formatted on thi s pl atform. There i s onl y one phys-
i cal i nter face to the SSP to car r y both the cal l contr ol and mobi l i ty
management si gnal i ng.
SSF/CCF FEi t i s contai ned i n SSP and provi des i nterfaces to operator
servi ces, E911, i nternati onal cal l s, and network repai r/mai ntenance cen-
ter s. Physi cal i nter faces for thi s col l ecti on i ncl ude: to the RS, to the
mobi l i ty management pl atform, to the i nformati on provi der, and to other
SSPs and external networks.
Speci al i zed Resour ce Functi on (SRF) FE and data i nter wor ki ng func-
ti onthey are contai ned i n the i nformati on provi der. Physi cal i nterfaces
for thi s col l ecti on i ncl ude one to SSP and another to the mobi l i ty man-
agement pl atform.
I ndi vi dual l y the SSF/CCF FE and CCF FE r epr esent i nter swi tch and
i nternetwork functi onal enti ty col l ecti ons and physi cal i nterfaces.
As shown i n Fi gur e 5.9, onl y the i nter face to the RS i s fr om the SSP.
There i s no di rect physi cal path between the RS and the SCP/VLR. Al l opera-
ti ons to or fr om the RS pass thr ough the SSP, whether or not the SSP ter mi -
nates or i gnores the operati on.
The proposed North Ameri can PCS-1900 standard i s an extensi on of the
ETSI DCS-1800 that was i ni ti al l y devel oped for the fr equency band of 1800
Fig. 5.9 Functi onal Enti ty Groupi ngs
GSM.05 Page 88 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM
5.10 SUMMARY 89
MHz. PCS-1900 consi sts of 200-kHz radi o channel s shared by 8 ti me sl ots, one
per ter mi nal . The PCS-1900 standar d suppor ts a fr equency dupl ex ar r ange-
ment for forward and reverse l i nks. I t uses a xed rate Resi dual Pul se Exci ta-
ti on (RPE) based on a speech coder that operates at 13 kbps.
The North Ameri can types of handover are network i ni ti ated and Mobi l e
Assi sted Handover (MAHO). I n the case of the networ k-i ni ti ated handover,
both har d and soft handover ar e suppor ted. The PCS-1900 standar d denes
support for MAHO and a form of network-i ni ti ated handover that appl i es onl y
to hard handover. For PCS-1900 systems to functi on as an i ntegral part of the
North Ameri can PCS envi ronment, handover needs wi l l be supported between
PCS-1900 and North Ameri can systems.
PCS-1900 suppor ts voi ce pr i vacy thr ough the encr ypti on capabi l i ti es.
Encrypti on (voi ce pri vacy) i s an ai r i nterface capabi l i ty that can be control l ed
by the network operator rather than as a servi ce that may not be control l ed by
the network operator but may al so be offered as a servi ce to the end user. The
GSM encrypti on i s onl y an ai r i nterface functi on and does not depend on the
GSM MAP functi on.
The authenti cati on al gor i thm i n the PCS-1900 uses I MSI as one of i ts
i nputs. The termi nal possesses a key, whi ch i s the same key known by the
home networ k. The networ k computes a si gnatur e that i s speci c for an end
user. Thi s si gnature i s used to authenti cate the end user through the durati on
of the servi ce. Thi s authenti cati on scheme has i ts strength i n the authenti ca-
ti on al gori thm. However, there i s no mechani sm to recogni ze cl ones.
To sati sfy the PCS needs and r equi r ements for ubi qui ty (accessi bi l i ty)
and seaml ess ser vi ce, ai r i nter face tr anspar ency must exi st. Tr anspar ency
i mpl i es that an end user can have access to ser vi ce r egar dl ess of the access
method.
I n the i ni ti al phase of PCS, mul ti pl e ai r i nterfaces may exi st, and there-
fore dual -mode or dual -spectrum termi nal s may be used. The ai m i s to attai n
some l evel of i nter oper abi l i ty wi th the exi sti ng Nor th Amer i can networ ks. I f
i nter oper abi l i ty does not exi st between the PCS-1900 ai r i nter face and the
anal og AMPS 800 MHz ai r i nterface, the ubi qui ty of servi ce i s precl uded. The
PCS-1900 ai r i nter face may access the networ k that pr ovi des GSM ser vi ces.
The AMPS anal og ai r i nterface may have access to I S-41 servi ces.
5.10 SUMMARY
I n thi s chapter, we presented an overvi ew of the GSM system, whi ch consi sts
of four subsystemsMSS, BSS, NSS, and OSS. We al so descr i bed functi onal
enti ti es i n each of the subsystems and presented i nterfaces and protocol s used
between di ffer ent functi onal enti ti es of the GSM system. We i ncl uded the
mappi ng of the GSM protocol s onto the OSI l ayers and provi ded the archi tec-
ture of the PCS-1900 (a deri vati ve of GSM) i n North Ameri ca.
GSM.05 Page 89 Monday, November 30, 1998 2:07 PM
90 GSM Architecture and Interfaces Chap. 5
5.11 REFERENCES
1. Gar g, V. K., and Wi l kes, J. E., Wireless and Personal Communication Systems,
Prenti ce Hal l , 1996.
2. ETSI , GSM Speci cati on Seri es 01.021.06, GSM Overvi ew, Gl ossary, Abbrevi a-
ti ons, Servi ce Phases.
3. ETSI , GSM Speci cati on Seri es 02.012.88, GSM Servi ces and Features.
4. ETSI , GSM Speci cati on Ser i es 03.013.88, GSM PLMN Functi ons, Ar chi tec-
ture, Numberi ng and Addressi ng Procedures.
5. ETSI , GSM Speci cati on Seri es 04.014.88, MS-BSS I nterface.
6. ETSI , GSM Speci cati on Seri es 06.016.32, Radi o Li nk.
7. ETSI , GSM Speci cati on Seri es 07.017.03, Termi nal Adaptati on.
8. ETSI , GSM Speci cati on Ser i es 08.018.60, BSS-MSC I nter face, BSC-BTS
I nterface.
9. ETSI , GSM Speci cati on Seri es 09.019.11, Network I nterworki ng, MAP.
10. Moul y, M., and Pautet, M., The GSM System for Mobile Communications, Moul y
and Pautet, Pal ai seau, France, 1992.
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