Information Technology

Mobile Computing
Module: GSM Handovers

Learning Objectives
• Recap of previous modules

• Basic functions of Network Sub System

• Entities that form NSS namely MSC,GMSC,HLR and VLR

• Functions of MSC and GMSC

• Information stored in HLR and VLR and how they facilitate localization and roaming

• Functions and entities of Operation Subsystem namely Operation and maintenance

control(OMC), Authentication Center(AUC), Equipment Identity register(EIR)

Introduction
In the previous module we have started our discussion about GSM telecommunication standard. We
had discussed about GSM specifications as in frequencies used, data rate used, modulation and multiple
access techniques used, modes of data transfer and so on. We had also studied that GSM is a
hierarchical organization with three layers namely Radio Sub-system, Network Sub-system and
Operation Sub-system. In the previous module we had discussed the entities of Radio Sub-System, their
interfaces and functions. In this module we will study other two layers Network Sub-system and
Operation Sub-system

Network Subsystem:
NSS forms the heart of GSM system. It acts as interface between wireless and fixed network i.e. public
networks like PSTN,ISDN,PSPDN through. It consists of switching center and databases to perform
various functions like worldwide user localization, management of roaming different BSSs, maintenance
of user accounts and call charges and roaming between different providers of different countries. The
entities of GSM network belonging to NSS are:

· Mobile Services Switching Center (MSC)

· Gateway mobile services switching center(GMSC)
· Visitor location register(VLR)
· Home location register (HLR)
The basic architecture of NSS and the interfaces between components of NSS with OSS and RSS are
shown in Figure 1. The connections and components of NSS are summarized as
· Each MSC in NSS manages many BSC in RSS
· Each MSC has a HLR and VLR
· Each MSC can connect to another MSC, GMSC and IWF
· HLR connects to AUC in OSS
· GMSC are connected to PSTN, ISDN or PSPDN

Figure 1: GSM architecture

 Figure 2: Hierarchical organization of GSM

MSC (Mobile switching Centre)

MSC is the backbone of Network Subsystem. GSM architecture in NSS is arranged in an hierarchial
fashion. MSC is one administrative area. Each MSC controls many Location areas. Each Location area
controls many BSC’s and each BSC controls number of cells(Fig. 2.It consists of high performance
ISDN switches used to connect to various BSC and also to another MSC. MSC is connected to fixed
network like PSTN via GMSC which abbreviates for Gateway Mobile Switching center. Basic functions
of MSC are:

· Signal Processing
· Manage BSC in a geographical area
· Establish and terminate connections between various mobile stations via BSC. The mobile
stations connected may fall into its own area or to another MSC’s area.
· Establish and terminate connection between MSC and fixed network via GMSC
· Connect to PDN(Public data networks) via x.25
· Monitoring of calls mode to and from an Mobile Station
· Manage connection setup, connection release and handover of connections to other MSC via
SS7 Standard Signaling System SS7 (SS7 is for control signaling for digital networks)
· Manage supplementary services like call charging ,multiway calling and call forwarding

GMSC (Gateway Mobile Switching Centre)

GMSC is a special switching center belonging to NSS which handle connection to fixed network likes
ISDN, PSTN, PSPDM and PLMN .Special IWF are used by GMSC to connect to public data networks like
x.25(Figure 3).
 Figure 3:GMSC connections

HLR (Home Location Register)

HLR is an important database which contains information about the subscribers belonging to area
covered by that MSC. When a user buys a subscription in the form of SIM card, all the information
related to the subscriber is stored in HLR of network operator. For every subscriber there is only one
HLR record worldwide. IMSI number which uniquely identifies a GSM subscriber is the primary key to
that record.HLR is implemented as a distributed database but there is only one HLR per GSM
network. Each user has only one HLR record worldwide which is updated on real time basis. HLR
connect to AUC in OSS for authentication of subscriber.HLR stores static as well as dynamic
information stored for the subscriber.

Static Information stored in HLR

(i) Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number(MSISDN):It is the phone

number of GSM user known to the external world. It is the number to which the subscriber can
be called.The number is not associated with device but with the subscriber. The MSISDN follows
ITU-T standard E.164 for addresses as it is also used in fixed networks. The format of MSISDN
number is:
· Country code (CC) – 1 to 3 decimal digits long (for example 91 for India,49 Germany)
· National Destination Code(NDC) - 2 to 3 decimal digits long.It is address of network
provider (for example In India 94 for BSNL and 98 for all others)
· Subscriber Number (SN) – Max. 10 digits long. In India it is 8 digits
 Ex – If the MSISDN Number is +491791234567

CC (1-3 digits) NDC(2-3digits) SN(10 digits max)

+49 179 1234567

+ 49 is CC for Germany where + indicates International dialing, 179 is NDC and 1234567 is SN

In India, SN is 8 digits long. The format of SN is:

· Operator Code (2 digits )
· Level number (1 digit)
· Subscriber number (5 digits)

Ex – If the MSISDN Number in India is 91 98 45062050, 91 is CC, 98 is NDC and 45062050 is SN

CC NDC SN

91 98 45062050

Op- Level Subscriber No

code Number

45 0 62050

· 45 is operator code which is for Airtel

· 0 is level number
· 62050 is Subscriber ID

(ii) International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) Number: Every subscriber in GSM
network is assigned an identifier called IMSI number which is unique worldwide.It is store in SIM
card and it is secured. It is the 15 digit number with format as follows

MCC (3 digits) MNC(2 digits) MSIN(10 digits )

Mobile Country Mobile Netwok Code, Mobile subscriber Identification

Code, 404 in India 10 for Airtel in Delhi Number
 3 digit Country Code(MCC)eg. 404 forIndia
2 digit Mobile Network code (MNC) – It identifies operator with in the countryeg. Airtel in Delhi
has 10 as MNC
10 digit Mobile subscriber Identification Number (MSIN)this is unique number subscriber within
home network
(iii) SubscriberServices: The HLR store details of permission to subscribe like call forwarding,
Roaming etc.

Difference between IMSI number and MSISDN number

MDISDN IMSI

Known to outer world Burned on the SIM

Used for dialing Used for identifying the subscriber by the network
operator

Used to route the call Used to connect to the network by authenticating

Dynamic information stored in HLR

This information is updated on real time basis

· Current location area of MS: When the subscriber is moving from one area to another area, its
location changes hence the location area in which it is residing also changes. The information
about its current location is updated in the HLR so that the call for it can be routed there.
· Current VLR and MSC status: The current MSC and the corresponding VLR in which the
subscriber currently is.
· MSRN(Mobile Station Roaming Number): A temporary address that hides the identity and
location of subscriber when it is roaming to other MSC. It is a temporary location dependent
ISDN number assign to the subscriber when it is roaming in other network. It has same structure
as MSISDN but contains current visitor Country Code(VCC), Visitor National Destination Code
(VNDC), Identification of current MSC together with subscriber number. It is assigned by locally
responsible VLR. With the help of MSRN, HLR finds the subscriber when there is a mobile
terminated call so that the call can be routed there.

Visitor Location Register (VLR)

It is a dynamic database which contain temporary information of some of the important information
store in HLR. A perfect analogy to differentiate HLR and VLR is that HLR can be thought of as storage
whereas VLR is a cache. It consists of borrowed information from HLR required for call control and
provisioning of services. VLR is implemented as integral part of MSC so that geographical area
corresponding to that MSC correspond to that control by VLR. When subscriber enter new MSC area
VLR associated with this MSC requests information about this new subscriber from corresponding
HLR in its Home networks.

Example – A subscriber of GSM network in Ahmedabad is roaming in Jaipur.HLR data will remain
home network i.e. in Ahmedabad.VLR data will be copied to roaming network i.e Delhi. Hence there
will be sufficient information about subscriber to assure the subscribed services to the user without
needing to refer to HLR. Thus visiting network provides the services while billing will be done by
home network.

Figure 4: HLR and VLR during roaming

Difference between HLR and VLR

· There is only one HLR per mobile network operator and one VLR / MSC
· HLR contains information about all subscriber in the network while VLR contains information
about subscriber roaming in VLR area
· Information in VLR is more dynamic than HLR (though it contains some part of information
of HLR). When user moves from one location area to other VLR is updated. When user
moves from on VLR and new VLR information is updated in HLR

VLR and HLR are used conjunctively to information localization of mobile device and
facilitate roaming.

Localization
When there is any service requested for a mobile phone, like a mobile terminated call, it is
necessary to localize the mobile phone. This is done via Localization. Localization is a process by
which a mobile phone is identified, traced, authenticated and services provided to it when the
mobile phone is either in its home networks or at a visiting location. This is because the service
provider will provide the services only when it is identified and the access to the services to it has
been verified.The localization process consists of two phases. First the location area of the mobile
station is found then mobile station is searched in that location area using paging method.

Location Update
Through location update process, the presence andlocation information of the devices is kept up-to-
date with HLR and VLR. Presence of the mobile station means whether it is available for
communication or not. A mobile station might be unavailable due to many reasons like it is powered
off, out of network etc.
An IMSI detach procedure occurs in HLR when the mobile station is not present. When mobile
phone is powered off, explicit IMSI detach occurs and HLR and VLR are updated
When a mobile station is out of coverage area, an implicit IMSI detach procedure occurs.

IMSI detach indicates mobile phone is not available

When connected again, an IMSI attach procedure occurs. During IMSI attach, mobile station gives its
IMSI number to the network. This is location update process also updates the HLR and VLR. The
location update is undergone under following conditions:
· During Mobile originating calls
· When mobile station moves from one location area to another its new location is updated in
HLR and VLR
· Mobile Station updates the location when it moves more than k cells away from the location
information of the last update i.e. when it crosses exact k cell boundaries. This is done to
avoid frequent updates as it would be an overhead on signaling system.
· There is also periodic location update. This is specified by GSM operator and range from 6
minutes to 24 hours.

Paging

By location update, the HLR and VLR are notified of location of mobile phone. But it gives only
location area. To search the mobile phone in a location area, paging is used. Paging is a technique by
which the Number of mobile phone is broadcasted in different administrative areas. A location area
pages to all BSC’s under it, each BSC pages the number to all BTS’s under its area and each BTS
broadcasts it on its downlink. A mobile phone continuously monitors its downlink and when it sees
its own number, it response.

Roaming
Changing VLR with uninterrupted services is called roaming. Roaming is of 2 types
· Horizontal Roaming
· Vertical Roaming
Horizontal Roaming: Roaming between two networks from same family. Eg. GSM to GSM or GSM to
UMTS
Vertical Roaming: Roaming between two networks of different families. Eg. GSM to CDMA or GPRS
to Wi-Fi. As soon as mobile phone moves to new VLR, HLR sends all the user related data to new VLR
When vertical roaming happens without disruption of services, it is called seamless roaming
Illustration of Roaming
Suppose user’s mobile number is +91 9844012345
Suppose this is number of spice network in Bangalore and the user is roaming in Mumbai
 CASE I: Fixed landline phone in Mumbai calls the subscriber
i It will dial as 09844012345. Since the call is from fixed network, the call will be switched at
PSTN network in Mumbai
ii Call will be routed to its home network
iii The MSC of its home network will refer to HLR and will find that subscriber is within coverage
of Vodafone operator in Mumbai. This is known by the help of MSRN provided by the VLR
iv Call will be routed to Mumbai MSC at Vodafone
v Vodafone MSC at Mumbai will look at VLR to locate Spice subscriber and route the call
vi When call is over, charging information is forwarded to Spice network in Bangalore

Figure 5: Roaming Illustration: CASE I

CASE II: A call is being made from the mobile phone in roaming state
Suppose the spice subscriber makes a call in Mumbai. Here home network will not be referred.
Vodafone Mumbai, looking at the VLR information finds the mobile phone in its area and routes the
call to it.
 Figure 6: Roaming Illustration: CASE II

CASE III:Both caller and called party are in roaming state in foreign network
A and B are 2 subscribers in Bangalore. Both are in Kolkata i.e. in roaming state. A dials B, call will be
routed to Bangalore. In Bangalore finding that B is roaming in Kolkata, Call will be routed to Kolkata

Figure 7: Roaming Illustration: CASE III

Operation and Maintenance Sub-System

It manages the operation and maintenance of the entire GSM network. It is connected to GMSC and
MSC in NSS and BSCs in RSS. The components of OSS are
· OMC- Operation Maintenance Control
· AUC- Authentication Centre
· EIR- Equipment Identity Register.
AUC
AUC is used for authentication of subscriber. It is used by HLR to authenticate the user. It
storessubscriber authentication keys and generate of cipher keys. It calculates the authentication
parameters and forwards them to HLR.
OMC
As the name indicates OMC performs management related tasks like management of status reports
billing. It communicates with MSC and BSC.
EIR
Equipment Identity registers stores IMEI numbers of the devices in the GSM network. EIR maintains 3
types of lists related to devices
· Black List– MS which have been reported stolen or blocked due to some reasons.
· White list– All MS that are valid and operating
· Grey List- All MSs that are not functioning properly