TELECOM NETWORK

2G Network
2G (or 2-G) is short for second-generation wireless telephone technology. Second generation 2G cellular
telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja (now part
of Elisa Oyj) in 1991. Three primary benefits of 2G networks over their predecessors were that phone
conversations were digitally encrypted; 2G systems were significantly more efficient on the spectrum
allowing for far greater mobile phone penetration levels; and 2G introduced data services for mobile,
starting with SMS text messages.
GSM is a cellular network, which means that mobile phones connect to it by searching for cells in the
immediate vicinity. There are five different cell sizes in a GSM network—macro, micro, pico, femto and
umbrella cells. The coverage area of each cell varies according to the implementation environment.
The network is structured into a number of discrete sections:
 The Base Station Subsystem (the base stations and their controllers).
 The Network and Switching Subsystem (the part of the network most similar to a fixed network).
This is sometimes also just called the core network.
 The GPRS Core Network (the optional part which allows packet based Internet connections).
 The Operations support system (OSS) for maintenance of the network.
Figure 1: 2G Architecture

COMPONENTS:
 Figure 2: 2G Components

Mobile Station (MS)

It consists of two parts, the Mobile Equipment (ME) and an electronic ‘smart card’ called a Subscriber
Identity module (SIM).

The ME is the hardware used by the subscriber to access the network. The hardware has an
identity number associated with it, which is unique for that particular device and permanently
stored in it. This identity number is called the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI)
and enables the network operator to identify mobile equipment which may be causing problems
on the system.

The SIM as mentioned previously is a “smart card” which plugs into the ME and contains
information about the MS subscriber hence the name Subscriber Identity Module.
The SIM contains several pieces of information:
o International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI): This number identifies the MS
subscriber. It is only transmitted over the air during initialization.
o Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI): This number identifies the
subscriber. It is periodically changed by the system management to protect the
subscriber from being identified by someone attempting to monitor the radio
interface.
o Location Area Identity (LAI): Identifies the current location of the subscriber.
 o Subscriber Authentication Key (Ki): This is used to authenticate the SIM card.
o Mobile Station International Services Digital Network (MSISDN): This is the
telephone number of the mobile subscriber. It is comprised of a country code, a
network code and a subscriber number.

Base Station System (BSS)

The GSM Base Station System is the equipment located at a cell site. It comprises a combination of
digital and RF equipment. The BSS provides the link between the MS and the MSC.
The BSS communicates with the MS over the digital air interface and with the MSC via 2 Mbit/s links.
The BSS consists of three major hardware components:
 The Base Transceiver Station – BTS
The BTS contains the RF components that provide the air interface for a particular cell.
This is the part of the GSM network which communicates with the MS. The antenna is included
as part of the BTS.

 The Base Station Controller – BSC

The BSC as its name implies provides the control for the BSS. The BSC communicates
directly with the MSC. The BSC may control single or multiple BTSs.

 The Transcoder – XCDR

The Transcoder is used to compact the signals from the MS so that they are more
efficiently sent over the terrestrial interfaces. Although the transcoder is considered to be a part
of the BSS, it is very often located closer to the MSC. The transcoder is used to reduce the rate at
which the traffic (voice/data) is transmitted over the air interface. Although the transcoder is
part of the BSS, it is often found physically closer to the NSS to allow more efficient use of the
terrestrial links.

Network Switching System

The Network Switching System includes the main switching functions of the GSM network. It also
contains the databases required for subscriber data and mobility management. Its main function is to
manage communications between the GSM network and other telecommunications networks.
The components of the Network Switching System are listed below:

 Mobile Services Switching Centre – MSC

The MSC is included in the GSM system for call-switching. Its overall purpose is the same as
that of any telephone exchange.
The MSC will carry out several different functions depending upon its position in the
network. When the MSC provides the interface between the PSTN and the BSSs in the
GSM network it will be known as a Gateway MSC. In this position it will provide the
switching required for all MS originated or terminated traffic.
The functions carried out by the MSC are listed below:
o Call Processing: Includes control of data/voice call setup, inter-BSS and inter-MSC
handovers and control of mobility management (subscriber validation and location).
 o Operations and Maintenance Support: Includes database management, traffic
metering and measurement, and a man–machine interface.
o Internetwork Interworking: Manages the interface between the GSM network and
the PSTN.
o Billing: Collects call billing data.
 Home Location Register – HLR
The HLR is the reference database for subscriber parameters.
Various identification numbers and addresses are stored, as well as authentication
parameters. This information is entered into the database by the network provider when a
new subscriber is added to the system.
The HLR database contains the master database of all the subscribers to a GSM PLMN.
The data it contains is remotely accessed by all the MSCs and the VLRs in the network and,
although the network may contain more than one HLR, there is only one database record
per subscriber – each HLR is therefore handling a portion of the total subscriber database.
The subscriber data may be accessed by either the IMSI or the MSISDN number. The data
can also be accessed by an MSC or a VLR in a different PLMN, to allow inter-system and inter-
country roaming.
The various data stored by the HLR are listed below:
o Subscriber ID (IMSI and MSISDN)
o Current subscriber VLR (current location)
o Supplementary services subscribed to
o Supplementary service information (e.g. current forwarding number )
o Subscriber status (registered/deregistered)
o Authentication key and AUC functionality
o Mobile Subscriber Roaming Number

 Visitor Location Register – VLR

The VLR contains a copy of most of the data stored at the HLR. It is, however, temporary
data which exists for only as long as the subscriber is “active” in the particular area covered
by the VLR. The VLR database will therefore contain some duplicate data as well as more
precise data relevant to the subscriber remaining within the VLR coverage.
The VLR provides a local database for the subscribers wherever they are physically located
within a PLMN, this may or may not be the “home” system. This function eliminates the
need for excessive and time-consuming references to the “home” HLR database.
The additional data stored in the VLR is listed below:
o Mobile status (busy/free/no answer etc.).
o Location Area Identity (LAI).
o Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI).
o Mobile Station Roaming Number (MSRN).

 Short Message Service Entities– SMSE

In order to provide SMS, the core network has three distinct entities. The first of these is the
Short Message Service Centre(SM-SC). The SM-SC is responsible for the relaying and store-
and forwarding of a short message between as MS and a Short Message Entity (SME). The
SME is any entity that can send or receive SMS message.
 Apart from the SM-SC, there are two gateway entities that relay messages to and from SM-
SC. These entities are SMS Gateway MSC (SMS-GMSC) and SMS Interworking MSC (SMS-
IWMSC). The function of SMS-GMSC is to submit short message to the MS from the SM-SC.
While SMS-GMSC enables the delivery of a short message from the SM-SC to MS, the SMS-
IWMSC enables such a message to be delivered from MS to SM-SC. Collectively, SMS-GMSC
and SMS-IWMSC provide the facility to deliver short message from SM-SC to MS and from
MS to SM0SC respectively.

 Equipment Identity Register – EIR

The EIR contains a centralized database for validating the International Mobile Equipment
Identity (IMEI).
The EIR database consists of lists of IMEIs (or ranges of IMEIs) organized as follows:
 White List: Contains those IMEIs which are known to have been assigned to valid
MS equipment.
 Black List: Contains IMEIs of MS which have been reported stolen or which are to be
denied service for some other reason.
 Grey List: Contains IMEIs of MS which have problems (for example, faulty software).
These are not, however, sufficiently significant to warrant a ‘‘black listing”.
The EIR database is remotely accessed by the MSCs in the network and can also be accessed
by an MSC in a different PLMN.
As in the case of the HLR, a network may well contain more than one EIR with each EIR
controlling certain blocks of IMEI numbers. The MSC contains a translation facility, which
when given an IMEI, returns the address of the EIR controlling the appropriate section of the
equipment database.

 Authentication Centre – AUC

The AUC is a processor system, it performs the “authentication” function. It will normally be
co-located with the Home Location Register (HLR) as it will be required to continuously
access and update, as necessary, the system subscriber records. The AUC/HLR centre can be
co-located with the MSC or located remote from the MSC. The authentication process will
usually take place each time the subscriber “initializes” on the system.

 Interworking Function – IWF

The IWF provides the function to enable the GSM system to interface with the various forms
of public and private data networks currently available.
The basic features of the IWF are listed below.
o Data rate adaption.
o Protocol conversion.
Some systems require more IWF capability than others, this depends upon the network to
which it is being connected.
The IWF also incorporates a ‘‘modem bank”, which may be used when, for example, the
GSM Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) exchanges data with a land DTE connected via an
analogue modem.

 Echo Canceller – EC
 An EC is used on the PSTN side of the MSC for all voice circuits. Echo control is required at
the switch because the inherent GSM system delay can cause an unacceptable echo
condition, even on short distance PSTN circuit connections.

2.5G Network
2.5G is a stepping stone between 2G and 3G cellular wireless technologies. The term "second and a half
generation” is used to describe 2G-systems that have implemented a packet-switched domain in
addition to the circuit-switched domain. It does not necessarily provide faster services because bundling
of timeslots is used for circuit-switched data services (HSCSD) as well.

The first major step in the evolution of GSM networks to 3G occurred with the introduction of General
Packet Radio Service (GPRS). CDMA2000 networks similarly evolved through the introduction of 1xRTT.
The combination of these capabilities came to be known as 2.5G.

GPRS could provide data rates from 56 Kbit/s up to 115 Kbit/s. It can be used for services such as
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) access, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), and for Internet
communication services such as email and World Wide Web access. GPRS data transfer is typically
charged per megabyte of traffic transferred, while data communication via traditional circuit switching is
billed per minute of connection time, independent of whether the user actually is utilizing the capacity
or is in an idle state.

1xRTT supports bi-directional (up and downlink) peak data rates up to 153.6 Kbit/s, delivering an
average user data throughput of 80-100 Kbit/s in commercial networks.[3] It can also be used for WAP,
SMS & MMS services, as well as Internet access.
Figure 3: 2.5G Architecture

COMPONENTS:

Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN)

The function of SGSN in the GPRS network is quite similar to that of the MSC/VLR in GSM network. Thus,
an SGSN maintains subscriber information obtained from the HLR and provides packet routing functions
to/ from GGSN. An SGSN controls one or more Routing Area(s) (RA).
The following are some of the important information elements maintained by the SGSN:
 IMSI
 One or more Packet-Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (P-TMSI)
 Zero or more Packet Data Protocol (PDP) addresses
 Routing Area (RA) where the MS is registered
 VLR number where the MS is registered
 GGSN address of each GGSN for which an active PDP context exists
SGSN performs the following functions using the information maintained by it:
  GPRS mobility management. The SGSN maintains the registration status of MS, performs RA
updates, and obtains subscription information from the HLR.
 Session management. SGSN helps in activation/ deactivation of PDP context whereby the MS
gets an address (e.g. Internet Protocol (IP) address) for communication with a Packet Data
Network (PDN).
 Security management. SGSN also performs important security management functions including
authentication and ciphering. While authentication is used to validate the identity of the MS,
ciphering is performed during data transfer between the MS and SGSN.
 Packet routing. Apart from mobility management, the other important function of SGSN is to
also deliver packet to MS from GGSN and vice versa.
 Miscellaneous functions. SGSN also performs other function like charging data collection, data
compression, and logical link management.

Gateway GPRS Support Node (SGSN)

The GGSN provides an interface with the PDN. It converts the GPRS packets received from SGSN into the
appropriate format of the external network. In the reverse path, the GGSN coverts the incoming packet
to the GPRS packets and delivers it to the destined MS using the PDP context stored by it. The GGSN
connects with the SGSN through an IP backbone over which the packets are tunneled, using the GPRS
Tunneling Protocol (GTP). GGSN stores the current SGSN address of the user and subscriber profile in its
database for various operations.

3G Network
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications, is a generation of standards for mobile phones and
mobile telecommunications services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT
— 2000) specifications by the International Telecommunication Union. Application services include
wide-area wireless voice telephone, mobile Internet access, video calls and mobile TV, all in a mobile
environment. To meet the IMT-2000 standards, a system is required to provide peak data rates of at
least 200 Kbit/s. Recent 3G releases, often denoted 3.5G and 3.75G, also provide mobile broadband
access of several Mbit/s to smartphones and mobile modems in laptop computers.
Figure 4: 3G Architecture

COMPONENTS:

Radio Network Sub-system (RNS)

One of the most important standardization accomplishments in the UMTS network is the
standardization of fully open Radio Network Sub-Systems (RNS). This is unlike BSS, which is based
primarily on proprietary solutions. The RNS, also known as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network
(UTRAN), comprises of one Radio Network Controller (RNC) and one or more Node B. The RNC is similar
to BSC while Node B is similar to BTS. The open interfaces of RNS enable RNC and Node B of different
vendors to interoperate with each other.

Radio Network Controller (RNC)

The Radio Network Controller (RNC) controls one or more Node B. The important functions of RNC
include radio resource management, control of Node B, encryption decryption, admission control and
power control (downlink power control and uplink outer loop power control).
Depending upon its function, the RNC can assume various roles. These roles are: Controlling RNC, Drift
RNC and serving RNC. A Controlling RNC has overall control of the logical resources of a Node B. Thus,
the term Controlling RNC is always used in the context of the Node B that it controls.
From the point of view of a UE, RNC can assume two different roles: the Serving RNC and the Drift RNC.
The Serving RNC is the one that is in charge of the radio connections between the UE and the UTRAN. It
is not necessary that there be a direct connection between the Serving RNC and the UE. Instead, there
can be an intermediate RNC, called the Drift RNC, which works on behalf of the Serving RNC. More
formally, the Serving RNC terminates the Radio Access Network Application Part (RANAP) signaling with
the Core Network over the Iu Interface. The Serving RNC also terminates the Radio Resource Control
(RRC) signaling with the UE over the air interface. The Drift RNC and Serving RNC communicate using the
Radio Network Sub-system Application Part (RNSAP).

Node B
The Node B works as per the instructions of RNC using the Node B Application Part (NBAP) protocol. The
primary task of Node B is to interface with the UE over the air interface. A Node B serves one or more
cells.
The important functions of Node B include channel coding, rate matching, spreading/dispreading and
inner-loop power control. Note the functions like spreading/dispreading and inner-loop power control
are new to UTRAN and are not performed by BTS.

4G Network
LTE advantages include high throughput, low latency, plug and play from day one, FDD and TDD in the
same platform, superior end-user experience and simple architecture resulting in low operating
expenditures (OPEX). LTE will also support seamless connection to existing networks, such as GSM,
CDMA and WCDMA. However LTE requires a completely new RAN and core network deployment and is
not backward compatible with existing UMTS systems.
A characteristic of next generation networks is that all connectivity and session control relies on TCP/IP.
Since different functional domains can now communicate and interact easily, the result is a richer
communications experience including enhanced voice, video, messaging services and advanced
multimedia solutions.
3GPP is defining IP-based, flat network architecture as part of the System Architecture Evolution (SAE)
effort. LTE–SAE architecture and concepts have been designed for efficient support of mass-market
usage of any IP-based service. The architecture is based on an evolution of the existing GSM/WCDMA
core network, with simplified operations and smooth, cost-efficient deployment. The main component
of the SAE architecture is the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), also known as SAE Core. The EPC will serve as
equivalent of GPRS networks (via the Mobility Management Entity, Serving Gateway and PDN Gateway
subcomponents).
The subcomponents of the EPC are:
 MME (Mobility Management Entity)
 S-GW (Serving Gateway)
 P-GW (PDN gateway)

The 3G RNC inherited from the 2G BSC has disappeared and the eNodeB is directly connected to the
Core Network using the S1 interface. As a consequence, the features supported by the RNC have been
distributed between eNodeB or the Core Network MME or Serving Gateway entities.
Figure 5: LTE Architecture

COMPONENTS:

Mobility Management Entity (MME)

The MME is the key control node for the LTE access network. It is responsible for idle mode UE (User
Equipment) tracking and paging procedure including retransmissions. It is involved in the bearer
activation/deactivation process and is also responsible for choosing the SGW for a UE at the initial attach
and at time of intra-LTE handover involving Core Network (CN) node relocation. It is responsible for
authenticating the user (by interacting with the HSS). The Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signalling
terminates at the MME and it is also responsible for generation and allocation of temporary identities to
UEs. It checks the authorization of the UE to camp on the service provider’s Public Land Mobile
Network (PLMN) and enforces UE roaming restrictions. The MME is the termination point in the network
for ciphering/integrity protection for NAS signalling and handles the security key management. Lawful
interception of signalling is also supported by the MME. The MME also provides the control plane
function for mobility between LTE and 2G/3G access networks with the S3 interface terminating at the
MME from the SGSN. The MME also terminates the S6a interface towards the home HSS for roaming
UEs.
Serving Gateway (S-GW)
The SGW routes and forwards user data packets, while also acting as the mobility anchor for the user
plane during inter-eNB handovers and as the anchor for mobility between LTE and other 3GPP
technologies (terminating S4 interface and relaying the traffic between 2G/3G systems and PDN GW).
For idle state UEs, the SGW terminates the DL data path and triggers paging when DL data arrives for the
UE. It manages and stores UE contexts, e.g. parameters of the IP bearer service, network internal routing
information. It also performs replication of the user traffic in case of lawful interception.

PDN gateway (P-GW)

The PDN GW provides connectivity to the UE to external packet data networks by being the point of exit
and entry of traffic for the UE. A UE may have simultaneous connectivity with more than one
PDN GW for accessing multiple PDNs. The PDN GW performs policy enforcement, packet filtering for
each user, charging support, lawful interception and packet screening. Another key role of the PDN GW
is to act as the anchor for mobility between 3GPP and non-3GPP technologies such as WiMAX and
3GPP2 (CDMA 1X and EvDO).

References
1. CP02 INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL CELLULAR
2. Heikki Kaaranen, Ari Ahtiainen, Lauri Laitinen, Siama¨k Naghian, Valtteri Niemi. UMTS Networks:Architecture,
Mobility and Services
3. Brough Turner & Marc Orange. 3G Tutorial
4. Sumit Kasera, Nishit Narang, A P Priyanka. 2.5G Mobile Networks: GPRS and EDGE
5. Sumit Kasera, Nishit Narang. 3G Networks: Archituecture, Protocols and Procedures
6. Antonis Hontzeas. Long Term Evolution
7. Dr. Erik Dahlman. 3G Long Term Evolution