GSM Fundamentals & RF

J.J. KPONYO
Lecture Outline
• Basic Telecom concepts
• Various Wireless Technologies
• Cellular concepts & Principle of cellular Comm.
• GSM Network Architecture
• GSM channel Architecture
• Call Flows in GSM
BASIC Telephony

•Signaling
SWITCH / EXCHANGE
•Traffic

•Off Hook
•Dial Tone
•Dialing Digits •Ring

•Routing of call •Off Hook &

Conversation
•Conversation
Wireless Communication
• Alternative means of wireless communication
– Walkie - Talkie
– Pagers
– Trunked private radios

• Mobile Phone - the magic technology that enables

everyone to communicate anywhere with anybody.
Wireless Telephony

MSC

BSC
BTS BTS

Mobile Subscriber...
Different Standards Worldwide
• Till 1982 Cellular Systems were exclusively Analog Radio
Technology.
• Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS)

– U.S. standard on the 800 MHz Band

• Total Access Communication System (TACS)

– U.K. standard on 900 MHz band

• Nordic Mobile Telephone System (NMT)

– Scandinavian standard on the 450 & 900 MHz band

Different Standards Worldwide
Analog Mobile Telephony
• End of 1980’s Analog Systems unable to meet continuing
demands
– Severely confined spectrum allocations
– Interference in multipath fading environment
– Incompatibility among various analog systems
– Inability to substantially reduce the cost of mobile
terminals and infrastructure required
Digital Mobile Telephony

• Spectrum space - most limited and precious resource

• Solution - further multiplex traffic (time domain)

• Can be realized with Digital Techniques only

 GSM History
• When the acronym GSM was used for the first
time in 1982, it stood for Groupe Spéciale
Mobile, a committee under the umbrella of
Conférence Européenne des Postes et
Télécommunications (CEPT), the European
standardization organization.

• The task of GSM was to define a new standard

for mobile communications in the 900 MHz
range. It was decided to use digital technology.
• In the course of time, CEPT evolved into a
new organization, the European
Telecommunications Standard Institute
(ETSI). That, however, did not change the
task of GSM.
• The goal of GSM was to replace the purely
national, already overloaded, and thus
expensive technologies of the member
countries with an international standard.
• In 1991, the first GSM systems were ready
to be brought into so-called friendly-user
operation.
• The meaning of the acronym GSM was
changed that same year to stand for Global
System for Mobile Communications.
• The year 1991 also saw the definition of the
first derivative of GSM, the Digital Cellular
System 1800 (DCS 1800), which more or
less translates the GSM system into the
1800 MHz frequency range.
• In the United States, DCS 1800 was
adapted to the 1900 MHz band (Personal
Communication System 1900, or PCS
1900). The next phase, GSM Phase 2, will
provide even more end-user features than
phase 1 of GSM did. In 1991, only
“insiders” believed such a success would be
possible because mobile communications
could not be considered a mass market in
most part of Europe.
• By 1992, many European countries had
operational networks, and GSM started to
attract interest worldwide. Time has
brought substantial technological progress
to the GSM hardware. GSM has proved to
be a major commercial success for system
manufacturers as well as for network
operators
Cellular Communication
• A cellular system links Mobile subscribers to Public

Telephone System or to another Mobile subscriber.

• It removes the fixed wiring used in a traditional telephone

installation.

• Mobile subscriber is able to move around, perhaps can travel

in a vehicle or on foot & still make & receive call.

Advantage of Cellular
Communication
• Mobility
• Flexibility
• Convergence
• Greater QOS
• Network Expansion
• Revenue/Profit
WHAT IS CELLULAR TELEPHONY ?

CONSIDERATIONS -

 FREQUENCY
Base Station
 SUBSCRIBER Base Station
DENSITY Base Station

 COVERAGE Base Station

Base Station
Base Station
The Cell
• Cellular Radio involves dividing a large service area into
regions called “cells.”
• Each cell has the equipment to switch, transmit and receive
calls.
• Cells - Reduce the need of High powered transmission
• Cells - Conventionally regarded as being hexagonal, but in
reality they are irregularly shaped.
• Cell shape is determined by the nature of the surrounding
area e.g. Hills , tall building etc.
Cell Size
• Large Cells • Small Cells

• 35 Km • Near about 1 KM
• Remote Areas • Urban Areas
• High Transmission • Low Transmission
Power Power
• Few subscribers • Many Subscribers
Coverage & Capacity
• Coverage
– Percentage of the geographical area covered by cellular
service where mobile telephony is available

• Capacity -
– Number of calls that can be handled in a certain area
within a certain period of time.
– Capacity can also refer to the probability that users will
be denied access to a system due to the simple
unavailability of radio channels.
Frequency Spectrum

Designation Abbreviation Frequencies Free-space Wavelengths

Very Low Frequency VLF 9 kHz - 30 kHz 33 km - 10 km
Low Frequency LF 30 kHz - 300 kHz 10 km - 1 km
Medium Frequency MF 300 kHz - 3 MHz 1 km - 100 m
High Frequency HF 3 MHz - 30 MHz 100 m - 10 m
Very High Frequency VHF 30 MHz - 300 MHz 10 m - 1 m
Ultra High Frequency UHF 300 MHz - 3 GHz 1 m - 100 mm
Super High Frequency SHF 3 GHz - 30 GHz 100 mm - 10 mm
Extremely High Frequency EHF 30 GHz - 300 GHz 10 mm - 1 mm
GSM - IN CELLULAR
TELEPHONY
• Each Cell in the Cellular Network consists of one or more
RF carriers.
• An RF carrier is a pair of radio frequencies
– One used in upward direction by MS - Uplink
– Other used in downward direction by BTS - Downlink
– The transmit and receive frequencies are separated by a
gap of 45 MHz in GSM of 75 MHz in DCS.
• There are 124 carries in GSM Band. With each carrier
carrying 7 timeslots, only 124 x 7 = 868 calls can be made!
• Frequency Reuse is the solution
Multiple Access Methods
Power
Time

Time
Power

FDMA Frequency

Power Time

CDMA Frequency

TDMA Frequency
Multiple Access Methods
FDMA FDMA: AMPS & NAMPS
•Each user occupies a private Frequency,
Power
c y protected from interference through physical
en
Tim
e Fr
eq
u
separation from other users on the same
frequency
•TDMA: IS-136, GSM
TDMA •Each user occupies a specific frequency but
Power only during an assigned time slot. The
Tim ue
n cy frequency is used by other users during
q
e F re other time slots.
•CDMA
CDMA •Each user occupies a signal on a particular
DE
Power CO frequency simultaneously with many other
users, but is uniquely distinguishable by
c y
en
Tim
e req
u correlation with a special code used only by
F
this user
Frequency Reuse Pattern
Three types of frequency reuse patterns
• 7 Cell reuse pattern
• 4 cell reuse pattern
• 3 cell reuse pattern
3 Site Reuse Pattern
c2

c1
c3 b2

b1
a2 b3
a1

a3 c2
c1
Cell Re-use
c3
FREQUENCY RE - USE

– Frequency Re-use

2
7 3
1 D D=R (3N)
6 4
5 Cell Dia = R where N is Cluster size

7/21 cell cluster

Principle Of Sectorization
• Omni Directional Cells
• 120 degree Sectors
• 60 Degree sectors
– Each Sector in a Site has its own allocation of Radio
Carriers
• Advantage
– By frequent reuse of frequency more capacity can be
achieved
Cell Sectorisation

b2
b1
a2 b3
a1 a3
OMNI CELL 120O CELLS
1 ANTENNA 3 ANTENNAS
a6 a4
a5

60O CELLS
6 ANTENNAS
Features of GSM
• Compatibility
• Noise Robust
• Increased Capacity & Flexibility
• Use of Standard Open Interfaces
• Improved Security & Confidentiality
• Cleaner Handovers
• Subscriber Identification
• ISDN Compatibility
• Enhanced Range of Services
Handovers
Hard Handoff Soft Handoff
Analog, TDMA and GSM CDMA

Break before Make Make before Break

GSM NETWORK ELEMENTS

BSC
OML
i OMC
OM
Ab
s C VMSC
VMS
BTS
BT A C
AUC
AU
S BTS HLR
HL
BT TRAU MSC C
BTS
BT
S
MS R
EIR
EI
S BTS
BT C VLR
VL R
BTS
BT
S BTS
BT R SMSC
SMS
S BTS
BT
S
BC C
S
MS B
BTS
BT BSC C
S
PSTN
GSM Network Components
• Mobile Station consists of two parts-
– Mobile Equipment (ME)
– Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)
• ME
– Hardware e.g. Telephone, Fax Machine, Computer.
• SIM
– Smart Card which plugs into the ME.
ME (Classmark Information)
• RF Power Capability
– Max power ME is able to Transmit.

• Ciphering Algorithm Used

– Presently A5
– Phase 2 specifies Algorithms A5/0 to A5/7.

• Frequency Capability

• SMS Capability
Mobile Equipment
Class Power O/p
1 20 W
2 8W
3 5W
4 2W Typical
Settings
5 0.8 W
SIM(IMSI)
• IMSI(International Mobile Subscriber
Identity)
– Transmitted over Air Interface on initialization
– Permanently stored on SIM card
– 15 digit Decimal
SIM (TMSI)
• Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity
– Periodically changed by the System Management on instances
like location update etc.

• Reason for use of TMSI

– To prevent a possible intruder from identifying GSM users,
TMSI is used

• Management
– Assignment, Administration & Updating is performed by VLR.
Transcoder
• Converts 64 Kbps PCM circuits from MSC to 16 Kbps
BSS circuits.
• Each 30 channel 2 Mbps PCM link can carry 120 GSM -
specified voice channels.
 Base Station System (BSS)
• BSS (Base Station System)
– BSC (Base Station Controller) Network
– BTS (Base Transceiver Station) Switching
– XCDR (Transcoder) System
(NSS)
XCDR

BSC

BTS
 Base Station System (BSS)
• BSC
– Controls up to 40 BTS
– Conveys information to/from BTS
– Connects terrestrial circuits & Air Interface Channels
– Controls handovers between BTSs under itself
• BTS
– Contains RF Hardware
– Limited control functionality
– 1 - 6 carriers in a BTS Cabinet
– 7 - 48 simultaneous calls per BTS
BSS Configuration
• Collocated BTS

• Remote BTS

• Star Configuration

• Daisy Chain BTS Loop Configuration

BSC BTS

B
BTS T BSC BTS
All BTS on 1 E1

S
BTS
BTS
BTS
Network Switching System(NSS)
• NSS (Network Switching System)
– MSC (Mobile Switching Centre)
– HLR (Home Location Register)
– VLR (Visitor Location Register)
– EIR (Equipment Identity Register)
– AUC (Authentication Centre)
– IWF (Interworking Function)
– EC (Echo Canceller)
 GSM Network Component
• MSC
– Call Switching
– Operation & Management Support
– Interworking
– Collects call billing data
• Gateway MSC
– MSC which provides interface between PSTN & BSS’s
in the GSM Network.
 Home Location Register (HLR)
• Reference database for the Subscriber profiles-
– Subscriber ID (IMSI & MSISDN)
– Current VLR Address
– Supplementary Services subscribed
– Supplementary Service Information
– Subscriber Status (Registered/deregistered)
– Authentication Key and AUC functionality
– TMSI
– MSRN(Mobile Station Roaming Number)
 Visitor Location Register (VLR)

• Temporary Data, which exists as long as the subscriber is

active in a particular Coverage area.
• Contains the following-
– Mobile Status (Busy/ Free/ No Answer/etc.)
– Location Area Identity (LAI)
– TMSI
– MSRN (Mobile Station Roaming Number)
 Equipment Identity Register (EIR)

• Contains Database for validating IMEI

– White List (valid ME)

– Black List (Stolen ME)

– Grey List (Faulty ME)

Echo Canceller
• Echo is apparent only in Mobile - Land conversation
& is generated at the 2 wire to 4 wire interface.
• To avoid it, Echo Canceller (EC) is used.
– Echo is irritating to MS Subscriber
– Total Round Trip delay of 180 ms in the GSM system
– EC is placed on the PSTN side of the Switch
– Cancellation up to 68 ms with EC
Operation & Maintenance Centre

• Event & Alarm Management

• Fault Management

• Performance Management

• Configuration Management

• Security Management
GSM Terrestrial Interfaces
Broadly classified into two types of interfaces-

• Standard Interfaces

– 2 Mbps Trunks (E1)

– Signalling System No. 7 SS7 ( CCS7)

– X.25 (Packet Switched Mode)

• GSM Interfaces
GSM Interfaces
• Um MS - BTS
• Abis BTS - BSC
• A BSC - MSC
• B MSC - VLR
• C MSC - HLR
• D VLR - HLR
• E MSC - MSC
• F MSC - EIR
• G VLR - VLR
• H HLR - AUC
Basic Processes
• AUTHENTICATION

• CIPHERING

• REGISTRATION

• CALL ESTABLISHMENT

• HANDOVER / HANDOFF

• ROAMING
 Ciphering

Kc Kc

Ciphered
Data A5 Data
A5 Data
 Transmission Media
• Access Network
– Microwave 15 /23 GHz
• Backbone Network
– Microwave 7 GHz
– Optical Fibers
– Leased Line( From Dot or any other service provider
on any media)
 Optical Fiber
 Different Possible Combinations
 Mono Mode Step Index 10 / 125 m
 Mono Mode Graded index
 Multi Mode Step Index 100 / 300 m
 Multi Mode Graded Index 75 / 130 m
 Mono Mode Graded Index would have been the best but
fabrication not possible

140 Mbps OLTE , Mono Mode Step Index in our case

 Channels On Air Interface
• Physical Channel
• Logical Channel

• Physical Channel
– Physical channel is the medium over which the
information is carried.

• Logical Channel
– Logical channels consists of the information carried
over the Physical Channel.
 LOGICAL CHANNELS
3
Normal Burst
3 57 1 26 1 57 3 8.25
T encrypted S training S encrypted T GP

577S

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 TDMA Frame
577S x 8 = 4.615mS
26 Frame Multi-frame
GSM Channels
 Data Services
Data rates supported as of today are
2.4 Kbps

4.8 Kbps

 9.6 Kbps

GPRS & EDGE implementation takes the data

capability to higher level of the order of 184
kbps and more