GSM & CDMA Technology in

Mobile Telephony

Signal Training School

BSF

Tata Communications
 What is Tele-Communication ?
• Tele means DISTANCE and Communication
means INFORMATION TRANSFER
• So transfer of information between two or more
entities which may be far apart is called as Tele-
Communication
Types of Communication tech.
• Wireline
• Wireless
 Communication Path
• Wireline
– Physical layout of wires or optical fiber cables between
entities . A physical contact is essential between the
peer entities for communication

• Wireless
– NO Physical connectivity is required . Communication is
done through radio links ( Electro Magnetic Waves ) and
repeaters ( CELL SITES) are placed in between peer
entities for efficient communication
What does one expects
from Wireless ?
• Lower cost
• Roaming
• Better service and coverage
• NO dropped calls
• Enhanced Privacy
• NO Speech Clipping
• NO Echo
 Wireless
• It is type of communication technology where
electromagnetic waves carry the signal (voice and
data) on whole or part of communication path.

• Wireless telecommunication involves converting an

audio signal into a Frequency (RF) signal and
broadcasting it using radiating devices called
antennas.
 It all started like this
• First telephone (photophone) –
Alexander Bell, 1880
• The first car mounted radio
telephone – 1921
 Going further
• 1946 – First commercial mobile radio-
telephone service by Bell and AT&T in
Saint Louis, USA. Half duplex(PTT)
• 1973 – First handheld cellular phone –
Motorola.
• First cellular net
Bahrein 1978
 Generation Gap
• Generation #1 – Analog [routines for
sending voice]
• All systems are incompatible
• No international roaming
• Little capacity – cannot accommodate
masses of subscribers
 Generation Gap(2)
• Generation #2 – digital [voice encoding]
• Increased capacity
• More security
• Compatibility
• Can use TDMA or CDMA for increasing
capacity
 History of GSM - I
– 1982 Group Spéciale Mobile formed (origin
of term GSM)
– 1897 Initial Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) signed by network operators
representing 12 countries
• coordinate introduction of GSM
• agree time scales
• plan the introduction of services
• coordinate routing, billing and tariffs
– 1988 - Validation & trials
 History of GSM - II
– 1989 - European Telecommunications
Standard Institute (ETSI) formed
– 1991 - Launch delayed due to lack of
mobiles
– 1992 - Officially launched
– 1993 - Commercial services start outside
Europe
– 2003 - Over 200 countries
– 2004 - Over 1 billion subscribers?
– Ref: http://www.gsmworld.com
 Motivations for GSM
• Political Considerations
– Impending EU unification
– Deregulation of mobile telephony
• Economic Considerations
– single market
– cost benefits through economies of scale
– potential for export
 Back to Generations
• Generation #2.5 – packet-switching
• Connection to the internet is paid by
packets and not by connection time.
• Connection to internet is cheaper and
faster [up to 56KBps]
• The service name is GPRS – General
Packet Radio Services
 The future is now
• Generation #3
• Permanent web connection at 2Mbps
• Internet, phone and media: 3 in 1
• The standard based on GSM is called
UMTS. Not yet implemented.
• The EDGE standard is the development
of GSM towards 3G.
But what’s cellular?
MSC

BS

PSTN HLR, VLR,

AC, EIR
 ARCHITECTURE

MSC
 CELL
• CELL is the geographical area covered
by a cell site .
• All the receivers (handsets) in this
particular area respond to this cell site
i.e. they receives and transmits signal
to a particular cell only
 Cellular principles
• Frequency reuse – same frequency in
many cell sites
• Cellular expansion – easy to add new
cells
• Handover – moving between cells
• Roaming between networks
CELL STRUCTURE AND FREQUENCY
ALLOCATION
Architecture of a GSM Network
Base Station
Network Subsystem
Mobile Station Subsystem Other Networks

PSTN
MSC/ GMSC
BSC VLR
BTS
ME
SIM
PLMN

EIR HLR AUC

Internet

+
SD

Note: Interfaces have been omitted for clarity purposes.

 Mobile Station (MS)
• Mobile Equipment
– Fixed
– Portable
• International Mobile Equipment Identity
(IMEI) number
• Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)
• Personal Identification Number (PIN)
• International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
number
• Enables access to subscribed services
• Smart card
Base Transceiver Station - BTS
– Usually referred to as the Base Station
– Provides the interface to the network for the
MS
– Handles all communications with the MS
– Less “intelligent” than analogue equivalent
– “intelligence” now deployed on MS
• for example, when to perform a handover
– Transmitting power determines cell size
Base Station Controller - BSC
– Controls Base Stations
• up to several hundred depending on manufacturer
– Manages radio channels
• allocation and release
– Coordinates Handover
– Physical location may vary
– Abis interface
• between BSC and BTS
 Network SubSystem(NSS)
• Nerve Centre of entire GSM network
• Manages all
• call processing
• subscriber related functions
• Contains
– the core switching component
– a number of databases
– gateways to other networks
• Uses Signalling System Number 7 (SS7)
Mobile Switching Centre (MSC)
– Performs all switching/exchange functions
– Handles
– registration
– authentication
– location updating
– A GSM network must have at least one MSC
– May connect to other networks
• Gateway MSC (GMSC)
Home Location Register (HLR)
– Administrative information for all subscribers
• IMSI number
• actual phone number
• permitted supplementary services
• current location i.e. which VLR subscriber is
currently registered with
• parameters for authentication and ciphering
– One HLR per GSM PLMN
 Visitor Location Register (VLR)
• Contains data on all MSs currently in the
area served by the MSC
– permanent data (identical to that in HLR)
– Consulted during
• call establishment
• caller authentication
– Usually integrated with MSC so that
geographic area covered by both coincides
• signaling requirements simplified considerably
 Equipment Identity Register (EIR)
• Maintains lists of IMEI numbers of all valid
and invalid equipment for the network
– IMEI - International Mobile Equipment Identity

• An IMEI may be invalid if

– stolen
– not approved for use on the network, possibly
due to some defect
• EIR consulted during registration/call setup
Authentication Centre (AUC)
– Protected database
– Stores all algorithms used for authentication
purposes
– Knows which one has been issued to the
subscriber (stored on SIM card)
– provides HLR or VLR with parameters for
completing authentication
 Other Network Components
• Operations & Maintenance Centre
• Intelligent Networking
• Billing Centre
• SMS Gateway
 Techniques Used in Wireless

•Global System of Mobile Communication

(GSM)
• Wireless in Local Loop (WLL)
 Wireless Communications Specifications
Digital Cellular Telephones
CDMA GSM
Global System for Mobile
IS-95 Communication

Standard Code Division Multiple Access

Mobile Frequency Rx: 869-894 Rx: 925-960
Range (MHz) Tx: 824-849 Tx: 880-915
Multiple Access
Method CDMA/FDM TDMA/FDM
Duplex Method FDD FDD

Number of Channels 20 124

Users Per Channels 15-50 8

Channel Spacing 1250 kHz 200 kHz
GMSK
(0.3 Gaussian Filter)

Modulation QPSK/OQPSK 8-PSK (EDGE only)

Channel Bit Rate 1.2288 Mb/s 270.833 kb/s
 Data Rates Supported by Various Cellular Standards

Cellular Peak Data Rate

Family Standard (kbits/s) Typical Data Rate Connection Modulation

GSM-CSD 9.6/14.4 9.6 Circuit Switched GMSK

HS-CSD 28.8/43/2 28.8 Circuit Switched GMSK

GPRS 115/171 50 Packet Switched GMSK

GSM EDGE 384/513 115 Packet Switched 8-PSK

FDD 384/2000 144 Packet Switched QPSK

UMTS TDD 384/2000 144 Packet Switched QPSK

IS-95A 14.4 14.4 Circuit Switched QPSK

CDMAOne IS-95B 64/115 56 Packet Switched QPSK

IX 144/307 130 Packet Switched QPSK

CDMA2000 IX EV 2000 N/K Packet Switched QPSK

TDMA CSD 9.6 9.6 Circuit Switched DQπ/4PSK

PDC i-mode 9.5 9.6 Packet Switched DQπ/4PSK

 Multiple Access Techniques
Mu lt ip le Ac cess means the same frequency
range i.e. bandwidth is used by all the users

But there is no interference between the users

because each user is is talking to its
respective counterpart in a unique code
assigned to it which is different from the
other users
• In Fr eq ue ncy Div isi on Mu lti pl e Access (FD MA) , the
frequency band is divided in slots. Each user gets one
frequency slot assigned that is used at will.
• It could be compared to AM or FM broadcasting radio
where each station has a frequency assigned.
Power

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1

Frequency
CH

CH

CH

CH
• In Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), the frequency
band is not partitioned but users are allowed to use it only in
predefined intervals of time, one at a time.
• Each caller is assigned a specific time slot for transmission
• Many conversations are multiplexed into a single channel
•
Power
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Ti

Frequency
l2

l4
3
l1

el

ne
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an

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 How GSM works ?
• GSM works on the principle of
FD MA + TDM A
• This means the bandwidth allotted is
firstly divided accordingly cell i.e. each
cell region works on different frequency
allotted to it and each cell frequency is
different from the adjacent cells.
This is FDM A
Frequency Re-Use
A frequency (channel) can be used
again within an FDMA or TDMA network,
but cells using the same frequency must
be separated by an appropriate
distance. Adjacent cells must be
assigned a different set of frequencies.
For example, a cell using frequency A
must not be adjacent to another cell
using frequency A.
So each cell works at a particular
frequency and now this frequency is
divided in time slots i.e. each user is
given a specified time in which data of
that respective user is transferred .
Thi s is TD MA
 Wireless in Local Loop
• WLL is also a standard evolved
and used in USA,It is emerging
because of its advantages over
GSM.
• WLL uses CDMA as communication
technique
 CDMA
• Code Division Multiple Access
• All users share the same frequency
all the time
• To pick out the signal of specific
user, this signal is modulated with a
unique code sequence.
 CDMA
CODE DIVISION MULTIPLE ACCESS
Co de Divis ion means the voice analog
signal is converted into its
corresponding digital signal but this
digital signal is accordingly a unique
code assigned to that user.
SPREAD SPECTRUM
TECHNIQUE
CDMA works on the principle SPREAD
SPECTRUM Technique, which means
that it spreads the information
contained in a particular signal of
interest over a much greater bandwidth
than the original signal i.e. large range
of frequencies are used for information
transfer
 Due to Spread Spectrum Technique

• Capacity increases of 8-10 times that of gsm

system
• Improved call quality,with better and more
consistent sound .
• Simplified system planning through the use of
same frequency in every sector of cell
• Enhanced privacy
• Improved coverage
Cell Structure & Frequency allocation
of CDMA
Each CELL-SITE in a CDMA
network can use all available
frequencies. Adjacent Cells can
transmit at the same frequency
because users are separated by
Code Channels
GSM Vs CDMA
 GSM WLL
• Works on • Works on CDMA with
TDMA +FDMA Spread Spectrum
Technique
• Universal frequency use
• Different cell works on
different frequencies
• Due to change in frequency • Soft Handoff tech leads to
from one cell to another lower call drops
complex hand off
• Due to Complex procedure • Rake receiver technology
Call interference is more leads low call interference
likely and .
 Hands-Off
Handoff is the process of
transferring a call from one cell to
another. This is necessary to
continue the call as the phone
travels.
 Hands-Off in GSM
TDMA and FDMA systems use a hard handoff
when the mobile is moving from one cell site to
another. These technologies do not allow for any
type of make-before-break handoff. A hard
handoff can increase the likelihood of a dropped
call. A hard handoff requires the mobile to break
the connection with the old BTS prior to making
the connection with the new one. Hard handoffs
are also called “Bre ak-Bef ore-M ake
•Hard Hands-Off
Break before Make
 CDMA

Soft Hands-Off
Make before Break
 Call Interference leads to
Disturbance , Low Speech, Echo
Signals sent over the air can take a direct
path to the receiver, or they can bounce off
objects and then travel to the receiver. These
different paths, called multi-paths, can result
in the receiver getting several versions of the
same signal but at slightly different times.
Multi-paths can cause a loss of signal through
cancellation in other technologies
 GSM

When a signal travels to a handset

through different paths, in GSM handset, it
will pick the first signal reaching to it, no
matter how weak that signal is. Thus
leading to Call Disturbance, Low Speech
and some times Echo
 Rake Receiver in CDMA
• CDMA's rake receiver is multiple receivers in
one. The rake receiver identifies the three
strongest multi-path signals and combines
them to produce one very strong signal. The
rake receiver therefore uses multi path to
reduce the power the transmitter must send.
• Both the MOBILE and the CELL SITES use
rake receivers
 Power Adjustments in GSM
• If all mobiles transmitted at the same power
level, the base station would receive
unnecessarily strong signals from mobiles
nearby and extremely weak signals from
mobiles that are far away. This would reduce
the capacity of the system.
• This problem is called the NEAR-FAR problem
 Power Adjustment in CDMA
• Power control is a CDMA feature that enables
mobiles to adjust the power at which they
transmit. This ensures that the base station
receives all signals at the appropriate power.
The CDMA network independently controls
the power at which each mobile transmits.
• Both forward and reverse links use power
control techniques.
 ADVANTAGES
• CDMA capacity is ten to twenty
times that of analog systems, and
it's up to four times that of TDMA.
• CDMA's universal frequency reuse

• CDMA users are separated by code

• CDMA's soft handoff leads to low
or no call drops
• The Rake Receiver leads to better
voice quality
• NO INTERFERENCE
• Power control keeps power at an
optimal level.
• Power control helps the network
dynamically expand the coverage
area.
• CDMA's wide band signal reduces
fading.
 CDMA technology has numerous
advantages including

• Coverage
• Capacity
• Clarity
• Cost
• Compatibility
• Coding provide the ability to cover
more users for the same amount of
available power used in other systems.
THANK YOU