ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I hereby express my thanks acknowledge & gratitude to my guides during training. Im thankful to bsnl staff for sharing their knowledge with me and also providing the knowledge about the industrial application, basics of communication, transmission and all other latest techniques that are being using in BSNL, Muzaffarpur. First I would like to pay my respect and thanks to Er. Amit Kumar, transmission control Engineer, BSNL, Muzaffarpur, Er. Atul Kumar, control system Engineer, BSNL, Muzaffarpur and Er. A. K. Bharti, power grid Engineer, BSNL, Muzaffarpur who provided all the required information related with our effort. I also convey my thanks to all the staff members of BSNL, Muzaffarpur for their support, co-operation and for the information they provided us about BSNL. I am thankful to my colleagues for supporting me on one or either way. Thanks again with respect.

PREFACE

Training is an important phase in a students life. During this period student gets both theoretical as well practical knowledge of the subject. Training also impresses a student overall approaches to the life that impress his personality and confidence. My training was in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Muzaffarpur. This report contains a detailed study of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Muzaffarpur.

There are four divisions here.

1. C-DOT

2. CDMA SECTION

3. BROAD-BAND SECTION

4. GSM SECTION

CONTENTS

1. Introduction to BSNL 2. C-DOT 3. CDMA 4. GSM

B.S.N.L.

BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED

TYPE: COMMUNICATION SERVICE PROVIDER COUNTRY: INDIA AVAILABLITY: NATIONAL EXCEPT DELHI & MUMBAI OWNER: THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA KEY PEOPLE: A.K. SINHA (C.E.O.) WEBSITE: WWW.BSNL.CO.IN
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INTRODUCTION TO BSNL

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (known as BSNL) is a public sector telecommunication company in India. It is India's largest telecommunication company with 24% market share as on March 31, 2009. Currently has a customer base of 90 million as of June 2009. It has the status of Mani Ratna, a status assigned to reputed public sector companies in India. By 1881, Govt. of India changed their earlier decision and licence was granted to the original. Oriental Telephone Company Limited of England for opening Telephone Exchanges at Kolkata, Bombay, Madras, Karachi and Ahmedabad. Finally 26th Jan 1882 called the red letter in the history of telephone in India, a telephone exchange of BSNL was set up in Kolkata. During the financial year 2006-2007
BSNL has added 9.6 million new customers in various telephone services taking its customer base to 64.8 million. However, despite impressive growth shown by BSNL in recent

times, the Fixed line customer base of BSNL is declining. In order to woo back its fixed-line customers BSNL has brought down long distance calling rate under OneIndia plan, however, the success of the scheme is not known. Good Broadband facility has got a positive response from the customers. The launch of USB data card for high speed net has helped BSNL to cover up the various losses.

C-DOT

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) is the Telecom Technology development centre of the Government of India. It was established in August 1984 as an autonomous body. It was vested with full authority and total flexibility to develop state-of-the-art telecommunication technology to meet the needs of the Indian telecommunication network. The key objective was to build a centre for excellence in the area of telecom technology. In the initial years, C-DOT triggered a telecom revolution in the rural India that was responsible for all-round socio-economic development. Rural India gained access to a whole new world of opportunities as they got connected globally. As part of its development process, C-DOT has spawned a wide base of equipment manufacturers and component vendors for the industry. The state-of-the-art R&D facilities at its Delhi and Bangalore campuses are comparable with the best in the world. Within a very short span of time, telecom switching products ideally suited to Indian conditions started revolutionizing rural telecommunication in India in the form of small Rural Automatic Exchanges (RAXs) and medium size switches as SBMs for towns. This was followed by induction of higher capacity digital switches known as Main Automatic Exchanges (MAXs). C-DOT technology spread across the length and breadth of the country through its licensed manufacturers with very strong technology transfer methodology. Nearly 50% of present fixed line infrastructure, after allowing MNCs entry into the Telecom Market is from C-DOT technology and that in itself is a testimony to the Centre achieving its objectives fully. Those C-DOT engineers have been striving to add value through regular up gradation to the fixed line infrastructure is a tribute to the commitment of C-DOTians to the original cause. Beginning the journey with digital switching systems, C-DOT has transversed the complex Telecom landscape, developing products in the area of optical, satellite and wireless communication from circuit switching technology of yester years, C-DOT has proven its expertise in ATM and Next Generation Networks. From a purely hardware development Centre it has diversified into development of Telecom software solutions like IN, NMS, Data Clearing House etc. and has journeyed from a protected environment of closed market to an open and competitive market. While developing the RAX/MAX digital switches, C-DOT also evolved processes and procedures for manufacturing the switches in the Indian Telecom Factories and facilitated setting up of a strong Indian Manufacturing and quality vendor base. Comprehensive
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methods for transfer of the Digital Switching Technology were evolved for smooth transfer of the R&D products. C-DOTs pool of talented engineers are sought after by many Telecom companies, including MNCs for the valuable expertise they gain by working on cutting edge technologies in the state-of-art laboratories of C-DOT. Over the years, C-DOT has come to be looked upon as a Centre of Excellence in Telecom; projects of National importance, such as Central Monitoring Systems for Telecom Security, are entrusted to C-DOT, by the Indian Government. C-DOT has evolved, from a single mission oriented organization to an R&D centre, working on several important, cutting edge technologies. And, with the support it has been receiving from the Government, especially in Projects of National Importance, the Centre will strive to maintain its National relevance.

CDMA
1.1 Evolution of CDMA Technology CDMA is the acronym for Code Division Multiple Access. All CDMA users use the same band, and the users and base stations are differentiated with encryption of various bit lengths, which provides enhanced privacy; meanwhile, as a result of all users using the same band, self-interference between users is produced, which increases as users multiply, and demodulation of the system is affected, which limits the reverse capacity of the system. CDMA technologies are different from FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access, as applied in GSM) and TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access, as applied in AMPS and TACS). FDMA technologies differentiate users by having them use different bands, whereas TDMA technologies differentiate users by having them use different time slots, as illustrated in the following figure:
c c c

Channel 1 Channel 2 Channel 3 Channel N

Channel N t Channel 3 Channel 2 Channel 1

Channel N

Channel 1

Channel 3 Channel 2

FDMA

TDMA

CDMA

Fig. 0-1 Difference Among FDMA, TDMA and CDMA The original intention of CDMA technologies development was to protect communication from interference and interception by the enemy, and the CDMA technologies were first applied in military anti-interference communication. Due to some unsolved technological issues, CDMA technologies were not widely applied for commercial purposes until 1980s, when Qualcomm developed the soft switching, power control and other technologies. Since then, the CDMA technologies entered the civil market. In 1993, the CDMA technologies developed by Qualcomm were officially recognized as technical standard. Following this, the CDMA commercial system, based on IS95 and 1X, was widely used throughout the world and mainly in South Korea, Hong Kong, U.S.A, and Australia. Last year, EVDO of CDMA2000, which is one of the 3G technical standards, was put into large-scale commercial use in South Korea.
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ZTE Corporation (hereinafter ZTE) began pre-research on CDMA technologies since 1996, and by 1998, ZTE launched large-scale commercial development. The year 1999 saw the success of the core network development, and the beginning of the year 2000 saw the first CDMA call placed successfully. In the latter half of the year 2000, commercial use of CDMA technologies was officially started, and in 2001, ZTE, with the completely self-developed equipment and technologies, won the bid for Unicom Phase One project in 10 provinces and began large-scale commercial use for the first time. Since 2002, ZTE has entered the international market.

FDMA
In FDMA, the entire allocated cellular frequency spectrum is divided into a number of 30-kHz channels. The power transmitted by a cell is only large enough to communicate with mobile stations located near the edge of the cells coverage area. The radius of a cell might be one mile or less-referred to as a small cell.

TDMA
TDMA is a digital wireless air interface. It divides each carrier frequency into a number of time slots, each of which constitutes an independent telephone circuit.

CDMA
A digital multiple access technique specified by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) as "IS-95." One of the unique aspects of CDMA is that while there are certainly limits to the number of phone calls that can be handled by a carrier, this is not a fixed number. Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a digital air interface standard, claiming eight to fifteen times the capacity of analog.

Cell Grouping

Multiple Access in CDMA: Each user is assigned a unique PN code. Each user transmits its information by spreading with unique code. Direct Sequence spread spectrum is used.
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 Users are separated by code not by time slot and freq slot.
Concept of CDMA Users share same bandwidth User axis shows cumulative signal strength of all users

Comparison between CDMA and TDMA/FDMA: In TDMA Band width available for transmission is small which leads to compromise in quality of transmission. Whereas in CDMA systems entire spectrum is used which enhances voice quality. In TDMA/FDMA, cell design requires more frequency planning which is tough job. Whereas in CDMA frequency planning is minimal. TDMA is Band limited system. CDMA is Power limited system

1.2 Definition of MCC, MNC, and IMSI

The International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) identifies each of the CDMA digital mobile stations. The IMSI code consists of 15 digits (0-9). The first 3 digits indicate the country of the mobile station, and the rest digits constitute the National Mobile Station Identifier (NMSI) that consists of the Mobile Station Network Code (MNC) and the Mobile Station Identifier Number (MSIN). The structure of IMSI is as shown below:

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Fig. 0-2 IMSI Structure

Notes: MCC MNC MSIN NMSI IMSI Mobile country code Mobile network code Mobile Station Identifier Number National Mobile Station Identifier (MNC+MSIN) International Mobile Station Identifier (MCC+MNC+MSIN)

IMSI codes have two categories: Category 0: IMSI codes have 15 digits, that is, the NMSI codes have 12 digits. Category 1: IMSI codes have less than 15 digits, that is, the NMSI codes have fewer than 12 digits. In calling the mobile station, the MS IMSI code is usually divided into two parts: IMSI_S (MIN) and IMSI_11_12. IMSI_S is composed of the last 10 digits of IMSI. If the IMSI does not have 10 digits, then the beginning part of the IMSI_S is to be filled by 0. The IMSI_S structure is as shown below:

Fig. 0-3 IMIS_S Structure

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Position of Network Optimization in the Whole Project

Market initialization

Earlier stage planning

Contract signing

Network planning

Projec t

Single-station check

RF optimization

Initial acc eptance

Maintenance optimization

Final acc eptance

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SOFTHANDOFF
Introduction When a mobile station needs to communicate with a new base station, it does not stop the communication with the original base station. This is called soft handoff. Soft handoff is unique to the CDMA. In the earlier systems, what happens is a hard handoff, that is, the mobile station stops the communication with the original base station before getting contact with the new base station in a specified period of time. A soft handoff happens between CDMA channels with the same frequency. Through a soft handoff, diversity of traffic channels is achieved at the boundary of the coverage areas of the two base stations. There are the following types of soft handoffs: 1. Handoff of the same carrier between different sectors in the same BTS, which is also called softer handoff. 2. Handoff of the same carrier between different BTSs in the same BSC. 3. Handoff of the same carrier between different BSCs in the same MSC. 1.3 Advantages of Soft Handoff The hard handoff technology is widely employed in FDMA and TDMA systems. When a hard handoff happens, the mobile station has to stop the communication with the original base station before receiving signals from the new base station because the base stations use different carrier frequencies. Thus always the communication is interrupted because the mobile station cannot immediately set up a link with the new base station after its link to the original base station is broken. In addition, when the available hard handoff area is very narrow, the mobile station might be handed from the original base station to the new base station and then from the new base station back to the original base station for several times, which affects the transmission of traffic channels. In the CDMA, the soft handoff technology is implemented. Compared with the hard handoff technology, the soft handoff technology has the following advantages:

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1. When a soft handoff happens, the mobile station keeps the communication with the original base station until it gets contact with the new base station. In this way, the probability of communication interruption is greatly reduced. 2. In a soft handoff, the mobile station and the base stations employ the diversity reception technology. The technology provides fadingpreventive functions and it is not required to greatly increase the transmit power of the mobile station. In addition, the base station macro diversity reception guarantees that the normal communication is continued as long as the signals from only one of the base stations participating in the soft handoff can be received correctly. Through reverse power control, the transmit power of the mobile station can be minimized, which further reduces the mobile stations interference on other users and increases the reverse capacity of the system. 3. Even though the mobile station cannot immediately set up a link with the new base station after entering the soft handoff area, the mobile station can be queued to wait for handoff. This reduces the blocking percentage of the system.

2.2.1.1 Information on CDMA Architecture A CDMA network consists of the following components:

1. Mobile station. The CDMA mobile station (or mobile phone) communicates with other parts of the system through the base-station system.

2. Base station (BS). The base station (BS) handles the radio interface to the mobile station. The base station is the radio equipment (transceivers and antennas)

3. Base station controller (BSC). The BSC provides the control functions and physical links
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between the MSC and BTS. It provides functions such as handover, cell configuration data and control of RF power levels in base transceiver stations. A number of BSCs are served by a MSC.

4. Mobile switching centre (MSC). The MSC performs the telephony switching functions of the system. It also performs such functions as toll ticketing, network interfacing, common channel signalling, and others.

5. Home location register (HLR). The HLR database is used for storage and management of subscriptions. The home location register stores permanent data about subscribers, including a subscriber's service profile, location information, and activity status.

6. Visitor location register (VLR). The VLR database contains temporary information about subscribers that is needed by the mobile services switching center (MSC) in order to service visiting subscribers. When a mobile station roams into a new mobile services switching centre (MSC) area, the visitor location register (VLR) connected to that MSC will request data about the mobile station from the HLR, reducing the need for interrogation of the home location register (HLR).

7. Authentication centre (AC). The AC provides authentication and encryption parameters that verify the user's identity and ensure the confidentiality of each call. The authentication centre (AUC) also protects network operators from fraud.

8. Operation and administration (OAM). The OAM is the functional entity from which the network operator monitors and controls the system. The purpose of operation and support system is to offer support for centralized, regional, and local operational and maintenance activities that are required for a CDMA network.

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GSM
5.2 GSM FREQUENCY BANDS The GSM system is a frequency- and time-division system; each physical channel is characterized by a carrier frequency and a time slot number. GSM system frequencies include two bands at 900 MHz and 1800 MHz commonly referred to as the GSM-900 and DCS-1800 systems. For the primary band in the GSM-900 system, 124 radio carriers have been defined and assigned in two sub-bands of 25 MHz each in the 890915 MHz and 935 960 MHz ranges, with channel widths of 200 kHz. Each carrier is divided into frames of 8 time slots (for full rate), with a frame duration of about 4.6 ms. For DCS-1800, GSM. There are two sub-bands of 75 MHz in the 17101785 MHz and 18051880 MHz ranges. 5.3 GSM PLMN ETSI originally defined GSM as a European digital cellular telephony standard. GSM interfaces defined by ETSI lay the groundwork for a multivendor network approach to digital mobile communication. GSM offers users good voice quality, call privacy, and network security. SIM cards provide the security mechanism for GSM. SIM cards are like credit cards and identify the user to the GSM network. They can be used with any GSM handset, providing phone access, ensuring delivery of appropriate services to that user and automatically billing the subscribers network usage back to the home network.

GSM -> Architecture

A GSM network is composed of several functional entities, whose functions and interfaces are defined. Figure 1 shows the layout of a generic GSM network. The GSM network can be divided into three broad parts. The Mobile Station is carried by the subscriber, the Base Station Subsystem controls the radio link with the Mobile Station. The Network Subsystem, the main part of which is the Mobile services Switching Center, performs the switching of calls between the mobile and other fixed or mobile network users, as well as management of
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mobile services, such as authentication. Not shown is the Operations and Maintenance center, which oversees the proper operation and setup of the network. The Mobile Station and the Base Station Subsystem communicate across the Um interface, also known as the air interface or radio link. The Base Station Subsystem communicates with the Mobile service Switching Center across the A interface.

SIM Subscriber Identity Module BTS Base Transceiver Station EIR Equipment Identity Register MS Mobile Station BSC Base Station Controller MSC Mobile services Switching Centre VLR Visitor Location Register
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HLR Home Location Register VLR Visitor Location Register EIR Equipment Identity Register AUC Authentication Centre PSTN Public Switched Telecomm Network ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network FIGURE 1 1.4 Mobile Station The mobile station (MS) consists of the physical equipment, such as the radio transceiver, display and digital signal processors, and a smart card called the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). The SIM provides personal mobility, so that the user can have access to all subscribed services irrespective of both the location of the terminal and the use of a specific terminal. By inserting the SIM card into another GSM cellular phone, the user is able to receive calls at that phone, make calls from that phone, or receive other subscribed services. The mobile equipment is uniquely identified by the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). The SIM card contains the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), identifying the subscriber, a secret key for authentication, and other user information. The IMEI and the IMSI are independent, thereby providing personal mobility. The SIM card may be protected against unauthorized use by a password or personal identity number. 1.5 Base Station Subsystem The Base Station Subsystem is composed of two parts, the Base Transceiver Station (BTS) and the Base Station Controller (BSC). These communicate across the specified Abis interface, allowing (as in the rest of the system) operation between components made by different suppliers. The Base Transceiver Station houses the radio tranceivers that define a cell and handles the radiolink protocols with the Mobile Station. In a large urban area, there will potentially be a large number of BTSs deployed. The requirements for a BTS are ruggedness, reliability, portability, and minimum cost. The Base Station Controller manages the radio resources for one or more BTSs. It handles
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radiochannel setup, frequency hopping, and handovers, as described below. The BSC is the connection between the mobile and the Mobile service Switching Center (MSC). The BSC also translates the 13 kbps voice channel used over the radio link to the standard 64 kbps channel used by the Public Switched Telephone Network or ISDN. 1.6 Network Subsystem The central component of the Network Subsystem is the Mobile services Switching Center (MSC). It acts like a normal switching node of the PSTN or ISDN, and in addition provides all the functionality needed to handle a mobile subscriber, such as registration, authentication, location updating, handovers, and call routing to a roaming subscriber. These services are provided in conjuction with several functional entities, which together form the Network Subsystem. The MSC provides the connection to the public fixed network (PSTN or ISDN), and signalling between functional entities uses the ITUT Signalling System Number 7 (SS7), used in ISDN and widely used in current public networks. The Home Location Register (HLR) and Visitor Location Register (VLR), together with the MSC, provide the callrouting and (possibly international) roaming capabilities of GSM. The HLR contains all the administrative information of each subscriber registered in the corresponding GSM network, along with the current location of the mobile. The current location of the mobile is in the form of a Mobile Station Roaming Number (MSRN) which is a regular ISDN number used to route a call to the MSC where the mobile is currently located. There is logically one HLR per GSM network, although it may be implemented as a distributed database. The Visitor Location Register contains selected administrative information from the HLR, necessary for call control and provision of the subscribed services, for each mobile currently located in the geographical area controlled by the VLR. Although each functional entity can be implemented as an independent unit, most manufacturers of switching equipment implement one VLR together with one MSC, so that the geographical area controlled by the MSC corresponds to that controlled by the VLR, simplifying the signalling required. Note that the MSC contains no information about particular mobile stations this information is stored in the location registers. The other two registers are used for authentication and security purposes. The Equipment Identity Register (EIR) is a database that contains a list of all valid mobile equipment on the network, where each mobile station is identified by its International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). An IMEI is marked as invalid if it has been reported stolen or is not type

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approved. The Authentication Centre is a protected database that stores a copy of the secret key stored in each subscriber's SIM card, which is used for authentication and ciphering of the radio channel. FUNCTION OF MOBILE STATION Voice and data transmission Frequency and time synchronization Monitoring of power and signal quality of the surrounding cells Provision of location updates even during inactive state Equalization of multi path distortions

INTERNATIONAL MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS IDENTITY The IMSI is a unique identity which is used internationally and used within the network to identify the mobile subscribers. The IMSI is stored on the subscriber identity module (SIM), the HLR, VLR and AC database.

INTERNATIONAL MOBILE EQUIPMENT IDENTITY The IMEI is a unique code allocated to each mobile equipment. It is checked in the EIR. IMEI check FUNCTION OF BTS1 Encodes, encrypts, multiplexes, modulates and feeds the RF signals to the antenna Transcoding and rate adaption Functionality Time and frequency synchronization signals transmission. 11 power classes from .01 watts (Micro cell) to 320 watts (Umbrella cell) White List Grey List Black List

FUNCTION OF BTS2
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Frequency hopping Random access detection Uplink radio channel measurements

BTS mainly consists of a set of transceivers (TRX). Can accommodate 1 to 7 TRX per Sector FUNCTION OF BSC1 It is connected to BTS and offloads MSC Radio resource management Inter-cell handover Reallocation of frequencies Power control

FUNCTION OF BSC2 Time delay measurement of the received signals from MS with respect to BTS clock. Performs traffic concentration to reduce the number of lines from BSC to MSC. Provide interface TCP/IP X.25 to the OMS

FUNCTION OF BSC3 BSC performs call processing TRAU are generally located at the site of MSC. BSC- BTS configurations as per requirement. Data from OMC and can be down loaded to BSC

FUNCTION OF MOBILE SWITCHING CETRE Manages communication between GSM & other network Call setup functions, basic switching are done
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MSC takes into account the RR allocation in addition to normal exchange functions MSC does gateway function while its customers roam to other network by using HLR /VLR Paging, specifically call handling Location updation Handover management Billing for all subscribers based in its area Reallocation of frequencies to BTSs in its area to meet heavy demands Echo canceller operation control Signaling interface to databases like HLR, VLR. Gateway to SMS between SMS centers and subscribers Handle interworking function while working as GMSC

FUNCTIONS OF VLR 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. VLR is updated by HLR on entry of MS its area. VLR assigns TMSI which keeps on changing. IMSI detach and attach operation

FUNCTIONS OF HLR Reference store for subscribers parameters, numbers, authentication & Encryption values. Current subscriber status and associated VLR. Both VLR and HLR can be implemented in the same equipment in an MSC.
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One PLMN may contain one or several HLR Data stored is changed only by man-machine. Data stored is changed only by man-machine. IMSI, MS-ISDN number. Category of MS ( whether pay phone or not ) Roaming restriction ( allowed or not ). Supplementary services like call forwarding The data changes from call to call & is dynamic MSRN RAND /SRES and Kc VLR address, MSC address. Messages waiting data used for SMS

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VALUE ADDED SERVICES

A value-added service (VAS) is popular as a telecommunications industry term for non-core services, or in short, all services beyond standard voice calls and fax transmissions. However, it can be used in any service industry, for services available at little or no cost, to promote their primary business. In the telecommunication industry, on a conceptual level, value-added services add value to the standard service offering, spurring the subscriber to use their phone more and allowing the operator to drive up their ARPU. For mobile phones, while technologies like SMS, MMS and data access were historically usually considered value-added services, but in recent years SMS, MMS and data access have more and more become core services, and VAS therefore has beginning to exclude those services.

A distinction may also be made between standard (peer-to-peer) content and premiumcharged content. These are called mobile value-added services (MVAS) which are often simply referred as VAS. Value-added services are supplied either in-house by the mobile network operator themselves or by a third-party value-added service provider (VASP), also known as a content provider (CP) such as All Headline News or Reuters. VASPs typically connect to the operator using protocols like Short message peer-to-peer protocol (SMPP), connecting either directly to the short message service centre (SMSC) or, increasingly, to a messaging gateway that gives the operator better control of the content .

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PwC India launched the 'Value Added Services: The Next Wave Connect with the Consumer' on 30 March'11 nationally. The report says that the Mobile VAS market has a potential to generate over Rs. 50,000 crore. PwC undertook a detailed and wide scale market research with the objective of understanding the behaviour of Indian mobile subscribers towards VAS and off take of services in future. The research focused on urban India (wherein respondents were spread across different Socio Economic Classes (SEC), age groups, education, backgrounds, working status) and it covers 1050 respondents across 10 cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Pune and Kolkata. With BWA and 3G network roll outs, speed that so long has been a deterrent for overall VAS adoption, is now a key enabler that will drive adoption of VAS. It is now time for India to evolve from the well established Mobile Messaging and commoditised voice play to focus on customer segmentation based data play. This report provides insight on the issues that are holding back the growth of Mobile VAS in India and map future consumer preferences. The report also assesses the current state of VAS ecosystem and how it will evolve and indicates that the mobile VAS market has a potential to generate over INR 55,000 crore by 2015

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.The report features primary research based analysis and our view on the MVAS opportunity and strategies. The report includes consumer awareness levels, current usage, likely future adoption vis--vis VAS services and also projection on the revenue potential. The VAS consists of following services: SMS MMS Video Calling GPRS

SHORT MESSAGE SERVICES Short Message Service (SMS) is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices. SMS text messaging is the most widely used data application in the world, with over 3.7 billion active users, or 74% of all mobile phone subscribers. The term SMS is used as a synonym for all types of short text messaging as well as the user activity itself in many parts of the world. SMS is also being used as a form of direct marketing known as SMS marketing. SMS as used on modern handsets originated from radio telegraphy in radio memo pagers using standardized phone protocols and later defined as part of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) series of standards in 1985 as a means of sending messages of up to 160 characters, to and from GSM mobile handsets. Since then, support for the service has expanded to include other mobile technologies such as ANSI CDMA networks and Digital AMPS, as well as satellite and landline networks. Most SMS messages are mobile-to-mobile text messages though the standard supports other types of broadcast messaging as well. Message size Transmission of short messages between the SMSC and the handset is done whenever using the Mobile Application Part (MAP) of the SS7 protocol. Messages are sent with the MAP MO- and MT-Forwards operations, whose payload length is limited by the constraints of the signalling protocol to precisely 140 octets (140 octets = 140 * 8 bits = 1120 bits). Short messages can be encoded using a variety of alphabets: the default GSM 7-bit alphabet, the 8-bit data alphabet, and the 16-bit UCS-2 alphabet. Depending on which alphabet the subscriber has configured in the handset, this leads to the maximum individual short message sizes of 160 7-bit characters, 140 8-bit characters, or 70 16-bit characters. GSM 7bit alphabet support is mandatory for GSM handsets and network elements, but characters in languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Cyrillic alphabet languages (e.g.
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Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, etc.) must be encoded using the 16-bit UCS-2 character encoding (see Unicode). Routing data and other metadata is additional to the payload size. Larger content (concatenated SMS, multipart or segmented SMS, or "long SMS") can be sent using multiple messages, in which case each message will start with a user data header (UDH) containing segmentation information. Since UDH is part of the payload, the number of available characters per segment is lower: 153 for 7-bit encoding, 134 for 8-bit encoding and 67 for 16-bit encoding. The receiving handset is then responsible for reassembling the message and presenting it to the user as one long message. While the standard theoretically permits up to 255 segments, 6 to 8 segment messages are the practical maximum, and long messages are often billed as equivalent to multiple SMS messages. Some providers have offered length-oriented pricing schemes for messages; however, the phenomenon is disappearing.

A message display

A simple mobile Keypad alphabet layout

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MULTIMEDIA MESSAGING SERVICES Multimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMS (Short Message Service) capability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160 characters in length. The most popular use is to send photographs from camera-equipped handsets, although it is also popular as a method of delivering news and entertainment content including videos, pictures, text pages and ringtones. The standard is developed by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), although during development it was part of the 3GPP and WAP groups.

Multimedia message on a mobile phone

Challenges There are some interesting challenges with MMS which do not exit s with SMS

Content adaptation: Multimedia content created by one brand of MMS phone may not be entirely compatible with the capabilities of the recipient's MMS phone. In the MMS architecture, the recipient MMSC is responsible for providing for content adaptation (e.g., image resizing, audio codec Transcoding, etc.), if this feature is
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enabled by the mobile network operator. When content adaptation is supported by a network operator, its MMS subscribers enjoy compatibility with a larger network of MMS users than would otherwise be available.

Distribution lists: Current MMS specifications do not include distribution lists nor methods by which large numbers of recipients can be conveniently addressed, particularly by content providers, called Value-added service providers (VASPs) in 3GPP. Since most SMSC vendors have adopted FTP as an ad-hoc method by which large distribution lists are transferred to the SMSC prior to being used in a bulk-messaging SMS submission, it is expected that MMSC vendors will also adopt FTP. Bulk messaging: The flow of peer-to-peer MMS messaging involves several over-the-air transactions that become inefficient when MMS is used to send messages to large numbers of subscribers, as is typically the case for VASPs. For example, when one MMS message is submitted to a very large number of recipients, it is possible to receive a delivery report and read-reply report for each and every recipient. Future MMS specification work is likely to optimize and reduce the transactional overhead for the bulk-messaging case. Handset Configuration: Unlike SMS, MMS requires a number of handset parameters to be set. Poor handset configuration is often blamed as the first point of failure for many users. Service settings are sometimes preconfigured on the handset, but mobile operators are now looking at new device management technologies as a means of delivering the necessary settings for data services (MMS, WAP, etc.) via over-the-air programming (OTA). WAP Push: Few mobile network operators offer direct connectivity to their MMSCs for content providers. This has resulted in many content providers using WAP push as the only method available to deliver 'rich content' to mobile handsets. WAP push enables 'rich content' to be delivered to a handset by specifying the URL (via binary SMS) of a pre-compiled MMS, hosted on a content provider's web server. A consequence is that the receiver who pays WAP per kb or minute (as opposed to a flat monthly fee) pays for receiving the MMS, as opposed to only paying for sending one, and also paying a different rate.

Although the standard does not specify a maximum size for a message, 300 kB is the current recommended size used by networks due to some limitations on the WAP gateway side.

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Handset configuration can cause problem

VIDEO CALLING Video calling comprises the technologies for the reception and transmission of audio-video signals by users at different locations, for communication between people in real-time. At the dawn of the technology, videotelephony also included image phones which would exchange still images between units every few seconds over conventional POTS-type telephone lines, essentially the same as slow scan TV systems. Currently videotelephony usage has made significant inroads in government, healthcare, education and the news media. It is particularly useful to the deaf and speech-impaired who can use them with sign language and also with a video relay service, and well as to those with mobility issues or those who are located in distant places and are in need of telemedical or tele-educational services. It is also used in commercial and corporate settings to facilitate meetings and conferences, typically between parties that already have established relationships. Videotelephony can be categorized by its functionality that is to its intended purpose and also by its method of transmissions. Videophones were the earliest form of videotelephony, dating back to initial tests in 1927 by AT&T. During the late 1930s the post offices of several European governments established public videophone services for person-to-person communications utilizing dual cable circuit telephone transmission technology. In the present day standalone videophones and UMTS video-enabled mobile phones are usually used on a person-to-person basis. Videoconferencing saw its earliest use with AT&T's Picture phone service in the early 1970s. Transmissions were analog over short distances, but converted to digital forms for longer
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calls, again using telephone transmission technology. Popular corporate videoconferencing systems in the present day have migrated almost exclusively to digital ISDN and IP transmission modes due to the need to convey the very large amounts of data generated by their cameras and microphones. These systems are often intended for use in conference mode that is by many people in several different locations, all of whom can be viewed by every participant at each location. Telepresence systems are a newer, more advanced subset of videoconferencing systems, meant to allow higher degrees of video and audio fidelity. Such high end systems are typically deployed in corporate settings. Mobile collaboration systems are another recent development, combining the use of video, audio, and on-screen drawing capabilities using newest generation hand-held electronic devices broadcasting over secure networks, enabling multi-party conferencing in real-time, independent of location. Personal computer based web cameras are an often modest form of videotelephony, usually used for point-to-point videophone calls. Each of the systems has its own advantages and disadvantages, including video quality, capital cost, degrees of sophistication, transmissioncapacity requirements, and cost of use. Categories by cost and quality of service From the least to the most expensive systems:

Web camera videophone and videoconferencing systems that serve as compliments to personal computers, connected to other participants by computer and VoIP networks lowest direct cost assuming the users already possess computers at their respective locations. Quality of service can range from low to very high, including high definition video available on the latest model webcams; Videophones low to midrange cost. The earliest standalone models operated over either plain POTS telephone lines on the PSTN telephone networks or more expensive ISDN lines, while newer models have largely migrated to Internet protocol line service for higher image resolutions and sound quality. Quality of service for standalone videophones can vary from low to high; Videoconferencing systems midrange cost, usually utilizing multipoint control units or other bridging services to allow multiple parties on a videoconference calls. Quality of service can vary from moderate to high; Telepresence systems highest capabilities and highest cost. Full high-end systems can involve especially built teleconference rooms to allow expansive views with very high levels of audio and video fidelity, to permit an 'immersive' videoconference. When the proper type and capacity transmission lines are provided between facilities, the quality of service reaches state-of-the-art levels.
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A modern Avaya Nortel 1535 Ip model broadband videophone

GENERAL PACKET RADIO SERVICE General packet radio service (GPRS) is a packet oriented mobile data service on the 2G and 3G cellular communication system's global system for mobile communications (GSM). GPRS was originally standardized by European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in response to the earlier CDPD and i-mode packet-switched cellular technologies. It is now maintained by the3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). GPRS usage is typically charged based on volume of data. This contrasts with circuit switching data, which is typically billed per minute of connection time, regardless of whether or not the user transfers data during that period. GPRS data is typically supplied either as part of a bundle (e.g., 5 GB per month for a fixed fee) or on a pay-as-you-use basis. Usage above the bundle cap is either charged per megabyte or disallowed. The pay-as-you-use charging is typically per megabyte of traffic. GPRS is a best-effort service, implying variable throughput and latency that depend on the number of other users sharing the service concurrently, as opposed to circuit switching, where a certain quality of service (QOS) is guaranteed during the connection. In 2G systems,
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GPRS provides data rates of 56114 kb/second. 2G cellular technology combined with GPRS is sometimes described as 2.5G, that is, a technology between the second (2G) and third (3G) generations of mobile telephony. It provides moderate-speed data transfer, by using unused time division multiple access (TDMA) channels in, for example, the GSM system. GPRS is integrated into GSM Release 97 and newer releases. GPRS supports the following protocols:

Internet protocol IP. In practice, built-in mobile browsers use IPv4 since IPv6 was not yet popular. Point-to-point protocol (PPP). In this mode PPP is often not supported by the mobile phone operator but if the mobile is used as a modem to the connected computer, PPP is used to tunnel IP to the phone. This allows an IP address to be assigned dynamically (IPCP not DHCP) to the mobile equipment. X.25 connections. This is typically used for applications like wireless payment terminals, although it has been removed from the standard. X.25 can still be supported over PPP, or even over IP, but doing this requires either a network based router to perform encapsulation or intelligence built in to the end-device/terminal; e.g., user equipment (UE).

When TCP/IP is used, each phone can have one or more IP addresses allocated. GPRS will store and forward the IP packets to the phone even during handover. The TCP handles any packet loss (e.g. due to a radio noise induced pause).

A 3G/GPRS modem
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BROAD-BAND
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device (and the broader the band, the greater the capacity for traffic). Prior to the invention of home broadband, dial-up internet was the only means by which one could download songs, movies, e-mails, etc. It would take up to 10-30 minutes to download one song (3.5MB) and over 28 hours to download a movie (700MB). Dial-up internet was also extremely inconvenient since it took up the use of the home telephone line, and homes would have to decide if paying for a second telephone line was worth its cost. The cable modem was the first broadband option available, but due to the small amount of cable Internet subscribers for the first year in 1997, broadband didnt take off until 2001. Having home broadband made downloading times 10X faster than dial-up. Unfortunately, like many new technologies, most consumers were unable to afford such a luxury of fast internet. Price barriers werent a factor for long, and by 2004 the average American households considered home broadband to be affordable. Since its creation, broadband has continually strengthened and available speeds have become faster and faster. Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times. Its origin is in physics, acoustics and radio systems engineering, where it had been used with a meaning similar to wideband. However, the term became popularized through the 1990s as a vague marketing term for Internet access. BSNL then known as the Department of Telecommunications had been a near monopoly during the socialist period of the Indian economy. During this period, BSNL was the only telecom service provider in the country. MTNL was present only in Mumbai and New Delhi. During this period BSNL operated as a typical state-run organization, inefficient, slow, bureaucratic, and heavily unionised. As a result subscribers had to wait for as long as five years to get a telephone connection. The corporation tasted competition for the first time after the liberalisation of Indian economy in 1991. Faced with stiff competition from the private telecom service providers, BSNL has subsequently tried to increase efficiencies itself. DoT veterans, however, put the onus for the sorry state of affairs on the Government policies, where in all state-owned service providers were required to function as mediums for achieving egalitarian growth across all segments of the society. The corporation (then DoT), however, failed to achieve this and India languished among the most poorly connected countries in the world. BSNL was born in 2000 after the corporatisation of DoT. The corporatisation of BSNL was undertaken by an external international consulting team consisting of a consortium of A.F.Ferguson & Co, JB Dadachanji and NM Rothschild - and was probably the most complex corporatisation exercise of its kind ever attempted anywhere
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because of the quantum of assets (said to be worth USD 50 Billion in terms of breakup value) and over half a million directly and indirectly employed staff. Satish Mehta, who led the team later confessed that one big mistake made by the consortium was to recommend the continuation of the state and circle based geographical units which may have killed the synergies across regions and may have actually made the organisation less efficient than had it been a seamless national organisation. Vinod Vaish, then Chairman of the Telecom Commission made a very bold decision to promote younger talent from within the organisation to take up a leadership role and promoted the older leaders to a role in licensing rather than in managing the operations of BSNL. The efficiency of the company has since improved, however, the performance level is nowhere near the private players. The corporation remains heavily unionised and is comparatively slow in decision making and its implementation, which largely acts at the instances of unions without bothering about outcome. Management has been reactive to the schemes of private telecom players. Though it offers services at lowest tariffs, the private players continue to notch up better numbers in all areas, years after year. BSNL has been providing connections in both urban and rural areas. Pre-activated Mobile connections are available at many places across India. BSNL has also unveiled cost-effective broadband internet access plans (DataOne) targeted at homes and small businesses. At present BSNL enjoy's around 60% of market share of ISP services.

Year of Broadband 2007 2007 was declared as "Year of Broadband" in India and BSNL announced plans for providing 5 million broadband connectivity by the end of 2007. BSNL upgraded Dataone connections for a speed of up to 2 Mbit/s without any extra cost. This 2 Mbit/s broadband service was provided by BSNL at a cost of just US$ 11.7 per month (as of 21 July 2008 and at a limit of 2.5GB monthly limit with 0200-0800 hrs as no charge period). Further, BSNL is rolling out new broadband services such as triple play. BSNL planned to increase its customer base to 108 million customers by 2010. With the frantic activity in the communication sector in India,the target appears achievable. BSNL is a pioneer of rural telephony in India. BSNL has recently bagged 80% of US$ 580 m (INR 2,500 crores) Rural Telephony project of Government of India. On 20 March 2009 BSNL advertised the launch of BlackBerry services across its Telecom circles in India. The corporation has also launched 3G services in select cities across the country. Presently, BSNL and MTNL are the only players to provide 3G services, as the Government of India has completed auction of 3G services for private players. BSNL shall get 3G bandwidth at lowest bidder prices of Rs 18,500 crore, which includes Rs 10,186 crore for 3G and Rs 8313crore for BWA.[

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As of December 2011, many other private operators have started rolling out their 3rd Generation(aka 3G) services alongside and are enjoying some success in their campaigns to get market share. While BSNL still maintains it's connectivity standard and expands to many more areas including rural areas with their 3G services. Also the network infrastructure has been upgraded from to provide 3.6 Mbit/s to 7.2 MBits/sec. It is enjoying a slow but somewhat steady success in gaining market share in this regard. The introduction of MNP(Mobile Number Portability) which is an service that lets the consumer change wireless service providers while retaining their actual mobile number, BSNL has seen many customers opting for this service to move away from the services to other operators. Despite this as the Indian Wireless market grows BSNL still has a loyal base of subscribers and many more subscribers being added to it every day. CHALLANGES During the financial year 2008-2009 (from April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009) BSNL has added 8.1 million new customers in various telephone services taking its customer base to 75.9 million. BSNL's nearest competitor Bharti Airtel is standing at a customer base of 62.3 million. However, despite impressive growth shown by BSNL in recent times, the Fixed line customer base of BSNL is declining. In order to woo back its fixed-line customers BSNL has brought down long distance calling rate under OneIndia plan, however, the success of the scheme is not known. However, BSNL faces bleak fiscal 2009-2010 as users flee. Presently there is an intense competition in Indian Telecom sector and various Telcos are rolling out attractive schemes and are providing good customer services. But situation as on 2012 BSNL will be third largest operator(Service) and No 1 access operator among country. As Trai Report 2011-12 BSNL became most trustworthy brand due to its loyalty towards customers and its rule. Access Deficit Charges (ADC, a levy being paid by the private operators to BSNL for provide service in non-lucrative areas especially rural areas) has been slashed by 20% by TRAI, w.e.f. April 1, 2009. The reduction in ADC may hit the bottomlines of BSNL. BSNL has started 3G services in 290 cities and acquired more than 6 Lakh customers. It has planned to roll out 3G services in 760 cities across the country in 2010-11. according to users and big sources BSNL's 3G data speed is much higher than other operator and also it is competitively cheap. Broadband services : The shift in demand from voice to data has revolutionized the very nature of the network. BSNL is poised to cash on this opportunity and has planned for extensive expansion of the Broadband services. The Broadband customer base of 3.56 Million customer in March'2009 is planned to be increased to 16.00 million by March 2014. On 13 June 2012, BSNL employees participated called off an earlier planned nationwide strike against discriminatory policies of BSNL management upon promise by Management to resolve the Demands of the protesting unions.
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BSNL - MTNL Merger Plans On February 23, 2011, The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said it wanted to revive a proposal for the merger of state-owned operators BSNL and MTNL. In its draft plan, the department while showing concern over the deteriorating performance of BSNL and MTNL said that BSNL and MTNL should be merged as they have complimentary operations and can combine their strengths for synergies. DoT said the government should set up a multi-stakeholder committee to develop a restructuring plan for both firms. The committee should have members from public enterprises, the DoT, department of IT and ministry of finance. However the BSNL's staff unions are opposing this merger tooth and nail realising that MTNL is in dire state and need help of its big brother, BSNL, to alleviate itself from getting into red balance sheet. MTNL in spite of having its operations in two big metro cities viz. New Delhi & Mumbai is realising cascading fall in revenue and profits for the past 10 successive years. The telecommunication operators should focus on enterprise business, services to government and the public sector, value-added services and technologies like 3G, the department recommends. 3G
While it did not participate in the 3G auction, BSNL paid the Indian government Rs. 10,187 crores for 3G spectrum in all 20 circles it operates in. State-owned MTNL provides 3G services in the other 2 circles - Delhi and Mumbai. Both these state-owned operators were given a head start by the government in the 3G space by allotting the required 3G spectrum, on the condition that each will have to pay an amount which will be equivalent to the highest bid in the respective service areas as and when the 3G auctions take place. BSNL recently launched a 3G wireless pocket router named Wink net Mf50 for 5800/- Indian rupees. It was released in collaboration with another telecom service provider Shyam networks. Wink net Mf50 enables you to connect multiple devices to the internet using a single sim card.

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3G COVERAGES BSNL has the largest 3G network in India. Additionally, BSNL 3G services usually cover not only the main town/city but also the adjoining suburbs and rural areas as well. As of now BSNL has 3G services in 826 cities across India. The following is a list of BSNL 3G enabled towns/cities. This list covers only BSNL 3G services provided through HSDPA/HSUPA and HSPA+ for GSM subscribers and not EVDO for CDMA subscribers.

Insat on a communication broadcast

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