Overview of Mobile

Communications

Introduction
A Network is an interconnected System in a medium
using a group of rules called protocol.
A mobile network is made from millions of smaller
networks connected together forming a sea of
connections
Starting with a a single mobile phone, connected to
various networks and eventually connected to the mobile
network backbone.

MOBILE NETWORK
A mobile network is a radio network distributed and divided in
the form of cell.
A cell has its own transceiver called the Base Station
In this way these cells provide radio coverage over a wide
geographic area.
This in turn enables a large number of portable(easily converted
to run on different computer operating systems) communicating
devices (movable transceivers) like mobile phones to
communicate with each other and with Base Stations (fixed
transceivers)
some of the transceivers are moving through more than one cell
during transmission.

Mobile Network Communication

Mobile Networks Comm (cont)

A more complex network is shown in the following diagram. Hand off
shown by the MS-3 (Mobile Station).

GSM being the most used technology for mobile phones, is a cellular
network.

GSM uses cells method for its mobile phones networking.

Network Attached Storage (NAS)

Network-attached storage (NAS) is file-level computer data storage connected
to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. NAS not
only operates as a file server, but is specialized for this task either by its
hardware, software, or configuration of those elements. NAS is often made as a
computer appliance a specialized computer built from the ground up for storing
and serving files rather than simply a general purpose computer being used for
the role.

Wireless Access Controller

Wireless access to the network is now commonplace. However to provide high
levels of coverage with minimum interference requires a centralised approached
to Wireless Access Points. This usually requires a Wireless Access Controller
which communicates with the Wireless Access Points and provides centralised
security and power management

History

Analog technology is considered to be the first

generation of cellular technologies.
In 1946, the telephones in cars were implemented in
America.
The system used a single radio transmitter and a single
channel called the half duplex system.

GSM, Global System for Mobile Communication

GSM is primarily circuit-switched,(in which two nodes have

dedicated communication channel).

However its evolution to 3G is Packet-switched.

With packet-switched data, (Packet-switched networks move

data in separate, small blocks -- packets -- based on the
destination address in each packet).

The basic design of the GSM system was set by 1987

however the first GSM handset prototypes were presented
in Geneva for Telecom '91, where a GSM network was also
set up.

Commercial service had started by the end of 1991, and by

1993 there were 36 GSM networks in 22 countries.

The system was standardized in Europe, but is now

operational in more than 212 countries all over the world,
and is adopted by more than 436 operators.

The GSM still went on to be improved and hence GSM

evolved to GPRS in 1997 and then in 1999 to a higher
speed data transmission called EDGE.

First Mobile Radio Telephone 1924

Early history of wireless communication

Many people in history used light for communication
Then it was flags
150 BC smoke signals for communication;
(Greece)
1831 Faraday demonstrates electromagnetic induction
J. Maxwell (1831-79): theory of electromagnetic Fields, wave
equations (1864)
H. Hertz (1857-94): demonstrates
with an experiment the wave character
of electrical transmission through space
(1888, in Karlsruhe, Germany)

 1896 Marconi
first demonstration of wireless
telegraphy
long wave transmission

1907 Commercial connections

huge base stations
(30 100m high antennas)

1915 Wireless voice transmission New York - San

Francisco
1920 Discovery of short waves by Marconi
smaller sender and receiver, possible due to the invention of the
vacuum tube (1906, Lee DeForest and Robert von Lieben)

 1928 many TV broadcast trials (across Atlantic, color TV,

news)
1933 Frequency modulation (E. H. Armstrong)
1958 A-Netz in Germany
analog, 160MHz, connection setup only from the mobile station, no
handover, 80% coverage, 1971 11000 customers

1972 B-Netz in Germany

analog, 160MHz, connection setup from the fixed network too (but
location of the mobile station has to be known)

1982 Start of GSM-specification

goal: Digital mobile phone system with roaming

1983 Start of the American AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone

System, analog)
1984 CT-1 standard (Europe) for cordless telephones

 1986 C-Netz in Germany

analog voice transmission, 450MHz, hand-over possible, digital
signaling, automatic location of mobile device

1991 Specification of DECT

Digital European Cordless Telephone (today: Digital Enhanced
Cordless Telecommunications)
duplex channels, 1.2Mbit/s data transmission, voice encryption,
authentication, up to several 10000 user/km2, used in more than 50
countries

1992 Start of GSM

fully digital, 900MHz, 124 channels

automatic location, hand-over, cellular
roaming in Europe - now worldwide in more than 200 countries
services: data, FAX, voice.

 1994 E-Netz in Germany

GSM with 1800MHz, smaller cells
1997 98% coverage of the population

1997 Wireless LAN - IEEE802.11

IEEE standard, 2.4 - 2.5GHz and infrared, 2Mbit/s
already many products available in the beginning

1999 Standardization of additional wireless LANs

IEEE standard 802.11b, 2.4-2.5GHz, 11Mbit/s
Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, <1Mbit/s
Start of WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) and i-mode
first step towards a unified Internet/mobile communication system
access to many services via the mobile phone

2000 GSM with higher data rates

first GPRS trials with up to 50 kbit/s (packet oriented!)

2001 Start of 3G systems

Cdma2000 in Korea, UMTS tests in Europe, (almost UMTS) in
Japan

2002
WLAN hot-spots start to spread

2003
UMTS starts in Germany
Digital TV in Germany replacing analog TV

2006
HSDPA starts in Germany as fast UMTS download version offering > 3 Mbit/s
High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is an enhanced 3G (thirdgeneration)

2007
over 3.3 billion subscribers for mobile phones

2008
real Internet widely available on mobile phones (standard browsers, decent
data rates)
7.2 Mbit/s HSDPA,

2009 technology shared between, tablets, netbooks, iphones.

2010, Google launched its Nexus series of devices to promote andriod
(OS), HSDPA 14.4Mbps

2012
- HSDPA 42Mbit/s,
- LTE, Long-Term Evolution, marketed as a 4G wireless service
- downlink peak rates of 300 Mbit/s,

2012/13 WiMAX 100Mbps to 120 Mbit/s downlink

- As being 4G wireless technology, WiMax has the potential to be the
future broadband

 Cellular telephony is one of the fastest growing

technologies on the planet.
Presently, we are starting to see the third generation
of the cellular phones coming to the market in
Pakistan.
New phones allow users to do much more than hold
phone conversations.

Mobile devices
Pager
receive only
tiny displays
simple text
messages

PDA(personal digital assistant Laptop/Notebook

fully functional
graphical displays
standard applications
character recognition
simplified WWW

Mobile phones
voice, data
simple graphical displays
www.scatterweb.net

Smartphone
tiny keyboard
simple versions
of standard applications

performance
No clear separation between device types possible
(e.g. smart phones, embedded PCs, )

Beyond Voice

Store contact information

Make task/to-do lists
Keep track of appointments
Calculator
Send/receive email
Send/receive pictures
Send/receive video clips
Get information from the internet
Play games
Integrate with other devices (PDAs, MP3 Players,
etc.)

But Why Wireless?

Freedom from Wires!
No cost of installing wires or rewiring
No bunches of wires running here and there
Auto or Magical instantaneous communication
without physical connection!

Global Coverage
Communication can reach where wiring is
infeasible or costly
Rural areas, battle fields, vehicles, outer space
(Sattellites)

Why Wireless? [cont]

Stay Connected
Roaming allows flexibility to stay connected
anywhere anytime
Rapidly growing market attests to public need
for mobility and uninterrupted access

Flexibility
Services reach you wherever you go (Mobility).
E.g. you dont have to go to lab to check email
Connect to multiple devices simultaneously

Basic Concept
Cellular system developed to provide mobile
telephony: telephone access anytime,
anywhere.
First mobile telephone system was developed
and inaugurated in the U.S. in 1945.
This was a simplified version of the system
used today.

System Architecture
A base station provides coverage (communication
capabilities) to users on mobile phones within its
coverage area.
Users outside the coverage area receive/transmit
signals with too low amplitude for reliable
communications.
Users within the coverage area transmit and receive
signals from the base station.
The base station itself is connected to the wired
telephone network.

First Mobile Telephone System

One and only one

high power base
station with which all
users communicate.
Normal
Telephone
System

Entire Coverage
Area
Wired connection

Cellular Network Architecture: basic

terminology & components
MSC
connects cells to wide area net
manages call setup
handles mobility

cell covers

geographical region
base station (BS)
mobile users attach
to network through BS
air-interface:
physical interference
between mobile and BS

Mobile
Switching
Center

Public telephone
network, and
Internet

Mobile
Switching
Center

wired network
CSci5221:

3G/4G Cellular Network Architecture Overview

Circular Coverage Areas

Original cellular system was developed assuming
base station antennas are omnidirectional, i.e., they
transmit in all directions equally.

Users located outside

some distance to the
base station receive
weak signals.

nal
g
i
s
k
Wea

ng
o
r
St

al
n
sig

Result: base station has

circular coverage
area.

Problem with Original Design

One highly-elevated, high-powered
antenna in a large service area
Small number of channels (few users)
Analog transmission, inefficient use of
spectrum (no frequency reuse)
Very low capacity, power-inefficient

Problem with Original Design (cont)

Original mobile telephone system could only support
a handful of users at a timeover an entire city!
With only one high power base station, users
phones also needed to be able to transmit at high
powers (to reliably transmit signals to the distant
base station).
Car phones were therefore much more practical
than handheld phones, e.g., police car phones.

Improved Design
Over the next few decades, researchers at AT&T
Bell Labs developed the core ideas for todays
cellular systems.
Although these core ideas existed since the 60s, it
was not until the 80s that electronic equipment
became available to realize a cellular system.
In the mid 80s the first generation of cellular
systems was developed and deployed.

Geographic regions are divided into cells

Cells

BASE
STATION

The Core Idea: Cellular Concept

The core idea that led to todays system was the
cellular concept.

 Thus, instead of one base station covering an

entire city, the city was broken up into cells, or
smaller coverage areas.
Each of these smaller coverage areas had its
own lower-power base station.
User phones in one cell communicate with the
base station in that cell.

Current mobile System consist of various

wireless technologies.

Cellular Systems
Wireless LANs (802.11a/b/g, Wi-Fi)
Satellite Systems
Paging Systems
Bluetooth
WiMAX (802.16)

Basic Network Design

Requirements

Line-of-Sight Survey

Frequency Planning

Device Selection

Telecom Implementation

Line-Of-Sight

Line of sight (LoS) is a type of propagation that can transmit and

receive data only where transmit and receive stations are in view of
each other without any sort of an obstacle between them.
For Base stations to be installed, look for a spot or location with
clear line-of-sight.
Check and note the geographical coordinates with help of
GPS(global positioning system) device.
Then software such as Pathloss and Radio Mobile etc. are used to
check for the LOS

Note: The area in which signal spreads out is called the Fresnel
zone

There are several options to establish or improve the line of sight:

Raise the antenna mounting point on the existing structure
Build a new structure, i.e. radio tower, which is tall enough to mount the
antenna
Increase the height of an existing tower
Locate a different mounting point, i.e. building or tower, for the antenna
Cut down problem trees

Fresnel Zone

Frequency Planning

Radio signals have to be frequency-separated to avoid

interfering signals.

All frequencies used in a radio-relay network should

normally be selected from an established frequency
plan, established either by international or national
organization.

Device Selection
During device selection process, the practical technical and,
economical (budget) aspects for the choice of equipment
shall be taken into account. Typical equipment list consists
of:

Radio system
Passive repeaters ( if necessary )
Antennas
Primary power supply
Towers and masts
Equipment shelter

Wireless Is Great, but Remember

Each technology defines coverage,
mobility, cost and performance
Security issues are important, built in or at
a higher level
Applications may require modifications
for limited bandwidth or new display types

End