GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications)

a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications

Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe technologies for second
generation (or "2G") digital cellular networks.
developed as a replacement for first generation analog cellular
networks, the GSM standard originally described a digital, circuit
switched network optimized for full duplex voice telephony.
History
o early 1980s
analog cellular telephone systems were experiencing rapid
growth in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and the United
Kingdom, but also in France and Germany
o 1982
the Conference of European Posts and Telegraphs (CEPT) formed
a study group called the Groupe Spcial Mobile (GSM) to study
and develop a *pan-European public land mobile system using
*pan-means all

o The proposed system had to meet certain criteria:
Ability to support handheld terminals
Good subjective speech quality
ISDN compatibility
Low terminal and service cost
Spectral efficiency
Support for international roaming
Support for range of new services and facilities
o 1989
GSM responsibility was transferred to the European
Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI)
o 1990
phase I of the GSM specifications were published
o 1991
Commercial GSM started in Germany
o 1993
There were 36 GSM networks in 22 countries.
GSM-900 (Phase 1)
First GSM System developed which operates in the
900-MHz band for voice only
Phase 2
Introduced in 1995 which included facsimile, video,
and data com services
In the beginning of 1994, there were 1.3 million
subscribers worldwide which had grown to more than
55 million by October 1997
GSM-1800 & GSM-1900
created after implementing PCS frequencies
(1800MHz in Europe and 1900MHz in North America)
in 1997
GSM is not only a European standard. Over 200 GSM
networks (including DCS1800 and PCS1900) are
operational in 110 countries around the world
GSM systems exist on every continent, and the
acronym GSM now aptly stands for Global System for
Mobile communications.
Services
General intention was to make GSM compatible with ISDN in terms
of services offered and control signaling.
But due to radio-bandwidth limitations and cost, GSM was
prohibited from operating at the 64-kbps ISDN basic data rate
Using the ITU-T definitions, telecommunication services can be
divided into
A. Bearer services
B. Teleservices
C. Supplementary services
Telephony
The most basic bearer service provided by GSM
Speech
digitally encoded and transmitted through the GSM network as
a digital stream
There is also an emergency service, where the nearest
emergency-service provider is notified by dialing three digits
(similar to 911).
GSM users can send and receive data, at rates up to 9600 bps, to
users on
POTS
ISDN
Packet Switched Public Data Networks
Circuit Switched Public Data Networks
using a variety of access methods and protocols, such as X.25 or X.32
Other data services include
Group 3 facsimile, as described in ITU-T recommendation
T.30, which is supported by use of an appropriate fax adaptor
A unique feature of GSM, not found in older analog systems,
is the Short Message Service (SMS)
SMS
a bidirectional service for short alphanumeric (up to 160
bytes) messages. Messages are transported in a store-and-
forward fashion. For point-to-point SMS, a message can be
sent to another subscriber to the service, and an
acknowledgement of receipt is provided to the sender.
can also be used in a cell-broadcast mode, for sending
messages such as traffic updates or news updates.
Messages can also be stored in the SIM card for later
retrieval.
Supplementary Services
In the current (Phase I) specifications, they include several forms of
call forward (such as call forwarding when the mobile
subscriber is unreachable by the network)
call barring of outgoing or incoming calls, for example when
roaming in another country
Additional supplementary services will be provided in the Phase 2
specifications such as
caller identification
call waiting
multi-party conversations
The GSM network can be divided into three broad parts
A. Base Station Subsystem (SBS)
B. Mobile Station
C. Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)
D. Operational Support Subsystem
System Architecture















Mobile Station (MS)
Consists of the
mobile equipment (the terminal)
a smart card called the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)
The SIM provides personal mobility, so that the user can have access
to subscribed services irrespective of a specific terminal.
By inserting the SIM card into another GSM terminal, the user is able
to receive calls at that terminal, make calls from that terminal, and
receive other subscribed services.
BSS
ska radio subsystem because it provides and manages radio-
frequency transmission paths between mobile units and the mobile
switching center (MSC)
Each BSS consists of many BSCs which are used to connect the MCS
to the NSS through one or more MSCs
NSS
manages switching functions for the system and allows the MSCs to
communicate with other telephone networks
additionally provides all the functionality needed to handle a mobile
subscriber, such as registration, authentication, location updating,
handovers, and call routing to a roaming subscriber
OSS
supports operation and maintenance of the system and allows
engineers to monitor, diagnose, and troubleshoot every aspect
of GSM network
Radio Subsystem
GSM uses two 25-MHz frequency bands that have been set aside for
the system use in all member companies:
890-MHz to 915-MHz - for mobile unit-to-base station
transmissions
935-MHz to 960-MHz- for base station-to-mobile unit
transmission
each of the ARFCN channel subscribers occupies a unique time slot
within the TDMA frame
radio transmission in both directions is at a 270.833-kbps rate using
binary Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK) modulation with an
effective channel transmission rate of 33.833 kbps per user.
uses frequency-division duplexing and a combination of TDMA and
FDMA techniques to provide base stations simultaneous access to
multiple mobile units
ARFCN
absolute radio-frequency channel numbers
the available forward and reverse frequency bands are
subdivided into 200-kHz wide voice channels
Basic parameters of GSM:
1. GMSK modulation
2. 50-MHz bandwidth:
890-MHz to 915-MHz mobile transmit band (reverse
channel)
935-MHz to 960-MHz base station transmit band (forward
channel)
3. FDMA/TDMA accessing
4. Eight 25-kHz channels within each 200-kHz traffic channel
5. 200-kHz traffic channel
6. 992 full-duplex channels
7. Supplementary ISDN services such
as call diversion, closed user groups,
caller identification, and short messaging
service (SMS) which restricts GSM users
and base stations to transmitting
alphanumeric pages limited to a maximum of
160 seven-bit ASCII characters while
simultaneously carrying normal voice
messages
GSM can operate four distinct frequency bands:
GSM 450 - supports very large cells in the 450 MHz band
GSM 900 - the original GSM system because the original
frequency band was represented by 900 MHz
GSM 1800 - or DCS 1800 is an adapted version of GSM 900
operating in the1800 MHz frequency range. The availability
of a wider band of spectrum and a reduction in cell size will
enable GSM 1800 to handle more subscribers than GSM
900.
GSM 1900 (or PCS 1900) - Personal Communications
System is a GSM 1800 variation designed for use on the
North American Continent, which uses the 1900 MHz band.

GSM Bandwidth Allocation
The ITU (International Telecommunication Union) has allocated the
GSM radio spectrum with the following bands:
GSM 900: Uplink: 890915 MHz | Downlink: 935960 MHz
GSM 1800: Uplink: 17101785 MHz | Downlink: 1805
1880 MHz
GSM 1900: Uplink: 18501910 MHz | Downlink: 1930
1990 MHz

Together with other technologies, is part of the evolution of wireless
mobile telecommunications that includes :
High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data(HSCSD)
General Packet Radio System (GPRS)
Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE)
Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS).
High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data (HSCSD)
A circuit-switched wireless data transmission for mobile users at
data rates up to 38.4 Kbps, four times faster than the standard data
rates of GSM communication standard in 1999.
HSCSD is comparable to the speed of many computer modems that
communicate with today's fixed telephone networks.
GPRS (General Packet Radio Services)
A packet-based wireless communication service that promises data
rates from 56 up to 114 Kbps and continuous connection to the
Internet for mobile phone and computer users.
The higher data rates allow users to take part in video conferences
and interact with multimedia Web sites and similar applications
using mobile handheld devices as well as notebook computers.
EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Environment)
A faster version the Global System for Mobile (GSM) wireless service
designed to deliver data at rates up to 384 Kbps and enable the
delivery of multimedia and other broadband applications to mobile
phone and computer users.
The EDGE standard is built on the existing GSM standard, using the
same time-division multiple access (TDMA) frame structure and
existing cell arrangements. Ericsson notes that its base stations can
be updated with software.
UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service)
A third-generation (3G) broadband, packet-based transmission of
text, digitized voice, video, and multimedia at data rates up to 2
megabits per second (Mbps).
UMTS offers a consistent set of services to mobile computer and
phone users, no matter where they are located in the world.