GLOBAL SYSTEM FOR MOBILE

COMMUNICATION

By Charu
Mathur
090320

Industrial Seminar
Reliance communications
Established in 2004 , Reliance Communication is
an Indian telecom company
Worlds 15
th
largest mobile operator and Indias
second largest having more than 150 million
subscribers
only operator who provides up to 28 Mbit/s speed
in India with its 3G
Its network consists of 70,000 kilometers of optical
fiber cables spanning the length and breadth of
India
Current ventures include reliance mobile, reliance
3G,
fixed line and broadband services
In 2003, Forbes voted reliance as the most trusted
telecom brand in India
Overview- GSM
Introduction
Phases
Network architecture
Specification
Addressing
Operations
User services
security
Introduction
Stands for Global System for Mobile
communication
Standard developed by ETSI, to describe protocols
for second generation(2G), digital cellular networks
A digital cellular technology used for transmitting
mobile voice and data services
Uses time division multiple access technique
Operates at a frequency of either 900Mhz
or1800Mhz
Better voice quality due to digitization
Introduced international roaming
Provides wide range of services at low cost
Provides high level of security and encryption

GSM Phases
Phase 1:
Voice Telephony
International roaming
Basic fax/data services
Call forwarding
Call barring
Short message service(SMS)

Phase 2:
Calling line identification
Call waiting
Call hold
Conference call
Closed user group




GSM Phases
Phase 2+
Multiple service profiles
Private numbering plans
Internetworking with Gsm1800 and Gsm1900

Phase 2++
Enhanced data rates for global evolution(EGDE)
Customized application for mobile enhanced logic
(CAMEL),standards governing IN service access while roaming
internationally
High speed circuit switched data(HSCSD), method for delivering
higher data rates per subscriber
Network Architecture
Consists of the following entities
Mobile Station (MS)
Mobile Equipment (ME)
Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)
Base Station Subsystem (BBS)
Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
Base Station Controller (BSC)
Network Subsystem
Mobile Switching Center (MSC)
Home Location Register (HLR)
Visitor Location Register (VLR)
Authentication Center (AUC)
Equipment Identity Register (EIR)
Operation Support Subsystem

Network Architecture
Mobile station
Physical equipment used by subscriber to access PLMN for
offered telecom services

Mobile terminal(MT):
contains hardware and software to support radio and human interface
functions
Manufactured by a no. of vendors
Identified by a unique number, IMEI, embedded in the equipment by
the manufacturer

SIM:
Subscriber identity module, provided by the PLMN operator
Makes MT operational and gives subscriber access to subscribed
services
Identified by a unique identifier, IMSI
Holds authentication and cipher key and other algorithms to ensure
security

Base Station Subsystem(BSS)
Connects MS to the rest of the network elements in the PLMN and
provides digital radio interface functions
Consists of :
Base Transreciever Station(BTS)
Base Station Controller(BSC)
Transcoding and Rate Adoption Unit(TRAU)


Base Station Subsystem(BSS)
Base Transreciever Station:
Houses radio transreciever that defines a cell
Transmits and receives signals from MS
Handles radio link protocol between the MS and BSC for calls and
mobility

Base Station Controller(BSC):
Manages radio resources of one or more BTSs
Handles radio channel setup , performance improvement techniques
as control of RF power levels etc
Handles handovers
Establishes connection between MS and MSC

Transcoding and Rate Adoption Unit(TRAU)
Converts transmission rate on the land line to that compatible for
transmission over digital radio to and from MS
Network Switching Subsystem(NSS)
Manages communication among mobile users of same PLMN and other
PLMN/PSTN users
Handles Registration, Authentication and security, Location updating
, Handovers , Routing to roaming subscribers
Mainly consists of the Main Switching Centre(MSC)

Main Switching Centre(MSC):
Monitors the mobility of its subscribers
Manages resources required to handle and update the location
registration to carry out handovers
Communicates with other networks such as PSTN and ISDN.
Performs call routing and control and echo control
MSCs interfacing with other networks are called Gateway MSC(GMSC)
Main Switching Centre(MSC)
Performs its functions in conjunction with four intelligent databases:
Home Location Register(HLR)
Visitor Location Register(VLR)
Authentication Center(AuC)
Equipment Identity Register(EIR)

Home Location Register(HLR):
Permanent database of the subscriber registered in the network
Contains pointer to the current location of the MS
Stores identification numbers and addresses as well as authentication
parameters, services and special routing information
responsible for storage of SIM authentication and encryption
parameters form the AUC


Main Switching Centre(MSC)
Variable Location Register(VLR):
contains selected administrative information from the HLR
authenticates the user
Controls a MS roaming in a MSC area
periodically updates the database on which phones are turned on and
ready to receive calls

Authentication Center:
Protected database for security purposes
Provides parameters for authentication of subscriber and encryption of
voice and data over radio channel

Equipment Identity Register(EIR):
Contains all IMEI
Generates valid, suspect and fraudulent lists
Forbids calls from unauthorized mobile terminals

Operation and Maintenance
Subsystem(OMS)
Configures, controls and monitors the GSM network
Provides traffic data measurements, report and analysis
Stores all data and software for network element
Comprises of:
Operations and maintenance Centre Switch
Operations and maintenance Centre Radio
GSM Network Areas
Cell :
Basic service area ; one BTS covers each cell
Identified by a unique Cell Global Identity(CGI)
Location area :
A group of cells ; served by one or more BSCs
Area paged when subscriber receives a incoming call
Identified by a Location Area Identity(LAI)

MSC/VLR Service Area :
Area covered by one MSC

PLMN:
Area covered by one network operator
GSM Specifications
multiple access : TDMA / FDMA
duplex Technique: FDD, frequency division duplexing
uplink : 890 - 915 MHz
downlink : 935 - 960 MHz
duplex distance : 45 MHz ; channel has 2 frequencies so 80MHz apart
channel spacing : 200 kHz
number of frequencies : 124
channel bitrate : 270.9 Kbit/s
frame duration : 4.615 msec
number of time slots : 8 (=15/26 = 0.577 msec)
speech bitrate : 13 Kbit/s
GSM Addressing
International Mobile Equipment Identity(IMEI)
Uniquely identifies mobile station internationally
Allocated by manufacturer and stored in EIR
Helps identifying obsolete stolen or nonfunctional equipment





International Mobile Subscriber Identity(IMSI)
Unique identity provided to each subscriber
Stored In SIM , HLR and VLR

GSM Addressing
Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity(TMSI)
Assigned and stored by VLR
Has local significance in the area of the VLR

Mobile Subscriber ISDN(MSISDN)
subscriber's phone number
ISDN : International subscriber directory number



Mobile Station Roaming Number(MSRN)
Temporary location dependent ISDN number
Assigned locally by VLR to each mobile station in its area
CC + NDC + SN


GSM Addressing
Location Area Identity (LAI)
Assigned to each LA of an PLMN
Internationally unique
CC + MNC + LAC

Local Mobile Subscriber Identity(LMSI)
Key assigned by VLR to each MS to accelerate database access
Also sent to the HLR

Cell Identifier(CI)
Unique identifier assigned to each cell
LAI + CI = GCI( Global Cell Identity)

GSM Operations
Call from mobile to PSTN :
MSC/ VLR receives message of call request
MSC/ VLR check the MS is authorized to access network and is
activated
MSC/ VLR analyses number and initiates a call setup with PSTN
MSC/VLR asks corresponding BSC to allocate a traffic channel
BSC allocates traffic channel and passes information to the called MS
The call is setup

Call from PSTN to Mobile :
GMSC receives call and queries HLR for information to route call to
serving MSC
GMSC routes call to the MSC/ VLR
MSC contacts MS via BSC through broadcast message using a paging
request
If MS responds to paging request , BSC allocates a traffic channel
BSC messages to MS to tunes to the allocated channel
Call is setup
User Services
Basic services offered in GSM :
Telephony / Teleservices
Data / Bearer services
Supplementary

Telephony :
Voice calls : includes full rate speech at 13Kbps and emergency calls
Short Message Service

Data Services:
Internet access
Mobile data transfer
User Services
Supplementary Services
Conferencing
Call waiting
Call hold
Call forwarding
Call barring
Number identification
Calling line identification presentation
Calling line identification restriction
Connected line identification presentation
Connected line identification restriction
Malicious call identification
Advice of Charge
Closed User Group
GSM SECURITY
Mobile Station Authentication
128 bit RAND id sent to the MS
MS computes 32 bit signed response(SRES) based on encryption of
RAND with A3 algorithm using individual authentication key(Ki)
GSM network checks the SRES received from MS
If the received and calculated values match , MS is authenticated

Subscriber Identity Confidentiality
To ensure subscriber identity confidentiality TMSI is used
Sent to MS after authentication procedures are completed
Valid in the LA in which it is issued
GSM Advantages
better voice quality and low-cost alternatives to making calls
ease of deploying equipment from any vendors that implement
the standard
international roaming services thus worldwide connectivity
Better security and privacy
Higher capacity and transmission quality
Wide range of services
High spectral efficiency
Has ability to adopt new and innovative features
Design of sleek and handled mobile terminals