Unit 4 &5

Cellular Communication
2
Wireless communication

• Frequency spectrum is scarce and costly

– Therefore, it has to be allotted only on demand

– It should be re-used wherever possible (Frequency reuse)

– It should be used efficiently (Multiple Access schemes,

Coding techniques, Modulation methods, etc)

– It should resolve the problem of limited radio spectrum

3
• The main objective of cellular concept is to allocate more users in a limited
allocated spectrum.
• A large subscriber capacity

• Efficient use of spectrum resources

• Nationwide coverage

• Adaptability to traffic density

• Instead of one base station covering an
entire city, the city was broken up into
cells, or smaller coverage areas.

• Each of these smaller coverage areas had

its own lower-power base station.

• The radio channels must be allocated to

these smaller cells in such way as to
minimize interference but at the same
time provide the necessary system
performance to handle the traffic load
within the cells.
• What is a cell?

A Cell : is a small geographic area

within which each cellular base station
is allocated a group of radio channels
to be used.
• Why circle can not be used to represent the
coverage area of a base station? because adjacent
circles can not be overlaid upon a map without
leaving gaps or creating overlapping regions.

• Thus, when considering geometric shapes which

cover an entire region without overlap and with
equal area, there are three sensible choices:
a square; an equilateral triangle; and a
hexagon.
Coverage Patterns
• Why Hexagonal model ?.

(1) A cell must be designed to serve the weakest mobiles

within the footprint, and these are typically located at the
edge of the cell. For a given distance between the center of
a polygon and its farthest perimeter points, the hexagon
has the largest area of the three.

(2) By using the hexagon geometry, the fewest number of

cells can cover a geographic region

(3) The hexagon closely approximates a circular radiation

pattern which would occur for an Omni-directional base
station antenna and free space propagation.
 Types of cells

Macro cells
Micro cells
Pico cells
Selective cells
Umbrella cells
 Advantage of small cell

• Higher capacity
• Low power transmitter and receiver
• Reduce interference
• Robustness

Disadvantage
Large infrastructure
Frequent handovers
Frequency planning
• The key characteristic of a cellular
network is the ability to reuse
frequencies to increase both coverage
and capacity

• Extensive frequency reuse allows for

many users to be supported at the
same time.

• Total spectrum allocated to the

service provider is broken up into
smaller bands.

• A cell is assigned one of these bands.

This means all communications
(transmissions to and from users) in
this cell occur over these frequencies
only.
• Neighboring cells are assigned a different frequency
band.

• This ensures that nearby transmissions do not

interfere with each other.

• The same frequency band is reused in another cell

that is far away. This large distance limits the
interference caused by this co-frequency cell.
Cluster:
o It is a group of cell that make use of all the available radio spectrum.

o Cluster has N cells with unique and disjoint channel

o Since adjacent cannot use the same frequency channels, the total
frequency allocation is divided up over the cluster and then repeated for
other clusters in the system .

o The number of cells in a cluster is known as the cluster size or the

frequency reuse factor (1/N)
 FREQUENCY REUSE
• Each cellular base station is allocated a group of radio channels within
a small geographic area called a cell.
• Neighboring cells are assigned different channel groups.
• By limiting the coverage area to within the boundary of the cell, the
channel groups may be reused to cover different cells.
• Keep interference levels within tolerable limits.
• Frequency reuse or frequency planning

“The design process of selecting and allocating channel

groups for all of the cellular base station within a system is
FREQUENCY REUSE/PLANNING”
 Cell capacity and Reuse
• Consider a cellular system which has a total of S duplex channels. k  S
• Each cell is allocated a group of k channels, .
• The S channels are divided among N cells.
• The total number of available radio channels
S  kN
• The N cells which use the complete set of channels is called cluster.
• The cluster can be repeated M times within the system. The total
number of channels, C, is used as a measure of capacity
C  MkN  MS
• The capacity is directly proportional to the number of replication M.
• The cluster size, N, is typically equal to 4, 7, or 12.
• Small N is desirable to maximize capacity.
• The frequency reuse factor is given by 1 / N

16 © 2009 Wipro Ltd - Confidential

• Hexagonal geometry has
– exactly six equidistance neighbors
– the lines joining the centers of any cell and each of its neighbors are
separated by multiples of 60 degrees.
• Only certain cluster sizes and cell layout are possible.
• The number of cells per cluster, N, can only have values which satisfy

N  i 2  ij  j 2
 Frequency reuse pattern

18 © 2009 Wipro Ltd - Confidential

CLUSTER SIZES AND CELL LAYOUT

A F

C
D E

A A E B

B G C

A
C C
F D
A
E

Eg for i=1,j=1 Eg for i=2,j=1

The factor N is called the cluster size and is given N=i2+ij+j2
 CELL REUSE
EXAMPLE (N=19)

To find the nearest co-channel

neighbor of a particular cell
1. Move ‘i’ cells along any
chain of hexagons
2. Then turn 60 degrees
counter-clockwise and
3. Move ‘j’ cells.

Method of locating co-channel cells in a cellular system. In this example, N = 19 (i.e., I = 3, j = 2). (Adapted
from [Oet83] © IEEE.)
3-cell reuse pattern (i=1,j=1)
4-cell reuse pattern (i=2,j=0)
7-cell reuse pattern (i=2,j=1)
12-cell reuse pattern (i=2,j=2)
19-cell reuse pattern (i=3,j=2)
Reuse coordinates Number of Normalised
cells in re- reuse
use pattern distance
i j N SQRT(N)
1 0 1 1
1 1 3 1.732
1 2 7 2.646
2 2 12 3.464
1 3 13 3.606
2 3 19 4.359
1 4 21 4.583
 Cell Planning Example

 Suppose you have 33 MHz bandwidth available, an FM

system using 25 kHz channels, how many channels per
cell for 4,7,12 cell re-use?
 total channels = 33,000/25 = 1320
 N=4 channels per cell = 1320/4 = 330
 N=7 channels per cell = 1320/7 = 188
 N=12 channels per cell = 1320/12 = 110

 Smaller clusters can carry more traffic

 However, smaller clusters result in larger co-channel
interference
 Frequency Reuse

F7 F2

F7 F2 F6 F1
F1 F3

F6 F1
F1 F3 F5 F4 F7 F2

F5 F4 F7 F2 F6 F1
F1 F3

F6 F1
F1 F3 F5 F4

F5 F4
Fx: Set of frequency

7 cell reuse cluster

 Reuse Distance

R Cluster
• For hexagonal cells, the reuse distance
is given by
F7 F2
D  3N R
F6 F1
F1 F3
where R is cell radius and N is the
reuse pattern (the cluster size or the
F5 F4 F7 F2 number of cells per cluster).
• Reuse factor is q or co channel reuse
F6 F1
F1 F3
ratio is:

F5 F4
D
q   3N
R
• For a hexagonal geometry
D
Q  3N
R

• A small value of Q provides large capacity

• A large value of Q improves the transmission quality - smaller level of co-
channel interference
• A tradeoff must be made between these two objectives
 Interference
• Sources of interference
– another mobile in the same cell
– a call in progress in the neighboring cell
– other base stations operating in the same frequency
band
– non cellular system leaks energy into the cellular
frequency band
• Two major cellular interference
– co-channel interference CCI
– adjacent channel interference ACI
 Co-channel Interference and System Capacity
• CCI is caused due to cells that reuse the same frequency set.
• To reduce co-channel interference, co-channel cell must be
separated by a minimum distance.
• When the size of the cell is approximately the same
– co-channel interference is independent of the transmitted
power
– co-channel interference is a function of
• R: Radius of the cell
• D: distance to the center of the nearest co-channel cell
• Increasing the ratio q=D/R, the interference is reduced.
• q is called the co-channel reuse ratio
• Let i0 be the number of co-channel interfering cells. The signal-to-
interference ratio (SIR) for a mobile receiver can be expressed as
S S
 i0
I
Ii 
i 1

S: the desired signal power

I i : interference power caused by the ith interfering co-channel cell base
station
• The average received power at a distance d from the transmitting antenna
is approximated by close-in reference point
n
d  d0
Pr  P0  
 d0 
or d  P0 :m easued pow er
Pr (dBm)  P0 (dBm)  10n log  TX

 d0 

n is the path loss exponent which ranges between 2 and 4.

 Adjacent Channel Interference
• Adjacent channel interference: interference from adjacent in
frequency to the desired signal.
– Imperfect receiver filters allow nearby frequencies to leak
into the pass band.
– Performance degrade seriously due to near-far effect.
receiving filter
response

signalon adjacentchannel signalon adjacentchannel

desired signal

FILTER
interference
interference desired signal
• Adjacent channel interference can be minimized through careful
filtering and channel assignment.
• Keep the frequency separation between each channel in a given
cell as large as possible
• A channel separation greater than six is needed to bring the
adjacent channel interference to an acceptable level.
 CAPACITY EXPANSION IN CELLULAR SYSTEM

Techniques to provide more channels per coverage area is by

• Cell splitting
• Cell sectoring
• Coverage zone approches
 CELL SPLITTING
• Cell splitting increases the capacity of cellular system
since it increases the number of times the channel are
reused
• Cell splitting - defining new cells which have smaller
radius than orginal cells by installing these smaller
cells called MICROCELLS between existing cells
• Capacity increases due to additional number of
channels per unit area.

“Cell splitting is process of subdividing a congested cell into

smaller cells each with its own base station(with
corresponding reduction in antenna height and tx power)”
Cell Splitting
 CELL SPLITTING
Split congested cell into smaller cells.
– Preserve frequency reuse plan.
– Reduce transmission power. Reduce R to R/2

microcell
 CELL SPLITTING

•Splitting cells in each CELL

•Antenna downtiliting

Illustration of cell splitting within a 3 km by 3 km square

 Sectoring

• Decrease the co-channel interference and keep the cell radius R

unchanged
– Replacing single Omni-directional antenna by several directional
antennas
– Radiating within a specified sector
• Uses directional antennas by replacing a single omni-
directional antenna at the base station
• Antennas split the cell in to 3 new cells
• Antennas 120o apart
• Provides interference reduction
• S/I ratio increases
• Does not require new cell sites
• Additional antennas and triangular mounting only
Disadvantages:
Increases the no of antennas at each base
station.
Increases no of handoffs(sector to sector).
Example:
• Consider service provider wants to provide cellular communications
to a particular geographic area. the provider is licensed = 5MHz.

• Each system subscriber bandwidth(channel B.W)= 10KHz.

• If the service provider was to provide coverage from only one

transmitter site, the total theoretical number of possible
simultaneous users = Total B.W/ Channel B.W= 5MHz/10kHz /user =
500 users.

• If , however, the service provider implements a cellular system with

35 transmitter sites, located to minimize interference and provide
total coverage of area, determine the new system capacity?.
Solution:
• Assume the cluster size N = 7
• The allocated B.W/cell= system B.W/ Number of cells in a cluster
=5*106/7=714kHz
• Bandwidth per cell=714kHz.
• No. of cluster 35/7= 5.
• Each cell has a capacity =714kHz/10kHz/user=71 users
• Total system capacity =35 cells*71 users/cell=2485 users.
• This is a system capacity increase of =5 times.

Conclusion:
• Smaller cells  higher M  higher C+ Channel
reuse  higher capacity
+ Lower power requirements for mobiles
– Additional base stations required
– More frequent handoffs
– Greater chance of ‘hot spots’
Rayleigh- This channel type is applied to channel having
only non LOS paths between transmitter and receiver and no
dominant or LOS path. The matlab model for this type of
channel is rayleighchan.
Rician- This channel type is applied to channel having both
LOS and non LOS paths between transmitter and receiver.
The matlab model for this type of channel is ricianchan.
GSM
Network Structure
 BTS,BSC and MSC
• BTS & BSC: Base Transceiver System and Base
Station Controller. Radio signal transceiver, a
connection between handset and MSC
• MSC: Mobile services Switching Center, switching
center of the GSM network, and connect to
other networks
 Databases
• HLR : Home Location Register, contains static
information of subscribers and location update
data
• VLR : Visitor Location Register, embedded in MSC
to avoid delay, contains current location
information of handsets
• AUC : Authentication Center, stores secret keys
for authentication and encryption of the radio
channel
• EIR : Equipment Identity Register, contains a list
of all valid mobile equipment in the network,
by its International Mobile Equipment Identity
(IMEI)
 GPRS

• Upgrade of existed GSM network

• Improves the data communication ability
GPRS
 Network nodes
• GGSN: Gateway GSM Support Node,
• Protocol transferring, data encapsulation, a
connection to external networks
• SGSN: Service GSM Support Node,
• Communicate with HLR and mobile
handsets, authorization and admission
control, charging, mobility management
 Data communications
• In GSM, one user occupies one traffic channel to
exchange voice/data information
• In GPRS, up to 8 traffic channels(a whole carrier) can
be dynamically combined together for one data
communication application
• The theoretically maximum data transmission rate:
14.4k bps * 8 = 115.2k bps
 Advantages of GPRS
• Higher data rate
• Seamless connection to internet
• Packet switching rather than circuit switch,
bandwidth is only used when the data is
actually used, even though it is always
connected
• A primary step to 3G
 shortage
• Not fast enough for the multimedia service
• The data rate falls when the network is busy
• Upgrade of handset
GSM – Roaming and Handover

• MAP also contains functions related to:

– Supplementary services and Handover
– Subscriber Management
– IMEI Management (equipment Identity)
– Authentication and Identification Management

• MAP entities for roaming reside in the MSC, HLR and VLR.
The corresponding interfaces are
– B interface( MSC -VLR)
– C interface (MSC-HLR)
– D interface (HLR-VLR)
– G interface (VLR- VLR)

70
 Location Registration and Location Update

71
Location Registration

• This is an important function to support roaming.

– It is a part of the Mobility Management function

• Location Registration is required when there is a change of

networks.
• The MS has to intimate the network about its presence.

• Location Update concerns the MS telling the network about it

having moved from one location area (LA) to another.

• During Location Registration, Location Update, and also

during the set up of a connection, the identification of the
subscriber is verified (authentication)

72
Location Registration

• The subscriber can register with a foreign network provider,

in whose service area they are currently visiting, only if there
is a roaming agreement between the two network operators.

• Registration is done when there is a change of networks, and

therefore the VLR of the current network hasn’t yet issued a
TMSI to the subscriber.

• This means the subscriber has to report to the current

network with their IMSI and receives a new TMSI by executing
a location registration procedure.

73
Location Registration

• This TMSI is stored by the MS in its non-volatile SIM storage,

such that even after a power down and subsequent power-up,
only a normal location updating procedure is required (and
not a Location Registration)

74
Location Registration

When MS moves from one

location to another

SRES – Signature Response

(RAND, SRES) - Tuple stored
in HLR
Kc – new authentication Key
calculated using A8
algorithm
A3 Algorithm calculates the
SRES from Rand number
and Ki.

MSRN –Mobile Subscriber

Roaming Number
Location Registration procedure

• A subscriber requests Location registration at their current

location by sending a LOCATION UPDATE REQUEST, with
their IMSI and the current location area identifier (LAI).

• The MSC instructs the VLR with a MAP message UPDATE

LOCATION AREA to register the MS with its current LAI.

• Before the registration, the identity of the subscriber is

checked. i.e. the authentication procedure is executed.

• After successful authentication, the subscriber is assigned a

new MSRN, which is stored in the HLR along with the LAI,
and a new TMSI is allotted for this subscriber.

76
Location Registration procedure

• The TMSI is first sent to the MSC and BSC, but it has to be
passed on to the MS (over the air interface) only in an
encrypted form.

• Hence the ciphering key Kc is generated, the TMSI is sent, and

successful registration into the PLMN is acknowledged.

• Once the location registration or location updating is done in

the HLR, the Insert Subscriber Data procedure is used to
transmit the current data of the subscriber profile from the
HLR to the VLR.

77
Location Updating procedure

• Location Update has to be done under the following two

situations:
– whenever the MS has moved from one location area (LA)
to another.
• The MS can find this out by listening to the BCCH channel
– Whenever the Periodic Update timer has expired

• The procedure is similar to a Location registration procedure

except that the MS identifies itself with the old TMSI (and not
the IMSI) when it puts in the initial request.

• A new TMSI is allotted in the new LAI, even if both the

location areas are under the same VLR

78
Location Updating

•This is when MS identifies

itself in a new location
•location update is to know
the current location for
incoming calls or short
messages, so that
the call or message can be
directed to the current
location of the MS.

•Or Location update has to

be done periodically which
is specified in the BCCH
channel .
Location Updating when the VLR area changes

• If location change involves both LA and VLR, the location

update procedure is somewhat more complicated.

• In this case, the new VLR has to request the identification and
security data for the MS from the old VLR and store them
locally.

• Only in emergency cases, if the old VLR cannot be determined

from the old LAI or if the old TMSI is not known in the VLR,
the new VLR may request the IMSI directly from the MS
(identification procedure).

80
Location Updating when the VLR area changes

• After the MS has been identified and after the security

parameters are available in the new VLR:
– The MS is authenticated;
– Registered in the new VLR, and a new TMSI is assigned;
– The location information in the HLR to be actualized.

• After successful registration in the new VLR, the HLR instructs

the old VLR to cancel the invalid location data in the old VLR.

81
Location Updating, when the VLR area too changes

82
 Routing calls to MS

• The number dialed to reach a mobile subscriber (MSISDN)

contains no information at all about the current location of
the subscriber.

• In order to establish a complete connection to a mobile

subscriber, however, one must determine the current location
and the locally responsible switch (MSC).

• In order to be able to route the call to this switch, the routing

address to this subscriber (MSRN) has to be obtained.

83
 Routing calls to MS

• This routing address is assigned temporarily to a subscriber by

its currently associated VLR.

• At the arrival of a call at the GMSC, the HLR is the only entity
in the GSM network which can supply this information, and
therefore it must be interrogated for each connection setup
to a mobile subscriber.

• The principal sequence of operations for routing to a mobile

subscriber is shown in the figure

84
 Routing incoming calls to MS

85
Routing incoming calls

• An ISDN switch recognizes from the MSISDN that the called

subscriber is a mobile subscriber, and therefore can forward
the call to the GMSC of the subscriber’s home PLMN.

• This GMSC can now request the current routing address

(MSRN) for the mobile subscriber from the HLR (2,3).

• By way of the MSRN, the call is forwarded to the local MSC

(4), which determines the TMSI of the subscriber (5,6) and
initiates the paging procedure in the relevant location area (7).

• After the MS has responded to the paging call (8), the

connection can be switched through.

86
MSRN and Routing information

• The MSRN contains the routing information for incoming calls

and this information is used to route incoming calls to the
current MSC.

• There are two ways to obtain the MSRN:

– obtaining the MSRN at location update;
– obtaining the MSRN on a per call basis.

• For the first variant, an MSRN for the MS is assigned at the

time of each location update which is stored in the HLR.
– In this way the HLR is in a position to immediately supply
the routing information needed to switch a call through to
the local MSC.

87
MSRN and Routing information

• The second variant requires that the HLR has at least an

identification for the currently responsible VLR.

• In this case, when routing information is requested from the

HLR, the HLR first has to obtain the MSRN from the VLR.

• This MSRN is assigned on a per call basis, i.e. each call involves
a new MSRN assignment.

88
Routing procedures

• Depending on the capabilities of the associated switches and

the called target (national or international MSISDN), there are
different routing procedures.

• In general, the local switching center analyzes the MSISDN.

– Owing to the NDC, this analysis of the MSISDN allows the
separation of the mobile traffic from other traffic.

89
Routing procedures for National calls

• In the case of a national number, the local exchange

recognizes from the NDC that the number is a mobile ISDN
number.

• The fixed network and home PLMN of the called subscriber

reside in the same country.

• In the ideal case, the local switch can interrogate the HLR
responsible for this MSISDN (HLR in the home PLMN of the
subscriber) and obtain the routing information (Figure (a)).
– The connection can then be switched through via fixed
connections of the ISDN directly to the MSC.

90
 Routing procedures for National calls

NDC National Destination code

91
Routing procedures for National calls

• If the local exchange does not have the required protocol

intelligence for the interrogation of the HLR, the connection
can be passed on preliminarily to a transit exchange, which
then assumes the HLR interrogation and routing
determination to the current MSC (Figure (b)).

• If the fixed network is not at all capable of performing a HLR

interrogation, the connection has to be directed through a
GMSC.

• This GMSC connects through to the current MSC (Figure (c)).

92
Routing procedures for International calls

• For all three cases, the MS could also reside in a foreign

PLMN (roaming), the connection is then made through
international lines to the current MSC after interrogating the
HLR of the home PLMN.

• In the case of an international call number, the local exchange

recognizes only the international CC (Country Code) and
directs the call to an ISC.

• Then the ISC can recognize the NDC of the mobile network
and process the call accordingly.

93
Routing procedures for International calls

• An international call to a mobile subscriber involves at least

three networks:
– the country from which the call originates;
– the country with the home PLMN of the subscriber,
Home PLMN (H-PLMN);
– the country in which the mobile subscriber is currently
roaming, Visited PLMN (V-PLMN).

94
Routing procedures for International calls

95
Routing procedures for International calls

If no ISC can process the routing, a GMSC has to get involved, either a
GMSC in the country where the call originates or the GMSC of the H-PLMN

96
Procedure for incoming call set-up

97
 Procedure for outgoing call set-up

IAM –Connection request to

SS7 network

ACM – Answer / response

from the SS7 network

98
 MAP procedures and routing for short messages
• A connectionless relay protocol has been defined for the transport
of short messages at the air interface, to store-and forward
operation for short messages.
• For an incoming short message which arrives from the SMS-SC at a
SMS-GMSC, the exact location of the MS is the first item that needs
to be determined.
• The current MSC of the MS is first obtained with a HLR
interrogation (SHORT MESSAGE ROUTING INFORMATION).
• The short message is then passed to this MSC (FORWARD SHORT
MESSAGE) and is locally delivered after paging and SMS connection
setup.
• Success or failure are reported to the SMS-GMSC in another MAP
message (FORWARD ACKNOWLEDGEMENT/ERROR INDICATION)
which then informs the service center.
• In the reverse case, for an outgoing short message, no routing
interrogation is needed, since the SMS-GMSC is known to all MSCs,
so the message can be passed immediately to the SMS-GMSC
MAP procedures and routing for short messages
 Handover

101
Handover

• Handover is the transfer of an existing voice connection to a

new base station.

• In GSM, a handover decision is made by the network, not by

the MS, and it is based on:
– BSS criteria (received signal level, channel quality, distance
between MS and BTS), and on
– Network operation criteria (e.g. current traffic load of the cell
and ongoing maintenance work).

• The functions for preparation of handover are part of the

radio subsystem link control, which includes the measurement
of the channel.

102
Handover

• Periodically, a MS checks the signal field strength of its

current downlinks as well as those of the neighbouring base
stations, including their BSICs.

• The MS sends measurement reports to its current base

station (quality monitoring).

• On the network side, the signal quality of the uplink is

monitored, the measurement reports are evaluated, and
handover decisions are made.

• Handovers are only performed between base stations of the

same PLMN.

103
Types of Handover

• Two kinds of handover are distinguished:

• Intracell handover: For administrative reasons or because of
channel quality (channel selective interferences), the MS is
assigned a new channel within the same cell.
– This decision is made locally by the RR of the BSS and is also
executed within the BSS.

• Intercell handover: The connection to a MS is transferred over

the cell boundary to a new BTS.
– The decision about the time of handover is made by the RR
protocol module of the network based on measurement data
from MSs and BSSs.

104
Types of Handover

• Intercell handover: (contd)

• The MSC, however, can participate in the selection of the new
cell or BTS.

• The intercell handover occurs most often when it is

recognized from weak signal field strength and bad channel
quality (high bit error ratio) that a MS is moving near the cell
boundary.

• However, an intercell handover can also occur due to

administrative reasons, say for traffic load balancing.
– The decision about such a network-directed handover is made
by the MSC, which instructs the BSS to select candidates for
such a handover.

105
Types of Handover

106
Types of Handover

107
Types of Handover – Soft handover and Hard handover

– Soft handover: A soft handoff is a make before break scenario.

– Hard Hand over:A hard handoff is a break before make scenario, where
prob. Of dropping a call is higher.

108
 BTS,BSC and MSC
• BTS & BSC: Base Transceiver System and Base
Station Controller. Radio signal transceiver, a
connection between handset and MSC
• MSC: Mobile services Switching Center, switching
center of the GSM network, and connect to
other networks
 Databases
• HLR : Home Location Register, contains static
information of subscribers and location update
data
• VLR : Visitor Location Register, embedded in MSC
to avoid delay, contains current location
information of handsets
• AUC : Authentication Center, stores secret keys
for authentication and encryption of the radio
channel
• EIR : Equipment Identity Register, contains a list
of all valid mobile equipment in the network,
by its International Mobile Equipment Identity
(IMEI)
 GPRS

• Upgrade of existed GSM network

• Improves the data communication ability
GPRS
 Network nodes
• GGSN: Gateway GSM Support Node,
• Protocol transferring, data encapsulation, a
connection to external networks
• SGSN: Service GSM Support Node,
• Communicate with HLR and mobile
handsets, authorization and admission
control, charging, mobility management
 Data communications
• In GSM, one user occupies one traffic channel to
exchange voice/data information
• In GPRS, up to 8 traffic channels(a whole carrier) can
be dynamically combined together for one data
communication application
• The theoretically maximum data transmission rate:
14.4k bps * 8 = 115.2k bps
 Advantages of GPRS
• Higher data rate
• Seamless connection to internet
• Packet switching rather than circuit switch,
bandwidth is only used when the data is
actually used, even though it is always
connected
• A primary step to 3G
 shortage
• Not fast enough for the multimedia service
• The data rate falls when the network is busy
• Upgrade of handset
 3G-Standards
• Three CDMA standards approved by ITU:
• Direct Spread CDMA(WCDMA) : Europe, Japan
• Multi-Carrier CDMA(CDMA 2000) : North
America
• TD-Synchronous CDMA(CDMA TDD) : Europe,
China
 3G-CDMA
• Code Division Multi Address
• Spread spectrum technology
• Each single traffic channel occupies the whole
spectrum, but distinguished by a unique
digital code
• Walsh code: an orthogonal 64 bit pattern,
unique in the network
CDMA
 Features
• Better voice quality
• Up to 2 Mbps data communication rate
• Increase battery life
• Soft hand-off
• Excellent data safety
• More effective spectrum usage than 2G