7

7.1 7.2
7.3

INTRODUCTION. TRANSMISSION NElWORK

2 3
4

BSC FUNCflONALffY

7.4 BTSFUNcnONAUfY

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7.1 Introduction
The base station system(BSS) can be seenas a bridge that connectsthe MS (through the radio interface) to the MSC/VLR and hence other telecommunicationusers. The BSS is responsiblefor the radio-related functions to establishand maintainthe radio link to the MS. In the BSS thereis also a handover preparation function to determinewhich cell is the best for the connectionwith the MS to make correct handoverdecisions. The BSS also manages radio network resources cell configuration the and data. The functional division of the BSSis basicallydone betweenthe BTS and the BSC. The BTS comprises the radio transmission and reception equipment for the communicationto and from the MS over the air interface.The BSC is in chargeof the radio interfacemanagement through the control of the BTS and the MS, mainly by handling allocation and release radio channels. of

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GSM Network

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,;

network 7.2 Transmission

The GSM recommendations only specifiesthe fundamentalnecessities of the BSS.The following is mentioned: The BSC is a network componentwith functions for controlling one or severalBTSs. The BTS is a network component which servesone cell. It is controlled by a BSC and can consist of one or several TRXs with or without commoncontrol equipment. This makes the interpretation very flexible resulting in a variety of solutions,especiallyfor the transmissionnetwork, promotedby different suppliers.Different structuresfor the transmissionnetwork are differently efficient depending the concentrations geographical on and distribution of the subscribers. The star-shaped configuration could be suitablefor a city while the chain/tree is better for a widespreadarea e.g. a coastline or highway.

Transmission network prlndples

Another issuedifferentiating the implementations from different suppliers is the Transcoderand Rate Adaptation Unit. The TRAU is the unit that transformsthe speech ratefrom 64 kbps (in the fonD speech normally bit is codedin telecommunication systems) 13 kbps (in the form the speech to is coded by the GSM-system), or adapts the bit rate in case of data information. The TRAU is considereda part of the BTS, even though GSM specifies that it can be placed remotely. (According to the specificationit can not be placed in the MSC. This is to keep the MSC compliantwith ISDN, only allowing 64 kbps time slotsto be switched.)

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Let us take a look at the capacity demandfor the transmissionfrom the BTS, via the BSC andonwardsto the MSC, and vice versa.The following numberof time slotson a PCM-link is needed: for the decodedspeech- which is actually PCM-coded- 64 kbps is neededper Traffic Channel (TCH). One time slot on the PCM-link carriesoneTCH. for the speechcodedby the GSM-speech codec,four TCHs (13 kbps each)is carriedby onetime slot in the PCM-link. for the control infonnation (channels carrying traffic) sent between not the BTS and BSC even more PCM-capacityis needed. Dependingon supplier, control signalling for betweenone and four carriers can be fitted into a time slot on the PCM-link. As transmissioncosts are a considerablepart of the total cost for an operator most suppliers have chosen to implement a remote TRAU. Depending on the BSC philosophy of the supplier, the TRAU is either placedat the BSC site or at the MSC site.It is, howeveralwayscontrolled from the BTS.

7.3
The main roles of the BSC arethe management the radio channels the of on air interface,andthe management handovers. other words,the BSC of In controlsthe radio network andensures possibleutilization of the radio best resources. Thesefunctionswereinitially intendedto be includedin the MSC. However,the complexityof the radio system increased during the initial specificationof GSM, which led to a separation the radio intelligencefrom of the MSC. Genera] The BSC must performthe following duties: manage transmission the network. . supply switching for the connectionof the MSs to the MSC. The BSC switches64 kbps time slots to and from different radio links handledby the TRXs in the BTSs. manage stockof radio channels. the initiate andcontrol the handovers between different cells. the manage radio network andcontrolthe BTSs connected it. the to

. . .

Radio channelmanagement The configuration of the radio channelsis done by assigning logical channels the availableRF resources the BTSs.The physicalchannels to in could be assignedone of seven channelcombinations(as listed in the

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GSM-specification). The radio channe] management also involves establishing maintainingconnections the MSs. and to The BSC is responsible allocation,assignment, for supervisionandrelease of the radio channels.It must also administratetransmissionof system informationandit must administrate pagingon requestfrom the MSC. the Also, the frequencyhopping management the dynamic power control and of the MS and BTS is controlled from the BSC. Handover is handledif necessary,according to the outcome from the handover preparation procedure the BSC. in Radionetwork management The BSC administrates cell descriptiondata,suchas identitiesandtype the of cell, and the configurationof frequencies output power of the TRXs and in the BTSs. As part of the radio network management BSC sends cell specific the systeminformation to the MS's, containinga list of neighbouringcells on which the MSs should perform measurements. These measurements are usedto assistthe BSC in evaluatingthe needfor handovers. evaluating By eventrecordingsand statisticsthoselists and the handoverparameters can be revised thus tuning and improving the performanceand quality of the radio network. BTS control The control, supervisionand maintenance the BTS needed,depends of on the equipmentused.Loading of software,collecting alarms and statistics could be part of the control. The messages concerningthe control are sent on the signallinglinks betweenthe BSC and the BTSs.

7.4 BTS functionality

The BTS has the equipmentneededto transmit and receive on the radio channelsallocatedto take care of traffic and signalling in one cell. The main responsibility is to provide connectionswith the MSs over the air interface.The BTS can consist of severalTRXs (one per carrier) whose functions can be divided into Control, Signal processing,Transmitting part, Receivingpart and Synchronisation. Other functions commonly, but not necessarily, usedare combining and dividing the signals to and from the antenna(s), a batterybackupin caseof power failure. and

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Control All the signalling to the MS as well as to the BSC during different traffic cases handledfrom here.Connectionto the BSC could also concernthe is control of a remoteTRAU and the associated Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) function. The control function also handlesquality measurements with calculation of the Timing Advance value (TA). alamlS and other statistics. Signal~rocessing The signal processing performed in the TRX is channel coding, interleaving, ciphering, burst fonnatting and also multiplexing of the logical channels onto the physical channelsbefore transmission.After reception the corresponding channel decoding, de-interleaving and decipheringtakesplace.
Transmitting 12art

- Tx

The Tx includes functions for GMSK modulation(i.e. transformingbits into radio waves),RF generationand power amplification. A combineris usedin order to combinethe signalsfrom several Txs to feedone antenna. If applicablethe Txs can alsoperformfrequency hopping. ReceivingRaft- Rx Rx has functions for receptionand demodulation(transformingthe radio waves into bits) of the incoming signal. If antennadiversity is usedtwo signals,one from eachantenna, be fed to the signalprocessing. will
SYnchronisation Due to the TDMA structure synchronisation of the air interface is essential for the reliability of the network. The synchronisation could be retrieved from the PCM link connecting the BTS to the BSC, and is used for two reasons. One is to provide the TRX with a frequency reference but also to increment the TDMA frame counter according to the TDMA structure.

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