Introduction To GSM, Page 1

Introduction to GSM, page 1
Rohde & Schwarz training center, V 2.2 Introduction.doc

Introduction to GSM
1. Development of GSM
History of GSM
Market situation
GSMs future development
Services offered by GSM
GSM specifications
2. OSI reference model
3. RF interface
1. Development of GSM
History of GSM
Communication any where, with anyone, at any time has been the aim of
communications technology in recent years and still is. Without the progress in
microelectronics, computer and software engineering, the creation of efficient
algorithms and other achievements in many fields of communications technology this
goal could not have been attained.
Mobile communication has been around for quite some time now. Analog standards
for mobile communication systems were developed and implemented as early as the
end of the 70s. Subscribers were not well served by the plethora of different local
standards. Fig. 1 gives an overview of the various analog mobile radio standards
used in Europe in the mid 80s.
TACS
TACS
TACS
NMT 450
NMT 450
NMT 900
NMT 450
N
M
T
4
5
0
NMT 450
TACS
NMT 450 NMT 900
NMT 450
NMT 450
NMT 900
C

4
5
0
C 450
Fig. 1: Analog mobile radio standards in Europe in the mid 80s
With the rapid growth of the conventional analog cellular radio networks in Europe, it
soon became clear that a system with a much greater capacity had to be planned.
Another objective of such a system was to provide international compatibility to make
the hodge-podge of different networks thrown together in the analog era obsolescent.
In 1982, the Groupe Spcial Mobile (GSM) set up by CEPT started to develop a Pan-
European standard for a digital cellular mobile radio network. After the foundation of
the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute), GSM was re-
interpreted to mean Global System for Mobile Communications which is now the
official designation.
The key event that lead to the current success of GSM was the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding by several European nations. It was agreed that just
one standard should be introduced throughout Europe.
Year Milestone
1982 Formation of the Groupe Spcial Mobile within CEPT
1987 Memorandum of Understanding signed
1989 GSM standardization work transferred to ETSI
1990 Phase 1 of specifications frozen
1991 The first GSM networks go into operation
1992 Most of the European networks start commercial voice services
1995 Phase 2 of the specifications is completed. New features: fax, data and
SMS)
2000 More than 400 million subscribers in more than 130 countries and more than
350 network operators worldwide
Fig. 2: History of GSM
Market situation
The boom in mobile communications has by far surpassed all the earliest prognoses
and continues unabated. According to a market estimation (see also
http://www.gsmworld.com), more than 400 million subscribers worldwide had made
GSM calls by the end of 2000. GSM is being used in more than 130 countries where
more than 350 network operators provide radio coverage. And this upward trend will
continue. Penetration rates of more than 70% in certain countries mean that a further
increase in subscriber numbers can be expected. Fig. 3 shows a 1999 study on
expected subscriber numbers for the various mobile radio standards.
The migration to other frequency bands also reflects the success of GSM. It was
clear at a very early stage that further GSM networks had to be defined in other
frequency bands. As early as the beginning of the 90s, DCS 1800 was specified. The
name was later changed to GSM 1800 and this has remained the official designation.
Since the GSM 900 and GSM 1800 frequency bands are not available in the United
States, the Personal Communication System PCS 1900 (also known as GSM1900)
was defined. The intention is now to move GSM into the 400 MHz band as well. The
designations in this case are GSM 450 and GSM 480. The advantage of lower
frequencies is a greater range. The GSM 400 network is, therefore, particularly
attractive for thinly populated areas as the number of base stations can be reduced.
The GSM-R system has, so far, not been mentioned. R stands for railway and GSM-
R is a system that is used solely by railway companies across Europe on the basis of
a common standard.
Fig. 3: Predicted numbers of subscribers using the various mobile
network systems that are available (mid 1999).
GSMs future development
Despite the enormous success of the GSM mobile radio standard, the GSM standard
has weak points that hinder future applications. An essential objective is to increase
the data transmission rate so that services like mobile Internet access, fast data
transfer and mobile faxing can be implemented. The current GSM data rate of max.
14.4 kbit/s is too slow for these applications. Phase 2+GSM specifications propose
three further developments that aim at a higher data transmission rate and a more
efficient use of available radio resources. The specified data rates are theoretical
values, experience will show which data rates can really be achieved.
HSCSD (high-speed circuit-switched data): HSCSD is based on multi-slot
transmission,i.e. the bundling of timeslots. Not just one but several timeslots per
frame are available to the subscriber. This, of course, increases the data
transmission rate. Maximum transmission rates of 4 x 14.4 kbit/s =57.6 kbit/s seem
realistic at present. The main problem here is the circuit-switched assignment of
physical channels, i.e. the network operator decides whether and how many timeslots
are assigned to a subscriber. The consequence: Access may be denied to other
subscribers.
GPRS (general packet radio service): GPRS, too, is based on multi-slot transmission
and timeslot bundling, but it uses packet switching instead of circuit-switching. This
means GPRS is compatible with other packet-switched networks like TCP/IP from the
Internet and mobile radio. Transmission only takes place when data are present and
transmission resources are assigned dynamically by the network. GPRS chooses
one of four coding schemes depending on transmission quality. Theoretically, GPRS
can provide a maximum data rate of about 170 kbit/s.
EDGE (enhanced data rate for GSM evolution): This latest step in the evolution of the
GSM standard uses a different modulation method. Several data symbols are
transmitted with one modulation symbol so that data rates of up to 384 kbit/s can be
achieved. A disadvantage for the network operator is that a better S/N ratio is
required. EDGE will be of interest for all network operators who could not obtain an
UMTS license but would still like to be market players.
The next mobile radio generation called UMTS (universal mobile telecommunication
system) is now in the standardization phase, the ultimate objective being a mobile
radio standard that applies all over the world.
Fig. 4 shows the change from the 2nd generation mobile radio standard through the
"2.5
th
" to the 3rd generation. The path that was actually taken differed from network
operator to network operator.
GSM
TDMA/FDMA
9,6 (14,4) kbi t/s
IS-136 (D-AMPS)
TDMA
19,2 kbi t/s
IS-95 (cdmaOne)
CDMA
8,0 (13,0) kbi t/s
PDC
TDMA/FDMA
9,6 kbi t/s
HSCSD
56 kbi t /s
GPRS
45-
160 kbi t /s
EDGE
384 kbi t/s
IS-136+
43,2 kbi t/s
IS-136 HS
384 kbi t/s
1 Mbi t/s
IS-95 B
64 kbi t /s
UMTS
W-CDMA/TD-CDMA
144; 384 kbi t /s
2 Mbi t/s
cdma 2000
CDMA
n * 64 kbi t/s
2 Mbi t/s
IMT-2000
UWC-136
TDMA
144; 384 kbi t/s
2 Mbi t/s
Fig. 4: Evolution of the various global mobile radio standards
Services offered by GSM
Teleservices Supplementary services
Bearer services
Fig. 5: GSM services
There are three categories of services provided by GSM networks:
Teleservices
Bearer services (data transmission)
Supplementary services
The term teleservice refers to services provided on a user-terminal to user-terminal
basis. The most important teleservice is straight voice communication, fax
transmission also belongs to this category. Another example is the short-message
service (a form of alphanumeric paging) in which a message received by the mobile
can be read directly from the display.
With bearer services, the end user provides his own terminal equipment and the
responsibility of the network operator ends at the end-user transfer point. Many forms
of data transmission at rates between 300 and 14400 bit/s fall into this category.
GSM does not provide any special error control for transparent data links - the user
must provide this for himself. With non-transparent data services, a GSM protocol
provides error control but at the same time reduces the maximum data rate to
14.4 kbit/s.
Supplementary services were developed along the lines of planned ISDN services,
but vary greatly from country to country. Among the first services implemented in
mobile radio networks are
- call forwarding
- advice of call charge
- call restriction
- conference facilities
GSM Specifications
The GSM Specifications fill some 5000 pages. They contain a great number of
technical recommendations for the mobile radio network and the main headings are
as follows:
00 Preamble
01 General Vocabulary, Abbreviations
02 Service Aspects
03 Network
04 MS-BS Interface and Protocols
05 Physical Layer on Radio Path
06 Audio Aspects
07 Terminal Adapters for Mobiles
08 BTS/BSC Interface (A
bis
) and BSC/MSC Interface (A)
09 Network Interworking
10 Service Interworking
11 Equipment Specifications and Type-approval
Specifications
12 Network Management, Operations and Maintenance
Aspects
Fig. 6: Main sections of the GSM Specifications
2. The OSI Reference Model
A system of this complexity requires a great deal of planning and organization at both
the definition and the implementation phase. A framework for structuring data
communications networks in general has been developed by the International
Standards Organization ISO in the form of the open system interconnection (OSI)
model.
The OSI model provides for a number of horizontal layers, each layer communicating
exclusively, and according to well-defined rules, with the layers immediately above
and below it. Communication is, therefore, vertical except for the lowest, or physical
layer, where information passes from one system to another.
The GSM specifications follow the stipulations for the bottom three layers of the OSI
model.
Fig. 7: OSI reference model in GSM
At the lowest layer (layer 1), the physical characteristics of the transmission medium
are specified. In the context of GSM radio links, this definition not only includes
frequencies, modulation types, etc, but also the structure of the bursts and frames
because a time-division multiplex technique is used. Since this layer is responsible
for the correct transmission of single bits, it requires some form of error control
coding. The second GSM layer (layer 2), referred to as the data link layer, consists of
an intelligent entity responsible for the secure communication of data messages
between the radio stations. To this end, the transmit side structures the messages
from the higher layer to match the physical constraints of the layer 1 medium and
requests, in many situations, a confirmation (acknowledgement) from the receiving
side. At the receive side of layer 2, messages are reconstructed from the received
frames and the acknowledgements formulated and sent back.
Application
Presentation
Session
Transport
Network
Data Link
Physical
Modulation
Channel coding
Error protection coding
Block building and
concatenation of messages
Acknowledgement mode
Call control
Mobility management
Radio resources management
OSI model
Application in GSM
Tasks of
user
Tasks of
fixed
network
Tasks of
GSM
network
1
7
6
5
4
3
2
The third GSM layer (layer 3), also referred to as the network layer, is responsible for
the management of all calls and associated activities of the radio network. These
tasks are further subdivided into sublayers designated:
- Call control management (CC)
- Mobility management (MM)
- Radio resource management (RR)
Fig. 8: Block diagram of GSM mobile station
As can be seen from the greatly simplified functional block diagram of the GSM
transmitter and receiver, this segregation of functions does not only provide a useful
basis for apportioning the design effort, it also ensures that the measurement
interfaces within the system are clearly defined.
Transmitter
Receiver
RF modulation
RF demodulation
Equalization
Error correction
Despreading
Channel coding
Error protection
Spreading
Frame building
Acknowledgement Request
Frame restoration
Acknowledgement
Signalling Signalling
User data User data
Voice
Voice
OSI Layer 3
Network functions
OSI Layer 2
Data transmission
OSI Layer 1
Physical layer
3. RF Interface
Certain frequency bands could be reserved worldwide for the GSM system despite
the rival mobile radio systems. All signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding
for GSM have agreed to implement their GSM systems in these frequency bands.
The following frequency bands are now used in Europe:
GSM 900
(D network)
GSM 1800
(E network)
Frequency range P band G1 band
Uplink
(mobile sending)
890 to 915 MHz 880 to 890 MHz 1710 to 1785 MHz
Downlink
(BS sending)
935 to 960 MHz 925 to 935 MHz 1805 to 1880 MHz
Duplex spacing 45 MHz 95 MHz
Spectrum 2 x 35 MHz 2 x 75 MHz
Number of channels 124 49 374
Channel numbers 1 to 124 975 to 1023 512 to 885
Channel spacing 200 kHz
Modulation GMSK with B x T =0.3
Data transmission rate 270.833 kbit/s
Bit period 3.69 s
Fig. 9: Frequency assignment in D and E networks
The relatively wide channel spacing compared to conventional radio services which
often have to make do with bandwidths of 20 to 25 kHz is striking. However, to
ensure that the spectrum is used efficiently, the useful duration of a GSM channel is
divided up into 0.577 ms timeslots. This means that the transmission channel is not
permanently available to one specific user (TDMA system: time division multiple
access). Eight synchronized users share a TDMA frame so that each user can send
or receive a 0.577 ms data packet every 4.62 ms. This is shown in Fig. 10.
Each data packet contains 2 x 57 bits =114 bits which are, subjected to
comprehensive error control. The nominal data rate is therefore:
114 bits / 4.62 ms 24.7 kbit / s
Normally, 13.0 kbit/s of the nominal data rate are available for voice transmission
(full-rate codec), the rest is for error protection.
TDMA-frame
= 4,62 msec
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Time slot
= 0,577 msec
Information
57 Bit
Information
57 Bi t
Training sequence
and fl ag-bi ts
Guard
peri od
Fig. 10: Time organization of a GSM frequency channel
A timeslot contains three tail bits (not shown in the drawing above), an information
packet (57 bits of raw data), a training sequence (including flag bits for special
signalling tasks) mainly for channel equalization, another information packet (57 bits
of raw data) and a guard interval including tail bits to ensure that a burst does not
spill over from one timeslot into the next during assignment.
To allow a mobile to transmit and receive in a quasi duplex mode, the transmit and
receive windows are offset in time:
TDMA-frames (time slot 0 ... 7) 4,62 msec each
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Down link
(transm. frequency
Base station)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Uplink
(rcv. frequency
mobile station)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
TX
RX TX
RX TX RX
RX TX RX TX
TX RX
Timeslot numbering offset 3 timeslots between mobile and base station
Fig. 11: Transmission and reception with time offset
For the sake of clarity, time slot numbering on the MS side is shifted by three slots
with respect to that of the BS side.
Strictly speaking, this intermittent transmission and reception corresponds to half-
duplex operation. However, because of voice data compression, AF data
transmission seems to be continuous. As far as hardware requirements are
concerned, this has the advantage that only one synthesizer is required for the
receiver and transmitter in the mobile station. In "transmission gaps", the synthesizer
may even be used to measure the field strength of neighbouring base stations. This
field strength measurement is used to decide whether communication should be
handed over from one base station to another.
Other GSM systems are available besides the described GSM networks. They are
either still in the implementation phase, intended for closed subscriber groups or
have had to be shifted to other frequency bands because of the current channel
assignment. Comparison of main specifications:
Downlink Uplink
GSM 900 (P band) 935 to 960 MHz 890 to 915 MHz
GSM 900 (extended) 925 to 960 MHz 880 to 915 MHz
GSM 1800 1805 to 1880 MHz 1710 to 1785 MHz
GSM 900 Rail 921 to 925 MHz 876 to 880 MHz
GSM 450 460.4 to 467.6 MHz 450.4 to 457.6 MHz
GSM 480 488.8 to 496 MHz 478.8 to 486 MHz
GSM 1900 1930 to 1990 MHz 1850 to 1910 MHz
Fig. 12: Comparison of the various GSM systems
GSM 900 Rail is used by European railway companies as a train radio telephony
system and cannot therefore be regarded as a public voice system. GSM 450 and
GSM 480 are mainly intended for rural networks where a greater coverage is
required (max. 70 km compared to the approx. 35 km for all other GSM networks).
GSM 1900 is used in the United States.

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Rohde & Schwarz training center, V 2.2 Introduction.doc

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