ADVANCED WIRELESS

TECHNIQUES
 CONTENTS
• Introduction to Wireless Communication System
• Global System for Mobile (GSM)
• Fading
• Diversity & Equalization
• Location tracking & Call Setup
 Introduction to Wireless
Communication System
• In 1897, Guglielmo Marconi first demonstrated radio's
ability to provide continuous contact with ships sailing the
English channel. Since then new wireless communications
methods and services have been enthusiastically adopted
by people throughout the world.
• Particularly during the past ten- fifteen years, the mobile
radio communications industry has grown by orders of
magnitude, fueled by digital and RF circuit fabrication
improvements, new large-scale circuit integration, and other
miniaturization technologies which make portable radio
equipment smaller, cheaper, and more reliable.
• Digital switching techniques have facilitated the large scale
deployment of affordable, easy-to-use radio communication
networks.
Evolution of Mobile Radio Communications
• The ability to provide wireless communications to an entire
population was not even conceived until Bell Laboratories
developed the cellular concept in the 1960s and 1970s.
• With the development of highly reliable, miniature, solid-
state radio frequency hardware in the 1970s, the wireless
communications era was born.
 Global System for Mobile (GSM)
• Global System for Mobile (GSM) is a second generation cellular
system standard that was developed to solve the fragmentation
problems of the first cellular systems in Europe.
• GSM is the world's first cellular system to specify digital
modulation and network level architectures and services.
• GSM was originally developed to serve as the pan-European
cellular service and promised a wide range of network services
through the use of ISDN.
GSM Services and Features
• GSM services follow ISDN guidelines and are classified as either
teleservices or data services.
• Teleservices includes standard mobile telephony and mobile-
originated or base-originated traffic.
• Data services include computer to computer communication and
packet switched traffic.
• User services may be divided into three major categories:
• Telephone services, including emergency calling and facsimile.
GSM also supports Videotex and Teletex, though they are not
integral parts of the GSM standard.
• Bearer services or data services which are limited to layers 1, 2,
and 3 of the open system interconnection (OSI) reference model.
Supported services include packet switched protocols and data rates
from 300 bps to 9.6 kbps. Data may be transmitted using either a
transparent mode (where GSM provides standard channel coding
for the user data) or non transparent mode (where GSM offers
special coding efficiencies based on the particular data interface).
• Supplementary ISDN services, are digital in nature, and include
call diversion, closed user groups, and caller identification, and are
not available in analog mobile networks.
• Supplementary services also include the short messaging service
(SMS) which allows GSM subscribers and base stations to
transmit alphanumeric pages of limited length (160 7 bit ASCII
characters) while simultaneously carrying normal voice traffic.
• From the user's point of view, one of the most remarkable
features of GSM is the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM),
which is a memory device that stores information such as the
subscriber's identification number, the networks and countries
where the subscriber is entitled to service, privacy keys, and other
user-specific information.
• A second remarkable feature of GSM is the on-the-air privacy
which is provided by the system. Unlike analog FM cellular phone
systems which can be readily monitored, it is virtually impossible
to eavesdrop on a GSM radio transmission.
 GSM System Architecture
• GSM system architecture consists of three major interconnected
subsystems that interact between themselves and with the users
through certain network interfaces.
• The subsystems are the Base Station Subsystem (BSS), Network
and Switching Subsystem (NSS), and the Operation Support
Subsystem(OSS).
• The Mobile Station (MS) is also a subsystem, but is usually
considered to be part of the BSS for architecture purposes.
• BSS, also known as the radio subsystem, provides and manages
radio transmission paths between the mobile stations and the
Mobile Switching Centre (MSC).
• BSS also manages the radio interface between the mobile
stations and all other subsystems of GSM.
• Each BSS consists of many Base Station Controllers (BSCs)
which connect the MS to the NSS via the MSCs.
• NSS manages the switching functions of the system and
allows the MSCs to communicate with other networks such
as the PSTN and ISDN.
• OSS supports the operation and maintenance of GSM and
allows system engineers to monitor, diagnose, and
troubleshoot all aspects of the GSM system.
• This subsystem interacts with the other GSM subsystems,
and is provided solely for the staff of the GSM operating
company which provides service facilities for the network.
GSM system architecture.
• Above fig. shows the block diagram of the GSM system
architecture. The Mobile Stations (MS) communicate with the Base
Station Subsystem (BSS) over the radio air interface.
• The BSS consists of many BSCs which connect to a single MSC,
and each BSC typically controls up to several hundred Base
Transceiver Stations (BTSs).
• Some of the BTSs maybe co-located at the BSC, and others may be
remotely distributed and physically connected to the BSC by
microwave link or dedicated leased lines.
• Mobile handoffs (called handovers, or HO, in the GSM
specification) between two BTSs under the control of the same
BSC are handled by the BSC, and not the MSC. This greatly
reduces the switching burden of the MSC.
• The interface which connects a BTS to a BSC is called the Abis
interface. The Abis interface carries traffic and maintenance data,
and is specified by GSM to be standardized for all manufacturers.
The various interfaces used in GSM.
• Area Specifications
• GSM service area refers to the area where GSM services can be
used. Thus the maximum service area consists of all functioning
GSM networks, which allow roaming either using the same GSM
terminal or via so-called SIM-roaming, where the user must switch
the SIM card to another terminal supported by the visited network.
• Area covered by the radio network of a single MSC is called a
centre area, which in turn consists of several location areas (LA).
• Location areas are formed by groups of cells within a certain
geographic region within a centre area.
• Incoming calls to the centre area are routed to the right location
area based on the location data contained in the visitor location
register (VLR) of the GSM network.
• Subscriber’s home location register (HLR) contains information
about the VLR, where the subscriber has last registered. The VLR
contains information on the specific location area, where the
subscriber has last connected to the network.
CHANNELS IN GSM
 FADING
• Small-scale fading, or simply fading, is used to describe the
rapid fluctuation of the amplitude of a radio signal over a short
period of time or travel distance, so that large-scale path loss
effects may be ignored.
• Fading is caused by interference between two or more versions
of the transmitted signal which arrive at the receiver at slightly
different times.
• These waves, called multipath waves, combine at the receiver
antenna to give a resultant signal which can vary widely in
amplitude and phase, depending on the distribution of the
intensity and relative propagation time of the waves and the
bandwidth of the transmitted signal.
• Multipath in the radio channel creates small-scale fading effects.
• Three most important effects are:
• Rapid changes in signal strength over a small travel distance or
time interval
• Random frequency modulation due to varying Doppler shifts on
different
• multipath signals
• Time dispersion (echoes) caused by multipath propagation delays.
Factors Influencing Small-Scale Fading
• Multipath propagation — The presence of reflecting objects and
scatterers in the channel creates a constantly changing environment
that dissipates the signal energy in amplitude, phase, and time.
• Multipath propagation often lengthens the time required for the
baseband portion of the signal to reach the receiver which can
cause signal smearing due to intersymbol interference.
• Speed of the mobile — The relative mçtion between the base
station and the mobile results in random frequency modulation
due to different Doppler shifts on each of the multipath
components.
• Speed of surrounding objects— If objects in the radio channel
are in motion, they induce a time varying Doppler shift on
multipath components. If the surrounding objects move at a
greater rate than the mobile, then this effect dominates the small-
scale fading. Otherwise, motion of surrounding objects may be
ignored, and only the speed of the mobile need be considered.
• The transmission bandwidth of the signal —If the transmitted
radio signal bandwidth is greater than the "bandwidth" of the
multipath channel, the received signal will be distorted, but the
received signal strength will not fade much over a local area
(i.e., the small-scale signal fading will not be significant).
Types of small-scale fading
 Diversity & Equalization
• Mobile radio channel is particularly dynamic due to multipath
fading and Doppler spread.
• These effects have a strong negative impact on the bit error rate of
any modulation technique.
• Mobile radio channel impairments cause the signal at the receiver
to distort or fade significantly as compared to AWGN channels.
• Equalization, diversity, and channel coding are three techniques
which can be used independently or in tandem to improve received
signal quality.
• Equalization compensates for intersymbol interference (ISI)
created by multipath within time dispersive channels.
• An equalizer within a receiver compensates for the average range of
expected channel amplitude and delay characteristics. Equalizers
must be adaptive since the channel is generally unknown and time
varying.
• Diversity is another technique used to compensate for fading
channel impairments, and is usually implemented by using two or
more receiving antennas.
• As with an equalizer, the quality of a mobile communications link
is improved without increasing the transmitted power or bandwidth.
• However, while equalization is used to counter the effects of time
dispersion (ISI), diversity usually employed to reduce the depth and
duration of the fades experienced by a receiver in a flat fading
(narrowband) channel.
• Diversity techniques can be employed at both base station and
mobile receivers.
• Most common diversity technique is called spatial diversity,
whereby multiple antennas are strategically spaced and connected
to a common receiving system. While one antenna sees a signal
null, one of the other antennas may see a signal peak, and the
receiver is able to select the antenna with the best signal at any
time.
• Other diversity techniques include antenna polarization diversity,
frequency diversity, and time diversity.
• CDMA systems often use a RAKE receiver, which provides link
improvement through time diversity.
• Channel coding improves mobile communication link
performance by adding redundant data bits in the transmitted
message.
• The three techniques of equalization, diversity, and channel coding
are used to improve radio link performance (i.e. to minimize the
instantaneous bit error rate), but the approach, cost, complexity,
and effectiveness of each technique varies widely in practical
wireless communication systems.
 Block diagram of a simplified communications
system using an adaptive equalizer at the receiver.
Space Diversity
• Space diversity, also known as antenna diversity, is one of
the most popular forms of diversity used in wireless systems.
• The concept of antenna space diversity is also used in base
station design. At each cell site, multiple base station
receiving antennas are used to provide diversity reception.
However, since the important scatterers are generally on the
ground in the vicinity of the mobile, the base station
antennas must be spaced considerably far apart to achieve
decorrelation. Separations on the order of several tens of
wavelengths are required at the base station. Space diversity
can thus be used at either the mobile or base station, or both.
Generalized block diagram for space diversity.
 LOCATION TRACKING &
CALL SETUP
• To exercise location tracking, a mobile service area is
partitioned into several Location Areas (LA) or registration
areas.
– Every LA consists of a group of BTSs.
• The major task of mobility management is to update the
location of an MS when it moves from one LA to another.
• The current location of an MS is maintained by a two-level
hierarchical strategy with the HLR and the VLR.
• For example, the registration process of the MS moving
from one VLR to another VLR is illustrated below
The MS registration process
• Steps For The MS Registration Process
• Step 1. The MS periodically listens to the BCCH broadcast from
the BSS. If the MS enters a new location area, it sends a
registration message (SDCCH) to the new VLR.
• „Step 2. The new VLR communicates with the old VLR to find
the HLR of the MS.
• Step 3. The new VLR sends a registration message to the HLR. If
the registration request is accepted, the HL provides the new VLR
with all information for call handling.
• „ Step 4. The new VLR informs the MS of the successful
registration.
• „Step 5. The HLR sends a deregistration message to the old VLR.
GSM call origination

GSM Call Origination

• GSM Call Termination

GSM Call Termination

The mobile call termination (delivery) procedure
• Step 1. When the MSISDN is dialed, the call is forwarded to the
GMSC, a switch that has the capability to interrogate the HLR
for routing information.
The HLR requests the VLR of the MS to provide the routable
address, called a mobile station roaming number (MSRN).
•S„ tep 2. The VLR returns the MSRN to the GMSC through the
HLR.
• Step 3. The GMSC uses the MSRN to route the call to the MS
through the visited MSC.
The mobile call termination (delivery) procedure
 ROAMING IN WIRELESS
AND MOBILE NETWORKS
• Roaming is a term we often hear when dealing with our
carrier, especially when wondering why it costs so much.
• Roaming is a term used to describe the ability of phones to
connect to the network of a different carrier, abroad or at
home in order to offer users the same features they use while
on their “home” network – making and receiving calls and
text messages and surfing the web.
• Roaming is possible thanks to the international agreements
carriers have with other carriers, in order to offer their
wireless services in other regions of a country or of the
world.
• There are various types of roaming agreements between carriers,
with some of them being free, but most of them will bring extra
charges to our monthly cell phone bill.
• When thinking about roaming, we generally refer to using the
handset in a different country – international roaming.
• But the same term can refer to regional roaming, when users will
be roaming when moving from one region of a country to another,
without switching carriers in the process, or national roaming,
when moving from carrier A to carrier B inside the same country
while still being a subscriber with carrier A.
• Roaming extends the coverage of the home operator’s retail voice
and SMS services, allowing the mobile user to continue using
their home operator phone number and data services within
another country.
• Most common international roaming services are:
• Voice: Making and receiving calls to
or from home country, visited country
or a third country, while abroad
• SMS: Sending and receiving text
messages to or from home country,
visited country or a third country,
while abroad
• Email: Reading and replying to
emails while abroad
• Mobile broadband: Using mobile
devices or dongles to access the
internet, including downloading
images, MP3s, films and software,
while abroad
Applications: Using mobile
applications while abroad that require
mobile data, such as location-based
services and language translators
• International mobile roaming is one of a wider range of
communications services offered to mobile users while travelling
abroad, which also include hotel services, Wi-Fi, national “travel”
SIMs, and visited operator SIMs.
How mobile roaming works?
• When a mobile user is abroad and turns their mobile device on, the
mobile device attempts to communicate with a visited mobile
network.
• The visited network picks up the connection from the user’s
mobile, recognises whether it is registered with its system, and
attempts to identify the user’s home network.
• If there is a roaming agreement between the home network and one
of the mobile networks in the visited country, the call is routed by
the visited network towards an international transit network.
Overview of international roaming technology and operations
• The international transit network carrier is responsible for the
call delivery to the destination network.
• Once this is done, the destination network will connect the
call.
• The visited network also requests service information from the
home network about the user, such as whether the phone being
used is lost or stolen, and whether the mobile device is
authorised for international use.
• If the phone is authorised for use, the visited network creates a
temporary subscriber record for the device and the home
network updates its subscriber record on where the device is
located so if a call is made to the phone it can be appropriately
routed.
Commercial links required for international mobile roaming
MOBILE COMMUNICATION
CHANNEL MODELS
• In wireless communication channel modeling plays a key
role in exchange of information between communicating
entities.
• A channel can be modeled physically by calculate the
physical processes which modify the transmitted signal.
• A channel is used to transfer an information signal, for
example a digital data, from transmitter to receiver.
• The characteristics of wireless signal changes as it travels
from the transmitter antenna to the receiver antenna. These
characteristics depend upon the distance between the two
antennas, the path taken by the signal, and the environment
(buildings and other objects) around the path.
• The profile of received signal can be obtained from that of
the transmitted signal if we have a model of the medium
between the two.
• This model of the medium is called channel model.
• CHANNEL MODEL :
• They are two types of channel models:
1. Digital models
2. Analog models
A. Digital :
• In a digital channel model only digital signals are transmitted. If any
audio or video signals have to be transmit then they must be first
converted in to digital signals.
• Simple Example of digital channel model :
 Binary symmetric channel (BSC):
• The Binary Symmetric Channel block appends binary errors to the
signal sent through this channel.
B. Analog
• In an analog channel model, only analog signals are transmitted. If
digital data has to be transmitted then first digital data is converted in
to analog signals and sent through the channel and decoded on
receiver side.
• Simple Example of analog channel model:
Doppler shift model:
• The Doppler Effect model describes the change in frequency of a
wave that is produced by the motion of either the wave source or the
observer of the wave (or both).
 3-G WIRELESS STANDARD
• The third generation of cellular telephony refers to a combination
of technologies that provide a variety of services.
• The third-generation concept started in 1992, when ITU issued a
blueprint called the Internet Mobile Communication 2000 (IMT-
2000). The blueprint defines some criteria for third-generation
technology as outlined below:
Voice quality comparable to that of the existing public telephone
network.
Data rate of 144 kbps for access in a moving vehicle (car), 384
kbps for access as the user walks (pedestrians), and 2 Mbps for the
stationary user (office or home).
Support for packet-switched and circuit-switched data services.
 A band of 2 GHz.
Bandwidths of 2 MHz.
 Interface to the Internet.
• The main goal of third-generation cellular telephony is to provide
universal personal communication.
• IMT-2000 Radio Interface:

IMT-2000 radio interfaces

• Spectrum is allocated and regulated differently in different parts of the
world. The method of spectrum allocation may vary from an auction to
the highest to bidder to a simple allotment.
• Moreover, the availability of spectrum varies greatly from operator to
operator. The optimum number of wireless operators in a particular
market depends on a combination of the country’s regulatory policies
and market conditions.
• In many regions of the world, new spectrum is to be allocated within
the 2 GHz (1885-2025/2110-2200 MHz) as specified by IMT2000.
• Europe will allocate 1920- I980 MHz and 2110- 2170 MHz for the
operation of frequency-division duplex (FDD), and 1900-1920 MHz
and 2010-2025 MHz for the operation of time-division duplex (TDD).
• In Japan, an identical allocation has been made for the operation of
FDD, but no allocation has been made for the operation of TDD.
• The allocation of spectrum in the US differs from Europe and Japan
because parts of the 2 GHz (1 850- 19 1011 930- 1990 MHz) frequency
band have already been allocated for use by PCS systems.
• Although a core spectrum has been proposed to be reserved in
certain parts of the world for IMT-2000 services, this does not
preclude 3G services to be offered in other bands.
• For instance, cdma2000 (which is an evolution from cdmaOne)
supports all IMT-2000 services in the 800 and 1900 MHz bands.

4-G WIRELESS STANDARD

• WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperbility for Microwave Access) is a
4G wireless cellular standard. It is a broadband wireless standard
and employs OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing)
and OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division for multiple access).
• . It belongs to the IEEE 802.16 group of standards for Wireless
Metropolian Area Networking (WMAN).
• The IEEE 802.16 group was established in 1998 to develop an air
interface for wireless broadband access. This group initially
focused on a point to point standard for operation in the 10‐66 GHz
range. The resulting standard was completed in December 2001.
• This standard employed a single carrier physical layer and
employed burst time division for multiple access at the MAC layer.
This was subsequently expanded to 802.16a for NLOS (Non line
of slight) applications and for the first time employed multicarrier
based orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM).
• Further revisions led to the finalization of IEEE 802.16‐2004
standard for fixed wireless access. Mobility was added to the next
revision IEEE 802.16‐2005 and is often referred to as Mobile
WiMAX. WiMAX has several advanced features such as scalable
bandwidth, adaptive modulation and coding, advanced antenna
techniques (AAS) employing multiple‐input multiple‐output
(MIMO) etc. Thus WiMAX is capable of significantly high data
rates and can support up to 75 Mbps.
 MOBILE SATELLITE
COMMUNICATION
• Mobile satellite service (MSS) is the term used to describe
telecommunication services delivered to or from the mobile
users by using the satellites.
• MSS can be used in remote areas lacking wired networks.
• Limitations of MSS are availability of line of sight
requirement and emerging technologies.
 MSS PROVIDED BY ISRO
• An S-band Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) was added to INSAT
system with the launch of INSAT-3C in 2002 and GSAT-2 in 2003.
• A small portable satellite terminal that works with INSAT for
voice/data communication has been developed with the participation of
Indian industries. The terminal is useful for voice communication
especially during disasters when other means of communication break
down. It can be used from any location in India for emergency
communication. Transmit and receive frequencies of the terminal are in
S-Band.
• The portable terminal is connected to the EPABX at central hub station
through satellite channel and hence could be considered as an
extension of EPABX and call could be made between any satellite
terminals and local phones on EPABX. Central hub station is located at
SAC, Ahmedabad.
 WLAN STANDARD
• The IEEE 802.11 definition is in fact a set of standards in
order to implement wireless local area network (WLAN)
communications, the radio frequency bands being 2.4 GHz,
3.6 GHz and 5 GHz.
• This set is developed and maintained by the IEEE
LAN/MAN Standards Committee (IEEE 802).
• The IEEE 802.11-2012 standard has been complemented by
subsequent amendments.
• This complete set of standards acts as a base for wireless
network products using theWi-Fi brand.
• The set of standards of IEEE 802.11 are named with letters,
the originalWi-Fi variant being without this extension.
IEEE 802.11 variants