he GSM technology, channel.
GPRS is expected to provide The SGSN can be viewed as a pack-
i.e., the global system
for mobile communi-
cation, has been a
very stable and wide-
ly accepted standard
T for mobile communi-
cation. A second
generation technolo-
gy, it has tried to
inherently support
other technologies at
its branches. GSM
provides mobile
phone communication
services based on digital data inter-
change at up to 9.6 kbps, in addition to
audio communication. Each GSM carri-
er band is 200 KHz wide, and can sup-
port eight, simultaneous, full rate-circuit
voice users using eight time division
multiple access (TDMA) bearer slots.
However, there are drawbacks to the
current GSM:
1) The GSM is a circuit-switched,
connection-oriented technology, where
the end systems are dedicated for the
entire call session. This causes inaccu-
racy in usage of bandwidth and
resources.
2) The GSM-enabled systems do not
support high data rates. They are unable
to handle complex data such as audio,
video, etc.
3) These devices have small hard-
ware configurations with less powerful
CPUs, memory and display units, and
support simple functionality.
4) Only basic messaging service such
as SMS can be supported. Also these
services depend upon the service
provider and the network characteristics.
5) The GSM networks are incompat-
ible with the current TCP/IP and other
common networks because of differ-
ences in network hardware, software
and protocols.
GSM is a European standard for cel-
lular communications developed by
European Telecommunications
Standards Institute (ETSI). General
packet radio service (GPRS) is a set of
new GSM-bearer services that provide
packet mode transmission within the
GSM network, and interworks with
external packet data networks. GPRS is
an intermediate, 2.5 generation, wire-
less communication system.
This digital mobile communication
service will allow mobile devices to be
connected via internet protocol (IP)
addresses. It will allow digital transmis-
sions at speeds of up to 115 kbps per
12
cost effective and efficient use of net-
work resources for packet mode data
applications.
Also, one salient and important fea-
ture of GPRS is that the handheld
device is always connected to the
Internet. There are no dial-up-connec-
tion formalities to be completed for
data access. The net usage of the facili-
ty will be determined by the amount of
information it deals with. The result is a
very cost-effective system, where the
user is charged on the basis of bulk data
used. GPRS
involves large
bandwidth and
heavy data
transmission.
GPRS sub-
General Packet
scribers will be
able to send and
receive data in
an end-to-end
Radio Service
packet transfer
mode. GPRS is
divided into two (GPRS)
categories:
Point-to-point
(PTP) and Point-
to-multipoint
Azim Samjani
(PTM) services.
Point-to-point services can include data-
base access and information retrieval, the
Internet, messaging services, etc. It
includes the unidirectional data transfer
between two systems.
GPRS network architecture
The GPRS architecture is shown in
Fig. 1. Before going on to the technical
details of the network, many terms need
to be understood and are defined in Box
A. Reviewing them first will help to
understand this acronym-filled section.
The basic, and the most important
change, while deploying GPRS will be
the new terminals. The existing GSM-
compatible devices do not handle
enhanced interfaces, and do not have
the ability to packetize traffic directly.
The BSS consists of BTS and BSC.
When either voice or data traffic is orig-
inated at the subscriber terminal, it is
transported over the air interface to the
BTS, and from the BTS to the BSC, in
the same way as a standard GSM call.
However, at the output of the BSC,the
traffic is separated; voice is sent to the
mobile switching center (MSC) per
standard GSM, and data is sent to a new
device called the SGSN, via the PCU
over a frame relay interface.
0278-6648/02/$17.00 2002 IEEE
et-switched MSC that delivers packets
to mobile stations within its service
area. SGSNs send queries to home
location registers to obtain profile data
of GPRS subscribers. SGSNs detect
new GPRS mobile stations in a given
service area, process registration of new
mobile subscribers, and keep a record
of their location inside a given area.
Therefore, the SGSN performs
mobility management functions such as
mobile subscriber attach/detach and
location management. The SGSN is con-
nected to the base-
station subsystem
via a frame relay
connection to the
PCU in the BSC.
GGSNs are used
as interfaces to
external IP net-
works such as the
public Internet,
other mobile ser-
vice providers
GPRS services, or
enterprise intranets.
GGSNs maintain
routing information
that is necessary to
tunnel the protocol
data units (PDUs) to the SGSNs that
service particular mobile stations. Other
functions include network and sub-
scriber screening and address mapping.
One or more GGSNs may be provided
to support multiple SGSNs.
Network protocol stack
The GPRS protocol stack is shown
in Fig. 2. The GPRS network protocol
stack is a layered structure that enables
and controls data transfer along with
control procedures such as error rectifi-
cation, error correction, data flow con-
trol and so forth. The layers in the stack
are described in Box B.
Mobility management
Since GPRS involves an unwired
system of data transportation, there is a
concept of management of mobile ter-
minals. Here mobile terminals include
any mobile computing device that has
the capability of request and response
of data. More stress is laid on mobile
management, since there needs to be a
reliable and efficient medium and pro-
cedure for data transmission and recep-
tion between two hosts. Otherwise,
there would be incomplete and unstruc-
tured formats of data reception at both
IEEE POTENTIALS
 ends. This would decrease the efficien-
cy of the system, and increase the com-
plexity. Hence, a system is devised
broken down to simpler components to
decrease the complicationsleading to
simpler handling of the various net-
works involved.
Before going onto the workings of
the network, we first define the differ-
ent states, which a subscriber or a
mobile terminal may undergo in a
GPRS network.
IDLE state: In this state, the sub-
scriber is not attached to the GPRS
mobile management. The mobile sta-
tion and SGSN context hold no valid
location or routing information for the
subscriber. None of the mobile man-
agement procedures are performed.
The mobile station performs the
PLMN selection and the GPRS cell
selection and reselection processes.
Data transmissions to and from the
mobile subscriber, as well as the pag-
ing of the subscriber, are not possible.
The GPRS mobile station is seen as
Mobile GSM
Base Station
Station (MS) System (BSS) Network
VLR
BTS
BTS BSC MSC
BTS
Gs
Gb
SGSN Gc
Gn
Gc
GGSN
Gi
PSPDN
(Data
Network)
Fig. 1 GPRS network architecture
unreachable in this case. To establish
mobile management contexts in the
mobile station and the SGSN, the
mobile station shall perform the GPRS
attach procedure. The attach procedure
informs the SGSN about its presence,
thereby updating the databases to
ensure its visibility in the network.
STANDBY state: In STANDBY
state, the subscriber is attached to the
APRIL/MAY 2002
GPRS mobility management. Pages
for data or signaling information
transfers may be received. It is also
possible to receive pages for the CS
services via the SGSN. Data reception
and transmission are not possible in
this state.
Whenever the mobile station per-
forms a GPRS cell selection and rese-
lection, or enters a new routing area
(RA), it is done at the local network
level. The mobile management proce-
dures are executed to inform the
SGSN for a change in the routing
area, and for a change in cells. Hence,
the SGSN contains all the information
of the routing area of the mobile sta-
tion in STANDBY state. For an
SGSN, to initiate a communication
with the mobile station, a paging
request is sent to the mobile station. If
the PPF is cleared, then paging is
done. The mobile station then goes to
the READY state, and the link is
established. A timer is used to keep
track of the time of the attachment
between the mobile station
and SGSN. If the time
expires, the SGSN may per-
form an implicit detach pro-
cedure in order to return the
PSTN subscriber in IDLE state. The
(Voice detach procedure is exactly
Network) the opposite of the attach pro-
cedure. It makes the mobile
station inaccessible to the
network.
READY state: The mobile
station can send and receive
HLR PDP PDUs. In the READY
state, the SGSN also receives
updates from the mobile sta-
tion regarding the change in
routing area and selection
and reselection of cells.
Even if no radio resource
is allocated to the subscriber,
the mobile management con-
text remains in READY
state, even if no data is being
transported. The READY
state is controlled by a timer.
Whenever the timer expires, the
mobile station goes into STANDBY
state. The three states are illustrated in
Fig. 3.
The GPRS specification also
defines the behavior of the mobile sta-
tion in a GPRS network. That is, it
classifies it into three modes of opera-
tion.
In Class A mode, the mobile sta-
tion is attached to both GPRS and
Box A
Definitions and descriptions
SGSN: The serving GPRS support nodes
responsibilities include maintaining the logical
link with the mobile station (MS), forwarding
incoming packets from the MS to the appro-
priate network nodes and vice-versa and
authenticating access to GPRS services. Only
one SGSN serves the MS in its service area.
GGSN: Gateway GPRS support node pro-
vides the interface to external packet data
network (PDN) and forwards packets destined
for the MS to the SGSN that is serving it.
HLR: The home location register is a
database that contains subscribers infor-
mation. The subscribers service profile and
location information are stored.
VLR: The visitor location register is a data-
base that stores temporary information for vis-
iting subscribers.
MSC: The mobile station center is in charge
of the telephony switching functions, and
authenticates access to circuit-switched ser-
vices.
BTS: The base transceiver station handles
radio transmission and reception devices,
including the antennas, and also all the radio
interface signal processing.
BSC: The base station controller manages
the radio resources and controls handover
between cells. Several BTSs can be managed
by one BSC. It contains the packet control
unit (PCU). The PCU directs the data traffic to
the GPRS network, and can be a separate
hardware element associated with the BSC.
BSS: The base station subsystem consists of
the BTS and BSC. It has been adapted to sup-
port the GPRS connectionless packet mode of
operation.
Network interfaces
Um: Interface between the MS and the
GPRS fixed network part. The Um interface is
the GPRS network interface for providing pack-
et data services over the radio to the MS. The
MT part of the MS is used to access the GPRS
services through this interface.
Gb: Frame relay connection between the
SGSN and the PCU within the BSS. This trans-
ports both user data and signaling messages
to and from the SGSN.
Gn: The GPRS backbone network, imple-
mented using IP LAN/WAN technology.
Used to provide virtual connections
between the SGSN and GGSN.
Gi: The point of connection between GPRS
and the external networks, each referenced
by the access point name. This will normally
be implemented using IP/WAN technology.
Gr: Interface between HLR and SGSN that
allows access to customer subscription infor-
mation.
Gs: Optional interface that allows closer
coordination between GSM and GPRS net-
works.
Gc: Optional interface that allows the
GGSN access to customer location informa-
tion.
(Courtesy: ETSI)
13
other GSM services. In this mode, the
mobile station makes routing area
updates, but no combined routing
area/local area (LA) updates during the
CS connection. In cases when the
mobile station changes SGSN, the
SGSN updates HLR and the GGSN,
but not the VLR about the new
SGSN number.
In Class B mode, the mobile sta-
tion is attached to both GPRS and other
GSM services, but the mobile station
can only operate one set of services at a
time. While in Class C mode, the
mobile station is exclusively attached to
GPRS services.
Since the GPRS network involves
communication between mobile hosts,
it integrates itself with different proto-
cols for transmission of data. It mainly
uses the protocol defined for mobile
hosts, i.e., mobile IP (RFC 2002). It
applies all of the principles involved for
packet forwarding from one host to
another. The detail analysis of mobile
IP does not lie in the scope of this dis-
cussion.
Key network features
But apart from the logical and struc-
tural design of the network, some other
important issues do affect the workings
of the network. They are core and very
fundamental features where the user is
unaware of the underlying technology.
The two key network features are:
1) Packet switching: Todays
dialup-connection for the Internet
access on our desktops involves a cir-
cuit switch network, i.e., there is a one-
to-one connection between the two
hosts. There is a channel dedicated for
this correspondence. So is the GSM net-
work. This leads to inefficiency and
improper use of available resources.
The user may not continuously access
information from the other end. But the
connection is dedicated. So when all of
the connections are used up, it may lead
to network congestion.
But as the name GPRS suggests, it is
a packet service. The data is broken into
small packets at the transmitter end and
again assembled at the receiver end.
Such networks do not require explicit
connection at both ends, but transmit
data as per user requirements. The only
change is to upgrade the software at the
network level.
2) Spectrum efficiency: GPRS uses
the radio resources for allocation of
channels to the user. We know that
GPRS is not a circuit-switched oriented
14
network. Hence, it
involves more efficient Application
usage of the available IP/X.25 IP/X.25
bandwidth. For a par- Relay
SNDCP GTP
ticular available band- Relay GTP
width, the channels can LLC Relay
UDP/ UDP/
be used efficiently, Relay TCP TCP
RLC Relay
since a user may not RLC BSSGP IP IP
permanently be using a MAC MAC Network Network L2 L2
Service Service
channel. So this dis-
GSM RF GSM RF L1bis L1bis L1 L1
tributes the user, and,
hence, makes the best Um Gb Gn Gi
optimum use of the MS BSS SGSN GGSN
network system. When
Fig. 2 GPRS network protocol stack (Courtesy: ETSI)
a mobile station is in
IDLE state, its channel can be used by mation, but this charging information
some other mobile station. This avoids needs to be processed.
network overload, and simplifies any (The incumbent billing systems
errors that may occur due to network often cannot handle realtime call detail
congestion. record flows. Thus, an intermediate
charging platform is a good idea. It can
Figuring the customers bill collect the charging information from
With GPRS, the service providers the GPRS nodes and prepare it for sub-
need a system to charge its customers mission to the billing system.)
for the service. GPRS is a packet Packet counts are passed to a charg-
switching network, which is laid on the ing gateway that generates call detail
existing circuit-based network. The records. These records are sent to the
GPRS specifications stipulate the mini- billing system. Hence, we come to a
mum charging information that must be point where the system is dependent
collected in the Stage 1 service descrip- upon the service provider to charge its
tion. These include destination and customers. But as the technology is
source address, usage of radio interface, deployed, there will be a standard adopt-
usage of external PDN, usage of PDP ed by all service providers. Until then, it
address, usage of general GPRS is sensible not to comment on any of the
resources and location of mobile station. policies until one becomes widely used.
Current technology charges cus-
tomers on the amount of time the ser- GPRS Detach PDU transmission
vice is used. For any Internet access, the
billing system takes into account how
long the network was accessed. It may IDLE READY STANDBY
be a dialupconnection, an ISDN line
or an ADSL.
But the system devised for GPRS is GPRS Attach Ready timer expires
somewhat different. We know that Or
GPRS is a packet-based service. Hence, Force to STANDBY
the new system believes in counting the MM State Model of MS
packets delivered to the end user, since
the entire block of data transmitted is
broken into small packets. But this Implicit Detach or Cancel Location
again complicates the rules, since there
GPRS Detach or PDU
are different types of data being trans- Cancel Location Reception
mitted like text, images, voice, video
and such. Also, the peak hours of the
network need to be taken into account. IDLE READY STANDBY
What is the price of images and video?
Is it the same for simple text?
Technically, the system for billing GPRS Attach Ready timer expires Or
can lie between the SGSN and the Force to STANDBY
Or
GGSN, where the actual packets are Abnormal RLC condition
transmitted to the mobile station. GPRS
call records are generated in the GPRS MM State Model of SGSN
service nodes. The GGSN and SGSN
may not be able to store charging infor- Fig. 3 GPRS mobility management
IEEE POTENTIALS
Applications
GPRS has many applications. This
is because GPRS maps all the Internet
content of todays PC onto a mobile
computing device. But there are some
fundamental constraints. The PC has a
larger memory and more processing
power. But in the case of handheld
devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs
or palmtops, there is constraint of mem-
ory and processing power. This would
surely tax the service of the system.
The overall efficiency is not drasti-
Box B
The GPRS network protocol stack
GPRS tunneling protocol (GTP): This
protocol tunnels the data and signaling
between the GPRS support nodes, i.e.,
the SGSN and the GGSN. The GTP
encapsulates all the PDP PDUs.
TCP/UDP layer: The TCP carries pack-
et data in the GPRS backbone network
for protocols that need reliable data link
for, e.g., X.25 protocol. The UDP carries
PDUs that do not need reliable data link,
e.g., IP. The TCP provides flow control
and protection against lost and corrupt-
ed GTP PDUs. UDP provides protection
against corrupted GTP PDUs.
IP: This protocol is used for routeing
user data and control signaling.
Subnetwork dependent conver-
gence protocol (SNDCP): This transmis-
sion functionality maps the network-level
characteristics onto to characteristics of
the underlying network.
Logical link control (LLC): This layer
provides a highly reliable, encrypted log-
ical link. LLC will be independent of the
underlying radio interface protocols in
order to allow introduction of alternative
GPRS radio solutions in the minimum
changes to the NSS.
Relay: This function relays LLC PDUs
between the Um and Gb interfaces. In
the SGSN, this function relays PDP PDUs
between the Gb and Gn interfaces.
Base station system GPRS protocol
(BSSGP): This layer conveys routeing and
QoS-related information between BSS
and SGSN. This protocol does not per-
form error correction.
Network service (NS): The function
carried out is the transportation of BSSGP
PDUs. It is based on a frame relay con-
nection between BSS and SGSN, and
may be multi-hop and traverse a net-
work of frame relay switching nodes.
RLC/MAC: This layer performs two
functions. The radio link control function
controls the access signaling (request
and grant) procedures for the radio
channel, and the mapping of LLC
frames onto the GSM physical channel.
(Courtesy: ETSI)
APRIL/MAY 2002
cally affected, but surely hampered in graph will be a bit slow, but as the tech-
case of very niche and specific applica- nology penetrates, the graph will trans-
tions. But these devices are designed form to an exponential function.
for GPRS services. Hence, they have
the capability to handle bursty data. Read more about it
Their hardware specifications do http://www.gsmworld.com/.
involve the prowess to accept, manipu- http://www.mobilegprs.com/.
late and transmit data. This turn in the http://www.etsi.org/ GSM 3.60.
technological front has undoubtedly http://www.wapforum.org
paved the way for porting the Internet WAP Technical Documents.
utilities to these devices. Thus, we have http://www.3gpp.org
reached the point, where we can have UMTS Specification.
Internet everywhere. http://www.gtl.com/.
The basic services, such as chat, e- http://www.gprscongress.com
mail, news groups and other communi- Market Strategy.
ty services, are the most underlying and Peter Rysavyhttp://www.rysavy.com/
common utilities accessed through Prototyping and Formal Requirement
GPRS services. Many nonvoice appli- Validation of GPRS: A Mobile Data
cations are also mapped. GPRS also Packet Radio Service for GSM By
supports streaming audio and video. Laurent Andriantsiferana, Brahim Ghribi,
This is due to the broad bandwidth Luigi Logrippo. Telecommunications
available and high data transfer rate. Software Engineering Research Group,
GPRS also provides access to School of Information Technology and
remote LAN, so that a user is always Engineering, University Of Ottawa.
connected to its home or office. It sup- {andrian, bghribi, luigi}@csi.uottawa.ca.
ports theglobal positioning system Cisco http://www.cisco.com/.
(GPS) of positioning various objects. Mobility Management in IETF and
With the help of Bluetooth technology, GPRS Specifications: By Samila Luukko,
GPRS will play an important role in Department of Computer Science and
simulating communication between the Engineering, Helsinki University of
various wireless systems. In short, all Technology.
major Internet services and applications GPRSTrillium Digital Systems, Inc.
can be easily overlaid on GPRS- http://www.trillium.com/.
enabled devices. It is up to us to decide
how much we support it. About the author
Azim A. Samjani obtained his
Market impact Bachelor of Engineering in comput-
How about the commercial aspects er science from the Vishwakarma
and the calls for Information Institute of Technology, University
Everywhere? The architecture is ready of Pune in August, 2001. Contact:
for execution. There are still some prob- <azim@computer.org>.
lems of standardization, compatibility
and such, but these problems are com-
Acronyms
mon when new systems are evolving.
Big Telecom companies are taking their BSS Base station subsystem
first big steps, but with a lot of risk. CDR Call detail record
The most common difficulty at the CGF Charging
gateway functionality
consumer level is the availability of
CS Circuit switched
cheap and standardized GPRS-enabled
LA Local area
devices. Every company is manufactur-
RA Router area
ing its own product in the race. MS Mobile station
Problems of incompatibility may arise NSS Network subsystem
at a later stage. This could affect the PDN Packet data network
services by not making them cost effec- PDP Packet data protocol
tive and economical. The initial phase PDU Packet data unit
may lead to chaos, since every service PLMN Public land mobile
provider will have its own billing sys- network
PPF Paging proceed flag
tem and will decide how many GPRS
QoS Quality of service
services will reach the subscriber.
This system will be embraced by (Courtesy: ETSI)
every part of society, since it caters to
all the needs, which are now available
on our desktops. The initial part of the
15