Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Non-Technical Staff
Agenda
Introduction
Basic GSM Network Structure
Radio Coverage
Traffic Cases
GSM Services
Introduction
Date
Place
Activity
1921
Chicago
1930s
US
1935
US
1946
St. Louis
1969
Europe
1973
Europe
1979
Chicago
1991
Europe
History of GSM
Date
Activity
1982
Nordic Telecom and Netherlands PTT send a proposal to CEPT to specify a common
European mobile telecommunication service.
The European Commission (EC) issued a directive, which requires member states to reserve
frequencies in the 900 MHz band for GSM.
1986
Field tests were held in Paris and a GSM permanent nucleus was created and comparative
tests of 8 prototypes were performed.
The choice was Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) or Frequency Division Multiple
Access (FDMA).
1987
1988
History of GSM
Date
Activity
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
Australia became the first non-European country to sign the MoU. The MoU now had a total
of 70 signatories.
GSM demonstrated for the first time in Africa at Telkom '93 in Cape Town
GSM networks were launched in Norway, Austria, Ireland, Hong Kong and Australia.
The number of GSM subscribers reached one million.
The first commercial DCS 1800 system was launched in the U.K.
December 1993: 32 networks on air in 18 areas
History of GSM
Date
Activity
1996
1997
1998
At the beginning of 1998 the MoU has a total of 253 members in over 100 countries and
there are over 70 million GSM subscribers worldwide. GSM subscribers account for 31% of
the worlds mobile market.
Vodacom Introduces Free Voice Mail.
GSM SIM Cracked in USA.
21 May 1998. Egypt privatizes its GSM operator.
Iridium Live 11/98.
125 million GSM 900/1800/1900 users worldwide (12/98).
1 Dec 1998. Click GSM commercial launch.
Questions
BTS
BSC
AUC
MSC/VLR
Radio Interface
Other
OtherSwitching
Switching
Nodes
Nodes
Other MSCs
MS
PSTN
HLR
AUC
BSC
BTS
MSC/VLR
BSC
BTS
MSC/VLR
HLR
AUC
BSC
BTS
MSC/VLR
HLR
AUC
MSC/VLR
BTS
BSC
HLR
BTS
BSC
MSC/VLR
AUC
Mobile Station
+
SIM Card
Handset
GSM Identities
Mobile Station ISDN Number (MSISDN)
20
10
1100477
44
385
196099
CC
NDC
SN
CC
NDC
SN
CC : Country Code
NDC: Network Destination Code
SN : Subscriber Number
Vodafone UK MSISDN
GSM Identities
International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
234
15
1234567890
602
02
1234567890
MCC
MNC
MSIN
MCC
MNC
MSIN
Vodafone UK IMSI
GSM Identities
International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI)
6 Digits 2 Digits 6 Digits
Final Assembly Codes (FAC)
TAC
FAC
SN
IMEI
01,02
07,40
10,20
30
40,41,44
47
50
51
51
51
60
70
75
80
85
AEG
Motorola
Nokia
Ericsson
Siemens
Optional International
Bosch
Sony
Siemens
Ericsson
Alcatel
Sagem
Dancall
Philips
Panasonic
GSM Identities
Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity Number (TMSI)
TMSI may be allocated to a mobile subscriber to be used instead of
IMSI during all radio communications in order to keep subscribers
information confidential on the air interface.
TMSI is relevant on the local MSC/VLR only and is changed at certain
events or time intervals.
Each operator can define its own TMSI structure.
GSM Identities
Mobile Station Roaming Number (MSRN)
During setup of a mobile-terminating call, the HLR of the called
subscriber requests the MSC/VLR to allocate an MSRN to the called
subscriber.
This MSRN is returned via the HLR to the GMSC.
The GMSC routes the call to the MSC/VLR exchange where the called
subscriber is currently registered.
The routing is done using the MSRN. When the routing is completed,
the MSRN is released.
The MSRN is built up like an MSISDN
AUC
PLMN
ISDN
HLR
SMSC-GMSC
SMS-IWMSC
SC
GWMSC
PSTN
MIN
DTI
EIR
MSC/VLR
BGW
BSS
SGSN
BSC/TRC
GPRS
Air I/f
OSS
MS
BTS
Split Architecture
Control Layer
BICC
MSC
Server
TSG
Server
GCP
GCP
BS
S
AP
P
U
IS
Connectivity Layer
BSC
X
MGW
X
X
MGW
PSTN/ISDN/PLMN
MSC
33
MSC Server
42
Media Gateway
46
BSC
Transit Gateway
15
HLR
FNR
Questions
Radio Coverage
Cell Geometry
Dead Spots
Cell Geometry
To solve the dead spot problem:
Tradeoffs:
The number of cells required to cover a given area.
The cell transceiver power.
Transceiver Antenna
Sectorial Antenna
Omni-Directional Antenna
Sectorial Antenna
Cell Classification
Macrocell
Picocell
In building
coverage
Microcell
Slow moving subscribers
Cell Classification
Umbrella Cell
Normal Cell
Overlaid &
Underlaid Cells
Normal Cell
890
890.6
3
935
915 F (MHz)
890.4
935.2 935.6
1
Uplink
Downlink
960 F (MHz)
935.4
ARFCN
Uplink
1710 1710.4
1785 F (MHz)
1805.2 1805.6
1
Downlink
1805 1805.4
1880 F (MHz)
ARFCN
GSM Spectrum
1710
915
GSM 900
With 124 ARFCN
935
Downlink
25 MHz
1785
GSM 1800
With 374 ARFCN
95 MHz
Uplink
45 MHz
890
Uplink
960
1805
Downlink
75 MHz
1880
Frequency Reuse
Why do we need frequency reuse?
Total no of channels (frequencies) = 124
Every channel can be shared between a maximum of 8 subscribers.
Maximum no of simultaneous calls = 8 X 124 = 992 !!
B3
A2
A1
A3
B3
A2
A1
C1
A3
A2
B1
B2
C3
C1
A3
C2
C1
A1
C3
C2
C1
A3
C2
C1
B1
B2
C3
B3
A2
A1
B2
B1
C3
C2
C1
B2
C3
B1
B2
B1
A1
A2
B3
B3
A2
B3
A1
A2
A3
C1
C2
C2
C1
C2
A3
B1
B2
C3
B2
C3
B1
B2
C3
B1
A2
B3
A1
B3
A1
A2
B3
A1
C2
A3
C2
A1
A3
C1
B3
A2
B1
B2
C3
B2
C3
B1
A3
C2
C1
B3
A2
A1
A3
B2
B1
C3
A1
C2
A3
A2
B2
C3
C1
B3
A1
A3
B2
B1
C3
A2
B1
C1
D1
C1
B2
B1
C3
D3
C2
D2
D1
D1
A2
D3
D2
B3
A1
C2
D2
C2
A3
B1
D3
C1
B2
C3
D3
C3
D1
A2
B2
B1
D2
B3
A1
C2
D2
D1
A3
B2
C3
D3
C1
D1
B3
A1
C2
C1
C1
D1
A2
D3
D2
B3
A1
C2
D2
C2
A3
B1
D3
C1
B2
C3
D3
C3
D1
A2
B2
B1
D2
B3
A1
C2
D2
D1
A2
B1
A1
C2
A3
B3
A2
D3
C1
B2
C3
D3
C2
A3
A2
B2
C3
D1
A3
B1
D2
B3
A1
A2
D3
C1
B3
A1
C2
A3
B1
B2
C3
D1
A3
B1
D2
B3
A1
A2
D3
C1
B3
C1
D2
D1
E3
A2
A1
B3
E2
E1
D3
B2
B1
D2
D1
C3
B3
A3
A2
A1
B1
D1
F1
C2
C1
A1
B2
G2
G1
B1
D2
C3
F2
F1
G3
C2
C1
C1
G2
G1
F2
F1
G3
C2
F3
D1
D2
C3
E1
F3
D1
E2
D3
E1
B2
E3
E2
D3
B1
A2
B3
A1
G2
A3
E3
A2
B3
G1
F2
G3
F1
C2
F3
A3
F2
G3
C1
D2
C3
D1
E2
D3
F3
D2
C3
E1
B2
D3
B1
E3
E2
E1
B2
G2
G1
B3
A1
F1
C2
E3
A2
F2
G3
C1
A3
F3
G2
G1
Traffic Channels
C/I Ratio
3/9
High
High
Low
4/12
Medium
Medium
Medium
7/21
Low
Low
High
Questions
Traffic Cases
Location Update
Why do we need to update our location data?
To identify subscribers locations within the network so that incoming calls could
be routed to the correct recipient.
Compromise
Location Update
Location Area
Location area is a part of the MSC/VLR coverage area.
Each group of adjacent cells is assigned a universal unique Location
Area Identity (LAI).
Mobile subscribers update the network with their new location every
time it changes its Location Area.
The concept of Location Area enables us to make an approximate
estimation of the subscribers location.
Location Update
MSC Coverage Area (Service Area)
LA 1
LA 3
MSC
LA 2
LA4
Location Update
MSC Coverage Area (Service Area)
Location Update
234
15
1607
234
15
1607
781
MCC
MNC
LAC
MCC
MNC
LAC
CID
Location Update
Types of Location Update
1. Normal location update within same MSC service area.
2. Normal location update between 2 different MSC service areas.
3. IMSI attach/detach
4. Periodic Location Update
Location Update
1. Normal location update within same MSC service area
Updates
LA Record
MSC/VLR
2. The BTS responds with the allocation message
3. The mobile sends a location update request message with its
IMSI to the MSC/VLR
BSC
Location Update
VLR Address
=
New
Old MSC
MSC
HLR
IMSI to MGT
translation
Old MSC/VLR
New MSC/VLR
Old BSC
New BSC
LA 2
LA 1
Location Update
3a. IMSI Detach
Reject
Incoming Calls
MSC/VLR
BSC
Switching Off
Location Update
3b. IMSI Attach
1. MS requests a signaling channel.
Normal
Call
Reject
Handling
Incoming
Calls
MSC/VLR
2. The MSC/VLR receives the IMSI attach message from the MS.
3. The MSC/VLR sets the MS status to IMSI attach in the VLR.
The mobile is now ready for normal call handling.
4. The VLR returns an acknowledgment to the MS.
BSC
Note: If the MS changed location area while detached, a
normal location update would take place
Detached
Active
Location Update
4. Periodic Location Update
A routine task performed by the network if the MS doesnt make any
activity during a predefined period.
If the MS doesnt respond to this periodic location update, it will be
marked as implicitly detached (Temporarily out of service).
Handover
Handover is keeping continuity of the call while the subscriber is roaming in
the network (moving from one cell to another).
During a call, the MS is continuously measuring transmission quality of
neighboring cells and reports these results to the BSC through the BTS.
The BSC is responsible of handover initiation.
Good neighbor relations between cells is an important factor in keeping the
network performance within accepted levels.
Handover
Types of Handover
1. Intra BSC Handover
Both serving and target cells belong to the same BSC.
Handover
Initiate
Handover
BSC
2. The BSC checks for an vacant TCH in the new cell and orders
this cell to activate the TCH.
3. The BSC orders the serving cell to send a message to the MS
telling the information of new TCH.
4. The MS tunes to the new frequency and sends handover access
burst.
5. The new cell detects the handover burst and sends information
about the suitable timing advance to the MS.
6. The MS sends a HO complete message to the new cell.
7. The new cell sends a message to the BSC that the handover is
successful.
8. The BSC orders the old cell to release the TCH.
Old Cell
New Cell
Handover
2. Inter BSC / Intra MSC Handover
MSC/VLR
Old BSC
New BSC
Handover
3. Inter MSC Handover
Old MSC
Old BSC
New MSC
New BSC
PSTN
MSC
5. BSC checks the mobile serving BTS for an idle traffic channel and
then orders that BTS to seize this channel for the call.
BSC
6. The BSC informs the MSC when the traffic channel assignment is
complete.
7. The MSC starts to analyze the dialed number and sets up the
connection towards the called subscriber
HLR
3
PSTN
2
4
GMSC
BSC
MSC
7
8
9
calls allowed ?
MSC/VLR
Is roaming and Int.
60202..
Attached
Detached
VLR ADD=
HLR
Egypt Airport
Stock.
Roaming & Int.
Roaming
& Int.
Allowed
Allowed
MSISDN
+2010.
MSC/VLR
Originating Leg
Terminating Leg
Attached
HLR
GWMSC
VLR ADD=
xyz
MSC/VLR
Originating Leg
Attached
VLR ADD=
Stock. Airport
MSISDN
HLR
010
GWMSC
MSISDN
+2010.
MSC/VLR
A
MSC/VLR
B
Roaming Call
Forwarding Leg
Attached
Originating Leg
VLR ADD=
Stock. B
HLR
GWMSC
MSISDN
+46
MSC/VLR
A
MSC/VLR
B
Originating Leg
STCK.
HLR
STCK.
GWMSC
HLR
GWMSC
Terminating Leg
Questions
GSM Services
Introduction
Examples of GSM non-Speech services
Fax calls
Data calls
Short messages service (SMS)
Supported by :
PSTN
ISDN
GSM
IMSI
AMSISDN
BC
AMSISDN
HLR
AMSISDN
PSTN
GWMSC
MSC/VLR
DTI
PSTN
MSC
DTI
SMS-GMSC
Interrogates the HLR to determine the location of a mobile subscriber.
Forwards the short message to a mobile subscriber via its serving MSC.
SMS-IWMSC
Receives the mobile originated short message from any MSC in the network.
Receives alerts from the HLR to inform the SC that a mobile subscriber who
was absent during a previous SMS delivery attempt is reachable again.
SC
SMS - IWMSC
SMS - GMSC
MSC1
MSC2
HLR
MO
MT
SC
SMS - GMSC
W
ai
tin
g
es
sa
ge
D
at
a
SMS - IWMSC
MSC1
Pending Message
Flag
MSC2
HLR
MO
MT
SC
SMS - IWMSC
SMS - GMSC
er
Al
is
S
M
e t
Th n
t: ese
pr
MSC1
HLR
MS
e
h
T
rt:
nt
e
l
e
s
A
pre
is
MSC2
Attach
MO
MT
Supplementary Services
IN
Intelligent Networks
CAMEL
MMS
WAP
Evolution of GSM
HSCSD
GPRS
EDGE
UMTS
HSDPA
HSUPA
IMS
IP Multimedia Subsystem
Evolution of GSM
UMTS
Functionality
& capabilities
capable systems
WCDMA
2 Mbps
EDGE/IS-136
384 kbps
GPRS
115 kbps
HSCSD
57.6 kbps
Packet Switched
Circuit Switched
Circuit data
<9.6 kbps
Speech
Time
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Questions
Thank You