The road from Radio sets to Wireless Browsing (GPRS)

SEN141
Awais Bhatti Sajjad Idrees Muzammil Raza Salman Sohail

Through the next half an hour or more we will be moving through the almost 2 decades to deliver you an eagle s eye perspective over the evolution of GSM and global standards for mobile communication.

We will break down complex terminologies and standards into simpler easy to digest statements to deliver a comprehensive description in steps.

WHAT IS IT?

GPRS or General Packet Radio Services is a very widely deployed wireless data service, available now with most GSM networks. GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) being the most popular open (standard), digital cellular technology used for transmitting mobile voice and data services.

The first GSM network was launched in 1991 by Radiolinja in Finland with joint technical infrastructure maintenance from Ericsson. By the end of 1993, over a million subscribers were using GSM phone networks being operated by 70 carriers across 48 countries. To date more than 3 Billion people are using GSM based services, covering 80% population of the world over 218 countries.

THE MEDIUM

Electromagnet waves produced via alternating electric current signals Radio Frequency is the rate of oscillation of electromagnet radiation The range of Radio Frequencies lies in 3Hz to 300GHz spectrum

Name Extremely low frequency Super low frequency Ultra low frequency Very low frequency Low frequency Medium frequency High frequency Very high frequency

Symbol

Frequency 3 30 Hz 30 300 Hz 300 3000 Hz 3 30 kHz 30 300 kHz 300 3000 kHz 3 30 MHz

Wavelength

Applications Directly audible when converted to sound (above ~20 Hz), communication with submarines Directly audible when converted to sound, AC power grids (50 60 Hz) Directly audible when converted to sound, communication within mines Directly audible when converted to sound (below ~20 kHz; or ultrasound otherwise) AM broadcasting, navigational beacons, lowFER, amateur radio Navigational beacons, AM broadcasting, amateur radio, maritime and aviation communication Shortwave, amateur radio, citizens' band radio, skywave propagation FM broadcasting, amateur radio, broadcast television, aviation, GPR, MRI Broadcast television, amateur radio, mobile telephones, cordless telephones, wireless networking, remote keyless entry for automobiles, microwave ovens, GPR Wireless networking, satellite links, amateur radio, microwave links, satellite television, door openers Microwave data links, radio astronomy, amateur radio, remote sensing, advanced weapons systems, advanced security scanning

ELF

100 10 Mm 10 1 Mm 1000 100 km 100 10 km 10 1 km 1000 100 m 100 10 m 10 1 m

SLF ULF VLF LF MF HF

VHF 30 300 MHz

Ultra high frequency

UHF

300 3000 MHz

100 10 cm

Super high frequency

SHF

3 30 GHz

10 1 cm

Extremely high frequency

EHF

30 300 GHz

10 1 mm

What do we need basically

Transmitter

Receiver

Data/Signals are usually transferred over either Amplitude Modulated (AM) or Frequency Modulated (FM) waves
The antenna picks up thousands of these Sine waves The radio tuner singles out the required frequency (or frequency range)

A channel in communication refers to convey the information from the transmitter to the receiver. Channels or frequency ranges or a pair/band of frequencies represent these paths used for radio communications.

Marine VHF radio uses some 88 channels in the VHF band for two-way FM voice communication. Channel 16, for example, is 156.800MHz. In the US, seven additional channels, WX1 - WX7, are allocated for weather broadcasts. Television channels such as North American TV Channel 2 = 55.25MHz, Channel 13 = 211.25MHz. Each channel is 6MHz wide. Wi-Fi consists of unlicensed channels from 2412MHz to 2484MHz in 5MHz steps.

HOW IS IT DONE?

Radio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space. Information is carried by systematically changing (modulating) some property of the radiated waves, such as amplitude, frequency, or phase. When radio waves pass an electrical conductor, the oscillating fields induce an alternating current in the conductor. This can be detected and transformed into sound or other signals that carry information.

A sound wave is produced with a frequency of 5 Hz - 20 kHz. The sound wave is equivalent to a pressure wave traveling through the air. A microphone converts the sound wave into an electrical signal. The electrical wave traveling through the microphone wire is analogous to the original sound wave. The electrical wave is used to encode or modulate a high-frequency "carrier" radio wave. The carrier wave itself does not include any of the sound information until it has been modulated.

The carrier wave can either be amplitude modulated (AM, top) by the electrical signal, or frequency modulated (FM, bottom).

The signal is transmitted by a radio broadcast tower.

Your radio contains an antenna to detect the transmitted signal, a tuner to pick out the desired frequency, a demodulator to extract the original sound wave from the transmitted signal, and an amplifier which sends the signal to the speakers. The speakers convert the electrical signal into physical vibrations (sound).

It is a frequency modulation scheme in which digital information is transmitted through discrete frequency changes of a carrier wave. Audio frequency-shift keying (AFSK) is a modulation technique by which digital data is represented by changes in the frequency (pitch) of an audio tone, yielding an encoded signal suitable for transmission via radio or telephone.

Cellular Methodologies

Radio frequency signals are transmitted from the phone to the nearest base station and incoming signals are sent from the base station to the phone at a slightly different frequency. Base stations link mobile phones to the rest of the mobile and fixed phone network. Once the signal reaches a base station it can be transmitted to the main telephone network, either by telephone cables or by higher frequency radio links between an antenna (e.g. dish) and another at a terminal connected to the main telephone network. Each base station provides radio coverage to a geographical area known as a cell. Base stations are connected to one another by central switching centres, which track calls and transfer them as the caller moves from one cell to the next.

Cellular networks are based on the use of a central transmitter-receiver in each cell, called a "base station" (or Base Transceiver Station, written BTS). The smaller the radius of a cell, the higher the available bandwidth. So, in highly populated urban areas, there are cells with a radius of a few hundred metres, while huge cells of up to thirty kilometres provide coverage in rural areas. In a cellular network, each cell is surrounded by 6 neighboring cells (which is why a cell is generally drawn as a hexagon). To avoid interference, adjacent cells cannot use the same frequency.

The size of each cell depends on three factors.

 First, the local terrain; radio

signals are blocked by trees, hills and buildings.  Second, the frequency band in which the network operates (in general, the higher the radio frequency, the smaller the cell).  Third, the capacity (i.e. number of calls) needed in any given area. Base stations are typically spaced about 0.2-0.5 km in towns and 2-5 km apart in the countryside.

Just before GSM

In telecommunications and computer networks, multiplexing (also known as muxing) is a process where multiple analog message signals or digital data streams are combined into one signal over a shared medium.

The aim is to share an expensive resource. For example, in telecommunications, several phone calls may be transferred using one wire. It originated in telegraphy, and is now widely applied in communications.

Time-division multiplexing (TDM) is a type of multiplexing in which two or more signals or bit streams are transferred apparently simultaneously as sub-channels in one communication channel, but are physically taking turns on the channel. The time domain is divided into several recurrent timeslots of fixed length, one for each sub-channel. A sample byte or data block of sub-channel 1 is transmitted during timeslot 1, sub-channel 2 during timeslot 2, etc.

A multiplexing technique may be further extended into a multiple access method or channel access method, for example TDM into Time-division multiple access (TDMA). A multiple access method makes it possible for several transmitters connected to the same physical medium to share its capacity.

TDMA is a type of Time-division multiplexing, with the special point that instead of having one transmitter connected to one receiver, there are multiple transmitters. Time division multiple access (TDMA) is a channel access method for shared medium networks. It allows several users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots. The users transmit in rapid succession, one after the other, each using his own time slot. This allows multiple stations to share the same transmission medium (e.g. radio frequency channel) while using only a part of its channel capacity. TDMA is used in the digital 2G cellular systems such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).

TDMA characteristics
 Shares single carrier frequency with multiple users  Non-continuous transmission makes handoff

simpler  Slots can be assigned on demand in dynamic TDMA  Frequency/slot allocation complexity  Pulsating power envelop: Interference with other devices

Circuit Switched Data (CSD) is the original form of data transmission developed for the time division multiple access (TDMA)-based mobile phone systems like GSM. CSD uses a single radio time slot to deliver 9.6 kbit/s data transmission to the GSM Network and Switching Subsystem. Prior to CSD, data transmission over mobile phone systems was done by using a modem, either built into the phone or attached to it. Such systems were limited by the quality of the audio signal to 2.4 kbit/s or less. With the introduction of digital transmission in TDMA-based systems like GSM, CSD provided almost direct access to the underlying digital signal, allowing for higher speeds and audio compression.

A CSD call functions in a very similar way to a normal voice call in a GSM network. A single dedicated radio time slot is allocated between the phone and the base station. GSM data transmission has advanced since the introduction of CSD:
 High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data (HSCSD) is a system based

on CSD but designed to provide higher data rates by means of more efficient channel coding and/or multiple (up to 4) time slots.  General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) provides more efficient packetbased data transmission directly from the mobile phone at speeds similar to HSCSD.  Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) (E-GPRS) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) provide improved radio interfaces with higher data rates, while still being backward compatible with the GSM core network.

Packet switching is used to optimize the use of the channel capacity available in digital telecommunication networks such as computer networks, to minimize the transmission latency (i.e. the time it takes for data to pass across the network), and to increase robustness of communication. The most well-known use of packet switching is the Internet and local area networks. The Internet uses the Internet protocol suite over a variety of Link Layer protocols. e.g Ethernet and frame relay are very common. Newer mobile phone technologies (e.g., GPRS, I-mode) also use packet switching.

THE ADVENT

European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) creates the Groupe Spcial Mobile (GSM)

A memorandum of understanding was signed by 13 countries to develop a common cellular telephone system across Europe

system created by SINTEF

1982
GSM responsibility was transferred to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)

1987
GSM network was launched in 1991 by Radiolinja in Finland with Ericsson 1 million Subscribers 70 Carriers 48 Countries

1989

1991

1993

Circuit switched data communication. Different from its predecessors as it used digital signaling and speech channels. Referred to as 2G (i.e. Second Generation mobile system) Being digitally based it was easy to create various versions of this protocol and upgrades. Upgrades of data communication easy to build-into the system. e.g. GPRS, EDGE Initiated the low cost alternative to voice calls: SMS

Voice Calls and Data Transfers speeds upto 9.6 Kilobits/s (1.2 Kb/s), together with SMS Operates in 800MHz 1.9GHz bands. A harmonized spectrum exists across the globe thus allowing International roaming capability.

In a GSM network, the user terminal is called a mobile station. A mobile station is made up of a SIM(Subscriber Identity Module) card allowing the user to be uniquely identified, and a mobile terminal (normally a portable telephone). The terminals (devices) are identified by a unique 15-digit identification number called IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity). Each SIM card also has a unique (and secret) identification number called IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity). The SIM card therefore allows each user to be identified independently of the terminal used during communication with a base station. Communications between a mobile station and a base station occur via a radio link, generally called an air interface.

HOW IS IT SPREAD?

GSM is a cellular network, which means that mobile phones connect to it by searching for cells in the immediate vicinity. There are five different cell sizes in a GSM network macro, micro, pico, femto and umbrella cells. The coverage area of each cell varies according to the implementation environment. Cell horizontal radius varies depending on antenna height, antenna gain and propagation conditions from a couple of hundred meters to several tens of kilometres. The longest distance the GSM specification supports in practical use is 35 kilometres (22 mi). The modulation used in GSM is Gaussian minimum-shift keying (GMSK), a kind of continuous-phase frequency shift keying. In GMSK, the signal to be modulated onto the carrier is first smoothed prior to being fed to a frequency modulator, which greatly reduces the interference to neighboring channels (adjacent channel interference).

GSM-900 uses 890 915 MHz to send information from the mobile station to the base station (uplink) and 935 960 MHz for the other direction (downlink), providing 125 RF channels (channel numbers 0 to 124) spaced at 200 kHz. Duplex spacing of 45 MHz is used. Time division multiplexing is used to allow eight full-rate or sixteen half-rate speech channels per radio frequency channel. There are eight radio timeslots (giving eight burst periods) grouped into what is called a TDMA frame. The channel data rate for all 8 channels is 270.833 kbit/s, and the frame duration is 4.615 ms. The transmission power in the handset is limited to a maximum of 2 watts in GSM850/900 and 1 watt in GSM1800/1900.

GSM has used a variety of voice codecs to squeeze 3.1 kHz audio into between 6.5 and 13 Kbit/s. Originally, two codecs*, named after the types of data channel they were allocated, were used, called Half Rate (6.5 Kbit/s) and Full Rate (13 Kbit/s). GSM was further enhanced in 1997 with the Enhanced Full Rate (EFR) codec, a 12.2 Kbit/s codec that uses a full rate channel.
A codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding and/or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau (a blending of two or more words) of 'compressor-decompressor' or, more accurately, 'coder-decoder'.

The need for More?

Data Transfer QoS Available Bandwidth Channels Increased productivity Better infotainment

Modulation techniques Transmission techniques Spread Spectrums Hardware/equipment Multiplexing Software upgrades

GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) is a very widely deployed wireless data service, available now with most GSM networks. GPRS is integrated into GSM Release 97 and newer releases. It was originally standardized by European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), but now by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). GPRS offers throughput rates of up to 40 kbit/s (compared to 9.6kbits of GSM), so that users have a similar access speed to a dial-up modem, but with the convenience of being able to connect from almost anywhere.

It is backwards-compatible with systems that use pre-1997 versions of the standard. GPRS customers enjoy advanced, feature-rich data services such as e-mail on the move, multimedia messages and location-based services. GPRS does this by sending packets to the local mobile phone mast (BTS) on channels not being used by circuit-switched voice calls or data connections. Multiple GPRS users can share a single unused channel because each of them uses it only for occasional short bursts.

GPRS was developed as a GSM response to the earlier CDPD and i-mode packet switched cellular technologies. New-technology functions as Web browsing, instant messaging, and real-time email reception require intermittent data transfers and are perfect examples of the successful functionality of the kind of shared bandwidth capability that GPRS offers. GPRS also facilitates streaming video, location-based Web services, and multimedia messages. These functions involve larger, more continuous streams of data, however, and usually require the user to wait a bit longer for such data transactions to take place.

A user can connect to the GPRS and browse WAP pages from a GPRS enabled mobile. Of course the impact of reduced content on WML format and using the little phone keypad to type in URLs is tiresome. Examples are mobile phones such as Ericsson T39m and T68i. Using handhelds with GPRS capabilities a user can connect to the GPRS network. All Internet services will be available, providing the needed ports are not blocked. This includes web, e-mail, newsgroups, VPN, ftp, etc. The connection between the terminal and the GPRS modem can be via infrared, serial cable or Bluetooth. Examples are Treo, XDA Pocket PC Phone Edition, and Smart phones.

GPRS is a necessary bridge between 2G and 3G mobile telephony technologies. GPRS also makes possible the use of laptop computers as GSM devices, operating either on satellite or Wi-Fi Internet connections. In this way, the line between mobile phone and mobile computer is further blurred. A close cousin of GPRS in the technology family tree is Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE). EDGE allows higher bit transmission rates at a price of lower bandwidth available for plain old phone calls.

MMS, is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMS (Short Message Service) capability which only allowed exchange of text messages up to 140 characters in length. The most popular use is to send photographs from camera-equipped handsets, although it is also popular as a method of delivering ringtones. The standard is developed by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), although during development it was part of the 3GPP and WAP groups. Coupled with the development of the packetbased GPRS standards, led to the "ThirdGeneration Partnership Program" (3GPP) proposal to allow messages of any length, MIME support for file attachments, and real multimedia support.

Wireless Application Protocol (commonly referred to as WAP) is an open international standard for application layer network communications in a wireless communication environment. Its main use is to enable access to the Mobile Web from a mobile phone or PDA. A WAP browser provides all of the basic services of a computer based web browser but simplified to operate within the restrictions of a mobile phone, such as its smaller view screen. WAP sites arewebsites written in, or dynamically converted to, WML (Wireless Markup Language) and accessed via the WAP browser. Before the introduction of WAP, service providers had extremely limited opportunities to offer interactive data services. Interactive data applications are required to support now commonplace activities such as:
    

Email by mobile phone Tracking of stock market price Sports results News headlines Music downloads

EDGE/EGPRS is implemented as a bolt-on enhancement for 2G and 2.5G GSM and GPRS networks, making it easier for existing GSM carriers to upgrade to it. EDGE/EGPRS is a superset to GPRS and can function on any network with GPRS deployed on it, provided the carrier implements the necessary upgrade. EDGE can carry a bandwidth up to 236.8 kbit/s for 4 timeslots (theoretical maximum is 473.6 kbit/s for 8 timeslots) in packet mode. This means it can handle four times as much traffic as standard GPRS. EDGE meets the International Telecommunications Union's requirement for a 3G network, and has been accepted by the ITU as part of the IMT-2000 family of 3G standards. It also enhances the circuit data mode called HSCSD.

Developed by the global GSM community as its chosen path for 3G evolution, WCDMA is the air interface for one of the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU's) family of third-generation mobile communications systems. 3G/WCDMA (Third Generation / Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) enables the continued support of voice, text and MMS services in addition to richer mobile multimedia services such as

    

Music TV and video Entertainment content Internet access UMTS offers data speeds up to 384kb/s along with voice services.

Standardized by 3GPP, HSPA is the set of technologies that defines the migration path for 3G/WCDMA operators worldwide. HSPA includes HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access) and HSPA Evolved. These are also known as 3GPP Releases 5 through to 8. Unlike many other mobile broadband technologies, HSPA provides very efficient voice services in combination with mobile broadband data. In most HSPA networks, the end-user can expect to enjoy speeds of at least 1Mbps upwards, depending upon the peak speed of the network (anywhere from 1.8Mbps to 14.4 Mbps) with peak uplink speeds of up to 5.7Mbps.

HSPA has been commercially deployed by over 200 operators in more than 80 countries. Many HSPA rollouts can be achieved by a software upgrade to existing 3G networks, giving HSPA a headstart over WiMax, which requires dedicated network infrastructure. Rich variety of HSPA enabled terminals, more than 1000 available today together with ease of use gives rising sales of HSPA-enabled mobiles and are helping to drive the HSPA.