Glossary ABCDEFGH I J KLM NOPQRS T UVWXY Z A

AICH ANSI ARIB AS ATM The Acquisition Indication Channel is used to confirm a User Equipment's successful random access. In the global standardization process, the American National Standardization Institute takes care that the existing American standards are taken into account. The Association of Radio Industry Business takes care that the existing Asian standards are observed. The Access Slots are periodically recurring moments at which the User Equipment is allowed to access the network. Two frames contain a total of fifteen access slots. The Asynchronous Transfer Mode is used in UMTS. It provides symmetrical or asymmetrical connections, according to the bearer service used. Its connections are not limited to a data rate of 64 kbit/s like in GSM, and they even offer sufficient transmission capacity for broadband services. The Authentication Center verifies the SIM cards, and locks them if necessary.

AuC

B
BCCH BCH BSC The Broadcast Control Channel is a downlink logical channel. It is used to broadcast system information over the entire cell. The Broadcast Channel is a downlink transport channel. It is used to broadcast system and cell specific information. In the GSM system, the Base Station Controller controls and monitors a series of Base Transceiver Stations. Furthermore, the BSC controls the transmitting power of the BTSs and initiates the handover. The Base Station Subsystem is the radio network component of the GSM/GPRS network. In GSM, the Base Transceiver Station is responsible for the radio coverage of one or more cells.

BSS BTS

CCCH

The Common Control Channel is a bidirectional logical channel. Is used for the exchange of control data between the User Equipment and the network as long as an RRC connection has not been established. The Common Control Physical Channel divides into the Primary Common Control Physical Channel, P-CCPCH, and the Secondary Common Control Physical Channel, SCCPCH. With the Code Division Multiple Access method, each user is assigned an individual code. As the Node B uses one frequency to send data to several users, the User Equipments need the matching codes in order to decipher the data. Connection Management takes care of a number of functions between the User Equipment and the Core Network: Bearer Management, Call Control, Supplementary Services and Short Message Service. The Core Network is responsible for call setup and release in the UMTS network. In the 1st phase it will consist of GSM components (circuit-switched) and GPRS components (packet-switched). The Common Packet Channel is an uplink transport channel used to transmit data. As with the Random Access Channel, several User Equipments compete with each other for transmission capacity. In contrast to the RACH, it uses a fast power control, the closed loop power control.This power control is realized via a dedicated downlink channel. The Common Pilot Channel is a downlink physical channel that carries the reference phase of the other physical downlink channels. It also measures the signal power of the cells, e.g. to decide whether a handover is required, or to determine whether the current cell must be reselected, or a new one must be selected. The Common Traffic Channel is a logical point-to-multipoint channel in the downlink. It is used to broadcast information to a group of User Equipments.

CCPCH

CDMA

CM

CN

CPCH

CPICH

CTCH

D
DCCH The Dedicated Control Channel is a bidirectional logical channel used to transmit dedicated control information between the User Equipment and the Network. The DCCH is set up together with an RRC connection. The Dedicated Channel is a bidirectional transport channel. It is dedicated to one particular User Equipment and uses Closed Loop Power Control. Its transfer rate can be adjusted every 10 ms. In the uplink, there is exactly one Dedicated Physical Control Channel. It is used to control data transfer. The data is transferrred in several associated DPDCHs. The Dedicated Physical Channel is a downlink channel that takes over the same tasks as the uplink channels DPCCH and DPDCH. This means that control information and data is multiplexed in a determined sequence. The Dedicated Physical Data Channel transmits data in the uplink. A DPCCH is associated with it to control the data transfer. It is also possible to use several DPDCHs simultaneously. The main connection of a User Equipment to the network is realized via the Serving RNS. Further connections to the Node Bs of another RNS are possible. They are then called

DCH

DPCCH DPCH

DPDCH

DRNS

Drift RNS. DSCH DTCH The Downlink Shared Channel is used by several User Equipments simultaneously. The DSCH is always associated with a DCH. The Dedicated Traffic Channel is a logical channel which exists in both the uplink and the downlink. It is a point-to-point channel, dedicated to one User Equipment.

E
EIR With the help of the IMEI number, the Equipment Identity Register is able to identify mobile stations trying to gain unauthorized access to the network. If the EIR detects any unauthorized mobile stations, it denies them access. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute develops the specifications and sets the European telecommunication standards.

ETSI

F
FACH The Forward Access Channel is a downlink transport channel. It is used to transmit small bursty data. The FACH uses a slow power control. The bitrate can be changed every 10 ms. In the Frequency Division Duplex Mode, multiple access is made possible by a combination of different spreading codes and different frequencies.

FDD

G
GGSN 3GPP The Gateway GPRS Support Node represents the gateway to the GPRS network. It takes over important functions in the GPRS network. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project is responsible for setting the UMTS standards. Here, the network operators, producers and national standardization committees bundle their activities. The General Packet Radio Service is a new packet-mode transmission technology, developed on the basis of GSM. GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications. It represents the international standard for 2nd generation digital mobile radiocommunication.

GPRS GSM

HLR

The Home Location Register is a data base that manages the user data.

I
IMEI IMSI IMT2000 IN IP The International Mobile Equipment Identity is an electronical hardware ID that enables the network operators to identify e.g. stolen User Equipments. The International Mobile Subscriber Identity is the ID of a particular SIM card. International Mobile Telecommunication System-2000 is the international term for the European UMTS. The Intelligent Network makes supplementary services possible. Service development platforms are used to enable cost-efficient and speedy development. Internet Protocol belongs to the TCP/IP protocol family, an acknowledged industrial standard for the communication between open systems. The transmission protocol defines the rules and agreements that control the information flow within a communication system. Integrated Services Digital Network is the term for a digital telecommunications network that has been designed for normal phone calls, long-distance data transmission, fax, and other services, such as video conferencing. The International Union for Telecommunication uses the international term IMT-2000 for UMTS. The Iu interface connects the Core Network to the RNS. The Iub interface connects the RNC to the Node Bs.

ISDN

ITU Iu Iub

M
MAC MM MOC MSC MTC The Medium Access Control Protocol belongs to the data link layer. In the MAC layer, the logical channels are mapped to the transport channels. Mobility Management makes it possible to determine the location of a User Equipment for setting up a connection. If the User Equipment initiates a connection to the network, this is called a Mobile Originated Call. The Mobile Services Switching Center takes care of connection control within a determined MSC area via a bidirectional switching network. If the network initiates a connection to the User Equipment, this is called a Mobile Terminated Call.

Node B NSS

The Node B can be compared to a GSM base station. It provides the air interface to the User Equipment. The Network Switching Subsystem is the fixed network component of the GSM network.

O
OVSF The Orthogonal Variable Spreading Factor Codes are used to spread data from its original bandwidth to the bandwidth available. These codes show no cross correlation behaviour, i.e. they are fully independent of each other.

P
PCCH The Paging Control Channel is a downlink logical channel that is used for pagings. P-CCPCH The Primary-Common Control Physical CHannel carries the system information of a cell. PCH PCPCH PDPAddress PDPContext PDSCH PDU PICH PRACH The Paging Channel is a downlink transport channel. It can be received in the entire cell. It is used for paging and messaging. The Physical Common Packet Channel serves to transmit data in the uplink. A Packet Data Protocol Address is the address all data of a particular active service is sent to. A Packet Data Protocol Context is a service profile. It is established in the SGSN. This service profile is used to make an exchange of data between the mobile station and the GGSN possible. The Physical Downlink Shared Channel is used to receive data by several User Equipments simultaneously. A PDSCH is always associated with a DPCH. The Protocol Data Unit is a fragment of a data sequence that is transmitted through the network. The Paging Indication Channel is a downlink physical channel. It is used to transmit the Page Indicator for paging support. The User Equipment uses the Physical Random Access Channel to communicate to the network that it wants to be connected. It can also be used to transmit small bursty data in the uplink. The Primary Scrambling Code is transmitted via the Primary-SCH. With the help of the PSC, the User Equipment synchronizes itself to the timeslots of a cell. The Primary Synchronisation Channel is used for the User Equipments' timeslot synchronisation. In Radio Link Control, the Packet Data Units are segmented into smaller RLC Payload Units by higher layers, and reassembled in the opposite direction.

PSC P-SCH PU

R
RAB RACH The Radio Access Bearer is the connection between the User Equipment and the Core Network. The Random Access Channel is an uplink transport channel. It is used for random access and to transmit small amounts of non-realtime data. Open loop power control is used. The Radio Link Control Protocol is part of the data link layer. The RLC layer offers transport services to the overlying layer, such as acknowledged or unacknowledged data transfer. The Radio Network Controller controls the Node Bs via the Iub interface. The Radio Network Subsystem consists of the network elements Radio Network Controller (RNC) and Node B. The Radio Network Identifier enables the MAC layer to distinguish at which User Equipments the data on the common transport channels is directed. The Radio Resource Control is used to control the procedures in the physical layer, as well as in the MAC and the RLC.

RLC

RNC RNS RNTI RRC

S
SCCPCH SCH Among other things, the Secondary-Common Control Physical Channel is used for pagings. The Synchronization Channel is used for cell search and for User Equipment synchronisation. It divides into the Primary Synchronization Channel,( P-SCH), and the Secondary Synchronization Channel,( S-SCH). The Spreading Factor represents the ratio between the code rate and the gross user data rate. It defines how far the data must be spread in order to make use of the entire bandwidth. The Serving GPRS Support Node comes after the Gateway GPRS Support Node. It is a new GPRS element. The SGSN takes over important functions such as security and Mobility Management. The Signal-to-Interference Ratio describes the difference in power between the user- and the interference signals. The Session Management defines the setup, monitoring and teardown of a packetswitched connection. The Serving Radio Network Controller provides the main connection to the User Equipment in case of macrodiversity.

SF

SGSN

SIR SM SRNC

SRNS

The main connection of a User Equipment to the network is realized via the Serving RNS. The User Equipment, however, can also be connected to further Node Bs of another RNS. This is then called Drift RNS. The Secondary-Synchronization Channel is used for timeslot- as well as frame synchronization.

S-SCH

T
TBS TDD Every 10 ms, the transport channels transmit one or more Transport Block Sets. A TBS is composed of one or more transport blocks. In the Time Division Duplex Mode, multiple access is achieved by combining various spreading codes and by dividing the used frequency into timeslots for the uplink and the downlink.

U
UE UMTS In a UMTS network, the mobile terminal is called User Equipment. UMTS stands for Universal Mobile Telecommunication System, and describes a standard enabling the flexible and high data rate transmission of any kind of data over the air interface. It is also referred to as 3rd generation (3G) mobile radio system. Universal Terrestrial Radio Access is a term for the air interface Uu between the User Equipment and the UTRAN. The Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network resembles the Base Station Subsystem (BSS) of the GSM network. It consists of two network elements: the Radio Network Controller and the Node B. The Uu is the air interface between the User Equipment and the UTRAN.

UTRA UTRAN

Uu

V
VLR The Visitor Location Register provides the serving MSC with the required location area information of the mobile station.