GSM Basics

Brief History

1981 Analogue cellular introduced Franco-German study of

digital pan-European cellular system
1982 A special working committee, Groupe Spcial Mobile
GSM), was formed within the CEPT to look at and continue the FrancoGerman study.

1987 MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) signed by over

18 countries
1989 GSM was moved into the ETSI (European
Telecommunications Standards Institute)organization
GSM name changed to Global System for Mobile
communications.
1990 DCS1800 (edited GSM900) specification developed
1992 Australia became the first non-European country to
join the MoU.

GSM Around the World

GSM Network

GSM Architecture

MSC

MSC the mobile service switching centre

(MSC) is the core switching entity in the
network. The MSC is connected to the radio
access network (RAN); the RAN is formed
by the BSCs and BTSs within the Public
Land Mobile Network (PLMN). Users of the
GSM network are registered with an MSC;
all calls to and from the user are controlled
by the MSC. A GSM network has one or
more MSCs, geographically distributed.

VLR

VLR the visitor location register

(VLR) contains subscriber data for
subscribers registered in an MSC.
Every MSC contains a VLR. Although
MSC and VLR are individually
addressable, they are always
contained in one integrated node.

GMSC

GMSC the gateway MSC (GMSC) is

the switching entity that controls
mobile terminating calls. When a call is
established towards a GSM subscriber,
a GMSC contacts the HLR of that
subscriber, to obtain the address of the
MSC where that subscriber is currently
registered. That MSC address is used
to route the call to that subscriber

HLR

HLR the home location register (HLR)

is the database that contains a
subscription record for each subscriber
of the network. A GSM subscriber is
normally associated with one particular
HLR. The HLR is responsible for the
sending of subscription data to the VLR
(during registration) or GMSC (during
mobile terminating call handling).

CN

CN the core network (CN) consists

of, amongst other things, MSC(s),
GMSC(s) and HLR(s). These entities
are the main components for call
handling and subscriber
management. Other main entities in
the CN are the equipment
identification register (EIR) and
authentication centre (AUC).

AuC

The authentication center (AuC)- A

protected database that holds a copy
of the secret key stored in each
subscriber's SIM card, which is used
for authentication and encryption
over the radio channel. The AuC
provides additional security against
fraud. It is normally located close to
each HLR within a GSM network.

EIR

The equipment identity register (EIR)- The EIR is

a database that contains a list of all valid
mobile station equipment within the network,
where each mobile station is identified by its
international mobile equipment identity (IMEI).

The EIR has three databases:

White list: for all known, good IMEIs
Black list: for bad or stolen handsets
Grey list: for handsets/IMEIs that are uncertain

BSS

BSS the base station system (BSS) is

composed of one or more base station
controllers (BSC) and one or more base
transceiver stations (BTS). The BTS
contains one or more transceivers (TRX).
The TRX is responsible for radio signal
transmission and reception. BTS and BSC
are connected through the Abis interface.
The BSS is connected to the MSC through
the A interface.

BTS

The base transceiver station (BTS): GSM uses a

series of radio transmitters called BTSs to
connect the mobiles to a cellular network.
Their tasks include channel coding/decoding
and encryption/ decryption. A BTS is comprised
of radio transmitters and receivers, antennas,
the interface to the PCM facility, etc. The BTS
may contain one or more transceivers to
provide the required call handling capacity. A
cell site may be omnidirectional or split into
typically three directional cells.

BSC

The base station controller (BSC): A group

of BTSs are connected to a particular BSC
which manages the radio resources for
them. The primary function of the BSC is
call maintenance. The mobile stations
normally send a report of their received
signal strength to the BSC every 480 ms.
With this information the BSC decides to
initiate handovers to other cells, change
the BTS transmitter power, etc.

OMC

Operation and Maintenance Center (OMC)-The

OMC is a management system that oversees
the GSM functional blocks. The OMC assists the
network operator in maintaining satisfactory
operation of the GSM network. Hardware
redundancy and intelligent error detection
mechanisms help prevent network down-time.
The OMC is responsible for controlling and
maintaining the MSC, BSC and BTS. It can be in
charge of an entire public land mobile network
(PLMN) or just some parts of the PLMN.

MS

MS the mobile station (MS) is the GSM handset.

mobile equipment (ME) this is the GSM terminal,

excluding the SIM card;

subscriber identification module (SIM) this is the

chip embedded in the SIM card that identifies a
subscriber of a GSM network; the SIM is
embedded in the SIM card. When the SIM card is
inserted in the ME, the subscriber may register
with a GSM network. The ME is now effectively
personalized for this GSM subscriber;

Mobile Station

Subscribers Identity Module

Without a SIM installed, all GSM mobiles are

identical. It's the SIM card that gives a mobile its
identity.

Identifiers in the GSM Network

International Mobile Subscriber

Identity-The international mobile
subscriber identity (IMSI) is
embedded on the SIM card and is
used to identify a subscriber. The IMSI
is also contained in the subscription
data in the HLR. The IMSI is used for
identifying a subscriber for various
processes in the GSM network.

Structure of IMSI

Structure of IMSI

mobile country code (MCC) the MCC identifies the country

for mobile networks. The MCC is not used for call
establishment. The usage of MCC is defined in ITU-T E.212
[129]. The MCC values are allocated and published by the
ITU-T.
mobile network code (MNC) the MNC identifies the mobile
network within a mobile country (as identified by MCC).
MCC and MNC together identify a PLMN. Refer to ITU-T
E.212 [129] for MNC usage. The MNC may be two or three
digits in length. Common practice is that, within a country
(as identified by MCC), all MNCs are either two or three
digits.
mobile subscriber identification number (MSIN) the MSIN
is the subscriber identifier within a PLMN.

MSISDN

The MSISDN is used to identify the subscriber when, among

other things, establishing a call to that subscriber or
sending an SMS to that subscriber. Hence, the MSISDN is
used for routing purposes.
country code (CC) the CC identifies the country or group of
countries of the subscriber;
national destination code (NDC) each PLMN in a country
has one or more NDCs allocated to it; the NDC may be used
to route a call to the appropriate network;
subscriber number (SN) the SN identifies the subscriber
within the number plan of a PLMN.

International Mobile Equipment

Identifier (IMEI)

The international mobile equipment

identifier (IMEI) is used to identify the
ME. Each ME has a unique IMEI. The
IMEI is hard-coded in the ME and
cannot be modified. The IMEI is not
used for routing or subscriber
identification.

Mobile Station Roaming Number

The mobile station roaming number (MSRN) is used in the GSM
network for routing a call to a MS. The need for the MSRN stems from
the fact that the MSISDN identifies a subscriber, but not the current
location of that subscriber in a telecommunications network.
Each MSC in a PLMN has a (limited) range of MSRNs allocated to it.
An MSRN may be allocated to any subscriber registered in that MSC.
An MSRN is part of a GSM operators number plan. The MSRN
indicates the GSM network a subscriber is registered in, but not the
GSM network the subscriber belongs to. The MSRN is not meant for
call initiation.

location update when attaching to a network,

the MS reports the IMSI to the MSC, which uses
the IMSI to derive the global title (GT) of the HLR
associated with the subscriber;
terminating call when the GSM network handles
a call to a GSM subscriber, the HLR uses the IMSI
to identify the subscriber in the MSC/VLR, to start
a process for delivering the call to that
subscriber in that MSC/VLR.
roaming charging a VPLMN uses the IMSI to
send billing records to the HPLMN of a subscriber.

GSM Cell Plan

GSM uses a number of channels in each cell. However, the

same channels cannot be used in adjacent cells, as they
would interfere with one another. This is Spatial Division
Multiple Access (SDMA), a scheme that reuses the channels
in distant geographical areas.

GSM Cell Type

One way for cells to be designed is using an omnidirectional

antenna at the center. The whole cell uses the same
channels. Another cell design is a sectored cell. This uses a
beam antenna, which in the above example has a 120
beam width. This forms a three-sectored cell. There are
other sector designs that can be used for other applications.

A GSM network is a public land

mobile network (PLMN). Other types
of PLMN are the time division multiple
access (TDMA) network or code
division multiple access (CDMA)
network.

GSM Signalling
A interface the connection between
MSC and BSC;
Abis interface the connection
between BSC and BTS;
D interface the connection between
MSC and HLR;
Um interface the radio connection
between MS and BTS.

When it comes to call establishment,

GSM makes a distinction between
signalling and payload.
Signalling refers to the exchange of
information for call set up; payload
refers to the data that is transferred
within a call, i.e. voice, video, fax etc.

GSM Channels

GSM Broadcast Channel

All BTS produce a Broadcast Channel (BCH). The BCH is like

a lighthouse or beacon. It's on all the time and allows
mobile to find the GSM network. The network for a variety of
user functions also uses the BCH signal strength. It's a
useful way of telling which is the closest BTS to the mobile.

GSM Traffic Channel

The TCH is a two way channel used to exchange speech

information between the mobile and base station. BCH occupies a
channel in the downlink band only. The corresponding channel in
the uplink is effectively left clear. The mobile can use this for
unscheduled or Random Access Channels (RACH).

GSM hand-off

When the MS is on a call, it is constantly monitoring the

Received Signal Quality and the Received Signal Level.
These are constantly being sent back to the BS on a Slow
Associated Control Channel (SACCH).

GSM Power Steps

IMSI Attach (Off/On)

Forced Location Update on Power On

Only if LAC on SIM is different
Forced Location Update on Power Off
The IMSI attach/detach process is a way of forcing
all mobiles to inform the network when they have
camped and when they have turned off (or just
before they turn off!). The SIM stores the last
location Area Code (LAC) when it is powered down
and it compares this to the camping LAC on Power
up and if they are different it will perform an IMSI
attach.

Mobile Originated Call

Mobile Sends RACH

Channel Assignment Posted on BCH
(AGCH)
Mobile and Base Station
communicate on SDCCH
Authentication
Mobile Assigned to Traffic Channel
(TCH)
Speech Data sent and received

Mobile Terminated Call

Mobile Sees Page

Mobile Sends RACH
Channel Assignment Posted on BCH
(AGCH)
Mobile and Base Station communicate
on SDCCH
Authentication
Mobile Assigned to Traffic Channel (TCH)
Speech Data sent and received

Mobile Handof

The mobile reports its measurements and the serving BSC

determines that it is time to perform a handoff. It will
contact the new base station and get the information on the
new channel and timeslot and send this to the mobile. It
then commends the mobile to switch base stations and then
once the new call is established, close down the old link and
reallocate it to another user if necessary.