Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) is a protocol used by GSM cellular telephones to communicate with the service provider's

computers. USSD can be used for WAP browsing, prepaid callback service, mobile-money services, location-based content services, menu-based information services, and as part of configuring the phone on the network.[1] USSD messages are up to 182 alphanumeric characters in length. Unlike Short Message Service (SMS) messages, USSD messages create a real-time connection during a USSD session. The connection remains open, allowing a two-way exchange of a sequence of data. This makes USSD more responsive than services that use SMS.[1]

Uses
The user composes a messageusually rather crypticon the phone keyboard. The phone sends it to the phone company network, where it is received by a computer dedicated to USSD. The answer from this computer is sent back to the phone. The answer could be seen on the phone screen, but it is usually with a very basic presentation. The messages sent over USSD are not defined by any standardization body, so each network operator can implement whatever it finds suitable for its customers. USSD can be used to provide independent calling services such as a callback service (e.g. cheaper phone charges while roaming) or interactive data service (e.g. stock quotes, sports results). USSD is commonly used by pre-paid GSM cellular phones to query the available balance. The vendor's "check balance" application hides the details of the USSD protocol from the user. USSD can also be used to refill user's money balance on phone (SIM card to be exact). Some payment methods, such as SharEpay, WING in Cambodia, SWAP Mobile in South Africa, Mobipay in Spain, M-Pesa in Tanzania (but not in Kenya, where M-Pesa menus are provided by STKrather than USSD), and mPay in Poland use USSD.

Technical details
All GSM phones have USSD capability. It is generally associated with real-time or instant messaging services. There is no store-and-forward capability, as is typical of other shortmessage protocols like SMSin other words, an SMSC is not present in the processing path. USSD Phase 1, specified in GSM 02.90, only supports mobile-initiated ("pull") operation. In the core network, the message is delivered over MAP. USSD Phase 2, specified in GSM 03.90, supports network-initiated ("push") operation as well.

[edit]Format A typical USSD message starts with an asterisk (*) followed by digits that comprise commands or data. Groups of digits may be separated by additional asterisks. The message is terminated with a number sign (#).[1] Example USSD codes:
*101# *109*72348937857623#

After entering a USSD code on a GSM handset, the reply from the GSM operator is displayed within a few seconds.

Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) is a set of telephony signaling protocols which are used to set up most of the world's public switched telephone network telephone calls. The main purpose is to set up and tear down telephone calls. Other uses include number translation, prepaid billing mechanisms, short message service (SMS), and a variety of other mass market services. It is usually referenced as Signaling System No. 7 or Signaling System #7, or simply abbreviated to SS7. In North America it is often referred to asCCSS7, an acronym for Common Channel Signaling System 7. In some European countries, specifically the United Kingdom, it is sometimes calledC7 (CCITT number 7) and is also known as number 7 and CCIS7 (Common Channel Interoffice Signaling 7). There is only one international SS7 protocol defined by ITU-T in its Q.700-series recommendations.[1] There are however, many national variants of the SS7 protocols. Most national variants are based on two widely deployed national variants as standardized by ANSI and ETSI, which are in turn based on the international protocol defined by ITU-T. Each national variant has its own unique characteristics. Some national variants with rather striking characteristics are the China (PRC) and Japan (TTC) national variants.

Functionality
The term signaling, when used in telephony, refers to the exchange of control information associated with the establishment of a telephone call on a telecommunications circuit.[5] An example of this control information is the digits dialed by the caller, the caller's billing number, and other call-related information. When the signaling is performed on the same circuit that will ultimately carry the conversation of the call, it is termed Channel Associated Signaling (CAS). This is the case for earlier analogue trunks,MF and R2 digital trunks, and DSS1/DASS PBX trunks.

In contrast, SS7 signaling is termed Common Channel Signaling (CCS) in that the path and facility used by the signaling is separate and distinct from the telecommunications channels that will ultimately carry the telephone conversation. With CCS, it becomes possible to exchange signaling without first seizing a facility, leading to significant savings and performance increases in both signaling and facility usage. Because of the mechanisms used by signaling methods prior to SS7 (battery reversal, multifrequency digit outpulsing, A- and B-bit signaling), these older methods could not communicate much signaling information. Usually only the dialed digits were signaled, and only during call setup. For charged calls, dialed digits and charge number digits were outpulsed. SS7, being a high-speed and high-performance packet-based communications protocol, can communicate significant amounts of information when setting up a call, during the call, and at the end of the call. This permits rich call-related services to be developed. Some of the first such services were call management related services that many take for granted today: call forwarding (busy and no answer), voice mail, call waiting,conference calling, calling name and number display, call screening, malicious caller identification, busy callback.[6] The earliest deployed upper layer protocols in the SS7 signaling suite were dedicated to the setup, maintenance, and release of telephone calls.[7] The Telephone User Part (TUP) was adopted in Europe and the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) User Part (ISUP) adapted for Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) calls was adopted in North America. ISUP was later used in Europe when the European networks upgraded to the ISDN. (North America never accomplished full upgrade to the ISDN and the predominant telephone service is still the older POTS.) Due to its richness and the need for an out-ofband channel for its operation, SS7 signaling is mostly used for signaling between telephone switches and not for signaling between local exchanges and customer-premises equipment (CPE). Because SS7 signaling does not require seizure of a channel for a conversation prior to the exchange of control information, Non-Facility Associated Signalling (NFAS) became possible. NFAS is signaling that is not directly associated with the path that a conversation will traverse and may concern other information located at a centralized database such as service subscription, feature activation, and service logic. This makes possible a set of network-based services that do not rely upon the call being routed to a particular subscription switch at which service logic would be executed, but permits service logic to be distributed throughout the telephone network and executed more expediently at originating switches far in advance of call routing. It also permits the subscriber increased mobility due to the decoupling of service logic from the subscription switch. Another characteristic of ISUP made possible by SS7 with NFAS is the exchange of signaling information during the middle of a call.[5]

Also possible with SS7 is Non-Call-Associated Signaling, which is signaling that is not directly related to the establishment of a telephone call.[8] An example of this is the exchange of the registration information used between a mobile telephone and a Home Location Register (HLR) database: a database that tracks the location of the mobile. Other examples include Intelligent Network and local number portability databases.[9] [edit]Signaling

modes

As well as providing for signaling with these various degrees of association with call set up and the facilities used to carry calls, SS7 is designed to operate in two modes: Associated Mode and Quasi-Associated Mode.[10] When operating in the Associated Mode, SS7 signaling progresses from switch to switch through the PSTN following the same path as the associated facilities that carry the telephone call. This mode is more economical for small networks. The Associated Mode of signaling is not the predominant choice of modes in North America.[11] When operating in the Quasi-Associated Mode, SS7 signaling progresses from the originating switch to the terminating switch, following a path through a separate SS7 signaling network composed ofSignal Transfer Points. This mode is more economical for large networks with lightly loaded signaling links. The Quasi-Associated Mode of signaling is the predominant choice of modes in North America.[12] [edit]Physical

network

SS7 clearly splits the signaling planes and voice circuits. An SS7 network has to be made up of SS7-capable equipment from end to end in order to provide its full functionality. The network is made up of several link types (A, B, C, D, E, and F) and three signaling nodes Service switching point (SSPs), signal transfer point (STPs), and Service Control Point (SCPs). Each node is identified on the network by a number, a point code. Extended services are provided by a database interface at the SCP level using the SS7 network. The links between nodes are full-duplex 56, 64, 1,536, or 1,984 kbit/s graded communications channels. In Europe they are usually one (64 kbit/s) or all (1,984 kbit/s) timeslots (DS0s) within an E1facility; in North America one (56 or 64 kbit/s) or all (1,536 kbit/s) timeslots (DS0As or DS0s) within a T1 facility. One or more signaling links can be connected to the same two endpoints that together form a signaling link set. Signaling links are added to link sets to increase the signaling capacity of the link set. In Europe, SS7 links normally are directly connected between switching exchanges using Flinks. This direct connection is called associated signaling. In North America, SS7 links are normally indirectly connected between switching exchanges using an intervening network of STPs. This indirect connection is called quasi-associated signaling. Quasi-associated

signaling reduces the number of SS7 links necessary to interconnect all switching exchanges and SCPs in an SS7 signaling network.[13] SS7 links at higher signaling capacity (1.536 and 1.984 Mbit/s, simply referred to as the 1.5 Mbit/s and 2.0 Mbit/s rates) are called High Speed Links (HSL) in contrast to the low speed (56 and 64 kbit/s) links. High Speed Links (HSL) are specified in ITU-T Recommendation Q.703 for the 1.5 Mbit/s and 2.0 Mbit/s rates, and ANSI Standard T1.111.3 for the 1.536 Mbit/s rate. There are differences between the specifications for the 1.5 Mbit/s rate. High Speed Links utilize the entire bandwidth of a T1 (1.536 Mbit/s) or E1 (1.984 Mbit/s) transmission facility for the transport of SS7 signaling messages.[14] Dual-tone multi-frequency signaling (DTMF) is used for telecommunication signaling over analog telephone lines in the voice-frequency band betweentelephone handsets and other communications devices and the switching center. The version of DTMF that is used in push-button telephones for tone dialing is known as Touch-Tone. It was first used by AT&T in commerce, using that name as a registered trademark. DTMF is standardized by ITU-TRecommendation Q.23. It is also known in the UK as MF4. Other multi-frequency systems are used for internal signaling within the telephone network. The Touch-Tone system, using the telephone keypad, gradually replaced the use of rotary dial starting in 1963[citation needed], and since then DTMF or Touch-Tone became the industry standard for both cell phones and landline service. Prior to the development of DTMF, automated telephone systems employed pulse dialing (Dial Pulse or DP in the U.S.) or loop disconnect (LD) signaling to dial numbers. It functions by rapidly disconnecting and re-connecting the calling party's telephone line, similar to flicking a light switch on and off. The repeated interruptions of the line, as the dial spins, sounds like a series of clicks. The exchange equipment interprets these dial pulses to determine the dialed number. Loop disconnect range was restricted by telegraphic distortion and other technical problems[which?], and placing calls over longer distances required either operator assistance (operators used an earlier kind of multi-frequency dial) or the provision of subscriber trunk dialing equipment. Multi-frequency signaling (see also MF) is a group of signaling methods that use a mixture of two pure tone (pure sine wave) sounds. Various MF signaling protocols were devised by the Bell Systemand CCITT. The earliest of these were for in-band signaling between switching centers, where long-distance telephone operators used a 16-digit keypad to input the next portion of the destination telephone number in order to contact the next downstream long-distance telephone operator. This semi-automated signaling and switching proved successful in both speed and cost effectiveness. Based on this prior success with using MF by specialists to establish long-distance telephone calls, Dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF)

signaling was developed for the consumer to signal their own telephone-call's destination telephone number instead of talking to a telephone operator. AT&Ts Compatibility Bulletin No. 105 described the product as "a method for pushbutton signaling from customer stations using the voice transmission path." In order to prevent consumer telephones from interfering with the MF-based routing and switching between telephone switching centers, DTMF's frequencies differ from all of the pre-existing MF signaling protocols between switching centers: MF/R1, R2, CCS4, CCS5, and others that were later replaced by SS7 digital signaling. DTMF, as used in push-button telephone tone dialing, was known throughout the Bell System by the trademarkTouch-Tone. This term was first used by AT&T in commerce on July 5, 1960 and then was introduced to the public on November 18, 1963, when the first push-button telephone was made available to the public. It was AT&T's registered trademark from September 4, 1962 to March 13, 1984, [1] and is standardized by ITU-T Recommendation Q.23. It is also known in the UK as MF4. Other vendors of compatible telephone equipment called the Touch-Tone feature Tone dialing or DTMF, or used their own registered trade names such as the Digitone of Northern Electric (now known as Nortel Networks). The DTMF system uses eight different frequency signals transmitted in pairs to represent 16 different numbers, symbols and letters - as detailed below. As a method of in-band signaling, DTMF tones were also used by cable television broadcasters to indicate the start and stop times of local commercial insertion points during station breaks for the benefit of cable companies. Until better out-of-band signaling equipment was developed in the 1990s, fast, unacknowledged, and loud DTMF tone sequences could be heard during the commercial breaks of cable channels in the United States and elsewhere.[citation needed]