GSM BASIC CONCEPT

GSM Identifiers

GSM Identifiers
IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identifier.
The IMEI is an internationally-unique serial number allocated to the MS hardware at the
time of manufacture. It is registered by the network operator and (optionally) stored in
the AuC for validation purposes.
IMSI International Mobile Subscriber Identifier
When a subscriber registers with a network operator, a unique subscriber IMSI identifier
is issued and stored in the SIM of the MS. An MS can only function fully if it is operated
with a valid SIM inserted into an
TMSI Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity
A TMSI is used to protect the true identity (IMSI) of a subscriber. It is issued by and
stored within a VLR (not in the HLR) when an IMSI attach takes place or a Location
Area (LA) update takes place. At the MS it is stored in the MSs SIM. The issued TMSI
only has validity within a specific LA.
MSISDN Mobile Subscriber ISDN number (Integrated Services Digital Number)
The MSISDN represents the true or dialled number associated with the subscriber. It
is assigned to the subscriber by the network operator at registration and is stored in the
SIM. It is possible for an MS to hold multiple MSISDNs, each associated with a
different service.
MSRN Mobile Station Roaming Number
The MSRN is a temporary, location-dependant ISDN number issued by the parent VLR
to all MSs within its area of responsibility. It is stored in the VLR and associated HLR
but not in the MS. The MSRN is used by the VLR-associated MSC for call routing
within the MSC/VLR service area.
LAI Location Area Identity
Each Location Area within the PLMN has an associated internationally-unique identifier
(LAI). The LAI is broadcast regularly by BTSs on the Broadcast Control Channel
(BCCH), thus uniquely identifying each cell with an associated LA. The purpose of LAs
is covered later in this course

CI Cell Identifier
The CI an identifier assigned to each cell within a network. However, the CI is only
unique within a specific Location Area. When combined with the internationally unique
LAI for its associated LA, the Global Cell Identity (GCI) is produced which is also
internationally unique.
BSIC Base Station Identity Code
Each BTS is issued with a unique identity, the BSIC and is used to distinguish
neighbouring BTSs.
GSM Interfaces

Interface
between the
MSC and
Base Station
System (Ainterface)
The interface
between the
MSC and its
BSS is specified in the 08-series of GSM Technical Specifications. The BSS-MSC
interface is used to carry information concerning:

BSS management;

call handling;

mobility management.
A-BIS INTERFACE (BSC - BTS)
When the BSS consists of a Base Station Controller (BSC) and one or more Base
Transceiver Stations (BTS), this interface is used between the BSC and BTS to support
the services offered to the GSM users and subscribers. The interface also allows control
of the radio equipment and radio frequency allocation in the BTS.
This interface is specified in the 08.5x-series of GSM Technical Specifications.
B INTERFACE (MSC - VLR)

The VLR is the location and management data base for the mobile subscribers roaming in
the area controlled by the associated MSC(s). Whenever the MSC needs data related to a
given mobile station currently located in its area, it interrogates the VLR. When a mobile
station initiates a location updating procedure with an MSC, the MSC informs its VLR
which stores the relevant information. This procedure occurs whenever an MS roams to
another location area. Also, when a subscriber activates a specific supplementary service
or modifies some data attached to a service, the MSC informs (via the VLR) the HLR
which stores these modifications and updates the VLR if required.
C INTERFACE (HLR and the MSC)
The Gateway MSC must interrogate the HLR of the required subscriber to obtain routing
information for a call or a short message directed to that subscriber.
D INTERFACE (HLR - VLR)
This interface is used to exchange the data related to the location of the mobile station
and to the management of the subscriber. The main service provided to the mobile
subscriber is the capability to set up or to receive calls within the whole service area. To
support this, the location registers have to exchange data. The VLR informs the HLR of
the location of a mobile station managed by the latter and provides it (either at location
updating or at call set-up) with the roaming number of that station. The HLR sends to the
VLR all the data needed to support the service to the mobile subscriber. The HLR then
instructs the previous VLR to cancel the location registration of this subscriber.
Exchanges of data may occur when the mobile subscriber requires a particular service,
when he wants to change some data attached to his subscription or when some parameters
of the subscription are modified by administrative means.
E INTERFACE (MSC MSC)
When a mobile station moves from one MSC area to another during a call, a handover
procedure has to be performed in order to continue the communication. For that purpose
the MSCs have to exchange data to initiate and then to realize the operation. After the
handover operation has been completed, the MSCs will exchange information to transfer
A-interface signalling as necessary. When a short message is to be transferred between a
Mobile Station and Short Message Service Centre (SC), in either direction, this interface

is used to transfer the message between the MSC serving the Mobile Station and the
MSC which acts as the interface to the SC.

F INTERFACE (MSC and EIR)

This interface is used between MSC and EIR to exchange data, in order that the EIR can
verify the status of the IMEI retrieved from the Mobile Station.
G INTERFACE (VLR VLR)
When a mobile subscriber moves from a VLR area to another Location Registration
procedure will happen. This procedure may include the retrieval of the IMSI and
authentication parameters from the old VLR.
H INTERFACE (HLR - AuC)
When an HLR receives a request for authentication and ciphering data for a Mobile
Subscriber and it does not hold the requested data, the HLR requests the data from the
AuC. The protocol used to transfer the data over this interface is not standardized.
Um INTERFACE (MS- BTS)
The interface between the MS and the BSS is specified in the 04- and 05-series of GSM
Technical Specifications.

Drive testing:
Steps for DT-1

Physical Verification
Physical Verification is carried out by verifying physical parameter of the New Site with
the TSSR (Technical Site Survey Report) such as
Address, Lat, Long, Building Height, Antenna Height, Antenna Type, Orientation, Tilt.
Alarm Verification
Alarms are generated mainly due to number of reasons, and these needs to checked
before Drive is being carried out for the Site. Alarms are checked from the NOC

(Network Operating Centre) and if found needs to be verified before drive being carried
out.
Frequency Plan Verification
Frequency Plan can be verified from the NOC (Network Operating Centre) for BCCH
and TCH frequencies being implemented as per the Site Integration Sheet sent to NOC
(Network Operating Centre).
Hardware Configuration Verification
Hardware verification is performed to know the Site type, BTS Type, TRX
Configuration, VSWR checking , Power measurement for each TRX.
Steps for DT-2

Following is the procedure and parameters that need to checked while performing Drive
Test for a New Site.
CPC (Cell Parameter Check)
MOC (Mobile Originated Calls)
MTC (Mobile Terminated Calls Prepaid to Postpaid)
SMS (Short Messaging Service)
GPRS
Intra Site Handover
Inter Site Handover
TRX Test
Idle Drive (Normal Drive & Frequency Lock Drive)
Dedicated Drive
Steps for DT-3

CPC (Cell Parameter Check)

Given are the parameters that need to be checked while performing CPC.
CGI (Cell Global Identity) consists if MCC+NCC+LAC+CI
BCCH Frequency
BSIC
GSM Band

nDefinitions:
1.Time: It is system
time of computer.
2.Cell name: It
displays the name of
the sector which is
serving according to
the cellfile that is
loaded in TEMS.

3.CGI : It stands for the Cell Global Identity which is unique for every sector of the site.
It consists of MCC,MNC,LAC,CI.
MCC: Mobile Country Code 0 999 MNC: Mobile Network Code 0 99 LAC :
Location Area Code 0 -65535 CI: Cell Identity 0 65535

Cell GPRS Support: Tells sector is having GPRS or not. Values are Yes or No .
Band : It tells in which Freq. Band mobile is operating e.g. GSM 900/ 1800.
BCCH ARFCN: It tells by which BCCH is the mobile station getting served.
TCH ARFCN: On which Traffic Freq. call is going on.
BSIC (Base Station Identity Code) : It is combination of Network Color Code
(NCC) (0 7) & Base Station Color Code (BCC) (0 7). e.g. 62. It is decoded by
mobile on every Sync. Channel Message.
Mode: It is shows in which state is mobile operating, Idle, Dedicated & Packet.
Time slot: On which time slot of current TCH call is going on. Viz. time slot no.
of TRX.
Channel Type: Type of channel mobile is getting now. Like BCCH / SDCCH/8 +
SACCH/C8 or CBCH / TCH/F +FACCH/F +SACCH/F.
Channel Mode : Shows mode of coding like Speech Full Rate of Half Rate.
Speech Codec: It shows FR for Full Rate, HR for Half Rate & EFR for Enhanced
Full Rate.
Ciphering Algorithm : It shows ciphering algorithm used by the system to protect
data for privacy. E.g. Cipher by A5/2.
Sub Channel Number: It is displayed at a time when mobile is on dedicated mode
at time of call setup when it is getting SDCCH at that time it shows which
SDCCH it is getting out of 8 available. E.g. 2.
Hopping Channel : It shows that current sector is having hopping feature or not.
Values are Yes or No.
Hopping Frequencies : It displays no. of freq. on which mobile is allowed to hop.
viz. MA List for hopping of that sector.
Mobile Allocation Index Offset (MAIO): It is the number which tells from which
freq. from given MA list for sector hopping has to be started. E.g. 0 means sector
will start from first freq. to hop.
Hopping Sequence Number (HSN) : Indicates sequence in which frequencies are
allowed to hop from the MA List. 0- 63. 0 for Cyclic Hopping, 1 63 random
hopping sequences.

Steps for DT-4

MOC and MTC

Given are parameter need to be checked while performing MOC and MTC
RX Level (-47 dbm to -110dbm)
RX Quality (0 to 7)
SQI (20 to 30)

DTX
HSN (Hopping Sequence Number) (0 to 63)
MAIO
Hopping Frequency
C/ I Ratio (>15 dbm)
C/ A Ratio (>12 dbm)

Definition of Radio
Parameters:

RxLev :
Receiving
level in
terms of
dBm that mobile is receiving from the site. Range of -30 dBm to -110dBm.
RxQual : Quality of voice which is measured on basis of BER. Range of RxQual
0 -7.
FER : Frame Erasure Rate it represents the percentage of frames being dropped
due to high number of non-corrected bit errors in the frame. It is indication of
voice quality in network.
BER Actual : Ratio of the number of bit errors to the total number of bits
transmitted in a given time interval. BER is a measure for the voice quality in
network.. Depending on BER RxQual is measured. E,g, BER 0 to 0.2 %
corresponds to RxQual 0. Max. BER countable and useful is up to 12.8 % which
corresponds to RxQual of max. 7.
SQI : SQI is a more sophisticated measure which is dedicated to reflecting the
quality of the speech (as opposed to radio environment conditions). This means
that when optimizing the speech quality in your network, SQI is the best criterion
to use. SQI is updated at 0.5 s intervals. It is computed on basis of BER and FER.
For EFR 30, FR 21 & HR 17 are respectively ideal values.
C/I : The carrier-over-interference ratio is the ratio between the signal strength of
the current serving cell and the signal strength of undesired (interfering) signal
components. It should be atleast > 9 .
MS Power Control Level : Displays range of power control from 0 to 8 depending
upon network design. E.g. 0 means no power control and 1 means level that is
defined by operator viz. 2 dBm less acc. To airtel.

DTX : Discontinuous transmission (DTX) is a mechanism allowing the radio

transmitter to be switched off during speech pauses. This feature reduces the
power consumption of the transmitter, which is important for MSs, and decreases
the overall interference level on the radio channels affecting the capacity of the
network..

TA : Value that the base station calculates from access bursts and sends to the
mobile station (MS) enabling the MS to advance the timing of its transmissions to
the BS so as to compensate for propagation delay. Value of 0 means MS in radius
of 550mt. From BS.
RL Timeout Counter (Cur) : This parameter define the maximum value of the
radio link counter expressed in SACCH blocks. Range of 4 64 in step size of 4.
it shows current value of RLT. Decrease by 1 but increase by 2. When it reaches
zero it results in normal DROP Call.
RL Timeout Counter (MAX) : This parameter define the maximum value of the
radio link counter expressed in SACCH blocks. Range of 4 64 in step size of 4.
it shows current value of RLT. Normally 16, 20, 24.
MS Behavior Modified : This window shows current settings for the mobile
station, for instance whether handover is disabled or multiband reporting enabled.

Steps for DT-5

GPRS (General Packet Radio System)

This is performed to check whether GPRS is working on the Site. This is done
by browsing a web page in browser of the phone. For GPRS to be checked it is
necessary to see that the handset is WAP, GPRS enabled.

Steps for DT-6

TRX Test
TRX Test is done to
check whether calls
originated are being
handled by all the
TRXs. Call made
during the process is
tracked by the MAIO
number displayed on
the screen for all the
TRXs.
e.g. for Site of
configuration 6 TRX
per sector the MAIO values for TRX test shall be 0,1,2,3,4. Call can be originated on the
BCCH or the TCH frequencies. Hence MAIO values will be reflected only for calls on
TCH frequency and not on BCCH frequency.


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Steps for DT-6

Intra Site Handover

Intra Handover is performed to check whether handover is taking place both ways
on the Site.
Handover is performed among all the Sectors of the Site.
Inter Site Handover
Inter Handover is performed to check whether handover is taking place both ways
on the Site with its adjacent neighbor. Handover needs to checked mandatorarily
for primary neighbor.
Handover is performed with all the defined neighbor's in the integration sheet.

Steps for DT-7

Idle Drive is
performed in two
fashion

Normal Drive
Frequency Lock Drive

Normal Drive
This is done to frame the potential area of the new site planned. It also helps us to
get to know the important neighboring sites for which the handover has to take place.
Frequency Lock Drive

This is done by locking the BCCH frequency of the serving cell and performing the
drive for the same cell unless the mobile enters into No Service Mode. This is useful for making decision related to GSM antenna height, tilt, and orientation.
Dedicated Drive
Dedicated drive is an important part of Drive Test. Here call is made to a test number and
drive is done for the potential areas of the Site. During drive being carried out one has
constantly monitor parameters such as RX Level, RX Quality, SQI, DTX, C/I Ratio,
Hopping Channel, Neighbor list, TA (Timing Advance).
Constant changes in these parameter are helpful for post Optimization of the site.
Steps for DT
For My Junior RF Engineer brothers
Steps followed to perform Drive Test

Physical Verification
Alarm Checking
Frequency Plan Verification
Hardware Configuration Verification