Unit 01: Wireless and Mobile Architecture (AGM)

Unit 01: Wireless and Mobile Architecture

Principle of Cellular Communication

Overview 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G technology
GSM Architecture
Mobility management: Handoff management
Mobile computing fundamental challenges
Mobile devices: Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
Mobile OS, Palm OS, WinCE and Symbian

1] Principle of Cellular Communication:

The cellular concept was a major breakthrough in solving the problem of spectral
congestion and user capacity. It offered very high capacity in a limited spectrum
allocation without any major technological changes. The cellular concept is a system-
level idea which calls for replacing a single, high-power transmitter (large cell) with
many low power transmitters (small cells), each providing coverage to only a small
portion of the service area. Each base station is allocated a portion of the total number
of channels available to the entire system, and nearby base stations are assigned
different groups of channels. Neighboring base stations are assigned different groups of
channels so that the interference between base stations (and the mobile users under
their control) is minimized.

What is a Cell?
A cell is a certain, geographic location that is served by a particular tower. In practice
cells are of arbitrary shape (close to a circle) because it has the same power on all sides
and has same sensitivity on all sides. Putting up circles together may result in
interleaving gaps or may intersect each other which causes interference or no network
issues. In order to solve this problem, we can use equilateral triangle, square or a regular
hexagon in which hexagonal cell is close to a circle used for a system design.

Why Cell Shape is Hexagonal?

Although real footprint is amorphous in nature, a regular cell shape is needed for
systematic system design and adaptation for future growth. While it might seem natural
to choose a circle to represent the coverage area of a base station, adjacent circles cannot
be overlaid upon a map without leaving gaps or creating overlapping regions. Thus,
when considering geometric shapes which cover an entire region without overlap and
with equal area, there are three sensible choices—a square, an equilateral triangle, and
a hexagon.

A cell must be designed to serve the weakest mobiles within the footprint, and these are
typically located at the edge of the cell. For a given distance between the center of a
polygon and its farthest perimeter points, the hexagon has the largest area of the three.
Thus, by using the hexagon geometry, the fewest number of cells can cover a geographic
region, and the hexagon closely approximates a circular radiation pattern which would
occur for an omnidirectional base station antenna.

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Cluster: A group of cells is called as a cluster. The cluster size is not fixed.

Frequency Reuse:

Cellular radio systems rely on an intelligent allocation

and reuse of channels throughout a coverage region.
Each cellular base station is allocated a group of radio
channels to be used within a small geographic area
called a cell. Base stations in adjacent cells are
assigned channel groups which contain completely
different channels than neighboring cells. The base
station antennas are designed to achieve the desired
coverage within the particular cell.

By limiting the coverage area to within the

boundaries of a cell, the same group of channels may
be used to cover different cells that are separated
from one another by distances large enough to keep interference levels within tolerable
limits. The design process of selecting and allocating channel groups for all of the
cellular base stations within a system is called frequency reuse or frequency planning.

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To understand the frequency reuse concept, consider a cellular system which has a total
of S duplex channels available for use. If each cell is allocated a group of k channels (k
< S), and if the S channels are divided among N cells into unique and disjoint channel
groups which each have the same number of channels, the total number of available
radio channels can be expressed as:
S = kN

The N cells which collectively use the complete set of available frequencies is called a
cluster. If a cluster is replicated M times within the system, total number of duplex
channels, C, can be used as a measure of capacity and is given by

C = MkN = MS

As seen from Equation, the capacity (C) of a cellular system is directly proportional to
the number of times a cluster is replicated (M) in a fixed service area [i.e., C ∝ M]. The
factor N is called the cluster size and is typically equal to 3/4/7/12. If the cluster size N
is reduced while the cell size is kept constant, more clusters are required to cover a given
area, and hence more capacity (a larger value of C) is achieved. A large cluster size
indicates that the distance between co-channel cells is large. Conversely, a small cluster
size indicates that co-channel cells are located much closer together. The value for N is
a function of how much interference a mobile or base station can tolerate while
maintaining a sufficient quality of communications. From a design viewpoint, the
smallest possible value of N is desirable (which can tolerate co-channel interference) in
order to maximize capacity over a given coverage area.

2] Overview 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G technology:

1G (First Generation): From 1980 to 1990

▪ Operating Frequency: 800MHz to 900MHz
▪ Channel Bandwidth: 30 KHz
▪ Characteristic: First wireless communication
▪ Technology: Analog cellular (AMPS/TACS)
▪ Capacity (data rate): 2 kbps to 14.4 kbps

Disadvantages:
▪ Bad voice quality (background interference)
▪ Poor battery life, Large cellphone size, Not secure
▪ Better than nothing, at least its wireless and mobile

2G (Second Generation): From 1990 to 2000

▪ Frequency: 900MHz/1800 MHz, Digital Telecommunication
▪ Bandwidth: up to 200 KHz
▪ Data rate: 14.4 to 64 kbps
▪ Technology: GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication)

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Why better than 1G?

▪ Allows short message service (SMS)
▪ It allows voice signals to be digitized and compressed. So, they are more efficient on
frequency spectrum than 1G
▪ Data and voice signals are digitally encrypted.
▪ Digital signals consume less battery power.

2.5G GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)

2.5G is used to describe 2G systems that have implemented a packet switched domain
in addition to circuit switched domain. GPRS provided data rates from 56 Kbps up to
384 Kbps. It provides services such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) access,
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and internet services such as e-mail and World
Wide Web (WWW) access. GPRS data transfer is typically charged per megabyte of
traffic transferred, while data communication via traditional circuit switching is billed
per minute of connection time.

2.75G – EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution)

EDGE technology is an extended version of GSM. It allows the clear and fast
transmission of data and information. EDGE transfers data in fewer seconds if we
compare it with GPRS Technology. For example, a typical text file of 40KB is transferred
in only 2 seconds as compared to the transfer from GPRS technology, which is 6 seconds.
The biggest advantage of using EDGE technology is one does not need to install any
additional hardware and software in order to make use of EDGE Technology.

3G (Third Generation): From 2000 to 2010

▪ Frequency Bands: 1800 MHz/2100 MHz
▪ Bandwidth: 15-20 MHz
▪ Characteristic: Digital broadband, increased speed
▪ Technology: W-CDMA, IMT2000
▪ Data rate: 144kbps – 2Mbps

Why better than 2G?

▪ Called smartphones, Video calls, Fast communication
▪ Mobile TV & High-quality games

3.5G HSPA (High Speed Packet Access)

▪ Data rate increased up to 14.4 Mbps

4G (Fourth Generation): From 2010 to today (?)

▪ Frequency Bands: 2– 8 GHz
▪ Data rates: 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps
▪ Technology: LTE (Long Term Evolution)
WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access)
OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing)

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Key features of 4G system

▪ Much higher data rates up to 1Gbps
▪ Good QoS + high security
▪ High-definition video streaming and gaming
▪ Bigger battery usage

5G (Fifth Generation): From X (2020?) to Y(2030?)

▪ Operating frequency: Millimeter Bands (30 GHz to 300 GHz)
▪ Capacity (data rate): 1Gbps – ULIMITED?
▪ High speed and capacity
▪ Low latency
▪ Faster data transmission than 4G
▪ Supports Interactive multimedia
▪ More efficient

3] Global System for Mobile communication [GSM]

GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communication. It is a digital cellular
technology used for transmitting mobile voice and data services. The concept of GSM
emerged from a cell-based mobile radio system at Bell Laboratories in the early 1970s.
GSM is the name of a standardization group established in 1982 to create a common
European mobile telephone standard. GSM is the most widely accepted standard in
telecommunications and it is implemented globally. It operates on the mobile
communication bands 900 MHz and 1800 MHz in most parts of the world.

GSM Architecture: A GSM network comprises of many functional units. The GSM
network can be broadly divided into:

1. The Mobile Station (MS)

2. The Radio Subsystem (RSS) or Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
3. The Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)
4. The Operation Support Subsystem (OSS)

3.1 The Mobile Station (MS):

Mobile Station is the technical name of the mobile or the cellular phone. MS consists of
two main elements: a. The mobile equipment or the mobile device.
b. The Subscriber Identity Module (SIM).

The SIM is installed in every GSM phone and identifies the terminal. Without the SIM
card, the terminal is not operational. The SIM cards used in GSM phones are smart
processor cards. These cards possess a processor and a small memory. By inserting the
SIM card into the terminal, the user can have access to all the subscribed services. The
SIM card contains the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) used to identify
the subscriber to the system, a secret key for authentication, and other security

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information. Typically, SIM cards contain 32 K bytes of memory. Part of the memory in
the SIM card is available to the user for storing address book and SMS messages.

3.2 The Radio Subsystem (RSS) or Base Station Subsystem (BSS):

The Radio Subsystem connects the Mobile Station and the NSS (Network and Switching
Subsystem. RSS can be divided into 2 parts:
a. The Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
b. The Base Station Controller (BSC)

a. The Base Transceiver Station (BTS)

It corresponds to the transceivers and antennas used in each cell of the network. In a
large urban area, a large number of BTSs are potentially deployed. A BTS is usually
placed in the center of a cell. Its transmitting power defines the size of a cell. The BTS
houses the radio transmitter and the receivers that define a cell and handles the radio-
link protocols with the Mobile Station.

b. Base Station Controller (BSC)

It is the connection between BTS and Mobile Switching Center (MSC). The BSC
manages the radio resources for one or more BTSs. It handles handovers, radio-channel
setup, control of radio frequency power levels of the BTSs

Figure: Architecture of GSM

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3.3 The Network and Switching Subsystem (NSS):

a. Mobile Switching Centre (MSC)

It is central component of the Network Subsystem. It does multiple functions. They are:
▪ It acts like a normal switching node for mobile subscribers of the same network
(connection between mobile to mobile within same network) and for the PSTN fixed
telephone (connection between mobile phone to fixed phone).
▪ It provides all the functionality needed to handle a mobile subscriber, such as
registration, authentication, location updating, handovers and call routing.
▪ It includes databases needed in order to store information to manage the mobility
of a roaming subscriber.
▪ The MSC together with HLR and VLR databases, provide the call-routing and
roaming capabilities of GSM.

b. Home Location Register (HLR)

The HLR is considered a very important database that stores information of subscribers
belonging to the covering area of a MSC. Although a HLR may be implemented as a
distributed database, there is logically only one HLR per GSM network. The HLR
contains all the administrative information of each subscriber registered in the
corresponding GSM network. This includes information like current location of the
mobile, all the service provisioning information and authentication data. When a phone
is powered off, this information is stored in the HLR.

c. Visitor Location Register (VLR)

The location of the mobile is typically in the form of the signaling address of the VLR
associated with the mobile station. HLR is always fixed and stored in the home network,
whereas the VLR logically moves with the subscriber. The VLR can be considered a
temporary copy of some of the important information stored in the HLR. VLR is similar
to a cache, whereas HLR is the persistent storage. The VLR contains selected
administrative information borrowed from the HLR, necessary for call control and
provisioning of the subscribed services. This is true for each mobile currently located in
the geographical area controlled by a VLR.

d. Gateway Mobile Switching Centre (GMSC)

It is a special node which handles connections to other fixed networks. These other
networks may be ISDN, PSTN etc.

3.4 The Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS)

It controls and monitors the GSM system. The OSS is connected to different
components of the NSS and to the BSC. It is also in charge of controlling the traffic load
of the RSS.

a. Operation and Maintenance Centre (OMC)

An OMC monitors and controls all other network entities. Its typical tasks include
management of status reports, traffic monitoring, subscriber security management and
accounting and billing.

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b. Equipment Identity Register (EIR)

It is a database that contains a list of all valid mobile equipment within the network,
where each mobile station is identified by its International Mobile Equipment Identity
(IMEI). EIR contains a list of IMEIs of all valid terminals. An IMEI is marked as invalid
if it has been reported stolen or is not type approved. EIR allows the MSC to forbid calls
from this stolen or unauthorized terminals.

c. Authentication Center (AUC)

It is responsible for the authentication of a subscriber. This is a protected database and
stores a copy of the secret key stored in each subscriber’s SIM card. These data help to
verify the user’s identity.

Interface: Any wireless device communicates with the other wireless device using a set
of protocols. The way two entities communicate is called as an interface. In GSM various
interfaces are defined as follows:
1. Um interface: It is the air interface that connects MS to BTS. All the air
specifications Eg: modulation, multiple access type, Time slot structure etc. are
defined in this interface.
2. Abis interface: It is the interface which connects a BTS to a BSC. It carries traffic
and maintenance data, and is specified by GSM to be standardized for all
manufacturers.
3. A interface: The A interface is used to provide communication between the BSC
and the MSC. The messaging required within network to enable handover etc., to be
undertaken is carried over the interface.

4] Mobility Management- Handoff/Handover:

Mobility management means maintaining uninterrupted (seamless) signal connectivity

when a mobile device changes location from one cell or network to another cell or
network. In a cellular network, while a call is in progress, the relationship between radio
signal and the user is dynamic. User movements may make a user move away from a
wireless tower, causing the radio signal strength to reduce, and ultimately break.

Therefore, user needs to be moved to another cell where signal strength is higher. This
will result in changing the association of resources to another channel within the same
cell or a different cell altogether. This procedure of changing the resources is called
Handover. The handover needs to be very fast without any disruption to the service at
the higher layer. This handover procedure is also called as “handoff”.

There are four different types of handovers in the GSM system, which involve
transferring a call between:

1. Channels (time slots) in the same cell.

2. Cells (BTS) under the control of the same BSC.
3. Cells under the control of different BSCs, but belonging to same MSC
4. Cells under the control of different MSCs

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The first two types of handovers, called internal handovers, involve only one BSC. To
save signaling bandwidth, they are managed by BSC without involving MSC, except to
notify it at completion of handover.

The last two types of handovers, called external handovers, are handled by the MSC. In
order to determine whether a handover is required, the mobile shall take radio
measurements from neighboring cells. These measurements are reported to the serving
cell to determine a need for a handover. Additionally, the handover decision by the
network may take into account both the measurement results from the MS and network
directed criteria. The same decision process is used to determine when to perform both
the intra-MSC and inter-MSC handover.

Figure: Handover Process

Figure illustrates the handover procedure in GSM.

▪ The currently serving BSS sends a Handover_Required message to MSC
▪ MSC sends a Handover_Request message to the new BSS from which it requires radio
resources. This message contains details of the resource that is required. The
message may also specify the channel in use.
▪ On receipt of this message the new BSS shall choose a suitable idle radio resource.
This information is passed by new BSS to MS through MSC and old BSS using
Handover_Request_Acknowledgement, Handover_Command and
Radio_Interface_Handover_Command resp.
▪ The MS changes its association from the old BSS to the new BSS with a
Handover_Access which contains received handover reference number.
▪ The new BSS checks the handover reference number to ensure that it is the same as
expected, and the correct MS has been captured.

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▪ When the MS is successfully in communication with the network, i.e., the Radio
Resource (RR) message Handover_Complete has been received from the MS, then
the new BSS will immediately send a message Handover_Complete to the MSC and
terminate the procedure.
▪ The MSC in this case will terminate the procedure with the old BSS by sending a
Clear_Command with cause “Handover successful”.

5] Mobile Computing Fundamental Challenges

▪ Resource Constraints: Battery needs and recharging requirements are the biggest
constraints of mobile computing. Recently new processors have been developed,
which dissipate less power. The use of these processors reduces the battery power
requirement.
▪ Interference: There may be interference in wireless signals, affecting the quality of
service.
▪ Bandwidth: There may be bandwidth constraint due to limited spectrum
availability, thereby causing connection latency. (Spectrum means permitted range
of frequencies for transmission)
▪ Dynamic changes in communication environment: There may be variations in
the signal power within a region. There may be link delays and connection losses.
▪ Network Issues: Due to adhoc networks (networks with mobile nodes) there may
be issues relating to discovery of the connection service to destination and also those
relating to connection stability
▪ Interoperability Issues: The varying protocol standards prescribed and available
between different regions may lead to interoperability glitches.
▪ Security constraints: Protocols conserving privacy of communication may be
violated. Also, physical damage or loss of mobile device is more probable than a
static computing system.

6] Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

Personal digital assistant (PDA) is a term for a small, mobile,

handheld device that provides computing and information storage
and retrieval capabilities for personal or business use, often for
keeping schedules, calendars and address book information
handy. Popular in the 1990s and early 2000s, personal digital
assistants (PDAs) were the precursors to smartphones.

Most PDAs had a small physical keyboard, and some had an

electronically sensitive pad on which handwriting could be
received. Original uses for a personal digital assistant included
schedule and address book storage & retrieval and note-entering.
However, many types of applications were written for PDAs.

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The main purpose PDA is to act as an electronic organizer or day planner that is
portable, easy to use and capable of sharing information with your computer systems.
PDA is an extension of the PC, not a replacement. These systems are capable of sharing
information with a computer system through a process or service known as
synchronization. The use of infrared and Bluetooth connections enables these devices
to always be synchronized. With PDA devices, a user can browse the internet, listen to
audio clips, watch video clips, edit and modify office documents etc. The device has a
stylus and a touch sensitive screen for input and output purposes.

Difference between PDA and Smartphone:

Parameters of
PDA Smartphone
Comparison
PDA works as a small
Smartphones are new digital
digital assistant that can save
Meaning devices that do the work of a
information like dates, contact
PDA as well as a mobile phone
numbers and schedules.
A smartphone has more features
A PDA has fewer features than a
Features than a PDA, such as gaming,
smartphone does.
built-in camera.
A PDA can be used for note- A smartphone can be used for a
Uses taking, planning, organizing, and variety of purposes such as
scheduling. making calls, browsing net etc.
Phone call A PDA cannot be used to make A smartphone can be used to
options phone calls. make phone calls.
Smartphones have now replaced
Nowadays, PDAs are not used as
Availability PDAs and are used widely by
much as they were used before.
people across the world.

7] Mobile Operating System

A mobile operating system, sometimes called a mobile OS for short, is an operating

system that runs only on mobile devices. It is the backbone of all applications and
programs.

It's basically the system on top of which everything else sits. It also is the basis for all of
your settings, such as how you connect to the internet, the way you text and how you
keep your calendar appointments. In case it's not already clear, mobile operating
systems vary from device to device. Apple has their own system that they call iOS.
Samsung phones, for example, use the Android operating system, and even Windows
gets into the action with their own phones and Windows OS.

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Difference between Mobile OS & Desktop OS

Features Mobile Operating System Desktop Operating System

Definition It allows application software to It is environment in which a user

operate on mobile devices. handles a personal computer.
Memory It needs minimum RAM to It needs huge memory to
Requirement optimize. operate.
Boot Time It takes less time to boot. It takes much time to boot.

Purpose It handles cellular and wireless It handles the software and

connectivity & device access. hardware resources of the
system.
Power It is optimized to work under It is not readily optimized for
minimal power needs and has energy loss.
feature to prevent energy loss.
Interface It runs on touchscreen or touchpad It runs through many input
devices. devices, ex. mouse, keyboard etc.
Example Apple iOS, Google Android, Palm Windows 10, MacOS, Windows
OS, Symbian OS etc. Vista, etc.

7.1 Palm OS:

Palm OS (also known as Garnet OS) is a discontinued mobile operating system initially
developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants (PDAs) in 1996. Palm OS was
designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is provided
with a suite of basic applications for personal information management. Later versions
of the OS have been extended to support smartphones. Palm OS is written in c++. In
Palm OS a user can use one application at a time

The key features of the Palm OS are:

▪ Common GUI set.
▪ Simple, single-tasking environment.
▪ Monochrome or color screens with resolutions up to 480 x 320 pixel
▪ It supports Handwriting recognition input system called Graffiti 2
▪ Sound playback and record capabilities
▪ Simple security model: Device can be locked by user defined password.
▪ TCP/IP network access
▪ Serial port/USB, infrared, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections
▪ You can extend memory by using memory card support
▪ Defined standard data format for applications.

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7.2 Windows CE:

Microsoft released Windows CE in November 1996 as a new version of Windows.

Designed to run pocket-sized computers, CE brought user-friendly Windows 95
interface to mobile computing for the first time. Windows CE was necessary because
full desktop versions of Windows, then tied mostly to the Intel x86 CPU architecture,
weren’t practical to run on the pocket-sized devices of the time. As a result, Windows
CE represented an entirely different platform from its desktop OS cousins. It couldn’t
run programs designed for Windows 95 or Windows NT. Windows CE’s design
emphasized low power usage, compatibility with flash memory storage, and relatively
low memory requirements.

7.3 Symbian OS:

It was the most widely-used smartphone operating system in the world until 2010, when
it was overtaken by Android. Development of Symbian OS was discontinued in May
2014. Symbian OS began as an operating system called EPOC, which was developed in
the 1980s by a company named Psion. In 1998, in a joint venture with telephone
manufacturers Nokia, Ericsson, and Motorola, Psion became Symbian, Ltd., and EPOC
became Symbian OS. In 2008, Nokia acquired Symbian, and majority of Symbian OS's
source code was released under an open-source license. At the time, it was one of the
largest open-source code bases ever released to the public. As of 2014, developers are no
longer able to publish new Symbian applications, but existing applications are still
available for download.

Features of Symbian operating system:

▪ Real-time: It has a real-time, multithreaded kernel.
▪ Multimedia support: It supports audio, video recording, playback and streaming,
and image conversion.
▪ Platform Security: Symbian provides a security mechanism against malware. It
allows sensitive operations and can be accessed by applications which have been
certified by a signing authority. In addition, it supports full encryption and
certificate management.
▪ Fully object-oriented and component-based.
▪ Optimized memory management.
▪ Flexible user interface design.
▪ Multi-tasking.

Important Questions:
1. Explain the principle of cellular communication in detail.
2. Describe the concept of Frequency Reuse in cellular communication.
3. With the help of suitable diagram explain the architecture of GSM
4. What is Handover in mobile communication? Explain in brief.
5. Discuss fundamental challenges in Mobile computing.
6. Write short notes on: a] PDA b] Mobile OS

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