GB_BT04_E1_0 GSM Advanced Technology

Course Objectives:
Understand HR services and implementation methods
Understand principles of ZTE ultra-distance coverage
technology
Understand concepts, features and specifications of
EDGE technology
Grasp satellite Abis transmission configurations

Contents
1

HR Services...............................................................................................................................................1
1.1

Basic Concepts................................................................................................................................1

1.2

HR Frame Structure........................................................................................................................1

1.3

HR Service Implementation...........................................................................................................3

1.4

HR Service Upgrade.......................................................................................................................4

1.5

HR Channel Allocation Strategies..................................................................................................5

1.6

HR Service Applications.................................................................................................................6

Ultra-Distance Coverage Technology.....................................................................................................9

2.1

Technological Background.............................................................................................................9

2.2

Protocol Restrictions.......................................................................................................................9
2.2.1 Radio Interface Restrictions..................................................................................................9

2.3

Breakthrough Methods.................................................................................................................12
2.3.1 Breakthrough Method 1.......................................................................................................12
2.3.2 Breakthrough Method 2.......................................................................................................13

EDGE Technology..................................................................................................................................17
3.1

Definitions....................................................................................................................................17

3.2

Features.........................................................................................................................................17

3.3

Specifications................................................................................................................................18

3.4

Key Technologies..........................................................................................................................19
3.4.1 EDGE Modulation Modes...................................................................................................19
3.4.2 EDGE Radio Block Structure..............................................................................................20
3.4.3 Channel Coding...................................................................................................................20

Satellite Abis Technology.......................................................................................................................23

i

4.1

Overview.......................................................................................................................................23

4.2

Satellite Transmission Features and Solutions.............................................................................23

4.3

ZXG10-BSS Satellite Abis Principles..........................................................................................24

4.4

ZXG10-BSS Satellite Abis Physical Configurations and Requirements.....................................24

4.5

ZXG10-BSS Satellite Abis Configurations..................................................................................25

4.5.1 Timeslot Configurations during Commissioning (DIP Switch Setting).............................25
4.5.2 Precautions of Radio Parameter Settings............................................................................27

ii

1 HR Services
1.1 Basic Concepts
As defined in GSM specifications, the GSM physical layer is combination of FDMA
and TDMA. GSM frequency bands are divided into many 200-kHz channels according
to frequency division principles. In GSM specifications, each channel has an Absolute
Radio Frequency Channel Number (ARFCN), and is divided into 8 timeslots.
Therefore, a GSM physical channel actually corresponds to a certain timeslot of a
channel.
Timeslots repeat according to a certain law, forming the frame and multi-frame. In
GSM specifications, the channel that bears voice and data services takes 26-frame as
the repetition period. In other words, the TDMA multi-frame of a Traffic Channel
(TCH) is of 26 frames, and the duration of a multi-frame is 120 ms.
According to the switching mode, TCHs are divided into circuit switching channels
and data switching channels. According to the transmission rate, TCHs are divided into
Full Rate (FR) channels and Half Rate (HR) channels.
The rate of GSM FR channel is 13 kbps while the rate of GSM HR channel is 5.6 kbps.
In addition, the Enhanced FR channel has the same rate (13 kbps) as the FR channel,
but has better compression encoding scheme than the FR channel, thus it has better
voice quality.

1.2 HR Frame Structure

For FR voice channels or EFR voice channels, 24 frames of a TCHs TDMA multiframe (26 frames) are used to bear voice data, the 13th frame is used to transmit
associated signaling (i.e. Slow Assisted Control Channel (SACCH)), and the 26 th frame
is the idle frame.
If the HR voice channel is adopted, the air interfaces frame structure does not change.
The multi-frames odd-numbered frames are allocated to a user, even-numbered frames
are allocated to another user, and the 26 th idle frame functions as SACCH of the second
user. Therefore, the channel capacity doubles, that is, the channel bears two TCH/H
services rather than the original one TCH/F service. Moreover, the traffic absorbability
1

is enhanced and the network congestion rate is reduced. However, it also brings about
the negative effect that the channel coding rate decreases and voice quality degrades.
Figure 1.2 -1 shows the relationship between the FR channels frame structure and the
HR channels frame structure.

Figure 1.2-1 Relationship between FR-coded Data Frame and HR-coded Data Frame

ZTE equipments support both static HR service and dynamic HR service.

Static HR service
Static HR service means that the system HR channels are decided in network
planning, and the static configuration is made on the system OMCR equipments.
During the system running, the HR channel occupies fixed carrier and timeslots,
and each timeslot on the carrier maintains its status as HR or FR that is set when
being allocated, and the status can not be changed. Fine adjustment can be made
to the static configuration in later network optimization.

Dynamic HR service
Dynamic HR service means that only FR service is provided during the systems
initial running, and the ratio of commissioned HR channels depends on the traffic
change during system running.
When the traffic increases, the reserved dynamic HR auxiliary timeslots of
Abis interface are used to start the conversion from idle FR channels to HR
channels. In this way, HR channels are used to increase the system traffic
capacity and reduce the congestion rate.
When the traffic decreases, the conversion from idle HR channels to FR
channels is started, to guarantee the system voice quality with FR channels.
With dynamic HR service, the advantages of HR service can be fully utilized in
handling traffic burst and network capacity expansion.
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4 Satellite Abis Technology

1.3 HR Service Implementation

All ZXG-BSS equipments, including BSC and BTS, are designed with good modular
structures. It makes the system upgrade and expansion very easy, and provides
convenience for deploying new functions and new services.
In ZTE BSS equipments, the HR service implementation is different from that of the
traditional FR-based system in the following three aspects:
Transcoder unit (TC)
Abis interface unit between BSC and BTS
BTS channel coding/decoding unit
Figure 1.3 -2 illustrates the structure of ZXG10-BSS system that realizes HR service.
The HR frame structure of each node is described in the figure.
Configuring HR,
performance measurement,
and service flow processing

Processing HR frame

Uplink: decode HR frame to 64 kbps voice

channel
Downlink: encode 64 kbps voice channel into
16 kbps HR channel

Uplink: conversion from 8 kbps to 16 kbps

Downlink: conversion from 16 kbps to 8 kbps

B
T
S

MS supporting
HR-service

B
SS R
CM
M
Abis interface 8
kbps HR channel

B
SS S
CC
M

16 kbps
HR channel

A-interface 64
kbps voice channel

Configuring HR,
performance measurement,
and relevant O&M
processing

LA
LAN
N

OMC-R Server

16 kbps
HR channel

B
ST
CC
U

OMC-R Client

Figure 1.3-2 Schematic Diagram of ZXG10-BSS System (Supporting HR Service)

In ZXG10-BSS system, as shown in Figure 1.3 -2, the HR service implementation

process in uplink direction is as follows:
The HR frame is processed by BTS first and then sent to RMM through Abis interface.
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GB_BT04_E1_0 GSM Advanced Technology

BIPP performs the internal conversion from 8 kbps channel to 16 kbps channel and
then sends the frame to Bit-Oriented Switching Network (BOSN). After being
processed by BOSN, the HR frame enters the TC unit and the rate adaptation unit that
handle the HR service. Finally, the frame is sent to MSC from A-interface at the speed
of 64 kbps.
In downlink direction, the HR service implementation process is the reverse of that in
uplink direction.

1.4 HR Service Upgrade

At present, GSM-BSS products of ZTE Corporation are all developed on the basis of
the second generation ZXG10 BSS hardware platform, including BSC (V2), OMCR
(V2), and BTS (V2). All these hardware platforms support HR service.
The software of which the version is higher than V2.80 (including V2.80) also supports
HR service.
All equipments that satisfy the hardware platform condition can support HR service
through software upgrade (to V2.80 or above).
The procedure of upgrading ZXG10-BSC (V2) to support HR service is as follows:
1.

Upgrade the logic of GPP (BIPP) board in the RMM module of BSC. The boards
logic must be loaded offline. After being upgraded, the board supports the 1-bit
switching function:
In uplink direction, converts the Abis interfaces 8 kbps HR channel to the
switching networks 16 kbps channel.
In downlink direction, converts the switching networks 16 kbps channel to the
Abis interfaces 8 kbps channel.
Because the GPP board adopts active-standby configuration, services are not
interrupted during the upgrade process.

2.

Upgrade the software version of BSC and OMCR. The system software supports
on-line upgrade. Because the HR service upgrade involves a lot of changes in
database tables, the system should be restarted after BSC system software is
upgraded. Thus services will be interrupted for a short period of time during BSC
upgrade, and the interruption duration (within 10 minutes) is used for the system
to restart. It is recommended to perform the upgrade during low-traffic hours.
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4 Satellite Abis Technology

3.

Add the TC unit (actually, the EDRT board) that supports HR service. The EDRT
board can automatically recognize the uplink voice coding format at Abis
interface. The downlink coding automatically adopts the same code as that in
uplink coding. If the system has been configured with the EDRT board that
supports HR service, then such EDRT boards can support HR service only
through software upgrade. If the system has been configured with boards that do
not support HR service through software upgrade, then add the EDRT board that
supports HR service, and the original boards can still be used to allocate FR
channels.

4.

Commissioning the HR service means expanding the system capacity. Thus Ainterface capacity should be expanded according to new capacity planning.
Moreover, capacity expansion should be performed for the No.7 link in addition to
the EDRT board of TC unit.

5.

Configure relevant parameters for HR service. Commission HR service after the

configuration is completed.

6.

After commissioning the HR service, perform network performance evaluation

and analysis. Perform parameter adjustment and optimization if it is necessary.

1.5 HR Channel Allocation Strategies

ZXG10-BSS system can automatically recognize whether the terminal supports HR
service, and can decide whether the terminal accesses HR, FR, or EFR channel
according to parameter configurations. It also supports the terminal to perform
handover randomly between HR channels, or among the HR channel, FR channel, and
EFR channel. The handover strategy depends on the specific network where the
terminal is and channel allocation priorities. ZXG10-BSS system provides complete
channel resource allocation strategies to guarantee system resources to be allocated
appropriately.

The system decides the allocation priority for HR, FR, and EFR channels
according to the users voice channel priority issued by MSS.

Priority allocation parameters for HR, FR, and EFR channels are supported. For
terminals that support HR service, if MSS does not specify the priority, the system
decides to allocate HR, FR, or EFR channel according to priority allocation
parameters. After adopting this allocation strategy, if a resource is unavailable, the
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GB_BT04_E1_0 GSM Advanced Technology

system will automatically allocate another resource instead.

The TC that supports HR service also supports FR and EFR. After TCs related to

FR and EFR are occupied, the system will allocate TCs that support HR service to
satisfy FR and EFR requirements. After TCs that support HR service are
occupied, the system stops allocating HR radio resource, and allocates the FR
channel and EFR channel until the TC resource that supports HR service is
available.

1.6 HR Service Applications

With the HR service, rapid capacity expansion can be realized on the current network
to relieve the pressure of radio network frequency bands and capacity, and solve the
traffic congestion. In different situations, such as common capacity expansion or
handling emergency burst traffic, different strategies should be adopted.
1.

HR applications in area with burst traffic

The HR service is most effective in handling burst traffic in areas such as the
stadium, campus, or rendezvous. These areas all have the common feature that
the heavy traffic occurs periodically or suddenly. For example, the traffic
increases suddenly during a match in a stadium, and the traffic on campus
increases suddenly after class. The dynamic HR service is most appropriate to
apply in such situations. In normal cases, the traffic is low, and the channel is in
FR status. When the traffic increases suddenly, the channel automatically
converts to HR status, relieving the traffic congestion and avoiding the waste
that is usually caused by the common capacity expansion.

2.

HR applications in area with dense traffic

The traffic is dense in areas such as the dense urban area, airport, railway
station, and plaza. With the rapid development of network subscribers, the
requirement of capacity expansion in such areas also increases greatly.
In order to avoid frequent network adjustment, the HR service can be adopted to
temporarily relieve the pressure of capacity expansion. Before the next capacity
expansion is performed, commissioning the dynamic HR or static HR can
handle the emergent capacity increase. The HR service, combined with a longterm planning and capacity expansion, provides a flexible choice for operators in
capacity expansion. Moreover, the HR service is also a solution for network
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4 Satellite Abis Technology

capacity expansion for dense urban area where the frequency resource is limited
and the site expansion is infeasible.
3.

HR applications in area with low-end users

In some areas with low-end users such as the remote rural area, operators also
provide the coverage to enhance their competition power. However, such areas
have sparse users and the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) is low, the ratio of
investigation to output of the operator is very low.
These low-end users do not have high requirement for the voice quality. Thus
the HR service (static HR or dynamic HR) can be adopted together with some
wide-coverage technologies to realize a low-cost coverage.
On the other hand, the burst traffic might occur in such low-end traffic areas,
such as capacity changes due to users migration. The HR service can be used as
a practical solution for such problems.

2 Ultra-Distance Coverage Technology

2.1 Technological Background
It is specified in GSM protocols that the maximum access radius of GSM 900 MHz
system is 35 km, and the corresponding Time Advance (TA) is 63. On SACCH, TAs of
the L1 header and the protocol message of each layer are all set in 6 bits.
Such restrictions in GSM protocols are mainly due to that the coverage larger than 35
km is difficult to realize in the GSM 900 MHz environment, and can be realized only
in some special propagation environments.
With the evolution of GSM protocols, there are more frequency bands. Because the
propagation loss of GSM 400 MHz system is less that that of GSM 900 MHz system, it
is specified that the coverage radius of the former can be larger than 35 km, the
maximum access radius of the former can be 120 km, and the corresponding TA is up
to 219. For the time being, except for GSM 400 MHz system, other GSM systems do
not support TA that is larger than 63.

2.2 Protocol Restrictions

This section introduces restrictions of the coverage distance in GSM protocols.

2.2.1 Radio Interface Restrictions

In GSM system, each carrier adopts the TDMA mode, that is, eight timeslots constitute
a frame, and the eight timeslots correspond to eight physical channels respectively, as
shown in Figure 2.2 -3.
Frame
TS7

TS0

TS1

TS2

TS3

TS4

TS5

TS6

TS7

TS0

TS1

Time Axis
Figure 2.2-3 GSM System Frame Definition

During the call process, one user occupies one timeslot (time window), and at the base
9

station, each timeslot corresponds to a user. Thus the MS-sent data that is received by
the base station can only fall into the users time window, otherwise, the next channel
will be influenced.
If MS is in the idle status, it does not know the distance from it to BTS. Therefore,
when sending the first access request, MS takes its own time window as reference.
Because delay exists in space transmission, the time window has a certain offset when
the MS signal actually reaches BTS, that is, delay exists, as shown in Figure 2.2 -4.
Total delay
Base station

MS

Uplink delay

Downlink delay

Send

Time

Receive

Figure 2.2-4 Access Pulse Delay

BTS has strict requirement for the time window. In order to make the MS signal fall
into the receiving time window of BTS before it reaches BTS, MS must send the signal
ahead of time. BTS specifies the TA and sends it to MS. The TA is in bit unit.
The length of a TA is one byte. As specified in GSM protocols, both GSM 900 MHz
system and GSM 1800 MHz system uses six bits to send the TA and the other two bits
are reserved. Thus the maximum TA value is 63, i.e. 63 bits, of which each bit equals
3.69 ms.
The space transmission delay includes uplink delay and downlink delay (the uplink
distance equals the downlink distance). The signal is transmitted at the velocity of
light. The maximum coverage radius is calculated as follows:
(63 3.69 10-6) 3 108 / 2 35 km
Thus for GSM 900 MHz system and GSM 1800 MHz system, the maximum coverage
radius is specified as 35 km in GSM protocols. The following lists the restrictions:
1.

Restrictions of Access Burst (AB)

For the AB of MS, MS sends it according to its own time reference TA = 0.
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4 Satellite Abis Technology

Table 2.2 -1 lists AB definitions.

Table 2.2-1 AB Definitions
Bit Number (BN)

Length of Field

Contents of Field

Definition

0~7

Extended tail bits

(below)

8 ~ 48

41

Synch. sequence bits

(below)

49 ~ 84

36

Encrypted bits (e0..e35)

05.03

85 ~ 87

Tail bits

(below)

88 ~ 156

68,25

Extended guard period (bits)

subclause (5.2.8)

If the distance between MS and BTS exceeds 35 km, then even the significant
bits (0 ~ 87) of AB can not fall into the same timeslot completely. According to
the common methods specified in GSM protocols, BTS can not decode the AB.
In other words, if MS is more than 35 km away from BTS, it can not access the
network, which then causes subsequent ABs unable to be decoded.
2.

Restrictions of MSs TA adjustment capability

After MS accesses the network successfully, Normal Burst (NB) is sent on the
traffic/signaling channel.
Table 2.2-2 NB Definitions
Bit Number (BN)

Length of field

Contents of field

Definition

0~2

Tail bits

(below)

3~60

58

Encrypted bits (e0 . e57)

05.03

61~86

26

Training sequence bits

(below)

87~144

58

Encrypted bits (e58 . e115)

05.03

145~147

Tail bits

(below)

148~156

8,25

Guard period (bits)

subclause (5.2.8)

If the distance between MS and BTS exceeds 35 km, BTS can not adjust the MSs
sending time, which inevitably interferes the running of other MSs on other timeslots.
Restriction of upper-layer signaling:
In layer-3 signaling, TA is used by some messages. The GSM 900 MHz system and
GSM 1800 MHz system only support TA 63, thus when TA > 63, the handling for
abnormal signaling flow is initiated. These messages include:
MEASUREMENT REPORT

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GB_BT04_E1_0 GSM Advanced Technology

PREMEASUREMENT REPORT
CHANNEL REQUIRED
HANDOVER DETECT
TALKER INDICATION
LISTENER INDICATION
HANDOVER COMMAND (if the pre-synchronization mode is adopted)
IMMIDIATE ASSIGNMENT
ASSIGNMENT COMMAND
PHISICAL INFORMATION
VGCS UPLINK GRANTED
PDCH ASSIGNMENT COMMAND
The above messages are restricted by the condition TA 63, thus if TA > 63, the
normal signaling processing will be influenced.

2.3 Breakthrough Methods

There are two methods to break the restriction of coverage distance specified in GSM
protocols (i.e. the maximum TA is 63, or the maximum coverage radius of GSM 900
MHz system and GSM 1800 MHz system is 35 km).
Breakthrough method 1
Adopts GSM 400 MHz system, or realizes the method specified in GSM 400 MHz
system in GSM 900 MHz system.
Breakthrough method 2
BTS adopts the special radio channel mapping technology and improved BTS
receiving technology at radio interface, to guarantee there is no mutual interference
between BTSs.

2.3.1 Breakthrough Method 1

According to GSM protocols, only the GSM 400 MHz system can have TA that is
larger than 63 and the maximum TA value is 219.

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4 Satellite Abis Technology

For GSM 400 MHz system, two frequency bands are defined in GSM protocols: GSM
450 MHz and GSM 480 MHz. As to date, the GSM 400 MHz system has not been
commercialized.
The following lists the advantage and disadvantage of breakthrough method 1:
Advantage
Since the specification in GSM protocol is broken through, there is no capacity
limit when realizing a coverage distance larger than 35 km.
Disadvantage
Because the GSM 900 MHz MS does not adapt to GSM 400 MHz system,
appropriate MS is required, but it is difficult to realize in actual applications.

2.3.2 Breakthrough Method 2

If the coverage radius exceeds 35 km, then MS must support TA > 63. However, the
maximum TA recognized by GSM 900 MHz MS is 63 bits. It is impossible to upgrade
all MSs, thus the restriction that the maximum coverage radius is 35 km can be broken
through by applying special radio channel mapping technology and improved BTS
receiving technology at the radio interface. In other words, BSS should be upgraded.
The following lists the advantage and disadvantage of breakthrough method 2:
Advantage
It is easy to be applied because no change should be made in MS and the cost is
low.
Disadvantage
A certain system capacity is sacrificed. In normal cases, one carrier provides eight
channels. If the coverage area is very large, there might not be eight channels. The
number of channels depends on specific networking solutions.
The following introduces a simple and practical solution:
If the coverage radius of GSM 900 MHz system is larger than 35 km, then two
timeslots are used to function as one channel to satisfy the requirement of a 0 km ~ 120
km coverage area. In other words, when MS sends a channel request, the access burst
pulse received at BTS spans two timeslots, thus the control channel adopts two
physical channels, i.e. two consecutive timeslots.
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GB_BT04_E1_0 GSM Advanced Technology

The maximum TA value of MS at the radio interface is 63. If the space delay is larger
than 63, the time during which the signal arrives BTS spans two timeslots, as shown in
Figure 2.3 -5. The dedicated control channel and the traffic channel also use two
adjacent physical channels.
Total space delay: 63
Sent by
BTS

Send with a TA of 63 bits

Sent by
MS

Figure 2.3-5 Delay Relationships

Considering that BTS adopts two timeslots to process a users data, the second timeslot
is called extended channel, as shown in Figure 2.3 -6.
Frame
0

Extended channel
Figure 2.3-6 Extended Channel

Figure 2.3 -7 shows the carriers after channel expansion. Originally, a TRX can
provide eight physical channels; after the channel expansion, a TRX has four physical
channels, the carrier capacity is halved.
Original TRX

Extended
channel TRX

3
1

7
3

Figure 2.3-7 Actual Number of A Carriers Physical Channels

After adopting the channel expansion mode, the coverage area of BTS is up to 120 km
and the maximum TA value is 219 theoretically. However, the actual coverage radius
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4 Satellite Abis Technology

can not reach 120 km due to large propagation loss of GSM 900 MHz system and
uplink/downlink balance problems.
To restrict the upper-layer signaling, perform the following operations:
Upgrade BSC software, and expand the TA field definition in the original message;
Adopt the actual TA value at BTS;
For a TA to be sent to MS, if TA 63, then send the actual TA value to MS; if TA >
63, then always send 63 to MS.

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3 EDGE Technology
3.1 Definitions
Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE) includes Enhanced General Packet Radio
Service (EGPRS) and Enhanced Circuit Switched Data (ECSD). EDGE is a method
used to improve the data transmission rate during GSM radio connection.
Essentially, EDGE is only a new modulating and channel encoding technology, which
can be used to transmit Packet switching (PS) and Circuit Switching (CS) data/voice.
As an evolved GPRS-to-UMTS solution, EDGE enables the network operator to use
current radio network equipments to the maximum extent. It also provides PC
multimedia communication services ahead of time before the third generation mobile
network become commercialized.

3.2 Features
The system architecture of EDGE network is similar to that of GSM network. The
following lists features of the EDGE technology in the access service and network
establishment:
1.

Access service

The bandwidth is increased greatly. The peak transmission rate of mobile data
service is up to 384 kbps.
It provides more precise network-layer positioning service.
2.

Network establishment

As a modulating and encoding technology, EDGE changes the transmission rate

at the air interface.
EDGEs air interface features, including the air channel allocation mode and
TDMA frame structure, are the same as those of GSM.
EDGE does not change the architecture of GSM network or GPRS network, and
does not have new NEs. It only updates BSS
The core network adopts the three-layer model: service application layer,
17

communication control layer, and communication connection layer. The

interface between layers is standard. The hierarchical architecture makes the call
control and communication connection mutually independent. It also fully uses
advantages of the packet switching network, making the bandwidth allocation
closely related to the traffic. It especially suits the VoIP service.
Media Gateway (MGW) is adopted in EDGE. MGW has the same functions as
Signaling Transfer Point (STP), and can realize the signaling network
establishment in IP network. Moreover, MGW is not only the interface between
GSM circuit switching service and PSTN but also the interface between Radio
Access Network (RAN) and 3G core network.
EDGE supports two data transmission modes: packet switching and circuit
switching. With the packet data service, a rate of 11.2 kbps ~ 69.2 kbps per
timeslot can be realized. EDGE supports the circuit switching service with a rate
of 28.8 kbps. EDGE also supports symmetric/asymmetric data transmission,
which is very important for the mobile equipment to access network. For
example, in EDGE system, the user can have a higher rate in downlink than in
uplink.

3.3 Specifications
The EDGE standardization involves the following three aspects:
Standardizes the relevant change in physical layer (the definition of modulation
and coding method)
Standardizes the change in ECSD protocol
Standardize the change in EGPRS protocol
Two jobs are done in the above aspects:
EDGE NSS, which is related to the change in network subsystem
EDGE BSS, which is related to the change in base station subsystem
EDGE is realized in two phases:
Phase 1: provides the single/multiple-timeslot packet switching service with a
rate of less than 64 kbps and the single/multiple-timeslot circuit switching
service.
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4 Satellite Abis Technology

Phase 2: provides real-time services not included in phase 1 and adopts the new
modulating technology.
The EDGE standardization, which was initiated by ETSI/SMG2, has started from the
feasibility research by Ericsson and Nokia since 1997. The research was completed in
1998, and the radio and service requirement for EDGE was drafted in that research.
In 2000, the EDGE standardization was transferred from ETSI to 3GPP. The work of
EDGE phase 1 was summarized in the R99 standard, and the work of EDGE phase 2
was included in the 3GPP standard. In EDGE phase 2, the technology is developed into
satisfying UMTS standard as well as providing IP multimedia. 3GPP standardizes
EDGE, which is now known as GERAN.

3.4 Key Technologies

3.4.1 EDGE Modulation Modes
EDGE adopts 8-PSK as its modulation mode. 8-PSK has the same modulation quality
as GMSK, considering the interference generated from adjacent channels. It enables
EDGE channels to be completely integrated in the current frequency planning, and can
allocate the new EDGE channel as standard GSM channel.
8-PSK is a linear modulation, in which three consecutive bits are mapped to one
symbol in the I/Q diagram. Its symbol rate, the number of symbols sent within a certain
period of time, is the same as that of GMSK. But each symbol represents three bits in
8PSK, not one bit as in GMSK, thus the total data transmission rate triples.
A certain loss will be generated by 8-PSK. In the I/Q diagram, the distance between
different symbols is comparatively less. Therefore, it is difficult for the radio receiver
to detect which symbol it receives. The problem influences the system performance
only in adverse radio environment. Such redundant bits can be used to add more
error correcting code to resume the correct information. Only in very adverse radio
environment is the GMSK modulation efficiency higher.
Figure 3.4 -8 shows the 8-PSK modulation mode.

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GB_BT04_E1_0 GSM Advanced Technology

Figure 3.4-8 8-PSK Modulation Mode

Compared with GMSK, 8-PSK has the same symbol rate, but the bit rate triples.
Symbol rate: 270.833 ksymb/s
Timeslot bit rate: 0 ~ 22.8 kbps (GMSK); 0 ~ 69.6 kbps (8-PSK)

3.4.2 EDGE Radio Block Structure

Figure 3.4 -9 shows the structure of EDGE radio block.

Figure 3.4-9 EDGE Radio Block Structure

3.4.3 Channel Coding

The nine MCSs of EDGE are categorized into three groups according to their
characteristics:
Family A (MCS-3, MCS-6, MCS- 8, MCS-9)
Family B (MCS-2, MCS-5, MCS-7)
Family C (MCS-1, MCS-4)
For coding scheme structures in the same group, either one structure includes another
or being included by another, which makes it easy to realize conversion between
coding rates.
In practical applications, balance should be kept between the transmission rate of valid
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information and the valid transmission quality. The low-rate channel coding scheme,
which contains many redundancy error correction codes but without transmitting much
valid information, is suitable for an environment with poor transmission quality. For
example, on the edge of a cell, the low-rate GMSK modulation method MCS1 ~ 4 is
more suitable for compensating poor link quality; in the central area of a cell where
propagation conditions are good, the high-rate MCS is often adopted.
As shown in Figure 3.4 -10, EDGE has distinctive advantages over GPRS.
EDGE

GMSK

8.8

MCS-1

11.2
14.8
17.6

MCS-2
MCS-3
MCS-4
22.4
29.6
44.8
54.4
59.2

8-PSK

MCS-5
MCS-6
MCS-7
MCS-8
MCS-9

GPRS
8 8.8
GMSK

12 12.8
14.4 15.2
20 20.8

CS-1
CS-2
CS-3
CS-4

Figure 3.4-10 EDGE vs. GPRS

21

overhead + protection
payload of user

4 Satellite Abis Technology

4.1 Overview
It is inconvenient to realize transmission in remote areas or islands. Usually, the
transmission between BTS and BSC is realized by the leased satellite link.

4.2 Satellite Transmission Features and Solutions

The following problems will be encountered when the satellite link is used to realize
transmission between BTS and BSC.
The delay of Abis link is long. The information sent from the satellite ground
station is transferred through the satellite and then received by another ground
station. The end-to-end delay is not less than 260 ms, which does not have much
to do with the ground stations position.
BER
The satellite links BER is much larger than that of the ground link. Because of
this factor and the influence of fading, the BER change is very large. On the
other hand, the large delay and BER on the transmission link will cause the
message throughput to drop.
Clock
The precision of the satellite Abis clock is not very good.
The above problems do not occur when the ground link is used to realize transmission
between BTS and BSC, thus they should be resolved first.
Solution:
BTS clock
Because the precision of the clock extracted from Abis interface is much less
than the clock precision specified in GSM protocols, such a clock is not used to
synchronize BTS any more. Instead, when using the satellite link to connect
Abis interface, the high-precision clock source inside BTS is often used as BTS
clock source. In other words, the inner clock of BTS is used for synchronization.
23

 Protocol timer
Adjust the interval of timers in some BTS/BSC protocols to make these
protocols to adapt to large delay. The LAPD timer of Abis is influenced most.

4.3 ZXG10-BSS Satellite Abis Principles

ZXG10-BTS realizes the satellite Abis by setting transmission modes through setting
DIP switches at BTS. According to the DIP switch setting, BTS sets corresponding
inner processing modes. BSC automatically identifies the BTS processing mode and
performs relevant processing.
In order to save the cost of satellite transmission, the satellite Abis often adopts Abis
multiplexing mode to reduce the number of timeslots at Abis interface.

4.4 ZXG10-BSS Satellite

Requirements

Abis

Physical

Configurations

and

Interface between BTS and satellite transmission: E1. [G703, 75 ]

Only some timeslots are used in this E1. The timeslots are allocated as follows:
For a BTS, the transmission capacity is:
V = CEILING (0.25 + n 0.25) + n 2 (unit: timeslot; n represents the number of
carriers)
The transmission rate of each timeslot is 64 kbps.
CEILING (x) equals the minimum integer that is larger than x.
Table 4.4 -3 shows the relationship between the number of carriers and transmission
resource requirement.
Table 4.4-3 Number of Carriers and Transmission Resource Requirement
Transmission Resource Requirement

Number of Carriers

(the Number of Timeslots on E1)

10

24

4 Satellite Abis Technology

4.5 ZXG10-BSS Satellite Abis Configurations

4.5.1 Timeslot Configurations during Commissioning (DIP Switch Setting)
The satellite Abis is identified by the 16-bit DIP switch on the backplane of the
common shelf at BTS. No special setting should be made at BSC.
The meanings of different DIP switch settings are explained as follows:

BTS (V1A) rack

Figure 4.5 -11 shows the common shelfs Site ID which is defined by DIP
switching settings.

F E D C B A 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

PortNo

Abis
Mode

TSNo

Figure 4.5-11 Common Shelfs SiteID Defined by DIP Switch Settings

PortNo: 2 Mbps port number.

01: port A
10: port B
11: port C
TsNo: O&M LAPD timeslot on Abis interface
000: Ts16
111: Ts31
110: Ts30
101: Ts29
AbisMode: transmission mode at Abis interface
00: common Abis transmission mode
10: satellite Abis transmission mode
The remaining bits are reserved and set as 0.

BTS (V2) rack

25

GB_BT04_E1_0 GSM Advanced Technology

Table 4.5 -4 shows the DIP switching settings of BTS (V2) rack..
Table 4.5-4 DIP Switch Settings of BTS (V2) Rack
15
INDOO
R

14
SYN

13

12

CHANNEL_
NO

11

10

BTS_NO

SLAVE1

SLAVE2_

ABIS_

ABIS_

_PORT

PORT

MODE

PORT

ABIS_TS

INDOOR: BTS type.

0: indoor
1: outdoor
SYN: network synchronization reference clock source
0: clock extracted from E1 port
1: SDH synchronous clock
If SYN = 0, the frame clock extracted from the E1 port is taken as the network
synchronization reference clock. If SYN = 1, CMM receives the SDH
synchronous clock from F of the E1 port and takes it as the synchronization
reference clock.
CHANNEL_NO: choices for on-site monitoring equipment ports
00: the RS232 port connects with the transparent passage
01: the RS422 port connects with the transparent passage
10: the RS232 port connects with SMC
BTS_NO: cabinet number within the same site
00: master cabinet
01: slave cabinet 1
10: slave cabinet 2
SLAVE1_PORT: the E1 port of master cabinet that connects with slave cabinet 1
00: master cabinets C port
01: master cabinets D port
10: master cabinets E port
11: master cabinets F port
26

4 Satellite Abis Technology

SLAVE2_PORT: the E1 port of master cabinet that connects with slave cabinet 2
00: master cabinets C port
01: master cabinets D port
10: master cabinets E port
11: master cabinets F port
ABIS_PORT: O&M port number
00: port A
01: port B
10: port C
11: port D
ABIS_MODE: transmission mode at Abis interface
0: common Abis transmission mode
1: satellite Abis transmission mode
ABIS_TS: O&M LAPD timeslot on Abis interface
000: TS16
001: TS31
010: TS30
011: TS29
100: TS28
101: TS27
110: TS26
111: TS25

4.5.2 Precautions of Radio Parameter Settings

After the satellite Abis technology is adopted, the delay at Abis interface increases,
which causes the duration of channel allocation to increase. To make MS successfully
access the network, when setting RACH Control Parameter, set Tx_Integer as 32
and Max_Retrans (the maximum times of retransmission) as 4.
27