UNIT - 1

BASICS OF PCS AND GSM

 TOPICS AND SUBTOPICS

1.1 Personal communication services (PCS) Architecture.

1.2 Global system for mobile communication (GSM)
Architecture. GSM frequency spectrum , GSM radio aspects,
GSM services, Supplementary services , GSM channel types,
Call processing in GSM.
1.3 Mobility management : Location update procedure ,
Temporary mobile Subscriber identity ,Concept of roaming,
Location Area , Routing Area , Tracking Area.
1.4 Network Signaling.
WIRELESS AND MOBILE NETWORK
• WIRELESS : Without wires /cables
• Mobile : Able to move
• Communication : Exchange of information.

• Wireless communication is a method of transmitting

information from one point to other without using
any connection like wires, cables or any physical
medium.
 Simplex Communication Mode

Simplex Communication
Mode
• In simplex communication
mode, the information is
communicated in only one
direction. There is only one
transmitter and one
receiver, hence the system
is unidirectional. The
following are examples of
simplex communication
mode.
• T.V.System
• Radio Systems.
 Half Duplex Communication Mode

In half-duplex mode, the data

flow is bidirectional, but not
at the same time. It means
both connected devices can
transmit and receive data,
but not simultaneously. At a
time, the device can work
either as a transmitter or
receiver.
 full-duplex Communication Mode

In full-duplex mode, the data

flow is bidirectional. It
means both connected
devices can transmit and
receive data simultaneously.
The devices can send or
receive data at the same
time.
An example of a full-duplex
mode is the telephone
system.
 IMPORTANT DEFINATION
MOBILE STATION :The
mobile station (MS) refers
to the equipments of the
user and software needed
for the communication with
other MS of the network. It
consists subscriber identity
module (SIM), which stores
all the user specific data.
It is a handheld device. It is
also called as Mobile
equipment (ME)
 IMPORTANT DEFINATION
BASE STATION :A fixed
station that uses radio waves
to communicate with mobile
devices.
Base Stations are located at the
centre or on the edge of a
coverage region.
It consist of :
1) Radio Channel
2) Transmitting Antennas
3) Receiving Antennas
Mounted on Tower.
 IMPORTANT DEFINATION
CELL: It is a geographical area • Its shape is hexagonal.
covered by the frequency
emitted by a base station in a
cellular network. CELL
Cells range in size from a few
dozen meters to thousands of
kilometers in diameter,
depending on the technology
being used, the power of the
transmission station.
Cells have the base station.
Every city is divided into small
areas each area is called as a
cell
 IMPORTANT DEFINATION
CLUSTER : A cluster in
mobile networks refers to a
group of interconnected
cells in a specific
geographical area.
The cluster size is not fixed.
It’s depend on the
requirement of particular
area.
 MTSO/MSC: Mobile Telephone switching
Office / Mobile switching Center
❖ The central switch that controls the entire operation of a
cellular system. It is a sophisticated computer that monitors all
cellular calls, tracks the location of all cellular-equipped
vehicles traveling in the system, keeps track of billing
information, etc.
❖ The MTSO interfaces with all the base stations in the network
through landline cable connections. Additionally, it connects
the network to Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN)
❖ PSTN : Public switched telephone network is a global
communication network which connects conventional landline
telephone switching centers called centre offices with MSC
throughout the world.
MTSO Connection

MTSO
Channels
 IMPORTANT DEFINATION
CONTROL CHANNEL : The control channel is used for the
control of call set up , call request, call initiation, and other
signal for control purpose.
These are intended to carry signaling and synchronization of
data between Base station (BS) and Mobile station (MS).

VOICE CHANNEL : The voice channels are used for the

transmission of voice signal between base station and mobile
station.
 IMPORTANT DEFINATION
FORWARD CHANNEL :
The forward channel is used
for the transmission of
signal from Base station to
Mobile station.
REVERSE CHANNEL :
The Reverse channel is used
for the transmission of
signal from Mobile station
to Base station.
 IMPORTANT DEFINATION
HAND OFF : It is the process of transferring the connection
with a mobile from one base station to the other when the
mobile moves from the service area of one base station
into that of the other.

TRANSCEIVER : A device capable of simultaneously

transmitting and receiving radio signals.
1’st Generation
• 1G is the first generation wireless telephone technology Cell
phones.
• They were analog cell phones and were introduced in 1980.
• The 1G network was designed to provide voice
communication only.
• It had a low capacity and poor sound quality. It was also
expensive and had limited coverage.
• It could only handle a small number of users at a time.
• Susceptible to interference.
 PCS : PERSONAL COMMUNICATION SERVICES

❖ The objective of PCS is to enable communication with a

person at any time, at any place & in any form.
❖ PCS stands for Personal Communication System.
❖ PCS provides advanced coverage and it delivers services at
more personal level. PCS is 2G wireless technology.
❖ PCS is incorporated with mobile and fixed network to
provide an universal access.
PCS ARCHITECTURE
 PCS ARCHITECTURE
• The PCS Network Architecture is divided into two sections as:
1 ) Radio Network
2 ) Wireline Transport Network
1 ) Radio Network : It consist of three elements
1) Mobile station (MS)
2) Base station (BTS)
3) Base station controller (BSC) .
In a PCS network PCS users carry MS to communicate with
the Base station. Mobile stations (MS), mobile equipment
(ME) contains subscriber Identity Module which contains the
information that provides the identity of the user to the
network.
 CONT..
• Base Station (BS) : Consist of radio transmitter receivers, and
their associated antennas that transmit and receive to directly
communicate with the mobiles.
• Base Station Controller (BSC): It controls a group of BSs, and
is often co-located with one of the BSs in its group. It manages
the radio resources and controls items such as handover
within the group of BSs, allocates channels.
• 2 ) Wireline Transport Network : It consist of
1) MSC
2) Database
3) PSTN
 Cont..
• The main element within the network of the architecture is the
Mobile switching Services Centre (MSC).
• The MSC acts like a normal switching node within a PSTN
but also provides additional functionality to enable the
requirements of a mobile user to be supported.
• These include registration, authentication, call location, inter-
MSC handovers and call routing to a mobile subscriber.
• It also provides an interface to the PSTN so that calls can be
routed from the mobile network to a phone connected to a
landline. Interfaces to other MSCs are provided to enable calls
to be made to mobiles on different networks.
• MSC are connected to the mobility database to keep the track
of location of mobile station.
 GSM : GLOBAL SYSTEM FOR MOBILE
• GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications.
It is a set of mobile communications standards and protocols
governing second-generation or 2G networks
• First developed and deployed in Europe.
• GSM is a digital cellular communication standard that is
universally accepted.
• GSM is the world’s first cellular system to specify the digital
modulation.
 FEATURES OF GSM
• Digital Communication: Unlike its predecessor analog systems,
GSM employs digital communication, resulting in improved voice
quality, reduced interference, and efficient use of frequency
spectrum.
• Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA): GSM utilizes TDMA
technology, dividing each frequency channel into time slots to
accommodate multiple users simultaneously..
• Global Roaming: One of GSM’s groundbreaking features is its
global roaming capability. A GSM-compatible phone can seamlessly
connect to networks across different countries, enabling users to
travel without changing phones or numbers.
• Subscriber Identity Module (SIM): GSM introduced the SIM
card, a small chip containing subscriber information. This
innovation allowed users to switch phones easily by transferring the
SIM card, leading to enhanced user convenience.
• SMS and Data Services: GSM popularized Short Message Service
(SMS), enabling users to send and receive text messages.
• Security: GSM introduced encryption to enhance the security of
communication, protecting conversations and data from
unauthorized access.
• Size : The size of the GSM handset is much smaller.
• Supports more subscriber capacity in the given spectrum.
• Supports call forwarding, calls on hold, conference facility.
GSM MOBILE
GSM SERVICES
 GSM SERVICES
1) Tele-Services or Telephony Services :GSM mainly focuses on voice-
oriented Teleservices.The teleservices are :
a) Digital Telephony b) Emergency number
c) SMS d) EMS
e) MMS f) Group 3 fax
a) Digital Telephony : The main service of GSM is to provide a high quality
digital voice transmission.
b) Emergency number : With the GSM service the same emergency number
can be used throughout the country .If this number is dialed, then the call
with the nearest emergency centre is dialed automatically.
c) Short message service(SMS) : With this service the user can send
message up to 160 character. In addition to simple text messages, other
text data including news, sports, financial, language, and location-
based data can also be transmitted.
d) Enhanced message service : EMS is the successor of SMS which
offers a message size up to 760 character.
 GSM SERVICES
e) Multimedia message service(MMS) : With this service it is
possible to transmit large pictures and short video clips.
f) Group 3 Fax : With this service fax data is transmitted as
digital data
2) Bearer Services :
Data services or Bearer Services are used through a GSM
phone to receive and send data . This correspond to the
communication between a computer and packet switched
traffic.
3) Supplementary Services : Supplementary services are
additional services that are provided in addition to teleservices
and bearer services. These services include caller
identification, call forwarding, call waiting, multi-party
conversations.
 GSM SERVICES
a) Conferencing − It allows a mobile subscriber to establish a multiparty
conversation, i.e., a simultaneous conversation between three or more
subscribers to setup a conference call.
b) Call Waiting − This service notifies a mobile subscriber of an incoming
call during a conversation. The subscriber can answer, reject, or ignore
the incoming call.
c) Call Hold − This service allows a subscriber to put an incoming call on
hold and resume after a while. The call hold service is applicable to
normal telephony.
d) Call Forwarding − Call Forwarding is used to divert calls from the
original recipient to another number. It is normally set up by the
subscriber himself. It can be used by the subscriber to divert calls from
the Mobile Station when the subscriber is not available, and so to
ensure that calls are not lost.
e) Call Barring − Call Barring is useful to restrict certain types of
outgoing calls such as ISD or stop incoming calls from undesired
numbers. Call barring is a flexible service that enables the subscriber to
conditionally bar calls.
 GSM SERVICES
f) Calling Line Identification Presentation − This service displays
the telephone number of the calling party on your screen.
g) Advice of Charge (AoC) − This service was designed to give the
subscriber an indication of the cost of the services as they are
used. Furthermore, those service providers who wish to offer
rental services to subscribers without their own SIM can also
utilize this service in a slightly different form. AoC for data
calls is provided on the basis of time measurements.
h) Closed User Groups (CUGs) − This service is meant for groups
of subscribers who wish to call only each other and no one
else.
GSM ARCHITECTURE
 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 Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
3) The Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)
4) The Operation Support Subsystem (OSS)
1) The Mobile Station (MS): The MS consists of the physical
equipment, such as the radio transceiver, display and digital signal
processors, and the SIM card.
2) The Base Station Subsystem (BSS) : The BSS is composed of two
parts
a) The Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
b) The Base Station Controller (BSC)
1) Each BSS is made of many BSC’s and all BSC’s are connected to
MSC.
 GSM ARCHITECTURE
• Each BSC has hundreds of BTS connected to it These BTS are
controlled by corresponding BSC.
• BTS (Base Transceiver System): BTS comprises of all radio
equipment like antenna, signal processing and amplifiers
necessary for radio transmission. The functions are
• Channel encoding and decoding for coding voice into data and
vice versa
• Encryption and decryption.
• Signal processing and amplification of signals so that the
strength of signal stays up to an accepted level.
• Base station controller : The Base Station Controller (BSC)
controls and supervises a number of Base Transceiver Stations
(BTS).
 GSM ARCHITECTURE
• Functions of BSC : Radio Channel Setup
• Signal Processing
• Reserves radio frequencies for communication
• Manages handovers among BTSs
• Control and handover of signals from BSC to MSC
3) The Network Switching Subsystem (NSS) :
The Network switching system (NSS), the main part of
which is the Mobile Switching Center (MSC), performs
the switching of calls between the mobile and other fixed
or mobile network users.
The switching system includes the following functional elements
 GSM ARCHITECTURE
• Mobile Switching Center (MSC) :Thecentral component of the
Network Subsystem is the MSC. The MSC performs the
switching of calls between the mobile and other fixed or
mobile network users, as well as the management of
mobile services such as registration, authentication,
location updating, handovers, and call routing to a
roaming subscriber.
• Home Location Register (HLR) :The HLR is a database used
for storage and management of subscriptions. The HLR is
considered the most important database, as it stores
permanent data about subscribers, including a subscriber's
service profile, location information, and activity status.
When an individual buys a subscription in the form of
SIM, then all the information about this subscription is
registered in the HLR of that operator.
• Visitor Location Register (VLR) : The VLR is a database that
contains temporary information about subscribers that is
needed by the MSC in order to service visiting subscribers.
The VLR is always integrated with the MSC. When a mobile
station roams into a new MSC area, the VLR connected to that
MSC will request data about the mobile station from the HLR..
• Authentication Center (AUC) :The Authentication Center is a
protected database that stores a copy of the secret key stored in
each subscriber's SIM card, which is used for authentication.
The AUC protects network operators from different types of
fraud found in today's cellular world.
• Equipment Identity Register (EIR) :The Equipment Identity
Register (EIR) is a database that contains a list of all valid
mobile equipment on the network, where its International
Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) identifies each MS. An
IMEI is marked as invalid if it has been reported stolen.
• The Operation Support Subsystem (OSS) :The operations and
maintenance center (OMC) is connected to all equipment in
the switching system and to the BSC. The implementation of
OMC is called the operation and support system (OSS).
• Here are some of the OMC functions−
• Administration and commercial operation.
• Security Management.
• Network configuration, Operation, and Performance
Management.
• Maintenance Tasks.
GSM CHANNELS
GSM CHANNELS
GSM CHANNELS
GSM CHANNELS
GSM CHANNELS
CALL PROCESSING IN GSM