Mobile Communication

 Adds mobility
 Frequency reuse

Basic cellular system

1
Call
Stages
Multiple access techniques

3
 Multiple access techniques

Source: Mobile and Personal communication systems and services by Raj Pandya
4
 Handoff strategies
When mobile moves from one cell to the other while call is in
progress , MSC automatically transfers the call to a new FDD
channel belonging to the new BS

Processing Handoff is an important task in cellular system

Handoffs must be performed successfully and as infrequently as

possible, and be imperceptible to the users

Handoff operation involves:

Identifying new BS
Allocating voice and control signals to channels associated with
the new BS
The interference can be divided into 2 parts:
• Co-channel interference (CCI)
• Adjacent channel interference(ACI)

Increasing frequency reuse also increases interference, which

decreases system capacity and service quality
Co-channel interference is the cross talk between two different
radio transmitters using the same radio frequency

Interference which is caused by adjacent channels i.e. channels

in adjacent cells is called adjacent channel interference.
 Improving the coverage and capacity

As the demand for wireless service increases, system designers have to provide
more channels per unit coverage area.
Techniques used to expand the capacity of the cellular system are
Cell splitting
Sectoring

Cell splitting: increases the number of BS deployed and allows an orderly

growth of the cellular system

Sectoring : uses directional antennas to further control interference and

frequency reuse
Cell Splitting
 It is a process of sub-dividing a congested cell into
smaller cells
 Each with its own base station
 A corresponding reduction in antenna size
 A corresponding reduction in transmitting power
 This increases the capacity of a cellular system since it
increases the number of times that channels are
reused
 Cell splitting allows a system to grow by replacing large
cells with smaller cells, while not upsetting channel
allocation scheme
Cell Splitting
Sectoring
 CCI may be decreased by replacing single omnidirectional antenna by
several directional antennas, each radiating within a specified sector
 By using directional antennas, a given cell will receive interference and
transmit to only a fraction of the available co-channel cells. Thus CCI
reduced
 A cell is normally partitioned into three 120⁰ sectors or four 90⁰ sectors
or six 60⁰ sectors
Microcell Zone concept
 The problems of sectoring (frequent handoff) can be
effectively addressed by microcell zone concept
 A cell is divided into three(or more)microcells or zones
 Each zones sites are connected to a single coaxial cable /fiber
optic cable, or microwave link)
 Each zone uses directional antenna
 As mobile travels from one zone to another within a cell
 it is served by the zone with strongest signal
 it retains the same channel. i.e., no Handoff
GSM Architecture

21
  Mobile Equipment (ME)
Mobile Station(MS):  Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)

 Base Transceiver Station (BTS)

Base Station Subsystem (BSS): Base Station Controller (BSC)

 Mobile Switching Center (MSC)

Network Subsystem(NSS):
 Home Location Register (HLR)
 Visitor Location Register (VLR)
 Authentication Center (AUC)
 Equipment Identity Register
(EIR)

22
 Mobile Station (MS)
• The Mobile Station is made up of
two entities:
• Mobile Equipment (ME)
o The Mobile Equipment is the hardware
used by the subscriber to access the
network .
o Uniquely identified by an IMEI
(International Mobile Equipment
Identity)
• Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)
o Smart card containing the International
Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
o Allows user to send and receive calls
and receive other subscribed services
o Protected by a password or PIN
 Base Station Subsystem
Base Station Subsystem is composed
of two parts :

1) Base Transceiver Station (BTS)

2) Base Station Controller (BSC)

Base Transceiver Station (BTS)

Houses the radio transceivers that
define a cell
Handles radio-link protocols with the
Mobile Station
 Base Station Subsystem
Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
Houses the radio transceivers of the cell
and handles the radio-link protocols with
the mobile
 Serves a single cell
 Usually placed in the center of a cell
 Coding
 Crypting
 Multiplexing
 Modulating
 Synchronizing
• Base Station Controller
(BSC)
Manages Resources for BTS
Handles call set up
Location update
Handover for each MS
 Network Subsystem
Mobile Switching Center(MSC)
 –The central component of the Network
Subsystem
––Billing
–Location registration
–Gateway to SMS
–Synchronizing BSS
–Handover management
Communication with HLR,VLR,MSC’S
Controlling of connected BSC’S
Home Location Registers (HLR)
 Contains administrative information of each subscriber
Most important database

Visitor Location Registers (VLR)

 Integrated with MSC

 Visitor location Register (VLR) contains selected
information from the HLR, which is necessary for
call control and provision of the subscribed services,
for each mobile currently located in the geographical
area controlled by the VLR
Authentication Center (AUC)
Authentication Center (AUC) stores a copy of the
secret key stored in each subscribers SIM card
 mainly used for security
 data storage location and functional part of the
network

Equipment Identity Register (EIR)

Equipment Identity Register (EIR) contains a
list of all valid mobile equipment on the network
EIR and AUC are used for security and
authentication purposes
 Frequency allocation for GSM system

• Two frequency bands, of 25 MHz each one,

have been allocated for the GSM system:
1.the band 890-915MHz has been allocated for
uplink direction.
2.the band 935-960MHz has been allocate for
down link direction.
 GSM FREQUENCY
• GSM systems use radio frequencies between 890-
915 MHz for receive and between 935-960 MHz for Downlink
transmit.
• RF carriers are spaced every 200 kHz, allowing a
total of 124 carriers for use. Uplink
• An RF carrier is a pair of radio frequencies, one
used in each direction.
• Transmit and receive frequencies are always
separated by 45 MHz.

UPLINK FREQUENCIES DOWNLINK FREQUENCIES

890 915 935 960

UPLINK AND DOWNLINK FREQUENCY SEPARATED BY 45MHZ