GSM System

Overview
Section Four
Simple GSM Call Sequences
and Ladder Diagrams
 Presentation Outline
• Layer 3 Messages
• Call Sequences
– Service Request and IMSI attach
– Location Area Update
– Authentication and Encryption
– Mobile Terminated Calls
– Mobile Originated Calls
– Channel Release
– Handover
• Summary

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 2

Company Confidential
 Objectives
• At the end of this course, attendees will:
– Have an appreciation of call sequences in GSM
– Have an appreciation of different types of handover

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 3

Company Confidential
Layer 3 Messages
Call Control (CC)
VLR
BSS MSC
HLR

Mobility Management (MM)

VLR
BSS MSC
HLR

Radio Resource (RR)

VLR
BSS MSC
HLR

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 4

Company Confidential
 Layer 3 Messages
• Grouped into three categories
– Call Control
– Mobility Management
– Radio Resource
• To understand these categories, think of a mobile phone
as being:
– A telephone
– A mobile device
– A radio

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 5

Company Confidential
 Layer 3 Messages
• Call Control
– Messages to and from the “telephone” part of phone
– Responsible for setting up and clearing down calls
– Messages pass between phone and MSC and are transparent
to the BSS
• Mobility Management
– Concerned with mobility aspect of phone
– Messages pass between phone and VLR and HLR
– Messages are transparent to the BSS and MSC

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 6

Company Confidential
 Layer 3 Messages
• Radio Resources
– Messages are concerned with establishment, maintenance and
clearing down of radio links
– Messages are exchanged between the phone and the BSS
– In some equipment, messages may be transparent to the BTS
and are instead all routed to the BSC.
– In other equipment, some messages may stop at the BTS

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 7

Company Confidential
Service Request and IMSI Attach

MS BSS MSC

(RACH) RIL3-RR Channel request

(AGCH - CCCH) RIL3-RR IMM Assignment - Move MS to SDCCH

(SDCCH) SABM <Identity> Establishes the signalling link

(SDCCH) UA <Identity>

SCCP Connection Request

BSSMAP Complete Layer 3 Information

SCCP Connection Confirm

BSS Transparent to MS

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 8

Company Confidential
Service Request and IMSI Attach (contd)
MS BSS MSC VLR
(RACH) RIL3 - RR Channel Request
(AGCH - CCCH) RIL3 - RR IMM Assignment - Move MS to SDCCH
(SDCCH) SABM <Identity> Establishes the signalling link
(SDCCH) UA <Identity>
(SDCCH) RIL3 -MM IMSI Attach <TMSI>
MAP/B Attach IMSI <TMSI>
MAP/B IMSI Attach Ack
IMSI Attach Ack
(SDCCH) RIL3 -RR IMSI Attach Ack
BSSMAP Clear Cmd
(SDCCH) RIL3 - RR Channel Release
(SDCCH) RIL3 - RR DISC
BSSMAP Clear Complete
(SDCCH) UA

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 9

Company Confidential
Location Area Update
MS BSS MSC VLR HLR
Mobile turns on or
enters new LAI
(RACH) RIL3 - RR Channel Request
(AGCH - CCCH) RIL3 - RR IMM Assignment - Move MS to SDCCH
(SDCCH) SABM <Identity> Establishes the signalling link
(SDCCH) UA <Identity
(SDCCH) RIL3-MM Location Update
MAP/B Update Location Area
MAP/D Update Location Area
Optional
MAP/B Forward New TMSI
(SDCCH) RIL-3 MM Reallocate new TMSI
(SDCCH) RIL-3 MM TMSI Reallocation Complete
MAP/B TMSI Ack

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 10

Company Confidential
Location Area Update (contd)
MS BSS MSC VLR HLR
MAP/D Location
Update Result
MAP/B Location
Update Ack

(SDCCH) RIL3-MM Location Update Accepted

RIL3-MM Location Update Reject

BSSMAP Clear Command

(SDCCH) Channel release

(SDCCH) Disconnect

BSSMAP Clear Complete

Unnumbered Acknowledgement

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 11

Company Confidential
Authentication and Encryption
MS BSS MSC VLR HLR AUC

MAP/D Send Parameters

MAP/D Send Parameters Result - RAND, SRES, Kc

MAP/D Authenticate

RAND + CKSN RIL3 - MM Authentication Request

(SDCCH)

SRES + CKSN RIL3 - MM Authentication Response

(SDCCH) MAP/B Authentication Complete
(SDCCH) RIL3 - MM Service Accept

(SDCCH) RIL3 - MM Service Reject (if SRES's do not equal)

MAP/D Authentication Complete

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 12

Company Confidential
Authentication and Encryption (contd)
MS BSS MSC VLR

MAP/B Set Cipher Mode

MAP/B Cipher Mode Command

(SDCCH) RIL3 - RR Cipher Mode Command

(SDCCH) RIL3 - RR Cipher Mode Complete - Encrypted

BSSMAP Cipher Mode Complete

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 13

Company Confidential
Mobile Terminated Calls
MS BSS MSC VLR
MAP/B Send Info
LAI & TMSI
MAP/B Complete Call
LAI & TMSI
BSSMAP - Page TMSI

(PCH - CCCH) RIL3 - RR Paging Request

(RACH) RIL3 - RR Channel Request

(AGCH - CCCH) RIL3 - RR IMM Assignment

(SDCCH) RIL3 - RR Paging Response

(SDCCH) UA
………Optional……………………………………………………………………………………………
Paging Response

MAP/B - Process Access

Request - TMSI
Encryption Process

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 14

Company Confidential
Mobile Terminated Calls (contd)
MS BSS MSC VLR

(SDCCH) RIL3 - CC Call Setup

(SDCCH) RIL3 - CC Call Confirmation

(SDCCH) RIL3 - CC Alerting

Channel Assign Comd

(SDCCH) Channel Assign Comd

(SDCCH) Channel Assign Complete

(FACCH - TCH) RIL3 - RR Alert

MS Rings
(FACCH - TCH) RIL3 - RR Connect
MS Answers
RIL3 - CC Connect Acknowledge

Conversation Starts

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 15

Company Confidential
Mobile Originated Calls
MS BSS MSC VLR
Press Send
(RACH) RIL3 - RR Channel Request
(AGCH - CCCH) RIL3 - RR IMM Assignment
(SDCCH) SABM <Identity>
(SDCCH) UA <Identity>
(SDCCH) Service Request - TMSI, Call Setup
Service Request - TMSI, Call Setup
MAP/B Service Request - TMSI, Call Setup
Encryption

MAP/B - Fwd new TMSI

(SDCCH) RIL3-MM Reallocate New TMSI
(SDCCH) RIL3-MM Reallocation complete
MAP/B - TMSI Ack
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 16
Company Confidential
Mobile Originated Calls (contd 1)
MS BSS MSC VLR

(SDCCH) RIL3 - CC Setup (Call Info)

MAP/B - Send Call Setup Info

MAP/B Call complete

(SDCCH) RIL3-CC Call Proceeding

(SDCCH) RIL3-CC Channel Assign Comd

(SDCCH) RIL3-CC Assign Complete

(TCH - FACCH) RIL3-CC Alerting

(TCH - FACCH) RIL3-CC Connect

(TCH - FACCH) RIL3-CC Connect Ack

(TCH) Conversation Starts

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 17

Company Confidential
Mobile Originated Calls (contd 2)
MS BTS 1 BSC BTS 2 MS

Call in Progress

RSM Channel Activation

RSM Channel Activation Ack

RIL3-RR Handover Command

RIL3-RR Handover Access

RIL3-RR Physical Information

SABM Frame

UA Frame

RIL3-RR Handover Complete

Resume Communication on New Channel

RSM RF Channel Release

RSM RF Channel Release Ack

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 18

Company Confidential
Channel Release

MS BSS MSC PSTN

Conversation

(FACCH) RIL3-RR Disconnect

BSSMAP Disconnect

Release (REL)

Release Confirmed (REL CONF)

(FACCH) DTAP - Release

BSSMAP Release Complete

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 19

Company Confidential
 Handover
• There are 3 purposes for handover:
– The first purpose is to rescue a call. If the call is not transferred
immediately, it will be lost.
– The second purpose may be to reduce the interference that a
call in one cell may cause to calls in another cell.
– The third purpose is to ease traffic congestion by moving some
calls from a highly congested cell to a cell that is not so
congested.

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 20

Company Confidential
 Handover (Contd 1)
• There are 3 types of handover:
– First, there is a handover from one radio to another of the same
or different BTS but same BSC
– Second, there is a handover between channels of different
BSCs under the control of the same MSC
– Third there is a handover between channels under the control of
different MSCs in the same PLMN

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 21

Company Confidential
 Handover (Contd 2)
4
PSTN
MSC (a) 3 MSC (b) MSC (c)
1 2
3 4
BSC (1) BSC (2) BSC (3) BSC (4)

1b 3a
1a 2a 2b 4a
3b 4b

BTS
BTS

Cell 1 Cell 3 Cell 5 Cell 7

BTS BTS
Cell 2 Cell 4 Cell 6 Cell 8
 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 22
Company Confidential
 Summary
• Layer 3 messages are essential for the control of
resources and for mobility management
• Simple call sequences highlight component parts of GSM
architecture used
• Different types of handovers are supported

 2001 Freshfield Communications Limited. Slide 23

Company Confidential