GSM

GSM ARCHITECTURE

OPERATIONAL
ARCHITECTURE
Hierarchical organization of GSM
PHYSICAL VIEW OF GSM NETWORK
HLR in GSM
 Contains permanent data about all the registered
subscribers.
 all the detail like customer ID, customer number,
billing detail, etc
 The HLR in telecom database contains the
master database of all the subscribers to a GSM
PLMN
Basic Parameters stored in the HLR

 Subscriber ID (IMSI and MSISDN)

 Current Subscriber VLR (Current Location)
 Supplementary Services Subscriber to (Caller Tone,
Missed Call Alert, Any Other Services etc.)
 Subscriber Status (Registered or Deregistered)
 Authentication Key and AUC Functionality
 Mobile Subscriber Roaming Number
Entities in GSM
 GSM network is divided into 5 groups:
1. MS (Mobile Station): A mobile station (MS) consists of the
mobile equipment (ME) and the subscriber identity module (SIM)
MS Identities
IMEI (International mobile station equipment
identity)
 Every mobile equipment has a unique identifier, i.e., an international mobile
station equipment identity (IMEI).
 The purpose of IMEI is to protect the mobile equipment from stealth
IMEI
 Type approval code (TAC). This code is 6 digits/24 bits long.
The TAC is issued by an authorized agency on successful testing
for type approval.
 Final assembly code (FAC). This code is 2 digits/8 bits long.
This uniquely identifies the manufacturer of the mobile
equipment.
 Serial number (SNR). Each mobile equipment is identified with
a unique serial number within a TAC and FAC. The SNR is 6
digits/24 bits long.
 The remaining 1 digit/4 bits are not currently used and are a
"spare."
Mobile station ISDN number (MSISDN)
 Each subscriber in a network is identified with a unique
international number, i.e., a mobile station ISDN number.
 The wireless service provider assigns this number at the time of
subscription.
MSISDN

 Country code (CC). Country codes are defined by the ITU-T.

They can be 1 to 3 digits long. For example, the country code for
the United States is 1, Japan is 81, and Ecuador is 593.
 National destination code (NDC). The country’s
telecommunication regulatory authority assigns an NDC to each
PLMN. One PLMN may have more than one NDC assigned to it.
This field may be 2 to 3 digits.
 Subscriber number (SN). The SN is a variable-length field.
IMSI
 International mobile subscriber identity (IMSI).
 International mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) is a unique
identifier for a GSM subscriber in a PLMN.
 It is stored in the SIM and also in the HLR as part of the
subscriber data.
 The HLR transfers IMSI information to the serving VLR on
registration for temporary storage.
IMSI
 Mobile country code (MCC). ITU-T E.212, Annexure-A, lists
all the countries and assigned codes. The MCC is 3 digits long.
For example, the MCC for Australia is 505, Germany is 262, and
the United States is 310.
 Mobile network code (MNC). Each PLMN in a country is
assigned a unique network code by a regulatory authority in the
country. The MNC is 2 digits long. For example, in Singapore the
assigned code for Singtel is 01, M1 is 03, and Starhub is 05.
 Mobile subscriber identification number (MSIN). The MSIN
is a unique number within a PLMN to identify the subscriber.
Entities in GSM
2. BSS (Base Station Subsystem): This includes the Base
Transceiver Station (BTS) and the Base Station Controller (BSC).
3. Network and Switching Subsystem (NSS): This includes Mobile
Switching Center (MSC), Home Location Register (HLR), Visitor
Location Register (VLR), Equipment Identity Register (EIR), and
the Authentication Center (AUC)
4. Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS): This includes the
Operation and Maintenance Center (OMC)
5. Data Infrastructure: It includes PSTN(Public Switched Telephone
Network), ISDN (Integrated System Digital Network), PDN
(Public Data Network)
Base Transceiver Station (BTS)

 BTS has a set of Transceivers to talk to MS. Antenna

Arrangement BTS
 One BTS covers one or more than one cell.

 Capacity of BTS depends on no of Transceivers.

 BTS is connected to BSC via A’bis interface.

 Transmission rate on A’bis is 2 Mbps (G.703).

 Interface between MS & BTS is called Air I/f.

 Transmission rate on Air interface is 13 Kbps.

 BTS controls RF parameters of MS.

 Each TRx has 8 TDMA channels to carry Voice & signalling.

Base Station Controller (BSC)

 BSC controls several BTSs.

BSC
 BSC manages channel allocation, & Handover
of calls from one BTS to another BTS.

 BSC is connected to MSC via A interface.

 Transmission rate on A I/f is 2 Mbps (G.703).

 Interface between BSC & BTS is called A’bis I/f.

 BSC has database for all of its BTS’s parameters.

 BSC provides path from MS to MSC.

 Mobile Switching
Centre (MSC)
 MSC is heart of the entire network connecting Fixed line network to
Mobile network.

 MSC manages all call related functions and

Billing information.

 MSC is connected to HLR & VLR for subscriber

identification & routing incoming calls.

 MSC capacity is in terms of no of subscribers.

 MSC is connected to BSC at one end and Fixed

Line network on other end.
MSC
 Call Detail Record (CDR) is generated for each & every
call in the MSC.
Visiting Location Register (VLR)
MSC

VLR

 Active Subscriber is registered in VLR.

 It has temporary data base of all the active

subscribers used for their call routing.

 HLR validates subscriber before registration.

 MSC ask VLR before routing incoming call.

Home Location Register (HLR)
MSC

HLR

 All Subscribers data is stored in HLR.

 It has permanent data base of all the registered

subscribers.

 HLR has series of numbers for all subscribers.

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Operation subsystem
 The OSS (Operation Subsystem) enables centralized operation, management, and
maintenance of all GSM subsystems
 Components
1. Authentication Center (AUC)
 generates user specific authentication parameters on request of a VLR
 authentication parameters used for authentication of mobile terminals and encryption
of user data on the air interface within the GSM system
2. Equipment Identity Register (EIR)
 registers GSM mobile stations and user rights
 stolen or malfunctioning mobile stations can be locked and sometimes even localized
3. Operation and Maintenance Center (OMC)
 different control capabilities for the radio subsystem and the network subsystem
Authentication Centre (AUC)
MSC

AUC
HLR

 Authentication is a process to verify the subscriber SIM.

 Secret data & verification algorithm are stored in to the

AUC.

 AUC & HLR combined to authenticate the subscribers.

 Subscriber authentication can be done on every call, if required.

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Equipment Identity Register (EIR)
MSC

EIR

 All subscriber's mobile handset data is stored in EIR.

 MSC asks mobile to send it IMEI & then checks it with

data available in EIR.

 EIR has different classification for mobile handsets

like, White list, Grey list & Black list.

 According to category the MS can make calls or can be

stopped from making calls.

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Operation & Maintenance Centre (OMC)

OMC
 All the network elements are connected to OMC.

 OMC monitors health of all network elements &

carry out maintenance operation, if required.

 OMC link to BTSs are via parent BSC.

 OMC keeps records of all the faults occurred.

 OMC can also do Traffic analysis.

 OMC may prepares MIS Report for the network.

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Functions of OMC

 Administration and commercial operation (subscription, end

terminals, charging and statistics).
 Security Management.
 Network configuration, Operation and Performance Management.
 Maintenance Tasks.
 VMSC & SMSC
MSC

SMSC VMSC

 Voice Mail Service Centre : To provide Voice Mail service.

 It has database for all the VMS subscribers & also stores voice
messages for them.

 Short Message Service Centre : To provide text message service.

 To send short messages from mobile to another mobile subscriber.

Messages can also be sent by Manual Terminal connected to SMSC.

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Additional components of the GSM
architecture
 Home Location Register (HLR)
 Visitor Location Register (VLR)
 Equipment Identity Register (EIR)
 Authentication Center (AuC)
 SMS Serving Center (SMS SC)
 Gateway MSC (GMSC)
 Chargeback Center (CBC)
 Transcoder and Adaptation Unit (TRAU)
GSM network areas
 Cell : Cell is the basic service area; one BTS covers one cell.
Each cell is given a Cell Global Identity (CGI), a number that
uniquely identifies the cell.
 Location Area : A group of cells form a Location Area (LA).
This is the area that is paged when a subscriber gets an incoming
call. Each LA is assigned a Location Area Identity (LAI). Each
LA is served by one or more BSCs.
 MSC/VLR Service Area : The area covered by one MSC is
called the MSC/VLR service area.
 PLMN : The area covered by one network operator is called the
Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). A PLMN can contain one
or more MSCs.
GSM Specifications-1
 RF Spectrum
GSM 900
 Mobile to BTS (uplink): 890-915 MHz
 BTS to Mobile(downlink):935-960 MHz
 Bandwidth: 2* 25 MHz
GSM 1800
 Mobile to BTS (uplink): 1710-1785 MHz
 BTS to Mobile(downlink) 1805-1880 MHz
 Bandwidth: 2* 75 MHz
GSM Specification-II
 Carrier Separation : 200 K Hz
 Access Method : TDMA/FDMA
 Modulation Method : GMSK
 Modulation data rate : 270.833 Kb
Call Setup

 Mobile Originating Call MOC: Call setup, which are initiated

by an MS
 Mobile Terminating Call MTC: Call setup, where an MS is the
called party
 Mobile Mobile Call MMC: Call setup between two mobile
subscribers; MMC thus consists of the execution of a MOC and a
MTC one after the other.
 Mobile Internal Call MIC: a special case of MMC; both MSs
are in the same MSC area, possibly even in the same cell.
Mobile Originating Call MOC