GSM:

Architecture & Interfaces

By:
Shivani Mehrotra
EC-1(09)
 GSM:Introduction
• GSM (Global System for Mobile
communications) is a 2nd Generation (2G), an
open, digital cellular technology used for
transmitting mobile voice and data services
• GSM supports data transfer speeds of up to
9.6 kbit/s
 GSM FREQUENCY BANDS

• GSM FREQUENCY BANDS or frequency

ranges are the cellular frequencies
designated by the ITU(International
Telecommnunication Union) for the
operation of the GSM for mobile phones
• GSM-900 and GSM-1800 are used in
most parts of the world
 GSM Specifications

 GSM 900 B

UP-LINK - 890 to 915 MHz

T
S

DOWN -LINK - 935 to 960MHz

Bandwidth - 25 MHz

 GSM 1800
UP-LINK - 1710 to 1785 MHz
DOWN -LINK - 1805 to 1880 MHz
Bandwidth - 75 MHz
 Subsystems in GSM

The GSM network is called Public Land

Mobile Network (PLMN). It is organised in
three subsystems:-
– Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
– Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)
– Network Management Subsystem (NMS)
Subsystems in GSM
 GSM Architecture & Interfaces
Air Abis Ater’ BSS A NSS
Interface Interface Interface Interface

BSC
BTS
HLR/
TC AC/
MSC/VLR EIR
MS
TCSM

Ater
Interface

NMS
O&M
Interface
 MOBILE STATION (MS)
 Mobile Station consist of two units:
Mobile Hand set Subscriber Identity Module

Mobile Hand set is one of the most complicated SIM is a removable module goes into the mobile
GSM device It provides user the access to the handset Each SIM has unique number called
Network Each handset has unique identity no International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
called IMEI It has built in Micro-computer & memory into it
The Mobile Station(MS) is a combination of
terminal equipment & subscriber data
The terminal equipment is called as
Mobile Equipment(ME) and
Subcriber’s data is
stored in separate module
called as SIM(Subscriber
Identity Module)
Therefore, ME+SIM= MS
SIM :
• It is protected by PIN(personal Identification
Number)
• Storage space for messages, such as phone
numbers
• Contains List of available networks
• Contains Unique subscriber’s ID,IMSI and ISDN
 Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
The BSS is responsible for managing the radio network,
and it is controlled by an MSC. Typically, one MSC
contains several BSSs. A BSS itself may cover a
considerably large geographical area consisting of many
cells (a cell refers to an area covered by one or more
frequency resources). The BSS consists of the following
network elements:
• BTS (Base Transceiver Station)
• BSC (Base Station Controller)
• Transcoder
Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
 Functions of BSS
• Radio Path Control: BSS takes care of radio
resources, that is, radio channel allocation and quality of
the radio connection
• Synchronisation : MSC synchronises the BSC, and the
BSC further synchronises the BTSs associated with that
particular BSC. Inside the BSS, synchronisation is
controlled by the BSC
• Air- and A-interface signalling : In order to establish a
call, the MS must have a connection throughs the BSS.
• Connection establishment between the MS and the
NSS
Base Station Subsystem(BSS)

Base Tranceiver Station(BTS)

 BTS has a set of Transceivers,antenna & Antenna
Arrangement
equipment for encrypting and decrypting

communication with BSC & MS

 Capacity of BTS depends on no. of Transceivers

 BTS is connected to BSC via A’bis interface

 Transmission rate on A’bis is 2 Mbps

 Interface between MS & BTS is called Air I/f

 It is controlled by parent BSC

BTS
 The antennas are either omnidirectional or sectorised
 Cell Structure
Omni-directional BTS
F1 F2
Safety distance
BTS BTS

R 5xR
F3 F4
F4
BTS

BTS •To avoid interference between two cells using the

F5 F6 same frequency, a safety distance of about 5 times
the cell radius is required
•A BTS may cover one cell (Omni-directional) or
several cells (typical three directional cells)
•Each cell may be served by one or more TRXs
3-directional BTS depending on the required capacity
Note: each TRX controls one carrier with eight TS
Omnidirectional & Sectorised BTS
 Network Interface Card

External Alarm Circuit Board Shelf # 5

(EACB)

Combiners

Shelf # 4

Shelf # 3
TRE

Shelf # 2

SUMA Card
Shelf # 1
 External Alarm
Circuit Board (EACB)
Cabinet Cooling Fan
External Alarm Circuit Clock Port Abis Patching
Board (EACB)
Picture shows a Base Transceiver
Station(BTS)
 Base Station Controller (BSC)
 BSC controls several BTS

 BSC manages channel allocation, receive the information

from mobile phones& Handover of calls from one BTS
to another BTS
 BSC is connected to MSC via OFC interface

 Interface between BSC & BTS is called A’bis I/f

 BSC has database for all of its BTS’s parameters

 BSC provides path from MS to MSC

 Inside the BSS, all the BTSs and TCs are connected to the BSC(s)

 A number of BSCs are served by an MSC BSC

Base Station Controller(BSC)
 BSS Element : Transcoder
 In GSM 900/1800 specifications, bit rate in Air-Interface
is 13 Kbps (Full rate) and bit rate in the MSC and PSTN
interface is 64 Kbps
 Transcoder converts 13 Kbps to 64 Kbps and vice-versa.
TC belongs to BSS but it is kept near MSC to save the
transmission
 The transcoder is responsible for transcoding the voice
channel coding between the coding used in the mobile
network, and the coding used by the world's terrestrial
circuit-switched network,the Public Switched Telephone
Network
 This subsystem is also referred to as the transcoder and
rate adaptation unit (TRAU)
BSS Element : TRAU
Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)
 NSS Elements
• Mobile services Switching Centre (MSC)
• Gateway Mobile services Switching Centre
(GMSC)
• Visitor Location Register (VLR)
• Home Location Register (HLR)
• Authentication Centre (AC)
• Equipment Identity Register (EIR)
 Functions of NSS
• Call control : This identifies the subscriber, establishes a
call and clears the connection after the conversation is over
• Charging: This collects the charging information about a
call such as the numbers of the caller and the called
subscriber, and the time and type of the transaction, and
transfers it to the Billing Centre
• Mobility management :This maintains information about
the location of the subscriber
• Subscriber data handling : This is the permanent data
storage in the HLR and temporary storage of relevant data
in the VLR.
• Locating the subscriber before establishing a call:allows
mobile devices to communicate with each other and telephones
in the wider Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
Network Switching Subsystem(NSS)

Mobile Switching Centre (MSC)

 MSC is heart of the entire network connecting Fixed line network to
Mobile network

 MSC manages all call related functions and

Billing information

 MSC is connected to HLR & VLR for subscriber

identification & routing incoming calls

 MSC capacity is in terms of no. of subscribers

 Call Detail Record (CDR) is generated for each & every

call in the MSC
 Identifies the call,destination and origin of the call
MSC
 It also sets up, supervises, and clears the connections
 Echo canceller operation control
Mobile Switching Centre (MSC)
 Gateway Mobile Switching
Center(GMSC)
It is the node interconnecting the two
networks
It is the interface between cellular network
& PSTN(Public Switched Telephone
Network)
It is incharge of routing the calls fron fixed
network towards a GSM user
GMSC is often implemented in the same
machines as the MSC
 VISITOR LOCATION REGISTER (VLR)
 The VLR carries out location registrations and updates. When a
mobile station comes to a new MSC/VLR serving area, it must
register itself in the VLR, in other words perform a location
update
 The VLR database is temporary, in the sense that the data is held
as long as the subscriber is within its service area. It also contains
the address to every subscriber's Home Location Register
 It controls those mobiles roaming in its area
 VLR reduces the number of queries to HLR
 One VLR may be incharge of one or more LA(Location Area)
 VLR is updated by HLR on entry of MS its area

38
 Home Location Register(HLR)
 The home location register (HLR) is a central database that
contains details of each mobile phone subscriber that is
authorized to use the GSM core network.
 The HLR stores details of every SIM card issued by the
mobile phone operator
 HLR maintains a permanent database of the subscribers. The
following date related to the subscriber can be found here:
• Subscriber identification number (IMSI)
• The subscribed services
• The current location of its subscriber in terms of VLR
address
• Supplementary services like call forwarding
 Temporary data in HLR like data related to call changes from
call to call and is dynamic
HLR
 Authentication Centre (AU)
 Authentication is a process to verify the subscriber SIM
 AC & HLR combined to authenticate the subscribers
 The Authentication Centre provides security information to
the network, so that the mobile network can verify the SIM
cards (authentication between the MS and the VLR) and
cipher the information transmitted in the air interface
(between the MS and the BTS)
 AC is a separate entity and physically included in HLR
 Protect against intruders
 Authentication and ciphering key are stored in this data base

MSC
AUC
HLR
 Equipment Identity Register(EIR)

 is used for security reasons

 is responsible for IMEI checking (checking the
validity of the mobile equipment)
 When this optional network element is in use,
the mobile station is requested to provide the
International MobileEquipment Identity (IMEI)
number. The EIR contains three lists:
-White list- IMEI, assigned to valid ME EIR
-Grey list - IMEI having problems like
faulty software,wrong make of
MSC
equipment etc
-Black list - IMEI reported stolen
Network Management Subsystem(NMS)

 The purpose of the NMS is to monitor various functions and

elements of the network.
 The functions of the NMS can be divided as:
–Alarm handling
–Performance measurements
–Supervises & handles all network elements
–Collects measurement data
–Fault monitoring
 These functions cover the whole of the GSM network
elements from the level of individual BTSs, up to MSCs and
HLRs
GSM lab
GSM Lab
 GSM Interfaces
Um : MS – BTS (air or radio interface)
A : MSC – BSC
Abis : BSC – BTS (proprietary interface)
Ater : BSC – TRAU (proprietary interface)
B : MSC – VLR
C : MSC – HLR
D : HLR – VLR
E : MSC – MSC
F : MSC – EIR
G : VLR - VLR.
GSM Interfaces
Nokia Implementation of GSM
Network
Thank
You!!!