What is the GSM?

GSM is the Global System for Mobile telecommunications.

It is the European standard for the Mobile telecommunications

and it is considered as one of the most popular standard
worldwide.
It is known as the second generation mobile
telecommunications system 2G system.

It is used in Egypt by the two existing operators; Mobinil and

Vodafone; also it used as a part of the third operator in Egypt
Etisalat
Etisalat .

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Lecture 1

GSM Worldwide (darker areas)

2006-01-24

Lecture 1

What is the GPRS?

GPRS is the General Packet Radio Service.

Within the GSM network it shares the network databases and

radio access network.
It is known as the 2.5 generation mobile telecommunications
system 2G system.

2006-01-24

Lecture 1

3G Systems
Universal Mobile Telecommunication Service (UMTS) is the
marketing
standardization
k ti name for
f the
th 3G has
h two
t
t d di ti bodies:
b di
1- 3GPP which uses the W-CDMA technology.
2- 3GPP2 which uses the CDMA2000 technology.
gy

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Lecture 1

Basic GSM Network Structure

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Lecture 1

Basic GSM Network Structure

Mobile Station (MS)

The Mobile Station (MS) is the interface between the user and the
network. The MS consists of two independent parts:
Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card
Mobile Equipment (ME)

+
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Lecture 1

Basic GSM Network Structure

Mobile Equipment (ME)

yp
The ME is the only
part of the GSM network which the subscriber
will really see.
Vehicle Mounted
These devices are mounted in a vehicle and the antenna is
physically mounted on the outside of the vehicle.
Portable Mobile Unit
This equipment can be handheld when in operation, but the antenna
is not connected to the handset of the unit.
Handportable Unit
This equipment comprises of a small telephone handset not much
bigger than a calculator. The antenna is be connected to the
handset.
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Lecture 1

Basic GSM Network Structure

Mobile Equipment Capabilities:
p
y
RF p
power capability
Encryption capability
Frequency capability
Short message
g service capability
p
y
The ME is the hardware used by the subscriber to access the
network. The hardware has an identity number associated with it,
which
hi h iis unique
i
ffor th
thatt particular
ti l d
device
i and
d
permanently stored in it. This identity number is called the
International Mobile
Equipment Identity (IMEI)
To guarantee that the mobile not to be stolen

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Lecture 1

Basic GSM Network Structure

International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI)

6 Digits

2 Digits

6 Digits

TAC

FAC

SN

IMEI

TAC: Type Approval Code,

The first two digits are the
code for the country approval
FAC: Final Assembly Code
SN: Serial Number
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Lecture 1

Basic GSM Network Structure

IMEI
Short for International Mobile Equipment Identity, a unique
number given to every single mobile phone, typically found
behind the battery.
y
IMEI numbers of cellular phones connected to a GSM network
are stored in a database (EIR - Equipment Identity Register)
containing
g all valid mobile phone
p
equipment.
q p
When a phone is reported stolen or is not type approved, the
number is marked invalid.
The number consists of four groups that looks this:
nnnnnn--nn-nnnnnn-n

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Lecture 1

Basic GSM Network Structure

The first set of numbers is the type approval code (TAC). The
g represent
p
y code. The rest make up
p
first two digits
the country
the final assembly code. The second group of numbers
identifies the manufacturer:

07 and 40 = Motorola
10 and 20 = Nokia
41 d 44 = Siemens
41and
Si
51= Sony, Siemens, Ericsson
The third set is the serial number and the last single
g digit
g is
an additional number (usually 0).

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Lecture 1

Basic GSM Network Structure

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)

The SIM as mentioned previously is a smart

smart card
card which plugs
into the ME Mobile Equipment.

It contains a memory that contain information about the MS

subscriber
b ib h
hence the
h name S
Subscriber
b ib Id
Identity
i M
Module.
d l
This memory can store data by the user.

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Lecture 1

Basic GSM Network Structure

The SIM contains several pieces of information:

International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
This number identifies the MS subscriber. It is only transmitted
over the air during initialization.
Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI)
This number identifies the subscriber, it is periodically changed by
the system.
Location Area Identity (LAI)
Identifies the current location of the subscriber.
Subscriber Authentication Key (Ki)
This is used to authenticate the SIM card.

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Lecture 1

Basic GSM Network Structure

Mobile Station International Services Digital Network

((MSISDN))
20

10

1100477

44

385

196099

CC

NDC

SN

CC

NDC

SN

Vodafone Egypt MSISDN

CC
NDC
SN
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Vodafone UK MSISDN

: Country Code
: National Destination Code
: Subscriber Number
Lecture 1

Basic GSM Network Structure

Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
BSS

BTS

BSC

MS

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Basic GSM Network Structure

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Basic GSM Network Structure

The Base Transceiver Station BTS

The BTS contains the RF components that provide the air

interface for a particular cell. This is the part of the GSM network
which communicates with the MS. The antenna is included as
part of the BTS
BTS.
Converts the GSM radio signals into a format that can be
recognized by the BSC.
Channel coding and interleaving.
Records and passes to the BSC the Signal strength
measurements.

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Basic GSM Network Structure

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Basic GSM Network Structure

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Basic GSM Network Structure

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Basic GSM Network Structure

The BSC is the central node within a BSS and co-ordinates the
actions of Base Stations. The BSC controls a major part of the radio
network.
Its main functions can be divided into two types:
During Call Set Up:
Finding
Fi di th
the called
ll d mobile
bil station
t ti b
by paging.
i
Allocate the frequency for setting the call.
g Call :
During
Monitoring the call quality.
Controlling the transmitted power to the MS
depending on the location of the MS.
MS
Control the handover for the MS after receiving the
power measurements from the MS and from the BTS.

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Basic GSM Network Structure

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Basic GSM Network Structure

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Basic GSM Network Structure

One location area consists of more than one BTS.

One BSC controls more than one BTS.
One BTS covers 3 cells.
One cell is covered by one Antenna.
So, one Location Area consists of more than one cell.

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Basic GSM Network Structure

Transcoder (XCDR)

The Transcoder (XCDR) is required to convert the speech or data

output
the
specified
t t from
f
th MSC (64 kbit/s
kbit/ PCM),
PCM) into
i t the
th form
f
ifi d by
b
GSM specifications for transmission over the air interface,
that is, between the BSS and MS
(64 kbit/s to 16 kbit/s and vice versa)
The 64 kbit/s Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) circuits from the
MSC, if transmitted on the air interface without modification,
would occupy an excessive amount of radio bandwidth.
This would use the available radio spectrum inefficiently. The
required bandwidth is therefore reduced by processing the 64
kbit/s circuits so that the amount of information
required to transmit digitized voice falls to a gross rate of 16
kbit/s.
The transcoding function may be located at the
MSC, BSC, or BTS.

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Lecture 1