Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Document History
1 GSM Standardization 7
A story of continued improvement 8
Early Days 9
Going Digital 10
Standardization was a key driver for success 12
2 GSM Services 13
Teleservices and Bearer Services 14
Teleservices 15
Supplementary Services 16
Value Added Services 17
3 GSM/EGPRS Network Architecture 18
GSM/EGPRS Network Architecture (R'99) 19
GSM/EGPRS Network Architecture (NGN) 20
GSM/EGPRS Network Architecture (with BSS Native IP) 21
Base Station (BTS) 22
Base Station Controller (BSC) 23
Transcoder (TRAU) 26
Packet Control Unit (PCU) 27
Network Subsystem (NSS) 28
GPRS Sub System (GSS) 29
Mobile Station (MS) 30
Operations and Maintenance 31
4 Air Interface 32
Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) 33
Frequency Bands 34
Frequency Reuse 35
Radio Physical & Logical Channels 36
Cellular Environment 38
5 Basic Procedures 39
Identification Numbers 40
Location Area 41
Location Updating 42
Idle Mode VS Dedicated Mode 43
Call Originating Procedure 44
GSM Signaling Protocol Stack 46
Handover 47
Power Control 48
Dual Transfer Mode 49
6 E-GPRS 50
Principles 51
Enhancements on the Air Interface 52
Types of MS 53
Main Procedures 54
Exercise 55
7 Interworking with 3G, LTE and GAN 56
Continuity of Service 57
Handover & Reselection (2G-3G) 58
Handover & Reselection (2G-LTE & 2G-GAN) 59
8 Evolution from 2G to 3G 60
Parallel Evolutions Thanks to 3GPP 61
9 Exercises 62
Location Update 63
Fault Detection 64
GSM Architecture with NGN 65
End of Module 66
Internet Sites
http://www.3GPP.org/
http://www.3GIP.org/
http://www.umts-forum.org/
http://www.etsi.org/
The Bearer Services are telecommunication services that guarantee the transmission of signals between
access points in telecommunication networks. They are used exclusively for transport and define the
services a network can offer, for example data transmission between a corporate network and a mobile
notebook, or data download from the web.
Supplementary services are provided on top of teleservices or bearer services, they include features such
as caller identification, call forwarding, call waiting, multiparty conversations, and barring of outgoing
(international) calls, among others.
The SMS Teleservice was originally defined to utilise some spare signalling capacity in GSM. However, it
soon became apparent that SMS would become a key service in differentiating GSM from any other
cellular service. SMS is effectively an international paging service, overlaid on top of the GSM network,
with the capability to send, as well as receive, messages.
SMS is a bidirectional service for sending short alphanumeric (up to 160 bytes) messages in a store and
forward fashion. For point to point SMS, a message can be sent to another subscriber to the service,
and an acknowledgement of receipt is provided to the sender. SMS can also be used in a cell broadcast
mode, for sending messages such as traffic updates or news updates. Messages can be stored in the SIM
card for later retrieval.
MMS MMS allows the transmission of messages containing test, voice and images to be sent to a subscriber.
The MMS center interfaces with other network services such as paging, message handling and voice
messaging.
Cell Broadcast Cell broadcast is a short message service which allows short messages to be sent to all
phones in a geographical area.
BTS mostly translates the "digital" speech frames into "analog" radio blocks, and vice-versa. It also measures
the quality of the radio signal received from each mobile.
Overall, The BTS performs the following functions under the control of the BSC:
Transmit and receive functions
Antenna diversity
Frequency hopping
Radio channel measurements
Radio frequency testing.
Overall, The Transcoder provides the onversion between G.711 codec (used in core networks) and the radio
codec (EFR, FR, HR, AMR)
The Transcoder is normally located next to the MSC.
VLR Function:
Similar to HLR but for subscribers located in a given geographical area
VLR includes also
More precise localization information
Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) allocation
VLR and MSC are often co-located
Q3 interface:
The ability to transfer management information across the Telecommunication Management Network
environment is defined by a protocol suite, the Q Interfaces.
FCCH: used on the downlink for frequency correction of the mobile station with the BTS
SCH: used on the downlink for frame synchronization of the mobile station with the BTS
BCCH: used to broadcast system information to the mobile stations on the downlink, to give the cell configuration, and
how to access the cell.
CCCH : The CCCH communicates with mobile stations in the cell before a dedicated signaling channel is established.
Three channels use the CCCH timeslot:
RACH: used on the uplink by the mobile station for initial access to the network
PCH: used on the downlink for paging messages to the mobile station
AGCH: used on the downlink to give the mobile station access information before a dedicated channel is assigned.
When the mobile is switched on in an LA different from the LA stored in the SIM.
When the pre-synchronized mobile moves from one LA to another (same or different VLR).
IMSI ATTACH:
When the Mobile Station is switched on in the same LA where it was previously switched off, the location
updating procedure is called IMSI-attach. As an option, an IMSI-detach procedure may be used: the
Mobile Station sends a message to the network when it is switched off (during the small period when the
battery is still in use).
The DEDICATED state has to be established as soon as the MS wants to access the network for different
reasons: Call establishment, Location updating procedure, etc.
When this transaction has been achieved, the MS comes back into the IDLE state.
ISUP is the ISDN User Part of SS7. ISUP defines the protocol and procedures used to setup, manage and
release trunk circuits that carry voice and data calls over the public switched telephone network.
ISUP is used for both ISDN and non-ISDN calls. Calls that originate and terminate at the same switch do not
use ISUP signalling.
If the BSS decides that a handover is required, the exact sequence of events depends
on the type of handover to be performed. In all cases:
A new channel is assigned, ready to support the call
The mobile station moves over to the new channel
On successful completion of the handover, the system clears the resources for the
old channel.
The algorithms shall ensure that any mobile is connected with the cell in which the
output powers from the MS and the BS are as low as possible while keeping a
satisfactory link quality.