Mobile Phone Networks

Basic Organizations
Infrastructure networks
Downlink: tower to phones (forward) Uplink: phones to tower (reverse)

Arranged into cells

Hence the terminology cell phones

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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Cell Towers
Cell towers typically have 3 sectors Each operates at a different frequency

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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Cell Towers
Occasionally local zoning laws prevent towers from being put up, so they have to be camouflaged

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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Cell Towers
Antennas are sectored
Three 120-degree sectors Each use different frequency, dont interfere

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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Cell Sites
At the base of the tower theres the cell site Contains base station, power, air conditioning

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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Cellular Backhaul
Connection between cell site and Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO) Can be fiber, copper, or wireless

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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Cellular History
First-Generation Mobile Phones (1G) Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) Analog Low SNR = static Unencrypted FCC required support until Feb 18, 2008

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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Evolution to Digital
Second generation (2G) Two standards emerge (circa 1995)
Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), aka cdmaOne
CDMA-base system Pioneered by Qualcomm who owns CDMA patents

Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)

Originally Groupe Special Mobile, originated in Europe

TDMA system

Other competitors
PCS from Sprint CDMA at different frequency iDen from Nextel GSM with push to talk

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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Voice and Data

1G and 2G networks only support voice Low-rate data possible over 2G using modem
Packets -> audio -> digital -> analog RF 14.4 kbps, VERY inefficient

Need to natively support digital 2.5G (circa 2000)

GSM Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
Reuse existing GSM time slots to send data
60 80 kbps

CDMA2000 1xRTT (RTT=Radio Transmission Technology)

Doubled coding space for CDMA 144 kbps

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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GSM Infrastructure
Mobile Switching Center Base Station Controller

Visitor Location Register

Public Switched Telephone Network

Home Location Register

Packet Control Unit Base Transceiver Station Serving GPRS Support Node

Gateway GPRS Support Node

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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GSM Coverage

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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CDMA Coverage

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Early Web Access

Phones not designed to display web pages New protocol developed: Wireless Application Protocol Minimal web browsers on phones, web pages designed to support constrained browsers compressed version of HTTP, runs over UDP

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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Higher Data Rates

Evolution of 2.5G -> 2.75G (circa 2003) Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Incremental change
Required new base stations and handsets Same network infrastructure Uses higher-order modulation (3 bits per baud rather than 1 bit per baud)

~ 60 kbps per time slot (up to 8 slots per user = 480 kbps)

Eventually classified as a 3G technology (supports rates > 144 kbps)

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009
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Move toward broadband

Third Generation (3G) standards Supports >1 Mbps to handsets (official requirement 144 kbps) Uses different frequencies than 2G Requires cell companies to build new infrastructure International Telecommunications Union (ITU) decides what technologies are considered 3G International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) is global standard; major standards:
EDGE (2.75G) UMTS / W-CDMA CDMA2000 EV-DO Mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e)
ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009
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GSM 3G Standards (3GPP)

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Actually based on Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) communications Most users get 500 kbps to 1 Mbps Enhancements:
3.5G: High-Speed Downlink Packet Access
Total speeds up to 14 Mbps downlink per base station Future versions up to 42 Mbps

3.75G: High-Speed Uplink Packet Access

5.76 Mbps uplink speeds per base station Future versions up to 11.5 Mbps
ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009
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CDMA 3G Standards (3GPP2)

CDMA2000 Evolution-Data Only (EVDO) Uses both CDMA and TDMA Designed for end-to-end IP connectivity Downlink: 2.4 Mbps (3.1 Mbps future) Uplink: 153 kbps (1.8 Mbps future)

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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Toward 4G
3GPP Standard
Long Term Evolution (LTE) Based on OFDMA Rates over 320 Mbps with MIMO

3GPP2 Standard
Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) Based on OFDMA Rates over 280 Mbps with MIMO

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Enabling Technology: MIMO

MIMO: Multiple Input, Multiple Output Used in 802.11n, 802.16e, LTE, UMB

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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Technology Table
Generation 2G 2.5G 3G 3.5G 4G 3GPP GSM GPRS / EDGE UMTS HSPA IMT IMT 3GPP2 IS-95 / cdmaOne IS-2000 / cdma2000 1xRTT cdma2000 EV-DO

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Current Events
AT&T: 3GPP network (GSM, EDGE) Verizon: 3GPP2 network (IS-95, cdma2000) Verizon
Decided to switch to LTE rather than UMB UMB has lost traction, 3GPP2 in trouble Qualcomm, major 3GPP2 vendor, embraces LTE

Sprint / Nextel
Merged in 2005 iDen and PCS networks incompatible Deploying WiMAX for 4G
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Converged Backend
IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS): backend convergence of voice and data

ENEE 426 | Communication Networks | Spring 2009

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