GPRSSYS

Introduction to GPRS
Training Document

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and describ
es only the product defined in the introduction of this documentation. This docu
ment is intended for the use of Nokia's customers only for the purposes of the a
greement under which the document is submitted, and no part of it may be reprodu
ced or transmitted in any form or means without the prior written permission of
Nokia. The document has been prepared to be used by professional and properly tr
ained personnel, and the customer assumes full responsibility when using it. Nok
ia welcomes customer comments as part of the process of continuous development a
nd improvement of the documentation.
The information or statements given in this document concerning the suitability,
capacity, or performance of the mentioned hardware or software products cannot
be considered binding but shall be defined in the agreement made between Nokia a
nd the customer. However, Nokia has made all reasonable efforts to ensure that t
he instructions contained in the document are adequate and free of material erro
rs and omissions. Nokia will, if necessary, explain issues which may not be cove
red by the document.
Nokia's liability for any errors in the document is limited to the documentary c
orrection of errors. NOKIA WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE IN ANY EVENT FOR ERRORS IN TH
IS DOCUMENT OR FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL (INCLUDING MONETARY
LOSSES), that might arise from the use of this document or the information in it
.
This document and the product it describes are considered protected by copyright
according to the applicable laws.
NOKIA logo is a registered trademark of Nokia Oyj.
Other product names mentioned in this document may be trademarks of their respec
tive companies, and they are mentioned for identification purposes only.
Copyright © Nokia Oyj 2008. All rights reserved.
Contents
1 Module objectives 4
2 Background 5
2.1 The Internet 5
2.2 Mobile Communications 7
3 Do you remember GSM? 9
3.1 The GSM subsystems 10
3.1.1 Network Switching Subsystem (NSS) 10
3.1.2 Base Station Subsystem (BSS) 11
3.1.3 Network Management Subsystem (NMS) 12
3.1.4 Nokia GSM network architecture 13
3.2 The GSM radio interface concept 14
3.2.1 Duplex transmission 14
3.2.2 Multiple Access 15
3.2.3 The GSM frequency bands 16
4 Overview of GPRS 17
4.1 Circuit and Packet Switched 17
4.2 GSM and packet orientated services 19
4.2.1 GSM drawbacks 21
4.2.2 How to overcome the above shortcomings? - GPRS 24
4.3 GPRS standardisation 26
5 Services, users and operators 28
5.1 GPRS applications 28
5.1.1 Service examples 28
5.1.2 Push to talk (PoC) 30
5.2 GPRS users 31
5.3 GPRS operator's role 32
5.3.1 Mobile access operator 33
5.3.2 Full-service provider model 33
6 Key points 35
7 Review Questions 36
Appendix A: ETSI GPRS Phase 2 37
Appendix B: ETSI GPRS documents 38
References 39

1 Module objectives
At the end of the module, the participant will be able to:
• Describe the relationship between GPRS and GSM
• Describe the difference between packet switching and circuit switching and the m
eaning of these to data services
• Describe some benefits of GPRS
to end-users
to operators
• List some business reasons for GPRS
• List some possible GPRS applications that would generate revenue
without using any references.
2 Background
In the 90s of the last centuries, two technologies were the driving forces for e
conomic growth: The Internet and the mobile communication technology.
2.1 The Internet
The Internet story began in 1969 as a university research project. The predecess
or of the today’s Internet – the ARPANET - was funded by military research organisat
ions. In its first 30 years of existence, the Internet was primarily used by gov
ernment organisations and research institutes. The Internet’s huge success was tri
ggered in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, who proposed the World Wide Web (WWW or Web).
Only one year later, the “Web” became reality with the inauguration of the first im
plementation of a primitive Web browser. The browser technology enabled Internet
-illiterates to easily access network servers such as ftp-servers or easily send
ing electronic messages (emails). The release of the Mosaic browser in 1993 and
the Netscape Browser in 1994 enabled millions of PC users to easily and quickly
get into the Internet.
The browser technology enabled many computer users to easily enhance the value a
dded of their PC. At the same time, the prices for computer technology dropped.
It was the combination of the two facts, which resulted in an enormous growth of
Internet users. Nowadays, we can already observe, that in countries with a high
level of Internet user penetration, the growth of Internet users is slowing dow
n. In countries with a low Internet penetration level, huge growth rates still c
an be expected. The figure below indicates who the internet grew over the last y
ears. In the year 2002 there were an estimated 540 million Internet users, and 8
40 million Internet users are forecasted for the year 2005.
Figure 1. World-wide Internet user growth
What were the driving forces for the exponential growth of the Internet?
• Low-cost personal computers
One reason for the enormous growth rates of the Internet is rooted in the fact,
that the platform for the browser software – the pc – became cheaper and more powerf
ul over the recent years.
• E-mail
One of the most popular applications between users of the Internet is the abilit
y to easily transfer messages. Emails are not only used by private users. Busine
ss to business communication and business to consumer communication via email be
comes more and more common.
• Web content
Given a growing number of Internet users, a wide range of content can be accesse
d fast and easily in the Internet – and often even free of charge. In the recent y
ears, not only text files could be downloaded, but also music and video clips. T
his triggered in the mean time a major discussion on how to protect the copy rig
hts of digital information. Digital rights management will be a major challenge
for Internet business cases in the near future
• Intranets
Within larger companies, which are often a located at multi sites, a range of di
fferent Intranet solutions were in use. The Internet and the browser technology
forms nowadays a unified graphical user interface, with which company employees
can access corporate information without any knowledge of the underlying transmi
ssion or data base technology.
• fast access on the last mile
Many fixed network operators are offering to private and business users a fast a
ccess to the Internet. ISDN and xDSL (digital subscriber line) guarantee a fast
access to the Internet. Also the capacity of backbone routers doubled about ever
y 20 months, so that many users can nowadays conveniently download huge files at
moderate speed. Mobile communication standards were optimised for narrowband vo
ice transmission. To support a higher data rate access for mobile subscribers, n
ew standards were developed. The most important ones are HSCSD, GPRS, EGDE (in G
SM) and UMTS.
These is just a small list of applications, which triggered the Internet success
up to now, and these applications will play an important role also in the futur
e. Services envisioned for a future Internet are among others
• Web based cellular phones
• mobile commerce
• business to business electronic commerce
• Web based radio and TV
2.2 Mobile Communications
Mobile communication is the second success story of the 90s. There is a wide ran
ge of mobile communication technologies, but the second generation mobile commun
ication solution GSM is dominating the market. The success of the mobile communi
cation business becomes visible, when we just look to some facts and trends.
• Mobile traffic is growing faster than fixed traffic: in September 2002 there are
more than one billion mobile subscribers, and about 70% of them were using GSM.
It is predicted that in 10 years the number of mobiles will exceed the number o
f PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) lines. In Finland and the Scandinavia
n countries, the number of mobiles has already exceeded the number of fixed line
s. Furthermore, 1 in 18 people on this earth use GSM to make phone calls today.
• The unit cost of mobile phone call has been decreasing rapidly due to competitio
n as the number of mobile telecommunication operators increase in each country.
Mobile operators have to stay competitive to capture and retain markets by setti
ng competitive tariffs and by offering value-added services. There is a limit to
which any operator can decrease tariffs, so offering value added services to su
bscribers is the best solution to staying competitive.
• The cost of radio spectrum has increased exponentially and the sale of new spect
rum has been used to offset the national debt in some countries. Mobile operator
s are seeking good returns for these investments.
• Mobile users are hungry for data services, and this is demonstrated by the huge
success of SMS (Short Message Service) and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) s
ervices. Despite its not-so-user-friendly user interface and relatively high tar
iffs, SMS traffic is booming. In September 2002, about 27 million SMS messages w
ere sent. SMS is therefore the most successful data communication service curren
tly in use. Operators are currently launching the Multimedia Messaging Service (
MMS), which represents a user friendly platform to transmit enhanced message. Th
e MMS messages then can transfer music, stills, short videos, and of course text
messages.
Figure 2. GSM growth rates world wide
Based on the above trends and the rapid growth of mobile and data communications
, it is clear that there will be a great demand for mobile data communication se
rvices in the future. For an operator, offering value-added services and interes
ting content is the key to increasing revenue and keeping ahead of the competiti
on. Mobile data services make it possible to offer innovative, segmented service
s to different user groups, attract new subscribers, and reduce churn. Data user
s may also be the busiest speech users, so capturing their business can also inc
rease speech revenues.
Data services offer the opportunity to increase revenue by providing much more t
han simply a mobile connection. Data services also provide additional revenue fr
om the type of content accessed and the amount of content transferred during tha
t connection.
3 Do you remember GSM?
GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) was the first and most successful
digital cellular system (2G). Its standardisation includes services, subsystem i
nterfaces, and protocol architecture. It has been implemented in more than 160 c
ountries. In Europe and Asia Pacific the 900 and 1800 MHz solutions are in use.
In North America, some part of South America and Asia, GSM 1900 is applied, i.e.
the duplex frequency bands can be found in the 1900 MHz band. Variants of GSM h
ave been deployed for different frequency ranges and applications. Examples are
GSM 850 and GSM-Railway. The services provided by GSM include voice, circuit swi
tched data, and SMS.
For any mobile communication system to function the following components and fun
ctionality are needed:
• Base stations spaced regularly throughout the coverage area
• Switching units to switch calls between base stations and between base stations
and external networks
• Interfaces to Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN), Public Data Networks (P
DN), and other Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMN)
• Mobile stations (MSs) containing Mobile Equipment (ME) and SIM cards with unique
subscriber identification such as IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identit
y) and IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity)
• Authentication units that are capable of authenticating subscribers by the use o
f special codes and algorithms
• Encryption units that ensure that all information transmitted on the air interfa
ce is encrypted so that is secure
• Speech and data compression so as to maximise the use of limited radio resources
• Databases to store subscriber details such as IMSI, security data, and subscript
ion information
• Location management so that the current location of the subscriber can be known
and used for incoming calls
• Units to co-ordinate handover between base stations when the mobile subscriber i
s moving within the coverage area
• Power control to minimise the transmitted power by the user
• Network Management Centre that facilitates the management of the network and col
lections of statistics pertaining to network performance
• Billing Centre that logs subscribers call activity and generates billing records
• Signalling links that are needed for the various building blocks to communicate
with each other.
3.1 The GSM subsystems
The GSM network is divided into three subsystems:
• Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)
• Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
• Network Management Subsystem (NMS).
These subsystems are shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. GSM Public Land Mobile Network
3.1.1 Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)
The main elements of Network Switching Subsystem are (see Figure 3):
• Mobile Services Switching Centre (MSC)
• Visitor Location Register (VLR)
• Home Location Register (HLR)
The MSC is responsible for controlling calls in the mobile network. It identifie
s the origin and destination of a call (either a mobile station or a fixed telep
hone in both cases), as well as the type of call. An MSC acting as a bridge betw
een a mobile network and a fixed network is called a Gateway MSC. An MSC is norm
ally integrated with a VLR, which maintains information related to the subscribe
rs who are currently in the service area of the MSC. The VLR carries out locatio
n registrations and updates. The MSC associated with it initiates the paging pro
cess. A VLR database is always temporary in the sense that the data is held as l
ong as the subscriber is within its service area, whereas the HLR maintains a pe
rmanent register of the subscribers. In addition to the fixed data, the HLR also
maintains a temporary database that contains the current location of its custom
ers. This data is required for routing calls.
In addition, there are two more elements in the NSS: the Authentication Centre (
AC) and the Equipment Identity Register (EIR). They are used in order to provide
security and are usually implemented as part of HLR. The subscriber and the mob
ile station have to be identified and authorised before accessing the network.
To sum up, the main functions of NSS are:
Call control
This identifies the subscriber, establishes a call and clears the connection aft
er the conversation is over.
Charging
This collects the charging information about a call such as the numbers of the c
aller and the called subscriber, and the time and type of the transaction, and t
ransfers it to the Billing Centre.
Mobility management
This maintains information about the location of the subscriber.
Signalling with other
This applies to interfaces with the BSS and PSTN.
Subscriber data handling
This is the permanent data storage in the HLR and temporary storage of relevant
data in the VLR.
Locating the subscriber
This locates a subscriber before establishing a call.
3.1.2 Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
The Base Station Subsystem consists of the following elements (see Figure 3):
• Base Station Controller (BSC)
• Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
• Transcoder and Rate Adaptation Unit (TRAU) (often just called Transcoder (TC)
The Base Station Controller (BSC) is the central network element of the BSS and
it controls the radio network. The main responsibilities of the BSC are: Connect
ion establishment between MS and NSS, mobility management, statistical raw data
collection, and air interface and A interface signalling support.
The Base Transceiver Station (BTS) is a network element maintaining the air inte
rface. It takes care of air interface signalling, air interface ciphering, and s
peech processing. In this context, speech processing refers to all the functions
that the BTS performs in order to guarantee an error-free connection between th
e MS and the BTS.
The Transcoder and Rate Adaptation Unit (TRAU) is a BSS element taking care of s
peech transcoding, that is, it is capable of converting speech from one digital
coding format to another and vice versa, to maximise the use of radio resources.
3.1.3 Network Management Subsystem (NMS)
The Network Management Subsystem (NMS) is the third subsystem of the GSM network
.
Figure 4. NMS and the GSM network
The purpose of the NMS is to monitor various functions and elements of the netwo
rk. These tasks are carried out in the Nokia Solution by the NMS/2000 that consi
sts of a number of workstations, servers, and a router that connects to a data c
ommunications network (DCN).
The operator workstations are connected to the database and communication server
s via a local area network (LAN). The database server stores the management info
rmation about the network. The communication server takes care of the data commu
nication between the NMS and the equipment in the GSM network known as network e
lements. This communication is carried over the data communications network whic
h connects to the NMS via a router. The DCN is normally implemented using an X.2
5 packet switching network.
The functions of the NMS can be divided into three categories:
• Fault management
• Configuration management
• Performance management
These functions cover the whole of the GSM network elements from the level of in
dividual BTSs, up to MSCs and HLRs.
3.1.4 Nokia GSM network architecture
The following network picture contains equipment from a typical Nokia GSM networ
k.
Figure 5. Nokia GSM network architecture
3.2 The GSM radio interface concept
The radio interface is the main bottleneck in terms of available transmission re
sources for the operator. In addition to that, due to the nature of the radio in
terface, a huge amount of features have to be added to make the transmission bot
h reliable and safe. This section repeats shortly wireless key aspects.
3.2.1 Duplex transmission
Duplex is communication in a two-way direction on two frequencies. One frequency
is used to talk and the other one to listen. This is the modern way of cellular
communication.
There are two common ways to realise duplex transmission:
• Frequency Division Duplex (FDD)
In this case, frequency resources are allocated to the mobile communication syst
em. Some of the frequency bands are allocated to uplink communication only, whil
e other frequency bands are used for downlink communication. In other words dupl
ex transmission is enabled by using different frequency bands, or, uplink and do
wnlink are separated by frequency.
• Time Division Duplex (TDD)
In this case, one carrier frequency band is used for uplink and downlink communi
cation. The transmission is organised in time frames. Within in each time frame,
some time resources are used for uplink transmission, while the remaining ones
are used for downlink transmission.
Figure 6. FDD and TDD
3.2.2 Multiple Access
Two multiple access principles are combined in the GSM radio interface solution:
• Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)
In order to enable multiple access the frequency range is broken down into uniqu
e carriers and distributed to the users. That way multiple users can operate in
a particular frequency spectrum.
• Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
Multiple access is made possible by dividing on frequency band (carrier) into di
fferent slices of time. Hereby a time resource – called timeslot – is cyclically all
ocated to one subscriber. Consequently, several subscribers can use the same car
rier – and again, multiple access is archived.
Figure 7. FDMA and TDMA
3.2.3 The GSM frequency bands
Every GSM radio interface solution is using FDD, combined with FDMA and TDMA. An
FDMA carrier has 200 kHz bandwidth, on which TDMA is applied. A TDMA frame last
approximately 4.615 ms and houses 8 timeslots. In Europe, Australia, most parts
of Asia and South America, GSM 900 and GSM 1800 are available. In North America
, some parts of Asia and South America, there is GSM 1900. Numbers such as 900 a
nd 1900 indicate, which frequency bands are applied. GSM 900, 1800 and 1900 are
the most commonly used frequency bands, which are listed here:
• GSM 900 (standard GSM, P-GSM, Primary GSM)
UL: 890 – 915 MHz and DL: 935 – 960 MHz
124 carrier frequency bands
• GSM 1800 (DCS 1800)
UL: 1710 – 1785 MHz and DL: 1805 – 1880 MHz
374 carrier frequency bands
• GSM 1900 (PCS 1900)
UL: 1850 – 1910MHz and DL: 1930 – 1990 MHz
299 carrier frequency bands
4 Overview of GPRS
The existing GSM networks are based on circuit switching techniques. For data se
rvices that are based on Internet Protocol (IP) such as e-mail and web browsing,
GSM circuit switching is inefficient.
GSM Release 97 has introduced the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) which mai
ntains the GSM BSS access technologies but provides packet switched data service
s to the mobile station (MS).
4.1 Circuit and Packet Switched
Circuit switched connections
Standard GSM uses circuit switched (CS) connections. Each time a connection is r
equired between two points, a link is established between them, and network reso
urces are reserved and dedicated for a subscriber s use for the entire duration
of the call. Circuit switched connections have relatively low delay in the netwo
rk and have traditionally been used in fixed and mobile networks for speech and
data.
Packet switched connections
Data networks, such as the Internet, Frame Relay and X.25 use packet switched (P
S) connections. With packet switching, the user data is organised in packets (da
tagrams), each packet having an identifier or address that is used by routers (s
witching elements) in the network to pass the packet to its intended destination
. Hereby each packet is routed individually. GPRS brings packet switching techni
ques to GSM networks.
A packet switched connection can be either connection less or connection orienta
ted. What is the difference between the two terms?
Connection orientated network service (CONS)
A service is connection orientated, when signalling takes place to establish an
end-to-end connection, to maintain it, and to release it. The signalling informa
tion is used by the end points of the transmission to agree in the terms on how
the transmission has to take place. For instance, the transport protocol TCP (Tr
ansfer Control Protocol) is offering a connection orientated network service to
higher layer protocols, such as http or SMTP. TCP makes the connection reliable
and well organised.
Connectionless network service (CLNS)
Each packet is transmitted independently. There is no mutual agreement in the en
d points of the transmission on how to organise the user data transfer. IP is th
e best known example of a connectionless network service.
The figure below gives a comparison between circuit switched and packet switched
network solutions.
Figure 8. Circuit switched vs. Packet switched
Since the mid 90s, real-time services atop of a packet switched infrastructure g
ained increasing importance.
Real Time (RT)
A real-time service is given, when the user data transfer between the source and
destination is done within a time limit. A 300 ms delay is already noticeable d
elay for speech. There a protocols which support real time service, such as the
Internet protocol RTP (Real-Time Protocol).
If real-time services are offered via packet switched networks, also arrival jit
ter affects the perceived QoS. Arrival jitter must be adjusted.
In mobile networks, two real-time QoS classes are normally considered:
• conversational class: which is used for services like speech. The round trip del
ay is very limited.
• streaming class: which is used for services such as downloading video clips. The
re may be arrival jitter; there may be even an interruption during the transmiss
ion. Here, it must guaranteed, that there is always enough data in the memory of
the receiver to give the user a continuous service.
Non-real Time (NRT)
Packet switched networks such as X.25 and IP were originally developed for burst
y, but non-time critical services, such as downloading emails and files. Nowaday
s, two non-real time QoS classes are in use in the mobile communication business
:
• interactive class: which is used for FTP or SNMP signalling. When a computer (cl
ient) gets connected to a server, signalling takes place between the two network
elements. A response to a request is hereby expected within a certain time limi
t, i.e. delays are allowed, but not too long delays – otherwise one party closes d
own the communication.
• background class: which is for instance used for downloading files after success
fully login in a file server. This is not time critical, and large delays are al
lowed. Transmission bandwidth is only used, when available.
In classical packet switched network, bandwidth in a packet switched (PS) networ
k is not reserved continuously, as is the case with circuit switching. Instead,
network bandwidth is allocated when required and released when not needed. The r
equirements in terms of QoS were therefore quite different in circuit and packet
switched networks. Consequently, separate network solution for circuit switched
and packet switched services evolved.
Nowadays, some packet switched network such as ATM can be used to transmit circu
it switched services. We could create the impression to the user that there is a
permanent connection between the two ends of the connection; but in practice, t
he connection is only there when data is being transmitted. This is referred to
as a virtual connection. Data packets from different users are statistically mul
tiplexed by the first router onto a single transmission path. Statistical multip
lexing means that the user data may have variable delay in the network. Therefor
e, a particular Quality of Service (QoS) must be negotiated between the data use
r and the network to provide an appropriate level of service for various data ap
plications.
4.2 GSM and packet orientated services
While working in the company, an employee can access the Internet and download d
ata from and Internet server. The employee has the feeling, that he can directly
retrieve the information from the Internet. He is not aware of the underlying t
ransmission network infrastructure.
Figure 9. Internet service as perceived from the subscribers
The employee is using his laptop also in his home office. How can the employee g
et connected to Internet? The employee has a telephone and a modem. He is connec
ting his computer to the modem and telephone. Then he is activating a program, w
ith which he can dial in to the Internet. But what does that mean, that “he is dia
l in to the Internet”? The employee (or the software on his laptop) is dialing the
telephone number of a remote access server (RAS). A RAS is a network element, w
hich interfaces a telephone network and a data network, such as the Internet. In
 the dialing in process, a circuit switched connection is established via the te
lephony network to the RAS. Then the RAS and the (dial-in software on the) lapto
p negotiate, how the packet switched user data are transmitted via the circuit s
witched connection. Also authentication can take place between the two devices.
If everything goes fine, the user has a circuit connection to the Internet. The
employee has no idea, how the telephony network looks like, or how many exchange
s are within the circuit switched transmission part. All he wants to do, it to s
erve in the Internet – at low cost, high data rates, high reliability, and high se
curity.
What kind of service was offered to the user by the telephony network operator?
A bit tunnel (bearer) between the user’s end device (laptop) and the Internet.
Figure 10. Data service offered by a PSTN-operator: access to requested Pac
ket Data Networks
What is the difference, when the employee is using a GSM mobile phone instead of
a fixed network phone to get connected to the Internet? There is none. The PLMN
operator is offering the same service as the fixed network operator, namely, a
bit tunnel, so that packet data can be exchanged between the employee’s laptop and
the Internet.
But does the subscriber really perceive the service, offered to him by mobile op
erator in the same way as service, offered to him by a fixed network operator?
Over the last 10 years, triggered by the Internet, the packet switched traffic w
as growing exponentially. But are packet switched services a success story in th
e mobile communication business?
The answer is no – although GSM was specified from the beginning to allow packet s
witched data transfer, it is rarely used for that. With GSM, a bit tunnel (beare
r) can be established between the MS and the Internet, a corporate network, an i
ntranet, and so on.
4.2.1 GSM drawbacks
What kind of drawbacks does a subscriber perceive, when accessing a Packet Data
Network via GSM?
• “a download takes too long”
GSM was specified in such a way, that packet data transmission was supported. Bu
t the maximum data rate is limited to 9.6 kbps. Often, it is even less, because
the transmission has to take place in the acknowledged mode. When during the tra
nsmission via the radio interface, some data has been corrupted, it must be retr
ansmitted. Often a subscriber must expect data rates of less that 8 kbps. Conseq
uently, when a subscriber wants to download a larger file, it takes a long time.
• “only text SMS is supported”
SMS is the only packet switched application, which is successful. Some operators
gain even more 10% of their revenues by the SMS-service. A short message is a t
ext based message, which can be sent from MS to MS. (Some operators also offer t
he option to sent an SMS-message from the Internet to mobile stations.) But an S
MS message is limited to 160 characters. The transmission of music samples, pict
ures, graphical short messages, etc. is not supported. This limits the potential
of SMS. In some markets, there is already a saturation in SMS – in order to make
mobile services more attractive, an enhanced SMS service, or even a multimedia m
essaging service (MMS) is required.
• “GSM is too expensive for serving in the Internet”
When a subscriber gets connected to some packet data network, GSM is offering a
circuit switched service only, Circuit switched means, that traffic resources ar
e permanently allocated to the subscriber’s use, including radio interface resourc
es.
Many packet switched subscriber applications have so-called bursty traffic behav
iour. They get connected to a network server, such as the email server. They dow
nload the first file – and read it. While they are reading the content of the file
, they are still connected to the email server, but they are not transmitting an
ything. Within packet switched networks, the network’s transmission resources can
be used by someone else. This is called statistical multiplexing. By doing so, a
 fairly high transmission resource efficiency can be gained. But in circuit swit
ched networks like GSM, transmission resources are allocated to the subscriber f
or the time of the connection. That means, while the subscriber is reading the c
ontent of the first file, resources are dedicated to him – even if he is not activ
ely using them – and therefore he has to pay the operator for them.
The subscriber perceives two drawbacks: If he is downloading something, the GSM
system is slow. And similar to the PSTN networks, he has to pay for the time of
the connection. If the subscriber wants to be always on, the GSM network service
becomes very expensive for him.
• “I had to pay for a connection, but didn’t get any data at all (data losses)”
The mobile communications system GSM was optimised for speech transmission. Traf
fic resources are allocated to the subscriber for the time of the connection. Th
e radio link is hereby the most sensitive part of the transmission path. Due to
the nature of the radio interface solution, there may occur many problems, such
as fading dips, obstacles in the transmission path, interferers, or subscriber’s l
eaving the supply area of the PLMN. Both the MS and the BTS generate measurement
reports, including aspects such as Bit Error Rate (BER) and Frame Erasure Rate
(FER). The reports are sent to the BSC, which then decides, how to continue the
radio link management. If the MS and the BSC determine a too high error rate – i.e
. the quality of the connection is too poor – and no handover can be performed, th
e MS and the BSC can initiate the call termination. The subscriber gets disconne
cted. For a speech subscriber, this is annoying.
I a data call is disconnected during transmission of a file this result in perma
nent data loss. If a file has been only partly downloaded, the subscriber has ac
tually got nothing at all. In contrast to circuit switched services such as spee
ch, data transmission is often organised in fragments, called packets. Packets c
an be sent independently, and the delivery is not time critical. In other words,
they can be transmitted, whenever resources are available. If there are problem
s on the radio interface, then the subscriber cannot be served or will be served
with a lower bit rate
• “The call establishment time is too long”
The GSM network operator is not directly connected to the packet data network, t
he subscriber wants to get connected to. Often, there are PSTNs and the Internet
within the transmission path. This may result in a high call establishment time
.
• “I feel uneasy about the connection security”
Many business users require a safe connection to the corporate network. Many GSM
operators currently only offer an access to the unsecured Internet. This raises
questions about the integrity of the data exchanged between for example end dev
ices and corporate networks. A valuable function would be an encrypted virtual c
onnection from the GSM network to the corporate network.
Not only the subscribers, but also the operator’s face the shortcomings of the GSM
system for packet switched applications:
• “inefficient use of the radio interface resources”
The radio interface resources impose the main capacity restraint to a mobile ope
rator. The operator only has a limited amount of resources available; if the res
ources are all in use, no additional subscribers can be served. Packet switched
subscribers get radio interface resources dedicated for the time for connection.
But they have a bursty traffic behaviour. Consequently, the resources allocated
to them are often not used. When a new GSM feature for packet switched services
is introduced, the operators expect it to offer a solution, which improves the
radio interface efficiency. It is then possible to serve more packet switched s
ubscribers on the given radio interface resources, and consequently increase the
potential to earn money.
• “marginal packet switched subscriber satisfaction”
as can be seen above, many subscribers experience GSM as unsatisfactory for pack
et switched applications. The above mentioned problems must be solved to increas
e the subscriber satisfaction. If it is increased, more subscribers are willing
to use packet switched application via GSM (GPRS), and again, the potential to e
arn money is increased for the mobile operator.
4.2.2 How to overcome the above shortcomings? - GPRS
The GSM Phase 2+ feature “General Packet Radio Service” (GPRS) overcomes most of the
limitations, mentioned above. We list here its main characteristics:
Bottleneck radio interface Um
The given capacities of the radio interface are the bottleneck for a GSM operato
r. Therefore especially at this point new solutions were looked after:
One central task was to increase the data transmission rate for the subscriber.
To do so two new features were introduced:
• Four Coding Schemes to increase the maximum “net” data rate. With Coding Scheme CS-
, 9.05 kbps can be transmitted, with CS-2 13.4 kbps, with CS-3 15.6 kbps, and wi
th CS-4 21.4 kbps. In principle the increase of the net data transfer rate was r
ealised by reducing the redundancy. With CS-4 there is no redundancy at all! The
coding schemes can change during the transmission; GPRS is capable to dynamical
ly adjust them in order to react on the current radio link properties, which may
be affected by the MS speed, distance from the BTS, rain, etc. Currently, mainl
y CS-1 and CS-2 are in use!
• An increase of the data rate can be also realised by bundling physical channels.
In GPRS up to 8 time slots of a TDMA-frame can be dynamically bundled for a sin
gle user, but in reality, most MS are limited to 3 timeslots. Given channel bund
ling with up to 8 physical channels/time slots and CS-4 with a data rate of 21.4
kbps, a total of 171.2 kbps is available for a single user. In reality, subscri
bers are normally limited to three time slots. And they can only expect CS-1 and
CS-2 in use. Therefore, data rate of up to 30 to 40 kbps can be expected.
Error! Objects cannot be created from editing field codes.
Figure 11. GPRS enabled increased data rates
Another central task was to increase the efficient use of the radio resources. T
his can easily be shown with one example:
If there is one cell with two TRX, up to 15 Erlang voice traffic can be transmit
ted. When an operator is planning his network, he has to reduce the probability
of users to be blocked from network access due to lack of free radio resources.
If the operator is planning a 2 percent blocking probability, on average only 9
Erlang of the cell are used for voice calls. In a way the remaining resources ar
e “wasted”.
As a result a network operator is interested in a mechanism to dynamically alloc
ate the spare resources to non-prioritised services. Especially packet orientate
d services with no real-time demand, which show bursty data transmission behavio
ur, are suitable.
With GPRS the dynamical allocation of radio resources to GSM and GPRS use is pos
sible so that these spare resources can be used. By prioritising of voice calls
an PLMN operator can serve all voice calls (circuit switched connection) by dyna
mically allocating free resources to these services, or by taking the resources
from GPRS users. A mechanism was included so that a logical connection between a
GPRS-subscriber and the PLMN is established even if there is no data transmissi
on via the air interface. The concept of dynamically allocate resources to GPRS
users is called “capacity on demand”.
Figure 12. Increased radio interface efficiency
Physical channels are not only dynamical allocated between GSM and GPRS-subscrib
ers, but a physical channel can also be used by several GPRS subscribers. This a
gain is an answer to the bursty transmission behaviour of many packet switched s
ervices.
The asymmetric allocation of resources uplink and downlink is also based on this
concept.
Access to Data Networks
Improvements are not only required in the radio interface organisation, and henc
e within the BSS. Also the GSM NSS is upgraded with GPRS specific network elemen
ts. The GPRS NSS is based on a packet switched data network, which has direct ac
cess to PDNs (Packet Data Networks). By doing so, a speedy connection establishm
ent and data transfer can be achieved. This should be realised within 0.5 to 1 s
econds. The direct access to the PDNs also allows higher data transmission rates
also on the network side of the PLMN.
Quality of Service
The operator can prioritise services and/or subscribers. If there are packet ori
entated services and applications which are e.g. more time sensitive or more cri
tical of bit errors, the operator may offer/ set different Quality of Service, b
oth on the air interface and on his terrestrial network.
Evolution from GSM to UMTS
GPRS not only offers a more efficient use of the radio resources to an operator,
but also the option to gradually move to the 3rd generation mobile communicatio
n systems. This is realised in the GPRS by a strict separation of the Network Sw
itching Subsystem (NSS) and the Base Station Subsystem (BSS). On the NSS side, n
ew network elements have to be introduced, while the BSS elements just have to b
e enhanced. If the operator later on adds UMTS to his services, he can use the G
PRS-NSS side without modifications.
4.3 GPRS standardisation
The ETSI standardisation work on GPRS Phase 1 was officially finalised in Q1/199
8. It includes point-to-point (PTP) services and the complete basic GPRS infrast
ructure. Air interface, mobility management, security, limited QoS, SMS service,
GPRS support nodes, and the GPRS backbone are all part of Phase 1.
• The ETSI standardisation work on GPRS Phase 2 was frozen with GSM Release 99. So
me work items were included in the GSM Release 98. Phase 2 adds additional servi
ces like enhanced QoS support and point-to-multipoint (PTM) connections. Some ma
in point of GPRS phase 2 are the support of
• IPv4 and IPv6
• BSS co-ordination of radio resource allocation for class A GPRS services
• Enhanced QoS support in GPRS
• Charging and billing for GPRS – AoC
• Charging and billing for GPRS – Pre-paid
• Point-to-multipoint (PTM) services
• Access to ISPs and intranets in GPRS Phase 2, separation of GPRS bearer establis
hment and ISP service environment set-up
In GSM Release 4 (frozen March 2001) and GSM Release 5 (frozen June 2002), QoS e
nhancements for the GPRS backbone were introduced to support packet switched rea
l-time services (on the long run). This goes hand-in-hand with the introduction
of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). The Nokia IP Multimedia Subsystem can be c
ombined with terminals supporting downloadable applications, creating exciting o
pportunities for application developers and operators to develop and offer new I
P multimedia services in GPRS and 3G networks. Further information on network de
tails is available in the architecture module.
At the end of the year 2002, more that 120 operators are commercially offering G
PRS and more than 40 operators are testing GPRS or building up a GPRS infrastruc
ture.
Note
For additional information on the standardisation, see Appendix A: ETSI GPRS Pha
se 2 and Appendix B: ETSI GPRS documents.

5 Services, users and operators

5.1 GPRS applications
In addition to the traditional access selling business, as in the case of GSM, a
GPRS operator can now choose to enter the business of selling ISP and/or value-
added services (VAS) to customers. This would mean new sources of revenue from t
he following:
• Basic ISP functions (Internet access, WWW homepages, newsgroups, etc.)
• Value-added services
• Hosting value-added service providers
• Brokering wireless access (WAP or non-WAP) to value-added service providers
Providing business users access to their office LANs will probably make up a maj
or part of the revenue, at least in the beginning of GPRS. In the long run, with
increased GPRS penetration and cheaper GPRS mobile stations, one should not for
get such possibilities in the private user sector as, for example, on-line gamin
g and chatting.
5.1.1 Service examples
Today, person-to-person communication is mainly related to voice calls and Short
Message Service (SMS). Based on the GPRS infrastructure, in GSM and the next ge
neration system UMTS, person-to-person communications will evolve to new types o
f messaging and telephony, including:
• Chat (one to many)
• Calendar and email (including synchronisation)
• Rich call and video telephony
• Picture messaging and multimedia messaging
Evolution of messaging will bring richer content into the messages. With multime
dia messaging, it is possible to combine the conventional short messages with mu
ch richer content type – photographs, images, and eventually also video clips. In
addition to sending messages from one hand set to another, it is also possible t
o send messages from handset to email.
Figure 13. Development of person-to-person messaging
In mid-2002, about 27 billion SMSs were sent globally. In the end of 200
2, more than 40 operators support MMS services already.
Already there are a number of value-added services via SMS. The same kind of app
lications could be implemented using GPRS. The mobile subscriber would then be a
ble to enjoy the same services, only faster. Some typical VAS examples today
• Bus, train and airline information: arrivals, departures, delays, all buses pass
ing the nearest street corner, etc.
• Locating restaurants with a specific menu item
• Weather information, news, sports headlines and scores
• Buying products from Vending Machines using hand-held terminals
• Lottery results sent to a user as soon they are known
• Banking account balance and transactions, etc
• Jokes, horoscope, and other entertainment information in the locality
• Stock information
The real limitation is the imagination of the developers. Strategic alliances wi
th value-added service providers might be an idea for many operators. Most of th
e services that may become popular in the future have not yet been invented.
If SMS and MMS messages are transmitted via the GPRS infrastructure, there are s
everal benefits:
• The SMS messages are no longer limited to 160 characters,
• The transmission of SMS messages is done via signalling resources. This imposes
major constrains in the GSM system, and limits the possibilities to enhance the
SMS feature.
• MMS is offered via WAP. The WAP infrastructure can be regarded as external packe
t switched solution. GPRS is optimised for packet switched data transfer, thus o
ptimising WAP and MMS enabled services.
5.1.2 Push to talk (PoC)
Push to talk over Cellular (PoC) introduces a direct access one-to-one and one-t
o-many voice communication service in the cellular network. It makes a service t
hat has proved popular among two-way radio users available through attractive ce
llular phones, thus enhancing cellular services and bringing new business opport
unities in the domain of instant voice communications.
The principle of communication behind the service is simple – just push to talk. T
hanks to the “always-on”(*connection, calls can be started to both individuals and t
alk groups with just a push of a key. The call connection is direct. The users c
an also form talk groups on an ‘ad hoc’ basis without having to contact their servic
e providers, which facilitates spontaneous and flexible group communication.
Error! Objects cannot be created from editing field codes.
Figure 14 Push to talk concept
Users can select the person or talk group they wish to talk to and then press th
e Push to talk key or equivalent to start talking. The call is connected instant
ly. Push to talk calls are one-way communication: while one person speaks, the o
ther(s) listen. The turns to speak are requested by pressing the key and grante
d on a first-come-first-served basis. Push to talk speech is connected without t
he recipient(s) answering and typically heard through the phone s built-in louds
peaker. The basic idea is that the initiator of a call session is the first one
to talk instead of the receiver. Some examples of PoC use could be:
• Family in the shopping mall communicating plans
• Organizing transportation to school and evening activities
• Group searching a missing person
• A group of young people going out in the night
• Discussing the game in a sports event
• Trying to decide on what video to rent at video rental store--spouse at video st
ore talking to family
• A group coordinating where to meet for an evening out
• Teenagers organizing a party or calling friends during the party
5.2 GPRS users
GPRS offers a new set of data services, which means new possibilities in the mar
ket, that is, new types of subscribers and new types of operators. GPRS users ca
n be classified into three types and these are discussed next.
Private users
Private users demand will be primarily for value-added services. They want acce
ss to the Internet, personal messaging (e-mail) through a mobile hand-held all-i
n-one communicator such as a WAP terminal or mobile enabled PDA.
Business users
The second and most important category of users is the business user who will wa
nt secure access to corporate intranet IP networks for e-mail, intranet and Inte
rnet browsing, database lookup and entry, etc. It is expected that most of the i
ncome will be from this category of users as was the case in the early days of G
SM. Business users usually have a laptop and hence will not need an all in one c
ommunicator.
GPRS can also be used as a Mobile ISP for small enterprises whose staff are mobi
le and need access to data services while on the move. A mobile operator can pro
vide complete ISP service package. Package pricing (bundling) of
e-mail, web services, and mobile voice can help to attract and retain mobile use
rs. GPRS can simply provide transparent access to the customers ISP. With these
options, the idea of a remote-office becomes a reality.
Industrial applications
The third category of users is industrial applications such as delay insensitive
data measurements from remote location, telematics, vending machines, transmiss
ion of images from cab drivers to central locations, monitoring the performance
of sickly patients, and high-speed trains and trucks.
As with most technology available today, the fourth category of GPRS users are a
pplications which have not yet been invented, for which packet switched wireless
data transmission through GPRS may be the only choice. One example is computer
games played by users in a virtual reality and mobile environment.
5.3 GPRS operator s role
One of the most important strategic decisions for the operator is how far down t
he value chain should the operator invest. That is, how much service will the op
erator provide to the subscriber in terms of value-added services and how much w
ill be done by other companies or partners. This might have an impact on the ope
rator s business model.
We will now look at two possible operator roles; namely the mobile access operat
or and the full-service provider models. Both of these models have some advantag
es and disadvantages.
5.3.1 Mobile access operator
Figure 15. Mobile access operator
In the mobile access operator model, an operator would act as a transparent bit
-pipe , not adding one s own value-added services or acting as an ISP. The opera
tor simply sells the service of moving data packets between the subscriber and a
n ISP or other external data networks. In this model, the operator has very limi
ted possibilities for differentiation when it comes to, for example, price, bit
rate and availability, and is very much in the hands of the ISP.
In addition, the ISPs control the end-customers through actual services and cont
ent access. Choosing this path involves small risks for the operator the investm
ent cost is lower, but the opportunities for revenue are limited.
5.3.2 Full-service provider model
In the full-service provider model, the operator adds value by offering services
with value to the end-user. Thus, the operator manages the GPRS network, ISP an
d other networks which may offer value-added services to the subscriber. These s
ervices give the operator an opportunity to differentiate:
• customer loyalty
• new customers and revenue streams
• brand recognition
Figure 16. Full-service provider
Choosing this path involves higher risk, since the investments are higher. In ad
dition, new competencies might be required (e.g. web designers), either within t
he own company or together with strategic partners. But at the same time, the op
portunities for revenue are excellent.
6 Key points
GPRS uses a packet-based switching technique which will enhance GSM data service
s significantly, especially for bursty Internet/intranet traffic.
Some application examples:
• Bus, train, airline real-time information
• Locating restaurants and other entertainment venues based on current location
• Lottery
• E-commerce
• Banking
• E-mail
• Web browsing
The main advantages of GPRS for users:
• Instant access to data as if connected to an office LAN
• Charging based on amount of data transferred (not the time connected)
• Higher transmission speeds
The main advantages for operators:
• Fast network roll-out with minimum investment
• Excess voice capacity used for GPRS data
• Smooth path to 3G services
In circuit switching, each time a connection is required between two points, a l
ink between the two points is established and the needed resources are reserved
for the use of that single call for the complete duration of the call.
In packet switching, the data to be transferred is divided up into packets, whic
h are then sent through the network and re-assembled at the receiving end.
7 Review Questions
1. Give an example of a CS network and identify three characteristics.
2. Give an example of a packet switched network and identify three characte
ristics.

3. Name two benefits of GPRS.

4. Give three examples of services that could be carried over GPRS.

Appendix A: ETSI GPRS Phase 2

The ETSI standardisation work on the GPRS Phase 2 is on going. Some work items w
ill be included in the GSM Release 98 and the rest in later releases. The GPRS P
hase 2 work items are:
• GPRS mobile IP interworking
• Modem and ISDN interworking in Phase 2 GPRS
• BSS co-ordination of radio resource allocation for class A GPRS services
• Enhanced QoS support in GPRS
• Unstructured octet stream GPRS PDP type
• Connecting an octet stream to port on Internet host
• FIGS applied to GPRS
• Charging and billing for GPRS – AoC
• Charging and billing for GPRS – Pre-paid
• Point-to-multipoint (PTM) services
• Access to ISPs and intranets in GPRS Phase 2, separation of GPRS bearer establis
hment and ISP service environment set-up
• Access to ISPs and intranets in GPRS Phase 2, wireless/remote access to LANs
It should be noted that there is on going work on only some of the work items an
d not all the work items will be finalised.
Appendix B: ETSI GPRS documents
This page lists new technical specifications on GPRS. Latest version of document
is stated in the list if the document exists (December 1998).
Doc. Title Latest version Date
Stage 1
02.60 GPRS Service Description 6.1.0 1998-07
10.60 GPRS Program Management 5.4.2 1998-04
Stage 2
03.60 GPRS Service Description 6.2.0 1998-10
03.61 PTM-M Service Description 0.7.1 1997-01
03.62 PTM-G Service Description -
03.64 GPRS Radio Interface 6.1.0 1998-10
Stage 3
01.61 Ciphering Requirements 5.0.0 1997-10
04.60 RLC/MAC 6.2.0 1998-10
04.61 PTM-M Services -
04.62 PTM-G Services -
04.64 LLC 6.2.0 1998-11
04.65 SNDCP 6.2.0 1998-11
07.60 R and S Interfaces 6.2.1 1998-11
08.14 Gb Layer 1 6.0.0 1998-07
08.16 Gb Layer 2 6.1.0 1998-07
08.18 BSSGP 6.2.0 1998-10
09.16 Gs Layer 2 6.0.0 1998-04
09.18 Gs Layer 3 6.2.0 1998-10
09.60 GTP 6.2.0 1998-10
09.61 Gi 6.3.0 1998-10
12.15 GPRS Charging 7.0.0 1998-10
References
Nokia GPRS Solution Description
Nokia GPRS System Description
GSM Specification 03.60 (GPRS Service Description R.97)