CDMA-4

Ty pes of CD MA h andof f
 CDMA has three primary types of handoff:
 hard
 soft
 idle
 The type of handoff depends on the
handoff situation.
 Soft Handoff
 Soft handoff refers to the state where the mobile
is in communication with multiple base stations at
the same time.
 Soft handoff is a make-before-break type of
handoff whereby a mobile acquires a target code
channel before breaking an existing one.
 The advantages of soft handoff are several:

Fewer dropped calls.

Soft handoffs in general require less mobile transmit power.
 A CDMA mobile station is said to be in soft
handoff when the mobile communicates
with two or more antennas (PN offsets).
 The PN offsets involved in softhand offs
are said to be in Mobile Stations Active
Set.
 Up to six PN offsets can be present in
active set.
Soft Handoffs
 Sof t h andoff
 A soft handoff establishes a connection with the new BTS prior
to breaking the connection with the old one.
 This is possible because CDMA cells use the same frequency.
 The mobile detects a new pilot as it travels to the next
coverage area. The new base station then establishes a
connection with the mobile.
 This new communication link is established while the mobile
maintains the link with the old BTS. So Soft handoff refers to
the state where the mobile is in communication with multiple
base stations at the same time.
 Soft handoffs are also called "make-before-break."
 If the sectors are from same physical cell site (a sectorized
site), handoff is referred to as “softer handoff”.
 Idle Handoff
 While in the Idle stat e, the mobile may
move from one cell to another.
 Idle handoff arises from the transition
between any two cells.
 Idle handoff is initiated by the mobile when
it measures a pilot signal significantly
stronger than the current serving pilot
(3 dB stronger).
Idle Handoff
Idle Handoffs
CDMA- Authentication
 Some of the terms frequently used in CDMA
systems are
 ESN
 MIN
 MDN

ES N (El ect roni c Ser ia l Numb er )

 Every mobile on the system is uniquely identified
by the Electronic Serial Number (ESN) which is a
32 bit number pre-programmed at factory setting
by the mobile phone manufacturer.
 The ESN is used to identify a mobile on the
network.
MIN (Mobi le Ide nt if ic at io n Number)
 The Mobile Identification Number (MIN) is

a 10 digit number that is assigned by the

Service Provider to a mobile on the
network.
 This too is unique to each mobile on the

network and is used in conjunction with the

ESN to identify the mobile on the network.
 Similar to IMSI in GSM network.
 MDN ( Mo bil e Di rect ory Num be r)
 The Mobile Directory Number (MDN) is
another 10 digit number which is assigned
by the Service Provider to a mobile on the
network.
 This is the number which is known to the
outside world as the user’s mobile number.
 Similar to MSISDN in GSM.
 Authentication in CDMA
systems
 There is a single master key called the A-key
which is used for authentication procedures
 The A-Key is programmed into the mobile and is
stored in the Authentication Center (AC) of the
network.
 In addition to authentication, the A-Key is used to
generate the sub-keys for voice privacy and
message encryption.
 A-key known only by the Service Provider and the
MS
 Authentication in CDMA
systems
 CDMA network security protocols rely on a 64-bit
authentication key (A-Key) and the Electronic
Serial Number (ESN) of the mobile.

 The CDMA networks make use of a cryptographic

algorithm known as CAV E or Cel lul ar
Au thent ica ti on and V oice Encry pti on which
is used in various stages of the procedure.
 This algorithm is used to generate a 128-bit sub-
key called the “Shared Secret Data” (SSD).
 On the initiation of a SSD generation the Home
Location Register/Authentication Centre (HLR/AC)
sends out a Random number RAND SSD (56 bits)
as a challenge.
 The A-Key, the ESN and the network-supplied
RANDSSD are the inputs to the CAVE that
generates SSD.
SSD generation
 The generated SSD is a 128 bit pattern, which is
a concatenation of two 64-bit subkeys: SSD_A
and SSD_B.
 The above steps are followed by a procedure
known as Gl oba l Ch al leng e.
 In this process the SSD_A is further fed into the
CAVE algorithm along with ESN and MIN and a
random number known as RAND (32 bits) which
is now generated by the MSC.
 The result computed as Aut henti cat ion
Signa tu re (AU THR ) (18 bit s) is sent
back by the mobile to the network.
 The network too would have calculated its
own version of AUTHR which it uses to
compare the result.
 The network Base Station permits access to
the mobile if the Authentication Signatures
match and denies access if they do not.
 Voi ce, S ign alin g a nd D ata
Pr ivac y
 The mobile uses the SSD_B and the CAVE algorithm to
generate
a Private Long Code Mask
a Cellular Message Encryption Algorithm (CMEA) key
(64 bits)
a Data Key (32bits).
 Voice Privacy is provided by changing the characteristics
of the Long PN Code which is used for spreading the
Voice on the Traffic Channel.
 The SSD_B is fed into the CAVE algorithm along with the
RAND and ESN to generate a 520 bit Voice Pr iv acy
Mas k (VPM ).
 The SSD_B along with the RAND and ESN
generates a CM EA ( Cell ul ar M essa ge
Encr ypti on Alg orit hm) key (6 4 bi ts) which
is then used on the E-CMEA (En ha nce d
CMEA ) algorithm to encrypt the signaling
messages sent over the air and to decrypt the
information received.
 SSD_B is also fed into a Data Key Generator along
with the RAND to generate the Data key.
 The Data key is used to encrypt and decrypt Data
messages using the OR YX algorithm
CDMA Network Architecture
 In CDMA architecture, network components
are similar to that in a GSM network like BTS,
BSC, MSC, HLR, VLR, AUC, EIR (termed as
ESN) etc.,
 GPS antenna is added to the tower for time
synchronization.
 PDSN (Packet data serving node) handles
data traffic with in the CDMA network
 The PDSN does the role of gateway also.
The PDSN does the following activities:
 Manage the radio-packet interface between the
BSS (Base Station Subsystem = BTS + BSC) and
the IP network by establishing, maintaining and
terminating link layer to the - Initiate, terminate,
authenticate session initiated by the subscriber.
 Provide IP add to the subscriber, perform packet
routing with in and to external networks.
 So in one word it manages every issue related to
data traffic.