What is wireless mobile network?

PCS architecture:-
Personal communications services (PCS) refers to a wide variety of wireless access and personal
mobility services provided through a small terminal, with the goal of enabling communications
at any time, at any place, and in any form.

PCS technologies have grown rapidly in the telecommunications industry.

PCS architecture has mainly 3 types of Interfaces

● Um interface The “air” or radio interface standard that is used for exchanges between a mobile
(ME) and a base station (BTS / BSC). For signalling, a modified version of the ISDN LAPD,
known as LAPDm is used.
● Abis interface This is a BSS internal interface linking the BSC and a BTS, and it has not been
totally standardised. The Abis interface allows control of the radio equipment and radio
frequency allocation in the BTS.
● A interface The A interface is used to provide communication between the BSS and the MSC.
PCS architecture divides into to 3 subsystem i.e.Base Station Subsystem(BSS),Network
Switching Subsystem (NSS) and Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS)

Mobile station

PCS use mobile stations (MSs) to communicate with the base stations (BSs) in a PCS network.
MS is also referred to as handset, mobile phone, subscriber unit, or portable.
Mobile stations (MS), mobile equipment (ME) or as they are most widely known, cell or mobile
phones are the section of a GSM cellular network.
In recent years their size has fallen dramatically while the level of functionality has greatly
increased.There are a number of elements to the cell phone, although the two main elements are
the main hardware and the SIM.It contains a number known as the International Mobile
Equipment Identity (IMEI). This is installed in the phone at manufacture and “cannot” be
changed. It is accessed by the network during registration to check whether the equipment has
been reported as stolen.
The SIM or Subscriber Identity Module contains the information that provides the identity of the
user to the network. It contains are variety of information including a number known as the
International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI).

Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

The Base Station Subsystem (BSS) section of the GSM network architecture that is
fundamentally associated with communicating with the mobiles on the network. It consists of
two elements:

● Base Transceiver Station (BTS):

The BTS used in a GSM network comprises the radio transmitter receivers, and their associated
antennas that transmit and receive to directly communicate with the mobiles. The BTS is the
defining element for each cell. The BTS communicates with the mobiles and the interface
between the two is known as the Um interface with its associated protocols.

● Base Station Controller (BSC):

The BSC forms the next stage back into the GSM network. It controls a group of BTSs, and is
often co-located with one of the BTSs in its group. It manages the radio resources and controls
items such as handover within the group of BTSs, allocates channels and the like. It
communicates with the BTSs over what is termed the Abis interface.
 Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)

The GSM system architecture contains a variety of different elements, and is often termed the
core network. It provides the main control and interfacing for the whole mobile network. The
major elements within the core network include:

● Mobile Services Switching Centre (MSC):

The main element within the core network area of the overall GSM network architecture is the
Mobile switching Services Centre (MSC). The MSC acts like a normal switching node within a
PSTN or ISDN, but also provides additional functionality to enable the requirements of a mobile
user to be supported. These include registration, authentication, call location, inter-MSC
handovers and call routing to a mobile subscriber. It also provides an interface to the PSTN so
that calls can be routed from the mobile network to a phone connected to a landline. Interfaces to
other MSCs are provided to enable calls to be made to mobiles on different networks.

● Home Location Register (HLR):

This database contains all the administrative information about each subscriber along with their
last known location. In this way, the GSM network is able to route calls to the relevant base
station for the MS. When a user switches on their phone, the phone registers with the network
and from this it is possible to determine which BTS it communicates with so that incoming calls
can be routed appropriately. Even when the phone is not active (but switched on) it re-registers
periodically to ensure that the network (HLR) is aware of its latest position. There is one HLR
per network, although it may be distributed across various sub-centres to for operational reasons.

● Visitor Location Register (VLR):

This contains selected information from the HLR that enables the selected services for the
individual subscriber to be provided. The VLR can be implemented as a separate entity, but it is
commonly realised as an integral part of the MSC, rather than a separate entity. In this way
access is made faster and more convenient.

● Equipment Identity Register (EIR):

The EIR is the entity that decides whether a given mobile equipment may be allowed onto the
network. Each mobile equipment has a number known as the International Mobile Equipment
Identity. This number, as mentioned above, is installed in the equipment and is checked by the
network during registration. Dependent upon the information held in the EIR, the mobile may be
allocated one of three states – allowed onto the network, barred access, or monitored in case its
problems.
● Authentication Centre (AuC):

The AuC is a protected database that contains the secret key also contained in the user’s SIM
card. It is used for authentication and for ciphering on the radio channel.

● Gateway Mobile Switching Centre (GMSC):

The GMSC is the point to which a ME terminating call is initially routed, without any
knowledge of the MS’s location. The GMSC is thus in charge of obtaining the MSRN (Mobile
Station Roaming Number) from the HLR based on the MSISDN (Mobile Station ISDN number,
the “directory number” of a MS) and routing the call to the correct visited MSC. The “MSC” part
of the term GMSC is misleading, since the gateway operation does not require any linking to an
MSC.

Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS)

The OSS or operation support subsystem is an element within the overall GSM network
architecture that is connected to components of the NSS and the BSC. It is used to control and
monitor the overall GSM network and it is also used to control the traffic load of the BSS. It
must be noted that as the number of BS increases with the scaling of the subscriber population
some of the maintenance tasks are transferred to the BTS, allowing savings in the cost of
ownership of the system.

GSM Network Architecture

The GSM architecture consists of three major interconnected subsystems that interact with
themselves and with users through certain network interface. The subsystems are Base Station
Subsystem (BSS), Network Switching Subsystem (NSS) and Operational Support Subsystem
(OSS). Mobile Station (MS) is also a subsystem but it is considered as a part of BSS.
1. Mobile Station (MS): Mobile Station is made up of two entities.
A. Mobile equipment (ME):
 ● It is a portable, vehicle mounted, hand held device.
● It is uniquely identified by an IMEI number.
● It is used for voice and data transmission. It also monitors power and signal quality of
surrounding cells foe optimum handover. 160 characters long SMS can also be sent using
Mobile Equipment.

B. Subscriber Identity module (SIM):

● It is a smart card that contains the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
number.
● It allows users to send and receive calls and receive other subscriber services. - It is
protected by password or PIN.
● It contains encoded network identification details. it has key information to activate the
phone.
● It can be moved from one mobile to another.

2. Base Station Subsystem (BSS): It is also known as radio subsystem, provides and manages
radio transmission paths between the mobile station and the Mobile Switching Centre (MSC).
BSS also manages interface between the mobile station and all other subsystems of GSM. It
consists of two parts.
A. Base Transceiver Station (BTS):

● It encodes, encrypts, multiplexes, modulates and feeds the RF signal to the antenna.
● It consists of transceiver units.
● It communicates with mobile stations via radio air interface and also communicates with
BSC via Abis interface.

B. Base Station Controller (BSC):

● It manages radio resources for BTS. It assigns frequency and time slots for all mobile
stations in its area.
● It handles call set up, transcoding and adaptation functionality handover for each MS
radio power control.
● It communicates with MSC via A interface and also with BTS.

3. Network Switching Subsystem (NSS): it manages the switching functions of the system and
allows MSCs to communicate with other networks such as PSTN and ISDN. It consist of
A. Mobile switching Centre:
 ● It is a heart of the network. It manages communication between GSM and other
networks.
● It manages call set up function, routing and basic switching.

● It performs mobility management including registration, location updating and inter BSS
and inter MSC call handoff.
● It provides billing information.

● MSC does gateway function while its customers roam to other network by using
HLR/VLR.

B. Home Location Registers (HLR): - It is a permanent database about mobile subscriber in a

large service area. - Its database contains IMSI, IMSISDN, prepaid/post-paid, roaming
restrictions, supplementary services.
C. Visitor Location Registers (VLR): - It is a temporary database which updates whenever new
MS enters its area by HLR database. - It controls mobiles roaming in its area. It reduces number
of queries to HLR. - Its database contains IMSI, TMSI, IMSISDN, MSRN, location, area
authentication key.
D. Authentication Centre: - It provides protection against intruders in air interface. - It
maintains authentication keys and algorithms and provides security triplets (RAND, SRES, Ki).
E. Equipment Identity Registry (EIR):

● It is a database that is used to track handset using the IMEI number.

● It is made up of three sub classes- the white list, the black list and the gray list.

4. Operational Support Subsystem (OSS): It supports the operation and maintenance of GSM
and allows system engineers to monitor, diagnose and troubleshoot all aspects of GSM system. It
supports one or more Operation Maintenance Centres (OMC) which are used to monitor the
performance of each MS, Bs, BSC and MSC within a GSM system. It has three main functions:

● To maintain all telecommunication hardware and network operations with a particular

market.
● To manage all charging and billing procedures

● To manage all mobile equipment in the system.

Interfaces used for GSM network : (ref fig 2)

1)UM Interface –Used to communicate between BTS with MS
2)Abis Interface— Used to communicate BSC TO BTS
3)A Interface-- Used to communicate BSC and MSC
4) Singling protocol (SS 7)- Used to communicate MSC with other network .
 Frequency
spectrum:

GSM services

n GSM terminology, telecommunication services are divided into three broad categories:
List of GSM Service:

1. Bearer services
2. Tele services
3. Supplementary Services
Bearer services are also called as Data services. These are telecommunication services
providing the capability of transmission of signals between access points [the user-network
interfaces (UNIs) in ISDN]. For instance, synchronous dedicated packet data access is a bearer
service.
Teleservices are telecommunication servicesproviding the complete capability, including
terminal equipment functions, for communication between users according to protocols
established by agreement between network operators.•Supplementary Services.In addition to
these services, supplementary services are defined that modify or supplement a basic
telecommunication service.
Supplementary services include several forms of call forward (such as call forwarding when the
mobile subscriber is unreachable by the network), caller identification, call waiting, multiparty
conversations, charging information, and call barring of outgoing or incoming calls. These call-
barring features can be used for example when roaming in another country, if the user wants to
limit the communication fees.
GSM Channel Types

GSM Channel are divided into two types:

Traffic channels (TCHs):

● The traffic channes are intended to carry encoded speech or user data.

● Traffic channels are intended to carry encoded speech and user data.

● Full rate traffic channels at a net bit rate of 22.8 Kb/s (TCH/F)

● Half rate traffic channels at a net bit rate of 11.4 Kb/s (TCH/H)

● Speech channels are defined for both full rate and half rate traffic channels.

● Data channels support a variety of data rates (2.4, 4.8 and 9.6 Kb/s) on both half and full
rate traffic channels. The 9.6 Kb/s data rate is only for full rate application.
● The traffic channels(TCH) support two types of information rates Full rate (TCH/F) and
Half rate (TCH/H)

● When transmitted as full rate, the user data is occupied within TS per frame. When
transmitted as half rate, the user data is occupied into the same time slot but sent in
alternate frames.

● The 26th frame contains idle bits if full rate TCHs are used and contains SACCH data if
half rate TCHS are used
- Full Rate TCH for data and speech channels:-
A. Full - rate Speech Channel )TCH/Fs): At 16 kbps the full rate speech channel is
digitized. The full rate speech channel caries 55.8kbps after adding the GSM channel
coding to the digitized speech.
B. Full-rate Data Channel for 9600 bps (TCH/F9.6): The full rate traffic data channel
contains raw data that is transmitted at 9.6 kbps. After the application of additional
forward error correction coding with the GSM standards, 9600 kbps is transferred at 22.8
kbps.
 C. Full-rate Data Channel for 4500 bps(TCH/F4.8): The full rate traffic date channel
contains data that is transmitted at 4.8 Kbps. After the application of additional forward
error correction coding with GSM standards, the 4.8 kbps is transferred at 22.8 kbps.
D. Full Rate Data Channel for 2400 bps (TCH/F2.4): The full rate traffic data channel
contains raw data that is transmitted at 2.4 kbps. After the application of additional
forward error correction coding with GSM standards, the 2.4 kbps data is transferred at
22.8 kbps.
. Half Rate TCH for data and speech channels:
A. Half Rate Speech Channels (TCH/HS): The half tate speech channel can carry
digitized speech that is sampled at a rate half that of full rate channel. GSM anticipates
the availibility of speech coders. It can digitize speech at about 6.5 kbps. After adding
GSM channel coding to the digitized speech, the half rate Speech channel will carry 11.4
kbps.
B. Half Rate Data Channel for 4800 bps (TCH/H4.8): The half rate traffic data
channel carries raw data that is sentat 4800 bps. After the application of forward error
correction using GSM standards, 4800 bps data is sent at 11.4 kbps.
C Half Rate Data Channe for 2400 kbps (TCH/H 2.4): The half rate traffic data
channel carries raw user data that is sent at 2400 bps. After application of additional
forward error corretion using GSM standards, 2400 bps data is sent to 11.4 bps.

Control Channel (CCH):. Control channels carry signaling information between an MS and a
BTS.
a) Broadcast control channel:
. Broadcast control channels are transmitted in downlink direction only i.e. only transmitted by
BTS.
. The broadcast channels are used to broadcast synchronization and general network information
to all the MSs within a cell.
. It has three types:
a. FREQUENCY CORRECTION CHANNEL (FCCH):
. Used for the frequency correction / synchronization of a mobile station.
. The repeated (every 10 sec) transmission of Frequency Bursts is called FCCH.
b. SYNCHRONISATION CHANNEL (SCH):
. Allows the mobile station to synchronize time wise with the BTS.
. Repeated broadcast (every 10 frames) of Synchronization Bursts is called (SCH).
c. BROADCAST CONTROL CHANNEL (BCH):
. The BROADCAST CONTROL CHANNEL (BCCH) is used to broadcast control information
to every MS within a cell.
. This information includes details of the control channel configuration used at the BTS, a list of
the BCCH carrier frequencies used at the neighboring BTSs and a number of parameters that are
used by the MS when accessing the BTS.
Common Control Channel:
The common control channels are used by an MS during the paging and access procedures.
Common control channels are of three types.
(PCH) PAGING CHANNEL:
. Within certain time intervals the MS will listen to the Paging channel, PCH, to see if the
network wants to get in contact with the MS.
. The reason could be an incoming call or an incoming Short Message.
2.(RACH) RANDOM ACCESS CHANNEL:

● If listening to the PCH, the MS will realize it is being paged.

● The MS answers, requesting a signalling channel, on the Random Access channel,
RACH.
● RACH can also be used if the MS wants to get in contact with the network, e/g. when
setting up a mobile originated call.

3.(AGCH) ACCESS GRANTED CHANNEL:

● The access grant channel (AGCH) is carried data which instructs the mobile to operate in
a particular physical channel (Time slot or ARFCN).
● It uses normal burst.

C) Dedicated Control Channels (DCCHs):

● Signaling information is carried between an MS and a BTS using associated and

dedicated control channels during or not during a call, They are of three types:

A. (SDCCH STAND ALONE DEDICATED CONTROL CHANNEL:

● Non-urgent information, e.g. transmitter power control, is transmitted using the slow
associated control channel (SACCH).

● On the uplink MS sends averaged measurements on own base station (signal strength and
quality) and neighboring base stations (signal strength).
 ● On the downlink the MS receives system information, which transmitting power and
what timing advance to use. It is transmitted at 13thFrame of TCH. As seen, SACCH is
transmitted on both up-and downlink, point-to-point.

● It uses normal burst.

B. (SAACH) SLOW ASSOCIATED CONTROL CHANNEL:

● In some situations, signaling information must flow between a network and an MS when
a call is not in progress, e.g. during a location update.

● This could be accommodated by allocating either a full-rate or half-rate TCH and by

using either the SACCH or FACCH to carry the information.
C. (FACCH) FAST ASSOCIATED CONTROL CHANNEL:

● More urgent information, e.g. a handover command, is sent using time slots that are
'stolen' from the traffic channel.

● If, suddenly, during the conversation a handover must be performed the Fast Associated
Control channel, FACCH, is used.

● FACCH works in stealing mode, meaning that one 2. ms segment of speech is exchanged
for signaling information necessary for the handover.
GSM Radio

GSM radio is wireless communication system that divides geographic areas into small radio
areas (cells) that are interconnected with each other. Each cell coverage area has one or several
transmitters and receivers that communicate with mobile telephones within its area.

GSM radio systems operate in a specific frequency band (or frequency bands) that has been
allocated to the system. The radio frequency channel that the system operators may be reused at
different cell sites according to a frequency plan. User share each radio channel using a
combination of frequency division and time division multiple access.

Call processing in gsm:

Mobile call origination in GSM:
Diagram:
Description :
1. The MS sends the dialed number indicating service requested to the MSC(via BSS)
2. The MSC checks from the VLR if the MS is allowed the requested service. If so, MSC
asks BSS to allocate necessary resources for the call.
3. If the call is allowed, the MSC routes the call to GMSC.
4. The GMSC routes the call to the local exchange of called user.
5. The LE alerts (applies ringing) the called terminal.
6. Answer back (ring back tone) from the called terminal to LE.
7. Answer back signal is routed back to the MS through the serving MSC which also
completes the speech path to the MS.
OR
Mobile call termination:
1. The PSTN user dials the MSISDN of the called user in GSM.
2. The LE routes the call to the GMSC of the called GSM user.
3. The GMSC uses the dialed MSISDN to determine the serving HLR for the GSM user and
interrogates it to obtain the required routing number.
4. The HLR requests the current serving VLR for the called MS for a MSRN(MS roaming
number) so that the call can be routed to the correct MSC.
5. The VLR passes the MSRN to the HLR.
6. The HLR passes the MSRN to the GMSC.
7. Using the MSRN, the GMSC routes the call to the serving MSC.
8. The MSC interrogates the VLR for the current location area identity (LAI) for the MS.
9. The VLR provides the current location for the MS.
10. The MSC pages MS via the appropriate BSS. The MS responds to the page and sets up
the necessary signaling links.
11. When the BSS has established the necessary radio links, the MSC is informed an the call
is delivered to the MS.
12. When the MS answers the call, the connection is completed to the calling PSTN user.
Mobility management

Mobility management is one of the major functions of a GSM or a UMTS network that
allows mobile phones to work. The aim of mobility management is to track where
the subscribers are, allowing calls, SMS and other mobile phone services to be delivered to them.

Locations update procedure:

GSM Location Update: The location update procedure allows a mobile device to inform the
cellular network, whenever it moves from one location area to the next. Mobiles are responsible
for detecting location area codes. When a mobile finds that the location area code is different
from its last update, it performs another update by sending to the network, a location update
request, together with its previous location, and it’s Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity
(TMSI) In order to make a mobile terminated call, The GSM network should know the location
of the MS (Mobile Station), despite of its movement. For this purpose the MS periodically
reports its location to the network using the Location Update procedure.
Location Area (LA): A GSM network is divided into cells. A group of cells is considered a
location area. A mobile phone in motion keeps the network informed about changes in the
location area. If the mobile moves from a cell in one location area to a cell in another location
area, the mobile phone should perform a location area update to inform the network about the
exact location of the mobile phone.
The Location Update procedure is performed:

● The MS moves from LA1 to LA2, where both LAs are connected to the same MSC

Step 1:
A location update request message is sent from the MS to the MSC through the BTS, include the
address of the previously visited LA, MSC, and VLR. In this, the addresses of previous MSC &
VLR are same as those for the new MSC & VLR. TMSI is used to avoid sending the IMSI on the
radio path. TMSI is temporary mobile subscriber identity of the MS. This temporary identity is
allocated to an MS by the VLR at inter VLR registration, and can be changed by VLR after
every call setup
Step 2:
The MSC forwards the location update request to the VLR by a TCAP message,
MAP_UPDATE_LOCATION_AREA
The message includes:

● Address of the MSC

● TMSI of the MS
● Previous location area identification (LAI)
● Target LAI

Step 3 and Step 4:

MSC updates the LAI field of the VLR record, and replies with an acknowledgment to the MS
through the MSC.

Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI)

Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) can be assigned by the VLR, which is
responsible for the current location of a subscriber. The TMSI needs to have only local
significance in the area handled by the VLR. This is stored on the network side only in the VLR
and is not passed to the Home Location Register (HLR).
Together with the current location area, the TMSI identifies a subscriber uniquely. It can
contain up to 4 × 8 bits.
Roaming
Roaming is one of the fundamental mobility management procedures of all cellular networks.
Roaming is defined as the ability for a cellular customer to automatically make and receive voice
calls, send and receive data, or access other services, including home data services, when
travelling outside the geographical coverage area of the home network, by means of using a
visited network. This can be done by using a communication terminal or else just by using the
subscriber identity in the visited network. Roaming is technically supported by a mobility
management, authentication, authorization and billing procedures.
country. International roaming is used when mobile subscribers travel abroad and make use of
the network of an operator in the foreign country.
Types of area

Location area
A "location area" is a set of base stations that are grouped together to optimize signaling.
Typically, tens or even hundreds of base stations share a single Base Station Controller (BSC) in
GSM, or a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in UMTS. The BSC / RNC is the intelligence
behind the base stations; it handles allocation of radio channels, receives measurements from the
mobile phones, and controls handovers between base stations.
Each location area has an assigned unique identifier, made up of numbers, called a "location area
code" (LAC). The LAC is broadcast by each base station at regular intervals. Within a location
area, each base station is assigned a distinct "cell identifier" (CI) number, see also Cell Global
Identity.
If the location areas are large and moderately populated, there will likely be a high number of
mobiles operating simultaneously, resulting in very high paging traffic. This is due to the fact
that every paging request has to be broadcast to every base station in the location area.
Ultimately, this wastes bandwidth and power on mobile devices by requiring them to listen for
broadcast messages too often. Similarly if on the other hand, there are too many small location
areas, the mobile device must contact the network very often for changes of location, which will
also drain the device’s battery. Therefore, it is important to strike a balance between the size of
the location area and the number of mobile device users in the location area.
Routing area
The routing area is the packet-switched domain equivalent of the location area. A "routing area"
is normally a subdivision of a "location area". Routing areas are used by mobiles which
are GPRS-attached. GPRS is optimized for "bursty" data communication services, such as
wireless internet/intranet, and multimedia services. It is also known as GSM-IP ("Internet
Protocol") because it will connect users directly to Internet Service Providers
The bursty nature of packet traffic means that more paging messages are expected per mobile,
and so it is worth knowing the location of the mobile more accurately than it would be with
traditional circuit-switched traffic. A change from routing area to routing area (called a "Routing
Area Update") is done in an almost identical way to a change from location area to location area.
The main differences are that the "Serving GPRS Support Node" (SGSN) is the element
involved.
Tracking area
The tracking area is the LTE counterpart of the location area and routing area. A tracking area is
a set of cells. Tracking areas can be grouped into lists of tracking areas (TA lists), which can be
configured on the User Equipment (UE). Tracking area updates are performed periodically or
when the UE moves to a tracking area that is not included in its TA list.
Operators can allocate different TA lists to different UEs. This can avoid signaling peaks in some
conditions: for instance, the UEs of passengers of a train may not perform tracking area updates
simultaneously.
On the network side, the involved element is the Mobility Management Entity (MME). MME
configures TA lists using NAS messages like Attach Accept, TAU Accept or GUTI Reallocation
Command.

Network Signaling

In telecommunication, signaling is the use of signals for controlling communications. This may
constitute an information exchange concerning the establishment and control of
a telecommunication circuit and the management of the network.

Classification
Signaling systems may be classified based on several principal characteristics.
In-band and out-of-band signaling
In the public switched telephone network (PSTN), in-band signaling is the exchange of call
control information within the same physical channel, or within the same frequency band, that
the telephone call itself is using.

Out-of-band signaling is telecommunication signaling on a dedicated channel separate from that

used for the telephone call
Line versus register signaling
Line signaling is concerned with conveying information on the state of the line or channel, such
as on-hook, off-hook (answer supervision and disconnect supervision, together referred to
as supervision), ringing, and hook flash.
Register signaling is concerned with conveying addressing information, such as the calling
and/or called telephone number. In the early days of telephony, with operator handling calls, the
addressing formation is by voice as "Operator, connect me to Mr. Smith please". In the first half
of the 20th century, addressing formation is done by using a rotary dial, which rapidly breaks the
line current into pulses, with the number of pulses conveying the address. Finally, starting in the
second half of the century, address signaling is by DTMF.
Channel-associated versus common-channel signaling

Channel-associated signaling (CAS) employs a signaling channel that is dedicated to a

specific bearer channel.
Common-channel signaling (CCS) employs a signaling channel which conveys signaling
information relating to multiple bearer channels. These bearer channels, therefore, have their
signaling channel in common.
Compelled signaling
Compelled signaling refers to signaling where the receipt of each signal from an originating
register needs to be explicitly acknowledged before the next signal is able to be sent
Subscriber versus trunk signaling
Subscriber signaling refers to the signaling between the telephone and the telephone exchange.
Trunk signaling is the signaling between exchanges.