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CELLULAR COMMUNICATION

SYSTEM
(Lecture 1)

Lory Liza D. Bulay-og, PECE


MAIN COMPONENT IN CELLULAR
COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Evolution to cellular networks –
communication anytime, anywhere

• radio communication was invented by Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo


Marconi: in 1893, Nikola Tesla made the first public demonstration of
wireless (radio) telegraphy; Guglielmo Marconi conducted long ditance
(over see) telegraphy 1897
• in 1940 the first walkie-talkie was used by the US military
• in 1947, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain from AT&T’s Bell Labs invented
the transistor (semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic
signals)
• AT&T introduced commercial radio comm.: car phone – two way radio
link to the local phone network
• in 1979 the first commercial cellular phone service was launched by the
Nordic Mobile Telephone (in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark).
Mobile?
• The term “mobile” has historically been used to classify
all radio terminal that could be moved during operation.
 More recently,
use “mobile” to describe a radio terminal that is
attached to a high speed mobile platform
e.g., a cellular telephone in a fast moving vehicle
 use “portable” to describes a radio terminal that can be hand-
held and used by someone at walking speed
e.g., a walkie-talkie or cordless telephone inside a home
Current Wireless Systems

• Cellular systems
• Wireless LANs
• Satellite Systems
• Paging Systems
• Bluetooth
• Ultrawideband Radios
• Zigbee Radios
What is Cellular Communication
System

• Cellular communication is designed to provide


communications between two moving units,
or between one mobile unit and one stationary
phone or land unit (PSTN).
Cellular systems generations

A. Pre-Cellular
• The most successful application of wireless networking
has been the cellular telephone system.
 The roots of this system began in 1915, when wireless voice
transmission between New York and San Francisco was first
established.
• 1946: First public mobile telephone service was
introduced in 25 cities across the United States.
 The equipment was expensive at $2,000
 More than the price of a typical new car (at that time).
• These initial systems used a single central
transmitter to cover an entire metropolitan area.
 High-powered transmitter & Large tower
 Inefficient!
 FM push-to-talk
• 1976: (30 yrs after the introduction of the service in
1946)
• The mobile units weighed about 10 kilograms and
put out a steady 20-25 watts.
• The central transmitters that communicate with the
mobile units broadcast 200 to 250 watts.
• The central station could reliably communicate with
the mobile units up to a radius of approximately 25
miles (50 km).
 Beyond that, up to a radius of 60 to 100 miles, the signal
was too weak for consistent service, but strong enough to
interfere with any other mobile radio system.
 As a result, the central transmitters had to be at least 100
miles apart, leaving a 50 mile blank space between them.
• So a customer could use the sporadic and unreliable
service only within the confines of one area.
Cellular systems generations

B. 1G Cellular
- voice-oriented systems based on analog technology; ex.:
Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS) and cordless systems.
• During the 50’s and 60’s researchers at AT&T Bell Laboratories
developed the cellular concept.
 1968: AT&T proposed the concept to the FCC
 Cellular systems exploit the fact that the power of a transmitted signal falls
off with distance.
 Thus, two users can operate on the same frequency at spatially-separate
locations with minimal interference between them.
• Japan had the world’s first commercially available
cellular phone system.
 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) created a cellular test
system for Tokyo in 1975, with the result coming to market in
1979.
• The first trial in America of a complete, working cellular
system was held in Chicago in the late 1970’s.
• 1983: Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS)
 First US cellular telephone system
 Deployed in 1983 by Ameritech in Chacago, IL.
 Worked well. (FM, FDMA)
 Its satisfactory performance lowered the demand for a better
system, allowing Europe to take the lead by creating a digital
cellular system first.
Cellular systems generations

C. 2G Cellular
• The first-generation (1G) systems introduced in the 1980s
were characterized by analog speech transmission.
• The second generation (2G) of cellular systems, first deployed
in the early 1990’s, were based on digital communications.
• The shift from analog to digital was driven by its higher capacity
and the improved cost, speed, and power efficiency of digital
hardware.
• 1991: US Digital Cellular (USDC – IS-54 > IS-136)
 Three times capacity of AMPS because digital modulation,
speech coding, and TDMA
• While second generation cellular systems initially
provided mainly voice services, these systems
gradually evolved to support data services such as
email, Internet access, and short messaging.
Two important 2G systems
GSM IS-95B (cdmaOne)
• supports SMSs and user data • provides data rates in the
at rates only up to 9.6 kb/s. range of 64 to 115 kb/s in
 Security features including increments of 8 kb/s over a
(for example) the encryption 1.25 MHz channel.
of data and signaling  Each cell uses a carrier with
messages on the path a bandwidth of 1.25MHz,
between the mobile phone which is divided into 64 data
and the BS. and signalling channels by
 Subscriber identity module the use of orthogonal
(SIM) CDMA codes.
2G Standard Proliferation
• Unfortunately, the great market potential for
cellular phones led to a proliferation of
(incompatible) second generation cellular
• As a result of the standard proliferation, many
cellular phones are forced to be multi-mode.
Major Mobile Radio Standards in
North America
Major Mobile Radio Standards in
Europe
Major Mobile Radio Standards in
Japan
GSM Enhancement
Want to deliver data as well as voice.
A. 2.5G: General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
 Provide connectivity to IP networks (Internet).
 Each slot can handle up to 20 kb/s. Each user may be
allocated up to 8 slots
 Data rates up to about 160 kb/s per user are possible.
 A single time slot may be shared by multiple users for
transferring packet mode data.
GSM Enhancement
B. 2.75G: Enhanced Data Rates for GSM
Evolution (EDGE)
 Support IP-based services in GSM at rates up to 384 kb/s
 Originally this acronym stood for Enhanced Data rates for GSM
Evolution, but now it translates into Enhanced Data rates for
Global Evolution, as the EDGE idea can also be used in systems
other than GSM [Korhonen, 2003]
 Higher modulation efficiency
 Only requires a software upgrade to base stations
 EDGE is popular in North America, where the allocation of carrier
frequencies has made it hard for GSM operators to upgrade to
UMTS.
Cellular systems generations

D. 3G
• Studies started even before the earliest 2G systems arrived on the market.
• International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000)
 A subgroup of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
 Published a set of performance requirements of 3G (for both packet-switched and circuit-switched data):
 A minimum data rate of 144 Kbps in the vehicular environment
 A minimum data rate of 384 Kbps in the pedestrian environment
 A minimum data rate of 2 Mbps in the fixed indoor and picocell environment

• There are several wireless standards and systems that qualify as third generation (3G) systems.
 UMTS
 CDMA2000
 HSPA
 HSPA+
E. 4G (LTE)
COMPONENTS IN CELLULAR
COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

3 main components:
• Mobile Station (MS) – ME, SIM
• Base Station Subsystem (BSS) – BTS,
RBS, BSC
• Network and Switching Subsystem
(NSS) – MSC, VLR, HLR,
Mobile Station (MS)

• MS is the physical equipment used by a subscriber


• It comprises two parts:
• The Mobile Equipment (ME)
• Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)
Mobile Equipment (ME)

• ME provides the radio and processing needed to access the


GSM network, plus a man machine interface MMI to enable the
user to access services.
Mobile Equipment (ME)
ME Function

• Radio transceiver and signal processing


• Radio related operations: power control; timing advance;
discontinuous transmission (DTX); slow frequency
hopping (SFH).
• Call handling
• man-machine interface, display, keypad, speech
transducers.
• interfaces to external equipment e.g. laptops / palmtops
Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)

• Provides personal mobility - user can have access to subscribed


services irrespective of a specific terminal.
• Contains the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
used to identify the subscriber to the system, a secret key for
authentication, and other information.
• The SIM card may be protected against unauthorized use by a
SIM
password or personal identity number.
Function of SIM card

• SIM is a smart card which plugs into the mobile equipment and
contains information about the mobile subscriber.
• Carries all the subscriber specific information used by an MS.
• Major functions are to identify the current user of an MS and
to take part in security and confidentiality procedures.
• Stores recent location data and may also store personal
information for the user such as abbreviated dialing codes
(telephone directory).
Specific functions include:

• Permanent storage of a subscriber’s International Mobile


Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and Authentication key (Ki)
• Semi permanent storage of system information e.g. current
Location Area Identity (LAI), encryption key Kc and lists of
preferred / forbidden GSM networks
• Semi permanent storage of user data, ‘telephone directory’,
short messages
• Participation in mobility procedures e.g. user authentication,
generation of ciphering key, instigation of location updates.
• Protected by PIN
The SIM contains several pieces of
information:
 International Module Subscriber Identity (IMSI) – This
number identifies the mobile subscriber. It is only transmitted
over the air during initialisation.
 Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) – This
number identifies the subscriber, it is periodically changed by
the system management to protect the subscriber from being
identified by someone attempting to monitor the radio
interface.
The SIM contains several pieces of
information:
 Location Area Identity (LAI) – Identifies the current location
of the subscriber .
 Subscriber Authentication Key (Ki) – This is used to
authenticate the SIM card.
 Mobile Station International Services Digital Network
(MSISDN) – This is the telephone number of the mobile. It is
comprised of a country code, a national a subscriber number.
Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

• BSS is the section of a traditional cellular telephone


network which is responsible for handling traffic and signaling
between a mobile phone and the NSS.

• The BSS performs all the radio-related functions.


• The BSS is comprised of the following functional units:
• Base Station Controller (BSC)
• Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
• BSS communicate to Mobile Station (MS) using Air Interface
Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

• Function of BSS
• transcoding of speech channels,
• allocation of radio channels to mobile phones,
• paging,
• transmission and reception over the air interface
• and many other tasks related to the radio network.
• BTS + BSC = BSS.
Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
Base Transceiver Station (BTS)

• BTS provides physical connection between MS to network


using Air Interface (Um)
• Main function of BTS is for maintaining the Um interface and
minimizing the transmission problem (Um very sensitive for
disturbance)
• Using Abis interface for connection between BTS and BSC
Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
Base Transceiver Station (BTS)

• A BTS usually placed on center of the cell


• Its transmitting power defines size of the cell
• Each BTS has between 1 to 16 transceiver
depending on density of the user in the cell
• Each BTS serve in a single cell
Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
Base Transceiver Station (BTS)

 The site controller stations that function depends on the


directions from the MSC.
 Using voice channels - VC (or trafic channel TC) and
control channels – CC as radio channels communications in
each cell
 Supervise the call, monitoring the quality of the speech and
also the measurement of the strength of the voice signal.
 Send and receive voice signals and data signals to/from users.
 Interface between users equipment UE and switching systems
MCS
Base Transceiver Station (BTS)

• The BTS is the Mobile Station's access point to the network.


• It is responsible for carrying out radio communications between
the network and the Mobile Station’s.
• It handles speech encoding, encryption, multiplexing (TDMA),
and modulation/demodulation of the radio signals.
• It is also capable of frequency hopping (changing carrier
frequency while communicating)
• One BTS usually covers a single 120 degree sector of an area.
• Usually a tower with 3 BTSs will accommodate all 360 degrees
around the tower.
Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
Base Station Controller (BSC)

• The BSC controls multiple BTS.


• It handles allocation of
- radio channels,
- frequency administration,
- power and signal measurements from the MS,
- Handovers from one BTS to another (if both BTSs are
controlled by the same
BSC).
Base Station Controller (BSC)

• A BSC my be collocated with a BTS


or it may be geographically separate.
• It may even be collocated with the
Mobile Switching Center (MSC).
Base Station Controller (BSC)
Base Station Controller (BSC)
GSM BTS Type
Network & Switching Subsystem
(NSS)

• Mobile Switching Center (MSC)


• Home Location Register (HLR)
• Visitor Location Register (VLR)
• Equipment Identify Register (EIR)
• Authentication Centre (AuC)
• Gateway Mobile Switching Center (GMSC)
• SMS Gateway (SMS-G)
Mobile Switching Center (MSC)

• The MSC is the heart of the GSM network.


• From technical perspective MSC is just an ordinary
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) exchange
• One MSC can handles multiple BSCs and also
interfaces with other MSC's (Using E-Interface).
• It also handles inter-BSC handoffs as well as
coordinates with other MSC's for inter-MSC
handoffs.
Mobile Switching Center (MSC)
Mobile Switching Center (MSC)
Mobile Switching Center (MSC)

• MSC performs the telephony switching functions of


the system.
• Controls calls to and from other telephony and data
systems, such as the Public Switched Telephone
Network (PSTN) and Public Land Mobile Network
(PLMN).
Mobile Switching Center (MSC)

• Difference between a MSC and an exchange in


a fixed network, MSC has to take into account
the impact of the allocation of radio resources
and the mobile nature of the subscribers and
has to perform in addition, at least the
following procedures:
• required for location registration
• procedures required for handover
Mobile Switching Center (MSC)

• MSC can be connected to only one VLR or more


VLR. Therefore, all mobile stations that move
around under base stations connected to the MSC
are always managed by the same VLR.
• MSC would communicate typically with one EIR.
While it is possible for an MSC to communicate to
multiple EIRs, this is highly unlikely since the EIR
provides a centralized and geographic independent
function.
Ericsson Mobile Switching Center
Server (MSC-S)

The Mobile Switching Center Server (MSC-S) provides control


of high-capacity switching in mobile circuit core networks
The Elements Connected to The
MSC
The MSC connects to the following elements:
a. The Home Location Register (HLR)
b. The Visitor Location Register (VLR)
c. Equipment Identify Register (EIR)
d. Authentication Centre (AuC)
e. Gateway Mobile Switching Center (GMSC)
f. SMS Gateway (SMS-G)
Home location register (HLR)

• HLR is a central database that contains details of


each mobile phone subscriber that is authorized to
use the GSM core network.
• The HLRs store details of every SIM card issued by
the mobile phone operator.

• Each SIM has a unique identifier called an IMSI


which is the primary key to each HLR record.
Visitor Location Register (VLR)

• When the mobile user visits a PCS network other than


the home system, a temporary record for the mobile
user is created in the visitor location register (VLR) of
the visited system.
• The VLR temporarily stores subscription information
for the visiting subscribers so that the corresponding
MSC can provide service.
• In other words, the VLR is the "other" location register
used to retrieve information for handling calls to or
from a visiting mobile user.
Home Location Register (HLR)

• Examples of other data stored in the :


• GSM services that the subscriber has requested or been
given.
• GPRS settings to allow the subscriber to access packet
services.
• Current location of subscriber (VLR and serving GPRS
support node/SGSN).
• Call divert settings applicable for each associated
MSISDN.
Responsibilities of the HLR
include:
• management of service profiles
• mapping of subscriber identities (MISDN, IMSI)
• supplementary service control and profile updates
• execution of supplementary service logic e.g. incoming calls
barred.
• passing subscription records to VLR
• directly receives and processes MAP transactions and messages
from elements in the GSM network, for example, the location
update messages received as mobile phones roam around.
Visitor Location Register (VLR)

• VLR is a database as same as HLR that contains all subscriber


information data for call handling and mobility management
• VLR provide dynamic data management (HLR static data
management)
• The VLR keeps track of all subscribers roaming in the VLR
service area.
• In GSM system the VLR is integrated with the MSC
Visitor Location Register (VLR)

• VLR contains:
• Selective information function from the HLR
• IMSI (the subscriber's identity number).
• Authentication data.
• MSISDN (the subscriber's phone number).
• GSM services that the subscriber is allowed to access.
• access point (GPRS) subscribed.
• The HLR address of the subscriber.
Function of the VLR include:

• Executing supplementary service programs (outgoing calls


barred)
• Initiating authentication and ciphering
• Initiating paging
• Mapping of various identities (MSISDN, IMSI, TMSI,
MSRN)
• Passing location information to HLR
Function of the VLR include:
• To inform the HLR when subscriber has arrived in the area
covered by the VLR.
• To track where the subscriber when idle mode.
• To allow or disallow which services the subscriber may use.
• To allocate roaming numbers during the processing of
incoming calls.
• To purge the subscriber record if becomes inactive whilst in the
area and deletes the subscriber's data after some period and
informs the HLR
• To delete the subscriber record when a subscriber explicitly
moves to another, as instructed by the HLR.
Visitor Location Register (VLR)
Equipment Identity Register
(EIR)
• The EIR is a database that keeps tracks of handsets on the
network using the IMEI.
• The EIR was introduced to identify, track and bar such
equipment from being used in the network
• There is only one EIR per network.
• Composed of three lists.
• The White List
• The Gray List
• The Black List
Equipment Identity Register
(EIR)
Authentication Centre (AuC)

• AUC is always integrated with HLR for the purpose of


the authentication.
• The Subscriber Authentication Key (Ki) is allocated to the
subscriber, together with the IMSI. The Ki is stored in the
AUC and used to provide the triplets, same Ki is also
stored in the SIM.
• AUC stores the following information for each subscriber
• The IMSI number,
• The individual authentication key Ki
• A version of A3 and A8 algorithm.
Authentication Centre (AuC)

In AUC following steps are used to produce one triplet:

1. A non- predictable random number, RAND, is produced


2. RAND & Ki are used to calculate the Signed Response
(SRES) and the Ciphering Key (Kc)
3. RAND, SRES and Kc are delivered together to HLR as one
triplet.

HLR delivers these triplets to MSC/VLR on request in such a way


that VLR always has at least one triplet.
Gateway Mobile Switching Center
(GMSC)
• There is another important type of MSC, called a
Gateway Mobile Switching Center (GMSC).
• The GMSC functions as a gateway between two
networks.
• If a mobile subscriber wants to place a call to a
regular land line, then the call would have to go
through a GMSC in order to switch to the Public
Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
Gateway Mobile Switching Center
(GMSC)
SMS Gateway (SMS-G)

• The SMS GMSC (SMS gateway MSC) is a gateway


MSC that can also receive short messages.

• The gateway MSC is a mobile network’s point of


contact with other networks.

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