Cellular

Circuit Switched
Last updated 4/18/24
 Cellular - Background
• Generations
1G 2G 2.5G 3G 4G 5G
1980s 1990s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

NMT GSM GPRS EDGE

HSPA
UMTS
NTT PDC UMTS
300 – 1000
10 - 20 1 - 10
HSPA+ Mbps
Kbps Gbps
UMTS
100 – 400
AMPS IDEN 2 - 40 LTE
Kbps 5G-NR
Mbps
CDMA
2000 LTE
Advanced
IS-136 EV-DO

CDMA
TDMA 2000
CDMA 1x

IS-95A IS-95B

Analog Digital Digital Digital Digital Digital

FDMA FDMA FDMA CDMA CDMA OFDM

Voice only Voice/Data Voice/Data Voice/Data Data/Voice Data/Voice

PSTN PSTN PSTN/Packet Packet Network Internet Internet

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 Cellular – Circuit Switched
• Circuit Switched
• Operate similarly to the POTS system
• Dedicated lines(channels) between callers

• AMPS – 1G
• Advanced Mobile Phone System
• Analog signals
• 3KHz voice FM modulated onto a 30KHz channel
• 832 full-duplex (FDD) channels – 21 reserved for signaling
• Downlink – 824MHz – 849MHz
• Uplink – 869MHz – 894MHz
• Approximately 800 conversations / cell cluster

• GSM – 2G
• Global System Mobile
• Digital signals
• 3.1KHz voice GMSK modulated onto a 200KHz channel
• Each channel time division multiplexed into 8 timeslots
• A timeslot is dedicated to a single call
• Most systems operate in 25Mz bands around 900MHz and 1800MHz
• Approximately 1000 conversations / cell cluster
• 14.4Kb/s of data / timeslot

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 Cellular – Circuit Switched
• Components
• BS – Rx/Tx
• At least 2 channels: Control, Traffic
• BSC – controls the Rx/Tx
BSC
• Communicates to the MSC
Base
Station
Controller

GMSC MSC
Public Gateway
Telecommunications Mobile
Mobile
Switching
Network Switching
Center
Center BS
Base Station

Home
Location
Visitor
Location BSC
Register Register
Base
• MSC HLC VLC Station
Controller
• Setup and breakdown of calls
• Handles calls between connected mobiles
• GMSC
• Connects to the PSTN for long distance

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 Cellular – Circuit Switched
• Components
• HLR
• Billing, services, … for subscribers
• VLC BSC
• Information on any mobiles roaming Base
Station
in the MSC domain Controller

GMSC MSC
Public Gateway
Telecommunications Mobile
Mobile
Switching
Network Switching
Center
Center BS
Base Station

Home
Location
Visitor
Location BSC
Register Register
Base
HLC VLC Station
Controller

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 Cellular – Circuit Switched
• Mobile unit / Cell identification

• While turned on, the mobile unit periodically scans for forward
control channels
• Selects the strongest (may not be the closest)
• De-facto selects the cell for communications

• A hand-shake process ‘registers’ the mobile unit with the MSC

• Uses the forward and reverse control channels
• MSC knows who is in which cells

• If the mobile unit is moving, this will update as it transfers between

cells

• Mobile unit ‘listens’ for pages (see later slides)

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 Cellular – Circuit Switched
• Mobile unit call initiation

• Mobile unit checks to see if the forward control channel is idle

• When idle, the mobile send the desired number to the BSC on the reverse
control channel
• BSC sends the request on to the MSC

• The MSC then determines which BSC the called unit is operating in
• The MSC then directs the BSC to send a page to the desired called unit on the
forward control channel

• The called unit detects the page – through its monitoring of the forward control
channel – and responds to its BSC/MSC to complete the call
• The MSC then directs the BSC to assign (via the forward control channel) each
mobile to a traffic channel and connects the 2 mobile units to complete the call
• Each mobile unit will have its own channel depending on cell and co-channel assigned
• Each mobile unit continues to operate on the control channel
• Sharing call status and signal strength info with the BSC

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 Cellular – Circuit Switched
• Mobile unit call initiation

• If either of the mobile units is moving – a handoff may be required

• Signal strength gets weak, and an alternate control channel (different
cell) has a stronger signal
• The moving mobile unit will inform the BSC of a desire to switch
control channels (cells)
• If the change is within a BSC – it can reassign a new traffic channel and
inform the MSC
• If the change crosses BSCs - the MSC assigns the moving unit a new
traffic channel in the new BSC/cell
• The original call continues un-interrupted

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 Cellular – Circuit Switched
• Mobile unit call initiation – other conditions

• Call termination
• If either unit terminates the call the MTSO informs the other unit and
releases the traffic channel

• No traffic channels free – busy tone provided after some # of

attempts

• Call dropped
• Signal becomes too weak (and no alternative available)
• The BSC informs the MTSO that it cannot maintain the traffic channel
• MTSO terminates the call

• Out of current system calls

• GMSC connects to the PSTN to complete the call

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