Presentation on GSM and CDMA

What is GSM ?
Global System for Mobile (GSM) is a second generation cellular standard developed to cater voice services and data delivery using digital modulation

GSM Concepts Cellular Structure

2
2 7 1 6 3 4 6 5 7 1

Cellular Networking technology that breaks geographic area into cells shaped like honey comb Cell is the radio coverage area of one base transceiver station

GSM in World
Arab World Asia Pacific 3% 37% 4% Africa East Central Asia Europe Russia 43% 1% India North America South America

Figures: March, 2005 3% 3% (INDIA) 4% 3%

GSM in India
Figures: March 2005 Reliance 3% MTNL Spice 2% 4%

Aircel 4% BPL 6% IDEA 13%

Bharti Bharti 27% BSNL Hutch IDEA BPL Aircel BSNL 22% Spice Reliance MTNL

Hutch 19%

GSM Services
Tele-services Bearer

or Data Services Supplementary services

GSM System Architecture

BSC MS BTS

PSTN ISDN PDN

MSC
GMSC

BTS MS BTS MS

BSC VLR EIR AUC HLR

GSM Actors
NSS BSS
BSC BTS

MSC

Public Switched Telephone Network

VLR

HLR

AUC
Mobile subscriber Fixed subscriber

GSM System Architecture-I

Mobile Station (MS) Mobile Equipment (ME) Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Base Station Subsystem (BSS) Base Transceiver Station (BTS) Base Station Controller (BSC) Network Switching Subsystem(NSS) Mobile Switching Center (MSC) Home Location Register (HLR) Visitor Location Register (VLR) Authentication Center (AUC) Equipment Identity Register (EIR)

System Architecture Mobile Station (MS)

The Mobile Station is made up of two entities:

1.

2.

Mobile Equipment (ME) Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)

System Architecture Mobile Station (MS)

Mobile Equipment

Portable,vehicle mounted, hand held device Uniquely identified by an IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) used to identify stolen or fraudulently altered phones. Voice and data transmission Monitoring power and signal quality of surrounding cells for optimum handover Power level : 0.8W 20 W 160 character long SMS.

System Architecture Mobile Station (MS) contd.

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)

Smart card contains the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) used to identify each home user. Allows user to send and receive calls and receive other subscribed services Encoded network identification details - Key Ki,Kc and A3,A5 and A8 algorithms Protected by a password or PIN Can be moved from phone to phone contains key information to activate the phone

System Architecture Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

Base Station Subsystem is composed of two parts that communicate across the standardized Abis interface allowing operation between components made by different suppliers
1.
2.

Base Transceiver Station (BTS) Base Station Controller (BSC)

System Architecture Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

Base Transceiver Station (BTS):

Encodes,encrypts,multiplexes,modulates and feeds the RF signals to the antenna. Frequency hopping Communicates with Mobile station and BSC Consists of Transceivers (TRX) units Mobile Handoff: B/w two BTSs under the control of the same BSC, greatly reduces switching burden of MSC.

System Architecture Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

Base Station Controller (BSC)

Manages Radio resources for BTS Assigns Frequency and time slots for all MSs in its area Handles call set up Handover for each MS Radio Power control It communicates with MSC and BTS

System Architecture Network Switching Subsystem(NSS)

Mobile Switching Center (MSC)

Heart of the network Manages communication between GSM and other networks Call setup function and basic switching Call routing Billing information and collection Mobility management - Registration - Location Updating - Inter BSS and inter MSC call handoff MSC does gateway function while its customer roams to other network by using HLR/VLR. In NSS, there are three different databases called HLR, VLR & AUC.

System Architecture Network Switching Subsystem

Home Location Registers (HLR)

- permanent database about mobile subscribers in a large service area(generally one per GSM network operator) - database contains IMSI,prepaid/postpaid,roaming restrictions,supplementary services.

Visitor Location Registers (VLR)

-

Temporary database which updates whenever new MS enters its area, by HLR database Controls those mobiles roaming in its area Reduces number of queries to HLR Database contains IMSI,TMSI,Location Area,authentication key.

System Architecture Network Switching Subsystem

Authentication Center (AUC)

-

Protects against intruders in air interface Maintains authentication keys and algorithms and provides security triplets ( RAND,SRES,Kc) >> Generally associated with HLR and AUC consists of EIR.

Equipment Identity Register (EIR)

- Database that is used to track handsets using the IMEI
-

(International Mobile Equipment Identity) Made up of three sub-classes: The White List, The Black List and the Gray List >> Only one EIR per PLMN ( public land mobile network)

Security Triplets :

RAND : is 128-bit random challenge generated by the Home Location Register. SRES : is the 32-bit Signed Response generated by the Mobile Station and the Mobile Services Switching Center. Kc : is the 64-bit ciphering key used as a Session Key for encryption of the over-theair channel.

EIR LISTS :

The EIR contains three lists of IMEIs in its database white list (handsets allowed to access the network) grey list (handsets to be observed) black list (handsets to be barred from network)

Radio Link Aspects

From Speech to RF Signal

Digitizing and Source Coding Channel Coding

Blah... Blah... Blah...

Blah Blah Blah...

Source Decoding

Channel Decoding

Interleaving

De-interleaving

Ciphering

Deciphering

Burst Formatting

Burst De-formatting

Modulating

Demodulating

Characteristics of GSM Standard

Fully digital system using 900,1800 MHz frequency band.

TDMA over radio carriers(200 KHz carrier spacing. 8 full rate or 16 half rate TDMA channels per carrier. These rates are GSM traffic channels & carry digitized speech or user data. User/terminal authentication for fraud control. Full international roaming capability. Low speed data services (upto 9.6 Kb/s). Compatibility with ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) >> Support of Short Message Service (SMS).

Advantages of GSM over Analog system

Capacity increases Reduced RF transmission power and longer battery life. International roaming capability due to wide N/w. Better security against fraud (through terminal validation and user authentication). Encryption capability for information security and privacy. Compatibility with ISDN, leading to wider range of services & for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the traditional circuits of the public switched telephone network.

GSM Applications

Mobile telephony GSM-R (railway) -. A sub-system of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), it is used for communication between train and railway regulation control centers. Telemetry System - Fleet management - Automatic meter reading - Toll Collection Value Added Services

Future Of GSM
2nd Generation

GSM -9.6 Kbps (data rate)

2.5 Generation ( Future of GSM)

HSCSD (High Speed ckt Switched data) Data rate : 76.8 Kbps (9.6 x 8 kbps) GPRS (General Packet Radio service) Data rate: 14.4 - 115.2 Kbps EDGE (Enhanced data rate for GSM Evolution) Data rate: 547.2 Kbps (max) 3 Generation WCDMA(Wide band CDMA) Data rate : 0.348 2.0 Mbps

Multiple Access Techniques for Wireless Communications

Multiple Access: Enable many mobile users to share simultaneously radio spectrum. Provide for the sharing of channel capacity between a number of transmitters at different locations. Aim to share a channel between two or more signals in such way that each signal can be received without interference from another.

Types of Multiple Access Techniques

Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA).

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

Each signal is modified by multiplying with a large BW called a spreading signal. This spreading occurs by combining the transmitter signal with a spreading sequence which is known as Pseudo noise (PN) sequence, with higher chip rate compared to data rate of message. Hence, its a kind of spread spectrum technique. Spread spectrum multiple access in which each channel is assigned a unique PN code which is orthogonal to PN codes used by other users.

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

Features of CDMA
Many users of a CDMA system share the same

frequency.
Due to high data rates the symbol (chip) duration

is very short and usually much less than the channel delay spread.
The multipath fading is substantially reduced

because the signal is spread over large spectrum.

Advantages of CDMA

Increased cellular communications security. Simultaneous conversations. Low power requirements and little cell-tocell coordination needed by operators. Extended reach - beneficial to rural users situated far from cells. It provides soft Handoff which can simultaneously monitor a particular user from 2 or more Base stations.

Disadvantages of CDMA

Unlike TDMA, it has soft capacity limit . i.e. System performance ::1/no. of users. CDMA is relatively new, and the network is not as mature as GSM. CDMA cannot offer international roaming, a large GSM advantage. Self jamming & near- far problems.

GSM Vs CDMA

One of the most contentious battles being waged in the wireless infrastructure industry is the debate over the efficient use and allocation of finite airwaves. For several years, the world's two main methods -- Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) -- have divided the wireless world into opposing camps

What interested military for CDMA ?

CDMA, incorporating spread-spectrum, works by digitizing multiple conversations, attaching a code known only to the sender and receiver, and then dicing the signals into bits and reassembling them. The military loved CDMA because coded signals with trillions of possible combinations resulted in extremely secure transmissions.

Advantages of GSM

GSM is already used worldwide with over 450 million subscribers. International roaming permits subscribers to use one phone throughout Western Europe. CDMA will work in Asia, but not France, Germany, U.K. and other popular European destinations. GSM is mature, having started in the mid-80s. This maturity means a more stable network with robust features. CDMA is still building its network. GSM's maturity means engineers cut their teeth on the technology, creating an unconscious preference. The availability of smart cards (SIM) that provide secure data encryption give GSM m-commerce advantages.

Conclusion:

Today, the battle between CDMA and GSM is muddled. Where at one point Europe clearly favored GSM and North America, CDMA, the distinct advantage of one over the other has blurred as major carriers like AT&T Wireless begin to support GSM, and recent trials even showed compatibility between the two technologies. GSM still holds the upper hand however. There's the numerical advantage for one thing: 456 million GSM users versus CDMA's 82 million

Comparison chart
CDMA
Global market share:
Storage Type:

GSM
82%

18%

Internal Memory

SIM (subscriber identity module) Card Dominant standard worldwide except the U.S. Global System for Mobile communication

Dominance:

Dominant standard in the U.S.

Stands for:

Code Division Multiple Access

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