Basics on GSM System

DSE
Warning: this presentation is only
covering GSM Circuit Switched
Services
Introduction

> GSM = Global System for Mobile Communication

> Designed from 1983 by European telecom administrations and

industry

> Digital technology, system architecture, common feature, open

interfaces

> Not only a radio technology but a complete system with standard
functional blocks and interfaces

Basics on GSM system — 2 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

GSM Network Architecture

OSS
OMC
HLR

B
T
PSTN
S
ISDN

B NSS
MS T MSC/VLR
S
PDN
BSS BSC

B
T
S

MSC/VLR

Basics on GSM system — 3 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

GSM: Network Entities

> BSS (Base Station Sub System)

• Radio transmission
• Radio resource management
– channel allocation
– handover
> NSS (Network Sub System)
• Functions for establishing calls and ensuring mobility (roaming)
> OSS (Operation Sub System)
• Network parameter setting and maintenance
> MS (Mobile Station)
• Mobile terminal equipment

Basics on GSM system — 4 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

BSS
> BTS (Base Transceiver Station)
• A set of transmitters / receivers (TRx)
• Radio Transmission (modulation / demodulation ; equalisation ; channel
coding)
• Physical layer management (TDMA, SFH, ciphering, uplink radio
measurements)
• Data link management between MS and n/w (LAPDm)
• Interface management with BSC
> BSC (Base Station Controller)
• Intelligent equipment of the BSS
• Radio resource management (channel allocation, power control,
handover)
• Switch (trunk aggregation towards MSC)
• Interface management with BTS and MSC

Basics on GSM system — 5 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

NSS
> HLR (Home Location Register)
• Subscriber data base of PLMN for authentication (IMSI, MSISDN,
profile)
• Localisation data base (VLR current address)
> MSC (Mobile Switching Centre)
• Call set-up between MS and other MSC or directly with PSTN /
PDN
• SMS management
• Handover (if required)
> VLR (Visitor Location Register)
• Similar to HLR but only contains:
– information of MS in is service area
– temporary information of each user

Basics on GSM system — 6 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Radio Interface
Frequency Division and Available Spectrum
124 FDD carriers 374 FDD carriers
960 MHz 1880 MHz

200 kHz Downlink

25 MHz

75 MHz
BTS -> MS

Frequency duplex 935 MHz 1805 MHz

- 45 MHz (GSM)
- 90 MHz (DCS) 1785 MHz
915 MHz

Uplink
25 MHz

75 MHz
MS -> BTS

890 MHz 1710 MHz

Basics on GSM system — 7 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Radio Interface
Time Division
3 Idle frame (e.g. for neighbor
TDMA frame (4.615 ms) Cell measurements

DL 0 1 2 34 5 6 7 0 1 2 34 5 6 7 0 1 2 34 5 6 7 0 1 2 34 5 6 7

UL 0 1 2 34 5 6 7 0 1 2 34 5 6 7 0 1 2 34 5 6 7 0 1 2 34 5 6 7 time

3 TS time shift between UL/DL

Time Slot (577 µs) -> no duplexer in MS !

3 User active on TS#3 for each TDMA frame

Basics on GSM system — 8 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

 Radio Interface
Physical Channel (1)

0 1 2 34 5 6 7 0 1 2 34 5 6 7 0 1 2 34 5 6 7 0 1 2 34 5 6 7

For stealing frame e.g.

For power ramping for HO command

3 Data (57) 1 Training (26) 1 Data (57) 3 8.25

Coded information For burst synchro Guard time to avoid

and channel estimation overlapping of burst due
to mobility
Burst: 148 bits

156.25 bits: 577 µs

> Data rate:
• 2x57 bits every 4.615 ms: 24.7 kbit/s

Basics on GSM system — 9 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

 Radio Interface
Physical Channel (2)
> User data rates
• Voice
– 13 kbit/s (FR)
– 14.4 kbits/s (EFR)
– Channel code: Convolutional (k=5, r=1/2) Cyclic Redundancy Code (3)
– Diagonal interleaving on 8 TDMA frames

• Data
– 2.4/4.8/9.6/14.4 kbps
– diagonal interleaving on 19 TDMA frames

• Signalling
– 9.05 kbit/s
– Convolutional code (k=5, r=1/2) + Cyclic Redundancy Check (40)

Basics on GSM system — 10 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Radio Interface
Modulation (1)

> GMSK with differential encoding

• Modulation index: 0.5
• BT=0.3 (gaussian filter length can be restricted to 3 symbols)

> Features
• Constant envelop
• Trade-off between spectrum and co-channel resistance
• Sinusoidal signal for all 1 or all 0 sequences
– Used for frequency synchronisation

Basics on GSM system — 11 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Radio Interface
Modulation (2)

Power Spectral density (dB)

Normalised frequency (f-fc) Tb

Basics on GSM system — 12 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

 Radio Interface
Logical Channels (1)
> Traffic Channels
• Exchange of information between end-users after call establishment
• On dedicated channels
• Voice or data

> Signalling
• Exchange of information between the MS and the GSM network equipment
• In idle mode: authentication, location update
• During communication: handover, link control

Basics on GSM system — 13 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

 Radio Interface
Logical Channels (2)
FCH* DL Frequency synchronisation At switch on to used by the
mobile to connect to a BS
SCH* DL Time synchronisation
BCCH* DL System Information Common MS reads cell info
PCH* DL Paging channel signalling
channels Incoming call
RACH* UL Random access
Response to incoming call
or request for outgoing call
AGCH* DL Access grant and access grant from nwc

SDCCH UL/DL Call establishment Call establishment phase

Dedicated
SACCH UL/DL In call signalling signalling
channel traffic phase
FACCH UL/DL Fast in call signalling e.g. voice call
TCH UL/DL Traffic channel Traffic

* On TS0 of beacon frequency

Basics on GSM system — 14 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Radio Interface
Signalling Multi-frame
BCCH + CCCH
F S B C F S C C F S C C F S C C F S C C -
(downlink)

BCCH + CCCH
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
(uplink)

51 frames » 235.38 ms

8 SDCCH/8 D0 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 A0 A1 A2 A3 - - -
(downlink) A6 A7 - - -
D0 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 A4 A5

A5 A6 A7 - - - D0 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 A0
8 SDCCH/8
(uplink) A1 A2 A3 - - - D0 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 A4

F: TDMA frame for frequency correction burst S: TDMA frame for synchronization burst
B: TDMA frame for BCCH C: TDMA frame for CCCH
D: TDMA frame for SDCCH A: TDMA frame for SACCH/C
R: TDMA frame for RACH

Basics on GSM system — 15 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

 Radio Interface
Traffic Multi-frame

(a) T T T T T T T T T T T T A T T T T T T T T T T T T -

26 frames = 120 ms

(b) T t T t T t T t T t T t A T t T t T t T t T t T t -

(a) case of one full rate TCH (b) case of two half rate TCHs
T, t: TDMA frame for TCH
-: idle TDMA frame for measurements

A, a: TDMA frame for SACCH/T for Rx_Lev/Rx_Qual report in UL

for PC, TA in DL

Basics on GSM system — 16 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Radio Interface
Timing Summary
1 hyperframe = 2 048 superframes = 2 715 648 TDMA frames (3 h 28 mn 53 s 760 ms)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 2042 2043 2044 2045 2046 2047

1 superframe = 1 326 TDMA frames (6,12 s)

(= 51 (26-frame) multiframes or 26 (51-frame) multiframes)

0 1 2 3 47 48 49 50
0 1 24 25

1 (26-frame) multiframe = 26 TDMA frames (120 ms) 1 (51-frame) multiframe = 51 TDMA frames (3060/13 ms)

0 1 2 3 4 22 23 24 25 0 1 2 3 46 47 48 49 50

1 TDMA frame = 8 time slots (120/26 or 4,615 ms)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

NOTE:
GMSK modulation: one symbol is one bit 1 time slot = 156,25 symbol durations (15/26 or 0,577 ms)
8PSK modulation: one symbol is three bits
(1 symbol duration = 48/13 or 3,69 µs)

(TB: Tail bits - GP: Guard period)

Normal burst (NB) TB Encrypted bits Training sequence Encrypted bits TB GP
The number shown are in symbols 3 58 26 58 3 8,25

TB Fixed bits TB GP
Frequency correction burst (FB) 3 8.25
3 142

TB Encrypted bits Synchronization sequence Encrypted bits TB GP

Synchronization burst (SB) 3 39 64 39 3 8,25

TB Synchronization sequence Encrypted bits TB GP

Access burst (AB) 68,25
8 41 36 3

Basics on GSM system — 17 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Interference Reduction Techniques in GSM
Slow Frequency Hopping (SFH)
Principle

> Definition: change randomly and regularly (each TDMA frame) the
frequency used by a channel

> Consequences:
• Frequency diversity: spreads in time lost bursts due to selective
frequency signal fading
• Interference diversity: changes in the interference position from
TDMA frame to TDMA frame
– reduction in the standard deviation of the co-channel interference level
– increasing the number of receivers having a SINR above a certain
threshold

Basics on GSM system — 19 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Slow Frequency Hopping
Implementation in Alcatel
> BBH: Baseband Hopping
• Number of hopping frequency = nb of TRX
• TS0 of beacon frequency does not hop

> SFH: Synthezised Hopping

• Number of hopping frequency is higher than the number of TRX
• Beacon frequency does not hop

Basics on GSM system — 20 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Slow Frequency Hopping (SFH)
Interferer diversity (1/2)

 Interfering cells position change from a TS to TS

Available
frequencies:

F0 :
F1 :
F2 :
F3 :

TSi TSi+1

Basics on GSM system — 21 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

 Slow Frequency Hopping (SFH)
Interferer diversity (2/2)
Without SFH With SFH
C/I C/I

C/I mean C/I mean

Threshold Threshold

Receiver Receiver

 SFH reduces the C/I distribution but increases the number of

communications having a signal quality above the threshold

Basics on GSM system — 22 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Slow Frequency Hopping (SFH)
Hopping Sequences
> Each channel has a different SFH sequence defined by:
• N: Number of hopping frequencies
• HSN: Number of a hopping sequence (0 to 63)
• MAIO: Initial offset in the sequence (0 to N-1)
• Time-slot number
> 64xN hopping sequences are then available with a radio spectrum of
N frequencies
> MSs belonging to different cells use different HSNs and statistically
interfere 1/N of the time (pseudo-orthogonality)
> MSs belonging to the same cell use the same HSN but a different
MAIO and never interfere (SFH laws are orthogonal)

Basics on GSM system — 23 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

VAD / DTX
Principle
 Inhibiting transmission on air interface when no relevant
information has to be transmitted

> DTX: Discontinuous Transmission

• user is speaking : speech coded at 13 kbit/s (FR)
• silence: transmission of SID (Silence Descriptor) frames
every 480ms (500bits/s)

> VAD: Voice Activity Detection

• Distinguish a speech signal from background noise.
• Algorithm based on a comparison between the filtered signal and a
threshold (both are continuously adjusted)

Basics on GSM system — 24 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

VAD / DTX
Performances

> Typically 40% of silence in a speech communication

> Reduction of average interference level:

• possible reduction of reuse cluster size
• increase in network capacity

> Increase of MS battery life time

Basics on GSM system — 25 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Power Control
Definition
 Modification of Tx power according to signal quality and signal
level

> Independently applied for uplink and downlink

> Managed by the BSC

> Optional (operator choice)

> Proprietary algorithm

> Beacon frequency is not subject to PC

Basics on GSM system — 26 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Power Control
Operation (1)

> PC is managed in both directions by the BSC:

• Uplink: required MS transmission level is computed through

reception level and quality measurements performed by the
BTS

• Downlink: for each connection, BTS transmission power is

based on measurements performed by the MS and reported
to the BTS every 480ms (SACCH)

Basics on GSM system — 27 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Power Control
Operation (2)
> PC command is received by MS every 480 ms on SACCH. Requested
value is obtained by step of 2 dB every 60 ms
Transmission level (dBm)
33
29
25

5
1 Time
(60ms intervals)
Commands: 5 dBm 29 dBm 25 dBm 23 dBm

> An immediate power transition is performed in case of channel

connection and Hand-Over procedure (new serving cell command)

Basics on GSM system — 28 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

Power Control
Performances

> Improves the spectral efficiency by reducing the interference caused

on other calls

> Decrease energy required for transmission

 extents the battery life for the mobile station

Basics on GSM system — 29 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel

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Basics on GSM system — 30 All rights reserved © 2004, Alcatel