1.

1 GSM NETWORK COMPONENTS

GSM specifications define two truly open interfaces:

 Air Interface: The Air interface is the radio-frequency portion of

the circuit between the cellular phone set or wireless modem
(usually portable or mobile) and the active base station.
 A Interface: The A interface is between the BSS and the MSC. The
A interface manages the allocation of suitable radio resources to
the MSs and mobility management.
The system includes more than two interfaces defined but they are not
totally open because the system specification had not been completed
when the commercial systems were launched.
As it was experienced when operating Analogue* Mobile Networks, the
centralized intelligence generated a lot of load in the system, thus
decreasing the capacity. That is why GSM specification in principle
provides the means to distribute intelligence throughout the network.
From the GSM point of view, this decentralized intelligence is implemented
by dividing the whole network into three separate entities:

• Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)

• Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
• Network Management Subsystem (NMS)

 HIGHLIGHT!
The actual network needed for call establishing is composed of the NSS
and the BSS.

Analogue Mobile Networks*: The Analogue mobile Network is the one,

which uses analog modulation techniques where an analog signal is
modified in some way, such as by amplifying the strength of the signal or
varying the frequency, in order to add information to the signal. Analog
signals will be explain in Chapter 2.
 EXPLANATIONS of GSM ENTITIES

 The BSS is a network part responsible for radio path control. Every
call is connected through the BSS.
 The NSS is a network part taking care of call control functions.
Every call is always connected by and through the NSS.
 The NMS is the operation and maintenance related part of the
network. It is also needed for the whole network control. The
network operator observes and maintains network quality and
service offered through the NMS. NMS actually consists of two main
components. Network Management Center (NMC) and Operations
and Maintenance Center (OMC). The NMC administers the entire
cellular network to provide operations at the network level. OMCs
are regional sites that control and monitor the daily operations of
network elements within their regions and the quality of service
provided by the network.

1.1.1 COMPONENTS OF BSS

BASE STATION CONTROLLER (BSC)

The BSC controls and supervises a number of BTSs and radio connections
in the system. It handles the administration of cell data, the location
algorithm, and orders handovers.
BASE TRANCEIVER STATIONS (BTS)
The BTS is the radio equipment required to serve defined area. It contains
the antenna system, radio frequency power amplifiers, and digital
signaling equipment.
1.1.2 COMPONENTS OF NSS

MOBILE SERVICES SWITCHING CENTER (MSC)

The MSC is responsible for setting up, routing, and supervising calls to and
from Mobile Subscribers within a defined geographical area. The MSC also
provides the interface between the cellular network and the other
networks, such as ordinary land-based Public Switched Telephone
Network (PSTN) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). There
can be a number of MSCs within the region controlled by NMC.
VISITOR LOCATION REGISTER (VLR)
The VLR is the database that contains information of mobile subscribers
while they are in its serving area. The information is stored temporarily in
VLR.
HOME LOCATION REGISTER (HLR)
The HLR database stores and manages all mobile subscriptions belonging
to a specific operator. The HLR stores permanent data about subscribers,
including subscriber’s supplementary services, location information, and
authentication parameters. It incorporates an Authentication Center (AUC),
which is used to authenticate users of the network.
AUTHENTICATION CENTER (AUC)
The AUC database is connected to the HLR. The AUC provides the HLR with
authentication parameters and ciphering keys by generating triplets.
Using these triplets, ciphering of speech, data, and signaling over the air-
interface is performed.
EQUIPMENT IDENTITY REGISTER (EIR)
The EIR is the database used for validating each mobile station’s
international mobile station identity. The MSC/VLR can request the EIR to
check if an MS has been stolen (black listed), not type-approved (gray
listed), normal registered (white listed), or unknown.
1.1.3 ADDITIONAL NODES

MOBILE STATION (MS)

The mobile station allows the subscriber to access the services provided
by the PLMN. The MS consists of:
• Mobile Equipment (ME)
• Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)
SERVICE CENTER (SC)
The SC receives, stores and forwards a short message between the
message sender and the MS.
ECHO CANCELLER (EC)
The EC eliminates echo from voice circuits.
SPEECH TRANSCODER (XCDR)
The speech transcoder is the digital signal processing equipment required
to perform GSM defined speech encoding and decoding.

1.1.4 INTERWORKING FUNCTION (IWF)

The interworking function allows the cellular network to communicate with

land networks. It performs the data rate adaptation between the PLMN and
networks such as PSTN, ISDN, and packet networks.

 The relationship between the main elements is illustrated in the

simplified block diagram in Figure 1.
1.1.4.1.1.1
NSS
1.1.4.1.1.1.1 AUC

NMC OMC

VLR
HLR
EIR

GMSC MSC

BSS

1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1

CALL CONNECTION

1.1.1.1.1.1.1.2 SIGNALLING TRANSMISSON

Figure 1 Network Components

1.1.5 GEOGRAPHICAL NETWORK STRUCTURE

Telephone networks need a specific structure to route incoming calls to

the correct exchanges and then on to the subscriber. In a mobile
telephone network, this structure is much more important because the
subscribers are mobile. As subscribers move through the network, these
structures are used to monitor their location.
CELL
A cell is the basic unit of a cellular system and is defined as the area of
radio coverage given by one BTS antenna system. Each cell is assigned a
unique number called Cell Global Identity (CGI). In a complete network
covering an entire country, the number of cells can be quite high.
LOCATION AREA (LA)
A Location Area (LA) is defined as a group of cells. Within the network, a
subscriber’s location is known by the LA, which they are in. The identity of
the LA in which an MS is currently located is stored in the VLR. When an
MS crosses a boundary from a cell belonging to one LA into a cell
belonging to another LA, it must report its new location to the network.
When an MS crosses a cell boundary within an LA, it does need to report
its new location to the network. When there is call for an MS, a paging
message is broadcast within all cells belonging to an LA.

MSC SERVICE AREA

An MSC service area is made up of a number of LAs and represents the
geographical part of the network controlled by one MSC. In order to be
able to route a call to an MS, the subscriber’s MSC service area is also
recorded and monitored. The subscriber’s MSC service area is stored in
the HLR.
Figure 2. MSC Service Area
PLMN SERVICE AREA
A Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) service area is the entire set of cells
served by one network operator and is defined as the area in which an
operator offers radio coverage and access to its network. In any one
country there may be several PLMN service areas, one for each mobile
operator’s network.
GSM SERVICE AREA
The GSM service area is the entire geographical area in which a subscriber
can gain access to a GSM network. The GSM service area increases as
more operators sign contracts agreeing to work together. Currently, the
GSM service area spans dozens of countries across the world from Ireland
to Australia and South Africa.
International roaming is the term applied when an MS moves from one
PLMN to another when abroad.

CELL

LOCATION AREA

MSC SERVICE AREA

 PLMN SERVICE AREA

GSM SERVICE AREA

Figure 3 Relationships between Areas in GSM