BASIC Telephony

Signaling
Voice Traffic

SWITCH / EXCHANGE

Off Hook
Dial Tone
Dialing
Digits
RBT
Conversatio

Ring
Off Hook &
Conversation

Compatibility

Better immunity to Noise

Increased Capacity & Flexibility

Use of Standard Open Interfaces

Improved Security

Smooth Handovers

Subscriber Identification

ISDN Compatibility

Enhanced Range of Services

1982:

Development of the GSM

Standard
Groupe Spcial Mobile
(GSM)
1992: Official commercial launch
created

1984:

Description of GSM features

1985:

List of recommendations
settled

1987:

Initial MoU (Memorandum of

Understanding) aside the
drafting of technical
specifications was signed by
network operators of 13
countries:

1988:

Validation and trials, of the

radio interface.

1991:

First system trials are

demonstrated at the
Telecom 91 exhibition.

of GSM service in Europe.

First Launch in Finland
1993:

The GSM-MoU has 62

signatories in 39 countries
worldwide. First GSM-1800
network launched

1995: Specifications of GSM

phase 2
are frozen. First GSM1900
1999: GSM
MoU joins
3GPP
network
launched
(UMTS)
GPRS Trials begins
2000:

480M GSM subscribers

Worldwide
First GPRS Networks roll
out
End 2002:
792M GSM
subscribers
Worldwide

GSM Specifications
12 SERIES
OPERATION AND
MAINTENANCE

01 SERIES
GENERAL

02 SERIES
SERVICE ASPECTS

11 SERIES
EQUIPMENT AND TYPE
APPROVAL SPECIFICATIONS

03 SERIES
NETWORK ASPECTS

10 SERIES
SERVICE INTERWORKING

04 SERIES
MS-BSS INTERFACE AND
PROTOCOLS

09 SERIES
NETWORK
INTERWORKING

05 SERIES
PHYSICAL LAYER ON THE
RADIO PATH.

08 SERIES
BSS TO MSC INTERFACES

07 SERIES
TERMINAL ADAPTERS
FOR MOBILE STATIONS

06 SERIES
SPEECH CODING
SPECIFICATIONS

What are the types in

GSM Network?

GSM-900 (Channels 125 operating band

900Mhz carrier spacing 200khz spacing
45Mhz)

GSM -1800 (Channels 374 spacing 95Mhz)

GSM -1900(Used in USA)

Different Standards Worldwide

Carrier frequency = ARFCN = Absolute Radio Frequency Channel
Number
The term GSM-900
is used for any GSM system which operates in any 900 MHz band.
GSM - 900

P-GSM - 900
P-GSM-900 band is the primary band for GSM-900 Frequency band for primary GSM-900 (P-GSM900) : 2 x 25 MHz
890 915 MHz for MS to BTS (uplink)
935 960 MHz for BTS to MS (downlink)
E-GSM - 900
In some countries, GSM-900 is allowed to operate in part or in all of the following extension band.
E-GSM-900 (Extended GSM-900) band includes the primary band (P-GSM-900) and the extension
band :
880 890 MHz for MS to BTS (uplink)
925 935 MHz for BTS to MS (downlink)
R-GSM-900
R-GSM-900 (Railway GSM-900) band includes the primary band (P-GSM-900) and the following
extension band:
876 890 MHz for MS to BTS (uplink)
921 935 MHz for BTS to MS (downlink)
GSM-1800
Frequency band: 2 x 75 MHz

Uplink

450.4

457.6 478.8

GSM 450
Downlink

460.4

Uplink
876 880

890

486

824

GSM 480

467.6 488.8
915
915
915

496

1710

849

GSM 850

869

894

1785 1850

MHz

1910

P-GSM
E-GSM

GSM 1800

GSM 1900

R-GSM

921 925
Downlink

935

960
960
960

1805

1880 1930

1990

MHz

Spectrum variant with 200 kHz ch

Bandwidth:
GSM900 at 900 MHz

124 carriers @ 2x25 MHz band

GSM1800 at 1800 MHz (DCS1800)

375 carriers @ 2x75 MHz band

GSM1900 at 1900 MHz (PCS1900)

300 carriers @ 2x60 MHz band

Fdl(n) = Ful + 45 MHz

dl= 935 to 960

MHz

ul= 890 to 915

MHz

Ful(n) = 890.0 + (0.2) *n

MHz

Telecom Service Providers/Operators

GSM
CDMA
Basic-WLL
Internet Services
Long Distance

Vendor
Telecom Consultancy

End of 1980s Analog Systems unable to meet

continuing demands

Severely confined spectrum allocations

Interference in multipath fading environment

Incompatibility among various analog systems

Inability to substantially reduce the cost of

mobile terminals and infrastructure required

Spectrum space - most limited and precious

resource

Solution - further multiplex traffic (time domain)

Can be realized with Digital Techniques only

Service Provider is not a Equipment Manufacturer.

The Service Provider has a license to operate in a

geographical boundary (state/circle/ country).

It buys equipment from OEM Suppliers (Vendors).

Installs & commissions the equipment thus making its

own Network.

Provides the desired service to its subscribers.

Vendor is a Equipment Manufacturer.

It supplies Product, Consultancy and Trainings

Service provider has the option of taking the

Consultancy and Training

RF
CONCEPTS

CLASSIFICATION OF RADIO
WAVES

RADIO WAVES
Ground waves
Sky waves
Space waves

SPACE WAVES
Waves propagate through space as Transverse
Electro Magnetic waves(TEM)
The electric field, the magnetic field and the
direction of travel of the wave are all mutually
perpendicular.
The Polarisation of a wave is the direction of the
electric field vector

Factors affecting RF
propagation
Free space loss
Multi path propagation
Building & vehicle
penetration
Interference
Fading of signal

A directional
antenna
An Omni-directional
antenna

Frequency Spectrum
Designation
Very Low Frequency
Low Frequency
Medium Frequency
High Frequency
Very High Frequency
Ultra High Frequency
Super High Frequency
Extremely High Frequency

Abbreviation
VLF
LF
MF
HF
VHF
UHF
SHF
EHF

Frequencies
9 kHz - 30 kHz
30 kHz - 300 kHz
300 kHz - 3 MHz
3 MHz - 30 MHz
30 MHz - 300 MHz
300 MHz - 3 GHz
3 GHz - 30 GHz
30 GHz - 300 GHz

Free-space Wavelengths
33 km - 10 km
10 km - 1 km
1 km - 100 m
100 m - 10 m
10 m - 1 m
1 m - 100 mm
100 mm - 10 mm
10 mm - 1 mm

CELLULAR CONCEPT

2
1

5
4

1
7

A cellular system links Mobile subscribers to Public

Telephone System or to another Mobile subscribers.

It removes the fixed wiring used in a traditional

telephone installation.

Mobile subscriber is able to move around, perhaps

can travel in a vehicle or on foot & still make & receive
call.

Mobility

Flexibility

Convergence

Greater QOS

Network Expansion

Revenue/Profit

CONSIDERATIONS
FREQUENCY

SUBSCRIBER
DENSITY

Base Station
Base Station
Base Station

COVERAGE
Base Station
Base Station

Base Station

WHY DO WE NEED CELLS?

FREQUENCY (RESOURCE)
SCARCITY
DEMAND FOR HIGHER CAPACITY
COST EFFECTIVENESS

Cellular Radio involves dividing a large service area into

regions called cells.
Each cell has the equipment to switch, transmit and
receive calls.
Cells - Reduce the need of High powered transmission
Cells - Conventionally regarded as being hexagonal, but in
reality they are irregularly shaped.
Cell shape is determined by the nature of the surrounding
area e.g. Hills , tall building etc.

Large Cells

Small Cells

35 Km

Near about 1 KM

Remote Areas

Urban Areas

High Transmission
Power

Few subscribers

Low Transmission
Power
Many Subscribers

Coverage
Percentage of the geographical area covered by
cellular service where mobile telephony is
available
Capacity Number of calls that can be handled in a certain
area within a certain period of time.
Capacity can also refer to the probability that
users will be denied access to a system due to
the simple unavailability of radio channels.

Each Cell in the Cellular Network consists of one or

more RF carriers.
An RF carrier is a pair of radio frequencies
One used in upward direction by MS - Uplink
Other used in downward direction by BTS Downlink
The transmit and receive frequencies are separated
by a gap of 45 MHz in GSM or 75 MHz in DCS.
There are 124 carries in GSM Band. With each carrier
carrying 8 timeslots, only 124 x 8 = 992 calls can be
made!
Frequency Reuse is the solution

OBJECTIVES
Large subscriber capability:
The system should be capable of serving many
thousands of mobile users within the local serving
area with a fixed no. of channels.
Spectrum utilization:
The multiple uses of the same channels in
cells with in geographical separation ensure that
the radio spectrum is used efficiently.
Nationwide compatibility:
The mobile users should be able to use their
equipment also in other areas that are served by

Adaptability to traffic density:

Traffic density differs from one point to
another in a cellular coverage area. the
capability to cope with different traffic
must be designed as inherent feature of the
cellular system.
Quality of service and affordability:
Since cost and economic considerations
play a major role, it must be affordable for
general public.

But with only a limited spectrum allocated by

Regulatory Authorities only few calls can be supported
at a time and all other subscribers shall have to wait.
Hence this setup was not suitable for medium/large
customer bases
The solution lies Frequency Reuse
Using same frequency channel to serve more than
one call in the same given area
The concept of CELLS (first time in 70s)

Instead of using one

powerful transmitter,
many low-power
transmitters are
placed throughout a
coverage area
The coverage area of
each such Transmitter
is called a CELL

By dividing region into one hundred different areas (cells) with

low-power transmitters
Interference problems caused by mobile units using the same
channel in adjacent areas (cells) proved that all channels could
not be reused in every cell.
Areas (cells) have to be skipped before the same freq channel
could be reused

Objectives of CELLULAR COMMUNICATION SY

It provide wireless
connection from users
to PSTN or between
its users.
Uses cells in order
to increase the total
capacity, given a
limited spectrum, by
re-using the
frequency over
different areas.
Uses a Handover
mechanism to enable
an uninterrupted call
connection when
users move from one

2
6

1
3

7
6

5
7

3
4

3
4

6
3

1
5

4
2

Shapes of cells :
Cells are defined as individual service areas, each of which
has an assigned group of discrete channels assigned to it from
the available spectrum.
Regular Polygon shapes Equilateral Triangle, Square,
Rectangle and Hexagon were the main choices initially.
Circular Cells would have no Coverage at all in some areas,
unless heavy overlapping is used.
If the Point of Transmission is at the centre of a Cell, the
maximum Coverage Area is available from a Hexagonal Cell
i.e., this layout needs minimum number of Cells to cover a
given Area, hence lesser number of Transmitting Sites are
needed

The concept of number of cells per

cluster is important for locating co
channel cell with in the cellular
structure.
It can be shown that co channel
reuse ratio
D/R = 3N
where N is Cluster size

CELLULAR CONCEPTS
Q = D/R = 3N = 6 ( S/ I)

where is propagation constant

Much higher level of interference is tolerated if digital
transmission is used.
S / I 18 dB
For Digital Cellular Mobile Systems.
N

Q=D/R

Higher Q Less Interference.

1
3
4
7
9
12

1.73
3.00
3.46
4.58
5.20
6.00

Higher N
Larger Cluster Size.
Less Freq./ cell.
Lower Traffic Handling Capacity.

The same group of channels can be used in different cells that are
far enough away from each other so that their frequencies do not
interfere

No similarly colored cells are adjacent, and therefore there are no

adjacent cells using the same channel.

Three types of frequency reuse patterns

7 Cell reuse pattern

4 cell reuse pattern

3 cell reuse pattern

c2
c1
b2

c3
a2

b1
b3

a1
a3
Cell Re-use

c1

c2
c3

Actual Frequency Reuse is implemented by

dividing the total Frequency Spectrum into
two or more groups of mutually exclusive
Channels.
A mobile handset with higher S/N Ratio is
assigned a Channel with Lower Reuse factor
group, while those with lower S/N Ratio gets a
Channel from a Group having higher Reuse
Factor. T
Handsets nearer to the Cell-centre are
allocated Channels from a Low Frequency

Performance/Capacity Trade off

Higher values of N
Reduce co channel
interference
Leads to more
cells/cluster
Less no. of chls/cells
Less traffic handling
capacity

Lower values of N
Increase co channel
interference
Leads to few
cells/cluster
More no. of chls/cell
More traffic handling
capacity

A Directional Antenna is a better

solution for reducing the Cochannel Interference
Each Cell is divided into 3 or 6
Sectors and uses 3 or 6
Directional Antennas at the Base
Stations.
In practice, Sectored Cells with
120 Beam Antennas are used

Omni Directional Cells

120 degree Sectors

60 Degree sectors

Each Sector in a Site has its own allocation of Radio

Carriers

Advantage

By frequent reuse of frequency more capacity can be

achieved

Sector Antennas reduce Co-channel Interference and

improve the mean S/N ratio for a given Reuse Factor
(from 18 dB to 24dB).
But it reduces Trunking Efficiency, since each Sector
gets less number of Channels.
Practically, it does not create a problem, since less
Interference can reduce the Reuse factor, thereby
improving the Trunking Efficiency.

b2
b1
b3

a2
OMNI CELL
1 ANTENNA

a1

a3

a6

a4
a5
60O CELLS
6 ANTENNAS

120O CELLS
3 ANTENNAS

A three sectored cell

configuration
Single location
Antennas looking in
three directions

GSM =
4/12 ;
4 Cell Pattern
& each cell
with 3
sectors

7/21 = 7 Cell
Pattern & each
cell with 3
sectors
4/12

7/21

When the Traffic in a Cell increases to a situation

where the Quality of Service (QoS) is affected, Cells
can be divided in to smaller sizes.
The Cell-splitting concept allows a Low Demand
Area to be served by the Larger Cells and a High
Demand Area to be Split in to Smaller Cells

HANDOVER
A problem encountered in Cellular Communication
is to provide continuation in Communication for a
subscriber, who moves from one Cell to another
Cell.
No two adjacent Cells in a Cluster have the
same Radio Channels.
Channels
So, Re-allocation of Radio channels must be
fast and smooth.
smooth
This process is called Handover.

Level at B

RSL

Level which HO occured

time

BS1

BS2
A

Handovers
Hard Handoff
Analog, TDMA and
GSM

Break before Make

Soft Handoff
CDMA

Make before Break

The mobile measures up to 32 adjacent cells for

Signal Strength (RxLevel)

Signal Quality (RxQual)

updated every 480 mS and sends to BTS

Sophisticated Handover based on

RxLevel

Interference

RxQual

Timing Advance

Power Budget

Frequency Hopping

Frequency Hopping

Multipath Fading results in variations in signal strength which is

known as Rayleigh Fading.
Rayleigh Fading phenomenon is dependent on path difference
and hence frequency of reception.
reception
A fast moving mobile may not experience severe effect of this
fading since the path difference is continuously changing.
A slow moving mobile ( or a halted mobile ) may experience
severe deterioration in quality.
But, if the frequency of reception is changed when this problem
occurs, could solve it.
The fading phenomenon is fast and almost continuous,
continuous this
means the frequency change should also be continuous.
This process of continuously changing frequency is known as
Frequency Hopping.
Hopping

Frequency hopping is the technique of

improving the S/N in a link by adding frequency
diversity.
When frequency hopping is activated in the
mobile station, the base station assigns the
mobile station a set of RF channels, rather than
a single RF channel.
A frequency hopping algorithm is also assigned
to the mobile and is used to inform the mobile
of the pattern of the available frequencies it is
to use.

Frequency Hopping is done in both Uplink and Downlink .

Frequency is changed in every TDMA Frame
Mobile can Hop on maximum 64 frequencies
The sequence of Hopping can be Cyclic or Non-Cyclic
There are 63 Non-Cyclic Hopping sequences possible
Different Hopping sequence can be used in the same cell.
BCH Timeslot can never HOP, but the remaining Timeslots can
very well hop.
The advantages that frequency hopping offers are:
Improved voice quality and prevention of dropped calls
in GSM
Improved data throughput in GPRS and EGPRS.

Multiple Access Technique

Multiple Access Achieved by dividing the available radio frequency

spectrum, so that multiple users can be given access at the same
time.
FDMA - Frequency Division Multiple Access
FDMA

( eg: GSM each Frequency channel is

Power
y
nc
200KHz)
e
u
T
im

TDMA - Time Division Multiple Access

( eg: GSM each frequency channel is

divided into 8 timeslots)
CDMA - Code Division Multiple Access

(eg: IS95- Each User data is coded with a

unique code)

eq
Fr

e
qu
e
Fr

TDMA
Power
Ti

CDMA
Power
Ti
m

E
D
CO
eq
Fr

nc

nc
ue

Powe
r

Tim
e

Powe
r

Powe
r

FDM
A
Tim

Tim
e

Frequenc
y

CDMA
TDMA

Frequenc
y

Frequenc
y

Duplex Technique

Duplex - How the up link and Down link of a

user is separated
FDD - Frequency Division Duplex

(eg: In GSM the up link and down link of a user is

separated by 45MHz )

TDD - Time Division Duplex

(the up link and down link of a user will be at the

same frequency but at different Time )

Uplink
890 MHz

Frequency

channel #

Downlink
915 MHz

124

935 MHz

Frequency

channel #

Example:
Channel 48
Duplex spacing = 45 MHz
Frequency band spectrum = 2 x 25 MHz
Channel spacing = 200 kHz

BTS
960 MHz

124

GSM FDMA
Frequency Division Multiple
Access

890

915

935

25 MHz

Mobile to
Base
890.2

25 MHz

(MHz)

890. 890.6
4

200 kHz

960

Base to
Mobile
935.
2

935.4

935.
6

200 kHz

45MHz
Channel layout and frequency bands of operation

GSM TDMA
(Time Division Multiple Access)

Amplitude
45 MHz

F1
(Cell Rx)

F2

F1
(Cell transmit)

Frequency
F2

Typical TDMA/ FDMA frame structure

ARCHITECTURE OF A GSM NETWORK

Mobile Station

ME

SIM

Base Station
Subsystem

BTS

BSC

Network Subsystem

Other Networks

PSTN

MSC/
VLR

GMSC

PLMN

EIR

S
D

HLR

AUC

Internet

Note: Interfaces have been omitted for clarity purposes.

Network Structure
GSM Service Area
PLMN Service Area
MSC Service Area
Location Area
Cells

RELATION
BETWEEN
AREAS IN
GSM

PLMN
SERVICE
AREA

MSC
SERVICE
AREA

CELLS

SYSTEM ENTITY
FUNCTIONS
Mobile station:
The mobile station represents the
terminal equipment used by cellular
subscriber supported by GSM system

Functions of Mobile Station

Voice and data transmission
Frequency and time synchronization
Monitoring of power and signal quality of the
surrounding
cells
Provision of location updates even during inactive
state
Equalization of multi path distortions

The MS consists of two entities

Mobile Equipment (ME)
Subscriber Identity
Module (SIM)

Mobile equipment (ME)

It is the mobile handset.

The major components of the Handset are
Transmitter,
Receiver,
Number Alignment Module,
Logic Unit,
Frequency Synthesizer,
Antenna and
the required software.
Identified by a unique International Mobile
Equipment Identity (IMEI) (different from the phone
number)

Class

Power O/p

20 W

8W

5W

2W

0.8 W

Typical
Settings

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)

contains subscriber-related information

a smart card that holds information required to

identify a particular
subscription to a mobile service
can be used with any approved GSM handset
Identified by a unique International Mobile
Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
(different from the phone number)

COMPONENTS OF THE SIM CARD

Central processing unit (CPU)
intelligence of the chip
performs all the mathematical functions
takes all the decisions required by the SIM.
Read Only Memory (ROM):
sufficient memory to store the operating system
(set of
commands that SIM understands)
contents of the ROM are permanent and it is not
possible
to change them.
can be created as part of the manufacturing
process.

Random Access Memory (RAM):

area of volatile memory
contents are lost each time the power is turned off.
The memory can be at least 256 KB.
Buffers incoming data as a scratch pad for
calculations.
Electrically Erasable programmable Read Only Memory
(EEPROM)

Stores all the application data such as the operators

specific parameters and the subscribers data.

MOBILE IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS

i) MSISDN (Mobile subscribers ISDN number)
ii) IMSI (International mobile subscribers identity)
iii) TMSI (Temporary mobile subscribers identity)
iv) MSRN (Mobile subscribers roaming number)
v) IMEI ( International Mobile subscribers equipment
identity)

MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS ISDN NUMBER

The MSISDN is registered in the telephone directory and used by the
calling party for dialing.

Mobile Subscriber
No.

CC--country code(allotted internationally)

NDC--Network destination
code
SN--subscriber number

International mobile subscribers

Identity (IMSI)

The IMSI is an unique identity which is used

internationally and used within the network to
identify the mobile subscribers.

The IMSI is stored on the SIM, the HLR, VLR and

AUC database
IMSI finds its use in call routing.

MCC--Mobile country code

-- identifies the country of domicile of the subscriber.
-- identifies the home GSM PLMN of the mobile
MNC--Mobile network code
subscriber. number
MSIN--Mobile subscriber identification
-- identifies the MS within a GSM PLMN.

Temporary Mobile subscribers Identity

(TMSI)
Guarantees the confidentiality of the mobile
subscribers on the air interface for hiding identity.
temporary number provided by VLR
assigned to each mobile subscriber entering the VLR
area

MOBILE STATION ROAMING NUMBER

(MSRN)
Suitable for the purpose of call processing when the
customer roams in any other VLR area having connectivity
with his home network.
The HLR of the roaming subscribers request the visited VLR
for allotment of the temporary number.
Accordingly the visited VLR generates MSRN.
GMSC (gateway MSC) uses it for routing of calls to this
customer.
MSRN is stored in visited VLR, HLR.

INTERNATIONAL MOBILE EQUIPMENT IDENTITY

(IMEI)
Provided to the mobile equipment through a unique
code for its authentication and identification
The code is entered in SIM card of the user MS
Also recorded in the data base of the EIR of mobile
switching sub system.
During the course of call processing, the IMEI
entered in SIM is compared with the corresponding
IMEI recorded in EIR.

6 digits

2 digits

6 digits

unit length

TAC is 6 digits and approved by a national body.

FAC is 2 digits and is provided by the manufacturer.
SNR is 6 digits provided by manufacturer in serial
sequence.
SP is spare digit of unit length.

BTS

BTS is the equipment which facilitates the wireless

communication between user equipments (UE)
and the network.
BTS is a radio-end which determine a cell
coverage and provide link with MS.
BTS include Transmitters and Receivers, antenna
and signal processing unit as well as interface.
BTS communicate with MS via Um (air) interface

FUNCTION OF BTS
Encodes, encrypts, multiplexes, modulates and
feeds the
RF signals to the antenna
Transcoding and rate adaption Functionality
Time and frequency synchronisation signals
transmission.
11 power classes from .01 watts (Micro cell) to 320
watts (Umbrella cell)

A BTS has the following units

TRX : Transceiver--- Quite widely referred to as DRX

(Driver Receiver). Basically does transmission and reception
of signals
Power Amplifier : Amplifies the signal from DRX for
transmission through antenna. May be integrated with DRX
Combiner :- Combines feeds from several DRXs so that
they could be sent out through a single antenna. Used for
reduction of number of antenna
Duplexer : For separating sending and receiving signals
to/from antenna. Does sending and receiving signals through
the same antenna ports (cables to antenna)

Antenna : Antenna is considered as part of

BTS
Alarm Extension System : Collects working
status alarms of various units in BTS and extends
them to Operations and Maintenance (O&M)
monitoring stations

 A group of BTSs are connected to a particular

BSC, which manages the radio resources for
them.
The primary function of the BSC is call
maintenance.
The mobile stations normally send a report of
their received signal strength to the BSC every
480 ms.
With this information the BSC decides to
initiate handovers to other cells, change the BTS
transmitter power, etc.

Base Station Controller (BSC)

responsible for radio interface
management of
BTS and MS, i.e.channel management
and
handovers
responsible for communication with the
NSS
a single BSC typically manages 10-20
BTSs

The functions of the base station are

1. Radio source control (Channels)
a. Configuration of Radio channels
b. Selection, allocation and de-allocation of radio channels.
c. Monitoring of radio channel busy / idle.
d. Encryption of radio interface.
2. Frequency hopping and power control
a. Assignment of frequency hops sequence and start time.
b. Assignment of effective radiated power (ERP) values to
mobile station.

3. Hand off management

a. Collect signal quality data from adjacent BSSs.
b. Analyze signal quality and determine hand off
need.
c. Keep MSC informed regarding hand off
activity.
4. Digital signal processing
a. Trans coding and rate adoption.
b. Channel coding and decoding.
BSS functions are partitioned into a BSC and BTS
( a single BSC generally controlling multiple BTS)

NSS performs the switching functions of

GSM,
as well as databases for Subscriber and
mobility
management
Its main feature is to manage the
communication
between the Mobile Station and other
users of
the Cellular Network.

NSS contains
Mobile Switching Centre (MSC)
Gateway MSC (GMSC)
Home Location Register (HLR) - co-located with
GMSC
Visitor Location Register (VLR) - co-located with
MSC/GMSC
Signalling between MSC, GMSC, HLR, VLR via SS7
signalling
network, using specifically the mobile application
part (MAP) of
Signalling System No 7 (SS7)

Mobile Service Switching Centre (MSC)

The Switching part, is controlled by the MSC.
Acts like a standard exchange in a fixed network and additionally
provides all the
functionality needed to handle a mobile subscriber.
The main functions are

registration,
authentication,
location updating,
handovers and
call routing to a roaming subscriber.

Connections to external Networks like PSTN, PLMN and Intelligent

Networks etc.
are also controlled by MSC.

GATEWAY MSC (GMSC)

An MSC, which provides connection to
Networks
outside the area under the MSC, is generally
known
as Gateway MSC.

Gateway MSC (GMSC)

gateway to external network
incoming call is routed to GMSC, which
then
determines MS location
GMSC function is often in the same
machine

Home Location Register (HLR)

HLR is the most important Database in the GSM structure
Subscriber relevant data are kept in a Database called
HLR.
It also contains information regarding real time location of
the Roaming Subscriber, which is passed to the MSC for
routing incoming Calls to the Mobile Station.
Administrative updating of the Subscriber Data, by the
Service Provider is kept in HLR.

IMSI, MSISDN and current VLR Address are also

kept in
HLR.
As soon as the Mobile Station crosses a Cell
boundary
(also known as Location Area), this information is
updated
in the HLR.
The HLR also maintains the services associated
with each
MS
One HLR can serve several MSCs

VISITOR LOCATION REGISTER (VLR)

Visitor Location Register (VLR) dynamically stores Subscriber
Information, when a Mobile Station is in the Location Area
covered by
the VLR
One VLR may be incharge of one or more LA.
A VLR is connected to one MSC and is normally integrated into
the
MSC's hardware
VLR is updated by HLR on entry of MS its area.
VLR assigns TMSI which keeps on changing

Whenever a Roaming Subscriber enters in an area

controlled by an MSC, the information is passed to
the VLR, which recognizes the Subscriber as an
outsider for the MSC.
If the Subscriber is allowed to Roam, VLR finds the
original HLR of the Subscriber and downloads all
relevant information for the Subscriber from it.
VLR reduces the number of queries to HLR

DATA IN VLR
IMSI & TMSI
MSISDN
MSRN.
Location Area
Supplementary service parameters
MS category
Authentication Key

EQUIPMENT IDENTITY REGISTER (EIR)

The EIR is a database that stores IMEI for all mobile equipments
registered in the particular MSC and is unique to every ME.
Only one EIR per PLMN.
Any Cell Phone can be used fraudulently by inserting an authentic SIM
Card, but as soon as a report is registered that a handset is stolen or
misplaced, EIR Database can be updated to render the handset useless.
The EIR has three databases
White list: IMEI, assigned to valid ME.
Black list: IMEI reported stolen
Gray list : IMEI having problems like faulty
software, wrong make
of equipment etc.

AUTHENTICATION CENTRE (AUC)

AUC is a separate entity and physically included in
HLR
It protects User Identity and allows a Secured
Transmission,
i.e., Protect against intruders in air interface
Authentication (Ki) and ciphering(Kc) key are stored
in this
data base.
Keys change randomly with each call

Operation and Maintenance Centre

(OMC)

It monitors and controls all other components of GSM.

The OMC assists the network operator in Dynamic monitoring and

maintaining satisfactory operation of the GSM network
The OMC is responsible for controlling and maintaining the MSC, BSC
and
BTS.
It can be in charge of an entire PLMN or just some parts of the PLMN.
Its main functions are

Traffic Monitoring,
Subscriber as well as Security
Management and
Status report Generation.