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Chapter 4

This chapter is designed to provide the student with an overview of the air interface, including physical
and logical channels. It addresses air interface components, their functions, features, and required
specifications.
OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this chapter the student will be able to:
Describe the difference between a logical and a physical radio channel
Describe the content of the different logical channels that are used
Describe the different burst formats which are used
Describe how the logical channels are used in a sample traffic case
Channel Concepts
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION TO PHSIC!" !ND "O#IC!" CH!NNE"S $$$$$$$$$
"O#IC!" CH!NNE"S $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
CONTROL CHANNELS............................................................................................
TRAFFIC CHANNELS .............................................................................................
BURSTS$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
BURST TYPES ........................................................................................................
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BURSTS AND FRAMES....................................
%!PPIN# O& "O#IC!" CH!NNE"S ONTO PHSIC!"
CH!NNE"S$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
CARRIER 0, TIME SLOT 0......................................................................................
CARRIER 0, TIME SLOT 1......................................................................................
CARRIER 0, TIME SLOT 2-7 AND ALL TIME SLOTS ON OTHER CARRIERS
IN THE SAME CELL ...............................................................................................
S!%P"E TR!&&IC C!SE: C!"" TO !N %S $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
INTRODUCTION TO PHSIC!" !ND "O#IC!" CH!NNE"S
Each timeslot on a TD! frame is called a physical channel. Therefore, there are " physical channels
per carrier frequency in #$.
%hysical channels can be used to transmit speech, data or signaling information.

! physical channel may carry different messages, depending on the information which is to be sent.
These messages are called logical channels. &or e'ample, on one of the physical channels used for
traffic, the traffic itself is transmitted using a Traffic ()annel *T()+ message, while a handover
instruction is transmitted using a &ast !ssociated (ontrol (hannel *&!(()+ message.
"O#IC!" CH!NNE"S
any types of logical channels e'ist *see &igure ,-.+, each designed to carry a different message to or
from an $.
!ll information to and from an $ must be formatted correctly, so that the receiving device can
understand the meaning of different bits in the message. &or e'ample, as seen previously, in
the burst used to carry traffic, some bits represent the speech or data itself, while others are used as a
training sequence.
There are several types of burst. The relationship between bursts and logical channels is shown in the
figure below.
CONTRO" CH!NNE"S
/hen an $ is switched on, it searches for a 0T$ to connect to. The $ scans the entire frequency
band, or, optionally, uses a list containing the allocated carrier frequencies for this operator. /hen the
$ finds the strongest carrier, it must then determine if it is a control channel. It does so by searching
for a particular logical channel called 0roadcast (ontrol ()annel *0(()+.
! frequency carrying 0(() contains important information for an $, including e.g. the current 1!
identity, synchroni2ation information and networ3 identity. /ithout such information, an $ cannot
wor3 with a networ3. This information is broadcast at regular intervals, leading to the term 0roadcast
(hannel *0()+ information.
/hen the $ has finished analy2ing the information on a 0(), it then has all the information required
to wor3 with a networ3. )owever, if the $ roams to another cell, it must repeat the process of reading
&((), $() and 0(() in the new cell.
If the mobile subscriber then wishes to ma3e or receive a call, the (ommon (ontrol ()annels *((()+
must be used.
!t this stage the $ and 0$$ are ready to begin call set-up procedures. &or this the $ and 0$$ use
Dedicated (ontrol ()annels *D(()s+.
TR!&&IC CH!NNE"S
4nce call set-up procedures have been completed on the control physical channel, the $ tunes to a
traffic physical channel. It uses the Traffic ()annel *T()+ logical channel. There are two types of
T():
Full rate (TCH): transmits full rate speech *56 3bits7s+. ! full rate T() occupies one physical
channel.
Half rate (TCH/2): transmits half rate speech *8.9 3bits7s+. Two half rate T()s can share one
physical channel, thus doubling the capacity of a cell.
BURSTS
BURST TPES
There are five burst types. *$ee in Table ,-, and &igure ,-6.+
THE RE"!TIONSHIP BET'EEN BURSTS !ND &R!%ES
The relationship between bursts and frames is shown in the figure below. There are two types of
multiframe:
26 TDMA frame multiframe: used to carry T(), $!(()
and &!(()
51 TDMA frame multiframe: used to carry 0((), (((),
$D(() and $!(().
0 4 9 14 19
F S B B B B C0 C0 C0 C0 F S C1 C1 C1 C1 C2 C2 C2 C2
%!PPIN# O& "O#IC!" CH!NNE"S ONTO PHSIC!"
CH!NNE"S
1ogical channels are transmitted on physical channels. The method of placing logical channels on
physical channels is called mapping. /hile most logical channels ta3e only one time slot to transmit,
some ta3e more. If so, the logical channel information is carried in the same physical channel time slot
on consecutive TD! frames.
0ecause logical channels are short, several logical channels can share the same physical channel,
ma3ing the use of time slots more efficient.
The figure below shows the carrier frequencies for a sample cell, including an additional allocation of a
time slot for D(() information *due to a high call set-up load in the cell+.

*Note: Tere are oter !a"# to map te $ontrol $annel# tan te one e%plaine&. Default mapping
of DCCH in 'ri$##on ()M net!or*# i# T)2 of $arrier +.)
C!RRIER () TI%E S"OT (
Time slot : of the first carrier frequency in a cell is always reserved for signaling purposes. In this way,
when an $ is determining whether a carrier frequency is a 0(() carrier, it 3nows where to loo3.
4n the downlin3, 0() and ((() information is transmitted. The only logical channel on the uplin3 is
;!(). 0y having the uplin3 free for ;!() only, a mobile subscriber can initiate a call at any time.
C!RRIER () TI%E S"OT *
#enerally, time slot . of the first carrier frequency in a cell is also reserved for signaling purposes. The
only e'ceptions to this are in cells with high or low traffic loads. !s can be seen in &igure ,-8, if there is
a high traffic load in a cell, it is possible to assign a second *or more+ physical channel for the purpose of
call set-up *using D(()+. This may be any physical channel other than : and . on carrier frequency :.
$imilarly, if there is a low traffic load in a cell, it is possible to use physical channel : on carrier
frequency : for all signaling information: 0(), ((() and D((). 0y doing so, physical
channel 5 can be freed up for traffic.
Eight $D(()s and , $!(()s can all share the same physical channel. This means that " calls can be
set-up simultaneously on one physical channel.
C!RRIER () TI%E S"OT +) ,-. !ND !"" TI%E S"OTS ON OTHER
C!RRIERS IN THE S!%E CE""
!ll time slots in a cell other than those assigned for signaling information are used for traffic, i.e. speech
or data. 1ogical channel T() is used.
In addition, at regular intervals during a call, an $ transmits to the 0T$ measurements it has made
about signal strength and quality. 1ogical channel $!(() is used for this, replacing one
T() time slot at a time.
S!%P"E TR!&&IC C!SE: C!"" TO !N %S
The following traffic case describes a call to an $ and highlights the use of some logical channels
during the call.

5. The $(7<1; 3nows which 1! the $ is located in. ! paging message is sent to the 0$(s
controlling the 1!.
.. The 0$(s distribute the paging message to the 0T$s in the desired 1!. The 0T$s transmit the
message over the air interface using ,CH.
6. /hen the $ detects a %() identifying itself, it sends a request for a signaling channel using
-ACH.
,. The 0$( uses A(CH to inform the $ of the signaling channel *)DCCH and )ACCH+ to use.
9. )DCCH and )ACCH are used for call set-up. ! TCH is allocated and the )DCCH is released.
8. The $ and 0T$ switch to the identified TCH frequency and time slot. The $ rings. If the
subscriber answers, the connection is established. During the call, the radio connection is maintained
by information sent and received by the $ using )ACCH.

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