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CELLULAR SYSTEMS (GSM + 2.5G)

1 Systems

• AMPS and TACS are the earliest cellular systems.

They use NBFM modulations and are known as
first generation cellular systems.

• GSM, IS-54/IS-136 (USDC) and IS-95 (CDMA)

are the current digital systems and are known as
second generation cellular systems (Table 1.1).

GSM USDC CDMA

(IS-136) (IS-95)
BS Tx (MHz) 935 - 960 869 - 894 869 - 894
MS Tx (MHz) 890 - 915 824 - 849 824 - 849
Carrier 200 30 1250
Spacing (kHz)
No. of Carriers 124 660 15
Channel Type Digital Digital Digital
Access Mode TDMA(8) TDMA(3) CDMA/DS
+ FDD + FDD + FDD
Modulation 0.3 GMSK π/4- QPSK(BS) +
DQPSK OQPSK(MS)
Channel Rate 270.8 48.6 9.6/4.8/2.4
(kbps)
Handoff MAHO MAHO MAHO +
Soft HO

Table 1.1

MS = Mobile Station BS = Base Station

MAHO = Mobile Assisted Handoff DQPSK = Differential QPDK
DS = Direct Sequence

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2 GSM

• GSM stands for Global System for Mobile

communications.

• It is the pan-European cellular mobile radio system

developed by European Telecommunications
Standard Institute (ETSI).

2.1 GSM Architecture

Um
VLR HLR AUC EIR
BTS

ME BTS BSC MSC GMSC

MS
SIM
BSS
.. PSTN / ISDN
MSC
BSS

MS Mobile Station BSS Base Station Subsystem

ME Mobile Equipment BTS Base Transceiver Station
SIM Subscriber Identity Module BSC Base Station Controller
MSC Mobile Switching Centre HLR Home Location Register
GMSC Gateway MSC VLR Visitor Location Register
AUC Authentication Centre EIR Equipment Identity Register

Fig. 2.1 GSM Architecture

The MS comprises the Mobile Equipment (ME) and the

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM).

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The BSS carries out all the modulation, coding and
management functions.

The MSC is the main switching center which interfaces

the user traffic from the wireless network with the wire-
line networks or other wireless networks.

The HLR manages mobile subscribers by maintaining

all subscriber information (e.g., electronic serial
number, directory number, international mobile station
identification, user profiles, and current location). The
HLR may be co-located with an MSC as an integral part
of the MSC or may be independent of the MSC. One
HLR can serve multiple MSCs, or an HLR may be
distributed over multiple locations.

The VLR is a temporary subscriber database for all

visited subscribers within its coverage and contains
similar information to that of the HLR. The provision
of a VLR means that the MSC does not need to access
the HLR for every transaction.

The AUC manages the authentication or encryption

information associated with an individual subscriber.
The AUC may be located within an HLR or MSC or
may be located independently of both.

The EIR provides information about the mobile station

for record purpose. The EIR may be located within an
MSC or may be located independently or it.

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2.2 Air Interface

Table 2.2 shows the key characteristics of the air

interface (Um).

No. of carrier pairs 124

Carrier spacing 200 kHz
Multiple access per carrier TDMA with 8 timeslots
Modulation GMSK with BT = 0.3
Frequency hopping 217 hops per sec.
(Hop on every frame)

Table 2.1 GSM Air Interface

2.2.1 RF Power

• Adaptive power control is applied to all mobiles to

ensure that they operate at the lowest power level.

• The mobile power is controlled in steps of 2 dB by

the BSS.

Class Peak Tx Rx Type

Power Sensitivity
1 20W -104 dBm Vehicle and Portable
2 8W -104 dBm Vehicle and Portable
3 5W -102 dBm Hand-held
4 2W -102 dBm Hand-held
5 0.8W -102 dBm Hand-held

Table 2.2 GSM Mobile Classes

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2.2.2 TDMA Slot Structure

• A carrier is divided into 8 TDMA timeslots (so

called the physical channel).

• Data is transmitted in bursts within a timeslot. A

mobile normally transmits in one timeslot. In
certain special cases, such as high-bit-rate
subscriber, a mobile may transmit in more than one
timeslot.

• There are four types of RF bursts. Three are of full

duration and the last one is shortened.

1 TDMA frame = 8 timeslots (4.615 ms) TB: Tail bits

GP: Guard period
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 timeslot = 156.25 bit durations (0.577 ms)

TB Information Training Information TB GP

3 57 1 26 1 57 3 8.25
Normal burst Control bit Control bit
TCH or FACCH
TB Information Training Information TB GP
3 39 64 39 3 8.25
Synchronization burst

TB All zero TB GP
3 142 3 8.25
Frequency Correction burst

Fig. 2.2 GSM Timeslots and Bursts

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• The first tail bits provide time for the transmitter to

ramp up its power while the last Tail Bits provide
time for transmitter to ramp down its power.

• The guard period provides a time separation so

that mobiles of different distances away from the
base station (hence different transmission delays)
can orderly use the timeslots without overlapping.

• Mobile signals encounter significant ISI because

the delay spreads exceed the symbol time.
Adaptive equalizer and the training sequence are
used to overcome delay spread.

• To further avoid co-channel interference, nearby

base stations that have the same carrier frequencies
will use different training sequence in their RF
carriers.

• The Frequency Correction burst allows the

receiver to phase-lock with the RF carrier. The
Synchronization burst provides the base station
identification and timing information for the
mobiles to lock-in. The Normal burst is for
"normal" communication.

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• When a mobile attempts to access the cellular

system, the distance (delay) between the base
station and the mobile is not known. Full duration
bursts may cause overlap in time with bursts from
other mobiles. To overcome this, short bursts of
88 bits is used by the mobile during initial access.
The primary purpose of this access burst is to get
the attention of the base system for service request.
The second function is to allow the base station to
calculate the delay and then commands the mobile
to adjust the transmit time in order to synchronize
with the whole cellular system.

• The transmit bursts and the receive bursts of a

mobile station are offset by three timeslots. This
allows the full-duplex operation can be carried out
using TDD. Refer to Fig. 2.3.

2.2.3 Frequency Hopping

• Slow frequency hopping is used at a rate of one

hop per frame.

• It is an option for the GSM operators.

• Frequency hopping will average the interference.

Average C/I rather than the worst case C/I can be
used to allow higher frequency reuse.

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• It has an averaging effect against deep fading so

that a mobile will not permanently be located in a
deep fading channel which may finally cause the
call to be dropped. The mobile may be located in
deep fading for one hop only and will cause some
bits in error and the error correction scheme can be
used to rescue the data.
downlink
F1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1
F2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1

F3 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1

uplink
F1` 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F2` 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F3` 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Fig. 2.3 Frequency Hopping

2.2.4 Beacon Monitoring

The Frequency Correction bursts and the

Synchronization bursts are transmitted in the timeslot 0
of a particular frequency called the beacon frequency.
A mobile uses its unused timeslots to monitor the
timeslot 0 of adjacent base stations' beacon frequencies
and reports to its own basic station for mobile assisted
handoff MAHO decision making.

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2.2.5 Framing Hierarchy

• Eight timeslots form a frame.

• On all non-beacon frequencies, 26 (0 - 25) frames

form a "26-frame multiframe". 51 (0 - 50) of
these multiframes form a superframe.

• The 26-frame multiframe has a duration of 120 ms

which is exactly the time needed for six 20 ms
blocks of digital speech coder data. The transmit
pattern of a single user that uses fixed timeslot has
the following pattern with a multiframe:
Same timeslot of each frame (uplink & downlink)

D D D D D D D D D D D D S D D D D D D D D D D D D I
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Block of data Block of data Block of data Block of data Block of data Block of data

20 ms
260 bits with block coding and convolutional coding = 456 bits

Fig. 2.4

• Each block of data is interleaved within 8 frames.

Interleaving helps to improve the performance of
the error protection coding against burst errors.

S = Slow associate control channel which is used by the

mobile to regularly report the beacon signal
conditions of the other adjacent base stations.

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I = When the mobile is operating in timeslot 0, it

cannot monitor the timeslot 0 of the other adjacent
beacon frequencies. This "Idle" timeslot is the only
time that the mobile can use to monitor the adjacent
base station conditions.

• On the beacon frequency, 51 (0 - 50) frames form a

"51-frame multiframe". 26 (0 - 25) of these
multiframes form a superframe. The timeslot 0 of
this multiframe consists of many control channels.
GSM defined many combinations of these control
channels. Combination IV and V are as follow:
Timeslot 0 of each frame (downlink)

F S B B B B C C C C F S C C C C C C C C F S C C C C
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

C C C C F S C C C C C C C C F S C C C C C C C C I
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
F = Frequency Correction Channel B = Broadcast Control Channel
S = Synchronization Channel C = Paging or Access Grant Channel

Timeslot 0 of each frame (uplink)

R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
R = Random Access Channel

Fig. 2.5 Combination IV of the Multiframe-51

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Timeslot 0 of each frame (downlink)

1 F S B B B B C C C C F S C C C C C C C C F S D0 D0 D0 D0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

D1 D1 D1 D1 F S D2 D2 D2 D2 D3 D3 D3 D3 F S A0 A0 A0 A0 A1 A1 A1 A1 I
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

2 F S B B B B C C C C F S C C C C C C C C F S D0 D0 D0 D0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

D1 D1 D1 D1 F S D2 D2 D2 D2 D3 D3 D3 D3 F S A2 A2 A2 A2 A3 A3 A3 A3 I
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
R = Random Access Channel B = Broadcast Control Channel
S = Synchronization Channel C = Paging or Access Grant Channel
D1 = Standalone Dedicated Control Channel 1 A1 = Slow Associated Control Channel 1

Timeslot 0 of each frame (uplink)

1 D3 D3 D3 D3 R R A2 A2 A2 A2 A3 A3 A3 A3 R R R R R R R R R R R R
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

R R R R R R R R R R R D0 D0 D0 D0 D1 D1 D1 D1 R R D2 D2 D2 D2
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

2 D3 D3 D3 D3 R R A0 A0 A0 A0 A1 A1 A1 A1 R R R R R R R R R R R R
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

R R R R R R R R R R R D0 D0 D0 D0 D1 D1 D1 D1 R R D2 D2 D2 D2
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
R = Random Access Channel

Fig. 2.6 Combination V of the Multiframe-51

• The two types of superframe above have the same

length in time (6.12 seconds).

• 2048 (0 - 2047) superframes forms a hyperframe.

It has a length of 3 hours, 28 minutes, 53 seconds.

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• The hyperframe is a long-time interval that permits

the proper synchronization of the base system and
the mobiles. The hyperframe time counter is used
for encryption, frequency hopping, and controls the
prescheduled transmission of information.

• The timeslot, the frame, and all the other longer

frame intervals are synchronized at all the base
stations within a city.

2.2.6 Physical and Logical Channels

The available timeslots are called the physical channels.

Within a physical channel, a number of logical channels
are multiplexed.

• Traffic Channel, TCH

Full rate - 13 kbps (260 bits / 20 ms) speech,

9.6 kbps, 4.8 kbps and 2.4 kbps data.

Half rate - 7 kbps speech

• Frequency Correction Channel, FCCH (Downlink)

A long series of ‘0’ used for frequency correction.

• Synchronization Channel, SCH (Downlink)

Used to synchronize with the system.

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• Broadcast Control Channel, BCCH (Downlink)

Broadcast the cell specific information.

• Paging Channel, PCH (Downlink)

Page the individual mobile.

• Random Access Channel, RACH (Uplink)

Mobile requests for service.

• Access Grant Channel, AGCH (Downlink)

Allocate SDCCH to mobile after request.

• Standalone Dedicated Control Channel, SDCCH

(Uplink/Downlink)
Pass control information for call set-up or
registration.

• Slow Associated Control Channel, SACCH

(Uplink/Downlink)
It is used in association with either TCH or
SDCCH. It is used to transport control and
measurement report needed to maintain the link.

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• Fast Associated Control Channel, FACCH

(Uplink/Downlink)
It is used in association with TCH. In urgent case,
such as handover, the system will replace a 20 ms
speech with the control message.

2.2.7 Handover

The mobile uses unused timeslot to measure signal

strength and BER of adjacent base stations and reports
the best six to its own base station using the SACCH.
Base station also monitors the signal strength and BER
on the serving channel. Together, the information is
used by the base station to determine if a handover is
needed.

2.3 Security Features

Aims:
• It acts against ear dropping.
• It acts against fraudulent use of subscriber and mobile
identities.

Securities are provided by the use of SIM,

authentication, encryption, temporary mobile subscriber
identity and frequency hopping.

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2.3.1 SIM

Each mobile user is provided with a removable

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). The SIM contains
the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and
all private security parameters. It also stores phone
numbers and short messages received from the network.

2.3.2 Authentication

After the mobile user has made an access and service

request, the network checks the user identity by sending
a random number (RAND) to the mobile. The mobile
sends back a signed response (SRES) based on Fig. 2.7.
Access is granted if the local and received responses are
matched. Notice that the parameters A3 and Ki are
never transmitted in the air.

Ki RAND
Um

MS A3 SRES

Fig. 2.7 Principle of Authentication

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2.3.3 Ciphering

The SIM also contains a cipher key generating

algorithm (A8). Mobile uses the random number and
A8 to calculate a ciphering key (Kc) which is used to
encrypt and decrypt the user data and system
information using A5 ciphering algorithm (Fig. 2.8).

Ki RAND

A8
MS Um
Kc

information A5 encrypted information

Fig. 2.8 GSM Ciphering Method

2.3.4 Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity

To prevent from identifying GSM users by their IMSI, a

temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) is
assigned to every subscriber while they are using the
network. When the mobile is switched off, TMSI is
stored on SIM for later used.

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2.4 Operation Procedures

2.4.1 Cell Selection

When the mobile is switched on, it scans all 124

carriers in the GSM system and locks on the highest
power FCCH. It will then synchronize the network by
means of the SCH. This timeslot also supplies the
current frame number and the cell’s training sequence
to the mobile. Next, the BCCH will provide the cell
dependent information of this cell.

2.4.2 Registration

A registration procedure takes place when the mobile’s

current location is different from the location where it is
switched off (Fig. 2.9).
Logical MS BSS
channel
Channel request
RACH Channel assignment
AGCH
Request for location updating
SDCCH
Authentication request
SDCCH Authentication response
SDCCH
Request to transmit in the ciphered mode
SDCCH Acknowledgment of the ciphered mode
SDCCH
SDCCH the optional assignment of a TMSI
SDCCH Acknowledgment of the new location and TMSI

SDCCH Channel release from the netwrok

Fig. 2.9 Registration

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2.4.3 Call Setup

Mobile Received Call

When the network receives an incoming call for a

mobile, it will check the HLR to find the area where the
mobile is located. Paging calls are transmitted on all
the base stations in the identified location. If the mobile
is turned on, it will acknowledge to its nearest base
station. The base station then commands the mobile to
switch to a traffic channel and informs the network to
connect the call.

Logical MS BSS
channel
PCH Paging of the MS
RACH Channel request
AGCH Channel assignment
SDCCH Answer to the paging

SDCCH Authentication request

SDCCH Authentication response
SDCCH Request to transmit in the ciphered mode
SDCCH Acknowledgment of the ciphered mode
SDCCH Setup message for the incoming call
SDCCH Confirmation

SDCCH Assignment of a traffic channel

FACCH Acknowledgment of the traffic channel
FACCH

FACCH Connect message when the mobile is off-hook

FACCH Acceptance of the connect message

TCH Exchange of user data (speech)

Fig. 2.10 Mobile-terminated Call Set-up Procedure

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Mobile Originated Call

The flow diagram is similar to that of the ‘mobile

received call’ but without paging.

2.5 Short Message Service SMS

When a GSM system supports paging by delivery of

short alphanumeric messages to the display on the
phone, the service is called SMS.

There area two SMS services that GSM supports. The

first is a point-to-point service similar to standard
paging with the addition of two-way capabilities. The
second service is cell broadcast SMS which allows
groups of mobile stations to be sent news, stock market
and other information. This is a one-way service.

The SMS Message Center SMSMC provides SMS entry

facilities (e.g., DTMF input, keypad input, entry menu,
etc), administration features (e.g., message storage,
verification of receipt, etc), and transmission
capabilities (e.g., transmit message, receive
acknowledgement and error message).

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3 Personal Communication System (PCS)

• It supports small and low cost handset.

• It provides low cost service.

• It provides wide coverage especially consistent in-

building service.

• It allows high capacity to support mass market.

In order to implement PCS system in a fast and reliable

way, the GSM specifications are adopted. There are
still some differences between the two systems as
shown in Table 3.1.

GSM PCS
Downlink (MHz) 935 - 960 1805 -1880
Uplink (MHz) 890 - 915 1710 - 1785
Total BW (MHz) 2 × 25 2 × 75
Separation (MHz) 45 95
No. of carrier 124 374
Mobile power (Watt) 2 / 0.8 1 / 0.25

Table 3.1 GSM and PCS Comparison

The network planning in PCS is different to GSM due

to the following reasons:

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• The path loss is 6 dB larger than GSM in theory.

(From most of the research in the world, the path
loss is at least 10 dB larger than that of the GSM.)

• The mobile and base station powers are 3 dB less

than that of the GSM.

• The numbers of channel are almost three times

more than that of the GSM.

Due to the above reasons:

• The number of sites will be two or three times

more than the GSM to compensate the extra path
loss and the reduction of transmit power.

• Microcells and hierarchical layered cell structure

are widely used in PCS system to increase traffic
density.

4 Left Empty

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5 2.5 Generation

To meet the growing needs for new wireless services

without the upgrading to the third generation, two new
standards are bloomed:

5.1 General Packet Radio Service GPRS

• It provides high-speed packet data service on a

GSM network.

• It is part of the phase 2+ specifications of GSM,

now under control of the 3rd generation partnership
project (3GPP).

• It provides a maximum data transmission capacity

of 171.2 kbps.

• Voice and packet data can be co-existed within the

GSM system.

Key Capabilities:

• Point-to-point data transfer

• Internet compatibility

• Quick SMS transfer

• X.25 networking

• Point-to-multipoint (expected)

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5.1.1 GPRS Network Architecture

MSC GMSC PSTN

GSM
BSS
SGSN GGSN Internet
GPRS

Fig. 5.1

The serving GPRS service node (SGSN) controls

transmission resources (carrier and timeslot
assignments). It receives and processes registration
requests, and maintains the status of the GPRS device
that is operating within its territory in a temporary
database.

The gateway GPRS service node (GGSN) maintains

the location information of the GPRS device. This
allows the GPRS device to migrate to different SGSNs
as it travels throughout the system. It is also the
gateway between the GPRS system and the external
data network. It also handles the billing information.

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5.1.2 Protocols

The protocols used include the standard Internet

protocols: IP, TCP, UDP, PPP. On top of this, it has the
GPRS tunneling protocol (GTP). A tunnel (protected
virtual path) is created between the GPRS connected
SGSN and the GGSN. The GGSN is the gateway to the
external data network.

As the GPRS device moves throughout the system,

alternative SGSN is assigned and the path between the
GPRS and the GGSN is unaffected virtually.

The SGSN and GGSN have their own IP addresses for

the tunnel. The IP packet is encapsulated in a
transmission packet that is routed between SGSN and
the GGSN.

Data 200.123.2.67 BSS Tunnel

200.123.2.67

SGSN GGSN Internet

GPRS
192.168.3.7 192.168.3.4
Data 200.123.2.67 192.168.3.4

Fig. 5.2

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5.1.3 GPRS Slot Structure

• It is the same with that of the GSM except that the

two control bits are absorbed into the data field.

1 TDMA frame = 8 timeslots (4.615 ms) TB: Tail bits

GP: Guard period
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 timeslot = 156.25 bit durations (0.577 ms)

TB Information Training Information TB GP

3 58 26 58 3 8.25

Fig. 5.3

• The gross bit rate is 25.2 kbps for one timeslot and
a maximum of 201 kbps if all eight timeslots are
counted. However, some timeframes are reserved
and 171.2 kbps is the maximum.

• GPRS system uses a 4-frame interleaving for a

block of data. It has smaller delay as compared
with the 8-frame interleaving used in GSM.

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5.1.4 GPRS Framing Hierarchy

52 (0 - 51) frames form a multiframe.

Same timeslot of each frame

D D D D D D D D D D D D T D D D D D D D D D D D D I
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

D D D D D D D D D D D D T D D D D D D D D D D D D I
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51
D = Packet Data Traffic Channel I = Idle
T = Packet Timing Advance Control Channel

Fig. 5.4

5.1.5 GPRS Logical Channels

The GPRS system has a new set of logical channels.

Their functions are very similar with the corresponding
GSM control channels.

• Packet Data Traffic Channel, PDTCH

(≡ Traffic Channel, TCH)

• Packet Broadcast Control Channel, PBCCH

(≡ Broadcast Control Channel, BCCH)

• Packet Paging Channel, PPCH

(≡ Paging Channel, PCH)

• Packet Random Access Channel, PRACH

(≡ Random Access Channel, RACH)

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• Packet Access Grant Channel, PAGCH

(≡ Access Grant Channel, AGCH)

• Packet Associated Control Channel, PACCH

(≡ Fast Associated Control Channel, FACCH)

• Packet Notification Channel, PNCH

(No equivalent)

It informs groups of GPRS stations that multicast

transmissions are about to occur.

• Packet Timing Advance Control Channel/Uplink,

PTCCH/U (No equivalent)

Packets are transmitted intermittently in GPRS, so

a test transmission must be sent occasionally in the
T timeframe for estimation of proper timing
advance setting.

• Packet Timing Advance Control Channel/Downlink,

PTCCH/D (No equivalent)

It is used to transmit a timing advance setting to

one or more GPRS stations.

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5.1.6 Variable Error Protection Coding

Formats

Error protection levels are dynamically assigned due to

the channel conditions and the nature of the data.

High levels of error protection are used when:

• The data is important.

• The data is real-time data.

• The radio link condition is poor.

Low levels of error protection are used when:

• The data is not important.

• The data is non-real-time data.

• The radio link condition is good.

A high level error protection method will result in lower

data transmission rate. There are four error protection
levels and their data rates are:

9.05 kbps, 13.4 kbps, 15.6 kbps and 21.4 kbps

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5.1.7 Medium Access Control MAC

GSM does not employ MAC since the voice path will
continuously occupy a timeslot for its whole session.
Packet data are usually short and need a MAC
algorithm to effectively sharing the timeslots.

There are three MAC modes used in GPRS system:

Dynamic

It is used for short random bursts of data when timeslots

are assigned on an as needed basis. The base station
can assign up to eight users for each timeslot.

Extended Dynamic

It is used for high bit rate data where the GPRS station
can transmit on multiple timeslots.

Fixed allocation

It is used when a consistent data transmission rate is

required or reduced delay variation is necessary.

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5.2 Enhanced Data for Global Evolution

EDGE

EDGE uses new phase modulation and packet

transmission to provide for advanced high-speed data
services. It uses eight-level phase shift keying 8PSK.
This is three times the amount of information that GSM
can achieved. The maximum data rate is 474 kbps.

8PSK modulation is more sensitive to interference than

GMSK modulation. In EDGE systems, 8PSK is used
only when the channel conditions are good. When the
radio channel conditions are poor, EDGE systems
automatically change back to GMSK modulation.

References
1. S. M. Redl, An Introduction to GSM, Artech House, 1995
2. V.K. Garg, Principles & Applications of GSM, Prentice Hall, 1999
3. L. Harte, 3G Wirless Demystified, McGraw-Hill, 2002

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