GSM Introduction

History Of GSM
 In the early 1980s, many countries in Europe
witnessed a rapid expansion of analog cellular
telephone systems. However, each country
developed its own system, and interoperability across
borders became a limiting factor.
 In 1982, the Conference of European Post and Tele
communications (CEPT), established a working
group called the Groupe Spécial Mobile (GSM).
 The task of GSM is to define a new standard for
mobile communications in the 900 MHz range using
digital technology.

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History Of GSM contd..,
1986
 Field tests were held in Paris to select which digital
transmission technology to use.
 The choice was Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
or Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA).
1987
 A combination of TDMA and FDMA was selected as
the transmission technology for GSM.
 Operators from 12 countries signed a Memorandum
of Understanding committing themselves to
introducing GSM by 1991.

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History Of GSM contd..,
1988
 CEPT began producing GSM specifications for
a phased implementation.
 Another five countries signed the MoU.
1989
 European Telecommunication Standards
Institute (ETSI) took over responsibility for
GSM specification.

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History Of GSM contd..,
1990
 Phase 1 specifications were frozen to allow
manufacturers to develop network equipment.
1991
 The GSM standard was released.
 An addition was made to the MoU allowing countries
outside CEPT to sign.
 The year 1991 also saw the definition of the first
derivative of GSM, GSM 1800 or DCS 1800, which
more or less translates the GSM system in to the
1800MHz frequency band.

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History Of GSM contd..,
 The meaning of acronym GSM was changed
to Global System for Mobile communications
the same year.
1992
 Phase 1 specifications were completed.
 First commercial Phase 1 GSM networks were
launched.
 The first international roaming agreement
was established between Telecom Finland
and Vodafone in UK.

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GSM SPECIFICATIONS
 GSM was designed to be platform-
independent.
 The GSM specifications do not specify the
actual hardware requirements, but instead
specify the network functions and interfaces
in detail.
 This allows hardware designers to be creative
in how they provide the actual functionality,
but at the same time makes it possible for
operators to buy equipment from different
suppliers.
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GSM PHASES
 In the late 1980s, the groups involved in
developing the GSM standard realized that
within the given time-frame they could not
complete the specifications for the entire
range of GSM services and features as
originally planned.
 Because of this, it was decided that GSM
would be released in phases with phase 1
consisting of a limited set of services and
features.
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GSM frequency Ranges
For GSM 900 system
 890-915 MHz is uplink range (MS
transmit)
 935-960 MHz is downlink range (MS
receive)
 Bandwidth is 25 MHz.

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 For GSM 1800 system
 1710-1785 MHz is uplink frequency
range (MS transmit)
 1805-1880 MHz is downlink frequency
range (MS receive)
 Bandwidth is 75 MHz

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 System Architecture of GSM
 GSM makes use of Cellular Structure
 The basic idea of cellular network is to partition the
available frequency range – allocate only part of
frequency spectrum to BTS – keep the range of
base station small to reuse the frequency.
 One more important aspect of network planning is
to reduce interference between different base
stations.

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 Overview of GSM architecture-
Subsystems
 Mobile Station – MS
 Subscriber Identity Module –SIM
 Base transceiver station (BTS)
 Base station controller (BSC)
 Transcoding rate and adaptation unit (TRAU)
 Mobile services switching center (MSC)
 Home location register (HLR),
 Visitor location register (VLR)
 Equipment identity register (EIR).
Together, th ey form a p ubl ic la nd
mobi le
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GSM Network Architecture

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GSM Architecture contd..,
 MS – Mobile Station
GSM-PLMN contains as many MSs as possible,
available in various styles and power classes. In
particular, the handheld and portable stations
need to be distinguished.
 SIM-Subscriber Identity Module
Identity of the subscriber =/= Identity of the
mobile equipment.
 SIM provides portability to the subscriber.

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GSM Architecture contd..,
 SIM determines the directory number
and the calls billed to a subscriber.
 SIM is a database on the user side.
 It consists of a chip, which the user
must insert into the GSM telephone
before it can be used.
 SIM communicates directly with the VLR
and indirectly with the HLR.
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GSM Architecture contd..,
 BTS - Base Transceiver Station
A large number of BTSs take care of the
radio-related tasks and provide the
connectivity between the network and the
mobile station via the Air-interface.
 BSC- Base Station Controller
The BTSs of an area are connected to the
BSC via an interface called the Abis-interface.

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 GSM Architecture contd..,
 BSC takes care of all the central functions
and the control of the subsystem, referred
to as the base station subsystem (BSS).

 The BSS comprises the BSC itself and the

connected BTSs.

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 GSM Architecture contd..,
TR AU (T rans coding Ra te an d Ad ap tat io n Unit ):
 One of the most important aspects of mobile network is
the effectiveness with which it uses the available
frequency resources.
 Effectiveness addresses how many calls can
be made by using a certain bandwidth which in turn
translates in to -Necessity to compress data, at least over
the Air-interface.
 Information compression is performed in both the MS and
the TRAU.

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 GSM Architecture contd..,
MSC (Mobi le Sw it ching Cent er)
 MSC is similar to wireline Digital exchange
 A large number of BSCs are connected to the MSC
via the A-interface.
 Major tasks of an MSC is:
Routing of incoming and outgoing calls

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GSM Architecture contd..,
HLR (Hom e Loc atio n Re gi st er) :
 A repository that stores the data of a
large number of subscribers.
 An HLR can be regarded as a large
database that administers the data of
literally hundreds of thousands of
subscribers.
 Every PLMN requires at least one HLR.

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VLR (Visitor Location Register)
 The Visitor Location Register (VLR) is a
database containing information about all MSs
that currently are located in the MSC service
area.
 The VLR contains temporary subscriber
information needed by the MSC to provide
service for visiting subscribers.
 VLR is always integrated with MSC in a GSM
network.
 The VLR can be seen as a distributed HLR.

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VLR contd..,
 VLR area = MSC area
 When a Mobile Station (MS) roams into a new
MSC service area, the VLR connected to that
MSC requests data about the MS from the
HLR and stores it.
 When the MS makes a call, the VLR already
has the information needed for call set-up.
 So in this way the no of queries made to HLR
is reduced and there by reducing the load.

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 EIR (Eq uip me nt Ide nti ty Regi st er)
 GSM terminal equipment unique identifier is -
International mobile equipment identity
(IMEI).
 EIR keeps track of IMEI of all the subscribers.

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Signaling and Payload

 Intercommunication between nodes and

databases.

 Different signaling protocols between

different subsystems.

 Out of Band signaling.

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PCM
 The A/D conversion is performed by using a
process called Pulse Code Modulation (PCM).
PCM involves three main steps:
 Sampling
 Quantization
 Coding

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Step1: Sampling
 Sampling involves measuring the analog signal at
specific time intervals.

 The accuracy of describing the analog signal in digital

terms depends on how often the analog signal is
sampled.
 This is expressed as the sampling frequency.
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Step2: Quantization
 The next step is to give each sample a value.
 For this reason, the amplitude of the signal at the
time of sampling is measured and approximated to
one of a finite set of values.

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Step 3: Coding
 Coding involves converting the
quantized values into binary.
 Every value is represented by a binary
code.

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Pulse Code Modulation -PCM
 Pulse code modulation (PCM) is the
worldwide process for transmission
of digital signals.
 PCM is used to transmit both signaling
data and payload.
 PCM is categorized into hierarchies,
depending on the transmission rate.

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 Consider a 2Mbps PCM link be
partitioned in 32 independent channels
of 64kbps each
 One 64-Kbps time slot out of a 2-Mbps
PCM link typically is used for signaling
data
 A call setup consumes about 1 to 2
Kbps.

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Block diagram of MOBILE Station

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Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)
 SIM is a microchip
 Except for emergency calls, a GSM
mobile phone cannot be used without
the SIM.
 In GSM terminology, the term MS refers
to the combination of a SIM and an ME.

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SIM

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SIM contd..,
 The SIM stores three types of subscriber
related information:
 Fixed data stored before the subscription is
sold: e.g. IMSI, authentication key and
security algorithms
 Temporary network data: e.g. the location
area of the subscriber and forbidden PLMNs
 Service data: e.g. language preference etc..,

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SIM contd..,
 A SIM contains information for GSM
network operations.
 This information can be related to the
mobile subscriber, GSM services or
PLMN.
 The data storage requirements of a SIM
are divided into two categories:
mandatory and optional.

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SIM as Database
 The major task of a SIM is to store data.
 The SIM has an area of non-volatile memory
which is used to store information specific to
a particular subscriber and this includes the
subscriber’s unique international mobile
subscriber identity (IMSI) number.
 This number is used to identify each
individual subscriber within the GSM network.

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SIM contd..,
 The SIM will also contain the subscriber’s
secret authentication key, Ki, the
authentication algorithm, A3, and the cipher
key generation algorithm, A8.
 The language preference indicator is also
located in the SIM and this is used to indicate
the language to be used on the MS screen.
 The items described above are mandatory
and must be present in any SIM that
conforms to the GSM specifications.
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SIM contd..,
 The SIM may also contain a number of
optional items which will include the
subscriber’s abbreviated dialling numbers.
 The SIM may also contain a list of the last
number(s) that the subscriber has dialled and
an area of storage for the subscriber’s short
messages.
 Inserting an SIM card into an ME effectively
personalises the equipment to the particular
subscriber.
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Info stored on SIM –
Administrative data
PIN Mandatory Personal identification number; requested at
/changeable every powerup (PIN or PIN2
PUK Mandatory PIN unblocking key; required to unlock a
/fixed value SIM
SIM service Mandatory List of the optional functionality of the SIM
table /fixed value
Last dialed Optional Redial
number /changeable
Charging meter Optional Charges and time increments can be set
/changeable
Language Mandatory Determines the language for prompts by the
/changeable mobile station
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Security related data
Algorithm A3 and A8 Mandatory /fixed value Required for
authentication and
to determine Kc

Key Ki Mandatory /fixed value Individual value;

known only on SIM
and the HLR

Key Kc Mandatory /fixed value Result of A8, Ki, and

random number
(RAND)

CKSN Optional /changeable Ciphering key

value sequence number

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Subscriber Data
IMSI Mandatory /fixed value International mobile
subscriber identity

MSISDN Optional /fixed value Mobile subscriber

ISDN; directory
number of a subscriber

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 Roaming Data
TMSI Mandatory / changeable value Temporary mobile subscriber identity

LAI Mandatory /changeable value Location area information

Network color Mandatory /changeable Maximum of 4 PLMNs can be entered
codes (NCCs) on a SIM after unsuccessful location
of restricted update; cause “PLMN not allowed.”
PLMNs Oldest entry deleted when more than 4
restricted PLMNs are found.
NCCs of preferred Optional / changeable What PLMN should the MS select, if
PLMNs there is more than one to choose
from and the home PLMN is not
available?

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PLMN data
NCC, mobile country Mandatory /Fixed Network identifier
code (MCC), and
mobile network code
(MNC) of the home
PLMN

Absolute radio Mandatory /Fixed Frequencies for which

frequency channel the home PLMN is
numbers (ARFCNs) of licensed.
home PLMN

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 Mobile Station characteristics
 Technical Marvel
 Falling Prices
 Availability of different devices
 Interaction with BTS
 Channel negotiation ,modulation/demodulation and
coding/decoding functionality
 Efficient use of battery power
 Communicates directly with MSC and VLR as well via MM
(mobility management) and CC (call control)

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Mobile Station Classes
 Different types of MSs have different output
power capabilities and therefore different
ranges.
 Hand-held phones generally have a lower
output power and consequently a shorter
range than a vehicle-mounted phone.
 According to GSM specifications, MSs are
categorized into five classes according to MS
output power.
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MS Power Classes

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Mobile Station Classes contd..,
 The location of the MS also affects the
received power of the transmitted signal.
 An MS located at the top of a high building
has a greater range than one that is located
at or below ground level.

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