OsmoBTS Abis Protocol Specification i

sysmocom - s.f.m.c. GmbH

FT
OsmoBTS Abis Protocol Specification
A
by Neels Hofmeyr and Harald Welte
R
D

Copyright © 2015-2016 sysmocom - s.f.m.c. GmbH

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License,
Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts,
and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".
The Asciidoc source code of this manual can be found at http://git.osmocom.org/osmo-gsm-manuals/

DRAFT 1.1.0-80-g1d9f6, 2019-Nov-19

OsmoBTS Abis Protocol Specification ii

HISTORY

NUMBER DATE DESCRIPTION NAME

1 December 2015 Initial version, reflecting Os- NJH, HW

moBTS master branch as on 2015-Dec-7 (commit
e28a20a2d9d049cd6312e218a7646593bbc43431).

2 February 2016 Updated version with Message Sequence Chart HW

of OML and RSL bring-up.

2.1 February 2016 Fix A-bis OML/RSL port number swap in HW

message seqeuence charts.

2.2 July 2016 Add description on Dynamic Channel NJH, HW

Configuration in OML and activation in RSL.

Copyright © 2015-2016 sysmocom - s.f.m.c. GmbH DRAFT 1.1.0-80-g1d9f6, 2019-Nov-19

OsmoBTS Abis Protocol Specification iii

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Overview 1
2.1 Identities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

3 IPA Multiplex 2
3.1 IPA Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.2 IPA Stream Identifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.3 IPA Connection Management (CCM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.3.1 Identity Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.3.2 IPA CCM Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

4 Organization & Maintenance Link (OML) 4

4.1 List of Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4.1.1 Messages Compliant With TS 12.21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4.1.2 Messages Specific to OsmoBTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.1.3 Messages Not Implemented by OsmoBTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2 Details on Compliant OML Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2.1 SW Activated Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2.2 Set BTS Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2.3 Set Radio Carrier Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.2.4 Set Channel Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.2.5 State Changed Event Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.2.6 Change Administrative State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.2.7 Opstart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.3 Details on OsmoBTS Specific Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.3.1 Set Attribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.4 Additional Object Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.4.1 GPRS-NSE Managed Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.4.2 GPRS Cell Managed Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.4.3 GPRS NS-VC Managed Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.5 Information Elements Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.5.1 IEs Conforming to TS 12.21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.5.2 IEs Not Conforming to TS 12.21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.5.3 Additional Attributes and Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.6 Details on IEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.6.1 HW Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.6.2 ARFCN List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

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4.6.3 Additional Channel Combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

4.6.4 Connection Failure Criterion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.6.5 TSC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.6.6 RSL Destination IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.6.7 RSL Destination TCP Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.6.8 RSL IPA Stream ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.6.9 GPRS Routing Area Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.6.10 GPRS Paging Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.6.11 GPRS NSEI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.6.12 GPRS BVCI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.6.13 GPRS NSVCI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.6.14 GPRS NS Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.6.15 GPRS BSSGP Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.6.16 GPRS NS Link Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.6.17 GPRS RLC Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.6.18 GPRS Coding Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.6.19 GPRS RLC Configuration 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.6.20 GPRS RLC Configuration 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.7 A-bis OML Initialization / BTS bring-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.7.1 Site Manager MO Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.7.2 BTS MO Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.7.3 Baseband Transceiver MO Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.7.4 Radio Carrier MO Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.7.5 Channel MO Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.7.6 Complete BTS Initialization Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

5 Radio Signalling Link (RSL) 25

5.1 List of Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.1.1 Messages Compliant With TS 08.58 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.1.2 Messages Specific to OsmoBTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.1.3 Messages Not Implemented by OsmoBTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.2 Message Limitation Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.2.1 Channel Activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.2.2 Measurement Result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.2.3 Mode Modify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.2.4 MS Power Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.2.5 SACCH Info Modify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.2.6 BCCH Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.2.7 Channel Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

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5.2.8 Paging Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

5.2.9 RF Resource Indication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.2.10 SACCH Filling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.3 User Plane Transport Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.3.1 RSL Create Connection (CRCX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.3.2 RSL Modify Connection (MDCX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.3.3 RSL Delete Connection (DLCX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.3.4 RSL Delete Connection (DLCX) Indication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.4 Dynamic Channel Combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.4.1 IPA Style Dynamic Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.4.1.1 PDCH Activate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.4.1.2 PDCH Deactivate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.4.1.3 IPA Style Dynamic Switchover Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5.4.2 Osmocom Style Dynamic Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5.4.2.1 Osmocom Style Dynamic Switchover Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.5 ETWS (Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5.6 Message Formats and Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.6.1 Create Connection (CRCX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.6.2 Create Connection (CRCX) ACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.6.3 Create Connection (CRCX) NACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.6.4 Modify Connection (MDCX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.6.5 Modify Connection (MDCX) ACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.6.6 Modify Connection (MDCX) NACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.6.7 Delete Connection (DLCX) Indication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.6.8 Delete Connection (DLCX) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.6.9 Delete Connection (DLCX) ACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.6.10 Delete Connection (DLCX) NACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.6.11 PDCH Activate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.6.12 PDCH Activate ACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.6.13 PDCH Activate NACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.6.14 PDCH Deactivate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
5.6.15 PDCH Deactivate ACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
5.6.16 PDCH Deactivate NACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
5.6.17 Osmocom ETWS Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.7 Information Element Codings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.7.1 A-bis/IP specific RSL Message discriminators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.7.2 A-bis/IP specific RSL IEIs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.7.3 RSL_IE_CHAN_NR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
5.7.4 RSL_IE_IPAC_REMOTE_IP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

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5.7.5 RSL_IE_IPAC_REMOTE_PORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
5.7.6 RSL_IE_IPAC_LOCAL_PORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
5.7.7 RSL_IE_IPAC_SPEECH_MODE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
5.7.8 RSL_IE_IPAC_LOCAL_IP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5.7.9 RSL_IE_IPAC_CONN_STAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5.7.10 RSL_IE_IPAC_CONN_ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5.7.11 RSL_IE_IPAC_RTP_PAYLOAD2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5.8 A-bis RSL Initialization / BTS bring-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

6 User-Plane Traffic via RTP 45

6.1 RTP Payload Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

7 Glossary 46

A Osmocom TCP/UDP Port Numbers 53

B GNU Free Documentation License 54

B.1 PREAMBLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
B.2 APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
B.3 VERBATIM COPYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
B.4 COPYING IN QUANTITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
B.5 MODIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
B.6 COMBINING DOCUMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
B.7 COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
B.8 AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
B.9 TRANSLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
B.10 TERMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
B.11 FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
B.12 RELICENSING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
B.13 ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

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1 Introduction

This document describes the A-bis interface of OsmoBTS. Based on 3GPP TS 12.21 and 08.58, this document indicates which
of the 3GPP specified A-bis messages and IEs are implemented according to 3GPP specifications, which of these are not or not
fully implemented, as well as OsmoBTS-specific extensions to the A-bis interface not specified by 3GPP.
Extensions to the A-bis interface specific to OsmoBTS are detailed in this document. For details on the messages and IEs that
comply with above mentioned 3GPP specifications, please refer to those documents.

Table 1: 3GPP document versions referred to by this document

3GPP TS 08.56 version 8.0.1 Release 1999

3GPP TS 08.58 version 8.6.0 Release 1999
3GPP TS 08.60 version 8.2.1 Release 1999
3GPP TS 12.21 version 8.0.0 Release 1999

Table 2: IETF documents referred to by his document

IETF RFC 768 User Datagram Protocol

IETF RFC 791 Internet Protocol
IETF RFC 793 Transmission Control Protocol
IETF RFC 1889 RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time Applications
IETF RFC 3551 RTP Profle for Audio and Video Conferences with Minimal Control
IETF RFC 4867 RTP Payload Format and Files Storage Format for the Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) and
Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB) Audio Codecs
IETF RFC 5993 RTP Payload Format for Global Systems for Mobile Communications Half Rate (GSM-HR)

2 Overview

The OsmoBTS A-bis interface consists of traffic management messages (RSL, Radio Signalling Link) and network management
messages (OML, Operation & Maintenance Link), encapsulated in an IPA multiplex.
OML and RSL each use a separate TCP connection.

Table 3: TCP port numbers used by OsmoBTS Abis/IP

TCP Port Usage

Number
3002 A-bis OML (inside IPA multiplex)
3003 A-bis RSL (inside IPA multiplex)

Both TCP connections for OML and RSL are established in the BTS → BSC direction, i.e. the BTS is running as a TCP client,
while the BSC is running as a TCP server.
The BTS first establishes the TCP connection for OML. Via OML, the BSC instructs the BTS to which IP address the RSL
connection shall be established.

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Figure 1: Overview of A-bis connection establishment

2.1 Identities

The BTS is locally configured (via administrative means, out of band of this specification) to have a Unit ID. The Unit ID consists
of three parts:

• The Site Number

• The BTS number at the site
• The TRX number within the BTS

3 IPA Multiplex

The ETSI/3GPP specifications for A-bis transport (ETSI/3GPP TS 08.56) specify the transmission of RSL and OML messages
over a LAPD based framing on top of 64kBit/s signalling times slots (B-channels) on E1 lines.

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OsmoBTS does not implement this LAPD based transport, but instead implements A-bis over IP in a flavor first observed by
ip.access nanoBTS products. The OsmoBTS implementation is a clean-room re-implementation based on the observation and
dissection of protocol traces.
LAPD as used in E1 signalling channels provides in-order transmission and reliable delivery. This is why TCP was chosen as
Layer 4 transport protocol on top of IP. TCP however, is a stream based transport protocol, which doesn’t preserve the boundaries
of messages.
To work around this shortcoming, an additional framing layer called the IPA multiplex was introduced between TCP and the
RSL and OML messages.

Table 4: Protocol Stacking

RSL + OML (this document)

IPA (this document)
TCP (IETF RFC 793)
IP (IETF RFC 791)
Ethernet (IEEE 802.3)

3.1 IPA Header

Each higher-layer PDU is encapsulated by a three-byte IPA header with the following structure:

Table 5: IPA Header Structure

Offset Length Name Description

(Octets)
0 2 Length Length of the variable-length payload section in network byte order
(excluding the length of the IPA Header)
2 1 Stream Identifier Identifies the stream of the payload
3 Variable Payload higher-layer PDU (i.e. RSL or OML message)

3.2 IPA Stream Identifiers

The IPA Stream Identifier serves to differentiate different streams within the multiplex. In the context of A-bis, it can be seen as
analogous to the LAPD TEI on classic A-bis over E1.
The following IPA stream identifiers are being used in A-bis/IP:

Table 6: IPA Stream Identifiers

Value (Hex) Name Description

0x00 RSL A-bis RSL according to this document, TRX 0
0x01 RSL A-bis RSL according to this document, TRX 1
0x0n RSL A-bis RSL according to this document, TRX n
0xfe CCM IPA Connection Management
0xff OML A-bis OML according to this document

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3.3 IPA Connection Management (CCM)

The IPA Connection Management is a sub-layer underneath the IPA multiplex which is used to manage the connection itself. It
supports functions like Identity Management and Keep-Alive.

3.3.1 Identity Management

When a BTS connects to the BSC, the BSC must identify the connected BTS somehow. In ETSI/3GPP A-bis, the E1 multiplex +
signalling timeslot number is used for this. In IP, there is no similar usable identity. Hence, the Unit ID is used for this purpose.

Table 7: Procedure for IPA peer identification is as follows

Direction Operation
BTS → BSC BTS connects the TCP connection to be used with IPA
BTS ← BSC BSC requests BTS identity with ID_GET
BTS → BSC BTS responds BTS Unit ID with ID_RESP
BTS ← BSC BSC responds with ID_ACK, if the Unit ID is known to the BSC

Following the above peer identification procedure, transfer of higher-level messages such as OML or RSL commences.

3.3.2 IPA CCM Messages

IPA CCM supports the following messages

Table 8: IPA CCM Messages

Value Name Purpose

0x00 PING Request a PONG from the peer
0x01 PONG Response to a PING
0x04 ID_GET Request Identity from peer
0x05 ID_RESP Response to ID_GET
0x06 ID_ACK Identity Acknowledged

4 Organization & Maintenance Link (OML)

4.1 List of Messages

The following tables list the OML messages used by OsmoBTS, grouped by their level of compliance with 3GPP TS 12.21.

4.1.1 Messages Compliant With TS 12.21

Specific limitations apply, see the linked sections.

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Table 9: Messages compliant with TS 12.21

TS 12.21 type code This document § Message ←/→ Received/Sent by

§ (hex) OsmoBTS
SW Download Management Messages:
8.3.7 0x10 Section 4.2.1 SW Activated Report → Sent
Air Interface Management Messages:
8.6.1 0x41 Section 4.2.2 Set BTS Attributes ← Received
0x42 Set BTS Attributes Ack → Sent
0x43 Set BTS Attributes Nack → Sent
8.6.2 0x44 Section 4.2.3 Set Radio Carrier Attributes ← Received
0x45 Set Radio Carrier Attributes Ack → Sent
0x46 Set Radio Carrier Attributes Nack → Sent
8.6.3 0x47 Section 4.2.4 Set Channel Attributes ← Received
0x48 Set Channel Attributes Ack → Sent
0x49 Set Channel Attributes Nack → Sent
State Management and Event Report Messages:
8.8.1 0x61 Section 4.2.5 State Changed Event Report → Sent
8.8.5 0x69 Section 4.2.6 Change Administrative State ← Received
0x6A Change Administrative State Ack → Sent
0x6B Change Administrative State Nack → Sent
Equipment Management Messages:
8.9.2 0x74 Section 4.2.7 Opstart ← Received
0x75 Opstart Ack → Sent
0x76 Opstart Nack → Sent

4.1.2 Messages Specific to OsmoBTS

Table 10: Messages specific to OsmoBTS, not found in 3GPP TS 12.21

This document § Message ←/→ Received/Sent by

OsmoBTS
Section 4.3.1 Set Attribute ← Received

4.1.3 Messages Not Implemented by OsmoBTS

Table 11: 3GPP TS 12.21 messages not implemented by OsmoBTS

TS 12.21 § type code Message

(hex)
SW Download Management Messages:
8.3.1 0x01 Load Data Initiate
0x02 Load Data Initiate Ack
0x03 Load Data Initiate Nack
8.3.2 0x04 Load Data Segment
0x05 Load Data Segment Ack
8.3.3 0x06 Load Data Abort
8.3.4 0x07 Load Data End
0x08 Load Data End Ack

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Table 11: (continued)

TS 12.21 § type code Message

(hex)
0x09 Load Data End Nack
8.3.5 0x0A SW Activate Request
0x0B SW Activate Request Ack
0x0C SW Activate Request Nack
8.3.6 0x0D Activate SW
0x0E Activate SW Ack
0x0F Activate SW Nack
A-bis Interface Management Messages:
8.4.1 0x21 Establish TEI
0x22 Establish TEI Ack
0x23 Establish TEI Nack
8.4.2 0x24 Connect Terrestrial Signalling
0x25 Connect Terrestrial Signalling Ack
0x26 Connect Terrestrial Signalling Nack
8.4.3 0x27 Disconnect Terrestrial Signalling
0x28 Disconnect Terrestrial Signalling Ack
0x29 Disconnect Terrestrial Signalling Nack
8.4.4 0x2A Connect Terrestrial Traffic
0x2B Connect Terrestrial Traffic Ack
0x2C Connect Terrestrial Traffic Nack
8.4.5 0x2D Disconnect Terrestrial Traffic
0x2E Disconnect Terrestrial Traffic Ack
0x2F Disconnect Terrestrial Traffic Nack
Transmission Management Messages:
8.5.1 0x31 Connect Multi-Drop Link
0x32 Connect Multi-Drop Link Ack
0x33 Connect Multi-Drop Link Nack
8.5.2 0x34 Disconnect Multi-Drop Link
0x35 Disconnect Multi-Drop Link Ack
0x36 Disconnect Multi-Drop Link Nack
Test Management Messages:
8.7.1 0x51 Perform Test
0x52 Perform Test Ack
0x53 Perform Test Nack
8.7.2 0x54 Test Report
0x55 Send Test Report
0x56 Send Test Report Ack
8.7.3 0x57 Send Test Report Nack
8.7.4 0x58 Stop Test
0x59 Stop Test Ack
0x5A Stop Test Nack
State Management and Event Report Messages:
8.8.2 0x62 Failure Event Report
8.8.3 0x63 Stop Sending Event Reports
0x64 Stop Sending Event Reports Ack
0x65 Stop Sending Event Reports Nack
8.8.4 0x66 Restart Sending Event Reports
0x67 Restart Sending Event Reports Ack
0x68 Restart Sending Event Reports Nack
8.8.6 0x6C Change Administrative State Request
0x6D Change Administrative State Request Ack
0x6E Change Administrative State Request Nack
8.8.7 0x93 Report Outstanding Alarms

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Table 11: (continued)

TS 12.21 § type code Message

(hex)
0x94 Report Outstanding Alarms Ack
0x95 Report Outstanding Alarms Nack
Equipment Management Messages:
8.9.1 0x71 Changeover
0x72 Changeover Ack
0x73 Changeover Nack
8.9.3 0x87 Reinitialize
0x88 Reinitialize Ack
0x89 Reinitialize Nack
8.9.4 0x77 Set Site Outputs
0x78 Set Site Outputs Ack
0x79 Set Site Outputs Nack
8.9.5 0x90 Change HW Configuration
0x91 Change HW Configuration Ack
0x92 Change HW Configuration Nack
Measurement Management Messages:
8.10.1 0x8A Measurement Result Request
8.10.2 0x8B Measurement Result Response
8.10.3 0x8C Stop Measurement
8.10.4 0x8D Start Measurement
Other Messages:
8.11.1 0x81 Get Attributes
8.11.3 0x82 Get Attribute(s) Response
8.11.1 0x83 Get Attributes Nack
8.11.2 0x84 Set Alarm Threshold
0x85 Set Alarm Threshold Ack
0x86 Set Alarm Threshold Nack

4.2 Details on Compliant OML Messages

4.2.1 SW Activated Report

OsmoBTS will send an SW Activated Report when RF has been activated successfully. The message is compliant with 3GPP TS
12.21 § 8.3.7.
Upon RF activation, two SW Activated Report messages will be sent, for the Object Classes

• Radio Carrier (0x02)

• Baseband Transceiver (0x04)

4.2.2 Set BTS Attributes

OsmoBTS will receive a Set BTS Attributes message and reply with a corresponding ACK message on success. IE handling is
fully compliant to TS 12.21, except that a change of BCCH ARFCN or BSIC while in operation is not supported, and hence the
Starting Time IE is rejected.

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Table 12: Set BTS Attributes IEs not handled by OsmoBTS

TS 12.21 § IE Name Handling

9.4.52 Starting Time not supported (provokes NACK cause 0x10)

4.2.3 Set Radio Carrier Attributes

This message conforms to 3GPP TS 12.21, with the following limitation, as frequency hopping is not supported by OsmoBTS:

Table 13: Set Radio Carrier Attributes IE limitations

TS 12.21 § IE Name Handling

9.4.5 ARFCN List ignored

4.2.4 Set Channel Attributes

This message conforms to 3GPP TS 12.21, with the following limitation: the following 3GPP TS 12.21 IEs provoke a NACK
response when sent to OsmoBTS, as frequency hopping is not supported:

Table 14: Set Channel Attributes IE limitations

TS 12.21 § IE Name Handling

9.4.21 HSN not supported (provokes NACK cause 0x10)
9.4.27 MAIO not supported (provokes NACK cause 0x10)
9.4.52 Starting Time not supported (provokes NACK cause 0x10)

4.2.5 State Changed Event Report

This message is compliant with 3GPP TS 12.21. Exactly these IEs are sent by OsmoBTS:

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message Type (0xf5) 3GPP TS 12.21 9.1 M V 1
Object Class 3GPP TS 12.21 9.2 M V 1
Object Instance 3GPP TS 12.21 9.3 M V 3
Operational State 3GPP TS 12.21 9.4.38 O TV 2
Availability Status 3GPP TS 12.21 9.4.7 O TL16V (with 3
length of 1)

4.2.6 Change Administrative State

This message is compliant with 3GPP TS 12.21 § 8.8.5. It applies to all of the Object Classes defined in 3GPP TS 12.21 § 9.2 as
well as Section 4.4.

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4.2.7 Opstart

This message is compliant with 3GPP TS 12.21 § 8.9.2. It applies to all of the Object Classes defined in 3GPP TS 12.21 § 9.2 as
well as Section 4.4.

4.3 Details on OsmoBTS Specific Messages

4.3.1 Set Attribute

The message type is 0xf5. This message is sent to OsmoBTS to set attributes on instances of managed objects of the non-standard
additional Object Classes (see Section 4.4).
The message specifics depend on the Object Class and are detailed in Section 4.4.

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message Type (0xf5) 3GPP TS 12.21 9.1 M V 1
Object Class 3GPP TS 12.21 9.2 M V 1
Object Instance 3GPP TS 12.21 9.3 M V 3
Object Class specific IEs follow, see Section 4.4. . .

4.4 Additional Object Classes

In addition to 3GPP TS 12.21 Chapter 9.2, the following managed objects are supported:

Table 15: Additional Managed Object Classes

Value Name Description

0xf0 GPRS NSE GPRS-NS Entity
0xf1 GPRS CELL GPRS Cell Entity
0xf2 GPRS NSVC GPRS NS Virtual Circuit

4.4.1 GPRS-NSE Managed Object

There is one NS Entity per BTS. It supports the Set Attribute message with the following Information Elements:

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message Type 3GPP TS 12.21 9.1 M V 1
Object Class 3GPP TS 12.21 9.2 M V 1
Object Instance 3GPP TS 12.21 9.3 M V 3
GPRS NSEI Section 4.6.11 O TL16V >= 5
GPRS NS Configuration Section 4.6.16 O TL16V >= 10
GPRS BSSGP Configuration Section 4.6.15 O TL16V >= 14

4.4.2 GPRS Cell Managed Object

There is one GPRS Cell entity per BTS. It supports the Set Attribute message with the following Information Elements:

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message Type 3GPP TS 12.21 9.1 M V 1
Object Class 3GPP TS 12.21 9.2 M V 1

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INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Object Instance 3GPP TS 12.21 9.3 M V 3
GPRS Routing Area Code Section 4.6.9 O TL16V >= 4
GPRS Paging Configuration Section 4.6.10 O TL16V >= 5
GPRS RLC Configuration Section 4.6.17 O TL16V >= 12
GPRS Coding Schemes Section 4.6.18 O TL16V >= 5
GPRS RLC Configuration 2 Section 4.6.19 O TL16V >= 8
GPRS RLC Configuration 3 Section 4.6.20 O TL16V >= 4

4.4.3 GPRS NS-VC Managed Object

There are two GPRS NS-VC instances per BTS. It supports the Set Attribute message with the following Information Elements:

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message Type 3GPP TS 12.21 9.1 M V 1
Object Class 3GPP TS 12.21 9.2 M V 1
Object Instance 3GPP TS 12.21 9.3 M V 3
GPRS NSVCI Section 4.6.13 O TL16V >= 5
GPRS NS Link Configuration Section 4.6.16 O TL16V >= 11

4.5 Information Elements Overview

All of the IEs handled by OsmoBTS are listed below, with limitations and additions to TS 12.21 specified in more detail.

4.5.1 IEs Conforming to TS 12.21

The following Information Elements are accepted by OsmoBTS.

IEs marked ignored may be sent to OsmoBTS without causing error conditions. These IEs are skipped during message parsing
and are never evaluated.
IEs marked ignored and additionally marked as being received by OsmoBTS (←) are in fact parsed and their values are stored
by OsmoBTS, but these stored items are currently not used in the OsmoBTS code base.

Table 16: IEs conforming to TS 12.21

tag TS 12.21 IE name ←/→ Received/Sent by OsmoBTS

(hex) §
0x00 9.4.1 Abis Channel ignored
0x01 9.4.2 Additional Info ignored
0x02 9.4.3 Additional Text ignored
0x03 9.4.4 Administrative State ← Received & Sent
→
0x04 9.4.5 ARFCN List ← Received, with exactly 1 ARFCN: see
Section 4.6.2; ignored by Set Radio
Attribute message (Section 4.2.3)
0x05 9.4.6 Autonomously Report ignored
0x06 9.4.7 Availability Status → Sent
0x07 9.4.8 BCCH ARFCN ← Received
0x08 9.4.9 BSIC ← Received
0x09 9.4.10 BTS Air Timer ← Received
0x0a 9.4.11 CCCH Load Indication Period ← Received
0x0b 9.4.12 CCCH Load Threshold ← Received
0x0c 9.4.13 Channel Combination ← Received, with additional channel
combinations: see Section 4.6.3

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Table 16: (continued)

tag TS 12.21 IE name ←/→ Received/Sent by OsmoBTS

(hex) §
0x0d 9.4.14 Connection Failure Criterion ← Received, with limitations see Section 4.6.4
0x0e 9.4.15 Destination ignored
0x0f 9.4.16 Event Type ignored
0x11 9.4.17 File Data ignored
0x12 9.4.18 File Id ignored
0x13 9.4.19 File Version ignored
0x14 9.4.20 GSM Time ignored
0x16 9.4.22 HW Configuration ignored
0x18 9.4.24 Intave Parameter ← ignored
0x19 9.4.25 Interference level Boundaries ← ignored
0x1a 9.4.26 List of Required Attributes ignored
0x1c 9.4.28 Manufacturer Dependent State ignored
0x1d 9.4.29 Manufacturer Dependent Thresholds ignored
0x1e 9.4.30 Manufacturer Id ignored
0x1f 9.4.31 Max Timing Advance ← Received
0x20 9.4.34 Multi-drop BSC Link ignored
0x21 9.4.35 Multi-drop next BTS Link ignored
0x22 9.4.36 Nack Causes → Sent
0x23 9.4.37 Ny1 ← Received
0x24 9.4.38 Operational State → Sent
0x25 9.4.39 Overload Period ← ignored
0x26 9.4.40 Physical Config ignored
0x27 9.4.41 Power Class ignored
0x28 9.4.42 Power Output Thresholds ignored
0x29 9.4.43 Probable Cause ignored
0x2a 9.4.44 RACH Busy Threshold ← Received
0x2b 9.4.45 RACH Load Averaging Slots ← ignored
0x2c 9.4.46 Radio Sub Channel ignored
0x2d 9.4.47 RF Max Power Reduction ← Received
0x2e 9.4.48 Site Inputs ignored
0x2f 9.4.49 Site Outputs ignored
0x30 9.4.50 Source ignored
0x31 9.4.51 Specific Problems ignored
0x33 9.4.53 T200 ← ignored (1s on DCCH, 2s on ACCH)
0x34 9.4.54 TEI ignored
0x35 9.4.55 Test Duration ignored
0x36 9.4.56 Test No ignored
0x37 9.4.57 Test Report Info ignored
0x38 9.4.58 VSWR Thresholds ignored
0x39 9.4.59 Window Size ignored
0x40 9.4.60 TSC ← Received, with limitations: see
Section 4.6.5
0x41 9.4.61 SW Configuration ignored
0x43 9.4.63 Perceived Severity ignored
0x44 9.4.64 Get Attribute Response Info ignored
0x45 9.4.65 Outstanding Alarm Sequence ignored
0x46 9.4.66 HW Conf Change Info ignored
0x47 9.4.32 Measurement Result ignored

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4.5.2 IEs Not Conforming to TS 12.21

Table 17: IEs not conforming to TS 12.21

tag TS 12.21 § IE name Description

(hex)
0x15 9.4.21 HSN presence causes NACK response
0x17 9.4.23 HW Description ignored by OsmoBTS, but coding may differ, see
Section 4.6.1
0x1b 9.4.27 MAIO presence causes NACK response
0x32 9.4.52 Starting Time presence causes NACK response
0x42 9.4.62 SW Description not supported
0x48 9.4.33 Measurement Type not supported

4.5.3 Additional Attributes and Parameters

The following Information Elements are defined in addition to those specified in 3GPP TS 12.21 Chapter 9.4.
All of these additional IEs are received by OsmoBTS.
These attributes are not used by OsmoBTS, but simply passed to OsmoPCU connected to the PCU socket.

Table 18: Additional IEs handled by OsmoBTS but not defined in TS

12.21

tag IE name Description

(hex)
0x80 RSL Destination IP Address Section 4.6.6
0x81 RSL Destination TCP Port Section 4.6.7
0x85 RSL IPA Stream ID Section 4.6.8
0x9a GPRS Routing Area Code Section 4.6.9
0x9c GPRS Paging Configuration Section 4.6.10
0x9d GPRS NSEI Section 4.6.11
0x9e GPRS BVCI Section 4.6.12
0x9f GPRS NSVCI Section 4.6.13
0xa0 GPRS NS Configuration Section 4.6.14
0xa1 GPRS BSSGP Configuration Section 4.6.15
0xa2 GPRS NS Link Configuration Section 4.6.16
0xa3 GPRS RLC Configuration Section 4.6.17
0xa8 GPRS Coding Schemes Section 4.6.18
0xa9 GPRS RLC Configuration 2 Section 4.6.19
0xac GPRS RLC Configuration 3 Section 4.6.20

4.6 Details on IEs

4.6.1 HW Description

TS 12.21 suggests a series of 5 length-value pairs for the HW Description IE. Instead, OsmoBTS interprets it as a single TL16V.
The value of this IE is ignored by OsmoBTS, yet the coding may affect message parsing.

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Attribute Identifier (0x17) 1

Length 2-3
Ignored N

4.6.2 ARFCN List

Since OsmoBTS does not support frequency hopping, the ARFCN List must contain exactly one ARFCN.

4.6.3 Additional Channel Combinations

In addition to 3GPP TS 12.21 Chapter 9.4.13, the following channel combinations are supported:

Table 19: Additional Channel Combinations

Value Description
0x0b Reserved for PBCCH + PCCCH + PDTCH/F + PACCH/F + PTCCH/F
0x0c Reserved for PBCCH + PDTCH/F + PACCH/F + PTCCH/F
0x0d PDTCH/F + PACCH/F + PTCCH/F
0x80 ip.access style Dynamic TCH/F / PDCH
0x81 Reserved for Dynamic TCH/F / TCH/H
0x90 Osmocom style Dynamic TCH/F / TCH/H / PDCH

The Reserved combinations are not actually supported/implemented yet, but merely reserved for such functionality, if it is
eventually implemented.
For more information on how the different dynamic channel combinations work, please see the Section 5.4.

4.6.4 Connection Failure Criterion

3GPP TS 12.21 Chapter 9.4.14 specifies two different options for the Connection Failure Criterion. OsmoBTS only implements
the option coded as 0x01, i.e. based upon uplink SACCH error rate (RADIO_LINK_TIMEOUT).

4.6.5 TSC

Due to limitations in the currently supported PHY implementations, OsmoBTS supports only one global TSC for all channels on
one TRX, rather than a separate TSC for each timeslot, as expected by 3GPP TS 12.21.

4.6.6 RSL Destination IP Address

The value part of this attribute has a length of 4 octets and is encoded as IPv4 address in network byte order.

Attribute Identifier (0x80) 1

IPv4 Address (MSB first) 2-5

4.6.7 RSL Destination TCP Port

The value part of this attribute has a length of 2 octets and contains the TCP destination port for the RSL connection, encoded in
network byte order.

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Attribute Identifier (0x81) 1

Port number (MSB first) 2-3

4.6.8 RSL IPA Stream ID

The value part of this attribute has a length of one octet and specifies the IPA stream ID to be used for the RSL connection of this
TRX.

Attribute Identifier (0x85) 1

Stream ID 2

4.6.9 GPRS Routing Area Code

The value part of the GPRS Routing Area code consists of a single octet encoding the GPRS Routing Area Code.
This attribute is not used by OsmoBTS, but simply passed to OsmoPCU connected to the PCU socket.

4.6.10 GPRS Paging Configuration

The value part of this attribute consists of two octets encoded as follows:

Offset Description
0 GPRS Paging repeat time in units of 50ms intervals
1 GPRS Paging repeat count

4.6.11 GPRS NSEI

The value part of the GPRS NSEI is encoded as 16bit integer value in network byte order.
This attribute is not used by OsmoBTS, but simply passed to OsmoPCU connected to the PCU socket.

4.6.12 GPRS BVCI

The value part of this attribute consists of two octets encoding the BSSGP Virtual Circuit Identifier (BVCI) as unsigned 16 bit
integer in network byte order.

4.6.13 GPRS NSVCI

The value part of the GPRS NSVCI attribute is a 16bit unsigned integer in network byte order, encoding the GPRS NSVCI as
specified in 3GPP TS 08.16.
This attribute is not used by OsmoBTS, but simply passed to OsmoPCU connected to the PCU socket.

4.6.14 GPRS NS Configuration

The value part of the GPRS NS Configuration consists of an array of 7 octets, each describing one GPRS NS related timer:
This attribute is not used by OsmoBTS, but simply passed to OsmoPCU connected to the PCU socket.

4.6.15 GPRS BSSGP Configuration

The value part of the GPRS BSSGP configuration consists of an array of 11 octets, each describing one GPRS BSSGP related
timer:

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Offset Description
0 Blocking Timer (T1)
1 Blocking Retries
2 Unblocking Retries
3 Reset Timer (T2)
4 Reset Retries
5 Suspend Timer (T3) in units of 100ms
6 Suspend Retries
7 Resume Timer (T4) in units of 100ms
8 Resume Retries
9 Capability Update Timer (T5)
10 Capability Update Retries

The detailed description of the meaning of those timers is given in the GPRS BSSGP specification 3GPP TS 08.18.
This attribute is not used by OsmoBTS, but simply passed to OsmoPCU connected to the PCU socket.

4.6.16 GPRS NS Link Configuration

This attribute is 8 octets long and encoded as follows:

Offset Length Description

0 2 GPRS-NS Remote UDP Port Number (SGSN side)
2 4 GPRS-NS Remote IPv4 Address (SGSN side)
6 2 GPRS-NS Local UDP Port Number (BTS side)

All values are encoded in network byte order.

This attribute is not used by OsmoBTS, but simply passed to OsmoPCU connected to the PCU socket.

4.6.17 GPRS RLC Configuration

The value part of the GPRS RLC Configuration consists of an array of 9 octets, each describing a RLC timer:

Offset Description Unit

0 GPRS RLC Timer T3142 s
1 GPRS RLC Timer T3169 s
2 GPRS RLC Timer T3191 s
3 GPRS RLC Timer T3193 10ms
4 GPRS RLC Timer T3195 s
5 GPRS RLC Timer T3101 s
6 GPRS RLC Timer T3103 s
7 GPRS RLC Timer T3105 s
8 GPRS RLC CV Countdown -

The meaning of the RLC timers are specified in 3GPP TS 04.60.

The countdown value specifies the RLC CV value from which the countdown procedure is started.
This attribute is not used by OsmoBTS, but simply passed to OsmoPCU connected to the PCU socket.

4.6.18 GPRS Coding Schemes

The value part of the GPRS Coding Schemes consists of two octets encoding the available GPRS and EDGE coding schemes.

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bit 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
byte at MCS9 x x x CS4 CS3 CS2 CS1
offset 0
byte at MCS8 MCS7 MCS6 MCS5 MCS4 MCS3 MCS2 MCS1
offset 1

This attribute is not used by OsmoBTS, but simply passed to OsmoPCU connected to the PCU socket.

4.6.19 GPRS RLC Configuration 2

The value part of this attribute is 8 octets long and encoded as follows:

Offset Length Description Unit

0 2 Downlink TBF Extension Timer 10ms
2 2 Uplink TBF Extension Timer 10ms
4 2 Initial GPRS Coding Scheme -

The Initial GPRS Coding Scheme is encoded as follows:

Value Description
1 CS 1
2 CS 2
3 CS 3
4 CS 4

This attribute is not used by OsmoBTS, but simply passed to OsmoPCU connected to the PCU socket.

4.6.20 GPRS RLC Configuration 3

This attribute contains information about the initial MCS used for new EDGE TBFs.
It is encoded as follows:

Value Description
1 MCS 1
2 MCS 2
3 MCS 3
4 MCS 4
5 MCS 5
6 MCS 6
7 MCS 7
8 MCS 8
9 MCS 9

This attribute is not used by OsmoBTS, but simply passed to OsmoPCU connected to the PCU socket.

4.7 A-bis OML Initialization / BTS bring-up

At the time an Abis/IP BTS connects to via OML to the BSC, it is initialized according to the procedures described in 3GPP TS
12.21 as amended by this document.
Each Managed Object (MO) is separately initialized. The initialization sequence and parameters differ slightly depending on the
MO involved.

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Some parts of the sequences described below are optional, such as the Software activation. In the OsmoBTS case, the software
is not modular and thus all MOs start with the software fully activated. In effect, no Software Activate Request is being sent by
the MO to the BSC, nor does the BSC need to initialize the Activate Software procedure.
Still, the full sequences are shown in order to explain the Abis/IP protocol.
Also, the initial state of the MOs at time of OML connection initialization is not always guaranteed to be Disabled/Notinstalled.
Rather, the BSC implementation has to deal with the initial state as reported by the MOs at time of re-connection.

4.7.1 Site Manager MO Initialization

Figure 2: A-bis OML Initialization of Site Manager MO

The Site Manager MO does not depend on other MOs, nor does it have an Administrative state (Locked/Unlocked), thus it
immediately commences in the Enabled state.

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4.7.2 BTS MO Initialization

Figure 3: A-bis OML Initialization of BTS MO

As shown in the BTS MO, its state is

• Availability state Dependency, meaning it depends on other MOs to be initialized before becoming enabled.
• Administrative state Locked, as the object is first waiting to receive attributes in the Locked state, before the Change Adminis-
trative State (Unlocked) procedure is used to request transitioning into Unlocked state.

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4.7.3 Baseband Transceiver MO Initialization

Figure 4: A-bis OML Initialization of Baseband Transceiver MO

There is one Baseband Transceiver MO per TRX in the BTS. For a multi-TRX BTS, the above procedure must be repeated for
each TRX.

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4.7.4 Radio Carrier MO Initialization

Figure 5: A-bis OML Initialization of Radio Carrier MO

There is one Radio Carrier MO per TRX in the BTS. For a multi-TRX BTS, the above procedure must be repeated for each TRX.

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4.7.5 Channel MO Initialization

Figure 6: A-bis OML Initialization of Radio Carrier MO

There are 8 timeslots in each TRX, and correspondingly 8 Channel MOs in every TRX. The above procedure must thus be
repeated for each timeslot in each transceiver of the BTS.

4.7.6 Complete BTS Initialization Procedure

Some of below steps are optional, as is their detailed ordering. In practice, the procedures for different MOs may overlap. The
message sequence charts in this document have been hand-crafted to avoid such overlap for the sake of clarity.

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Figure 7: A-bis OML BTS bring-up (1/3)

As shown in Figure 7, after the OML TCP connection is established,

1. the identity is exchanged via IPA CCM,

2. the BTS sends an OML EVENT STATE CHANGED REPORT for every Managed Object, and
3. the BTS subsequently requests the activation of its Site Manager Object which the BSC performs by the Activate SW
command.
4. After successful activation of the software in the Site Manager,

a. the state changes to Enabled, and an event report is generated accordingly, and
b. the BSC is notified about the SW activation in an associated report.

5. Finally, the BSC requests the start of the Site Manager

a. using the OPSTART command,

b. which is subsequently acknowledged by the Site Manager.

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Figure 8: A-bis OML BTS bring-up (2/3)

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Figure 9: A-bis OML BTS bring-up (3/3)

Figure 8 shows:

1. Software Activation and associated state transitions of the BTS MO;

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2. Setting of the BTS Attributes followed by OPSTART;

3. Software Activation and associated state transitions of the Baseband Transceiver MO;
4. Software Activation and associated state transitions of the Radio Carrier MO;

5. Once the Baseband Transceiver MO has its software activated, the Channel MOs (one for each timeslot) indicate their
state change as well as software activation.

Figure 9 shows:

1. The Radio Carrier MO Software Activation;

2. The Request to the Baseband Transceiver MO to establish the RSL signalling connection to the BSC;
3. Subsequent OPSTART and Change of Administrative State on the Baseband Transceiver MO;

4. The following procedure takes place for each of the Channel MOs:

a. Set the Channel Attributes (such as channel combination),

b. OPSTART,
c. change the Administrative State to Unlocked,
d. followed by a State Change Event Report with the new state.

5. After all Channel MOs are initialized, the Radio Carrier goes through a similar procedure:

a. Set attributes,
b. OPSTART,
c. change Administrative State to Unlocked,
d. followed by a State Change Event Report with the new State (Enabled/OK)

6. All Channel MOs now also report their state as Enabled/OK.

7. Finally, the BTS reports its state as Enabled/OK.

5 Radio Signalling Link (RSL)

5.1 List of Messages

The following tables list the RSL messages used by OsmoBTS A-bis/IP, grouped by their level of compliance with 3GPP TS
08.58.

5.1.1 Messages Compliant With TS 08.58

Specific additions and limitations apply, see the linked sections.

Table 20: Messages compliant with TS 08.58

TS 08.58 This document § Message ←/→ Received/Sent by

§ OsmoBTS
Radio link layer management messages
8.3.1 - DATA REQUEST ← Received
8.3.2 - DATA INDICATION → Sent
8.3.3 - ERROR INDICATION → Sent
8.3.4 - ESTABLISH REQUEST ← Received

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Table 20: (continued)

TS 08.58 This document § Message ←/→ Received/Sent by

§ OsmoBTS
8.3.5 - ESTABLISH CONFIRM → Sent
8.3.6 - ESTABLISH INDICATION → Sent
8.3.7 - RELEASE REQUEST ← Received
8.3.8 - RELEASE CONFIRM → Sent
8.3.9 - RELEASE INDICATION → Sent
8.3.10 - UNIT DATA REQUEST ← Received
8.3.11 - UNIT DATA INDICATION → Sent
DEDICATED CHANNEL MANAGEMENT MESSAGES
8.4.1 Section 5.2.1 CHANNEL ACTIVATION ← Received
8.4.2 Section 5.2.1 CHANNEL ACTIVATION ACKNOWLEDGE → Sent
8.4.3 Section 5.2.1 CHANNEL ACTIVATION NEGATIVE → Sent
ACKNOWLEDGE
8.4.4 - CONNECTION FAILURE INDICATION → Sent
8.4.5 - DEACTIVATE SACCH ← Received
8.4.6 - ENCRYPTION COMMAND ← Received
8.4.7 - HANDOVER DETECTION → Sent
8.4.8 Section 5.2.2 MEASUREMENT RESULT → Sent
8.4.9 Section 5.2.3 MODE MODIFY ← Received
8.4.10 - MODE MODIFY ACKNOWLEDGE → Sent
8.4.11 - MODE MODIFY NEGATIVE → Sent
ACKNOWLEDGE
8.4.14 - RF CHANNEL RELEASE ← Received
8.4.15 Section 5.2.4 MS POWER CONTROL ← Received
8.4.16 - BS POWER CONTROL ← Received
8.4.19 - RF CHANNEL RELEASE ACKNOWLEDGE → Sent
8.4.20 Section 5.2.5 SACCH INFO MODIFY ← Received
COMMON CHANNEL MANAGEMENT MESSAGES
8.5.1 Section 5.2.6 BCCH INFORMATION ← Received
8.5.2 - CCCH LOAD INDICATION → Sent
8.5.3 Section 5.2.7 CHANNEL REQUIRED → Sent
8.5.4 - DELETE INDICATION → Sent
8.5.5 Section 5.2.8 PAGING COMMAND ← Received
8.5.6 - IMMEDIATE ASSIGN COMMAND ← Received
8.5.8 - SMS BROADCAST COMMAND ← Received
8.5.9 - CBCH LOAD INDICATION → Sent
TRX MANAGEMENT MESSAGES
8.6.1 Section 5.2.9 RF RESOURCE INDICATION → Sent
8.6.2 Section 5.2.10 SACCH FILLING ← Received
8.6.4 - ERROR REPORT → Sent

5.1.2 Messages Specific to OsmoBTS

Table 21: Messages specific to OsmoBTS, not found in 3GPP TS 08.58

This document § Message ←/→ Received/Sent by

OsmoBTS
User Plane Transport Management (Section 5.3)
Section 5.3.1 Section 5.6.1 RSL Create Connection (CRCX) ← Received
Section 5.6.2 RSL Create Connection (CRCX) ACK → Sent

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Table 21: (continued)

This document § Message ←/→ Received/Sent by

OsmoBTS
Section 5.6.3 RSL Create Connection (CRCX) NACK → Sent
Section 5.3.2 Section 5.6.4 RSL Modify Connection (MDCX) ← Received
Section 5.6.5 RSL Modify Connection (MDCX) ACK → Sent
Section 5.6.6 RSL Modify Connection (MDCX) NACK → Sent
Section 5.3.3 Section 5.6.8 RSL Delete Connection (DLCX) ← Received
Section 5.6.9 RSL Delete Connection (DLCX) ACK → Sent
Section 5.6.10 RSL Delete Connection (DLCX) NACK → Sent
Section 5.3.4 Section 5.6.7 RSL Delete Connection (DLCX) Indication → Sent
IPA style PDCH Management (Section 5.4.1)
Section 5.4.1.1 Section 5.6.11 RSL PDCH Activation ← Received
Section 5.6.12 RSL PDCH Activation ACK → Sent
Section 5.6.13 RSL PDCH Activation NACK → Sent
Section 5.4.1.2 Section 5.6.14 RSL PDCH Deactivation ← Received
Section 5.6.15 RSL PDCH Deactivation ACK → Sent
Section 5.6.16 RSL PDCH Deactivation NACK → Sent
COMMON CHANNEL MANAGEMENT MESSAGES
Section 5.5 Section 5.6.17 Osmocom ETWS Command ← Received

5.1.3 Messages Not Implemented by OsmoBTS

Table 22: 3GPP TS 08.58 messages not implemented by OsmoBTS

TS 08.58 § Message
DEDICATED CHANNEL MANAGEMENT MESSAGES
8.4.12 PHYSICAL CONTEXT REQUEST
8.4.13 PHYSICAL CONTEXT CONFIRM
8.4.17 PREPROCESS CONFIGURE
8.4.18 PREPROCESSED MEASUREMENT RESULT
8.4.21 TALKER DETECTION
8.4.22 LISTENER DETECTION
8.4.23 REMOTE CODEC CONFIGURATION REPORT
8.4.24 ROUND TRIP DELAY REPORT
8.4.25 PRE-HANDOVER NOTIFICATION
8.4.26 MULTIRATE CODEC MODIFICATION REQUEST
8.4.27 MULTIRATE CODEC MODIFICATION ACKNOWLEDGE
8.4.28 MULTIRATE CODEC MODIFICATION NEGATIVE ACKNOWLEDGE
8.4.29 MULTIRATE CODEC MODIFICATION PERFORMED
8.4.30 TFO REPORT
8.4.31 TFO MODIFICATION REQUEST
COMMON CHANNEL MANAGEMENT MESSAGES
8.5.7 SMS BROADCAST REQUEST
8.5.10 NOTIFICATION COMMAND
TRX MANAGEMENT MESSAGES
8.6.3 OVERLOAD
LOCATION SERVICES MESSAGES
8.7.1 LOCATION INFORMATION

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5.2 Message Limitation Details

5.2.1 Channel Activation

When used on a timeslot using the non-standard channel combination NM_CHANC_OSMO_TCHFull_TCHHalf_PDCH as con-
figured by OML, the regular RSL channel activation procedures can not only be used for activation of circuit-switched channels,
but also for activation of a PDCH.
See Section 5.4.2.

NOTE
Do not confuse this with the IPA style PDCH ACT type dynamic PDCH protocol employed by nanoBTS devices (Sec-
tion 5.4.1).

5.2.2 Measurement Result

Conforms to 3GPP TS 08.58 § 8.4.8 with this limitation:

Table 23: Measurement Result IE limitations

TS 08.58 § IE Name Handling

9.3.37 MS Timing Offset never sent by OsmoBTS

5.2.3 Mode Modify

Conforms to 3GPP TS 08.58 § 8.4.9 with these limitations:

Table 24: Mode Modify IE limitations

TS 08.58 § IE Name Handling

9.3.45 Main channel reference ignored
9.3.53 MultiRate Control ignored
9.3.54 Supported Codec Types ignored

5.2.4 MS Power Control

Conforms to 3GPP TS 08.58 § 8.4.15 with these limitations:

Table 25: MS Power Control IE limitations

TS 08.58 § IE Name Handling

9.3.31 MS Power Parameters ignored

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5.2.5 SACCH Info Modify

Conforms to 3GPP TS 08.58 § 8.4.20, with these exceptions:

Table 26: SACCH Info Modify IE limitations

TS 08.58 § IE Name Handling

9.3.30 System Info Type See below for available types
9.3.23 Starting Time not supported, provokes an Error Report response

Table 27: System Info Type values that can occur on the SACCH

Value Name
0x05 RSL_SYSTEM_INFO_5
0x06 RSL_SYSTEM_INFO_6
0x0d RSL_SYSTEM_INFO_5bis
0x0e RSL_SYSTEM_INFO_5ter
0x47 RSL_EXT_MEAS_ORDER
0x48 RSL_MEAS_INFO

5.2.6 BCCH Information

Conforms to 3GPP TS 08.58 § 8.5.1, with these limitations and extensions:

Table 28: BCCH Information IE details

TS 08.58 § IE Name Handling

9.3.30 System Info Type See Section 5.2.5 for available types
9.3.11 L3 Info This IE may be included instead of a 9.3.39 Full BCCH Info IE. The
Full BCCH Info takes precedence over L3 Info. To stop SI
transmission, both of these IEs must be omitted.

5.2.7 Channel Required

Conforms to 3GPP TS 08.58 § 8.5.3, with these limitations:

Table 29: Channel Required message IE details

TS 08.58 § IE Name Handling

9.3.16 Physical Context never sent by OsmoBTS

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5.2.8 Paging Command

Conforms to 3GPP TS 08.58 § 8.5.5, with these limitations:

Table 30: Paging Command message IE details

TS 08.58 § IE Name Handling

9.3.49 eMLPP Priority ignored

Note
If adding the identity to the paging queue fails, the BSC is not notified in any way.

5.2.9 RF Resource Indication

This message does not conform to 3GPP TS 08.58 § 8.6.1, in that it omits the Resource Information IE that would contain the
actual payload data, which renders this message void.

Table 31: RF Resource Indication message IE exceptions

TS 08.58 § IE Name Handling

9.3.21 Resource Information OsmoBTS omits this IE, though TS 08.58 specifies it as mandatory.

5.2.10 SACCH Filling

Conforms to 3GPP TS 08.58 § 8.6.2, with these limitations:

Table 32: SACCH Filling message IE limitations

TS 08.58 § IE Name Handling

9.3.30 System Info Type See Section 5.2.5 for available types
9.3.23 Starting Time ignored

5.3 User Plane Transport Management

This chapter defines the A-bis/IP specific RSL procedures that are introduced in addition to the 3GPP TS 08.58 standard proce-
dures.
In classic A-bis over E1, user plane traffic is carried over 16kBps sub-slots of 64kBps E1 time-slots according to ETSI/3GPP TS
08.60. As the E1 line is a dedicated line between BTS and BSC, no further addressing information is required.
In A-bis/IP as described by the present document, new RSL procedures have been introduced to deal with the different properties
of the underlying IP based transport medium.

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5.3.1 RSL Create Connection (CRCX)

This procedure is used by the BSC to request the BTS to allocate + bind to a BTS-local UDP port for the subsequent transmission
of user-plane data via RTP.
To do so, the BSC sends the Create Connection (CRCX) message. In case of successful outcome, the BTS responds with
Create Connection (CRCX) ACK. In case of any error, the BTS responds with Create Connection (CRCX) NACK.
See Section 5.6.1, Section 5.6.2, Section 5.6.3

5.3.2 RSL Modify Connection (MDCX)

This procedure is used by the BSC to request the BTS to modify an already-bound BTS-local UDP port for user-plane RTP. It
is used in particular to configure the remote IP address and UDP port to which the BTS shall send user-plane RTP traffic. This
remote address is normally either a Media Gateway (MGW) of some sort, but could also be the RTP socket of the corresponding
other leg of a mobile-to-mobile call.
To modify a user-plane connection, the BSC sends the Modify Connection message. In case of successful outcome, the BTS
responds with Modify Connection (MDCX) ACK. In case of any error, the BTS responds with Modify Connection (MDCX)
NACK.
See Section 5.6.4, Section 5.6.5, Section 5.6.6

5.3.3 RSL Delete Connection (DLCX)

This procedure is used by the BSC to request the BTS to delete an already-existing BTS-local UDP port for user-plane RTP.
To delete a user-plane connection, the BSC sends the Delete Connection (DLCX) message. In case of successful outcome, the
BTS responds with Delete Connection (DLCX) ACK. In case of any error, the BTS responds with Delete Connection (DLCX)
NACK.
See Section 5.6.8, Section 5.6.9, Section 5.6.10

5.3.4 RSL Delete Connection (DLCX) Indication

When a BTS-local UDP connection for user-plane RTP is automatically released at the time of RF CHANNEL RELEASE, the
BTS sends a unilateral, non-acknowledged RSL Delete Connection (DLCX) Indication to the BSC.
See Section 5.6.7

5.4 Dynamic Channel Combinations

In the classic data model established by ETSI/3GPP for A-bis, each timeslot (channel) is configured using a static channel
combination by means of A-bis OML. Particularly in presence of GPRS services, this is very inflexible and leads to inefficient
use of air interface resources.
As such, several methods have been implemented to overcome this limitation. The fundamental operation can be outlined like
this:

• Configuration of a particular dynamic channel combination via OML

• activation of TCH works like on a classic TCH channel combination

• activation of PDCH requires some specific PDCH activation procedure

There are two variants implemented in the OsmoBTS A-bis dialect:

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5.4.1 IPA Style Dynamic Channels

This method is used when OML uses NM_CHANC_IPAC_TCHFull_PDCH (0x80) as channel combination for the given time-
slot.
IPA style refers to ip.access compatible PDCH activation and deactivation.
When the IPA style dynamic channel combination TCH/F or PDCH is set, the non-standard PDCH ACTIVATE (Section 5.4.1.1)
and PDCH DEACTIVATE (Section 5.4.1.2) procedures are used for switching an idle channel into PDCH mode and back into
idle mode.
When the channel is used as TCH/F, regular circuit-switched activation is performed, like on any traditional TCH/F. However,
the BSC must make sure to first disable the PDCH on the timeslot, before activating it as TCH/F. Likewise, any circuit-switched
TCH/F on the channel must be deactivated using standard RSL signalling, before the specific PDCH related procedures are used
to enable the PDCH.

5.4.1.1 PDCH Activate

This procedure is used by the BSC to request the BTS to activate an IPA style dynamic TCH/F+PDCH channel in PDCH mode.
The operation is not supported on any other physical channel type.
See Section 5.6.11, Section 5.6.12, Section 5.6.13

5.4.1.2 PDCH Deactivate

This procedure is used by the BSC to request the BTS to deactivate an active PDCH on any an IPA style dynamic TCH/F+PDCH
channel.
The operation is not supported on any other physical channel type.
See Section 5.6.14, Section 5.6.15, Section 5.6.16

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5.4.1.3 IPA Style Dynamic Switchover Example

Figure 10: Part 1: example for dynamic channel switchover, for IPA style dynamic timeslots

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Figure 11: Part 2: example for dynamic channel switchover, for IPA style dynamic timeslots

5.4.2 Osmocom Style Dynamic Channels

This method is in use when OML uses NM_CHANC_OSMO_TCHFull_TCHHalf_PDCH (0x90) for the given time-slot.
The activation of PDCH is performed by using the regular RSL CHANNEL ACTIVATE procedure according to Section 5.2.1,
with these modifications:

• The C-bits part of the Channel Number IE take the non-standard binary value 11000 (C5 thru C1 as seen in 3GPP TS 08.58 §
9.3.1).
• The A-bits part of the Activation Type IE take the non-standard binary value 1111, with an additional fourth bit (add A4 to A3
thru A1 as seen in 3GPP TS 08.58 § 9.3.3; all remaining reserved bits as well as the R bit are coded as zero).

• The normally mandatory Channel Mode IE is omitted; none of the optional IEs are included.

Hence the message consists of exactly these IEs:

Table 33: PDCH type Channel Activation message IEs

TS 08.58 § IE Name Handling

9.1 Message discriminator Dedicated Channel Management
9.2 Message type CHANnel ACTIVation
9.3.1 Channel number C-bits 11000, plus TS bits as usual
9.3.3 Activation type A-bits 1111

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5.4.2.1 Osmocom Style Dynamic Switchover Example

Figure 12: Part 1: example for dynamic channel switchover, for Osmocom style dynamic timeslots

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Figure 13: Part 2: example for dynamic channel switchover, for Osmocom style dynamic timeslots

5.5 ETWS (Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System)

ETWS as specified in 3GPP TS 23.041 includes not only notification via SMSCB, but also so-called Primary Notifications (PN).
The ETWS PN are transmitted

• by the BSC to all subscribers with active dedicated channels

• by the BTS on the PCH to all subscribers in idle mode

• by the PCU on the PACCH to all subscribers with active TBF

Unfortunately, 3GPP forgot to update their specifications with any information as to how the ETWS PN is transmitted from BSC
to BTS in a portable way, and Osmocom had to invent their own non-standard signaling for it.
See Section 5.6.17 for the Osmocom implementation.

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5.6 Message Formats and Contents

5.6.1 Create Connection (CRCX)

This message is sent by the BSC to the BTS to request the creation of a user-plane RTP connection for the specified Channel
number.

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
Destination IP Address Section 5.7.4 O TV 5
Destination IP Port Section 5.7.5 O TV 3
IP Speech Mode Section 5.7.7 O TV 2
RTP Payload Type 2 Section 5.7.11 O TV 2

5.6.2 Create Connection (CRCX) ACK

This message is sent by the BTS to the BSC to acknowledge the successful outcome of creating a user-plane RTP connection. It
is sent in response to the Create Connection (CRCX).

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
Connection Id Section 5.7.10 M TV 3
Source IP Address Section 5.7.8 O TV 5
Source IP Port Section 5.7.6 O TV 3
RTP Payload Type 2 Section 5.7.11 O TV 2

5.6.3 Create Connection (CRCX) NACK

This message is sent by the BTS to the BSC to signal the unsuccessful outcome of creating a user-plane RTP connection. It is
sent in response to the Create Connection (CRCX).

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
Destination IP Address Section 5.7.4 O TV 5
Destination IP Port Section 5.7.5 O TV 3
Cause 08.58 9.3.26 O TLV >= 3

5.6.4 Modify Connection (MDCX)

This message is sent by the BSC to the BTS to modify the properties of a user-plane RTP connection.

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
Connection Id Section 5.7.10 O TV 3
Destination IP Address Section 5.7.4 O TV 5
Destination IP Port Section 5.7.5 O TV 3

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INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

IP Speech Mode Section 5.7.7 O TV 2
RTP Payload Type 2 Section 5.7.11 O TV 2

5.6.5 Modify Connection (MDCX) ACK

This message is sent by the BTS to the BSC to acknowledge the successful modification of a user-plane RTP connection. It is
sent in response to a Modify Connection (MDCX)

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
Connection Id Section 5.7.10 O TV 3
Source IP Address Section 5.7.8 C TV 5
Source IP Port Section 5.7.6 C TV 3
RTP Payload Type 2 Section 5.7.11 O TV 2

5.6.6 Modify Connection (MDCX) NACK

This message is sent by the BTS to the BSC to signal the unsuccessful outcome of modifying the user-plane RTP connection for
the specified Channel number. It is sent in response to the Modify Connection (MDCX).

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
Cause 08.58 9.3.26 M TLV >= 3

5.6.7 Delete Connection (DLCX) Indication

This message is sent by the BTS to indicate the automatic deletion of a BTS-local UDP connection for user-plane RTP traffic at
the time of RF Channel release.

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
Connection Id Section 5.7.10 M TV 3
Connection Id Section 5.7.9 M TV 3
Cause 08.58 9.3.26 M TLV >= 3

5.6.8 Delete Connection (DLCX)

This message is sent by the BSC to the BTS to request the disconnection of a user-plane RTP connection for the specified Channel
number.

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
Connection Id Section 5.7.10 O TV 3

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5.6.9 Delete Connection (DLCX) ACK

This message is sent by the BTS to signal the successful outcome of deleting the user-plane RTP connection for the specified
Channel number. It is sent in response to the Delete Connection (DLCX).

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
Connection Id Section 5.7.10 O TV 3
Connection Statistics Section 5.7.9 C TV 29

5.6.10 Delete Connection (DLCX) NACK

This message is sent by the BTS to signal the unsuccessful outcome of deleting the user-plane RTP connection for the specified
Channel number. It is sent in response to the Delete Connection (DLCX).

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
Connection Id Section 5.7.10 O TV 3
Cause 08.58 9.3.26 M TLV >= 3

5.6.11 PDCH Activate

This message is sent by the BSC to request the activation of a PDCH on a IPA style dynamic TCH/F+PDCH channel.

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2

NOTE
This message is not used by Osmocom style dynamic channels

5.6.12 PDCH Activate ACK

This message is sent by the BTS to confirm the successful activation of a PDCH on a IPA style dynamic TCH/F+PDCH channel.

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
Frame Number 08.58 9.3.8 O TV 3

NOTE
This message is not used by Osmocom style dynamic channels

5.6.13 PDCH Activate NACK

This message is sent by the BTS to reject the successful activation of a PDCH on a IPA style dynamic TCH/F+PDCH channel.

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INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
Cause 08.58 9.3.26 M TLV >= 3

NOTE
This message is not used by Osmocom style dynamic channels

5.6.14 PDCH Deactivate

This message is sent by the BSC to request the deactivation of a PDCH on a IPA style dynamic TCH/F+PDCH channel.

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2

NOTE
This message is not used by Osmocom style dynamic channels

5.6.15 PDCH Deactivate ACK

This message is sent by the BTS to confirm the successful deactivation of a PDCH on a IPA style dynamic TCH/F+PDCH
channel.

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2

NOTE
This message is not used by Osmocom style dynamic channels

5.6.16 PDCH Deactivate NACK

This message is sent by the BTS to reject the deactivation of a PDCH on a IPA style dynamic TCH/F+PDCH channel.

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
Cause 08.58 9.3.26 M TLV >= 3

NOTE
This message is not used by Osmocom style dynamic channels

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5.6.17 Osmocom ETWS Command

This message is sent by the BSC to transfer the ETWS Primary Notification (PN) from BSC to BTS and enable/disable transmis-
sion of ETWS PN by the BTS. For more information about ETWS, see 3GPP TS 23.041.
If the ETWS PN length is > 0, the BTS will immediately start transmission of the received ETWS PN on the PCH using P1 Rest
Octets. It will also forward he ETWS PN to the PCU to enable the PCU to transmit it via PACCH on active TBF.
If the ETWS PN length is 0, the BTS will stop any ETWS PN broadcast via the PCH.
The Channel Number IE is set to the Downlink CCCH (PCH).

INFORMATION ELEMENT REFERENCE PRESENCE FORMAT LENGTH

Message discriminator 08.58 9.1 M V 1
Message type Section 5.7.1 M V 1
Channel number 08.58 9.3.1 M TV 2
SMSCB Message 08.58 9.3.42 M TLV 2-58

5.7 Information Element Codings

5.7.1 A-bis/IP specific RSL Message discriminators

The following message discriminators are used in addition to those indicated in 3GPP TS 08.58 Section 9.1:

Table 34: OsmoBTS specific new message discriminators

Message Message This document §

Type
0x70 Create Connection (CRCX) Section 5.6.1
0x71 Create Connection (CRCX) ACK Section 5.6.2
0x72 Create Connection (CRCX) NACK Section 5.6.3
0x73 Modify Connection (MDCX) Section 5.6.4
0x74 Modify Connection (MDCX) ACK Section 5.6.5
0x75 Modify Connection (MDCX) NACK Section 5.6.6
0x76 Delete Connection (DLCX) Indication Section 5.6.7
0x77 Delete Connection (DLCX) Section 5.6.8
0x78 Delete Connection (DLCX) ACK Section 5.6.9
0x79 Delete Connection (DLCX) NACK Section 5.6.10
0x7f Osmocom ETWS Command Section 5.6.17
0x48 PDCH Activate Section 5.6.11
0x49 PDCH Activate ACK Section 5.6.12
0x4a PDCH Activate NACK Section 5.6.13
0x4b PDCH Deactivate Section 5.6.14
0x4c PDCH Deactivate ACK Section 5.6.15
0x4d PDCH Deactivate NACK Section 5.6.16

5.7.2 A-bis/IP specific RSL IEIs

The following Information Element Identifiers (IEIs) are used in addition to those indicated in 3GPP TS 08.58 Section 9.3:

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Table 35: A-bis/IP specific information elements

IEI Name This document §

0x01 RSL_IE_CHAN_NR Section 5.7.3
0xf0 RSL_IE_IPAC_REMOTE_IP Section 5.7.4
0xf1 RSL_IE_IPAC_REMOTE_PORT Section 5.7.5
0xf3 RSL_IE_IPAC_LOCAL_PORT Section 5.7.6
0xf4 RSL_IE_IPAC_SPEECH_MODE Section 5.7.7
0xf5 RSL_IE_IPAC_LOCAL_IP Section 5.7.8
0xf6 RSL_IE_IPAC_CONN_STAT Section 5.7.9
0xf8 RSL_IE_IPAC_CONN_ID Section 5.7.10
0xfc RSL_IE_IPAC_RTP_PAYLOAD2 Section 5.7.11

5.7.3 RSL_IE_CHAN_NR

This information element is coded like 3GPP TS 08.58 Section 9.3.1, but in addition supports the following extended coding:

• C5..C1 bits 0b11000 for PDCH type channels

The TN-Bits are not re-defined in this case but use the same encoding as specified in TS 08.58 Section 9.3.1.

NOTE
The above extension is only valid on an Osmocom-style dynamic channel, having configured the NM_CHANC_IPAC_TCHFull_PD
channel combination by OML.

5.7.4 RSL_IE_IPAC_REMOTE_IP

This information element contains the remote (MGW side) IPv4 address in network byte order. It is encoded as fixed-size element
with one byte IEI followed by four bytes IPv4 address.

5.7.5 RSL_IE_IPAC_REMOTE_PORT

This information element contains the remote (MGW side) UDP port in network byte order. It is encoded as fixed-size element
with one byte IEI followed by two bytes UDP port number.

5.7.6 RSL_IE_IPAC_LOCAL_PORT

This information element contains the local (BTS side) IPv4 address in network byte order. It is encoded as fixed-size element
with one byte IEI followed by two bytes UDP port number.

5.7.7 RSL_IE_IPAC_SPEECH_MODE

This information element encodes the speech mode. It is set according to the voice codec used on the connection. It is encoded
as a fixed-size element of two bytes, with one byte IEI followed by one byte Speech mode indicator.

Table 36: A-bis/IP Speech Mode Indicator Values

Value Description
0x00 TCH/F with FR codec
0x01 TCH/F with EFR codec
0x02 TCH/F with AMR codec
0x03 TCH/H with HR codec
0x05 TCH/H with AMR codec
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5.7.8 RSL_IE_IPAC_LOCAL_IP

This information element contains the local (BTS side) IPv4 address in network byte order. It is encoded as fixed-size element
with one byte IEI followed by four bytes IPv4 address.

5.7.9 RSL_IE_IPAC_CONN_STAT

This information element contains statistics about the RTP connection.

It is encoded as 29 bytes, with the first byte as IEI and 28 bytes fixed-length payload encoded as follows:

Table 37: A-bis/IP Connection Statistics

Offset Size Description

0 4 Total number of RTP packets sent
4 4 Total number of octets sent
8 4 Total number of RTP packets received
12 4 Total number of octets received
16 4 Total number of lost packets in Rx direction
20 4 Inter-arrival Jitter
24 4 Average transmission delay

All the above values are encoded in network byte order.

A detailed definition of the individual values is given in RFC 1889.

5.7.10 RSL_IE_IPAC_CONN_ID

This IE is a TV with a value length of two bytes. The value is a 16 bit connection ID in network byte order.

5.7.11 RSL_IE_IPAC_RTP_PAYLOAD2

This information element contains the RTP payload identifier, which is used in the PT (Payload Type) field of the RTP header in
subsequent transmissions of the RTP flow.

5.8 A-bis RSL Initialization / BTS bring-up

Upon receiving the IPA RSL CONNECT OML message by the respective Baseband Transceiver MO, the BTS proceeds with
establishing a separate TCP connection for the given TRX.

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Figure 14: A-bis RSL BTS bring-up for primary TRX

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Figure 15: A-bis RSL BTS bring-up for secondary TRXs

The initialization of the primary and secondary TRX slightly differ, as illustrated by the differences of Figure 14 and Figure 15.
Since the secondary TRX has no BCCH, it does not (need to) receive any RSL BCCH INFORMATION messages from the BSC.

6 User-Plane Traffic via RTP

RTP (Realtime Transfer Protocol) is a protocol for streaming audio and video data. It is specified by IETF RFC 1889.
OsmoBTS A-bis/IP implements RTP as transport medium for circuit-switched user-plane traffic, contrary to the E1 sub-slot
based transport specified in 3GPP TS 08.60.
The RTP transport endpoint parameters are configured using the RSL User Plane Transport Management procedures described
in Section 5.3.
RTCP is implemented in addition to RTP, on a UDP port number of the RTP port incremented by one.

6.1 RTP Payload Formats

The RTP payload format depends on the voice codec used on the radio channel. The OsmoBTS is simply passing the GSM
speech frames between the Um radio interface channels and the RTP payload (and vice-versa).
No transcoding function is implemented in the BTS!

Table 38: RTP Payload formats

TCH Codec RTP payload format specification

TCH/F FR IETF RFC 3551 Section 4.5.8
TCH/F EFR IETF RFC 3551 Section 4.5.9
TCH/F AMR IETF RFC 4867
TCH/H HR IETF RFC 5993
TCH/H AMR IETF RFC 4867

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7 Glossary

2FF
2nd Generation Form Factor; the so-called plug-in SIM form factor

3FF
3rd Generation Form Factor; the so-called microSIM form factor
3GPP
3rd Generation Partnership Project
4FF
4th Generation Form Factor; the so-called nanoSIM form factor
A Interface
Interface between BTS and BSC, traditionally over E1 (3GPP TS 48.008 [?])
A3/A8
Algorithm 3 and 8; Authentication and key generation algorithm in GSM and GPRS, typically COMP128v1/v2/v3 or
MILENAGE are typically used
A5
Algorithm 5; Air-interface encryption of GSM; currently only A5/0 (no encryption), A5/1 and A5/3 are in use
Abis Interface
Interface between BTS and BSC, traditionally over E1 (3GPP TS 48.058 [?] and 3GPP TS 52.021 [?])
ACC
Access Control Class; every BTS broadcasts a bit-mask of permitted ACC, and only subscribers with a SIM of matching
ACC are permitted to use that BTS

AGCH
Access Grant Channel on Um interface; used to assign a dedicated channel in response to RACH request
AGPL
GNU Affero General Public License, a copyleft-style Free Software License
ARFCN
Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number; specifies a tuple of uplink and downlink frequencies
AUC
Authentication Center; central database of authentication key material for each subscriber
BCCH
Broadcast Control Channel on Um interface; used to broadcast information about Cell and its neighbors
BCC
Base Station Color Code; short identifier of BTS, lower part of BSIC
BTS
Base Transceiver Station

BSC
Base Station Controller
BSIC
Base Station Identity Code; 16bit identifier of BTS within location area

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BSSGP
Base Station Subsystem Gateway Protocol (3GPP TS 48.018 [?])
BVCI
BSSGP Virtual Circuit Identifier
CBCH
Cell Broadcast Channel; used to transmit Cell Broadcast SMS (SMS-CB)
CC
Call Control; Part of the GSM Layer 3 Protocol
CCCH
Common Control Channel on Um interface; consists of RACH (uplink), BCCH, PCH, AGCH (all downlink)
Cell
A cell in a cellular network, served by a BTS
CEPT
Conférence européenne des administrations des postes et des télécommunications; European Conference of Postal and
Telecommunications Administrations.
CGI
Cell Global Identifier comprised of MCC, MNC, LAC and BSIC
CSFB
Circiut-Switched Fall Back; Mechanism for switching from LTE/EUTRAN to UTRAN/GERAN when circuit-switched
services such as voice telephony are required.
dB
deci-Bel; relative logarithmic unit
dBm
deci-Bel (milliwatt); unit of measurement for signal strength of radio signals
DHCP
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (IETF RFC 2131 [?]
downlink
Direction of messages / signals from the network core towards the mobile phone
DSP
Digital Signal Processor
dvnixload
Tool to program UBL and the Bootloader on a sysmoBTS
EDGE
Enhanced Data rates for GPRS Evolution; Higher-speed improvement of GPRS; introduces 8PSK
EGPRS
Enhanced GPRS; the part of EDGE relating to GPRS services
EIR
Equipment Identity Register; core network element that stores and manages IMEI numbers
ESME
External SMS Entity; an external application interfacing with a SMSC over SMPP
ETSI
European Telecommunications Standardization Institute
FPGA
Field Programmable Gate Array; programmable digital logic hardware

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Gb
Interface between PCU and SGSN in GPRS/EDGE network; uses NS, BSSGP, LLC
GERAN
GPRS/EDGE Radio Access Network
GFDL
GNU Free Documentation License; a copyleft-style Documentation License
GGSN
GPRS Gateway Support Node; gateway between GPRS and external (IP) network

GMSK
Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying; modulation used for GSM and GPRS
GPL
GNU General Public License, a copyleft-style Free Software License

Gp
Gp interface between SGSN and GGSN; uses GTP protocol
GPS
Global Positioning System; provides a highly accurate clock reference besides the global position

GSM
Global System for Mobile Communications. ETSI/3GPP Standard of a 2G digital cellular network
GSMTAP
GSM tap; pseudo standard for encapsulating GSM protocol layers over UDP/IP for analysis
GSUP
Generic ubscriber Update Protocol. Osmocom-specific alternative to TCAP/MAP
GT
Global Title; an address in SCCP
GTP
GPRS Tunnel Protocol; used between SGSN and GGSN
HLR
Home Location Register; central subscriber database of a GSM network
HNB-GW
Home NodeB Gateway. Entity between femtocells (Home NodeB) and CN in 3G/UMTS.

HPLMN
Home PLMN; the network that has issued the subscriber SIM and has his record in HLR
IE
Information Element

IMEI
International Mobile Equipment Identity; unique 14-digit decimal number to globally identify a mobile device, optionally
with a 15th checksum digit
IMEISV
IMEI software version; unique 14-digit decimal number to globally identify a mobile device (same as IMEI) plus two
software version digits (total digits: 16)
IMSI
International Mobile Subscriber Identity; 15-digit unique identifier for the subscriber/SIM; starts with MCC/MNC of
issuing operator

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IP
Internet Protocol (IETF RFC 791 [?])
IPA
ip.access GSM over IP protocol; used to multiplex a single TCP connection
Iu
Interface in 3G/UMTS between RAN and CN
IuCS
Iu interface for circuit-switched domain. Used in 3G/UMTS between RAN and MSC
IuPS
Iu interface for packet-switched domain. Used in 3G/UMTS between RAN and SGSN
LAC
Location Area Code; 16bit identifier of Location Area within network
LAPD
Link Access Protocol, D-Channel (ITU-T Q.921 [?])
LAPDm
Link Access Protocol Mobile (3GPP TS 44.006 [?])
LLC
Logical Link Control; GPRS protocol between MS and SGSN (3GPP TS 44.064 [?])
Location Area
Location Area; a geographic area containing multiple BTS
LU
Location Updating; can be of type IMSI-Attach or Periodic. Procedure that indicates a subscriber’s physical presence in a
given radio cell.
M2PA
MTP2 Peer-to-Peer Adaptation; a SIGTRAN Variant (RFC 4165 [?])
M2UA
MTP2 User Adaptation; a SIGTRAN Variant (RFC 3331 [?])
M3UA
MTP3 User Adaptation; a SIGTRAN Variant (RFC 4666 [?])
MCC
Mobile Country Code; unique identifier of a country, e.g. 262 for Germany
MFF
Machine-to-Machine Form Factor; a SIM chip package that is soldered permanently onto M2M device circuit boards.
MGW
Media Gateway
MM
Mobility Management; part of the GSM Layer 3 Protocol
MNC
Mobile Network Code; identifies network within a country; assigned by national regulator
MNCC
Mobile Network Call Control; Unix domain socket based Interface between MSC and external call control entity like
osmo-sip-connector
MNO
Mobile Network Operator; operator with physical radio network under his MCC/MNC

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MO
Mobile Originated. Direction from Mobile (MS/UE) to Network
MS
Mobile Station; a mobile phone / GSM Modem
MSC
Mobile Switching Center; network element in the circuit-switched core network
MSISDN
Mobile Subscriber ISDN Number; telephone number of the subscriber

MT
Mobile Terminated. Direction from Network to Mobile (MS/UE)
MTP
Message Transfer Part; SS7 signaling protocol (ITU-T Q.701 [?])

MVNO
Mobile Virtual Network Operator; Operator without physical radio network
NCC
Network Color Code; assigned by national regulator

NITB
Network In The Box; combines functionality traditionally provided by BSC, MSC, VLR, HLR, SMSC functions; see
OsmoNITB
NSEI
NS Entity Identifier

NVCI
NS Virtual Circuit Identifier
NWL
Network Listen; ability of some BTS to receive downlink from other BTSs

NS
Network Service; protocol on Gb interface (3GPP TS 48.016 [?])
OCXO
Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator; very high precision oscillator, superior to a VCTCXO
OML
Operation & Maintenance Link (ETSI/3GPP TS 52.021 [?])
OpenBSC
Open Source implementation of GSM network elements, specifically OsmoBSC, OsmoNITB, OsmoSGSN
OpenGGSN
Open Source implementation of a GPRS Packet Control Unit
OpenVPN
Open-Source Virtual Private Network; software employed to establish encrypted private networks over untrusted public
networks
Osmocom
Open Source MObile COMmunications; collaborative community for implementing communications protocols and sys-
tems, including GSM, GPRS, TETRA, DECT, GMR and others
OsmoBSC
Open Source implementation of a GSM Base Station Controller

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OsmoNITB
Open Source implementation of a GSM Network In The Box, combines functionality traditionally provided by BSC, MSC,
VLR, HLR, AUC, SMSC
OsmoSGSN
Open Source implementation of a Serving GPRS Support Node
OsmoPCU
Open Source implementation of a GPRS Packet Control Unit
OTA
Over-The-Air; Capability of operators to remotely reconfigure/reprogram ISM/USIM cards
PC
Point Code; an address in MTP
PCH
Paging Channel on downlink Um interface; used by network to page an MS
PCU
Packet Control Unit; used to manage Layer 2 of the GPRS radio interface
PDCH
Packet Data Channel on Um interface; used for GPRS/EDGE signalling + user data
PIN
Personal Identification Number; a number by which the user authenticates to a SIM/USIM or other smart card
PLMN
Public Land Mobile Network; specification language for a single GSM network
PUK
PIN Unblocking Code; used to unblock a blocked PIN (after too many wrong PIN attempts)
RAC
Routing Area Code; 16bit identifier for a Routing Area within a Location Area
RACH
Random Access Channel on uplink Um interface; used by MS to request establishment of a dedicated channel
RAM
Remote Application Management; Ability to remotely manage (install, remove) Java Applications on SIM/USIM Card
RF
Radio Frequency
RFM
Remote File Management; Ability to remotely manage (write, read) files on a SIM/USIM card
Roaming
Procedure in which a subscriber of one network is using the radio network of another network, often in different countries;
in some countries national roaming exists
Routing Area
Routing Area; GPRS specific sub-division of Location Area
RR
Radio Resources; Part of the GSM Layer 3 Protocol
RSL
Radio Signalling Link (3GPP TS 48.058 [?])
RTP
Real-Time Transport Protocol (IETF RFC 3550 [?]); Used to transport audio/video streams over UDP/IP

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SACCH
Slow Associate Control Channel on Um interface; bundled to a TCH or SDCCH, used for signalling in parallel to active
dedicated channel
SCCP
Signaling Connection Control Part; SS7 signaling protocol (ITU-T Q.711 [?])
SDCCH
Slow Dedicated Control Channel on Um interface; used for signalling and SMS transport in GSM
SDK
Software Development Kit
SGs
Interface between MSC (GSM/UMTS) and MME (LTE/EPC) to facilitate CSFB and SMS.
SGSN
Serving GPRS Support Node; Core network element for packet-switched services in GSM and UMTS.
SIGTRAN
Signaling Transport over IP (IETF RFC 2719 [?])
SIM
Subscriber Identity Module; small chip card storing subscriber identity
Site
A site is a location where one or more BTSs are installed, typically three BTSs for three sectors
SMPP
Short Message Peer-to-Peer; TCP based protocol to interface external entities with an SMSC
SMSC
Short Message Service Center; store-and-forward relay for short messages
SS7
Signaling System No. 7; Classic digital telephony signaling system
SS
Supplementary Services; query and set various service parameters between subscriber and core network (e.g. USSD,
3rd-party calls, hold/retrieve, advice-of-charge, call deflection)
SSH
Secure Shell; IETF RFC 4250 [?] to 4254
SSN
Sub-System Number; identifies a given SCCP Service such as MSC, HLR
STP
Signaling Transfer Point; A Router in SS7 Networks
SUA
SCCP User Adaptation; a SIGTRAN Variant (RFC 3868 [?])
syslog
System logging service of UNIX-like operating systems
System Information
A set of downlink messages on the BCCH and SACCH of the Um interface describing properties of the cell and network
TCH
Traffic Channel; used for circuit-switched user traffic (mostly voice) in GSM
TCP
Transmission Control Protocol; (IETF RFC 793 [?])

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TFTP
Trivial File Transfer Protocol; (IETF RFC 1350 [?])
TRX
Transceiver; element of a BTS serving a single carrier
TS
Technical Specification
u-Boot
Boot loader used in various embedded systems

UBI
An MTD wear leveling system to deal with NAND flash in Linux
UBL
Initial bootloader loaded by the TI Davinci SoC

UDP
User Datagram Protocol (IETF RFC 768 [?])
UICC
Universal Integrated Chip Card; A smart card according to ETSI TR 102 216 [?]

Um interface
U mobile; Radio interface between MS and BTS
uplink
Direction of messages: Signals from the mobile phone towards the network
USIM
Universal Subscriber Identity Module; application running on a UICC to provide subscriber identity for UMTS and GSM
networks
USSD
Unstructured Supplementary Service Data; textual dialog between subscriber and core network, e.g. *100 → Your exten-
sion is 1234

VCTCXO
Voltage Controlled, Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator; a precision oscillator, superior to a classic crystal oscil-
lator, but inferior to an OCXO
VLR
Visitor Location Register; volatile storage of attached subscribers in the MSC

VPLMN
Visited PLMN; the network in which the subscriber is currently registered; may differ from HPLMN when on roaming
VTY
Virtual TeletYpe; a textual command-line interface for configuration and introspection, e.g. the OsmoBSC configuration
file as well as its telnet link on port 4242

A Osmocom TCP/UDP Port Numbers

The Osmocom GSM system utilizes a variety of TCP/IP based protocols. The table below provides a reference as to which port
numbers are used by which protocol / interface.

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Table 39: TCP/UDP port numbers

L4 Port Purpose Software

Protocol Number
UDP 2427 MGCP GW osmo-bsc_mgcp, osmo-mgw
TCP 2775 SMPP (SMS interface for external programs) osmo-nitb
TCP 3002 A-bis/IP OML osmo-bts, osmo-bsc, osmo-nitb
TCP 3003 A-bis/IP RSL osmo-bts, osmo-bsc, osmo-nitb
TCP 4236 Control Interface osmo-trx
TCP 4237 telnet (VTY) osmo-trx
TCP 4238 Control Interface osmo-bts
TCP 4239 telnet (VTY) osmo-stp
TCP 4240 telnet (VTY) osmo-pcu
TCP 4241 telnet (VTY) osmo-bts
TCP 4242 telnet (VTY) osmo-nitb, osmo-bsc, cellmgr-ng
TCP 4243 telnet (VTY) osmo-bsc_mgcp, osmo-mgw
TCP 4244 telnet (VTY) osmo-bsc_nat
TCP 4245 telnet (VTY) osmo-sgsn
TCP 4246 telnet (VTY) osmo-gbproxy
TCP 4247 telnet (VTY) OsmocomBB
TCP 4249 Control Interface osmo-nitb, osmo-bsc
TCP 4250 Control Interface osmo-bsc_nat
TCP 4251 Control Interface osmo-sgsn
TCP 4252 telnet (VTY) sysmobts-mgr
TCP 4253 telnet (VTY) osmo-gtphub
TCP 4254 telnet (VTY) osmo-msc
TCP 4255 Control Interface osmo-msc
TCP 4256 telnet (VTY) osmo-sip-connector
TCP 4257 Control Interface osmo-ggsn, ggsn (OpenGGSN)
TCP 4258 telnet (VTY) osmo-hlr
TCP 4259 Control Interface osmo-hlr
TCP 4260 telnet (VTY) osmo-ggsn
TCP 4261 telnet (VTY) osmo-hnbgw
TCP 4262 Control Interface osmo-hnbgw
TCP 4263 Control Interface osmo-gbproxy
TCP 4264 telnet (VTY) osmo-cbc
TCP 4265 Control Interface osmo-cbc
UDP 4729 GSMTAP Almost every osmocom project
TCP 5000 A/IP osmo-bsc, osmo-bsc_nat
UDP 2427 GSMTAP osmo-pcu, osmo-bts
UDP 23000 GPRS-NS over IP default port osmo-pcu, osmo-sgsn, osmo-gbproxy

B GNU Free Documentation License

Version 1.3, 3 November 2008

Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc. http://fsf.org/
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.

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If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your
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