Table of Contents

1 History of the cellular mobile radio and GSM

2 Cellular systems
2.1 The cellular structure
2.2 Cluster
2.3 Types of cells
2.3.1 Macrocells
2.3.2 Microcells
2.3.3 Selective cells
2.3.4 Umbrella cells
3 The transition from analog to digital technology
3.1 The capacity of the system
3.2 Compatibility with other systems such as IS!
3.3 "spects of #uality
4 The GSM network
$.1 "rchitecture of the GSM networ%
4.1.1 Mobile Station
4.1.1.1 The Terminal
4.1.1.2 The SM
4.1.2 The !ase Station S"bsystem
4.1.2.1 The !ase Transceiver Station
4.1.2.2 The !ase Station #ontroller
4.1.3 The $etwork and Switching S"bsystem
4.1.3.1 The Mobile services Switching #enter %MS#&
4.1.3.2 The Gateway Mobile services Switching #enter
4.1.3.3 'ome (ocation )egister %'()&
4.1.3.4 *isitor (ocation )egister %*()&
4.1.3.+ The ,"thentication #enter %,"#&
4.1.3.- The ./"i0ment dentity )egister %.)&
4.1.3.1 The GSM nterworking Unit %G2U&
4.1.4 The 30eration and S"00ort S"bsystem %3SS&
$.2 The &eo&raphical areas of the GSM networ%
$.3 The GSM functions
4.3.1 Transmission
4.3.2 )adio )eso"rces management %))&
4.3.2.1 'andover
4.3.3 Mobility Management
4.3.3.1 (ocation management
4.3.3.2 ,"thentication and sec"rity
4.3.4 #omm"nication Management %#M&
4.3.4.1 #all #ontrol %##&
4.3.4.2 S"00lementary Services management
4.3.4.3 Short Message Services management
4.3.+ 30eration4 ,dministration and Maintenance %3,M&
+ The GSM radio interface
'.1 (re#uency allocation
'.2 Multiple access scheme
+.2.1 56M, and T6M,
+.2.2 #hannel str"ct"re
+.2.2.1 Traffic channels %T#'&
+.2.2.2 #ontrol channels
+.2.2.2.1 !roadcast channels
+.2.2.2.2 #ommon #ontrol #hannels
+.2.2.2.3 6edicated #ontrol #hannels
+.2.2.2.4 ,ssociated #ontrol #hannels
+.2.3 !"rst str"ct"re
+.2.4 5re/"ency ho00ing
'.3 (rom source information to radio wa)es
+.3.1 S0eech coding
+.3.2 #hannel coding
+.3.2.1 #hannel coding for the GSM data T#' channels
+.3.2.2 #hannel coding for the GSM s0eech channels
+.3.2.3 #hannel coding for the GSM control channels
+.3.3 nterleaving
+.3.3.1 nterleaving for the GSM control channels
+.3.3.2 nterleaving for the GSM s0eech channels
+.3.3.3 nterleaving for the GSM data T#' channels
+.3.4 !"rst assembling
+.3.+ #i0hering
+.3.- Mod"lation
'.$ iscontinuous transmission *T+,
'.' Timin& ad)ance
'.- .ower control
'./ iscontinuous reception
'.0 Multipath and e#ualisation
- GSM services
-.1 Teleser)ices
-.2 1earer ser)ices
-.3 Supplementary Ser)ices
1 #oncl"sion
!ibliogra0hy
,cronyms
3ther GSM sites
The Global System for Mobile comm"nications is a digital cell"lar comm"nications system. t was develo0ed in
order to create a common ."ro0ean mobile tele0hone standard b"t it has been ra0idly acce0ted worldwide. GSM
was designed to be com0atible with S6$ services.
1 History of the cellular mobile radio and GSM
The idea of cell7based mobile radio systems a00eared at !ell (aboratories %in US,& in the early 1819s. 'owever4
mobile cell"lar systems were not introd"ced for commercial "se "ntil the 18:9s. 6"ring the early 18:9s4 analog
cell"lar tele0hone systems e;0erienced a very ra0id growth in ."ro0e4 0artic"larly in Scandinavia and the United
<ingdom. Today cell"lar systems still re0resent one of the fastest growing telecomm"nications systems.
!"t in the beginnings of cell"lar systems4 each co"ntry develo0ed its own system4 which was an "ndesirable
sit"ation for the following reasons=
The e/"i0ment was limited to o0erate only within the bo"ndaries of each co"ntry.
The market for each mobile e/"i0ment was limited.
n order to overcome these 0roblems4 the #onference of ."ro0ean >osts and Telecomm"nications %#.>T& formed4
in 18:24 the Gro"0e S0?cial Mobile %GSM& in order to develo0 a 0an7."ro0ean mobile cell"lar radio system %the
GSM acronym became later the acronym for Global System for Mobile comm"nications&. The standardi@ed system
had to meet certain criterias=
S0ectr"m efficiency
nternational roaming
(ow mobile and base stations costs
Good s"bAective voice /"ality
#om0atibility with other systems s"ch as S6$ %ntegrated Services 6igital $etwork&
,bility to s"00ort new services
Unlike the e;isting cell"lar systems4 which were develo0ed "sing an analog technology4 the GSM system was
develo0ed "sing a digital technology. The reasons for this choice are e;0lained in section 3.
n 18:8 the res0onsability for the GSM s0ecifications 0assed from the #.>T to the ."ro0ean Telecomm"nications
Standards nstit"te %.TS&. The aim of the GSM s0ecifications is to describe the f"nctionality and the interface for
each com0onent of the system4 and to 0rovide g"idance on the design of the system. These s0ecifications will then
standardi@e the system in order to g"arantee the 0ro0er interworking between the different elements of the GSM
system. n 18894 the 0hase of the GSM s0ecifications were 0"blished b"t the commercial "se of GSM did not start
"ntil mid71881.
The most im0ortant events in the develo0ment of the GSM system are 0resented in the table 1.
Bear .vents
18:2
#.>T establishes a GSM gro"0 in order to develo0 the standards for a 0an7."ro0ean cell"lar mobile
system
18:+ ,do0tion of a list of recommendations to be generated by the gro"0
18:- 5ield tests were 0erformed in order to test the different radio techni/"es 0ro0osed for the air interface
18:1
T6M, is chosen as access method %in fact4 it will be "sed with 56M,& nitial Memorand"m of
Understanding %MoU& signed by telecomm"nication o0erators %re0resenting 12 co"ntries&
18:: *alidation of the GSM system
18:8 The res0onsability of the GSM s0ecifications is 0assed to the .TS
1889 ,00earance of the 0hase 1 of the GSM s0ecifications
1881 #ommercial la"nch of the GSM service
1882 .nlargement of the co"ntries that signed the GSM7 MoUC #overage of larger citiesDair0orts
1883 #overage of main roads GSM services start o"tside ."ro0e
188+ >hase 2 of the GSM s0ecifications #overage of r"ral areas
Table 1: Events in the development of GSM
5rom the evol"tion of GSM4 it is clear that GSM is not anymore only a ."ro0ean standard. GSM networks are
o0erationnal or 0lanned in over :9 co"ntries aro"nd the world. The ra0id and increasing acce0tance of the GSM
system is ill"strated with the following fig"res=
1.3 million GSM s"bscribers worldwide in the beginning of 1884.
3ver + million GSM s"bscribers worldwide in the beginning of 188+.
3ver 19 million GSM s"bscribers only in ."ro0e by 6ecember 188+.
Since the a00earance of GSM4 other digital mobile systems have been develo0ed. The table 2 charts the different
mobile cell"lar systems develo0ed since the commercial la"nch of cell"lar systems.
Bear Mobile #ell"lar System
18:1 $ordic Mobile Tele0hony %$MT&4 4+9C
18:3 ,merican Mobile >hone System %,M>S&
18:+ Total ,ccess #omm"nication System %T,#S& )adiocom 2999 #7$et@
18:- $ordic Mobile Tele0hony %$MT&4 899C
1881 Global System for Mobile comm"nicationsC $orth ,merican 6igital #ell"lar %$,6#&
1882 6igital #ell"lar System %6#S& 1:99
1884 >ersonal 6igital #ell"lar %>6#& or Ea0anese 6igital #ell"lar %E6#&
188+ >ersonal #omm"nications Systems %>#S& 18997 #anadaC
188- >#S7United States of ,mericaC
Table 2: Mobile cellular systems
2 Cellular systems
2.1 The cell"lar str"ct"re
n a cell"lar system4 the covering area of an o0erator is divided into cells. , cell corres0onds to the covering area of
one transmitter or a small collection of transmitters. The si@e of a cell is determined by the transmitterFs 0ower.
The conce0t of cell"lar systems is the "se of low 0ower transmitters in order to enable the efficient re"se of the
fre/"encies. n fact4 if the transmitters "sed are very 0owerf"l4 the fre/"encies can not be re"sed for h"ndred of
kilometers as they are limited to the covering area of the transmitter.
The fre/"ency band allocated to a cell"lar mobile radio system is distrib"ted over a gro"0 of cells and this
distrib"tion is re0eated in all the covering area of an o0erator. The whole n"mber of radio channels available can
then be "sed in each gro"0 of cells that form the covering area of an o0erator. 5re/"encies "sed in a cell will be
re"sed several cells away. The distance between the cells "sing the same fre/"ency m"st be s"fficient to avoid
interference. The fre/"ency re"se will increase considerably the ca0acity in n"mber of "sers.
n order to work 0ro0erly4 a cell"lar system m"st verify the following two main conditions=
The 0ower level of a transmitter within a single cell m"st be limited in order to red"ce the interference with
the transmitters of neighboring cells. The interference will not 0rod"ce any damage to the system if a
distance of abo"t 2.+ to 3 times the diameter of a cell is reserved between transmitters. The receiver filters
m"st also be very 0erformant.
$eighboring cells can not share the same channels. n order to red"ce the interference4 the fre/"encies m"st
be re"sed only within a certain 0attern.
n order to e;change the information needed to maintain the comm"nication links within the cell"lar network4
several radio channels are reserved for the signaling information.
2.2 #l"ster
The cells are gro"0ed into cl"sters. The n"mber of cells in a cl"ster m"st be determined so that the cl"ster can be
re0eated contin"o"sly within the covering area of an o0erator. The ty0ical cl"sters contain 44 14 12 or 21 cells. The
n"mber of cells in each cl"ster is very im0ortant. The smaller the n"mber of cells 0er cl"ster is4 the bigger the
n"mber of channels 0er cell will be. The ca0acity of each cell will be therefore increased. 'owever a balance m"st
be fo"nd in order to avoid the interference that co"ld occ"r between neighboring cl"sters. This interference is
0rod"ced by the small si@e of the cl"sters %the si@e of the cl"ster is defined by the n"mber of cells 0er cl"ster&. The
total n"mber of channels 0er cell de0ends on the n"mber of available channels and the ty0e of cl"ster "sed.
2.3 Ty0es of cells
The density of 0o0"lation in a co"ntry is so varied that different ty0es of cells are "sed=
Macrocells
Microcells
Selective cells
Umbrella cells
2.3.1 Macrocells
The macrocells are large cells for remote and s0arsely 0o0"lated areas.
2.3.2 Microcells
These cells are "sed for densely 0o0"lated areas. !y s0litting the e;isting areas into smaller cells4 the n"mber of
channels available is increased as well as the ca0acity of the cells. The 0ower level of the transmitters "sed in these
cells is then decreased4 red"cing the 0ossibility of interference between neighboring cells.
2.3.3 Selecti)e cells
t is not always "sef"l to define a cell with a f"ll coverage of 3-9 degrees. n some cases4 cells with a 0artic"lar
sha0e and coverage are needed. These cells are called selective cells. , ty0ical e;am0le of selective cells are the
cells that may be located at the entrances of t"nnels where a coverage of 3-9 degrees is not needed. n this case4 a
selective cell with a coverage of 129 degrees is "sed.
2.3.$ 2mbrella cells
, freeway crossing very small cells 0rod"ces an im0ortant n"mber of handovers among the different small
neighboring cells. n order to solve this 0roblem4 the conce0t of "mbrella cells is introd"ced. ,n "mbrella cell covers
several microcells. The 0ower level inside an "mbrella cell is increased com0aring to the 0ower levels "sed in the
microcells that form the "mbrella cell. 2hen the s0eed of the mobile is too high4 the mobile is handed off to the
"mbrella cell. The mobile will then stay longer in the same cell %in this case the "mbrella cell&. This will red"ce the
n"mber of handovers and the work of the network.
, too im0ortant n"mber of handover demands and the 0ro0agation characteristics of a mobile can hel0 to detect its
high s0eed.
3 The transition from analo to diital technoloy
n the 18:9s most mobile cell"lar systems were based on analog systems. The GSM system can be considered as the
first digital cell"lar system. The different reasons that e;0lain this transition from analog to digital technology are
0resented in this section.
3.1 The ca0acity of the system
,s it is e;0lained in section 14 cell"lar systems have e;0erienced a very im0ortant growth. ,nalog systems were not
able to co0e with this increasing demand. n order to overcome this 0roblem4 new fre/"ency bands and new
technologies were 0ro0osed. !"t the 0ossibility of "sing new fre/"ency bands was reAected by a big n"mber of
co"ntries beca"se of the restricted s0ectr"m %even if later on4 other fre/"ency bands have been allocated for the
develo0ment of mobile cell"lar radio&. The new analog technologies 0ro0osed were able to overcome the 0roblem to
a certain degree b"t the costs were too im0ortant.
The digital radio was4 therefore4 the best o0tion %b"t not the 0erfect one& to handle the ca0acity needs in a cost7
efficiency way.
3.2 #om0atibility with other systems s"ch as S6$
The decision of ado0ting a digital technology for GSM was made in the co"rse of develo0ing the standard. 6"ring
the develo0ment of GSM4 the telecomm"nications ind"stry converted to digital methods. The S6$ network is an
e;am0le of this evol"tion. n order to make GSM com0atible with the services offered by S6$4 it was decide that
the digital technology was the best o0tion.
,dditionally4 a digital system allows4 easily than an analog one4 the im0lementation of f"t"re im0rovements and the
change of its own characteristics.
3.3 ,s0ects of /"ality
The /"ality of the service can be considerably im0roved "sing a digital technology rather than an analog one. n fact4
analog systems 0ass the 0hysical dist"rbances in radio transmission %s"ch as fades4 m"lti0ath rece0tion4 s0"rio"s
signals or interferences& to the receiver. These dist"rbances decrease the /"ality of the comm"nication beca"se they
0rod"ce effects s"ch as fadeo"ts4 crosstalks4 hisses4 etc. 3n the other hand4 digital systems avoid these effects
transforming the signal into bits. This transformation combined with other techni/"es4 s"ch as digital coding4
im0rove the /"ality of the transmission. The im0rovement of digital systems com0aring to analog systems is more
noticeable "nder diffic"lt rece0tion conditions than "nder good rece0tion conditions.
! The GSM net"or#
4.1 ,rchitect"re of the GSM network
The GSM technical s0ecifications define the different entities that form the GSM network by defining their
f"nctions and interface re/"irements.
The GSM network can be divided into fo"r main 0arts=
The Mobile Station %MS&.
The !ase Station S"bsystem %!SS&.
The $etwork and Switching S"bsystem %$SS&.
The 30eration and S"00ort S"bsystem %3SS&.
The architect"re of the GSM network is 0resented in fig"re 1.
fiure 1: $rchitecture of the GSM net"or#
$.1.1 Mobile Station
, Mobile Station consists of two main elements=
The mobile e/"i0ment or terminal.
The S"bscriber dentity Mod"le %SM&.
$.1.1.1 The Terminal
There are different ty0es of terminals disting"ished 0rinci0ally by their 0ower and a00lication=
The Gfi;edF terminals are the ones installed in cars. Their ma;im"m allowed o"t0"t 0ower is 29 2.
The GSM 0ortable terminals can also be installed in vehicles. Their ma;im"m allowed o"t0"t 0ower is :2.
The handhels terminals have e;0erienced the biggest s"ccess thanks to thei weight and vol"me4 which are
contin"o"sly decreasing. These terminals can emit "0 to 2 2. The evol"tion of technologies allows to
decrease the ma;im"m allowed 0ower to 9.: 2.
$.1.1.2 The SIM
The SM is a smart card that identifies the terminal. !y inserting the SM card into the terminal4 the "ser can have
access to all the s"bscribed services. 2itho"t the SM card4 the terminal is not o0erational.
The SM card is 0rotected by a fo"r7digit >ersonal dentification $"mber %>$&. n order to identify the s"bscriber to
the system4 the SM card contains some 0arameters of the "ser s"ch as its nternational Mobile S"bscriber dentity
%MS&.
,nother advantage of the SM card is the mobility of the "sers. n fact4 the only element that 0ersonali@es a terminal
is the SM card. Therefore4 the "ser can have access to its s"bscribed services in any terminal "sing its SM card.
$.1.2 The 1ase Station Subsystem
The !SS connects the Mobile Station and the $SS. t is in charge of the transmission and rece0tion. The !SS can be
divided into two 0arts=
The !ase Transceiver Station %!TS& or !ase Station.
The !ase Station #ontroller %!S#&.
$.1.2.1 The 1ase Transcei)er Station
The !TS corres0onds to the transceivers and antennas "sed in each cell of the network. , !TS is "s"ally 0laced in
the center of a cell. ts transmitting 0ower defines the si@e of a cell. .ach !TS has between one and si;teen
transceivers de0ending on the density of "sers in the cell.
$.1.2.2 The 1ase Station Controller
The !S# controls a gro"0 of !TS and manages their radio resso"rces. , !S# is 0rinci0ally in charge of handovers4
fre/"ency ho00ing4 e;change f"nctions and control of the radio fre/"ency 0ower levels of the !TSs.
$.1.3 The !etwor% and Switchin& Subsystem
ts main role is to manage the comm"nications between the mobile "sers and other "sers4 s"ch as mobile "sers4
S6$ "sers4 fi;ed tele0hony "sers4 etc. t also incl"des data bases needed in order to store information abo"t the
s"bscribers and to manage their mobility. The different com0onents of the $SS are described below.
$.1.3.1 The Mobile ser)ices Switchin& Center *MSC,
t is the central com0onent of the $SS. The MS# 0erforms the switching f"nctions of the network. t also 0rovides
connection to other networks.
$.1.3.2 The Gateway Mobile ser)ices Switchin& Center *GMSC,
, gateway is a node interconnecting two networks. The GMS# is the interface between the mobile cell"lar network
and the >ST$. t is in charge of ro"ting calls from the fi;ed network towards a GSM "ser. The GMS# is often
im0lemented in the same machines as the MS#.
$.1.3.3 Home 3ocation 4e&ister *H34,
The '() is considered as a very im0ortant database that stores information of the s"scribers belonging to the
covering area of a MS#. t also stores the c"rrent location of these s"bscribers and the services to which they have
access. The location of the s"bscriber corres0onds to the SS1 address of the *isitor (ocation )egister %*()&
associated to the terminal.
$.1.3.$ 5isitor 3ocation 4e&ister *534,
The *() contains information from a s"bscriberFs '() necessary in order to 0rovide the s"bscribed services to
visiting "sers. 2hen a s"bscriber enters the covering area of a new MS#4 the *() associated to this MS# will
re/"est information abo"t the new s"bscriber to its corres0onding '(). The *() will then have eno"gh
information in order to ass"re the s"bscribed services witho"t needing to ask the '() each time a comm"nication is
established.
The *() is always im0lemented together with a MS#H so the area "nder control of the MS# is also the area "nder
control of the *().
$.1.3.' The "uthentication Center *"uC,
The ,"# register is "sed for sec"rity 0"r0oses. t 0rovides the 0arameters needed for a"thentication and encry0tion
f"nctions. These 0arameters hel0 to verify the "serFs identity.
$.1.3.- The 6#uipment Identity 4e&ister *6I4,
The .) is also "sed for sec"rity 0"r0oses. t is a register containing information abo"t the mobile e/"i0ments.
More 0artic"larly4 it contains a list of all valid terminals. , terminal is identified by its nternational Mobile
./"i0ment dentity %M.&. The .) allows then to forbid calls from stolen or "na"thori@ed terminals %e.g4 a
terminal which does not res0ect the s0ecifications concerning the o"t0"t )5 0ower&.
$.1.3./ The GSM Interwor%in& 2nit *GI72,
The G2U corres0onds to an interface to vario"s networks for data comm"nications. 6"ring these comm"nications4
the transmission of s0eech and data can be alternated.
$.1.$ The 8peration and Support Subsystem *8SS,
The 3SS is connected to the different com0onents of the $SS and to the !S#4 in order to control and monitor the
GSM system. t is also in charge of controlling the traffic load of the !SS.
'owever4 the increasing n"mber of base stations4 d"e to the develo0ment of cell"lar radio networks4 has 0rovoked
that some of the maintenance tasks are transfered to the !TS. This transfer decreases considerably the costs of the
maintenance of the system.
4.2 The geogra0hical areas of the GSM network
The fig"re 2 0resents the different areas that form a GSM network.
fiure 2: GSM net"or# areas
,s it has already been e;0lained a cell4 identified by its #ell Global dentity n"mber %#G&4 corres0onds to the radio
coverage of a base transceiver station. , (ocation ,rea %(,&4 identified by its (ocation ,rea dentity %(,& n"mber4
is a gro"0 of cells served by a single MS#D*(). , gro"0 of location areas "nder the control of the same MS#D*()
defines the MS#D*() area. , >"blic (and Mobile $etwork %>(M$& is the area served by one network o0erator.
4.3 The GSM f"nctions
n this 0aragra0h4 the descri0tion of the GSM network is foc"sed on the differents f"nctions to f"lfil by the network
and not on its 0hysical com0onents. n GSM4 five main f"nctions can be defined=
Transmission.
)adio )eso"rces management %))&.
Mobility Management %MM&.
#omm"nication Management %#M&.
30eration4 ,dministration and Maintenance %3,M&.
$.3.1 Transmission
The transmission f"nction incl"des two s"b7f"nctions=
The first one is related to the means needed for the transmission of "ser information.
The second one is related to the means needed for the trasnmission of signaling information.
$ot all the com0onents of the GSM network are strongly related with the transmission f"nctions. The MS4 the !TS
and the !S#4 among others4 are dee0ly concerned with transmission. !"t other com0onents4 s"ch as the registers
'()4 *() or .)4 are only concerned with the transmission for their signaling needs with other com0onents of the
GSM network. Some of the most im0ortant as0ects of the transmission are described in section +.
$.3.2 4adio 4esources mana&ement *44,
The role of the )) f"nction is to establish4 maintain and release comm"nication links between mobile stations and
the MS#. The elements that are mainly concerned with the )) f"nction are the mobile station and the base station.
'owever4 as the )) f"nction is also in charge of maintaining a connection even if the "ser moves from one cell to
another4 the MS#4 in charge of handovers4 is also concerned with the )) f"nctions.
The )) is also res0onsible for the management of the fre/"ency s0ectr"m and the reaction of the network to
changing radio environment conditions. Some of the main )) 0roced"res that ass"re its res0onsabilities are=
#hannel assignment4 change and release.
'andover.
5re/"ency ho00ing.
>ower7level control.
6iscontin"o"s transmission and rece0tion.
Timing advance.
Some of these 0roced"res are described in section +. n this 0aragra0h only the handover4 which re0resents one of
the most im0ortant res0onsabilities of the ))4 is described.
$.3.2.1 Hando)er
The "ser movements can 0rod"ce the need to change the channel or cell4 s0ecially when the /"ality of the
comm"nication is decreasing. This 0roced"re of changing the reso"rces is called handover. 5o"r different ty0es of
handovers can be disting"ished=
'andover of channels in the same cell.
'andover of cells controlled by the same !S#.
'andover of cells belonging to the same MS# b"t controlled by different !S#s.
'andover of cells controlled by different MS#s.
'andovers are mainly controlled by the MS#. 'owever in order to avoid "nnecessary signalling information4 the
first two ty0es of handovers are managed by the concerned !S# %in this case4 the MS# is only notified of the
handover&.
The mobile station is the active 0artici0ant in this 0roced"re. n order to 0erform the handover4 the mobile station
controls contin"o"sly its own signal strengh and the signal strengh of the neighboring cells. The list of cells that
m"st be monitored by the mobile station is given by the base station. The 0ower meas"rements allow to decide
which is the best cell in order to maintain the /"ality of the comm"nication link. Two basic algorithms are "sed for
the handover=
The Gminim"m acce0table 0erformanceF algorithm. 2hen the /"ality of the transmission decreases %i.e the
signal is deteriorated&4 the 0ower level of the mbbile is increased. This is done "ntil the increase of the
0ower level has no effect on the /"ality of the signal. 2hen this ha00ens4 a handover is 0erformed.
The G0ower b"dgetF algorithm. This algorithm 0erforms a handover4 instead of contin"o"sly increasing the
0ower level4 in order to obtain a good comm"nication /"ality.
$.3.3 Mobility Mana&ement
The MM f"nction is in charge of all the as0ects related with the mobility of the "ser4 s0ecially the location
management and the a"thentication and sec"rity.
$.3.3.1 3ocation mana&ement
2hen a mobile station is 0owered on4 it 0erforms a location "0date 0roced"re by indicating its MS to the network.
The first location "0date 0roced"re is called the MS attach 0roced"re.
The mobile station also 0erforms location "0dating4 in order to indicate its c"rrent location4 when it moves to a new
(ocation ,rea or a different >(M$. This location "0dating message is sent to the new MS#D*()4 which gives the
location information to the s"bscriberFs '(). f the mobile station is a"thori@ed in the new MS#D*()4 the
s"bscriberFs '() cancells the registration of the mobile station with the old MS#D*().
, location "0dating is also 0erformed 0eriodically. f after the "0dating time 0eriod4 the mobile station has not
registered4 it is then deregistered.
2hen a mobile station is 0owered off4 it 0erforms an MS detach 0roced"re in order to tell the network that it is no
longer connected.
$.3.3.2 "uthentication and security
The a"thentication 0roced"re involves the SM card and the ,"thentication #enter. , secret key4 stored in the SM
card and the ,"#4 and a ci0hering algorithm called ,3 are "sed in order to verify the a"thenticity of the "ser. The
mobile station and the ,"# com0"te a S).S "sing the secret key4 the algorithm ,3 and a random n"mber generated
by the ,"#. f the two com0"ted S).S are the same4 the s"bscriber is a"thenticated. The different services to which
the s"bscriber has access are also checked.
,nother sec"rity 0roced"re is to check the e/"i0ment identity. f the M. n"mber of the mobile is a"thori@ed in the
.)4 the mobile station is allowed to connect the network.
n order to ass"re "ser confidentiality4 the "ser is registered with a Tem0orary Mobile S"bscriber dentity %TMS&
after its first location "0date 0roced"re.
.nci0hering is another o0tion to g"arantee a very strong sec"rity b"t this 0roced"re is going to be described in
section +.
$.3.$ Communication Mana&ement *CM,
The #M f"nction is res0onsible for=
#all control.
S"00lementary Services management.
Short Message Services management.
$.3.$.1 Call Control *CC,
The ## is res0onsible for call establishing4 maintaining and releasing as well as for selecting the ty0e of service.
3ne of the most im0ortant f"nctions of the ## is the call ro"ting. n order to reach a mobile s"bscriber4 a "ser diales
the Mobile S"bscriber S6$ %MSS6$& n"mber which incl"des=
a co"ntry code
a national destination code identifying the s"bscriberFs o0erator
a code corres0onding to the s"bscriberFs '()
The call is then 0asssed to the GMS# %if the call is originated from a fi;ed network& which knows the '()
corres0onding to a certain MS6$ n"mber. The GMS# asks the '() for information hel0ing to the call ro"ting.
The '() re/"ests this information from the s"bscriberFs c"rrent *(). This *() allocates tem0orarily a Mobile
Station )oaming $"mber %MS)$& for the call. The MS)$ n"mber is the information ret"rned by the '() to the
GMS#. Thanks to the MS)$ n"mber4 the call is ro"ted to s"bscriberFs c"rrent MS#D*(). n the s"bscriberFs c"rrent
(,4 the mobile is 0aged.
$.3.$.2 Supplementary Ser)ices mana&ement
The mobile station and the '() are the only com0onents of the GSM network involved with this f"nction. The
different S"00lementary Services %SS& to which the "sers have access are 0resented in section -.3.
$.3.$.3 Short Messa&e Ser)ices mana&ement
n order to s"00ort these services4 a GSM network is in contact with a Short Message Service #enter thro"gh the
two following interfaces=
The SMS7GMS# for Mobile Terminating Short Messages %SMS7MTD>>&. t has the same role as the
GMS#.
The SMS72MS# for Mobile 3riginating Short Messages %SMS7M3D>>&.
$.3.' 8peration9 "dministration and Maintenance *8"M,
The 3,M f"nction allows the o0erator to monitor and control the system as well as to modify the config"ration of
the elements of the system. $ot only the 3SS is 0art of the 3,M4 also the !SS and $SS 0artici0ate in its f"nctions
as it is shown in the following e;am0les=
The com0onents of the !SS and $SS 0rovide the o0erator with all the information it needs. This
information is then 0assed to the 3SS which is in charge of anali@e it and control the network.
The self test tasks4 "s"ally incor0orated in the com0onents of the !SS and $SS4 also contrib"te to the
3,M f"nctions.
The !S#4 in charge of controlling several !TSs4 is another e;am0le of an 3,M f"nction 0erformed o"tside
the 3SS.
% The GSM radio interface
The radio interface is the interface between the mobile stations and the fi;ed infrastr"ct"re. t is one of the most
im0ortant interfaces of the GSM system.
3ne of the main obAectives of GSM is roaming. Therefore4 in order to obtain a com0lete com0atibility between
mobile stations and networks of different man"fact"rers and o0erators4 the radio interface m"st be com0letely
defined.
The s0ectr"m eficiency de0ends on the radio interface and the transmission4 more 0artic"larly in as0ects s"ch as the
ca0acity of the system and the techni/"es "sed in order to decrease the interference and to im0rove the fre/"ency
re"se scheme. The s0ecification of the radio interface has then an im0ortant infl"ence on the s0ectr"m efficiency.
+.1 5re/"ency allocation
Two fre/"ency bands4 of 2+ Mh@ each one4 have been allocated for the GSM system=
The band :89781+ Mh@ has been allocated for the "0link direction %transmitting from the mobile station to
the base station&.
The band 83+78-9 Mh@ has been allocated for the downlink direction %transmitting from the base station to
the mobile station&.
!"t not all the co"ntries can "se the whole GSM fre/"ency bands. This is d"e 0rinci0ally to military reasons and to
the e;istence of 0revio"s analog systems "sing 0art of the two 2+ Mh@ fre/"ency bands.
+.2 M"lti0le access scheme
The m"lti0le access scheme defines how different sim"ltaneo"s comm"nications4 between different mobile stations
sit"ated in different cells4 share the GSM radio s0ectr"m. , mi; of 5re/"ency 6ivision M"lti0le ,ccess %56M,&
and Time 6ivision M"lti0le ,ccess %T6M,&4 combined with fre/"ency ho00ing4 has been ado0ted as the m"lti0le
access scheme for GSM.
'.2.1 (M" and TM"
Using 56M,4 a fre/"ency is assigned to a "ser. So the larger the n"mber of "sers in a 56M, system4 the larger the
n"mber of available fre/"encies m"st be. The limited available radio s0ectr"m and the fact that a "ser will not free
its assigned fre/"ency "ntil he does not need it anymore4 e;0lain why the n"mber of "sers in a 56M, system can be
I/"icklyI limited.
3n the other hand4 T6M, allows several "sers to share the same channel. .ach of the "sers4 sharing the common
channel4 are assigned their own b"rst within a gro"0 of b"rsts called a frame. Us"ally T6M, is "sed with a 56M,
str"ct"re.
n GSM4 a 2+ Mh@ fre/"ency band is divided4 "sing a 56M, scheme4 into 124 carrier fre/"encies s0aced one from
each other by a 299 kh@ fre/"ency band. $ormally a 2+ Mh@ fre/"ency band can 0rovide 12+ carrier fre/"encies b"t
the first carrier fre/"ency is "sed as a g"ard band between GSM and other services working on lower fre/"encies.
.ach carrier fre/"ency is then divided in time "sing a T6M, scheme. This scheme s0lits the radio channel4 with a
width of 299 kh@4 into : b"rsts. , b"rst is the "nit of time in a T6M, system4 and it lasts a00ro;imately 9.+11 ms. ,
T6M, frame is formed with : b"rsts and lasts4 conse/"ently4 4.-1+ ms. .ach of the eight b"rsts4 that form a T6M,
frame4 are then assigned to a single "ser.
'.2.2 Channel structure
, channel corres0onds to the rec"rrence of one b"rst every frame. t is defined by its fre/"ency and the 0osition of
its corres0onding b"rst within a T6M, frame. n GSM there are two ty0es of channels=
The traffic channels "sed to trans0ort s0eech and data information.
The control channels "sed for network management messages and some channel maintenance tasks.
'.2.2.1 Traffic channels *TCH,
5"ll7rate traffic channels %T#'D5& are defined "sing a gro"0 of 2- T6M, frames called a 2-7M"ltiframe. The 2-7
M"ltiframe lasts conse/"ently 129 ms. n this 2-7M"ltiframe str"ct"re4 the traffic channels for the downlink and
"0link are se0arated by 3 b"rsts. ,s a conse/"ence4 the mobiles will not need to transmit and receive at the same
time which sim0lifies considerably the electronics of the system.
The frames that form the 2-7M"ltiframe str"ct"re have different f"nctions=
24 frames are reserved to traffic.
1 frame is "sed for the Slow ,ssociated #ontrol #hannel %S,##'&.
The last frame is "n"sed. This idle frame allows the mobile station to 0erform other f"nctions4 s"ch as
meas"ring the signal strength of neighboring cells.
'alf7rate traffic channels %T#'D'&4 which do"ble the ca0acity of the system4 are also gro"0ed in a 2-7M"ltiframe
b"t the internal str"ct"re is different.
'.2.2.2 Control channels
,ccording to their f"nctions4 fo"r different classes of control channels are defined=
!roadcast channels.
#ommon control channels.
6edicated control channels.
,ssociated control channels.
'.2.2.2.1 1roadcast channels *1CH,
The !#' channels are "sed4 by the base station4 to 0rovide the mobile station with the s"fficient information it
needs to synchroni@e with the network. Three different ty0es of !#'s can be disting"ished=
The !roadcast #ontrol #hannel %!##'&4 which gives to the mobile station the 0arameters needed in order
to identify and access the network
The Synchroni@ation #hannel %S#'&4 which gives to the mobile station the training se/"ence needed in
order to demod"late the information transmitted by the base station
The 5re/"ency7#orrection #hannel %5##'&4 which s"00lies the mobile station with the fre/"ency
reference of the system in order to synchroni@e it with the network
'.2.2.2.2 Common Control Channels *CCCH,
The ###' channels hel0 to establish the calls from the mobile station or the network. Three different ty0es of
###' can be defined=
The >aging #hannel %>#'&. t is "sed to alert the mobile station of an incoming cal
The )andom ,ccess #hannel %),#'&4 which is "sed by the mobile station to re/"est access to the network
The ,ccess Grant #hannel %,G#'&. t is "sed4 by the base station4 to inform the mobile station abo"t
which channel it sho"ld "se. This channel is the answer of a base station to a ),#' from the mobile
station
'.2.2.2.3 edicated Control Channels *CCH,
The 6##' channels are "sed for message e;change between several mobiles or a mobile and the network. Two
different ty0es of 6##' can be defined=
The Standalone 6edicated #ontrol #hannel %S6##'&4 which is "sed in order to e;change signaling
information in the downlink and "0link directions.
The Slow ,ssociated #ontrol #hannel %S,##'&. t is "sed for channel maintenance and channel control.
'.2.2.2.$ "ssociated Control Channels
The 5ast ,ssociated #ontrol #hannels %5,##'& re0lace all or 0art of a traffic channel when "rgent signaling
information m"st be transmitted. The 5,##' channels carry the same information as the S6##' channels.
'.2.3 1urst structure
,s it has been stated before4 the b"rst is the "nit in time of a T6M, system. 5o"r different ty0es of b"rsts can be
disting"ished in GSM=
The fre/"ency7correction b"rst is "sed on the 5##'. t has the same length as the normal b"rst b"t a
different str"ct"re.
The synchroni@ation b"rst is "sed on the S#'. t has the same length as the normal b"rst b"t a different
str"ct"re.
The random access b"rst is "sed on the ),#' and is shorter than the normal b"rst.
The normal b"rst is "sed to carry s0eech or data information. t lasts a00ro;imately 9.+11 ms and has a
length of 1+-.2+ bits. ts str"ct"re is 0resented in fig"re 3.
The tail bits %T& are a gro"0 of three bits set to @ero and 0laced at the beginning and the end of a b"rst. They are "sed
to cover the 0eriods of ram0ing "0 and down of the mobileFs 0ower.
The coded data bits corres0onds to two gro"0s4 of +1 bits each4 containing signaling or "ser data.
The stealing flags %S& indicate4 to the receiver4 whether the information carried by a b"rst corres0onds to traffic or
signaling data.
The training se/"ence has a length of 2- bits. t is "sed to synchroni@e the receiver with the incoming information4
avoiding then the negative effects 0rod"ced by a m"lti0ath 0ro0agation.
The g"ard 0eriod %G>&4 with a length of :.2+ bits4 is "sed to avoid a 0ossible overla0 of two mobiles d"ring the
ram0ing time.
'.2.$ (re#uency hoppin&
The 0ro0agation conditions and therefore the m"lti0ath fading de0end on the radio fre/"ency. n order to avoid
im0ortant differences in the /"ality of the channels4 the slow fre/"ency ho00ing is introd"ced. The slow fre/"ency
ho00ing changes the fre/"ency with every T6M, frame. , fast fre/"ency ho00ing changes the fre/"ency many
times 0er frame b"t it is not "sed in GSM. The fre/"ency ho00ing also red"ces the effects of co7channel
interference.
There are different ty0es of fre/"ency ho00ing algorithms. The algorithm selected is sent thro"gh the !roadcast
#ontrol #hannels.
.ven if fre/"ency ho00ing can be very "sef"l for the system4 a base station does not have to s"00ort it necessarily
3n the other hand4 a mobile station has to acce0t fre/"ency ho00ing when a base station decides to "se it.
+.3 5rom so"rce information to radio waves
The fig"re 4 0resents the different o0erations that have to be 0erformed in order to 0ass from the s0eech so"rce to
radio waves and vice versa.
fiure !: &rom speech source to radio "aves
f the so"rce of information is data and not s0eech4 the s0eech coding will not be 0erformed.
'.3.1 Speech codin&
The transmission of s0eech is4 at the moment4 the most im0ortant service of a mobile cell"lar system. The GSM
s0eech codec4 which will transform the analog signal %voice& into a digital re0resentation4 has to meet the following
criterias=
, good s0eech /"ality4 at least as good as the one obtained with 0revio"s cell"lar systems.
To red"ce the red"ndancy in the so"nds of the voice. This red"ction is essential d"e to the limited ca0acity
of transmission of a radio channel.
The s0eech codec m"st not be very com0le; beca"se com0le;ity is e/"ivalent to high costs.
The final choice for the GSM s0eech codec is a codec named )>.7(T> %)eg"lar >"lse .;citation (ong7Term
>rediction&. This codec "ses the information from 0revio"s sam0les %this information does not change very /"ickly&
in order to 0redict the c"rrent sam0le. The s0eech signal is divided into blocks of 29 ms. These blocks are then
0assed to the s0eech codec4 which has a rate of 13 kb0s4 in order to obtain blocks of 2-9 bits.
'.3.2 Channel codin&
#hannel coding adds red"ndancy bits to the original information in order to detect and correct4 if 0ossible4 errors
oc"rred d"ring the transmission.
'.3.2.1 Channel codin& for the GSM data TCH channels
The channel coding is 0erformed "sing two codes= a block code and a convol"tional code.
The block code corres0onds to the block code defined in the GSM )ecommendations 9+.93. The block code
receives an in0"t block of 249 bits and adds fo"r @ero tail bits at the end of the in0"t block. The o"t0"t of the block
code is conse/"ently a block of 244 bits.
, convol"tional code adds red"ndancy bits in order to 0rotect the information. , convol"tional encoder contains
memory. This 0ro0erty differentiates a convol"tional code from a block code. , convol"tional code can be defined
by three variables = n4 k and <. The val"e n corres0onds to the n"mber of bits at the o"t0"t of the encoder4 k to the
n"mber of bits at the in0"t of the block and < to the memory of the encoder. The ratio4 )4 of the code is defined as
follows = ) J kDn. (etFs consider a convol"tional code with the following val"es= k is e/"al to 14 n to 2 and < to +.
This convol"tional code "ses then a rate of ) J 1D2 and a delay of < J +4 which means that it will add a red"ndant
bit for each in0"t bit. The convol"tional code "ses + consec"tive bits in order to com0"te the red"ndancy bit. ,s the
convol"tional code is a 1D2 rate convol"tional code4 a block of 4:: bits is generated. These 4:: bits are 0"nct"red in
order to 0rod"ce a block of 4+- bits. Thirty two bits4 obtained as follows4 are not transmitted =
# %11 K 1+ A& for A J 94 14 ...4 31
The block of 4+- bits 0rod"ced by the convol"tional code is then 0assed to the interleaver.
'.3.2.2 Channel codin& for the GSM speech channels
!efore a00lying the channel coding4 the 2-9 bits of a GSM s0eech frame are divided in three different classes
according to their f"nction and im0ortance. The most im0ortant class is the class a containing +9 bits. $e;t in
im0ortance is the class b4 which contains 132 bits. The least im0ortant is the class 4 which contains the remaining
1: bits. The different classes are coded differently. 5irst of all4 the class a bits are block7coded. Three 0arity bits4
"sed for error detection4 are added to the +9 class a bits. The res"ltant +3 bits are added to the class b bits. 5o"r
@ero bits are added to this block of 1:+ bits %+9K3K132&. , convol"tional code4 with r J 1D2 and < J +4 is then
a00lied4 obtaining an o"t0"t block of 31: bits. The class bits are added4 witho"t any 0rotection4 to the o"t0"t block
of the convol"tional coder. ,n o"t0"t block of 4+- bits is finally obtained.
'.3.2.3 Channel codin& for the GSM control channels
n GSM the signalling information is A"st contained in 1:4 bits. 5orty 0arity bits4 obtained "sing a fire code4 and fo"r
@ero bits are added to the 1:4 bits before a00lying the convol"tional code %r J 1D2 and < J +&. The o"t0"t of the
convol"tional code is then a block of 4+- bits4 which does not need to be 0"nct"red.
'.3.3 Interlea)in&
,n interleaving rearranges a gro"0 of bits in a 0artic"lar way. t is "sed in combination with 5.# codes in order to
im0rove the 0erformance of the error correction mechanisms. The interleaving decreases the 0ossibility of losing
whole b"rsts d"ring the transmission4 by dis0ersing the errors. !eing the errors less concentrated4 it is then easier to
correct them.
'.3.3.1 Interlea)in& for the GSM control channels
, b"rst in GSM transmits two blocks of +1 data bits each. Therefore the 4+- bits corres0onding to the o"t0"t of the
channel coder fit into fo"r b"rsts %4L114 J 4+-&. The 4+- bits are divided into eight blocks of +1 bits. The first block
of +1 bits contains the bit n"mbers %94 :4 1-4 .....44:&4 the second one the bit n"mbers %14 84 114 .....448&4 etc. The last
block of +1 bits will then contain the bit n"mbers %14 1+4 .....4++&. The first fo"r blocks of +1 bits are 0laced in the
even7n"mbered bits of fo"r b"rsts. The other fo"r blocks of +1 bits are 0laced in the odd7n"mbered bits of the same
fo"r b"rsts. Therefore the interleaving de0th of the GSM interleaving for control channels is fo"r and a new data
block starts every fo"r b"rsts. The interleaver for control channels is called a block rectang"lar interleaver.
'.3.3.2 Interlea)in& for the GSM speech channels
The block of 4+- bits4 obtained after the channel coding4 is then divided in eight blocks of +1 bits in the same way as
it is e;0lained in the 0revio"s 0aragra0h. !"t these eight blocks of +1 bits are distrib"ted differently. The first fo"r
blocks of +1 bits are 0laced in the even7n"mbered bits of fo"r consec"tive b"rsts. The other fo"r blocks of +1 bits
are 0laced in the odd7n"mbered bits of the ne;t fo"r b"rsts. The interleaving de0th of the GSM interleaving for
s0eech channels is then eight. , new data block also starts every fo"r b"rsts. The interleaver for s0eech channels is
called a block diagonal interleaver.
'.3.3.3 Interlea)in& for the GSM data TCH channels
, 0artic"lar interleaving scheme4 with an interleaving de0th e/"al to 224 is a00lied to the block of 4+- bits obtained
after the channel coding. The block is divided into 1- blocks of 24 bits each4 2 blocks of 1: bits each4 2 blocks of 12
bits each and 2 blocks of - bits each. t is s0read over 22 b"rsts in the following way =
the first and the twenty7second b"rsts carry one block of - bits each
the second and the twenty7first b"rsts carry one block of 12 bits each
the third and the twentieth b"rsts carry one block of 1: bits each
from the fo"rth to the nineteenth b"rst4 a block of 24 bits is 0laced in each b"rst
, b"rst will then carry information from five or si; consec"tive data blocks. The data blocks are said to be
interleaved diagonally. , new data block starts every fo"r b"rsts.
'.3.$ 1urst assemblin&
The b"srt assembling 0roced"re is in charge of gro"0ing the bits into b"rsts. Section +.2.3 0resents the different
b"rsts str"ct"res and describes in detail the str"ct"re of the normal b"rst.
'.3.' Cipherin&
#i0hering is "sed to 0rotect signaling and "ser data. 5irst of all4 a ci0hering key is com0"ted "sing the algorithm ,:
stored on the SM card4 the s"bscriber key and a random n"mber delivered by the network %this random n"mber is
the same as the one "sed for the a"thentication 0roced"re&. Secondly4 a 114 bit se/"ence is 0rod"ced "sing the
ci0hering key4 an algorithm called ,+ and the b"rst n"mbers. This bit se/"ence is then M3)ed with the two +1 bit
blocks of data incl"ded in a normal b"rst.
n order to deci0her correctly4 the receiver has to "se the same algorithm ,+ for the deci0hering 0roced"re.
'.3.- Modulation
The mod"lation chosen for the GSM system is the Ga"ssian Mod"lation Shift <eying %GMS<&.
The aim of this section is not to describe 0recisely the GMS< mod"lation as it is too long and it im0lies the
0resentation of too many mathematical conce0ts. Therefore4 only brief as0ects of the GMS< mod"lation are
0resented in this section.
The GMS< mod"lation has been chosen as a com0romise between s0ectr"m efficiency4 com0le;ity and low
s0"rio"s radiations %that red"ce the 0ossibilities of adAacent channel interference&. The GMS< mod"lation has a rate
of 219 +D- kba"ds and a !T 0rod"ct e/"al to 9.3. 5ig"re + 0resents the 0rinci0le of a GMS< mod"lator.
fiure %: GMS' modulator
+.4 6iscontin"o"s transmission %6TM&
This is another as0ect of GSM that co"ld have been incl"ded as one of the re/"irements of the GSM s0eech codec.
The f"nction of the 6TM is to s"s0end the radio transmission d"ring the silence 0eriods. This can become /"ite
interesting if we take into consideration the fact that a 0erson s0eaks less than 49 or +9 0ercent d"ring a
conversation. The 6TM hel0s then to red"ce interference between different cells and to increase the ca0acity of the
system. t also e;tends the life of a mobileFs battery. The 6TM f"nction is 0erformed thanks to two main feat"res=
The *oice ,ctivity 6etection %*,6&4 which has to determine whether the so"nd re0resents s0eech or noise4
even if the backgro"nd noise is very im0ortant. f the voice signal is considered as noise4 the transmitter is
t"rned off 0rod"cing then4 an "n0leasant effect called cli00ing.
The comfort noise. ,n inconvenient of the 6TM f"nction is that when the signal is considered as noise4 the
transmitter is t"rned off and therefore4 a total silence is heard at the receiver. This can be very annoying to
the "ser at the rece0tion beca"se it seems that the connection is dead. n order to overcome this 0roblem4
the receiver creates a minim"m of backgro"nd noise called comfort noise. The comfort noise eliminates the
im0ression that the connection is dead.
+.+ Timing advance
The timing of the b"rsts transmissions is very im0ortant. Mobiles are at different distances from the base stations.
Their delay de0ends4 conse/"ently4 on their distance. The aim of the timing advance is that the signals coming from
the different mobile stations arrive to the base station at the right time. The base station meas"res the timing delay of
the mobile stations. f the b"rsts corres0onding to a mobile station arrive too late and overla0 with other b"rsts4 the
base station tells4 this mobile4 to advance the transmission of its b"rsts.
+.- >ower control
,t the same time the base stations 0erform the timing meas"rements4 they also 0erform meas"rements on the 0ower
level of the different mobile stations. These 0ower levels are adA"sted so that the 0ower is nearly the same for each
b"rst.
, base station also controls its 0ower level. The mobile station meas"res the strength and the /"ality of the signal
between itself and the base station. f the mobile station does not receive correctly the signal4 the base station
changes its 0ower level.
+.1 6iscontin"o"s rece0tion
t is a method "sed to conserve the mobile stationFs 0ower. The 0aging channel is divided into s"bchannels
corres0onding to single mobile stations. .ach mobile station will then only FlistenF to its s"bchannel and will stay in
the slee0 mode d"ring the other s"bchannels of the 0aging channel.
+.: M"lti0ath and e/"alisation
,t the GSM fre/"ency bands4 radio waves reflect from b"ildings4 cars4 hills4 etc. So not only the FrightF signal %the
o"t0"t signal of the emitter& is received by an antenna4 b"t also many reflected signals4 which corr"0t the
information4 with different 0hases.
,n e/"aliser is in charge of e;tracting the FrightF signal from the received signal. t estimates the channel im0"lse
res0onse of the GSM system and then constr"cts an inverse filter. The receiver knows which training se/"ence it
m"st wait for. The e/"aliser will then 4 com0aring the received training se/"ence with the training se/"ence it was
e;0ecting4 com0"te the coefficients of the channel im0"lse res0onse. n order to e;tract the FrightF signal4 the
received signal is 0assed thro"gh the inverse filter.
( GSM services
t is im0ortant to note that all the GSM services were not introd"ced since the a00earance of GSM b"t they have
been introd"ced in a reg"lar way. The GSM Memorand"m of Understanding %MoU& defined fo"r classes for the
introd"ction of the different GSM services=
.1= introd"ced at the start of the service.
.2= introd"ced at the end of 1881.
.h= introd"ced on availability of half7rate channels.
,= these services are o0tional.
Three categories of services can be disting"ished=
Teleservices.
!earer services.
S"00lementary Services.
-.1 Teleservices
7 Tele0hony %.1N .h&.
7 5acsmile gro"0 3 %.1&.
7 .mergency calls %.1N .h&.
7 Telete;.
7 Short Message Services %.14 .24 ,&. Using these services4 a message of a ma;im"m of 1-9 al0han"meric
characters can be sent to or from a mobile station. f the mobile is 0owered off4 the message is stored. 2ith the SMS
#ell !roadcast %SMS7#!&4 a message of a ma;im"m of 83 characters can be broadcast to all mobiles in a certain
geogra0hical area.
7 5a; mail. Thanks to this service4 the s"bscriber can receive fa; messages at any fa; machine.
7 *oice mail. This service corres0onds to an answering machine.
-.2 !earer services
, bearer service is "sed for trans0orting "ser data. Some of the bearer services are listed below=
,synchrono"s and synchrono"s data4 39978-99 b0s %.1&.
,lternate s0eech and data4 39978-99 b0s %.1&.
,synchrono"s >,6 %0acket7switched4 0acket assemblerDdisassembler& access4 39978-99 b0s %.1&.
Synchrono"s dedicated 0acket data access4 249978-99 b0s %.2&.
-.3 S"00lementary Services
7 #all 5orwarding %.1&. The s"bscriber can forward incoming calls to another n"mber if the called mobile is b"sy
%#5!&4 "nreachable %#5$)c& or if there is no re0ly %#5$)y&. #all forwarding can also be a00lied "nconditionally
%#5U&.
7 #all !arring. There are different ty0es of Gcall barringF services=
!arring of ,ll 3"tgoing #alls4 !,3# %.1&.
!arring of 3"tgoing nternational #alls4 !3# %.1&.
!arring of 3"tgoing nternational #alls e;ce0t those directed toward the 'ome >(M$ #o"ntry4 !3#7
e;'# %.1&.
!arring of ,ll ncoming #alls4 !,# %.1&
!arring of incoming calls when roaming %,&.
7 #all hold %.2&. >"ts an active call on hold.
7 #all 2aiting4 #2 %.2&. nforms the "ser4 d"ring a conversation4 abo"t another incoming call. The "ser can answer4
reAect or ignore this incoming call.
7 ,dvice of #harge4 ,o# %.2&. >rovides the "ser with an online charge information.
7 M"lti0arty service %.2&. >ossibility of establishing a m"lti0arty conversation.
7 #losed User Gro"04 #UG %,&. t corres0onds to a gro"0 of "sers with limited 0ossibilities of calling %only the
0eo0le of the gro"0 and certain n"mbers&.
7 #alling (ine dentification >resentation4 #(> %,&. t s"00lies the called "ser with the S6$ of the calling "ser.
7 #alling (ine dentification )estriction4 #() %,&. t enables the calling "ser to restrict the 0resentation.
7 #onnected (ine identification >resentation4 #o(> %,&. t s"00lies the calling "ser with the directory n"mber he
gets if his call is forwarded.
7 #onnected (ine identification )estriction4 #o() %,&. t enables the called "ser to restrict the 0resentation.
7 30erator determined barring %,&. )estriction of different services and call ty0es by the o0erator.
) Conclusion
The aim of this 0a0er was to give an overview of the GSM system and not to 0rovide a com0lete and e;ha"stive
g"ide.
,s it is shown in this cha0ter4 GSM is a very com0le; standard. t can be considered as the first serio"s attem0t to
f"lfil the re/"irements for a "niversal 0ersonal comm"nication system. GSM is then "sed as a basis for the
develo0ment of the Universal Mobile Telecomm"nication System %UMTS&.
*iblioraphy
G,n introd"ction to GSMF by )edl4 2eber and 3li0hant. >"blished by ,rtech 'o"se. S!$ 97:899-71:+7-.
FThe GSM System for Mobile comm"nicationsF by Mo"ly and >a"tet. >"blished by #ell O Sys. S!$ 278+91189797
1.
GTelecomm"nications .ngineeringF by E.6"nlo0 and 6.G. Smith. >"blished by #ha0man O 'all. S!$ 974127
+-21971.
GModern >ersonal )adio SystemsF. .dited by ).#.*. Macario. The nstit"tion of .lectrical .ngineers. S!$ 97
:+28-7:-172.
GMobile )adio #omm"nicationsF by )aymond Steele. >entech >ress 0"blishers and ... >ress. S!$ 971:93711927
1.
$cronyms
,3 ,"thentication algorithm
,+ #i0hering algorithm
,: #i0hering key com0"tation
,G#' ,ccess Grant #'annel
,M>S ,dvanced Mobile >hone Service
,o# ,dvice of #harge
,)P ,"tomatic )e0eat reP"est mechanism
,U# ,"thentication #enter
!,# !arring of ,ll ncoming #alls
!,3# !arring of ,ll 3"tgoing #alls
!3# !arring of 3"tgoing nternational #alls
!3#7e;'# !arring of 3"tgoing nternational #alls e;ce0t those directed toward the 'ome >(M$ #o"ntry
!##' !roadcast #ontrol #'annel
!#' !roadcast #'annel
!.) !it .rror )ate
b0s bits 0er second
!S# !ase Station #ontroller
!SS !ase Station S"bsystem
!TS !ase Transceiver Station
## #all #ontrol
###' #ommon #ontrol #'annel
#6M, #ode 6ivision M"lti0le ,ccess
#.>T #onference of ."ro0ean >osts and Telecomm"nications
#5! #all 5orwarding on mobile s"bscriber !"sy
#5$)c #all 5orwarding on mobile s"bscriber $ot )eachable
#5$)y #all 5orwarding on $o )e0ly
#5U #all 5orwarding Unconditional
#G #ell Global dentity
#D #arrier7to7nterference ratio
#D #arrier7to7nterference ratio
#(> #alling (ine dentification >resentation
#() #alling (ine dentification )estriction
#M #omm"nication Management
#o(> #onnected (ine identification >resentation
#o() #onnected (ine identification )estriction
#UG #losed User Gro"0
#2 #all 2aiting
6#S 6igital #ell"lar System
6##' 6edicated #ontrol #'annel
6TM 6iscontin"o"s transmission
.) ./"i0ment dentity )egister
.TS ."ro0ean Telecomm"nications Standards nstit"te
5,##' 5ast ,ssociated #ontrol #'annel
5##' 5re/"ency7#orrection #'annel
56M, 5re/"ency 6ivision M"lti0le ,ccess
5.# 5orward .rror #orrection code
5.) 5rame .ras"re )ate
G2U GSM nterworking Unit
GMS# GSM Mobile services Switching #enter
GMS< Ga"ssian Minim"m Shift <eying
G> G"ard >eriod
GSM Global System for Mobile comm"nications
'() 'ome (ocation )egister
M. nternational Mobile ./"i0ment dentity
MS nternational Mobile S"bscriber dentity
S6$ ntegrated Services 6igital $etwork
E6# Ea0anese 6igital #ell"lar
(, (ocation ,rea
(, (ocation ,rea dentity
(3S (ine73f7Sight
MM Mobility Management
MoU Memorand"m of Understanding
MS Mobile Station
MS# Mobile services Switching #enter
MSS6$ Mobile Station S6$ n"mber
MS)$ Mobile Station )oaming $"mber
$,6# $orth ,merican 6igital #ell"lar
$MT $ordic Mobile Tele0hone
$SS $etwork and Switching S"bsystem
3,M 30eration4 ,dministration and Maintenance
3SS 30eration and S"00ort S"bsystem
>,6 >acket ,ssembler 6isassembler
>#' >aging #'annel
>#S >ersonal #omm"nications Services
>6# >ersonal 6igital #ell"lar
>$ >ersonal dentification $"mber
>(M$ >"blic (and Mobile $etwork
>S>6$ >acket Switched >"blic 6ata $etwork
>ST$ >"blic Switched Tele0hone $etwork
),#' )andom ,ccess #'annel
)5 )adio 5re/"ency
)>.7(T> )eg"lar >"lse .;citation (ong7Term >rediction
)) )adio )eso"rces management
S Stealing flags
S,##' Slow ,ssociated #ontrol #'annel
S#' Synchronisation #'annel
S6##' Standalone 6edicated #ontrol #'annel
S6##' Standalone 6edicated #ontrol #'annel
SM S"bscriber dentity Mod"le
SMS Short Message Services
SMS7#! Short Message Services #ell !roadcast
SMS7M3D>> Short Message Services Mobile 3riginatingD>oint7to7>oint
SMS7MTD>> Short Message Services Mobile TerminatingD>oint7to7>oint
S$) Signal to $oise )atio
S).S Signed ).S"lt
SS S"00lementary Services
T Tail bits
T,#S Total ,ccess #omm"nication System
T#' Traffic #'annel
T#'D5 Traffic #'annelD5"ll rate
T#'D' Traffic #'annelD'alf rate
T6M, Time 6ivision M"lti0le ,ccess
TMS Tem0orary Mobile S"bscriber dentity
UMTS Universal Mobile Telecomm"nications System
*,6 *oice ,ctivity 6etection
*() *isitor (ocation )egister
+ther GSM sites
The Telecoms *irt"al (ibrary abo"t mobile comm"nications. Bo" can find information abo"t GSM b"t also abo"t
other mobile commm"nications systems. htt0=DDwww.analysys.co."kDvlibDmobile.htm
*ery com0lete 0age abo"t GSM4 !y 'enrik <aare >o"lsen
htt0=DDwww.geocities.comDhenrik.kaare.0o"lsenDgsm.html
GSM in !elgi"m
htt0=DDwww.l"c.ac.beDQhbaertenDgsmD
GSM 2orld4 the world wide web site of the GSM MoU ,ssociation htt0=DDwww.gsmworld.comD
The maga@ine GSMag nternational
htt0=DDwww.gsmag.comD
, list of GSM o0erators and network codes by co"ntry htt0=DDkbs.cs.t"7berlin.deDQA"ttaDgsmDgsm7list.html
Send messages to GSM Mobile 0hones
htt0=DDwww.mtn.co.@aDreg"larsDsmsD
Mobile 2orld
htt0=DDwww.mobileworld.orgD
TU Selected Sites7Telecom72ireless
htt0=DDwww.it".intDSitesDwwwfilesDtelRwireless.html
GSM information network
htt0=DDwww.gin.nlD
)adio0hone
htt0=DDradio0hone.dh0.comD
SMS reference
htt0=DDwww.virt"a.co."kDsmsDsmsDinde;.html
!en 2oodFs GSM reference site
htt0=DDds.dial.0i0e;.comDbenwD
, com0lete french web 0age abo"t GSM %incl"des an overview of GSM4 GSM services4 "sef"l information for
GSM "sers4 etc...&. htt0=DDmassena."niv7mlv.frDQt"rloyDGsmDfrmGSM.htm
Some of the most im0ortant man"fact"rers of cell"lar 0hones= Motorola4 .ricsson4 $okia and ,lcatel