Second Edition

JOCHEN SCHILLER
 Mobile
Communicat ions

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 Jochen H. Schiller

Mobile
Communicat ions
Second Edition
PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED
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First Published in Great Britain 2000

Second edition 2003
© Pearson Education Limited 2003

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To my st udent s and Cora
1
 Cont ent s

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About the author xiv

Preface xv
Acknowledgements xix

1 Int roduct ion 1

1.1 Applications 3
1.1.1 Vehicles 3
1.1.2 Emergencies 4
1.1.3 Business 4
1.1.4 Replacement of wired networks 5
1.1.5 Infotainment and more 5
1.1.6 Location dependent services 6
1.1.7 Mobile and wireless devices 7
1.2 A short history of wireless communication 9
1.3 A market for mobile communications 15
1.4 Some open research topics 16
1.5 A simplified reference model 18
1.6 Overview 20
1.7 Review exercises 23
1.8 References 23

2 Wireless t ransmission 25
2.1 Frequencies for radio transmission 26
2.1.1 Regulations 27
2.2 Signals 31
2.3 Antennas 32
2.4 Signal propagation 35
2.4.1 Path loss of radio signals 36
2.4.2 Additional signal propagation effects 37
2.4.3 Multi-path propagation 39
viii Mobile communicat ions

2.5 Multiplexing 41
2.5.1 Space division multiplexing 41
2.5.2 Frequency division multiplexing 43
2.5.3 Time division multiplexing 44
2.5.4 Code division multiplexing 45
2.6 Modulation 46
2.6.1 Amplitude shift keying 48
2.6.2 Frequency shift keying 49
2.6.3 Phase shift keying 49
2.6.4 Advanced frequency shift keying 50
2.6.5 Advanced phase shift keying 51
2.6.6 Multi-carrier modulation 53
2.7 Spread spectrum 54
2.7.1 Direct sequence spread spectrum 56
2.7.2 Frequency hopping spread spectrum 59
2.8 Cellular systems 61
2.9 Summary 64
2.10 Review exercises 65
2.11 References 66

3 Medium access cont rol 69

3.1 Motivation for a specialized MAC 70
3.1.1 Hidden and exposed terminals 70
3.1.2 Near and far terminals 71
3.2 SDMA 72
3.3 FDMA 72
3.4 TDMA 73
3.4.1 Fixed TDM 74
3.4.2 Classical Aloha 75
3.4.3 Slotted Aloha 76
3.4.4 Carrier sense multiple access 76
3.4.5 Demand assigned multiple access 77
3.4.6 PRMA packet reservation multiple access 78
3.4.7 Reservation TDMA 79
3.4.8 Multiple access with collision avoidance 79
3.4.9 Polling 82
3.4.10 Inhibit sense multiple access 82
3.5 CDMA 82
3.5.1 Spread Aloha multiple access 87
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Cont ent s ix

3.6 Comparison of S/ T/ F/ CDMA 89

3.7 Review exercises 91
3.8 References 92

4 Telecommunicat ions syst ems 93

4.1 GSM 96
4.1.1 Mobile services 98
4.1.2 System architecture 100
4.1.3 Radio interface 105
4.1.4 Protocols 110
4.1.5 Localization and calling 113
4.1.6 Handover 117
4.1.7 Security 120
4.1.8 New data services 122
4.2 DECT 130
4.2.1 System architecture 131
4.2.2 Protocol architecture 132
4.3 TETRA 134
4.4 UMTS and IMT-2000 136
4.4.1 UMTS releases and standardization 141
4.4.2 UMTS system architecture 142
4.4.3 UMTS radio interface 143
4.4.4 UTRAN 149
4.4.5 Core network 151
4.4.6 Handover 154
4.5 Summary 156
4.6 Review exercises 158
4.7 References 160

5 Sat ellit e syst ems 165

5.1 History 165
5.2 Applications 166
5.3 Basics 169
5.3.1 GEO 173
5.3.2 LEO 174
5.3.3 MEO 175
x Mobile communicat ions

5.4 Routing 175

5.5 Localization 176
5.6 Handover 176
5.7 Examples 177
5.8 Summary 179
5.9 Review exercises 180
5.10 References 181

6 Broadcast syst ems 183

6.1 Overview 183
6.2 Cyclical repetition of data 185
6.3 Digital audio broadcasting 186
6.3.1 Multi-media object transfer protocol 190
6.4 Digital video broadcasting 191
6.4.1 DVB data broadcasting 193
6.4.2 DVB for high-speed internet access 194
6.5 Convergence of broadcasting and mobile communications 195
6.6 Summary 196
6.7 Review exercises 198
6.8 References 198

7 Wireless LAN 201

7.1 Infra red vs radio transmission 204
7.2 Infrastructure and ad-hoc network 205
7.3 IEEE 802.11 207
7.3.1 System architecture 208
7.3.2 Protocol architecture 210
7.3.3 Physical layer 211
7.3.4 Medium access control layer 214
7.3.5 MAC management 225
7.3.6 802.11b 231
7.3.7 802.11a 234
7.3.8 Newer developments 238
7.4 HIPERLAN 239
7.4.1 Historical: HIPERLAN 1 240
7.4.2 WATM 244
7.4.3 BRAN 255
7.4.4 HiperLAN2 257
7.5 Bluetooth 269
7.5.1 User scenarios 270
7.5.2 Architecture 271
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Cont ent s xi

7.5.3 Radio layer 276

7.5.4 Baseband layer 276
7.5.5 Link manager protocol 282
7.5.6 L2CAP 285
7.5.7 Security 287
7.5.8 SDP 289
7.5.9 Profiles 290
7.5.10 IEEE 802.15 291
7.6 Summary 293
7.7 Review exercises 297
7.8 References 298

8 Mobile net work layer 303

8.1 Mobile IP 304
8.1.1 Goals, assumptions and requirements 304
8.1.2 Entities and terminology 307
8.1.3 IP packet delivery 309
8.1.4 Agent discovery 310
8.1.5 Registration 312
8.1.6 Tunneling and encapsulation 315
8.1.7 Optimizations 319
8.1.8 Reverse tunneling 321
8.1.9 IPv6 323
8.1.10 IP micro-mobility support 324
8.2 Dynamic host configuration protocol 328
8.3 Mobile ad-hoc networks 330
8.3.1 Routing 332
8.3.2 Destination sequence distance vector 335
8.3.3 Dynamic source routing 336
8.3.4 Alternative metrics 339
8.3.5 Overview ad-hoc routing protocols 340
8.4 Summary 343
8.5 Review exercises 345
8.6 References 346

9 Mobile t ransport layer 351

9.1 Traditional TCP 352
9.1.1 Congestion control 352
9.1.2 Slow start 352
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xii Mobile communicat ions

9.1.3 Fast retransmit/ fast recovery 353

9.1.4 Implications of mobility 354
9.2 Classical TCP improvements 355
9.2.1 Indirect TCP 355
9.2.2 Snooping TCP 358
9.2.3 Mobile TCP 360
9.2.4 Fast retransmit/ fast recovery 362
9.2.5 Transmission/ time-out freezing 363
9.2.6 Selective retransmission 363
9.2.7 Transaction-oriented TCP 364
9.3 TCP over 2.5/ 3G wireless networks 366
9.4 Performance enhancing proxies 368
9.5 Summary 369
9.6 Review exercises 371
9.7 References 372

10 Support f or mobilit y 375

10.1 File systems 376
10.1.1 Consistency 377
10.1.2 Coda 378
10.1.3 Little work 380
10.1.4 Ficus 380
10.1.5 Mlo-NFS 381
10.1.6 Rover 381
10.2 World wide web 381
10.2.1 Hypertext transfer protocol 382
10.2.2 Hypertext markup language 385
10.2.3 Some approaches that might help wireless access 386
10.2.4 System architecture 389
10.3 Wireless application protocol (version 1.x) 392
10.3.1 Architecture 393
10.3.2 Wireless datagram protocol 396
10.3.3 Wireless transport layer security 397
10.3.4 Wireless transaction protocol 400
10.3.5 Wireless session protocol 404
10.3.6 Wireless application environment 412
10.3.7 Wireless markup language 414
10.3.8 WMLScript 416
 Cont ent s xiii

10.3.9 Wireless telephony application 419

10.3.10 Push architecture 426
10.3.11 Push/ pull services 428
10.3.12 Example stacks with WAP 1.x 429
10.4 i-mode 430
10.5 SyncML 433
10.6 WAP 2.0 434
10.7 Summary 437
10.8 Review exercises 440
10.9 References 441

11 Out look 449

11.1 The architecture of future networks 449
11.2 References 453

Appendix 1– Acronyms 455

Appendix 2 – Glossary 471
Index 477

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About t he aut hor

Jo ch en Sch iller is h ead of th e workin g grou p Co m p u ter System s & Telem atics at
th e In stitu te o f Co m p u ter Scien ce, FU Berlin , Germ an y. He received h is MS an d
Ph D d egrees in Com p u ter Scien ce from th e Un iversity of Karlsru h e, Germ an y, in
1993 an d 1996, resp ect ively. As a p ostd oc h e jo in ed Up p sala Un iversity, Swed en ,
an d worked in several in d u stry co-op eration s an d Eu rop ean p rojects. Sin ce Ap ril
2001 h e h as b een a fu ll p ro fesso r at FU Berlin . Th e fo cu s o f h is research is o n
m obile an d wireless com m u n ication s, co m m u n icat ion arch itectu res an d op erat-
in g syst em s fo r em b ed d ed d evices, an d q u alit y o f service asp ect s in
co m m u n icat ion syst em s. He is a m em ber of IEEE an d GI an d acts as co n su ltan t
for several com p an ies in th e n etworkin g an d com m u n ication bu sin ess.
 Pref ace

W
elco m e to t h e seco n d ed itio n o f Mo bile Com m u n icatio n s – an d wel-
co m e t o t h e co n fu sin g, co m p lex , b u t very in t erest in g w o rld o f
wireless an d m o b ile t ech n o lo gies! In t h e last few years, we h ave all
ex p erien ced t h e h yp e a n d fru st rat io n relat ed t o m o b ile t ech n o lo gy. O n ce
p raised as th e In tern et on t h e m o bile p h on e, th e fru strat ion wit h th ird gen era-
t io n m o b ile p h o n e syst em s cam e at t h e sam e t im e t h e d o t co m s crash ed . Th e
read er sh ou ld rem em ber th at all tech n ologies n eed th eir tim e to d evelop .
Neverth eless, we are exp erien cin g h u ge growth rates in m obile com m u n ica-
tion system s (m ain ly in Asia), in creasin g m o bilit y awaren ess in society, an d t h e
world wid e d eregu latio n of form er m on op olized m arkets. W h ile trad ition al com -
m u n icat io n p arad igm s d eal wit h fixed n et wo rks, m o b ilit y raises a n ew set o f
q u estio n s, tech n iq u es, an d solu t io n s. Fo r m an y co u n t ries, m o b ile co m m u n ica-
tion is th e on ly solu tion d u e to th e lack o f an ap p rop riate fixed com m u n ication
in frastru ctu re. To d ay, m o re p eo p le u se m o bile p h o n es (o ver o n e b illio n !) th an
trad it io n al fixed p h o n es. Th e tren d s m en t io n ed abo ve create an ever-in creasin g
d em an d for well-ed u cated com m u n ication en gin eers wh o u n d erstan d th e d evel-
op m en ts an d p ossibilities of m obile com m u n ication . W h at we see to d ay is on ly
th e begin n in g. Th ere are m an y n ew an d excitin g system s cu rren tly bein g d evel-
o p ed in research lab s. Th e fu t u re will see m o re an d m o re m o b ile d evices, t h e
m ergin g of classical voice an d d at a tran sm ission tech n ologies, an d th e exten sion
of tod ay’s In t ern et ap p lication s (e.g., th e world wid e web) on t o m obile an d wire-
less d evices. New ap p licatio n s an d n ew m o bile n et wo rks will b rin g u b iq u it o u s
m u lt im ed ia co m p u t in g t o t h e m ass m arket ; rad io s, p erso n al d igit al assist an t s
(PDAs), lap top s an d m obile p h on es will con verge an d m an y d ifferen t fu n ctio n s
will be available on on e d evice – op eratin g on top of In tern et tech n ologies.
Th is b o o k is an in t ro d u ct io n t o t h e field o f m o b ile co m m u n icat io n s an d
fo cu ses o n d igital d at a t ran sfer. Th e b oo k is in ten d ed fo r u se b y stu d en t s o f EE
o r C S in co m p u t er n et wo rkin g o r co m m u n icat io n classes, en gin eers wo rkin g
with fixed n et works wh o wan t to see th e fu tu re tren d s in n etworkin g, as well as
m an agers wh o n eed a com p reh en sible overview in m obile com m u n ication . Th e
read er req u ires a b asic u n d erst an d in g o f co m m u n icat io n an d a ro u gh kn o wl-
ed ge o f t h e In t ern et o r n et wo rkin g in gen eral. W h ile reso u rces are availab le
wh ich focu s on a p art icu lar t ech n o lo gy, th is boo k tries to co ver m an y asp ects o f
m o b ile co m m u n icat io n s fro m a co m p u ter scien ce p o in t o f view. Fu rt h erm o re,
xvi Mobile communicat ions

t h e b o o k p o in t s o u t co m m o n p ro p ert ies o f d ifferen t t ech n ical so lu t io n s an d

sh o ws th e in t egrat io n o f services an d ap p licatio n s well-kn o wn fro m fixed n et -
wo rks in t o n et works su p p o rtin g m o bility o f en d system s an d wireless access. If
th e read er is in t erest ed in m ore d et ailed in fo rm at io n regard in g a certain to p ic,
h e o r sh e will fin d m an y p oin ters t o research p u blicatio n s o r related websit es.
Teach ers will fin d th is b o o k u sefu l fo r a co u rse th at fo llo ws a gen eral d at a
com m u n icat io n o r co m p u ter n etwo rkin g class. Th e bo ok can also rep lace p arts
o f m o re gen eral co u rses if it is u sed t o get h er wit h o t h er b o o ks co verin g fixed
n et wo rks o r asp ect s o f h igh -sp eed n et wo rks. It sh o u ld b e st raigh t fo rward t o
teach a m obile n etwo rkin g class u sin g t h is boo k t ogeth er with th e co u rse m ater-
ial p ro vid ed on lin e via th e fo llo win g lin k:
http:/ / www.jochenschiller.de/
Th e m at erial co m p rises all o f t h e figu res, o ver 5 0 0 slid es in En glish an d
Germ an as PDF an d PowerPo in t™ files, a list of all acron ym s, an d m an y lin ks to
relat ed sit es. Ad d it io n ally, t h e q u est io n s in clu d ed in t h e b o o k can p ro vid e a
go o d self-t est fo r st u d en t s. So lu t io n s t o all t h e q u est io n s in t h e b o o k can b e
fo u n d at th e p u blish er’s p assword -p ro tected site:
http:/ / www.booksites.net/ schiller
Th is b o ok ad d resses p eo p le wh o wan t t o kn o w h o w m o bile p h o n e system s
wo rk, wh at t ech n o lo gy will b e n ex t in wireless lo cal area n et wo rks, an d h o w
m obility will in fluen ce app lication s, security, or IP n etworks. En gin eers workin g in
fixed n etworks can see p ath s of m igration towards m ixed fixed/ m obile n etworks.
Th e b o o k fo llo ws a ‘t all an d t h in ’ ap p ro ach . It co vers a wh o le co u rse in
m obile com m u n icat ion , from sign als, access p rot ocols, u p to ap p lication req u ire-
m en ts an d secu rit y, an d d oes n ot st ress sin gle top ics t o t h e n eglect of oth ers. It
focu ses on d igital m obile com m u n ication system s, as th e fu tu re belon gs to d igi-
tal system s su ch as CDMA, GSM, DECT, W-CDMA, cd m a2000, UMTS, DAB. New
an d im p o rt an t t o p ics in t h e h igh er layers o f co m m u n icatio n , like t h e wireless
ap p lication p rotocol (WAP), i-m od e, an d wireless TCP are in clu d ed .
Ch ap t er 1 in trod u ces th e field o f m obile an d wireless com m u n ication , p re-
sen t s a sh ort h isto ry an d ch allen ges fo r research , an d co n clu d es with a m arket
vision , wh ich sh o ws th e p o t en t ial of m obile tech n o lo gy. Ch ap ter 2 follo ws t h e
classical layers o f co m m u n icat io n syst em s an d ex p lain s t h e b asics o f wireless
t ech n o lo gy fro m a co m p u t er scien ce p o in t o f view. To p ics in t h is ch ap t er are
sign al p rop agation , m u lt ip lexin g, an d m o d u latio n . Pro fou n d electrical en gin eer-
in g kn o wled ge is n o t req u ired ; h owever, it is n ecessary t o com p reh en d th e basic
p rin cip les o f wireless tran sm issio n t o u n d erstan d th e d esign d ecision s o f h igh er
layer co m m u n icat io n p ro t o co ls an d ap p licat io n s. Ch ap t er 3 p resen t s several
m ed ia access sch em es an d m otivates wh y th e stan d ard sch em es fro m fixed n et-
works fail if u sed in a wireless en viro n m en t.
C h ap t ers 4 –7 p resen t d ifferen t wireless co m m u n icat io n syst em s an d m ay
b e read in an y o rd er. All t h e syst em s in vo lve wireless access t o a n etwo rk an d
t h ey can t ran sfer arb it rary d at a b et ween co m m u n icat io n p art n ers. Ch ap t er 4
com p rises th e glob al system for m o bile com m u n ication s (GSM) as to d ay’s m o st
 Pref ace xvii

su ccessfu l p u b lic m o b ile p h o n e syst em , co rd less p h o n e t ech n o lo gy, t ru n ked

rad io s, an d t h e fu tu re d evelop m en t with th e u n iversal m o bile teleco m m u n ica-
tion s system (UMTS). Satellite system s are co vered in ch ap ter 5, wh ile ch ap ter 6
d iscu sses d igit al b ro ad cast syst em s su ch as d igit al au d io b ro ad cast in g (DAB)
wh ich can be on e co m p o n en t of a larger com m u n icat io n system p rovid in g en d -
u sers with m ass d ata. Wireless LANs as rep lacem en t fo r cablin g in sid e bu ild in gs
are p resen t ed in ch ap t er 7. Ex a m p les are IEEE 8 0 2 .1 1 , H ip erLAN 2 , an d
Blu et oo t h . A sp ecial feat u re o f Hip erLAN2 is th e p ro visio n in g o f q u ality o f ser-
vice (QOS), i.e., th e syst em can give gu aran t ees fo r certain p aram et ers, su ch as
ban d wid th o r error rates.
Ch ap ter 8 m ain ly p resen ts m obile IP, t h e ext en sio n of th e In tern et p roto col
(IP) in to t h e m o bile d o m ain . Ad -h o c n et works wit h t h eir req u irem en ts for sp e-
cific ro u t in g p ro t o co ls are also co vered . Th e su b seq u en t layer, t h e t ra n sp o rt
layer, is covered in ch ap t er 9. Th is ch ap ter d iscu sses several ap p ro ach es o f ad ap t-
in g t h e curren t tran sm ission co n trol p ro toco l (TCP), wh ich is well kn o wn fro m
t h e In t ern et , t o t h e sp ecial req u irem en t s o f m o b ile co m m u n icat io n syst em s.
C h a p t er 1 0 p resen t s t h e w ireless ap p licat io n p ro t o co l (WAP) st an d ard t h at
en ab les wireless an d m o bile d evices t o u se p art s o f t h e wo rld wid e web (www)
fro m t o d ay’s fixed In t ern et . Ad d it io n ally, t h is ch ap t er sh o ws t h e m igrat io n t o
WAP 2.0, wh ich in clu d es com p o n en ts from i-m od e an d t h e In tern et. Th e bo ok
closes with an ou t lo o k t o fou rth gen eratio n system s in ch ap ter 11.
Th e boo k is based on a co u rse I h ave tau gh t several tim es at t h e Un iversit y
o f Karlsru h e an d th e Free Un iversit y o f Berlin . Th e co u rse t yp ically co n sist s o f
14 lect u res of 90 m in u t es each (typ ically, n o t every t op ic o f t h e boo k is covered
d u rin g th e lectu re in th e sam e d etail). Over 100 u n iversities, co lleges, an d o th er
in stitu t ion s aro u n d t h e wo rld h ave alread y u sed th e m at erial com p iled fo r th is
b o o k. Teach ers m ay in clu d e t h e o n lin e m at erial in t h eir co u rses or even b ase
wh o le cou rses o n t h e m aterial.

What is new in t he second edit ion?

O ver t h ree years h ave p assed sin ce t h e p u b licat ion o f t h e first ed itio n . Du rin g
t h is t im e, m an y n ew id eas sh o wed u p , several id eas were d ro p p ed , an d m an y
syst em s h ave b een im p ro ved . Th e m ain ch an ges, b esid es u p d at es o f all refer-
en ces an d lin ks, are th e followin g:

● In t egratio n of h igh er d ata rat es fo r GSM (HSCSD, GPRS).

● Com p lete n ew section abou t t h ird gen eration system s with in -d ep t h d iscu s-
sion o f UMTS/ W-CDMA.
● Ad d itio n o f t h e n ew W LAN stan d ard s fo r h igh er d at a rat es: 802.11a, .11b ,
.11g an d Hip erLAN2.
● Exten sion of th e Blu eto oth sect io n : IEEE 802.15, p ro files, ap p licatio n s.
xviii Mobile communicat ions

● M ore on ad -h o c n et workin g an d wireless p rofiled TCP.

● M igratio n of WAP 1.x an d i-m od e to ward s WAP 2.0.

Yo u are en co u raged t o sen d an y co m m en t s regard in g t h e b o o k o r co u rse

m at erial to [email protected]. Fin ally, I h op e you en jo y read in g th is co m -
p let ely revised b o o k an d fo rgive m e fo r sim p lificat io n s I h ave u sed t o avo id
b lu rrin g t h e b ig p ict u re o f m o b ile co m m u n icat io n s. M an y su ch d et ails m ay
ch an ge as research an d st an d ard s evo lve o ver t im e. As t h is b o o k co vers m an y
asp ect s of m obile co m m u n icatio n s it can n ot d ig in to each an d every d etail with
th e sam e scien tific d ep th . Fin ally, th e fam o u s q u o te fro m Go eth e is valid for th is
bo ok, to o:
Properly spea kin g, such work is n ever fin ish ed; on e m ust decla re it so wh en ,
a ccording to time and circumstances, one has done one' s best.
 Acknowledgement s

First o f all, I wan t to th an k th e n u m ero u s stu d en t s fro m m y Mobile Com m u n i-

cat io n s co u rses wh o p u sh ed m e t o ward s writ in g th is b o o k by req u est in g m o re
in form atio n regard in g wireless an d m o bile com m u n ication . Th e st u d en t s’ q u es-
t io n s a n d an swers w ere a great h elp t o sh a p in g t h e co n t en t s. I a lso w a n t t o
th an k t h e n u m erou s read ers aro u n d t h e wo rld for t h eir com m en ts an d reviews.
You all h elp ed m e a lo t fixin g u n clear exp lan atio n s.
Fo r t h e first ed it io n , m an y o f m y fo rm er co lleagu es at t h e Un iversit y o f
Karlsru h e gave gen ero u sly o f th eir in tellect an d tim e, read in g, com m en tin g, an d
d iscu ssin g t h e ch ap t ers o f t h e b o o k. I am esp ecially grat efu l t o Marc Bech ler,
Stefan Dresler, Joch en Seitz, an d Gü n ter Sch äfer. I wan t to th an k Hartm u t Ritt er
fo r h is su p p o rt b y t akin g o ver so m e o f m y d aily ro u t in e wo rk. I also h ad h elp
from Veren a Rose an d Elm ar Dorn er d u rin g th e early stages o f th e co u rse m ater-
ial. I also wan t t o t h an k t h e fo rm er h ead o f t h e In st it u t e o f Telem at ics, Pro f.
Gerh ard Krü ger, fo r givin g m e t h e freed o m an d su p p o rt t o set u p t h e Mo b ile
Com m u n icatio n s cou rse in an in sp irin g en viron m en t.
Fo r m an y in sigh t fu l com m en t s t o th e boo k, I t h an k Per Gu n n in gberg fro m
Up p sala Un iversit y, Swed en . I am p ro fo u n d ly grat efu l t o An gelika Ried er an d
Kerst in Risse fo r th eir h elp in p o lish in g th e first ed it ion . With o u t t h eir h elp , it
wou ld n ot be as easy to read .
For th e secon d ed itio n , wh ich I wrote at th e Free Un iversity of Berlin , I am
p art icu larly gratefu l t o Th iem o Vo igt fro m SICS, Swed en , wh o h elp ed m e a lo t
in tegratin g th e n ew id eas of m obile an d wireless tech n ology. Fu rth erm ore, I wan t
to th an k all th e an o n ym o u s reviewers, co lleagu es, an d stu d en ts from m an y d if-
feren t p laces arou n d t h e world for th eir valu able con tribu tion s to th is ed ition .
As fo r t h e first ed ition , I h ave to t h an k t h e Ad d ison -Wesley team in th e UK
fo r all t h eir su p p o rt d u rin g t h e m akin g o f t h e b o o k, sp ecial t h an ks t o Brid get
Allen , Tessa Fin ch am an d M ich ael St ran g wh o firm ly p u sh ed m e t o ward s t h e
fin al m an u scrip t for t h is ed itio n .
 Int roduct ion 1
Downloaded from www.books4career.blogspot.com

W
h at will co m p u t ers loo k like in ten years? No on e can m ake a wh olly
accu rate p red ict io n , bu t as a gen eral featu re, m o st co m p u t ers will cer-
t ain ly b e p o r t a b le. Ho w will u sers a ccess n et wo rks wit h t h e h elp o f
co m p u ters o r o th er co m m u n icatio n d evices? An ever-in creasin g n u m b er with -
ou t an y wires, i.e., w ireless. How will p eo p le sp en d m u ch of th eir tim e at wo rk,
d u rin g vacatio n ? Man y p eo p le will b e m o b ile – alread y o n e of th e key ch arac-
t erist ics o f t o d ay’s so ciet y. Th in k, fo r ex am p le, o f an aircraft wit h 8 0 0 seat s.
Mo d ern aircraft alread y o ffer lim it ed n et wo rk access t o p assen gers, an d aircraft
of t h e n ext gen erat io n will o ffer easy In t ern et access. In th is scen ario , a m o bile
n et wo rk m o vin g at h igh sp eed ab o ve gro u n d wit h a wireless lin k will b e t h e
o n ly m ean s o f t ran sp o rt in g d at a t o a n d fro m p a ssen gers. Th in k o f cars w it h
In tern et access an d b illio n s o f em bed d ed p ro cessors t h at h ave to co m m u n icate
wit h , fo r in st an ce, cam eras, m o b ile p h o n es, CD-p layers, h ead set s, keyb o ard s,
in t elligen t t raffic sign s an d sen so rs. Th is p let h o ra o f d evices an d ap p licat io n s
sh ow t h e great im p o rt an ce of m o bile co m m u n icatio n s t od ay.
Before presen tin g m ore ap p lication s, th e term s ‘m obile’ an d ‘wireless’ as u sed
th rou gh ou t th is book sh ou ld be d efin ed . Th ere are two differen t kin d s of m obil-
ity: u ser m o bility an d d evice p o rt ability. User m o b ilit y refers to a u ser wh o h as
access t o th e sam e or sim ilar telecom m u n ication services at d ifferen t p laces, i.e.,
t h e u ser can b e m o b ile, an d t h e services will fo llo w h im o r h er. Exam p les fo r
m ech an ism s su p p ortin g u ser m obilit y are sim p le call-forwardin g solu tion s kn own
fro m th e telep h on e o r com p u ter d eskt op s su p p o rtin g roam in g (i.e., th e d eskt op
looks th e sam e n o m at ter wh ich com p u ter a u ser u ses to log in to th e n etwork).
With d evice p o rt ab ilit y,1 th e com m u n ication d evice m oves (with or with out
a u ser). Man y m ech an ism s in th e n etwork an d in sid e th e d evice h ave to m ake su re
th at com m un ication is still possible wh ile th e device is m ovin g. A typ ical exam p le
for system s su p p ortin g d evice p ortability is th e m obile p h on e system , wh ere th e
system itself h an d s th e d evice fro m on e rad io t ran sm itter (also called a base sta-
tion ) to th e n ext if th e sign al becom es too weak. Most of th e scen arios described in
th is book con tain both u ser m obility an d device portability at th e sam e tim e.

1 Ap art fro m t h e t erm ‘p o rt ab le’, several o t h er t erm s are u sed w h en sp ea kin g ab o u t d evices (e.g.,
‘m o bile’ in th e case o f ‘m o bile p h o n e’). Th is b oo k m ain ly d istin gu ish es bet ween wireless access to a
n et wo rk an d m obility of a u ser with a d evice as key ch aracterist ics.

1
2 Mobile communicat ions

W it h regard t o d evices, t h e t erm w ir eless is u sed . Th is o n ly d escrib es t h e

way o f accessin g a n et wo rk o r o t h er co m m u n icat io n p art n ers, i.e., wit h o u t a
wire. Th e wire is rep laced by th e tran sm issio n of electrom agn etic waves t h rou gh
‘th e air’ (alth ou gh wireless tran sm issio n d o es n o t n eed an y m ed iu m ).
A com m u n ication device can th u s exh ibit on e of th e followin g ch aracteristics:

● Fix ed a n d w ired : Th is co n figu rat io n d escribes th e typ ical d esktop co m p u t er

in an o ffice. Neit h er weigh t n o r p ower con su m p tion o f th e d evices allo w for
m o bile u sage. Th e d evices u se fixed n et works for p erform an ce reason s.
● M o b i le a n d w i r ed : M an y o f t o d ay’s lap t o p s fall in t o t h is cat ego ry; u sers
carry th e lap to p from on e h ot el to th e n ext, reco n n ect in g t o th e co m p an y’s
n et wo rk via th e telep h on e n et work an d a m o d em .
● Fix ed a n d w ireless: Th is m o d e is u sed for in stallin g n et wo rks, e.g., in h is-
t o rical b u ild in gs t o avo id d am age b y in stallin g wires, o r at trad e sh o ws t o
en su re fast n et wo rk set u p . An o t h er exam p le is b rid gin g t h e last m ile t o a
cu st o m er b y a n ew o p erat or t h at h as n o wired in frastru ctu re an d d o es n o t
wan t to lease lin es from a co m p etito r.
● M o b ile a n d w ir eless: Th is is t h e m o st in t erest in g case. No cab le rest rict s
th e u ser, wh o can roam b etween d ifferen t wireless n etworks. Mo st tech n o l-
o gies d iscu ssed in th is boo k d eal wit h th is t yp e of d evice an d th e n etworks
su p p ortin g th em . Tod ay’s m ost su ccessfu l exam p le for th is cat ego ry is GSM
with m ore t h an 800 m illion u sers.

Th e fo llowin g sectio n h igh ligh ts so m e ap p lication scen arios p red estin ed for th e
u se o f m obile an d wireless d evices. An overview of so m e t yp ical d evices is also
given . Th e read er sh ou ld keep in m in d , h o wever, th at th e scen arios an d d evices
d iscu ssed on ly rep resen t a selected sp ectru m , wh ich will ch an ge in th e fu t u re.
As th e m arket for m o bile an d wireless d evices is gro win g rap id ly, m ore d evices
will sh o w u p , an d n ew ap p licat io n scen ario s will be creat ed . A sh ort h isto ry o f
wireless co m m u n icat io n will p ro vid e th e backgro u n d , b riefly su m m in g u p t h e
d evelo p m en t o ver t h e last 2 00 years. Sect io n 1 .3 sh o w s wireless an d m o b ile
co m m u n icat io n fro m a m arket in g p ersp ect ive. W h ile t h ere are alread y o ver a
billio n u sers o f wireless d evices to d ay an d th e wireless b u sin ess h as exp erien ced
som e p ro blem s in t h e last few years, th e m arket p ot en tial is still t rem en d ou s.
Section 1.4 sh ows som e o p en research t op ics resu ltin g from th e fu n d am en -
tal d ifferen ces between wired an d wireless com m u n ication . Section 1.5 p resen ts
t h e b asic referen ce m o d el fo r co m m u n icat io n syst em s u sed t h ro u gh o u t t h is
bo ok. Th is ch ap ter co n clu d es with an overview of th e bo ok, exp lain in g th e ‘tall
an d th in ’ ap p ro ach ch osen . Tall an d th in m ean s th at th is boo k covers a variet y
o f d ifferen t asp ect s o f m o b ile an d wireless co m m u n icat io n t o p ro vid e a co m -
p let e p ictu re. Du e to t h is broad p ersp ect ive, h owever, it d oes n ot go in to all th e
d etails o f each tech n o lo gy an d system s p resen ted .
 Int roduct ion 3

1.1 Applicat ions

Alt h o u gh m an y ap p licat io n s can b en efit fro m wireless n et wo rks an d m o b ile

co m m u n icatio n s, p art icu lar ap p licatio n en viro n m en ts seem t o b e p red est in ed
for th eir u se. Th e fo llo win g sectio n s will en u m erate som e o f th em – it is left t o
yo u to im agin e m o re.

1.1.1 Vehicles
To d ay’s cars alread y co m p rise so m e, b u t t o m o rro w’s cars will co m p rise m an y
wireless com m u n ication system s an d m obility aware ap p lication s. Mu sic, n ews,
road co n d it ion s, weath er rep o rt s, an d oth er bro ad cast in fo rm at ion are received
via d igit al au d io bro ad cast in g (DAB) wit h 1.5 Mbit / s. Fo r p erson al com m u n ica-
t io n , a u n iversal m o b ile t eleco m m u n icat io n s syst em (UMTS) p h o n e m igh t b e
available offerin g voice an d d ata con n ectivit y with 384 kbit/ s. For rem ote areas,
sat ellit e co m m u n icat io n can b e u sed , wh ile t h e cu rren t p o sit io n o f t h e car is
d et erm in ed via t h e glo b al p osit io n in g syst em (GPS). Cars d rivin g in t h e sam e
area bu ild a local ad -h oc n et wo rk for th e fast exch an ge o f in form ation in em er-
gen cy situ ation s or to h elp each oth er keep a safe d istan ce. In case of an acciden t,
n o t on ly will th e airb ag be triggered , bu t th e p olice an d am bu lan ce service will
be in form ed via an em ergen cy call to a service p rovid er. Cars wit h t h is tech n ol-
o gy are alread y availab le. In t h e fu t u re, cars will also in fo rm o t h er cars ab o u t
accid en ts via th e ad -h oc n etwork to h elp th em slow d own in t im e, even before a
d river can recogn ize an accid en t . Bu ses, tru cks, an d train s are alread y tran sm it-
tin g m ain t en an ce an d lo gistic in fo rm atio n to th eir h o m e b ase, wh ich h elp s t o
im p rove organ ization (fleet m an agem en t ), an d saves tim e an d m on ey.
Figu re 1.1 sh ows a typ ical scen ario for m o bile co m m u n ication s with m an y
wireless d evices. Net works with a fixed in frastru ctu re like cellu lar p h on es (GSM,
UMTS) will be in terco n n ected with t ru n ked radio system s (TETRA) an d wireless
LANs (W LAN). Sat ellit e co m m u n icat io n lin ks can also b e u sed . Th e n et wo rks
b et ween cars an d in sid e each car will m o re likely wo rk in an ad -h o c fash io n .
W ireless p ico n et w o rks in sid e a car can co m p rise p erso n al d igit al assist an t s
(PDA), lap t o p s, o r m o b ile p h o n es, e.g., co n n ect ed wit h each o t h er u sin g t h e
Blu eto oth t ech n ology.
Th is first scen ario sh o ws, in ad d it io n t o t h e t ech n ical co n t en t, so m et h in g
typ ical in th e co m m u n icat io n b u sin ess – m an y acro n ym s. Th is b o o k co n tain s
an d d efin es m an y o f th ese. If yo u get lo st wit h an acro n ym , p lease ch eck th e
ap p en d ix, wh ich con t ain s th e co m p lete list , o r ch eck th e term s an d d efin ition s
d atabase in teractive (TEDDI) o f ETSI (2002).
Th in k o f sim ilar scen ario s fo r air t raffic o r railro ad t raffic. Differen t p ro b -
lem s can o ccu r h ere d u e t o sp eed . W h ile aircraft t yp ically t ravel at u p t o
900 km / h an d cu rren t train s u p to 350 km / h , m an y tech n o logies can n ot o p er-
at e if t h e relative sp eed o f a m o b ile d evice exceed s, e.g., 250 km / h fo r GSM o r
100 km / h fo r AMPS. O n ly som e t ech n o lo gies, like DAB wo rk u p t o 900 km / h
(u n id irection al on ly).
4 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 1.1
A typical application of
mobile communications:
road traffic

1.1.2 Emergencies
Ju st im agin e th e p ossibilities o f an am b u lan ce with a h igh -q u ality wireless co n -
n ectio n to a h o sp ital. Vit al in fo rm ation abo u t in ju red p erso n s can be sen t to th e
h osp ital fro m th e scen e of t h e accid en t. All t h e n ecessary st ep s for th is p articu -
lar typ e o f accid en t can be p rep ared an d sp ecialists can be con su lted fo r an early
d iagn osis. Wireless n etwo rks are th e o n ly m ean s of com m u n icatio n in th e case
o f n at u ral d isasters su ch as h u rrican es o r earth q u akes. In th e wo rst cases, o n ly
d ecen t ralized , wireless ad -h o c n et wo rks su rvive. Th e b reakd o wn o f all cab lin g
n ot on ly im p lies th e failu re of t h e stan d ard wired telep h on e system , bu t also th e
crash o f all m obile p h o n e system s req u irin g base station s!

1.1.3 Business
A travellin g salesm an to d ay n eed s in stan t access to th e co m p an y’s d atabase: t o
en su re t h at files o n h is or h er lap top reflect th e cu rren t situ at ion , t o en ab le th e
com p an y to keep track of all activities of th eir travellin g em p loyees, to keep data-
b ases co n sisten t etc. With wireless access, th e lap to p can b e t u rn ed in to a t ru e
m obile office, bu t efficien t an d p owerfu l syn ch ron ization m ech an ism s are n eed ed
to en su re d ata con sisten cy. Figure 1.2 illu strates wh at m ay h ap p en wh en em p loy-
ees t ry to co m m u n icat e o ff base. At h o m e, th e lap to p co n n ects via a W LAN o r
LAN an d DSL to th e In tern et. Leavin g h om e req u ires a h an d over to an oth er tech -
n ology, e.g., t o an en h an ced version of GSM, as soon as th e W LAN coverage en ds.
Du e to in terferen ce an d oth er factors d iscu ssed in ch ap ter 2, data rates drop wh ile
cru isin g at h igh er sp eed . Gas station s m ay o ffer W LAN h o t sp ots as well as gas.
Train s alread y offer su p p ort for wireless con n ectivity. Several m o re h an d overs to
d ifferen t tech n o lo gies m igh t be n ecessary before reach in g th e o ffice. No m atter
 Int roduct ion 5

LAN, WLAN GSM 53 kbit/s UMTS, GSM LAN Figure 1.2

780 kbit/s Bluetooth 500 kbit/s 115 kbit/s 100 Mbit/s, Mobile and wireless
WLAN services – always best
54 Mbit/s connected

UMTS, DECT
2 Mbit/s

GSM/EDGE 384 kbit/s, GSM 115 kbit/s, UMTS, GSM

WLAN 780 kbit/s WLAN 11 Mbit/s 384 kbit/s

wh en an d wh ere, m obile com m u n ication s sh ou ld always offer as good con n ectiv-

ity as p ossible to th e in tern et, th e com p an y’s in tran et , or th e telep h on e n etwork.

1.1.4 Replacement of wired networks

In so m e cases, wireless n et w o rks can also b e u sed t o rep lace wired n et w o rks,
e.g., rem o te sen so rs, fo r t rad esh o ws, o r in h isto ric bu ild in gs. Du e t o eco n o m ic
rea so n s, it is o ft en im p o ssib le t o wire rem o t e sen so rs fo r weat h er fo reca st s,
eart h q u ake d et ect io n , o r t o p ro vid e en viro n m en t al in fo rm atio n . Wireless co n -
n ection s, e.g., via sat ellite, can h elp in th is situ at io n . Trad esh o ws n eed a h igh ly
d yn am ic in frast ru ctu re, bu t cablin g takes a lo n g tim e an d freq u en tly p roves t o
be to o in flexible. Man y com p u ter fairs u se W LANs as a rep lacem en t fo r cablin g.
O t h er cases fo r wireless n et wo rks are co m p u t ers, sen so rs, o r in fo rm at io n d is-
p lays in h isto rical bu ild in gs, wh ere excess cablin g m ay d estro y valu able walls o r
floo rs. Wireless access p o in ts in a corn er o f t h e ro om can rep resen t a solu t io n .

1.1.5 Infotainment and more

In tern et everywh ere? No t with o u t wireless n et wo rks! Im agin e a t ravel gu id e fo r
a cit y. St atic in form atio n m igh t be lo ad ed via CD-RO M, DVD, o r even at h o m e
via t h e In t ern et . Bu t wireless n et wo rks can p ro vid e u p -t o -d at e in fo rm at io n at
an y ap p ro p riate locat io n . Th e t ravel gu id e m igh t tell yo u som eth in g abo u t t h e
h ist ory o f a bu ild in g (kn owin g via GPS, co n tact t o a local base station , or t rian -
gu lat io n wh ere yo u are) d o wn lo ad in g in fo rm at io n a b o u t a co n cert in t h e
b u ild in g at t h e sam e even in g via a lo cal wireless n et wo rk. Yo u m ay ch o o se a
seat , p ay via elect ro n ic cash , an d sen d t h is in fo rm at io n t o a service p ro vid er
(Ch everst, 2000). An o th er growin g field o f wireless n etwork ap p licatio n s lies in
en t ert ain m en t an d gam es t o en ab le, e.g., ad -h o c gam in g n et wo rks as so o n as
p eop le m eet t o p lay to geth er.

1.1.6 Locat ion dependent services

6 Mobile communicat ions

Man y research effo rt s in m o b ile co m p u t in g an d wireless n et wo rks t ry t o h id e

th e fact th at th e n et wo rk access h as been ch an ged (e.g., from m o bile p h o n e to
W LAN o r b et ween d ifferen t access p o in t s) o r t h at a wireless lin k is m o re erro r
p ro n e t h an a wired o n e. Man y ch ap t ers in t h is bo o k give exam p les: Mo bile IP
tries t o h id e th e fact of ch an gin g access p oin ts by red irectin g p acket s bu t keep -
in g t h e sam e IP ad d ress (see sect io n 8 .1 ), an d m an y p ro t o co ls t ry t o im p ro ve
lin k q u ality u sin g en co d in g m ech an ism s o r retran sm issio n so th at ap p licatio n s
m ad e for fixed n etwo rks still work.
In m an y cases, h o wever, it is im p o rtan t for an ap p lication to ‘kn ow’ so m e-
t h in g ab o u t t h e lo cat io n o r t h e u ser m igh t n eed lo cat io n in fo rm a t io n fo r
fu rth er activities. Several services th at m igh t d ep en d on th e act u al locat ion can
be d istin gu ish ed :

● Fo ll o w -o n ser v ices: Th e fu n ct io n o f fo rward in g calls t o t h e cu rren t u ser

lo cation is well kn own fro m th e goo d old t elep h o n e system . W h erever you
are, ju st tran sm it yo u r tem po rary p h o n e n u m b er to yo u r p h on e an d it red i-
rect s in co m in g calls. 2 Usin g m o b ile co m p u t ers, a fo llo w-o n service co u ld
o ffer, fo r in stan ce, th e sam e d esktop en viron m en t wh erever yo u are in t h e
wo rld . All e-m ail wou ld au to m atically be forward ed an d all ch an ges to yo u r
d esktop an d d o cu m en ts wou ld b e st o red at a cen tral location at yo u r co m -
p an y. If so m eo n e wan t ed t o reach yo u u sin g a m u lt im ed ia co n feren cin g
system , t h is call wo u ld be forward ed to you r cu rren t location .
● Lo ca t io n a w a re ser v ices: Im agin e yo u wan t ed to p rin t a d o cu m en t sit tin g
in t h e lo b by o f a h o t el u sin g yo u r lap t o p . If yo u d ro p t h e d o cu m en t o ver
t h e p rin t er ico n , wh ere wo u ld yo u ex p ect t h e d o cu m en t t o b e p rin t ed ?
C ert ain ly n o t b y t h e p rin t er in yo u r o ffice! Ho wever, w it h o u t ad d it io n al
in fo rm at io n abo u t t h e cap ab ilities o f yo u r en viron m en t , t h is m igh t b e t h e
o n ly t h in g yo u can d o . Fo r in stan ce, t h ere cou ld b e a service in th e h o t el
a n n o u n cin g t h at a st an d a rd laser p rin t er is availa b le in t h e lo b b y o r a
co lor p rin t er in a h o tel m eet in g roo m etc. You r co m p u ter m igh t th en tran s-
m it yo u r p erso n al p ro file t o yo u r h o t el wh ich t h en ch arges yo u wit h t h e
p rin tin g cost s.
● Priv a cy: Th e two service classes listed abo ve im m ed iately raise th e qu est io n
o f p rivacy. Yo u m igh t n o t wan t vid eo calls fo llo win g yo u t o d in n er, b u t
m aybe yo u wou ld wan t im po rtan t e-m ails to be fo rward ed . Th ere m igh t be
lo cat io n s an d / o r t im es w h en yo u wan t t o ex clu d e cert ain services fro m
reach in g you an d you d o n ot wan t to be d istu rb ed . You wan t to u tilize loca-
tio n d ep en d en t services, bu t yo u m igh t n o t wan t th e en viron m en t to kn ow
exactly wh o you are. Im agin e a h ot el m o n ito rin g all gu ests an d sellin g th ese
p rofiles to com p an ies fo r ad vertisem en ts.
● In fo r m a t io n ser v ices: W h ile walkin g arou n d in a city yo u cou ld always u se

2 Actu ally, th is is alread y d on e with th e p h o n e n et wo rk – you r p h o n e ju st h an d les so m e sign allin g.

 Int roduct ion 7

yo u r wireless t ravel gu id e to ‘p u ll’ in form at io n from a service, e.g., ‘W h ere

is t h e n earest Mexican restau ran t ?’ Ho wever, a service co u ld also act ively
‘p u sh ’ in fo rm at io n o n yo u r t ravel gu id e, e.g., t h e Mexican restau ran t ju st
aro u n d th e co rn er h as a sp ecial t aco offer.
● Su p p o r t ser vices: Man y sm all ad d ition al m ech an ism s can be in tegrated t o
su p p ort a m o bile d evice. In term ed iate resu lts of calcu lation s, state in fo rm a-
t io n , o r cach e co n t en t s co u ld ‘fo llo w’ t h e m o b ile n o d e t h ro u gh t h e fixed
n etwo rk. As so o n as t h e m ob ile n o d e reco n n ect s, all in fo rm at io n is avail-
ab le again . Th is h elp s t o red u ce access d elay an d t raffic wit h in t h e fix ed
n et wo rk. Cach in g o f d at a o n t h e m o b ile d evice (st an d ard fo r all d eskt o p
syst em s) is o ften n o t p ossib le d u e to lim ited m em ory cap acity. Th e altern a-
t ive wou ld b e a cen tral lo cat io n fo r u ser in fo rm at io n an d a u ser accessin g
th is in form atio n th rou gh th e (p ossibly large an d co n gested ) n et work all t h e
tim e as it is o ften d o n e tod ay.

1.1.7 Mobile and wireless devices

Even th ou gh m an y m obile an d wireless d evices are available, th ere will be m an y
m o re in t h e fu t u re. Th ere is n o p recise classificat io n o f su ch d evices, b y size,
sh ap e, weigh t, o r com p u tin g p ower. Cu rren tly, lap to p s are co n sid ered th e u p p er
en d o f t h e m o b ile d evice ran ge. 3 Th e fo llo win g list gives so m e ex a m p les o f
m o bile an d wireless d evices grad ed b y in creasin g p erfo rm an ce (CPU, m em o ry,
d isp lay, in p u t d evices et c.). Ho wever, t h ere is n o sh arp lin e b et ween t h e cat e-
go ries an d co m p an ies t en d to in ven t m ore an d m ore n ew categories.

● Sen so r: A very sim p le wireless d evice is rep resen ted by a sen sor tran sm it tin g
st at e in form atio n . On e exam p le co u ld b e a switch sen sin g th e o ffice d oor. If
th e d o or is closed , th e switch tran sm it s th is to th e m o bile p h o n e in sid e t h e
o ffice wh ich will n o t accep t in co m in g calls. Wit h o u t u ser in t eract io n , th e
sem an tics o f a clo sed d o or is ap p lied to p h on e calls.
● Em b ed d ed co n t r o llers: Man y ap p lian ces alread y co n t ain a sim p le o r so m e-
t im es m o re co m p lex co n t ro ller. Keyb o ard s, m ice, h ead set s, w ash in g
m ach in es, co ffee m ach in es, h air d ryers an d TV sets are ju st som e exam p les.
W h y n ot h ave t h e h air d ryer as a sim p le m o bile an d wireless d evice (fro m a
com m u n icat io n p o in t of view) th at is able t o com m u n icate with th e m obile
p h o n e? Th en th e d ryer wo u ld switch off as soon as th e p h on e starts rin gin g
– th at wou ld be a n ice ap p licatio n !
● Pa g er : As a very sim p le receiver, a p ager can o n ly d isp lay sh o rt t ext m es-
sages, h as a tin y d isp lay, an d can n ot sen d an y m essages. Pagers can even b e
in t egrat ed in t o w at ch es. Th e t rem en d o u s su ccess o f m o b ile p h o n es, h as
m ad e t h e p ager virtu ally red u n d an t in m an y cou n tries. Sh o rt m essages h ave
rep laced p agin g. Th e situ atio n is so m ewh at d ifferen t fo r em ergen cy services

3 Pu t t in g a m ain fram e o n a tru ck d o es n o t really m ake it a m ob ile d evice.

8 Mobile communicat ions

wh ere it m ay b e n ecessary to p age a larger n u m ber o f u sers reliably wit h in

sh o rt tim e.
● M o b ile p h o n es: Th e t rad ition al m o bile p h on e o n ly h ad a sim p le black an d
w h it e t ext d isp lay an d co u ld sen d / receive vo ice o r sh o rt m essages. To d ay,
m obile ph on es m igrate m ore an d m ore toward PDAs. Mobile p h on es with fu ll
co lor grap h ic d isplay, tou ch screen , an d In tern et browser are easily available.
● P e r so n a l d ig it a l a ssi st a n t : PDAs t yp ically acco m p an y a u ser an d o ffer
sim p le versio n s o f o ffice so ft w are (calen d ar, n o t e-p ad , m ail). Th e t yp ical
in p u t d evice is a p en , with bu ilt-in ch aracter reco gn ition tran slatin g h an d -
w rit in g in t o ch aract ers. Web b ro wsers an d m an y o t h er so ft ware p ackages
are available fo r th ese d evices.
● Po ck et co m p u t er: Th e n ext st ep s toward fu ll co m p u ters are p ocket co m p u t-
ers o fferin g tin y keyboard s, colo r d isp lays, an d sim p le versio n s of p ro gram s
fo u n d o n d esktop com p u t ers (t ext p rocessin g, sp read sh eets etc.).
● No t eb o o k / la p t o p : Fin ally, lap to p s o ffer m ore or less th e sam e p erfo rm an ce
as stan d ard d eskto p co m p u t ers; th ey u se t h e sam e so ftware – th e on ly tech -
n ical d ifferen ce b ein g size, weigh t , an d t h e ab ilit y t o ru n o n a b at t ery. If
o p erated m ain ly via a sen sitive d isp lay (t ou ch sen sitive or elect rom agn etic),
th e d evices are also kn o wn as n o tep ad s or tablet PCs.

Th e m o bile an d wireless d evices o f th e fu tu re will be m ore p owerfu l, less h eavy,

an d com p rise n ew in t erfaces t o th e u ser an d to n ew n etwo rks. However, o n e big
p roblem , wh ich h as n ot yet been solved , is th e en ergy su p p ly. Th e m o re featu res
t h at a re b u ilt in t o a d evice, t h e m o re p o wer it n eed s. Th e h igh er t h e p erfo r-
m a n ce o f t h e d evice, t h e fast er it d rain s t h e b at t eries (assu m in g t h e sa m e
tech n o lo gy). Fu rth erm o re, wireless d ata t ran sm ission con su m es a lo t o f en ergy.
Alt h o u gh t h e area o f m o b ile co m p u t in g an d m o b ile co m m u n icat io n is
d evelo p in g rap id ly, t h e d evices t yp ically u sed t o d ay st ill exh ib it so m e m ajo r
d raw b acks co m p ared t o d eskt o p syst em s in ad d it io n t o t h e en ergy p ro b lem .
In t erfaces h ave to be sm all en o u gh to m ake th e device p ortable, so sm aller key-
bo ard s are u sed . Th is m akes typ in g d ifficu lt d u e to th eir lim ited key size. Sm all
d isp lays are often u seless fo r grap h ical d isp lay. High er reso lu t ion d oes n o t h elp ,
as th e lim itin g factor is t h e resolu tion cap acity o f th e h u m an eye. Th ese d evices
h ave t o u se n ew ways o f in t eractin g wit h a u ser, su ch as, e.g., t o u ch sen sit ive
d isp lays an d voice recogn it ion .
M obile com m u n ication is greatly in flu en ced by th e m ergin g of t elecom m u -
n ication an d co m p u ter n et wo rks. We can n o t say fo r certain wh at th e telep h on e
o f t h e fu tu re will lo ok like, bu t it will m o st p robably be a com p u t er. Even t o d ay,
t elep h o n es an d m o b ile p h o n es are far fro m t h e sim p le ‘vo ice t ran sm issio n
d evices’ th ey were in t h e p ast. 4 Develo p m en t s like ‘voice o ver IP’ an d th e gen -
eral t ren d t o w ard p acket -o rien t ed n et wo rks en fo rce t h e m et am o rp h o sis o f
telep h on es (alt h ou gh voice services st ill gu aran tee goo d reven u e). W h ile n o on e

4 C h a p t er 4 will p resen t m o re feat u res o f m o d ern m o b ile p h o n e syst em s, in clu d in g t h e gro w in g

d em an d for ban d wid t h to u se t yp ical In t ern et ap p licat ion s via t h e m o bile ‘p h o n e’.
 Int roduct ion 9

can p red ict th e fu tu re of co m m u n ication d evices p recisely, it is q u ite clear th at

th ere will still be m an y fixed syst em s, co m p lem en ted b y a m yriad of sm all wire-
less co m p u t in g d evices all o ver t h e wo rld . M o re p eo p le alread y u se m o b ile
p h on es th an fixed p h o n es!

1.2 A short hist or y of wireless communicat ion

Fo r a b et t er u n d erst a n d in g o f t o d ay’s wireless syst em s an d d evelo p m en t s, a

sh o rt h ist o ry o f wireless co m m u n icatio n is p resen t ed in th e fo llo win g sect io n .
Th is can n ot co ver all in ven t ion s bu t h igh ligh ts th ose th at h ave co n t ribu ted fu n -
d am en t ally to tod ay’s syst em s.
Th e u se o f ligh t for wireless com m u n ication s reach es back to an cien t tim es.
In fo rm er tim es, th e ligh t was eit h er ‘m o d u lated ’ u sin g m irrors to create a cer-
t ain ligh t o n / ligh t o ff p at t ern (’am p lit u d e m o d u lat io n ’) o r, fo r exam p le, flags
w ere u sed t o sign al co d e wo rd s (’am p lit u d e an d freq u en cy m o d u la t io n ’, see
ch a p t er 2 ). Th e u se o f sm o ke sign a ls fo r co m m u n ica t io n is m en t io n ed b y
Po lybiu s, Greece, as early as 150 BC. It is also rep o rted from th e early (or west-
ern ) Han d yn ast y in a n cien t C h in a (2 0 6 BC –24 AD) t h a t ligh t was u sed fo r
sign alin g m essages alo n g a lin e o f sign al t o wers t o ward s t h e cap it o l Ch an g’an
(Xi’an ). Usin g ligh t an d flags fo r wireless co m m u n icat io n rem ain ed im p o rt an t
fo r t h e n avy u n t il rad io t ran sm issio n was in t ro d u ced , an d even t od ay a sailo r
h as to kn o w so m e co d es rep resen ted by flags if all ot h er m ean s of wireless co m -
m u n icat io n fail. It w as n o t u n t il t h e en d o f t h e 1 8 t h cen t u ry, w h en C la u d e
Ch a p p e in ven ted th e o p tical telegrap h (1 79 4), th at lo n g-d istan ce wireless co m -
m u n icat io n was p o ssib le wit h t ech n ical m ean s. O p t ical t elegrap h lin es w ere
bu ilt alm o st u n til th e en d o f t h e fo llo win g cen tu ry.
W ired co m m u n ica t io n st a rt ed w it h t h e first co m m ercial t elegrap h lin e
b et ween Wash in gt o n an d Balt im o re in 1 84 3 , an d Ale x a n d er G r a h a m Be ll’s
in ven t io n an d m ark et in g o f t h e t elep h o n e in 1 8 7 6 (o t h ers t ried m a rket in g
b efo re b u t d id n o t su cceed , e.g., Ph ilip Reis, 1 834 –187 4, d isco vered t h e t ele-
p h on e p rin cip le in 1 8 6 1). In Berlin , a p u blic telep h o n e service was available in
1 88 1, th e first regu lar p u blic voice an d vid eo service (m u lt im ed ia!) was alread y
available in 1936 between Berlin an d Leip zig.
All op tical tran sm issio n system s su ffer fro m th e h igh freq u en cy of t h e car-
rier ligh t . As every lit t le o b st a cle sh ad o ws t h e sign al, rain a n d fo g m ake
co m m u n icat io n alm o st im p o ssib le. At t h at t im e it w as n o t p o ssib le t o fo cu s
ligh t as efficien tly as can b e d o n e tod ay by m ean s of a laser, wireless com m u n i-
catio n d id n o t really take o ff u n til th e d isco very o f electro m agn etic waves an d
t h e d evelo p m en t o f t h e eq u ip m en t t o m o d u lat e t h em . It all st a rt ed w it h
M ich a el Fa ra d a y (an d abo u t th e sam e tim e Jo sep h H en r y ) d em on strat in g elec-
t ro m agn et ic in d u ct io n in 1 83 1 an d Ja m es C. M a x w e ll (1 8 3 1 –7 9 ) layin g t h e
t h eo ret ical fo u n d at io n s fo r elect ro m agn et ic field s wit h h is fam o u s eq u at io n s
(1 86 4 ). Fin ally, H ein r ich H er t z (1857–94) was th e first to d em on strat e th e wave
10 Mobile communicat ions

ch ara ct er o f elect rical t ra n sm issio n t h ro u gh sp a ce (1 8 8 6 ), t h u s p ro vin g

M ax well’s eq u at io n s. To d ay t h e u n it H z rem in d s u s o f t h is d isco very. Nik o l a
Tesla (1856–1943) so on in creased th e d ist an ce of electrom agn etic t ran sm ission .
Th e n am e, wh ich is m o st clo sely co n n ect ed wit h t h e su ccess o f wireless
co m m u n ication , is certain ly th at of Gu glielm o M a rco n i (1874–1937). He gave
th e first d em on st ratio n of wireless t elegrap h y in 1895 u sin g lon g wave t ran sm is-
sio n w it h very h igh t ra n sm issio n p o wer (> 2 0 0 kW ). Th e first t ran sat lan t ic
tran sm issio n fo llo wed in 1901. On ly six years lat er, in 19 0 7, th e first co m m er-
c ia l t r a n sa t la n t ic c o n n e ct io n s w ere set u p . H u ge b a se st at io n s u sin g u p t o
th irty 100 m h igh an ten n as were n eed ed o n b o t h sid es o f t h e Atlan t ic O cean .
Aro u n d th at tim e, t h e first Wo rld Ad m in ist ra t io n Ra d io Co n feren ce (WARC)
took p lace, coo rd in atin g th e world wid e u se o f rad io freq u en cies. Th e first ra d io
b ro ad ca st to ok p lace in 1 90 6 wh en Regin a ld A. Fessen d en (1866–1932) tran s-
m it t ed vo ice an d m u sic fo r C h rist m as. In 1 9 1 5 , t h e first w ireless vo ice
t ran sm issio n was set u p b et ween New Yo rk an d San Fran cisco . Th e first co m -
m er c ia l r a d io st a t io n st art ed in 1 9 2 0 (KDKA fro m Pit t sb u rgh ). Sen d er an d
receiver still n eed ed h u ge an ten n as an d h igh tran sm issio n p o wer.
Th is ch an ged fu n d am en t ally wit h th e d isco very o f sh o r t w a v es, again b y
Marco n i, in 1920 (In con n ection with wireless com m u n ication , sh ort waves h ave
th e ad van tage of bein g reflected at th e ion osp h ere.) It was n ow p ossible to sen d
sh ort rad io waves arou n d th e world bou n cin g at th e ion osp h ere – th is tech n iq u e
is still u sed tod ay. Th e in ven tion of th e electron ic va cu u m t u b e in 1906 by Lee
DeFo r est (1873–1961) an d Ro b ert vo n Lieb en (1878–1913) h elp ed to red u ce th e
size of sen d er an d receiver. Vacu u m tu bes are still u sed , e.g., for th e am p lification
of th e ou tp u t sign al of a sen d er in tod ay’s rad io stat ion s. On e of th e first ‘m o b ile’
t ra n sm it t ers was o n bo ard a Zep p elin in 1 9 1 1 . As early as 1 9 2 6 , th e first t ele-
p h o n e in a t rain was available on th e Berlin -Ham bu rg lin e. Wires parallel to th e
railroad track worked as an ten n a. Th e first car radio was co m m ercia lly available
in 192 7 (‘Ph ilco Tran siton e’); bu t George Frost an 18-year-old from Ch icago h ad
in tegrated a rad io in to a Ford Mod el T as early as 1922.
N in e t e e n t w e n t y -e ig h t w as t h e yea r o f m an y field t ria ls fo r t e le v i sio n
b r o a d ca st in g . Jo h n L. Ba ir d (18 88 –1 94 6) t ran sm it t ed TV acro ss t h e At lan t ic
an d d em on st rated co lo r TV, t h e statio n W GY (Sch en ectad y, NY) started regu la r
TV b r o a d ca st s an d t h e first TV n ew s. Th e first t elet ea ch in g st art ed in 1 9 3 2
fro m t h e CBS st ation W 2XAB. Up u n t il t h en , all wireless co m m u n icatio n u sed
am p lit u d e m o d u lat io n (see sectio n 2.6), wh ich o ffered relatively p o o r q u alit y
d u e to in terferen ce. O n e b ig st ep fo rward in th is resp ect was t h e in ven t io n o f
fr eq u en cy m o d u la t io n in 1 9 3 3 b y Ed w in H . Ar m st r o n g (18 90 –1 95 4). Bo t h
fu n d am en t al m o d u lat io n sch em es are st ill u sed fo r t o d ay’s rad io bro ad cast in g
w it h freq u en cy m o d u lat io n resu lt in g in a m u ch b et t er q u alit y. By t h e early
1930s, m an y rad io st at io n s were alread y bro ad cast in g all o ver th e world .
Aft er th e Seco n d Wo rld War, m an y n atio n al an d in tern atio n al p ro jects in
t h e a rea o f w ireless co m m u n icat io n s w ere t riggered o ff. Th e first n et w o rk
in G erm a n y was t h e a n alo g A-Net z fro m 1 9 5 8 , u sin g a carrier freq u en cy o f
1 6 0 M Hz. C o n n ect io n set u p w a s o n ly p o ssib le fro m t h e m o b ile st at io n , n o
 Int roduct ion 11

h an d o ver, i.e., ch an gin g o f t h e b ase st at io n , was p o ssib le. Back in 1 97 1 , t h is

syst em h ad coverage of 80 p er cen t an d 11,000 cu sto m ers. It was n ot u n t il 1972
t h at th e B-Net z fo llo wed in Germ an y, u sin g t h e sam e 160 MHz. Th is n etwo rk
co u ld in it iat e t h e co n n ect io n set u p fro m a stat io n in t h e fixed t elep h o n e n et -
wo rk, b u t , t h e cu rren t lo cat io n o f t h e m o b ile receiver h ad t o b e kn o wn . Th is
syst em w as a lso availab le in Au st ria, Th e Net h erlan d s, an d Lu x em b o u rg. In
1979, th e B-Net z h ad 13,000 cu st o m ers in West Germ an y an d n eed ed a h eavy
sen d er an d receiver, t yp ically bu ilt in to cars.
At t h e sam e t im e, t h e n o rt h ern Eu ro p ean co u n t ries o f Den m ark, Fin lan d ,
No rw ay, an d Swed en (t h e crad le o f m o d ern m o b ile co m m u n icat io n s) agreed
u p o n t h e n o r d ic m o b ile t elep h o n e (NM T) system . Th e an alo gu e NMT u ses a
450 MHz carrier an d is still t h e on ly available system fo r m obile co m m u n icat ion
in som e very rem o t e p laces (NMT at 900 MHz follo wed in 1986). Several o th er
n at io n al st an d ard s evo lved an d b y t h e early 19 8 0 s Eu ro p e h ad m o re t h an a
h an d fu l o f d ifferen t, co m p let ely in co m p atible an alo g m ob ile p h o n e st an d ard s.
In acco rd an ce wit h t h e gen eral id ea o f a Eu ro p ean Un ion , t h e Eu ro p ean co u n -
t ries d ecid ed t o d evelo p a p an -Eu ro p ean m o b ile p h o n e stan d ard in 1 9 8 2 . Th e
n ew system aim ed t o:

● u se a n ew sp ectru m at 900 MHz;

● allow roam in g 5 th ro u gh o ut Eu rop e;
● be fu lly d igital; an d
● o ffer vo ice an d d ata service.

Th e ‘Grou p e Sp éciale Mo b ile’ (GSM) was fou n ded for th is n ew developm en t.

In 1983 th e US system a d van ced m o b ile p h o n e syst em (AMPS) started (EIA,
1989). AMPS is an an alog m obile p h on e system workin g at 850 MHz. Teleph on es
at h om e wen t wireless with th e stan dard CT1 (cord less t elep h o n e) in 1984, (fol-
lo win g it s p red ecesso r t h e CT0 fro m 1 9 8 0 ). As d igit al syst em s were n o t yet
available, m ore an alog stan dards followed, su ch as th e Germ an C-Netz at 450 MHz
with an alog voice tran sm ission . Han d -over between ‘cells’ was n ow p ossible, th e
sign allin g system was digital in accordan ce with th e tren ds in fixed n etworks (SS7),
an d au to m atic localizatio n of a m o bile u ser with in t h e wh ole n etwo rk was su p -
p o rt ed . Th is an alo g n et wo rk was swit ch ed o ff in 200 0. Ap art fro m vo ice
t ran sm issio n t h e services o ffered fax, d at a t ran sm issio n via m o d em , X.25, an d
electron ic m ail. CT2, t h e su ccessor of CT1, was em bo d ied in to British Stan d ard s
p u blish ed in 1987 (DTI, 1987) an d later ad op ted by ETSI for Eu rop e (ETS, 1994).
CT2 u ses th e sp ectru m at 864 MHz an d offers a d ata ch an n el at a rate of 32 kbit/s.
Th e early 1990s m arked th e begin n in g of fu lly d igit a l system s. In 1991, ETSI
ad op t ed t h e st an d ard d igit a l Eu ro p ea n co rd less t elep h o n e (D ECT) fo r d igit al
cord less t elep h on y (ETSI, 1998). DECT wo rks at a sp ect ru m of 1880–1900 MHz
with a ran ge of 100–500 m . On e h u n d red an d twen ty d u p lex ch an n els can carry

5 Roam in g h ere m ean s a seam less h an d o ver o f a telep h o n e call fro m on e n etwork p ro vid er to an ot h er
wh ile crossin g n atio n al b o u n d aries.
12 Mobile communicat ions

u p to 1.2 Mbit/ s for d ata tran sm ission . Several n ew featu res, su ch as voice en cryp -
t io n an d au t h en t icat io n , are b u ilt -in . Th e syst em su p p o rt s several 1 0 ,00 0
u sers/ km 2 an d is u sed in m o re t h an 110 co u n t ries aro u n d t h e wo rld (o ver 150
m illio n sh ip p ed u n its). Tod ay, DECT h as been ren am ed d igit a l en h a n ced co rd -
less t elecom m u n icat io n s for m arketin g reason s an d to reflect th e capabilities of
DECT to tran sp ort m u ltim ed ia d at a stream s. Fin ally, after m an y years of d iscu s-
sion s an d field t rials, GSM was st an d ard ized in a d ocu m en t o f m ore th an 5,000
p ages in 19 9 1. Th is first version o f GSM, n o w called glo b a l syst em fo r m o b ile
co m m u n ica t io n , wo rks at 9 00 MHz an d u ses 1 24 fu ll-d u p lex ch an n els. G SM
o ffers fu ll in t ern at io n al ro am in g, au t o m at ic lo cat io n services, au t h en t icat io n ,
en cryp tion on th e wireless lin k, efficien t in terop eration with ISDN system s, an d a
relatively h igh au d io q u ality. Fu rth erm ore, a sh ort m essage service with u p to 160
alp h an u m eric ch aracters, fax gro u p 3, an d d at a services at 9.6 kbit / s h ave been
in tegrated . Dep en d in g on n ation al regu latio n s, on e or several p ro vid ers can u se
t h e ch an n els, d ifferen t acco u n t in g an d ch argin g sch em es can b e ap p lied et c.
However, all GSM system s rem ain com p at ible. Up to n ow, over 400 p rovid ers in
m ore th an 190 cou n tries h ave ad op ted th e GSM stan d ard (over 70 p er cen t of th e
world ’s wireless m arket).
It was soon d iscovered th at th e an alog AMPS in th e US an d th e d igital GSM
at 9 00 MHz in Eu ro p e are n o t su fficien t fo r t h e h igh u ser d en sit ies in cit ies.
W h ile in th e US, n o n ew sp ectru m was allocated fo r a n ew syst em , in Eu rop e a
n ew freq u en cy ban d at 1800 MHz was ch osen . Th e effect was as fo llows. In th e
US, d ifferen t com p an ies d evelop ed d ifferen t n ew, m ore ban d wid th -efficien t tech -
n o lo gies t o o p erat e sid e-b y-sid e wit h AMPS in t h e sam e freq u en cy b an d . Th is
resu lt ed in t h ree in co m p at ib le syst em s, t h e an alo g n arro wb an d AM PS (IS-8 8,
(TIA, 1 9 9 3 a)), an d t h e t wo d igit al syst em s TD M A (IS-13 6 , (TIA, 19 9 6 )) an d
CDMA (IS-95, (TIA, 1993b)). Th e Eu rop ean s agreed to u se GSM in th e 1800 MHz
sp ectru m . Th ese GSM–1800 n etworks (also kn o wn as DCS 18 00 , d igital cellu lar
system ) started with a better voice q u ality d u e to n ewer sp eech cod ecs. Th ese n et-
w o rks co n sist o f m o re an d sm aller cells (see ch ap t ers 2 an d 4 ). GSM is also
availa b le in t h e US as G SM –1 9 0 0 (also called P C S 1 9 0 0 ) u sin g sp ect ru m at
1900 MHz like th e n ewer version s of th e TDMA an d CDMA system s.
Eu ro p e believes in stan d ard s, wh ile th e US believes in m arket forces – GSM
is o n e of th e few exam p les wh ere th e ap p ro ach via st an d ard izatio n wo rked . So,
w h ile Eu ro p e h a s o n e co m m o n st a n d ard , an d ro am in g is p o ssib le even t o
Au st ralia o r Sin gap o re, th e US st ill stru ggles wit h m an y in co m p at ible system s.
Ho wever, t h e p ictu re is d ifferen t wh en it com es to m o re d ata co m m u n icat io n -
o rien t ed syst em s like lo cal area n et wo rks. Man y p ro p riet ary wireless lo cal area
n etwo rk system s alread y existed wh en ETSI stan d ard ized t h e h igh p erform an ce
rad io lo cal area n et wo rk (HIPERLAN) in 1 9 9 6 . Th is was a fam ily o f st an d ard s
an d reco m m en d at io n s. HIPERLAN typ e 1 sh ou ld op erate at 5.2 GHz an d sh ou ld
o ffer d at a rat es o f u p t o 2 3 .5 M b it / s. Fu rt h er t yp es h ad b een sp ecified w it h
typ e 4 go in g u p to 155 Mbit/ s at 17 GHz. Ho wever, alt h ou gh com in g later th an
HIPERLAN in 19 9 7, th e IEEE stan d ard 80 2.1 1 was soon th e win n er fo r local area
 Int roduct ion 13

n etwo rks. It wo rks at th e licen se-free In d u strial, Scien ce, Med ical (ISM) ban d at
2.4 GHz an d in fra red offerin g 2 Mbit/ s in th e begin n in g (u p to 10 Mb it / s with
p rop rietary solu tion s alread y at th at t im e). Alth o u gh HIPERLAN h as b et ter p er-
fo rm an ce figu res, n o p ro d u ct s w ere availab le w h ile m a n y co m p an ies so o n
offered 802.11 com p lian t eq u ip m en t.
Ni n et ee n n in et y -ei gh t m arked t h e b egin n in g o f m o b ile co m m u n icat io n
u sin g sat ellites with t h e Irid iu m syst em (Irid iu m , 2002). Up to th is tim e, satel-
lit es basically worked as a broad cast d istribu tion m ed iu m or cou ld on ly be u sed
wit h b ig an d h eavy eq u ip m en t – Irid iu m m arked t h e b egin n in g o f sm all an d
tru ly p ortable m obile satellite telep h on es in clu d in g d ata service. Irid iu m con sists
of 66 satellites in low earth orbit an d u ses th e 1.6 GHz ban d for com m u n ication
wit h th e m obile p h on e. In 1998 th e Eu ro p ean s agreed on th e u n iversa l m o b ile
t e leco m m u n i ca t io n s sy st em (UM TS) as t h e Eu ro p ean p ro p o sal fo r t h e
In tern ation al Telecom m u n icat ion Un ion (ITU) IMT-200 0 (in t ern a t io n al m o b ile
t eleco m m u n ica t io n s). In th e first p h ase, UMTS com bin es GSM n et work tech n ol-
ogy with m o re ban d wid t h -efficien t CDMA solu tion s.
Th e IMT-2000 reco m m en d at io n s d efin e a co m m o n , wo rld wid e fram ewo rk
fo r fu t u re m o b ile co m m u n icat io n at 2 GHz (ITU, 2002 ). Th is in clu d es, e.g., a
fram ewo rk for services, t h e n etwork arch it ectu re in clu d in g sat ellit e co m m u n ica-
t io n , st rat egies fo r d evelo p in g co u n t ries, req u irem en t s o f t h e rad io in t erface,
sp ectru m co n sid eratio n s, secu rity an d m an agem en t fram ewo rks, an d d ifferen t
tran sm ission tech n o lo gies.
N in et een n in et y n in e saw several m o re p o w erfu l W LAN st an d ard s. IEEE
p u b lish ed 802.11b o fferin g 11 Mbit / s at 2.4 GHz. Th e sam e sp ectru m is u sed by
Blu et o o t h , a sh o rt -ran ge t ech n o lo gy to set -u p wireless p erso n al area n etwo rks
with gro ss d at a rat es less t h an 1 Mb it / s. Th e ITU d ro p p ed t h e p lan o f a sin gle,
world wid e stan d ard fo r th ird gen eratio n m o bile p h on e system s an d d ecid ed on
t h e IM T-2 0 0 0 fam ily co n cep t t h at in clu d es severa l t ech n o lo gies (UM TS,
cd m a2000, DECT etc. see ch ap ter 4). Th e w ireless a p p lica t io n p ro t o co l (WAP)
started at th e sam e tim e as i-m o d e in Jap an . W h ile WAP d id n o t su cceed in t h e
begin n in g, i-m o d e so on becam e a trem en d o u s su ccess (see ch ap ter 10).
Th e year 2 0 0 0 , cam e wit h h igh er d ata rat es an d p acket-o rien ted tran sm is-
sion fo r GSM (HSCSD, GPRS – see ch ap t er 4). It sh ou ld n ot be forgo tten th at t h e
late n in eties was t h e tim e wh en a lo t of h yp e abo u t th e co m m u n icatio n s bu si-
n ess st art ed . Th u s it was relat ively easy fo r m arket in g p eo p le t o p o rt ray t h ird
gen erat io n t ech n o lo gy as h igh -p erfo rm a n ce In t ern et o n m o b ile p h o n es. In
Eu ro p e, UM TS was a n n o u n ced as cap ab le o f h an d lin g live, in t eract ive vid eo
stream in g fo r all u sers at 2 Mbit / s. All tech n ically-orien ted p eop le kn ew th at th is
p rom ise cou ld n ot be fu lfilled by th e system , bu t th e a u ct io n s a n d b ea u t y co n -
t est s for licen sin g 3G sp ect ru m st arted . In Eu ro p e alo n e m ore t h an €100 billion
h ad b een p aid before th e d isillu sio n m en t set in . Co m p an ies th at h ad n ever ru n
a n et wo rk b efo re p aid b illio n s fo r licen ses. Man y o f th ese co m p an ies are n o w
ban kru p t an d t h e rem ain in g co m p an ies su ffer from th e d ebts.
Most of th e h yp e is over, bu t th e t h ird gen erat io n of m obile com m u n ication
14 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 1.3
cellular phones satellites cordless wireless
Overview of some phones LAN
wireless communication
systems 1980:
CT0
1981:
NMT 450
1982:
Inmarsat-A
1983:
AMPS
1984:
CT1

1986:
NMT 900
1987:
CT1+
1988:
Inmarsat-C

1989:
CT 2

1991: 1991: 1991:

CDMA D-AMPS DECT
1992: 1992: 199x:
GSM Inmarsat-B proprietary
1993: Inmarsat-M
PDC
1997:
1994:
IEEE 802.11
DCS 1800
1998:
Iridium
1999
802.11b,
Bluetooth

2000: 2000:
GPRS IEEE 802.11a
2001:
IMT d-2000
analog

digital 200?:
Fourth Generation
(Internet based)

started in 2001 in Japan with th e FOMA service, in Eu rop e with several field trials,
an d in , e.g., Korea with cdm a2000 (see Figu re 4.2 for th e evolu tion of 3G system s).
IEEE released a n ew W LAN stan d ard , 8 0 2.1 1a , o p eratin g at 5 GHz an d o fferin g
 Int roduct ion 15

gro ss d at a rat es o f 5 4 Mb it/ s. Th is st an d ard u ses t h e sam e p h ysical layer as

H ip er LAN2 d o es (st an d ard ized in 2000 ), t h e o n ly rem ain in g m em b er o f t h e
HIPERLAN fam ily. In 2 0 0 2 n ew W LAN d evelo p m en t s fo llo wed . Ex am p les are
802.11g offerin g u p to 54 Mbit/s at 2.4 GHz an d m an y n ew Blu etooth ap plication s
(h ead set s, rem o t e co n t ro ls, wireless keyb o ard s, h o t syn cin g et c.). Th e n et wo rk
providers con tin u ed t o d eploy th e in frastru ctu re for 3G n etworks as m an y licen s-
in g con dition s foresee a m in im um coverage at a certain date. W h ile d igital TV via
satellite h as existed fo r several years, d igital t errestrial TV (DVB-T, see ch ap ter 6)
started as regu lar service in Berlin in Novem ber 2002. Th is system allows for h igh -
qu ality TV on th e m ove an d req u ires on ly an an ten n a of a few cen tim eters.
Figu re 1.3 gives an o verview of som e o f th e n etwo rks d escrib ed abo ve, an d
sh ows th e d evelop m en t of cellu lar p h on e system s an d cord less p h on es to geth er
with satellites an d LANs. W h ile m an y of th e classical m obile p h on e syst em s con -
verged t o IM T-2 0 0 0 syst em s (wit h cd m a2 0 0 0 an d W-CDM A/ UMTS b ein g t h e
p red o m in an t syst em s), th e wireless LAN area d evelo p ed m o re o r less in d ep en -
d en tly. No o n e kn o ws exactly wh at th e n ext gen eratio n o f m ob ile an d wireless
syst em w ill lo o k like, b u t , t h ere are st ro n g in d icat o rs t h at it will b e wid ely
In tern et based – th e system will u se In tern et p rotocols an d In tern et ap p licat ion s.
W h ile t h e cu rren t t h ird gen erat io n syst em s st ill h eavily rely o n classical t ele-
p h o n e t ech n o logy in th e n etwo rk in frastru ctu re, fu t u re system s will o ffer u sers
th e ch o ice o f m an y d ifferen t n et wo rks based o n t h e in t ern et (see ch ap t er 11).
Ho wever, n o o n e kn o ws exact ly wh en an d h ow t h is co m m o n p latfo rm will b e
available. Com p an ies h ave to m ake th eir m on ey with 3G system s first.
Th e d ates sh own in th e figu re t yp ically in d icate th e start o f service (i.e., t h e
system s h ave b een d esign ed , in ven ted , an d t est ed earlier). Th e system s b eh in d
th e acro n ym s will b e exp lain ed in th e followin g ch ap ters (cellu lar an d co rd less
p h on es in ch ap ter 4, satellites in ch ap t er 5, W LANs in ch ap t er 7).6

1.3 A market f or mobile communicat ions

Alt h o u gh t h e gro wt h in wireless an d m o b ile co m m u n ica t io n syst em s h as

slo wed d o wn , th ese t ech n o logies h ave still a h u ge m arket p o t en tial. Mo re an d
m o re p eo p le u se m o b ile p h o n es, wireless t ech n o lo gy is b u ilt in t o m an y cars,
wireless d ata services are available in m an y region s, an d wireless local area n et-
wo rks are u sed in m an y p laces.
Figu re 1.4 sh o ws t h e in creasin g n u m ber of su bscrib ers to m o bile p h o n e ser-
vices world wid e (GSM World , 2002). Th is figu re sh o ws th e trem en d o u s gro wth
rates u p to 2000. Th at gro wt h co n t in u es to d ay, m ain ly d u e t o Ch in a th at h as
th e largest n u m ber o f u sers.
Figu re 1 .5 sh o ws t h e cellu lar su b scrib ers p er regio n (G SM Wo rld , 2 0 0 2 ).

6 Not e th at an alog syst em s are n ot d escribed .

16 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 1.4 1200

Mobile phone service
subscribers worldwide
1000
(in millions)

800

600

400

200

0
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Figure 1.5 Middle East; 1.6

Cellular subscribers
per region Africa; 3.1
(June 2002)
Americas (incl.
USA/Canada;
22 Asia Pacific;
36.9

Europe; 36.4

W h ile th e sh ares o f Eu ro p e an d Ch in a are alm ost eq u al, th e m arket in Eu rop e is

sat u rat ed wit h seco n d -gen erat io n GSM syst em s (m o b ile p en et rat io n is ab o u t
70 p er cen t). Co u n tries su ch as Germ an y an d Fran ce exh ib ited gro wth rates o f
40 p er cen t o r m o re in 1998. Eu ro p e’s sh are will d ecrease co m p ared to Ch in a,
th e Am ericas, an d Africa.

1.4 Some open research t opics

Alt h o u gh t h is b o o k exp lain s m an y syst em s su p p o rt in g m o b ilit y an d ex p lo res

m an y solu tion s fo r wireless access, a lot rem ain s to be d on e in th e field . We are
o n ly a t t h e b egin n in g o f wireless an d m o b ile n et w o rkin g. Th e d ifferen ces
b et ween wired , fix ed n et wo rks an d wireless n etwo rks o p en u p vario u s t o p ics.
Th e read er m ay fin d even m ore in , e.g., th e bo ok o f th e w ireless w o rld resea rch
fo ru m (W W RF, 2002):
 Int roduct ion 17

● In t er feren ce: Rad io t ran sm issio n can n o t b e p ro t ected again st in t erferen ce

u sin g sh ield in g as th is is d on e in co axial cable or sh ield ed twisted p air. For
exam p le, electrical en gin es an d ligh tn in g cau se severe in terferen ce an d resu lt
in h igh er loss rates for tran sm itted data or h igh er bit error rates resp ectively.
● Regu la t io n s a n d sp ect r u m : Freq u en cies h ave to be co ord in at ed , an d u n for-
t u n at ely, o n ly a very lim it ed am o u n t o f freq u en cies are availab le (d u e t o
t ech n ical an d p o lit ical reason s). On e research t op ic in vo lves d et erm in in g
h ow t o u se available freq u en cies m ore efficien tly, e.g., b y n ew m o d u latio n
sch em es (see ch a p t er 2 ) o r d em an d -d riven m u lt ip lex in g (see ch ap t er 3 ).
Fu rth er im p rovem en t s are n ew air in terfaces, p ower aware ad -h oc n etworks,
sm art an t en n as, an d software d efin ed rad io s (SDR). Th e latter allo w for so ft-
ware d efin able air in terfaces bu t req u ire h igh co m p u tin g p ower.
● Lo w b a n d w id t h : Alth o u gh th ey are co n tin u o u sly in creasin g, tran sm issio n
rat es are st ill very lo w fo r wireless d evices co m p ared t o d eskt o p syst em s.
Local wireless syst em s reach so m e Mbit / s wh ile wid e area system s on ly offer
so m e 1 0 kb it / s. O n e t ask wo u ld in vo lve ad ap t in g ap p licat io n s u sed w it h
h igh -ban d wid th co n n ectio n s t o th is n ew en viro n m en t so th at t h e u ser can
co n t in u e u sin g t h e sam e ap p licatio n wh en m o vin g fro m t h e d eskt o p o u t-
sid e t h e b u ild in g. Research ers lo o k fo r m o re efficien t co m m u n icat io n
p ro toco ls with lo w overh ead .
● H igh d ela y s, la rge d ela y va ria t io n : A serio u s p roblem fo r com m u n icatio n
p ro toco ls u sed in t od ay’s In tern et (TCP/ IP) is th e big variation in lin k ch ar-
act erist ics. In w ireless syst em s, d ela ys o f several seco n d s ca n o ccu r, an d
lin ks can be very asym m etrical (i.e., th e lin ks o ffer d ifferen t service q u alit y
d ep en d in g o n t h e d irectio n to an d fro m t h e wireless d evice). Ap p licat io n s
m u st be to leran t an d u se robu st p ro t ocols.
● Lo w er secu rit y, sim p ler t o a t t a ck : No t on ly can p o rtable d evices be stolen
m o re easily, b u t t h e rad io in t erface is also p ro n e t o t h e d an gers o f eaves-
d ro p p in g. Wireless access m u st always in clu d e en cryp tion , au t h en t icat io n ,
an d o t h er secu rit y m ech an ism s th at m u st be efficien t an d sim p le to u se.
● Sh a red m ed iu m : Rad io access is always realized via a sh ared m ed iu m . As it is
im p ossible to h ave a sep arate wire between a sen d er an d each receiver, d iffer-
en t com p etitors h ave to ‘figh t’ for th e m ed iu m . Alth ou gh d ifferen t m ed iu m
access sch em es h ave been d evelo p ed , m an y q u estio n s are st ill u n an swered ,
for exam p le h ow to provid e q uality of service efficien tly wit h d ifferen t com -
bin ation s of access, cod in g, an d m u ltip lexin g sch em es (Fitzek, 2002).
● Ad -h o c n et w o rk in g: Wireless an d m obile com pu tin g allows for spon tan eou s
n et workin g with p rior set-u p of an in frastru ct u re. However, th is raises m an y
n ew q u estion s for research : rou tin g on th e n etworkin g an d app lication layer,
service discovery, n etwork scalability, reliability, an d stability etc.

A gen eral research t o p ic fo r wireless co m m u n icatio n (an d a so u rce fo r en d less

d iscu ssion ) is it s effect o n th e h u m an b od y o r organ ism s in gen eral. It is u n clear
if, an d to wh at exten t , electro m agn etic waves tran sm itt ed fro m wireless d evices
can in flu en ce o rgan s. Micro wave o ven s an d W LANs b o t h o p erat e at th e sam e
freq u en cy o f 2 .4 GH z. Ho wever, t h e rad iat io n o f a W LAN is very lo w (e.g.,
18 Mobile communicat ions

1 0 0 m W ) co m p ared t o a m icro w a ve o ven (e.g., 8 0 0 W in sid e t h e o ven ).

Ad d it io n ally, as ch ap t er 2 sh o ws in m o re d et ail, p ro p agat io n s ch aract erist ics,
ab so rp t io n , d irect ed an t en n a s et c. p lay an im p o rt an t ro le. Users, en gin eers,
research ers an d p olit ician s n eed m ore stu d ies to u n d erst an d t h e effect o f lon g-
term low-p ower rad iatio n (Lin , 1997), BEMS (2002), COST (2000), NIEHS (2002).
Th e Wo rld Health Organ ization (W HO) h as started a wo rld wid e p ro ject on elec-
trom agn etic field s (W HO, 2002).

1.5 A simplifi ed ref erence model

Th is b o ok fo llo ws th e b a sic referen ce m o d el u sed to stru ct u re com m u n icat ion

syst em s (Tan en b au m , 2003). An y read ers wh o are u n fam iliar wit h t h e b asics o f
co m m u n icat io n n et wo rks sh o u ld lo o k u p t h e relevan t sect io n s in t h e reco m -
m en d ed literatu re (Halsall, 1996), (Kesh av, 1997), (Tan en b au m , 2003), (Ku ro se,
2 0 03 ). Figu re 1 .6 sh o ws a p erso n al d igit al assist an t (PDA) wh ich p ro vid es an
exam p le for a wireless an d p ortable d evice. Th is PDA co m m u n icates with a base
st atio n in t h e m id d le o f t h e p ictu re. Th e b ase statio n co n sist s o f a rad io t ran s-
ceiver (sen d er an d receiver) an d an in t erwo rkin g u n it co n n ectin g th e wireless
lin k with th e fixed lin k. Th e com m u n icatio n p artn er of th e PDA, a co n ven tion al
com p u ter, is sh o wn o n th e righ t -h an d sid e.
Un d ern eath each n etwo rk elem en t (su ch as PDA, in terwo rkin g u n it , co m -
p u t er), t h e figu re sh o w s t h e p r o t o c o l st a c k im p lem en t ed in t h e syst em
acco rd in g to t h e referen ce m o d el. En d -syst em s, su ch as t h e PDA an d com p u t er
in t h e ex am p le, n eed a fu ll p ro t o co l st ack co m p risin g t h e ap p licat io n layer,
t ran sp o rt layer, n et wo rk layer, d at a lin k layer, an d p h ysical layer. Ap p licat io n s

Figure 1.6
Simple network and
reference model used
in this book

Application Application

Transport Transport

Network Network Network Network

Data Link Data Link Data Link Data Link

Physical Physical Physical Physical

Radio Medium
 Int roduct ion 19

on th e en d -system s co m m u n icate with each o th er u sin g th e lo wer layer services.

In t er m ed ia t e sy st em s, su ch as th e in terwo rkin g u n it, d o n o t n ecessarily n eed
all o f t h e layers. Figu re 1 .6 o n ly sh o ws t h e n et wo rk, d at a lin k, an d p h ysical
layers. As (accord in g to th e basic referen ce m od el) on ly en tities at th e sam e level
co m m u n icat e wit h each oth er (i.e., tran sp o rt with tran sp ort, n etwork with n et-
w o rk) t h e en d -syst em ap p licat io n s d o n o t n o t ice t h e in t erm ed iat e syst em
d irectly in th is scen ario . Th e fo llo win g p aragrap h s exp lain th e fu n ction s o f each
layer in m ore d etail in a wireless an d m o bile en viron m en t.

● Ph y sica l la y er: Th is is t h e lowest layer in a co m m u n icat io n syst em an d is

resp o n sib le fo r t h e co n versio n o f a st ream o f b it s in to sign als t h at can b e
t ra n sm it t ed o n t h e sen d er sid e. Th e p h ysical la yer o f t h e receiver t h en
tran sfo rm s th e sign als b ack in to a b it st ream . Fo r wireless com m u n ication ,
t h e p h ysical layer is resp o n sib le fo r freq u en cy selectio n , gen erat ion o f th e
carrier freq u en cy, sign al d etection (alt h ou gh h eavy in t erferen ce m ay d istu rb
th e sign al), m o d u latio n o f d ata o n to a carrier freq u en cy an d (d ep en d in g on
t h e t ran sm issio n sch em e) en cryp t io n . Th ese featu res o f t h e p h ysical layer
a re m ain ly d iscu ssed in ch ap t er 2 , b u t will also b e m en t io n ed fo r each
syst em sep arat ely in th e ap p ro p riate ch ap ters.
● Da t a lin k la y er: Th e m ain tasks o f th is layer in clu d e accessin g th e m ed iu m ,
m u lt ip lex in g o f d ifferen t d at a st ream s, co rrect io n o f t ran sm issio n erro rs,
an d syn ch ro n iza t io n (i.e., d et ect io n o f a d at a fram e). Ch ap t er 3 d iscu sses
d ifferen t m ed iu m access sch em es. A sm all sect io n ab o u t t h e sp ecific d at a
lin k la yer u sed in t h e p resen t ed syst em s is co m b in ed in each resp ect ive
ch ap ter. Alto geth er, th e d ata lin k layer is resp o n sible for a reliable po in t -to-
p oin t con n ection between t wo d evices or a p oin t-to -m u lt ip oin t con n ect ion
between on e sen d er an d several receivers.
● Net w o rk la yer: Th is th ird layer is resp o n sible fo r rou t in g p acket s th rou gh a
n etwo rk o r est ab lish in g a con n ection between t wo en tities over m an y oth er
in t erm ed iate syst em s. Im p o rtan t to p ics are ad d ressin g, rou tin g, d evice loca-
tio n , an d h an d o ver between d ifferen t n etworks. Ch ap ter 8 p resen ts several
so lu t io n s fo r t h e n et w o rk layer p ro t o co l o f t h e in t ern et (t h e In t ern et
Pro t o co l IP). Th e o t h er ch ap t ers also co n t ain sect io n s ab o u t t h e n et wo rk
layer, as ro u tin g is n ecessary in m o st cases.
● Tr a n sp o r t la y er : Th is layer is u sed in t h e referen ce m o d el t o estab lish an
en d -to -en d co n n ectio n . Top ics like q u ality of service, flo w an d co n gest io n
co n t ro l are relevan t , esp ecially if t h e t ran sp o rt p ro t o co ls kn o wn fro m th e
In t ern et , TCP an d UDP, are to be u sed over a wireless lin k.
● Ap p lica t io n la y er : Fin ally, t h e ap p licat io n s (com p lem en ted b y ad d itio n al
layers th at can su p p ort ap p licatio n s) are situ ated on top of all t ran sm ission -
o rien t ed la yers. To p ics o f in t erest in t h is co n t ex t are service lo cat io n ,
su p p ort for m u lt im ed ia ap p licatio n s, ad ap t ive ap p licatio n s th at can h an d le
t h e large variat io n s in t ran sm issio n ch aract erist ics, an d wireless access t o
t h e wo rld wid e web u sin g a p o rtable d evice. Very d em an d in g ap p licat io n s
are vid eo (h igh d ata rate) an d in teractive gam in g (lo w jitter, low laten cy).
20 Mobile communicat ions

1.6 Overview

Th e wh o le bo o k is stru ctu red in a b ot tom -u p ap p ro ach as sh o wn in Figu re 1.7.

Ch ap ter 2 p resen ts som e basics abou t wireless tran sm ission tech n ology. Th e topics
co vered in clu d e: freq u en cies u sed fo r co m m u n icat io n , sign al ch aract erist ics,
an ten n as, sign al propagation , an d several fu n dam en tal m ultip lexin g an d m od ula-
t io n sch em es. Th is ch ap t er d o es n o t req u ire p ro fo u n d kn o wled ge o f elect rical
en gin eerin g, n or d oes it explore all d etails about th e u n derlyin g p h ysics of wireless
com m u n ication system s. Its aim is rath er to h elp th e read er u n derstan d th e m an y
design decision s in th e h igh er layers of m obile com m u n ication system s.
Ch ap ter 3 p resen ts a broad ran ge o f m ed ia access t ech n o lo gies. It exp lain s
wh y m ed ia access tech n o logies fro m fixed n etworks o ften can n o t be ap p lied to
wireless n et works, an d sh o ws th e sp ecial p roblem s fo r wireless term in als access-
in g ‘sp a ce’ as t h e co m m o n m ed iu m . Th e ch a p t er sh o ws access m et h o d s fo r
d ifferen t p u rp o ses, su ch as wireless m o b ile p h o n es wit h a cen tral b ase st at io n
th at can co n tro l th e access, or com p letely d ecen tralized ad -h o c n etwo rks wit h -
o u t an y d ed icat ed statio n . Th is ch ap t er sh o ws h o w t h e m u lt ip lexin g sch em es
d escribed in ch ap ter 2 can n o w be u sed for accessin g th e m ed iu m . Sp ecial focu s
is o n co d e d ivisio n m u lt ip le access (C DM A), wh ich is o n e o f t h e im p o rt an t
access m et h od s for m an y n ew syst em s. Fu rth er to p ics are varian ts o f Alo h a an d
reservation sch em es kn own fro m satellite n et wo rks.

Figure 1.7
Overview of the Chapter 10:
Support for Mobility
book’s structure

Chapter 9:
Mobile Transport Layer

Chapter 8:
Mobile Network Layer

Chapter 4: Chapter 5: Chapter 6: Chapter 7:

Telecommunication Satellite Broadcast Wireless
Systems Systems Systems LAN

Chapter 3:
Medium Access Control

Chapter 2:
Wireless Transmission
 Int roduct ion 21

After ch ap t er 3, t h e read er can select an y o f th e ch ap t ers fro m 4 to 7. Th ese

p resen t select ed w ir eless t ran sm issio n syst em s u sin g t h e b asic t ech n o lo gies
sh o wn in ch ap t ers 2 an d 3 an d o ffer a d at a t ran sp o rt service to h igh er layers.
Ch ap ter 4 covers wireless com m u n icat io n syst em s o rigin at in g from t h e teleco m -
m u n icatio n in d u stry an d stan d ard ization bod ies. O n t h e o n e h an d GSM, wh ich
is cu rren t ly t h e m o st su ccessfu l d igit al m obile p h o n e system world wid e, an d on
th e o t h er d igital en h an ced cord less t elecom m u n ication s (DECT), an exam p le fo r
a lo cal wireless teleco m m u n ication system . Th e ch ap t er p resen ts stan d ard s, fre-
q u en cies, services, access m eth od s, an d t h e arch itectu re o f th e system s. It sh o ws
th e m igration fro m vo ice o rien t at io n t oward p acket tran sm ission . UMTS as on e
can d id ate for fu tu re m ob ile system s co n clu d es t h e ch ap ter.
C h ap t er 5 gives a b asic in t ro d u ct io n t o sat ellit e co m m u n icat io n . Th e
m yriad tech n ical d etails are n ot of in terest , bu t th e p oten tial of satellite system s
to exch an ge d at a wo rld wid e is.
Ch ap ter 6 covers th e relatively you n g field of wireless com m u n ication : d igital
broad cast system s. Broad cast system s allo w on ly u n id irection al d ata d istribu tion
bu t can offer n ew services th at com e alon g with digital rad io (d igital au dio broad-
castin g, DAB) an d d igital television digital vid eo broad castin g (DVB). Th e ability
to d ist ribu te arbitrary m u lti-m ed ia d at a u sin g st an d ard form ats kn o wn from th e
In tern et is an extrem ely im p ortan t d esign factor for th ese system s.
Ch ap ter 7 p resen t s wireless LANs, i.e., th e exten sio n o f t o d ay’s fixed lo cal
area n etworks in t o t h e wireless d o m ain . Th e exam p les p resen ted are t h e st an -
d ard s IEEE 802.11, Hip erLAN2, an d Blu eto oth . After a gen eral in tro d u ct io n , t h e
d esign go als o f wireless LANs, p h ysical layer, m ed iu m access co n trol layer, an d
services of all t h ree LANs are p resen t ed . In th is ch ap t er, a com p ariso n of th e d if-
feren t ap p roach es taken fo r IEEE 802.11 an d Hip erLAN2 is of p articu lar in t erest.
W h ile t h e first syst em o ffers o n ly best effo rt traffic u p to 54 Mbit/ s, t h e lat t er
tries t o give q u alit y o f service (Qo S) gu aran t ees at sim ilar d at a rates. Ho wever,
wh ile m an y IEEE 802.11 co m p lian t p rod u cts are available, n o Hip erLAN2 p rod -
u ct h as b een released . Blu eto o t h is d ifferen t b ecau se it was p rim arily d esign ed
fo r sh o rt ran ge ad -h o c n et workin g u sin g very ch eap h ard ware an d o ffers o n ly
som e h u n d red kbit/ s (as rep lacem en t for in frared ).
Ch ap ter 8 p resen ts so lu t io n s fo r a m o b ile n et work layer. Th is layer can be
u sed o n t o p o f d ifferen t t ran sm issio n t ech n o lo gies as p resen t ed in ch ap t ers 4
t h ro u gh 7. W h ile m o b ile IP is t h e m ain t o p ic o f t h e ch ap t er, it d iscu sses also
m ech an ism s su ch as th e d yn am ic h ost con figu ration p rotocol (DHCP) an d rou t-
in g in ad -h o c n et wo rks. Becau se IP is clearly d o m in at in g d ata co m m u n icatio n
n etworks (it is t h e basis for th e in tern et), it is on ly n atu ral to exten d th is p rotocol
to th e m obile d om ain . Th e ch ap t er d iscu sses th e p roblem s associated with IP an d
m obility an d sh ows som e solut ion s. From ch ap ter 8 on ward s th e term ‘m obility’
is u sed m o re o ften , b ecau se it d o es n o t m att er fo r h igh er layer p rot o co ls if t h e
m obility is su p p orted by wireless t ran sm ission tech n ologies or if t h e u ser h as to
p lu g-in a lap to p wh erever sh e o r h e cu rren t ly is. Th e p ro b lem s o f in t erru p t ed
con n ection s an d ch an gin g access p oin t s to t h e n etwork rem ain alm ost iden t ical.
22 Mobile communicat ions

Ch ap t er 9 focu ses o n ch an ges n eed ed fo r TCP so it can be u sed in a m o bile

en viro n m en t. To wo rk with well-kn own ap p licatio n s from th e in tern et, e.g., file
tran sfer o r rem o te lo gin , a u ser m igh t n eed a reliab le en d -t o -en d co m m u n ica-
tion service as p rovid ed by th e tran sm ission con trol p rotocol (TCP). It is sh own
th at t od ay’s TCP fails if it is n o t ad ap ted or en h an ced . Several so lu tion s are d is-
cu ssed an d com p ared . Each so lu t ion exh ibits sp ecific st ren gth s an d weakn esses,
so u p t o n o w th ere is n o stan d ard for a ‘Mo bile TCP’. However, several co m m u -
n icatio n system s alread y u se TCP with a ‘wireless p ro file’.
All m o b ile n et w o rks are w o rt h less wit h o u t ap p licat io n s u sin g t h em .
Ch ap t er 10 sh ows p roblem s with cu rren t ap p licat io n s, as th ey are kn own from
fixed n et wo rks, an d p resen t s so m e n ew d evelo p m en t s. Am o n g o th er to p ics, it
d eals wit h file syst em s. Here co n sist en cy in a d ist rib u t ed syst em b rin gs ab o u t
m ajor p ro blem s. How is co n sisten cy to be m ain t ain ed in t h e case of d iscon n ec-
tio n ? Is it b et ter t o d en y access to d at a if co n sist en cy can n o t b e gran t ed ? Th e
ch ap t er p resen ts system s d ealin g with th ese p rob lem s.
Th e big t op ic in t o d ay’s In t ern et is t h e wo rld wid e web (www), th e lo gical
stru ct u re m ad e by m u lt i-m ed ia d ocu m en ts an d h yp erlin ks. In con n ect ion with
t h e w ww, t h e p ro b lem s can b e su m m a rized a s fo llo w s: t h e w ww o f t o d a y
assu m es con n ect io n s wit h h igh er b an d wid t h , d eskt o p co m p u t ers wit h a lo t o f
m em o ry, a p o werfu l C PU, h igh -reso lu t io n grap h ics, an d d o zen s o f p lu g-in s
in st alled . Mo b ile d evices h ave scarce en ergy reso u rces, th erefo re less p o werfu l
CPUs an d less m em o ry. Th ese d evices h ave t o b e p o rt ab le, an d co n seq u en t ly,
in p u t d evices are very lim it ed an d d isp lays are o f a lo w resolu tion , n ot to m en -
t io n t h e h i-fi cap ab ilit ies. Th is o b vio u s m ism at ch b et ween t wo t ech n o lo gies,
bot h with h u ge growth rates, h as resu lted in a variety o f so lu t io n s for brin gin g
th em t o geth er. O n e ap p ro ach in t h is resp ect, t h e wireless ap p lication p ro to co l
(WAP), wh ich is su p p o rt ed b y m an y co m p an ies, is ex p lain ed in m o re d et ail.
WAP was n o t a co m m ercial su ccess in t h e b egin n in g. Ho wever, it is ex p ect ed
t h at t h e n ew versio n , WAP 2.0, wh ich in t egrat es m an y In t ern et t ech n o lo gies
an d i-m od e com p on en ts, will be m o re su ccessfu l.
C h ap t er 11, gives a sh o rt o u t lo o k t o n ext gen erat io n m o b ile an d wireless
system s. W h ile n o on e exactly kn o ws wh at th e fu t u re will lo ok like, som e in d i-
cato rs m ay be given .
Man y im p ortan t secu rity asp ects will be exp lain ed togeth er with th e tech n ol-
o gy in all ch ap t ers. Secu rit y m ech an ism s are im p o rt an t in all layers o f a
co m m u n icat io n system . Differen t u sers, even d ifferen t n atio n s, h ave d ifferen t
id eas ab o u t secu rit y. Ho wever, it is q u it e clear t h at a co m m u n icat io n syst em
tran sm it tin g p erson al in form ation th rou gh th e air m u st offer sp ecial secu rity fea-
t u res t o b e accep t ed . Co m p an ies d o n o t w an t co m p et it o rs t o list en t o t h eir
com m u n ication s an d p eop le often d o n ot like th e idea th at th eir n eigh bor m igh t
h ear t h eir p rivat e co n versat io n , wh ich is p o ssib le wit h o ld er an alo g co rd less
p h on e system s. Wireless syst em s are esp ecially vu ln erable in th is resp ect d u e t o
air in t erface. Wire-tap pin g is n ot n eeded to listen in a d at a stream . Sp ecial en cryp -
tion m eth od s m u st be ap p lied to gu aran tee p rivacy. Fu rth er secu rity m ech an ism s
are au th en tication , con fiden tiality, an on ym ity, an d rep lay p rotection .
 Int roduct ion 23

Th e read er can fin d review exercises an d referen ces at t h e en d o f each ch ap -

t er. A co m p let e list o f acro n ym s u sed t h ro u gh o u t t h e ch ap t ers an d t h e in d ex
con clu d e th e bo ok.

1.7 Review exercise

1 Discover the current numbers of subscribers for the different systems. As mobile
communications boom, no printed number is valid for too long!
2 Check out the strategies of different network operators while migrating towards
third generation systems. Why is a single common system not in sight?

1.8 Ref erences

BEMS (2002) Th e Bioelectrom agn etics Society, h ttp:/ /www.bioelectrom agn etics.org/ .
Ch everst, K., Davies, N., Mit ch ell, K., Frid ay, A. (2000) ‘Experiences of Developing
a n d Deployin g a Con text-Awa re Tourist Guide: Th e GUIDE Project,’p ro c.
MOBICOM’2000, ACM Press, Bo ston , USA.
COST (2000) Biomedical Effects of Electromagnetic Fields, European Cooperation in th e
field of Scien tific an d Tech n ical Research , COST 244bis, h ttp:// www.cordis.lu/ .
DTI (1987) Performa nce Specification: Radio equipment for use at fixed and portable
sta tions in the cordless telephone service, Dep art m en t o f Trad e an d In d u st ry,
MPT 1334.
EIA (1 9 8 9) Mobile la n d sta tion com pa tibility specifica tion, Elect ro n ic In d u st ries
Asso ciation , ANSI/ EIA/ TIA St an d ard 553.
ETSI (1 9 9 4 ) Com m on a ir in terfa ce specifica tion to be used for th e in terworkin g
bet ween cordless teleph on e a ppa ra tus in th e frequen cy ba n d 8 6 4 .1 MHz to
86 8.1 MHz, including public a ccess services, Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat io n s
St an d ard s In stitu te, I-ETS 300 131 (1994–11).
ETSI (1 9 9 8 ) Digita l En h a n ced Cordless Telecom m un ica tion s (DECT), Com m on
In terfa ce (CI), Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat io n s St an d ard s In st it u t e, EN 3 00
175, V1.4.1 (1998–02).
ETSI (2 0 0 2 ) Term s a n d Defin it io n s Dat ab a se In t eract ive (TEDD I), Eu ro p ean
Teleco m m u n icat io n s Stan d ard s In st it u te, h t tp :/ / web ap p .etsi.org/ Ted d i/ .
Fit zek, F., Kö p sel, A., Wo lisz, A., Krish n am , M., Reisslein , M. (2002) ‘Pro vid in g
Ap p lica t io n -Level Q o S in 3 G/ 4 G W ireless Syst em s: A C o m p reh en sive
Fram ework o n Mu lt irate CDMA,’ IEEE Wireless Communications, 9(2).
GSM Wo rld (2002) GSM Associat ion , h t tp :/ / www.gsm wo rld .co m / .
H alsa ll, F. (1 9 9 6 ) Da ta com m un ica tion s, com puter n etworks a n d open system s.
Ad d ison -Wesley.
Iridiu m (2002) Iridiu m Satellite LLC, Leesbu rg, VA, USA, h ttp :/ / www.iridiu m .com /.
ITU (2002) Internationa l Mobile Telecommunications, In tern atio n al Telecom m u n i-
cation Un ion , set of recom m en dation s, h ttp:// www.itu.in t/ im t/ .
24 Mobile communicat ions

Kesh av, S. (1997) An engineering a pproach to computer networking. Ad d iso n -Wesley.

Ku ro se, J., Ross, K. (2003) Computer Networking. Add iso n -Wesley.
Lin , J.C. (1997) ‘Bio lo gical asp ect s o f m o b ile co m m u n icat io n field s,’ (series o f
articles), W ireless Networks, J.C. Baltzer, 3(6).
N IEH S (2 0 0 2 ) Th e N at io n al In st it u t e o f En viro n m en t a l H ealt h Scien ces,
h ttp :/ / www.n ieh s.n ih .go v/ em frap id / .
Tan en bau m , A. (2003) Computer Networks. Pren tice-Hall.
TIA (1993a) Mobile station land sta tion compatibility specification for dual-mode na r-
rowba n d a n a logue cellula r tech n ology, Teleco m m u n icat io n s In d u st ries
Associat io n , In terim St an d ard 88.
TIA (1 993b) Mobile sta tion base station compatibility sta nda rd for dua l-mode wide-
ba n d sprea d spectrum cellula r system s, Teleco m m u n icat io n s In d u st ries
Associat io n , In terim St an d ard 95.
TIA (1996) 800 MHz TDMA cellular radio interface mobile station base station compati-
bility, Telecom m u n ication s In du stries Association , In terim Stan dard 136A.
W H O (2 0 0 2 ) Th e In t ern a tion a l EMF Project, Wo rld H ealt h O rgan izat io n ,
h ttp :/ / www.wh o .in t/ p eh -em f/ en / .
W W RF (2 0 0 2 ) W ireless Wo rld Research Fo ru m , h t t p :/ / w ww.wireless-wo rld -
research .o rg/ , h ttp :/ / www.ww-rf.org
 Wireless t ransmission 2

T
h is b o o k fo cu ses o n h igh er layer asp ect s o f m o bile co m m u n icatio n s, t h e
co m p u t er scien ce elem en t rat h er t h an o n t h e rad io an d t ra n sm issio n
asp ects, th e electrical en gin eerin g p art. Th is ch ap ter in t rod u ces o n ly th o se
fu n d am en t al asp ects of wireless tran sm ission wh ich are n ecessary t o u n d erstan d
th e p ro b lem s o f h igh er layers an d t h e co m p lexit y n eed ed t o h an d le t ran sm is-
sio n im p airm en t s. W h erever ap p ro p ria t e, t h e read er is referred t o lit era t u re
givin g a d eep er in sigh t in t o t h e t o p ic. To avo id t o o m an y d et ails b lu rrin g t h e
o verall p ict u re, th is ch ap t er so m etim es sim p lifies th e real-wo rld ch aract eristics
of wireless tran sm ission . Read ers wh o are m ore in terested in th e d et ails of wire-
less t ran sm issio n , calcu latio n o f p ro p agat io n ch aracterist ics et c. are referred t o
Pah lavan (2002) or St allin gs (2002).
W h ile t ran sm issio n o ver d ifferen t wires t yp ically d o es n o t cau se in t erfer-
en ce, 1 th is is an im p o rtan t top ic in wireless tran sm issio n . Th e freq u en cies u sed
fo r tran sm issio n are all regu lated . Th e first sect io n gives a gen eral o verview o f
th ese freq u en cies. Th e fo llo win g sectio n s recall so m e b asic facts abo u t sign als,
an t en n as, a n d sign a l p ro p agat io n . Th e varyin g p ro p agat io n ch aract erist ics
create p art icu lar com p licatio n s for rad io t ran sm ission , freq u en tly cau sin g tran s-
m issio n errors. Mu lt ip lexin g is a m ajor d esign t op ic in th is co n text, becau se t h e
m ed iu m is always sh ared . Mu ltip lexin g sch em es h ave to en su re low in terferen ce
between differen t sen d ers.
Mo d u lation is n eed ed to tran sm it d igit al d ata via cert ain freq u en cies. A sep -
arat e sect io n o f t h is ch ap t er p resen t s st an d ard m o d u lat io n sch em es t h at will
reo ccu r t o geth er with t h e wireless co m m u n icat io n system s p resen ted in ch ap -
ters 4 to 7. Th e n ext sect io n d iscu sses sp read sp ect ru m , a sp ecial t ran sm issio n
tech n iq u e th at is m ore robu st again st erro rs. A sh ort in tro d u ct io n to cellu lar sys-
tem s co n clu d es th is ch ap t er.

1 Ho wever, if t h e tran sm it ted freq u en cies are t o o h igh fo r a cert ain wire crosstalk t akes p lace. Th is is a
co m m o n p rob lem , e.g., fo r DSL o r Powerlin e in stallat ion s, esp ecially if m an y wires are bu n d led .

25
26 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 2.1 Twisted

Coax cable
Frequency spectrum pair Optical transmission

1 Mm 10 km 100 m 1m 10 mm 100 µm 1 µm
300 Hz 30kHz 3 MHz 300 MHz 30 GHz 3 THz 300THz

VLF LF MF HF VHF UHF SHF EHF infrared UV

visible light

2.1 Frequencies f or radio t ransmission

Rad io tran sm issio n can t ake p lace u sin g m an y d ifferen t freq u en cy ban d s. Each
freq u en cy ban d exh ibits certain ad van tages an d disad van tages. Figu re 2.1 gives a
rou gh overview of th e freq u en cy sp ectru m th at can be u sed for d ata tran sm ission .
Th e figu re sh ows freq u en cies startin g at 300 Hz an d goin g u p to over 300 THz.
Directly cou p led to th e freq u en cy is t h e wavelen gth λ via th e eq u at io n :

λ = c/f,

wh ere c ≅ 3·10 8 m / s (th e sp eed of ligh t in vacu u m ) an d f th e freq u en cy. For trad i-
t io n al wired n et wo rks, freq u en cies o f u p t o several h u n d red kH z are u sed fo r
d istan ces u p to som e km with twisted p air cop p er wires, wh ile freq u en cies of sev-
eral h u n d red MHz are u sed with co axial cab le (n ew co d in g sch em es wo rk with
several h u n d red MHz even with t wisted p air copp er wires over d istan ces of so m e
1 00 m ). Fib er o p t ics are u sed fo r freq u en cy ran ges o f several h u n d red TH z,
bu t h ere on e typ ically refers to th e wavelen gth wh ich is, e.g., 1500 n m , 1350 n m
etc. (in fra red ).
Rad io t ran sm issio n st a rt s at several kH z, t h e v er y lo w fr eq u en cy (VLF)
ran ge. Th ese are very lo n g waves. Waves in t h e lo w fr eq u en cy (LF) ran ge are
u sed b y su bm arin es, becau se t h ey can p en etrat e wat er an d can follow th e earth ’s
su rface. Som e rad io st at ion s still u se th ese freq u en cies, e.g., between 148.5 kHz
an d 283.5 kHz in Germ an y. Th e m ed iu m freq u en cy (M F) an d h igh freq u en cy
(H F) ran ges are t yp ical fo r tran sm issio n o f h u n d red s o f rad io statio n s eit h er as
am p litu d e m o d u lat io n (AM) b et ween 520 kHz an d 1605.5 kHz, as sh o rt wave
(SW ) b et ween 5 .9 M Hz an d 2 6 .1 M H z, o r as freq u en cy m o d u lat io n (FM )
between 87.5 MHz an d 108 MHz. Th e freq u en cies lim itin g t h ese ran ges are typ i-
cally fix ed b y n a t io n a l regu lat io n an d , vary fro m co u n t ry t o co u n t ry. Sh o rt
waves are t yp ically u sed fo r (am at eu r) rad io t ran sm issio n aro u n d t h e wo rld ,
en ab led b y reflect io n at t h e io n o sp h ere. Tran sm it p o w er is u p t o 5 0 0 kW –
wh ich is q u it e h igh com p ared to t h e 1 W o f a m ob ile p h on e.
As we m o ve t o h igh er freq u en cies, t h e TV st at io n s fo llo w. Co n ven t io n al
an alo g TV is tran sm it ted in ran ges of 174–230 MHz an d 470–790 MHz u sin g t h e
very h igh freq u en cy (VH F) an d u ltra h igh freq u en cy (UHF) ban d s. In th is ran ge,
 Wireless t ransmission 27

d igit al au d io b ro ad cast in g (DAB) t akes p la ce as w ell (2 2 3 –2 3 0 M H z an d

1452 –14 72 MHz) an d d igit al TV is p lan n ed o r cu rren t ly b ein g in st alled (47 0–
862 MHz), reu sin g so m e o f t h e o ld freq u en cies for an alo g TV. UHF is also u sed
fo r m o b ile p h o n es w it h an alo g t ech n o lo gy (4 5 0 –4 6 5 M H z), t h e d igit al G SM
(8 9 0 –9 6 0 M H z, 1 7 1 0 –1 8 8 0 M H z), d igit a l co rd less t elep h o n es fo llo w in g t h e
DECT st an d ard (1880–1900 MHz), 3G cellu lar syst em s fo llo win g t h e UMTS stan -
d ard (1900–1980 MHz, 2020–2025 MHz, 2110–2190 MHz) an d m an y m ore. VHF
an d esp ecially UHF allow for sm all an t en n as an d relatively reliab le co n n ection s
for m obile telep h on y.
Su p er h ig h fr e q u en c ies (SH F) are t yp ically u sed fo r d irect ed m icro wave
lin ks (ap p ro x . 2 –4 0 GH z) an d fix ed sat ellit e services in t h e C -b a n d (4 an d
6 GHz), Ku -ban d (11 an d 14 GHz), o r Ka-ban d (19 an d 29 GHz). So m e system s
are p lan n ed in t h e ex t r em ely h igh freq u en cy (EH F) ran ge wh ich co m es close
to in fra red . All rad io freq u en cies are regu lat ed to avo id in t erferen ce, e.g., t h e
Germ an regu lation co vers 9 kHz–275 GHz.
Th e n ext step in t o h igh er freq u en cies in vo lves op t ical tran sm issio n , wh ich
is n o t o n ly u sed fo r fib er o p t ical lin ks b u t also fo r wireless co m m u n icat io n s.
In fra r ed (IR) t ran sm issio n is u sed fo r d irect ed lin ks, e.g., to co n n ect d ifferen t
bu ild in gs via laser lin ks. Th e m ost wid esp read IR tech n o logy, in fra red d ata asso-
ciat io n (IrD A), u ses wa velen gt h s o f a p p ro x im at ely 8 5 0 –9 0 0 n m t o co n n ect
lap to p s, PDAs etc. Fin ally, visib le ligh t h as b een u sed fo r wireless tran sm issio n
for th o u san d s of years. W h ile ligh t is n ot very reliable d u e to in terferen ce, bu t it
is n everth eless u sefu l d u e t o bu ilt-in h u m an receivers.

2.1.1 Regulations
As t h e ex am p les in t h e p revio u s sect io n h ave sh o w n , rad io freq u en cies are
scarce reso u rces. M an y n at io n al (eco n o m ic) in t erest s m ake it h ard t o fin d
com m on , world wid e regu latio n s. Th e In tern atio n al Telecom m u n icatio n s Un io n
(ITU) lo cated in Gen eva is resp o n sible fo r wo rld wid e co o rd in atio n o f t eleco m -
m u n ication activit ies (wired an d wireless). ITU is a su b-o rgan izatio n of th e UN.
Th e ITU Rad io co m m u n icat io n sect o r (ITU-R) h an d les st an d ard izat io n in t h e
wireless sect o r, so it a lso h an d les freq u en cy p lan n in g (fo rm erly kn o w n as
Co n su ltative Co m m it t ee fo r In tern ation al Rad iocom m u n icatio n , CCIR).
To h ave at least so m e su ccess in wo rld wid e co o rd in at io n an d t o reflect
n at io n al in t erest s, t h e ITU-R h as sp lit t h e wo rld in t o t h ree regio n s: Regio n 1
covers Eu rop e, th e Mid d le East, cou n t ries of t h e form er Soviet Un ion , an d Africa.
Regio n 2 in clu d es Green lan d , North an d Sou t h Am erica, an d regio n 3 com p rises
th e Far East, Au stralia, an d New Zealan d . With in t h ese region s, n ation al agen cies
are resp o n sib le fo r fu rt h er regu lat io n s, e.g., t h e Fed eral Co m m u n icat io n s
Co m m issio n (FCC) in th e US. Several n atio n s h ave a co m m o n agen cy su ch as
Eu ro p ean Co n feren ce fo r Po st s an d Teleco m m u n icat io n s (CEPT) in Eu ro p e.
W h ile CEPT is st ill resp on sible fo r th e gen eral p lan n in g, m an y tasks h ave been
t ran sferred t o o t h er agen cies (co n fu sin g an yb o d y fo llo win g t h e regu lat io n
28 Mobile communicat ions

p ro cess). Fo r exam p le, t h e Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat io n s St an d ard s In st it u t e

(ETSI) is resp on sible for stan dard ization an d con sists of n at io n al stan d ard ization
bod ies, p u blic p roviders, m an u factu rers, u ser grou p s, an d research in stit u tes.
To ach ieve at least som e h arm o n izat io n , th e ITU-R h old s, th e World Rad io
Con feren ce (W RC), to p eriod ically d iscu ss an d d ecid e freq u en cy allocatio n s fo r
all t h ree regio n s. Th is is o bvio u sly a d ifficu lt task as m an y regio n s or cou n tries
m ay h ave alread y in st alled a h u ge base o f a cert ain t ech n o lo gy an d will be relu c-
tan t t o ch an ge freq u en cies ju st for t h e sake of h arm on ization . Harm on ization is,
h owever, n eed ed as so on as sat ellite co m m u n ication is u sed . Satellites, esp ecially
t h e n ew gen erat io n o f lo w eart h -o rb it in g sa t ellit es (see ch ap t er 5 ) d o n o t
‘resp ect ’ n atio n al regu lation s, bu t sh ou ld op erate wo rld wid e. W h ile it is d ifficu lt
to p reven t o th er n atio n s fro m settin g u p a satellit e syst em it is m u ch sim p ler to
b an t h e n ecessary d evices o r t h e in frast ru ct u re n eed ed fo r o p erat io n . Sat ellit e
syst em s sh o u ld o p erat e o n freq u en cies available wo rld wid e t o su p p o rt glo b al
u sage wit h a sin gle d evice.
Table 2.1 gives so m e exam p les fo r freq u en cies u sed for (an alog an d d igital)
m o b ile p h o n es, co rd less t elep h o n es, wireless LANs, an d o th er rad io freq u en cy
(RF) system s fo r co u n t ries in th e th ree region s rep resen tin g th e m ajor econ om ic
p ower. Old er system s like No rd ic Mo bile Telep h o n e (NMT) are n o t available all
o ver Eu ro p e, an d so m et im es t h ey h ave b een st a n d ard ized w it h d ifferen t
n at io n al freq u en cies. Th e n ewer (d igit al) syst em s are co m p at ib le t h ro u gh o u t
Eu ro p e (st an d ard ized by ETSI).

Table 2.1 Example

systems and their Europe US Japan
frequency allocations
(all values in MHz) Mobile phones NMT AMPS, TDMA, PDC
CDMA
453–457 824–849 810–826
463–467 869–894 940–956
1429–1465
1477–1513

GSM GSM, TDMA,

CDMA
890–915 1850–1910
935–960 1930–1990
1710–1785
1805–1880

UMTS (FDD)/ FOMA/

W–CDMA W–CDMA
1920–1980 1920–1980
2110–2190 2110–2170
 Wireless t ransmission 29

UMTS (TDD)
1900–1920
2020–2025

Cordless t elephones CT1+ PACS PHS

885–887 1850–1910 1895–1918
930–932 1930–1990

CT2 PACS–UB JCT

864–868 1910–1930 254–380

DECT
1880–1900

Wireless LANs IEEE 802.11 IEEE 802.11 IEEE 802.11

2400–2483 902–928 2400–2497
2400–2483

HiperLAN2, HiperLAN2, HiperLAN2,

IEEE 802.11a IEEE 802.11a IEEE 802.11a
5150–5350 5150–5350 5150–5250
5470–5725 5725–5825

Ot hers RF-Cont rol RF-Cont rol RF-Cont rol

27, 128, 418, 315, 915 426, 868
433, 868

Sat ellite (e.g., Iridium, Globalst ar)

1610–1626, 2483–2500

W h ile older an alog m o b ile p h o n e system s like NMT or its d erivatives at 450 MHz
are still available, Eu ro pe is h eavily dom in ated by th e fu lly d igital GSM (see ch ap -
t er 4 .1) at 9 00 M Hz an d 1 800 MHz (also kn o wn as DCS18 00, Digit al Cellu lar
System ). In con trast t o Eu rop e, th e US FCC allowed several cellu lar tech n ologies
in t h e sam e freq u en cy b an d s aro u n d 8 5 0 M Hz. St art in g fro m t h e an alo g
ad van ced m o b ile p h o n e syst em (AMPS), t h is led t o t h e co -exist en ce o f several
solu tion s, such as du al m od e m obile p h on es su p p ortin g d igital tim e d ivision m u l-
tip le access (TDMA) service an d an alog AMPS accord in g to th e stan d ard IS-54. All
d igit al TDMA p h o n es acco rd in g t o IS-13 6 (also kn o wn as NA-TDM A, N o rt h
Am erican TDM A) an d d igit al co d e d ivisio n m u lt ip le access (CDMA) p h o n es
accord in g to IS-95 h ave been d evelop ed. Th e US d id n ot ad opt a com m on m obile
p h on e system , bu t waited for m arket forces to d ecid e. Th is led to m an y islan d s of
d ifferen t system s an d , con seq u en tly, as in Eu rop e, fu ll coverage, is n ot available
in t h e US. Th e lo n g d iscu ssion s abo u t th e p ro s an d co n s o f TDMA an d CDMA
30 Mobile communicat ions

also p rom oted th e world wid e su ccess of GSM. GSM is available in over 190 cou n -
tries an d u sed by m ore th an 800 m illion p eop le (GSM Wo rld , 2002). A u ser can
ro am wit h t h e sam e m o b ile p h o n e fro m Zim b ab we, via Uzb ekist an , Swed en ,
Sin ga p o re, USA, Tu n isia, Ru ssia, Can ad a, It aly, Greece, Germ an y, Ch in a, an d
Belgiu m to Au stria.
An o t h er syst em , t h e p erso n al d igit a l cellu lar (P D C ), fo rm erly kn o wn as
Jap an ese d igit al cellu lar (JDC ) wa s est ab lish ed in Jap an . Q u it e o ft en m o b ile
p h o n es co verin g m an y stan d ard s h ave b een an n o u n ced , h o wever, in d u st ry is
still waitin g for a ch eap solu tion . Ch ap ter 11 will d iscu ss t h is t op ic again in t h e
co n t ext of so ftware d efin ed rad ios (SDR). New freq u en cy b an d s, e.g., fo r th e u n i-
versal m o b ile t eleco m m u n icat io n s syst em (UM TS) o r t h e freed o m o f m o b ile
m u lti-m ed ia access (FOM A) are located at 1920–1980 MHz an d 2110–2170/ 2190
MHz (see ch ap t er 4).
M a n y d ifferen t c o r d le ss t e lep h o n e st an d a rd s ex ist aro u n d t h e wo rld .
However, th is is n o t as p roblem atic as t h e d iversity o f m o bile p h on e stan d ard s.
So m e old er an alog system s su ch as co rd less t elep h on e (CT1 +) are still in u se, bu t
d igit a l t ech n o lo gy h as b een in t ro d u ced fo r co rd less t elep h o n es a s well.
Exam p les in clu d e CT2 , th e first d igital co rd less telep h o n e in trod u ced in th e UK,
d igit al en h an ced co rd less t eleco m m u n icatio n s (D ECT) as a Eu ro p ean st an d ard
(see sect io n 4 .2 ), p erso n al access co m m u n icat io n s syst em (PACS) an d PAC S-
Un licen sed Ban d (PACS-UB) in th e US, as well as p erso n al h an d yp h on e system
(PHS) as rep lacem en t fo r th e an alog Jap an ese co rd less telep h o n e (JCT) in Jap an .
Mo b ile p h o n es co verin g, e.g., DECT an d GSM are availab le b u t t h ey h ave n o t
been a co m m ercial su ccess.
Fin ally, t h e a rea o f W LAN st a n d ard s is o f sp ecial in t erest fo r wireless,
m o b ile com p u t er co m m u n icatio n o n a cam p u s o r in b u ild in gs. Here t h e co m -
p u t er in d u st ry d evelo p ed p ro d u cts with in th e licen se-free ISM ban d , o f wh ich
th e m o st at tractive is lo cated at 2.4 GHz an d is availab le for licen se-free o p era-
t io n a lm o st everywh ere aro u n d t h e wo rld (wit h n at io n al d ifferen ces lim it in g
freq u en cies, tran sm it p o wer etc.). Th e m o st wid esp read stan d ard in th is area is
IEEE 80 2.11 b , wh ich is d iscu ssed in ch ap ter 7 (to geth er wit h o t h er m em bers of
th e 80 2.11 fam ily). Th e wireless LAN stan d ard s H ip er LAN2 an d IEEE 8 0 2 .1 1 a
op erate in t h e 5 GHz ran ge, bu t d ep en d in g o n th e region on d ifferen t freq u en -
cies with d ifferen t restrictio n s.
M an y m o re freq u en cies h ave b een assign ed fo r t ru n k rad io (e.g., t ran s-
Eu rop ean tru n ked rad io (TETRA), 380–400 MHz, 410–430 MHz, 450–470 MHz –
d ep en d in g on n ation al regu lat io n s), p agin g services, t errestrial fligh t telep h o n e
system (TFTS), 1670–1675 MHz an d 1800–1805 MHz, satellite services (Irid iu m :
1610–1626 MHz, Globalstar: 1610–1626 MHz an d 2483–2500 MHz, see ch ap ter 5)
et c. H igh er freq u en cies are o f sp ecial in t erest fo r h igh b it -rat e t ran sm issio n ,
alth ou gh th ese freq u en cies face severe sh adowin g by m an y obstacles. Licen se-free
ban d s at 17.2, 24 an d even 61 GHz are u n d er con sid eration for com m ercial u se.
Ad d ition ally, a lot of licen se-free wireless com m u n ication takes p lace at lower fre-
q u en cies. Garage o p en ers, car lo cks, w ireless h ead set s, rad io freq u en cy
id en tification s (RFID) etc. op erate on , e.g., 433 or 868 MHz.
 Wireless t ransmission 31

2.2 Signals

Sign als are t h e p h ysical rep resen t at io n o f d a t a. Users o f a co m m u n icat io n

syst em can o n ly exch an ge d at a th ro u gh t h e tran sm issio n o f sign als. Layer 1 of
th e ISO/ OSI basic referen ce m od el is resp on sible for th e con versio n of d at a, i.e.,
bit s, in t o sign als an d vice versa (Halsall, 1996), (Stallin gs, 1997 an d 2002).
Sign als are fu n ctio n s o f tim e an d lo cation . Sign al p aram et ers rep resen t th e
d ata valu es. Th e m ost in t erestin g typ es o f sign als for rad io tran sm ission are p eri-
o d ic sign a ls, esp ecially sin e w a ves as carriers. (Th e p ro cess of m ap p in g of d at a
on to a carrier is exp lain ed in sectio n 2.6.) Th e gen eral fu n ction o f a sin e wave is:

g(t) = At sin (2 π ft t + φt )

Sign al p aram eters are t h e a m p lit u d e A, th e freq u en cy f, an d t h e p h a se sh ift φ.

Th e am p lit u d e as a facto r of th e fu n ction g m ay also ch an ge o ver tim e, th u s At ,
(see sect ion 2.6.1). Th e freq u en cy f exp resses t h e p erio d icit y o f t h e sign al with
th e p erio d T = 1/ f. (In eq u at io n s, ω is freq u en t ly u sed in st ead o f 2πf.) Th e fre-
q u en cy f m ay also ch an ge o ver tim e,
t h u s ft , (see sect io n 2 .6 .2 ). Fin ally, Figure 2.2
A[V]
th e p h ase sh ift d et erm in es t h e sh ift Time domain
o f t h e sign al relat iv e t o t h e sa m e representation of
sign al wit h o u t a sh ift . An ex am p le a signal
fo r sh ift in g a fu n ct io n is sh o w n in
t[s]
Figu re 2 .2 . Th is sh o w s a sin e fu n c-
t io n wit h o u t a p h ase sh ift an d t h e
sam e fu n ct io n , i.e., sam e am p lit u d e
an d freq u en cy, wit h a p h ase sh ift φ.
Section 2.6.3 sh ows h o w sh ift in g th e
ϕ
p h ase can be u sed to rep resen t d ata.
Sin e w aves are o f sp ecial in t er-
est, as it is p o ssib le to con stru ct every p erio d ic sign al g b y u sin g o n ly sin e an d
cosin e fu n ctio n s acco rd in g to a fu n d am en t al eq u ation of Fo u rier:

1
c + ∑ a n sin (2 πnft) + ∑ b n co s(2πnft)
∞ ∞
g(t) =
2 n=1 n=1

In th is eq u at io n th e p aram eter c d eterm in es th e Direct Cu r ren t (DC) com -

p o n en t o f t h e sign al, t h e co efficien t s a n an d b n are t h e am p lit u d es o f t h e n t h
sin e an d co sin e fu n ctio n . Th e eq u at io n sh o ws th at an in fin ite n u m b er o f sin e
an d co sin e fu n ct io n s is n eed ed t o co n st ru ct arb it rary p erio d ic fu n ct io n s.
However, th e freq u en cies of th ese fu n ctio n s (th e so -called h a r m o n ics) in crease
with a growin g p aram eter n an d are a m u ltip le of th e fu n d a m en t a l freq u en cy f.
Th e ban d wid th o f an y m ed iu m , air, cab le, tran sm itter etc. is lim ited an d , th ere
is a n u p p er lim it fo r t h e freq u en cies. In realit y t h erefo re, it is en o u gh t o
co n sid er a lim it ed n u m b er o f sin e an d co sin e fu n ct io n s t o co n st ru ct p erio d ic
32 Mobile communicat ions

fu n ction s – all real tran sm ittin g system s exh ibit th ese ban d wid th lim its an d can
n ever t ran sm it arb it rary p eriod ic fu n ctio n s. It is su fficien t fo r u s t o kn o w t h at
we can t h in k o f tran sm it ted sign als as com p osed o f on e or m an y sin e fu n ction s.
Th e fo llo win g illu st rat io n s always rep resen t th e exam p le o f o n e sin e fu n ct io n ,
i.e., th e case of a sin gle freq u en cy.
A t yp ical way t o rep resen t sign als is th e tim e d om ain (see Figu re 2.2). Here
t h e am p lit u d e A o f a sign al is sh o wn versu s t im e (t im e is m o stly m easu red in
seco n d s s, am p lit u d es can b e m easu red in , e.g., vo lt V). Th is is also th e t yp ical
rep resen tatio n kn own fro m an o scilloscop e. A p h ase sh ift can also b e sh own in
th is rep resen tation .
Rep resen tatio n s in t h e tim e d o m ain are p ro blem atic if a sign al co n sist s o f
m an y d ifferen t freq u en cies (as t h e Fo u rier eq u at io n in d icat es). In t h is case, a
bett er represen t at io n of a sign al is t h e freq u en cy d o m a in (see Figu re 2.3). Here
th e am p litu d e o f a cert ain freq u en cy p art o f t h e sign al is sh o wn versu s th e fre-
q u en cy. Figu re 2 .3 o n ly sh o ws o n e
Figure 2.3 A[V] p eak an d t h e sign al con sists o n ly o f a
Frequency domain sin gle freq u en cy p art (i.e., it is a
representation of sin gle sin e fu n ct io n ). Arb it rary p eri-
a signal o d ic fu n ct io n s wo u ld h ave m a n y
p eaks, kn o wn as th e freq u en cy sp ec-
t ru m o f a sign a l. A t o o l t o d isp lay
freq u en cies is a sp ect ru m an alyzer.
f[Hz] Fo u rier t ran sfo rm atio n s are a m at h e-
m atical to o l fo r t ran slat in g from t h e
Figure 2.4 t im e d o m ain in t o t h e freq u en cy
Q = M sin ϕ
Phase domain d o m ain an d vice versa (u sin g t h e
representation of in verse Fou rier t ran sform atio n ).
a signal A t h ird way t o rep resen t sign als
ϕ
is t h e p h a se d o m a in sh o wn in
I = M cos ϕ Figu re 2 .4 . Th is rep resen t at io n , also
called p h ase state o r sign al co n stella-
t io n d iagram , sh o w s t h e am p lit u d e
M of a sign al an d its p h ase φ in p olar
co o rd in ates. (Th e len gth o f th e vecto r rep resen ts t h e am p lit u d e, t h e an gle t h e
p h ase sh ift.) Th e x-axis rep resen ts a p h ase o f 0 an d is also called In -Ph a se (I). A
p h ase sh ift o f 90° or π/ 2 wou ld be a p o in t on t h e y-axis, called Q u a d ra t u re (Q).

2.3 Ant ennas

As th e n am e wireless alread y in d icates, th is com m u n ication m od e in volves ‘get-

tin g rid ’ of wires an d t ran sm itt in g sign als th rou gh sp ace with o u t gu id an ce. We
d o n o t n eed an y ‘m ed iu m ’ (su ch as an eth er) for th e tran sp ort of electrom agn etic
waves. Som eh ow, we h ave to cou p le th e en ergy from t h e tran sm it ter to th e ou t-
 Wireless t ransmission 33

sid e world an d , in reverse, from th e ou tsid e world to t h e receiver. Th is is exactly

wh at a n t en n a s d o . An ten n as co u p le elect rom agn etic en ergy to an d from sp ace
to an d from a wire or coaxial cable (or an y oth er ap p rop riate con d u ctor).
A t h eo ret ical referen ce an t en n a is t h e iso t r o p ic ra d ia t o r , a p o in t in sp ace
rad iat in g eq u al p o w er in all d irect io n s, i.e., a ll p o in t s w it h eq u al p o w er are
lo cat ed o n a sp h ere wit h t h e an t en n a as it s cen t er. Th e r a d i a t i o n p a t t er n is
sym m et ric in all d irect io n s (see Figu re 2.5, a t wo d im en sio n al cro ss-sect io n o f
th e real th ree-d im en sio n al p at tern ).

z Figure 2.5
y z Radiation pattern of an
isotropic radiator
y x
x

H o w ever, su ch a n an t en n a d o es n o t ex ist in realit y. Real a n t en n as all

exh ib it d ir ect iv e effect s, i.e., t h e in t en sit y o f rad iat io n is n o t t h e sam e in all
d irect io n s fro m t h e an t en n a. Th e sim p lest real an t en n a is a t h in , cen t er-fed
d ip o le, also called Hert zian dip o le, as sh own in Figu re 2.6 (righ t-h an d sid e). Th e
d ip ole con sists of two co llin ear co n d u cto rs of eq u al len gth , sep arated by a sm all
feed in g gap . Th e len gth o f th e d ip ole
is n o t arb it rary, b u t , fo r ex am p le, Figure 2.6
Simple antennas
h alf t h e wavelen gt h λ o f t h e sign al
λ/4
to tran sm it resu lts in a very efficien t
λ/2
rad iat io n o f t h e en ergy. If m o u n t ed
o n t h e ro o f o f a ca r, t h e len gt h o f
λ/ 4 is efficien t . Th is is also kn o wn as
Marco n i an ten n a.
A λ/ 2 d ipole h as a u n iform or o m n i-d irect io n a l radiation pattern in on e plan e
an d a figure eigh t pattern in th e oth er two plan es as sh own in Figu re 2.7. Th is typ e
of an t en n a can o n ly overcom e en viro n m en tal ch allen ges by boostin g t h e p ower
level of th e sign al. Ch allen ges could be m oun tain s, valleys, buildin gs etc.

y y z Figure 2.7
Radiation pattern of
a simple dipole
x z x

Side view (xy-plane) Side view (zy-plane) Top view (xz-plane)

34 Mobile communicat ions

If an an ten n a is p o sition ed , e.g., in a valley o r between bu ild in gs, an o m n i-

d irect io n al rad iat io n p at t ern is n o t very u sefu l. In t h is case, d i r e ct io n a l
a n t en n a s with cert ain fixed p referen tial tran sm issio n an d recep t io n d irectio n s
can b e u sed . Figu re 2 .8 sh o ws t h e rad iat io n p at t ern o f a d irect io n al an t en n a
wit h t h e m ain lo b e in t h e d irect io n o f t h e x-axis. A sp ecial exam p le o f d irec-
tion al an ten n as is co n stitu ted by sat ellit e d ish es.

Figure 2.8 y y z
Radiation pattern of
a directed antenna
x z x

Side view (xy-plane) Side view (yz-plane) Top view (xz-plane)

Directed an ten n as are t yp ically ap p lied in cellu lar syst em s as p resen ted in
sectio n 2.8. Several d irect ed an t en n as can be co m bin ed on a sin gle p o le t o con -
stru ct a sect o rized an t en n a . A cell can b e sectorized in to, for exam p le, th ree o r
six sect ors, t h u s en ablin g freq u en cy reu se as exp lain ed in section 2.8. Figu re 2.9
sh ows th e rad iation p at tern s o f th ese sectorized an ten n as.

Figure 2.9 z z
Radiation patterns of
sectorized antennas

x x

Top view, 3 sector Top view, 6 sector

Tw o o r m o re a n t en n as can also b e co m b in ed t o im p ro ve recep t io n b y

co u n t eractin g th e n egative effects o f m u lti-p at h p ro p agation (see sect ion 2.4.3).
Th ese an t en n as, also called m u lt i-e le m en t a n t e n n a a r r a y s, allo w d ifferen t
d iversity sch em es. O n e su ch sch em e is sw it ch ed d iv er sit y o r select io n d iv er-
si t y , w h ere t h e receiver alw ays u ses t h e an t en n a elem en t w it h t h e largest
ou tp u t. Div ersit y co m b in in g con stitu t es a co m bin ation of th e p ower o f all sig-
n a ls t o p ro d u ce gain . Th e p h ase is first co rrect ed (co p h a sin g) t o avo id
can cellat io n . As sh o wn in Figu re 2 .1 0, d ifferen t sch em es are p o ssib le. O n th e
left, two λ/ 4 an ten n as are com bin ed with a d istan ce o f λ/ 2 between t h em on to p
of a gro u n d p lan e. On t h e righ t , th ree stan d ard λ/ 2 d ip oles are com bin ed wit h a
d istan ce of λ/ 2 between t h em . Sp acin g co u ld also be in m u ltip les o f λ/ 2.
 Wireless t ransmission 35

Figure 2.10
λ/2 λ/2
Diversity antenna
λ/4 λ/2 λ/4 λ/2 systems

+
+

Ground plane

A m ore advan ced solution is provided by sm art a n ten n as wh ich com bin e m ul-
tiple an ten n a elem en ts (also called an ten n a array) with sign al processin g to op tim ize
th e rad iation / reception pattern in respon se to th e sign al en viron m en t. Th ese an ten -
n as can adap t t o ch an ges in recep tion p ower, tran sm ission co n dition s an d m an y
sign al propagation effects as discussed in th e followin g section . An ten n a arrays can
also be used for beam form in g. Th is would be an extrem e case of a directed an ten n a
wh ich can follow a sin gle u ser th us u sin g sp ace division m u ltiplexin g (see section
2.5.1). It would n ot just be base station s th at could follow users with an in dividual
beam . Wireless devices, too, cou ld direct th eir electrom agn etic radiation , e.g., away
fro m t h e h u m an bo d y t o wards a b ase st ation . Th is wou ld h elp in red u cin g th e
absorbed radiation . Today’s h an dset an ten n as are om n i-direction al as th e in tegration
of sm art an ten n as in to m obiles is difficult an d h as n ot yet been realized.

2.4 Signal propagat ion

Like wired n et wo rks, wireless co m m u n icat io n n etwo rks also h ave sen d ers an d
receivers of sign als. However, in co n n ectio n with sign al p ro p agation , th ese t wo
n et wo rks exh ib it co n sid erable d ifferen ces. In wireless n et wo rks, t h e sign al h as
n o wire to d eterm in e th e d irection of p rop agation , wh ereas sign als in wired n et-
wo rks on ly travel alo n g th e wire (wh ich can be twist ed p air co p p er wires, a coax
cab le, b u t also a fib er et c.). As
lon g as th e wire is n o t in terru p ted Figure 2.11
Ranges for transmission,
o r d am a ged , it t yp ically ex h ib it s
detection, and
t h e sam e ch a ract erist ics at ea ch
interference of signals
p o in t . O n e can p recisely d et er-
m in e t h e b eh avio r o f a sign al
t ravellin g alo n g t h is wire, e.g., Sender
received p o wer d ep en d in g o n t h e
len gt h . Fo r wireless t ran sm issio n ,
t h is p red ict ab le b eh avio r is o n ly Transmission
valid in a vacu u m , i.e., wit h o u t
m at t er b et ween t h e sen d er a n d Detection
t h e receiver. Th e sit u at io n w o u ld
Distance
be as follows (Figu re 2.11):
Interference
36 Mobile communicat ions

● Tra n sm issio n ra n ge: With in a cert ain rad iu s o f th e sen d er t ran sm issio n is
p ossible, i.e., a receiver receives th e sign als with an error rate lo w en ou gh to
b e able to com m u n icate an d can also act as sen d er.
● D et ect io n ra n ge: With in a seco n d rad iu s, d etect io n o f t h e t ran sm issio n is
p ossible, i.e., th e tran sm itted power is large en ou gh to differ from backgrou n d
n oise. However, th e error rate is too h igh to establish com m un ication .
● In t erferen ce ra n ge: With in a th ird even larger rad iu s, th e sen d er m ay in ter-
fere with oth er tran sm issio n by ad d in g t o th e backgrou n d n o ise. A receiver
will n ot be able to detect th e sign als, bu t th e sign als m ay distu rb oth er sign als.

Th is sim ple an d id eal sch em e led to th e n ot ion of cells arou n d a tran sm itter
(as b riefly discu ssed in sect io n 2.8). Ho wever, real life d o es n o t h ap p en in a
vacu u m , rad io t ran sm ission h as t o con ten d wit h o u r at m osp h ere, m o u n t ain s,
buildin gs, m ovin g sen ders an d receivers etc. In reality, th e th ree circles referred to
above will be bizarrely-sh aped polygon s with th eir sh ape bein g tim e an d freq u en cy
d epen den t. Th e followin g p aragraph s d iscu ss som e p roblem s arisin g in th is con -
text, th ereby sh owin g th e differen ces between wireless an d wired tran sm ission .

2.4.1 Pat h loss of radio signals

In free sp ace rad io sign als p ro p agate as ligh t d oes (in d ep en d en t ly o f t h eir fre-
q u en cy), i.e., th ey fo llo w a straigh t lin e (b esid es gravit at io n al effects). If su ch a
st raigh t lin e ex ist s b et ween a sen d er an d a receiver it is called l in e-o f-si g h t
(LOS). Even if n o m att er exists between th e sen d er an d th e receiver (i.e., if t h ere
is a vacu u m ), th e sign al still exp erien ces th e free sp a ce lo ss. Th e received p ower
Pr is p rop o rtio n al to 1/ d 2 with d bein g th e d istan ce between sen d er an d receiver
(in ver se sq u a re la w ). Th e reaso n for th is p h en om en on is q u it e sim p le. Th in k o f
t h e sen d er b ein g a p o in t in sp ace. Th e sen d er n o w em it s a sign al with certain
en ergy. Th is sign al t ravels away fro m th e sen d er at t h e sp eed of ligh t as a wave
wit h a sp h erical sh ap e. If t h ere is n o o b st acle, t h e sp h ere co n t in u o u sly gro ws
with t h e sen d in g en ergy eq u ally d istribu ted o ver t h e sp h ere’s su rface. Th is su r-
face area s gro ws with t h e in creasin g d istan ce d fro m t h e cen ter accord in g to th e
eq u at io n s = 4π d 2 .
Even with ou t an y m atter between sen d er an d receiver, ad d ition al p aram eters
are im p ortan t. Th e received power also d ep en d s on th e wavelen gth an d th e gain
o f receiver an d t ran sm it t er an t en n as. As so o n as t h ere is an y m at t er b et ween
sen d er an d receiver, th e sit u ation becom es m o re co m p lex. Most rad io tran sm is-
sion t akes p lace t h rou gh t h e atm osp h ere – sign als travel th rou gh air, rain , sn ow,
fog, d u st p articles, sm og etc. W h ile th e p a t h lo ss or a t t en u a t io n d oes n ot cau se
to o m u ch tro u ble fo r sh o rt d istan ces, e.g., fo r LANs (see ch ap t er 7), th e atm o s-
p h ere h eavily in flu en ces t ran sm issio n o ver lo n g d ist an ces, e.g., sat ellit e
t ran sm issio n (see ch ap t er 5 ). Even m o b ile p h o n e syst em s are in flu en ced b y
weat h er co n d it io n s su ch as h eavy rain . Rain can ab so rb m u ch o f th e rad iat ed
en ergy of th e an ten n a (th is effect is u sed in a m icrowave oven to cook), so com -
m u n ication lin ks m ay break down as soon as th e rain sets in .
 Wireless t ransmission 37

Dep en d in g o n t h e freq u en cy, rad io w aves can also p en et ra t e o b ject s.

Gen erally t h e lower t h e freq u en cy, th e better th e p en etratio n . Lo n g waves can
b e t ran sm it ted t h ro u gh th e o cean s to a su b m arin e wh ile h igh freq u en cies can
b e b lo cked b y a t ree. Th e h igh er t h e freq u en cy, t h e m o re t h e b eh avio r o f t h e
rad io waves resem ble th at of ligh t – a p h en om en on wh ich is clear if o n e con sid -
ers t h e sp ect ru m sh own in Figu re 2.1.
Rad io waves can exh ibit t h ree fu n d am en tal p rop agation beh aviors d ep en d -
in g on t h eir freq u en cy:

● Gro u n d w a ve (<2 MHz): Waves wit h lo w freq u en cies follow th e earth ’s su r-

fa ce an d can p ro p agat e lo n g d ist an ces. Th ese wa ves are u sed fo r, e.g.,
su bm arin e com m u n icatio n or AM rad io.
● Sk y w a v e (2 –3 0 MHz): Man y in t ern at io n al b road cast s an d am at eu r rad io
u se t h ese sh o rt w aves t h at are reflect ed 2 at t h e io n o sp h ere. Th is way t h e
waves can b o u n ce back an d fo rt h b et ween th e io n o sp h ere an d t h e eart h ’s
su rface, t ravellin g arou n d th e world .
● Lin e-o f-sigh t (>3 0 MHz): Mo bile p h o n e system s, sat ellit e system s, co rd less
telep h on es etc. u se even h igh er freq uen cies. Th e em itted waves follow a (m ore
or less) straigh t lin e of sigh t. Th is en ables direct com m u n ication with satellites
(n o reflection at t h e ion osp h ere) or m icrowave lin ks on th e grou n d . However,
an ad d it io n al co n sid erat ion fo r gro u n d -b ased co m m u n icat io n is t h at t h e
waves are ben t by th e atm osp h ere du e to refraction (see n ext section ).

Alm o st all co m m u n icat io n syst em s p resen t ed in th is b o o k wo rk wit h fre-

q u en cies ab o ve 1 0 0 M H z so , w e are alm o st ex clu sively co n cern ed w it h LO S
co m m u n icat io n . Bu t wh y d o m obile p h o n es wo rk even with ou t an LOS?

2.4.2 Addit ional signal propagat ion effects

As d iscu ssed in th e p reviou s sectio n , sign al p rop agation in free sp ace alm ost fol-
lo w s a st raigh t lin e, like ligh t . Bu t in real life, we ra rely h a ve a lin e-o f-sigh t
b et ween t h e sen d er an d receiver o f rad io sign als. Mo b ile p h o n es are t yp ically
u sed in b ig cit ies wit h skyscrap ers, o n m o u n t ain s, in sid e b u ild in gs, wh ile d ri-
vin g t h ro u gh an alley et c. H a re several effect s o ccu r in ad d it io n t o t h e
at t en u at io n cau sed b y t h e d ist an ce b et w een sen d er an d receiver, w h ich a re
again very m u ch freq u en cy d ep en d en t.
An extrem e fo rm o f att en u ation is b lo ck in g or sh a d o w in g o f rad io sign als
d u e to large o bstacles (see Figu re 2.12, left sid e). Th e h igh er th e freq u en cy of a
sign al, th e m o re it beh aves like ligh t. Even sm all o bstacles like a sim p le wall, a
tru ck o n th e street , o r t rees in an alley m ay b lock th e sign al. An o t h er effect is
th e r eflect io n o f sign als as sh o wn in th e m id dle o f Figu re 2.12. If an o b ject is
large com p ared to th e wavelen gt h o f th e sign al, e.g., h u ge bu ild in gs, m o u n tain s,

2 Co m p ared to , e.g., th e su rface o f a b u ild in g, t h e io n o sp h ere is n o t really a h ard reflect in g su rface. In

t h e case o f sky waves t h e ‘reflect ion ’ is cau sed by refractio n .
38 Mobile communicat ions

o r th e su rface o f th e eart h , th e sign al is reflect ed . Th e reflect ed sign al is n o t as

st ro n g as t h e o rigin al, as o b ject s can ab so rb so m e o f t h e sign a l’s p o w er.
Reflectio n h elp s tran sm ittin g sign als as so on as n o LOS exist s. Th is is th e st an -
d ard case for rad io t ran sm issio n in cities or m o u n t ain areas. Sign als tran sm itted
fro m a sen d er m ay bo u n ce o ff t h e walls o f b u ild in gs several tim es befo re t h ey
reach t h e receiver. Th e m ore o ften th e sign al is reflected , th e weaker it becom es.
Fin ally, th e righ t sid e o f Figu re 2.12 sh o ws th e effect o f refr a ct io n . Th is effect
o ccu rs b ecau se t h e velo city o f th e electro m agn etic waves d ep en d s on th e d en -
sity of t h e m ed iu m th ro u gh wh ich it travels. On ly in vacu u m d oes it eq u al c. As
th e figu re sh o ws, waves th at travel in to a d en ser m ed iu m are ben t to ward s th e
m ed iu m . Th is is th e reaso n fo r LOS rad io waves bein g ben t t o ward s t h e eart h :
th e d en sit y of th e at m osp h ere is h igh er closer to th e gro u n d .

Figure 2.12
Blocking (shadowing),
reflection and
refraction of waves

Shadowing Reflection Refraction

W h ile sh adowin g an d reflection are cau sed by objects m u ch larger th an t h e

wavelen gt h o f t h e sign als (an d d em o n st rat e t h e t yp ical ‘p art icle’ b eh avio r o f
rad io sign als), th e fo llo win g two effects exh ibit th e ‘wave’ ch aracter of rad io sig-
n als. If t h e size o f an o b st acle is in t h e o rd er o f t h e w avelen gt h o r less, t h en
waves can b e sca t t er ed (see Figu re 2.13, left sid e). An in co m in g sign al is scat -
t ered in t o severa l w eaker o u t go in g sign a ls. In sch o o l ex p erim en t s, t h is is
typ ically d em o n st rated with laser ligh t an d a very sm all op en in g or obstacle, bu t
h ere we h ave t o t ake in t o co n sid erat io n t h at t h e t yp ical wavelen gt h o f rad io
tran sm issio n fo r, e.g., GSM or AMPS is in t h e ord er o f som e 10 cm . Th u s, m an y
o bject s in t h e en viron m en t can cau se th ese scatt erin g effects. An ot h er effect is
d iffr a ct io n o f waves. As sh o wn o n t h e righ t sid e o f Figu re 2.13 , t h is effect is
very sim ilar t o scatt erin g. Rad io waves will b e d eflected at an ed ge an d p ro p a-
gate in d ifferen t d irection s. Th e resu lt o f scat terin g an d d iffraction are p att ern s
with varyin g sign al stren gth s d ep en d in g o n th e locatio n of th e receiver.
Effect s like at t en u at io n , scat t erin g, d iffract io n , an d refract io n all h ap p en
sim u ltan eou sly an d are freq u en cy an d tim e d ep en d en t. It is very d ifficu lt t o p re-
d ict t h e p recise st ren gt h o f sign als at a cert ain p o in t in sp ace. Ho w d o m o b ile
p h on e op erat ors p lan th e coverage of th eir an ten n as, t h e locat io n of t h e an ten -
n as, t h e d irectio n o f t h e b eam s et c.? Two o r t h ree d im en sio n al m ap s are u sed
with a resolu tion d own t o several m eters. Wit h t h e h elp of, e.g., ray tracin g or
rad io sit y t ech n iq u es sim ilar t o ren d erin g 3 D grap h ics, t h e sign al q u alit y can
rou gh ly b e calcu lated in ad van ce. Ad d ition ally, op erators p erfo rm a lot of m ea-
su rem en ts d u rin g an d aft er in stallat ion o f an ten n as to fill gap s in th e coverage.
 Wireless t ransmission 39

Figure 2.13
Scattering and
diffraction of waves

Scattering

2.4.3 Multi-pat h propagation

To get h er with th e d irect tran sm ission fro m a sen d er t o a receiver, th e p rop aga-
tio n effect s m en tio n ed in t h e p revio u s sect io n lead t o o n e o f t h e m o st severe
rad io ch an n el im p airm en ts, called m u lt i-p a t h p ro p a ga t io n . Figu re 2.14 sh o ws
a sen d er o n th e left an d on e p ossible receiver on t h e righ t. Rad io waves em it ted
by th e sen d er can eith er t ravel alo n g a straigh t lin e, o r t h ey m ay be reflect ed at a
large b u ild in g, o r scat t ered at sm aller o b st acles. Th is sim p lified figu re o n ly
sh ows t h ree p ossible p ath s for th e sign al. In reality, m an y m ore p at h s are p oss-
ible. Du e t o th e fin ite sp eed o f ligh t, sign als travellin g alo n g d ifferen t p ath s with
d ifferen t len gt h s arrive at th e receiver at d ifferen t t im es. Th is effect (cau sed b y
m u lti-p ath p rop agatio n ) is called d ela y sp rea d : th e origin al sign al is sp read d u e
to d ifferen t d elays of p arts o f th e sign al. Th is delay sp read is a t yp ical effect o f
rad io tran sm ission , b ecau se n o wire gu id es th e waves alo n g a sin gle p ath as in
th e case o f wired n et wo rks (h o wever, a sim ilar effect , d isp ersio n , is kn o wn fo r
h igh b it -rat e o p t ical t ran sm issio n o ver m u lt i-m o d e fib er, see Halsall, 1 996, o r
Stallin gs, 1997). No t ice t h at t h is effect h as n ot h in g to d o with p o ssib le m o ve-
m en t s o f t h e sen d er o r receiver. Typ ical va lu es fo r d elay sp read a re
ap p roxim ately 3 µs in cit ies, u p to 12 µs can be o bserved . GSM, for exam p le, can
to lerat e u p to 16 µs of d elay sp read , i.e., alm o st a 5 km p ath d ifferen ce.

Figure 2.14
Multi-path propagation
and intersymbol
interference
Multipath
LOS pulses pulses

Signal at sender
Signal at receiver
40 Mobile communicat ions

W h at are th e effect s of th is delay sp read on th e sign als represen tin g th e data?

Th e first effect is th at a sh ort im pulse will be sm eared ou t in to a broader im pu lse, or
rat h er in to several weaker im p u lses. In Figu re 2.14 on ly t h ree p ossible p at h s are
sh own an d, th us, th e im pulse at th e sen der will result in th ree sm aller im pulses at
th e receiver. For a real situ ation with h un dreds of differen t p ath s, th is im plies th at a
sin gle im pu lse will resu lt in m an y weaker im pu lses at th e receiver. Each p ath h as a
d ifferen t atten uatio n an d , t h e received p u lses h ave differen t power. Som e of t h e
received pulses will be too weak even to be detected (i.e., th ey will appear as n oise).
Now con sid er th e seco n d im p u lse sh o wn in Figu re 2.14. On th e sen der sid e,
bo t h im p u lses are sep arat ed . At t h e receiver, b o th im p u lses in t erfere, i.e., t h ey
o verla p in t im e. No w co n sid er t h at each im p u lse sh o u ld rep resen t a sym b o l,
an d t h at o n e o r several sym bols cou ld rep resen t a bit. Th e en ergy in t en d ed fo r
o n e sym b o l n o w sp ills o ver t o t h e ad jacen t sym b o l, an effect wh ich is called
in t er sy m b o l in t er fer en ce (ISI). Th e h igh er t h e sym bo l rat e t o b e tran sm itted ,
th e worse th e effects of ISI will be, as th e origin al sym bo ls are m o ved closer an d
clo ser to each ot h er. ISI lim its th e ban d wid th of a rad io ch an n el with m u lti-p ath
p ro p agatio n (wh ich is th e stan d ard case). Du e to th is in terferen ce, th e sign als o f
d ifferen t sym b ols can can cel each oth er ou t lead in g to m isin terp retation s at t h e
receiver an d cau sin g tran sm ission erro rs.
In th is case, kn owin g th e ch an n el ch aract eristics can b e a great h elp . If t h e
receiver kn o ws th e d elays of th e d ifferen t p at h s (o r at least t h e m ain p ath s t h e
sign al takes), it can co m p en sat e fo r th e d ist o rtio n cau sed b y th e ch an n el. Th e
sen d er m ay first t ran sm it a t r a in in g se q u e n ce kn o wn b y t h e receiver. Th e
receiver t h en co m p ares th e received sign al to th e origin al train in g seq u en ce an d
p ro gram s an eq u a l iz er t h at co m p en sat es fo r t h e d ist o rt io n (Wesel, 1 9 9 8 ),
(Pah lavan , 2002), (St allin gs, 2002).
W h ile ISI an d delay sp read already occu r in th e case of fixed rad io tran sm itters
an d receivers, th e situ ation is even worse if receivers, or sen d ers, or bot h , m ove.
Th en t h e ch an n el ch aract erist ics ch an ge o ver t im e, an d t h e p at h s a sign al can
travel alon g vary. Th is effect is well kn own (an d aud ible) with an alog radios wh ile
d rivin g. Th e power of th e received sign al ch an ges con siderably over tim e. Th ese
qu ick ch an ges in th e received p ower are also called sh ort -t erm fad in g. Depen din g
o n t h e d ifferen t p at h s t h e sign als
Figure 2.15 Long-term take, th ese sign als m ay h ave a d iffer-
Short-term and fading en t p h ase an d can cel each o t h er as
long-term fading
sh o wn in Figu re 2.15. Th e receiver
n ow h as to try to con stan tly adapt to
t h e varyin g ch an n el ch aracterist ics,
Power

e.g., by ch an gin g t h e param et ers of

t h e eq u alizer. Ho wever, if t h ese
ch an ges are too fast, such as drivin g
o n a h igh way t h rou gh a cit y, t h e
t receiver can n o t ad ap t fast en ou gh
Short-term fading an d th e erro r rat e o f t ran sm issio n
in creases dram atically.
 Wireless t ransmission 41

An ad d it io n al effect sh o wn in Figu re 2 .15 is t h e lo n g-t er m fa d in g o f t h e

received sign al. Th is lo n g-t erm fad in g, sh o wn h ere as t h e average p o wer o ver
tim e, is cau sed by, fo r exam p le, varyin g d istan ce to t h e sen d er o r m o re rem ote
o b st acles. Typ ically, sen d ers can co m p en sat e fo r lo n g-t erm fad in g b y in creas-
in g/ d ecreasin g sen d in g p o wer so t h at t h e received sign al always st ays wit h in
certain lim its.
Th ere are m an y m ore effects in flu en cin g rad io tran sm issio n wh ich will n ot
b e d iscu ssed in d et a il – fo r ex a m p le, t h e D o p p l er sh i ft ca u sed b y a m o vin g
sen d er o r receiver. W h ile th is effect is au d ible for aco u stic waves alread y at low
sp eed , it is also a t o p ic fo r rad io t ran sm issio n fro m o r t o fast m o vin g t ran s-
ceivers. On e exam p le o f su ch a tran sceiver cou ld be a satellite (see ch ap t er 5) –
t h ere Do p p ler sh ift cau ses ran d o m freq u en cy sh ift s. Th e in t erest ed read er is
referred t o An d erso n (199 5), (Pah lavan , 200 2), an d (St allin gs, 200 2) fo r m o re
in form at io n abo u t th e ch aracterist ics o f wireless co m m u n icatio n ch an n els. Fo r
th e p resen t it will su ffice to kn ow t h at m u lti-p ath p rop agation lim its th e m axi-
m u m b a n d w id t h d u e t o ISI an d t h a t m o vin g t ran sceivers cau se ad d it io n a l
p ro blem s du e to varyin g ch an n el ch aract eristics.

2.5 Mult iplexing

M u lt ip lex in g is n ot o n ly a fu n d am en tal m ech an ism in co m m u n icatio n system s

b u t also in everyd ay life. Mu ltip lexin g d escrib es h o w several u sers can sh are a
m ed iu m with m in im u m or n o in terferen ce. On e exam p le, is h igh ways wit h sev-
eral lan es. Man y u sers (car d rivers) u se th e sam e m ed iu m (t h e h igh ways) with
h op efu lly n o in terferen ce (i.e., accid en t s). Th is is p o ssib le d u e to t h e p rovision
of several lan es (sp ace d ivisio n m u ltip lexin g) sep aratin g th e traffic. In ad d itio n ,
d ifferen t cars u se t h e sam e m ed iu m (i.e., t h e sam e lan e) at d ifferen t p o in t s in
tim e (tim e d ivision m u ltip lexin g).
W h ile th is sim p le exam p le illu strat es ou r everyday u se of m u ltip lexin g, t h e
fo llo win g exam p les will d eal wit h th e u se o f m u ltip lexin g in wireless com m u n i-
cation s. Mech an ism s con tro llin g th e u se o f m u ltip lexin g an d th e assign m en t o f
a m ed iu m to u sers (th e traffic regu latio n s), are d iscu ssed in ch ap ter 3 u n d er t h e
asp ect o f m ed iu m access con trol.

2.5.1 Space division mult iplexing

Fo r wireless co m m u n icat io n , m u lt ip lexin g can b e carried o u t in fo u r d im en -
sio n s: sp a ce, t im e, fr eq u en cy , an d co d e. In th is field , t h e task o f m u ltip lexin g
is to assign sp ace, tim e, freq u en cy, an d co d e t o each co m m u n icatio n ch an n el
wit h a m in im u m o f in t erferen ce an d a m axim u m o f m ed iu m u t ilizat io n . Th e
term com m u n ication ch an n el h ere on ly refers to an associat io n o f sen d er(s) an d
receiver(s) wh o wan t to exch an ge d ata. Ch aracteristics o f co m m u n icatio n ch an -
n els (e.g., b an d w id t h , erro r rat e) will b e d iscu ssed t o get h er wit h cert ain
tech n o logies in ch ap t ers 4 t o 7.
42 Mobile communicat ions

Figu re 2.16 sh ows six ch an n els k i an d in tro d u ces a th ree d im en sio n al coo r-
d in at e syst em . Th is syst em sh o w s t h e d im en sio n s o f co d e c, t im e t an d
freq u en cy f. Fo r t h is first t yp e o f m u lt ip lex in g, sp a ce d iv isio n m u lt ip lex in g
(SDM ), th e (t h ree d im en sion al) sp ace si is also sh own . Here sp ace is rep resen ted
via circles in d icatin g th e in terferen ce ran ge as in tro d u ced in Figu re 2.11. Ho w is
th e sep aration of t h e d ifferen t ch an n els ach ieved ? Th e ch an n els k 1 to k 3 can be
m ap p ed o n to th e th ree ‘sp aces’ s1 to s3 wh ich clearly sep arate th e ch an n els an d
p reven t t h e in t erferen ce ran ges fro m o verlap p in g. Th e sp ace between th e in ter-
feren ce ran ges is so m et im es called gu a rd sp a ce. Su ch a gu ard sp ace is n eed ed in
all fou r m u ltip lexin g sch em es p resen ted .

Figure 2.16
Channels ki
Space division
multiplexing (SDM)
k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6

c
t

s1
f
s2
f
c

s3
f

For th e rem ain in g ch an n els (k 4 to k 6 ) th ree addition al sp aces wou ld be n eed ed . In

ou r h igh way exam p le th is wou ld im ply th at each d river h ad h is or h er own lan e.
Alt h o u gh t h is p ro ced u re clearly rep resen t s a waste o f sp ace, th is is exact ly th e
p rin cip le u sed b y t h e o ld an alo g t elep h o n e syst em : each su b scrib er is given a
sep arat e p air o f co p p er w ires t o t h e lo cal ex ch an ge. In wireless t ran sm issio n ,
SDM im p lies a sep arat e sen d er fo r each co m m u n icat io n ch an n el wit h a wid e
en ou gh d istan ce between sen d ers. Th is m u ltip lexin g sch em e is u sed , for exam p le,
at FM radio station s wh ere th e tran sm ission ran ge is lim ited to a certain region –
 Wireless t ransmission 43

m an y ra d io st at io n s aro u n d t h e wo rld can u se t h e sa m e freq u en cy w it h o u t

in t erferen ce. Usin g SDM, o bviou s p ro b lem s arise if two o r m o re ch an n els were
est ablish ed wit h in th e sam e space, fo r exam p le, if several rad io st atio n s wan t t o
b ro ad cast in t h e sam e cit y. Th en , o n e o f t h e fo llo win g m u lt ip lex in g sch em es
m u st be u sed (freq u en cy, t im e, o r cod e d ivision m u ltip lexin g).

2.5.2 Frequency division multiplexing

Fr eq u en cy d iv isio n m u lt ip lex in g (FD M ) d escrib es sch em es t o su b d ivid e t h e
freq u en cy d im en sion in t o several n on -overlap p in g freq u en cy ban ds as sh o wn in
Figu re 2 .1 7 . Each ch an n el k i is n o w allo t t ed it s o wn freq u en cy b an d as in d i-
cated . Sen d ers u sin g a certain freq u en cy ban d can u se t h is ban d co n t in u o u sly.
Again , g u a r d sp a c es are n eed ed t o avo id freq u en cy b an d o verlap p in g (also
called a d ja cen t ch a n n el in t er fer en ce). Th is sch em e is u sed fo r rad io st at io n s
wit h in th e sam e regio n , wh ere each rad io st at io n h as it s o wn freq u en cy. Th is
very sim p le m u ltip lexin g sch em e d oes n o t n eed com p lex coo rd in atio n between
sen d er an d receiver: t h e receiver on ly h as to tu n e in to th e sp ecific sen d er.

Figure 2.17
Frequency division
k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
multiplexing (FDM)
c

Ho wever, t h is sch em e also h as d isad van t ages. W h ile rad io stat io n s b ro ad -

cast 24 h ou rs a d ay, m o bile co m m u n ication typ ically takes p lace for o n ly a few
m in u tes at a tim e. Assign in g a sep arate freq u en cy fo r each p o ssible com m u n ica-
t io n scen ario w o u ld b e a t rem en d o u s w ast e o f (scarce) freq u en cy reso u rces.
Ad d itio n ally, th e fixed assign m en t of a freq u en cy to a sen d er m akes th e sch em e
very in flexible an d lim its th e n u m ber o f sen d ers.
44 Mobile communicat ions

2.5.3 Time division multiplexing

A m o re flexib le m u lt ip lexin g sch em e for typ ical m ob ile com m u n ication s is t im e
d iv isio n m u lt ip lex in g (TDM ). Here a ch an n el k i is given th e wh o le ban d wid th
for a cert ain am o u n t o f tim e, i.e., all sen d ers u se th e sam e freq u en cy bu t at d if-
feren t p o in t s in t im e (see Figu re 2 .1 8 ). Again , g u a r d sp a ce s, wh ich n o w
rep resen t tim e gap s, h ave t o sep arate th e d ifferen t p eriod s wh en th e sen d ers u se
th e m ed iu m . In ou r h igh way exam p le, th is wou ld refer to t h e gap between two
cars. If two tran sm ission s overlap in tim e, t h is is called co-ch an n el in terferen ce.
(In t h e h igh way exam p le, in terferen ce between two cars resu lts in an accid en t .)
To av o id t h is t yp e o f in t erferen ce, p recise syn ch ro n izat io n b et ween d ifferen t
sen d ers is n ecessary. Th is is clearly a d isad van t age, as all sen d ers n eed p recise
clo cks o r, alt ern at ively, a way h as to b e fo u n d t o d ist rib u t e a syn ch ro n izat io n
sign al t o all sen d ers. Fo r a receiver t u n in g in t o a sen d er t h is d o es n o t ju st
in vo lve ad ju stin g t h e freq u en cy, bu t in vo lves listen in g at exactly t h e righ t p oin t
in t im e. However, t h is sch em e is q u it e flexible as o n e can assign m o re sen d in g
tim e t o sen d ers with a h eavy load an d less to th ose with a ligh t lo ad.

Figure 2.18
Time division
k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
multiplexing (TDM)

Freq u en cy an d tim e d ivision m u ltip lexin g can be com b in ed , i.e., a ch an n el

k i can u se a cert ain freq u en cy b an d fo r a cert ain am o u n t o f t im e as sh o wn in
Figu re 2.19. No w gu ard sp aces are n eed ed both in t h e tim e an d in th e freq u en cy
d im en sion . Th is sch em e is m ore robu st again st freq u en cy select ive in terferen ce,
i.e., in t erferen ce in a cert ain sm all freq u en cy b an d . A ch an n el m ay u se th is ban d
on ly for a sh ort p eriod o f tim e. Ad d itio n ally, th is sch em e p ro vid es so m e (weak)
p ro tectio n again st tap p in g, as in t h is case th e seq u en ce of freq u en cies a sen d er
u ses h as to be kn own to listen in to a ch an n el. Th e m o bile p h on e stan d ard GSM
u ses t h is com bin atio n o f freq u en cy an d tim e d ivision m u lt ip lexin g for t ran sm is-
sion b etween a m obile p h on e an d a so -called base st at io n (see section 4.1).
 Wireless t ransmission 45

Figure 2.19
Frequency and time
k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6 division multiplexing
combined
c

A d isad van tage o f th is sch em e is again t h e n ecessary co ord in at io n between

d ifferen t sen d ers. On e h as to co n t ro l th e seq u en ce o f freq u en cies an d th e t im e
o f ch an gin g t o an o t h er freq u en cy. Two sen d ers will in t erfere as so o n as t h ey
select t h e sam e freq u en cy at t h e sam e t im e. Ho wever, if th e freq u en cy ch an ge
(also called freq u en cy h op p in g) is fast en ou gh , th e p eriod s o f in terferen ce m ay
b e so sm all th at , d ep en d in g o n t h e co d in g o f d ata in t o sign als, a receiver can
still reco ver th e o rigin al d ata. (Th is tech n iq u e is d iscu ssed in section 2.7.2.)

2.5.4 Code division mult iplexing

W h ile SDM an d FDM are well kn own from th e early d ays o f rad io tran sm ission
an d TDM is u sed in co n n ect ion with m an y ap p licat io n s, co d e d ivisio n m u lt i-
p lex i n g (CDM ) is a relat ively n ew sch em e in co m m ercial co m m u n icat io n
system s. First u sed in m ilitary ap p licat io n s d u e to it s in h eren t secu rity feat u res
(to geth er with sp read sp ectru m tech n iq u es, see sectio n 2.7), it n o w featu res in
m an y civil wireless tran sm ission scen arios th an ks to th e availability of ch eap p ro-
cessin g p ower (exp lain ed in m ore d et ail in section 3.5). Figu re 2.20 sh ows h ow all
ch an n els k i u se th e sam e freq u en cy at th e sam e tim e for tran sm ission . Sep aration
is n ow ach ieved by assign in g each ch an n el its own ‘cod e’, gu ard sp aces are real-
ized by u sin g codes with th e n ecessary ‘d istan ce’ in cod e sp ace, e.g., o rt h o go n a l
co d es. Th e tech n ical realization of CDM is d iscu ssed in section 2.7 an d ch ap ter 3
togeth er with th e m ed iu m access m ech an ism s. An excellen t book dealin g with all
asp ects of CDM is Viterbi (1995).
Th e typ ical everyd ay exam p le of CDM is a p arty with m an y p articip an ts from
d ifferen t cou n tries aro u n d th e world wh o establish com m u n ication ch an n els, i.e.,
th ey t alk to each o th er, u sin g th e sam e freq u en cy ran ge (ap p ro x. 300–6000 Hz
d ep en d in g on a p erso n ’s voice) at t h e sam e t im e. If everybo d y sp eaks t h e sam e
lan gu age, SDM is n eed ed to b e ab le t o co m m u n icat e (i.e., st an d in g in gro u p s,
46 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 2.20 talkin g with lim ited tran sm it p ower).

Code division Bu t as so o n as an o t h er co d e, i.e.,
k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
multiplexing (CDM) an o t h er lan gu age, is u sed , o n e can
tu n e in t o th is lan gu age an d clearly
c
sep arate co m m u n icat io n in t h is lan -
gu age fro m all t h e o t h er lan gu ages.
(Th e oth er lan gu ages ap p ear as back-
gro u n d n o ise.) Th is exp lain s wh y
CDM h as bu ilt-in secu rity: if th e lan -
gu age is u n kn o wn , t h e sign als can
still be received , bu t th ey are u seless.
By u sin g a secret co d e (or lan gu age),
f a secu re ch an n el can b e est ab lish ed
in a ‘h ostile’ en viron m en t. (At p art ies
t h is m ay cau se so m e co n fu sio n .)
Gu ard sp aces are also o f im p ortan ce
in t h is illu st rat ive ex am p le. Usin g,
e.g., Swed ish an d No rw egian d o es
t n o t really wo rk; t h e lan gu ages are
t o o clo se. Bu t Swed ish an d Fin n ish
are ‘o rt h o go n al’ en o u gh t o sep arate
th e com m u n ication ch an n els.
Th e m ain ad van tage of CDM fo r wireless tran sm ission is th at it gives goo d
p ro tectio n again st in terferen ce an d tap p in g. Differen t cod es h ave to be assign ed ,
bu t co d e sp ace is h u ge co m p ared t o th e freq u en cy sp ace. Assign in g in d ivid u al
co d es to each sen d er d oes n ot u su ally cau se p ro blem s. Th e m ain d isad van tage o f
th is sch em e is th e relatively h igh co m p lexity o f th e receiver (see section 3.5). A
receiv er h as t o kn o w t h e co d e an d m u st sep arat e t h e ch an n el w it h u ser d at a
from th e backgrou n d n oise com p o sed o f o th er sign als an d en viron m en t al n oise.
Ad d it ion ally, a receiver m u st be p recisely syn ch ron ized wit h th e t ran sm it ter t o
ap p ly t h e d eco d in g co rrect ly. Th e vo ice ex am p le also gives a h in t t o an o t h er
p ro blem o f CDM receivers. All sign als sh o u ld reach a receiver wit h alm ost eq u al
st ren gt h , o t h erwise so m e sign als co u ld d rain o t h ers. If so m e p eo p le clo se t o a
receiv er t a lk very lo u d ly t h e lan gu age d o es n o t m at t er. Th e receiver can n o t
listen t o an y ot h er p erson . To ap p ly CDM, p recise p ower con t rol is req u ired .

2.6 Modulat ion

Sectio n 2.2 in tro d u ced th e basic fu n ction of a sin e wave wh ich alread y in d icates
th e th ree b asic m o d u lat io n sch em es (typ ically, t h e co sin e fu n ct io n is u sed fo r
exp lan ation ):

g(t) = At cos(2π ft t + φt )
 Wireless t ransmission 47

Th is fu n ct io n h as t h ree p aram et ers: am p lit u d e At , freq u en cy ft , an d p h ase φt

wh ich m ay be varied in accord an ce with d ata or an oth er m od u latin g sign al. For
d igita l m o d u lat io n , wh ich is th e m ain top ic in th is section , d igital data (0 an d 1)
is t ran slat ed in t o an an alo g sign al (b aseb an d sign al). Digit al m o d u lat io n is
req u ired if d igital d ata h as to be t ran sm itted over a m ed iu m th at on ly allows for
an alog tran sm ission . O n e exam p le for wired n etworks is th e old an alog telep h on e
system – to con n ect a com p u ter to th is system a m od em is n eed ed . Th e m od em
th en p erfo rm s t h e t ran slation o f d igital d at a in to an alog sign als an d vice versa.
Digital tran sm ission is u sed, for exam p le, in wired local area n etworks or with in a
com p u ter (Halsall, 1996), (Stallin gs, 1997). In wireless n etworks, h owever, digital
tran sm ission can n ot be u sed . Here, th e bin ary bit-stream h as to be tran slated in to
an an alog sign al first. Th e th ree basic m eth od s for th is tran slation are a m p lit u d e
sh ift k eyin g (ASK), freq u en cy sh ift k eyin g (FSK), an d p h ase sh ift k eyin g (PSK).
Th ese are d iscu ssed in m ore detail in th e followin g section s.
Ap art from th e tran slation of d igital d ata in to an alog sign als, wireless t ran s-
m ission requires an ad dition al m odu lation , an an alo g m o d u lat io n th at sh ifts th e
cen ter frequ en cy of th e baseban d sign al gen erated by th e d igital m odulation up to
th e rad io carrier. For exam p le, digital m od u lation tran slates a 1 Mbit/s bit-stream
in to a baseban d sign al with a ban d wid th of 1 MHz. Th ere are several reason s wh y
th is baseban d sign al can n ot be d irectly tran sm itted in a wireless system :

● An t en n a s: As sh o wn in sectio n 2.3, an an ten n a m u st be t h e ord er of m ag-

n it u d e o f t h e sign al’s wavelen gt h in size t o b e effect ive. Fo r t h e 1 M H z
sign al in t h e exam p le t h is wo u ld resu lt in an an ten n a som e h u n d red m eters
h igh , wh ich is o b vio u sly n o t very p ract ical fo r h a n d h eld d evices. W it h
1 GHz, an ten n as a few cen tim et ers in len gth can be u sed .
● Freq u en cy d ivisio n m u lt ip lex in g: Usin g on ly b aseban d t ran sm issio n , FDM
cou ld n ot be ap p lied . An alo g m od u latio n sh ift s th e baseban d sign als t o d if-
feren t carrier freq u en cies as req u ired in section 2.5.2. Th e h igh er t h e carrier
freq u en cy, t h e m o re ban d wid th th at is available for m an y baseban d sign als.
● M e d iu m c h a r a c t e r ist i cs: Pat h -lo ss, p en et ra t io n o f o b st acles, reflect io n ,
scatt erin g, an d d iffract io n – all th e effect s d iscu ssed in sect io n 2.4 d ep en d
h eavily o n th e wavelen gt h o f t h e sign al. Dep en d in g o n th e ap p licatio n , t h e
righ t carrier freq u en cy w it h t h e d esired ch aract erist ics h as t o b e ch o sen :
lo n g waves fo r su b m arin es, sh o rt waves fo r h an d h eld d evices, very sh o rt
waves fo r d irect ed m icrowave tran sm issio n et c.

As fo r d igit al m o d u lat io n , t h ree d ifferen t b asic sch em es are kn o w n fo r

an alo g m o d u lat io n : a m p lit u d e m o d u l a t io n (AM ), fr eq u en c y m o d u l a t io n
(FM), an d p h a se m o d u la t io n (PM ). Th e read er is referred to Halsall (1996) an d
Stallin gs (2002) fo r m o re d etails abou t t h ese an alo g m o d u lation sch em es.
Figu re 2.2 1 sh o w s a (sim p lified ) b lo ck d iagram o f a rad io t ran sm it t er fo r
d igital d at a. Th e first step is th e d igital m o d u latio n of d ata in to th e an alog base-
b a n d sign al acco rd in g t o o n e o f t h e sch em es p resen t ed in t h e fo llo win g
48 Mobile communicat ions

sectio n s. Th e an alo g m o d u lation th en sh ift s t h e cen ter freq u en cy of th e an alo g

sign al u p t o th e rad io carrier. Th is sign al is th en tran sm itted via th e an ten n a.

Figure 2.21
Analog
Modulation in baseband
a transmitter Digital signal
data Digital Analog
101101001 modulation modulation

Radio
carrier

Th e receiver (see Figu re 2.22) receives th e an alog rad io sign al via its an ten n a
an d d em odu lates th e sign al in to th e an alog baseban d sign al with th e h elp of th e
kn own carrier. Th is wou ld be all th at is n eed ed for an an alog rad io tu n ed in to a
radio station . (Th e an alog baseban d sign al wou ld con stitu te th e m usic.) For digital
d ata, an oth er step is n eed ed . Bits or fram es h ave to be d etect ed , i.e., th e receiver
m u st syn ch ron ize with th e sen der. How syn ch ron ization is ach ieved , d epen ds on
th e digital m odu lation sch em e. After syn ch ron ization , th e receiver h as to decide if
th e sign al represen ts a d igital 1 or a 0, recon stru ctin g th e origin al data.

Figure 2.22
Demodulation and Analog
baseband Digital
data reconstruction
signal data
in a receiver Analog Synchronization
demodulation decision 101101001

Radio
carrier

Th e d igit al m o d u latio n sch em es p resen t ed in t h e fo llo win g sect ion s d iffer

in m an y issu es, su ch as sp ect ra l effi cien cy (i.e., h ow efficien tly th e m od u lat ion
sch em e u tilizes t h e availab le freq u en cy sp ect ru m ), p o w er efficien cy (i.e., h o w
m u ch p o wer is n eed ed t o t ran sfer b it s – wh ich is very im p o rt an t fo r p o rt ab le
d evices th at are battery d ep en d en t), an d ro b u st n ess to m u lti-p at h p ro p agatio n ,
n oise, an d in terferen ce (Wesel, 1998).

2.6.1 Amplitude shift keying

Figu re 2.23 illu st rat es a m p lit u d e sh ift k ey in g (ASK), t h e m o st sim p le d igit al
m odu lation sch em e. Th e two bin ary valu es, 1 an d 0, are rep resen t ed by two dif-
feren t am p litu d es. In th e exam p le, on e o f th e am p litu d es is 0 (rep resen tin g t h e
bin ary 0). Th is sim p le sch em e o n ly req u ires low ban d wid th , bu t is very su scep t-
ib le t o in t erferen ce. Effect s like m u lt i-p at h p ro p agat io n , n o ise, o r p at h lo ss
h eavily in flu en ce th e am p litu de. In a wireless en viron m en t, a con stan t am p litu de
 Wireless t ransmission 49

can n ot be gu aran teed , so ASK is typ i- Figure 2.23

cally n o t u sed fo r wireless rad io 1 0 1
Amplitude shift
t ran sm issio n . Ho w ever, t h e wired keying (ASK)
tran sm ission sch em e wit h t h e h igh -
est p erfo rm an ce, n am ely o p t ical
tran sm ission , u ses ASK. Here, a ligh t
p u lse m ay rep resen t a 1 , wh ile t h e t
ab sen ce o f ligh t rep resen t s a 0. Th e
carrier frequ en cy in op tical system s is
so m e h u n d red THz. ASK can also be
ap plied to wireless in fra red tran sm is-
sion , u sin g a directed beam or diffu se
ligh t (see ch ap ter 7, Wireless LANs).

2.6.2 Frequency shift keying

A m o d u lat io n sch em e o ft en u sed fo r wireless t ran sm issio n is fr eq u en cy sh ift
k ey in g (FSK) (see Figu re 2.24). Th e sim p lest fo rm of FSK, also called b in a r y FSK
(BFSK), assign s o n e freq u en cy f1 to th e bin ary 1 an d an o th er freq u en cy f2 to th e
b in a ry 0. A very sim p le w ay t o
im p lem en t FSK is to switch between Figure 2.24
1 0 1
t w o o scillat o rs, o n e wit h t h e fre- Frequency shift
q u en cy f 1 an d t h e o t h er wit h f 2 , keying (FSK)
d ep en d in g o n t h e in p u t . To avo id
su d d en ch a n ges in p h a se, sp ecial
freq u en cy m o d u lat o rs wit h co n t in - t

u o u s p h a se m o d u l a t io n , (C P M )
can b e u sed . Su d d en ch an ges in
p h ase cau se h igh freq u en cies, wh ich
is an u n d esired sid e-effect.
A sim p le way to im p lem en t d em o d u lat ion is by u sin g two ban d p ass filters,
o n e fo r f1 th e o t h er fo r f2 . A co m p arato r can t h en co m p are t h e sign al levels of
th e filter ou tp u t s to d ecid e wh ich of t h em is st ron ger. FSK n eed s a larger b an d -
wid th com p ared t o ASK bu t is m u ch less su scep tible to erro rs.

2.6.3 Phase shift keying

Fin a lly, p h a se sh i ft k e y i n g (P SK) Figure 2.25
1 0 1
u ses sh ift s in th e p h ase o f a sign al to Phase shift
keying (PSK)
rep resen t d at a. Figu re 2 .2 5 sh o w s a
p h ase sh ift o f 180° o r π as t h e 0 fo l-
lo ws th e 1 (th e sam e h ap p en s as th e
t
1 fo llo ws t h e 0). Th is sim p le sch em e,
sh iftin g th e p h ase by 180° each tim e
t h e valu e o f d at a ch an ges, is a lso
called b in a r y PSK (BPSK). A sim p le
50 Mobile communicat ions

im p lem en t at io n o f a BPSK m o d u lato r co u ld m u lt ip ly a freq u en cy f wit h +1 if

th e bin ary d ata is 1 an d with –1 if th e bin ary d ata is 0.
To receive th e sign al co rrectly, t h e receiver m u st syn ch ro n ize in freq u en cy
an d p h ase wit h t h e tran sm itt er. Th is can be d on e u sin g a p h a se lo ck lo o p (PLL).
Com p ared to FSK, PSK is m o re resist an t t o in terferen ce, bu t receiver an d t ran s-
m itter are also m ore com p lex.

2.6.4 Advanced frequency shift keying

A fam o u s FSK sch em e u sed in m an y wireless system s is m in im u m sh ift k eyin g
(M SK). MSK is b asically BFSK wit h o u t ab ru p t p h ase ch an ges, i.e., it belo n gs t o
CPM sch em es. Figu re 2.26 sh ows an exam p le for th e im p lem en tation o f MSK. In
a first step , d ata bit s are sep arated in to even an d o d d bits, th e d u ration o f each
b it b ein g d o u b led . Th e sch em e also u ses t wo freq u en cies: f 1 , t h e lo wer fre-
q u en cy, an d f2 , t h e h igh er freq u en cy, with f2 = 2f1 .

Figure 2.26
1 0 1 1 0 1 0
Minimum shift
keying (MSK) Data

Even bits

Odd bits

Low
frequency

High
frequency

MSK
signal t

Acco rd in g to th e fo llo win g sch em e, th e lower o r h igh er freq u en cy is ch osen

(eith er in verted or n o n -in verted ) t o gen erate th e MSK sign al:

● if t h e even an d t h e o d d b it are b o t h 0 , t h en t h e h igh er freq u en cy f 2 is

in verted (i.e., f2 is u sed with a p h ase sh ift of 180°);
● if t h e even b it is 1, th e o d d bit 0, t h en t h e lo wer freq u en cy f1 is in vert ed .
Th is is t h e case, e.g., in th e fift h t o seven th colu m n s o f Figu re 2.26,
 Wireless t ransmission 51

● if t h e even b it is 0 an d t h e o d d b it is 1, as in co lu m n s 1 t o 3, f 1 is t aken
with ou t ch an gin g th e p h ase,
● if both bit s are 1 th en t h e origin al f2 is t aken .

A h igh freq u en cy is always ch osen if even an d od d bits are eq u al. Th e sign al

is in vert ed if t h e o d d b it eq u als 0. Th is sch em e avo id s all p h ase sh ift s in t h e
resu ltin g MSK sign al.
Ad d in g a so -called G au ssian lo w p ass filt er t o t h e M SK sch em e resu lt s in
G a u ssia n M SK (G M SK), w h ich is t h e d igit al m o d u lat io n sch em e fo r m an y
Eu ro p ean wireless stan d ard s (see ch ap t er 4 fo r GSM, DECT). Th e filter red u ces
th e large sp ectru m n eed ed by MSK.

2.6.5 Advanced phase shift keying

Th e sim p le PSK sch em e can be im p roved in m an y ways. Th e basic BPSK sch em e
on ly u ses on e p ossible p h ase sh ift of 180°. Th e left side of Figu re 2.27 sh ows BPSK
in th e p h ase d om ain (wh ich is typ ically th e better rep resen tation com pared to th e
tim e d om ain in Figu re 2.25). Th e righ t sid e of Figu re 2.27 sh ows q u a d rat u re PSK
(QPSK), on e of th e m ost com m on PSK sch em es (som etim es also called q u atern ary
PSK). Here, h igh er b it rat es can b e
ach ieved for th e sam e ban d wid th by Q 10 Q 11
Figure 2.27
codin g two bits in to o n e ph ase sh ift. BPSK and QPSK in
Alt ern at ively, o n e can red u ce t h e the phase domain
ban dwidth an d still ach ieve th e sam e I I
bit rates as for BPSK. 1 0
Q PSK (an d o t h er PSK sch em es)
can be realized in t wo varian t s. Th e
00 01
p h ase sh ift can always be relat ive to
a r e fe r e n ce si g n a l (w it h t h e sam e Figure 2.28
A
freq u en cy). If th is sch em e is u sed , a QPSK in the
p h ase sh ift o f 0 m ean s t h at t h e time domain
sign al is in p h ase wit h th e referen ce
sign al. A Q PSK sign al will t h en t
exh ib it a p h ase sh ift o f 45 ° fo r t h e
d at a 1 1 , 1 3 5 ° fo r 1 0 , 2 2 5 ° fo r 0 0 ,
an d 3 1 5 ° fo r 0 1 – w it h all p h ase 11 10 00 01
sh ifts b ein g relative t o t h e referen ce
sign al. Th e t ran sm itt er ‘selects’ p art s o f th e sign al as sh own in Figu re 2.28 an d
co n caten ates th em . To reco n stru ct d at a, th e receiver h as t o co m p are th e in com -
in g sign al w it h t h e referen ce sign al. O n e p ro b lem o f t h is sch em e in vo lves
p ro d u cin g a referen ce sign al at th e receiver. Tran sm itt er an d receiver h ave to be
syn ch ro n ized very o ft en , e.g., by u sin g sp ecial syn ch ro n izatio n p attern s b efo re
u ser d at a arrives o r via a p ilot freq u en cy as referen ce.
52 Mobile communicat ions

O n e way to avo id t h is p ro blem is to u se d ifferen t ial QPSK (DQPSK). Here

th e p h ase sh ift is n o t relative to a referen ce sign al bu t t o th e p h ase o f th e p revi-
o u s t w o b it s. In t h is case, t h e receiver d o es n o t n eed t h e referen ce sign al b u t
o n ly co m p ares t wo sign als t o reco n st ru ct d at a. DQ PSK is u sed in US wireless
tech n ologies IS-136 an d PACS an d in Jap an ese PHS.
On e cou ld n ow th in k of exten d in g th e sch em e to m ore an d m ore an gles for
sh iftin g th e p h ase. Fo r in stan ce, o n e can t h in k of co d in g 3 b its p er p h ase sh ift
u sin g 8 an gles. Ad d ition ally, th e PSK sch em e cou ld be co m bin ed with ASK as is
d o n e fo r exam p le in q u a d r a t u r e a m p lit u d e m o d u la t io n (Q AM ) fo r st an d ard
9,6 00 b it / s m o d em s (left sid e o f Figu re 2.29). Here, t h ree d ifferen t am p lit u d es
an d 12 an gles are com bin ed cod in g 4 bits per p h ase/am p litu de ch an ge. Problem s
occu r for wireless com m u n ication in case of n oise or ISI. Th e m ore ‘poin ts’ u sed in
th e p h ase d om ain , t h e h ard er it is to sep arat e th em . DQPSK h as been p roven as
on e of th e m ost efficien t sch em es u n d er th ese con sid eration s (Wesel, 1998).

Figure 2.29
Q
16 quadrature Q
amplitude modulation
and hierarchical 0010
0001
64 QAM
0011 10
0000
ϕ
I
I
a

1000

00

000010 000010

A m o re ad van ced sch em e is a h ierarch ical m od u lat ion as u sed in th e d igital

TV st an d ard DVB-T. Th e righ t sid e of Figu re 2.29 sh o ws a 64 QAM th at co n tain s
a QPSK m o d u latio n . A 64 QAM can co d e 6 b it p er sym b o l. Here t h e two m o st
sign ifican t b its are u sed fo r th e QPSK sign al em bed d ed in th e QAM sign al. If t h e
recep t io n o f t h e sign al is go o d t h e en t ire Q AM co n st ellat io n can b e reso lved .
Un d er p o o r recep t io n co n d it io n s, e.g., wit h m o vin g receivers, o n ly t h e Q PSK
p o rt io n can b e reso lved . A h igh p rio rit y d at a st ream in DVB-T is co d ed w it h
Q PSK u sin g t h e t wo m o st sign ifican t b it s. Th e rem ain in g 4 b it s rep resen t lo w
p riority d at a. Fo r TV th is co u ld m ean t h at th e stan d ard reso lu tio n d at a stream is
co d ed with h igh p rio rity, th e h igh reso lu tio n in fo rm atio n with lo w p rio rity. If
th e sign al is d istorted , at least th e stan d ard TV reso lu tion can be received .
 Wireless t ransmission 53

2.6.6 Multi-carrier modulat ion

Sp ecial m o d u lat io n sch em es t h at st an d so m ewh a t a p art fro m t h e o t h ers a re
m u lt i-car rier m o d u la t io n (MCM), o rt h o go n a l freq u en cy d iv isio n m u lt ip lex -
in g (O FD M ) o r c o d e d O FD M (C O FD M ) t h at are u sed in t h e co n t ex t o f t h e
Eu ro p ean d igit al rad io syst em DAB (see sect io n 6.3) an d t h e W LAN st an d ard s
IEEE 802.11a an d Hip erLAN2 (see ch ap ter 7). Th e m ain attractio n o f MCM is its
goo d ISI m itigat ion p ro p erty. As exp lain ed in sect io n 2.4.3, h igh er bit rates are
m o re vu ln erable to ISI. MCM sp lits th e h igh bit rate st ream in to m an y lower bit
rat e st ream s (see Figu re 2.30), each stream bein g sen t u sin g an in d ep en d en t car-
rier freq u en cy. If, fo r ex am p le, n sym b o ls/ s h ave t o b e t ra n sm it t ed , each
su b carrier tran sm it s n / c sym b ols/ s with c bein g th e n u m ber of su bcarriers. On e
sym bo l co u ld , fo r exam p le rep resen t 2 b it as in QPSK. DAB, fo r exam p le, u ses
b et ween 192 an d 1,5 36 o f t h ese su b carriers. Th e p h ysical layer o f Hip erLAN2
an d IEEE 802.11a u ses 48 su bcarriers for d ata.

c Figure 2.30
Parallel data
transmission on
f
several subcarriers
k3
with lower rate

Figu re 2.31 sh o ws t h e su p erp o sit io n o f o rt h o gon al freq u en cies. Th e m axi-

m u m o f on e su bcarrier freq u en cy ap p ears exactly at a freq u en cy wh ere all o th er
su b carriers eq u al zero .

Figure 2.31
Amplitude Superposition of
subcarrier:
sin(x) orthogonal
SI function =
x frequencies

Usin g th is sch em e, freq u en cy selective fad in g on ly in flu en ces som e su bcarri-

ers, an d n ot t h e wh o le sign al – an ad d itio n al ben efit o f MCM. Typically, MCM
tran sm its sym bols wit h gu ard sp aces between sin gle sym bols or grou p s of sym -
bols. Th is h elp s th e receiver to h an d le m u lti-p ath p rop agat ion . OFDM is a sp ecial
54 Mobile communicat ions

m eth o d of im p lem en tin g MCM u sin g orth ogon al carriers. Com p u tat ion ally, th is
is a very efficien t algo rith m based o n fast Fo u rier tran sfo rm (FFT) fo r m o d u la-
t io n / d em o d u lat io n . If ad d it io n al erro r-co n t ro l co d in g acro ss t h e sym b o ls in
d ifferen t su bcarriers is ap p lied , th e system is referred to as COFDM. More d et ails
abou t th e im p lem en tation of MCM, OFDM, an d COFDM can be fou n d in Wesel
(1998), Pah lavan (2002), ETSI (1997) an d in sect ion 6.3 or ch ap ter 7.

2.7 Spread spect rum

As th e n am e im p lies, sp rea d sp ect ru m tech n iq u es in volve sp read in g t h e ban d -

w id t h n eed ed t o t ran sm it d at a – wh ich d o es n o t m ake sen se at first sigh t .
Sp rea d in g t h e b an d w id t h h as several ad van t ages. Th e m ain ad van t age is t h e
resist a n ce t o n a r r o w b a n d in t e r fe r en c e . In Figu re 2 .3 2 , d iagram i) sh o ws an
id ealized n arrowban d sign al from a sen d er of u ser d ata (h ere p ower d en sity d P/ d f
versu s freq u en cy f). Th e sen d er n o w sp read s th e sign al in step ii), i.e., co n verts
th e n arro wban d sign al in to a broad ban d sign al. Th e en ergy n eed ed t o t ran sm it
th e sign al (th e area sh own in th e d iagram ) is t h e sam e, bu t it is n ow sp read over
a larger freq u en cy ran ge. Th e p ower level of t h e spread sign al can be m u ch lower
th an th at of th e origin al n arro wban d sign al wit h ou t lo sin g d at a. Dep en d in g on
t h e gen erat io n an d recep t io n o f t h e sp read sign al, t h e p o wer level of t h e u ser
sign al can even be as low as th e backgrou n d n oise. Th is m akes it d ifficu lt to d is-
tin gu ish th e u ser sign al from th e backgrou n d n oise an d th u s h ard to d etect.

Figure 2.32 dP/df dP/df

Spread spectrum: User signal
spreading and Broadband interference
despreading i) ii) Narrowband interference
f f
Sender
dP/df dP/df dP/dfP

iii) iv) v)
f f f
Receiver

Du rin g tran sm issio n , n arro wb an d an d b ro ad b an d in t erferen ce ad d t o t h e

sign a l in st ep iii). Th e su m o f in t erferen ce an d u ser sign al is received . Th e
receiv er n o w kn o w s h o w t o d esp rea d t h e sign al, co n vert in g t h e sp read u ser
sign al in to a n arro wb an d sign al again , wh ile sp read in g th e n arrowban d in t erfer-
en ce an d leavin g t h e b ro ad ban d in t erferen ce. In st ep v) t h e receiver ap p lies a
b an d p ass filt er t o cu t o ff freq u en cies left an d righ t o f t h e n arro wban d sign al.
Fin ally, t h e receiver can reco n st ru ct t h e origin al d ata becau se th e p ower level o f
th e u ser sign al is h igh en o u gh , i.e., t h e sign al is m u ch stron ger th an th e rem ain -
in g in t erferen ce. Th e followin g section s sh ow h ow sp read in g can b e p erform ed .
 Wireless t ransmission 55

Ju st as sp read sp ect ru m h elp s t o d eal wit h n arro wb an d in t erferen ce fo r a

sin gle ch a n n el, it ca n b e u sed fo r several ch an n els. Co n sid er t h e sit u at io n
sh o wn in Figu re 2.33 . Six d ifferen t ch an n els u se FDM fo r m u ltip lexin g, wh ich
m ean s th at each ch an n el h as it s o wn n arro w freq u en cy ban d for t ran sm ission .
Between each freq u en cy ban d a gu ard sp ace is n eed ed t o avo id ad jacen t ch an n el
in t erferen ce. As m en t io n ed in sect io n 2 .5.2, t h is m et h o d req u ires carefu l fre-
q u en cy p lan n in g. Ad d it io n ally, Figu re 2.33 d ep ict s a cert ain ch an n el q u alit y.
Th is is freq u en cy d ep en d en t an d is a m easu re for in t erferen ce at t h is freq u en cy.
Ch an n el q u ality also ch an ges o ver tim e – th e d iagram o n ly sh o ws a sn ap sh o t at
o n e m o m en t . Dep en d in g o n receiver ch a ra ct erist ics, ch an n els 1, 2 , 5 , an d 6
co u ld be received wh ile th e q u ality o f ch an n els 3 an d 4 is to o bad to reco n stru ct
tran sm it ted d at a. Narro wb an d in t erferen ce d est ro ys t h e t ran sm issio n o f ch an -
n els 3 an d 4. Th is illu strat ion o n ly rep resen ts a sn ap sh ot an d th e sit u atio n co u ld
be com p let ely d ifferen t at th e n ext m om en t. All in all, com m u n icatio n m ay be
very d ifficu lt u sin g su ch n arro wban d sign als.

Figure 2.33
Narrowband interference
without spread
spectrum
Channel quality

2
1 5 6
3
4

Frequency
Narrow band Guard space
signal

H o w can sp read sp ect ru m h elp in su ch a sit u a t io n ? As alread y sh o w n ,

sp read sp ect ru m can in crease resistan ce to n arro wban d in t erferen ce. Th e sam e
tech n iq u e is n o w ap p lied t o all n arrowban d sign als. As sh o wn in Figu re 2.34, all
n arro wban d sign als are n o w sp read in to b ro ad ban d sign als u sin g th e sam e fre-
q u en cy ran ge. No m o re freq u en cy p lan n in g is n eed ed (u n d er t h ese sim p lified
assu m p t io n s), an d a ll sen d ers u se t h e sam e freq u en cy b a n d . Bu t h o w can
receivers reco ver t h eir sign al?
To sep arat e d ifferen t ch an n els, C DM is n o w u sed in st ead o f FDM . Th is
ap p licatio n sh o ws t h e t igh t co u p lin g o f CDM an d sp read sp ect ru m (exp lain ed
in m ore d et ail in ch ap ter 3). Sp read in g of a n arrowban d sign al is ach ieved u sin g
a sp ecial co d e as sh own in sect ion s 2.7.1 an d 2.7.2. Each ch an n el is allo t ted its
o w n co d e, wh ich t h e receivers h ave t o ap p ly t o reco ver t h e sign al. W it h o u t
kn o win g th e cod e, th e sign al can n ot be recovered an d beh aves like backgro u n d
n o ise. Th is is t h e secu rit y effect o f sp read sp ect ru m if a secret co d e is u sed fo r
56 Mobile communicat ions

sp read in g. Featu res t h at m ake sp read sp ectru m an d CDM very at tractive for m il-
it ary ap p licat io n s are t h e co exist en ce o f several sign als wit h o u t co o rd in at io n
(ap art fro m t h e fact t h at t h e co d es m u st h ave cert ain p ro p ert ies), ro b u st n ess
again st n arro wban d in terferen ce, relative h igh secu rity, an d a ch aracteristic like
backgro u n d n o ise. On ly th e ap p ro p riate (secret ) cod es h ave to be exch an ged .

Figure 2.34
Spread spectrum to
avoid narrowband
interference
Channel quality

Frequency
Spread
spectrum

Ap art from m ilit ary u ses, th e com b in atio n o f sp read sp ect ru m an d CDM is
b eco m in g m o re an d m o re at t ract ive fo r everyd ay ap p licat io n s. As m en t io n ed
before, frequ en cies are a scarce resou rce arou n d th e world, p articu larly licen se-free
ban ds. Spread spectru m n ow allows an overlay of n ew tran sm ission t ech n ology at
exact ly t h e sam e freq u en cy at wh ich cu rren t n arro wb an d syst em s are alread y
op eratin g. Th is is u sed by US m obile p h on e system s. W h ile th e freq u en cy ban d
arou n d 850 MHz h ad already been in u se for TDM an d FDM system s (AMPS an d
IS-54), th e in trod u ction of a system u sin g CDM (IS-95) was still p ossible.
Sp read sp ectru m t ech n o lo gies also exh ibit d rawbacks. On e d isad van tage is
t h e in creased co m p lex it y o f receivers t h at h ave t o d esp read a sign al. To d a y
d esp read in g can be p erform ed u p to h igh d ata rates th an ks to d igital sign al p ro -
cessin g. An o th er p roblem is th e large freq u en cy ban d th at is n eed ed d u e to t h e
sp read in g o f t h e sign al. Alt h o u gh sp read sign als ap p ear m o re like n o ise, t h ey
still raise th e backgrou n d n o ise level an d m ay in terfere with o th er tran sm issio n s
if n o sp ecial p recau tio n s are taken .
Sp read in g th e sp ectru m can be ach ieved in two differen t ways as sh own in
th e fo llowin g two sectio n s.

2.7.1 Direct sequence spread spectrum

Direct seq u en ce sp rea d sp ect ru m (DSSS) system s take a u ser bit stream an d p er-
form an (XOR) with a so-called ch ip p in g seq u en ce as sh own in Figure 2.35. Th e
ex am p le sh o ws t h at t h e resu lt is eit h er t h e seq u en ce 0 11 01 0 1 (if t h e u ser b it
eq u als 0) o r it s com p lem en t 1001010 (if th e u ser bit eq u als 1). W h ile each u ser
b it h as a d u rat io n t b , t h e ch ip p in g seq u en ce co n sist s o f sm aller p u lses, called
c h ip s, wit h a d u rat io n t c . If t h e ch ip p in g seq u en ce is gen erat ed p ro p erly it
 Wireless t ransmission 57

ap p ears as ran d o m n o ise: th is seq u en ce is also so m et im es called p seu d o -n o ise

seq u en ce. Th e sp read in g fa ct o r s = t b / t c d eterm in es th e ban d wid th of th e resu lt-
in g sign al. If th e origin al sign al n eeds a ban d width w, th e resu ltin g sign al n eed s
s·w after sp read in g. W h ile th e sp read in g factor of th e very sim p le exam p le is on ly
7 (an d th e ch ip p in g seq u en ce 0110101 is n ot very ran d om ), civil ap p lication s u se
sp read in g factors between 10 an d 100, m ilitary ap p licat ion s u se factors of u p t o
10,000. Wireless LANs com p lyin g with th e st an d ard IEEE 802.11 (see section 7.3)
u se, fo r exam p le, th e seq u en ce 10110111000, a so -called Barker cod e, if im p le-
m en ted u sin g DSSS. Barker cod es
exh ibit a good robu stn ess again st tb Figure 2.35
in t erferen ce an d in sen sitivit y t o Spreading with DSSS
m u lt i-p at h p ro p agat io n . O t h er
User data
kn o wn Barker co d es are 11, 110,
11 1 0 , 11 1 01 , 1 1 1 0 01 0 , an d
0 1 XOR
1111100110101 (Stallin gs, 2002).
Up t o n o w o n ly t h e sp read -
in g h as been exp lain ed . However, tc
t ran sm it t ers an d receivers u sin g Chipping
DSSS n eed ad d it io n al co m p o - sequence
n en ts as sh own in th e sim p lified
b lo ck d iagram s in Figu re 2.36 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1
=
an d Figu re 2.37. Th e first st ep in
a DSSS tran sm it ter, Figu re 2.36 is
t h e sp read in g o f t h e u ser d at a Resulting
signal
wit h t h e ch ip p in g seq u en ce
(d igit a l m o d u la t io n ). Th e sp read
0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
sign al is t h en m o d u lat ed wit h a
rad io carrier as exp lain ed in sec-
t io n 2 .6 (r a d io m o d u la t io n ). Assu m in g fo r ex am p le a u ser sign al wit h a
ban d wid th of 1 MHz. Sp read in g with th e above 11-ch ip Barker code wou ld resu lt
in a sign al wit h 11 MHz ban d width . Th e rad io carrier th en sh ifts th is sign al to th e
carrier freq u en cy (e.g., 2.4 GHz in th e ISM ban d ). Th is sign al is th en tran sm itted .

Figure 2.36
Spread
DSSS transmitter
spectrum Transmit
User data signal signal
X Modulator

Chipping Radio
sequence carrier
58 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 2.37
Correlator
DSSS receiver
Received Lowpass Sampled
signal filtered Products sums
signal Data
Demodulator X Integrator Decision

Radio Chipping
carrier sequence

Th e DSSS receiver is m ore co m p lex th an t h e tran sm it ter. Th e receiver o n ly

h as t o p erform th e in verse fu n ctio n s o f t h e two t ran sm it t er m o d u latio n st ep s.
Ho wever, n o ise an d m u lt i-p at h p ro p agat io n req u ire ad d it io n al m ech an ism s t o
reco n st ru ct th e o rigin al d ata. Th e first st ep in th e receiver in vo lves d em o d u lat-
in g th e received sign al. Th is is ach ieved u sin g th e sam e carrier as th e tran sm itt er
reversin g th e m o d u latio n an d resu lts in a sign al with ap p ro xim at ely t h e sam e
b an d wid t h as t h e o rigin al sp read sp ect ru m sign al. Ad d it io n al filt erin g can b e
ap p lied to gen erate th is sign al.
W h ile d em od u latio n is well kn o wn fro m ord in ary rad io receivers, th e n ext
step s con stit u te a real ch allen ge for DSSS receivers, con tribu tin g to th e co m p lex-
ity o f th e system . Th e receiver h as to kn o w t h e origin al ch ip p in g seq u en ce, i.e.,
th e receiver basically gen erat es th e sam e p seu d o ran d o m seq u en ce as th e tran s-
m itt er. Seq u en ces at th e sen d er an d receiver h ave t o be p recisely syn ch ro n ized
becau se th e receiver calcu lat es th e p rod u ct of a ch ip with th e in com in g sign al.
Th is co m p rises an o t h er XO R o p erat io n as ex p lain ed in sect io n 3 .5 , t o get h er
w it h a m ed iu m a ccess m ech an ism t h at relies o n t h is sch em e. Du rin g a b it
p erio d , wh ich also h as to be d erived via syn ch ron ization , an in t egra t o r ad d s all
t h ese p ro d u ct s. Calcu lat in g t h e p ro d u ct s o f ch ip s an d sign al, an d ad d in g t h e
p ro d u ct s in an in t egrat o r is also called co rrelat io n , t h e d evice a c o r r el a t o r .
Fin ally, in each b it p erio d a d ecisio n u n it sam p les th e su m s gen erat ed by th e
in t egrator an d d ecid es if th is su m rep resen t s a bin ary 1 o r a 0.
If tran sm itt er an d receiver are p erfect ly syn ch ron ized an d t h e sign al is n o t
t o o d ist o rt ed b y n o ise o r m u lt i-p at h p ro p agat io n , DSSS w o rks p erfect ly well
acco rd in g t o th e sim p le sch em e sh o wn . Sen d in g th e u ser d at a 01 an d ap p lyin g
t h e 1 1 -ch ip Barker co d e 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 resu lt s in t h e sp read ‘sign al’
1011011100001001000111. On th e receiver sid e, th is ‘sign al’ is XORed bit-wise
a ft er d em o d u la t io n w it h t h e sam e Ba rker co d e as ch ip p in g seq u en ce. Th is
resu lt s in t h e su m o f p ro d u ct s eq u a l t o 0 fo r t h e first b it an d t o 1 1 fo r t h e
seco n d bit. Th e d ecision u n it can n ow m ap th e first su m (=0) to a bin ary 0, th e
seco n d su m (=11) to a bin ary 1 – t h is co n stitu t es th e o rigin al u ser d ata.
In real life, h owever, t h e situ ation is so m ewh at m o re com p lex. Assu m e th at
th e d em od u lated sign al sh ows som e d istortio n , e.g., 1010010100001101000111.
Th e su m o f p ro d u cts for t h e first bit wo u ld be 2, 10 fo r th e secon d bit. St ill, th e
d ecisio n u n it can m ap , e.g., su m s less th an 4 to a bin ary 0 an d su m s larger th an
 Wireless t ransmission 59

7 to a bin ary 1. However, it is im p ort an t t o stay syn ch ro n ized with th e tran sm it-
t er o f a sign a l. Bu t w h at h a p p en s in case o f m u lt i-p at h p ro p agat io n ? Th en
several p ath s wit h d ifferen t d elays ex ist b et ween a t ran sm it t er an d a receiver.
Ad d it io n ally, t h e d ifferen t p at h s m ay h ave d ifferen t p at h lo sses. In t h is case,
u sin g so-called rake receivers p rovid es a p o ssible so lu tio n . A ra k e receiver u ses
n co rrelat o rs fo r t h e n stro n gest p at h s. Each co rrelat o r is syn ch ro n ized to t h e
tran sm itter p lu s th e d elay on th at sp ecific p ath . As soo n as th e receiver d etects a
n ew p ath wh ich is st ron ger t h an th e cu rren tly weakest p ath , it assign s th is n ew
p ath to t h e co rrelato r with th e weakest p ath . Th e o u tp u t o f th e co rrelato rs are
t h en co m b in ed a n d fed in t o t h e d ecisio n u n it . Rake receivers can even t a ke
ad van tage o f t h e m u lt i-p ath p rop agat ion by co m bin in g th e d ifferen t p ath s in a
co n st ru ct ive way (Viterbi, 1995).

2.7.2 Frequency hopping spread spectrum

Fo r fr eq u en cy h o p p in g sp r ea d sp ec t r u m (FH SS) syst em s, t h e t o t al availab le
ban d wid th is sp lit in t o m an y ch an n els of sm aller b an d wid th p lu s gu ard sp aces
bet ween th e ch an n els. Tran sm itt er an d receiver st ay o n o n e o f th ese ch an n els
fo r a cert ain t im e an d t h en h o p t o an o t h er ch an n el. Th is syst em im p lem en t s
FDM an d TDM. Th e p attern o f ch an n el u sage is called t h e h o p p in g seq u en ce,
th e tim e sp en d on a ch an n el with a certain freq u en cy is called t h e d w ell t im e.
FHSS com es in two varian t s, slo w an d fast h o p p in g (see Figu re 2.38).

Figure 2.38
tb
Slow and fast
frequency hopping
User data

0 1 0 1 1 t

f
td
f3 Slow
f2 hopping
f1 (3 bits/hop)

td t
f
f3 Fast
f2 hopping
f1 (3 hops/bit)

t
60 Mobile communicat ions

In slo w h o p p in g, th e tran sm itter u ses on e freq u en cy for several bit period s. 3

Figu re 2.38 sh o ws five u ser bits wit h a b it p erio d t b . Perfo rm in g slow h o p p in g,
th e tran sm itt er u ses th e freq u en cy f2 for tran sm ittin g th e first th ree bits d u rin g
th e d well tim e t d . Th en , th e tran sm itt er h op s to th e n ext freq u en cy f3 . Slow h op -
p in g system s are typ ically ch eap er an d h ave relaxed toleran ces, bu t th ey are n ot
as im m u n e to n arrowban d in terferen ce as fast h opp in g system s. Slow freq u en cy
h op p in g is an op tion for GSM (see section 4.1).
Fo r fa st h o p p in g syst em s, t h e t ran sm it t er ch an ges t h e freq u en cy several
tim es d u rin g th e tran sm ission o f a sin gle bit. In th e exam p le of Figu re 2.38, th e
tran sm itt er h o p s th ree tim es d u rin g a bit p erio d . Fast h op p in g syst em s are m o re
co m p lex t o im p lem en t b ecau se th e t ran sm it t er an d receiver h ave t o stay syn -
ch ro n ized wit h in sm a ller t o leran ces t o p erfo rm h o p p in g at m o re o r less t h e
sam e p o in ts in tim e. However, th ese system s are m u ch bett er at o vercom in g th e
effect s o f n arro wb an d in t erferen ce an d freq u en cy select ive fad in g as th ey o n ly
stick t o on e freq u en cy for a very sh o rt tim e.
An o th er exam p le of an FHSS system is Blu eto oth , wh ich is p resen t ed in sec-
t io n 7 .5 . Blu et o o t h p erfo rm s 1,6 00 h o p s p er seco n d an d u ses 79 h o p carriers
eq u ally sp aced with 1 MHz in t h e 2.4 GHz ISM ban d .
Figu res 2.39 an d 2.40 sh ow sim p lified blo ck d iagram s o f FHSS t ran sm it ters
an d receivers resp ect ively. Th e first step in an FHSS t ran sm it t er is t h e m o d u la-
tio n o f u ser d at a accord in g to on e of th e d igital-to -an alog m od u lation sch em es,
e.g., FSK o r BPSK, as d iscu ssed in sect io n 2 .6 . Th is resu lt s in a n a rro wb an d
sign al, if FSK is u sed with a freq u en cy f0 fo r a bin ary 0 an d f1 fo r a bin ary 1. In
th e n ext step , freq u en cy h o p p in g is p erfo rm ed , b ased o n a h o p p in g seq u en ce.
Th e h o p p in g seq u en ce is fed in to a freq u en cy syn th esizer gen erat in g t h e carrier
freq u en cies fi. A seco n d m od u lation u ses th e m o d u lated n arro wban d sign al an d
th e carrier freq u en cy to gen erate a n ew sp read sign al wit h freq u en cy of fi +f0 fo r
a 0 an d f i +f 1 fo r a 1 resp ect ively. If d ifferen t FH SS t ran sm it t ers u se h o p p in g
seq u en ces t h at n ever o verlap , i.e., if t wo t ran sm it t ers n ever u se t h e sam e fre-
q u en cy fi at th e sam e tim e, th en t h ese two tran sm issio n s d o n ot in terfere. Th is
req u ires t h e coo rd in ation o f all tran sm itters an d th eir h op p in g seq u en ces. As for
DSSS syst em s, p seu d o -ran d o m h o p p in g seq u en ces can also b e u sed wit h o u t
co o rd in at io n . Th ese seq u en ces o n ly h ave t o fu lfill cert ain p ro p ert ies t o keep
in t erferen ce m in im al. 4 Tw o o r m o re t ran sm it t ers m ay ch o o se t h e sa m e fre-
q u en cy fo r a h o p , b u t d well t im e is sh o rt fo r fast h o p p in g syst em s, so
in t erferen ce is m in im al.
Th e receiver o f an FH SS syst em h as t o kn o w t h e h o p p in g seq u en ce an d
m u st stay syn ch ron ized . It th en p erfo rm s th e in verse op erat io n s of th e m od u la-
tio n t o reco n stru ct u ser d at a. Several filters are also n eed ed (t h ese are n o t sh o wn
in t h e sim p lified d iagram in Figu re 2.40).

3 An o t h er d efin it ion refers t o t h e n u m ber of h op s p er sign al elem en t in st ead of bits.

4 Th ese seq u en ces sh o u ld h ave a low cro ss-co rrelatio n . Mo re d et ails are given in sect io n 3.5.
 Wireless t ransmission 61

Figure 2.39
Spread
Narrowband transmit FHSS transmitter
User data signal signal
Modulator Modulator

Frequency Hopping
synthesizer sequence

Figure 2.40
Received Narrowband FHSS receiver
signal signal Data
Demodulator Demodulator

Hopping Frequency
sequence synthesizer

Co m p ared t o DSSS, sp read in g is sim p ler u sin g FHSS syst em s. FHSS system s
on ly u se a p ortio n of t h e total ban d at an y tim e, wh ile DSSS system s always u se
th e t o tal ban d wid t h available. DSSS system s o n t h e o th er h an d are m o re resis-
tan t to fad in g an d m u lti-p ath effects. DSSS sign als are m u ch h ard er to d etect –
with o u t kn o win g th e sp read in g co d e, d etectio n is virtu ally im p o ssible. If each
sen d er h as it s o wn p seu d o-ran d o m n u m b er seq u en ce fo r sp read in g t h e sign al
(DSSS o r FHSS), th e system im p lem en ts CDM. Mo re d et ails ab o u t sp read sp ec-
t ru m ap p licat io n s an d t h eir t h eo ret ical b ackgro u n d can b e fo u n d in Vit erb i
(1995), Peterson (1995), Ojan p erä (1998), an d Dixon (1994).

2.8 Cellular syst ems

Cellu lar system s for m o bile co m m u n icat io n s im p lem en t SDM. Each t ran sm itt er,
typ ically called a b a se st a t io n , covers a certain area, a cell. Cell rad ii can vary
from ten s o f m et ers in bu ild in gs, an d h u n d red s o f m eters in cities, u p to ten s of
kilo m et ers in t h e co u n t rysid e. Th e sh ap e o f cells are n ever p erfect circles o r
h exagon s (as sh o wn in Figu re 2.41), bu t d ep en d o n th e en viron m en t (bu ild in gs,
m ou n tain s, valleys et c.), o n weath er con d itio n s, an d so m etim es even on system
lo ad . Typ ical system s u sin g th is ap p ro ach are m o b ile t eleco m m u n icat io n sys-
t em s (see ch ap t er 4 ), wh ere a m o b ile st at io n wit h in t h e cell aro u n d a b ase
statio n co m m u n icates with th is base statio n an d vice versa.
62 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 2.41
Cellular system
f3 f3 f3 f2 f3 f7
with three and seven f2 f2 f5 f2
cell clusters f1 f1 f1 f4 f6 f5
f3 f3 f1 f4
f2 f2 f2 f3 f7 f1
f1 f1 f2 f3
f3 f3 f3 f6 f5 f2

In t h is co n t ex t , t h e q u est io n arises as t o wh y m o b ile n et w o rk p ro vid ers

in stall several t h ou san d s o f base statio n s th ro u gh o u t a co u n try (wh ich is q u ite
exp en sive) an d d o n ot u se p o werfu l tran sm it ters with h u ge cells like, e.g., rad io
statio n s, u se.
Ad va n t a ges o f cellu lar system s with sm all cells are th e fo llo win g:

● H igh er ca p a cit y : Im p lem en tin g SDM allows freq u en cy reu se. If on e t ran s-
m it t er is far away fro m an o t h er, i.e., o u tsid e t h e in t erferen ce ran ge, it can
reu se t h e sam e freq u en cies. As m o st m o bile p h on e system s assign freq u en -
cies t o certain u sers (o r certain h op p in g p att ern s), t h is freq u en cy is blo cked
fo r o t h er u sers. Bu t freq u en cies are a scarce reso u rce an d , t h e n u m b er o f
co n cu rren t u sers p er cell is very lim it ed . Hu ge cells d o n o t allo w fo r m o re
u sers. On th e con trary, th ey are lim ited to less p o ssible u sers p er km 2 . Th is
is also t h e reaso n fo r u sin g very sm all cells in cit ies w h ere m an y m o re
p eo p le u se m o bile p h o n es.
● Less t r a n sm issio n p o w er : W h ile p o wer asp ects are n o t a b ig p ro b lem fo r
b ase st atio n s, t h ey are in d eed p ro blem at ic fo r m ob ile statio n s. A receiver far
away fro m a base st at io n wou ld n eed m u ch m o re tran sm it p ower th an t h e
cu rren t few Wat t s. Bu t en ergy is a serio u s p ro b lem fo r m o b ile h an d h eld
d evices.
● Lo c a l in t e r fe r e n ce o n ly : H avin g lo n g d ist an ces b et ween sen d er an d
re ceiver resu lt s in even m o re in t erferen ce p ro b lem s. W it h sm all cells,
m o bile station s an d base station s on ly h ave t o deal with ‘lo cal’ in terferen ce.
● Ro b u st n ess: Cellu lar system s are d ecen tralized an d so , m o re rob u st again st
th e failu re of sin gle co m p o n en t s. If o n e an t en n a fails, th is on ly in flu en ces
com m u n icatio n with in a sm all area.

Sm all cells also h ave so m e d isa d va n t a ges:

● In fr a st r u ct u r e n eed ed : Cellu lar system s n eed a co m p lex in frastru ctu re t o

co n n ect all b ase st at io n s. Th is in clu d es m an y an t en n as, swit ch es fo r call
fo rward in g, locatio n registers t o fin d a m obile st at ion et c, wh ich m akes th e
wh o le system q u ite exp en sive.
 Wireless t ransmission 63

● H a n d o v e r n eed e d : Th e m o b ile st at io n h as t o p erfo rm a h an d o ver wh en

ch an gin g fro m o n e cell t o an o t h er. Dep en d in g o n t h e cell size an d t h e
sp eed o f m o vem en t , th is can h ap p en q u ite oft en .
● Freq u en cy p la n n in g: To avoid in terferen ce bet ween t ran sm itt ers u sin g t h e
sam e freq u en cies, freq u en cies h ave t o b e d ist rib u t ed carefu lly. O n t h e o n e
h an d , in terferen ce sh o u ld be avo id ed , on th e oth er, on ly a lim ited n u m ber
of freq u en cies is available.

To avo id in t erferen ce, d ifferen t t ran sm itt ers with in each o th er’s in t erferen ce
ran ge u se FDM. If FDM is co m bin ed wit h TDM (see Figu re 2.19), th e h o p p in g
p at t ern h as t o b e co o rd in at ed . Th e gen eral go al is n ever t o u se t h e sam e fre-
q u en cy at t h e sam e t im e with in t h e in t erferen ce ran ge (if CDM is n o t ap p lied ).
Two p o ssible m od els to create cell p attern s with m in im al in terferen ce are sh own
in Figu re 2.41. Cells are com bin ed in clu st ers – on th e left sid e th ree cells form a
clu st er, on th e righ t sid e seven cells form a clu ster. All cells wit h in a clu ster u se
d isjo in ted sets o f freq u en cies. O n th e left sid e, o n e cell in t h e clu ster u ses set f1 ,
an o t h er cell f2 , an d t h e t h ird cell f3 . In real-life t ran sm issio n , t h e p att ern will
lo o k so m ewh at d ifferen t . Th e h exago n al p at t ern is ch o sen as a sim p le way o f
illu st rat in g t h e m o d el. Th is p at t ern also sh o ws t h e rep et it io n o f t h e sam e fre-
q u en cy set s. Th e t ra n sm issio n p o w er o f a sen d er h as t o b e lim it ed t o avo id
in terferen ce with th e n ext cell u sin g t h e sam e freq u en cies.
To red u ce in t erferen ce even fu rt h er (an d u n d er cert ain t raffic co n d it io n s,
i.e., n u m b er o f u sers p er km 2 ) sec t o r i zed a n t en n a s can b e u sed . Figu re 2 .4 2
sh o ws th e u se of th ree sect o rs p er cell in a clu st er with th ree cells. Typ ically, it
m akes sen se t o u se sectorized an ten n as in stead of om n i-d irectio n al an ten n as fo r
larger cell rad ii.
Th e fixed assign m en t o f freq u en cies to cell Figure 2.42
Cellular system with
clu st ers an d cells resp ectively, is n o t very effi-
three cell clusters and
cien t if traffic lo ad varies. Fo r in stan ce, in t h e f f f
f1 2 f 2 f 2 three sectors per cell
case o f a h eavy lo ad in o n e cell an d a ligh t f3 h2 1 f3 h2 1 f 3
h h
load in a n eigh borin g cell, it cou ld m ake sen se g 1 h3 g 2 1 h3 g 2
g1 2 g1 g1
g3 g3 g3
to ‘bo rro w’ freq u en cies. Cells with m ore traffic
are d yn am ically allo t t ed m o re freq u en cies.
Th is sch em e is kn o wn as b o r ro w in g ch a n n el
a llo ca t io n (BCA), wh ile t h e first fixed sch em e
is called fi x ed ch a n n el a llo ca t io n (FCA). FCA is u sed in th e GSM system as it is
m u ch sim p ler to u se, bu t it req u ires carefu l traffic an alysis befo re in st allatio n .
A d y n a m ic ch a n n el a llo ca t io n (D CA) sch em e h as b een im p lem en t ed in
DECT (see section 4.2). In th is sch em e, freq u en cies can on ly be borrowed , bu t it
is also p ossible to freely assign freq u en cies to cells. With d yn am ic assign m en t of
freq u en cies t o cells, t h e d an ger o f in t erferen ce wit h cells u sin g t h e sam e fre-
q u en cy exists. Th e ‘bo rrowed ’ freq u en cy can be blocked in th e su rrou n din g cells.
64 Mobile communicat ions

C ellu lar syst em s u sin g CDM in st ead o f FDM d o n o t n eed su ch elab o rat e
ch an n el allo cat io n sch em es an d co m p lex freq u en cy p lan n in g. Here, u sers are
sep arated t h ro u gh th e cod e t h ey u se, n o t t h rou gh th e freq u en cy. Cell p lan n in g
faces an o th er p ro blem – th e cell size d ep en d s on th e cu rren t lo ad . Accord in gly,
CDM cells are com m o n ly said to ‘b rea t h e’. W h ile a cell can cover a larger area
u n d er a ligh t lo ad , it sh rin ks if t h e lo ad in creases. Th e reaso n fo r t h is is t h e
gro win g n o ise level if m o re u sers are in a cell. (Rem em ber, if you d o n o t kn o w
t h e co d e, o t h er sign als ap p ear as n o ise, i.e., m o re an d m o re p eo p le jo in t h e
p art y.) Th e h igh er th e n o ise, th e h igh er th e p ath loss an d th e h igh er th e tran s-
m issio n errors. Fin ally, m o bile station s fu rth er away fro m th e b ase station d rop
o u t o f t h e cell. (Th is is sim ilar t o t ryin g t o t alk t o so m eo n e fa r aw ay a t a
cro wd ed p art y.) Figu re 2.43 illu strat es t h is p h en o m en o n wit h a u ser tran sm it-
tin g a h igh bit rat e st ream with in a CDM cell. Th is ad d itio n al u ser lets th e cell
sh rin k with th e resu lt t h at two u sers d rop ou t of th e cell. In a real-life scen ario
th is ad d ition al u ser cou ld req u est a vid eo stream (h igh bit rate) wh ile th e o th ers
u se st an d ard voice co m m u n ication (lo w bit rate).

Figure 2.43
Cell breathing
depending on the
current load

2.9 Summary

Th is ch ap t er in t ro d u ced t h e b asics o f w ireless co m m u n icat io n s, leavin g o u t

m ost fo rm u lae fo u n d in bo oks d ed icated t o wireless tran sm ission an d th e effects
o f rad io p ro p agat io n . Ho wever, t h e exam p les, m ech an ism s, an d p ro b lem s d is-
cu ssed w ill h o p efu lly give t h e read er a go o d id ea as t o wh y w ireless
co m m u n ication is fu n d am en tally d ifferen t from wired co m m u n ication an d wh y
p ro t o co ls an d ap p licatio n s o n h igh er layers h ave t o fo llo w d ifferen t p rin cip les
to take th e m issin g wire in to accou n t.
A t opic of worldwide im portan ce is th e regu lation an d h arm on ization of fre-
q uen cies u sed for radio tran sm ission . Th e ch apter sh owed m an y differen t system s
u sin g eith er d ifferen t or th e sam e freq u en cies. Hopefu lly, th e fu ture will brin g m ore
frequ en cies wh ich are available wo rld wid e to avoid m o re exp en sive m u lti-m od e
devices. At least som e h arm on ization h as taken an d con tin ues to take p lace in th e
area of WLANs (see ch apter 7) an d 3G m obile ph on e system s (see ch apter 4).
 Wireless t ransmission 65

As elect ro m agn et ic waves are th e basis fo r wireless com m u n icatio n , an ten -

n as are n eed ed fo r th e tran sm issio n an d recep tion of waves. W h ile b ase station s
of m o b ile p h o n e syst em s o ften u se d irect ed an ten n as, o m n i-d irectio n al an t en -
n as are th e ch oice fo r m o bile d evices. On th e way fro m sen d er to receiver, m an y
th in gs can h ap p en to elect rom agn et ic waves. Th e stan d ard effects, su ch as sh ad -
o win g, fad in g, reflect io n , d iffract io n , an d scat t erin g h ave b een p resen t ed . All
t h ese effect s lead t o o n e o f t h e b iggest p ro b lem s in wireless co m m u n icat io n :
m u lt i-p at h p ro p agat io n . M u lt i-p at h p ro p a ga t io n lim it s t h e b an d w id t h o f a
ch an n el d u e t o in t ersym b o l in t erferen ce, i.e., o n e sym b o l is ‘sm eared ’ in t o
an o th er sym bol d u e t o d elay sp read .
As we on ly h ave on e ‘m ed iu m ’ fo r wireless tran sm issio n , several m u lt ip lex-
in g sch em es can b e ap p lied to raise o verall cap acity. Th e stan d ard sch em es are
SDM, FDM, TDM, an d CDM. To ach ieve FDM, d ata h as to be ‘tran slat ed ’ in to a
sign al with a certain carrier freq u en cy. Th erefo re, two m o d u latio n st ep s can be
ap p lied . Digit al m o d u lat io n en co d es d a t a in t o a b aseb an d sign al, w h ereas
an alog m o d u lat io n th en sh ifts t h e cen tre freq u en cy o f th e sign al u p to th e rad io
carrier. So m e ad van ced sch em es h ave b een p resen t ed t h at can cod e m an y bit s
in to a sin gle p h ase sh ift, raisin g th e efficien cy.
Wit h th e h elp of sp read sp ectru m tech n o logy, several featu res can be im p le-
m en ted . On e is (at least so m e) secu rit y – with ou t kn o win g th e sp read in g co d e,
th e sign al ap p ears as n o ise. As we will see in m o re d et ail in ch ap t er 3, sp read
sp ectru m lays th e basis fo r sp ecial m ed iu m access sch em es u sin g th e cod e sp ace.
Sp read sp ect ru m also m akes a t ran sm issio n m o re ro b u st again st n arro wb an d
in terferen ce, as th e sign al is sp read o ver a larger ban d wid t h so, th e n arro wban d
in terferen ce on ly in flu en ces a sm all fraction of th e sign al.
Fin ally, th is ch ap ter h as p resen ted t h e con cep t o f cellu lar system s. Cellu lar
system s im p lem en t SDM t o raise th e overall capacity o f m obile p h on e system s.
W h ile th ese system s req u ire d et ailed p lan n in g (i.e., m atch in g th e cell size with
th e t raffic exp ect ed ), it p resen ts o n e o f t h e basic so lu tio n s fo r u sin g t h e scarce
freq u en cy reso u rces efficien tly.

2.10 Review exercises

1 Frequency regulations may differ between countries. Check out the regulations
valid for your country (within Europe the European Radio Office may be able to
help you, www.ero.dk, for the US try the FCC, www.fcc.gov, for Japan ARIB,
www.arib.or.jp).
2 Why can waves with a very low frequency follow the earth’s surface? Why are
they not used for data transmission in computer networks?
3 Why does the ITU-R only regulate ‘lower’ frequencies (up to some hundred GHz)
and not higher frequencies (in the THz range)?
66 Mobile communicat ions

4 What are the two different approaches in regulation regarding mobile phone sys-
tems in Europe and the US? What are the consequences?
5 Why is the international availability of the same ISM bands important?
6 Is it possible to transmit a digital signal, e.g., coded as square wave as used
inside a computer, using radio transmission without any loss? Why?
7 Is a directional antenna useful for mobile phones? Why? How can the gain of an
antenna be improved?
8 What are the main problems of signal propagation? Why do radio waves not
always follow a straight line? Why is reflection both useful and harmful?
9 Name several methods for ISI mitigation. How does ISI depend on the carrier fre-
quency, symbol rate, and movement of sender/ receiver? What are the influences
of ISI on TDM schemes?
10 What are the means to mitigate narrowband interference? What is the complexity
of the different solutions?
11 Why, typically, is digital modulation not enough for radio transmission? What are
general goals for digital modulation? What are typical schemes?
12 Think of a phase diagram and the points representing bit patterns for a PSK
scheme (see Figure 2.29). How can a receiver decide which bit pattern was origi-
nally sent when a received ‘point’ lies somewhere in between other points in the
diagram? Why is it difficult to code more and more bits per phase shift?
13 What are the main benefits of a spread spectrum system? How can spreading be
achieved? What replaces the guard space in Figure 2.33 when compared to
Figure 2.34? How can DSSS systems benefit from multi-path propagation?
14 What are the main reasons for using cellular systems? How is SDM typically real-
ized and combined with FDM? How does DCA influence the frequencies available
in other cells?
15 What limits the number of simultaneous users in a TDM/ FDM system compared
to a CDM system? What happens to the transmission quality of connections if
the load gets higher in a cell, i.e., how does an additional user influence the
other users in the cell?

2.11 Ref erences

An d erso n , J.B., Rap p ap o rt , T.S., Yo sh id a, S. (1995) ‘Pro p agat io n m easu rem en t s

an d m o d els fo r wireless co m m u n icat io n s ch an n els,’ IEEE Com munica tions
Magazine, 33, (1).
Dixo n , R. (1994) Sprea d spectrum systems with commercial applications. Jo h n Wiley.
ETSI (1997) Digital Audio Broadca sting (DAB) to mobile, portable, a nd fixed receivers,
Eu rop ean Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In stitu te, ETS 300 401.
GSM World (2002), GSM Asso ciation , h ttp :/ / www.gsm world .com / .
 Wireless t ransmission 67

H alsall, F. (1 9 9 6 ) Da ta com m un ica tion s, com puter n etworks a n d open system s.

Ad d iso n -Wesley Lo n gm an .
O jan p erä, T., Pra sad , R. (1 9 9 8 ) W ideba n d CDMA for Th ird Gen era tion Mobile
Communications. Artech Ho u se.
Pah lavan , K., Krish n am u rth y, P. (2002) Principles of Wireless Network. Pren tice Hall.
Pet erso n , R., Ziem er, R., Bo rt h , D. (1 9 9 5 ) In troduction to sprea d spectrum
communications. Pren tice Hall.
Stallin gs, W. (1997) Data and computer communications. Pren t ice Hall.
Stallin gs, W. (2002) W ireless Communica tions a nd Networking. Pren t ice Hall.
Viterb i, A. (1995) CDMA: Principles of sprea d spectrum communica tion. Ad d iso n -
Wesley Lo n gm an .
Wesel, E. (1998) Wireless multimedia communica tions: networking video, voice, and
data. Ad d iso n -Wesley Lo n gm an .
 Medium access cont rol 3

T
h is ch ap ter in t ro d u ces several m ed iu m a ccess co n t ro l (MAC) algo rith m s
wh ich are sp ecifically ad ap ted to t h e wireless d om ain . Med iu m access con -
trol com p rises all m ech an ism s th at regu late u ser access to a m ed iu m u sin g
SD M, TDM , FDM , o r C DM. M AC is t h u s sim ilar t o t raffic regu lat io n s in t h e
h igh way/ m u lt ip lex in g exam p le in t ro d u ced in ch ap t er 2. Th e fact t h at several
veh icles u se t h e sam e st reet cro ssin g in TDM , fo r ex am p le, req u ires ru les t o
avo id collisio n s; o n e m ech an ism t o en fo rce th ese ru les is t raffic ligh t s. W h ile
th e p revio u s ch ap ter m ain ly in trod u ced m ech an ism s o f th e p h ysical layer, layer
1, o f th e ISO/ O SI referen ce m o d el, MAC belon gs t o layer 2, th e d a t a lin k co n -
t r o l la y er (D LC). Layer 2 is su b d ivid ed in t o t h e lo g ic a l lin k co n t r o l (LLC),
layer 2b, an d th e MAC, layer 2a (Halsall, 1996). Th e t ask o f DLC is to establish a
reliab le p o in t t o p o in t o r p o in t t o m u lt i-p o in t co n n ect io n b et ween d ifferen t
d evices o ver a wired o r wireless m ed iu m . Th e basic MAC m ech an ism s are in t ro-
d u ced in t h e fo llo w in g sect io n s, w h ereas LLC an d h igh er la yers, as w ell as
sp ecific relevan t t ech n o lo gies will be p resen ted in lat er ch ap ters to geth er with
m obile an d wireless syst em s.
Th is ch ap t er aim s t o exp lain wh y sp ecial MACs are n eed ed in th e wireless
d om ain an d wh y stan d ard MAC sch em es kn o wn from wired n etworks o ften fail.
(In co n t rast t o wired n et wo rks, h id d en an d exp o sed t erm in als o r n ear an d far
term in als p resen t serio u s p ro b lem s h ere.) Th en , several MAC m ech an ism s will
be p resen ted for th e m u ltip lexin g sch em es in t rod u ced in ch ap ter 2. W h ile SDM
an d FDM are typ ically u sed in a rath er fixed m an n er, i.e., a certain sp ace o r fre-
q u en cy (o r freq u en cy h o p p in g p att ern ) is assign ed fo r a lo n ger p erio d o f tim e;
th e m ain fo cu s o f th is ch ap t er is o n TDM m ech an ism s. TDM can be u sed in a
very flexib le way, as t u n in g in t o a cert ain freq u en cy d o es n o t p resen t a p ro b -
lem , b u t t im e can b e allo ca t ed o n d em a n d a n d in a d ist rib u t ed fash io n .
Well-kn o w n algo rit h m s are Alo h a (in several versio n s), d ifferen t reservat io n
sch em es, o r sim p le p o llin g.
Fin ally, t h e u se o f C DM is d iscu ssed a gain t o sh o w h o w a M AC sch em e
u sin g CDM h as to assign certain co d es to allo w th e sep arat ion o f d ifferen t u sers
in cod e space. Th is ch ap t er also sh o ws t h at o n e typ ically d o es n o t u se a sin gle
sch em e in it s p u re fo rm bu t m ixes sch em es t o b en efit from th e sp ecific ad van -
tages. A co m p ariso n o f th e fou r b asic sch em es con clu d es th e ch ap ter.

69
70 Mobile communicat ions

3.1 Mot ivat ion f or a specialized MAC

Th e m ain q u estion in con n ection with MAC in th e wireless is wh eth er it is poss-

ible to u se elaborated MAC sch em es from wired n etworks, for exam p le, CSMA/ CD
as u sed in th e origin al sp ecification of IEEE 802.3 n etworks (aka Eth ern et).
So let u s co n sid er ca rr ier sen se m u lt ip le a ccess w it h co llisio n d et ect io n ,
(C SM A/ CD ) wh ich w o rks as fo llo w s. A sen d er sen ses t h e m ed iu m (a wire o r
co axial cable) t o see if it is free. If t h e m ed iu m is bu sy, th e sen d er waits u n til it is
free. If t h e m ed iu m is free, th e sen d er start s t ran sm ittin g d ata an d co n t in u es t o
listen in to t h e m ed iu m . If th e sen d er d et ect s a co llisio n wh ile sen d in g, it stop s
at o n ce an d sen d s a jam m in g sign al.
W h y d o es t h is sch em e fail in w ireless n et w o rks? CSM A/ C D is n o t really
in t erest ed in co llisio n s at t h e sen d er, b u t rat h er in t h o se at t h e receiver. Th e
sign al sh o u ld reach t h e receiver wit h o u t co llisio n s. Bu t t h e sen d er is t h e o n e
d et ect in g co llisio n s. Th is is n o t a p roblem u sin g a wire, as m o re o r less th e sam e
sign al st ren gth can b e assu m ed all over t h e wire if t h e len gth o f th e wire stays
with in certain o ften stan d ard ized lim its. If a co llisio n o ccu rs som ewh ere in t h e
wire, everyb o d y w ill n o t ice it . It d o es n o t m at t er if a sen d er list en s in t o t h e
m ed iu m to d et ect a co llisio n at it s o wn lo cat io n wh ile in realit y is waitin g t o
d et ect a p o ssible collision at t h e receiver.
Th e sit u at io n is d ifferen t in wireless n etwo rks. As sh o wn in ch ap ter 2, th e
stren gth of a sign al d ecreases p ro p o rtion ally to th e sq u are o f th e d istan ce t o t h e
sen d er. Obst acles att en u ate th e sign al even fu rth er. Th e sen d er m ay n o w ap p ly
carrier sen se an d d etect an idle m ed iu m . Th e sen d er start s sen d in g – bu t a co lli-
sion h app en s at t h e receiver d u e to a seco n d sen d er. Section 3.1.1 exp lain s th is
h id d en term in al p roblem . Th e sam e can h ap p en t o th e collision d etection . Th e
sen d er d et ect s n o co llisio n a n d assu m es t h at t h e d at a h as b een t ran sm it t ed
wit h o u t erro rs, b u t a co llisio n m igh t act u ally h ave d est ro yed t h e d at a at t h e
receiver. Co llisio n d et ect io n is very d ifficu lt in wireless scen ario s as t h e t ran s-
m issio n p o wer in t h e area o f t h e t ran sm it t in g an t en n a is several m agn it u d es
h igh er t h an t h e receivin g p o w er. So , t h is very co m m o n M AC sch em e fro m
wired n et wo rk fails in a wireless scen ario . Th e fo llo win g sect io n s sh o w so m e
m ore scen arios wh ere sch em es kn own fro m fixed n etwo rks fail.

3.1.1 Hidden and exposed t erminals

Co n sid er t h e scen ario wit h t h ree m o b ile p h o n es as sh o wn in Figu re 3 .1. Th e
t ran sm issio n ran ge o f A rea ch es B, b u t n o t C (t h e d et ect io n ran ge d o es n o t
reach C eit h er). Th e t ran sm issio n ran ge o f C reach es B, b u t n o t A. Fin ally, th e
tran sm issio n ran ge o f B reach es A an d C, i.e., A can n ot d et ect C an d vice versa.
A st arts sen d in g to B, C d oes n ot receive t h is tran sm issio n . C also wan ts t o
sen d so m et h in g to B an d sen ses th e m ed iu m . Th e m ed iu m ap p ears t o b e free,
th e carrier sen se fails. C also starts sen d in g cau sin g a co llisio n at B. Bu t A can n o t
d et ect th is co llisio n at B an d con tin u es wit h its tran sm ission . A is h id d en fo r C
an d vice versa.
 Medium access cont rol 71

Figure 3.1
Hidden and
exposed terminals
GPRS GPRS GPRS

03 .01 .2 001 03 :3 1 0 3.0 1.2 001 0 3:31 0 3.01 .200 1 03 :31

1 > > 2 M en u 1 > > 2 Me n u 1 > > 2 Me nu

1 3
def 1 3
def 1 3
def
2 b 2 b 2 b

4 ghi 6
mno 4 ghi 6
mno 4 ghi 6
mno
5 5 5
7 pqrs 9
wxyz 7 pqrs 9
wxyz 7 pqrs 9
wxyz
8 8 8
* 0 # * 0 # * 0 #

A B C

W h ile h id d en t erm in als m ay cau se co llisio n s, t h e n ext effect o n ly cau ses

u n n ecessary d elay. No w con sid er th e situ at io n th at B sen d s som eth in g to A an d
C wan ts to t ran sm it d at a to so m e o th er m ob ile p h o n e o u tsid e th e in t erferen ce
ran ges o f A an d B. C sen ses th e carrier an d d et ect s t h at th e carrier is b u sy (B’s
sign al). C p o st p o n es it s tran sm issio n u n til it d etects t h e m ed iu m as b ein g id le
again . Bu t as A is o u t sid e t h e in terferen ce ran ge o f C, waitin g is n ot n ecessary.
Cau sin g a ‘co llisio n ’ at B d o es n o t m at ter b ecau se t h e co llisio n is t o o weak t o
p ro p agate t o A. In t h is situ ation , C is ex p o sed to B.

3.1.2 Near and far t erminals

Co n sid er th e situ atio n as sh o wn in Figu re 3.2. A an d B are bo th sen d in g with
th e sam e tran sm issio n p o wer. As th e sign al stren gth d ecreases p ro p o rtion ally to
th e sq u are of th e d ist an ce, B’s sign al d ro wn s ou t A’s sign al. As a resu lt, C can n ot
receive A’s tran sm issio n .
Now t h in k of C as bein g an arbiter for sen d in g righ t s (e.g., C acts as a base
station coord in atin g m ed ia access). In t h is case, term in al B wou ld alread y d ro wn
o u t t erm in al A o n t h e p h ysica l layer. C in ret u rn w o u ld h ave n o ch an ce o f
ap p lyin g a fair sch em e as it wou ld o n ly h ear B.
Th e n ea r/ fa r effect is a severe p roblem o f wireless n et wo rks u sin g CDM. All
sign als sh o u ld arriv e a t t h e receiver wit h m o re o r less t h e sam e st ren gt h .
Ot h erwise (referrin g again to th e p arty exam p le of ch ap t er 2) a p erson st an d in g
closer to so m ebo d y cou ld always sp eak lou d er th an a p erso n fu rth er away. Even

Figure 3.2
Near and far terminals

GPRS GPRS GPRS

0 3.01 .20 01 0 3:31 0 3.0 1.200 1 0 3 :31 03 .01 .2 00 1 03 :31

1 > > 2 Me nu 1 > > 2 Me n u 1 > > 2 Men u

1 3
def 1 3
def 1 3
def
2 2 2
4 ghi 6
mno 4 ghi 6
mno 4 ghi 6
mno
5 5 5
7 pqrs 9
wxyz 7 pqrs 9
wxyz 7 pqrs 9
wxyz
8t 8t 8t
* 0 # * 0 # * 0 #

A B C
72 Mobile communicat ions

if t h e sen d ers were sep arated by cod e, th e clo sest o n e wo u ld sim p ly d ro wn o u t

th e o t h ers. Precise p o wer co n trol is n eed ed to receive all sen d ers with th e sam e
st ren gt h at a receiver. Fo r exam p le, t h e UM TS syst em p resen t ed in ch ap t er 4
ad ap t s p ower 1,500 t im es p er secon d .

3.2 SDMA

Sp a ce Divisio n Mu lt ip le Access (SDMA) is u sed for allocatin g a sep arated sp ace

to u sers in wireless n et works. A typ ical ap p lication in volves assign in g an op tim al
base station to a m obile p h on e u ser. Th e m obile p h on e m ay receive several base
st at io n s with d ifferen t q u ality. A MAC algorith m cou ld n ow d ecid e wh ich base
station is best, takin g in to accou n t wh ich freq u en cies (FDM), tim e slots (TDM) or
cod e (CDM) are still available (dep en d in g on th e t ech n ology). Typ ically, SDMA is
n ever u sed in iso lat io n b u t always in co m b in at io n w it h o n e o r m o re o t h er
sch em es. Th e b asis fo r t h e SDM A algo rit h m is fo rm ed b y cells an d sect o rized
an ten n as wh ich con stitu te th e in frast ru ctu re im plem en tin g sp a ce d iv isio n m u l-
t i p le x in g (SD M ) (see sect io n 2 .5 .1 ). A n ew ap p licat io n o f SDMA co m es u p
t o get h er wit h b eam -fo rm in g an t en n a arrays as ex p lain ed in ch ap t er 2 . Sin gle
u sers are sep arated in sp ace by in d ivid u al b eam s. Th is can im p ro ve th e o verall
cap acity of a cell (e.g., m easu red in bit/ s/ m 2 or voice calls/ m 2 ) trem en dou sly.

3.3 FDMA

Freq u en cy d iv isio n m u lt ip le a ccess (FDM A) co m p rises all algorit h m s allo cat-

in g freq u en cies t o t ran sm issio n ch an n els acco rd in g to t h e fr eq u en cy d iv isio n
m u lt ip lex in g (FDM ) sch em e as p resen ted in sectio n 2.5.2. Allo catio n can eith er
be fixed (as for rad io statio n s or th e gen eral p lan n in g an d regu lat ion of freq u en -
cies) o r d yn am ic (i.e., d em an d d riven ).
Ch an n els can be assign ed to th e sam e freq u en cy at all tim es, i.e., pu re FDMA,
or ch an ge freq u en cies accord in g to a cert ain p attern , i.e., FDMA com bin ed with
TDMA. Th e latter exam p le is th e com m on p ractice for m an y wireless system s to
circu m ven t n arrowban d in terferen ce at certain freq u en cies, kn own as freq u en cy
h op p in g. Sen d er an d receiver h ave to agree on a h op p in g p attern , oth erwise th e
receiver co u ld n o t t u n e t o t h e righ t freq u en cy. Ho p p in g p att ern s are t yp ically
fixed, at least for a lon ger period. Th e fact th at it is n ot possible to arbitrarily ju m p
in t h e freq u en cy sp ace (i.e., t h e receiver m u st b e ab le t o t u n e t o t h e righ t fre-
qu en cy) is on e of th e m ain d ifferen ces between FDM sch em es an d TDM sch em es.
Fu rt h erm ore, FDM is often u sed for sim u lt an eou s access to th e m ed iu m by
base station an d m o bile station in cellu lar n etworks. Here t h e t wo p art n ers typ i-
cally est ab lish a d u p lex ch a n n el, i.e., a ch an n el t h at allo ws fo r sim u lt an eo u s
tran sm issio n in bo t h d irect io n s. Th e two d irectio n s, m o bile st ation to base sta-
tion an d vice versa are n ow sep arated u sin g d ifferen t freq u en cies. Th is sch em e is
t h en called fr e q u e n cy d i v isio n d u p le x (FD D ). Again , b o t h p art n ers h ave t o
 Medium access cont rol 73

f Figure 3.3
Frequency division
960 MHz 124 multiplexing for multiple
access and duplex

5.2 MHz
1 200 kHz

20 MHz
915 MHz 124

1
890.2 MHz

kn o w t h e freq u en cies in ad van ce; th ey can n o t ju st list en in to th e m ed iu m . Th e

two freq u en cies are also kn o wn as u p lin k , i.e., from m o bile station t o b ase sta-
tion or from grou n d co n trol to satellite, an d as d o w n lin k , i.e., fro m base statio n
to m o bile st at ion o r from satellite to grou n d co n trol.
As fo r exam p le FDM an d FDD, Figu re 3.3 sh o ws t h e sit u at io n in a m o b ile
p h o n e n et wo rk b ased o n t h e GSM st an d ard fo r 90 0 M Hz (see ch ap t er 4). Th e
b asic freq u en cy allo cat io n sch em e fo r GSM is fixed an d regu lated b y n at io n al
au th orities. (Cert ain variat ion s exist regard in g th e freq u en cies m en tion ed in t h e
exam p les.) All u p lin ks u se th e ban d between 890.2 an d 915 MHz, all d own lin ks
u se 935.2 to 960 MHz. Accord in g to FDMA, th e base station , sh own on th e righ t
sid e, allo cat es a cert ain freq u en cy fo r u p - an d d o wn lin k t o est ab lish a d u p lex
ch an n el wit h a m o b ile p h o n e. Up - an d d o wn lin k h ave a fixed relat io n . If t h e
u p lin k freq u en cy is fu = 890 MHz + n ·0.2 MHz, th e d own lin k freq u en cy is fd = fu +
45 MHz, i.e., fd = 935 MHz + n ·0.2 MHz for a certain ch an n el n . Th e base station
selects th e ch an n el. Each ch an n el (u p lin k an d down lin k) h as a ban d wid th of 200
kHz. Th is illu strates th e u se of FDM fo r m u ltip le access (124 ch an n els p er d irec-
tion are available at 900 MHz) an d d u p lex accordin g to a p red eterm in ed sch em e.
Sim ilar FDM sch em es fo r FDD are im p lem en ted in AM PS, IS-54, IS-95, IS-136 ,
PACS, an d UMTS (FDD m o d e). Ch ap t er 4 p resen t s so m e m o re d etails regard in g
th e com bin ation of th is sch em e with TDM as im p lem en ted in GSM.

3.4 TDMA

Co m p ared t o FDM A, t im e d i v i sio n m u l t i p l e a c c ess (TD M A) o ffers a m u ch

m o re flex ib le sch em e, wh ich co m p rises all t ech n o lo gies t h at allo cat e cert ain
tim e slots fo r co m m u n ication , i.e., con tro llin g TDM . Now tu n in g in to a certain
freq u en cy is n o t n ecessary, i.e., th e receiver can stay at th e sam e freq u en cy t h e
wh ole tim e. Usin g on ly on e freq u en cy, an d th u s very sim p le receivers an d tran s-
m itt ers, m an y d ifferen t algo rith m s exist to con t ro l m ed iu m access. As alread y
m en t io n ed , listen in g t o d ifferen t freq u en cies at th e sam e tim e is q uit e d ifficu lt,
74 Mobile communicat ions

b u t list en in g t o m an y ch an n els sep a rat ed in t im e at t h e sam e freq u en cy is

sim p le. Alm o st all M AC sch em es fo r w ired n et wo rks wo rk acco rd in g t o t h is
p rin cip le, e.g., Eth ern et, Token Rin g, ATM etc. (Halsall, 1996), (Stallin gs, 1997).
Now syn ch ron izat ion between sen d er an d receiver h as to be ach ieved in t h e
t im e do m ain . Again t h is can be d on e b y u sin g a fixed p att ern sim ilar t o FDMA
tech n iques, i.e., allocatin g a certain tim e slot for a ch an n el, or by usin g a dyn am ic
allocation sch em e. Dyn am ic allocat ion sch em es require an id en tification for each
tran sm ission as th is is th e case for typ ical wired MAC sch em es (e.g., sen der address)
o r th e t ran sm ission h as to b e an n ou n ced beforeh an d . MAC ad d resses are qu it e
often used as iden tification . Th is en ables a receiver in a broadcast m edium to recog-
n ize if it really is th e in ten ded receiver of a m essage. Fixed sch em es do n ot n eed an
iden tification , bu t are n ot as flexible con sid erin g varyin g ban dwid th requirem en ts.
Th e followin g section s presen t several exam ples for fixed an d dyn am ic sch em es as
u sed for w ireless t ran sm issio n . Typ ically, th ose sch em es can b e com bin ed wit h
FDMA to ach ieve even greater flexibility an d tran sm ission capacity.

3.4.1 Fixed TDM

Th e sim p lest algo rit h m for u sin g TDM is allo catin g tim e slo ts for ch an n els in a
fixed p at t ern . Th is resu lt s in a fixed b an d wid t h an d is t h e t yp ical so lu tio n fo r
wireless p h on e system s. MAC is q u ite sim p le, as th e on ly cru cial fact or is access-
in g t h e reserved t im e slo t at t h e righ t m o m en t . If t h is syn ch ro n izat io n is
assu red , each m o b ile st at io n kn o ws it s t u rn an d n o in t erferen ce will h ap p en .
Th e fix ed p at t ern can b e assign ed b y t h e b a se st at io n , w h ere co m p et it io n
between d ifferen t m obile stat ion s th at wan t t o access t h e m ed iu m is so lved .
Fixed access p attern s (at least fixed for som e p eriod in tim e) fit p erfectly well
for co n n ection s with a fixed ban d wid th . Fu rth erm ore, t h ese p attern s gu aran tee a
fixed d elay – on e can t ran sm it, e.g., every 10 m s as th is is th e case fo r st an d ard
DECT system s. TDMA sch em es with fixed access p attern s are u sed for m an y d igi-
tal m o bile p h on e system s like IS-54, IS-136, GSM, DECT, PHS, an d PACS.
Figu re 3.4 sh o ws h ow th ese fixed TDM p at tern s are u sed to im p lem en t m u l-
t ip le access an d a d u p lex ch an n el b et ween a b ase st at io n an d m o b ile st at io n .
Assign in g d ifferen t slo t s fo r u p lin k an d d o wn lin k u sin g t h e sam e freq u en cy is
called t im e d iv isio n d u p le x (TD D ). As sh o wn in t h e figu re, t h e b ase st at io n
u ses o n e ou t o f 12 slo ts for th e d o wn lin k, wh ereas th e m o bile st at io n u ses o n e
o u t o f 12 d ifferen t slo t s fo r t h e u p lin k. Up lin k an d d o wn lin k are sep arat ed in
t im e. Up t o 1 2 d ifferen t m o b ile st at io n s can u se t h e sam e freq u en cy wit h o u t
in t erferen ce u sin g t h is sch em e. Ea ch co n n ect io n is allo t t ed it s o wn u p - an d
d o wn lin k p air. In t h e exam p le b elo w, wh ich is th e stan d ard case for t h e DECT
co rd less p h o n e syst em , t h e p at t ern is rep eat ed every 10 m s, i.e., each slo t h as
a d u rat io n o f 4 1 7 µs. Th is rep et it io n gu aran t ees access t o t h e m ed iu m every
10 m s, in dep en d en t of an y oth er con n ection s.
W h ile t h e fixed access p at t ern s, as sh o wn fo r DECT, are p erfect ly ap t fo r
co n n ectio n s with a con stan t d ata rate (e.g., classical voice tran sm issio n with 32
or 64 kbit/ s d u p lex), th ey are very in efficien t for bu rsty d ata or asym m etric con -
n ect io n s. If t em p o ra ry b u rst s in d at a a re sen t fro m t h e b a se st at io n t o t h e
 Medium access cont rol 75

Figure 3.4
Time division
multiplexing for
multiple access
417 µs and duplex

1 2 3 11 12 1 2 3 11 12

t
Downlink Uplink

m o bile station o ft en o r vice versa (as in t h e case of web b ro wsin g, wh ere n o d ata
tran sm issio n occu rs wh ile read in g a p age, wh ereas clickin g o n a h yp erlin k trig-
gers a d at a t ran sfer fro m t h e m o b ile st at io n , o ft en t o t h e b ase st at io n , o ft en
fo llowed by h u ge am o u n t s of d ata ret u rn ed from th e web server). W h ile DECT
can a t least allo cat e asym m et ric b an d wid t h (see sect io n 4 .2 ), t h is gen era l
sch em e st ill wast es a lo t o f b an d wid t h . It is t o o st at ic, t o o in flex ib le fo r d at a
com m u n ication . In t h is case, co n n ect io n less, d em an d -orien ted TDMA sch em es
can be u sed , as th e fo llowin g section s sh ow.

3.4.2 Classical Aloha

As m en t io n ed a b o ve , TDM A co m p rises a ll m ech an ism s co n t ro llin g m ed iu m
access acco rd in g to TDM. Bu t wh at h ap p en s if TDM is ap p lied with ou t co n trol-
lin g access? Th is is ex act ly w h at t h e classical Alo h a sch em e d o es, a sch em e
wh ich was in ven ted at t h e Un iversity of Hawaii an d was u sed in th e ALOHANET
fo r wireless co n n ect io n o f several stat io n s. Alo h a n eit h er co o rd in ates m ed iu m
access n o r d o es it reso lve co n t en t io n o n t h e MAC layer. In stead , each st at io n
can access t h e m ed iu m at an y t im e as sh o wn in Figu re 3.5 . Th is is a ran d o m
access sch em e, wit h o u t a cen tral arbit er con t ro llin g access an d with o u t coo rd i-
n at io n am o n g t h e st at io n s. If t wo o r m o re st at io n s access t h e m ed iu m at t h e
sam e tim e, a co llisio n o ccu rs an d t h e t ran sm itted d ata is d estro yed . Reso lvin g
th is p ro blem is left t o h igh er layers (e.g., retran sm ission o f d ata).
Th e sim p le Aloh a wo rks fin e for a ligh t load an d d oes n ot req u ire an y com -
p licat ed access m ech an ism s. O n t h e classica l assu m p t io n 1 t h a t d at a p acket
arrival follo ws a Poisso n d istrib u t io n , m axim u m th rou gh p u t is ach ieved fo r an
18 p er cen t load (Abram son , 1977), (Halsall, 1996).

1 Th is assu m p t ion is o ften u sed for t raffic in classical telep h o n e n etworks bu t d oes n ot h o ld for t od ay’s
In t ern et traffic. In tern et t raffic is con sid ered as self-sim ilar follo win g – a so -called h eavy-tail d istribu -
t io n . An im p o rt an t feat u re o f t h is d ist rib u t io n is t h e exist en ce o f m an y valu es far away fro m t h e
average. Self-sim ilarit y d escrib es t h e in d ep en d en ce o f t h e ob served even t p at tern from t h e d u rat io n
of th e o bservat io n . For ex am p le, th e in t erarrival t im es of www sessio n s, TCP co n n ect io n set -u p s, IP
p acket s o r ATM cells all lo ok sim ilar wit h in th eir resp ective tim escale (Willin ger, 1998a, b ).
76 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 3.5 Collision

Classical Aloha
multiple access
Sender A

Sender B

Sender C
t

Figure 3.6 Collision

Slotted Aloha
multiple access
Sender A

Sender B

Sender C
t

3.4.3 Slot t ed Aloha

Th e first refin em en t o f th e classical Alo h a sch em e is p rovid ed by t h e in tro d u c-
t io n o f t im e slo t s (sl o t t e d Al o h a ). In t h is case, all sen d ers h a ve t o b e
sy n ch r o n ized , t ran sm issio n can o n ly start at t h e b egin n in g o f a t im e slo t as
sh o w n in Figu re 3 .6 . St ill, access is n o t co o rd in a t ed . Un d er t h e assu m p t io n
stated above, th e in tro d u ctio n o f slo ts raises th e th rou gh p u t from 18 p er cen t t o
36 p er cen t , i.e., slo ttin g d ou bles th e t h rou gh p u t.
As we will see in th e fo llo win g sectio n s, b ot h basic Alo h a p rin cip les o ccu r
in m an y system s th at im p lem en t d istribu t ed access to a m ed iu m . Aloh a system s
wo rk p erfect ly well u n d er a ligh t lo ad (as m o st sch em es d o ), b u t t h ey can n o t
give an y h ard tran sm ission gu aran t ees, su ch as m axim u m d elay before accessin g
th e m ed iu m , or m in im u m th rou gh p u t . Here o n e n eed s ad d ition al m ech an ism s,
e.g., co m bin in g fixed sch em es an d Alo h a sch em es. Ho wever, even n ew m o b ile
co m m u n icat io n system s like UMTS h ave t o rely o n slo tt ed Alo h a fo r m ed iu m
access in cert ain situ atio n s (ran d om access for in itial co n n ectio n set-u p ).

3.4.4 Carrier sense multiple access

On e im p ro vem en t t o t h e basic Alo h a is sen sin g th e carrier before accessin g t h e
m ed iu m . Th is is wh at ca r rier sen se m u lt ip le a ccess (CSMA) sch em es gen erally
d o (Klein ro ck, 1 9 7 5 , H a lsall, 1 9 9 6 ). Sen sin g t h e carrier an d accessin g t h e
m ed iu m on ly if t h e carrier is id le d ecreases th e p robabilit y of a co llision . Bu t, as
alread y m en tio n ed in t h e in t ro d u ct io n , h id d en t erm in als can n o t b e d etect ed ,
so , if a h id d en term in al tran sm its at th e sam e tim e as an o t h er sen d er, a collision
m igh t occu r at th e receiver. Th is basic sch em e is still u sed in m o st wireless LANs
(th is will be exp lain ed in m ore d etail in ch ap ter 7).
 Medium access cont rol 77

Several versio n s o f CSMA exist. In n o n -p ersist en t CSMA, st atio n s sen se t h e

carrier an d start sen din g im m ediately if th e m ediu m is idle. If th e m ed iu m is bu sy,
th e station pau ses a ran d om am oun t of tim e before sen sin g th e m edium again an d
rep eat in g t h is p at t ern . In p -p er sist en t CSM A syst em s n o d es also sen se t h e
m ed iu m , bu t on ly t ran sm it with a p robability of p , with th e station d eferrin g t o
th e n ext slot with th e probability 1-p, i.e., access is slotted in addition . In 1-p ersis-
t en t CSM A sy st em s, all st at io n s wish in g to tran sm it access t h e m ed iu m at th e
sam e tim e, as soon as it becom es id le. Th is will cau se m an y collision s if m an y sta-
tio n s wish t o sen d an d b lo ck each o t h er. To creat e so m e fairn ess fo r st at io n s
waitin g for a lon ger tim e, back-off algorith m s can be in trod uced, wh ich are sen si-
tive to waitin g tim e as th is is don e for stan dard Eth ern et (Halsall, 1996).
CSM A wit h co llisio n avo id an ce (CSM A/ C A) is o n e o f t h e access sch em es
u sed in wireless LANs followin g t h e stan d ard IEEE 802.11. Here sen sin g th e car-
rier is co m b in ed wit h a b ack-o ff sch em e in case o f a b u sy m ed iu m t o ach ieve
som e fairn ess am on g com p etin g station s. An oth er, very elaborate sch em e is elim -
in at io n yield – n o n -p reem p t ive m u lt ip le access (EY-NM PA) u sed in t h e
HIPERLAN 1 sp ecification . Here several p h ases of sen sin g th e m ed iu m an d access-
in g th e m ed iu m fo r co n ten tio n resolu t io n are in terleaved befo re o n e “win n er”
can fin ally access th e m ed iu m fo r d ata t ran sm ission . Here, p rio rity sch em es can
be in clu d ed to assu re p referen ce of certain station s with m ore im p ort an t d ata.

3.4.5 Demand assigned mult iple access

A gen eral im provem en t of Aloh a access system s can also be ach ieved by reservat ion
m ech an ism s an d com bin ation s with som e (fixed) TDM pattern s. Th ese sch em es typ-
ically h ave a reservat ion p eriod follo wed b y a t ran sm issio n p erio d . Du rin g t h e
reservat ion p erio d , st at io n s can reserve fu t u re slot s in t h e t ran sm issio n p erio d .
W h ile, d ep en d in g on t h e sch em e, co llisio n s m ay o ccu r d u rin g t h e reservation
p eriod , t h e t ran sm ission p erio d can t h en b e accessed wit h o u t co llisio n .
Altern at ively, th e tran sm ission p eriod can be split in to p eriod s wit h an d with ou t
collision . In gen eral, th ese sch em es cause a h igh er delay un der a ligh t load (first th e
reservation h as to take place), but allow h igh er th rough pu t due to less collision s.
On e basic sch em e is d em a n d a ssign ed m u lt ip le a ccess (DAMA) also called
reser v a t io n Alo h a , a sch em e t yp ical fo r sat ellit e syst em s. DAMA, as sh o wn in
Figu re 3 .7 h a s t wo m o d es. Du rin g a co n t en t io n p h a se fo llo win g t h e slo t t ed
Alo h a sch em e, all st atio n s can try t o reserve fu tu re slo ts. For exam p le, d ifferen t
station s o n earth t ry to reserve access tim e fo r satellite tran sm ission . Co llision s
d u rin g t h e reservat io n p h ase d o n o t d est ro y d at a t ran sm issio n , b u t o n ly t h e
sh o rt req u est s fo r d at a t ran sm issio n . If su ccessfu l, a t im e slo t in t h e fu t u re is
reserved , an d n o ot h er statio n is allowed t o t ran sm it d u rin g th is slot. Th erefo re,
th e sat ellite co llect s all su ccessfu l req u ests (t h e oth ers are d est royed) an d sen d s
b ack a reservat io n list in d icat in g access righ t s fo r fu t u re slo ts. All gro u n d st a-
tio n s h ave to o b ey t h is list . To m ain tain th e fixed TDM p att ern o f reservat io n
an d t ran sm issio n , t h e st at io n s h ave t o b e syn ch ro n ized fro m t im e t o t im e.
DAM A is an ex p lic i t r e ser v a t io n sch em e. Each t ran sm issio n slo t h as t o b e
reserved exp licitly.
78 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 3.7 Collision

Demand assignment
multiple access with
explicit reservation

Aloha Reserved Aloha Reserved Aloha Reserved Aloha t

3.4.6 PRMA packet reservat ion mult iple access

An exam p le for an im p licit reser v at io n sch em e is p a ck et reser va t io n m u lt ip le
a ccess (PRM A). Here, slots can be reserved im p licitly acco rd in g to t h e fo llo win g
sch em e. A cert ain n u m ber of slots form s a fram e (Figu re 3.8 sh o ws eigh t slots in
a fram e). Th e fra m e is rep eat ed in t im e (fo rm in g fram es o n e t o five in t h e
exam p le), i.e., a fixed TDM p attern is ap p lied .
A base station , wh ich co u ld be a satellite, n o w broad casts th e statu s o f each
slo t (as sh o wn o n th e left sid e o f th e figu re) to all m o bile st atio n s. All stat io n s
receivin g t h is vect o r will t h en kn o w wh ich slo t is o ccu p ied an d wh ich slo t is
cu rren tly free. In th e illu strat ion , a su ccessfu l tran sm issio n of d ata is in d icat ed
by t h e statio n ’s n am e (A to F). In th e exam p le, th e b ase st atio n b ro ad cast s th e
reservation statu s ‘ACDABA-F’ to all st at io n s, h ere A to F. Th is m ean s t h at slo ts
o n e to six an d eigh t are o ccu p ied , bu t slo t seven is free in th e fo llowin g t ran s-
m issio n . All st at io n s wish in g to t ran sm it can n ow co m p ete fo r t h is free slo t in
Alo h a fash io n . Th e alrea d y o ccu p ied slo t s are n o t t o u ch ed . In t h e ex am p le
sh o wn , m o re t h an o n e st at ion wan t s t o access t h is slo t , so a co llisio n o ccu rs.
Th e b ase station ret u rn s th e reservatio n statu s ‘ACDABA-F’, in d icat in g t h at t h e
reserv at io n o f slo t seven failed (st ill in d ica t ed as free) an d t h a t n o t h in g h as
ch an ged fo r t h e o t h er slo t s. Again , st at io n s can co m p et e fo r t h is slo t .
Ad d it io n ally, stat io n D h as st o p p ed sen d in g in slo t th ree an d stat io n F in slo t
eigh t. Th is is n o ticed by th e base station after t h e secon d fram e.
Before th e th ird fram e start s, th e base station in d icates th at slots t h ree an d
eigh t are n o w id le. Station F h as su cceed ed in reservin g slo t seven as also in d i-
cat ed by th e b ase st at io n . PRMA co n st itu tes yet an o t h er co m b in at io n o f fixed

Figure 3.8 Reservation

Demand assignment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Time-slot
multiple access with ACDABA-F
implicit reservation frame1 A C D A B A F
ACDABA-F
frame2 A C A B A
AC-ABAF-
frame3 A B A F
Collision at
A---BAFD reservation
frame4 A B A F D
attempts
ACEEBAFD
frame5 A C E E B A F D
t
 Medium access cont rol 79

e.g. N=6, k=2 Figure 3.9

N mini-slots N * k data-slots
Reservation TDMA
access scheme

Reservations Other stations can use free data-slots

for data-slots based on a round-robin scheme

an d ran d om TDM sch em es with reservat ion com p ared t o th e p reviou s sch em es.
As so on as a statio n h as su cceed ed with a reservation , all fu tu re slo ts are im p lic-
it ly reserved fo r th is statio n . Th is en su res t ran sm issio n wit h a gu aran t eed d at a
rat e. Th e slo t t ed alo h a sch em e is u sed fo r id le slo t s o n ly, d at a t ran sm issio n is
n o t d est royed by collision .

3.4.7 Reservat ion TDMA

An even m o re fixed p attern t h at st ill allo ws som e ran d o m access is exh ibited by
r eser v a t io n TDM A (see Figu re 3 .9). In a fixed TDM sch em e N m in i-slo t s fo l-
lowed by N·k d ata-slo ts fo rm a fram e t h at is rep eated . Each station is allot ted its
own m in i-slo t an d can u se it to reserve u p to k d ata-slo ts. Th is gu aran tees each
statio n a certain ban d wid th an d a fixed d elay. Oth er station s can n o w sen d d at a
in u n u sed d ata-slo ts as sh o wn . Usin g t h ese free slot s can be based o n a sim p le
ro u n d -ro b in sch em e o r ca n b e u n co o rd in at ed u sin g an Alo h a sch em e. Th is
sch em e allo ws fo r th e co m b in atio n o f, e.g., iso ch ro n o u s t raffic wit h fixed bit-
rat es an d best-effo rt t raffic with ou t an y gu aran tees.

3.4.8 Multiple access wit h collision avoidance

Let u s go back to on e o f th e in it ial p ro blem s: h id d en term in als. How d o th e p re-
vio u s access sch em es so lve t h is? To a ll sch em es w it h cen t ral b a se st at io n s
assign in g TDM p at t ern s, t h e p ro b lem o f h id d en t erm in als is u n kn o wn . If t h e
term in al is h id d en fo r t h e b ase stat io n it can n o t co m m u n icat e an yway. Bu t as
m en t io n ed above, m o re or less fixed access p attern s are n o t as flexib le as Alo h a
sch em es. W h at h ap p en s wh en n o b ase st at io n exist s at all? Th is is t h e case in
so -called ad -h oc n etwo rks (p resen t ed in m o re d etail in ch ap t er 7).
M u lt ip l e a c ce ss w it h c o llisio n a v o i d a n c e (M AC A) p resen t s a sim p le
sch em e th at solves th e h id d en term in al p rob lem , d o es n ot n eed a base station ,
an d is st ill a ra n d o m access Alo h a sch em e – b u t wit h d yn am ic reservat io n .
Figu re 3.10 sh o ws t h e sam e scen ario as Figu re 3.1 wit h t h e h id d en t erm in als.
Rem em ber, A an d C b o th wan t to sen d t o B. A h as alread y st arted th e tran sm is-
sio n , b u t is h id d en fo r C, C also starts wit h its t ran sm ission , th ereby cau sin g a
collisio n at B.
80 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 3.10
MACA can avoid hidden
terminals
GPRS GPRS GPRS

0 3.0 1 .20 01
1 > > 2
03 :31
M en u RTS 0 3 .01 .200 1
1 > > 2
03 :31
M enu
0 3 .01 .20 0 1
1 > > 2
03 :3 1
M e nu

4 ghi
2 3
def
CTS 1

4 ghi
2 3
def
CTS 1

4
2 3
def

6
mno
6
mno
6
mno
5 5 ghi
5
7 pqrs 9
w xyz 7 pqrs 9
wxyz 7 pqrs 9
wxyz
8 8 8
* 0 # * 0 # * 0 #

A B C

With MACA, A d o es n o t start it s tran sm issio n at o n ce, bu t sen d s a req u est

t o se n d (RTS) first . B receives t h e RTS t h at co n t ain s t h e n am e o f sen d er an d
receiver, as well as th e len gth of th e fu t u re t ran sm ission . Th is RTS is n o t h eard
by C, bu t triggers an ackn owled gem en t fro m B, called clea r t o sen d (CTS). Th e
CTS again co n tain s t h e n am es o f sen d er (A) an d receiver (B) o f t h e u ser d at a,
an d th e len gth o f th e fu tu re tran sm ission . Th is CTS is n ow h eard by C an d t h e
m ed iu m fo r fu t u re u se b y A is n o w reserved fo r t h e d u rat io n o f t h e t ran sm is-
sio n . After receivin g a CTS, C is n o t allowed to sen d an yth in g for th e d u ration
in d icat ed in th e CTS to ward B. A co llisio n can n o t occu r at B d u rin g d ata tran s-
m issio n , an d t h e h id d en t erm in al p ro b lem is so lved – p ro vid ed t h at t h e
tran sm issio n con d itio n s rem ain t h e sam e. (An oth er st at io n cou ld m ove in to t h e
tran sm issio n ran ge o f B after th e t ran sm ission of CTS.)
Still, collision s can o ccu r d u rin g th e sen d in g of an RTS. Bo th A an d C cou ld
sen d an RTS t h at co llid es at B. RTS is very sm all com p ared to t h e d ata t ran sm is-
sio n , so th e p rob ability o f a co llisio n is m u ch lo wer. B resolves th is co n ten tio n
an d ackn o wled ges o n ly on e station in t h e CTS (if it was able to recover t h e RTS
at all). No tran sm issio n is allo wed wit h o u t an ap p ro p riat e CTS. Th is is o n e o f
th e m ed iu m access sch em es t h at is o p tion ally u sed in th e stan d ard IEEE 802.11
(m o re d etails can be fou n d in sectio n 7.3).
Can MACA also h elp to so lve th e ‘exp osed t erm in al’ p roblem ? Rem em ber, B
wan ts to sen d d at a to A, C to so m eon e else. Bu t C is p olit e en o u gh to sen se t h e
m ed iu m b efo re t ran sm it t in g, sen sin g a b u sy m ed iu m cau sed b y t h e t ran sm is-
sion from B. C d efers, alth ou gh C cou ld n ever cau se a co llision at A.
With MACA, B h as t o tran sm it an RTS first (as sh o wn in Figu re 3.11) co n -
tain in g t h e n am e o f th e receiver (A) an d th e sen d er (B). C d o es n o t react t o t h is
m essage as it is n o t th e receiver, bu t A ackn o wled ges u sin g a CTS wh ich id en t i-
fies B as t h e sen d er an d A as th e receiver o f t h e fo llo win g d ata t ran sm issio n . C
d oes n o t receive th is CTS an d co n clu d es th at A is o u tsid e t h e d etect io n ran ge.
C can st art it s t ra n sm issio n a ssu m in g it w ill n o t cau se a co llisio n a t A. Th e
p ro b lem w it h ex p o sed t erm in als is so lved w it h o u t fix ed access p at t ern s o r a
b ase st at io n . O n e p ro b lem o f MACA is clearly t h e o verh ead s asso ciat ed wit h
th e RTS an d CTS tran sm issio n s – fo r sh o rt an d t im e-critical d at a p acket s, t h is is
 Medium access cont rol 81

Figure 3.11
MACA can avoid
exposed terminals
GPRS GPRS GPRS

03 .0 1.2 00 1
1 > > 2
0 3:3 1
Me n u RTS 03.01 .2 001
1 > > 2
03 :3 1
M e nu RTS 0 3.0 1.2 0 01
1 > > 2
0 3 :31
M en u

4
2 3
def
CTS 1

4 ghi
2 3
def 1

4
2 3
def

6 6 6
mno mno mno
ghi
5 jkl 5 jkl
ghi
5 jkl

7 pqrs 9
wxyz 7 pqrs 9
wxyz 7 pqrs 9
wxyz
8 8 8
* 0 # * 0 # * 0 #

A B C

n o t n egligib le. MAC A also assu m es sym m et rical t ran sm issio n a n d recep t io n
co n d itio n s. Ot h erwise, a st ro n g sen d er, d irect ed an ten n as etc. cou ld co u n t eract
th e ab o ve sch em e.
Figu re 3.12 sh o ws sim p lified st at e m ach in es fo r a sen d er an d receiver. Th e
sen der is id le u n t il a u ser req u ests t h e tran sm issio n o f a d ata p acket. Th e sen d er
th en issu es an RTS an d waits for th e righ t to sen d. If th e receiver gets an RTS an d is
in an idle state, it sen ds back a CTS an d waits for data. Th e sen der receives th e CTS
an d sen ds th e data. Oth erwise, th e sen der would sen d an RTS again after a tim e-out
(e.g., th e RTS could be lost or collided ). After tran sm ission of th e data, th e sen der
wait s for a po sit ive ackn o wledgem en t to ret u rn in t o an id le st at e. Th e receiver
sen ds back a positive ackn owledgem en t if th e received data was correct. If n ot, or if
t h e wait in g tim e for d ata is t oo lon g, th e receiver ret u rn s in t o id le st ate. If t h e
sen der does n ot receive an y ackn owledgem en t or a n egative ackn owled gem en t, it
sen ds an RTS an d again waits for th e righ t to sen d . Altern atively, a receiver cou ld
in dicate th at it is curren tly busy via a separate RxBusy. Real im plem en tation s h ave
to add m ore states an d tran sition s, e.g., to lim it th e n um ber of retries.

Figure 3.12
Sender Receiver
Protocol machines for
multiple access with
Idle Idle collision avoidance
Packet ready to send; RTS
data;
RxBusy Time-out; ACK
Wait for the RTS
ACK Time-out v RTS;
Time-out v right to send data; CTS
NAK;
NAK
RTS
CTS; data
Wait for
Wait for ACK
data

ACK: positive acknowledgement RxBusy: receiver busy RTS: RxBusy

NAK: negative acknowledgement
82 Mobile communicat ions

3.4.9 Polling
W h ere on e st at io n is to be h eard by all o th ers (e.g., th e base statio n o f a m o bile
p h o n e n etwo rk o r an y o th er d ed icat ed statio n ), p o llin g sch em es (kn own from
th e m ain fram e/ term in al wo rld ) can b e ap p lied . Po llin g is a strict ly cen t ralized
sch em e with o n e m ast er statio n an d several slave statio n s. Th e m aster can p o ll
th e slaves acco rd in g t o m an y sch em es: rou n d robin (o n ly efficien t if t raffic p at-
t ern s are sim ilar o ver all st a t io n s), ran d o m ly, acco rd in g t o reservat io n s (t h e
classro o m exam p le with p o lite st u d en ts) etc. Th e m ast er co u ld also estab lish a
list o f station s wish in g t o t ran sm it d u rin g a co n t en tio n p h ase. After th is p h ase,
th e st at ion p o lls each stat ion o n t h e list. Sim ilar sch em es are u sed , e.g., in th e
Blu eto o t h wireless LAN an d as o n e p o ssible access fu n ction in IEEE 802.11 sys-
tem s as d escribed in ch ap t er 7.

3.4.10 Inhibit sense mult iple access

An oth er com bin ation of differen t sch em es is represen ted by in h ibit sen se m u ltip le
access (ISMA). Th is sch em e, wh ich is used for th e packet d ata tran sm ission service
Cellu lar Digit al Packet Dat a (CDPD) in th e AMPS m o bile p h on e syst em , is also
kn own as d igit a l sen se m u lt ip le
Figure 3.13 access (DSMA). Here, th e base station
Inhibit sense multiple
on ly sign als a busy m edium via a busy
access using a
ton e (called BUSY/ IDLE in dicator) on
busy tone
th e d own lin k (see Figu re 3.13). Aft er
t h e bu sy t o n e st op s, accessin g t h e
uplin k is n ot coordin ated an y fu rth er.
Th e b ase st at ion ackn owled ges su c-
cessfu l tran sm ission s, a m obile station
detects a collision on ly via th e m issin g
positive ackn owledgem en t. In case of collision s, addition al back-off an d retran sm is-
sion m ech an ism s are im plem en ted. (Salkin tzis, 1999)

3.5 CDMA

Fin ally, cod es with certain ch aracterist ics can be ap p lied to th e tran sm issio n t o
en able t h e u se o f co d e d iv isio n m u lt ip lex in g (CDM ). Co d e d iv isio n m u lt ip le
a ccess (CD M A) syst em s u se exact ly t h ese co d es t o sep arat e d ifferen t u sers in
co d e sp ace an d t o en able access t o a sh ared m ed iu m wit h o u t in terferen ce. Th e
m ain p roblem is h o w to fin d “go od ” co d es an d h o w to sep arat e th e sign al fro m
n o ise gen erated by ot h er sign als an d th e en viro n m en t.
C h ap t er 2 d em o n st rat ed h o w t h e co d es fo r sp read in g a sign al (e.g., u sin g
DSSS) cou ld be u sed. Th e cod e d irectly con trols th e ch ip p in g seq u en ce. Bu t wh at
is a go od cod e for CDMA? A code for a certain user sh ou ld h ave a good au tocorre-
 Medium access cont rol 83

lation 2 an d sh ou ld be o r t h o go n a l to oth er co des. Orth ogon al in cod e sp ace h as

th e sam e m ean in g as in stan d ard sp ace (i.e., th e th ree d im en sion al sp ace). Th in k
of a system of coordin ates an d vectors startin g at th e origin , i.e., in (0, 0, 0).3 Two
vectors are called orth ogon al if th eir in n er p rod u ct is 0, as is th e case for th e two
vectors (2, 5, 0) an d (0, 0, 17): (2, 5, 0)*(0, 0, 17) = 0 + 0 + 0 = 0. Bu t also vectors
like (3, –2, 4) an d (–2, 3, 3) are ort h ogon al: (3, –2, 4)*(–2, 3, 3) = –6 – 6 + 12 = 0.
By co n t rast , t h e vect o rs (1 ,2,3) an d (4,2 , –6) are n o t o rt h o go n al (t h e in n er
p ro d u ct is –10), an d (1, 2, 3) an d (4, 2, –3) are “alm ost” o rth o go n al, with th eir
in n er p rod u ct bein g –1 (wh ich is “close” to zero). Th is d escrip tion is n ot p recise
in a m ath em atical sen se. However, it is u sefu l to rem em ber th ese sim p lified d efin -
ition s wh en lookin g at th e followin g exam p les wh ere t h e origin al code seq u en ces
m ay be d ist orted d u e to n oise. Orth ogon ality can n ot be gu aran teed for in itially
orth ogon al codes.
No w let u s t ran slate t h is in t o co d e sp ace an d exp lain wh at we m ean b y a
good a u t o co rrela t io n . Th e Barker cod e (+1, –1, +1, +1, –1, +1, +1, +1, –1, –1, –1),
for exam p le, h as a goo d au tocorrelation , i.e., th e in n er p rod u ct with itself is large,
th e resu lt is 11. Th is cod e is u sed for ISDN an d IEEE 802.11. Bu t as so on as th is
Barker cod e is sh ifted 1 ch ip fu rt h er (th in k o f sh iftin g t h e 11 ch ip Barker co d e
over itself con caten ated several tim es), th e correlation drop s to an absolu te valu e
of 1. It stays at th is lo w valu e u n til t h e cod e m at ch es itself again p erfectly. Th is
h elp s, for exam p le, to syn ch ron ize a receiver with th e in com in g d ata st ream . Th e
p eak in th e m at ch in g p rocess h elp s th e receiver to recon st ru ct th e origin al d ata
p recisely, even if n oise distorts th e origin al sign al u p to a certain level.
After th is q u ick in t ro d u ctio n to ort h o go n ality an d au t oco rrelation , th e fol-
lo win g (th eo ret ical) exam p le exp lain s t h e basic fu n ct io n o f CDMA b efo re it is
ap p lied to sign als:

● Two sen ders, A an d B, wan t to sen d d ata. CDMA assign s th e followin g un iq ue

an d orth ogon al key seq uen ces: key Ak = 010011 for sen der A, key BK = 110101
for sen d er B. Sen d er A wan ts to sen d th e bit Ad = 1, sen der B sen ds Bd = 0. To
illu strate th is exam p le, let u s assu m e th at we cod e a bin ary 0 as –1, a bin ary
1 as +1. We can th en ap ply th e stan dard addition an d m u ltiplication ru les.
● Bo th sen d ers sp read t h eir sign al u sin g t h eir key as ch ip p in g seq u en ce (t h e
term ‘sp read in g’ h ere refers to th e sim p le m u ltip licat io n of th e d ata bit with
t h e wh o le ch ip p in g seq u en ce). In realit y, p arts o f a m u ch lo n ger ch ip p in g
seq u en ce are ap p lied to sin gle b it s fo r sp read in g. Sen d er A t h en sen d s th e
sign al As = Ad *Ak = +1 *(–1 , +1 , –1 , –1 , +1 , +1 ) = (–1 , +1 , –1 , –1 , +1 , +1 ).
Sen d er B d o es t h e sam e wit h it s d at a t o sp read t h e sign al wit h t h e co d e:
Bs = Bd *Bk = –1*(+1, +1, –1, +1, –1, +1) = (–1, –1, +1, –1, +1, –1).

2 Th e absolu t e valu e of t h e in n er p ro d u ct o f a vect o r m u ltip lied wit h itself sh o u ld be large. Th e in n er

p ro d u ct o f t w o vect o rs a an d b w it h a = (a 1 , a 2 , …, a n ) an d b = (b 1 , b 2 , …, b n ) is d efi n ed a s

∑
n
a *b = a i b i.
i=1
3 82Th is exam p le cou ld also be n d im en sio n al.
84 Mobile communicat ions

● Bo t h sign als are t h en t ran sm it t ed a t t h e sam e t im e u sin g t h e sam e fre-

q u en cy, so , t h e sign als su p erim p o se in sp ace (an alo g m o d u lat io n is
n eglect ed in t h is ex am p le). Disco u n t in g in t erferen ce fro m o t h er sen d ers
an d en viron m en tal n oise fro m th is sim p le exam p le, an d assu m in g th at t h e
sign als h ave t h e sam e st ren gt h at t h e receiver, t h e fo llo w in g sign al C is
received at a receiver: C = As + Bs = (–2, 0, 0, –2, +2, 0).
● Th e re ceiv er n o w w an t s t o rece iv e d at a fro m sen d er A a n d , t h erefo re,
t u n es in t o t h e co d e o f A, i.e., a p p lies A’s co d e fo r d e sp read in g:
C*Ak = (–2, 0, 0, –2, +2, 0)*(–1, +1, –1, –1, +1, +1) = 2 + 0 + 0 + 2 + 2 + 0 = 6.
As th e resu lt is m u ch larger th an 0, th e receiver d et ect s a bin ary 1. Tu n in g
in t o sen d er B, i.e., a p p lyin g B’s co d e gives C *Bk = (–2 , 0 , 0 , –2 , +2 , 0 )*
(+1, +1, –1, +1, –1, +1) = –2 + 0 + 0 – 2 – 2 + 0 = –6. Th e resu lt is n egat ive, so
a 0 h as been d etect ed .

Th is ex am p le in vo lved several sim p lificat io n s. Th e co d es were ex t rem ely

sim p le, b u t at least o rt h o go n al. Mo re im p o rt an t ly, n o ise was n eglect ed . No ise
wo u ld ad d to th e tran sm itted sign al C, t h e resu lts wou ld n ot be as even with –6
an d +6, bu t wou ld m aybe be clo se to 0, m akin g it h ard er to d ecid e if th is is still
a valid 0 o r 1. Ad d it io n ally, b o t h sp read b its were p recisely su p erim p o sed an d
b o t h sign a ls are eq u a lly st ro n g wh en t h ey reach t h e receiver. W h at wo u ld
h ap p en if, fo r exam p le, B was m u ch st ro n ger? Assu m e th at B’s stren gth is five
tim es A’s stren gth . Th en , C' = As + 5*Bs = (–1, +1, –1, –1, +1, +1) + (–5, –5, +5, –5,
+5, –5) = (–6, –4, +4, –6, +6, –4). Again , a receiver wan ts to receive B: C'*Bk = –6 –
4 – 4 – 6 – 6 – 4 = –3 0 . It is ea sy t o d et ect t h e b in ary 0 sen t b y B. N o w t h e
receiv er wan t s t o receive A: C '*Ak = 6 – 4 – 4 + 6 + 6 – 4 = 6 . C learly, t h e
(a b so lu t e) valu e fo r t h e m u ch st ro n ger sign al is h igh er (3 0 co m p ared t o 6 ).
W h ile –30 m igh t st ill be d et ected as 0, th is is n o t so easy for th e 6 b ecau se com -
p ared to 30, 6 is q u ite clo se to zero an d cou ld be in terp reted as n oise. Rem em ber
th e p arty exam p le. If on e p erson sp eaks in on e lan gu age very lou d ly, it is o f n o
m ore u se to h ave an o th er lan gu age as o rth ogon al cod e – n o on e can u n d erstan d
yo u , yo u r vo ice will o n ly ad d t o t h e n o ise. Alth o u gh sim p lified , th is exam p le
sh o w s t h at p o wer co n t ro l is essen t ial fo r C DM A syst em s. Th is is o n e o f t h e
biggest p roblem s CDMA system s face as t h e p o wer h as to be ad ju st ed over o n e
th ou san d tim es p er seco n d in som e syst em s – th is con su m es a lot of en ergy.
Th e followin g exam p les su m m arize th e beh aviou r of CDMA togeth er with th e
DSSS sp readin g u sin g orth ogon al codes. Th e exam ples n ow u se lon ger codes or key
seq u en ces (i.e., lo n ger as a sin gle b it ). Co d e seq u en ces in IS-95, fo r exam p le,
(a m obile ph on e system th at uses CDMA) are 2 42 – 1 ch ips lon g, th e ch ip pin g rate
is 122 8800 ch ip s/ s (i.e., t h e cod e rep eats after 41.425 d ays). Mo re d et ails abo u t
CDMA can be fou n d in Viterbi (1995).
Figu re 3.14 sh o ws a sen d er A th at wan ts t o tran sm it th e bit s 101. Th e key of
A is sh o wn as sign al an d b in ary key seq u en ce Ak . In t h is exam p le, t h e b in ary
“0 ” is assign ed a p o sit ive sign al valu e, t h e b in ary “1” a n egat ive sign al valu e.
After sp read in g, i.e., XORin g Ad an d Ak , t h e resu ltin g sign al is As.
 Medium access cont rol 85

Figure 3.14
data A 1 0 1 Ad Coding and spreading
of data from sender A
key A
key
0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 Ak
sequence A
1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
data ⊕key

signal A As

Figure 3.15
signal A As Coding and spreading
of data from sender B

data B 1 0 0 Bd

key B
key
0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 Bk
sequence B
1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1
data ⊕key

signal B Bs

As + Bs

Th e sam e h ap p en s with d ata from sen d er B, h ere th e bits are 100. Th e resu lt
o f sp read in g wit h th e co d e is th e sign al Bs. As an d Bs n o w su p erim p o se d u rin g
tran sm ission (again wit h o u t n oise an d bo th sign als h avin g t h e sam e stren gth ).
Th e resu lt in g sign al is sim p ly th e su m As + Bs as sh o wn in Figu re 3.15.
A receiver n o w tries t o reco n st ru ct t h e o rigin al d at a fro m A, Ad . Th erefore
th e receiver ap p lies A’s key, Ak , to th e received sign al an d feed s t h e resu lt in to an
in tegrat o r (see sectio n 2.7.1). Th e in t egrato r ad d s t h e p ro d u ct s (i.e., calcu lat es
th e in n er p ro d u ct), a com p arat or th en h as t o d ecid e if th e resu lt is a 0 or a 1 as
sh o wn in Figu re 3.1 6 . As we can see, alt h o u gh t h e o rigin al sign al fo rm is d is-
to rted by B’s sign al, th e resu lt is st ill q u it e clear.
Th e sam e h ap p en s if a receiver wan t s to receive B’s d ata (see Figu re 3.17).
Th e com p arato r can easily d et ect th e o rigin al d ata. Lo o kin g at (As + Bs)*Bk on e
can also im agin e wh at cou ld h ap p en if A’s sign al was m u ch stro n ger an d n oise
d ist orted th e sign al. Th e little p eaks wh ich are n o w cau sed by A’s sign al wou ld
86 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 3.16
data A 1 0 1 Ad
Reconstruction of
A’s data

As + Bs

Ak

(As + Bs)
* Ak

integrator
output
comparator
1 0 1
output

Figure 3.17
data B 1 0 0 Bd
Reconstruction of
B’s data

As + Bs

Bk

(As + Bs)
* Bk
integrator
output
comparator
output 1 0 0

be m u ch h igh er, an d t h e resu lt o f th e in t egrato r wo u ld b e wro n g. If Ak an d Bk

are p erfect ly o rt h o go n al an d n o n o ise d ist u rb s t h e t ran sm issio n , t h e m et h o d
wo rks (in th eo ry) fo r arb itrarily d ifferen t sign al stren gt h s.
Fin ally, Figu re 3.18 sh o ws wh at h ap p en s if a receiver h as th e wro n g key or is
n o t syn ch ron ized with th e ch ip p in g seq u en ce of th e tran sm itter. Th e in t egrato r
still p resen t s a valu e after each bit p eriod , b u t n ow it is n ot always p o ssible fo r
t h e co m p arat o r t o d ecid e fo r a 1 o r a 0 , as t h e sign al rat h er resem b les n o ise.
In t egrat in g o ver n o ise resu lt s in valu es clo se t o zero . Even if t h e co m p arat o r
 Medium access cont rol 87

Figure 3.18
Receiving a signal with
the wrong key
As + Bs

wrong
key K

(As + Bs)
*K

integrator
output
comparator
output (0) (0) ?

co u ld d et ect a clear 1 , t h is co u ld st ill n o t recon st ru ct t h e wh o le b it seq u en ce

t ra n sm it t ed b y a sen d er. A ch ecksu m o n layer 2 wo u ld d et ect t h e erro n eo u s
p acket. Th is illu strates CDMA’s in h eren t p ro t ectio n again st tap p in g. It is also t h e
reaso n fo r callin g t h e sp read in g co d e a key, a s it is sim u lt an eo u sly u sed fo r
en cryp tion o n th e p h ysical layer.

3.5.1 Spread Aloha mult iple access

As sh o wn in th e p reviou s section , u sin g d ifferen t co d es with certain p rop erties
fo r sp read in g d at a resu lt s in a n ice a n d p o w erfu l m u lt ip le a ccess sch em e –
n am ely CDMA. Bu t CDMA sen d ers an d receivers are n o t really sim p le d evices.
Co m m u n icatin g with n d evices req u ires p rogram m in g of th e receiver to be able
t o d eco d e n d ifferen t co d es (a n d p ro b a b ly sen d in g w it h n co d es, t o o ). Fo r
m o bile p h o n e system s, a lo t o f t h e co m p lexit y n eed ed fo r CDMA is in t egrat ed
in t h e b ase st at io n s. Th e wireless an d m o b ile d evices co m m u n icat e wit h t h e
b ase st at io n o n ly. Ho wever, if sp o n t an eo u s, b u rst y t raffic h as to b e su p p o rt ed
between an arbit rary n u m ber of d evices, th e CDMA tech n iq u e seem s to p ose too
m u ch o verh ead . No o n e wan ts t o p ro gram m an y d ifferen t sp read in g co d es fo r,
e.g., ad -h oc n etworks. O n th e o th er h an d , Alo h a was a very sim p le sch em e, bu t
cou ld on ly p ro vid e a relatively lo w ban d wid th d u e to co llisio n s.
W h at h a p p en s if we co m b in e t h e sp rea d in g o f C DM A an d t h e m ed iu m
access o f Alo h a o r, in o t h er wo rd s, w h at if we u se C DM A wit h o n ly a sin gle
co d e, i.e., wit h o u t CD? Th e resu ltin g sch em e is called sp r ea d Alo h a m u lt ip le
a ccess (SAMA) an d is a com bin ation of CDMA an d TDMA (Ab ram so n , 1996).
88 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 3.19 Collision

Spread Aloha
multiple access
1 0 1
Sender A
0 1 1 narrowband
Sender B
Send for a
shorter period
with higer
power

SAM A wo rks as fo llo ws: each sen d er u ses t h e sam e sp read in g co d e (in th e
exam p le sh own in Figu re 3.19 th is is t h e co d e 110101). 4 Th e stan d ard case for
Alo h a access is sh o wn in t h e u p p er p art o f t h e figu re. Sen d er A an d sen d er B
access th e m ed iu m at th e sam e tim e in th eir n arro wban d sp ect ru m , so t h at all
th ree bits sh own cau se a co llisio n .
Th e sam e d at a co u ld also b e sen t wit h h igh er p o wer fo r a sh o rt er p erio d as
sh o wn in t h e m id d le, b u t n o w sp read sp ect ru m is u sed t o sp read t h e sh o rt er
sign als, i.e., t o in crease th e b an d wid t h (sp read in g facto r s = 6 in th e exam p le).
Bo t h sign als are sp read , b u t t h e ch ip p in g p h ase d iffers sligh t ly. Sep arat io n o f
th e t wo sign als is st ill p o ssib le if o n e receiver is syn ch ro n ized t o sen d er A an d
an o t h er o n e t o sen d er B. Th e sign al o f an u n syn ch ro n ized sen d er ap p ears as
n o ise . Th e p ro b a b ilit y o f a ‘co llisio n ’ is q u it e lo w if t h e n u m b er o f sim u l-
tan eo u s tran sm it ters st ays b elo w 0.1–0.2s (Ab ram so n , 1996). Th is also d ep en d s
o n t h e n o ise lev el o f t h e en v iro n m en t . Th e m a in p ro b lem in u sin g t h is
ap p ro ach is fin d in g go o d ch ip p in g seq u en ces. Clearly, th e co d e is n o t o rth o g-
o n al t o it self – it sh o u ld h ave a go o d au t o co rrelat io n b u t , at t h e sam e t im e,
co rrelat io n sh o u ld b e lo w if t h e p h ase d iffers sligh t ly. Th e m axim u m t h ro u gh -
p u t is a b o u t 1 8 p er cen t , w h ich is ver y sim ila r t o Alo h a, b u t t h e a p p ro a ch
b en e fit s fro m t h e ad v a n t a ges o f sp read sp ect ru m t ech n iq u es: ro b u st n ess
again st n arro wb an d in t erferen ce an d sim p le co exist en ce with o t h er syst em s in
th e sam e freq u en cy b an d s.

4 Clearly, th is is n ot a go o d cod e, fo r it is m u ch to o sh o rt . Here, co d in g is o n ly d o n e p er b it , a m u ch

lon ger cod e cou ld also stretch over m an y bit s.
 Medium access cont rol 89

3.6 Comparison of S/ T/ F/ CDMA

To con clu d e th e ch ap ter, a com p arison of t h e fou r basic m u ltip le access version s
is given in Tab le 3.1. Th e t able sh o ws t h e MAC sch em es wit h o u t co m b in atio n
with oth er sch em es. However, in real system s, th e MAC sch em es always occu r in
com bin ation s. A very typ ical com bin ation is con stitu ted by SDMA/ TDMA/ FDMA
as u sed in IS-54, GSM, DECT, PHS, an d PACS p h on e system s, or th e Irid iu m an d
ICO sat ellit e syst em s. CDMA t o get h er wit h SDMA is u sed in t h e IS-95 m o b ile
p h on e system an d th e Globalstar sat ellite system (see ch ap ters 4 an d 5).
Alth ou gh m an y n et work p rovid ers an d m an u fact u rers h a ve lo wered t h eir
expectation s regardin g th e perform an ce of CDMA com pared to th e early 1980s (due
to experien ces with th e IS-95 m obile ph on e system ) CDMA is in tegrated in to alm ost
all t h ird gen erat ion m obile p h on e system s eith er as W-CDMA (FO MA, UMTS) or
cdm a2000 (see ch apter 4). CDMA can be used in com bin ation with FDMA/ TDMA
access sch em es t o in crease th e cap acit y o f a cell. In con t rast t o o th er sch em es,
CDMA h as th e advan tage of a soft h an dover an d soft capacity. Han dover, explain ed
in m ore detail in ch apter 4, describes th e swit ch in g from on e cell to an oth er, i.e.,
ch an gin g t h e base st at io n t h at a m obile st at io n is co n n ect ed t o. Soft h an d o ver
m ean s th at a m obile station can sm ooth ly switch cells. Th is is ach ieved by com m u-
n icatin g with two base station s at th e sam e tim e. CDMA does th is usin g th e sam e
code an d th e receiver even ben efits from both sign als. TDMA/ FDMA system s per-
form a h ard h an d o ver, i.e., t h ey swit ch b ase st at ion an d h o p p in g seq u en ces
(tim e/freq uen cy) precisely at th e m om en t of h an dover. Han dover decision is based
on th e sign al stren gth , an d oscillation s between base station s are possible.
So ft cap acity in CDMA syst em s d escribes t h e fact th at CDMA system s can
ad d m o re an d m o re u sers to a cell, i.e., th ere is n o h ard lim it . Fo r TDMA/ FDMA
syst em s, a h ard u p p er lim it ex ist s – if n o m o re free t im e/ freq u en cy slo t s are
availab le, t h e system reject s n ew u sers. If a n ew u ser is ad d ed t o a CDMA cell,
t h e n o ise level rises an d t h e cell sh rin ks, b u t t h e u ser can st ill co m m u n icat e.
Ho wever, th e sh rin kin g of a cell can cau se p ro blem s, as o th er u sers cou ld n o w
d rop o u t o f it. Cell p lan n in g is m ore d ifficu lt in CDMA system s com p ared to t h e
m ore fixed TDMA/ FDMA sch em es (see ch ap ter 2).
W h ile m o b ile p h o n e syst em s u sin g SDMA/ TDMA/ FDMA o r SDM A/ CDMA
are cen t ralized syst em s – a b ase st at io n co n t ro ls m an y m o b ile st at io n s – arb i-
t rary wireless co m m u n icat io n syst em s n eed d ifferen t MAC algo rit h m s. M o st
d istribu ted syst em s u se som e version of t h e basic Aloh a. Typ ically, Alo h a is slo t-
ted an d som e reservat ion m ech an ism s are ap p lied to gu aran tee access d elay an d
b an d wid t h . Each o f t h e sch em es h a s ad van t a ges an d d isad van t ages. Sim p le
CSMA is very efficien t at lo w load , MACA can overco m e th e p ro blem o f h id d en
o r ex p o sed t erm in als, an d p o llin g gu aran t ees b an d w id t h . No sin gle sch em e
co m b in es all b en efit s, w h ich is wh y, fo r exam p le, t h e wireless LAN st an d ard
IEEE 802.11 com bin es all th ree sch em es (see sectio n 7.3). Pollin g is u sed t o set
u p a t im e st ru ct u re v ia a b ase st a t io n . A C SMA versio n is u sed t o access t h e
m ed iu m d u rin g u n co o rd in ated p erio d s, an d ad d it ion ally, MACA can be u sed t o
avoid h idd en term in als o r in cases wh ere n o base statio n exists.
90 Mobile communicat ions

Table 3.1 Comparison

of SDMA, TDMA, Approach SDMA TDMA FDMA CDMA
FDMA, and CDMA
mechanisms Idea Segment Segment Segment the Spread the
space into sending time frequency spectrum using
cells/ sectors into disjoint band into orthogonal
time-slots, disjoint codes
demand driven sub-bands
or fixed
patterns

Terminals Only one All terminals Every terminal All terminals can
terminal can are active for has its own be active at the
be active in short periods frequency, same place at
one cell/ one of time on the uninterrupted the same
sector same frequency moment,
uninterrupted

Signal Cell structure Synchronization Filtering in Code plus

separat ion directed in the time the frequency special receivers
antennas domain domain

Advant ages Very simple, Established, Simple, Flexible, less

increases fully digital, established, planning
capacity very flexible robust needed, soft
per km2 handover

Disadvant ages Inflexible, Guard space Inflexible, Complex

antennas needed frequencies receivers, needs
typically fixed (multi-path are a scarce more
propagation), resource complicated
synchronization power control
difficult for senders

Comment Only in Standard in Typically Used in many

combination fixed networks, combined 3G systems,
with TDMA, together with with TDMA higher
FDMA or FDMA/ SDMA (frequency complexity,
CDMA useful used in many hopping lowered
mobile networks patterns) and expectations;
SDMA integrated with
(frequency TDMA/ FDMA
reuse)
 Medium access cont rol 91

3.7 Review exercises

1 What is the main physical reason for the failure of many MAC schemes known
from wired networks? What is done in wired networks to avoid this effect?
2 Recall the problem of hidden and exposed terminals. What happens in the case
of such terminals if Aloha, slotted Aloha, reservation Aloha, or MACA is used?
3 How does the near/ far effect influence TDMA systems? What happens in
CDMA systems? What are countermeasures in TDMA systems, what about
CDMA systems?
4 Who performs the MAC algorithm for SDMA? What could be possible roles of
mobile stations, base stations, and planning from the network provider?
5 What is the basic prerequisite for applying FDMA? How does this factor increase
complexity compared to TDMA systems? How is MAC distributed if we consider
the whole frequency space as presented in chapter 1?
6 Considering duplex channels, what are alternatives for implementation in wire-
less networks? What about typical wired networks?
7 What are the advantages of a fixed TDM pattern compared to random, demand
driven TDM? Compare the efficiency in the case of several connections with fixed
data rates or in the case of varying data rates. Now explain why traditional
mobile phone systems use fixed patterns, while computer networks generally
use random patterns. In the future, the main data being transmitted will be com-
puter-generated data. How will this fact change mobile phone systems?
8 Explain the term interference in the space, time, frequency, and code domain.
What are countermeasures in SDMA, TDMA, FDMA, and CDMA systems?
9 Assume all stations can hear all other stations. One station wants to transmit
and senses the carrier idle. Why can a collision still occur after the start
of transmission?
10 What are benefits of reservation schemes? How are collisions avoided during
data transmission, why is the probability of collisions lower compared to classi-
cal Aloha? What are disadvantages of reservation schemes?
11 How can MACA still fail in case of hidden/ exposed terminals? Think of mobile
stations and changing transmission characteristics.
12 Which of the MAC schemes can give hard guarantees related to bandwidth and
access delay?
13 How are guard spaces realized between users in CDMA?
14 Redo the simple CDMA example of section 3.5, but now add random ‘noise’ to
the transmitted signal (–2,0,0,–2,+2,0). Add, for example, (1,–1,0,1,0,–1). In
this case, what can the receiver detect for sender A and B respectively? Now
include the near/ far problem. How does this complicate the situation? What
would be possible countermeasures?
92 Mobile communicat ions

3.8 Ref erences

Ab ram so n , N. (197 7) ‘Th e t h ro u gh p u t o f p acket b ro ad cast in g ch an n els,’ IEEE

Transactions on Communication, COM-25(1).
Abram so n , N. (1996) ‘Wid eban d ran d o m access fo r t h e last m ile,’ IEEE Personal
Communications, 3(6).
H alsall, F. (1 9 9 6 ) Da ta com m un ica tion s, com puter n etworks a n d open system s.
Ad d iso n -Wesley Lo n gm an .
Klein rock, L., Tobagi, F. (1975) ‘Packet switch in g in radio ch an n els: part 1 – carrier
sen se m u lt ip le-access m o d es an d t h eir t h ro u gh p u t -d elay ch aract erist ics,’
IEEE Transactions on Communications, COM-23(12).
Salkin tzis, A. (1999) ‘Packet d ata o ver cellu lar n etwo rks: Th e CDPD ap p ro ach ,’
IEEE Communications Magazine, 37(6).
Stallin gs, W. (1997) Data and computer communications. Pren t ice Hall.
Viterb i, A. (1995) CDMA: principles of sprea d spectrum communica tion. Ad d iso n -
Wesley Lon gm an .
W illin ger, W., Pax so n , V. (1 9 9 8 a) ‘W h ere M at h em at ics m eet s t h e In t ern et ,’
Notices of the American Mathematical Society, 45(8).
W illin ger, W, Pax so n , V., Taq q u , M . (1 9 9 8 b ) ‘Self-sim ilarit y an d Heavy Tails:
St ru ct u ral M o d elin g o f Net wo rk Tra ffic,’ A Pra ctica l Guide to Hea vy Ta ils:
St a tist ica l Tech n iqu es a n d Applica tion s. Ad ler, Ta q q u (ed s.), Birkh äu ser-
Verlag, Bost o n .
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 4

D
igit a l cellu la r n et w o r k s are t h e segm en t o f th e m arket fo r m o b ile an d
wireless d evices wh ich are gro win g m o st rap id ly. Th ey are t h e wireless
exten sion s of trad ition al PSTN or ISDN n etwo rks an d allow for seam less
ro am in g with th e sam e m o b ile p h o n e n at io n or even wo rld wid e. To d ay, th ese
system s are m ain ly u sed fo r vo ice traffic. Ho wever, d at a traffic is co n t in u o u sly
gro win g an d , th erefo re, t h is ch ap ter p resen ts several t ech n o lo gies fo r wireless
d ata tran sm issio n u sin g cellu lar system s. 1
Th e system s p resen t ed fit in to th e trad ition al telep h o n y arch itectu re an d d o
n o t o rigin ate from co m p u ter n etworks. Th e basic versio n s typ ically im p lem en t a
circu it -swit ch ed service, fo cu sed o n vo ice, an d o n ly o ffer d at a rat es o f u p t o ,
e.g., 9.6 kb it / s. Ho wever, service is p ro vid ed u p t o a sp eed o f 25 0 km / h (e.g.,
u sin g GSM in a car) wh ere m o st ot h er wireless system s fail.
Th e w o r ld w id e m a r k et figu res fo r cellu lar n et wo rks are as fo llo ws (GSM
Asso ciation , 2002). Th e m o st p o p u lar d igital system is GSM, with ap p ro xim ately
70 p er cen t m arket sh are. (Th is syst em will b e p resen t ed in sect io n 4 .1 .) Th e
an alog AMPS system st ill h old s th ree p er cen t , wh ereas t h e Jap an ese PDC h old s
five p er cen t (60 m illio n u sers). Th e rem ain d er is sp lit between CDMA (12 p er
cen t ) an d TDMA (1 0 p er cen t ) syst em s, an d o t h er t ech n o lo gies. In Eu r o p e
alm o st everyo n e u ses th e d igital GSM system (o ver 370 m illio n ) with alm o st n o
an alo g system s left . Th e situ at io n is d ifferen t in t h e US an d so m e o th er co u n -
t ries t h at h ave ad o p t ed US t ech n o lo gy (e.g., So u t h Ko rea, Can ad a). Here, t h e
d igit al m arket is sp lit in t o TDM A, CDM A, an d GSM syst em s with 107 m illio n
TDM A, 1 3 5 m illio n C DM A, an d o n ly 1 6 m illio n GSM u sers (N o rt h Am erica
on ly). W h ile o n ly on e d igital system exist s in Eu rop e, t h e US m arket is d ivid ed
in t o several system s. Th is lead s t o severe p ro b lem s regard in g co verage an d ser-
vice availability, an d is on e of t h e exam p les wh ere m arket forces d id n o t en su re
im p ro ved services (co m p ared to t h e co m m on stan d ard in Eu rop e).
Figu re 4.1 sh o ws th e wo rld wid e n u m ber o f su bscrib ers to d ifferen t m o bile
p h on e tech n ologies (GSM Associat ion , 2002). Th e figu re com bin es d ifferen t ver-
sion s of th e sam e tech n ology (e.g., GSM workin g on 900, 1,800, an d 1,900 MHz).

1 All syst em s p resen t ed h ere are d igit a l, fo r o ld er an a lo g syst em s su ch as t h e US AM PS (a d van ced

m o bile p h on e system ) th e read er is referred t o, e.g., Goo d m an (1997).

93
94 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 4.1
1200
Worldwide subscribers
of different mobile
phone technologies 1000

800 GSM total

Subscribers (million)
TDMA total
600 CDMA total
PDC total
400 Analogue total
Total wireless
Prediction (1998)
200

0
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Th e two u p p er lin es in th e grap h sh ow th e total n u m ber of u sers an d th e p redic-

tion s from 1998. It is in terestin g th at n o on e foresaw th e trem en d ou s su ccess of
th e m obile com m u n ication t ech n o logy. Th e grap h sh ows, too, th at th e tim e for
an alog system s is over an d GSM is h eavily d om in atin g t h e cu rren t m arket. GSM,
TDMA, CDMA, an d PDC are all seco n d gen erat io n syst em s. It is im p o rt an t t o
n o t e t h at to d ay m o re p eo p le u se m ob ile p h on e syst em s th an fixed t elep h on es!
Th e grap h s of m obile an d fixed u sers crossed in March 2002.
Th e fo llo win g sect io n s p resen t p ro m in en t exam p les fo r seco n d gen eratio n
(2G) m o bile p h o n e n et wo rks, co rd less telep h o n es, tru n ked rad io system s, an d
t h ird gen erat io n (3 G) m o b ile p h o n e n et wo rks. Th is ch ap t er u ses GSM as t h e
m ain exam p le fo r a 2G fu lly d igital m o bile p h o n e system , n o t o n ly b ecau se o f
m arket su ccess, bu t also d u e to th e syst em arch itectu re t h at served m an y o th er
syst em s as an ea rly ex am p le. O t h er syst em s ad o p t ed m o b ilit y m an a gem en t ,
m o b ile assist ed h an d o ver an d o t h er b asic id eas (Go o d m an , 19 9 7), (St allin gs,
2002), (Pah lavan , 2002). W h ile US syst em s typ ically fo cu s o n th e air in t erface
for th eir sp ecification , a system like GSM h as m an y o p en in terfaces an d n etwork
en tities d efin ed in th e sp ecification . W h ile th e first ap p ro ach en ables com p an ies
to h ave t h eir o wn , p ro p riet ary an d p o ssibly b etter so lu tio n s, th e latt er en ables
n et wo rk p ro vid ers t o ch o o se b et ween m an y d ifferen t p ro d u ct s fro m d ifferen t
ven d o rs. DECT an d TERTA are u sed , resp ect ively as exam p les fo r co rd less t ele-
p h o n y an d t ru n ked rad io syst em s. O n e reaso n fo r t h is is t h eir syst em
arch it ectu re wh ich is sim ilar t o GSM. Th is is n o t very su rp risin g as all th ree sys-
tem s h ave b een st an d ard ized by ETSI. Th e m ain fo cu s is always on d ata service,
so th e evolu tion of GSM offerin g h igh er d ata rates an d p acket-orien ted tran sfer
is also p resen ted . Th e ch ap ter co n clu d es with UMTS as a p ro m in en t exam p le fo r
3G m obile teleco m m u n icatio n n etwo rks. UMTS is Eu rop e’s an d Jap an ’s p rop o sal
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 95

CT0/1 Figure 4.2

AMPS CT2 Development of
FDMA

NMT IMT-FT different generations

DECT of mobile
IS-136
TDMA EDGE telecommunication
IMT-SC systems
D-AMPS
TDMA

IS-136HS
GSM GPRS UWC-136
PDC
IMT-DS
UTRA FDD/W-CDMA
IMT-TC
UTRA TDD/TD-CDMA
IMT-TC
CDMA

TD-SCDMA
IS-95 IMT-MC
cdma2000 1X
cdmaOne cdma2000 1X EV-DO
1X EV-DV
(3X)
1G 2G 2.5G 3G

fo r t h e n ext gen erat io n m o b ile an d wireless syst em wit h in t h e ITU IMT-200 0

fram ewo rk. Th e early p h ases o f UMTS sh o w th e evo lu t io n ary p at h fro m GSM
via GSM wit h h igh er d at a rates to UMTS, wh ich allows fo r savin g a lo t of in vest-
m en t in t o t h e in frast ru ct u re. Lat er p h ases o f UM TS d evelo p m en t sh o w m o re
an d m o re t h e in t egratio n of In tern et tech n o logy t h at sim p lifies service creat ion
an d offers a m igration p ath to m o re ad van ced n etworks.
Figu re 4.2 sh o ws several d evelo p m en t a n d m igrat io n p at h s fo r d ifferen t
m o b ile t eleco m m u n icat io n syst em s p resen t ed in t h is ch ap t er. Th e d iagram is
d ivid ed in to th e t h ree m ain m u ltip lexin g sch em es, FDMA, TDMA, an d CDMA.
Th e figu re classifies th e tech n o lo gies in to th ree gen erat io n s. Th e first gen erat ion
co m p rises an alog syst em s, wh ich typ ically rely on FDMA. Th e first 2G syst em s
h it th e m arket in th e early n in et ies. In t h e US D-AM PS was a d igital su ccesso r o f
AM PS, in Eu ro p e GSM was d evelo p ed as a rep lacem en t fo r several versio n s o f
N M T, an d PD C was in t ro d u ced in Jap an . All t h ese 2 G syst em s in t ro d u ced a
TDMA m ech an ism in ad d ition t o FDMA, wh ich is still u sed fo r ch an n el sep ara-
t io n . Wit h cd m aOn e t h e first CDMA t ech n o logy was availab le in t h e US as a
co m p et it o r t o t h e TDM A t ech n o lo gies. Between t h e seco n d an d t h ird gen era-
t io n t h ere is n o real revo lu t io n ary step . Th e syst em s evo lved o ver tim e: GPRS
in tro d u ced a p acket-o rien ted service an d h igh er d ata rates to GSM (bu t can also
b e u sed fo r TDM A syst em s in gen era l), ED GE p ro p o ses a n ew m o d u lat io n
sch em e, an d cd m a O n e was en h an ced t o c d m a 2 0 0 0 1 x o fferin g h igh er d at a
rates. Th ese syst em s are o ft en called 2.5G syst em s. 2 Mo st , b u t n o t all, system s

2 No te t h at cd m a2000 1x, t h e first version o f cd m a2000, was n o t accep t ed as 3G system b y th e ITU.

96 Mobile communicat ions

ad d ed CDMA t ech n o lo gy t o b eco m e 3G syst em s. Co rd less t elep h o n e syst em s

started with CT0 an d CT1, becam e d igital wit h CT2, an d en d ed in Eu ro p e in t h e
fu lly d igit al stan d ard DECT. Th is stan d ard h as even been ch osen as o n e of th e
can d id ates fo r a 3G system (IMT-FT).
W h ile th e n u m ber of d ifferen t system s m igh t be con fu sin g, th ere are som e
“n at u ral” d evelo p m en t p at h s. Mo st n et w o rk p ro vid ers o fferin g G SM service
tod ay will d ep loy UMTS, wh ile cd m aOn e u sers will ch oose cd m a2000 for sim p ler
m igration . Th e reason s for th is are q u ite sim p le. With th e in trod u ctio n of GPRS
in GSM n et works, th e core of th e n etwo rk was already en h an ced in a way t h at it
can be d irectly u sed for UMTS with th e rad io tech n ologies UTRA FDD an d UTRA
TDD. A sim ilar p at h fo r evo lu t io n exists fo r TD-SCDM A, th e Ch in ese p rop o sal
for a 3G syst em (wh ich h as been in tegrated in to UTRA TDD). With som e sim p li-
ficatio n it can be said th at UMTS m ain ly ad d s a n ew rad io in terface bu t relies in
its in itial p h ase on th e sam e core n etwork as GSM/ GPRS. Also for cd m aOn e th e
evo lu t io n t o cd m a2 00 0 t ech n o lo gies is q u it e n at u ral, as t h e n ew st an d ard is
backward com p at ible an d can reu se freq u en cies. Cd m a2000 1x still u ses th e sam e
1.25 MHz ch an n els as cd m aO n e d o es, bu t o ffers d ata rates o f u p to 153 kb it/ s.
Th e cd m a 2 0 0 0 3 x st an d ard u ses th ree 1.25 MHz ch an n els to fit in to ITU’s fre-
q u en cy sch em e fo r 3G . Ho wever, t h is st an d ard is n o t p u sh ed as m u ch as t h e
followin g en h an cem en ts of cdm a2000 1x. Th ese en h an cem en ts are:

● cd m a 2 0 0 0 1 x EV-D O (evo lu t io n -d at a o p t im ized , also kn o wn as h igh d at a

rate (HDR), so m e call it d ata on ly) p ro m isin g p eak d ata rates o f 2.4 Mb it/ s
u sin g a secon d 1.25 MHz ch an n el; an d
● cd m a 2 0 0 0 1 x EV-D V (evo lu t io n -d at a an d vo ice) aim in g at 1.2 M b it / s fo r
m ob ile an d 5.2 Mbit / s for st at io n ary u sers.

Cd m a2000 1x EV-DO was t h e first version o f cd m a2000 accep ted by t h e ITU as

3G system . Mo re in form atio n abou t th e t ech n o logies an d acro n ym s u sed in t h e
d iagram is p rovid ed in th e followin g section s.

4.1 GSM

GSM is t h e m o st su ccessfu l d igit al m o b ile t eleco m m u n icat io n syst em in t h e

world tod ay. It is u sed by over 800 m illion p eop le in m o re th an 190 cou n tries.
In t h e early 1980s, Eu ro p e h ad n u m erou s co exist in g an alog m o b ile p h o n e sys-
tem s, wh ich were often based on sim ilar stan d ard s (e.g., NMT 450), bu t ran o n
sligh tly differen t carrier freq u en cies. To avoid th is sit u ation for a secon d gen era-
t io n fu lly d igit al syst em , t h e gr o u p e sp éc ia le m o b ile (GSM ) was fo u n d ed in
1982. Th is system was so on n am ed th e glo b a l syst em fo r m o b ile co m m u n ica -
t io n s (GSM ), wit h t h e sp ecificat io n p ro cess lyin g in t h e h an d s o f ETSI (ETSI,
20 0 2), (G SM Asso ciat io n , 2 00 2). In t h e co n t ext o f UMTS an d t h e creat io n o f
3GPP (Th ird gen eratio n p art n ersh ip p ro ject , 3GPP, 2002a) t h e wh o le d evelo p -
m en t p ro cess o f G SM wa s t ran sferred t o 3 G PP an d fu rt h er d evelo p m en t is
co m b in ed wit h 3G d evelo p m en t. 3GPP assign ed n ew n u m bers to all GSM stan -
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 97

d ard s. Ho wever, to rem ain co n sist en t with m ost o f th e GSM lit erat u re, th is GSM
sect io n st ays wit h t h e o rigin al n u m b erin g (see 3 GPP, 20 0 2a, fo r co n versio n ).
Section 4.4 will p resen t th e on goin g join t sp ecification p ro cess in m o re d etail.
Th e p rim ary goal o f GSM was to p ro vid e a m obile p h on e syst em t h at allows
u sers t o ro am t h ro u gh o u t Eu ro p e an d p ro vid es vo ice services co m p at ib le t o
ISDN an d o t h er PSTN syst em s. Th e sp ecificat io n fo r t h e in it ial syst em alread y
co vers m o re th an 5,000 p ages; n ew services, in particu lar d ata services, n ow ad d
even m o re sp ecification d etails. Read ers fam iliar with th e ISDN referen ce m o d el
will reco gn ize m an y sim ilar acro n ym s, referen ce p o in t s, an d in t erfaces. GSM
stan d ard izatio n aim s at ad op tin g as m u ch as p o ssible.
GSM is a t yp ical seco n d gen erat io n syst em , rep lacin g t h e first gen erat io n
an alog system s, bu t n ot offerin g th e h igh world wid e data rates th at th e th ird gen -
eration system s, such as UMTS, are p rom isin g. GSM h as in itially been dep loyed in
Eu rop e u sin g 890–91 5 MHz for u p lin ks an d 935–960 MHz fo r d own lin ks – t h is
system is n ow also called GSM 900 to distin gu ish it from th e later version s. Th ese
version s com p rise GSM at 1800 MHz (1710–1785 MHz u p lin k, 1805–1880 MHz
d own lin k), also called DCS (d igit a l cellu la r syst em ) 1800, an d th e GSM syst em
m ain ly u sed in th e US at 1900 MHz (1850–1910 MHz u p lin k, 1930–1990 MHz
d o wn lin k), also called PCS (p er so n a l co m m u n ica t io n s ser v ice) 1 9 0 0 . Two
m o re versio n s o f G SM exist . GSM 4 0 0 is a p ro p o sal t o d ep lo y GSM at
450.4–457.6/ 47 8.8 –4 8 6 M Hz fo r u p lin ks an d 46 0.4 –46 7.6 / 488.8–496 MHz fo r
down lin ks. Th is system could rep lace an alog system s in sparsely popu lated areas.
A GSM system t h at h as b een in t ro d u ced in several Eu ro p ean co u n t ries fo r
railro ad system s is GSM-Ra il (GSM-R, 2002), (ETSI, 2002). Th is system d oes n ot
o n ly u se sep arat e freq u en cies b u t o ffers m an y a d d it io n al services w h ich are
u n availab le u sin g t h e p u blic GSM syst em . GSM-R o ffers 19 exclu sive ch an n els
for railro ad o p erato rs for voice an d d at a traffic (see sect io n 4.1.3 fo r m ore in for-
m at ion abou t ch an n els). Sp ecial feat u res of th is system are, e.g., em ergen cy calls
wit h ackn o wled gem en t s, vo ice gro u p call service (VGCS), vo ice b ro ad cast ser-
vice (VBS). Th ese so-called ad van ced sp eech call item s (ASCI) resem ble feat u res
typ ically available in tru n ked rad io syst em s o n ly (see section 4.3). Calls are p ri-
o rit ized : h igh p rio rit y calls p re-em p t lo w p rio rit y calls. Calls h ave very sh o rt
set -u p tim es: em ergen cy calls less th an 2 s, grou p calls less t h an 5 s. Calls can be
d irect ed fo r exam p le, t o all u sers at a cert ain lo catio n , all u sers with a cert ain
fu n ct io n , or all u sers wit h in a certain n u m ber sp ace. However, th e m ost so p h is-
ticated u se of GSM-R is th e con t ro l o f t rain s, switch es, gates, an d sign als. Train s
go in g n o t fa st er t h a n 1 6 0 km / h ca n co n t ro l all gat es, sw it ch es, a n d sign als
th em selves. If t h e train go es faster th an 160 km / h (m an y t rain s are alread y cap -
able of goin g faster th an 300 km / h ) GSM-R can still be u sed to m ain t ain co n tro l.
Th e fo llo win g sect ion d escrib es t h e arch itectu re, services, an d p ro to co ls o f
GSM th at are co m m o n to all th ree m ajor so lu tio n s, GSM 9 00 , GSM 1 8 00 , an d
GSM 19 00 . GSM h as m ain ly been d esign ed for th is an d voice services an d th is
st ill co n st it u t es t h e m ain u se o f GSM syst em s. Ho wever, o n e can fo resee t h at
m an y fu t u re ap p licat io n s fo r m o b ile co m m u n icat io n s will b e d at a d riven . Th e
relat io n sh ip o f d ata to vo ice traffic will sh ift m o re an d m ore toward s d at a.
98 Mobile communicat ions

4.1.1 Mobile services

GSM p erm its t h e in tegratio n o f d ifferen t vo ice an d d at a services an d th e in ter-
w o rkin g wit h exist in g n et wo rks. Services m ake a n et w o rk in t erest in g fo r
cu sto m ers. GSM h as d efin ed t h ree d ifferen t cat ego ries o f services: b earer, t ele,
an d su p p lem en t ary services. Th ese are d escrib ed in t h e fo llo win g su b sect io n s.
Figu re 4.3 sh o ws a referen ce m o d el fo r GSM services. A m o b ile st a t io n M S is
con n ected to th e GSM p u b lic la n d m o b ile n et w o rk (PLMN) via th e U m in t er-
face. (GSM-PLM N is t h e in frast ru ct u re n eed ed fo r t h e GSM n et wo rk.) Th is
n etwo rk is co n n ect ed t o t ran sit n etwo rks, e.g., in t egra t ed ser v ices d igit a l n et -
w o rk (ISDN) o r trad ition al p u b lic sw it ch ed t elep h o n e n et w o rk (PSTN). Th ere
m igh t be an ad d ition al n etwork, th e sou rce/ d estin ation n etwork, before an oth er
t erm in a l TE is con n ected . Bea rer ser vices n ow com p rise all services th at en able
th e tran sp aren t tran sm ission of d ata between th e in terfaces to t h e n etwork, i.e., S
in case of th e m obile stat ion , an d a sim ilar in terface for th e oth er term in al (e.g.,
S0 for ISDN term in als). In terfaces like U, S, an d R in case of ISDN h ave n ot been
d efin ed for all n etworks, so it d ep en d s on th e sp ecific n etwork wh ich in t erface is
u sed as a referen ce for th e tran sp aren t tran sm ission of d at a. In t h e classical GSM
m od el, bearer services are co n n ect io n -o rien t ed an d circu it- o r p acket-swit ch ed .
Th ese services on ly n eed th e lo wer th ree layers of th e ISO/ OSI referen ce m od el.
W it h in th e m o b ile statio n MS, th e m o b ile t er m in a t io n (M T) p erfo rm s all
n et wo rk sp ecific t asks (TDMA, FDMA, co d in g et c.) an d o ffers an in t erface fo r
d at a t ran sm issio n (S) t o t h e t erm in al TE wh ich can t h en b e n etwo rk in d ep en -
d en t . Dep en d in g o n t h e cap ab ilit ies o f TE, fu rt h er in t erfaces m ay b e n eed ed ,
su ch as R, acco rd in g to th e ISDN referen ce m o d el (Halsall, 1996). Tele ser v ices
are ap p licatio n sp ecific an d m ay t h u s n eed all seven layers o f th e ISO/ OSI refer-
en ce m o d el. Th ese services are sp ecified en d -t o-en d , i.e., fro m o n e t erm in al TE
to an o th er.

4.1.1.1 Bearer services

G SM sp ecifies d ifferen t m ech an ism s fo r d at a t ran sm issio n , t h e o rigin al GSM
allowin g for d ata rates of u p t o 9600 bit / s for n on -voice services. Bearer services
p erm it t ran sp aren t an d n o n -t ran sp aren t , syn ch ro n o u s o r asyn ch ro n o u s d at a
tran sm ission . Tra n sp a ren t b ea rer ser v ices o n ly u se t h e fu n ction s o f th e p h ysi-
cal layer (layer 1) to tran sm it d ata. Data tran sm issio n h as a co n stan t d elay an d
t h ro u gh p u t if n o t ran sm issio n erro rs o ccu r. Th e o n ly m ech an ism t o in crease

Figure 4.3 Bearer services

Bearer and tele
MS
services reference Transit Source/
model TE MT GSM-PLMN network destination TE
R, S Um (PSTN, ISDN) network (U, S, R)

Tele services
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 99

tran sm ission q u ality is th e u se o f fo r w a rd erro r co r rect io n (FEC), wh ich co d es

red u n d an cy in t o t h e d at a stream an d h elp s t o reco n st ru ct th e o rigin al d at a in
case o f t ra n sm issio n erro rs. Dep en d in g o n t h e FEC, d at a rat es o f 2 .4 , 4 .8 , o r
9.6 kbit/ s are p ossible. Tran sp aren t bearer services d o n ot try to recover lost d at a
in case o f, for exam p le, sh adowin g or in terru p tion s d u e t o h an d over.
No n -t r a n sp a ren t b ea r er ser v ices u se p ro t o co ls o f layers t wo an d th ree t o
im p lem en t error correction an d flo w con t ro l. Th ese services u se t h e tran sp aren t
b earer services, ad d in g a r a d io lin k p r o t o c o l (RLP). Th is p ro t o co l co m p rises
m ech an ism s o f h igh -lev el d a t a lin k co n t r o l (H DLC), (Halsall, 1996) an d sp e-
cial selective-reject m ech an ism s to trigger retran sm ission of erro n eo u s d at a. Th e
ach ieved bit error rate is less th an 10 –7 , bu t n o w th rou gh p u t an d d elay m ay vary
d ep en d in g on tran sm ission q u ality.
Usin g t ran sp a ren t an d n o n -t ran sp aren t services, G SM sp ecifies several
b earer services fo r in terwo rkin g wit h PSTN, ISDN, an d p acket switch ed p u b lic
d ata n et works (PSPDN) like X.25, wh ich is available wo rld wid e. Data tran sm is-
sio n ca n b e fu ll-d u p lex , syn ch ro n o u s w it h d at a rat es o f 1 .2 , 2 .4 , 4 .8 , an d
9.6 kb it / s o r fu ll-d u p lex, asyn ch ro n o u s fro m 300 t o 9,600 b it / s (ETSI, 1991a).
Clearly, th ese relat ively low d ata rat es reflect th e assu m p t ion th at d ata services
w ill o n ly co n st it u t e so m e sm a ll p ercen t age o f t h e o verall t raffic. W h ile t h is
is st ill t ru e o f GSM n et w o rks t o d ay, t h e relat io n o f d at a an d vo ice services is
ch an gin g, wit h d at a b eco m in g m o re an d m o re im p o rt an t . Th is d evelo p m en t
is also reflected in th e n ew data services (see sectio n 4.1.8).

4.1.1.2 Tele services

GSM m ain ly fo cu ses o n vo ice-o rien t ed tele services. Th ese co m p rise en cryp ted
voice tran sm issio n , m essage services, an d basic d ata com m u n icatio n wit h term i-
n als as kn o wn from t h e PSTN o r ISDN (e.g., fax). Ho wever, as t h e m ain service is
t elep h o n y , t h e p rim ary go al o f GSM was t h e p ro visio n o f h igh -q u ality d igit al
voice tran sm issio n , o fferin g at least th e typ ical ban d wid th o f 3.1 kHz o f an alo g
p h on e system s. Sp ecial co d ecs (co d er/ d eco d er) are u sed for vo ice tran sm issio n ,
wh ile oth er co d ecs are u sed for t h e t ran sm issio n of an alog d ata fo r co m m u n ica-
tio n with trad it ion al co m p u ter m od em s u sed in , e.g., fax m ach in es.
An o t h er service o ffered b y G SM is t h e em er g e n cy n u m b e r . Th e sam e
n u m b er can b e u sed t h ro u gh o u t Eu ro p e. Th is service is m an d at o ry fo r all
p ro vid ers a n d free o f ch arge. Th is co n n ect io n a lso h as t h e h igh est p rio rit y,
p o ssib ly p re-em p tin g o th er con n ect io n s, an d will au to m atically be set u p with
th e closest em ergen cy cen ter.
A u sefu l service for very sim p le m essage tran sfer is th e sh o r t m essa ge ser-
v ice (SM S), wh ich offers t ran sm issio n of m essages of u p t o 160 ch aracters. SMS
m essages d o n o t u se t h e st an d ard d at a ch an n els o f G SM b u t ex p lo it u n u sed
cap acit y in th e sign allin g ch an n els (see sectio n 4.1.3.1). Sen d in g an d receivin g
of SMS is p ossible d u rin g d ata o r voice tran sm issio n . SMS was in t h e GSM stan -
d ard fro m t h e b egin n in g; h o w ever, alm o st n o o n e u sed it u n t il m illio n s o f
yo u n g p eo p le d isco vered t h is service in t h e m id -n in et ies as a fu n service. SMS
100 Mobile communicat ions

can be u sed fo r “seriou s” ap plication s su ch as d isp layin g ro ad co n d ition s, e-m ail

h ead ers o r st o ck q u o t es, b u t it can also t ran sferr lo go s, rin g t o n es, h o ro sco p es
an d lo ve let t ers. To d ay m o re t h an 3 0 b illio n sh o rt m essages are t ran sferred
wo rld wid e p er m o n th ! SMS is big bu sin ess to d ay, n o t o n ly fo r th e n etwork o p er-
at o rs, b u t also fo r m an y co n t en t p ro vid ers. It sh o u ld b e n o t ed t h at SMS is
typ ically th e on ly way to reach a m o bile p h on e from with in th e n et work. Th u s,
SMS is u sed fo r u p d atin g m o bile p h o n e so ftware or fo r im p lem en tin g so -called
p u sh services (see ch ap ter 10).
Th e su ccesso r of SMS, th e en h a n ced m essa ge service (EM S), offers a larger
m essage size (e.g., 760 ch aract ers, co n cat en at in g several SM s), form at t ed t ext ,
an d t h e t ran sm issio n o f an im at ed p ict u res, sm all im ages an d rin g t o n es in a
st an d ard ized way (so m e ven d o rs o ffered sim ilar p ro p riet ary feat u res b efo re).
EMS n ever really to ok off as th e m u lt im ed ia m essa ge ser vice (MM S) was avail-
ab le. (No kia n ever liked EM S b u t p u sh ed Sm a rt M essagin g, a p ro p riet ary
system .) MMS o ffers th e tran sm ission of larger p ictu res (GIF, JPG, W BMP), sh o rt
vid eo clip s et c. an d co m es wit h m o b ile p h o n es t h at in t egrat e sm all cam eras.
MMS is fu rth er d iscu ssed in th e con text of WAP in ch ap t er 10.
An oth er n on -voice tele service is gro u p 3 fa x , wh ich is available wo rld wid e.
In th is service, fax d ata is t ran sm itted as d igit al d ata o ver th e an alog t elep h on e
n etwo rk acco rd in g to th e ITU-T stan d ard s T.4 an d T.30 u sin g m od em s. Typ ically,
a tran sp aren t fax service is u sed , i.e., fax d at a an d fax sign alin g is t ran sm it t ed
u sin g a t ran sp aren t b earer service. Lo wer t ran sm issio n q u alit y cau ses an au to -
m at ic ad ap t at io n o f t h e b earer service t o lo wer d at a rat es an d h igh er
red u n d an cy fo r better FEC.

4.1.1.3 Supplement ary services

In ad d ition to tele an d bearer services, GSM p rovid ers can o ffer su p p lem en t a r y
ser v ices. Sim ilar t o ISDN n et wo rks, t h ese services o ffer vario u s en h an cem en t s
fo r t h e st an d ard t elep h o n y service, an d m ay vary fro m p ro vid er t o p ro vid er.
Typ ica l services are u ser id e n t ifi c a t i o n , call r e d ir ec t io n , o r fo r w a r d in g o f
o n go in g calls. St an d ard ISDN featu res su ch as clo sed u ser g r o u p s an d m u lt i-
p a r t y co m m u n ica t io n m a y b e a vailab le. C lo sed u ser gro u p s a re o f sp ecial
in terest to com p an ies becau se th ey allo w, for exam p le, a com p an y-sp ecific GSM
su b-n etwork, to wh ich on ly m em b ers of th e grou p h ave access.

4.1.2 System archit ect ure

As wit h all system s in th e t eleco m m u n icatio n area, GSM co m es with a h ierar-
ch ical, co m p lex syst em arch it ect u re co m p risin g m an y en t ities, in terfaces, an d
acro n ym s. Figu re 4.4 gives a sim p lified o verview o f th e GSM syst em as sp ecified
in ETSI (1 9 9 1 b ). A GSM syst em co n sist s o f t h ree su b syst em s, t h e r a d i o su b
syst em (RSS), th e n et w o rk a n d sw it ch in g su b sy st em (NSS), an d th e o p era t io n
su b sy st em (OSS). Each su bsyst em will be d iscu ssed in m ore d etail in th e fo llo w-
in g sect io n s. Gen erally, a GSM cu st o m er o n ly n o t ices a very sm all fractio n o f
th e wh o le n etwo rk – th e m o b ile st at io n s (MS) an d so m e an t en n a m ast s o f th e
base t ran sceiver statio n s (BTS).
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 101

Figure 4.4
Functional architecture
of a GSM system

radio cell
BSS
MS MS

Um radio cell

BTS MS
RSS

BTS

Abis

BSC BSC

MSC MSC

NSS VLR signaling

VLR
ISDN, PSTN
HLR GMSC
PDN
IWF
O

OSS AUC OMC

EIR

4.1.2.1 Radio subsyst em

As t h e n am e im p lies, t h e r a d io su b sy st em (RSS) co m p rises all rad io sp ecific
en t ities, i.e., t h e m o b ile st a t io n s (MS) an d t h e b a se st a t io n su b sy st em (BSS).
Figu re 4.4 sh o ws th e con n ectio n b et ween th e RSS an d th e NSS via th e A in t er-
fa ce (so lid lin es) an d t h e co n n ect io n t o t h e O SS via t h e O in t er fa ce (d ash ed
lin es). Th e A in t erface is t yp ically b ased o n circu it -swit ch ed PCM -3 0 syst em s
(2.048 Mbit/ s), carryin g u p to 30 64 kbit/ s con n ection s, wh ereas th e O in t erface
u ses th e Sign allin g System No. 7 (SS7) based o n X.25 carryin g m an agem en t d ata
to/ fro m th e RSS.
102 Mobile communicat ions

● Ba se st a t io n su b sy st em (BSS): A GSM n etwo rk com p rises m an y BSSs, each

co n tro lled by a base statio n co n troller (BSC). Th e BSS p erform s all fu n ction s
n ecessary t o m ain t a in rad io co n n ect io n s t o an M S, co d in g/ d eco d in g o f
vo ice, an d rate ad ap t at io n to/ from th e wireless n etwork p art. Besid es a BSC,
th e BSS con tain s several BTSs.
● Ba se t r a n sceiv er st a t io n (BTS): A BTS co m p rises all rad io eq u ip m en t , i.e.,
an t en n as, sign al p ro cessin g, am p lifiers n ecessary fo r rad io t ran sm issio n . A
BTS can form a radio cell or, u sin g sectorized an ten n as, several cells (see sec-
tion 2.8), an d is con n ected to MS via th e U m in t erface (ISDN U in terface for
m obile u se), an d to th e BSC via th e Ab is in t erface. Th e U m in terface con tain s
all t h e m ech an ism s n ecessary for wireless tran sm issio n (TDMA, FDMA etc.)
an d will be d iscu ssed in m ore detail below. Th e Abis in terface con sists of 16 or
6 4 kb it / s co n n ect io n s. A GSM cell can m easu re b et ween so m e 100 m an d
3 5 km d ep en d in g o n th e en viro n m en t (b u ild in gs, o p en sp ace, m o u n t ain s
et c.) bu t also exp ected traffic.
● Ba se st a t io n c o n t r o l le r (BSC): Th e BSC b a sically m a n ages t h e BTSs. It
reserves rad io freq u en cies, h an d les t h e h an d o ver fro m o n e BTS to an ot h er
w ith in t h e BSS, an d p erfo rm s p agin g o f t h e MS. Th e BSC also m u lt ip lexes
th e rad io ch an n els on to th e fixed n etwork con n ection s at th e A in terface.

Table 4.1 gives an o verview of th e tasks assign ed to t h e BSC an d BTS o r of t asks

in wh ich th ese en tities su p p ort o th er en tities in th e n etwork.

● M o b ile st a t io n (M S): Th e MS co m p rises all u ser eq u ip m en t an d so ft ware

n eed ed fo r co m m u n icat io n wit h a GSM n et w o rk. An MS co n sist s o f u ser
in d ep en d en t h ard - an d so ft ware an d o f t h e su b sc r ib er id en t it y m o d u le
(SIM), wh ich stores all u ser-sp ecific d ata th at is relevan t to GSM. 3 W h ile an
M S can b e id en t ified via t h e in t er n a t io n a l m o b ile e q u ip m en t id en t it y
(IMEI), a u ser can p erson alize an y MS u sin g h is or h er SIM, i.e., u ser-sp ecific
m ech an ism s like ch argin g an d au t h en tication are based on th e SIM, n ot on
th e d evice itself. Device-sp ecific m ech an ism s, e.g., th eft p ro tect io n , u se t h e
d evice sp ecific IMEI. With ou t th e SIM, on ly em ergen cy calls are possible. Th e
SIM card co n t ain s m an y id en t ifiers an d t ab les, su ch as card -t yp e, serial
n u m ber, a list o f su b scrib ed services, a p erso n a l id en t it y n u m b er (PIN), a
P IN u n b lo ck in g k ey (PUK), an a u t h en t ica t io n k ey Ki , an d t h e in t er -
n a t io n a l m o b ile su b scrib er id en t it y (IMSI) (ETSI, 1991c). Th e PIN is u sed to
u n lo ck th e MS. Usin g th e wron g PIN th ree tim es will lock t h e SIM. In su ch
cases, th e PUK is n eeded to u n lock th e SIM. Th e MS stores d yn am ic in form a-
tion wh ile logged on to th e GSM system , su ch as, e.g., th e cip h er k ey Kc an d
th e location in form ation con sistin g of a tem p o ra ry m o b ile su b scrib er id en -
t it y (TMSI) an d th e lo ca t io n area id en t ifi cat io n (LAI). Typ ical MSs for GSM
9 0 0 h ave a t ran sm it p o wer o f u p t o 2 W, wh ereas fo r G SM 1 8 00 1 W is
en o u gh d u e to th e sm aller cell size. Ap art fro m t h e t elep h on e in terface, an

3 Man y ad d ition al it em s can be sto red o n t h e m ob ile d evice. However, t h is is irrelevan t to GSM .
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 103

Table 4.1 Tasks of

Funct ion BTS BSC the BTS and BSC
within a BSS
Management of radio channels X
Frequency hopping X X
Management of terrestrial channels X
Mapping of terrestrial onto radio channels X
Channel coding and decoding X
Rate adaptation X
Encryption and decryption X X
Paging X X
Uplink signal measurement X
Traffic measurement X
Authentication X
Location registry, location update X
Handover management X

MS can also offer oth er typ es of in terfaces to u sers with d isp lay, lou d sp eaker,
m icrop h on e, an d p rogram m able soft keys. Fu rth er in terfaces com p rise co m -
p u t er m o d em s, IrDA, o r Blu et o o t h . Typ ical MSs, e.g., m o b ile p h o n es,
co m p rise m an y m o re ven d o r-sp ecific fu n ct io n s an d co m p o n en t s, su ch as
cam eras, fin gerp rin t sen sors, calen d ars, ad d ress bo oks, gam es, an d In t ern et
bro wsers. Person al d igit al assistan t s (PDA) wit h m obile p h on e fu n ction s are
also availab le. Th e read er sh o u ld b e aware t h at an M S co u ld also b e in t e-
grated in to a car o r be u sed for location trackin g of a con tain er.

4.1.2.2 Net work and swit ching subsyst em

Th e “h eart” o f t h e GSM system is form ed by th e n et w o rk a n d sw it ch in g su b -
sy st em (NSS). Th e N SS co n n ect s t h e wireless n et w o rk w it h st an d ard p u b lic
n et wo rks, p erfo rm s h an d o vers b et ween d ifferen t BSSs, co m p rises fu n ctio n s fo r
wo rld wid e lo calizatio n o f u sers an d su p p ort s ch argin g, accou n tin g, an d roam in g
o f u sers b etween d ifferen t p ro vid ers in d ifferen t co u n tries. Th e NSS co n sist s of
th e followin g swit ch es an d d at abases:

● Mo b ile serv ices sw it ch in g cen t er (MSC): MSCs are h igh -p erform an ce d igi-
tal ISDN switch es. Th ey set u p con n ection s to o th er MSCs an d t o th e BSCs
via th e A in terface, an d form th e fixed backbon e n etwork of a GSM system .
Typ ically, an MSC m an ages several BSCs in a geograp h ical region . A ga t ew a y
M SC (GM SC) h as ad d itio n al co n n ect io n s t o o t h er fixed n etwo rks, su ch as
PSTN an d ISDN. Usin g ad d ition al in t er w o rk in g fu n ct io n s (IW F), an MSC
104 Mobile communicat ions

can also co n n ect t o p u b li c d a t a n et w o r k s (PDN ) su ch as X.2 5 . An M SC

h an d les all sign alin g n eed ed fo r co n n ectio n set u p , co n n ectio n release an d
h an d o ver o f co n n ect io n s t o o t h er MSCs. Th e st a n d a r d sign a lin g sy st em
No . 7 (SS7) is u sed fo r th is p u rp ose. SS7 covers all asp ects of con trol sign al-
in g fo r d igit al n etworks (reliable ro u t in g an d d elivery o f co n t ro l m essages,
establish in g an d m on itorin g of calls). Featu res of SS7 are n u m ber p ortability,
free p h on e/ t oll/ collect/ cred it calls, call forward in g, th ree-way callin g et c. An
M SC also p erform s all fu n ctio n s n eed ed for su p p lem en tary services su ch as
call forward in g, m u lt i-p art y calls, reverse ch argin g et c.
● H o m e loca tio n regist er (HLR): Th e HLR is th e m ost im portan t database in a
GSM system as it sto res all u ser-relevan t in fo rm atio n . Th is co m p rises stat ic
in form atio n , su ch as th e m o b ile su b scrib er ISDN n u m b er (M SISDN), su b-
scribed services (e.g., call forward in g, ro am in g restrict io n s, GPRS), an d t h e
in t er n a t io n a l m o b ile su b scr ib er id en t it y (IMSI). Dyn am ic in fo rm at ion is
also n eed ed , e.g., th e cu rren t lo ca t io n area (LA) of th e MS, th e m o b ile su b -
scrib er ro am in g n u m b er (MSRN), th e cu rren t VLR an d MSC. As soon as an
MS leaves its cu rren t LA, th e in form ation in th e HLR is u pdated . Th is in form a-
tion is n ecessary t o localize a u ser in th e world wid e GSM n etwo rk. All t h ese
u ser-sp ecific in form ation elem en t s on ly exist o n ce fo r each u ser in a sin gle
HLR, wh ich also su p p o rt s ch argin g an d acco u n tin g. Th e p aram eters will b e
exp lain ed in m o re d etail in section 4.1.5. HLRs can m an age d at a fo r several
m illion cu stom ers an d con tain h igh ly sp ecialized data bases wh ich m u st fulfill
certain real-tim e req uirem en ts to an swer requ ests with in certain tim e-boun ds.
● Vi sit o r lo c a t io n r e g ist e r (VLR): Th e VLR asso cia t ed t o ea ch M SC is a
d yn am ic d at ab ase wh ich st o res all im p o rt an t in fo rm at io n n eed ed fo r t h e
M S u sers cu rren t ly in t h e LA t h at is asso ciat ed t o t h e M SC (e.g., IM SI,
M SISDN, HLR ad d ress). If a n ew MS co m es in to an LA t h e VLR is resp o n s-
ib le fo r, it co p ies all relevan t in fo rm at io n fo r th is u ser fro m t h e HLR. Th is
h ierarch y o f VLR an d HLR avo id s freq u en t HLR u p d ates an d lo n g-d istan ce
sign alin g o f u ser in fo rm at io n . Th e t yp ica l u se o f HLR a n d VLR fo r u ser
lo calization will b e d escribed in sectio n 4.1.5. So m e VLRs in exist en ce, are
cap able of m an agin g u p t o on e m illio n cu sto m ers.

4.1.2.3 Operat ion subsyst em

Th e t h ird p art o f a GSM system , t h e o p er a t io n su b sy st em (O SS), co n t ain s t h e
n ecessary fu n ct io n s fo r n etwo rk o p erat ion an d m ain ten an ce. Th e OSS p o ssesses
n et w o rk en t it ies o f it s o w n an d accesses o t h er en t it ies via SS7 sign alin g (see
Figu re 4.4). Th e followin g en tit ies h ave been d efin ed :

● O p era t io n a n d m a in t en a n ce cen t er (OM C): Th e OMC m on it ors an d con -

trols all o th er n etwo rk en tities via th e O in terface (SS7 with X.25). Typ ical
O M C m an agem en t fu n ct io n s are t raffic m o n it o rin g, st at u s rep o rt s o f n et -
w o rk en t it ies, su b scrib er an d secu rit y m a n agem en t , o r acco u n t in g an d
b illin g. OMCs u se t h e co n cep t o f t eleco m m u n ica t io n m a n a gem en t n et -
w o rk (TMN) as stan d ard ized by t h e ITU-T.
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 105

● Au t h en t ica t io n cen t r e (Au C): As th e rad io in t erface an d m o b ile st at io n s

are p articu larly vu ln erable, a sep arate Au C h as b een d efin ed t o p rot ect u ser
id en t it y a n d d a t a t ran sm issio n . Th e Au C co n t a in s t h e algo rit h m s fo r
au t h en ticatio n as well as t h e keys fo r en cryp t ion an d gen erates th e valu es
n eed ed fo r u ser au t h en t icat io n in th e HLR. Th e Au C m ay, in fact, b e sit u -
ated in a sp ecial p rotected p art of th e HLR.
● Eq u ip m en t id en t it y regist er (EIR): Th e EIR is a d atabase fo r all IMEIs, i.e.,
it st o res all d evice id en t ificat io n s regist ered fo r t h is n et w o rk. As M Ss are
m o b ile, t h ey can b e easily st o len . With a valid SIM, an yo n e co u ld u se t h e
st olen MS. Th e EIR h as a blacklist o f sto len (o r lo cked ) d evices. In th eory an
MS is u seless as so on as th e o wn er h as rep o rted a th eft. Un fortu n at ely, t h e
blacklists of d ifferen t p ro viders are n o t u su ally syn ch ron ized an d th e illegal
u se o f a d evice in an o t h er o p erat o r’s n et wo rk is p o ssib le (t h e read er m ay
sp ecu lat e as t o wh y t h is is t h e case). Th e EIR also co n t ain s a list o f valid
IMEIs (wh ite list), an d a list of m alfu n ctio n in g d evices (gray list ).

4.1.3 Radio int erface

Th e m o st in terestin g in terface in a GSM system is U m , th e rad io in terface, as it
co m p rises m an y m ech an ism s p resen t ed in ch ap t ers 2 an d 3 fo r m u lt ip lex in g
an d m ed ia access. GSM im p lem en ts SDMA u sin g cells with BTS an d assign s an
M S t o a BTS. Fu rt h e rm o re, FD D is u sed t o sep a rat e d o w n lin k an d u p lin k as
sh own in Figu res 3.3 an d 4.5. Med ia access com bin es TDMA an d FDMA. In GSM
900, 124 ch an n els, each 200 kHz wid e, are u sed fo r FDMA, wh ereas GSM 1800
u ses, 374 ch an n els. Du e t o t ech n ical reaso n s, ch an n els 1 an d 124 are n o t u sed
fo r tran sm issio n in G SM 900. Typ ically, 32 ch an n els are reserved fo r o rgan iza-
tion al d ata; th e rem ain in g 90 are u sed for cu stom ers. Each BTS th en m an ages a
sin gle ch an n el fo r organ izat io n al d ata an d , e.g., u p to 10 ch an n els for u ser d at a.
Th e fo llo win g exam p le is b ased o n t h e GSM 900 syst em , b u t GSM wo rks in a
sim ilar way at 1800 an d 1900 MHz.
W h ile Figu re 3.3 in ch ap t er 3 h as alread y sh o wn th e FDM in GSM, Figu re
4.5 also sh o ws th e TDM u sed . Each o f th e 248 ch an n els is ad d it io n ally sep arated
in tim e via a GSM TDM A fr a m e, i.e., each 200 kHz carrier is su b d ivid ed in t o
fram es t h at are rep eat ed co n tin u o u sly. Th e d u rat io n o f a fram e is 4.615 m s. A
fram e is again su bd ivid ed in to 8 GSM t im e slo t s, wh ere each slo t rep resen ts a
p h ysical TDM ch an n el an d last s fo r 5 7 7 µs. Each TDM ch an n el o ccu p ies t h e
200 kHz carrier fo r 577 µs every 4.615 m s.
Data is t ran sm it t ed in sm all p o rt io n s, called b u rst s. Figu re 4.5 sh o ws a so -
called n o r m a l b u r st as u sed fo r d at a t ran sm issio n in sid e a t im e slo t (u ser an d
sign alin g d ata). In t h e d iagram , th e bu rst is on ly 546.5 µs lon g an d con t ain s 148
bits. Th e rem ain in g 30.5 µs are u sed as gu a rd sp a ce to avo id o verlap p in g with
oth er bu rsts d u e t o d ifferen t p at h d elays an d t o give t h e tran sm itter tim e to tu rn
o n a n d o ff. Fillin g t h e wh o le slo t w it h d a t a allo w s fo r t h e t ran sm issio n o f
106 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 4.5
GSM TDMA frame,
slots, and bursts 935-960 MHz
124 channels (200 kHz)
downlink

cy
en
qu
890-915 MHz

fre
124 channels (200 kHz)
uplink

higher GSM frame structures

time

GSM TDMA frame

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

4.615
ms
GSM time-slot (normal burst)

guard user user guard

tail S Training S tail
space data data space

3 bits 57 bits 1 26 bits 1 57 bits 3

546.5 µs
577 µs

1 56 .2 5 b it wit h in 5 77 µs. Each p h ysical TDM ch an n el h as a raw d at a rat e o f

abo u t 33.8 kbit/ s, each rad io carrier tran sm its ap p ro xim ately 270 kbit/ s o ver t h e
U m in t erface.
Th e first an d last th ree bits of a n orm al bu rst (t a il) are all set to 0 an d can be
u sed to en h an ce th e receiver p erform an ce. Th e t rain in g seq u en ce in th e m id d le
of a slot is u sed to ad ap t th e p aram et ers of th e receiver to th e cu rren t p ath p rop a-
gat io n ch aract erist ics an d t o select t h e st ro n gest sign al in case o f m u lt i-p at h
p ro p agatio n . A flag S in d icates wh eth er th e d at a field con t ain s u ser or n etwork
con tro l d ata. Ap art from th e n orm al bu rst, ETSI (1993a) d efin es fou r m ore bu rsts
for d ata tran sm ission : a freq u en cy co r rect io n bu rst allows t h e MS t o correct th e
local o scillator to avoid in terferen ce with n eigh borin g ch an n els, a syn ch ro n iza -
t io n b u r st with an ext en d ed t rain in g seq u en ce syn ch ro n izes th e M S wit h t h e
BTS in tim e, an access b u rst is u sed for t h e in itial con n ection setu p between MS
an d BTS, an d fin ally a d u m m y b u rst is u sed if n o d ata is available for a slot.
Two fact o rs allo w fo r t h e u se o f sim p le t ran sm it t er h ard ware: o n t h e o n e
h an d , t h e slo t s fo r u p lin k an d d o wn lin k o f a p h ysical TDM ch an n el are sep a-
rat ed in freq u en cy (45 MHz fo r GSM 900, 95 MHz fo r GSM 180 0 u sin g FDD).
On th e ot h er h an d , th e TDMA fram es are sh ifted in tim e for th ree slo ts, i.e., if
th e BTS sen d s d ata at tim e t 0 in slot on e o n t h e d o wn lin k, t h e MS accesses slo t
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 107

on e on th e u p lin k at tim e t 0 +3·577 µs. An MS d o es n ot n eed a fu ll-d u p lex tran s-

m it t er, a sim p ler h a lf-d u p lex t ra n sm it t er swit ch in g b et w een receivin g an d
sen d in g is en o u gh .
To avo id freq u en cy select ive fad in g, GSM sp ecifies an o p t io n al slo w fr e-
q u en cy h o p p in g m ech an ism . M S an d BTS m ay ch an ge t h e carrier freq u en cy
aft er each fram e b ased on a co m m on h op p in g seq u en ce. An MS ch an ges its fre-
q u en cy between u p an d d own lin k slo ts resp ectively.

4.1.3.1 Logical channels and frame hierarchy

W h ile th e p reviou s sectio n sh o wed t h e p h ysical sep aratio n of th e m ed iu m in to
8 *124 d u p lex ch an n els, th is section p resen ts logical ch an n els an d a h ierarch y o f
fram es based on th e co m b in at io n of th ese p h ysical ch an n els. A p h ysical ch an -
n el co n sist s o f a slo t , rep eat ed every 4 .61 5 m s. Th in k o f a lo gical ch an n el C 1
t h at o n ly t akes u p every fo u rt h slo t an d an o t h er lo gical ch an n el C 2 th at u ses
every o t h er slo t . Bo t h lo gical ch an n els co u ld u se t h e sam e p h ysical ch an n el
w it h t h e p at t ern C 1 C 2 x C 2 C 1 C 2 x C 2 C 1 et c. (Th e x in d icat es t h at t h e p h ysical
ch an n el st ill h as som e cap acity left.)
GSM sp ecifies two basic grou p s of lo gical ch an n els, i.e., traffic ch an n els an d
co n t rol ch an n els:4

● Tra ffi c ch a n n els (TCH ): GSM u ses a TCH to tran sm it u ser d ata (e.g., vo ice,
fax ). Two b asic cat ego ries o f TCHs h ave b een d efin ed , i.e., fu ll-r a t e TCH
(TCH/ F) an d h a lf-ra t e TCH (TCH/ H ). A TCH/ F h as a d ata rate of 22.8 kbit/ s,
wh ereas TCH/ H o n ly h as 11.4 kbit/ s. With t h e voice cod ecs available at th e
begin n in g of th e GSM stan dard ization , 13 kbit/ s were req u ired , wh ereas th e
rem ain in g cap acity o f t h e TCH/ F (22.8 kbit/ s) was u sed fo r erro r co rrectio n
(TCH / FS). Im p ro ved co d es allo w fo r b et t er vo ice co d in g an d can u se a
TCH/ H. Usin g t h ese TCH/ HSs d o u b les t h e cap acit y o f th e GSM syst em fo r
vo ice t ran sm issio n . Ho wever, sp eech q u alit y d ecreases w it h t h e u se o f
TCH/ HS an d m an y p ro vid ers try to avo id u sin g th em . Th e stan d ard cod ecs
for voice are called fu ll ra t e (FR, 13 kbit/ s) an d h alf ra t e (HR, 5.6 kbit/ s). A
n ewer cod ec, en h an ced fu ll ra t e (EFR), p rovides better voice q u ality th an FR
as lon g as th e tran sm ission error rate is low. Th e gen erated d ata rate is on ly
12.2 kbit/s. New cod ecs, wh ich au tom atically ch oose th e best m od e of op era-
t io n d ep en d in g o n t h e erro r rat e (AMR, ad ap t ive m u lt i-rat e), will b e u sed
toget h er with 3G system s. An ad d ition al in crease in voice q u ality is p rovid ed
by th e so-called t an d em free o p era t io n (TFO). Th is m od e can be u sed if two
M Ss ex ch an ge vo ice d at a. In t h is case, co d in g t o an d fro m PCM en co d ed
voice (st an d ard in ISDN) can be skip p ed an d th e GSM en co ded voice d ata is
d irectly exch an ged . Data tran sm issio n in GSM is p ossible at m an y d ifferen t
d at a rates, e.g., TCH / F4 .8 fo r 4.8 kb it / s, TCH / F9 .6 fo r 9.6 kbit / s, an d , as a
n ewer sp ecificatio n , TCH / F14.4 for 14.4 kbit/ s. Th ese logical ch an n els d iffer
in term s of t h eir cod in g sch em es an d error correction cap abilities.

4 Mo re in form ation abo u t ch an n els can be fo u n d in Goo d m an (1997) an d ETSI (1993a).

108 Mobile communicat ions

● Co n t ro l ch a n n els (CCH ): Man y d ifferen t CCHs are u sed in a GSM system

t o co n t ro l m ed iu m access, allo cat io n o f t raffic ch an n els o r m o b ility m an -
agem en t. Th ree gro u p s o f co n t ro l ch an n els h ave b een d efin ed , each again
w it h su b ch an n els (m a yb e yo u can im agin e w h y t h e in it ial sp ecificat io n
alread y n eed ed over 5,000 p ages):
● Bro a d ca st co n t ro l ch a n n el (BCCH ): A BTS u ses th is ch an n el to sign al
in fo rm at io n t o all MSs wit h in a cell. In fo rm at io n t ran sm it t ed in t h is
ch an n el is, e.g., th e cell id en tifier, op t ion s available wit h in th is cell (fre-
q u en cy h o p p in g), a n d freq u en cies availa b le in sid e t h e cell a n d in
n eigh b orin g cells. Th e BTS sen d s in form ation fo r freq u en cy co rrect io n
via t h e freq u en cy co r rect io n ch a n n el (FCCH ) an d in fo rm atio n abo u t
tim e syn ch ro n izat io n via th e syn ch ro n iza t io n ch a n n el (SCH ), wh ere
bot h ch an n els are su bch an n els o f th e BCCH.
● Co m m o n co n t ro l ch a n n el (CCCH ): All in form ation regardin g con n ec-
t io n set u p b et ween M S an d BS is ex ch an ged via t h e CCC H. Fo r calls
to ward an MS, th e BTS u ses t h e p a gin g ch a n n el (PCH ) for p agin g th e
ap p ro p riat e MS. If an M S w an t s t o set u p a call, it u ses t h e r a n d o m
a ccess ch an n el (RACH ) t o sen d dat a to th e BTS. Th e RACH im p lem en ts
m u ltip le access (all MSs with in a cell m ay access th is ch an n el) u sin g slot -
ted Aloh a. Th is is wh ere a collision m ay occu r with oth er MSs in a GSM
system . Th e BTS u ses th e a ccess gra n t ch a n n el (AGCH ) to sign al an MS
th at it can u se a TCH or SDCCH for fu rth er con n ection setu p .
● D e d ic a t ed c o n t r o l ch a n n el (D C C H ): W h ile t h e p revio u s ch an n els
h ave all been u n id irect io n al, th e fo llo win g ch an n els are bid irection al.
As lo n g as an MS h as n o t est ab lish ed a TCH wit h t h e BTS, it u ses t h e
st a n d -a lon e d ed ica t ed co n t ro l ch a n n el (SDCCH) wit h a low d ata rat e
(782 bit/ s) for sign alin g. Th is can com p rise au t h en tication , regist ratio n
or oth er d ata n eed ed for set tin g u p a TCH. Each TCH an d SDCCH h as a
slo w a sso cia t ed d ed ica t ed co n t ro l ch a n n el (SACCH ) asso ciated wit h
it, wh ich is u sed t o exch an ge system in fo rm ation , su ch as th e ch an n el
q u alit y an d sign al p o wer level. Fin ally, if m o re sign alin g in fo rm at io n
n eed s to be tran sm itted an d a TCH alread y exists, GSM u ses a fa st a sso -
cia t ed d ed ica t ed co n t ro l ch a n n el (FACCH ). Th e FACCH u ses t h e tim e
slo ts wh ich are oth erwise u sed by th e TCH. Th is is n ecessary in th e case
o f h an d o vers wh ere BTS an d MS h ave t o ex ch an ge larger am o u n t s o f
d ata in less tim e.

Ho wever, th ese ch an n els can n o t u se tim e slo ts arbit rarily – GSM sp ecifies a
very elab orate m u ltip lexin g sch em e t h at in tegrates several h ierarch ies of fram es.
If we t ake a sim p le TCH/ F fo r u ser d at a tran sm issio n , each TCH/ F will h ave an
asso ciat ed SACCH fo r slo w sign alin g. If fast sign alin g is req u ired , t h e FACCH
u ses t h e tim e slots fo r th e TCH/ F. A t yp ical u sage p attern of a p h ysical ch an n el
fo r d at a tran sm issio n n o w lo o ks like t h is (wit h T in d icat in g t h e u ser t raffic in
th e TCH/ F an d S in d icat in g t h e sign allin g t raffic in th e SACCH):
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 109

TTTTTTTTTTTTSTTTTTTTTTTTTx
TTTTTTTTTTTTSTTTTTTTTTTTTx

Twelve slots with u ser d ata are followed by a sign allin g slot. Again 12 slots with
u ser data follow, th en an u n u sed slot . Th is p attern of 26 slots is rep eated over an d
over again . In th is case, on ly 24 ou t of 26 p h ysical slots are u sed for th e TCH/ F.
Now recall th at each n orm al bu rst u sed for data tran sm ission carries 114 bit u ser
d ata an d is rep eat ed every 4.615 m s. Th is resu lts in a d ata rate of 24.7 kbit/s. As
th e TCH/F on ly u ses 24/ 26 of th e slots, th e fin al d ata rate is 22.8 kbit/ s as sp eci-
fied for th e TCH/ F. Th e SACCH th u s h as a cap acity of 950 bit/s.
Th is p eriod ic p att ern o f 26 slots occu rs in all TDMA fram es wit h a TCH. Th e
com bin ation of th ese fram es is called traffi c m u ltifram e. Figure 4.6 sh ows th e logi-
cal co m b in at io n of 26 fram es (TDMA fram es wit h a d u rat ion of 4.615 m s) t o a
m u lt ifram e wit h a du ration of 120 m s. Th is t yp e of m u lt ifram e is u sed for TCHs,
SACCHs for TCHs, an d FACCHs. As t h ese logical ch an n els are all associat ed with
user traffic, th e m ultifram e is called traffic m ultifram e. TDMA fram es con tain in g (sig-
n alin g) data for th e oth er logical ch an n els are com bin ed to a con t rol m u lt ifram e.
Con trol m ultifram es con sist of 51 TDMA fram es an d h ave a duration of 235.4 m s.

Figure 4.6
hyperframe
GSM structuring of
0 1 2 ... 2,045 2,046 2,047 3 h 28 min 53.76 s time using a frame
hierarchy

superframe

0 1 2 ... 48 49 50
6.12 s
0 1 ... 24 25

multiframe

0 1 ... 24 25 120 ms

0 1 2 ... 48 49 50 235.4 ms

frame

0 1 ... 6 7 4.615 ms

slot

burst 577 µs
110 Mobile communicat ions

Th is lo gical fram e h ierarch y con tin u es, co m bin in g 26 m u ltifram es with 51

fram es o r 51 m u lt ifram es wit h 2 6 fram es t o fo rm a su p er fr a m e. 2,04 8 su p er-
fra m es b u ild a h y p e r fr a m e wit h a d u rat io n o f alm o st 3 .5 h o u rs. Alt o get h er,
2 ,7 1 5 ,6 4 8 TDM A fram es fo rm a h yp erfra m e. Th is large lo gica l st ru ct u re is
n eed ed fo r en cryp t ion – GSM co u n ts each TDMA fram e, with th e fram e n u m ber
fo rm in g in p u t fo r t h e en cryp t io n algo rit h m . Th e fram e n u m b er p lu s t h e slo t
n u m b er u n iq u ely id en t ify each tim e slot in GSM.

4.1.4 Protocols
Figu re 4 .7 sh o w s t h e p ro t o co l arch it ect u re o f G SM wit h sign alin g p ro t o co ls,
in terfaces, as well as t h e en tities alread y sh o wn in Figu re 4.4. Th e m ain in t erest
lies in t h e U m in t erface, as th e ot h er in terfaces o ccu r b etween en t it ies in a fixed
n et wo rk. La y er 1 , th e p h ysical layer, h an d les all r a d io -sp ecific fu n ct io n s. Th is
in clu d es t h e creat io n o f b u rst s acco rd in g t o t h e five d ifferen t fo rm at s, m u lt i-
p lex in g o f bu rsts in t o a TDMA fram e, sy n ch ro n iza t io n with th e BTS, d et ection
o f id le ch an n els, an d m easu rem en t o f t h e ch a n n el q u a lit y o n t h e d o wn lin k.
Th e p h ysica l la yer at U m u ses GM SK fo r d igit al m o d u la t i o n a n d p erfo rm s
en cr y p t io n / d ecr y p t io n o f d at a, i.e., en cryp t io n is n o t p erfo rm ed en d -t o -en d ,
bu t o n ly between MS an d BSS o ver th e air in terface.
Syn ch ro n izat io n also in clu d es t h e co rrect io n of t h e in d ivid u al p at h d elay
between an MS an d th e BTS. All MSs with in a cell u se th e sam e BTS an d th u s m u st
be syn ch ron ized to th is BTS. Th e BTS gen erates th e tim e-stru ctu re of fram es, slots
etc. A p roblem atic asp ect in th is con text are th e d ifferen t rou n d trip tim es (RTT).
An MS close to th e BTS h as a very sh ort RTT, wh ereas an MS 35 km away alread y
exh ibits an RTT of arou n d 0.23 m s. If th e MS far away u sed th e slot stru ctu re with -

Figure 4.7 Um Abis A

Protocol architecture
MS BTS BSC MSC
for signaling
CM CM

MM MM

BSSAP
RR BSSAP
RR’
RR’ BTSM BTSM
SS7 SS7
LAPDm LAPDm LAPD LAPD

radio radio PCM PCM PCM PCM

16/64 kbit/s 64 kbit/s /

2.048 Mbit/s
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 111

ou t correction , large gu ard sp aces wou ld be requ ired , as 0.23 m s are alread y 40 p er
cen t of th e 0.577 m s available for each slot. Th erefore, th e BTS sen ds th e cu rren t
RTT to th e MS, wh ich th en ad ju sts its access tim e so th at all bu rsts reach th e BTS
with in th eir lim its. Th is m ech an ism redu ces th e gu ard sp ace to on ly 30.5 µs or five
p er cen t (see Figu re 4.5). Adjustin g th e access is con trolled via th e variable tim in g
a d v a n ce, wh ere a bu rst can b e sh ift ed u p to 63 b it tim es earlier, with each b it
h avin g a du ration of 3.69 µs (wh ich resu lts in th e 0.23 m s n eeded ). As th e variable
tim in g advan ce can n o t be exten d ed a bu rst can n ot be sh ifted earlier th an 63 bit
tim es. Th is resu lts in th e 35 km m axim u m distan ce between an MS an d a BTS. It
m igh t be possible to receive th e sign als over lon ger distan ces; to avoid collision s at
th e BTS, access can n ot be allowed .5
Th e m ain t asks o f t h e p h ysical layer co m p rise ch a n n el co d in g an d er r o r
d et ect io n / co rrect io n , wh ich is d irect ly com bin ed wit h th e co d in g m ech an ism s.
C h a n n el co d in g m akes ex t en sive u se o f d ifferen t fo r w a r d e r r o r c o r r e ct io n
(FEC) sch em es. FEC ad d s red u n d an cy t o u ser d at a, allo win g fo r t h e d et ect io n
an d correction of selected erro rs. Th e p ower o f an FEC sch em e d ep en d s o n t h e
am o u n t o f red u n d an cy, co d in g algo rit h m an d fu rt h er in t erleavin g o f d at a t o
m in im ize th e effects o f bu rst errors. Th e FEC is also t h e reason wh y error d et ec-
tion an d co rrect io n o ccu rs in layer o n e an d n ot in layer two as in th e ISO/ OSI
referen ce m o d el. Th e GSM p h ysical layer t ries to co rrect erro rs, bu t it d o es n o t
d eliver erron eo u s d at a to t h e h igh er layer.
Differen t logical ch an n els of GSM u se d ifferen t cod in g sch em es with d iffer-
en t co rrect io n cap ab ilit ies. Sp eech ch an n els n eed ad d it io n al co d in g o f vo ice
d at a a ft er a n a lo g t o d igit al co n versio n , t o a ch ieve a d at a rat e o f 2 2 .8 kb it / s
(u sin g t h e 13 kbit/ s from th e vo ice co d ec p lu s red u n d an cy, CRC b it s, an d in ter-
leavin g (Goo d m an , 1997). As vo ice was assu m ed to be t h e m ain service in GSM,
th e p h ysical layer also co n t ain s sp ecial fu n ction s, su ch as v o ice a ct ivit y d et ec-
t io n (VAD), wh ich tran sm its voice d ata on ly wh en th ere is a vo ice sign al. Th is
m ech an ism h elp s to d ecrease in terferen ce as a ch an n el m igh t be silen t ap p roxi-
m at ely 6 0 p er cen t o f t h e t im e (u n d er t h e assu m p t io n t h at o n ly o n e p erso n
sp eaks at th e sam e t im e an d so m e ext ra t im e is n eed ed to switch b etween t h e
sp eakers). Du rin g p erio d s o f silen ce (e.g., if a u ser n eed s t im e t o t h in k b efo re
t alkin g), t h e p h ysica l layer gen era t es a c o m fo r t n o i se t o fake a co n n ect io n
(co m p let e silen ce wo u ld p ro b ab ly co n fu se a u ser), b u t n o act u al t ran sm issio n
t akes p lace. Th e n o ise is even ad ap ted t o th e cu rren t b ackgro u n d n o ise at t h e
co m m u n icat io n p art n er’s location .
All t h is in terleavin g o f d at a for a ch an n el t o m in im ize in t erferen ce d u e t o
bu rst erro rs an d th e recu rren ce p attern o f a logical ch an n el gen erates a d ela y fo r
tran sm ission . Th e d elay is abou t 60 m s for a TCH/ FS an d 100 m s for a TCH/ F9.6

5 A sp ecial t rick allo ws fo r larger cells. If t h e t im in g ad van ce fo r MSs t h at are fu rt h er away t h an 35 km

is set t o zero , t h e b u rst s arrivin g from t h ese MSs will fall in t o th e fo llo win g t im e slo t . Recep t io n of
d at a is sim p ly sh ift ed o n e t im e slo t an d again t h e t im in g ad van ce m ay b e u sed u p t o a d ist an ce o f
70 km (u n d er sim p lified assu m p tion s). Usin g th is sp ecial trick, th e cap acit y o f a cell is d ecreased (n ear
an d far MSs can n o t b e m ixed arb it rarily), bu t co verage o f GSM is exten d ed . Net wo rk op erat o rs m ay
ch oo se t h is ap p ro ach , e.g., in coastal region s.
112 Mobile communicat ions

(with in 100 m s sign als in fixed n et works easily t ravel aro u n d t h e glo be). Th ese
tim es h ave to be ad d ed to th e tran sm ission d elay if co m m u n icatin g with an MS
in st ead o f a stan d ard fixed st ation (t elep h on e, co m p u ter etc.) an d m ay in flu en ce
th e p erfo rm an ce of an y h igh er layer p ro t oco ls, e.g., fo r com p u ter d ata t ran sm is-
sion (see ch ap ter 9).
Sign alin g b et ween en t it ies in a GSM n et wo rk req u ires h igh er layers (see
Figu re 4.7). Fo r t h is p u rp o se, t h e LAPD m p ro to co l h as been d efin ed at t h e U m
in terface fo r la y er t w o . LAPD m , as t h e n am e alread y im p lies, h as been d erived
from lin k access p roced u re for th e D-ch an n el (LAPD) in ISDN system s, wh ich is a
versio n of HDLC (Good m an , 1997), (Halsall, 1996). LAPD m is a ligh tweigh t LAPD
becau se it d oes n ot n eed syn ch ron izat ion flags or ch ecksu m m in g fo r error d etec-
tion . (Th e GSM p h ysical layer alread y p erform s th ese tasks.) LAPD m offers reliable
d at a t ran sfer o ver co n n ect io n s, re-seq u en cin g o f d ata fram es, an d flo w co n tro l
(ETSI, 1993b), (ETSI, 1993c). As th ere is n o bu fferin g between layer on e an d two,
LAPD m h as to obey th e fram e stru ctu res, recu rren ce p attern s etc. d efin ed for th e
U m in t erface. Fu rt h er services p ro vid ed b y LAPD m in clu d e segm en t at io n an d
reassem bly of d ata an d ackn owled ged / u n ackn owled ged d at a tran sfer.
Th e n et wo rk la yer in GSM , la y e r t h r e e , co m p rises several su b layers as
Figu re 4.7 sh ows. Th e lo west su blayer is th e ra d io reso u rce m a n a gem en t (RR).
On ly a p art o f t h is layer, RR’, is im p lem en t ed in th e BTS, t h e rem ain d er is situ -
at ed in t h e BSC. Th e fu n ct io n s o f RR’ are su p p o rt ed b y t h e BSC via t h e BTS
m a n a g e m e n t (BTSM ). Th e m ain t asks o f RR are set u p , m ain t en an ce, an d
release o f rad io ch an n els. RR also d irect ly accesses t h e p h ysical layer fo r rad io
in form ation an d offers a reliable co n n ectio n t o th e n ext h igh er layer.
M o b ilit y m a n a gem en t (MM) con tain s fu n ction s for registration , au th en tica-
tion , id en tification , location u pdatin g, an d t h e p rovision of a t em p o ra ry m o b ile
su b scrib er id en t it y (TM SI) th at rep laces th e in t er n a t io n a l m o b ile su b scr ib er
id en t it y (IMSI) an d wh ich h id es th e real id en tity of an MS u ser over th e air in ter-
face. W h ile t h e IMSI id en t ifies a u ser, t h e TMSI is valid o n ly in t h e cu rren t
location area of a VLR. MM offers a reliable con n ection to th e n ext h igh er layer.
Fin ally, t h e ca ll m an a gem en t (CM) layer co n t ain s th ree en tities: ca ll co n -
t ro l (CC), sh o rt m essa ge ser vice (SM S), an d su p p lem en t a r y ser v ice (SS). SMS
allo ws fo r m essage tran sfer u sin g t h e co n tro l ch an n els SDCCH an d SACCH (if
n o sign a lin g d at a is sen t ), wh ile SS o ffers t h e services d escrib ed in sect io n
4.1.1.3. CC p rovid es a p o in t -to-p o in t con n ection b et ween two term in als an d is
u sed b y h igh er layers fo r call est ab lish m en t , call clearin g an d ch an ge o f call
p aram eters. Th is layer also p rovid es fu n ct io n s to sen d in -ban d t on es, called d u a l
t o n e m u lt ip le freq u en cy (DTM F), o ver t h e GSM n etwork. Th ese to n es are u sed ,
e.g., fo r th e rem ote con tro l of an swerin g m ach in es or th e en t ry o f PINs in elec-
t ro n ic b an kin g an d are, also u sed fo r d ialin g in t rad it io n al an alo g t elep h o n e
syst em s. Th ese to n es can n ot be sen t d irectly over th e vo ice cod ec of a GSM MS,
as th e co d ec wo u ld d ist o rt th e t o n es. Th ey are t ran sferred as sign als an d t h en
con verted in to to n es in th e fixed n etwork p art of th e GSM syst em .
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 113

Ad d ition al p rotocols are u sed at th e Abis an d A in terfaces (th e in tern al in ter-

faces o f a GSM syst em n o t p resen t ed h ere). Dat a t ran sm issio n at t h e p h ysical
layer typ ically u ses p u lse co d e m o d u la t io n (PCM) syst em s. W h ile PCM system s
offer tran sp aren t 64 kbit/ s ch an n els, GSM also allows for th e su bm u ltip lexin g o f
fo u r 16 kbit / s ch an n els in t o a sin gle 64 kbit/ s ch an n el (16 kbit / s are en ou gh fo r
u ser d ata fro m an MS). Th e p h ysical layer at th e A in t erface typ ically in clu d es
leased lin es with 2.048 Mbit/ s cap acity. LAPD is u sed for layer two at Abis, BTSM
fo r BTS m an agem en t .
Sign a lin g sy st em No . 7 (SS7 ) is u sed fo r sign alin g between an MSC an d a
BSC. Th is p ro to co l also t ran sfers all m an agem en t in fo rm at io n b et ween MSCs,
HLR, VLRs, Au C, EIR, an d OMC. An MSC can also co n trol a BSS via a BSS a p p li-
ca t io n p a rt (BSSAP).

4.1.5 Localizat ion and calling

On e fu n d am en tal featu re of th e GSM system is th e au t om atic, worldwid e local-
ization of u sers. Th e system always kn ows wh ere a u ser cu rren tly is, an d th e sam e
p h o n e n u m b er is valid wo rld wid e. To p ro vid e t h is service, GSM p erfo rm s p eri-
o d ic lo cat io n u p d ates even if a u ser d o es n o t u se t h e m o b ile stat io n (p ro vid ed
th at th e MS is still logged in to th e GSM n etwork an d is n ot com p letely switch ed
off). Th e HLR always con tain s in form atio n abo u t th e cu rren t location (o n ly th e
lo cat io n area, n o t t h e p recise geo grap h ical lo cat io n ), an d t h e VLR cu rren t ly
resp o n sib le fo r t h e MS in fo rm s t h e HLR abo u t locat io n ch an ges. As so o n as an
MS m oves in to th e ran ge of a n ew VLR (a n ew location area), th e HLR sen d s all
u ser d ata n eed ed to th e n ew VLR. Ch an gin g VLRs with u n in terru p ted availabilit y
of all services is also called ro am in g. Roam in g can take p lace with in th e n etwork
o f o n e p ro vid er, b et w een t wo p ro vid ers in o n e co u n t ry (n at io n al ro am in g is,
o ft en n o t su p p o rted d u e t o com p et it io n b etween o p erat o rs), b u t also bet ween
d ifferen t p ro vid ers in d ifferen t co u n t ries (in t ern at io n al ro am in g). Typ ically,
p eop le associate in tern ation al roam in g with th e term roam in g as it is th is typ e of
roam in g th at m akes GSM very attractive: on e d evice, over 190 cou n tries!
To locate an MS an d to ad d ress th e MS, several n u m bers are n eed ed :

● M o b ile st a t io n in t er n a t io n a l ISDN n u m b er (M SISDN): 6 Th e on ly im p or-

t an t n u m b er fo r a u ser o f GSM is t h e p h o n e n u m b er. Rem em b er th at t h e
p h o n e n u m b er is n o t asso ciat ed wit h a cert ain d evice b u t wit h t h e SIM,
wh ich is p erso n a lized fo r a u ser. Th e M SISDN fo llo ws t h e ITU-T st an d ard
E.164 for ad d resses as it is also u sed in fixed ISDN n et wo rks. Th is n u m b er
co n sist s o f t h e c o u n t r y c o d e (C C ) (e.g., +4 9 1 7 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 wit h 4 9 fo r
Germ an y), th e n a t io n a l d est in a t io n co d e (NDC) (i.e., t h e ad d ress o f t h e
n etwo rk pro vid er, e.g., 179), an d th e su b scrib er n u m b er (SN).

6 In o t h er t yp es o f d o cu m en t at io n , t h is n u m b er is also called ‘M o b ile Su b scrib er ISDN Nu m b er’ o r

‘Mobile Stat ion ISDN Nu m ber’. Even t h e o rigin al ETSI stan d ard s u se d ifferen t word in gs fo r t h e sam e
acron ym . Ho wever, t h e term ‘su bscriber’ is m u ch bet ter su it ed as it exp resses t h e in d ep en d en ce o f th e
u ser related n u m ber from t h e d evice (st atio n ).
114 Mobile communicat ions

● In t er n a t io n a l m o b ile su b scr ib er id en t it y (IM SI): GSM u ses t h e IM SI fo r

in t ern al u n iq u e id en t ificat io n o f a su b scrib er. IM SI co n sist s o f a m o b il e
c o u n t r y co d e (M CC ) (e.g., 2 40 fo r Sw ed en , 2 0 8 fo r Fran ce), t h e m o b il e
n et w o rk co d e (M NC) (i.e., th e co d e o f th e n etwo rk p ro vid er), an d fin ally
th e m o b ile su b scrib er id en t ifi ca t io n n u m b er (MSIN).
● Tem p o r a r y m o b ile su b scr ib er id en t it y (TM SI): To h id e t h e IMSI, wh ich
wo u ld give away th e exact id en tity of th e u ser sign alin g o ver th e air in ter-
face, GSM u ses th e 4 byt e TMSI fo r lo cal su bscriber id en tificat io n . TMSI is
select ed b y th e cu rren t VLR an d is o n ly valid t em p o rarily an d wit h in t h e
lo cation area of th e VLR (fo r an on go in g co m m u n icatio n TMSI an d LAI are
su fficien t t o id en t ify a u ser; t h e IM SI is n o t n eed ed ). Ad d it io n ally, a VLR
m ay ch an ge t h e TMSI p eriod ically.
● M o b il e st a t i o n 7 r o a m in g n u m b e r (M SRN): An o t h er t em p o rary ad d ress
th at h id es t h e id en t it y an d location o f a su bscriber is MSRN. Th e VLR gen er-
ates t h is ad d ress on req u est from th e MSC, an d th e ad d ress is also sto red in
th e HLR. MSRN co n tain s th e cu rren t visit o r co u n t r y co d e (VCC), th e v isi-
t o r n a t io n a l d est in a t io n co d e (VND C), t h e id en t ificat io n o f t h e cu rren t
M SC t ogeth er with th e su bscriber n u m ber. Th e MSRN h elp s th e HLR to fin d
a su bscriber for an in com in g call.

All th ese n u m bers are n eed ed to fin d a su bscriber an d to m ain tain t h e co n -

n ect io n with a m o b ile st at io n . Th e in t erest in g case is th e m o b ile t er m in a t ed
ca ll (M TC), i.e., a situ ation in wh ich a statio n calls a m o bile statio n (t h e callin g
stat io n cou ld be ou t sid e th e GSM n etwork or an ot h er m obile st at ion ). Figu re 4.8
sh o ws t h e b asic st ep s n eed ed t o co n n ect t h e callin g st at io n w it h t h e m o b ile
u ser. In st ep 1, a u ser d ials t h e p h o n e n u m b er of a GSM su b scrib er. Th e fixed
n et w o rk (PSTN) n o t ices (lo o kin g at t h e d est in at io n co d e) t h a t t h e n u m b er
b elo n gs t o a u ser in t h e G SM n et wo rk an d fo rwa rd s t h e call set u p t o t h e
G at eway M SC (2 ). Th e GM SC id en t ifies t h e HLR fo r t h e su b scrib er (wh ich is
cod ed in t h e p h o n e n u m ber) an d sign als th e call setu p to th e HLR (3). Th e HLR
n ow ch ecks wh eth er th e n u m ber exists an d wh eth er th e u ser h as su b scribed t o
t h e req u est ed services, an d req u est s an M SRN fro m t h e cu rren t VLR (4). Aft er
receivin g th e MSRN (5), th e HLR can d eterm in e th e MSC resp on sible for th e MS
an d fo rward s t h is in fo rm at io n t o t h e GMSC (6). Th e GMSC can n o w fo rward
th e call setu p req u est to t h e MSC in d icated (7).
Fro m t h is p o in t o n , t h e M SC is resp o n sib le fo r a ll fu rt h er st ep s. First , it
req u ests th e cu rren t statu s of th e MS fro m th e VLR (8). If t h e MS is available, th e
MSC in itiates p agin g in all cells it is resp o n sib le fo r (i.e. t h e lo cat io n area, LA,
1 0 ), a s search in g fo r t h e righ t cell w o u ld b e t o o t im e co n su m in g (b u t t h is
ap p ro ach p u ts som e load on th e sign alin g ch an n els so op t im izat ion s exist). Th e

7 Here, a d iscrep an cy exist s bet ween ITU-T st an d ard s an d ETSI’s GSM. MS can d en o te m ob ile st ation
o r m o b ile su b scrib er. Typ ically, alm o st all MS in GSM refer t o su bscribers, as id en t ifiers are n o t d ep en -
d en t o n t h e st atio n , bu t o n t h e su b scrib er id en t it y (st ored in t h e SIM).
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 115

4 Figure 4.8
HLR VLR Mobile terminated
5 call (MTC)
8 9
3 6
14 15

calling 7
PSTN GMSC MSC
station
1 2

10 10 13 10
16

BSS BSS BSS

11 11 11

11 12
17

MS

Figure 4.9
VLR Mobile originated
call (MOC)
3 4

6 5
PSTN GMSC MSC
7 8

2 9

1
MS BSS
10

BTSs of all BSSs tran sm it t h is p agin g sign al to th e MS (11). If th e MS an swers (12

an d 13), t h e VLR h as t o p erfo rm secu rit y ch ecks (set u p en cryp t io n et c.). Th e
VLR t h en sign als to th e MSC t o set u p a con n ection to th e MS (st ep s 15 to 17).
It is m uch sim p ler to perform a m o b ile o rigin a t ed call (MOC) com pared to a
MTC (see Figu re 4.9). Th e MS tran sm its a req u est for a n ew con n ection (1), th e BSS
forwards th is req u est to th e MSC (2). Th e MSC th en ch ecks if th is user is allowed
to set u p a call with th e req uested service (3 an d 4) an d ch ecks th e availability of
resou rces th rou gh th e GSM n etwork an d in to th e PSTN. If all resou rces are avail-
able, th e MSC sets u p a con n ection between th e MS an d th e fixed n etwork.
116 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 4.10
MS MTC BTS MS MOC BTS
Message flow for
MTC and MOC paging request

channel request channel request

immediate assignment immediate assignment

paging response service request

authentication request authentication request
authentication response authentication response
ciphering command ciphering command
ciphering complete ciphering complete

setup setup
call confirmed call confirmed
assignment command assignment command
assignment complete assignment complete
alerting alerting
connect connect
connect acknowledge connect acknowledge
data/speech exchange data/speech exchange

In ad d it io n t o t h e st ep s m en t io n ed ab o ve, o t h er m essages are ex ch an ged

between an MS an d BTS du rin g con n ection setu p (in eith er d irection ). Th ese m ess-
ages can be q u ite often h eard in radios or bad ly sh ielded lou dspeakers as cracklin g
n o ise b efo re th e p h o n e rin gs. Figu re 4.10 sh o ws th e m essages fo r an MTC an d
MO C. Pagin g is o n ly n ecessary fo r an M TC, t h en sim ilar m essage exch an ges
fo llow. Th e first step in th is con text is th e ch an n el access via th e ran d om access
ch an n el (RACH) wit h co n secu t ive ch an n el assign m en t ; t h e ch an n el assign ed
cou ld be a traffic ch an n el (TCH) or a slower sign allin g ch an n el SDCCH.
Th e n ex t st ep s, wh ich are n eed ed fo r co m m u n icat io n secu rit y, co m p rise
t h e au t h en t icat io n o f t h e M S an d th e swit ch in g t o en cryp t ed co m m u n icatio n .
Th e sy st em n o w a ssign s a TC H (if t h is h a s n o t b ee n d o n e). Th is h a s t h e
ad van t age o f o n ly h avin g t o u se an SDCCH d u rin g t h e first set u p st ep s. If t h e
set u p fails, n o TCH h as b een b lo cked . Ho wever, u sin g a TCH from t h e b egin -
n in g h as a sp eed ad van t age.
Th e followin g step s d ep en d o n t h e u se of MTC or MOC. If so m eon e is call-
in g t h e M S, it an sw ers n o w w it h ‘alert in g’ t h at t h e M S is rin gin g an d w it h
‘co n n ect ’ t h at t h e u ser h as p ressed t h e co n n ect b u t t o n . Th e sam e act io n s
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 117

h ap p en t h e o th er way ro u n d if t h e MS h as in it iat ed t h e call. After co n n ectio n

ackn o wled gem en t, bo th p arties can exch an ge d ata.
Closin g th e co n n ectio n co m p rises a u ser-in itiated d iscon n ect m essage (both
sid es can d o th is), followed by releasin g th e con n ect io n an d t h e rad io ch an n el.

4.1.6 Handover
Cellu lar system s req u ire h a n d o v er p ro ced u res, as sin gle cells d o n o t co ver th e
wh o le service area, b u t , e.g., o n ly u p t o 3 5 km aro u n d each an t en n a o n t h e
co u n trysid e an d so m e h u n d red m et ers in cities (Trip ath i, 1998). Th e sm aller t h e
cell size an d th e faster t h e m ovem en t of a m obile station th rou gh th e cells (u p
t o 2 5 0 km / h fo r GSM ), t h e m o re h a n d o vers o f o n go in g ca lls are req u ired .
Ho wever, a h an d o ver sh o u ld n o t cau se a cu t -o ff, also called c a ll d r o p . GSM
aim s at m axim u m h an d o ver du ratio n of 60 m s.
Th ere are two basic reaso n s fo r a h an d o ver (ab o u t 40 h ave been id en tified
in t h e stan d ard ):

● Th e m obile statio n m o ves o u t o f t h e ra n ge o f a BTS or a certain an t en n a of

a BTS resp ectively. Th e received sign a l level d ecreases con t in u ou sly u n til it
falls b elo w t h e m in im al req u irem en t s fo r co m m u n icat io n . Th e er r o r r a t e
m ay gro w d u e t o in t erferen ce, t h e d ist an ce t o t h e BTS m ay b e t o o h igh
(m ax. 35 km ) et c. – all th ese effects m ay d im in ish t h e q u a lit y o f t h e ra d io
lin k an d m ake rad io tran sm issio n im p o ssible in th e n ear fu t u re.
● Th e wired in frast ru ctu re (MSC, BSC) m ay d ecid e th at th e t ra ffi c in o n e cell
is t o o h igh an d sh ift so m e MS to o t h er cells with a lower load (if p o ssible).
Han d over m ay be d u e to lo a d b a la n cin g.

Figu re 4.11 sh o ws fou r p o ssible h an d o ver scen ario s in GSM:

● In t r a -cell h a n d o v er: Wit h in a cell, n arro w-b an d in terferen ce co u ld m ake

tran sm ission at a certain freq u en cy im p ossible. Th e BSC co u ld th en d ecid e
to ch an ge th e carrier freq u en cy (scen ario 1).
● In t er -c ell, in t r a -BSC h a n d o v er : Th is is a t yp ical h an d o ver scen ario . Th e
m obile statio n m oves fro m on e cell to an o th er, bu t st ays with in th e co n trol
o f t h e sam e BSC. Th e BSC th en p erfo rm s a h an d o ver, assign s a n ew rad io
ch an n el in th e n ew cell an d releases th e o ld o n e (scen ario 2).
● In t er-BSC, in t ra -M SC h a n d o ver: As a BSC on ly con trols a lim ited n u m ber of
cells; GSM also h as to p erform h an d overs between cells con trolled by d iffer-
en t BSCs. Th is h an d over th en h as to be con trolled by th e MSC (scen ario 3).
Th is situ ation is also sh own in Figu re 4.13.
● In t e r M SC h a n d o v er : A h an d o ver co u ld b e req u ired b et w een t w o cells
b elo n gin g t o d ifferen t M SC s. N o w b o t h MSC s p erfo rm t h e h an d o ver
togeth er (scen ario 4).
118 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 4.11
Types of handover
in GSM 1 2 3 4

MS MS MS MS

BTS BTS BTS BTS

BSC BSC BSC

MSC MSC

To p rovid e all th e n ecessary in fo rm atio n fo r a h an d o ver d u e to a weak lin k,

MS an d BTS bo t h p erfo rm p erio d ic m easu rem en ts o f t h e d o wn lin k an d u p lin k
q u alit y resp ect ively. (Lin k q u alit y co m p rises sign al level an d b it erro r ra t e.)
Measu rem en t rep o rt s are sen t b y t h e MS ab o u t every h alf-seco n d an d co n tain
th e q u ality o f th e cu rren t lin k u sed fo r tran sm ission as well as t h e q u alit y o f cer-
tain ch an n els in n eigh borin g cells (th e BCCHs).
Figu re 4.12 sh o ws t h e typ ical beh avio r of t h e received sign al level wh ile an
M S m o ves away fro m o n e BTS (BTSo ld ) clo ser t o an o t h er o n e (BTSn ew ). In t h is
case, t h e h an d over d ecision d oes n o t d ep en d on th e actu al valu e of th e received
sign al level, bu t on t h e average valu e. Th erefo re, th e BSC co llect s all valu es (bit
erro r rat e an d sign al levels fro m u p lin k an d d o wn lin k) fro m BTS an d MS an d
calcu lates average valu es. Th ese valu es are th en com p ared to th resh o ld s, i.e., th e
h an d o ver m argin (H O _MARG IN ), wh ich in clu d es so m e h yst eresis t o avo id a
p in g-p o n g effect (Wo n g, 199 7). (Wit h o u t h yst eresis, even sh o rt -t erm in t erfer-
en ce, e.g., sh ad o win g d u e t o a b u ild in g, co u ld cau se a h an d o ver.) St ill, even
with t h e HO_MARGIN, t h e p in g-p on g effect m ay occu r in GSM – a valu e wh ich
is to o h igh co u ld cau se a cu t -off, an d a valu e wh ich is t oo lo w co u ld cau se too
m an y h an d overs.
Figu re 4.13 sh o ws t h e t yp ical sign al flo w d u rin g an in t er-BSC, in t ra-MSC
h an d o ver. Th e MS sen d s its p eriod ic m easu rem en t s rep o rts, th e BTSold forward s
th ese rep orts to th e BSC old to geth er with its o wn m easu rem en ts. Based on th ese
valu es an d , e.g., o n cu rren t traffic con d it io n s, th e BSC old m ay d ecid e t o p erfo rm
a h an d o ver an d sen d s t h e m essage HO _req u ired t o t h e M SC . Th e t ask o f t h e
MSC th en com p rises th e req u est of t h e reso u rces n eed ed for th e h an d o ver fro m
th e n ew BSC, BSC n ew . Th is BSC ch ecks if en ou gh reso u rces (typ ically freq u en cies
o r t im e slo ts) are available an d act ivates a p h ysical ch an n el at th e BTSn ew to p re-
p are for th e arrival of th e MS.
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 119

receive level receive level Figure 4.12

BTSold BTSnew Handover decision
depending on
receive level

HO_MARGIN

MS MS

BTSold BTSnew
Figure 4.13
MS BTSold BSCold MSC BSCnew BTSnew
Intra-MSC handover
measurement
measurement
report
result

HO decision
HO required
HO request

resource allocation
ch. activation

ch. activation ack

HO request ack
HO command
HO command
HO command
HO access
Link establishment

HO complete
HO complete
clear command
clear command
clear complete
clear complete

Th e BTSn ew a ck n o w led ges t h e su ccessfu l ch an n el act iva t io n , BSC n ew

ackn o wled ges th e h an d over req u est. Th e MSC th en issu es a h an d o ver co m m an d
th at is forward ed to t h e MS. Th e MS n o w b reaks its o ld rad io lin k an d accesses
th e n ew BTS. Th e n ext step s in clu d e t h e establish m en t o f th e lin k (th is in clu d es
layer t wo lin k est ab lish m en t an d h an d o ver co m p let e m essages fro m t h e MS).
Basically, th e MS h as th en fin ish ed th e h an d o ver, b u t it is im p o rtan t t o release
t h e reso u rces at t h e o ld BSC an d BTS an d t o sign a l t h e su ccessfu l h a n d o ver
u sin g t h e h an d o ver an d clear com p let e m essages as sh o wn .
M o re so p h ist ica t ed h an d o ver m ech an ism s a re n eed ed fo r sea m less
h an d o vers b et w een d ifferen t syst em s. Fo r ex am p le, fu t u re 3 G n et w o rks w ill
n o t co ver wh o le co u n t ries bu t fo cu s o n cit ies an d h igh ways. Han d o ver fro m ,
120 Mobile communicat ions

e.g., UMTS t o GSM wit h o u t service in terru p t io n m u st b e p o ssib le. Even m o re

ch allen gin g is th e seam less h an d over bet ween wireless LANs (see ch ap ter 7) an d
2G/ 3G n et works. Th is can be d on e u sin g m u ltim od e m o bile statio n s an d a m o re
so p h isticated roam in g in frastru ctu re. Ho wever, it is still n ot o bvio u s h ow th ese
system s m ay scale fo r a large n u m b er o f u sers an d m an y h an d o vers, an d wh at
h an d o ver q u alit y gu aran tees th ey can give.

4.1.7 Securit y
GSM offers several secu rity services u sin g con fiden tial in form ation stored in t h e
Au C an d in th e in d ividu al SIM (wh ich is p lu gged in to an arbitrary MS). Th e SIM
stores p erson al, secret d ata an d is p rotected with a PIN again st u n au th orized u se.
(For exam ple, th e secret key Ki u sed for au th en tication an d en cryp tion p roced u res
is stored in th e SIM.) Th e secu rity services offered by GSM are explain ed below:

● Access co n t ro l a n d a u t h en t ica t io n : Th e first step in clu d es th e au th en tica-

tion of a valid u ser for th e SIM. Th e u ser n eeds a secret PIN to access th e SIM.
Th e n ext step is th e su bscriber au th en ticat io n (see Figu re 4.10). Th is step is
b ased on a ch allen ge-resp on se sch em e as p resen ted in section 4.1.7.1.
● Co n fi d en t ialit y: All u ser-related d ata is en cryp ted . After au th en tication , BTS
an d MS ap p ly en cryp tio n to voice, d ata, an d sign alin g as sh o wn in section
4.1.7.2. Th is con fid en tiality exists on ly between MS an d BTS, bu t it does n ot
exist en d -to-en d or with in th e wh ole fixed GSM/ telep h on e n etwork.
● An o n y m it y: To p rovid e u ser an o n ym it y, all d ata is en cryp ted b efore tran s-
m issio n , an d u ser id en t ifiers (wh ich wo u ld reveal an id en tity) are n o t u sed
o ver t h e air. In st ead , GSM tran sm its a tem p o rary id en t ifier (TMSI), wh ich is
n ewly assign ed by th e VLR after each location u p d ate. Ad d it ion ally, th e VLR
can ch an ge t h e TMSI at an y tim e.

Th ree algo rith m s h ave b een sp ecified to p ro vid e secu rit y services in GSM.
Algo r it h m A3 is u sed fo r a u t h en t ica t io n , A5 fo r en cr y p t io n , an d A8 fo r t h e
gen er a t io n o f a cip h er k ey . In th e GSM st an d ard o n ly algo rith m A5 was p u b-
licly ava ilab le, w h ereas A3 an d A8 w ere secret , b u t st an d a rd ized w it h o p en
in terfaces. Bo t h A3 an d A8 are n o lon ger secret , bu t were p u blish ed o n t h e in ter-
n et in 1998. Th is d em on strat es th at secu rit y by obscu rity d oes n ot really work.
As it t u rn ed ou t, th e algorith m s are n o t very stro n g. However, n etwork p ro vid ers
can u se st ro n ger algo rit h m s fo r au t h en t icat io n – o r u sers can ap p ly st ro n ger
en d -t o -en d en cryp t io n . Algo rit h m s A3 an d A8 (o r t h eir rep lacem en t s) are
lo cat ed o n t h e SIM an d in th e Au C an d can b e p ro p riet ary. O n ly A5 wh ich is
im p lem en t ed in th e d evices h as t o be id en tical fo r all p rovid ers.

4.1.7.1 Aut hent icat ion

Before a su bscriber can u se an y service from th e GSM n etwork, h e or sh e m u st be
au th en ticated . Au th en tication is based on th e SIM, wh ich stores th e in d iv id u a l
a u t h en ticat io n k ey Ki , th e u ser id en t ifi ca tio n IMSI, an d th e algorith m u sed for
au th en tication A3. Au th en ticat ion u ses a ch allen ge-resp on se m et h od : th e access
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 121

Figure 4.14
Subscriber
authentication

mobile network SIM

RAND
Ki RAND RAND Ki

AC 128 bit 128 bit 128 bit 128 bit

A3 A3
SIM

SRES* 32 bit SRES 32 bit

MSC SRES
SRES*=? SRES SRES
32 bit

con trol AC gen erates a ran d om n u m ber RAND as ch allen ge, an d th e SIM with in
th e MS an swers with SRES (sign ed resp on se) as resp on se (see Figu re 4.14). Th e AuC
perform s th e basic gen eration of ran dom valu es RAND, sign ed resp on ses SRES, an d
cip h er keys Kc for each IMSI, an d th en forwards th is in form ation to th e HLR. Th e
cu rren t VLR requ ests th e ap prop riate valu es for RAND, SRES, an d Kc from th e HLR.
Fo r au t h en t icat io n , t h e VLR sen d s t h e ran d o m valu e RAND t o t h e SIM .
Bo t h sid es, n et wo rk an d su bscrib er m o d u le, p erfo rm t h e sam e o p eratio n wit h
RAND an d th e key Ki, called A3. Th e MS sen d s back th e SRES gen erated by th e
SIM; t h e VLR can n o w co m p are b o t h valu es. If t h ey are t h e sam e, t h e VLR
accep t s th e su bscriber, o th erwise th e su bscriber is reject ed .

4.1.7.2 Encrypt ion

To en su re p riva cy, all m essages co n t ain in g u ser-rela t ed in fo rm at io n are
en cryp ted in GSM over th e air in terface. Aft er au th en tication , MS an d BSS can
st art u sin g en cryp t io n b y ap p lyin g t h e cip h er key Kc (t h e p recise lo cat io n o f
secu rit y fu n ction s fo r en cryp tio n , BTS an d / o r BSC are ven d o r d ep en d en t). Kc is
gen erated u sin g th e in d ivid u al key Ki an d a ran d om valu e by ap p lyin g th e algo-
rit h m A8. Note t h at t h e SIM in th e MS an d th e n et work bo th calcu lat e th e sam e
Kc b ased o n t h e ran d o m valu e RAND. Th e key Kc itself is n o t tran sm itted over
th e air in terface.
122 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 4.15
Data encryption

mobile network (BTS) MS with SIM

RAND
Ki RAND RAND Ki

AC 128 bit 128 bit 128 bit 128 bit SIM

A8 A8

cipher Kc Kc
key 64 bit 64 bit

data encrypted data

data
BSS A5 A5 MS

MS an d BTS can n o w en cryp t an d d ecryp t d ata u sin g t h e algo rith m A5 an d

th e cip h er key Kc. As Figu re 4.15 sh o ws, Kc sh o u ld b e a 64 bit key – wh ich is n o t
very st ro n g, b u t is at least a go o d p ro t ect io n again st sim p le eavesd ro p p in g.
Ho wever, th e p u blicat io n of A3 an d A8 on th e in tern et sh o wed t h at in certain
im p lem en t at ion s 10 of th e 64 bits are always set to 0, so th at t h e real len gth of
th e key is th u s o n ly 54 con seq u en tly, th e en cryp tion is m u ch weaker.

4.1.8 New dat a services

As m en tion ed above, th e stan d ard ban d wid th of 9.6 kbit/ s (14.4 kbit/s with som e
p rovid ers) available for d ata tran sm ission is n ot su fficien t for th e req u irem en t s of
tod ay’s com p u ters. W h en GSM was d evelop ed , n ot m an y p eop le an ticip ated th e
trem en d ou s growth of d ata com m u n ication com p ared to voice com m u n ication .
At t h at t im e, 9.6 kb it / s was a lo t , o r at least en o u gh fo r st an d ard gro u p 3 fax
m ach in es. Bu t wit h t h e req u irem en t s o f, e.g., web b ro wsin g, file d o wn lo ad , o r
even in ten sive e-m ail exch an ge with attach m en ts, th is is n ot en ou gh .
To en h an ce t h e d ata tran sm ission cap abilities of GSM, two basic ap p ro ach es
are p o ssible. As t h e basic GSM is based on co n n ectio n -o rien t ed traffic ch an n els,
e.g., wit h 9.6 kbit / s each , several ch an n els cou ld be co m bin ed t o in crease b an d -
wid th . Th is syst em is called HSCSD an d is p resen ted in th e followin g sect ion . A
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 123

m o re p rogressive step is th e in tro d u ct io n of p acket -orien ted t raffic in GSM, i.e.,

sh iftin g th e p arad igm fro m con n ection s/ telep h on e th in kin g to p ackets/ in tern et
th in kin g. Th e system , called GPRS, is p resen t ed in sectio n 4.1.8.2.

4.1.8.1 HSCSD
A st raigh tforward im p rovem en t o f GSM’s d at a t ran sm issio n cap abilit ies is h igh
sp eed circu it sw it ch ed d a t a (HSCSD), wh ich is available with so m e p ro vid ers.
In th is system , h igh er d ata rates are ach ieved by bu n d lin g several TCHs. An MS
req u est s o n e o r m o re TC H s fro m t h e GSM n et w o rk, i.e., it allo ca t es severa l
TDM A slo t s wit h in a TDM A fram e. Th is allo cat io n can b e asym m et rical, i.e.,
m o re slot s can b e allo cated on th e d own lin k th an on th e u p lin k, wh ich fits t h e
t yp ical u ser b eh avio r o f d o w n lo a d in g m o re d at a co m p ared t o u p lo ad in g.
Basically, HSCSD o n ly req u ires so ft ware u p grad es in an MS an d MSC (bot h h ave
t o b e ab le t o sp lit a t raffic st ream in t o several st ream s, u sin g a sep arat e TC H
each , an d to co m bin e th ese stream s again ).
In t h eory, an MS co u ld u se all eigh t slo t s with in a TDMA fram e to ach ieve
an a ir in t er fa ce u ser ra t e (AIUR) of, e.g., 8 TCH/ F14.4 ch an n els or 115.2 kbit / s
(ETSI, 1998e). On e p ro b lem o f th is co n figu ratio n is th at t h e MS is req u ired t o
sen d an d receive at th e sam e tim e. Stan d ard GSM d oes n ot req u ire th is cap abil-
ity – u p lin k an d d o wn lin k slot s are always sh ift ed fo r th ree slo t s. ETSI (1997a)
sp ecifies th e AIUR availab le at 57.6 kbit/ s (d u p lex) u sin g fou r slo ts in th e u p lin k
an d d o wn lin k (Tab le 4.2 sh ows th e p erm it ted com bin at io n s of traffic ch an n els
an d allo cat ed slo ts fo r n on -tran sp aren t services).
Alth o u gh it ap p ears at t ract ive at first glan ce, HSCSD exh ib its so m e m ajo r
d isad van tages. It still u ses t h e co n n ect io n -o rien ted m ech an ism s o f GSM. Th ese
are n o t at all efficien t fo r co m p u t er d at a t raffic, wh ich is t yp ically b u rst y an d
asym m et rical. W h ile d o wn lo ad in g a la rger file m ay req u ire all ch an n els
reserved , typ ical web bro wsin g wo u ld leave th e ch an n els id le m ost o f t h e t im e.
Allo catin g ch an n els is reflect ed d irect ly in th e service co sts, as, o n ce t h e ch an -
n els h ave been reserved , oth er u sers can n ot u se th em .

Table 4.2 Available

AIUR TCH / F4.8 TCH / F9.6 TCH / F14.4 data rates for HSCSD
in GSM
4.8 kbit/ s 1 – –
9.6 kbit/ s 2 1 –
14.4 kbit/ s 3 – 1
19.2 kbit/ s 4 2 –
28.8 kbit/ s – 3 2
38.4 kbit/ s – 4 –
43.2 kbit/ s – – 3
57.6 kbit/ s – – 4
124 Mobile communicat ions

Fo r n ch an n els, HSCSD req u ires n tim es sign alin g d u rin g h an d over, con n ec-
t io n set u p an d release. Each ch an n el is t reat ed sep arat ely. Th e p ro b ab ilit y o f
blockin g or service d egrad at ion in creases d u rin g h an d over, as in th is case a BSC
h as to ch eck resou rces for n ch an n els, n ot ju st on e. All in all, HSCSD m ay be an
attractive in terim solu tion for h igh er ban d wid th an d rath er con stan t traffic (e.g.,
file do wn load ). However, it d oes n ot m ake m u ch sen se for bu rsty in tern et traffic
as lon g as a u ser is ch arged for each ch an n el allo cat ed for com m u n ication .

4.1.8.2 GPRS
Th e n ext step t o ward m o re flexib le an d p o werfu l d ata t ran sm issio n avo id s t h e
p roblem s of HSCSD by bein g fu lly p acket-orien ted . Th e gen era l p a ck et ra d io ser-
v ice (GPRS) p ro vid es p acket m o d e t ran sfer fo r ap p licat io n s t h at exh ib it t raffic
p at t ern s su ch as freq u en t t ran sm issio n o f sm all vo lu m es (e.g., t yp ical web
req u ests) or in freq u en t tran sm issio n s of sm all or m ed iu m volu m es (e.g., typ ical
web resp o n ses) acco rd in g t o t h e req u irem en t sp ecificat io n (ETSI, 1 9 98 a).
Co m p ared to exist in g d at a t ran sfer services, GPRS sh o u ld u se t h e existin g n et -
work resou rces m ore efficien tly for p acket m od e ap p lication s, an d sh ou ld p rovide
a selectio n of Qo S p aram eters for th e service req u esters. GPRS sh ou ld also allow
for bro ad cast, m u lticast , an d u n icast service. Th e o verall go al in th is co n t ext is
t h e p ro visio n o f a m o re efficien t an d , t h u s, ch eap er p acket t ran sfer service fo r
typ ical in tern et ap p lication s th at u su ally rely so lely on p acket tran sfer. Net wo rk
p rovid ers typ ically su p p o rt t h is m o d el by ch argin g on volu m e an d n ot o n co n -
n ectio n t im e as is u su al fo r trad it io n al GSM d ata services an d fo r HSCSD. Th e
m ain ben efit for u sers o f GPRS is th e ‘always on ’ ch aracterist ic – n o co n n ection
h as t o be set u p p rio r to d ata t ran sfer. Clearly, GPRS was d riven by th e trem en -
d o u s su ccess o f th e p acket-o rien ted in tern et, an d by th e n ew traffic m o d els an d
ap p licat io n s. Ho wever, GPRS, as sh o wn in t h e fo llo win g sect io n s, n eed s ad -
d it ion al n etwork elem en ts, i.e., software an d h ard ware. Un like HSCSD, GPRS d oes
n ot on ly rep resen t a software up d ate to allow for th e bu n d lin g of ch an n els, it also
rep resen ts a big step towards UMTS as th e m ain in tern al in frastru ctu re n eed ed for
UMTS (in it s in itial release) is exactly wh at GPRS u ses (see section 4.4).
Th e m ain con cep t s o f GPRS are as fo llo ws (ETSI, 1998b). Fo r th e n ew GPRS
rad io ch an n els, th e GSM syst em can allo cate between o n e an d eigh t tim e slots
wit h in a TDMA fram e. Tim e slo t s are n o t allo cat ed in a fixed , p re-d eterm in ed
m an n er bu t on d em an d . All t im e slot s can b e sh ared by th e active u sers; u p - an d
d o wn lin k are allo cat ed sep arat ely. Allo cat io n o f t h e slo t s is b ased o n cu rren t
lo ad an d op erato r p referen ces. Dep en d in g o n t h e cod in g, a tran sfer rate o f u p to
170 kb it/ s is p o ssible. Fo r GPRS, o p erato rs o ft en reserve at least a t im e slot p er
cell t o gu aran t ee a m in im u m d at a rat e. Th e GPRS co n cep t is in d ep en d en t o f
ch an n el ch aract erist ics an d o f t h e t yp e o f ch an n el (t rad it io n al GSM t raffic o r
co n t ro l ch an n el), an d d o es n o t lim it t h e m ax im u m d at a rat e (o n ly t h e GSM
t ran sp o rt syst em lim it s t h e rat e). All GPRS services can b e u sed in p arallel t o
con ven tion al services. Table 4.3 sh ows th e t yp ical d ata rates available with GPRS
if it is u sed to geth er with GSM (GPRS can also be u sed for ot h er TDMA system s).
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 125

Table 4.3 GPRS data

Coding rates in kbit/ s
1 slot 2 slot s 3 slot s 4 slot s 5 slot s 6 slot s 7 slot s 8 slot s
scheme

CS-1 9.05 18.2 27.15 36.2 45.25 54.3 63.35 72.4

CS-2 13.4 26.8 40.2 53.6 67 80.4 93.8 107.2
CS-3 15.6 31.2 46.8 62.4 78 93.6 109.2 124.8
CS-4 21.4 42.8 64.2 85.6 107 128.4 149.8 171.2

In th e begin n in g, o n ly co d in g sch em es CS-1 an d CS-2 are available. Th e syst em

ch oo ses a co d in g sch em e d ep en d in g on th e cu rren t erro r rate (CS-4 provid es n o
error co rrectio n cap ab ilit ies).
It sh o u ld be n ot ed th at th e real available d ata rate h eavily d ep en d s o n t h e
cu rren t lo ad o f th e cell as GPRS t yp ically o n ly u ses id le tim e slo ts. Th e t ran sfer
rat e d ep en d s on t h e cap abilities of th e MS as n ot all d evices are able to sen d an d
receive at t h e sam e t im e. Tab le 4.4 gives ex am p les fo r d evice classes t o get h er
wit h t h eir ab ilit y t o u se t im e slo t s fo r sen d in g an d receivin g d at a. Th e m axi-
m u m p ossible n u m ber o f slots lim its th e t ran sfer rate even m ore. For exam p le, a
class 1 2 d evice m ay receive d at a u sin g 4 slo t s wit h in a GSM t im e fram e o r it
m ay sen d d at a u sin g 4 slo ts. Ho wever, a m ax im u m n u m b er o f 5 slo t s m ay b e
u sed alt o get h er. Usin g all 8 slo t s fo r d at a en co d ed u sin g CS-4 yield s t h e m axi-
m u m rat e o f 171.2 kb it / s. To d ay, a t yp ical MS is a class 10 d evice u sin g CS-2,
wh ich resu lts in a receivin g rate o f 53.6 kbit/ s an d a sen d in g rat e of 26.8 kbit / s.
In p h ase 1, GPRS o ffers a p o in t -t o -p o in t (PTP) p acket tran sfer service (ETSI,
1998c). On e o f t h e PTP versio n s o ffered is t h e PTP co n n ect io n o r ien t ed n et -
w o r k ser v ic e (PTP-C ONS), wh ich in clu d es t h e ab ilit y o f GPRS t o m ain t ain a
virt u al circu it u p o n ch an ge o f t h e cell wit h in t h e GSM n et wo rk. Th is t yp e o f

Table 4.4 Examples

Class Receiving slot s Sending slots Maximum number of slot s for GPRS device
classes
1 1 1 2
2 2 1 3
3 2 2 3
5 2 2 4
8 4 1 5
10 4 2 5
12 4 4 5
126 Mobile communicat ions

Table 4.5 Reliability

classes in GPRS Reliabilit y Lost SDU Duplicat e SDU Out of sequence Corrupt SDU
according to ETSI class probabilit y probabilit y SDU probabilit y probabilit y
(1998c)
1 10 –9 10 –9 10 –9 10 –9
2 10 –4 10 –5 10 –5 10 –6
3 10 –2 10 –5 10 –5 10 –2

service corresp on d s t o X.2 5, th e t yp ical circu it-switch ed p acket-orien t ed tran sfer

p roto col available world wid e. Th e oth er PTP version o ffered is th e PTP co n n ec-
t i o n l e ss n et w o r k se r v ic e (P TP -C LN S), wh ich su p p o rt s ap p licat io n s t h at are
b ased o n t h e In t ern et Pro t o co l IP. M u lt icast in g, called p o in t -t o -m u lt ip o in t
(PTM ) service, is left fo r GPRS p h ase 2.
Users of GPRS can sp ecify a Qo S-p ro fi le. Th is d eterm in es th e ser v ice p rece-
d en ce (h igh , n o rm al, low), relia b ilit y cla ss an d d ela y cla ss of th e tran sm issio n ,
an d u ser d a t a t h ro u gh p u t . GPRS sh ou ld ad ap tively allo cate rad io reso u rces to
fu lfill t h ese u ser sp ecificat io n s. Tab le 4 .5 sh o w s t h e t h ree reliab ilit y cla sses
t o get h er wit h t h e m ax im u m p ro b ab ilit ies fo r a lo st service d at a u n it (SDU), a
d u p licat ed SDU, an SDU o u t o f t h e o rigin al seq u en ce, an d t h e p ro b ab ilit y o f
d eliverin g a corru p t SDU t o th e h igh er layer. Reliabilit y class 1 co u ld be u sed for
very erro r-sen sit ive ap p licat ion s t h at can n o t p erfo rm erro r co rrect io n s t h em -
selves. If ap p licat io n s ex h ib it great er erro r t o leran ce, cla ss 2 co u ld b e
ap p ro p riat e. Fin ally, class 3 is t h e ch o ice fo r erro r-in sen sit ive ap p licat io n s o r
ap p lication s t h at can h an d le error correction s t h em selves.
D ela y wit h in a GPRS n et wo rk is in cu rred b y ch an n el access d elay, co d in g
fo r erro r co rrect io n , an d t ran sfer d elays in t h e fix ed an d wireless p art o f t h e
GPRS n etwork. Th e d elay in tro d u ced by extern al fixed n etwo rks is ou t of sco p e.
However, GPRS d o es n o t p rod u ce ad d ition al d elay by bu fferin g p acket s as sto re-
an d -fo rward n et wo rks d o . If p o ssib le, G PRS t ries t o fo rward p acket s as fast as
p ossib le. Tab le 4.6 sh ows th e specified m axim u m m ean an d 95 p ercen tile d elay
valu es fo r p acket sizes o f 128 an d 1,024 b yte. As we can clearly see, n o m atter
w h ich class, all d elays are o rd ers o f m a gn it u d e h igh er t h an fix ed n et w o rk
d elays. Th is is a very im p ortan t ch aracterist ic t h at h as t o be taken in to acco u n t
wh en im p lem en t in g h igh er layer p ro t o co ls su ch as TCP o n t o p o f GPRS n et -
wo rks (see ch ap t er 9). Typ ical ro u n d t rip tim es (RTT) in fixed n et wo rks are in
th e ord er o f 10 to 100 m s. Usin g real u n lo ad ed GPRS n et works ro u n d t rip t im es
o f w e ll ab o ve 1 s fo r even sm all p acket s (1 2 8 –5 1 2 b yt e) a re co m m o n .
Ad d it io n ally, GPRS exh ib it s a large jit ter co m p ared t o fix ed n et wo rks (several
1 0 0 m s are n o t u n co m m o n ). Th is ch aract erist ic h as a st ro n g im p act o n u ser
exp erien ce wh en , e.g., in teractive In t ern et ap p licatio n s are u sed on t op o f GPRS.
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 127

Table 4.6 Delay

SDU size 128 byt e SDU size 1,024 byt e classes in GRPS
according to ETSI
Delay Mean 95 percent ile Mean 95 percent ile (1998c)
Class
1 <0.5 s <1.5 s <2 s <7 s
2 <5 s <25 s <15 s <75 s
3 <50 s <250 s <75 s <375 s
4 Unspecified

Fin ally, GPRS in clu d es several se c u r it y ser v ic es su ch as au t h en t icat io n ,

access con trol, u ser id en tity con fid en tialit y, an d u ser in form ation con fid en tiality.
Even a com p letely a n o n ym o u s ser vice is p ossible, as, e.g., ap p lied fo r road toll
system s th at on ly ch arge a u ser via th e MS in d ep en d en t of th e u ser’s id en tity.
Th e GPRS a r ch it ect u re in t ro d u ces t wo n ew n etwo rk elem en t s, wh ich are
called GPRS su p p o r t n o d es (GSN) an d are in fact ro u t ers. All GSN s are in t e-
grated in to th e st an d ard GSM arch it ect u re, an d m an y n ew in terfaces h ave been
d efin ed (see Figu re 4.16). Th e ga t ew a y GPRS su p p o r t n o d e (GGSN) is th e in ter-
wo rkin g u n it b etween t h e GPRS n et wo rk an d ext ern al p a ck et d a t a n et w o r k s
(PD N). Th is n o d e co n t a in s ro u t in g in fo rm at io n fo r G PRS u sers, p erfo rm s
ad d ress co n version , an d tu n n els d ata t o a u ser via en cap su lation . Th e GGSN is
co n n ect ed to ext ern al n etworks (e.g., IP o r X.25) via th e G i in t erface an d t ran s-
fers p ackets to th e SGSN via an IP-based GPRS backbon e n et wo rk (G n in terface).
Th e o th er n ew elem en t is th e ser v in g GPRS su p p o r t n o d e (SGSN) wh ich
su p p o rt s t h e M S via t h e G b in t erfa ce. Th e SGSN, fo r ex am p le, req u est s u ser
ad d resses from th e GPRS regist er (GR), keep s t rack of th e in d ivid u al MSs’ loca-
tio n , is resp on sible fo r co llectin g billin g in form atio n (e.g., cou n tin g bytes), an d
p erfo rm s several secu rit y fu n ct io n s su ch as access co n t ro l. Th e SGSN is co n -
n ect ed t o a BSC via fram e relay an d is b asically o n t h e sam e h ierarch y level as
an MSC. Th e GR, wh ich is typ ically a p art o f t h e HLR, st ores all GPRS-relevan t
d ata. GGSNs an d SGSNs can be com p ared with h o m e an d fo reign agen t s, resp ec-
tively, in a m obile IP n et work (see ch ap ter 8).
As sh o wn in Figu re 4 .1 6 , p acket d at a is t ran sm it t ed fro m a PDN, via t h e
GGSN an d SGSN d irect ly to t h e BSS an d fin ally t o th e MS. Th e MSC, wh ich is
resp o n sib le fo r d at a t ran sp o rt in t h e t rad it io n al circu it -swit ch ed GSM , is o n ly
u sed fo r sign alin g in t h e GPRS scen ario . Ad d it ion al in t erfaces t o fu rt h er n etwo rk
elem en ts an d oth er PLMNs can be fou n d in ETSI (1998b).
Befo re sen d in g an y d at a o ver t h e GPRS n etwo rk, an MS m u st at t ach t o it,
fo llo win g th e p roced u res of th e m o b ilit y m a n a gem en t . Th e at tach m en t p roce-
d u re in clu d es assign in g a t em p o ral id en t ifier, called a t em p o r a r y lo gica l lin k
id e n t i t y (TLLI), a n d a ci p h e r i n g k e y seq u en c e n u m b e r (C KSN) fo r d at a
en cryp tio n . For each MS, a GPRS co n t ex t is set up an d sto red in th e MS an d in
128 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 4.16
GPRS architecture SGSN
reference model

Gn

MS BSS SGSN GGSN PDN

Um Gb Gn Gi

MSC HLR/
GR

VLR EIR

t h e co rresp o n d in g SGSN. Th is co n t ext co m p rises t h e st atu s o f t h e MS (wh ich

can b e ready, id le, or stan d by; ETSI, 1998b), th e CKSN, a flag in d icatin g if co m -
p ressio n is u sed , an d ro u t in g d at a (TLLI, t h e ro u t in g area RA, a cell id en t ifier,
an d a p acket d ata ch an n el, PDCH, id en t ifier). Besid es at tach in g an d d etach in g,
m o b ilit y m an agem en t also co m p rises fu n ct io n s fo r au t h en t icat io n , lo cat io n
m an agem en t, an d cip h erin g (h ere, t h e scop e o f cip h erin g lies b etween MS an d
SGSN, wh ich is m o re th an in st an d ard GSM). In id le m od e an MS is n o t reach -
ab le a n d a ll co n t ex t is d elet ed . In t h e st a n d b y st at e o n ly m o vem en t acro ss
ro u t in g areas is u p d at ed t o t h e SGSN b u t n o t ch an ges o f t h e cell. Perm an en t
u p d at in g wo u ld wast e b at t ery p o wer, n o u p d at in g wo u ld req u ire syst em -wid e
p agin g. Th e u p d at e p ro ced u re in st an d b y m o d e is a co m p ro m ise. On ly in t h e
rea d y st at e every m ovem en t o f th e MS is in d icated to th e SGSN.
Figu re 4 .17 sh o ws t h e p ro t o co l arch it ect u re o f t h e t ran sm issio n p lan e fo r
GPRS. Arch itectu res fo r t h e sign alin g p lan es can be fo u n d in ETSI (1998b ). All
d ata with in th e GPRS backbon e, i.e., between t h e GSNs, is tran sferred u sin g t h e
GPRS t u n n ellin g p ro t o co l (GTP). GTP can u se t wo d ifferen t t ran sp o rt p ro to -
cols, eith er th e reliable TCP (n eed ed fo r reliable tran sfer o f X.25 p ackets) or th e
n on -reliable UDP (u sed fo r IP p ackets). Th e n etwork p ro to co l fo r th e GPRS back-
b o n e is IP (u sin g an y lo wer layers). To ad ap t t o th e d ifferen t ch aract eristics o f
t h e u n d erlyin g n et wo rks, t h e su b n et w o r k d ep en d en t co n v er g en ce p r o t o co l
(SNDCP) is u sed bet ween an SGSN an d t h e MS. O n top of SNDCP an d GTP, u ser
p acket d ata is t u n n eled from th e MS to th e GGSN an d vice versa. To ach ieve a
h igh reliab ility o f p acket t ran sfer between SGSN an d MS, a sp ecial LLC is u sed ,
wh ich co m p rises ARQ an d FEC m ech an ism s for PTP (an d later PTM) services.
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 129

Figure 4.17
MS BSS SGSN GGSN
Um Gb Gn Gi GPRS transmission
plane protocol
apps. reference model

IP/X.25 IP/X.25

SNDCP GTP
SNDCP GTP

LLC LLC UDP/TCP UDP/TCP

RLC BSSGP IP IP
RLC BSSGP

MAC MAC
FR FR L1/L2 L1/L2
radio radio

A b a se st a t io n su b sy st em GPRS p ro t o co l (BSSGP) is u sed t o con vey ro u t-

in g an d Qo S-relat ed in fo rm at io n b et ween t h e BSS an d SGSN. BSSGP d o es n o t
p erfo rm erro r co rrect io n a n d wo rks o n t o p o f a fr a m e r e la y (FR) n et w o rk.
Fin ally, rad io lin k d ep en d en t p roto co ls are n eed ed to tran sfer d ata o ver t h e U m
in t erfa ce. Th e r a d io lin k p r o t o c o l (RLC ) p ro vid es a reliab le lin k, wh ile t h e
M AC co n tro ls access wit h sign alin g p ro ced u res fo r t h e rad io ch an n el an d t h e
m ap p in g of LLC fram es on to th e GSM p h ysical ch an n els. Th e ra d io in t er fa ce at
U m n eed ed fo r GPRS d o es n o t req u ire fu n d am en t al ch an ges co m p ared to stan -
d ard GSM (Brasch e, 1997), (ETSI, 1998d ). However, several n ew lo gical ch an n els
an d th eir m ap p in g o n to p h ysical resou rces h ave been d efin ed . For exam p le, on e
MS can allo cate u p t o eigh t p a ck et d a t a t r a ffi c ch a n n els (PDTCH s). Cap acity
can be allo cat ed on d em an d an d sh ared between circu it-switch ed ch an n els an d
GPRS. Th is allocation can be d o n e d yn am ically with lo ad su p ervisio n o r altern a-
tively, cap acity can be p re-allo cated .
A very im p o rt an t fact o r for an y ap p licat io n wo rkin g en d -t o -en d is t h at it
d o es n o t ‘n o t ice’ an y d et ails fro m t h e G SM/ GPRS-relat ed in frast ru ct u re. Th e
ap p licat io n u ses, e.g., TCP o n t o p o f IP, IP p acket s are t u n n eled t o t h e GGSN,
wh ich forward s th em in t o th e PDN. All PDNs forward th eir p ackets for a GPRS
u ser t o t h e GGSN, t h e GGSN asks th e cu rren t SGSN for tu n n el p aram eters, an d
fo rw ard s t h e p acket s via SG SN t o t h e MS. Alt h o u gh M Ss u sin g G PRS m ay b e
co n sid ered as p art o f th e in t ern et, on e sh o u ld kn ow th at o p erators typically p er-
form an ad d ress tran slatio n in t h e GGSN u sin g NAT. All MSs are assign ed p rivate
IP ad d resses wh ich are th en tran slat ed in to glo b al ad d resses at t h e GGSN. Th e
ad van t age o f th is ap p roach is th e in h eren t p rot ectio n of MSs from attacks (t h e
su bscrib er typ ically h as to p ay for traffic even if it origin ates fro m an at tack!) –
p rivat e ad d resses are n o t ro u t ed t h ro u gh t h e in t ern et so it is n o t p o ssib le t o
130 Mobile communicat ions

reach an MS fro m t h e in t ern et . Th is is also a d isad van t age if an MS wan t s t o

o ffer a service u sin g a fixed , glob ally visible IP ad d ress. Th is is d ifficu lt with IPv4
a n d N AT a n d it w ill b e in t erest in g t o see h o w IPv6 is u sed fo r t h is p u rp o se
(wh ile still p ro tectin g th e MSs fro m o u tsid e attacks as air traffic is exp en sive).

4.2 DECT

An oth er fully digital cellular n etwork is th e d igita l en h an ced cord less t elecom m u -
n ica t ion s (DECT) syst em specified by ETSI (2002, 1998j, k), (DECT Forum , 2002).
Form erly also called d igit a l Eu ro p ea n co rd less t elep h o n e a n d d igit a l Eu rop ea n
cord less t elecom m u n icat ion s, DECT replaces older an alog cordless ph on e system s
su ch as CT1 an d CT1+. Th ese an alog system s o n ly en su red secu rity to a lim it ed
exten t as th ey did n ot use en cryp tion for data tran sm ission an d on ly offered a rela-
t ively low capacity. DECT is also a m ore p owerfu l alt ern ative to th e digital syst em
CT2, wh ich is m ain ly u sed in t h e UK (t h e DEC T st an d ard wo rks t h rou gh o u t
Eu rop e), an d h as even been selected as on e of th e 3G can didates in th e IMT-2000
fam ily (see section 4.4). DECT is m ain ly used in offices, on cam pus, at trade sh ows,
or in th e h om e. Furth erm ore, access poin ts to th e PSTN can be establish ed with in ,
e.g., railway st at io n s, large go vern m en t bu ild in gs an d h ospit als, offerin g a m u ch
ch eaper teleph on e service com pared to a GSM system . DECT could also be used to
brid ge th e last few h un dred m eters between a n ew n etwork operator an d custom ers.
Usin g th is ‘sm all ran ge’ local loop , n ew com p an ies can offer th eir service with ou t
h avin g th eir own lin es in stalled in th e streets. DECT system s offer m an y differen t
in terworkin g un its, e.g., with GSM, ISDN, or data n etworks. Curren tly, over 100 m il-
lion DECT un its are in use (DECT, 2002).
A b ig d ifferen ce b et ween DECT an d GSM exist s in t erm s o f cell d iam et er
an d cell cap acity. W h ile GSM is d esign ed fo r ou td o or u se with a cell d iam eter o f
u p t o 70 km , th e ran ge of DECT is lim ited to abou t 300 m fro m th e base st at io n
(on ly aro u n d 50 m are feasible in sid e bu ild in gs d ep en d in g on t h e walls). Du e to
t h is lim it ed ran ge an d ad d it ion al m u ltip lexin g t ech n iq u es, DECT can o ffer its
service to som e 10,000 p eo p le wit h in o n e km 2 . Th is is a typ ical scen ario wit h in
a big city, wh ere t h o u san d s o f o ffices are lo cated in skyscrap ers close t o get h er.
DECT also u ses base statio n s, bu t t h ese base st ation s t o get h er with a m o bile st a-
t io n are in a p rice ran ge o f €100 co m p ared t o several €10,000 fo r a GSM b ase
st at io n . GSM base st atio n s can typ ically n o t b e u sed b y in d ivid u als fo r p rivat e
n etwo rks. On e reason is licen sin g as all GSM freq u en cies h ave been licen sed to
n etwo rk op erators. DECT can also h an d le h an d over, bu t it was n o t d esign ed to
w o rk at a h igh er sp eed (e.g., u p t o 2 5 0 km / h like G SM syst em s). Devices
h an d lin g GSM an d DECT exist bu t h ave n ever been a com m ercial su ccess.
D EC T wo rks at a freq u en cy ran ge o f 1 8 8 0 –19 9 0 M H z o fferin g 1 2 0 fu ll
d u p lex ch an n els. Tim e d ivisio n d u p lex (TDD) is ap p lied u sin g 1 0 m s fram es.
Th e freq u en cy ran ge is su bd ivided in to 10 carrier freq u en cies u sin g FDMA, each
fram e b ein g d ivid ed in t o 2 4 slo t s u sin g TDM A. Fo r t h e TDD m ech an ism ,
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 131

1 2 slo t s are u sed as u p lin k, 1 2 slo t s as d o wn lin k (see Figu re 3 .4 ). Th e d igit al

m o d u lat ion sch em e is GMSK – each station h as an average tran sm ission p o wer
of on ly 10 m W wit h a m axim u m of 250 m W.

4.2.1 Syst em archit ecture

A DECT system , m ay h ave variou s d ifferen t p h ysical im p lem en tatio n d ep en d in g
o n it s act u al u se. Differen t DECT en t it ies can be in t egrat ed in t o o n e p h ysical
u n it; en t it ies can b e d ist rib u t ed , rep licat ed et c. Ho wever, all im p lem en t at io n s
are b ased o n t h e sa m e lo gical referen ce m o d el o f t h e syst em a rch it ect u re as
sh o w n in Figu re 4 .1 8 . A g lo b a l n et w o r k co n n ect s t h e lo cal co m m u n icat io n
stru ctu re to th e o u tsid e wo rld an d offers its services via th e in t erface D 1 . Global
n et wo rks co u ld be in tegrat ed services d igital n etwo rks (ISDN), p u b lic switch ed
telep h o n e n etworks (PSTN), pu blic lan d m obile n etworks (PLMN), e.g., GSM, o r
p acket switch ed p u blic d ata n etwork (PSPDN). Th e services o ffered by th ese n et-
w o rks in clu d e t ra n sp o rt a t io n o f d at a an d t h e t ran slat io n o f a d d resses an d
rou tin g of d ata bet ween t h e local n etworks.
Lo c a l n et w o r k s in t h e DECT co n t ex t o ffer lo cal t eleco m m u n icat io n ser-
vices t h a t can in clu d e everyt h in g fro m sim p le sw it ch in g t o in t elligen t call
fo rward in g, ad d ress t ran slat io n et c. Exam p les fo r su ch n etwo rks are an alo g o r
d igital p rivate bran ch exch an ges (PBXs) o r LANs, e.g., th o se followin g t h e IEEE
802.x fam ily o f LANs. As th e core of t h e DECT system it self is q u ite sim p le, all
typ ical n etwo rk fu n ctio n s h ave to be in t egrat ed in th e local or glo bal n etwork,
wh ere t h e d at ab ases h o m e d a t a b a se (H D B) an d v isit o r d a t a b a se (VDB) are
also lo cated . Bot h d atabases su p p o rt m obility with fu n ctio n s t h at are sim ilar to
th o se in th e HLR an d VLR in GSM syst em s. In com in g calls are au t o m atically fo r-
ward ed to th e cu rren t su bsystem resp on sible fo r th e DECT u ser, an d th e cu rren t
VDB in form s t h e HDB abo u t ch an ges in location .

Figure 4.18
D4 D3
DECT system
VDB architecture reference
PA PT D2 model
FT local HDB
network
PA PT D1

global
FT
network

local
network
132 Mobile communicat ions

Th e DECT co re n et wo rk co n sist s o f t h e fix ed r a d io t er m in a t io n (FT) an d

th e p o r t a b le ra d io t erm in a t io n (PT), an d basically o n ly p ro vid es a m u ltip lex-
in g service. FT an d PT co ver layers o n e to t h ree at th e fixed n et work sid e an d
m o bile n etwo rk sid e resp ectively. Ad d ition ally, several p o rtable ap p licat ion s (PA)
can be im p lem en ted o n a d evice.

4.2.2 Prot ocol archit ect ure

Th e DECT p rotocol referen ce arch itectu re follows th e OSI referen ce m od el. Figu re
4.19 sh ows th e layers covered by th e stan d ard : th e p h ysical layer, m ediu m access
co n t ro l, an d d at a lin k co n t ro l 8 fo r b o t h t h e c o n t r o l p la n e (C-Pla n e) an d t h e
u ser p la n e (U-Pla n e). An ad d it io n al n et wo rk layer h as b een sp ecified fo r t h e
C-Plan e, so t h at u ser d at a fro m layer two is d irect ly fo rward ed t o t h e U-Plan e.
A m an agem en t p lan e vertically covers all lower layers of a DECT system .

4.2.2.1 Physical layer

As in all wireless n etworks, th e p h ysica l la yer com prises all fun ction s for m odula-
t io n / d em od u lat ion , in com in g sign al d et ect io n , sen d er/ receiver syn ch ron izat ion ,
an d collection of status in form ation for th e m an agem en t plan e. Th is layer gen erates
t h e ph ysical ch an n el structu re with a certain , gu aran teed t h rough p ut. On req u est
from th e MAC layer, th e ph ysical layer assign s a ch an n el for data tran sm ission .

Figure 4.19
C-Plane U-Plane
DECT protocol
signaling, application
layers
interworking processes

network
layer OSI layer 3
management

data link data link

control control
OSI layer 2
medium access control

physical layer OSI layer 1

8 St rict ly sp eakin g, t h e n am e “d at a lin k con trol” fo r th e u p p er p art of layer two is wron g in t h is arch i-
t ect u re. Acco rd in g t o t h e OSI referen ce m od el, t h e d at a lin k co n trol (layer t wo ) com p rises th e logical
lin k co n tro l (layer 2b) an d th e m ed iu m access con trol (layer 2a).
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 133

Figure 4.20
1 frame = 10 ms
DECT multiplex and
frame structure

12 down slots 12 up slots

slot guard 420 bit + 52 µs guard time (“ 60 bit” )

0 419
in 0.4167 ms
sync D field
0 31 0 387

A: network control A field B field X field

B: user data 0 63 0 319 0 3
X: transmission quality

protected DATA C DATA C DATA C DATA C

25.6 kbit/s mode 64 16 64 16 64 16 64 16
simplex bearer
32 kbit/s unprotected
DATA
mode

Figu re 4.20 sh o w s t h e st an d ard TDM A fram e st ru ct u re u sed in DECT an d

som e typ ical d ata p ackets. Each fram e h as a d u ratio n o f 10 m s an d co n tain s 12
slo t s fo r t h e d o w n lin k an d 1 2 slo t s fo r t h e u p lin k in t h e b a sic c o n n e ct io n
m o d e. If a m o b ile n o d e receives d ata in slo t s, it retu rn s d at a in slot s+12. An
a d va n ced co n n ect io n m o d e allows d ifferen t allocatio n sch em es. Each slot h as
a d u rat io n o f 0 .4 1 6 7 m s a n d can co n t ain several d ifferen t p h ysical p acket s.
Typ ically, 420 bits are u sed fo r d ata; t h e rem ain in g 52 µs are left as gu a rd sp a ce.
Th e 420 dat a b its are again d ivid ed in to a 32 bit syn ch ro n iza t io n p a t t ern fo l-
lo wed b y th e d a t a field D.
Th e field s fo r d ata tran sm issio n n o w u se t h ese rem ain in g 388 b it s fo r n et -
w o rk co n t ro l (A field ), u ser d a t a (B field ), an d th e tran sfer o f t h e t ra n sm issio n
q u a li t y (X field ). W h ile n et w o rk co n t ro l is t ran sm it t ed w it h a d a t a ra t e o f
6.4 kb it / s (6 4 b it each 10 m s), t h e u ser d at a rat e d ep en d s o n ad d it io n al erro r
co rrection m ech an ism s. Th e sim p lex b ea rer p ro vid es a d ata rate o f 32 kbit/ s in
an u n p ro t ect ed m o d e, wh ile u sin g a 16 bit CRC ch eck su m C fo r a d ata b lo ck
o f 64 bit in t h e p ro t ect ed m o d e red u ces th e d at a rate t o 25.6 kb it / s. A d u p lex
b ea rer service is p ro d u ced by com bin in g two sim p lex bearers. DECT also d efin es
b earer t yp es w it h h igh er t h ro u gh p u t s b y co m b in in g slo t s, e.g., t h e d o u b l e
d u p lex b ea rer offers 80 kbit/ s fu ll-d u p lex.
134 Mobile communicat ions

4.2.2.2 Medium access cont rol layer

Th e m ed iu m a ccess co n t r o l (M AC) layer est ab lish es, m ain t ain s, an d releases
ch an n els for h igh er layers by activatin g an d d eactivatin g p h ysical ch an n els. MAC
m u lt ip lexes several lo gical ch an n els o n t o p h ysical ch an n els. Lo gical ch an n els
exist fo r sign alin g n et wo rk co n t ro l, u ser d at a t ran sm issio n , p agin g, o r sen d in g
broad cast m essages. Ad dition al services offered in clu d e segm en tation / reassem bly
of p ackets an d error con trol/ error correction .

4.2.2.3 Dat a link control layer

Th e d a t a lin k co n t r o l (D LC) layer creat es an d m ain tain s reliable co n n ect io n s
b et ween t h e m o b ile t erm in al an d t h e b ase st at io n . Tw o services h ave b een
d efin ed fo r th e C-Pla n e: a co n n ect io n less b r o a d ca st service for p agin g (called
Lb ) an d a p o in t -t o -p o in t p ro to co l sim ilar to LAPD in ISDN, bu t adap t ed to th e
u n d erlyin g MAC (called LAPC+Lc).
Several services exist for th e U-Pla n e, e.g., a tran sp aren t u n p rotected service
(basically a n u ll service), a fo rward erro r co rrectio n service, rat e ad ap tation ser-
vices, an d services fo r fu tu re en h an cem en ts. If services are u sed , e.g., t o tran sfer
ISDN d at a at 64 kbit / s, t h en DECT also t ries t o t ran sfer 64 kb it / s. Ho wever, in
case o f erro rs, DECT raises t h e t ran sfer rate to 72 kbit/ s, an d in clu d es FEC an d a
b u ffer fo r u p t o eigh t b lo cks t o p erfo rm ARQ . Th is b u ffer t h en in t ro d u ces an
ad d itio n al d elay of u p to 80 m s.

4.2.2.4 Net work layer

Th e n et w o rk la y er o f DECT is sim ilar to th ose in ISDN an d GSM an d on ly exists
fo r t h e C-Pla n e. Th is layer p rovid es services to req u est , ch eck, reserve, co n tro l,
an d release resou rces at t h e fixed station (co n n ectio n to t h e fixed n etwork, wire-
less co n n ect io n ) an d t h e m o bile t erm in al (wireless co n n ect io n ). Th e m o b ilit y
m a n a gem en t (MM ) with in t h e n etwo rk layer is resp o n sib le fo r id en t ity m an -
agem en t, au th en ticatio n , an d th e m an agem en t of t h e lo cation d ata bases. Ca ll
co n t r o l (CC) h an d les con n ectio n setu p , release, an d n ego tiatio n . Two m essage
services, t h e co n n ect io n o r ien t ed m essa g e ser v ice (COM S) an d th e co n n ec-
t io n less m essa ge ser v ice (CLM S) t ran sfer d at a t o an d fro m t h e in t erwo rkin g
u n it t h at co n n ect s th e DECT syst em with t h e o u tsid e world .

4.3 TETRA

Tru n ked rad io system s con stitu te an o th er m eth od of wireless d ata tran sm ission .
Th ese system s u se m an y differen t radio carriers bu t on ly assign a sp ecific carrier to
a certain u ser for a sh ort period of tim e accordin g to d em an d . W h ile, for exam p le,
t ax i services, t ran sp o rt co m p an ies wit h fleet m an agem en t syst em s an d rescu e
team s all h ave th eir own u n iq u e carrier freq u en cy in tradition al system s, th ey can
sh are a wh ole grou p of freq u en cies in tru n ked radio system s for better freq u en cy
reu se via FDM an d TDM t ech n iq u es. Th ese typ es of radio system s typ ically offer
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 135

in terfaces to th e fixed telep h on e n etwork, i.e., voice an d data services, bu t are n ot

p u blicly accessible. Th ese system s are n ot on ly sim p ler th an m ost oth er n etworks,
th ey are also reliable an d relatively ch eap to set up an d operate, as th ey on ly h ave
to cover th e region wh ere th e local u sers op erate, e.g., a city taxi service.
To allo w a co m m o n syst em t h ro u gh o u t Eu ro p e, ETSI st an d ard ized t h e
TETRA system (t er rest ria l t ru n k ed rad io )9 in 1991 (ETSI, 2002), (TETRA Mo U,
2002). Th is system sh o u ld rep lace n atio n al syst em s, su ch as MODACOM, MOBI-
TEX an d COGNITO in Eu rop e th at typ ically co n n ect t o an X.25 p acket n etwork.
(An ex am p le syst em fro m t h e US is ARDIS.) TETRA o ffers t wo st an d ard s: t h e
Vo ice+Da t a (V+D) service (ETSI, 1998l) an d th e p a ck et d a t a o p t im ized (PDO)
service (ETSI, 1998m ). W h ile V+D o ffers circu it -switch ed vo ice an d d ata tran s-
m issio n , PDO o n ly o ffers p acket d at a tran sm issio n , eit h er con n ect io n -o rien ted
to con n ect to X.25 or con n ection less fo r th e ISO CLNS (co n n ectio n less n etwork
service). Th e lat ter service can be p o in t-to-p oin t or p oin t -to-m u ltip oin t, th e typ -
ical d elay fo r a sh o rt m essage (1 2 8 b yt e) b ein g less t h an 1 0 0 m s. V+D
co n n ect io n m o d es co m p rise u n icast an d broad cast co n n ectio n s, gro u p co m m u -
n icat io n with in a certain p rot ect ed gro u p , an d a d irect ad h oc m o de with o u t a
base station . However, d elays for sh ort m essages can be u p to 500 m s or h igh er
d ep en d in g on th e p riority.
TETRA also o ffers b earer services o f u p to 28.8 kb it / s fo r u n p ro t ected d at a
tran sm ission an d 9.6 kbit/ s for p ro tect ed tran sm issio n . Exam p les for en d -to -en d
services are call forward in g, call barrin g, id en tification , call h o ld , call p rio rities,
em ergen cy calls an d gro u p join s. Th e system arch it ectu re o f TETRA is very sim i-
lar to GSM. Via th e rad io in terface U m , th e m o b ile st a t io n (M S) con n ects t o th e
sw it ch in g a n d m a n a gem en t in fra st r u ct u r e (Sw M I), wh ich co n t ain s t h e u ser
d ata bases (HDB, VDB), t h e base st at ion , an d in terfaces to PSTN, ISDN, o r PDN.
Th e system it self, h o wever, is m u ch sim p ler in real im p lem en t atio n co m p ared
to GSM, as typ ically n o h an d o ver is n eed ed . Taxis u su ally rem ain with in a cer-
tain area wh ich can b e covered by on e TETRA cell.
Several freq u en cies h ave b een sp ecified fo r TETRA w h ich u ses FDD (e.g.,
38 0–390 M Hz u p lin k/ 3 90–40 0 MHz d o wn lin k, 41 0–420 M Hz u p lin k/ 4 20–43 0
M Hz d o w n lin k). Each ch an n el h as a b an d wid t h o f 2 5 kH z a n d can carry
36 kbit/ s. Mod u lation is DQPSK. W h ile V+D u ses u p to fo u r TDMA vo ice o r d ata
ch a n n els p er carrier, PDO p erfo rm s st at ist ical m u lt ip lex in g. Fo r accessin g a
ch an n el, slo t ted Aloh a is u sed .
Figu re 4.21 sh ows th e typ ical TDMA fra m e st ru ct u re of TETRA. Each fra m e
con sists of fou r slots (fou r ch an n els in th e V+D service p er carrier), with a fram e
du ration of 56.67 m s. Each slo t carries 510 bits with in 14.17 m s, i.e., 36 kbit/ s. 16
fram es toget h er with o n e co n t ro l fra m e (CF) form a m u lt ifra m e, an d fin ally, a
h yp erfram e con tain s 60 m ultifram es. To avoid sen d in g an d receivin g at th e sam e
tim e, TETRA sh ifts th e u plin k for a period of two slots com pared to th e d own lin k.

9 Fo rm erly kn o w n as t ra n s-Eu ro p ea n t ru n ked ra d io , b u t wo rld w id e m arket in g is b et t er w it h o u t

“Eu ro p e” in t h e n am e (see DECT).
136 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 4.21
TETRA frame hyperframe
structure 0 1 2 ... 57 58 59 61.2 s

multiframe

0 1 2 ... 15 16 17 1.02 s

CF
frame

0 1 2 3 56.67 ms

slot 14.17 ms
0 509

TETRA offers t ra ffi c ch a n n els (TCH ) an d co n t ro l ch a n n els (CCH ) sim ilar

to GSM. Typ ical TCHs are TCH/ S for voice tran sm issio n , an d TCH/ 7.2, TCH/ 4.8,
TCH/ 2.4 fo r d ata tran sm ission (d ep en d in g o n th e FEC m ech an ism s req u ired ).
However, in con trast to GSM, TETRA offers ad dition al services like grou p call,
ackn o wled ged gro u p call, bro ad cast call, an d d iscreet listen in g. Em ergen cy ser-
vices n eed a su b-secon d grou p -call setu p in h arsh en viron m en t s wh ich p o ssibly
lack all in frastru ctu re. Th ese featu res are cu rren tly n ot available in GSM or oth er
typ ical m obile telep h on e n etworks, so TETRA is com p lem en tary to oth er system s.
TETRA h as been ch osen by m an y govern m en t organ ization s in Eu rop e an d Ch in a.

4.4 UMTS and IMT-2000

A lo t h as been writ t en abo u t t h ird gen erat io n (o r 3G) n etwo rks in th e last few
years. After a lo t o f h yp e an d fru stration t h ese n etwo rks are cu rren t ly d ep lo yed
in m a n y co u n t ries aro u n d t h e wo rld . Bu t h o w d id it all st art ? First o f all, t h e
In tern atio n al Teleco m m u n ication Un ion (ITU) m ad e a req u est fo r p rop osals fo r
rad io t ran sm issio n t ech n o lo gies (RTT) fo r t h e in t er n a t io n a l m o b ile t eleco m -
m u n ica t io n s (IM T) 20 00 p ro gram (ITU, 2002), (Callen d ar, 1997), (Sh afi, 1998).
IMT-2000, fo rm erly called fu tu re p u blic lan d m o bile teleco m m u n icat io n syst em
(FPLMTS), tried to est ablish a co m m o n wo rld wid e com m u n icatio n system th at
allo w ed fo r t erm in al an d u ser m o b ilit y, su p p o rt in g t h e id ea o f u n iversal p er-
so n al t eleco m m u n icat io n (UPT). Wit h in t h is co n t ext , ITU h as creat ed several
reco m m en d at io n s fo r FPLMTS syst em s, e.g., n et wo rk arch it ect u res fo r FPLMTS
(M.8 1 7 ), Req u irem en t s fo r t h e Rad io In t erface(s) fo r FPLM TS (M.1 0 3 4 ), o r
Fram ewo rk fo r Services Su p p o rt ed b y FPLMTS (M .8 1 6 ). Th e n u m b er 2 0 0 0 in
IM T-2 000 sh o u ld in d icat e t h e st art o f t h e syst em (year 2 000+x ) an d t h e sp ec-
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 137

tru m u sed (arou n d 2000 MHz). IMT-2000 in clu d es d ifferen t en viro n m en ts su ch

as in d o o r u se, veh icles, sat ellit es an d p ed est rian s. Th e wo rld rad io co n feren ce
(W RC) 1 9 9 2 id en t ified 1 8 8 5 –2 0 2 5 a n d 2 1 1 0 –2 2 0 0 M Hz as t h e freq u en cy
b a n d s t h at sh o u ld b e availab le wo rld w id e fo r t h e n ew IMT-2 0 0 0 syst em s
(Reco m m en d atio n ITU-R M.1036). With in th ese ban d s, t wo tim es 30 MHz h ave
been reserved for m ob ile satellit e services (MSS).
Figu re 4.22 sh ows th e ITU freq u en cy allocation (from th e world ad m in istra-
t ive rad io co n feren ce, 1992) t o geth er wit h exam p les fro m several regio n s th at
alread y in d icate th e p roblem of world wid e com m on freq u en cy ban ds. In Eu rop e,
so m e p art s o f th e ITU’s freq u en cy ban d s for IMT-2000 are alread y allo cat ed fo r
DECT (see section 4.2). Th e rem ain in g freq u en cies h ave been sp lit in to ban ds for
UTRA-FDD (u p lin k: 1 92 0–198 0 MHz, d o wn lin k: 21 10 –217 0 M Hz) an d UTRA-
TDD (1900–1920 MHz an d 2010–2025 MHz). Th e tech n ology beh in d UTRA-FDD
an d –TDD will su bseq u en tly be exp lain ed in m ore d etail as th ey form th e basis of
UM TS. Cu rren t ly, n o o t h er syst em is p lan n ed fo r IMT-2 0 0 0 in Eu ro p e. Mo re
ban d wid th is available in Ch in a for th e Ch in ese 3G system TD-SCDMA or p oss-
ib ly o t h er 3G t ech n o lo gies (su ch as W-C DM A o r cd m a2 0 0 0 – it is st ill o p en
wh ich system will d om in at e th e Ch in ese m arket; Ch en , 2002). Again sligh tly d if-
feren t freq u en cies are u sed b y t h e 3 G services in Jap an , wh ich are b ased o n
W-CDMA (like UTRA-FDD) or cd m a2000. An op en q u estion is th e fu tu re of 3G in
th e US as t h e ITU’s freq u en cy ban ds h ave alread y been allocated for 2G n etworks
o r are reserved fo r o t h er u se. In ad d it io n t o t h e o rigin al freq u en cy allocatio n s,
th e wo rld rad io co n feren ce (W RC) allo cat ed n ew t errestrial IMT-2000 ban d s in
t h e ran ge o f 8 00 –1 0 0 0 M Hz, 1 7 0 0 –1 9 00 M Hz an d 25 0 0 –2 7 0 0 MH z in 2 00 0 .
Th is ap p roach in clu d es th e reu se of 2G sp ectru m (Evci, 2001).

Figure 4.22
1850 1900 1950 2000 2050 2100 2150 2200 MHz
IMT-2000 frequencies

ITU allocation MSS MSS

IMT-2000 IMT-2000
(WRC 1992)

GSM DE T UTRA MSS T UTRA MSS

Europe
1800 CT D FDD D FDD
D D

GSM MSS MSS

China IMT-2000 IMT-2000
1800

cdma2000 MSS cdma2000 MSS

Japan PHS
W-CDMA W-CDMA

North MSS MSS

PCS rsv.
America

1850 1900 1950 2000 2050 2100 2150 2200 MHz

138 Mobile communicat ions

N o w t h e read er m igh t b e co n fu sed b y all t h e d ifferen t t ech n o lo gies m en -

t io n ed in t h e co n text o f IMT-2000. Wasn ’t t h e p lan to h ave a co m m o n glo b al
syst em ? Th is was t h e o rigin al p lan , b u t aft er m an y p o lit ical d iscu ssio n s an d
figh t s ab o u t p at en t s t h is id ea was d ro p p ed an d a so -called fam ily o f 3G st an -
d ard s was ad op ted .
Fo r th e RTT, several p ro p osals were received in 1998 for in d o or, p ed estrian ,
veh icu lar, an d sat ellit e en viro n m en ts. Th ese cam e fro m m an y d ifferen t o rgan -
izat io n s, e.g., U W C -1 3 6 fro m t h e Un iversal W ireless C o m m u n icat io n s
Con so rtiu m (US) th at ext en d s th e IS-136 stan d ard in to th e th ird gen eratio n sys-
t em s, cd m a 2 0 0 0 th at is b ased o n t h e IS-95 syst em (US), an d wid eb an d p acket
C DM A (W P-C DM A) w h ich t ries t o align t o t h e Eu ro p ea n UTRA p ro p o sa l.
Basically, t h ree b ig regio n s w ere su b m it t in g p ro p o sals t o t h e ITU: ETSI fo r
Eu ro p e, ARIB (Asso ciat io n o f Ra d io In d u st ries an d Bro ad cast in g) an d TTC
(Teleco m m u n icat io n s Tech n o lo gy C o u n cil) fo r Jap an , an d ANSI (Am erican
Natio n al Stan d ard s In stitu te) for t h e US.
Th e Eu rop ean p ro p o sal fo r IMT-2000 p rep ared b y ETSI is called u n iv er sa l
m o b ile t eleco m m u n ica t io n s syst em (UMTS) (Dasilva, 1997), (Ojan p erä, 1998),
th e sp ecific p ro p o sal for th e rad io in terface RTT is UM TS (n o w : u n iversa l) t er-
r e st r i a l r a d i o a c ce ss (U TRA) (ETSI, 1 9 9 8 n ), (UM TS Fo ru m , 2 0 0 2 ). UM TS as
in itially p rop osed by ETSI rath er rep resen ts an evo lu tio n from th e secon d gen er-
atio n GSM system to th e th ird gen erat ion th an a co m p letely n ew system . In th is
way, m an y solu tion s h ave been p rop osed fo r a sm oo th tran sitio n from GSM t o
UMTS, savin g m o n ey by exten d in g th e cu rren t syst em rat h er t h an in trod u cin g a
n ew o n e (GSMMoU, 1998).
O n e in itial en h an cem en t o f GSM t o ward UMTS was en h a n ced d a t a r a t es
fo r g l o b a l (o r : G SM ) ev o l u t i o n (ED G E), wh ich u ses en h an ced m o d u lat io n
sch em es (8 PSK in stead of GSM’s GMSK, see ch ap ter 2) an d oth er tech n iq u es for
d ata rates of u p to 384 kbit/ s u sin g th e sam e 200 kHz wid e carrier an d th e sam e
freq u en cies as GSM (i.e., a d ata rate of 48 kbit/ s p er tim e slot is available). EDGE
can b e in t ro d u ced in crem en t ally o fferin g so m e ch an n els with EDGE en h an ce-
m en t th at can switch bet ween EDGE an d GSM/ GPRS. In Eu rop e, EDGE was n ever
u sed as a step toward UMTS bu t op erators d irectly ju m p ed on to UMTS. However,
EDGE can also be ap p lied to th e US IS-136 system an d m ay be a ch oice for op era-
tors t h at wan t t o en h an ce th eir 2G system s (3G Am ericas, 2002).
Besid es en h a n cin g d at a rat es, n ew ad d it io n s t o G SM , like c u st o m ized
a p p lica t io n fo r m o b ile en h a n ce d l o g ic (CAM EL) in t ro d u ce in t elligen t n et -
work su p p ort. Th is system su pp o rts, for exam p le, th e creation o f a virt u a l h o m e
en v ir o n m en t (VH E) fo r visit in g su b scrib ers. GSMMo U (199 8) p ro vid es m an y
p ro p o sals co verin g Q o S asp ect s, ro am in g, services, b illin g, acco u n t in g, rad io
asp ects, core n etwo rks, access n etwo rks, t erm in al req u irem en t s, secu rit y, ap p li-
cation d om ain s, op erat io n an d m ain ten an ce, an d several m igration asp ect s.
UMTS fit s in t o a bigger fram ewo rk d evelo p ed in th e m id -n in eties by ETSI,
called glo b a l m u lt im ed ia m o b ilit y (GMM ). GMM p ro vid es an arch itect u re t o
in t egrat e m o b ile an d fix ed t er m in a l s, m an y d ifferen t a cc ess n et w o r k s (GSM
BSS, DECT, ISDN, UMTS, LAN, WAN, CATV, MBS), an d several co r e t r a n sp o r t
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 139

n et w o rk s (GSM NSS+IN, ISDN+IN, B-ISDN+TINA, TCP/ IP) (ETSI, 2002). With in

t h is fram ewo rk, ETSI d evelo p ed b a sic r eq u ir em en t s fo r UM TS an d fo r UTRA,
th e rad io in terface (ETSI, 1998h ). Key req u irem en ts are m in im u m d ata rates of
144 kb it/ s fo r ru ral o u td o o r access (wit h t h e go al o f 384 kb it / s) at a m axim u m
sp eed of 500 km / h . 10 Fo r su bu rban ou td o or u se a m in im u m o f 384 kbit/ s sh ou ld
be ach ieved with th e goal o f 512 kbit/ s at 120 km / h . For in d oo r o r city u se with
relatively sh o rt ran ges, u p to 2 Mbit / s are req u ired at 10 km / h (walkin g).
UMTS sh o u ld also p ro vid e several b earer services, real-t im e an d n o n real-
tim e services, circu it an d p acket switch ed tran sm ission , an d m an y d ifferen t d ata
rat es. Han d over sh ou ld be p ossible between UMTS cells, bu t also between UMTS
an d G SM o r sat ellit e n et wo rks. Th e syst em sh o u ld b e co m p at ib le wit h G SM,
ATM, IP, an d ISDN-based n etwo rks. To reflect th e asym m etric ban dwid th n eed s
o f typ ical u sers, UMTS sh o u ld p ro vid e a variab le d ivisio n o f u p lin k an d d o wn -
lin k d at a rat es. Fin ally, UMTS h as t o fit in t o t h e IMT-20 00 fram ework (t h is is
p ro b ab ly t h e d ecisive fact o r fo r it s su ccess). As t h e glo b al UM TS ap p ro ach is
rat h er am b it io u s, a m o re realist ic a lt ern at ive fo r t h e in it ia l st ages wo u ld b e
UMTS cells in cities p rovid in g a su bset of services.
Several co m p an ies an d in t erest gro u p s h ave h an d ed in p ro p o sals fo r UTRA
(ETSI, 1 9 9 8i), o f wh ich ETSI select ed t wo fo r UMTS in Jan u ary 19 9 8 . Fo r t h e
p a ir ed b a n d (u sin g FDD as a d u p lex m ech an ism ), ETSI ad o p ted th e W-CDMA
(W id eb an d C DM A) p ro p o sal, fo r t h e u n p a ir e d b a n d (u sin g TD D as d u p lex
m ech an ism ) t h e TD -CD M A (Tim e Divisio n CDM A) p ro p o sal is u sed (Ad ach i,
1 99 8), (Dah lm an , 19 98 ), (ETSI, 1 99 8n ). Th e p aired b an d is t yp ically u sed fo r
p u b lic m obile n etwo rk p roviders (wid e area, see GSM), wh ile th e u n p aired ban d
is o ft en u sed fo r lo cal an d in d o o r co m m u n icat io n (see DECT). Th e fo llo win g
sectio n s will p resen t key p rop ert ies o f th e in itial UMTS syst em .
W h at h ap p en ed t o t h e IMT-2000 fam ily? Figu re 4.23 gives an overview. As a
sin gle st a n d ard co u ld n o t b e fo u n d , t h e ITU st an d a rd ized five gro u p s o f 3 G
rad io access tech n olo gies.

● IM T-D S: Th e d i r e c t sp r e a d t ech n o lo gy co m p rises w id eb an d C DM A (W -

CDM A) syst em s. Th is is t h e t ech n o lo gy sp ecified fo r UTRA-FDD an d u sed
by all Eu rop ean p rovid ers an d th e Jap an ese NTT DoCoMo for 3G wid e area
services. To avo id co m p let e co n fu sio n ITU’s n a m e fo r t h e t ech n o lo gy is
IM T-DS, ETSI called it UTRA-FDD in t h e UMTS co n t ex t , an d t ech n o lo gy
u sed is called W-C DM A (in Jap an t h is is p ro m o t ed as FO M A, freed o m o f
m o bile m u ltim ed ia access). Tod ay, stan d ard izat ion of th is tech n ology takes
p lace in 3GPP (Th ird gen eration p artn ersh ip p ro ject, 3GPP, 2002a). Sect ion
4.4.1 p rovid es m o re d etail abou t th e stan d ard izatio n p ro cess.
● IMT-TC: In itially, th is fam ily m em ber, called t im e co d e, co n tain ed on ly t h e
UTRA-TDD syst em wh ich u ses t im e-d ivision CDMA (TD-CDMA). Lat er o n ,
t h e C h in ese p ro p o sal, TD-syn ch ro n o u s C DM A (TD -SC D M A) was ad d ed .

10 Th is sp eed is a p rob lem as cu rren t ly, on ly DAB can p rovid e h igh er b it rates at h igh sp eed s.
140 Mobile communicat ions

Bo th st an d ard s h ave been co m b in ed an d 3GPP fo sters t h e d evelo p m en t o f

th is tech n o logy. It is u n clear wh en an d to wh at exten t th is tech n olo gy will
b e in trodu ced . Th e in itial UMTS in st allatio n s are based o n W-CDMA.
● IM T-MC: cd m a2000 is a m u lt i-ca r rier t ech n o lo gy stan d ard ized b y 3GPP2
(Th ird gen erat io n p artn ersh ip p ro ject 2, 3GPP2, 2002), wh ich was fo rm ed
sh o rt ly aft er 3GPP to rep resen t t h e seco n d m ain st ream in 3G t ech n olo gy.
Versio n cd m a2000 EV-DO h as been accep ted as th e 3G stan d ard .
● IM T-SC: Th e en h an cem en t of t h e US TDMA system s, UW C-136, is a sin gle
c a r r ie r t ech n o lo gy o rigin ally p ro m o t ed b y t h e Un iversa l W ireless
Co m m u n ication s Co n sortiu m (UW CC). It is n o w in tegrat ed in t o th e 3GPP
efforts. Th is tech n o logy ap p lies EDGE, am o n g ot h ers, to en h an ce th e 2G IS-
136 stan d ard .
● IM T-FT: As freq u en cy t im e tech n ology, an en h an ced version of th e cordless
telep h on e stan d ard DECT h as also been selected for ap p licat ion s th at d o n ot
req u ire h igh m obility. ETSI is resp on sible for th e stan d ard ization of DECT.

Th e m ain d rivin g fo rces in th e stan d ardization p rocess are 3GPP an d 3GPP2.

ETSI h as m oved its GSM stan dard ization p ro cess to 3GPP an d p lays a m ajor role
th ere. 3GPP t en d s to be d om in ated by Eu rop ean an d Jap an ese m an u factu rers an d
st an d ard ization bo d ies, wh ile 3GPP2 is d om in ated by th e com p an y Qu alco m m
an d CDMA n etwork o p erators. Th e q u arrels between Qu alcom m an d Eu ro p ean
m an u fact u rers (e.g., N o kia, Ericsso n ) regard in g C DM A p at en t s (UM TS an d
cd m a2000 u se CDMA) even escalated in to th e p olit ical aren a back in 1998 (US vs
EU). Everyt h in g co o led d o wn wh en h u n d red s o f p at en t s h ad b een exch an ged
an d th e system s h ad been h arm o n ized (e.g., CDMA ch ip p in g rates).

Figure 4.23
The IMT-2000
Interface
family for internetworking

IMT-2000
GSM ANSI-41
Core Network IP-Network
(MAP) (IS-634)
ITU-T

Initial UMTS
Flexible assignment of
(R99 w/FDD)
Core Network and Radio Access

IMT-DS IMT-TC IMT-MC IMT-SC IMT-FT

IMT-2000 (Direct Spread) (Time Code) (Multi Carrier) (Single Carrier) (Freq. Time)
Radio UTRA TDD
Access UTRA FDD (TD-CDMA); cdma2000 UWC-136 DECT
ITU-R (W-CDMA); TD-SCDMA (EDGE)
3GPP 3GPP 3GPP2 UWCC/3GPP ETSI
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 141

Figu re 4.23 sh ows m o re t h an ju st t h e rad io access tech n olo gies. O n e id ea o f

IMT-2000 is th e flexib le assign m en t of a co re n et wo rk to a rad io access system .
Th e classical core n et work u ses SS7 for sign alin g wh ich is en h an ced by ANSI-41
(cd m aO n e, cd m a2000, TDMA) o r MAP (GSM) to en able ro am in g bet ween d iffer-
en t o p erators. Th e evolu t io n to ward 4G system s is in d icat ed by th e u se of all-IP
co re n etwo rks (see Ch ap t er 11). Ob viou sly, in tern et-wo rkin g fu n ction s h ave t o
be p ro vid ed to en able cro ss-system d ata tran sfer, roam in g, billin g etc.

4.4.1 UMTS releases and standardizat ion

UMTS as d iscu ssed to d ay an d in trod u ced in m an y cou n tries relies on th e in itial
release o f th e UMTS st an d ard called relea se 99 o r R99 for sh ort. Th is release o f
t h e sp ecificat io n d escrib es t h e n ew rad io access t ech n o lo gies UTRA FDD an d
UTRA TDD, an d st an d ard izes t h e u se o f a GSM/ GPRS n et wo rk as co re wit h in
440 sep arate sp ecification s. Th is en ables a cost effective m igratio n fro m GSM t o
UMTS. Th e in itial in st allation s will even o ffer th e FDD m od e o n ly as in d icated
in Figu re 4.23. Th is release was (alm o st ) fin alized in 1999 – h en ce t h e n am e R99.
Th e fo llo win g sect io n s will fo cu s o n t h is release as it is u n clear wh en , an d t o
wh at ext en t, th e fo llo win g releases will b e realized .
After R99 th e release 2000 or R00 followed . However, in Sep tem ber 2000 3GPP
realized th at it wou ld be im p ossible to fin alize th e stan dard with in th e year 2000.
3GPP d ecid ed to sp lit R2000 in to two stan d ards an d call th em release 4 (Rel-4) an d
release 5 (Rel-5). Th e versio n o f all st an d ard s fin alized fo r R99 start wit h 3.x.y
(a reason fo r ren am in g R99 in t o Rel-3), Rel-4 an d Rel-5 version s start wit h 4.x.y
an d 5.x.y, resp ectively. Th e stan d ard s are grou p ed in t o series. For exam p le, radio
asp ects are sp ecified in series 25, tech n ical realization in series 23, an d cod ecs in
series 26. Th e com plete stan dard n u m ber (e.g., TS 25.401 V3.10.0) th en iden tifies
th e series (25), th e stan d ard itself (401), th e release (3), an d th e version with in th e
release (10.0). All stan dard s can be d own load ed from www.3gpp.org (th e exam p le
given is th e UTRAN overall description , release 99, from Ju n e 2002).
Relea se 4 in trod u ces q u ality o f service in t h e fixed n etwo rk p lu s several exe-
cu t io n en viro n m en t s (e.g., MExE, m o b ile execu t io n en viro n m en t , see ch ap ter
1 0 ) an d n ew service arch it ect u res. Fu rt h erm o re, t h e C h in ese p ro p o sal, TD-
SC DMA was ad d ed as lo w ch ip rat e o p t io n t o UTRA-TDD (o n ly 1 .28 M ch ip / s
o ccu p yin g o n ly 1.6 M Hz b an d wid th ). Th is release alread y co n sist s o f o ver 500
sp ecificatio n s an d was frozen in March 2001.
Relea se 5 sp ecifies a rad ically d ifferen t core n et wo rk. Th e GSM/ GPRS based
n et wo rk will b e rep laced b y an alm o st all-IP-co re. W h ile t h e rad io in t erfaces
rem ain t h e sam e, th e ch an ges in t h e co re are trem en d o u s fo r teleco m m u n ica-
t io n n et wo rk o p erat o rs wh o h ave u sed t rad it io n al t elep h o n e t ech n o lo gies fo r
m an y years. Th e co n t en t of th is sp ecification was frozen March 2002. Th is stan -
d ard in t egrat es IP-b ased m u lt im ed ia services (IM S) co n t ro lled b y t h e IETF’s
sessio n in it iat io n p ro to co l (SIP, RFC 3261; Ro sen b erg, 2002; SIP Fo ru m , 2002).
A h igh sp eed d o wn lin k p acket access (HSD PA) w it h sp eed s in t h e o rd er o f
142 Mobile communicat ions

8–10 Mbit/ s was ad d ed as well as a wid eban d 16 kHz AMR co d ec fo r bett er au d io

q u alit y. Ad d ition al featu res are en d -to -en d Qo S m essagin g an d several d ata co m -
p ressio n m ech an ism s.
3GPP is cu rren t ly wo rkin g on relea se 6 (an d th in kin g of release 7) wh ich is
exp ected to be frozen in March 2003. Th is release com p rises th e u se of m u lt ip le
in p u t m u lt ip le o u t p u t (M IM O ) an t en n as, en h an ced MM S, secu rit y en h an ce-
m en ts, W LAN/ UMTS in t erworkin g, broad cast/ m u lt icast services, en h an ced IMS,
IP em ergen cy calls, an d m an y m o re m an agem en t featu res (3GPP, 2002a).
Th e read er sh o u ld n o t fo rget th at m an y co m p an ies still h ave t o m ake an y
m o n ey fro m , release 99, so it is n o t clear at wh at tim e an d to wh at ext en t th e
n ew releases will b e im p lem en t ed . Th e fo llo w in g d escrib es t h e in it ial UM TS
stan d ard , release 99, wh ich is cu rren tly d ep loyed .

4.4.2 UMTS syst em architect ure

Figu re 4.24 sh ows th e very sim plified UMTS referen ce arch itectu re wh ich ap p lies
t o b o t h UTRA so lu t io n s (3 GPP, 20 00 ). Th e UTRA n et w o r k (UTRAN) h an d les
cell level m o bility an d com p rises several ra d io n et w o rk su b sy st em s (RNS). Th e
fu n ct io n s o f t h e RNS in clu d e rad io ch an n el cip h erin g an d d ecip h erin g, h an d -
o ver co n t ro l, rad io reso u rce m an agem en t
Figure 4.24 et c. Th e UTRAN is co n n ected t o th e u ser
Uu Iu
Main components e q u ip m en t (UE) via t h e rad io in t erface
of the UMTS
UE UTRAN CN U u (wh ich is co m p arable t o th e U m in t er-
reference
face in GSM). Via th e I u in terface (wh ich
architecture
is sim ila r t o t h e A in t erface in G SM ),
UTRAN com m u n icates with th e co re n et w o rk (CN). Th e CN con tain s fu n ctio n s
fo r in ter-syst em h an d o ver, gat eways to o t h er n et wo rks (fixed o r wireless), an d
p erform s location m an agem en t if th ere is n o d ed icated co n n ect io n between UE
an d UTRAN.
UMTS fu rt h er su b d ivid es t h e ab o ve sim p lified arch it ect u re in t o so -called
d o m a in s (see Figu re 4.25). Th e u ser eq u ip m en t d o m ain is assign ed to a sin gle
u ser an d co m p rises all t h e fu n ct io n s th at are n eed ed t o access UMTS services.
With in th is dom ain are th e USIM d om ain an d th e m obile eq u ipm en t dom ain . Th e
USIM d om ain con tain s th e SIM for UMTS wh ich p erform s fu n ction s for en cryp -
tion an d au th en tication of u sers, an d stores all th e n ecessary u ser-related data for
UMTS. Typ ically, th is USIM b elo n gs to a service p ro vid er an d co n tain s a m icro
p ro cesso r fo r an en h an ced p ro gram execu t io n en viro n m en t (USAT, UMTS SIM
ap plication toolkit). Th e en d d evice itself is in th e m o b ile eq u ip m en t dom ain . All
fu n ction s for radio tran sm ission as well as u ser in terfaces are located h ere.
Th e in fr a st r u ct u re d om ain is sh ared am o n g all u sers an d offers UMTS ser-
vices to all accep t ed u sers. Th is d om ain con sists o f t h e a ccess n et w o rk d om ain ,
wh ich co n t ain s th e rad io access n etworks (RAN), an d t h e core n etwork d o m ain ,
w h ich co n t ain s access n et w o rk in d ep en d en t fu n ct io n s. Th e co r e n et w o r k
d o m ain can b e sep arat ed in t o t h ree d o m ain s wit h sp ecific t asks. Th e ser v in g
n et w o rk d om ain co m p rises all fu n ctio n s cu rren tly u sed by a u ser for accessin g
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 143

Figure 4.25
Home UMTS domains
Network
and interfaces
Domain
Cu Uu Iu Zu Yu

Mobile Access Serving Transit

USIM
Equipment Network Network Network
Domain
Domain Domain Domain Domain

Core Network Domain

User Equipment Domain Infrastructure Domain

UMTS services. All fu n ct io n s relat ed to t h e h om e n et wo rk o f a u ser, e.g., u ser

d ata lo ok-u p , fall in t o th e h o m e n et w o rk d o m ain . Fin ally, th e t ra n sit n et w o rk
d o m ain m ay b e n ecessary if, fo r exam p le, t h e servin g n et wo rk can n o t d irect ly
co n tact th e h o m e n etwo rk. All t h ree d o m ain s with in th e co re n et work m ay be
in fact t h e sam e p h ysical n etwo rk. Th ese d o m ain s on ly d escribe fu n ction alit ies.

4.4.3 UMTS radio interface

Th e biggest d ifferen ce between UMTS an d GSM co m es with th e n ew rad io in ter-
face (U u ). Th e d u p lex m ech an ism s are alread y well kn o wn from GSM (FDD) an d
DECT (TDD). Ho wever, t h e d irect seq u en ce (DS) CDMA u sed in UM TS is n ew
(fo r Eu rop ean stan d ard s, n o t in th e US wh ere CDMA t ech n olo gy h as been avail-
ab le sin ce t h e early n in et ies). DS-CDMA was in t ro d u ced in ch ap t ers 2 an d 3 .
Th is t ech n o lo gy m u lt ip lies a st ream o f b it s w it h a ch ip p in g seq u en ce. Th is
sp read s th e sign al an d , if th e ch ip p in g seq u en ce is u n iq u e, can sep arate d ifferen t
u sers. All sign als u se th e sam e freq u en cy ban d (in UMTS/ IMT-2000 5 MHz-wid e
ban d s h ave been sp ecified an d licen sed to n etwork o p erato rs). To sep arate d iffer-
en t u sers, t h e co d es u sed fo r sp read in g sh o u ld b e (q u asi) orth o go n al, i.e., th eir
cross-correlation sh o u ld be (alm o st ) zero.
UMTS uses a con stan t ch ip p in g ra te of 3.84 Mch ip/ s. Differen t user data rates
can be supported u sin g differen t spreadin g factors (i.e., th e n um ber of ch ips per bit).
Figure 4.26 sh ows th e basic ideas of spreadin g an d separation of differen t sen ders in
UMTS. Th e first st ep in a sen der is sp readin g of u ser data (data i ) u sin g orth ogon al
sp rea d in g codes. Usin g orth ogon al codes sep arates th e differen t data stream s of a
sen der. UMTS u ses so-called or t h ogo n al va riab le sp read in g fa ct o r (OVSF) cod es.
Figu re 4.27 sh ows t h e basic id ea o f O VSF. O rt h o go n al cod es are gen erat ed by
dou blin g a ch ipp in g seq u en ce X with an d with ou t flipp in g th e sign of th e ch ips.
Th is results in X an d –X, respectively. Doublin g th e ch ippin g sequen ce also resu lts
in spreadin g a bit twice as m uch as before. Th e spreadin g factor SF=n becom es 2n .
Startin g with a spreadin g factor of 1, Figure 4.27 sh ows th e gen eration of orth ogon al
codes with differen t spreadin g factors. Two codes are orth ogon al as lon g as on e code
is n ever a p art of th e oth er code. Lookin g at th e codin g tree in Figure 4.27 an d con -
siderin g th e con struction of th e codes, orth ogon ality is gu aran teed if on e code h as
n ot been gen erated based on an oth er. For exam ple, if a sen der uses th e code (1,–1)
144 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 4.26 data1 data2 data3 data4 data5

Spreading and
scrambling of spr. spr. spr. spr. spr.
user date
code1 code2 code3 code1 code4

scrambling scrambling

code1 code2

sender 1 sender 2

with spreadin g factor 2, it is n ot allowed to use an y of th e codes located in th e sub-

trees gen erated out of (1,–1). Th is m ean s th at, e.g., (1,–1,1,–1), (1,–1,–1,1,–1,1,1,–1),
or (1,–1,–1,1,–1,1,1,–1,–1,1,1,–1,1,–1,–1,1) can n ot be u sed an ym ore. However, it is
n o problem to u se codes with differen t spreadin g factors if on e code h as n ot been
gen erated usin g th e oth er. Th us, (1,–1) block on ly th e lower subtree in Figure 4.27,
m an y oth er codes from th e u pper part can still be u sed. An exam ple for a valid com -
b in at io n in O VSF is (1,–1), (1,1,–1,–1), (1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1), (1,1,1,1,–1,–1,–1,–1,
1,1,1,1,–1,–1,–1,–1), (1,1,1,1,–1,–1,–1,–1,–1,–1,–1,–1,1,1,1,1). Th is com bin ation occu-
p ies th e wh ole cod e sp aces an d allows for th e tran sm ission of d ata with differen t
spreadin g factors (2, 4, 8, an d 2*16). Th is exam ple sh ows th e tigh t couplin g of avail-
able spreadin g factors an d orth ogon al codes.
Now rem em ber th at UMTS uses a con stan t ch ipp in g rate (3.84 Mch ip/s). Usin g
differen t spreadin g factors th is directly tran slates in to th e support of differen t data
rates. If th e ch ipp in g rate is con stan t, doublin g th e spreadin g factor m ean s dividin g
th e data rate by two. But th is also m ean s th at UMTS can on ly sup port a sin gle data
stream with SF=1 as th en n o oth er code m ay be u sed. Usin g th e exam ple com bin a-
tion above, a stream with h alf th e m axim um data rate, on e with a fourth , on e with
an eigh th , an d two with a sixteen th are supported at th e sam e tim e.
Each sen d er u ses O VSF t o sp read it s d at a st ream s as Figu re 4.26 sh o ws. Th e
spread in g co des ch osen in th e sen ders can be th e sam e. Usin g differen t sp readin g
cod es in all sen d ers with in a cell wou ld req u ire a lo t of m an agem en t an d wou ld
in crease th e com plexity. After spreadin g all ch ip stream s are added an d scram bled.
Scra m b lin g does n ot spread th e ch ip sequen ce an y furth er but XORs ch ips based on
a code. In th e FDD m od e, th is scram blin g code is un ique for each sen der an d sepa-
rat es all sen d ers (UE an d base st at io n ) in a cell. Aft er scram blin g, t h e sign als o f
differen t sen d ers are quasi orth ogon al. Quasi-orth ogon al sign als h ave th e n ice fea-
tu re t h at t h ey st ay q uasi-ort h o go n al even if t h ey are n o t syn ch ron ized . Usin g
orth ogon al codes wou ld require ch ip-syn ch ron ous reception an d tigh t syn ch ron iza-
tion (t h is is do n e in ot h er CDMA n etworks). For TDD t h e scram blin g code is cell
specific, i.e., all station s in a cell use th e sam e scram blin g code an d cells are separated
usin g differen t cod es. Th e scram bled ch ips are QPSK m odulated an d tran sm itted.
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 145

Figure 4.27
1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1 OVSF code tree used
for orthogonal spreading
1,1,1,1 ...

1,1,1,1,–1,–1,–1,–1
X,X 1,1
1,1,–1,–1,1,1,–1,–1

1,1,–1,–1 ...

1,1,–1,–1,–1,–1,1,1
X 1
1,–1,1,–1,1,–1,1,–1

1,–1,1,–1 ...

1,–1,1,–1,–1,1,–1,1
X,–X 1,–1
1,–1,–1,1,1,–1,–1,1

1,–1,–1,1 ...

1,–1,–1,1,–1,1,1,–1

SF=n SF=2n SF=1 SF=2 SF=4 SF=8

4.4.3.1 UTRA-FDD (W-CDMA)

Th e FDD m o d e fo r UTRA u ses w i d eb a n d C D M A (W -C D M A) w it h d irect
seq u en ce sp read in g. As im p lied b y FDD, u p lin k an d d own lin k u se differen t fre-
q u en cies. A m o b ile st at io n in Eu ro p e sen d s via t h e u p lin k u sin g a carrier
b et ween 1920 an d 1980 MHz, th e b ase st atio n u ses 2110 to 2170 MHz fo r t h e
d o wn lin k (see Figu re 4.22). Figu re 4.28 sh ows a rad io fram e com p risin g 15 tim e
slo t s. Tim e slo t s in W-CDMA are n o t u sed fo r u ser sep arat io n b u t t o su p p o rt
p erio d ic fu n ction s (n o te t h at t h is is in co n trast t o , e.g., GSM, wh ere t im e slo ts
are u sed t o sep arat e u sers!). A rad io fram e co n sist s o f 38 ,40 0 ch ip s an d h as a
d u ratio n o f 10 m s. Each tim e slot con sists o f 2,560 ch ip s, wh ich rou gh ly eq u als
6 6 6 .6 µs. 1 1 Th e o ccu p ied b a n d w id t h p er W-C DM A ch an n el is 4 .4 t o 5 M Hz
(ch an n el sp acin g can be varied to avoid in terferen ce between ch an n els of d iffer-
en t o p erat o rs). Th ese 5 MHz b an d s o f t h e sp ect ru m h ave b een so ld in m an y
co u n tries u sin g an au ctio n o r a beau ty con test. In Germ an y, th e FDD sp ectru m
w as so ld fo r o ver 5 0 b illio n Eu ro s d u rin g an a u ct io n ! Bu t t h a t w as at a t im e
w h en m arket in g p eo p le t ried t o co n vin ce everyo n e t h at UM TS wo u ld b rin g

11 Early versio n o f W-CDM A sp ecified a ch ip p in g rat e o f 4.096 M ch ip / s an d 16 t im e slo ts p er fram e.

Th is was ch an ged d u rin g t h e h arm o n izat ion p rocess wh ich was n ecessary t o avoid p at en t co n flict s
an d t o en able d evices t h at can h an d le d ifferen t CDMA st an d ard s. Th e h arm o n izatio n p ro cess is fo s-
tered by t h e o p erato rs h arm o n izat io n gro u p (OHG), wh ich is an in fo rm al st eerin g gro u p o f wireless
op erat or com p an ies p rom o t in g 3G h arm o n izat io n . Th e O HG was fou n d ed in 1999.
146 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 4.28
Radio frame
UTRA FDD (W-CDMA)
frame structure 10 ms 0 1 2 ... 12 13 14

Time slot

666.7 µs Pilot TFCI FBI TPC uplink DPCCH

2,560 chips, 10 bits

666.7 µs Data uplink DPDCH

2,560 chips, 10*2k bits (k = 0...6)

666.7 µs Data1 TPC TFCI Data2 Pilot downlink DPCH

DPDCH DPCCH DPDCH DPCCH

2,560 chips, 10*2k bits (k = 0...7)

h igh -b an d wid t h ap p lica t io n s t o an y m o b ile d evice wit h h igh p ro fit s fo r all.

To d ay, m o st p eo p le are m u ch m o re realist ic an d kn o w t h at d at a rat es will b e
q u ite lo w in t h e begin n in g (150 kb it/ s p er u ser are realistic, 2 Mb it/ s are n o t).
Th e cap acit y o f a cell u n d er realist ic assu m p t io n s (in t erferen ce et c.), i.e., t h e
su m o f all d ata rat es, will rat h er be 2 Mbit/ s. To p rovid e h igh d ata rates a lot o f
m on ey h as to be in vest ed in th e in frast ru ctu re: UTRA FDD req u ires at least twice
as m a n y b ase st atio n s as GSM; cell d iam et ers o f 500 m will b e co m m o n p lace.
Th is sh o ws clearly t h at t h is t ech n o lo gy will n ot co ver wh o le co u n t ries in t h e
n ear fu tu re bu t cit ies an d h igh ways on ly. Peop le in th e co u n trysid e will h ave t o
rely o n GSM/ GPRS fo r m an y m o re years to com e.
Back t o t h e fram e st ru ct u re sh o wn in Figu re 4.28. Sim ilar t o GSM , UMTS
d efin es m an y lo gical an d p h ysical ch an n els, an d t h eir m ap p in g. Th e figu re
sh o w s t h ree ex am p les o f p h ysica l ch an n els as t h ey are u sed fo r d at a t ran s-
m issio n . Two p h ysical ch an n els are sh o wn for t h e u p lin k.

● D ed ica t ed p h y sica l d a t a ch a n n el (DPDCH ): Th is ch an n el co n veys u ser or

sign alin g d ata. Th e sp read in g factor of th is ch an n el can vary between 4 an d
2 56 . Th is d irect ly t ran slates in t o th e d at a rat es t h is ch an n el can o ffer:
960 kbit/ s (spread in g factor 4, 640 bits p er slot, 15 slots p er fram e, 100 fram es
p er secon d), 480, 240, 120, 60, 30, an d 15 kbit/ s (spread in g factor 256). Th is
also sh ows on e of th e problem s of u sin g OVSF for sp readin g: on ly certain m u l-
tiples of th e basic d ata rate of 15 kbit/ s can be u sed. If, for exam p le, 250 kbit/s
are n eed ed th e d evice h as to ch oose 480 kbit/ s, wh ich wastes ban d wid th . In
each co n n ectio n in layer 1 it can h ave between zero an d six DPDCHs. Th is
resu lts in a t h eo retical m axim u m d ata rate of 5,740 kb it / s (UMTS d escribes
UEs with a m axim u m of 1,920 kbit/ s on ly). Table 4.7 sh ows typ ical u ser data
rates togeth er with th e req u ired data rates on th e ph ysical ch an n els.
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 147

Table 4.7 Typical

User dat a rat e [ kbit / s] 12.2 64 144 384 UTRA–FDD uplink
(voice) data rates

DPDCH [kbit/ s] 60 240 480 960

DPCCH [kbit/ s] 15 15 15 15
Spreading 64 16 8 4

● Ded ica t ed p h ysica l co n t ro l ch a n n el (DPCCH): In each co n n ect ion layer 1

n eed s exact ly on e DPCCH. Th is ch an n el co n veys con t ro l d at a fo r th e p h ysi-
cal layer on ly an d u ses t h e con st an t sp read in g fact o r 256. Th e p ilo t is u sed
fo r ch an n el est im at io n . Th e t r a n sp o r t fo r m a t c o m b in a t io n id e n t ifie r
(TFCI) sp ecifies t h e ch an n els t ran sp o rted with in t h e DPDCHs. Sign alin g fo r
a so ft h an d over is su p p o rted by th e feed b a ck in fo rm a t io n fi eld (FBI). Th e
last field , t ra n sm it p o w er co n t ro l (TPC) is u sed fo r co n tro llin g t h e tran s-
m issio n p o wer o f a sen d er. Po w er co n t ro l is p erfo rm ed in each slo t , t h u s
1,500 p o wer con t rol cycles are available p er seco n d . Tigh t p o wer con trol is
n ecessary to m itigate n ear-far-effects as exp lain ed in ch ap ter 2. Six d ifferen t
DPCCH bu rsts h ave been d efin ed wh ich d iffer in th e size of t h e field s.
● Ded ica t ed p h y sica l ch a n n el (DPCH ): Th e d own lin k tim e m u ltip lexes con -
trol an d u ser d ata. Sp read in g factors between 4 an d 512 are available. Again ,
m an y d ifferen t b u rst form at s (17 alto geth er) h ave been d efin ed wh ich d iffer
in t h e size o f t h e field sh o wn in Figu re 4.28. Th e available d ata rates fo r d ata
ch an n els (DPDCH) with in a DPCH are 6 (SF=512), 24, 51, 90, 210, 432, 912,
an d 1,872 kbit / s (SF=4).

W h ile n o collisio n s can occu r on th e d o wn lin k (on ly th e base st ation sen d s

on th e d own lin k), m ed iu m access o n t h e u p lin k h as t o be co ord in ated. A p h y si-
c a l r a n d o m a c c ess c h a n n e l (PRAC H ) is u sed fo r t h is p u rp o se. UTRA-FD D
d efin es 15 ran d o m access slo ts with in 20 m s; with in each access slo t 16 d ifferen t
access p ream bles can be u sed for ran d om access. Usin g slo tted Alo h a, a UE can
access an access slot b y sen d in g a p ream ble. Th e UE starts with t h e lo west avail-
ab le tran sm issio n p o wer t o avoid in terferin g with o t h er stat io n s. If n o p o sitive
ackn o wled gem en t is received , th e UE t ries an o t h er slo t an d an o th er p ream b le
w it h t h e n ex t h igh er p o w er level (p o wer ram p in g). Th e n u m b er o f availab le
access slot s can b e d efin ed p er cell an d is t ran sm it t ed via a b ro ad cast ch an n el
to all UEs.
A UE h as to p erfo rm th e follo win g step s d u rin g t h e sea r ch fo r a cell after
p ower o n :

● Prim a r y sy n ch ro n iza t io n : A UE h as to syn ch ron ize with th e h elp o f a 256

ch ip p rim ary syn ch ro n izat ion co d e. Th is co d e is th e sam e fo r all cells an d
h elp s t o syn ch ron ize wit h th e t im e slo t stru ct u re.
148 Mobile communicat ions

● Seco n d a r y sy n ch r o n iza t io n : Du rin g t h is seco n d p h ase t h e UE receives a

seco n d ary syn ch ro n izat io n co d e w h ich d efin es t h e gro u p o f scram b lin g
co d es u sed in th is cell. Th e UE is n ow syn ch ron ized with th e fram e stru ctu re.
● Id e n t ific a t io n o f t h e sc r a m b lin g co d e : Th e UE t ries all scram b lin g
co d es with in t h e gro u p o f co d es t o fin d t h e righ t co d e wit h t h e h elp o f a
co rrelat o r. Aft er t h ese t h ree st ep s t h e UE can receive all fu rt h er d at a o ver
a bro ad cast ch an n el.

4.4.3.2 UTRA-TDD (TD-CDMA)

Th e secon d UTRA m od e, UTRA-TDD, sep arates u p an d d own lin k in tim e u sin g a
rad io fram e st ru ct u re sim ilar t o FDD. 15 slo ts with 2,560 ch ip s p er slo t fo rm a
rad io fram e with a du ration of 10 m s. Th e ch ip p in g rate is also 3.84 Mch ip / s. To
reflect d ifferen t u ser n eed s in term s of d ata rates, th e TDD fram e can be sym m et -
r ica l o r a sy m m et r ica l, i.e., t h e fram e can co n tain t h e sam e n u m b er o f u p lin k
an d d own lin k slots or an y arbitrary com bin ation . Th e fram e can h ave on ly on e
sw it ch in g p o in t from u p lin k to d own lin k or several swit ch in g p oin ts. However,
at least on e slot m u st be allocated for th e u p lin k an d d own lin k resp ectively.
Th e system can ch an ge th e sp read in g facto r (1, 2, 4, 8, 16) as a fu n ction o f
th e d esired d at a rate. Usin g th e bu rst typ e sh o wn in Figu re 4.29 resu lts in d ata
rat es o f 6,624, 3,312, 1,656, 828, an d 414 kbit / s resp ectively (if all slot s are u sed
fo r d at a t ran sm issio n ). Th e figu re sh o ws a bu rst of t yp e 2 wh ich com p rises two
d a t a field s o f 1,104 ch ip s each . Sp read in g is ap p lied t o t h ese d at a field s o n ly.
Ad d it ion ally, a m id a m p le is u sed for train in g an d ch an n el estim atio n . As TDD
u ses th e sam e scram blin g cod es for all station s, t h e statio n s m u st be tigh tly syn -
ch ron ized an d th e sp read in g cod es are availab le o n ly on ce p er slot . Th is resu lts
in a m axim u m n u m ber of 16 sim u ltan eo u s sen d in g st at io n s. To loo sen th e t igh t
syn ch ron izat io n a little bit, a gu a rd p erio d (GP) h as been in trod u ced at th e en d
o f each slot. Du e to th e tigh t syn ch ro n ization an d t h e u se o f o rth ogo n al cod es,
a sim p ler p o wer co n t ro l sch em e w it h less p o wer co n t ro l cycles (e.g., 1 00 p er
seco n d ) is su fficien t.

Figure 4.29
Radio frame
UTRA TDD (TD–CDMA)
frame structure 10 ms 0 1 2 ... 12 13 14

Time slot

666.7 µs Data Midample Data

GP Traffic burst
1,104 chips 256 chips 1,104 chips

GP: guard period

2,560 chips 96 chips
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 149

UTRA TDD o ccu p ies 5 MHz ban d wid th p er ch an n el as UTRA FDD d o es p er

d irect io n (FDD n eed s 2 x 5 MHz). Co m p ared t o t h e licen se fo r FDD, TDD was
q u it e ch eap . Germ an y p aid less t h an €300 m illion . Figu re 4.22 sh ows th e loca-
tion o f th e sp ectru m for t h is UMTS m od e, bu t it is u n clear to wh at exten d th is
system will be d ep lo yed . Th e coverage p er cell is even less th an u sin g FDD, UEs
m u st n ot m o ve t o o fast – th is so u n d s like th e ch aracterist ics o f W LANs wh ich
are cu rren tly d ep loyed in m an y p laces.

4.4.4 UTRAN
Figu re 4.30 sh o ws th e basic arch it ectu re o f th e UTRA n et wo rk (UTRAN; 3GPP,
2002b). Th is con sist s of several ra d io n et w o rk su b syst em s (RNS). Each RNS is
con t rolled b y a ra d io n et w o rk co n t ro ller (RNC) an d com p rises several com p o-
n en ts th at are called n od e B. An RNC in UMTS can be com p ared with th e BSC; a
n o d e B is sim ilar t o a BTS. Each n o d e B can co n t ro l several an t en n as wh ich
m ake a rad io cell. Th e m o b ile d evice, UE, ca n b e co n n ect ed t o o n e o r m o re
an t en n as as will su b seq u en t ly b e exp lain ed in t h e co n t ext o f h an d o ver. Each
RNC is co n n ect ed wit h t h e co re n etwo rk (CN) o ver t h e in terface I u (sim ilar t o
th e ro le of th e A in terface in GSM) an d with a n od e B over t h e in terface I u b . A
n ew in terface, wh ich h as n o co u n t erp art in GSM, is th e in terface I u r con n ect in g
two RNCs wit h each o th er. Th e u se of th is in terface is exp lain ed to geth er with
th e UMTS h an d over m ech an ism s.

Figure 4.30
RNS Basic architecture
UE of the UTRA network

Iub
Node B

Iu
RNC

Node B

CN

Iub Iur
Node B

Node B RNC

Node B

RNS
150 Mobile communicat ions

4.4.4.1 Radio network cont roller

An RNC in UMTS h as a broad sp ectru m o f tasks as listed in th e followin g:

● Ca ll a d m issio n co n t ro l: It is very im p ortan t for CDMA syst em s to keep t h e

in t erferen ce b elo w a cert ain level. Th e RNC ca lcu lat es t h e t raffic wit h in
each cell an d d ecid es, if ad d it ion al t ran sm issio n s are accep table o r n o t.
● Co n gest io n co n t ro l: Du rin g p acket -o rien ted d at a tran sm issio n , several st a-
t io n s sh are th e availab le rad io reso u rces. Th e RNC allo cat es b an d wid t h t o
each station in a cyclic fash ion an d m u st co n sider th e QoS req u irem en t s.
● En cr yp t io n / d ecr y p t io n : Th e RNC en cryp ts all d ata arrivin g fro m th e fixed
n et wo rk before t ran sm ission o ver t h e wireless lin k (an d vice versa).
● ATM sw it ch in g a n d m u lt ip le x in g, p r o t o co l co n v e r si o n : Typ ically, t h e
co n n ect io n s b et ween RNC s, n o d e Bs, an d t h e CN are b ased o n ATM . An
RN C h as t o sw it ch t h e co n n ect io n s t o m u lt ip lex d ifferen t d at a st ream s.
Several p rot ocols h ave to b e con verted – t h is is exp lain ed later.
● Ra d io r eso u r ce co n t r o l: Th e RNC co n t ro ls all rad io reso u rces o f t h e cells
co n n ected to it via a n o d e B. Th is task in clu d es in t erferen ce an d lo ad m ea-
su rem en ts. Th e p riorities of differen t con n ect ion s h ave t o be obeyed .
● Ra d io b e a r e r se t u p a n d r ele a se : An RN C h as t o set -u p , m a in t ain , an d
release a lo gical d ata co n n ect io n to a UE (th e so -called UMTS rad io bearer).
● Co d e a llo ca t io n : Th e CDMA co d es u sed b y a UE are select ed by t h e RNC.
Th ese cod es m ay vary d u rin g a tran sm issio n .
● P o w e r co n t r o l : Th e RNC o n ly p erfo rm s a relat ively lo o se p o w er co n t ro l
(t h e o u t er lo o p ). Th is m ean s th at t h e RNC in flu en ces t ran sm issio n p o wer
b ased on in terferen ce valu es fro m oth er cells or even ot h er RNCs. Bu t th is is
n ot t h e tigh t an d fast p ower con tro l p erform ed 1,500 t im es p er seco n d . Th is
is carried ou t by a n od e B. Th is o u ter loo p o f p ower con tro l h elp s t o m in i-
m ize in t erferen ce between n eigh bou rin g cells or co n trols th e size o f a cell.
● H a n d o ver co n t ro l a n d RNS relo ca t io n : Dep en d in g o n th e sign al st ren gth s
received by UEs an d n o d e Bs, an RNC can d ecid e if an o t h er cell wo u ld b e
b et ter su it ed fo r a cert ain co n n ect io n . If t h e RNC d ecid es fo r h an d o ver it
in fo rm s t h e n ew cell an d t h e UE as exp lain ed in su b sect io n 4.4.6. If a UE
m o ves fu rt h er o u t of th e ran ge o f on e RNC, a n ew RNC resp o n sible fo r th e
UE h as to be ch osen . Th is is called RNS relo cation .
● M a n a g em e n t : Fin ally, t h e n et wo rk o p era t o r n eed s a lo t o f in fo rm at io n
regard in g th e cu rren t lo ad , cu rren t t raffic, erro r st at es etc. to m an age it s n et-
wo rk. Th e RNC p rovid es in terfaces for t h is t ask, t oo .

4.4.4.2 Node B
Th e n am e n o d e B w as ch o sen d u rin g st an d ard izat io n u n t il a n ew an d b et t er
n am e wa s fo u n d . Ho w ever, n o o n e cam e u p w it h an yt h in g b et t er so it
rem ain ed . A n o d e B co n n ect s t o o n e o r m o re an t en n as creat in g o n e o r m o re
cells (or sectors in GSM sp eak), resp ectively. Th e cells can eith er u se FDD or TDD
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 151

or bot h . An im p o rt an t task o f a n od e B is th e in n er lo op p o wer co n trol t o m it i-

gat e n ear-far effect s. Th is n o d e also m easu res co n n ect io n q u alit ies an d sign al
st ren gt h s. A n o d e B ca n even su p p o rt a sp ecial case o f h an d o ver, a so -called
softer h an do ver wh ich takes place bet ween d ifferen t an ten n as of th e sam e n od e
B (see sect ion 4.4.6).

4.4.4.3 User equipment

Th e UE sh own in Figu re 4.30 is th e coun terpart of several n odes of th e arch itecture.

● As th e coun terp art of a n ode B, th e UE p erform s sign al q u ality m easurem en ts,

in n er loop power con trol, spread in g an d m odu lation , an d rate m atch in g.
● As a co u n terp art of t h e RNC, th e UE h as to coo p erate d u rin g h an d over an d
cell select io n , p erfo rm s en cryp tion an d d ecryp tio n , an d p articip ates in t h e
rad io resou rce allo cat io n p ro cess.
● As a cou n terp art o f th e CN, th e UE h as to im p lem en t m obility m an agem en t
fu n ct io n s, p erfo rm s b earer n ego t iat io n , o r req u est s cert ain services fro m
th e n etwo rk.

Th is list o f tasks o f a UE, wh ich is n o t at all exh au stive, alread y sh o ws t h e

co m p lexit y su ch a d evice h as to h an d le. Ad d it io n ally, u sers also wan t to h ave
organ izers, gam es, cam eras, op erat in g system s et c. an d th e stan d -by tim e sh ou ld
be h igh .

4.4.5 Core network

Figu re 4.31 sh ows a h igh -level view of th e UMTS release 99 core n etwo rk arch i-
tectu re to get h er wit h a UTRAN RNS an d a GSM BSS (see section 4.1). Th is sh ows
th e evo lu tio n fro m GSM/ GPRS to UMTS. Th e core n etwo rk (CN) sh own h ere is
b asically t h e sam e as alread y exp lain ed in th e co n text o f GSM (see Figu re 4.4)
an d GPRS (see Figu re 4.16). Th e circu it sw it ch ed d o m a in (CSD) com p rises t h e
classical circu it swit ch ed services in clu d in g sign alin g. Resou rces are reserved at
co n n ect io n set u p an d t h e GSM co m p o n en t s MSC, GM SC, an d VLR are u sed .
Th e CSD co n n ect s to th e RNS via a p art o f th e Iu in terface called I u CS. Th e CSD
co m p on en ts can still be p art of a classical GSM n et work con n ect ed to a BSS bu t
n eed ad d ition al fu n ction alit ies (n ew p ro t ocols etc.).
Th e p a ck et sw it ch ed d o m a in (PSD) u ses th e GPRS com p o n en ts SGSN an d
G GSN a n d co n n ect s t o t h e RNS via t h e I u PS p a rt o f t h e I u in t erface. Bo t h
d o m ain s n eed t h e d at a-bases EIR fo r eq u ip m en t id en tification an d HLR for loca-
t io n m an agem en t (in clu d in g t h e Au C fo r au t h en t icat io n a n d GR fo r u ser
sp ecific GPRS d ata).
Reu sin g t h e ex ist in g in frast ru ct u re h elp s t o save a lo t o f m o n ey an d m ay
co n vin ce m a n y o p erat o rs t o u se UM TS if t h ey alread y u se G SM . Th e UM TS
in d u st ry p u sh es t h eir t ech n o lo gy wit h t h e h elp o f t h e m arket d o m in an ce o f
GSM. Th is is basically th e sam e as cd m a2000, wh ich is a evolu tion of cd m aO n e.
Th e real flex ib le co re n et wo rk co m es w it h releases 5 a n d 6 , w h ere t h e GSM
152 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 4.31
UMTS core network
Abis BSS VLR
together with a 3G RNS BTS Iu
and a 2G BSS
BSC MSC GMSC
PSTN
BTS IuCS
AuC
EIR HLR
Iub GR
Node B

Node B RNC SGSN GGSN

Gn Gi
Node B IuPS
RNS CN

circu it swit ch ed p art is bein g rep laced by an all-IP core. Ch ap ter 11 p resen ts th is
id ea in t h e co n text of 4G n etworks. It is n o t yet clear wh en th is rep lacem en t o f
G SM will t ake p la ce as m an y q u est io n s are st ill o p en (q u alit y o f service an d
secu rity b ein g th e m o st im p o rt an t ).
Figu re 4 .3 2 sh o ws t h e p ro t o co l st a cks o f t h e u sers p lan es o f t h e circu it
swit ch ed an d p acket swit ch ed d o m ain s, resp ect ively. Th e C SD u ses t h e ATM
a d a p t a t io n la y er 2 (AAL2) fo r u ser d at a t ran sm issio n o n t o p o f ATM as tran s-
p o rt t ech n o lo gy. Th e RNC in t h e UTRAN im p lem en t s t h e rad io lin k co n t ro l
(RLC) an d th e MAC layer, wh ile t h e p h ysical layer is lo cated in th e n o d e B. Th e
AAL2 segm en t a t io n a n d r ea ssem b ly layer (SAR) is, fo r exam p le, u sed t o seg-
m en t d at a p acket s received fro m t h e RLC in t o sm all ch u n ks w h ich can b e
tran sp ort ed in ATM. AAL2 an d ATM h as been ch o sen , too, becau se th ese p ro to -
cols can tran sp ort an d m u lt ip lex low bit rate voice d ata st ream s with lo w jitt er
an d lat en cy (co m p ared to t h e p rotocols u sed in th e PSD).
In t h e PSD several m o re p ro to co ls are n eed ed . Basic d at a tran sp o rt is p er-
fo rm ed by d ifferen t lo wer layers (e.g., ATM with AAL5, fram e relay). On top o f
t h ese lo wer la yers UDP/ IP is u sed t o crea t e a UM TS in t ern al IP n et wo rk. All
p ackets (e.g., IP, PPP) d estin ed for th e UE are en cap su lat ed u sin g th e GPRS t u n -
n e lin g p r o t o c o l (G TP). Th e RNC p erfo rm s p ro t o co l co n versio n fro m t h e
com b in ation GTP/ UDP/ IP in to th e p ack et d a t a co n vergen ce p ro t o co l (PDCP).
Th is p ro to co l p erfo rm s h ead er co m p ressio n t o avoid red u n d an t d ata tran sm is-
sion u sin g scarce rad io reso u rces. Com p arin g Figu re 4.32 with Figu re 4.17 (GPRS
p ro t o co l referen ce m o d el) sh o w s a d ifferen ce wit h resp ect t o t h e t u n n el. In
UMTS th e RNC h an d les t h e t u n n elin g p ro to co l GTP, wh ile in GSM/ GPRS GTP is
u sed b etween an SGSN an d GGSN o n ly. Th e BSC in GSM is n o t in volved in IP
p roto col p rocessin g.
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 153

UE UTRAN 3G Figure 4.32

Uu IuCS MSC User plane protocol
stacks (circuit and
apps. &
protocols
packet switched)

Circuit RLC SAR

RLC SAR
switched
MAC MAC AAL2 AAL2

radio radio ATM ATM

UE UTRAN 3G 3G
Uu IuPS SGSN Gn GGSN

apps. &
protocols

IP, PPP, IP, PPP,

IP tunnel
... ...
Packet
switched PDCP GTP
PDCP GTP GTP GTP

RLC RLC UDP/IP UDP/IP UDP/IP UDP/IP

MAC MAC AAL5 AAL5 L2 L2

radio radio ATM ATM L1 L1

Th e ra d io la y er (p h ysical layer) d ep en d s o n t h e UTRA m o d e (see sect io n s

4 .4 .3 .1 an d 4 .4 .3 .2 ). Th e m ed i u m a cc e ss c o n t r o l (M AC ) layer co o rd in at es
m ed iu m access an d m u lt ip lexes lo gical ch an n els o n to t ran sp o rt ch an n els. Th e
M AC layers also h elp t o id en t ify m o b ile d evices an d m a y en cryp t d at a. Th e
r a d io li n k c o n t r o l (RLC ) la yer o ffers t h ree d ifferen t t ran sp o rt m o d es. Th e
a ck n o w led ged m o d e tran sfer u ses ARQ for error co rrectio n an d gu aran tees o n e-
t im e in -o rd er d elivery o f d at a p acket s. Th e u n a ck n o w led g ed m o d e t ran sfer
d o es n ot p erform ARQ bu t gu aran t ees at least on e-tim e d elivery of p acket s with
th e h elp of seq u en ce n u m bers. Th e t ra n sp a ren t m o d e t ran sfer sim p ly forward s
MAC d ata with o u t an y fu rth er p ro cessin g. Th e syst em th en h as to rely o n t h e
FEC wh ich is always u sed in th e rad io layer. Th e RLC also p erfo rm s segm en ta-
tion an d reassem bly an d flow con tro l. Fo r certain services th e RLC also en cryp t s.
154 Mobile communicat ions

4.4.6 Handover
UMTS kn ows two basic classes of h an d o vers:

● H a rd h a n d o v er: Th is h an d o ver typ e is alread y kn own from GSM an d o th er

TDMA/ FDMA syst em s. Swit ch in g b et ween d ifferen t an t en n as o r d ifferen t
syst em s is p erfo rm ed at a cert ain p o in t in t im e. UTRA TD D can o n ly u se
th is t yp e. Switch in g between TDD cells is d o n e b etween th e slots o f d iffer-
en t fram es. In t er freq u en cy h a n d o v er, i.e., ch an gin g th e carrier freq u en cy,
is a h ard h an d over. Receivin g d at a at d ifferen t freq u en cies at t h e sam e tim e
req u ires a m o re co m p lex receiver co m p ared to receivin g d ata from d ifferen t
so u rces at th e sam e carrier freq u en cy. Typ ically, all in t er sy st em h a n d o vers
are h ard h an d overs in UMTS. Th is in clu d es h an d overs to an d from GSM or
o t h er IMT-2 00 0 syst em s. A sp ecial t yp e o f h an d o ver is t h e h an d o ver t o a
sat ellit e system (in ter-segm en t h an d over), wh ich is also a h ard h an d o ver, as
d ifferen t freq u en cies are u sed . Ho wever, it is u n clear wh at tech n o lo gy will
b e u sed fo r satellit e lin ks if it will ever co m e. To en able a UE to listen in t o
GSM or o t h er freq u en cy ban d s, UMTS sp ecifies a co m p ressed m o d e tran s-
m issio n fo r UTRA FDD. Du rin g t h is m o d e a UE st o p s all tran sm issio n . To
avoid d at a loss, eith er th e sp read in g facto r can be lo wered before an d aft er
th e break in tran sm issio n (i.e., m o re d ata can be sen t in sh o rter t im e) or less
d at a is sen t u sin g d ifferen t cod in g sch em es.
● So ft h a n d o ver: Th is is th e real n ew m ech an ism in UMTS com p ared t o GSM
an d is o n ly available in th e FDD m od e. So ft h an d overs are well kn own from
trad ition al CDMA n etwo rks as th ey u se m a cro d iv ersit y, a basic p rop erty o f
CDMA. As sh o wn in Figu re 4.33, a UE can receive sign als fro m u p t o t h ree
d ifferen t an ten n as, wh ich m ay belon g to d ifferen t n o d e Bs. To wards th e UE
th e RNC sp lits t h e d ata st ream an d fo rward s it to th e n o d e Bs. Th e UE co m -
b in es th e received d ata again . In th e oth er d irectio n , th e UE sim p ly sen d s its
d at a wh ich is th en received by all n o d e Bs in volved . Th e RNC com bin es th e
d at a st ream s received fro m t h e n o d e Bs. Th e fact t h at a UE receives d at a
fro m d ifferen t an t en n as at t h e sam e t im e m akes a h an d o ver so ft. Mo vin g
fro m o n e cell to an o th er is a sm o oth , n ot an abru p t p ro cess.

Figure 4.33
Marco-diversity
supporting soft
handovers
UE
Node B

Node B RNC CN
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 155

Figure 4.34
Serving RNC and
Node B SRNC CN
drift RNC
Iub Iu

UE Iur

Node B DRNC
Iub

M acro -d iversit y m akes t h e t ran sm issio n m o re ro b u st wit h resp ect t o fast

fad in g, m u lt i-p ath p ro p agatio n , an d sh ad in g. If o n e p ath is b lo cked b y an o b -
st acle t h e ch an ces are go o d t h at d at a can st ill b e received u sin g an o t h er
an t en n a. Du rin g a so ft h an d o ver a UE receives p ower co n tro l co m m an d s from
all in volved n od e Bs. Th e UE th en lo wers tran sm issio n p o wer as lo n g as it still
receives a com m an d t o lo wer th e p ower. Th is avoid s in t erferen ce if, for exam p le,
th e UE is in th e tran sm ission area of two an ten n as, on e clo se, on e fu rth er away.
With o u t t h e ab ove m ech an ism t h e UE’s sign al m ay be to o stron g wh en listen -
in g t o t h e an t en n a fu rt h er away. Th e lo wer t h e in t erferen ce a UE in t ro d u ces
in to a cell, t h e h igh er t h e cap acity. With o u t t h is co n t ro l, cell breath in g wo u ld
be even m ore p roblem at ic th an it alread y is in CDMA n etworks.
As soft h an d o ver is n ot su p p orted by t h e CN, all m ech an ism s related to so ft
h an d o ver m u st be located with in UTRAN. Figu re 4.34 sh ows a sit u ation wh ere a
soft h an d over is p erfo rm ed between two n o d e Bs th at d o n ot belo n g to t h e sam e
RNC. In th is case o n e RNC con t ro ls t h e con n ection an d fo rward s all d ata to an d
from th e CN. If th e UE m o ves in th e exam p le fro m th e u p p er cell to th e lo wer
cell, th e u p p er RNC acts as a ser vin g RNC (SRNC) wh ile th e o t h er is t h e d rift
RNC (DRNC). (If t h e wh o le RNS is co n sid ered , t h e t erm s are servin g RNS an d
d rift RNS, resp ect ively.) Th e SRN C fo rward s d at a received fro m t h e CN t o it s
n o d e B an d t o th e DRNC via t h e Iu r in t erface (sp littin g). Th is m ech an ism d o es
n o t exist in , e.g., GSM . Data received b y t h e lower n o d e B is fo rward ed by th e
DRN C t o t h e SRN C. Th e SRN C co m b in es b o t h d at a st ream s an d fo rw ard s a
sin gle st ream o f d at a t o t h e CN. Th e C N d o es n o t n o t ice an yt h in g fro m t h e
sim u lt an eo u s recep t io n . If t h e UE m o ves fu rt h er d o w n an d d ro p s o u t o f t h e
t ran sm issio n area o f t h e u p p er n o d e B, t w o RNC s reserve reso u rces fo r d a t a
tran sm ission , SRNC an d DRNC, alth o u gh n o n e o f SRNC’s n od e Bs t ran sm it d ata
for th is UE. To avoid wastin g reso u rces, SRNC relocat ion can be p erform ed . Th is
in vo lves th e CN so is a h ard h an d over.
Figu re 4.35 gives an o verview of several co m m on h an d over t yp es in a co m -
b in ed UMTS/ GSM n et wo rk (UMTS sp ecifies t en d ifferen t t yp es wh ich in clu d e
soft an d h ard h an d over). Th e com bin atio n o f a UTRA-FDD/ GSM d evice will b e
t h e m o st co m m o n ca se in t h e b egin n in g as co verage o f 3 G n et w o rks w ill
be p o or.
156 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 4.35
Overview of different
handover types
UE1
Node B 1 RNC1 3G MSC1
Iu
UE2 Node B 2 Iub Iur

Node B 3 RNC2 3G MSC2

UE3

BTS BSC 2G MSC3

UE4 Abis A

● In t r a -n o d e B, in t r a -RN C : UE1 m o ves fro m o n e a n t en n a o f n o d e B1 t o

an o th er an ten n a. Th is t yp e o f h an d o ver is called so ft er h a n d o v er. In t h is
case n o d e B1 p erform s com bin in g an d sp littin g of th e d ata stream s.
● In t er-n o d e B, in t ra -RNC: UE2 m o ves from n o d e B1 to n o d e B2 . In t h is case
RNC 1 su p p o rts th e soft h an d o ver by com bin in g an d sp littin g d ata.
● In t er-RNC: W h en UE3 m oves fro m n od e B2 to n o d e B3 two d ifferen t typ es
o f h an d o ver can take p lace. Th e in t er n a l in t er-RNC h an d over is n o t visible
fo r th e CN, as d escribed in Figu re 4.34. RNC 1 can act as SRNC, RNC 2 will be
th e DRNC. Th e CN will com m u n icate via th e sam e in terface Iu all t h e tim e.
As so on as a relocation o f t h e in t erface Iu takes p lace (relocation of t h e con -
t ro llin g RNC ), t h e h a n d o ver is called an e x t er n a l in t e r -RN C h an d o ver.
C o m m u n ica t io n is st ill h an d led b y t h e sam e M SC 1 , b u t t h e ex t ern al
h an d o ver is n ow a h ard h an d o ver.
● In t er -M SC: It co u ld b e also th e case th at MSC 2 takes o ver an d p erfo rm s a
h ard h an d over of th e co n n ect io n .
● In t e r -sy st em : UE4 m o ves fro m a 3 G UM TS n et wo rk in t o a 2 G G SM n et -
wo rk. Th is h ard h an d o ver is im p o rt an t fo r real life u sabilit y o f th e syst em
d u e t o th e lim ited 3G co verage in th e begin n in g.

4.5 Summary

Th is ch a p t er h as, fo r t h e m o st p art , p resen t ed GSM a s t h e m o st su ccessfu l

seco n d gen erat io n d igit al cellu lar n et w o rk. Alt h o u gh G SM w as p rim arily
d esign ed fo r vo ice t ran sm issio n , t h e ch ap t er sh o w ed t h e evo lu t io n t o ward a
m o re d at a-o rien t ed t ran sfer via HSCSD an d GPRS. Th is evo lu t io n also in clu d es
th e tran sition fro m a circu it-swit ch ed n etwork to a p acket-switch ed system th at
co m es closer to th e in tern et m od el. Oth er system s p resen ted in clu d e DECT, t h e
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 157

d igital stan d ard for co rd less p h on es, an d TETRA, a tru n ked rad io syst em . DECT
can be u sed fo r wireless d ata tran sm issio n on a cam p u s o r in d o ors, bu t also fo r
wireless local lo op s (W LL). Fo r sp ecial scen ario s, e.g., em ergen cies, tru n ked rad io
syst em s su ch a s TETRA can b e t h e b est ch o ice. Th ey o ffer a fast co n n ect io n
setu p (even with in co m m u n ication gro u p s) an d can work in an ad h o c n etwo rk,
i.e., with ou t a base statio n .
Th e situ ation in t h e US is d ifferen t fro m Eu ro p e. Based on th e an alog AMPS
syst em , t h e US in d u st ry d evelo p ed th e TDMA syst em IS-54 th at ad d s d igital traf-
fic ch an n els. IS-54 u ses d u al m od e m obile p h o n es an d in corp o rates several GSM
id eas, su ch as, asso ciat ed co n t ro l ch an n els, au t h en t icat io n p ro ced u res u sin g
en cryp t io n , an d m o b ile assist ed h an d o ver (called h an d o ff). Th e Jap an ese PDC
syst em was d esign ed u sin g m an y id eas in IS-54.
Th e n ext st ep , IS-136, in clu d es d igital co n tro l ch an n els (IS-54 u ses an alo g
AMPS co n tro l ch an n els) an d is m o re efficien t. Now fu lly d igit al p h o n es can be
u sed , several ad d itio n al services are o ffered , e.g., vo ice m ail, call waitin g, id en ti-
ficat io n , gro u p callin g, o r SM S. IS-1 3 6 is also ca lled No rt h Am erican TDMA
(N A-TDM A) o r Digit al AM PS (D-AM PS) an d o p erat es at 8 0 0 a n d 1 ,9 0 0 MH z.
En h an cem en t s o f D-AMPS/ IS-136 t o ward IMT-2000 in clu d e ad van ced m o d u la-
tio n tech n iq u es fo r t h e 30 kHz rad io carrier, sh iftin g d at a rat es u p to 64 kbit/ s
(first p h ase, called 13 6+). Th e seco n d p h ase, called 1 36HS (High Sp eed ) co m -
p rises a n ew air in terface sp ecification based on t h e EDGE tech n o logy.
IS-95 (pro m ot ed as cd m aOn e) is based o n CDMA, wh ich is a co m p letely d if-
feren t m ed iu m access m eth od . Befo re d ep lo ym en t , th e syst em was p ro claim ed
as h avin g m an y ad van t ages over TDMA system s, su ch as its m u ch h igh er cap ac-
ity of u sers p er cell, e.g., 20 t im es th e cap acit y of AMPS. Tod ay, CDMA p ro vid ers
are m akin g m o re realist ic est im at es o f aro u n d five t im es as m an y u sers. IS-95
o ffers so ft h an d o ve r, avo id in g t h e GSM p in g-p o n g effect (Wo n g, 1 9 9 7 ).
Ho wever, IS-9 5 n eed s p recise syn ch ro n izat io n o f all b ase st at io n s (u sin g GPS
sat ellit es wh ich are m ilit ary satellit es, so are n o t u n d er co n t ro l o f th e n et wo rk
p ro vid er), freq u en t p o wer co n t rol, an d t yp ically, du al m o d e m ob ile p h on es d u e
t o t h e lim it ed co verage. Th e b asic id eas o f C DM A h ave b een in t egrat ed in t o
m o st 3G system s.
Th is ch ap t er also p resen ted an overview o f cu rren t an d fu tu re th ird gen era-
t io n syst em s. UM TS, a p ro p o sal o f o p erat o rs an d co m p a n ies in vo lved in t h e
GSM bu sin ess, was d iscu ssed in m ore d etail. Th is stan d ard is m ore an evo lu tion -
ary ap p ro ach t h an a revo lu t io n . To avo id even h igh er im p lem en t at io n co st s,
UMTS t ries t o reu se as m u ch in frast ru ctu re as p o ssib le wh ile in t ro d u cin g n ew
services an d h igh er d ata rat es based o n CDMA tech n o lo gy. Th e in itial in st alla-
t io n s will b asically u se t h e GSM/ GPRS in frast ru ctu re an d o ffer o n ly m o d erat e
d at a rat es. Th e in it ial cap acit y o f a UMTS cell is ap p ro x im at ely 2 M b it / s; cell
d iam et ers are in t h e o rd er o f 5 0 0 m . UM TS will b e u sed t o o fflo ad GSM n et -
wo rks an d t o o ffer en h an ced d at a rat es in cit ies as a first st ep . Fu tu re releases
aim to rep lace th e in frastru ctu re by an (alm o st) all-IP n et work. Th ese id eas will
be p resen t ed t ogeth er with a loo k at fo u rth gen eration syst em s in ch ap ter 11. It
158 Mobile communicat ions

is q u it e clea r t h at it will t ake a lo n g t im e b efo re 3 G services are availab le in

m an y p laces. It t o o k GSM 10 years t o b eco m e t h e m o st su ccessfu l 2 G m o b ile
com m u n icatio n system . A sim ilar p eriod o f tim e will be n eed ed fo r 3G system s
t o su cceed . M ean w h ile, cu st o m ers will n eed m u lt ip le m o d e p h o n es o fferin g,
e.g., GSM 900/ 1800/ 1900 an d UMTS UTRA-FDD services. It is n o t clear if an d
wh en UTRA-TDD will su cceed . Pro vid ers alread y u sin g cd m aOn e will t ake th e
evo lu tion ary p ath via cd m a2000 1x t oward t h e 3G system cd m a2000 1x EV-DO.
Several t est s h ave alread y b een co n d u cted fo r 3G sat ellit e services in t h e MSS
sp ect r u m (e.g., sat ellit e b a sed m u lt icast , Nu ssli, 2 0 0 2 ). Ho wever, righ t n o w
m an y co m p an ies will wait before in vestin g m on ey in satellit e services (see ch ap -
ter 5). Th e m ain p rob lem of m u lti-m o d e system s is th e in t er-syst em h an d o ver.
W h ile th is ch ap ter in tro d u ces h an d over scen arios with in UMTS an d GSM, an d
between GSM an d UMTS, even m o re com p lex scen ario s co u ld com p rise wireless
LANs (see ch ap t er 7) or o th er packet-o rien ted n etwo rks (Pah lavan , 2000).

4.6 Review exercises

1 Name some key features of the GSM, DECT, TETRA, and UMTS systems. Which
features do the systems have in common? Why have the three older different
systems been specified? In what scenarios could one system replace another?
What are the specific advantages of each system?
2 What are the main problems when transmitting data using wireless systems that
were made for voice transmission? What are the possible steps to mitigate the
problems and to raise efficiency? How can this be supported by billing?
3 Which types of different services does GSM offer? Give some examples and rea-
sons why these services have been separated.
4 Compared to the TCHs offered, standard GSM could provide a much higher data
rate (33.8 kbit/ s) when looking at the air interface. What lowers the data rates
available to a user?
5 Name the main elements of the GSM system architecture and describe their
functions. What are the advantages of specifying not only the radio interface but
also all internal interfaces of the GSM system?
6 Describe the functions of the MS and SIM. Why does GSM separate the MS and
SIM? How and where is user-related data represented/ stored in the GSM
system? How is user data protected from unauthorized access, especially over
the air interface? How could the position of an MS (not only the current BTS) be
localized? Think of the MS reports regarding signal quality.
7 Looking at the HLR/ VLR database approach used in GSM – how does this archi-
tecture limit the scalability in terms of users, especially moving users?
8 Why is a new infrastructure needed for GPRS, but not for HSCSD? Which compo-
nents are new and what is their purpose?
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 159

9 What are the limitations of a GSM cell in terms of diameter and capacity (voice,
data) for the traditional GSM, HSCSD, GPRS? How can the capacity be increased?
10 What multiplexing schemes are used in GSM and for what purpose? Think of
other layers apart from the physical layer.
11 How is synchronization achieved in GSM? Who is responsible for synchronization
and why is it so important?
12 What are the reasons for the delays in a GSM system for packet data traffic?
Distinguish between circuit-switched and packet-oriented transmission.
13 Where and when can collisions occur while accessing the GSM system?
Compare possible collisions caused by data transmission in standard GSM,
HSCSD, and GPRS.
14 Why and when are different signaling channels needed? What are the differences?
15 How is localization, location update, roaming, etc. done in GSM and reflected in
the data bases? What are typical roaming scenarios?
16 Why are so many different identifiers/ addresses (e.g., MSISDN, TMSI, IMSI)
needed in GSM? Give reasons and distinguish between user-related and system-
related identifiers.
17 Give reasons for a handover in GSM and the problems associated with it. What
are the typical steps for handover, what types of handover can occur? Which
resources need to be allocated during handover for data transmission using
HSCSD or GPRS respectively? What about QoS guarantees?
18 What are the functions of authentication and encryption in GSM? How is system
security maintained?
19 How can higher data rates be achieved in standard GSM, how is this possible
with the additional schemes HSCSD, GPRS, EDGE? What are the main differ-
ences of the approaches, also in terms of complexity? What problems remain
even if the data rate is increased?
20 What limits the data rates that can be achieved with GPRS and HSCSD using
real devices (compared to the theoretical limit in a GSM system)?
21 Using the best delay class in GPRS and a data rate of 115.2 kbit/ s – how many
bytes are in transit before a first acknowledgement from the receiver could reach
the sender (neglect further delays in the fixed network and receiver system)? Now
think of typical web transfer with 10 kbyte average transmission size – how would
a standard TCP behave on top of GPRS (see chapters 9 and 10)? Think of conges-
tion avoidance and its relation to the round-trip time. What changes are needed?
22 How much of the original GSM network does GPRS need? Which elements of the
network perform the data transfer?
23 What are typical data rates in DECT? How are they achieved considering the
TDMA frames? What multiplexing schemes are applied in DECT and for what pur-
poses? Compare the complexity of DECT with that of GSM.
160 Mobile communicat ions

24 Who would be the typical users of a trunked radio system? What makes trunked
radio systems particularly attractive for these user groups? What are the main
differences to existing systems for that purpose? Why are trunked radio systems
cheaper compared to, e.g., GSM systems for their main purposes?
25 Summarize the main features of third generation mobile phone systems. How do
they achieve higher capacities and higher data rates? How does UMTS imple-
ment asymmetrical communication and different data rates?
26 Compare the current situation of mobile phone networks in Europe, Japan,
China, and North America. What are the main differences, what are efforts to
find a common system or at least interoperable systems?
27 What disadvantage does OVSF have with respect to flexible data rates? How
does UMTS offer different data rates (distinguish between FDD and TDD mode)?
28 How are different DPDCHs from different UEs within one cell distinguished in
UTRA FDD?
29 Which components can perform combining/ splitting at what handover situation?
What is the role of the interface Iur? Why can CDMA systems offer soft handover?
30 How does UTRA-FDD counteract the near-far effect? Why is this not a problem
in GSM?

4.7 Ref erences

3G Am ericas (2002) h tt p :/ / www.3gam ericas.o rg/ .

3 G PP (2 0 0 0 ) Gen era l UMTS a rch itecture, 3 rd G en era t io n Part n ersh ip Pro ject ,
3G TS 23.101 3.1.0 (2000-12).
3GPP (2002a) 3rd Gen eration Partn ersh ip Pro ject, h ttp :/ / www.3gp p .o rg/ .
3 G PP (2 0 0 2 b ) UTRAN overa ll description , 3 rd Gen erat io n Part n ersh ip Pro ject ,
3GPP TS 25.401 V3.10.0 (2002-06).
3GPP2 (2002) 3rd Gen eration Partn ersh ip Project 2, h ttp :/ / www.3gp p 2.o rg/ .
Adach i, F., Sawah ash i, M., Suda, H. (1998) ‘Wideban d DS-CDMA for n ext-gen eration
m obile com m un ication s system s,’ IEEE Communications Magazine, 36(9).
Brasch e, G., Walke, B. (1997) ‘Con cep ts, services, an d p rotocols of th e n ew GSM
p h ase 2+ Gen eral Packet Rad io Service,’ IEEE Communications Magazine, 35(8).
Callen d ar, M. (1997) ‘In t ern at ion al Mobile Telecom m u n ication s-2000 stan d ard s
efforts of th e ITU,’ collection of articles in IEEE Personal Communications, 4(4).
C h en , H .-H., Fa n , C .-X., Lu , W. (2 0 0 2 ) ‘Ch in a’s Persp ect ives o n 3 G M o b ile
C o m m u n icat io n s an d Beyo n d : TD-SC DM A Tech n o lo gy,’ IEEE W ireless
Communications, 9(2).
Dah lm an , E., Gu d m u n d so n , B., Nilsso n , M., Skö ld , J. (1998) ‘UMTS/ IMT-2000
b ased o n wid eban d CDMA,’ IEEE Communica tions Magazine, 36(9).
Da silv a, J., Iko n o m o u , D ., Erb en , H . (1 9 9 7 ) ‘Eu ro p ean R&D p ro gra m s o n
t h ird -gen erat io n m o b ile co m m u n icat io n syst em s,’ IEEE Person a l
Communications, 4(1).
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 161

DECT (2002), h ttp :/ / www.d ect.ch / , h t tp :/ / www.d ectweb.co m / .

ETSI (1991a) Bearer services supported by a GSM PLMN, European Telecom m un ication s
Stan dards In stitute, GSM recom m en dation s 02.02.
ETSI (1991b) Genera l description of a GSM PLMN, Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icatio n s
Stan d ard s In stitu te, GSM recom m en d ation s 01.02.
ETSI (1 9 9 1 c) Subscriber Iden tity Modules, Fun ct ion a l Ch a ra cteristics, Eu ro p ean
Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In stitu te, GSM reco m m en d ation s 02.17.
ETSI (1 9 93 a ) Multiplexin g a n d m ultiple a ccess on th e ra dio pa th , Eu ro p ean
Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In stitu te, GSM reco m m en d ation s 05.02.
ETSI (1993b) MS-BSS data link layer – general aspects, Eu rop ean Telecom m u n ication s
Stan dards In stitu te, GSM recom m en d ation s 04.05.
ETSI (1993c) MS-BSS da ta link la yer specification, Eu ro p ean Telecom m u n icatio n s
Stan d ard s In stitu te, GSM recom m en d ation s 04.06.
ETSI (1 9 9 7 a) High Speed Circuit Switch ed Da ta (HSCSD), St age 1 , Eu ro p ean
Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In stitu te, GSM 02.34, V5.2.1.
ETSI (1 9 9 8a) Gen era l Pa cket Ra dio Service (GPRS); Requirem en ts specifica tion of
GPRS, Eu ro p ea n Teleco m m u n ica t io n s St an d a rd s In st it u t e, TR 1 0 1 1 8 6 ,
V6.0.0 (1998–04).
ETSI (1 9 9 8 b ) Gen era l Pa cket Ra dio Service (GPRS); Service description ; Sta ge 2 ,
Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n ica t io n s St an d ard s In st it u t e, EN 3 0 1 3 4 4 , V6 .1 .1
(1998–08).
ETSI (1 9 9 8 c) Gen era l Pa cket Ra dio Service (GPRS); Service description ; Sta ge 1 ,
Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n ica t io n s St an d ard s In st it u t e, EN 3 0 1 1 1 3 , V6 .1 .1
(1998–11).
ETSI (1998d ) Genera l Pa cket Ra dio Service (GPRS); Overa ll description of the GPRS
ra dio interface; Sta ge 2, Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat io n s St an d ard s In st it u t e,
TS 101 350, V6.0.1 (1998–08).
ETSI (1 9 9 8 e) High Speed Circuit Switch ed Da ta (HSCSD); Sta ge 2 , Eu ro p ean
Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In stitu te, TS 101 038, V5.1.0 (1998–07).
ETSI (1998f) Universa l Mobile Telecommunica tions System (UMTS); Concept groups
for th e defin ition of th e UMTS Terrestria l Ra dio Access (UTRA), Eu ro p ean
Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In stitu te, TR 101 397, V3.0.1 (1998–10).
ETSI (1 9 9 8 h ) High level requirem en ts releva n t for th e defin ition of th e UMTS
Terrestria l Ra dio Access (UTRA) con cept, Eu ro p ea n Teleco m m u n icat io n s
Stan d ard s In stitu te, TR 101 398, V3.0.1 (1998–10).
ETSI (1998i) Concept groups for the definition of the UMTS Terrestrial Ra dio Access
(UTRA), Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat io n s St an d ard s In st it u t e, TR 1 0 1 3 9 7 ,
V3.0.1 (1998–10).
ETSI (1998j) Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), Generic Access
Profile (GAP), Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat io n s St an d ard s In st it u t e, EN 3 0 0
444, V1.3.2 (1998 –03).
162 Mobile communicat ions

ETSI (1 9 9 8 k) Digita l En h a n ced Cordless Telecom mun ica tion s (DECT), Com m on
In terfa ce (CI), Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat io n s St an d ard s In st it u t e, EN 3 0 0
175, V1.4.1 (1998–02).
ETSI (1998l) Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), Voice plus Da ta (V+D), Eu ro p ean
Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In stitu te, ETS 300 392 series of st an d ard s.
ETSI (1 99 8 m ) Terrestria l Trun ked Ra dio (TETRA), Pa cket Da ta Optimized (PDO),
Eu ro p ea n Teleco m m u n icat io n s St a n d ard s In st it u t e, ETS 3 0 0 3 9 3 series
o f st an d ard s.
ETSI (1998n ) The ETSI UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) ITU-R Radio Transmission
Technologies (RTT) Ca ndidate Subm ission, Eu ro p ean Telecom m u n icat ion s
Stan dards In stitute.
ETSI (2002) European Telecom m u n ication s Stan dards In stitute, h ttp:/ /www.etsi.org/.
Evci, C. (2001) ‘Op tim izin g an d licen sin g t h e rad io freq u en cy sp ect ru m fo r ter-
restrial 3G u sers,’ Alcatel Telecommunica tions Review, 1/ 2001.
G o o d m an , D. (1 9 9 7 ) W ireless Person a l Com m un ica tion s System s. Ad d iso n -
Wesley Lon gm an .
GSM Associatio n (2002), h tt p :/ / www.gsm wo rld .co m / .
G SM M o U (1 9 9 8 ) Vision for th e evolution from GSM to UMTS, G SM M o U
Associat io n , Perm an en t Referen ce Docu m en t, V 3.0.0.
GSM-R (2002), Th e GSM-R In d u stry Grou p , h tt p :/ / www.gsm -rail.com / .
H alsall, F. (1 9 9 6 ) Da ta com m un ica tion s, com puter n etworks a n d open system s.
Ad d iso n -Wesley Lo n gm an .
ITU (2002) International Mobile Telecommunications, In tern ation al Telecom m un ication
Un ion , h ttp:// www.itu.in t/im t/.
Nu ssli, C; Bertou t, A. (2002) ‘Satellite-based m u lticast arch itectu re for m u ltim ed ia
services in 3G m obile n etworks,’ Alcatel Telecommunications Review, 2/2002.
O jan p erä, T.; Prasa d , R. (1 9 9 8 ) ‘An o verview o f t h ird -gen erat io n w ireless
p erso n a l co m m u n ica t io n s: A Eu ro p ean p ersp ect ive,’ IEEE Person a l
Communications, 5(6).
Pah lavan , K., Krish n am u rth y, P., Hatam i, A., Ylian tt ila, M., Makela, J.-P., Pich n a,
R., Vallst rö m , J. (2 0 0 0 ) ‘H an d o ff in Hyb rid M o b ile Dat a N et wo rks,’ IEEE
Persona l Communications, 7(2).
Pa h la van , K., Krish n am u rt h y, P. (2 0 0 2 ) Prin ciples of W ireless Networks.
Pren t ice Hall.
Rosen b erg, J., Sch u lzrin n e, H., Cam arillo , G., Jo h n sto n , A., Pet erso n , J., Sp arks,
R., Han dley, M., Sch o oler, E. (2002) SIP: Session Initiation Protocol, RFC 3261,
u p d ated by RFC 3265.
SIP Fo ru m (2002) h t tp :/ / www.sip fo ru m .com / .
Sh a fi, M ., Sa saki, A., Jeo n g, D. (1 9 9 8 ) ‘IM T-2 0 0 0 d evelo p m en t s in t h e Asia
Pacific region ,’ collection of articles, IEEE Communications Ma ga zine, 36(9).
Stallin gs, W. (2002) Wireless Communica tions and Networks. Pren t ice Hall.
TETRA Mo U (2 0 0 2 ) TETRA M em o ran d u m o f Un d erst an d in g, h t t p :/ / w w w.
tetram o u .co m / .
 Telecommunicat ion syst ems 163

Trip ath i, N.D., Reed , J.H., Van Lan d in gh am , H.F. (1998) ‘Han d offs in cellu lar sys-
tem s,’ IEEE Persona l Communications, 5(6).
UMTS Foru m (2002) h tt p :/ / www.u m ts-foru m .o rg/ .
Won g, D., Lim , T. (1997) ‘Soft h an d o ffs in CDMA m obile system s,’ IEEE Personal
Communications, 4(6).
 Sat ellit e syst ems 5

S
at ellit e co m m u n icat io n in t ro d u ces an o t h er syst em su p p o rt in g m o b ile
co m m u n icat io n s. Satellites o ffer glob al coverage with ou t wirin g co st s fo r
b ase stat io n s an d are alm o st in d ep en d en t o f varyin g p o p u lat io n d en si-
ties. Aft er a sh o rt h ist ory of sat ellite d evelo p m en t an d p resen tation o f d ifferen t
areas of ap p lication , t h is ch ap ter in tro d u ces th e basics o f satellite system s. Orbit,
visib ilit y, t ran sm issio n q u alit y, an d o t h er syst em ch aracterist ics are all clo sely
lin ked . Several rest rictio n s an d ap p licat io n req u irem en t s resu lt in t h ree m ajo r
classes o f satellit es, GEO, MEO, an d LEO, as d iscu ssed lat er in th is ch ap ter. Th e
h igh sp eed o f sat ellit es wit h a lo w alt it u d e raises n ew p ro b lem s fo r ro u t in g,
lo calizat io n o f m o b ile u sers, an d h an d o ver o f co m m u n icat io n lin ks. Several
asp ect s o f t h ese to p ics are t h erefo re p resen ted in sep arate sectio n s. Fin ally, th e
ch ap t er d eals with fou r exam p les of glob al satellit e com m u n icatio n system s th at
are cu rren tly p lan n ed o r alread y in stalled . Fo llo win g th e u p s an d d own s of satel-
lite syst em s o ver t h e last years (b an kru p tcy o f Irid iu m , o ver-am b itio u s system s
et c.) it is clear th at th e fu tu re of th ese system s is u n certain . Ho wever, t h ey m ay
p ro ve u sefu l as an ad d itio n for exist in g system s (e.g., UMTS satellit e segm en t as
en h an cem en t of t h e terrest rial service for m u lt im ed ia broad castin g).

5.1 Hist ory

Satellite com m u n ication began after th e Secon d World War. Scien tists kn ew th at
it was p ossible to bu ild rocket s th at wo u ld carry rad io tran sm it ters in t o sp ace. In
1945, Art h u r C. Clarke p u b lish ed h is essay o n ‘Ext ra Terrest rial Relays’. Bu t it
was n o t u n til 1957, in t h e m id d le o f th e cold war, th at t h e su d d en lau n ch in g of
t h e first sat ellit e SPUTN IK b y t h e So viet Un io n sh o cked t h e West ern w o rld .
SPUTN IK is n o t at all co m p arab le t o a sat ellit e t o d ay, it was b asically a sm all
sen d er tran sm it tin g a p erio d ic ‘beep ’. Bu t th is was en ou gh fo r t h e US to p u t all
it s effo rt in t o d evelo p in g it s first sat ellit e. O n ly t h ree years lat er, in 1960, t h e
first reflectin g co m m u n icatio n sat ellite ECHO was in sp ace. ECHO was basically
a m irro r in th e sky en ablin g co m m u n icat io n b y reflect in g sign als. Th ree years
fu rt h er o n , t h e first geo st at io n ary (o r geo syn ch ro n o u s) sa t ellit e SYN C O M
fo llo w ed . Even t o d a y, geo st at io n a ry sat ellit es are t h e b ackb o n e o f n ews

165
166 Mobile communicat ions

bro ad cast in g in th e sky. Th eir great ad van t age, is th eir fixed p osit io n in th e sky
(see section 5.3.1). Th eir rotatio n is syn ch ro n o u s to th e ro tation o f t h e earth , so
th ey ap p ear t o be p in n ed t o a cert ain locat io n .
Th e first co m m ercial geo st at io n ary co m m u n icat io n sat ellit e INTELSAT 1
(also kn o wn as ‘Early Bird ’) wen t in t o o p eratio n in 1965. It was in service fo r
o n e-an d -a-h alf years, weigh ed 68 kg an d offered 240 d u p lex t elep h on e ch an n els
o r, alt ern at ively, a sin gle TV ch an n el. INTELSAT 2 followed in 1967, INTELSAT 3
in 1 9 6 9 alread y o ffered 1 ,20 0 t elep h o n e ch an n els. W h ile co m m u n icat io n o n
lan d always p rovid es th e altern ative o f u sin g wires, t h is is n o t th e case for sh ip s
at sea. Th ree M ARISAT sa t ellit es w en t in t o o p erat io n in 1 9 7 6 wh ich o ffered
world wid e m aritim e com m u n icat ion . Ho wever, Sen d er an d receiver st ill h ad t o
b e in st alled o n t h e sh ip s wit h large an t en n as (1.2 m an t en n a, 4 0 W t ran sm it
p o wer). Th e first m o b ile sat ellit e t elep h o n e syst em , INM ARSAT-A, was in t ro -
d u ced in 1982. Six years later, INMARSAT-C b ecam e t h e first satellite system to
o ffer m o b ile p h o n e an d d at a services. (Dat a rates o f abo u t 600 b it / s, in t erfaces
t o t h e X.25 p a cket d a t a n et w o rk ex ist .) In 1 9 93 , sat ellit e t elep h o n e syst em s
fin ally b ecam e fu lly d igit al wit h INMARSAT-M. Th e act u al m o b ilit y, h o wever,
was relat ive from a u ser’s p o in t o f view, as th e d evices n eed ed fo r co m m u n ica-
tio n via geo st at io n ary satellites were h eavy (several kilogram s) an d n eed ed a lo t
o f t ran sm it p o wer t o ach ieve d ecen t d at a rates. Nin et een n in ety-eigh t m arked
th e b egin n in g of a n ew age o f satellite d ata co m m u n icatio n with th e in tro d u c-
t io n o f glo b al sat ellit e syst em s fo r sm all m o b ile p h o n es, su ch as, e.g., Irid iu m
an d Glo b alst ar (see sect io n 5.7). Th ere are cu rren t ly alm o st 200 geo st atio n ary
satellites in co m m ercial u se wh ich sh o ws th e im p ressive growt h o f satellite co m -
m u n icatio n o ver th e last 30 years (Miller, 1998), (Maral, 1998), (Pascall, 1997).
However, satellite n et wo rks are cu rren tly facin g h eavy co m p etitio n fro m terres-
trial n etworks with n at ion wid e coverage or at least en o u gh coverage t o su p p ort
m o st ap p licatio n s an d u sers.

5.2 Applications
Trad it io n ally, satellites h ave been u sed in th e fo llo win g areas:

● Wea t h er fo r eca st in g: Several sat ellit es d eliver p ict u res o f th e eart h u sin g,
e.g., in fra red o r visib le ligh t. With o u t th e h elp of satellites, th e fo recastin g
o f h u rrican es wou ld be im p o ssible.
● Ra d io a n d TV b ro a d ca st sa t ellit es: Hu n d red s of rad io an d TV p ro gram s are
available via satellite. Th is tech n o logy com p et es with cable in m an y p laces,
as it is ch eap er to in st all an d , in m ost cases, n o extra fees h ave t o be p aid for
t h is service. To d ay’s satellit e d ish es h ave d iam eters o f 30–40 cm in cen tral
Eu ro p e, (th e d iam eters in n orth ern cou n tries are sligh t ly larger).
● M ilit a r y sa t ellit es: On e of t h e earliest ap p lication s o f satellites was th eir u se
fo r carryin g o u t esp io n age. M an y co m m u n icat io n lin ks are m an aged via
sat ellit e becau se th ey are m u ch safer from att ack by en em ies.
 Sat ellit e syst ems 167

● Sa t ellit es fo r n a v ig a t io n : Even t h o u gh it was on ly u sed fo r m ilit ary p u r-

p o ses in t h e b egin n in g, t h e glo b al p o sit io n in g syst em (GPS) is n o wad ays
well-kn o wn an d available fo r everyon e. Th e system allo ws for p recise lo cal-
izat ion world wid e, an d with som e ad d ition al tech n iq u es, t h e p recision is in
t h e ran ge o f so m e m et res. Alm o st all sh ip s an d aircraft rely o n GPS as an
ad d itio n to t rad it ion al n avigation system s. Man y tru cks an d cars com e with
in st alled GPS receivers. Th is system is also u sed , e.g., fo r fleet m an agem en t
o f tru cks or for veh icle localizat io n in case of th eft.

In t h e co n t ex t o f m o b ile co m m u n icat io n , t h e cap ab ilit ies o f sat ellit es t o

tran sm it d ata is of p articu lar in terest.

● Glo b a l t elep h o n e b a ck b o n es: On e o f th e first ap p licat io n s of satellit es fo r

co m m u n icat io n was t h e est ab lish m en t o f in t ern at io n al t elep h o n e b ack-
b o n es. In st ead o f u sin g cab les it w as so m et im es fa st er t o lau n ch a n ew
sat ellit e (aka ‘big cab le in t h e sky’). Ho wever, wh ile som e ap p licatio n s still
u se t h em , t h ese, sat ellit es are in creasin gly b ein g rep laced b y fib er o p t ical
cab les cro ssin g t h e o cea n s. Th e m a in reaso n fo r t h is is t h e t rem en d o u s
cap acit y o f fib er o p t ical lin ks (co m m ercially so m e 1 0 Gb it / s u sin g wave-
len gt h d ivisio n m u lt ip lexin g, several Tb it/ s in lab s) an d , in p articu lar, th e
m u ch lower d elay co m p ared to satellit es. W h ile th e sign al t o a geo st at io n -
ary satellite h as t o travel abou t 72,000 km from a sen d er via th e sat ellit e to
t h e receiver, t h e d istan ce is typ ically less t h an 10,000 km if a fiber-o p t ical
lin k crossin g th e Pacific or At lan tic Ocean is u sed . Un fort u n ately, th e sp eed
o f ligh t is lim ited , resu ltin g in a o n e-way, sin gle-h op t im e d elay o f 0.25 s fo r
geostation ary sat ellit es. Usin g satellites for telep h on e co n versation is so m e-
tim es an n oyin g an d req u ires p art icu lar d iscip lin e in d iscu ssio n s.
● Con n ectio n s fo r rem o te or d evelo p in g area s: Due to th eir geograph ical loca-
tion m an y p laces all o ver t h e world d o n ot h ave d irect wired con n ection to
t h e t elep h o n e n et wo rk o r t h e in t ern et (e.g., research ers o n An tarct ica) o r
becau se of th e cu rren t stat e of th e in frastru ctu re of a cou n try. Satellites n ow
offer a sim p le an d qu ick con n ection to global n etworks (Sch wartz, 1996).
● Glo b a l m o b ile co m m u n ica t io n : Th e lat est t ren d fo r sat ellit es is th e su p -
p o rt o f glo b al m o b ile d at a co m m u n icat io n . Du e t o t h e h igh lat en cy,
geo st at ion ary sat ellit es are n o t id eal for th is task; t h erefo re, satellites u sin g
lower orbits are n eed ed (see section 5.3). Th e basic p u rp o se of sat ellit es fo r
m o b ile co m m u n icat io n is n o t t o rep lace t h e ex ist in g m o b ile p h o n e n et -
wo rks, bu t to ext en d th e area of co verage. Cellu lar p h on e system s, su ch as
AM PS an d GSM (an d t h eir su ccesso rs) d o n o t co ver all p arts o f a co u n t ry.
Areas t h a t are n o t co vered u su ally h ave lo w p o p u la t io n wh ere it is t o o
exp en sive to in st al a base st at ion . With th e in tegratio n of satellite co m m u -
n icat io n , h o wev er, t h e m o b ile p h o n e ca n sw it ch t o sat ellit es o fferin g
w o rld wid e co n n ect ivit y t o a cu st o m er (Jam alip o u r, 19 9 8 ). Fo r t h e UM TS
syst em (see ch ap t er 4) freq u en cy b an d s d irect ly ad jacen t t o t h e t errest rial
b a n d s h a ve b een a llo ca t ed fo r t h e sa t ellit e segm en t (S-Ban d : 1 9 8 0 –2 0 1 0
MHz u p lin k, 2170–2200 MHz d o wn lin k).
168 Mobile communicat ions

W h ile in th e begin n in g sat ellites were sim p le tran sp o n d ers, to d ay’s satellites
rat h er resem b le flyin g ro u t ers. Tran sp o n d ers b asically receive a sign al o n o n e
freq u en cy, am p lify t h e sign al an d t ran sm it it on an o t h er freq u en cy. W h ile in
th e b egin n in g on ly an alo g am p lificatio n was p ossible, t h e u se o f d igital sign als
also allo ws fo r sign al regen erat io n . Th e sat ellite d eco d es t h e sign al in t o a b it-
st ream , an d co d es it again in t o a sign al. Th e ad van t age o f d igital regen eratio n
co m p ared t o p u re an alo g a m p lificat io n is t h e h igh er q u alit y o f t h e received
sign al o n t h e eart h . To d ay’s co m m u n icat io n satellites p ro vid e m an y fu n ct io n s
of h igh er co m m u n ication layers, e.g., in ter-satellite ro u tin g, erro r correction etc.
Figu re 5.1 sh o ws a classical scen ario fo r satellit e system s su p p o rtin g glo b al
m o b ile com m u n icatio n (Lu tz, 1998). Dep en d in g o n it s t yp e, each satellite can
cover a certain area on th e earth with it s beam (th e so-called ‘footp rin t’ (see sec-
tion 5.3)). With in th e footp rin t, com m u n ication wit h t h e satellit e is p ossible for
m obile u sers via a m o b ile u ser lin k (MUL) an d for th e base station co n tro llin g
t h e sat ellit e an d act in g as gat eway t o o t h er n et wo rks via t h e g a t e w a y li n k
(GW L). Sat ellites m ay be able to com m u n icate direct ly with each oth er via in t er-
sa t ellit e lin k s (ISL). Th is facilitates d irect com m u n ication between u sers with in
d ifferen t fo o t p rin t s wit h o u t u sin g b ase st at io n s o r o t h er n et wo rks o n eart h .
Savin g extra lin ks from satellite to earth can redu ce laten cy for d ata p ackets an d
voice d ata. Som e satellites h ave sp ecial an ten n as to create sm aller cells u sin g sp ot
beam s (e.g., 163 sp o t beam s p er sat ellit e in t h e ICO syst em (ICO , 2002)). Th e
req u ired terrestrial service in frastru ctu re for satellit e con trol an d th e con trol lin ks
between Earth con trol station s an d satellites n ot sh own in Figu re 5.1.

Figure 5.1
Typical satellite
system for global
Inter satellite link
mobile
Mobile user (ISL)
telecommunications link (MUL)
Gateway link MUL
(GWL) GWL
Small cells
(spotbeams)

Base station
Footprint or gateway

ISDN PSTN GSM

User data
 Sat ellit e syst ems 169

Sat ellit e syst em s are, an d w ill co n t in u e t o b e, a valu ab le ad d it io n t o t h e

m an y n etwo rks alread y in existan ce o n earth . Users m igh t com m u n icate u sin g
ISDN o r ot h er PSTN, even cellu lar n et wo rks su ch as GSM an d UMTS. Man y gat e-
ways p rovid e seam less com m u n ication bet ween th ese d ifferen t n etwo rks. A real
ch allen ge, fo r exam p le, is t h e sm o o t h , seam less h an d o ver b et ween a cellu lar
n et wo rk an d a sat ellit e syst em (vert ical h an d o ver) as it is alread y well kn o wn
fro m wit h in cellu lar n etwo rks (h o rizo n t al h an d o ver). Users sh o u ld n o t n o t ice
th e switch in g fro m , e.g., GSM, to a satellite n etwork d u rin g co n versation .

5.3 Basics
Satellites o rb it aro u n d th e earth . Dep en d in g on th e ap p lication , th ese orbits can
be circu lar or ellip tical. Satellites in circu lar orbits always keep t h e sam e d ist an ce
to th e earth ’s su rface followin g a sim p le law:

● Th e att ractive force Fg o f th e earth d u e t o gravity eq u als m·g·(R/r)2 .

● Th e cen t rifu gal fo rce Fc tryin g to p u ll th e sat ellit e away eq u als m·r·ω2 .

Th e variables h ave th e fo llo win g m ean in g:

● m is th e m ass of t h e satellite;
● R is th e rad iu s o f earth with R = 6,370 km ;
● r is th e d ist an ce o f th e sat ellite to th e cen t re of th e eart h ;
● g is th e acceleratio n of gravity wit h g = 9.81 m / s2 ;
● an d ω is t h e an gu lar velo cit y with ω = 2·π·f, f is th e freq u en cy o f t h e rot a-
tion .

To keep th e satellite in a stable circular orbit, th e followin g equation m ust h old:

● Fg = Fc, i.e., b o t h fo rces m u st b e eq u al. Lo o kin g at t h is eq u at io n t h e first

th in g t o n o tice is th at t h e m ass m o f a satellit e is irrelevan t (it ap p ears o n
bot h sid es of th e eq u ation ).
● So lvin g th e eq u atio n fo r t h e d istan ce r o f t h e satellite to t h e cen ter o f th e
earth resu lts in th e followin g eq u ation :
Th e d ist an ce r = (g·R2 / (2·π·f)2 )1/ 3

From th e last eq u ation it can be con clu d ed th at th e d istan ce of a sat ellite t o

t h e eart h ’s su rface d ep en d s o n it s ro t at io n freq u en cy. Figu re 5 .2 sh o ws t h is
d ep en d en cy in ad d it io n t o t h e relat ive velo cit y o f a sat ellit e. Th e in t erest in g
p o in t in th e d iagram is wh en t h e satellite p eriod eq u als 24 h ou rs. Th is is exactly
t h e case fo r a d ist an ce o f 3 5 ,7 8 6 km . H avin g an o rb it in g t im e o f 2 4 h o u rs
im p lies a geo st at io n a ry sat ellit e if it is ad d it io n ally p laced ab o ve t h e eq u at o r.
(Satellites of t h is typ e will be d iscu ssed in a later section .)
170 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 5.2
Dependency of 24
Satellite
satellite period and Velocity [×1,000 km/h]
period [h]
distance to earth 20

16

12

4 Synchronous distance
35,786 km

10 20 30 40 × 106 m
Radius

Im p o rt an t p aram et ers in sat ellit e co m m u n icat io n are t h e in clin at io n an d

elevat io n an gles. Th e in clin a t io n a n gle δ (see Figu re 5.3) is d efin ed as th e an gle
between t h e eq u ato rial p lan e an d t h e p lan e d escribed by th e sat ellit e o rb it . An
in clin at io n an gle o f 0 d egrees m ean s th at t h e satellite is exactly above th e eq u a-
tor. If t h e satellite d o es n o t h ave a circu lar o rbit, th e clo sest p oin t to t h e earth is
called t h e p erigee.
Th e elev a t io n a n gle ε (see Figu re 5.4) is d efin ed as th e an gle b etween th e
cen ter o f t h e sat ellit e b eam an d th e p lan e t an gen tial t o t h e earth ’s su rface. A so -
called fo o t p r in t can b e d efin ed as t h e area o n eart h wh ere t h e sign als o f t h e
satellite can b e received .

Figure 5.3 Plane of satellite orbit

Inclination angle of
a satellite
Satellite orbit

Perigee
δ

Inclination δ

Equatorial plane
 Sat ellit e syst ems 171

Figure 5.4
Elevation angle of
a satellite

ε
int
o tpr
Fo

An ot h er effect of satellite com m u n ication is th e p rop agation loss of th e sig-

n als. Th is at ten u at io n o f t h e sign al p o wer d ep en d s o n t h e d ist an ce b et ween a
receiver o n earth an d th e satellit e, an d , ad d itio n ally, o n sat ellite elevatio n an d
atm o sp h eric con d it io n s. Th e loss L d ep en d in g on th e d istan ce r between sen d er
an d receiver can b e calcu lat ed as:

L = (4·π·r·f / c)2 ,

with f bein g th e carrier freq u en cy an d c th e sp eed o f ligh t.

Th is m ean s th at th e p ower o f th e received sign al d ecreases with t h e sq u are
of t h e d ist an ce. Th is also d irectly in flu en ces t h e m axim u m d ata rates ach ievable
u n d er cert ain assu m p t io n s (t ran sm it p o wer, an t en n a d iam et er, o p erat in g fre-
q u en cy et c.) as sh o w n in C o m p aret t o (1 9 9 7 ). W h ile w it h an t en n a s u sed fo r
m o b ile p h o n es a d at a rat e o f 1 0 kb it / s is ach ievab le wit h a 2 GH z carrier fo r
sat ellit es in so m e 1 0 0 km d ist an ce as d iscu ssed in sect io n 5 .3 .2, o n ly so m e
10 bit / s are p ossible with geostation ary satellites in a d istan ce of 36,000 km .
Th e atten u atio n o f th e sign al d u e to certain atm o sp h eric con d ition s is m o re
co m p lex (see Figu re 5 .5). Dep en d in g o n t h e elevatio n , th e sign al h as t o p en e-
trat e a sm aller o r larger p ercen t age o f th e atm o sp h ere. Gen erally, an elevatio n
less t h an 10 d egrees is co n sid ered u seless fo r co m m u n icat io n . Esp ecially rain
ab so rp t io n can b e q u it e stro n g in t ro p ical areas (h ere, t h e erro r rates in crease
d ram atically d u rin g th e aftern o on rain fall).
Fo u r d ifferen t t yp es o f o rbit s can b e id en tified as sh own in Figu re 5.6:

● G eo st a t i o n a r y (o r g eo sy n c h r o n o u s) ea r t h o r b i t (GEO ): GEO sat ellit es

h ave a d ist an ce o f alm o st 36,000 km t o th e earth . Exam p les are alm o st all
TV an d rad io b ro ad cast sa t ellit es, m an y weat h er sa t ellit es an d sat ellit es
o p eratin g as backbo n es for th e t elep h on e n etwork (see section 5.3.1).
172 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 5.5
50
Signal attenuation
due to atmospheric
absorption
Rain absorption

Attenuation of the signal in %

40

30
Fog absorption

20

10

Atmospheric
absorption

5° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50°

Elevation of the satellite

Figure 5.6
Different types of
GEO (Inmarsat)
satellite orbits

HEO MEO (ICO)

LEO Inner and outer Van

(Globalstar, Allen belts
Iridium)

Earth

1,000

10,000

35,768
km
 Sat ellit e syst ems 173

● M e d iu m e a r t h o r b it (M EO ): M EO s o p erat e a t a d ist an ce o f ab o u t
5 ,0 00 –1 2,00 0 km . Up t o n o w t h ere h ave n o t b een m an y sat ellit es in t h is
class, bu t so m e u p co m in g system s (e.g., ICO) u se th is class fo r vario u s rea-
son s (see sect ion 5.3.3).
● Lo w ea r t h o r b it (LEO ): W h ile so m e t im e ago LEO sat ellit es were m ain ly
u sed fo r esp io n a ge, several o f t h e n ew sat ellit e syst em s n o w rely o n t h is
class u sin g altitu d es of 500–1,500 km (see section 5.3.2).
● H igh ly ellip t ica l o rb it (H EO ): Th is class co m p rises all sat ellites wit h n o n -
circu lar o rb it s. Cu rren t ly, o n ly a few co m m ercial co m m u n icat io n syst em s
u sin g sat ellites wit h ellip tical o rb it s are p lan n ed . Th ese syst em s h ave t h eir
p erigee o ver large cit ies to im p ro ve co m m u n icatio n q u alit y.

Th e Van Allen rad iat io n b elt s, b elt s co n sist in g o f io n ized p art icles, at
h eigh t s o f ab o u t 2 ,0 0 0 –6,0 0 0 km (in n er Van Allen b elt ) a n d ab o u t
15,000–30,000 km (o u t er Van Allen belt) resp ectively m ake satellite com m u n ica-
tion very d ifficu lt in t h ese orbits.

5.3.1 GEO
If a sat ellit e sh o u ld ap p ear fix ed in t h e sky, it req u ires a p erio d o f 2 4 h o u rs.
Usin g t h e eq u at io n fo r t h e d ist a n ce b et w een eart h an d sat ellit e r =
(g·R2 / (2·π·f) 2 )1/ 3 an d t h e p erio d o f 24 h o u rs f = 1/ 24h , t h e resu lt in g d ist an ce is
35,786 km . Th e o rbit m u st h ave an in clin ation o f 0 d egrees.

● Ad v a n t a ges: Th ree GEO sat ellit es are en o u gh fo r a co m p let e coverage o f

alm ost an y sp o t o n earth . Sen d ers an d receivers can u se fixed an ten n a p os-
ition s, n o adju stin g is n eeded. GEOs are ideal for TV an d radio broadcastin g.
Lifetim e expectation s for GEOs are rath er h igh , at abou t 15 years. GEOs typi-
cally do n ot n eed a h an d over du e to th e large footp rin t. GEOs do n ot exh ibit
an y Doppler sh ift becau se th e relative m ovem en t is zero.
● Disa d v an t a ges: Nort h ern o r sou t h ern region s of th e earth h ave m ore p ro b-
lem s receivin g t h ese sat ellites d u e to t h e lo w elevatio n ab o ve a latit u d e o f
60°, i.e., larger an t en n as are n eed ed in th is case. Sh ad in g o f th e sign als in
cit ies d u e t o h igh b u ild in gs an d t h e lo w elevat io n fu rt h er away fro m t h e
eq u ato r lim it tran sm ission qu ality. Th e tran sm it p o wer n eed ed is relat ively
h igh (so m e 1 0 W ) w h ich cau ses p ro b lem s fo r b at t ery p o wered d evices.
Th ese satellit es can n ot b e u sed fo r sm all m o bile p h o n es. Th e b iggest p rob -
lem fo r vo ice a n d also d at a co m m u n icat io n is t h e h igh lat en cy o f o ver
0.25 s on e-way – m an y ret ran sm issio n sch em es wh ich are kn o wn from fixed
n et w o rks fa il. D u e t o t h e large fo o t p rin t , eit h er freq u en cies can n o t b e
reu sed o r t h e GEO sat ellit e n eed s sp ecial an t en n as fo cu sin g o n a sm aller
fo ot p rin t. Tran sferrin g a GEO in to orbit is very exp en sive.
174 Mobile communicat ions

5.3.2 LEO
As LEOs circu lat e on a lo wer orbit, it is ob viou s th at th ey exh ibit a m u ch sh ort er
p erio d (t h e t yp ical d u rat ion of LEO p erio d s are 95 to 120 m in u tes). Ad d ition ally,
LEO syst em s t ry to en su re a h igh elevatio n for every sp o t o n earth to p rovid e a
h igh q u alit y co m m u n icat io n lin k. Each LEO sat ellite will o n ly b e visible fro m
t h e eart h fo r aro u n d t en m in u t es. A fu rt h er classificat io n o f LEO s in t o lit t le
LEOs wit h lo w ban d wid t h services (so m e 100 bit/ s), big LEO s (so m e 1,000 b it/ s)
an d b road ban d LEOs with p lan s reach in g in to th e Mbit / s ran ge can be fo u n d in
Com p aret to (1997).

● Ad v a n t a ges: Usin g ad van ced co m p ressio n sch em es, t ran sm issio n rat es o f
abou t 2,400 bit/ s can be en o u gh fo r vo ice com m u n ication . LEOs even p ro -
vid e t h is b an d wid th fo r m ob ile t erm in als wit h o m n i-d irectio n al an t en n as
u sin g lo w tran sm it p o wer in t h e ran ge o f 1W. Th e d elay fo r p ackets d eliv-
ered via a LEO is relatively lo w (ap p ro x 10 m s). Th e d elay is co m p arable to
lo n g-d ist an ce wired co n n ect io n s (a b o u t 5 –1 0 m s). Sm a ller fo o t p rin t s o f
LEOs allo w for better freq u en cy reu se, sim ilar to th e co n cep t s u sed fo r cellu -
lar n etwo rks (Gavish , 1998). LEOs can p rovid e a m u ch h igh er elevation in
p olar region s an d so bett er global coverage.
● D i sa d v a n t a g e s: Th e b iggest p ro b lem o f t h e LEO co n cep t is t h e n eed fo r
m an y satellit es if global coverage is to be reach ed . Several co n cep ts in vo lve
5 0–200 o r even m o re sat ellites in o rb it . Th e sh o rt t im e o f visibilit y wit h a
h igh elevat io n req u ires ad d it io n al m ech an ism s fo r co n n ect io n h an d o ver
b et ween d ifferen t satellit es. (Differen t cases fo r h an d o ver are exp lain ed in
sect io n 5.4.) Th e h igh n u m b er o f sat ellit es co m b in ed wit h t h e fast m o ve-
m en ts resu lts in a h igh com p lexity of th e wh ole satellite system . On e gen eral
p ro b lem o f LEO s is t h e sh o rt lifet im e o f ab o u t five t o eigh t years d u e t o
atm osp h eric d rag an d radiation from th e in n er Van Allen belt 1 . Assu m in g 48
satellites an d a lifetim e of eigh t years (as exp ected for th e system Globalst ar),
a n ew sat ellit e wo u ld b e n eed ed every t wo m on t h s. Th e lo w lat en cy via a
sin gle LEO is on ly h alf of th e st ory. Oth er factors are th e n eed for rou tin g of
d ata p ackets from satellite to satellite (or several tim es from base station s to
satellites an d back) if a u ser wan ts to com m u n icate arou n d th e world . Du e to
t h e large fo o tp rin t, a GEO t yp ically d o es n o t n eed t h is typ e o f ro u t in g, as
sen d ers an d receivers are m ost likely in th e sam e footp rin t.

1 t h e life-t im e of satellit es is t yp ically lim it ed b y th e lim it ed am ou n t o f fu el on -bo ard wh ich is n eed ed

fo r co rrect in g th e o rb it from t im e t o tim e.
 Sat ellit e syst ems 175

5.3.3 MEO
MEO s can be p osit io n ed so m ewh ere between LEOs an d GEOs, both in term s o f
th eir orbit an d d u e to th eir ad van tages an d d isad van tages.

● Ad v a n t a g es: Usin g o rb it s aro u n d 1 0 ,0 0 0 km , t h e syst em o n ly req u ires a

d o zen sat ellit es wh ich is m o re t h an a GEO syst em , b u t m u ch less t h an a
LEO system . Th ese sat ellites m o ve m o re slo wly relat ive t o th e earth ’s ro ta-
tio n allowin g a sim p ler system d esign (satellite p erio d s are abo u t six h o u rs).
Dep en d in g o n t h e in clin at io n , a M EO can co ver larger p o p u lat io n s, so
req u irin g fewer h an d overs.
● D isa d v a n t a g es: Again , d u e t o t h e larger d ist an ce t o t h e eart h , d elay
in creases to abou t 70–80 m s. Th e satellites n eed h igh er tran sm it p o wer an d
sp ecial an t en n as fo r sm aller foo tp rin t s.

5.4 Rout ing

A sat ellit e syst em t o get h er w it h gat ew ays an d fix ed t errest rial n et w o rks as
sh o wn in Figu re 5.1 h as to ro u t e d at a t ran sm issio n s fro m o n e u ser t o an o t h er
as an y ot h er n etwork d o es. Rou tin g in th e fixed segm en t (o n earth ) is ach ieved
as u su al, wh ile two d ifferen t so lu t ion s exist fo r t h e satellite n etwo rk in sp ace. If
satellites offer ISLs, t raffic can b e ro u ted between th e satellites. If n ot, all traffic
is relayed to earth , ro u ted th ere, an d relayed back to a satellite.
Assu m e t w o u se rs o f a sa t ellit e n et wo rk ex ch an ge d a t a. If t h e sat ellit e
system su p p o rts ISLs, o n e u ser sen d s d at a u p to a satellit e an d th e satellite fo r-
w ard s it t o t h e o n e resp o n sib le fo r t h e receiver via o t h er sat ellit es. Th is last
satellite n o w sen d s th e d ata d o wn to t h e earth . Th is m ean s th at o n ly o n e u p lin k
an d o n e d o wn lin k p er d irect io n is n eed ed . Th e ab ilit y o f ro u t in g wit h in t h e
satellite n etwo rk red u ces t h e n u m ber o f gateways n eed ed on earth .
If a satellit e system d oes n ot o ffer ISLs, th e u ser also sen d s d ata u p to a satel-
lite, bu t n ow th is satellite fo rward s th e d at a t o a gateway o n eart h . Rou tin g takes
p la ce in fix ed n et w o rks as u su al u n t il an o t h er gat ewa y is rea ch ed wh ich is
resp o n sible for th e satellite above th e receiver. Again d ata is sen t u p to th e satel-
lite wh ich forward s it d o wn to th e receiver. Th is so lu t io n req u ires two u p lin ks
an d t wo d o wn lin ks. Dep en d in g o n t h e o rb it an d t h e sp eed o f ro u t in g in t h e
sat ellit e n et wo rk co m p ared t o t h e t errest rial n et wo rk, t h e so lu t io n w it h ISLs
m igh t o ffer lo wer lat en cy. Th e d rawbacks o f ISLs are h igh er syst em co m p lexit y
d u e to ad d ition al an ten n as an d ro u tin g h ard - an d so ft ware fo r th e satellites.
176 Mobile communicat ions

5.5 Localizat ion

Lo calizat io n o f u sers in sat ellite n et works is sim ilar to th at of terrestrial cellu lar
n et wo rks. O n e ad d it io n al p ro b lem arises fro m t h e fact t h at n o w t h e ‘b ase st a-
t io n s’, i.e., t h e sat ellit es, m o ve a s w ell. Th e ga t eways o f a sa t ellit e n et w o rk
m a in t ain several regist ers. A h o m e lo c a t io n r e g ist e r (H LR) st o res all st at ic
in form ation abou t a u ser as well as h is or h er cu rren t lo cation . Th e last kn o wn
lo cat io n o f a m o b ile u ser is st o red in t h e v isi t o r lo c a t i o n r e g i st e r (VLR).
Fu n ct ion s of th e VLR an d HLR are sim ilar to th o se of th e registers in , e.g., GSM
(see ch a p t er 4 ). A p art icu larly im p o rt an t regist er in sat ellit e n et wo rks is t h e
sa t e ll it e u se r m a p p in g r eg i st e r (SU M R). Th is st o res t h e cu rren t p o sit io n o f
sat ellit es an d a m ap p in g o f each u ser t o t h e cu rren t sa t ellit e t h ro u gh w h ich
com m u n icatio n with a u ser is p o ssible.
Registratio n o f a m o b ile st atio n is ach ieved as fo llo ws. Th e m o b ile st atio n
in it ially sen d s a sign al w h ich o n e o r several sat ellit es ca n receive. Sa t ellit es
receivin g su ch a sign al rep o rt t h is even t t o a gat ew ay. Th e gat eway can n o w
d eterm in e th e locatio n of th e u ser via th e lo catio n o f th e satellites. User d ata is
req u ested fro m th e u ser’s HLR, VLR an d SUMR are u p d ated .
Callin g a m o bile st at io n is again sim ilar to GSM. Th e call is fo rward ed to a
gat eway wh ich lo calizes t h e m o bile st at ion u sin g HLR an d VLR. Wit h th e h elp
o f t h e SUMR, th e ap p ro p riate satellite for co m m u n icatio n can be fou n d an d th e
con n ection can be set u p .

5.6 Handover

An im p o rt an t t o p ic in sat ellit e syst em s u sin g MEO s an d in p art icu lar LEO s is

h an d o ver. Im agin e a cellu lar m o bile p h o n e n etwo rk with fast m o vin g base sta-
tio n s. Th is is exactly wh at su ch satellite system s are – each satellite rep resen ts a
b ase st at io n fo r a m o b ile p h o n e. C o m p ared t o t errest rial m o b ile p h o n e n et -
works, ad d ition al in stan ces of h an d over can be n ecessary d u e to th e m o vem en t
o f th e sat ellites.

● In t ra -sa t ellit e h an d o v er: A u ser m igh t m o ve fro m on e sp ot beam o f a satel-

lit e t o an o t h er sp o t b eam o f t h e sam e sat ellit e. Usin g sp ecial an t en n as, a
satellite can create several spo t beam s wit h in its fo o t p rin t. Th e sam e effect
m igh t be cau sed by th e m o vem en t o f th e satellite.
● In t er-sa t ellit e h a n d o v er: If a u ser leaves th e fo otp rin t of a satellit e o r if th e
sa t ellit e m o ves awa y, a h an d o ver t o t h e n ex t sa t ellit e t akes p la ce. Th is
m igh t b e a h ard h an d o ver sw it ch in g at o n e m o m en t o r a so ft h an d o ver
u sin g both satellites (o r even m ore) at th e sam e tim e (as th is is p ossib le with
CDMA syst em s). In t er-sat ellit e h an d o ver can also take p lace bet ween satel-
lit es if th ey su p p o rt ISLs. Th e sat ellite syst em can t rad e h igh t ran sm issio n
 Sat ellit e syst ems 177

q u ality fo r h an d o ver freq u en cy. Th e h igh er t h e tran sm ission q u ality sh ou ld

b e, th e h igh er th e elevatio n an gles th at are n eed ed . High elevatio n an gles
im p ly freq u en t h an d overs wh ich in tu rn , m ake th e system m ore com p lex.
● Ga t e w a y h a n d o v er : W h ile t h e m o b ile u ser an d sat ellit e m igh t st ill h ave
good co n tact, th e satellite m igh t m o ve away fro m th e cu rren t gateway. Th e
satellite h as to co n n ect t o an ot h er gateway.
● In t e r -sy st e m h a n d o v e r : W h ile t h e t h ree t yp es o f h a n d o ver m en t io n ed
abo ve take p lace with in th e satellite-based com m u n ication syst em , th is typ e
o f h an d over con cern s d ifferen t system s. Typ ically, satellite system s are u sed
in rem ote areas if n o o t h er n etwork is availab le. As so on as t rad ition al cellu -
lar n etworks are available, u sers m igh t switch to th is t yp e u su ally becau se it
is ch eap er an d o ffers lo w er lat en cy. C u rren t syst em s allo w fo r t h e u se o f
d u al-m o d e (o r even m o re) m o b ile p h o n es b u t u n fo rt u n at ely, seam less
h an d over between satellit e system s an d terrest rial syst em s o r vice versa h as
n ot been p o ssible u p to n ow.

5.7 Examples

Tab le 5 .1 sh o w s fo u r exam p les (t wo in o p erat io n , t wo p lan n ed ) o f M EO / LEO

satellite n et wo rks (see also Miller, 1998 an d Lu tz, 1998). On e system , wh ich is in
o p erat io n , is t h e Ir id iu m syst em . Th is was o rigin ally t arget ed fo r 77 satellit es
(h en ce th e n am e Irid iu m with its 77 electro n s) an d n ow ru n s with 66 satellites
p lu s seven sp are satellit es (was six, Irid iu m , 2002). It is th e first co m m ercial LEO
system to co ver t h e w h o le wo rld . Sat ellit es o rbit at an alt it u d e o f 780 km , th e
weigh t of a sin gle satellite is abo u t 700 kg. Th e fact t h at th e satellites are h eavier
th an , e.g., th e co m p etit o r Glob alstar resu lt s from th eir cap ability to ro u t e d at a
between Irid iu m sat ellites by u sin g ISLs, so a sat ellite n eed s m o re m em ory, p ro -
cessin g p o wer et c. Mo b ile st atio n s (MS in Tab le 5.1) o p erat e at 1.6138–1.6265
GHz accord in g to an FDMA/ TDMA sch em e with TDD, feed er lin ks to th e satel-
lites at 29.1–29.3 GHz fo r t h e u p lin k an d 19.4–19.6 GHz for t h e d own lin k. ISLs
u se 23.18–23.38 GHz. Th e in frastru ctu re of Irid iu m is GSM-based .
A d irect com p etit or of Irid iu m is Glo b a lst a r (Globalst ar, 2002). Th is system ,
wh ich is also o p erat io n al, u ses a lo wer n u m b er o f satellites wit h fewer cap abili-
ties p er satellite. Th is m akes t h e satellites ligh ter (abo u t 450 kg weigh t) an d t h e
o verall system ch eap er. Glo b alst ar d o es n o t p ro vid e ISLs an d glo b al co verage,
b u t h igh er b an d wid t h is gran t ed t o t h e cu sto m ers. Usin g CDMA an d u t ilizin g
p ath d iversity, Globalstar can p ro vid e soft h an d overs between d ifferen t satellites
b y receivin g sign als fro m several sa t ellit es sim u lt an eo u sly. G lo b alst ar u ses
1 .6 1 –1 .6 2 65 G H z fo r u p lin ks fro m m o b ile st at io n s t o t h e sat ellit es an d
2 .4 8 3 5 –2.5 GH z fo r t h e d o w n lin k. Feed er lin ks fo r t h e sat ellit es are at
5.091–5.250 GHz gateway t o sat ellite an d 6.875–7.055 GHz satellite t o gateway.
178 Mobile communicat ions

Table 5.1 Example MEO

and LEO systems Irdium Globalst ar ICO Teledesic
(orbit ing) (orbit ing) (planned) (planned)

No. of satellites 66 + 7 48 + 4 10(?) + 2 288(?)

Altitude [km] 780 1,414 10,390 Approx.
coverage global ±70° latitude global 700 global
No. of planes 6 8 2 12
Inclination 86° 52° 45° 40°
Minimum 8° 20° 20° 40°
elevation
Frequencies 1.6 MS 1.6 MS 2 MS 19
[GHz (circa)] 29.2 2.5 MS 2.2 MS 28.8
19.5 5.1 5.2 62 ISL
23.3 ISL 6.9 7
Access method FDMA/ TDMA CDMA FDMA/ TDMA FDMA/ TDMA
ISL Yes No No Yes
Bit rate 2.4 kbit/ s 9.6 kbit/ s 4.8 kbit/ s 64 Mbit/ s
(144 kbit/ s 2/ 64 Mbit/ s
planned)

No. of channels 4,000 2,700 4,500 2,500

Lifetime [years] 5–8 7.5 12 10
Initial cost $4.4 bn $2.9 bn $4.5 bn $9 bn
estimate

W h ile th e ot h er th ree system s p resen ted in Table 5.1 are LEOs, In t erm ed ia t e
Cir cu la r Orb it , (ICO) (ICO , 2002) rep resen t s a MEO syst em as t h e n am e in d i-
cates. ICO n eed s less sat ellites, 10 p lu s t wo sp are are p lan n ed , t o reach glo b al
coverage. Each satellite covers abou t 30 p er cen t of earth ’s su rface, bu t th e syst em
works with an average elevat ion of 40°. Du e to th e h igh er com p lexity wit h in th e
satellites (i.e., larger an ten n as an d larger solar p ad d les to gen erate en ou gh p ower
fo r tran sm issio n ), t h ese sat ellit es weigh ab o u t 2,600 kg. W h ile lau n ch in g ICO
sat ellites is m o re exp en sive d u e to weigh t an d h igh er o rb it , th eir exp ect ed life-
tim e is h igh er wit h 12 years com p ared to Globalstar an d Irid iu m with eigh t years
an d less. ICO sat ellit es n eed fewer rep lacem en t s m akin g t h e wh o le syst em
ch eap er in retu rn . Th e start of ICO h as been d elayed several t im es. Th e ICO con -
sortiu m wen t th rou gh ban kru ptcy an d several join t ven tu res with oth er satellite
organ ization s, bu t still p lan s to start op eration of t h e system with in th e n ext few
years. Th e exact n u m ber of satellites is cu rren tly u n clear, h owever, th e system is
sh ifted toward s IP t raffic with up t o 144 kbit/ s.
 Sat ellit e syst ems 179

A very am bitio u s an d m aybe n ever realized LEO p roject is Teled esic wh ich
p lan s to provide h igh ban d wid th satellite con n ection s world wid e with h igh q u al-
it y o f service (Teled esic, 2 002). In co n t rast t o t h e o t h er syst em s, t h is sat ellit e
n etwork is n ot p rim arily p lan n ed for access u sin g m obile p h on es, bu t to en able
world wid e access to t h e in tern et via sat ellit e. Prim ary cu st om ers are bu sin esses,
sch o ols etc. in rem ot e p laces. Teled esic wan ts t o o ffer 64 Mbit / s d own lin ks an d
2 Mbit/ s up lin ks. Wit h sp ecial term in als even 64 Mbit/ s u p lin ks sh ou ld be p ossi-
ble. Receivers will be, e.g., roo f-m ou n ted lap t op -sized t erm in als th at con n ect t o
local n etworks in th e bu ild in g. Service st art was targeted for 2003, h owever, cu r-
ren tly on ly th e web p ages rem ain ed from t h e system an d th e start was sh ifted to
2005. Th e in it ial p lan s o f 840 sat ellit es p lu s 84 sp ares were d ro p p ed , t h en 288
p lu s sp ares were p lan n ed , d ivid ed in t o 1 2 p lan es wit h 2 4 sat ellit es each .
Con sid erin g an exp ected lifetim e of ten years p er satellite, th is still m ean s a n ew
sat ellit e will h ave t o b e lau n ch ed at least every o t h er week. Du e t o t h e h igh
ban d wid th , h igh er freq u en cies are n eed ed , so Teled esic op erates in th e Ka-ban d
with 28.6–29.1 GHz fo r th e u p lin k an d 18.8–19.3 GHz for th e d own lin k. At t h ese
h igh freq u en cies, co m m u n icatio n lin ks can easily b e b lo cked b y rain o r o th er
obstacles. A h igh elevation of at least 40° is n eed ed . Teled esic u ses ISL fo r ro u tin g
between th e satellites an d im plem en ts fast p acket switch in g on th e satellites.
On ly Globalstar u ses CDMA as access m et h od , wh ile th e o th er system s rely
o n d ifferen t TDM A/ FDM A sch em es. Th e co st est im a t es in Tab le 5 .1 a re ju st
ro u gh figu res t o co m p are t h e system s. Th ey d irect ly reflect syst em co m p lexit y.
ICO sat ellit es fo r exa m p le are m o re co m p licat ed co m p ared t o Irid iu m , so t h e
ICO syst em h as sim ilar in it ial co st s. Sm aller an d sim p ler Glo b alst ar sat ellit es
m ake th e system ch eap er th an Irid iu m .

5.8 Summary

Satellite system s evolved q u ickly from th e early st ages of GEOs in th e lat e 1960s
to m an y system s in d ifferen t orbit s of tod ay. Th e tren d for com m u n ication satel-
lites is m ovin g away from big GEOs, toward th e sm aller MEOs an d LEOs m ain ly
fo r t h e reaso n o f lo wer d elay w h ich is essen t ial fo r vo ice co m m u n icat io n .
Differen t syst em s will o ffer glo b al co verage wit h services ran gin g fro m sim p le
voice an d low bit rate d ata u p to h igh ban d wid th com m u n icat ion s with q u ality
of service. However, satellite system s are n ot aim ed at rep lacin g terrestrial m obile
com m u n ication syst em s bu t at com p lem en tin g t h em . Up to n ow it h as n ot been
clear h o w h igh th e co sts for op eratio n an d m ain ten an ce of satellit e system s are
an d h ow m u ch d ata t ran sm ission via satellites really co sts for a cu stom er. Sp ecial
p roblem s for LEOs in t h is con text are th e h igh system co m p lexity an d th e rela-
tively sh ort lifetim e o f th e satellites. In itial system costs o n ly con stitu te p art of
th e overall costs. Befo re it is p ossible to offer an y service t o cu stom ers th e wh o le
satellite system h as to be set u p . An in crem en tal growth as it is d on e for terres-
t rial n et wo rks is n o t p o ssib le in LEO syst em s. O p erat o rs in st al n ew t errest rial
180 Mobile communicat ions

n et wo rks in d en sely p o p u lated areas first to get a q u ick ret u rn o n in vest m en t.

Th is m o n ey can t h en b e u sed fo r fu rt h er ex t en sio n o f t h e syst em . Mo st LEO
satellites fly over n on - o r sp arsely p op u lated areas (sea, d eserts, p olar regio n s etc.)
an d can n ot gen erate an y reven u e. In th e en d it tu rn ed ou t th at th ere are too few
cu st om ers for satellite system s su ch as Irid iu m lead in g to th e ban kru pt cy of th e
o p erato r in March 2000. On ly th e in terven t ion of th e US DoD cou ld p reven t a
d eorb itin g o f th e satellites in Au gu st 2000 (wh ich wo u ld h ave been th e wo rld ’s
m ost exp en sive firework). Now th e US DoD is th e m ain cu stom er of Irid iu m with
its own gateway in Hawaii bu t service is still offered t o everyon e.
A n ew ap p licat io n for satellite syst em s is th eir u se as an ad d itio n to t erres-
t rial m o b ile co m m u n icat io n syst em s in t h e fo llo w in g wa y. Po in t -t o -p o in t
co m m u n icat io n services are h an d led b y, e.g., UM TS, ad d it io n al m u lt icast o r
broad cast d elivery o f m u ltim ed ia co n ten t is p erfo rm ed by a satellite system . In
t h is scen ario t h e ro le o f a sat ellit e is sim ilar t o t errest rial b ro a d cast ers as
exp lain ed in m o re d etail in ch ap t er 6. A p ro ject evalu at in g t h e p o ssib ilit ies o f
su ch a scen ario is sa t elli t e-d ig it a l m u lt i-m e d ia b r o a d c a st in g (S-DMB). Th is
p ro ject co m b in es sat ellit e a n d t errest rial t ran sm issio n u sin g t h e w id eb an d
CDMA terrest rial UMTS st an d ard t o ach ieve a m u lticast layer o ver 2.5/ 3G n et -
works (Cou rseille, 2001), (Nu ssli, 2002).
Yet an oth er m arket fo r n ew system s m igh t ap p ear between t h e lo w o rbitin g
LEO s an d t errest ria l a n t en n as. Several co m p a n ies are p lan n in g t o u se h igh -
altit u d e aircraft o r Zep p elin s fo r carryin g base st at io n s, so -called h igh -a lt it u d e
p la t fo rm s (HAP, Dju kn ic, 1997). Th ese base st at io n s cou ld be p laced h igh abo ve
large cities o fferin g h igh -q u alit y tran sm issio n at lo wer co sts com p ared t o satel-
lit e sy st em s. A b ig ad van t age co m p ared t o LEO syst em s is t h e p o ssib ilit y fo r
in crem en tal gro wth an d th e req u irem en t fo r o n ly t h e n u m ber o f system s t h at
a re a ct u ally n eed ed t o sa t isfy t h e b an d w id t h d em an d at cert a in lo cat io n s.
Ho wever, alth ou gh h igh -alt itu d e aircraft are feasible in p rin cip le it is u n clear if
it is co st -effect ive. Th e ITU h as en d o rsed vario u s freq u en cy ran ges fo r HAP
ap p lication s o p en in g th e way for t h e p ro vision o f, e.g., UMTS services by m ean s
o f HAPs (Avagn in a, 2002).

5.9 Review exercises

1 Name basic applications for satellite communication and describe the trends.
2 Why are GEO systems for telecommunications currently being replaced by fiber
optics?
3 How do inclination and elevation determine the use of a satellite?
4 What characteristics do the different orbits have? What are their pros and cons?
5 What are the general problems of satellite signals travelling from a satellite to
a receiver?
 Sat ellit e syst ems 181

6 Considered as an interworking unit in a communication network, what function

can a satellite have?
7 What special problems do customers of a satellite system with mobile phones
face if they are using it in big cities? Think of in-building use and skyscrapers.
8 Why is there hardly any space in space for GEOs?

5.10 Ref erences

Avagn in a, D., Do vis, F., Gh iglion e, A., Mu lassan o , P. (2002) ‘Wireless Net wo rks
Based o n t h e H igh -Alt it u d e Plat fo rm s fo r t h e Pro visio n o f In t egrat ed
Navigation / Com m u n ication Services,’ IEEE Communications Magazine, 40(2).
Com p aretto, G., Ram irez, R. (1997) ‘Tren d s in m obile sat ellit e t ech n o logy,’ IEEE
Computer, 30(2).
Courseille, O. (2001) ‘Role of satellites in m obile system s,’ Alcatel Telecommunications
Review, 4/ 2001.
Dju kn ic, G., Freid en fels, J., O ku n ev, Y. (1 9 9 7 ) ‘Est ab lish in g W ireless
Co m m u n icat io n s Services via High -Alt it u d e Plat fo rm s: A Co n cep t W h o se
Tim e h as Com e?,’ IEEE Communications Magazine, 35(9).
Gavish , B., Kalven es, J. (1 99 8) ‘Th e im p act o f sat ellit e alt it u d e o n t h e p erfo r-
m a n ce o f LEO b ased co m m u n ica t io n syst em s,’ W ireless Networks, J.C .
Baltzer, 4(2)
Globalst ar (2002) Glo balstar L.P., San Jose, CA, USA, h ttp :/ / www.glo balstar.com / .
ICO (2002) ICO Glo b al Co m m u n icatio n s Lo n d o n , UK, h ttp :/ / www.ico.com / .
Iridium (2002) Irid iu m Satellite LLC, Leesbu rg, VA, USA, h ttp:// www.iridium .com / .
Ja m alip o u r, A. (1 9 9 8 ) Low ea rth orbita l sa tellites for person a l com m un ica tion
networks. Artech Ho u se.
Lu t z, E. (1 99 8 ) ‘Issu es in sat ellit e p erso n al co m m u n icat io n syst em s,’ W ireless
Networks, J.C. Baltzer, 4(2).
M aral, G., Bo u sq u et , M . (1 99 8) Sa tellite com munica tions systems: System s, tech-
niques and technology. Joh n Wiley & Son s.
Miller, B. (1998) ‘Satellites free th e m o bile p h on e,’ IEEE Spectrum, March .
Nu ssli, C.; Bert o u t , A. (20 02) ‘Sat ellit e-b ased m u lt icast arch it ect u re fo r m u lt i-
m ed ia services in 3 G m o b ile n et wo rks,’ Alca tel Telecom m unica tion s
Review, 2/ 2002.
Pa scall, S.C ., W it h ers, D.J. (1 9 9 7 ) Com m ercia l sa tellite com m un ica tion . Fo cal
Press, 1997.
Sch wart z, R. (1996) W ireless comm unica tions in developing countries: cellula r and
satellite systems. Artech Hou se.
Teled esic (2002) Teled esic Co rp ., Bellevu e, WA, USA, h tt p :/ / www.teled esic.com / .
 Broadcast syst ems 6

A
lth o u gh t h is b oo k m o stly d eals wit h d ifferen t co m m u n icatio n t ech n olo -
gies allo win g in d ivid u al t wo -way co m m u n icat io n , it is im p o rt an t t o
u n d erst an d t h e ro le o f u n id irect io n al b ro ad cast syst em s wit h in fu t u re
m o bile com m u n icat io n scen ario s. Typ ical bro ad cast system s, su ch as rad io an d
televisio n , d istribu te in fo rm ation regard less of th e n eed s o f in d ivid u al u sers. As
an ad d itio n to two -way co m m u n icatio n tech n ologies, broad castin g in form atio n
can be very cost effective. Ju st im agin e t h e d istribu t io n o f a m o vie trailer t o m il-
lion s of p o ten tial cu st om ers an d com p are it wit h th e abilities o f 3G base statio n s
to p rovid e 10–20 sim u ltan eou s u sers wit h a 128 kbit/ s vid eo stream . Th e d istrib-
u t ion of th e trailer wou ld blo ck th e wh o le m o bile n etwo rk for a lo n g tim e even
if ten s o f th ou san d base statio n s are assu m ed .
In th e fu tu re, t elevision an d radio tran sm ission s will be fu lly d igital. Alread y
several radio station s produce an d tran sm it th eir program m es d igitally via th e in ter-
n et o r d igital radio (see lat er section s in t h is ch ap ter). Digital televisio n is o n its
way. Besides tran sm ittin g video an d au dio, digital tran sm ission allows for th e distri-
bution of arbitrary digital data, i.e., m ultim edia in form ation can accom pan y radio
an d TV program m es at very low cost com pared to in dividual wireless con n ection s.
Th e fo llo win g section s give a gen eral in t rod u ction in to asym m etric co m m u -
n icat ion u p t o t h e extrem e case o f u n id irectio n al bro ad castin g. On e im p o rtan t
issu e is th e cyclic rep etitio n o f d ata (as d iscu ssed in t h e section s abou t broad cast
d isks). Bro ad cast in g syst em s wh ich will be exp lain ed in d et ail are d igit al au d io
b ro ad cast in g (DAB) an d d igit al vid eo b ro ad cast in g (DVB). On e in t erestin g fea-
t u re a b o u t d at a co m m u n icat io n is t h e ab ilit y o f D AB an d DVB t o ca rry
m u lt i-m ed ia in fo rm at io n . In co m b in at io n w it h sat ellit e o r t errest rial t ran s-
m ission an d t h e u se o f t h e in tern et , th ese syst em s are ab le to d eliver h igh ban d -
wid th to in d ivid u al cu st o m ers at low cost (ETSI, 2002).

6.1 Overview

Un idirection al distribution system s or broadcast system s are an extrem e version of

asym m etric co m m u n icatio n system s. Qu ite often , b an dwid th lim it ation s, d iffer-
en ces in tran sm ission p ower, or cost factors preven t a com m un ication system from
b ein g sym m et rical. Sy m m et r ica l co m m u n ica t io n syst em s offer t h e sam e

183
184 Mobile communicat ions

tran sm ission cap abilities in both com m u n ication direction s, i.e., th e ch an n el ch ar-
acteristics from A to B are th e sam e as from B to A (e.g., ban d width , delay, costs).
Ex am p les o f sym m et rical co m m u n icat io n services are t h e p lain o ld t ele-
p h o n e service (PO TS) o r GSM, if en d -t o -en d co m m u n icatio n is co n sid ered . In
t h is case, it d o es n o t m at ter if o n e m o b ile st atio n calls t h e o t h er o r t h e o t h er
way ro u n d , ban d wid th an d delay are t h e sam e in bot h scen arios.
Th is sym m et ry is n ecessary for a telep h o n e service, b u t m an y o th er ap p lica-
tion s d o n o t req u ire th e sam e ch aracteristics for bot h d irectio n s o f in form ation
t ran sfer. C o n sid er a t yp ical clien t / server en viro n m en t . Typ ically, t h e clien t
n eed s m u ch m o re d at a fro m t h e server t h an t h e server n eed s fro m th e clien t .
To d ay’s m o st p ro m in en t exam p le o f th is is t h e world wid e web . Millio n s o f u sers
d o w n lo a d d at a u sin g t h eir b ro w sers (clien t s) fro m web servers. A u ser o n ly
ret u rn s in fo rm at io n t o t h e server fro m t im e t o t im e. Sin gle req u est s fo r n ew
p ages wit h a t yp ical size o f several h u n d red b yt es resu lt in resp o n ses o f u p t o
so m e 10 kbytes on average.
A televisio n with a set -top bo x rep resen t s a m ore extrem e scen ario. W h ile a
h igh -resolut ion vid eo stream req u ires several Mbit/ s, a typ ical u ser retu rn s som e
bytes from tim e to t im e to switch bet ween ch an n els o r retu rn so m e in form ation
for TV sh op p in g.
Fin ally, to d ay’s p agers an d rad io s wo rk co m p letely o n e-way. Th ese d evices
can on ly receive in form at io n , an d a u ser n eed s ad d ition al co m m u n icatio n tech -
n o lo gy t o sen d an y in fo rm at io n b ack t o , e.g., t h e rad io st at io n . Typ ically, t h e
telep h o n e system is u sed fo r th is p u rp ose.
A sp ecial case o f a sy m m e t r ica l c o m m u n ic a t i o n sy st e m s are u n id ir ec -
t io n a l b r o a d ca st sy st em s wh ere typ ically a h igh b an d wid th d ata stream exists
fro m o n e sen d er t o m an y receivers. Th e p ro b lem arisin g fro m t h is is t h at t h e
sen d er can o n ly o p tim ize tran sm it ted d ata fo r th e wh o le grou p of receivers an d
n o t fo r an in d ivid u al u ser. Figu re 6 .1 sh o ws a sim p le b ro ad cast scen ario . A
sen d er tries to op tim ize th e tran sm it ted p acket stream fo r th e access p at tern s o f
all receivers w it h o u t kn o w in g t h eir ex act req u irem en t s. All p acket s are t h en
tran sm itt ed via a broad cast to all receivers. Each receiver n o w p icks u p th e p ack-
et s n eed ed an d d rop s th e oth ers or st ores th em for fu tu re u se resp ectively.
Th ese ad d it io n a l fu n ct io n s are n eed ed t o p erso n alize d ist rib u t ed d at a
d ep en d in g o n in d ivid u al req u irem en t s an d ap p licatio n s. A very sim p le exam p le
of t h is p rocess co u ld be a u ser-d efin ed filter fu n ction th at filters o u t all in form a-
tion wh ich is n o t of in t erest t o th e u ser. A rad io in a car, for exam p le, co u ld on ly
p resen t t raffic in fo rm at ion fo r th e lo cal en viron m en t, a set-to p box co u ld on ly
sto re t h e startin g tim es o f m o vies an d d ro p all in form atio n abo u t sp orts.
However, th e p ro blem con cern in g wh ich in form ation to sen d at wh at t im e
still rem ain s for a sen d er. Th e followin g section sh ows several so lu t io n s to th is.
 Broadcast syst ems 185

Figure 6.1
Service provider Service user
Broadcast transmission
A
B Receiver
A

A
B
A Receiver
A B Undirectional
Sender distribution
.
medium
.
A .
B
A

Receiver

Optimized for expected

Individual access
access pattern ≠
pattern of one user
of all users

6.2 Cyclical repet it ion of dat a

A broad cast sen d er of d ata d oes n o t kn o w wh en a receiver starts to listen to t h e

t ran sm issio n . W h ile fo r rad io o r t elevisio n t h is is n o p ro b lem (if yo u d o n o t
listen you will n ot get th e m essage), t ran sm ission o f o t h er im p o rt an t in fo rm a-
tion , su ch as traffic o r weath er con d itio n s, h as to be rep eat ed t o give receivers a
ch an ce to receive th is in fo rm at io n aft er h avin g listen ed for a certain am ou n t of
tim e (like th e n ews every fu ll h ou r).
Th e cyclical rep et it io n o f d at a b lo cks sen t via b ro ad cast is o ft en called a
b ro a d cast d isk accord in g to t h e p ro ject in Ach arya (1995) o r d ata caro u sel, e.g.,
acco rd in g to th e DAB/ DVB stan d ard s (ETSI, 2002). Differen t p att ern s are p o ss-
ible (Figu re 6.2 sh ows th ree exam p les). Th e sen d er rep eat s th e th ree d ata blocks
A, B, an d C in a cycle. Usin g a fla t
d isk , all b lo cks are rep eat ed o n e Figure 6.2
Flat disk A B C A B C • •
Different broadcast
aft er an o t h er. Every b lo ck is t ran s-
patterns
m it ted for an eq u al am o u n t of tim e,
Skewed disk A A B C A A • •
th e average waitin g t im e fo r receiv-
in g a block is t h e sam e for A, B, an d
C. Sk ew ed d isk s favo r o n e o r m o re Multi-disk A B A C A B • •
d ata blocks b y rep eat in g t h em o n ce
or several tim es. Th is raises th e p robability o f receivin g a rep eated b lock (h ere A)
if t h e b lo ck was co rru p t ed th e first tim e. Fin ally, m u lt i-d isk s d istrib u te b lo cks
t h at are rep eat ed m o re o ft en t h an o t h ers even ly o ver t h e cyclic p at t ern . Th is
m in im izes th e d elay if a u ser wan ts to access, e.g., block A.
186 Mobile communicat ions

It is on ly p ossible to op tim ize th ese p att ern s if t h e sen d er kn ows som eth in g
abo u t t h e co n ten t of th e d ata blocks an d th e access p att ern s o f all u sers.

EXAM PLE BROADCAST DISK

Let u s assu m e t h at t h e b ro ad cast sen d er is a rad io st at io n t ran sm it t in g in form at io n

abo u t road con d ition s (block A), t h e weat h er rep ort (block B), t h e latest even ts in to wn
(blo ck C) an d a m en u t o access t h ese an d o th er to pics (blo ck D) in add it io n to m u sic.
Th e sen d er can n o w assu m e, kn o win g so m et h in g ab o u t t h e im p o rt an ce o f t h e d at a
b lo cks, th at blo ck D is th e m o st im p ortan t to en able access t o t h e o th er in form ation .
Th e seco n d im p o rtan t blo ck is A, th en B an d fin ally C. A p ossible b road cast d isk for
th is scen ario cou ld n o w loo k as fo llows:

DADBDADCDADBDADC ...

It is n o w th e receiver’s t ask to cach e d ata blo cks to m in im ize access d elay as

soo n as a u ser n eed s a sp ecific typ e o f in form ation . Again , th e receiver can o n ly
o p tim ize cach in g if it kn o ws so m et h in g ab o u t th e co n t en t o f th e d at a b lo cks.
Th e receiver can store typ ical access p at tern s of a u ser to be able t o gu ess wh ich
blocks th e u ser will access with a h igh er p robabilit y. Ca ch in g gen erally follows
a cost -based st rategy: wh at are th e costs for a u ser (cau sed by t h e wait in g tim e) if
a d ata block h as been req u ested bu t is cu rren tly n ot available in th e cach e?
C o n sid erin g t h e ab o ve ex am p le, t h e m o b ile d evice o f t h e fu t u re (e.g., a
rad io in a car, an en h an ced m o bile p h o n e) m igh t rem em ber th at a u ser always
ch ecks t h e latest even ts in to wn in th e even in g, bu t th e road con d it io n s in t h e
m o rn in g. Th e d evice w ill cach e b lo ck A in t h e m o rn in g a n d b lo ck C in t h e
even in g. Th is p roced u re will gen erally red u ce th e wait in g tim e fo r a u ser if h e or
sh e st ays wit h t h is access p attern .

6.3 Digit al audio broadcast ing

Tod ay’s an alo g rad io system still fo llo ws t h e basic p rin cip le of freq u en cy m o d u -
lat io n in ven ted b ack in 1 933. In ad d it io n t o au d io t ran sm issio n , very lim it ed
in fo rm at io n su ch a s t h e st at io n id en t ificat io n ca n acco m p a n y t h e p ro gram .
Tran sm issio n q u ality varies great ly d ep en d in g on m u lt i-p at h effect s an d in t er-
feren ce. Th e fu lly d igit al D AB syst em d o es n o t o n ly o ffer so u n d in a CD-like
q u alit y, it is also p ractically im m u n e to in terferen ce an d m u lt i-p ath p ro p agat io n
effect s (ETSI, 2001a), (DAB, 2002).
D AB syst em s ca n u se sin g le fr eq u en c y n e t w o r k s (SFN ), i.e., all sen d ers
tran sm itt in g th e sam e rad io p rogram op erate at th e sam e freq u en cy. Tod ay, d if-
feren t sen ders h ave t o u se d ifferen t freq u en cies to avo id in t erferen ce alth o u gh
th ey are t ran sm ittin g th e sam e rad io p ro gram . Usin g an SFN is very freq u en cy
efficien t , as a sin gle rad io st at io n o n ly n eed s o n e freq u en cy t h ro u gh o u t t h e
wh o le co u n t ry. Ad d it io n ally, DAB tran sm issio n p o wer p er an t en n a is o rd ers o f
 Broadcast syst ems 187

m agn it u d e lower co m p ared to trad it ion al FM statio n s. DAB u ses VHF an d UHF
freq u en cy b an d s (d ep en d in g o n n at io n al regu lat io n s), e.g., t h e t errest rial TV
ch an n els 5 to 12 (174–230 MHz) or th e L-ban d (1452–1492 MHz). Th e m o d u la-
t io n sch em e u sed is D Q PSK. DAB is o n e o f t h e syst em s u sin g C O FD M (see
ch ap t er 2 ) w it h 1 9 2 t o 1 5 3 6 carriers (t h e so -called e n sem b l e) wit h in a DAB
ch an n el o f 1.5 M Hz. Ad d it io n ally, DAB u ses FEC t o red u ce t h e erro r rat e an d
in t ro d u ces gu a rd sp a ces between sin gle sym b ols d u rin g t ran sm issio n . COFDM
an d t h e u se o f gu ard sp aces red u ce ISI t o a m in im u m . DAB can even b en efit
from m u lt ip at h p ro p agat io n by reco m bin in g th e sign als fro m d ifferen t p ath s.

EXAMPLE DAB ENSEMBLE

Th e followin g is an en sem ble tran sm it ted at 225.648 MHz in sou th ern Germ an y. Th e
en sem b le con tain s six rad io p rogram s an d two d ata ch an n els.

● SWR 1 BW 192 kbit/ s, stereo

● SWR 2 192 kbit/ s, stereo
● SWR 3 192 kbit/ s, stereo
● Hit Rad io An ten n e 1 192 kbit/ s, stereo
● DAS DING 160 kbit / s, stereo
● SWR traffic in fo rm ation 16 kbit/ s, d ata
● SWR service in form atio n 16 kbit/ s, d ata

With in every freq u en cy b lock of 1.5 MHz, DAB can tran sm it u p t o six stereo
au d io p rogram m es with a d ata rate of 192 kbit/ s each . Dep en d in g on th e red u n -
d an cy co d in g, a d at a service wit h ra t es u p t o 1 .5 M b it / s is availab le a s an
altern ative. Fo r th e DAB t ran sm ission system , au d io is ju st an o th er typ e o f d ata
(b esid es d ifferen t co d in g sch em es). DAB u ses two basic tran sp ort m ech an ism s:

● M a in ser v ic e c h a n n e l (M SC ): Th e M SC carries all u ser d a t a , e.g. au d io ,

m u ltim ed ia d at a. Th e MSC con sists o f co m m o n in t erlea ved fra m es (CIF),
i.e., d at a field s o f 5 5 ,2 9 6 b it s t h at are sen t every 2 4 m s (t h is in t erva l
d ep en d s on th e t ran sm ission m o d e (ETSI, 2001a)). Th is resu lt s in a d ata rate
o f 2.304 Mbit/ s. A CIF con sists o f ca p a cit y u n it s (CU) with a size o f 64 b its,
wh ich fo rm th e sm allest ad d ressable u n it with in a DAB syst em .
● Fa st in fo r m a t io n c h a n n e l (FIC ): Th e FIC co n t ain s fa st in fo r m a t io n
b lo ck s (FIB) with 256 bits each (16 bit ch ecksu m ). An FIC carries all co n trol
in fo rm at io n wh ich is req u ired fo r in t erp retin g t h e co n figu ratio n an d co n -
ten t of t h e MSC.

Two t ran sp o rt m o d es h ave b een d efin ed fo r t h e M SC. Th e st r ea m m o d e

o ffers a tran sp aren t d at a tran sm issio n fro m th e so u rce t o th e d est in at io n with
a fix ed b it rat e in a su b ch an n el. A su b c h a n n el is a p a rt o f t h e M SC an d
188 Mobile communicat ions

co m p rises several CUs wit h in a CIF. Th e fixed d at a rat e can b e m u lt ip les o f 8

kb it / s. Th e p a ck et m o d e t ran sfers d at a in ad d ressab le b lo cks (p acket s). Th ese
blocks are u sed to co n vey MSC d ata with in a su b ch an n el.
DAB d efin es m an y service in fo rm at io n st ru ct u res acco m p an yin g an au d io
stream . Th is p ro gra m a sso cia t ed d a t a (PAD) can co n tain p rogram in form atio n ,
co n tro l in form atio n , still p ictu res fo r d isp lay o n a sm all LCD, t it le d isp lay etc.
Au d io co din g u ses PCM wit h a sam p lin g rat e o f 48 kHz an d MPEG au d io co m -
p ressio n . Th e com p ressed au dio stream can h ave bit rat es ran gin g from 8 kbit / s
to 384 kbit/ s. Au d io d ata is in terleaved for bett er bu rst toleran ce. 1
Figu re 6.3 sh o ws th e gen eral fram e st ru ctu re of DAB. Each fram e h as a d u ra-
tio n TF of 24, 48, o r 96 m s d ep en d in g o n t h e tran sm issio n m o d e. DAB d efin es
fo u r d ifferen t t ran sm issio n m o d es, each o f w h ich h as cert ain st ren gt h s t h at
m ake it m ore efficien t for eith er cable, terrestrial, o r satellite tran sm issio n (ETSI,
2001a). With in each fram e, 76 o r 153 sym b ols are t ran sm it ted u sin g 192, 384,
76 8, o r 1,536 d ifferen t carriers fo r CO FDM . Th e gu ard in t ervals Td p ro t ect in g
each sym bo l can be 31, 62, 123, o r 246 µs.
Each fram e co n sist s o f t h ree p art s. Th e sy n c h r o n i za t io n c h a n n el (SC )
m arks t h e st art o f a fram e. It co n sist s o f a n u ll sym b o l an d a p h ase referen ce
sym b o l t o syn ch ro n ize t h e receiver. Th e fa st in fo r m a t io n ch a n n el (FIC) fo l-
lo ws, co n t ain in g co n t ro l d at a in t h e FIBs. Fin ally, t h e m a in ser v ice ch a n n el
(M SC) carries au d io an d d at a service co m p on en ts.
Figu re 6.4 gives a sim p lified o verview o f a DAB sen d er. Au d io services are
en co d ed (MPEG co m p ressio n ) an d co d ed fo r t ran sm issio n (FEC). All d at a ser-
vices are m u lt ip lex ed an d also co d ed wit h red u n d an cy. Th e MSC m u lt ip lexer
co m b in es all u ser d at a st ream s an d fo rward s t h em t o t h e t ran sm issio n m u lt i-
p lex er. Th is u n it creat es t h e fram e st ru ct u re b y in t erleavin g t h e FIC . Fin ally,
OFDM cod in g is ap p lied an d t h e DAB sign al is t ran sm itted .

Figure 6.3
Frame duration TF
DAB frame structure
Guard interval Td
Symbol
Tu

L 0 1 2 . . ... .. L–1 L 0 1

Phase
Null Data Data Data
reference
symbol symbol symbol symbol
symbol

Synchronization Fast information Main service

SC channel FIC channel MSC channel

1 As t h e fo cu s o f t h is b o o k is in d at a t ran sm issio n , t h e read er is referred t o ETSI (2 0 0 1 a) fo r m o re

d et ails abo u t au d io co d in g, au d io t ran sm issio n , m u lt ip lexin g et c.
 Broadcast syst ems 189

Figure 6.4
DAB Signal
Components of a DAB
sender (simplified)
Carriers

Service
information FIC

Multiplex
information
f
1.5 MHz
Trans-
mission Trans-
multi- ODFM
mitter
plexer

Audio Audio Channel

Radio frequency
services encoder coder

MSC
multi-
plexer

Data Packet Channel FIC: Fast information channel

services mux. coder MSC: Main service channel
OFDM: Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing

DAB d o es n ot req u ire fixed , p re-d eterm in ed allocation of ch an n els with cer-
t ain p ro p ert ies t o services. Figu re 6 .5 sh o ws t h e p o ssib ilit ies o f d yn am ic
reco n figu rat io n d u rin g t ra n sm issio n . In it ia lly, DAB t ran sm it s six a u d io p ro -
gra m m es o f d ifferen t q u alit y t o get h er w it h n in e d at a services. Each au d io
p ro gram h as it s PAD. In th e exam p le, au d io 1, 2, an d 3 h ave h igh q u ality, 4 an d
5 lo wer qu ality, wh ile 6 h as th e lowest q u alit y. Pro gram m es 1 to 3 cou ld , e.g., be
h igh er q u alit y classic t ra n sm issio n s, w h ile p ro gram 6 co u ld b e vo ice t ran s-
m issio n s (n ew s et c.). Th e rad io st at io n co u ld n o w d ecid e t h at fo r au d io 3
128 kb it / s are en o u gh wh en , fo r exam p le, th e n ews p ro gram starts. News m ay
be in m o n o or st ereo with lower q u alit y bu t ad d ition al d ata (h ere D10 an d D11
– h ead lin es, p ict u res et c.). Th e DAB m u lt ip lex er d yn am ically in t erleaves d at a
fro m all d ifferen t so u rces. To in fo rm t h e receiver ab o u t t h e cu rren t co n figu ra-
tio n o f t h e MSC carryin g t h e d ifferen t d at a st ream s, t h e FIC sen d s m u lt ip lex
co n fi gu ra t io n in fo rm a t io n (M CI).
190 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 6.5
Dynamic DAB - Multiplex

reconfiguration of the Audio 1 Audio 2 Audio 3 Audio 4 Audio 5 Audio 6

DAB multiplexer 192 kbit/s 192 kbit/s 192 kbit/s 160 kbit/s 160 kbit/s 128 kbit/s

PAD PAD PAD PAD PAD PAD

D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9

DAB - Multiplex - reconfigured

Audio 1 Audio 2 Audio 3 Audio 4 Audio 5 Audio 7 Audio 8

192 kbit/s 192 kbit/s 128 kbit/s 160 kbit/s 160 kbit/s 96 kbit/s 96 kbit/s
PAD
PAD PAD PAD PAD PAD PAD
D10 D11

D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9

6.3.1 Mult i-media object t ransfer prot ocol

A p ro b lem wh ich tech n olo gies like DAB are facin g is t h e b ro ad ran ge of d iffer-
en t receiver cap ab ilit ies. Receivers co u ld b e sim p le a u d io -o n ly d evices w it h
sin gle-lin e text d isp lays or m o re ad van ced rad io s with extra co lo r grap h ics d is-
p la ys. DAB receivers can also b e ad ap t ers in m u lt im ed ia PC s. Ho wever, all
d ifferen t t yp es o f receivers sh o u ld a t lea st b e a b le t o reco gn ize all p ro gra m -
associated an d p rogram -in d ep en d en t d at a, an d p ro cess so m e of th is d ata.
To so lve t h is p ro b lem , DAB d efin es a co m m o n stan d ard fo r d at a t ran sm is-
sio n , t h e m u l t i -m e d ia o b jec t t r a n sfe r (M O T) p ro t o co l (ETSI, 1 9 9 9 a). Th e
p rim ary go al o f MOT is th e su p p o rt o f d ata fo rm ats u sed in o th er m u lti-m ed ia
syst em s (e.g., o n lin e services, In t ern et , CD-ROM). Exam p le fo rm ats are m u lti-
m ed ia an d h yp erm ed ia in fo rm at io n co d in g exp ert s gro u p (MHEG), Java, jo in t
p h o t o grap h ic ex p ert s gro u p (JPEG ), Am erican st an d ard co d e fo r in fo rm at io n
in t erch an ge (ASCII), m o vin g p ict u res exp ert gro u p (MPEG), h yp ert ext m arku p
lan gu age (HTML), h yp ert ext tran sfer p ro t o co l (HTTP), b itm ap (BMP), grap h ics
in t erch an ge form at (GIF).
M O T d at a is t ra n sferred in M O T o b ject s co n sist in g o f a h ea d er co re, a
h ead er exten sio n , an d a bod y (Figu re 6.6).

Figure 6.6
7 byte
MOT object
structure Header Header
Body
core extension
 Broadcast syst ems 191

● H ea d er co re: Th is seven byte field con tain s th e sizes o f t h e h ead er an d t h e

bo d y, an d th e co n ten t typ e o f th e ob ject. Dep en d in g on t h is h ead er in for-
m at io n , t h e receiver m ay d ecid e if it h as en o u gh reso u rces (m em o ry, CPU
p o wer, d isp lay etc.) available to d eco d e an d fu rth er p rocess th e o bject .
● H ea d er ex t en sio n : Th e exten sio n field o f variab le size co n t ain s ad d itio n al
h an d lin g d at a for th e object, su ch as, e.g., t h e rep etition d ist an ce to su p p ort
ad van ced cach in g strategies (see section 6.2), th e segm en t ation in form at ion ,
an d t h e p rio rit y o f t h e d at a. W it h t h e h elp o f t h e p rio rit y in fo rm at io n a
receiver can d ecid e wh ich d ata to cach e an d wh ich to rep lace. For exam p le,
th e in d ex HTML p age m ay h ave a h igh er p riority th an an arbitrary p age.
● Bo d y: Arbitrary d ata can be tran sferred in t h e variable bod y as d escribed in
th e h ead er field s.

Larger MO T o b ject s will b e segm en t ed in t o sm aller segm en t s. DAB can ap p ly

d ifferen t in t erleavin g an d rep et it io n sch em es t o o b ject s an d segm en t s (MO T
d ata caro u sel):

● Ob ject rep et it io n : DAB can rep eat o bjects several tim es. If an o bject A co n -
sists of fo u r segm en ts (A1 , A2 , A3 , an d A4 ), a sim p le rep etition p att ern wo u ld
be A1 A2 A3 A4 A1 A2 A3 A4 A1 A2 A3 A4 ...
● In t erlea v ed o b je ct s: To m itigate bu rst erro r p ro b lem s, DAB can also in t er-
leave segm en ts from d ifferen t o bjects. In terleavin g th e o bjects A, B, an d C
co u ld resu lt in th e p attern A1 B1 C 1 A2 B2 C 2 A3 B3 C 3 ...
● Se g m e n t r ep e t it io n : If so m e segm en t s are m o re im p o rt an t t h a n o t h ers,
DAB can rep eat t h ese segm en ts m o re o ften (e.g. A1 A1 A2 A2 A2 A3 A4 A4 ...).
● H ea d er rep et it io n : If a receiver can n ot receive th e h ead er of an MOT, it will
n o t be ab le to d eco d e t h e object . It can b e u sefu l t o ret ran sm it t h e h ead er
several t im es. Th en , t h e receiver can syn ch ro n ize wit h th e d at a st ream as
so o n as it receives t h e h ead er an d can st art d eco d in g. A p at t ern co u ld b e
HA1 A2 HA3 A4 HA5 A6 H... with H bein g th e h ead er o f t h e MOT o bject A.

O b vio u sly, DAB can also ap p ly all in t erleavin g an d rep et it io n sch em es at

th e sam e tim e.

6.4 Digit al video broadcast ing

Th e lo gical con seq u en ce o f ap p lyin g d igit al tech n ology to rad io broad castin g is
d o in g t h e sam e fo r t h e t rad it io n al t elevisio n syst em . Th e an alo g syst em u sed
to d ay h as basically rem ain ed u n ch an ged fo r d ecad es. Th e on ly in ven tio n worth
m en t io n in g was th e in t ro d u ctio n o f co lo r TV fo r t h e m ass m arket b ack in th e
1960s. Television st ill u ses t h e lo w reso lu tion o f 625 lin es for t h e Eu rop ean PAL
192 Mobile communicat ions

syst em o r on ly 525 lin es for th e US NTSC resp ectively 2 . Th e d isp lay is in terlaced
wit h 2 5 o r 30 fram es p er seco n d resp ectively. So , co m p ared with t od ay’s co m -
p u t er d isp lays wit h reso lu t io n s o f 1,28 0 × 1 ,0 2 4 an d m o re t h an 7 5 Hz fram e
rat e, n on -in terlaced , TV p erform an ce is n ot very im p ressive.
Th ere h ave been m an y attem p ts t o ch an ge th is an d to in trod u ce d igital TV
wit h h igh er reso lu t io n , b et ter so u n d an d ad d itio n al feat u res, b u t n o ap p ro ach
h as yet been tru ly su ccessfu l. On e reason for t h is is t h e h u ge n u m ber of old sys-
t em s t h at are in st alled an d ca n n o t b e rep laced as fast as co m p u t ers (we can
watch t h e latest m o vie on an old TV, bu t it is im p ossible to ru n n ew so ftware o n
o ld er com p u ters!). Varyin g p o litical an d eco n om ic in terests are co u n t erp ro d u c-
t ive t o a co m m o n st an d ard fo r d igit al TV. O n e ap p ro a ch t o ward su ch a
st an d ard , wh ich m ay p rove u sefu l for m obile co m m u n icat io n , to o, is p resen ted
in t h e fo llo win g sectio n s.
Aft er so m e n at io n al failu res in in t ro d u cin g d igit al TV, t h e so -called
Eu ro p ean Lau n ch in g Grou p was fou n d ed in 1991 with th e aim of d evelo p in g a
co m m o n d igit al t elevisio n syst em fo r Eu ro p e. In 1 99 3 t h ese co m m o n effo rt s
were n am ed d igit a l v id eo b r o a d ca st in g (D VB) (Reim ers, 1998), (DVB, 2002).
Alth o u gh th e n am e sh ows a certain affin ity to DAB, th ere are som e fu n d am en tal
d ifferen ces regard in g th e tran sm issio n tech n olo gy, freq u en cies, m od u latio n etc.
Th e go al o f DVB is t o in t ro d u ce d igit al t elevisio n b ro ad cast in g u sin g sat ellit e
tran sm ission (DVB-S, (ETSI, 1997)), cable tech n ology (DVB-C, (ETSI, 1998)), an d
also terrestrial tran sm issio n (DVB-T, (ETSI, 2001b)).
Figu re 6.7 sh ows co m p o n en ts t h at sh ou ld be in tegrated in to t h e DVB arch i-
t ect u re. Th e cen t er p o in t is an in t egra t ed receiver-d eco d er (set -t o p b o x )
co n n ected to a h igh -reso lu tio n m o n it o r. Th is set-to p b o x can receive DVB sig-
n als via sa t ellit es, t errest rial lo cal/ regio n al sen d ers (m u lt i-p o in t d ist rib u t io n
syst em s, terrestrial receiver), cable, B-ISDN, ADSL, o r oth er p ossible fu tu re tech -
n olo gies. Cable, ADSL, an d B-ISDN con n ectio n s also offer a retu rn ch an n el, i.e.,
a u ser can sen d d ata su ch as ch an n el selection , au th en ticatio n in form ation , o r a
sh o p p in g list . Au d io / vid eo st ream s can b e reco rd ed , p ro cessed , an d rep layed
u sin g d igit a l v ersa t ile d isk (DVD) o r m u ltim ed ia PCs. Differen t levels of q u al-
it y ar e en visaged : st a n d a r d d e fin it io n TV (SD TV), e n h a n c ed d efin it io n
TV (ED TV), a n d h i g h d e fin i t i o n TV (H D TV) wit h a reso lu t io n o f u p t o
1,920 × 1,080 p ixels.
Sim ilar t o DAB, DVB also t ran sm it s d at a u sin g flex ib le co n t ain ers. Th ese
con t ain ers are basically MPEG-2 fram es t h at d o n ot restrict th e t yp e of in fo rm a-
t io n . DVB sen d s service in fo rm at io n co n t ain ed in it s d a t a st ream , w h ich
sp ecifies th e con ten t o f a co n t ain er. Th e followin g con ten ts h ave been d efin ed :

2 On ly ab o u t 580 lin es are visible in t h e PAL syst em , on ly 480 with NTSC. Th e h o rizo n t al resolu t io n
d ep en d s o n t ran sm issio n an d reco rd in g q u ality. For VHS t h is resu lt s in 240 ‘p ixels’ p er lin e, t errestrial
t ran sm issio n allows u p t o 330 an d h igh -q u ality TV set s u p t o 500 ‘p ixels’. Ho wever, t ran sm issio n is
an alo g an d , t h ese ‘p ixels’ can n ot d irectly be co m p ared wit h th e p ixels o f co m p u t er m o n it ors.
 Broadcast syst ems 193

Figure 6.7
Satellites SDTV Digital video
EDTV broadcasting scenario
HDTV

Multipoint
Integrated
distrib
receiver-
syst
decoder

Multimedia PC

Cable

DVD, etc.
Terrestri
receive
B-ISDN,
ADSL etc.

● Net w o rk in fo r m a t io n t a b le (NIT): NIT lists t h e services of a p rovid er an d

co n t ain s ad d it io n al in form ation fo r set-to p boxes.
● Ser v ice d escrip t io n t a b le (SDT): SDT list s n am es an d p aram eters for each
service with in an MPEG m u lt ip lex ch an n el.
● Ev en t in fo r m a t io n t a b le (EIT): EIT co n tain s statu s in fo rm ation ab ou t th e
cu rren t tran sm issio n an d som e ad d it ion al in fo rm ation fo r set -top bo xes.
● Tim e a n d d a t e t a b le (TDT): Fin ally, TDT co n tain s u p d at e in fo rm ation for
set-to p boxes.

As sh own in Figu re 6.8, an MPEG-2/ DVB con tain er can st o re d ifferen t t yp es

o f d at a. It eit h er co n t a in s a sin gle ch an n el fo r H DTV, m u lt ip le ch an n els fo r
EDTV o r SDTV, o r arb itrary m u lti-m ed ia d ata (d ata broad castin g).

6.4.1 DVB data broadcast ing

As t h e MPEG-2 t ran sp o rt st ream is ab le t o carry arb it rary d at a wit h in p ackets
wit h a fix ed len gt h o f 1 8 8 b yt e (1 8 4 b yt e p aylo ad ), ETSI (1 9 9 9b ) an d ETSI
(1999c) defin e several p ro files fo r d ata broad castin g wh ich can be u sed , e.g., for
h igh ban d wid th m ob ile In t ern et services.

● D a t a p i p e: sim p le, asyn ch ro n o u s en d -t o -en d d elivery o f d a t a; d at a is

d irectly in serted in th e p ayload o f MPEG2 t ran sp ort p ackets.
● D a t a st r ea m i n g : st ream in g-o rien t ed , asyn ch ro n o u s, syn ch ro n ized
(syn ch ro n izat io n wit h o t h er st ream s, e.g., au d io / vid eo p o ssib le), o r syn -
ch ro n o u s (d at a an d clo ck regen erat io n a t receiver p o ssib le) en d -t o -en d
d elivery of d ata.
194 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 6.8
Different contents MPEG-2/DVB MPEG-2/DVB
of MPEG-2/ DVB container container
containers
HDTV

EDTV

Single channel Multiple channels

high definition television enhanced definition

MPEG-2/DVB MPEG-2/DVB
container container

SDTV

Multiple channels Multimedia

standard definition data broadcasting

● M u lt ip ro t o co l en ca p su la t io n : tran sp o rt o f arbitrary d at a n et work p rot o cols

o n top of t h e MPEG-2 t ran sp ort stream ; o p tim ized fo r IP, su p p ort for 48 b it
MAC ad d resses, u n icast, m u lti-cast , an d bro ad cast.
● D a t a ca ro u sels: p erio d ic tran sm issio n o f d at a.
● O b ject ca r o u sels: p erio d ic tran sm issio n o f o b ject s; p lat fo rm in d ep en d en t ,
co m p atib le wit h th e o b ject req u est b ro ker (O RB) fram ewo rk as d efin ed b y
CORBA (2002).

6.4.2 DVB for high-speed Int ernet access

Ap art fro m th is d at a/ m u lti-m ed ia bro ad cast in g, DVB can be also u sed fo r h igh -
b an d w id t h , asym m et rical In t ern et access. A t yp ical scen ario co u ld b e t h e
fo llo w in g (see Figu re 6.9): An in fo rm atio n p ro vid er, e.g., vid eo st o re, o ffers it s
d at a t o p o t en t ial cu st o m ers wit h t h e h elp o f a service p ro vid er. If a cu st o m er
wan ts to down load h igh -volu m e in form ation , th e in form ation p rovider tran sm its
th is in fo rm atio n t o a satellite p ro vid er via a service p ro vid er. In fixed n et wo rks
th is is d on e u sin g leased lin es becau se h igh ban d wid th an d Qo S gu aran t ees are
n eed ed . Th e sat ellit e p ro vid er n o w m u lt ip lexes t h is d at a stream t o geth er wit h
oth er d igital TV ch an n els an d tran sm its it to th e cu stom er via satellite an d a satel-
 Broadcast syst ems 195

Figure 6.9
High-bandwidth Internet
access using DVB

DVB/MPEG2 multiplex
Satellite receiver
simultaneous to digital TV

Satellite
PC Leased line provider

Internet

TCP/IP Information
DVB-S adapte provider

Service
provider

lit e receiver. Th e cu st om er can n o w receive th e req u est ed in fo rm atio n with t h e

h elp o f a DVB ad ap t er in sid e a m u lti-m ed ia PC. Typ ically, th e in fo rm at io n fo r
th e cu stom er will be en cryp ted to en su re th at on ly p ayin g cu stom ers can u se th e
in form ation . Th e retu rn ch an n el for req u est s etc. can be a stan d ard TCP/IP con -
n ection via th e in tern et as th is ch an n el on ly req u ires a low ban d width .
Typ ical d ata rates p er u ser are 5–30 Mbit/ s for th e down lin k via satellite an d a
retu rn ch an n el with 33 kbit / s u sin g a stan d ard m od em , 64 kbit/ s with ISDN, or
several 100 kbit/ s u sin g DSL. On e ad van tage of th is ap p roach is th at it is tran sm it-
ted alon g with th e TV p rogram s u sin g free sp ace in th e tran sm itted d ata stream ,
so it does n ot req u ire ad dition al lin es or h ardware p er cu stom er. Th is factor is p ar-
t icu larly im p o rt an t fo r rem o t e areas o r d evelo p in g co u n t ries wh ere h igh
ban d wid th wired access su ch as ADSL is n ot available. A clear d isad van tage of th e
ap p roach , h owever, is th e sh ared m ed iu m ‘satellite’. If a lot of u sers req u est data
st ream s via DVB, t h ey all h ave t o sh are t h e sat ellit e’s b an d wid th . Th is syst em
can n ot give h ard QoS gu aran tees to all u sers with ou t bein g very exp en sive.

6.5. Convergence of broadcast ing and mobile communicat ions

To en able th e con vergen ce of d igital broadcastin g system s an d m obile com m u n i-

cation system s ETSI (2000) an d ETSI (1999d) defin e in tera ct io n ch an n els th rou gh
GSM for DAB an d DVB, respectively. An in teraction ch an n el is n ot on ly com m on
to DAB an d DVB bu t covers also differen t fixed an d m obile system s (UMTS, DECT,
ISDN, PSTN etc.). 3G system s are typically ch aracterized by very sm all cells, esp e-
cially in den sely pop u lated areas. Alth ou gh 3G system s offer h igh er d ata rates th an
2G system s, th eir d esign h as n ot fu lly taken in to con sideration th e in tegration of
196 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 6.10
Mobile Internet services DVB-T, DAB
(TV plus IP data)
using IP over GSM/ GPRS TV
Bro
or UMTS as interaction TV broadcaster MUX ad c as
channel for DAB or DVB t
data
channels
Internet on
c ti
n t era Mobile
ISP I terminal
GSM/GPRS
Mobile operator UMTS
(IP data)

bro ad cast q u alit y au d io an d TV services o n to 3G term in als. Th is is tru e fro m a

tech n ical p o in t o f view (cap acity p er cell in bit / s) as well as fro m an eco n o m ic
poin t of view (very h igh dep loym en t cost for fu ll coverage, typ ically low retu rn on
in vest for vid eo services).
Figu re 6.10 sh o ws a scen ario wh ich ben efits fro m th e co m p lem en tary ch ar-
act erist ics o f d igit al b ro ad cast syst em s an d 2 .5 G / 3 G m o b ile syst em s. High
ban d wid th au d io an d vid eo is sen t to get h er wit h IP d ata via th e broad cast ch an -
n el. IP d ata co u ld u se m u lt i-castin g, d ata caro u sels et c. as d escribed ab o ve. Fo r
exam p le, IP d at a in a DVB-T carou sel cou ld co n tain th e to p h u n d red web p ages
o f t h e ISP’s p o rt al. In d ivid u al p ages fo r sin gle u sers are t h en ad d it io n ally sen t
via GRPS o r UMTS (DRiVE, 2002).

6.6 Summary

Th is ch ap ter h as p resen t ed t wo exam p les of bro ad cast tech n o lo gies t h at som e-

h o w st an d o u t fro m t h e o t h er t ech n o lo gies p resen t ed in t h is b o o k. DAB an d
DVB a re m o st likely t h e su ccesso rs o f t h e t ra d it io n al rad io an d t elevisio n in
m an y co u n t ries (p ro b a b ly n o t everyw h ere d u e t o varyin g p o lit ical an d eco -
n o m ic in t erest s). In ad d it io n t o t h e t ran sm issio n o f au d io o r vid eo st ream s,
th ese system s allow fo r th e bro ad castin g of m u ltim ed ia d ata stream s. Alth o u gh
bot h t ech n o logies o n ly su p p o rt u n id irection al co m m u n icat ion , both will be an
in tegral p art o f tom o rro w’s m obile co m m u n icatio n scen arios. DAB an d DVB will
be u sed t o d istribu te m ass d ata in a co st-effective m an n er an d rely o n o t h er lo w
ban d wid th wireless tech n ologies for th e retu rn ch an n el if req u ired . Th ese tech -
n o logies su p p o rt t h e o n go in g am algam atio n of com p u ter, com m u n icatio n , an d
en t ert ain m en t in d u st ries b y m ergin g TV/ rad io d at a st ream s wit h p erso n alized
m u lti-m ed ia stream s. We can im agin e a scen ario in wh ich a m o vie is d istribu ted
t o everyo n e, b u t fo r exam p le, wit h in d ivid u al co m m ercials d ep en d in g o n t h e
 Broadcast syst ems 197

u ser’s in t erests. Th e set -top box will m erge both d ata stream s an d th e u ser will,
e.g., watch a so ccer gam e with fu lly in d ivid u alized billbo ard s. An ot h er feat u re,
wh ich m akes DAB p articu larly attractive for m obile com m u n ication , is th at it is
th e on ly co m m ercial rad io system su itable for h igh sp eed s an d h igh d ata rat es:
u p t o 1 .5 M b it / s at 9 0 0 km / h ! Th is m akes it p o ssib le t o in st al, TV set s in fo r
exam p le, train s an d o th er veh icles th at wo u ld su ffer fro m m u lt i-p ath p ro p aga-
t io n u sin g o t h er t ech n o lo gies. Alt h o u gh DVB w as n o t d esign ed fo r very fast
m o vin g receivers, it h as been sh o wn in th e MOTIVATE p ro ject th at it still wo rks
at over 250 km / h (at red u ced d ata rates; DVB, 2002, MOTIVATE, 2002).
As t h e aggregat e cap acit y o f a UMTS cell is lim it ed (ap p ro x. 2 Mb it / s p er
5 M Hz b an d wid t h in t h e st an d ard case) an d sh ared b et ween all act ive u sers,
UMTS is preferably u sed for in d ivid u al co m m u n ication p u rp o ses. On th e oth er
h an d , h igh ban d wid th d istribu tion of d ata in a p o in t -to-m u ltip o in t fash io n will
be m o re efficien t an d econ o m ical o n bro ad cast p latfo rm s su ch as DAB or DVB.
Ho wever, as t h e cap a cit y o f a m o b ile DVB-T syst em is relat ively sm all (ab o u t
1 0 –1 5 M b it / s p er 8 M H z b a n d wid t h ), an d cell size is large (>1 0 0 km 2 ) t h is
syst em m ay n o t efficien tly p rovid e in d ivid u al d ata t o m an y u sers. Bo th 3G an d
bro ad cast p lat fo rm s, can be seen as com p lem en tary, n o t co m p etitive. Table 6.1
co m p ares th e m ain featu res of UMTS, DAB an d DVB.
C h ap t er 1 1 w ill sh o w fu rt h er scen ario s in t egrat in g b ro ad cast an d o t h er
4G system s.

Table 6.1 Comparison

UMTS DAB DVB of UMTS, DAB and DVB

Spectrum bands 2000 (terrestrial), 1140–1504, 130–260,

(depends on national 2500 (satellite) 220–228 (UK) 430–862 (UK)
regulations) [MHz]

Regulation Telecom, Broadcast, Broadcast,

licensed licensed licensed

Bandwidth 5 MHz 1.5 MHz 8 MHz

Effective throughput 30–300 kbit/ s 1.5 Mbit/ s 5–30 Mbit/ s

(per user) (shared) (shared)

Mobility support Low to high Very high Low to high

Application Voice, data Audio, push High res. video,

Internet, audio, push
images, low Internet
res. video

Coverage Local to wide Wide Wide

Deployment cost Very high Low Low

for wide coverage
198 Mobile communicat ions

6.7 Review exercises

1 2G and 3G systems can both transfer data. Compare these approaches with
DAB/ DVB and list reasons for and against the use of DAB/ DVB.
2 Which web pages would be appropriate for distribution via DAB or DVB?
3 How could location based services and broadcast systems work together?

6.8 Ref erences

Ach arya, S., Fran klin , M., Zd o n ik, S. (1995) ‘Dissem in at ion -based d ata d elivery
u sin g broadcast d isks,’ IEEE Persona l Communications, 2(6).
CORBA (2002), Com m on Object Requ est Broker Arch itectu re, Object Man agem en t
Grou p (OMG), h ttp :/ /www.corba.org/ , h ttp :/ / www.om g.org/ .
DAB (2002) Wo rld DAB Fo ru m , h tt p :/ / www.wo rld d ab.o rg/ .
DRiVE (2 0 0 2 ), Dyn a m ic Rad io fo r IP-Services in Veh icu la r En viro n m en t s,
IST-1999-12515, h ttp :/ / www.ist-d rive.org/ .
DVB (2002) DVB Project Office, h t tp :/ / www.d vb.org/ .
ETSI (1997) Framing structure, channel coding and modulation for 11/12 GHz satel-
lite services, Eu rop ean Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In st it u te, EN 300 421.
ETSI (1 99 8 ) Fra min g structure, ch a n nel codin g a n d m odula tion for ca ble system s,
Eu rop ean Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In stitu te, EN 300 429.
ETSI (1 9 9 9 a) DAB Multim edia Object Tra n sfer (MOT) protocol, Eu ro p ean
Telecom m u n icatio n s Stan d ard s In st it u te, EN 301 234.
ETSI (1999b) Digital Video Broa dcasting (DVB); Implementa tion guidelines for da ta
broadcasting, Eu ro p ean Telecom m u n ication s Stan dard s In stitu te, TR 101 202.
ETSI (1999c) Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); DVB specification for da ta broadcast-
ing, Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n ication s St an d ard s In st itu te, EN 301 192.
ETSI (1999d) Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); Interaction channel through the Global
System for Mobile comm un ica tion s (GSM), Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat io n s
St an d ard s In stitu te, EN 301 195.
ETSI (2 0 0 0 ) Digita l Audio Broa dca stin g (DAB); In tera ction ch a n n el th rough th e
Globa l System for Mobile com m un ica tion s (GSM), th e Public Switch ed
Telecommunications System (PSTN), Integrated Services Digita l Network (ISDN)
a n d Digita l En h a n ced Cordless Telecom m un ica tion s (DECT), Eu ro p ean
Telecom m u n icatio n s Stan d ard s In st it u te, TS 101 737.
ETSI (2 0 0 1 a) Digita l Audio Broa dca stin g (DAB) to m obile, porta ble, a n d fixed
receivers, Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat ion s St an d ard s In stitu te, EN 300 401.
ETSI (2001b) Framing structure, channel coding and modulation for digital terrestrial
television, Eu rop ean Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In stitu te, EN 300 744.
ETSI (2002) Digital Audio and Video Broadcasting, Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n ication s
Stan d ard s In st it u te, h t tp :/ / www.etsi.org/ .
 Broadcast syst ems 199

M O TIVATE (2 0 0 2 ) M o b ile Televisio n a n d In n o vat ive Receivers, AC3 1 8 ,

h ttp :/ / www.co rd is.lu / in fowin / acts/ ru s/ p rojects/ ac318.h t m .
Reim ers, U. (1 9 9 8 ) ‘Digit al Vid e o Bro a d ca st in g,’ IEEE Com m u n ica t ion s
Ma ga zine, 36 (6).
 Wireless LAN 7

T
h is ch ap ter p resen ts several wireless lo cal area n etwo rk (W LAN) tech n o lo-
gies. Th is co n st it u t es a fast-gro win g m arket in tro d u cin g th e flexib ilit y o f
wireless access in t o office, h om e, o r p ro d u ction en viro n m en ts. In con trast
t o t h e t ech n o lo gies d escrib ed in ch ap t ers 4 t h ro u gh 6 , W LAN s are t yp ica lly
rest rict ed in t h eir d ia m et er t o b u ild in gs, a cam p u s, sin gle ro o m s et c. an d are
op erated by in d ivid u als, n o t by large-scale n etwork p rovid ers. Th e glo bal goal o f
W LANs is t o rep lace o ffice cab lin g, t o en ab le t et h erless access t o t h e in t ern et
an d , to in tro d u ce a h igh er flexibilit y fo r ad -h oc co m m u n ication in , e.g., grou p
m eet in gs. Th e fo llo w in g p o in t s illu st rat e so m e gen eral ad van t ages an d d isad -
van tages of W LANs co m p ared to th eir wired cou n terp arts.
So m e ad va n t a ges o f W LANs are:

● Flex ib ilit y: Wit h in rad io coverage, n od es can com m u n icate with ou t fu rth er
rest rict io n . Rad io waves can p en et rat e walls, sen d ers an d receivers can b e
p laced an ywh ere (also n o n -visib le, e.g., wit h in d evices, in walls et c.).
Som etim es wirin g is d ifficu lt if firewalls separate buildin gs (real firewalls m ade
ou t of, e.g., bricks, n ot rou ters set u p as a firewall). Pen etration of a firewall is
on ly p erm itted at certain poin ts to preven t fire from sp readin g too fast.
● Pla n n in g: On ly wireless ad -h o c n et wo rks allo w for co m m u n icat io n wit h o u t
p revio u s p lan n in g, an y wired n et w o rk n eed s wirin g p lan s. As lo n g as
d evices fo llo w t h e sam e st an d ard , t h ey can co m m u n icat e. Fo r wired n et -
wo rks, ad d it io n al cab lin g wit h t h e righ t p lu gs an d p ro b ab ly in terwo rkin g
u n it s (su ch as switch es) h ave to be p rovid ed .
● D e sig n : W ireless n et w o rks allo w fo r t h e d esign o f sm all, in d ep en d en t
d evices wh ich can fo r exam p le be p u t in to a p ocket . Cables n ot o n ly rest rict
u sers b u t also d esign ers o f sm all PDAs, n o t ep ad s et c. Wireless sen d ers an d
receivers can b e h id d en in h istoric bu ild in gs, i.e., cu rren t n etworkin g tech -
n o logy can be in t rod u ced with ou t bein g visible.
● Ro b u st n e ss: W ireless n et w o rks ca n su rvive d isast ers, e.g., eart h q u akes
o r u sers p u llin g a p lu g. If t h e w ireless d evices su rvive, p eo p le can st ill
com m u n icat e. Net wo rks req u irin g a wired in frastru ctu re will u su ally break
d o wn com p letely.

201
202 Mobile communicat ions

● Co st : After p rovid in g wireless access to th e in frastru ctu re via an access p oin t

fo r t h e first u ser, ad d in g ad d it io n al u sers t o a w ireless n et w o rk will n o t
in crease th e co st. Th is is, im p o rt an t fo r e.g., lect u re h alls, h o t el lo b b ies o r
gate areas in airp o rts wh ere th e n u m bers u sin g th e n etwo rk m ay vary sign if-
ican t ly. Usin g a fixed n etwork, each seat in a lectu re h all sh o u ld h ave a p lu g
fo r t h e n et wo rk alth o u gh m an y o f t h em m igh t n o t b e u sed p erm an en t ly.
C o n st an t p lu ggin g an d u n p lu ggin g will so o n er o r lat er d est ro y t h e p lu gs.
Wireless con n ection s d o n ot wear ou t.

Bu t W LANs also h ave several d isa d v a n t a ges:

● Q u a lit y o f ser v ice: W LANs t yp ically o ffer lo wer q u alit y t h an t h eir wired
co u n terp arts. Th e m ain reason s fo r th is are th e lower ban d wid th d u e to lim -
it at io n s in rad io t ran sm ission (e.g., o n ly 1–10 Mb it / s u ser d at a rate in stead
o f 1 0 0 –1 ,0 0 0 M b it / s), h igh er erro r rat es d u e t o in t erferen ce (e.g., 1 0 –4
in st ead o f 10 –1 2 fo r fib er o p t ics), an d h igh er d elay/ d elay variat io n d u e t o
exten sive error co rrect io n an d d etect io n m ech an ism s.
● Pro p riet a r y so lu t io n s: Du e to slow stan d ard ization p ro ced u res, m an y com -
p an ies h a ve co m e u p wit h p ro p riet ary so lu t io n s o fferin g st an d ard ized
fu n ction ality p lu s m an y en h an ced feat u res (typ ically a h igh er bit rate u sin g
a p at en t ed co d in g t ech n o lo gy o r sp ecial in t er-access p o in t p ro t o co ls).
H o wever, t h ese ad d itio n al feat u res o n ly wo rk in a h o m o gen eo u s en viro n -
m en t , i.e., wh en ad ap t ers fro m t h e sam e ven d ors are u sed fo r all wireless
n od es. At least m o st co m p on en t s to d ay ad h ere t o t h e basic stan d ard s IEEE
802.11b or (n ewer) 802.11a (see sect io n 7.3).
● Re st r i ct io n s: All wireless p ro d u ct s h ave t o co m p ly wit h n at io n al regu la-
t io n s. Several go vern m en t an d n o n -go vern m en t in st it u t io n s wo rld wid e
regu lat e t h e o p erat io n an d rest rict freq u en cies t o m in im ize in t erferen ce.
C o n seq u en t ly, it t akes a very lo n g t im e t o est ablish glo b al so lu t io n s like,
e.g., IMT-2000, wh ich com p rises m an y in d ivid u al stan d ard s (see ch ap ter 4).
W LANs are lim ited to low-p o wer sen d ers an d certain licen se-free freq u en cy
b an d s, wh ich are n ot th e sam e world wid e.
● Sa fet y a n d secu rit y : Usin g rad io waves fo r d at a t ran sm issio n m igh t in t er-
fe re wit h o t h er h igh -t ech eq u ip m en t in , e.g., h o sp it als. Sen d ers an d
receivers are o p erated by laym en an d , rad iatio n h as t o b e lo w. Sp ecial p re-
ca u t io n s h ave t o b e t aken t o p reven t safet y h a za rd s. Th e o p en rad io
in terface m akes eavesd rop p in g m u ch easier in W LANs th an , e.g., in th e case
o f fib er o p t ics. All st an d ard s m u st o ffer (au t o m a t ic) en cryp t io n , p rivacy
m ech an ism s, su p p o rt for an o n ym it y etc. Ot h erwise m o re an d m o re wireless
n etwo rks will b e h acked in to as is th e case alread y (aka war d rivin g: d rivin g
aro u n d lo okin g for u n secu red wireless n etwo rks; WarDrivin g, 2002).
 Wireless LAN 203

Man y d ifferen t , an d so m etim es co m p et in g, d esign go als h ave to b e taken

in to acco u n t fo r W LANs to en su re t h eir com m ercial su ccess:

● Glo b a l o p era t io n : W LAN p rod u cts sh o u ld sell in all cou n tries so, n ation al
an d in tern at io n al freq u en cy regu lat ion s h ave to be co n sid ered . In con trast
to th e in frastru ct u re o f wireless WANs, LAN eq u ip m en t m ay be carried from
on e cou n try in to an ot h er – th e op eratio n sh ou ld still be legal in th is case.
● Lo w p o w er: Devices com m u n icatin g via a W LAN are typ ically also wireless
d evices ru n n in g o n b at t ery p o w er. Th e LAN d esign sh o u ld t ake t h is in t o
acco u n t an d im p lem en t sp ecial p o wer-savin g m o d es an d p o wer m an age-
m en t fu n ction s. Wireless com m u n ication with d evices p lu gged in to a p ower
ou tlet is on ly u sefu l in som e cases (e.g., n o ad d ition al cablin g sh ou ld be n ec-
essary for th e n et work in h istoric bu ild in gs or at trad e sh ows). However, th e
fu tu re clearly lies in sm all h an d h eld d evices wit h out an y restrictin g wire.
● Licen se-fr ee o p er a t io n : LAN o p erato rs d o n o t wan t to ap p ly fo r a sp ecial
licen se t o b e ab le t o u se t h e p ro d u ct . Th e eq u ip m en t m u st o p erat e in a
licen se-free ban d , su ch as t h e 2.4 GHz ISM ban d .
● Ro b u st t r a n sm issio n t ech n o lo gy : Co m p ared t o t h eir wired co u n t erp art s,
W LANs o p erat e u n d er d ifficu lt co n d it io n s. If t h ey u se rad io t ran sm issio n ,
m an y o t h er elect rical d evices can in t erfere w it h t h em (vacu u m clean ers,
h aird ryers, train en gin es et c.). W LAN tran sceivers can n ot be ad ju sted for p er-
fect tran sm ission in a stan d ard office or p rod u ction en viron m en t. An ten n as
are typ ically o m n id irection al, n ot d irected . Sen d ers an d receivers m ay m ove.
● Si m p li fi ed sp o n t a n eo u s c o o p e r a t io n : To b e u sefu l in p ract ice, W LANs
sh o u ld n o t req u ire co m p licat ed set u p ro u t in es b u t sh o u ld o p erat e sp o n -
tan eo u sly after p o wer-u p . Th ese LANs wo u ld n o t b e u sefu l for su p p o rtin g,
e.g., ad -h oc m eet in gs.
● Ea sy t o u se: In co n trast to h u ge an d com p lex wireless WANs, wireless LANs
are m ad e fo r sim p le u se. Th ey sh o u ld n o t req u ire co m p lex m an agem en t ,
bu t rath er work o n a p lu g-an d-p lay b asis.
● Pro t ect io n o f in v est m en t : A lo t o f m o n ey h as alread y been in vest ed in t o
wired LANs. Th e n ew W LANs sh o u ld p rotect t h is in vestm en t by bein g in ter-
o p erab le wit h t h e ex ist in g n et w o rks. Th is m ean s t h at sim p le b rid gin g
between th e d ifferen t LANs sh ou ld be en ou gh to in tero p erate, i.e., th e wire-
less LANs sh o u ld su p p o rt t h e sam e d at a t yp es an d services t h at st an d ard
LANs su p p ort.
● Sa fet y a n d sec u r it y : W ireless LANs sh o u ld b e safe t o o p erat e, esp ecially
regard in g lo w rad iatio n if u sed , e.g., in h o sp itals. Users can n ot keep safety
d ist an ces t o an t en n as. Th e eq u ip m en t h as to b e safe fo r p acem akers, t o o .
Users sh o u ld n o t b e ab le t o read p erso n al d at a d u rin g t ran sm issio n , i.e.,
en cryp t io n m ech an ism s sh o u ld b e in t egrat ed . Th e n et wo rks sh o u ld also
take in to accou n t u ser p rivacy, i.e., it sh ou ld n ot be p ossible to collect roam -
in g p rofiles for trackin g p erson s if th ey d o n o t agree.
204 Mobile communicat ions

● Tr a n sp a r en cy fo r a p p lica t io n s: Exist in g ap p licat io n s sh o u ld co n t in u e t o

ru n o ver W LANs, t h e o n ly d ifferen ce b ein g h igh er d elay an d lo wer b an d -
wid th . Th e fact of wireless access an d m ob ilit y sh ou ld be h id d en if it is n ot
relevan t , b u t t h e n etwo rk sh o u ld also su p p ort lo cation aware ap p licat io n s,
e.g., by p rovid in g location in form atio n .

Th e follo win g sect io n s first in trod u ce basic tran sm ission t ech n ologies u sed
fo r W LANs, in fra red an d rad io , t h en t h e two b asic set t in gs fo r W LANs: in fra-
st ru ct u re-b a sed an d a d -h o c, are p resen t ed . Th e t h ree m ain sect io n s o f t h is
ch ap t er p resen t th e IEEE stan d ard fo r W LANs, IEEE 802.11, th e Eu rop ean ETSI
stan d ard for a h igh -sp eed W LAN with Qo S su p p ort, Hip erLAN2, an d fin ally, an
in d u stry app roach toward wireless p erson al area n etworks (W PAN), i.e., W LANs
at an even sm aller ran ge, called Blu etoo th .

7.1 Inf ra red vs radio t ransmission

Today, two differen t basic tran sm ission tech n ologies can be used to set u p W LANs.
O n e t ech n ology is based o n th e t ran sm ission of in fra red ligh t (e.g., at 900 n m
wavelen gth ), th e oth er on e, wh ich is m u ch m ore popu lar, u ses radio tran sm ission
in th e GHz ran ge (e.g., 2.4 GHz in th e licen se-free ISM ban d ). Both tech n ologies
can be used to set u p ad-h oc con n ection s for work grou ps, to con n ect, e.g., a desk-
top with a p rin ter with ou t a wire, or to su p port m obility with in a sm all area.
In fr a r ed tech n o lo gy u ses d iffu se ligh t reflect ed at walls, fu rn it u re et c. o r
d irect ed ligh t if a lin e-o f-sigh t (LOS) exists between sen d er an d receiver. Sen d ers
can b e sim p le ligh t em it t in g d io d es (LEDs) o r laser d io d es. Ph o t o d io d es act as
receiv ers. Det ails ab o u t in fra red t ech n o lo gy, su ch as m o d u lat io n , ch an n el
im p airm en ts et c. can be fou n d in Wesel (1998) an d San t am aría (1994).

● Th e m ain a d va n t a ges o f in fra red tech n o lo gy are its sim p le an d ext rem ely
ch eap sen d ers an d receivers w h ich are in t egra t ed in t o n early all m o b ile
d evices available to d ay. PDAs, lap top s, n otebo oks, m o bile p h on es etc. h ave
an in fra red d at a asso ciat io n (IrDA) in t erface. Versio n 1.0 o f th is in d u stry
st an d ard im p lem en t s d ata rat es o f u p to 115 kbit/ s, wh ile IrDA 1.1 d efin es
h igh er data rat es of 1.152 an d 4 Mbit/ s. No licen ses are n eed ed for in fra red
tech n olo gy an d sh ield in g is very sim p le. Electrical d evices d o n o t in terfere
with in fra red tran sm issio n .
● D isa d v a n t ages of in fra red tran sm issio n are its low ban d wid t h co m p ared to
o t h er LAN tech n o lo gies. Typ ically, IrDA d evices are in tern ally co n n ect ed to
a serial p ort lim it in g tran sfer rates t o 115 kbit/ s. Even 4 Mbit/ s is n o t a p ar-
ticu larly h igh d at a rate. However, th eir m ain d isad van tage is th at in fra red
is q u it e easily sh ield ed . In fra red t ran sm issio n can n o t p en et rat e w alls o r
o t h er obst acles. Typ ically, for go od tran sm ission q u alit y an d h igh d at a rates
a LOS, i.e., d irect con n ection , is n eed ed .
 Wireless LAN 205

Alm ost all n etwo rks d escrib ed in th is bo o k u se ra d io waves for d at a t ran s-

m issio n , e.g., GSM at 900, 1,800, an d 1,900 MHz, DECT at 1,880 MHz etc.

● Ad va n t a ges of rad io tran sm ission in clu d e th e lo n g-term exp erien ces m ad e

with rad io t ran sm issio n fo r wid e area n etwo rks (e.g., m icro wave lin ks) an d
m o b ile cellu lar p h o n es. Rad io tran sm issio n can co ver larger areas an d can
p en et rat e (t h in n er) wa lls, fu rn it u re, p la n t s et c. Ad d it io n a l co vera ge is
gain ed by reflect ion . Rad io typically d o es n o t n eed a LOS if th e freq u en cies
are n o t t o o h igh . Fu rt h erm o re, cu rren t rad io -b ased p ro d u ct s o ffer m u ch
h igh er t ran sm issio n ra t es (e.g., 5 4 Mb it / s) t h an in fra red (d irect ed laser
lin ks, wh ich o ffer d at a rat es well ab o ve 100 M bit / s. Th ese are n o t co n sid -
ered h ere as it is very d ifficu lt t o u se t h em with m obile d evices).
● Again , th e m ain ad van tage is also a big d isad va n t a ge o f rad io t ran sm ission .
Sh ield in g is n o t so sim p le. Rad io t ran sm issio n can in t erfere w it h o t h er
sen d ers, o r elect rica l d evices can d est ro y d at a t ran sm it t ed via rad io .
Ad d it io n ally, ra d io t ran sm issio n is o n ly p erm it t ed in cert ain freq u en cy
ban d s. Very lim it ed ran ges of licen se-free ban d s are available wo rld wid e an d
th ose th at are available are n o t t h e sam e in all cou n tries. Ho wever, a lo t of
h arm o n izatio n is go in g o n d u e to m arket p ressu re.

Of th e t h ree W LAN t ech n o lo gies p resen ted in t h is ch ap ter, o n ly o n e (IEEE

802.11) stan d ard ized in fra red t ran sm issio n in ad d it io n t o rad io t ran sm issio n .
Th e oth er two (HIPERLAN an d Blu etooth ) rely on rad io. Th e m ain reason for th is
are th e sh ield in g p roblem s of in fra red . W LANs sh ou ld , e.g., cover a wh ole floor
of a bu ildin g an d n ot ju st th e on e room wh ere LOSs exist. Fu tu re m obile d evices
m ay h ave t o com m u n icat e wh ile still in a p ocket or a su itcase so can n ot rely on
in fra red . Th e big ad van t age of rad io tran sm ission in everyd ay u se is in d eed th e
ability to p en etrate certain m at erials an d th at a LOS is n ot req u ired . Man y u sers
exp erien ce a lot of d ifficu lties ad ju stin g in fra red p orts of, e.g., m obile p h on es t o
th e in fra red p ort of th eir PDA. Usin g, e.g., Blu etooth is m u ch sim p ler.

7.2 Inf rast ruct ure and ad-hoc net works

Man y W LANs of tod ay n eed an in fra st ru ct u re n etwork. In frastru ct ure n etworks

n ot on ly provid e access to oth er n etworks, bu t also in clu de forward in g fu n ct ion s,
m ed iu m access con tro l etc. In th ese in frastru ctu re-based wireless n etworks, co m -
m u n ication typ ically takes p lace on ly between t h e wireless n od es an d th e access
p oin t (see Figu re 7.1), bu t n ot directly between th e wireless n od es.
Th e access p o in t d o es n o t ju st co n t ro l m ed iu m access, b u t also act s as a
brid ge to o th er wireless o r wired n etwo rks. Figu re 7.1 sh ows th ree access p oin ts
wit h t h eir t h ree wireless n et wo rks an d a wired n et wo rk. Several wireless n et -
wo rks m ay fo rm on e lo gical wireless n etwo rk, so t h e access p o in ts togeth er with
th e fixed n et wo rk in between can co n n ect several wireless n et works to fo rm a
larger n etwork beyo n d actu al rad io co verage.
206 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 7.1
Example of three
infrastructure-based
wireless networks

AP AP: Access Point

wired network
AP
AP

Typ ically, t h e d esign o f in frast ru ct u re-b ased wireless n et wo rks is sim p ler
becau se m ost o f th e n et wo rk fu n ct io n ality lies wit h in th e access p oin t, wh ereas
t h e w ireless clien t s can rem ain q u it e sim p le. Th is st ru ct u re is rem in iscen t o f
switch ed Eth ern et o r oth er star-based n et wo rks, wh ere a cen tral elem en t (e.g., a
swit ch ) co n t ro ls n et wo rk flo w. Th is t yp e o f n et wo rk can u se d ifferen t access
sch em es with or with ou t collision . Collision s m ay occu r if m ed iu m access of th e
wireless n odes an d th e access p oin t is n ot coordin ated. However, if on ly th e access
p o in t co n t ro ls m ed iu m access, n o co llisio n s are p o ssib le. Th is set t in g m ay b e
u sefu l for q u ality of service gu aran t ees su ch as m in im u m ban d widt h fo r cert ain
n odes. Th e access p oin t m ay p oll th e sin gle wireless n odes to en su re th e d ata rate.
In frastru ct u re-based n et wo rks lo se so m e o f th e flexib ilit y wireless n etwo rks
can o ffer, e.g., t h ey can n o t b e u sed fo r d isast er relief in cases wh ere n o in fra-
st ru ct u re is left . Typ ical cellu lar p h o n e n et wo rks are in frast ru ct u re-b ased
n et wo rks fo r a w id e area (see ch ap t er 4). Also sat ellit e-b a sed cellu lar p h o n es
h ave an in frast ru ct u re – t h e sat ellit es (see ch ap t er 5). In frast ru ct u re d o es n o t
n ecessarily im p ly a wired fixed n etwork.
Ad -h o c wireless n etwo rks, h owever, d o n ot n eed an y in frastru ctu re to wo rk.
Each n od e can co m m u n icate d irectly with o th er n o d es, so n o access p oin t con -
tro llin g m ed iu m access is n ecessary. Figu re 7.2 sh ows two ad -h oc n et works with
t h ree n o d es each . No d es wit h in an ad -h o c n et wo rk can o n ly co m m u n icat e if
th ey can reach each o t h er p h ysically, i.e., if t h ey are wit h in each ot h er’s rad io
ran ge or if o th er n o d es can forward t h e m essage. No d es from th e two n etwo rks
sh own in Figu re 7.2 can n ot, th erefore, com m u n icate with each oth er if th ey are
n o t with in t h e sam e rad io ran ge.
In ad -h o c n et wo rks, t h e co m p lexity o f each n o d e is h igh er b ecau se every
n o d e h as t o im p lem en t m ed iu m access m ech an ism s, m ech an ism s t o h an d le
h id d en or exp osed term in al p roblem s, an d p erh ap s p riority m ech an ism s, to p ro -
vid e a cert ain q u a lit y o f service. Th is t yp e o f wireless n et w o rk ex h ib it s t h e
great est p o ssib le flexib ilit y as it is, fo r exam p le, n eed ed fo r u n exp ect ed m eet -
in gs, q u ick rep lacem en ts o f in frastru ctu re or com m u n ication scen arios far away
from an y in frastru ctu re.
 Wireless LAN 207

Figure 7.2
Example of two ad-hoc
wireless networks

Clearly, t h e t wo b asic varian ts of wireless n etworks (h ere esp ecially W LANs),

in frastru ctu re-based an d ad -h oc, d o n ot always com e in t h eir p u re fo rm . Th ere
are n et wo rks t h at rely o n access p oin t s an d in frastru ctu re for basic services (e.g.,
au t h en t icat io n o f a ccess, co n t ro l o f m ed iu m a ccess fo r d at a wit h asso ciat ed
q u alit y o f service, m an agem en t fu n ctio n s), b u t th at also allo w fo r d irect co m -
m u n ication between th e wireless n od es.
However, ad -h o c n etworks m igh t o n ly h ave selected n od es with th e cap abil-
it ies o f fo rward in g d at a. M o st o f t h e n o d es h ave t o co n n ect t o su ch a sp ecial
n o d e first t o tran sm it d ata if th e receiver is o u t of t h eir ran ge.
Fro m t h e t h ree W LAN s p resen t ed , IEEE 8 0 2 .1 1 (see sect io n 7 .3 ) an d
Hip erLAN2 (see sectio n 7.4) are t yp ically in frast ru ct u re-based n et wo rks, wh ich
ad d ition ally su p p o rt ad -h oc n et wo rkin g. However, m an y im p lem en tat io n s o n ly
offer th e basic in frastru ct u re-based versio n . Th e th ird W LAN, Blu eto oth (see sec-
t io n 7.5), is a t yp ical wireless ad -h o c n et wo rk. Blu et o o t h fo cu ses p recisely o n
sp o n t a n eo u s ad -h o c m eet in gs o r o n t h e sim p le co n n ect io n o f t w o o r m o re
d evices wit h o u t req u irin g th e set u p of an in frastru ctu re.

7.3 IEEE 802.11

Th e IEEE st a n d a rd 8 0 2 .1 1 (IEEE, 1 9 9 9 ) sp ecifies t h e m o st fa m o u s fam ily o f

W LANs in wh ich m an y p ro d u cts are availab le. As t h e stan d ard ’s n u m ber in d i-
cat es, t h is st an d ard b elo n gs t o t h e gro u p o f 802.x LAN st an d ard s, e.g., 8 02 .3
Et h ern et o r 8 0 2 .5 To ken Rin g. Th is m ea n s t h a t t h e st an d ard sp ecifies t h e
p h ysical an d m ed iu m access layer ad ap ted to th e sp ecial req u irem en ts o f wire-
less LANs, b u t o ffer s t h e sa m e in t erfa ce a s t h e o t h ers t o h igh er layers t o
m ain t ain in t ero p erab ilit y.
Th e p rim ary goal of th e stan dard was th e sp ecification of a sim ple an d robu st
W LAN wh ich o ffers t im e-b o u n d ed an d asyn ch ro n o u s services. Th e MAC layer
sh ou ld be able to op erate with m u ltip le p h ysical layers, each of wh ich exh ibits a
d ifferen t m ed iu m sen se an d tran sm ission ch aract eristic. Can d id ates for p h ysical
layers were in fra red an d sp read sp ect ru m rad io tran sm ission tech n iqu es.
208 Mobile communicat ions

Ad d it io n al feat u res of th e W LAN sh o u ld in clu d e th e su p p o rt o f p ower m an -

agem en t to save battery p ower, th e h an d lin g of h id d en n od es, an d th e ability t o
op erate world wid e. Th e 2.4 GHz ISM b an d , wh ich is available in m ost co u n t ries
arou n d th e world , was ch o sen for t h e o rigin al stan d ard . Data rates en visaged fo r
th e st an d ard were 1 Mbit / s m an d ato ry an d 2 Mbit / s op tion al.
Th e fo llo win g sect io n s will in tro d u ce th e system an d p ro t oco l arch itectu re
o f t h e in it ial IEEE 802 .1 1 an d t h en d iscu ss each layer, i.e., p h ysical layer an d
m ed iu m access. After th at , th e co m p lex an d very im p o rtan t m an agem en t fu n c-
t io n s o f t h e st an d ard are p resen t ed . Fin a lly, t h is su b sect io n p resen t s t h e
en h an cem en t s o f t h e o rigin al st a n d ard fo r h igh er d at a rat es, 8 0 2.1 1 a (u p t o
54 Mb it / s at 5 GHz) an d 8 02.1 1 b (t o d ay t h e m o st su ccessfu l wit h 1 1 Mb it / s)
t o get h er w it h fu rt h er d evelo p m en t s fo r secu rit y su p p o rt , h a rm o n izat io n , o r
oth er m od u latio n sch em es.

7.3.1 System archit ect ure

Wireless n etwo rks can exh ibit two d ifferen t basic syst em arch itectu res as sh own
in section 7.2: in frastru ctu re-based or ad -h o c. Figu re 7.3 sh o ws th e com p on en ts
o f a n in frast ru ct u re an d a wireless p art as sp ecified fo r IEEE 8 0 2 .1 1 . Several
n o d es, called st a t io n s (STAi ), are co n n ected to a ccess p o in t s (AP). Statio n s are
term in als with access m ech an ism s to th e wireless m ed iu m an d rad io co n t act t o

Figure 7.3
Architecture of an
802.11 LAN
infrastructure-based
IEEE 802.11
802. x LAN

STA1

BBS1

Access Portal
Point

Distribution system

ESS Access
Point

BSS2

STA2 802.11 LAN STA3

 Wireless LAN 209

th e AP. Th e st at io n s an d t h e AP wh ich are with in th e sam e rad io coverage form

a b a sic ser v ice set (BSSi ). Th e exam p le sh o ws two BSSs – BSS1 an d BSS2 – wh ich
are co n n ected via a d ist rib u t io n syst em . A d istribu tion syst em con n ects several
BSSs via th e AP to form a sin gle n et wo rk an d th ereby ext en d s t h e wireless cover-
age area. Th is n et work is n ow called an ex t en d ed ser v ice set (ESS) an d h as its
own id en t ifier, th e ESSID. Th e ESSID is t h e ‘n am e’ o f a n etwo rk an d is u sed t o
sep arat e d ifferen t n et w o rks. W it h o u t kn o win g t h e ESSID (an d a ssu m in g n o
h ackin g) it sh ou ld n o t be p ossible to p articip ate in th e W LAN. Th e d istribu tion
system co n n ect s th e wireless n et wo rks via t h e APs wit h a p o r t a l, wh ich fo rm s
th e in t erworkin g u n it to oth er LANs.
Th e arch it ectu re o f t h e d ist ribu tio n syst em is n o t sp ecified fu rt h er in IEEE
802.11. It co u ld co n sist o f b rid ged IEEE LANs, wireless lin ks, o r an y o t h er n et-
wo rks. Ho wever, d i st r ib u t i o n sy st e m se r v ice s are d efin ed in t h e st an d ard
(alth o u gh , m an y p ro d u ct s to d ay can n o t in t erop erat e an d n eed s th e ad d it io n al
stan d ard IEEE 802.11f to sp ecify an in ter access p oin t p rotocol, see section 7.3.8).
St at io n s can select an AP an d asso ciat e wit h it . Th e APs su p p o rt ro am in g
(i.e., ch a n gin g access p o in t s), t h e d ist rib u t io n syst em h an d les d at a t ran sfer
bet ween t h e d ifferen t APs. APs p ro vid e syn ch ro n izat io n wit h in a BSS, su p p o rt
p o wer m an agem en t, an d can co n trol m ed iu m access t o su p p o rt t im e-bo u n d ed
service. Th ese an d fu rth er fu n ction s are exp lain ed in t h e followin g section s.
In ad d ition to in frastru ct u re-based n etworks, IEEE 802.11 allows th e bu ild in g
o f ad -h o c n et wo rks b et ween st at io n s, t h u s fo rm in g o n e o r m o re in d ep en d en t
BSSs (IBSS) as sh own in Figu re 7.4. In th is case, an IBSS com p rises a grou p o f st a-
tion s u sin g th e sam e rad io freq u en cy. Stat ion s STA1 , STA2 , an d STA3 are in IBSS1 ,
STA4 an d STA5 in IBSS2 . Th is m ean s fo r ex am p le t h at STA3 can co m m u n icat e

802.11 LAN Figure 7.4

Architecture of
IEEE 802.11 ad-hoc
wireless LANs

STA1
IBSS1
STA3

STA2

IBSS2

STA5

STA4 802.11 LAN

210 Mobile communicat ions

d irectly wit h STA2 bu t n ot with STA5 . Several IBSSs can eit h er be fo rm ed via t h e
d istan ce between th e IBSSs (see Figu re 7.4) o r by usin g d ifferen t carrier freq u en -
cies (t h en th e IBSSs cou ld overlap p h ysically). IEEE 802.11 d o es n ot sp ecify an y
sp ecial n odes th at su p p ort ro u tin g, fo rward in g o f d at a o r exch an ge of top olo gy
in form ation as, e.g., HIPERLAN 1 (see section 7.4) or Blu etooth (see section 7.5).

7.3.2 Prot ocol archit ect ure

As in d icated by th e stan d ard n u m ber, IEEE 802.11 fits seam lessly in to t h e o th er
802.x st an d ard s fo r wired LANs (see Halsall, 1996; IEEE, 1990). Figu re 7.5 sh o ws
t h e m o st co m m o n scen ario : a n IEEE 8 0 2 .1 1 wireless LAN co n n ect ed t o a
swit ch ed IEEE 802.3 Et h ern et via a brid ge. Ap p licatio n s sh o u ld n o t n o tice an y
d ifferen ce ap art fro m t h e lo wer ban d wid th an d perh ap s h igh er access tim e from
th e wireless LAN. Th e W LAN beh aves like a slow wired LAN. Con seq u en tly, th e
h igh er layers (ap p licatio n , TCP, IP) loo k t h e sam e fo r wireless n o d es as fo r wired
n o d es. Th e u p p er p art o f t h e d at a lin k co n t ro l layer, t h e lo gical lin k co n t ro l
(LLC), co vers th e d ifferen ces of th e m ed iu m access con t ro l layers n eed ed for th e
d ifferen t m ed ia. In m an y o f to d ay’s n et wo rks, n o exp licit LLC layer is visib le.
Fu rth er d et ails like Eth ert yp e or su b-n etwo rk access p roto co l (SNAP) an d b rid g-
in g tech n ology are exp lain ed in , e.g., Perlm an (1992).
Th e IEEE 802.11 stan d ard o n ly covers th e p h ysical layer PH Y an d m ed iu m
access layer M AC like t h e o th er 802.x LANs d o . Th e p h ysical layer is su bd ivid ed
in t o t h e p h y si ca l la y e r c o n v er g e n c e p r o t o c o l (P LC P) a n d t h e p h y si ca l
m ed iu m d ep en d en t su blayer PMD (see Figu re 7.6). Th e basic t asks of t h e MAC
layer com p rise m ed iu m access, fragm en tatio n o f u ser d ata, an d en cryp tio n . Th e

Figure 7.5 Fixed

IEEE 802.11 terminal
protocol architecture
and bridging

Mobile terminal

Infrastructure
network
Access point
application application

TCP TCP

IP IP

LLC LLC LLC

802.11 MAC 802.11 MAC 802.3 MAC 802.3 MAC

802.11 PHY 802.11 PHY 802.3 PHY 802.3 PHY

 Wireless LAN 211

Figure 7.6
Detailed IEEE 802.11
LLC

Station management
protocol architecture

DLC
MAC MAC management and management

PLCP
PHY management
PHY
PMD

PLCP su b layer p ro vid es a carrier sen se sign al, called clear ch an n el assessm en t
(CCA), an d p ro vid es a com m on PHY service access p o in t (SAP) in d ep en d en t o f
t h e t ran sm issio n t ech n o lo gy. Fin ally, t h e PM D su b layer h an d les m o d u lat io n
an d en co d in g/ d ecod in g o f sign als. Th e PHY layer (co m p risin g PMD an d PLCP)
an d th e MAC layer will be exp lain ed in m o re d etail in t h e fo llo win g sectio n s.
Ap art fro m t h e p ro t o co l su b la yers, t h e st an d ard sp ecifies m an agem en t
layers an d th e station m an agem en t . Th e M AC m a n a gem en t su p p o rts t h e asso -
ciation an d re-associat io n o f a statio n to an access p o in t an d ro am in g between
d ifferen t access p oin t s. It also con tro ls au th en t icatio n m ech an ism s, en cryp tio n ,
syn ch ro n izatio n o f a statio n with regard t o an access p o in t , an d p o wer m an age-
m en t t o save b at t er y p o w er. M AC m an a gem en t also m ain t ain s t h e M AC
m an agem en t in fo rm at ion base (MIB).
Th e m ain t asks of t h e PH Y m a n a gem en t in clu d e ch an n el t u n in g an d PHY
MIB m ain ten an ce. Fin ally, stat ion m a n agem en t in teracts with both m an agem en t
layers an d is respon sible for ad dition al h igh er layer fun ction s (e.g., con trol of bridg-
in g an d in teraction with th e d istribu tion system in th e case of an access poin t).

7.3.3 Physical layer

IEEE 802.11 su p p o rts th ree d ifferen t p h ysical layers: o n e layer based on in fra red
an d t wo layers b ased o n rad io t ran sm issio n (p rim arily in th e ISM b an d at 2.4
GHz, wh ich is availab le wo rld wid e). All PHY varian t s in clu d e th e p ro visio n o f
th e clea r ch a n n el a ssessm en t sign al (CCA). Th is is n eed ed for th e MAC m ech -
an ism s con tro llin g m ed iu m access an d in d icates if t h e m ed iu m is cu rren tly id le.
Th e tran sm ission t ech n o lo gy (wh ich will b e d iscu ssed later) d et erm in es exactly
h o w t h is sign al is obt ain ed .
Th e PHY layer o ffers a service access p oin t (SAP) with 1 o r 2 Mbit / s tran sfer
rat e to th e MAC layer (basic version of t h e stan d ard ). Th e rem ain d er of th is sec-
tio n p resen t s th e t h ree version s of a PHY layer d efin ed in th e stan d ard .

7.3.3.1 Frequency hopping spread spect rum

Freq u en cy h o p p in g sp read sp ect ru m (FHSS) is a sp read sp ect ru m t ech n iq u e
wh ich allows fo r t h e coexist en ce of m u ltip le n etwo rks in th e sam e area by sep a-
rat in g d ifferen t n etwo rks u sin g d ifferen t h op p in g seq u en ces (see ch ap ters 2 an d
3). Th e o rigin al st an d ard d efin es 79 h o p p in g ch an n els fo r No rth Am erica an d
Eu ro p e, an d 23 h o p p in g ch an n els fo r Jap an (each with a ban d wid t h o f 1 MHz
212 Mobile communicat ions

in t h e 2.4 GHz ISM ban d ). Th e selectio n o f a p articu lar ch an n el is ach ieved by

u sin g a p seu d o -ran d o m h o p p in g p at t ern . Nat io n al rest rict io n s also d et erm in e
fu rt h er p aram eters, e.g., m axim u m t ran sm it p o wer is 1 W in t h e US, 100 m W
EIRP (eq u ivalen t isot rop ic rad iated p ower) in Eu rop e an d 10 m W / MHz in Jap an .
Th e st an d ard sp ecifies Gau ssian sh ap ed FSK (freq u en cy sh ift keyin g), GFSK,
as m o d u lation for th e FHSS PHY. For 1 Mbit / s a 2 level GFSK is u sed (i.e., 1 b it is
m ap p ed t o o n e freq u en cy, see ch ap ter 2), a 4 level GFSK fo r 2 Mbit/ s (i.e., 2 bits
are m ap p ed t o o n e freq u en cy). W h ile sen d in g an d receivin g at 1 M b it / s is
m an d atory fo r all d evices, o p eration at 2 Mbit/ s is op tion al. Th is facilitated t h e
p ro d u ct io n o f lo w -co st d evices fo r t h e lo w er ra t e o n ly an d m o re p o w erfu l
d evices fo r bo th tran sm ission rates in th e early d ays o f 802.11.
Figu re 7.7 sh o ws a fram e o f th e p h ysical layer u sed with FHSS. Th e fram e
co n sist s o f two b asic p art s, t h e PLCP p art (p ream b le an d h ead er) an d th e p ay-
lo ad p art . W h ile t h e PLCP p art is always tran sm it t ed at 1 Mb it/ s, p aylo ad , i.e.
MAC d ata, can u se 1 o r 2 Mbit/ s. Ad d it ion ally, MAC d ata is scram bled u sin g t h e
p o lyn o m ial s(z) = z 7 + z 4 + 1 fo r DC b lo ckin g an d wh it en in g o f t h e sp ect ru m .
Th e field s o f th e fram e fu lfill th e fo llo win g fu n ctio n s:

● Sy n ch r o n iza t io n : Th e PLCP p ream b le start s wit h 80 b it syn ch ro n izat io n ,

wh ich is a 010101... bit p att ern . Th is p attern is u sed for syn ch ron ization of
p ot en t ial receivers an d sign al detection by th e CCA.
● St a rt fra m e d elim it er (SFD): Th e followin g 16 bits in d icate th e st art o f t h e
fra m e an d p ro vid e fram e syn ch ro n izat io n . Th e SFD p at t ern is
0000110010111101.
● P LCP_PD U le n g t h w o r d (PLW ): Th is first field o f t h e PLCP h ead er in d i-
cates th e len gth o f th e p aylo ad in bytes in clu d in g t h e 32 bit CRC at th e en d
o f th e p ayload . PLW can ran ge between 0 an d 4,095.
● PLCP sign a llin g field (PSF): Th is 4 b it field in d icat es th e d ata rate o f th e
p aylo ad fo llo win g. All bit s set to zero (0000) in d icat es th e lowest d ata rate
o f 1 Mbit/ s. Th e gran u larit y is 500 kb it/ s, th u s 2 Mbit/ s is in d icated by 0010
an d t h e m ax im u m is 8 .5 M b it / s (1 1 1 1 ). Th is syst em o b vio u sly d o es n o t
accom m od ate tod ay’s h igh er d at a rates.
● H e a d e r e r r o r ch ec k (H EC ): Fin ally, t h e PLC P h ea d er is p ro t ect ed b y a
1 6 b it ch ecksu m w it h t h e st an d a rd ITU-T gen erat o r p o ly n o m ia l
G(x) = x 16 + x 12 + x 5 + 1.

Figure 7.7 80 16 12 4 16 variable bits

Format of an
IEEE 802.11 PHY frame synchronization SFD PLW PSF HEC payload
using FHSS

PLCP preamble PLCP header

 Wireless LAN 213

7.3.3.2 Direct sequence spread spect rum

Direct seq u en ce sp read sp ect ru m (DSSS) is t h e alt ern at ive sp read sp ect ru m
m et h o d sep arat in g b y co d e an d n o t b y freq u en cy. In t h e case o f IEEE 8 02 .1 1
DSSS, sp read in g is ach ieved u sin g th e 11-ch ip Barker seq u en ce (+1, –1, +1, +1, –1,
+1, +1, +1, –1, –1, –1). Th e key ch aract eristics of t h is m et h od are its rob u stn ess
again st in t erferen ce an d it s in sen sit ivity t o m u lt ip at h p ro p agat io n (tim e d elay
sp read ). However, th e im p lem en tation is m ore com p lex com p ared to FHSS.
IEEE 802.11 DSSS PHY also u ses th e 2.4 GHz ISM ban d an d offers both 1 an d
2 Mbit/ s data rates. Th e system u ses d ifferen tial bin ary p h ase sh ift keyin g (DBPSK)
for 1 Mbit/s tran sm ission an d d ifferen tial q u ad ratu re p h ase sh ift keyin g (DQPSK)
for 2 Mbit/ s as m od u lation sch em es. Again , th e m axim u m tran sm it power is 1 W
in th e US, 100 m W EIRP in Eu rop e an d 10 m W/ MHz in Jap an . Th e sym bol rate is
1 MHz, resu ltin g in a ch ip p in g rate of 11 MHz. All bits tran sm itted by th e DSSS
PHY are scram b led wit h th e p o lyn o m ial s(z) = z 7 + z 4 + 1 fo r DC blo ckin g an d
wh iten in g o f th e sp ectru m . Man y of tod ay’s p rod u cts offerin g 11 Mbit/ s accord -
in g to 802.11b are st ill backward com p atible to th ese lower data rates.
Figu re 7.8 sh o ws a fram e o f t h e p h ysical layer u sin g DSSS. Th e fram e co n -
sists o f t wo b asic p art s, t h e PLCP p art (p ream ble an d h ead er) an d th e p aylo ad
p art. W h ile t h e PLCP p art is always t ran sm itt ed at 1 Mb it/ s, p ayload , i.e., MAC
d ata, can u se 1 o r 2 Mbit/ s. Th e field s of th e fram e h ave th e followin g fu n ctio n s:

● Syn ch ro n iza t io n : Th e first 128 bits are n ot on ly u sed for syn ch ron ization ,
b u t also gain sett in g, en ergy d et ection (fo r th e CCA), an d freq u en cy o ffset
com p en sat io n . Th e syn ch ron izatio n field on ly con sists of scram bled 1 bits.
● St a r t fram e d elim it er (SFD): Th is 16 bit field is u sed fo r syn ch ron izat io n at
th e begin n in g o f a fram e an d co n sists o f t h e p at tern 1111001110100000.
● Sign a l: Origin ally, on ly two valu es h ave been d efin ed fo r th is field to in d i-
cat e th e d at a rat e o f t h e p aylo ad . Th e valu e 0x0A in d icates 1 Mb it / s (an d
th u s DBPSK), 0x1 4 in d icates 2 Mbit/ s (an d th u s DQPSK). O th er valu es h ave
b een reserved fo r fu t u re u se, i.e., h igh er b it rat es. Co d in g fo r h igh er d at a
rat es is exp lain ed in sectio n s 7.3.6 an d 7.3.7.
● Se r v ic e: Th is field is reserved fo r fu t u re u se; h o wever, 0 x0 0 in d icat es an
IEEE 802.11 com p lian t fram e.
● Len gt h : 16 b it s are u sed in t h is case fo r len gt h in d icat io n o f t h e p aylo ad
in m icrosecon d s.
● H ea d er er ro r ch eck (H EC): Sign al, service, an d len gt h field s are p ro t ect ed
by th is ch ecksu m u sin g t h e ITU-T CRC-16 stan d ard p o lyn o m ial.

128 16 8 8 16 16 variable bits Figure 7.8

Format of an
synchronization SFD signal service length HEC payload IEEE 802.11 PHY frame
using DSSS

PLCP preamble PLCP header

214 Mobile communicat ions

7.3.3.3 Infra red

Th e PHY layer, wh ich is b ased o n in fra red (IR) t ran sm issio n , u ses n ear visib le
ligh t at 850–950 n m . In fra red ligh t is n ot regu lated ap art from safet y rest riction s
(u sin g lasers in st ead o f LEDs). Th e st an d ard d o es n o t req u ire a lin e-o f-sigh t
between sen der an d receiver, bu t sh ou ld also work with d iffu se ligh t. Th is allows
fo r p o in t-t o-m u lt ip o in t co m m u n icat io n . Th e m axim u m ran ge is ab ou t 10 m if
n o su n ligh t or h eat sou rces in terfere with t h e tran sm ission . Typ ically, su ch a n et-
work will on ly work in bu ild in gs, e.g., classroom s, m eetin g room s etc. Freq u en cy
reu se is very sim p le – a wall is m o re t h an en o u gh t o sh ield o n e IR based IEEE
802.11 n etwork from an oth er. (See also section 7.1 for a com p arison between IR
an d rad io tran sm ission an d Wesel, 1998 for m ore d etails.) Tod ay, n o p rod u cts are
available th at offer in fra red com m u n ication based on 802.11. Proprietary p rod -
u cts o ffer, e.g., u p to 4 Mbit / s u sin g d iffu se in fra red ligh t. Altern atively, d irected
in fra red com m u n ication based on IrDA can be u sed (IrDA, 2002).

7.3.4 Medium access control layer

Th e M AC layer h as to fu lfill several tasks. First of all, it h as t o con tro l m ed iu m
access, bu t it can also o ffer su p p ort fo r roam in g, au th en t icat ion , an d p o wer co n -
serva t io n . Th e b asic services p ro vid ed b y t h e MAC layer are t h e m an d a t o ry
a sy n c h r o n o u s d a t a ser v ic e an d an o p t io n al t i m e -b o u n d e d se r v ic e. W h ile
802.11 on ly o ffers th e asyn ch ron ou s service in ad -h oc n etwo rk m od e, both ser-
vice t yp es can b e o ffered u sin g an in frast ru ct u re-b ased n et wo rk t o get h er with
t h e access p o in t co o rd in at in g m ed iu m access. Th e asyn ch ro n o u s service su p -
p orts broad cast an d m u lti-cast p ackets, an d p acket exch an ge is based o n a ‘best
effo rt ’ m o del, i.e., n o d elay bou n d s can be given fo r tran sm ission .
Th e fo llo win g t h ree b asic access m ech an ism s h ave b een d efin ed fo r IEEE
8 0 2 .1 1 : t h e m an d at o ry b asic m et h o d b ased o n a versio n o f C SMA/ C A, an
o p t io n al m et h o d avo id in g t h e h id d en t erm in al p ro b lem , an d fin ally a co n -
ten tio n -free p o llin g m eth od fo r tim e-bo u n d ed service. Th e first two m eth od s are
a lso su m m a rized a s d ist r ib u t e d co o r d in a t i o n fu n c t io n (D C F), t h e t h ird
m et h o d is called p o i n t co o r d in a t i o n fu n c t io n (P CF). DCF o n ly o ffers asyn -
ch ro n o u s service, wh ile PC F o ffers b o t h asyn ch ro n o u s an d t im e-b o u n d ed
service b u t n eed s an access p o in t t o co n tro l m ed iu m access an d t o avo id co n -
ten tio n . Th e MAC m ech an ism s are also called d ist rib u t ed fo u n d a t io n w ireless
m ed iu m access co n t ro l (DFW MAC).
Fo r all access m eth od s, several p aram eters fo r co n t ro llin g th e waitin g t im e
befo re m ed iu m access are im p ortan t. Figu re 7.9 sh ows th e th ree d ifferen t p ara-
m eters th at d efin e th e p riorities of m ed iu m access. Th e valu es of th e p aram eters
d ep en d o n t h e PHY an d are d efin ed in relat io n t o a slo t t im e. Slo t t im e is
d erived fro m t h e m ed iu m p rop agat io n d elay, tran sm itt er d elay, an d oth er PHY
d ep en d en t p aram et ers. Slot tim e is 50 µs for FHSS an d 20 µs fo r DSSS.
Th e m ed iu m , as sh o wn , can be bu sy o r id le (wh ich is d et ected by th e CCA).
If t h e m ed iu m is b u sy t h is can b e d u e to d ata fram es o r o t h er co n t ro l fram es.
Du rin g a con ten tion p h ase several n o d es try to access th e m ed iu m .
 Wireless LAN 215

DIFS DIFS Figure 7.9

PIFS Medium access and
inter-frame spacing
SIFS
medium busy next frame

direct access if t
medium is free ≥ DIFS

● Sh o r t in t er -fr a m e sp a cin g (SIFS): Th e sh o rt est wait in g t im e fo r m ed iu m

access (so th e h igh est p riority) is d efin ed for sh o rt con tro l m essages, su ch as
ackn o wled gem en t s o f d at a p acket s o r p o llin g resp o n ses. Fo r DSSS SIFS is
10 µs an d for FHSS it is 28 µs. Th e u se o f th is p aram eter will be exp lain ed in
sectio n s 7.3.4.1 th rou gh 7.3.4.3.
● PC F in t er -fr a m e sp a ci n g (P IFS): A w ait in g t im e b et ween DIFS an d SIFS
(an d th u s a m ed iu m p riority) is u sed for a tim e-bou n d ed service. An access
p o in t p o llin g o th er n o d es o n ly h as t o wait PIFS for m ed iu m access (see sec-
tion 7.3.4.3). PIFS is d efin ed as SIFS p lu s on e slo t tim e.
● DCF in t er-fra m e sp acin g (DIFS): Th is p aram eter d en ot es t h e lo n gest wait-
in g tim e an d h as th e lowest p riority for m ed iu m access. Th is waitin g tim e is
u sed fo r asyn ch ro n o u s d at a service wit h in a co n ten t io n p erio d (t h is p ara-
m eter an d th e b asic access m et h od are exp lain ed in section 7.3.4.1). DIFS is
d efin ed as SIFS p lu s two slo t tim es.

7.3.4.1 Basic DFWMAC-DCF using CSMA/ CA

Th e m an d ato ry access m ech an ism o f IEEE 802.11 is b ased o n ca r rier sen se m u l-
t ip le a ccess w it h co llisio n a v o id a n ce (CSM A/ CA), wh ich is a ran d o m access
sch em e with carrier sen se an d collision avoid an ce th ro u gh ran d o m backoff. Th e
basic CSMA/ CA m ech an ism is sh o wn in Figu re 7.10. If t h e m ed iu m is id le fo r at
lea st t h e d u rat io n o f DIFS (wit h t h e h elp o f t h e C CA sign al o f t h e p h ysical
layer), a n od e can access th e m ed iu m at on ce. Th is allo ws for sh ort access d elay
u n d er ligh t lo ad . Bu t as m o re an d m o re n o d es t ry t o access t h e m ed iu m , ad -
d itio n al m ech an ism s are n eed ed .

Figure 7.10
contention window Contention window
(randomized back-off and waiting time
DIFS DIFS mechanism)

medium busy next frame

t
direct access if
medium is free ≥ DIFS slot time
216 Mobile communicat ions

If t h e m ed iu m is bu sy, n o d es h ave to wait fo r t h e d u ration o f DIFS, en terin g

a con t en t io n p h ase afterward s. Each n o d e n ow ch oo ses a ra n d o m b a ck o ff t im e
w it h in a c o n t e n t i o n w i n d o w an d d elays m ed iu m access fo r t h is ran d o m
am o u n t o f tim e. Th e n o d e co n t in u es to sen se t h e m ed iu m . As so o n as a n o d e
sen ses t h e ch an n el is b u sy, it h as lo st t h is cycle an d h as t o wait fo r t h e n ex t
ch an ce, i.e., u n til t h e m ed iu m is id le again fo r at least DIFS. Bu t if th e ran d o m -
ized ad d itio n al wait in g tim e for a n od e is over an d th e m ed iu m is still id le, t h e
n o d e can access t h e m ed iu m im m ed ia t ely (i.e., n o o t h er n o d e h as a sh o rt er
w ait in g t im e). Th e a d d it io n al wa it in g t im e is m ea su red in m u lt ip les o f t h e
ab o ve-m en t io n ed slo t s. Th is ad d it io n al ran d o m ly d ist rib u t ed d elay h elp s t o
avo id co llisio n s – o th erwise all st at ion s wo u ld try to tran sm it d ata aft er waitin g
fo r t h e m ed iu m beco m in g id le again p lu s DIFS.
O b vio u sly, t h e b asic CSMA/ CA m ech an ism is n o t fair. In d ep en d en t o f t h e
o verall tim e a n od e h as alread y waited for tran sm ission ; each n od e h as th e sam e
ch an ces fo r t ran sm itt in g d ata in th e n ext cycle. To p ro vid e fairn ess, IEEE 802.11
ad d s a b a ck o ff t im er. Again , each n o d e selects a ran d o m wait in g t im e with in
th e ran ge o f t h e co n ten tio n win d ow. If a certain st at io n d o es n o t get access t o
th e m ed iu m in th e first cycle, it stop s it s b ackoff tim er, waits for th e ch an n el to
b e id le a gain fo r DIFS a n d st art s t h e co u n t er again . As so o n a s t h e co u n t er
exp ires, th e n o d e accesses th e m ed iu m . Th is m ean s th at d eferred st ation s d o n ot
ch oo se a ran d om ized backo ff tim e again , bu t co n tin u e t o cou n t d own . Station s
th at h ave waited lo n ger h ave th e ad van t age over statio n s th at h ave ju st en tered ,
in t h at t h ey o n ly h ave to wait for th e rem ain d er o f t h eir backo ff t im er fro m th e
p revio u s cycle(s).
Figu re 7.11 exp lain s th e basic access m ech an ism of IEEE 802.11 fo r five st a-
tio n s tryin g to sen d a p acket at th e m arked p oin ts in tim e. Statio n 3 h as th e first
req u est fro m a h igh er layer t o sen d a p acket (p acket arrival at t h e MAC SAP).
Th e st at io n sen ses t h e m ed iu m , waits fo r DIFS an d accesses t h e m ed iu m , i.e.,
sen d s t h e p acket. St at io n 1 , statio n 2 , an d statio n 5 h ave to wait at least u n til th e
m ed iu m is id le fo r DIFS again after station 3 h as st op p ed sen d in g. No w all t h ree
st atio n s ch oo se a b ackoff tim e with in t h e co n ten tion win d o w an d st art co u n t-
in g d o wn th eir backo ff tim ers.
Figu re 7.11 sh o ws t h e ran d o m b acko ff tim e of st at io n 1 as su m o f b o e (th e
elap sed backoff tim e) an d bo r (th e resid u al backoff tim e). Th e sam e is sh own for
st at io n 5 . St at io n 2 h as a t o t al b acko ff t im e o f o n ly b o e a n d get s a ccess t o t h e
m ed iu m first . No resid u al b ackoff tim e for station 2 is sh own . Th e backo ff t im ers
o f st ation 1 an d statio n 5 sto p , an d th e station s store t h eir resid u al backo ff tim es.
W h ile a n ew stat io n h as t o ch oo se its backoff tim e fro m th e wh o le co n ten tion
win d o w, th e two o ld st at ion s h ave statistically sm aller backo ff valu es. Th e old er
valu es are o n average lower th an th e n ew on es.
Now station 4 wan ts to sen d a p acket as well, so after DIFS waitin g tim e, th ree
station s try to get access. It can n ow h ap p en , as sh own in t h e figu re, th at two sta-
tion s accid en t ally h ave t h e sam e backo ff tim e, n o m atter wh eth er rem ain in g or
n ewly ch osen . Th is resu lts in a collision on t h e m ed iu m as sh own , i.e., th e tran s-
 Wireless LAN 217

Figure 7.11
DIFS DIFS DIFS DIFS
Basic DFWMAC–DCF
boe bor boe bor boe busy with several competing
station1 senders
boe busy
station2

busy
station3

boe busy boe bor

station4

boe bor boe busy boe bor

station5
t
busy medium not idle (frame, ack, etc.) boe elapsed backoff time

packet arrival at MAC bor residual backoff time

m itted fram es are d est royed . Station 1 stores its resid u al backoff t im e again . In th e
last cycle sh o wn statio n 1 fin ally get s access to t h e m ed iu m , wh ile stat io n 4 an d
st atio n 5 h ave t o wait . A co llisio n triggers a retran sm issio n with a n ew ran d o m
selection of th e backo ff tim e. Ret ran sm ission s are n ot p rivileged .
St ill, t h e access sch em e h as p roblem s u n d er h eavy o r ligh t lo ad . Dep en d in g
o n t h e size o f th e co n t en t io n win d o w (CW ), th e ran d o m valu es can eit h er b e
to o close t ogeth er (cau sin g t oo m an y co llisio n s) or th e valu es are too h igh (cau s-
in g u n n ecessa ry d elay). Th e syst em t ries t o ad ap t t o t h e cu rren t n u m b er o f
statio n s tryin g t o sen d .
Th e co n t en t io n win d o w st arts wit h a size o f, e.g., CW m in = 7. Each t im e a
co llisio n o ccu rs, in d icat in g a h igh er lo a d o n t h e m ed iu m , t h e co n t en t io n
win d o w d ou bles u p t o a m axim u m of, e.g., CW m ax = 255 (t h e win d ow can t ake
on th e valu es 7, 15, 31, 63, 127, an d 255). Th e larger th e con ten tion win d o w is,
th e greater is th e reso lu tion p ower of th e ran d o m ized sch em e. It is less likely t o
ch o ose th e sam e ran d o m backoff t im e u sin g a large CW. However, un d er a ligh t
lo ad , a sm all C W en su res sh o rt er access d elays. Th is algo rit h m is also called
ex p o n en t ia l b a ck o ff an d is alread y fam iliar fro m IEEE 8 0 2.3 CSMA/ CD in a
sim ilar versio n .
W h ile th is p ro cess d escribes th e co m p let e access m ech an ism fo r bro ad cast
fram es, an ad d itio n al featu re is p rovid ed by t h e stan d ard for u n icast d ata tran s-
fer. Figu re 7.12 sh o ws a sen d er accessin g t h e m ed iu m an d sen d in g its d ata. Bu t
n o w, t h e receiver a n sw ers d irect ly w it h a n a c k n o w le d g e m e n t (AC K). Th e
receiver accesses th e m ed iu m aft er waitin g for a d u ration of SIFS so n o oth er sta-
tio n can access t h e m ed iu m in t h e m ean t im e an d cau se a co llisio n . Th e o t h er
st at io n s h ave t o wait fo r DIFS p lu s t h eir b acko ff t im e. Th is ackn o wled gem en t
en su res th e co rrect recep t io n (co rrect ch ecksu m CRC at t h e receiver) o f a fram e
o n th e MAC layer, w h ich is esp ecially im p o rt an t in erro r-p ro n e en viro n m en t s
218 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 7.12 DIFS

IEEE 802.11 unicast
data transfer data
sender
SIFS
ACK
receiver
DIFS
other data
stations t
waiting time
contention

su ch as wireless co n n ect io n s. If n o ACK is ret u rn ed , t h e sen d er au t o m at ically

ret ran sm it s th e fram e. Bu t n o w t h e sen d er h as t o wait again an d co m p et e fo r
th e access righ t . Th ere are n o sp ecial ru les fo r retran sm issio n s. Th e n u m ber o f
retran sm ission s is lim ited , an d fin al failu re is rep orted to th e h igh er layer.

7.3.4.2 DFWMAC-DCF with RTS/ CTS ext ension

Sectio n 3.1 d iscu ssed t h e p roblem of h id d en term in als, a situ at io n th at can also
o ccu r in IEEE 802.11 n et wo rks. Th is p ro b lem o ccu rs if o n e st at io n can receive
two o t h ers, b u t t h ose station s can n o t receive each o t h er. Th e two statio n s m ay
sen se th e ch an n el is id le, sen d a fram e, an d cau se a collision at th e receiver in
th e m id d le. To d eal wit h th is p roblem , t h e stan d ard d efin es an ad d ition al m ech -
an ism u sin g t wo co n t ro l p acket s, RTS an d CTS. Th e u se o f t h e m ech an ism is
o p t io n al; h o wever, every 802.11 n od e h as to im p lem en t t h e fu n ction s to react
p rop erly u p on recep t ion of RTS/ CTS co n trol p ackets.
Figu re 7.13 illu strat es t h e u se of RTS an d CTS. After waitin g fo r DIFS (p lu s a
ran d o m backo ff tim e if th e m ed iu m was bu sy), th e sen d er can issu e a req u est t o
sen d (RTS) co n t rol p acket. Th e RTS p acket th u s is n ot given an y h igh er p riorit y
com p ared to o th er d ata p ackets. Th e RTS p acket in clu d es th e receiver o f th e d ata
t ran sm issio n t o co m e an d t h e d u rat io n o f t h e wh o le d at a t ran sm issio n . Th is
d u rat io n sp ecifies th e tim e in terval n ecessary to tran sm it th e wh ole d at a fram e
an d t h e ackn owled gem en t related to it. Every n od e receivin g th is RTS n o w h as
t o set it s n et a llo c a t io n v ect o r (N AV) in acco rd an ce wit h t h e d u rat io n field .
Th e NAV th en sp ecifies th e earliest p oin t at wh ich th e station can try to access
th e m ed iu m again .
If t h e receiver o f t h e d ata t ran sm issio n receives th e RTS, it an swers wit h a
clea r t o sen d (CTS) m essage after waitin g for SIFS. Th is CTS p acket con tain s th e
d u ration field again an d all station s receivin g th is p acket from th e receiver of th e
in t en d ed d ata tran sm issio n h ave to ad ju st th eir NAV. Th e latter set of receivers
n eed n o t b e t h e sam e as t h e first set receivin g t h e RTS p acket . No w all n o d es
wit h in receivin g d ist an ce aro u n d sen d er an d receiver are in fo rm ed t h at t h ey
h ave to wait m ore tim e before accessin g th e m ed iu m . Basically, th is m ech an ism
reserves t h e m ed iu m for on e sen der exclu sively (th is is wh y it is so m etim es called
a virtu al reservation sch em e).
 Wireless LAN 219

Figure 7.13
DIFS
IEEE 802.11 hidden
RTS data
node provisions for
sender
SIFS SIFS contention-free access
SIFS
CTS ACK
receiver

NAV (RTS) DIFS

other data
NAV (CTS)
stations t
defer access
contention

Fin ally, th e sen d er can sen d th e d at a aft er SIFS. Th e receiver wait s fo r SIFS
aft er receivin g th e d at a p acket an d th en ackn owled ges wh et h er t h e t ran sfer was
co rrect . Th e t ran sm issio n h as n o w b een co m p let ed , t h e NAV in each n o d e
m arks th e m ed iu m as free an d th e stan d ard cycle can start again .
With in t h is scen ario (i.e., u sin g RTS an d CTS to avo id th e h id d en t erm in al
problem ), collision s can on ly occu r at th e begin n in g wh ile th e RTS is sen t. Two or
m o re st at io n s m ay st art sen d in g at th e sam e t im e (RTS o r o t h er d at a p acket s).
Usin g RTS/ CTS can resu lt in a n o n -n egligible overh ead cau sin g a waste of ban d -
wid t h an d h igh er d elay. An RTS th resh o ld can d et erm in e wh en t o u se th e
addition al m ech an ism (basically at larger fram e sizes) an d wh en to disable it (sh ort
fram es). Ch h aya (1996) an d Ch h aya (1997) give an overview of th e asyn ch ron ou s
services in 802.11 an d discu ss p erform an ce u n der differen t load scen arios.
Wireless LANs h ave bit erro r rates in tran sm ission th at are t yp ically several
o rd ers o f m agn it u d e h igh er t h an , e.g., fiber o p t ics. Th e p ro b ab ility o f an erro -
n eo u s fram e is m u ch h igh er fo r wireless lin ks assu m in g t h e sam e fram e len gth .
On e way t o d ecrease th e erro r p ro babilit y of fram es is t o u se sh o rter fram es. In
th is case, th e bit erro r rate is th e sam e, bu t n o w o n ly sh o rt fram es are d est royed
an d , th e fram e erro r rate d ecreases.
H o w ever, t h e m ech a n ism o f fragm en t in g a u ser d at a p acket in t o several
sm aller p arts sh o u ld b e t ran sp aren t fo r a u ser. Th e MAC layer sh o u ld h ave th e
p o ssib ility o f ad ju stin g th e tran sm issio n fram e size to th e cu rren t error rat e o n
t h e m ed iu m . Th e IEEE 8 0 2.11 st an d ard sp ecifies a fr a g m en t a t io n m o d e (see
Figu re 7 .1 4 ). Again , a sen d er can sen d a n RTS co n t ro l p acket t o reserve t h e
m ed iu m after a wait in g tim e of DIFS. Th is RTS p acket n ow in clu d es th e d u rat io n
fo r t h e tran sm issio n o f t h e first fragm en t an d th e co rresp on d in g ackn o wled ge-
m en t. A certain set o f n od es m ay receive t h is RTS an d set t h eir NAV acco rd in g
to t h e d u ration field . Th e receiver an swers wit h a CTS, again in clu d in g th e d u ra-
tio n o f th e t ran sm issio n u p to th e ackn o wled gem en t . A (p o ssib ly d ifferen t) set
of receivers gets t h is CTS m essage an d sets th e NAV.
220 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 7.14
DIFS
IEEE 802.11 RTS frag1 frag2
fragmentation of sender
user data SIFS
SIFS
SIFS
SIFS
SIFS
CTS ACK1 ACK2
receiver
NAV (RTS)
NAV (CTS)
NAV (frag1) DIFS
other data
NAV (ACK1)
stations t
contention

As sh own in Figu re 7.13, th e sen d er can n o w sen d th e first d at a fram e, frag 1 ,

aft er waitin g on ly fo r SIFS. Th e n ew asp ect of th is fragm en tatio n m od e is th at it
in clu d es an oth er d u ratio n valu e in th e fram e frag 1 . Th is d u ratio n field reserves
t h e m ed iu m fo r t h e d u rat io n o f t h e t ran sm issio n fo llo w in g, co m p risin g t h e
seco n d fragm en t an d it s ackn o wled gem en t . Again , several n o d es m ay receive
t h is reservat io n an d ad ju st t h eir NAV. If all n o d es are st at ic an d t ran sm issio n
co n d ition s h ave n o t ch an ged , th en th e set o f n o d es receivin g th e du ratio n field
in frag 1 sh ou ld be th e sam e as t h e set t h at h as received th e in itial reservat ion in
th e RTS co n tro l p acket . Ho wever, d u e to t h e m o bilit y of n o d es an d ch an ges in
th e en viron m en t , th is cou ld also be a d ifferen t set of n o d es.
Th e receiver o f frag 1 an swers d irectly aft er SIFS wit h t h e ackn owled gem en t
p acket AC K1 in clu d in g t h e reservat io n fo r t h e n ex t t ran sm issio n as sh o w n .
Again , a fou rt h set o f n o d es m ay receive t h is reservat io n an d ad ju st th eir NAV
(wh ich again cou ld be t h e sam e as th e seco n d set of n od es th at h as received t h e
reservat ion in th e CTS fram e).
If frag 2 was n o t th e last fram e of t h is tran sm issio n , it wou ld also in clu d e a
n ew d u rat io n fo r t h e t h ird co n secu t ive t ran sm issio n . (In t h e exam p le sh o wn ,
frag 2 is th e last fragm en t of th is tran sm ission so th e sen d er d oes n ot reserve th e
m ed iu m an y lo n ger.) Th e receiver ackn o w led ges t h is seco n d fra gm en t , n o t
reservin g th e m ed iu m again . After ACK2 , all n od es can co m p et e for th e m ed iu m
again after h avin g waited for DIFS.

7.3.4.3 DFWMAC-PCF wit h polling

Th e t w o access m ech an ism s p resen t ed so fa r can n o t gu ara n t ee a m a x im u m
access d elay o r m in im u m tran sm issio n b an d wid th . To p ro vid e a tim e-b ou n d ed
service, t h e stan d ard sp ecifies a p o in t co o r d in a t io n fu n ct io n (PCF) o n t op o f
th e st an d ard DCF m ech an ism s. Usin g PCF req u ires an access p oin t t h at con tro ls
m ed iu m access an d p o lls t h e sin gle n o d es. Ad -h o c n et wo rks can n o t u se t h is
fu n ction so, p rovid e n o QoS bu t ‘best effo rt’ in IEEE 802.11 W LANs.
Th e p o in t co -o rd in a t o r in th e access p oin t sp lits th e access tim e in to su p er
fram e p erio d s as sh o wn in Figu re 7.15. A su p er fra m e com p rises a co n t en t io n -
fr ee p er io d an d a co n t en t io n p er io d . Th e co n t en tio n p erio d can b e u sed fo r
th e two access m ech an ism s p resen ted above. Th e figu re also sh o ws several wire-
less st ation s (all o n th e sam e lin e) an d t h e station s’ NAV (again o n on e lin e).
 Wireless LAN 221

t0 t1 Figure 7.15
SuperFrame Contention-free access
using polling
medium busy PIFS SIFS SIFS mechanisms (PCF)
D1 D2
point
co-ordinator SIFS SIFS
U1 U2
wireless
stations

stations’ NAV
NAV
t2 t3 t4

PIFS SIFS
D3 D4 CFend
point
coordinator SIFS
U4
wireless
stations

stations’ NAV
NAV contention-free period t
contention
period

At t im e t 0 t h e co n t en t io n -free p erio d o f t h e su p er fram e sh o u ld t h eo ret i-

cally st art , b u t a n o t h er st at io n is st ill t ran sm it t in g d a t a (i.e., t h e m ed iu m is
bu sy). Th is m ean s th at PCF also d efers to DCF, an d th e start of th e su p er fram e
m ay b e p o st p o n ed . Th e o n ly p o ssib ilit y o f avo id in g variat io n s is n o t t o h ave
an y con ten tion p erio d at all. After th e m ed iu m h as been id le u n til t 1 , th e p o in t
co ord in ator h as t o wait for PIFS befo re accessin g th e m ed iu m . As PIFS is sm aller
th an DIFS, n o o t h er statio n can start sen d in g earlier.
Th e p oin t co o rd in at o r n o w sen d s d ata D 1 d o wn st ream t o t h e first wireless
statio n . Th is station can an swer at on ce after SIFS (see Figu re 7.15). Aft er waitin g
for SIFS again , t h e p o in t coord in ato r can p oll th e seco n d station by sen d in g D 2 .
Th is station m ay an swer u p stream to th e co ord in ator wit h d ata U 2 . Po llin g con -
tin u es wit h th e t h ird n o d e. Th is t im e th e n o d e h as n o th in g to an swer an d th e
p o in t co ord in ator will n o t receive a p acket aft er SIFS.
Aft er w ait in g fo r PIFS, t h e co o rd in at o r can resu m e p o llin g t h e st at io n s.
Fin ally, th e p o in t co o rd in at o r can issu e an en d m arker (CFen d ), in d icat in g th at
th e co n ten t io n p erio d m ay st art again . Usin g PCF au to m at ically set s t h e NAV,
p reven t in g o t h er st a t io n s fro m sen d in g. In t h e ex am p le, t h e co n t en t io n -free
p eriod p lan n ed in it ially wo u ld h ave been fro m t 0 to t 3 . However, th e p oin t co or-
d in ator fin ish ed p ollin g earlier, sh iftin g th e en d of t h e con ten tio n -free p erio d t o
t 2 . At t 4 , t h e cycle starts again with th e n ext su p er fram e.
222 Mobile communicat ions

Th e tran sm ission p roperties of th e wh ole wireless n etwork are n ow determ in ed

by th e p ollin g beh avior of th e access poin t. If on ly PCF is used an d pollin g is dis-
tribut ed even ly, th e ban dwid th is also distribut ed even ly am on g all polled n odes.
Th is wo u ld resem ble a st atic, cen t rally con t rolled t im e d ivisio n m u lt ip le access
(TDMA) system with tim e division du plex (TDD) tran sm ission . Th is m eth od com es
with an overh ead if n odes h ave n oth in g to sen d, bu t th e access poin t polls th em
p erm an en tly. An astasi (1998) elaborates th e exam p le of voice tran sm ission usin g 48
byte packets as payload. In th is case, PCF in troduces an overh ead of 75 byte.

7.3.4.4 MAC frames

Figu re 7 .1 6 sh o w s t h e b asic st ru ct u re o f an IEEE 8 0 2 .1 1 M AC d at a fram e
togeth er with th e co n t en t of th e fram e con tro l field . Th e field s in t h e figu re refer
to t h e followin g:

● Fr a m e co n t r o l: Th e first 2 b ytes serve several p u rp o ses. Th ey co n tain sev-

eral su b-field s as exp lain ed after th e MAC fram e.
● D u ra t io n / ID: If th e field valu e is less t h an 32,768, th e d u ratio n field co n -
t a in s t h e va lu e in d ica t in g t h e p erio d o f t im e in w h ich t h e m ed iu m is
o ccu p ied (in µs). Th is field is u sed for set tin g th e NAV fo r th e virtu al reser-
vatio n m ech an ism u sin g RTS/ CTS an d d u rin g fragm en t at ion . Certain valu es
ab ove 32,768 are reserved for id en tifiers.
● Ad d r e ss 1 t o 4 : Th e fo u r ad d ress field s co n t ain st an d ard IEEE 80 2 M AC
a d d resses (4 8 b it each ), as t h ey are kn o wn fro m o t h er 8 0 2 .x LAN s. Th e
m ean in g of each ad d ress d ep en d s on th e DS bits in th e fram e co n t ro l field
an d is exp lain ed in m ore d etail in a sep arat e p aragrap h .
● Seq u en ce co n t ro l: Du e to t h e ackn o wled gem en t m ech an ism fram es m ay be
d u p licat ed . Th erefo re a seq u en ce n u m ber is u sed to filt er d u p licates.
● D a t a: Th e MAC fram e m ay co n tain arbitrary d ata (m ax. 2,312 byte), wh ich
is tran sferred tran sp aren t ly fro m a sen d er t o th e receiver(s).
● Ch eck su m (CRC): Fin ally, a 32 bit ch ecksu m is u sed to p ro tect t h e fram e as
it is com m o n p ractice in all 802.x n etwo rks.

Th e fram e con tro l field sh own in Figu re 7.16 co n t ain s th e followin g field s:

● Pro t o co l versio n : Th is 2 bit field in d icates th e cu rren t p ro to co l versio n an d

is fixed to 0 by n ow. If m ajor revisio n s to th e stan d ard m ake it in com p atible
with th e cu rren t version , th is valu e will be in creased .
● Ty p e : Th e t yp e field d et erm in es t h e fu n ct io n o f a fram e: m an agem en t
(=00), co n tro l (=01), o r d ata (=10). Th e valu e 11 is reserved . Each typ e h as
several su btyp es as in d icated in th e fo llo win g field .
● Su b t y p e : Exam p le su b t yp es fo r m an agem en t fram es are: 0 00 0 for asso ci-
at io n req u est, 1000 fo r beaco n . RTS is a co n tro l fram e with su b typ e 1011,
C TS is co d ed as 1100. User d at a is tran sm it ted as d at a fram e with su b t yp e
0000. All d et ails can be fou n d in IEEE, 1999.
 Wireless LAN 223

bytes 2 2 6 6 6 2 6 0-2312 4 Figure 7.16

IEEE 802.11 MAC
Frame Duration Address Address Address Sequence Address
Data CRC packet structure
control ID 1 2 3 control 4

bits 2 2 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Protocol To From More Power More

Type Subtype Retry WEP Order
version DS DS Frag Mgmt Data

● To DS/ Fro m DS: Exp lain ed in th e fo llo win g in m o re d et ail.

● M o r e fr a gm en t s: Th is field is set t o 1 in all d at a o r m an agem en t fram es
th at h ave an o t h er fragm en t o f t h e cu rren t MSDU to follow.
● Ret ry : If th e cu rren t fram e is a retran sm ission o f an earlier fram e, th is bit is
set to 1. With th e h elp o f t h is bit it m ay be sim p ler for receivers t o elim in ate
d u p licate fram es.
● Po w er m a n a gem en t : Th is field in d icat es t h e m od e o f a st atio n after su c-
cessfu l tran sm issio n o f a fram e. Set t o 1 th e field in d icat es t h at t h e statio n
go es in to p ower-save m od e. If th e field is set t o 0, th e st at ion stays active.
● Mo re d a t a: In gen eral, th is field is u sed to in dicate a receiver th at a sen d er h as
m ore data to sen d th an th e curren t fram e. Th is can be used by an access p oin t
to in d icate to a st ation in p ower-save m od e th at m ore p ackets are bu ffered. Or
it can be used by a station to in dicate to an access p oin t after bein g polled th at
m ore pollin g is n ecessary as th e station h as m ore data ready to tran sm it.
● W ir e d eq u iv a le n t p r iv a c y (W EP): Th is field in d icat es t h at t h e st an d ard
secu rit y m ech an ism of 802.11 is ap p lied . However, d u e to m an y weakn esses
fou n d in th e W EP algorith m h igh er layer secu rity sh ou ld be u sed to secu re
an 802.11 n etwork (Borisov, 2001).
● Ord er: If th is bit is set to 1 th e received fram es m ust be processed in strict ord er.

MAC fram es can b e t ran sm it ted bet ween m o b ile st atio n s; bet ween m o b ile
station s an d an access p oin t an d between access p oin ts over a DS (see Figu re 7.3).
Two b it s wit h in t h e Fram e Co n t ro l field , ‘t o DS’ an d ‘fr o m D S’, d ifferen t iat e
th ese cases an d con trol th e m ean in g of th e fou r ad d resses u sed . Table 7.1 gives
an overview of th e fou r p ossible bit valu es of th e DS bits an d t h e associated in ter-
p retation of th e fou r ad d ress field s.

Table 7.1 Interpretation

t o DS from DS Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Address 4 of the MAC addresses
in an 802.11
0 0 DA SA BSSID – MAC frame
0 1 DA BSSID SA –
1 0 BSSID SA DA –
1 1 RA TA DA SA
224 Mobile communicat ions

Every stat ion , access p oin t or wireless n ode, filters on ad d ress 1. Th is address
iden tifies th e ph ysical receiver(s) of th e fram e. Based on th is address, a stat ion can
decide wh eth er th e fram e is relevan t or n ot. Th e secon d ad dress, a d d ress 2, rep re-
sen ts th e ph ysical tran sm itter of a fram e. Th is in form ation is im portan t because th is
p art icu lar sen d er is also t h e recip ien t o f t h e MAC layer ackn o wled gem en t . If a
packet from a tran sm itter (address 2) is received by th e receiver with address 1, th is
receiver in turn ackn owledges th e data packet usin g address 2 as receiver address as
sh own in th e ACK packet in Figu re 7.17. Th e rem ain in g two add resses, a d d ress 3
an d a d d r ess 4, are m ain ly n ecessary for th e logical assign m en t of fram es (logical
sen der, BSS iden tifier, logical receiver). If address 4 is n ot n eeded th e field is om itted.
Fo r ad d ressin g, th e followin g fo u r scen ario s are p o ssible:

● Ad -h o c n et w o r k : If b o t h DS b it s are zero , t h e M AC fram e co n st it u t es a

p acket wh ich is exch an ged b etween two wireless n o d es wit h o u t a d ist ribu -
tio n system . DA in d icat es t h e d est in a t io n a d d r ess, SA t h e so u r ce a d d r ess
o f t h e fram e, wh ich are id en t ical t o t h e p h ysica l receiver a n d sen d er
a d d resses resp ect ively. Th e t h ird ad d ress id en t ifies t h e b a sic se r v ic e se t
(BSSID) (see Figu re 7.4), t h e fo u rth ad d ress is u n u sed .
● In fra st ru ct u re n et w o rk , fro m AP: If o n ly th e ‘fro m DS’ bit is set, th e fram e
p h ysically o rigin at es fro m an access p o in t . DA is th e lo gical an d p h ysical
receiver, th e seco n d ad d ress id en tifies th e BSS, t h e t h ird ad d ress sp ecifies th e
lo gical sen d er, t h e sou rce ad d ress o f th e MAC fram e. Th is case is an exam p le
fo r a p acket sen t to th e receiver via th e access p o in t.
● In fr a st r u ct u r e n et w o r k , t o AP: If a stat io n sen d s a p acket t o an o th er sta-
t io n via t h e access p o in t , on ly t h e ‘t o DS’ b it is set . No w t h e first ad d ress
rep resen ts t h e p h ysical receiver o f t h e fram e, t h e access p o in t, via t h e BSS
id en t ifier. Th e seco n d ad d ress is t h e lo gical an d p h ysica l sen d er o f t h e
fram e, wh ile th e t h ird ad d ress in d icates th e lo gical receiver.
● In fra st r u ct u r e n et w o r k , w it h in D S: Fo r p acket s tran sm it t ed b et ween t wo
a ccess p o in t s o ver t h e d ist rib u t io n syst em , b o t h b it s are set . Th e first
r eceiv er a d d r ess (RA), rep resen t s th e MAC ad d ress o f t h e receivin g access
p oin t. Sim ilarly, th e seco n d ad d ress t ra n sm it t er a d d ress (TA), id en tifies t h e
sen d in g access p o in t w it h in t h e d ist rib u t io n syst em . No w t w o m o re
ad d resses are n eed ed t o id en t ify t h e o rigin al d est in at io n DA o f t h e fram e
an d t h e o rigin al so u rce of t h e fram e SA. With ou t t h ese ad d it ion al add resses,
so m e en ca p su lat io n m ech an ism w o u ld b e n ecessa ry t o t ra n sm it M AC
fram es over th e d istribu tion system tran sp aren t ly.

Figu re 7.17 sh ows th ree co n trol p ackets as exam p les for m an y sp ecial p ack-
et s d efin ed in t h e st an d ard . Th e a ck n o w led g em en t p a ck et (ACK) is u sed t o
ackn o wled ge t h e co rrect recep tio n o f a d at a fram e as sh own in Figu re 7.12. Th e
receiver ad d ress is d irect ly co p ied fro m t h e ad d ress 2 field o f t h e im m ed iat ely
p revio u s fram e. If n o m o re fragm en t s fo llo w fo r a cert ain fram e t h e d u rat io n
field is set t o 0. Ot h erwise th e d u ratio n valu e o f th e p revio u s fram e (m in u s th e
tim e req u ired to tran sm it t h e ACK m in u s SIFS) is st ored in th e d u ration field .
 Wireless LAN 225

bytes 2 2 6 4 Figure 7.17

IEEE 802.11 special
Frame Receiver control packets: ACK,
ACK Duration CRC
Control Address RTS, and CTS

bytes 2 2 6 4

Frame Receiver
RTS Duration CRC
Control Address

bytes 2 2 6 6 4

Frame Receiver Transmitter

CTS Duration CRC
Control Address Address

Fo r t h e M ACA algo rit h m t h e RTS/ CTS p acket s are n eed ed . As Figu re 7 .13
sh ows, th ese p acket s h ave to reserve t h e m ed iu m to avoid co llisio n s. Th erefo re,
th e req u est t o sen d (RTS) p acket con tain s t h e receiver ad d ress of th e in ten d ed
recip ien t o f t h e fo llo win g d ata t ran sfer an d t h e tran sm it ter ad d ress o f t h e sta-
t io n t ran sm it t in g t h e RTS p acket . Th e d u rat io n (in µs) co m p rises t h e t im e t o
sen d th e CTS, d ata, an d ACK p lu s th ree SIFS. Th e im m ed iately fo llo win g clea r
t o sen d (CTS) fram e co p ies th e tran sm itter ad d ress from th e RTS p acket in to its
receiver ad d ress field . Ad d itio n ally, it read s th e d u rat io n field , su btracts t h e t im e
to sen d th e CTS an d a SIFS an d writes t h e resu lt in to its o wn d u ration field .

7.3.5 MAC management

MAC m an agem en t p lays a cen tral ro le in an IEEE 802.11 st at io n as it m o re o r
less co n t ro ls all fu n ct io n s relat ed t o syst em in t egrat io n , i.e., in t egrat io n o f a
wireless statio n in to a BSS, fo rm atio n o f an ESS, syn ch ro n izatio n o f station s etc.
Th e fo llowin g fu n ct io n al gro u p s h ave b een id en t ified an d will be d iscu ssed in
m ore d etail in th e followin g sect ion s:

● Sy n ch r o n i za t i o n : Fu n ct io n s t o su p p o rt fin d in g a wireless LAN , syn -

ch ron ization of in tern al clocks, gen eration o f beaco n sign als.
● Po w er m a n a g em en t : Fu n ct io n s t o co n t ro l t ran sm it t er act ivit y fo r p o wer
co n servation , e.g., p erio d ic sleep , bu fferin g, with ou t m issin g a fram e.
● Ro a m in g : Fu n ct io n s fo r jo in in g a n et wo rk (asso ciat io n ), ch an gin g access
p o in ts, scan n in g for access p o in ts.
● M a n a g e m en t i n fo r m a t io n b a se (M IB): All p ara m et ers rep resen t in g t h e
cu rren t st at e o f a wireless st at io n an d an access p o in t are st o red wit h in a
MIB fo r in t ern al an d ext ern al access. A MIB can b e accessed via st an d ard -
ized p roto co ls su ch as t h e sim p le n et work m an agem en t p rotocol (SNMP).
226 Mobile communicat ions

7.3.5.1 Synchronizat ion

Each n o d e o f an 802.11 n et wo rk m ain t ain s an in t ern al clo ck. To syn ch ro n ize
th e clo cks o f all n o d es, IEEE 802.11 sp ecifies a t im in g sy n ch r o n iza t io n fu n c-
t io n (TSF). As we w ill see in t h e fo llo w in g sect io n , syn ch ro n ized clo cks are
n eed ed fo r p o wer m an agem en t , b u t also fo r co o rd in at io n o f t h e PCF an d fo r
syn ch ro n izat io n o f t h e h o p p in g seq u en ce in an FH SS syst em . Usin g PCF, t h e
lo cal t im er o f a n o d e can p red ict th e start of a su p er fram e, i.e., th e co n ten tion
free a n d co n t en t io n p erio d . FHSS p h ysica l layers n eed t h e sam e h o p p in g
seq u en ces so th at all n o d es can com m u n icat e with in a BSS.
With in a BSS, t im in g is con veyed by th e (q u asi)perio d ic t ran sm ission s o f a
beaco n fram e. A b eaco n con tain s a tim estam p an d oth er m an agem en t in form a-
tio n u sed fo r p o wer m an agem en t an d ro am in g (e.g., id en tification o f th e BSS).
Th e t im est am p is u sed b y a n o d e t o ad ju st it s lo cal clo ck. Th e n o d e is n o t
req u ired to h ear every beaco n t o st ay syn ch ron ized ; h owever, fro m t im e t o t im e
in t ern al clo cks sh o u ld b e ad ju st ed . Th e t ran sm issio n o f a b eaco n fram e is n o t
always p eriod ic becau se t h e beacon fram e is also d eferred if th e m ed iu m is bu sy.
W it h in in fr a st r u c t u r e -b a sed n et w o rks, t h e a ccess p o in t p erfo rm s syn -
ch ro n izat io n b y t ran sm it t in g t h e (q u asi)p erio d ic b eaco n sign al, wh erea s all
oth er wireless n od es ad ju st th eir lo cal tim er to th e t im e stam p . Th is rep resen ts
t h e sim p le case sh o wn in Figu re 7 .1 8 . Th e access p o in t is n o t always ab le t o
sen d its beacon B p eriod ically if th e m ed iu m is bu sy. However, th e access p oin t
always tries t o sch ed u le tran sm ission s accord in g to th e exp ected beacon in terval
(t a rget b ea co n t ra n sm issio n t im e), i.e., beaco n in tervals are n o t sh ifted if o n e
beaco n is d elayed . Th e tim estam p o f a b eaco n always reflects t h e real t ran sm it
tim e, n ot th e sch ed u led t im e.
Fo r ad -h o c n etworks, t h e situ atio n is sligh tly m o re co m p licat ed as th ey d o
n o t h ave an access p oin t for beacon tran sm issio n . In t h is case, each n od e m ain -
t ain s it s o w n syn ch ro n izat io n t im er an d st a rt s t h e t ran sm issio n o f a b eaco n
fram e after t h e b eaco n in terval. Figu re 7.19 sh ows an exam p le wh ere m u lt ip le
st atio n s try t o sen d t h eir beaco n . Ho wever, th e st an d ard ran d o m backoff algo -
rit h m is also ap p lied t o th e beaco n fram es so o n ly o n e b eaco n win s. All o t h er
st atio n s n ow ad ju st th eir in t ern al clo cks acco rd in g t o th e received b eaco n an d

Figure 7.18
beacon interval
Beacon transmission in
a busy 802.11
infrastructure network
B B B B
access
point
busy busy busy busy
medium
t

value of the timestamp B beacon frame

 Wireless LAN 227

beacon interval Figure 7.19

Beacon transmission
in a busy 802.11
ad-hoc network
B1 B1
station1

B2 B2
station2

busy busy busy busy

medium
t
value of the timestamp B beacon frame random delay

su p p ress t h eir b eaco n s fo r t h is cycle. If co llisio n o ccu rs, t h e b eaco n is lo st . In

th is scen ario , th e beacon in tervals can b e sh ift ed sligh tly b ecau se all clocks m ay
vary as m ay th e start o f a beacon in terval from a n od e’s p o in t o f view. However,
aft er su ccessfu l syn ch ron izatio n all n o d es again h ave th e sam e con sisten t view.

7.3.5.2 Power management

Wireless d evices are b att ery p o wered (u n less a so lar p an el is u sed ). Th erefo re,
p o w er-sa vin g m ech an ism s are cru cial fo r t h e co m m ercial su ccess o f su ch
d evices. Stan d ard LAN p ro tocols assu m e th at st ation s are always read y t o receive
d at a, alt h o u gh receivers are id le m o st o f t h e t im e in ligh t ly lo ad ed n et wo rks.
However, th is p erm an en t read in ess of th e receivin g m od u le is critical fo r battery
life as th e receiver cu rren t m ay be u p to 100 m A (Wo esn er, 1998).
Th e basic id ea o f IEEE 802.11 p o wer m an agem en t is to switch o ff th e tran s-
ceiver wh en ever it is n o t n eed ed . Fo r t h e sen d in g d evice t h is is sim p le t o
ach ieve as th e t ran sfer is triggered by th e d evice itself. Ho wever, sin ce th e p ower
m an agem en t of a receiver can n ot kn ow in ad van ce wh en th e t ran sceiver h as to
b e act ive fo r a sp ecific p acket , it h as t o ‘wake u p ’ th e t ran sceiver p erio d ically.
Swit ch in g o ff t h e t ran sceiver sh o u ld b e t ran sp aren t t o ex ist in g p ro t o co ls an d
sh o u ld b e flexible en o u gh to su p p ort d ifferen t ap p lication s. Ho wever, th ro u gh -
p u t can b e t rad ed -o ff fo r b at t ery life. Lo n ger o ff-p erio d s save b at t ery life b u t
red u ce average t h rou gh p u t an d vice versa.
Th e basic id ea o f p o wer savin g in clu d es t wo st ates fo r a st atio n : sleep an d
a w a k e, an d bu fferin g of data in sen d ers. If a sen der in ten ds to com m u n icate with
a p ower-savin g station it h as to bu ffer d ata if th e station is asleep. Th e sleepin g sta-
tion on th e oth er h an d h as to wake u p p eriod ically an d stay awake for a certain
tim e. Durin g th is tim e, all sen ders can an n ou n ce th e destin ation s of th eir bu ffered
data fram es. If a station d etects th at it is a destin ation of a bu ffered packet it h as to
st ay awake u n til th e t ran sm issio n t akes p lace. Wakin g u p at th e righ t m o m en t
req u ires t h e t im in g sy n ch r o n iza t io n fu n ct io n (TSF) in t ro d u ced in sect io n
7.3.5.1. All station s h ave to wake u p or be awake at th e sam e tim e.
228 Mobile communicat ions

Power m an agem en t in in fra st r u ct u re-based n et works is m u ch sim pler co m -

p ared t o a d -h o c n et wo rks. Th e access p o in t b u ffers all fram es d est in ed fo r
st at io n s o p erat in g in p o wer-save m o d e. Wit h every b eaco n sen t b y t h e access
p oin t , a t ra ffi c in d icat io n m a p (TIM) is tran sm itt ed . Th e TIM con tain s a list o f
stat io n s for wh ich u n icast d ata fram es are bu ffered in th e access p oin t.
Th e TSF assu res t h at t h e sleep in g st at io n s will w ake u p p erio d ically an d
listen to th e beacon an d TIM. If t h e TIM in d icates a u n icast fram e bu ffered fo r
t h e st atio n , t h e statio n stays awake fo r t ran sm issio n . Fo r m u lt i-cast / b ro ad cast
tran sm ission , station s will always stay awake. An ot h er reaso n fo r wakin g u p is a
fram e wh ich h as t o be t ran sm itted from th e station to th e access p o in t. A sleep -
in g st at io n still h as th e TSF t im er ru n n in g.
Figu re 7.20 sh o ws an exam p le wit h an access p o in t an d o n e st at io n . Th e
st at e o f t h e m ed iu m is in d icat ed . Again , t h e access p o in t t ran sm it s a b eaco n
fram e each b eacon in terval. Th is in terval is n o w t h e sam e as t h e TIM in terval.
Ad d it io n ally, t h e access p o in t m ain t a in s a d e li v e r y t r a ffic i n d ica t io n m a p
(DTIM ) in t erval fo r sen d in g b ro ad cast / m u lt icast fram es. Th e DTIM in t erval is
always a m u ltip le o f t h e TIM in terval.
All st at io n s (in t h e ex a m p le, o n ly o n e is sh o w n ) w ake u p p rio r t o an
ex p ect ed TIM o r DTIM . In t h e first ca se, t h e a ccess p o in t h as t o t ran sm it a
b ro ad cast fram e an d t h e st at io n st ays aw ake t o receive it . Aft er receivin g t h e
b ro ad cast fram e, t h e st at io n ret u rn s t o sleep in g m o d e. Th e st at io n wakes u p
again ju st before t h e n ext TIM tran sm issio n . Th is t im e th e TIM is d elayed d u e to
a b u sy m ed iu m so , t h e st at io n st a ys aw ake. Th e access p o in t h as n o t h in g t o
sen d an d th e st at io n goes back to sleep .
At t h e n ext TIM in t erval, t h e access p o in t in d icates th at t h e statio n is t h e
d estin atio n for a bu ffered fram e. Th e station an swers wit h a PS (p ower savin g)
p o ll an d stays awake t o receive d ata. Th e access p o in t th en t ran sm its th e d at a
fo r t h e st at io n , th e st at io n ackn o wled ges t h e receip t an d m ay also sen d so m e

Figure 7.20
TIM interval DTIM interval
Power management in
IEEE 802.11
infrastructure networks
access D B T T d D B
point
busy busy busy busy
medium

p d
station
t
T TIM D DTIM awake

data transmission
B broadcast/multicast p PS poll d
to/from the station
 Wireless LAN 229

d at a (as sh o w n in t h e ex am p le). Th is is ackn o w led ged b y t h e access p o in t

(ackn o wled gm en t s are n o t sh own in th e figu re). Afterward s, th e station switch es
to sleep m od e again .
Fin ally, t h e access p o in t h as m ore bro ad cast d ata t o sen d at th e n ext DTIM
in t erval, w h ich is again d eferred b y a b u sy m ed iu m . Dep en d in g o n in t ern al
th resh o ld s, a statio n m ay st ay awake if th e sleep in g p erio d wou ld be too sh ort.
Th is m ech an ism clea rly sh o ws t h e t rad e-o ff b et w een sh o rt d elays in st at io n
access an d savin g bat t ery p o wer. Th e sh o rt er t h e TIM in terval, t h e sh o rter th e
d elay, bu t t h e lo wer t h e p ower-savin g effect.
In ad -h oc n etworks, p ower m an agem en t is m u ch m ore com p licat ed th an in
in frastru ctu re n etwo rks. In t h is case, t h ere is n o access p o in t t o bu ffer d ata in
on e location bu t each st at io n n eed s th e ability to bu ffer d ata if it wan ts t o com -
m u n icat e w it h a p o wer-savin g st at io n . All st at io n s n o w a n n o u n ce a list o f
b u ffered fra m es d u rin g a p erio d w h en t h ey are a ll aw a ke. Dest in at io n s are
an n ou n ced u sin g a d -h o c t ra ffi c in d ica t io n m a p (ATIMs) – th e an n ou n cem en t
p eriod is called th e ATIM w in d o w .
Figu re 7.21 sh o w s a sim p le ad -h o c n et wo rk wit h t wo st at io n s. Again , th e
beaco n in terval is d et erm in ed b y a d istrib u ted fu n ct io n (d ifferen t station s m ay
sen d th e beacon ). Ho wever, d u e t o t h is syn ch ro n izatio n , all statio n s with in t h e
ad -h oc n etwork wake u p at th e sam e tim e. All statio n s stay awake fo r th e ATIM
in t erval as sh o wn in t h e first t w o st ep s an d go t o sleep again if n o fram e is
bu ffered fo r th em . In th e th ird step , st at io n 1 h as d ata bu ffered for st at ion 2 . Th is
is in d ica t ed in an ATIM t ran sm it t ed b y st a t io n 1 . St at io n 2 ackn o w led ges t h is
ATIM an d st ays awake fo r t h e t ran sm issio n . Aft er t h e ATIM win d o w, st at io n 1
can tran sm it t h e d ata fram e, an d station 2 ackn owled ges its receip t. In th is case,
th e st at io n s stay awake fo r t h e n ext beacon .

ATIM Figure 7.21

beacon interval Power management
window
in IEEE 802.11
ad-hoc networks
B1 A D B1
station1

B2 B2 a d
station2
t

B beacon frame random delay awake A transmit ATIM

a acknowledge ATIM d acknowledge data D transmit data

230 Mobile communicat ions

O n e p ro blem with th is ap p roach is th at of scale. If m an y station s with in an

ad -h o c n et wo rk o p erat e in p o wer-save m o d e, t h ey m ay also wan t t o t ran sm it
th eir ATIM with in th e ATIM win d o w. Mo re ATIM tran sm ission s t ake p lace, m o re
collision s h ap p en an d m ore stat ion s are d eferred . Th e access d elay of large n et-
works is d ifficu lt t o p red ict. Qo S gu aran tees can n ot be given u n d er h eavy load .

7.3.5.3 Roaming
Typ ically, wireless n etwo rks with in b u ild in gs req u ire m o re t h an ju st o n e access
p o in t t o co ver all ro o m s. Dep en d in g o n th e so lid it y an d m at erial o f th e walls,
o n e access p oin t h as a tran sm issio n ran ge of 10–20 m if tran sm issio n is to be o f
d ecen t q u ality. Each st o rey o f a bu ild in g n eed s it s o wn access p o in t (s) as q u ite
o ft en walls are t h in n er t h an flo o rs. If a u ser walks aro u n d wit h a wireless st a-
t io n , t h e st at io n h as t o m o ve fro m o n e access p o in t t o a n o t h er t o p ro vid e
u n in t erru p t ed service. Mo vin g b et ween access p o in t s is called r o a m in g . Th e
t erm “h an d o ver” o r “h an d o ff” a s u sed in t h e co n t ex t o f m o b ile o r cellu lar
p h o n e system s wo u ld be m ore ap p ro p riate as it is sim p ly a ch an ge o f th e act ive
cell. Ho wever, for W LANs ro am in g is m ore co m m on .
Th e steps for ro am in g between access p o in t s are:

● A statio n d ecid es th at t h e cu rren t lin k q u alit y to its access p o in t AP1 is too

p oo r. Th e station th en starts sca n n in g for an o th er access p oin t .
● Scan n in g in volves th e act ive search fo r an o th er BSS an d can also b e u sed for
sett in g u p a n ew BSS in case of ad -h o c n etworks. IEEE 802.11 sp ecifies scan -
n in g o n sin gle o r m u lt ip le ch an n els (if available at t h e p h ysical layer) an d
d ifferen tiates between p assive scan n in g an d active scan n in g. Pa ssiv e sca n -
n in g sim p ly m ean s list en in g in to th e m ed iu m to fin d o th er n etworks, i.e.,
re ceivin g t h e b ea co n o f an o t h er n et wo rk issu ed b y t h e syn ch ro n izat io n
fu n ct io n wit h in an a ccess p o in t . Ac t iv e sc a n n in g co m p rises sen d in g a
p r o b e o n each ch a n n el an d wait in g fo r a resp o n se. Bea co n an d p ro b e
resp on ses con tain th e in fo rm at io n n ecessary t o join t h e n ew BSS.
● Th e st at io n t h en select s t h e b est access p o in t fo r ro am in g b ased o n , e.g.,
sign al st ren gt h , an d sen d s an a sso c ia t i o n r eq u e st t o t h e select ed access
p oin t AP2 .
● Th e n ew access p o in t AP 2 an sw ers wit h an a sso c ia t io n r e sp o n se . If t h e
resp on se is su ccessfu l, t h e stat ion h as roam ed t o th e n ew access po in t AP2 .
O th erwise, th e statio n h as to co n tin u e scan n in g fo r n ew access p o in ts.
● Th e access p oin t accep tin g an association req u est in d icates th e n ew st at io n
in its BSS t o th e d istrib u t io n system (DS). Th e DS th en u p d ates it s d at abase,
wh ich con tain s t h e cu rren t location of th e wireless statio n s. Th is d at abase is
n eed ed fo r fo rward in g fram es bet ween d ifferen t BSSs, i.e. b etween th e d if-
feren t access p o in t s co n t ro llin g t h e BSSs, wh ich co m b in e t o fo rm an ESS
(see Figu re 7.3). Ad d it io n ally, t h e DS can in fo rm t h e o ld access p o in t AP 1
th at t h e station is n o lo n ger with in its BSS.
 Wireless LAN 231

Un fo rt u n at ely, m an y p ro d u ct s im p lem en t ed p ro p riet ary o r in co m p at ib le

versio n s o f p ro t o co ls t h at su p p o rt ro am in g an d in fo rm t h e o ld access p o in t
ab o u t t h e ch an ge in t h e st at io n ’s lo cat io n . Th e st an d ard IEEE 8 0 2 .1 1 f (In t er
Access Po in t Pro t o co l, IAPP) sh o u ld p ro vid e a com p atible solu t ion for all ven -
d o rs. Th is also in clu d es lo ad -b alan cin g b et ween access p o in t s an d key
gen eratio n for secu rit y algorith m s based on IEEE 802.1x (IEEE, 2001).

7.3.6 802.11b
As st an d ard izat io n t o o k so m e t im e, t h e cap ab ilit ies o f t h e p h ysical layers also
evo lved . So o n after t h e first co m m ercial 80 2.11 p ro d u ct s cam e o n t h e m arket
so m e com p an ies o ffered p ro p rietary so lu tio n s wit h 11 Mb it/ s. To avo id m arket
segm en t at io n , a co m m o n st an d ard , IEEE 8 0 2 .1 1 b (IEEE 1 99 9) so o n fo llo wed
an d was ad d ed as su p p lem en t to th e o rigin al st an d ard (High er-sp eed p h ysical
layer exten sion in t h e 2.4 GHz ban d ). Th is stan d ard d escribes a n ew PHY layer
an d is by far th e m ost su ccessfu l version o f IEEE 802.11 available tod ay. Do n ot
get co n fu sed ab o u t t h e fact t h at 8 0 2 .1 1b h it t h e m arket b efo re 8 0 2.1 1 a. Th e
st an d ard s are n a m ed acco rd in g t o t h e o rd er in w h ich t h e resp ect ive st u d y
gro u p s h ave b een establish ed .
As t h e n am e o f t h e su p p lem en t im p lies, t h is st an d ard o n ly d efin es a n ew
PHY layer. All th e MAC sch em es, m an agem en t p ro ced u res etc. exp lain ed abo ve
are st ill u sed . Dep en d in g on th e cu rren t in terferen ce an d th e d istan ce between
sen d er an d receiver 802.11b system s offer 11, 5.5, 2, o r 1 Mbit/ s. Maxim u m u ser
d ata rate is ap p rox 6 Mbit/ s. Th e lo wer d at a rat es 1 an d 2 Mbit/ s u se th e 11-ch ip
Barker seq u en ce as exp lain ed in sectio n 7.3.3.2 an d DBPSK o r DQ PSK, resp ec-
tively. Th e n ew d ata rat es, 5.5 an d 11 Mbit/ s, u se 8-ch ip co m p lem en t a r y co d e
k ey in g (CCK) (see IEEE, 1999, or Pah lavan , 2002, fo r d etails).
Th e st a n d ard d e fin es several p acket fo rm at s fo r t h e p h ysica l layer. Th e
m a n d at o ry fo rm a t in t ero p era t es wit h t h e o rigin al versio n s o f 80 2 .1 1 . Th e
o p t io n al versio n s p ro vid e a m o re efficien t d at a t ra n sfer d u e t o sh o rt er
h ead ers/ d ifferen t co d in g sch em es an d can co exist wit h o th er 802.11 versio n s.
However, th e stan d ard states th at con tro l all fram es sh all be tran sm it ted at on e
of th e basic rates, so t h ey will be u n d erstoo d by all st at io n s in a BSS.
Figu re 7.22 sh ows two p acket form ats stan d ard ized fo r 802.11b. Th e m an d a-
tory fo rm at is called lo n g PLCP PPDU an d is sim ilar to th e fo rm at illu strated in
Figu re 7.8. On e d ifferen ce is th e rate en cod ed in th e sign al field th is is en co d ed
in m u lt ip les o f 1 0 0 kb it / s. Th u s, 0 x 0 A rep resen t s 1 Mb it / s, 0 x 1 4 is u sed fo r
2 Mb it / s, 0x37 fo r 5.5 Mb it / s an d 0x6E fo r 11 Mb it / s. No t e t h at th e p ream b le
an d t h e h ead er are t ran sm it t ed at 1 M b it / s u sin g DBPSK. Th e o p t io n al sh o r t
PLCP PPDU form at d iffers in several ways. Th e sh ort syn ch ron izat ion field con -
sist s o f 5 6 scram b led zero s in st ead o f scra m b led o n es. Th e sh o rt st art fram e
d elim it er SFD co n sists o f a m irro red b it p attern com p ared to th e SFD of th e lon g
fo rm at: 0000 0101 11 00 1111 is u sed fo r t h e sh o rt PLCP PDU in st ead o f 1111
0011 1010 0000 fo r t h e lo n g PLCP PPDU. Receivers t h at are u n ab le t o receive
th e sh ort fo rm at will n o t d etect th e start of a fram e (bu t will sen se th e m ed iu m
232 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 7.22 Long PLCP PPDU format

IEEE 802.11b PHY
128 16 8 8 16 16 variable bits
packet formats
synchronization SFD signal service length HEC payload

PLCP preamble PLCP header

192 µs at 1 Mbit/s DBPSK 1, 2, 5.5 or 11 Mbit/s

Short PLCP PPDU format (optional)

56 16 8 8 16 16 variable bits

short synch. SFD signal service length HEC payload

PLCP preamble PLCP header

(1 Mbit/s, DBPSK) (2 Mbit/s, DQPSK)

96 µs 2, 5.5 or 11 Mbit/s

is b u sy). O n ly t h e p ream b le is t ran sm it t ed at 1 Mb it / s, DBPSK. Th e fo llo win g

h ead er is alread y tran sm itted at 2 Mbit/ s, DQPSK, wh ich is also th e lowest avail-
able d at a rate. As Figu re 7.22 sh o ws, th e len gth of th e overh ead is on ly h alf fo r
th e sh ort fram es (96 µs in stead o f 192 µs). Th is is u sefu l for, e.g., sh ort , bu t tim e-
crit ical, d at a t ran sm ission s.
As IEEE 802.11b is th e m ost wid esp read versio n , som e m o re in fo rm at io n is
given fo r p ract ica l u sage. Th e st an d ard s o p erat es (like t h e DSSS versio n o f
8 0 2 .1 1 ) o n cert ain freq u en cies in t h e 2 .4 G Hz ISM b an d . Th ese d ep en d o n
n at io n a l regu la t io n s. Alt o get h er 1 4 ch an n els h ave b een d efin ed as Tab le 7 .2
sh o ws. For each ch an n el th e cen ter freq u en cy is given . Dep en d in g o n n at ion al
restrict ion s 11 (US/ Can ad a), 13 (Eu ro p e with so m e excep t io n s) o r 14 ch an n els
(Jap an ) can b e u sed .
Figu re 7 .2 3 illu st rat es t h e n o n -o verla p p in g u sage o f ch an n els fo r an
IEEE 8 0 2 .1 1 b in st allat io n wit h m in im al in t erferen ce in t h e US/ C an ad a an d
Eu ro p e. Th e sp acin g b et ween th e cen t er freq u en cies sh o u ld be at least 25 MHz
(th e o ccup ied ban d wid th of th e m ain lo be of t h e sign al is 22 MHz). Th is resu lts
in th e ch an n els 1, 6, an d 11 fo r th e US/ Can ad a o r 1, 7, 13 fo r Eu ro p e, resp ec-
t ively. It m ay b e t h e case t h a t , e.g., t ra vellers fro m t h e US can n o t u se t h e
ad d it io n al ch an n els (12 an d 1 3 ) in Eu ro p e as t h eir h ard ware is lim it ed t o 11
ch an n els. So m e Eu ro p ean in stallatio n s u se ch an n el 13 to m in im ize in terferen ce.
Users can in stall o verlap p in g cells fo r W LANs u sin g t h e t h ree n o n -o verlap p in g
ch an n els to p ro vid e seam less co verage. Th is is sim ilar t o th e cell p lan n in g fo r
m obile p h on e system s.
 Wireless LAN 233

Table 7.2 Channel plan

Channel Frequency [ MHz] US/ Canada Europe Japan for IEEE 802.11b

1 2412 X X X
2 2417 X X X
3 2422 X X X
4 2427 X X X
5 2432 X X X
6 2437 X X X
7 2442 X X X
8 2447 X X X
9 2452 X X X
10 2457 X X X
11 2462 X X X
12 2467 – X X
13 2472 – X X
14 2484 – – X

Figure 7.23
Europe (ETSI)
IEEE 802.11b
non-overlapping
channel 1 channel 7 channel 13 channel selection

2400 2412 2442 2472 2483.5 [MHz]

22 MHz
US (FCC)/Canada (IC)

channel 1 channel 6 channel 11

2400 2412 2437 2462 2483.5 [MHz]

22 MHz
234 Mobile communicat ions

7.3.7 802.11a
In it ially aim ed at t h e US 5 G H z U-NII (Un licen sed N at io n al In fo rm at io n
In frast ru ctu re) b an d s IEEE 8 0 2 .1 1 a o ffers u p t o 54 Mb it / s u sin g OFDM (IEEE,
1999). Th e first p rod u cts were available in 2001 an d can n ow be u sed (after som e
h arm o n ization between IEEE an d ETSI) in Eu rop e. Th e FCC (US) regu lation s offer
th ree d ifferen t 100 MHz d o m ain s fo r th e u se o f 802.11a, each wit h a d ifferen t
legal m axim u m p ower ou tp u t: 5.15–5.25 GHz/ 50 m W, 5.25–5.35 GHz/ 250 m W,
an d 5 .725–5.825 GHz/ 1 W. ETSI (Eu ro p e) d efin es d ifferen t freq u en cy ban d s fo r
Eu rop e: 5.15–5.35 GHz an d 5.47–5.725 GHz an d req u ires t wo ad d itio n al m ech -
an ism s fo r o p erat io n : d yn am ic freq u en cy select io n (DFS) an d t ran sm it p o wer
co n t ro l (TPC) w h ich will b e ex p lain ed in t h e co n t ex t o f H ip erLAN2 in m o re
d etail. (Th is is also t h e reaso n fo r in tro d u cin g IEEE 802.11h , see sectio n 7.3.8.)
Maxim u m tran sm it p ower is 200 m W EIRP for th e lower freq u en cy ban d (in d oor
u se) an d 1 W EIRP for th e h igh er freq u en cy ban d (in d oor an d ou td oor u se). DFS
an d TPC are n o t n ecessary, if t h e tran sm it p ower stays belo w 50 m W EIRP an d
o n ly 5 .1 5–5.25 GH z are u sed . Jap an allo ws o p erat io n in t h e freq u en cy ran ge
5.15–5.25 GHz an d req u ires carrier sen sin g every 4 m s to m in im ize in terferen ce.
Up to n ow, on ly 100 MHz are available ‘world wide’ at 5.15–5.25 GHz.
Th e p h ysical layer o f IEEE 80 2.11a an d t h e ETSI st an d ard Hip erLAN2 h as
been join t ly d evelo p ed , so bot h p h ysical layers are alm o st id en t ical. Most state-
m en t s an d exp lan ation s in th e fo llo win g, wh ich are related t o th e tran sm ission
t ech n o lo gy are also valid fo r Hip erLAN2 . H o wever, Hip erLAN2 d iffers in t h e
MAC layer, t h e PHY layer p acket fo rm at s, an d t h e o ffered services (q u alit y o f
service, real tim e etc.). Th is is d iscu ssed in m o re d etail in section 7.4. It sh o u ld
b e n o ted t h at m o st o f t h e d evelo p m en t fo r th e p h ysical layer fo r 802.11a was
ad o p t ed fro m t h e Hip erLAN2 stan d ard izat ion – bu t 802.11a p rod u cts were avail-
able first an d are alread y in wid esp read u se.
Again , IEEE 802.11a u ses t h e sam e MAC layer as all 802.11 p h ysical layers
d o an d , in th e fo llo win g, o n ly th e lowest layer is exp lain ed in som e detail. To be
ab le t o o ffer d ata rates u p to 54 Mbit/ s IEEE 802.11a u ses m an y d ifferen t t ech -
n o logies. Th e syst em u ses 52 su bcarriers (48 d ata + 4 p ilo t) th at are m o d u lated
u sin g BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, o r 64-QAM. To m itigat e t ran sm ission erro rs, FEC is
ap p lied u sin g co d in g rates o f 1/ 2, 2/ 3, o r 3/ 4. Tab le 7.3 gives an o verview of t h e
stan d ard ized co m b in at io n s o f m o d u lat io n an d co d in g sch em es t o get h er wit h
th e resu ltin g d ata rates. To o ffer a d ata rate of 12 Mbit / s, 96 bit s are cod ed in t o
o n e O FD M sym b o l. Th ese 9 6 b it s are d ist rib u t ed o ver 4 8 su b carriers an d
2 bits are m od u lated p er su b-carrier u sin g QPSK (2 bits p er p oin t in th e con stel-
lat io n d iagram ). Usin g a co din g rate o f 1/ 2 o n ly 48 d at a bits can be t ran sm itted .
 Wireless LAN 235

Table 7.3 Rate

Dat a rat e Modulat ion Coding Coded Coded Dat a dependent parameters
[ Mbit / s] rat e bit s per bit s per bit s per for IEEE 802.11a
subcarrier OFDM symbol OFDM symbol

6 BPSK 1/ 2 1 48 24
9 BPSK 3/ 4 1 48 36
12 QPSK 1/ 2 2 96 48
18 QPSK 3/ 4 2 96 72
24 16-QAM 1/ 2 4 192 96
36 16-QAM 3/ 4 4 192 144
48 64-QAM 2/ 3 6 288 192
54 64-QAM 3/ 4 6 288 216

pilot 312.5 kHz Figure 7.24

Usage of OFDM in
IEEE 802.11a

–26 –21 –7 –1 1 7 21 26 subcarrier

number
Channel center frequency

Figu re 7.24 sh o ws t h e u sage o f OFDM in IEEE 802.11a. Rem em b er, th e basic

id ea o f OFDM (o r MCM in gen eral) was th e red u ct io n of th e sym bol rate by d is-
tribu tin g bit s o ver n u m erou s su bcarriers. IEEE 802.11a u ses a fixed sym bo l rate
of 250,000 sym b ols p er seco n d in d ep en d en t of th e d at a rate (0.8 µs gu ard in ter-
val fo r ISI m it igat io n p lu s 3.2 µs u sed fo r d at a resu lt s in a sym b o l d u rat io n o f
4 µs). As Figu re 7.24 sh o ws, 52 su b carriers are eq u ally sp aced aro u n d a cen t er
freq u en cy. (Cen ter freq u en cies will be exp lain ed later). Th e sp acin g between t h e
su b carriers is 31 2.5 kHz. 2 6 su b carriers are t o t h e left o f t h e cen t er freq u en cy
an d 2 6 are t o t h e righ t . Th e cen t er freq u en cy it self is n o t u sed as su b carrier.
Su b carriers wit h t h e n u m b ers –2 1 , –7 , 7 , an d 21 are u sed fo r p ilo t sign als t o
m ake th e sign al d etectio n robu st again st freq u en cy o ffsets.
236 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 7.25
Operating channels of
36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 channel
IEEE 802.11a in the
U-NII bands

5150 5180 5200 5220 5240 5260 5280 5300 5320 5350 [MHz]

16.6 MHz
center frequency =
149 153 157 161 channel 5000 + 5*channel number [MHz]

5725 5745 5765 5785 5805 5825 [MHz]

16.6 MHz

Sim ilar t o 80 2 .11 b several o p erat in g ch an n els h ave b een st an d ard ized t o
m in im ize in terferen ce. Figu re 7.25 sh o ws th e ch a n n el la y o u t fo r th e US U-NII
ban d s. Th e cen ter freq u en cy o f a ch an n el is 5000 + 5*ch an n el n u m ber [MHz].
Th is d efin itio n p ro vid es a u n iq u e n u m berin g o f ch an n els with 5 MHz sp acin g
startin g from 5 GHz. Dep en d in g o n n ation al regu latio n s, d ifferen t set s o f ch an -
n els m ay be u sed . Eigh t ch an n els h ave been d efin ed fo r th e lower two ban d s in
th e U-NII (36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, an d 64); fou r m ore are available in th e h igh
ban d (149, 153, 157, an d 161). Usin g th ese ch an n els allo ws fo r in terferen ce-free
o p erat io n o f o verlap p in g 802.11a cells. Ch an n el sp acin g is 20 MHz, th e o ccu -
p ied b an d wid t h o f 802.11a is 16.6 MHz. Ho w is t h is relat ed t o t h e sp acin g o f
th e su b-carriers? 20 MHz/ 64 eq u als 312.5 kHz. 802.11a u ses 48 carriers for d at a,
4 for p ilo t sign als, an d 12 carriers are som etim es called virtu al su bcarriers. (Set
to zero, t h ey d o n ot con trib u te to th e d ata tran sm ission bu t m ay be u sed fo r an
im p lem en t at io n o f OFDM with th e h elp of FFT, see IEEE, 1999, o r ETSI, 2001a,
for m ore d etails). Mu ltip lyin g 312.5 kHz by 52 su bcarriers an d ad d in g t h e extra
sp ace fo r t h e cen t er freq u en cy resu lt s in ap p ro x im a t ely 1 6 .6 MH z o ccu p ied
ban d wid t h p er ch an n el (d etails o f th e tran sm it sp ectral p o wer m ask n eglect ed ,
see ETSI, 2001a).
Du e to t h e n at u re of OFDM, th e PDU on th e p h ysical layer o f IEEE 802.11a
lo oks q u it e d ifferen t from 802.11b o r t h e o rigin al 802.11 p h ysical layers. Figu re
7.26 sh o ws th e basic st ru ctu re o f an IEEE 8 02 .11 a PPDU.
 Wireless LAN 237

Figure 7.26
4 1 12 1 6 16 variable 6 variable bits
IEEE 802.11a physical
rate reserved length parity tail service payload tail pad layer PDU

PLCP header

PLCP preamble signal data

12 1 variable symbols

6 Mbit/s 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 Mbit/s

● Th e PLCP p rea m b le con sists of 12 sym bo ls an d is u sed for freq u en cy acq u i-

sit io n , ch an n el est im a t io n , an d syn ch ro n izat io n . Th e d u rat io n o f t h e
p ream ble is 16 µs.
● Th e fo llo win g O FDM sym b o l, called sig n a l, co n t ain s t h e fo llo win g field s
an d is BPSK-m o d u lated . Th e 4 bit ra t e field d eterm in es t h e d ata rat e an d t h e
m o d u latio n o f t h e rest o f t h e p acket (exam p les are 0x3 fo r 54 Mbit / s, 0x9
for 24 Mb it / s, or 0xF fo r 9 Mbit/ s). Th e len gt h field in d icat es th e n u m ber of
bytes in th e p aylo ad field . Th e p a rit y bit sh all be an even p arity fo r th e first
16 bits of th e sign al field (rate, len gth an d th e reserved bit ). Fin ally, th e six
t a il bits are set to zero.
● Th e d a t a field is sen t with th e rat e d eterm in ed in th e rate field an d co n tain s
a ser v ice field wh ich is u sed to syn ch ro n ize th e d escram bler of th e receiver
(th e d ata st ream is scram bled u sin g th e p olyn om ial x 7 + x 4 + 1) an d wh ich
co n t ain s b it s fo r fu t u re u se. Th e p a y lo a d co n tain s t h e MAC PDU (1-4095
b yt e). Th e t a il b it s are u sed t o reset t h e en co d er. Fin a lly, t h e p a d field
en su res t h at th e n u m b er o f bits in th e PDU m ap s to an in teger n u m b er o f
OFDM sym bo ls.

Co m p ared to IEEE 802.11b workin g at 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.11a at 5 GHz o ffers
m u ch h igh er d ata rat es. Ho wever, sh ad in g at 5 GHz is m u ch m ore severe com -
p ared to 2.4 GHz an d d ep en d in g o n th e SNR, p ro p agat io n co n d it io n s an d t h e
d ist an ce bet ween sen d er an d receiver, d at a rates m ay d rop fast (e.g., 54 Mb it/ s
m ay be available o n ly in an LOS or n ear LOS con d itio n ). Ad d ition ally, th e MAC
layer o f IEEE 802.11 ad d s o verh ead s. User d at a rat es are t h erefo re m u ch lo wer
th an th e d ata rat es list ed ab o ve. Typ ical u ser rat es in Mb it/ s are (tran sm issio n
rat es in b racket s) 5.3 (6), 1 8 (24), 24 (36 ), an d 32 (54 ). Th e fo llo win g sect io n
p resen t s so m e ad d it io n al d evelo p m en t s in t h e co n t ext o f 80 2 .11 , wh ich also
co m p rise a st an d ard fo r h igh er d at a rates at 2.4 GHz th at can b en efit fro m th e
better p rop agatio n co n d it ion s at lower freq u en cies.
238 Mobile communicat ions

7.3.8 Newer development s

W h ile m an y p ro d u ct s t h at follo w t h e IEEE 802.11a an d 802.11b stan d ard s are
availa b le, several n ew gro u p s h ave b een fo rm ed wit h in t h e IEEE t o d iscu ss
en h an cem en ts of th e stan d ard an d n ew ap p licatio n s. As th in gs ch an ge fast , th e
cu rren t statu s can be ch ecked via (IEEE, 2002a). Th e followin g is on ly a selection
of on goin g work (at th e tim e of writin g). Th e com p let ed stan d ard s IEEE 802.11c
an d 8 0 2.11d cover ad d ition s for brid gin g su p p ort an d u p d ates fo r ph ysical layer
req u irem en t s in d ifferen t regu latory d om ain s (i.e., cou n tries).

● 8 0 2 .1 1 e (M AC en h a n cem en t s): Cu rren t ly, t h e 8 02.11 st an d ard s o ffer n o

q u ality of service in t h e DCF op eratio n m o d e. Som e QoS gu aran t ees can be
given , o n ly via p o llin g u sin g PCF. For ap p lication s su ch as au d io , vid eo , o r
m ed ia st ream , d ist rib u t io n service classes h ave t o b e p ro vid ed . Fo r t h is
reaso n , th e MAC layer m u st be en h an ced co m p ared to t h e cu rren t stan d ard .
● 8 02 .1 1f (In t er-Access Po in t Pro t o co l): Th e cu rren t stan d ard on ly d escribes
th e basic arch itectu re o f 802.11 n etworks an d th eir com p o n en ts. Th e im p le-
m en tatio n of com p on en t s, su ch as th e d istribu tion system , was d eliberat ely
n o t sp ecified . Sp ecificat io n s o f im p lem en t at io n s sh o u ld gen era lly b e
avo id ed as t h ey h in d er im p ro vem en t s. Ho wever, a great flex ib ilit y in t h e
im p lem en tatio n com bin ed with a lack o f d etailed in terface d efin ition s an d
co m m u n ication p ro to co ls, e.g., for m an agem en t severely lim its t h e in terop -
erability o f d evices fro m d ifferen t ven d o rs. Fo r exam p le, seam less roam in g
b etween access p oin ts of d ifferen t ven d ors is o ften im p o ssible. 802.11f stan -
d ard izes t h e n ecessary exch an ge o f in fo rm at io n b et ween access p o in t s t o
su p p ort th e fu n ctio n s o f a d istribu t io n syst em .
● 802.11g (Da t a rates a bo ve 20 Mbit/ s at 2.4 GH z): In troducin g n ew m odu la-
tion sch em es, forward error correction an d OFDM also allows for h igh er data
rat es at 2.4 GHz. Th is ap p roach sh ou ld be backward co m p at ible to 802.11b
an d sh ou ld ben efit from th e better propagation ch aracteristics at 2.4 GHz com -
p ared t o 5 GHz. Cu rren t ly, ch ip s fo r 54 Mb it / s are availab le as well as first
p roducts. An altern at ive (or ad dition al) prop osal for 802.11g su ggest s th e so-
called packet bin ary co n volu t io n al co d in g (PBCC) t o reach a d at a rat e of
22 Mbit/ s (Heegard, 2001). W h ile th e 54 Mb it/ s OFDM m o de is m an d atory,
t h e 22 Mbit / s PBCC m o d e can be u sed as an op t ion . Th e d ecision bet ween
802.11a an d 802.11g is n ot obvious. Man y 802.11a produ cts are already avail-
able an d th e 5 GHz ban d is (cu rren t ly) n ot as crowded as th e 2.4 GHz ban d
wh ere n ot on ly m icrowave oven s, bu t also Blu etooth , operate (see section 7.5).
Coverage is better at 2.4 GHz an d fewer access p oin ts are n eeded , lowerin g th e
overall system cost. 802.11g access poin ts can also com m u n icate with 802.11b
devices as th e curren t 802.11g p roducts sh ow. Du al m ode (or th en trip le m ode)
d evices w ill be available coverin g 802 .11 a an d b (an d g). If a h igh t raffic
volum e per squ are m eter is expected (e.g., h ot spots in airport term in als), th e
sm aller cells of 802.11a access poin ts an d th e h igh er n um ber of available ch an -
n els (to avoid in terferen ce) at 5 GHz are clear advan tages.
 Wireless LAN 239

● 80 2.11 h (Sp ect r u m m a n aged 8 02 .11 a ): Th e 802.11a stan d ard was p rim ar-
ily d esign ed fo r u sage in th e US U-NII ban d s. Th e stan d ard izat io n d id n o t
con sid er n o n -US regu latio n s su ch as t h e Eu rop ean req u irem en t s fo r p o wer
co n t rol an d d yn am ic select io n of th e tran sm it freq u en cy. To en able th e reg-
u lat o ry accep t an ce o f 5 GH z p ro d u ct s, d yn am ic ch an n el select io n (DC S)
an d t ran sm it p o wer co n t ro l (TPC) m ech an ism s (as also sp ecified fo r t h e
Eu ro p ean Hip erLAN2 st an d ard ) h ave b een a d d ed . W it h t h is ex t en sio n ,
802.11a p ro d u cts can also be o p erat ed in Eu ro p e. Th ese ad d it io n al m ech a-
n ism s t ry to balan ce th e lo ad in th e 5 GHz ban d .
● 8 0 2 .1 1 i (En h a n c ed Se c u r i t y m e c h a n i sm s): As t h e o rigin al secu rit y
m ech an ism s (W EP) p ro ved t o b e t o o weak so o n aft er t h e d ep lo ym en t o f
t h e first p ro d u ct s (Bo riso v, 20 0 1 ), t h is w o rkin g gro u p d iscu sses st ro n ger
en cryp tio n an d au th en t icatio n m ech an ism s. IEEE 802.1x will p lay a m ajo r
ro le in t h is p ro cess.

Ad d it io n ally, IEEE 802.11 h as several st u d y gr o u p s fo r n ew an d u p co m in g

to p ics. Th e gro u p ‘Rad io Resou rce Measu rem en ts’ in vest igates th e p o ssibilities of
802.11 d evices to p ro vid e m easu rem en t s o f rad io reso u rces. So lu t io n s fo r even
h igh er t h ro u gh p u t a re d iscu ssed in t h e ‘High Th ro u gh p u t ’ st u d y gro u p . Bo t h
gro u p s h ad th eir first m eet in gs in 2002. Th e first stu d y grou p recen t ly b ecam e
th e IEEE p ro ject 802.11k ‘Rad io Resou rce Measu rem en t En h an cem en ts.’

7.4 HIPERLAN

In 1 9 9 6 , t h e ETSI st a n d ard ized H IPERLAN 1 as a W LAN allo win g fo r n o d e

m o b ilit y a n d su p p o rt in g ad -h o c an d in frast ru ct u re-b ased t o p o lo gies (ETSI,
1996). (HIPERLAN st an d s fo r h igh p er fo r m a n ce lo ca l a rea n et w o r k .) H IPER-
LAN 1 was o rigin ally o n e o u t o f fou r HIPERLANs en visaged , as ETSI d ecid ed t o
h ave d ifferen t t yp es o f n et wo rks fo r d ifferen t p u rp o ses. Th e key feat u re o f all
fo u r n et wo rks is t h eir in t egratio n o f tim e-sen sit ive d ata t ran sfer services. O ver
t im e, n am es h a ve ch an ged a n d t h e fo rm er H IPERLAN s 2 , 3 , an d 4 are n o w
called H ip erLAN2 , H IPERAC C ESS, an d HIPERLINK. Th e cu rren t fo cu s is o n
Hip erLAN2, a stan d ard th at com p rises m an y elem en ts from ETSI’s BRAN (bro ad -
ban d rad io access n et works) an d w ireless ATM activities. Neith er wireless ATM
n o r H IPERLAN 1 were a co m m ercial su ccess. H o w ever, t h e st an d ard izat io n
efforts h ad a lo t of im p act on Qo S su p p o rtin g wireless broad ban d n et wo rks su ch
as H ip erLAN2. Before d escribin g Hip erLAN2 in m ore d etail, th e follo win g t h ree
section s exp lain key feat u res of, an d th e m otivatio n beh in d , HIPERLAN 1, wire-
less ATM, an d BRAN. Read ers n o t in t erest ed in t h e h ist o rical b ackgro u n d m ay
p ro ceed d irect ly to section 7.4.4.
240 Mobile communicat ions

7.4.1 Hist orical: HIPERLAN 1

ETSI (1998b) d escrib es HIPERLAN 1 as a wireless LAN su p p o rtin g p rio rit ies an d
p acket life t im e fo r d at a t ran sfer at 2 3.5 Mb it / s, in clu d in g fo rward in g m ech -
an ism s, t o p o lo gy d isco very, u ser d at a en cryp t io n , n et wo rk id en t ificat io n an d
p o wer co n servat io n m ech an ism s. HIPERLAN 1 sh o u ld o p erat e at 5.1–5.3 GHz
with a ran ge o f 50 m in bu ild in gs at 1 W tran sm it p o wer.
Th e service offered by a HIPERLAN 1 is com p atible with t h e st an d ard MAC
services kn o wn fro m IEEE 802.x LANs. Ad d ressin g is b ased o n stan d ard 48 b it
MAC ad dresses. A special HIPERLAN 1 iden tification sch em e allows th e con cu rren t
o p eratio n o f two or m ore p h ysically o verlap p in g HIPERLANs with o u t m in glin g
t h eir co m m u n icat io n . Co n fid en t ialit y is en su red b y an en cryp t io n / d ecryp tio n
algorith m th at req u ires th e iden tical keys an d in itialization vectors for su ccessfu l
decryp tion of a d ata stream en crypted by a sen der.
An in n ovative feat u re o f HIPERLAN 1, wh ich m an y o t h er wireless n etworks
d o n o t o ffer, is its ability to fo rward d ata p ackets u sin g several relays. Relays can
ex t en d t h e co m m u n icat io n o n t h e M AC layer b eyo n d t h e ra d io ran ge. Fo r
p ower co n servation , a n od e m ay set u p a sp ecific wake-u p p att ern . Th is p attern
d eterm in es at wh at tim e th e n od e is read y t o receive, so th at at o th er tim es, th e
n o d e can tu rn o ff its receiver an d save en ergy. Th ese n o d es are called p -savers
an d n eed so -called p -su p p o rt ers t h at co n t ain in fo rm at io n ab o u t t h e wake-u p
p att ern s o f all th e p -savers th ey are resp on sible for. A p -su p p o rter o n ly forward s
d ata t o a p -saver at th e m o m en t t h e p -saver is awake. Th is act io n also req u ires
bu fferin g m ech an ism s for p acket s o n p -su p p ort in g forward ers.
Th e fo llowin g d escribes on ly th e m ed iu m access sch em e o f HIPERLAN 1, a
sch em e t h at p ro vid es Q o S an d a p o werfu l p rio rit izat io n sch em e. Ho wever, it
t u rn ed o u t t h at p rio rit ies an d Qo S in gen eral are n o t t h at im p o rt an t fo r stan -
d ard LAN ap p lication s to d ay. IEEE 802.11 in its stan d ard version s d oes n o t o ffer
p rio rit ies, t h e o p t io n al PC F is t yp ically n o t im p lem en t ed in p ro d u ct s – yet
802.11 is very p op u lar.
Elim in a t io n -y ield n o n -p reem p t ive p rio rit y m u lt ip le a ccess (EY-NPMA) is
n ot on ly a com p lex acron ym , bu t also th e h eart of th e ch an n el access p rovid in g
p rio rit ies an d d ifferen t access sch em es. EY-NPMA d ivid es th e m ed iu m access o f
d ifferen t co m p etin g n o d es in t o t h ree p h ases:

● Prio r it iza t io n : Determ in e th e h igh est p riority o f a d at a p acket read y t o b e

sen t by com p etin g n od es.
● C o n t e n t i o n : Elim in at e all b u t o n e o f t h e co n t en d ers, if m o re t h an o n e
sen d er h as th e h igh est cu rren t p rio rity.
● Tra n sm issio n : Fin ally, tran sm it t h e p acket o f th e rem ain in g n o d e.

In a case wh ere several n od es com p et e fo r th e m ed iu m , all th ree p h ases are

n ecessary (called ‘ch an n el access in sy n ch ro n ized ch a n n el co n d it io n ’). If t h e
ch an n el is free fo r at least 2,000 so -called h igh rat e bit-p eriod s p lu s a d yn am ic
ext en sio n , o n ly t h e t h ird p h ase, i.e. t ran sm issio n , is n eed ed (called ‘ch an n el
 Wireless LAN 241

Figure 7.27
PS PA ES ESV YS Phases of the
HIPERLAN 1 EY-NPMA

elimination survival
priority detection
access scheme

priority assertion

elimination burst
synchronization

yield listening
verification

user data
transmission prioritization contention transmission t

access in ch a n n el-free co n d it io n ’). Th e d yn am ic exten sion is ran d o m ly ch osen

b et w een 0 an d 3 t im es 2 0 0 h igh rat e b it -p erio d s w it h eq u al likelih o o d . Th is
exten sio n fu rth er m in im izes th e p ro bability of co llisio n s accessin g a free ch an -
n el if st at io n s are sy n ch ro n ized o n h igh er la yers an d t ry t o access t h e free
ch an n el at t h e sam e t im e. H IPERLAN 1 also su p p o rt s ‘ch an n el access in t h e
h id d en elim in a t io n co n d it io n ’ to h an d le t h e p ro blem o f h id d en term in als as
d escribed in ETSI (1998b).
Th e con ten tion p h ase is fu rth er su bd ivid ed in to an elim in a t io n p h ase an d a
yield p h a se. Th e p u rp ose of th e elim in at ion p h ase is to elim in ate as m an y con -
ten d in g n od es as p ossible (bu t su rely n ot all). Th e resu lt of th e elim in ation p h ase
is a m o re o r less co n st an t n u m ber o f rem ain in g n o d es, alm o st in d ep en d en t o f
th e in it ial n u m b er o f co m p et in g n o d es. Fin ally, th e yield p h ase co m p let es t h e
work of th e elim in atio n p h ase with th e goal of on ly on e rem ain in g n od e.
Figu re 7 .2 7 gives an o verview o f t h e t h ree m ain p h ases an d so m e m o re
d et ails wh ich will be exp lain ed in th e fo llowin g sectio n s. For every n o d e read y
to sen d d ata, th e access cycle st arts with syn ch ron ization to th e cu rren t sen d er.
Th e first p h ase, p rioritizat io n , follows. After th at, th e elim in at ion an d yield p art
o f t h e co n t en t io n p h ase fo llo w. Fin ally, t h e rem ain in g n o d e can t ran sm it it s
d ata. Every p h ase h as a certain d u ration wh ich is m easu red in n u m bers o f slots
an d is d eterm in ed by th e variab les IPS, IPA, IES, IESV, an d I YS.

7.4.1.1 Priorit izat ion phase

HIPERLAN 1 o ffers five d ifferen t p rio rit ies fo r d at a p acket s read y t o b e sen t .
Aft er o n e n o d e h as fin ish ed sen d in g, m an y o t h er n o d es can co m p et e fo r t h e
righ t to sen d . Th e first o bjective of t h e p rioritizatio n p h ase is to m ake su re th at
n o n o d e with a lo wer p rio rity gain s access t o t h e m ed iu m wh ile p ackets wit h
h igh er p riority are waitin g at o t h er n od es. Th is m ech an ism always gran ts n od es
wit h h igh er p rio rit y access t o t h e m ed iu m , n o m at t er h o w h igh t h e lo ad o n
lower p rio rities.
In t h e first st ep o f th e p rio rit izat io n p h ase, t h e p rio rit y d et ect io n , t im e is
d ivid ed in t o five slo t s, slo t 0 (h igh est p rio rity) to slo t 4 (lo west p rio rit y). Each
slo t h as a d u rat io n o f IPS = 168 h igh rat e b it -p erio d s. If a n o d e h as t h e access
242 Mobile communicat ions

p riority p , it h as t o listen in to th e m ed iu m for p slo ts (p riority d etect io n ). If t h e

n o d e sen ses th e m ed iu m is id le for th e wh o le p erio d of p slots, th e n od e asserts
th e p riority by im m ed iately tran sm ittin g a bu rst for t h e d u rat ion IPA = 168 h igh
rat e b it-p erio d s (p riority assertion ). Th e b u rst con sists o f th e fo llo win g h igh rate
bit seq u en ce, wh ich is rep eated as m an y t im es as n ecessary fo r th e d u rat io n of
th e bu rst :

11111010100010011100000110010110

If th e n od e sen ses activity in th e m ed iu m , it sto p s its attem p t to sen d d ata

in t h is t ran sm issio n cycle an d waits fo r th e n ext o n e. Th e wh o le p rio ritizatio n
p h ase en d s as so o n as o n e n o d e assert s t h e access p rio rit y wit h a b u rst . Th is
m ean s th at th e p rio rit ization p h ase is n ot lim ited by a fixed len gth , bu t d ep en d s
on t h e h igh est p rio rity.
Let u s assu m e, for exam p le, t h at t h ere are th ree n o d es with d ata read y to be
sen t, t h e p ackets o f n od e 1 an d n od e 2 h avin g th e p riority 2, th e p acket of n od e
3 h avin g th e p rio rity 4. Th en n od es 1, 2 an d 3 list en in to th e m ed iu m an d sen se
slots 0 an d 1 are id le. No d es 1 an d 2 bo th sen d a bu rst in slot 2 as priority asser-
t io n . N o d e 3 st o p s it s a t t em p t t o t ran sm it it s p acket . In t h is ex am p le, t h e
p rioritization p h ase h as t aken th ree slots.
Aft er t h is first p h ase at least on e o f th e con ten d in g n o d es will su rvive, th e
su rvivin g n od es bein g all n od es with th e h igh est p riority o f th is cycle.

7.4.1.2 Eliminat ion phase

Several n od es m ay n o w en ter th e elim in ation p h ase. Again , tim e is d ivid ed in t o
slo t s, u sin g t h e elim in at io n slo t in t erval I ES = 2 1 2 h igh rat e b it p erio d s. Th e
len gth o f an in d ivid u al elim in atio n bu rst is 0 t o 12 slot in tervals lo n g, th e p ro b-
abilit y o f bu rstin g with in a slo t is 0.5. Th e p robab ility PE(n ) o f an elim in at io n
bu rst to be n elim in ation slo t in tervals lon g is given by:

● P E(n ) = 0.5 n +1 fo r 0 ≤ n < 12

● P E(n ) = 0.5 12 for n = 12

Th e elim in at io n p h ase n ow resolves con ten t io n by m ean s of elim in atio n bu rst-

in g a n d elim in at io n su rvival verifica t io n . Ea ch co n t en d in g n o d e sen d s an
elim in ation bu rst with len gth n as d eterm in ed via th e p ro babilities an d t h en lis-
ten s t o t h e ch an n el d u rin g th e su rvival verification in terval IESV = 256 h igh rate
bit p erio d s. Th e bu rst sen t is t h e sam e as fo r th e p riority assertion . A con ten d in g
n o d e su rvives t h is elim in ation p h ase if, an d on ly if, it sen ses th e ch an n el is id le
d u rin g it s su rvival verificat io n p erio d . O t h erwise, t h e n o d e is elim in at ed an d
sto p s its attem p t to sen d d ata d u rin g t h is tran sm issio n cycle.
Th e wh ole elim in ation p h ase will last fo r th e d u ration of th e lon gest elim i-
n at io n b u rst am o n g t h e co n t en d in g n o d es p lu s t h e su rvival verificat io n t im e.
On e o r m ore n od es will su rvive t h is elim in atio n p h ase, an d can t h en co n tin u e
with t h e n ext p h ase.
 Wireless LAN 243

7.4.1.3 Yield phase

Durin g th e yield ph ase, th e rem ain in g n odes on ly listen in to th e m edium with out
sen din g an y addition al bursts. Again , tim e is divided in to slots, th is tim e called yield
slots with a duration of IYS = 168 h igh rate bit-p eriods. Th e len gth of an in dividual
yield listen in g period can be 0 to 9 slots with equal likelih ood. Th e probability PY(n )
for a yield listen in g period to be n slots lon g is 0.1 for all n , 0 ≤ n ≤ 9.
Each n od e n ow listen s for its yield listen in g p eriod . If it sen ses th e ch an n el
is id le d u rin g th e wh o le p erio d , it h as su rvived th e yield list en in g. Oth erwise, it
with d raws fo r th e rest of th e cu rren t tran sm ission cycle. Th is tim e, th e len gth of
th e yield p h ase is d eterm in ed b y t h e sh o rtest yield -listen in g p erio d am o n g all
th e co n t en d in g n o d es. At least o n e n od e will survive t h is p h ase an d can start t o
tran sm it d at a. Th is is wh at t h e o t h er n o d es wit h lo n ger yield listen in g p erio d
can sen se. It is im p o rtan t to n ote th at at th is p oin t th ere can still be m ore th an
on e su rvivin g n o d e so a collision is st ill p ossible.

7.4.1.4 Transmission phase

A n od e th at h as su rvived th e p rioritizat ion an d con ten t io n p h ase can n o w sen d
its d ata, called a lo w bit -rate h igh bit-rate HIPERLAN 1 CAC p roto col d at a u n it
(LBR-HBR HCPDU). Th is PDU can eit h er b e m u lt icast o r u n icast . In case o f a
u n icast tran sm ission , th e sen d er exp ects to receive an im m ed iate ackn owled ge-
m en t fro m th e d est in atio n , called an ackn o wled gem en t HCPDU (AK-HCPDU),
wh ich is an LBR HCPDU con tain in g on ly an LBR p art.

7.4.1.5 Qualit y of service support and ot her specialt ies

Th e sp eciality of HIPERLAN 1 is its Qo S su p p o rt . Th e q u ality o f service o ffered
by t h e MAC layer is b ased o n t h ree p aram eters (HM Qo S-p a ra m et ers). Th e u ser
can set a p rio rity fo r d ata, p rio rity = 0 d en ot es a h igh p rio rit y, p riority = 1, a lo w
p rio rit y. Th e u ser ca n d et erm in e t h e lifet im e o f a n M SDU t o sp ecify t im e-
b o u n d ed d elivery. Th e M SDU lifet i m e sp ecifies t h e m ax im u m t im e t h at can
elap se b et ween sen d in g an d receivin g an M SDU. Beyo n d t h is, d elivery o f t h e
MSDU b eco m es u n n ecessary. Th e M SDU lifet im e h as a ran ge o f 0–16,000 m s.
Th e resid u a l M SDU lifet im e sh o ws th e rem ain in g lifetim e of a p acket.
Besid es d at a t ran sfer, t h e MAC layer o ffers fu n ct io n s for lo okin g u p o t h er
HIPERLANs with in rad io ran ge as well as special power con servin g fun ction s. Pow er
con serva t ion is ach ieved by settin g up certain recurrin g pattern s wh en a n ode can
receive d at a in stead of con stan tly bein g ready to receive. Special grou p-atten dan ce
pattern s can be defin ed to en able m ulticastin g. All n odes participatin g in a m ulticast
group m ust be ready to receive at th e sam e tim e wh en a sen der tran sm its data.
HIPERLAN 1 MAC also o ffers u ser d ata en cr yp t io n an d d ecr yp t io n u sin g a
sim p le XOR-sch em e togeth er with ran d om n u m bers. A key is ch osen from a set of
keys u sin g a key iden tifier (KID) an d is u sed togeth er with an in itialization vector
IV t o in itialize th e p seu d o ran d o m n u m ber gen erat or. Th is ran d om seq u en ce is
XORed with th e u ser data (UD) to gen erate th e en cryp ted d ata. Decryp tion of th e
en cryp t ed UD wo rks th e sam e way, u sin g t h e sam e ran d o m n u m b er seq u en ce.
Th is is n ot a stron g en cryp tion sch em e – en cryption is left to h igh er layers.
244 Mobile communicat ions

Table 7.4 Mapping of

the normalized residual NRL MSDU priorit y = 0 MSDU priorit y = 1
lifetime to the
CAC priority NRL < 10 ms 0 1
10 ms ≤ NRL < 20 ms 1 2
20 ms ≤ NRL < 40 ms 2 3
40 ms ≤ NRL < 80 ms 3 4
80 ms ≤ NRL 4 4

It is in terest in g to see h ow th e HIPERLAN 1 MAC layer selects th e n ext PDU

fo r tran sm issio n if several PDUs are read y an d h o w th e wait in g tim e o f a PDU
b efo re tran sm issio n is reflect ed in its ch an n el access p rio rity. Th e select ion h as
to reflect th e u ser p riority (0 or 1) an d t h e resid u al lifetim e to gu aran tee a tim e-
b o u n d ed service. Th e M AC layer t h en h as t o m a p t h is in fo rm at io n o n t o a
ch an n el access p rio rit y u sed b y th e CAC, co m p etin g wit h o t h er n o d es fo r th e
tran sm it righ ts.
First o f all, t h e MAC layer d et erm in es t h e n o r m a lize d r esid u a l H M PD U
lifet im e (NRL). Th is is th e resid u al lifetim e d ivided by t h e estim ated n u m ber o f
h op s th e PDU h as to t ravel. Th e com p u tation reflect s both t h e waitin g tim e o f a
PDU in t h e n o d e an d t h e d ist an ce, an d t h e ad d it io n al wait in g t im es in o t h er
n od es. Th en t h e MAC layer com p u tes th e ch an n el access p riority for each PDU
fo llo win g th e m ap p in g sh own in Table 7.4.
Th e fin al selection o f th e m ost im p o rtan t HMPDU (HIPERLAN 1 MAC PDU)
is p erfo rm ed in t h e followin g o rd er:

● HMPDUs with th e h igh est p rio rity are selected ;

● fro m t h ese, all HMPDUs wit h th e sh ort est NRL are select ed ;
● fro m wh ich fin ally an y on e wit h o u t fu rth er p referen ces is selected from th e
rem ain in g HMPDUs.

Besid es tran sferrin g d at a from a sen d er t o a receiver with in th e sam e rad io

coverage, HIPERLAN 1 offers fu n ction s to forward traffic via several oth er wire-
less n od es – a featu re wh ich is esp ecially im p ortan t in wireless ad -h o c n etworks
w it h o u t an in frast ru ct u re. Th is fo rw ard in g m ech a n ism can also b e u sed if a
n od e can on ly reach an access p oin t via ot h er HIPERLAN 1 n od es.

7.4.2 WATM
W ireless ATM (WATM ; so m et im es also called wireless, m o b ile ATM, wm ATM)
d oes n ot on ly d escribe a tran sm ission tech n ology bu t tries to sp ecify a com p lete
com m u n ication system (Acam p ora, 1996), (Ayan oglu , 1996). Wh ile m an y asp ects
o f t h e IEEE W LANs origin ate fro m t h e d at a com m u n icatio n co m m u n ity, m an y
 Wireless LAN 245

WATM asp ects com e from th e telecom m u n icat ion in d u stry (Hän d el, 1994). Th is
sp ecific situ ation can be com p ared to th e case of com p etition an d m ergin g with
regard t o t h e co n cep t s TCP/ IP an d ATM (IP-switch in g, MPLS). Sim ilar t o fixed
n et wo rks wh ere ATM n ever m ad e it t o t h e d eskto p , WATM will n o t m ake it t o
m obile term in als. However, m an y con cep ts fou n d in WATM can also be fou n d in
Qo S su p p o rtin g W LANs su ch as Hip erLAN2 (referen ce m od els, Q oS p aram eters,
see section 7.4.4).

7.4.2.1 Motivat ion for WATM

Several reason s led t o th e d evelo p m en t o f WATM:

● Th e n eed fo r seam less in t egrat io n o f wireless t erm in als in t o an ATM n et -

w o rk. Th is is a b asic req u irem en t fo r su p p o rt in g t h e sam e in t egrat ed
services an d d ifferen t t yp es o f traffic stream s as ATM d oes in fixed n etworks.
● ATM n et wo rks scale well fro m LANs to WANs – an d m o b ilit y is n eed ed in
lo cal an d wid e area ap p lication s. Strategies were n eed ed to ext en d ATM fo r
wireless access in local an d global en viro n m en ts.
● Fo r ATM t o b e su ccessfu l, it m u st o ffer a wireless ex t en sio n . O t h erw ise it
can n ot p art icip at e in th e rap id ly gro win g field of m o bile co m m u n icatio n s.
● WATM co u ld o ffer Qo S fo r ad eq u at e su p p o rt of m u lti-m ed ia d ata st ream s.
M an y o t h er wireless t ech n o lo gies (e.g., IEEE 80 2 .1 1 ) t yp ically o n ly o ffer
b est effo rt services o r t o so m e ex t en t , t im e-b o u n d ed services. Ho wever,
th ese services d o n ot p ro vid e as m an y Qo S p aram eters as ATM n etworks d o.
● Fo r t eleco m m u n ication service p ro vid ers, it ap p ears n atu ral th at m ergin g of
m o bile wireless com m u n icatio n an d ATM tech n ology lead s to wireless ATM.
On e goal in t h is con t ext is th e seam less in t egratio n of m o bilit y in to B-ISDN
wh ich alread y u ses ATM as its tran sfer tech n olo gy.

It is clear th at WATM will b e m u ch m o re co m p lex t h an m o st o f th e o t h er

wireless syst em s. W h ile, fo r exam p le, IEEE 802.11 o n ly co vers lo cal area access
m et h o d s, Blu eto o th o n ly b u ild s u p p ico n et s. Mo bile IP o n ly works o n t h e n et-
w o rk layer, b u t WATM t ries t o b u ild u p a co m p reh en sive syst em co verin g
p h ysical layer, m ed ia access, ro u tin g, in tegrat io n in to t h e fixed ATM n et wo rk,
service in tegrat ion in t o B-ISDN et c.

7.4.2.2 Wireless ATM working group

To develop th is rath er com plex system , th e ATM Foru m form ed th e Wireless ATM
Wo r k in g Gr o u p in 1 9 96, wh ich aim ed t o d evelo p a set o f sp ecificat io n s t h at
exten d s th e u se of ATM tech n ology to wireless n etworks. Th ese wireless n etworks
sh o u ld co ver m an y d ifferen t n et wo rkin g scen ario s, su ch as p rivate an d p u blic,
local an d global, m obility an d wireless access (Raych au dh u ri, 1996a an d b).
Th e m ain goal o f th is wo rkin g grou p in volved en su rin g th e com p at ibilit y o f
all n ew p ro p osals wit h existin g ATM Fo ru m stan d ard s. It sh o u ld be p ossible t o
u p grad e existin g ATM n etwo rks, i.e., ATM swit ch es an d ATM en d -system s, with
246 Mobile communicat ions

cert ain fu n ct io n s t o su p p o rt m o b ilit y an d rad io access if req u ired . Two m ain

gro u p s o f o p en issu es h ave b een id en t ified in t h is co n t ex t : t h e ex t en sio n s
n eed ed for t h e ‘fixed ’ ATM t o su p p o rt m o b ilit y an d all p ro t o co ls an d m ech a-
n ism s related to th e rad io access.
Th e fo llo win g m o re gen eral exten sio n s of t h e ATM system also n eed to be
co n sid ered fo r a m o b ile ATM:

● Lo c a t io n m a n a g em e n t : Sim ilar t o o t h er cellu la r n et w o rks, WATM n et -

w o rks m u st b e ab le t o lo cat e a wireless t erm in al o r a m o b ile u ser, i.e., t o
fin d th e cu rren t access p oin t of th e term in al to th e n etwo rk.
● M o b ile ro u t in g: Even if th e lo cat io n o f a term in al is kn o wn to t h e system ,
it still h as t o rou t e th e t raffic t h ro u gh th e n etwo rk t o t h e access p oin t cu r-
ren t ly resp o n sib le fo r t h e wireless t erm in al. Each t im e a u ser m o ves t o a
n ew access p o in t, th e syst em m u st rero u te traffic.
● H a n d o v er sign a llin g: Th e n etwo rk m u st p rovid e m ech an ism s wh ich search
fo r n ew access p o in t s, set u p n ew co n n ect io n s b et ween in t erm ed iat e sys-
tem s an d sign al th e actu al ch an ge o f t h e access p oin t.
● Qo S a n d t r a ffi c co n t ro l: In con trast t o wireless n etworks offerin g o n ly best
effort traffic, an d to cellular n etworks offerin g on ly a few differen t types of traf-
fic, WATM sh o u ld be able to o ffer m an y QoS p aram et ers. To m ain t ain th ese
p aram eters, all action s su ch as reroutin g, h an dover etc. h ave to be con trolled.
Th e n etwork m ust pay at ten tion to th e in com in g traffic (an d ch eck if it con -
form s to som e traffic con tract) in a sim ilar way to today’s ATM (policin g).
● Netw o rk m a n agem en t : All exten sion s of p rotocols or oth er m ech an ism s also
req u ire an exten sion of th e m an agem en t fu n ction s to con trol th e n etwork

To en su re wireless access, th e workin g gro u p d iscu ssed t h e followin g to p ics

belo n gin g t o a ra d io a ccess la yer (RAL):

● Ra d io r e so u r c e co n t r o l: As fo r an y wireless n et w o rk, rad io freq u en cies,

m od u latio n sch em es, an ten n as, ch an n el cod in g etc. h ave to be d eterm in ed .
● W ir eless m ed ia a ccess: Differen t m ed ia access sch em es are p o ssib le, each
with sp ecific stren gt h s an d weakn esses for, e.g., m u lti-m ed ia or voice ap p li-
cation s. Differen t cen tralized or d ist ribu ted access sch em es workin g o n ATM
cells can be im agin ed .
● W ireless d a t a lin k co n t r o l: Th e d ata lin k co n trol layer m igh t o ffer h ead er
co m p ression fo r an ATM cell th at carries alm o st 10 p er cen t o verh ead u sin g
a 5 byte h ead er in a 53 byte cell. Th is layer can ap p ly ARQ or FEC sch em es
to im p rove reliability.
● H a n d o v er issu es: Du rin g h an d o ver, cells can n o t o n ly b e lo st b u t can also
b e o u t o f seq u en ce (d ep en d in g o n t h e h an d o ver m ech an ism s). Cells m u st
b e re-seq u en ced an d lo st cells m u st b e retran sm itted if req u ired .

Ho wever, q u ite so o n t h e ATM Fo ru m sto p p ed d evelo p in g an o wn RAL bu t

relied o n ot h er d evelop m en ts su ch as ETSI’s BRAN (see section 7.4.3).
 Wireless LAN 247

7.4.2.3 WATM services

Th e fo llo win g p aragrap h s in clu d e several exam p les wh ere WATM can b e u sed
fro m a u ser’s p ersp ect ive. Th ese ex am p les sh o w t h a t t h e id ea b eh in d WATM
go es b eyo n d t h e m ere p ro visio n o f w ireless access o r t h e co n st ru ct io n o f a
wireless LAN. Th e services o ffered co ver m an y asp ect s o f t o d ay’s wireless an d
m obile com m u n icatio n s.
WATM system s h ad to be d esign ed for t ran sferrin g voice, classical d ata, vid eo
(from lo w q u ality to p ro fession al q u ality), m u lt im ed ia d ata, sh ort m essages etc.
Several service scen arios cou ld be id en tified (Rau h ala, 1998), (Bart on , 1998), su ch
as for exam p le:

● Offi ce en viro n m en t s: Th is in clu d es all kin d s of exten sion s for existin g fixed
n et wo rks o fferin g a b ro ad ran ge o f In t ern et / In t ran et access, m u lt i-m ed ia
co n feren cin g, o n lin e m u lt i-m ed ia d at ab ase access, an d t eleco m m u t in g.
Usin g WATM tech n ology, th e office can be virtu ally exp an d ed to th e actu al
location of an em p loyee.
● Un iv ersit ies, sch o o ls, t ra in in g cen t res: Th e m ain foci in th is scen ario are
d istan ce learn in g, wireless an d m o b ile access t o d atab ases, in t ern et access,
or teach in g in t h e area o f m o bile m u lti-m ed ia co m p u tin g.
● In d u st r y : WATM m ay o ffer an ext en sio n o f t h e In t ran et su p p o rt in g d ata-
base con n ection , in form ation retrieval, su rveillan ce, bu t also real-tim e d at a
tran sm ission an d fact ory m an agem en t.
● H o sp it als: Du e to th e qu ality of service offered for data tran sm ission , WATM
was t h o u gh t o f b ein g t h e p rim e can d id at e fo r reliab le, h igh -b an d wid t h
m o b ile an d wireless n et wo rks. Ap p licat io n s co u ld in clu d e t h e t ran sfer o f
m ed ical im ages, rem o t e access t o p at ien t record s, rem o t e m o n it o rin g
of p atien ts, rem ote diagn osis of p atien ts at h om e or in an am bu lan ce, as well
as tele-m ed icin e. Th e latt er n eed s h igh ly reliable n etwo rks with gu aran t eed
q u ality of service to en able, e.g., rem ote su rgery.
● Hom e: Man y electron ic devices at h om e (e.g., TV, radio equipm en t, CD-player,
PC wit h in t ern et access) cou ld be con n ect ed u sin g WATM t ech n ology. Here,
WATM would perm it various wireless con n ection s, e.g., a PDA with TV access.
● Net w o rk ed v eh icles: All veh icles u sed fo r t h e tran sp o rt atio n o f p eo p le o r
go od s will h ave a lo cal n etwork an d n et wo rk access in th e fu t u re. Cu rren tly,
veh icles su ch as tru cks, aircraft, b u ses, o r cars on ly h ave very lim ited co m -
m u n icatio n cap abilities (e.g., via GSM, UTMS), WATM co u ld p rovid e t h em
with a h igh -q u ality access to th e in tern et , co m p an y d atabases, m u ltim ed ia
co n feren cin g et c. O n an o t h er level, lo cal n et w o rks am o n g t h e veh icles
with in a cert ain area are o f in creasin g im p o rtan ce, e.g., to p reven t accid en ts
o r in crease ro ad ca p acit y b y p lat o o n in g (i.e., fo rm in g a t rain o f cars o r
tru cks o n th e road wit h very lo w safety d ist an ce bet ween sin gle veh icles).
248 Mobile communicat ions

M ob ility with in an ATM n etwork is p ro vid ed b y th e ATM m o b ilit y ex t en -

si o n se r v ic e (AM ES). AM ES fa cilit at es t h e u se o f t h ese ATM n et wo rks b y
d ifferen t eq u ip m en t an d ap p licat io n s req u irin g m o b ilit y. Wireless eq u ip m en t
sh o u ld o b t ain eq u ivalen t services fro m th e n et wo rk as wired term in als fro m a
u ser’s p ersp ect ive. AMES co m p rises t h e ext en sio n s n eed ed t o su p p o rt t erm in al
p o rt a b ilit y fo r h o m e an d b u sin ess u se. Users ca n rearran ge d evices wit h o u t
lo sin g access to th e ATM n etwork an d retain a gu aran teed service q u alit y.
WATM sh ou ld offer a p erson al cellu lar system (PCS) access service. PCSs like
GSM, IS-95, UMTS etc. m ay u se th e m obility su p p ortin g cap abilities of th e fixed
ATM n etwork to rou te traffic to th e p rop er base station con troller. Pu blic services
fo r u sers co u ld be a m u ltim ed ia telep h on y service, a sym m etric service offerin g
sp eech an d low bit rate vid eo with m ed iu m m obility, as well as th e asym m etrical
service o f real-t im e o n lin e d ata t ran sfer, e.g., web b ro wsin g, e-m ail an d d o wn -
lo ad in g of files. Private services cou ld in clu d e a m u lti-m ed ia cord less t elep h o n e
wit h h igh er q u alit y com p ared to th e p u blic version . Sp ecial p rivate d ata tran sfer
services, e.g., carryin g p rod u ction d ata, cou ld be d ep loyed o n a cam p u s.
An o t h er field o f services is p ro vid ed b y sa t el lit e ATM se r v ic e s (SATM ).
Fu t u re sat ellit es will o ffer a large variety o f TV, in t eract ive vid eo , m u lti-m ed ia,
In t ern et , telep h o n y an d o th er services (see ch ap t er 5). Th e m ain ad van t age in
t h is co n t ex t is t h e u b iq u it o u s w id e area co verage in rem o t e, ru ral, an d even
u rban areas. Sat ellit es can b e u sed d irectly (d irect u ser access service), e.g., via a
m o bile p h o n e o r a term in al with an t en n a, wh ich en ables th e u ser to access th e
ATM n etwo rk d irectly. A wh ole n etwo rk can be con n ected t o a sat ellite u sin g a
m o bile swit ch (fixed access service). Fo r exam p le, all com p u ters in a sch o ol in a
rem o t e area co u ld be co n n ected to a swit ch , wh ich con n ects to a satellite. Even
sh ip s can ca rry ATM n et w o rks an d can t h en u se t h e seam less in t egrat io n o f
th eir o n bo ard ATM n etwork to a glo bal ATM n etwork (m obile p latfo rm service).

7.4.2.4 Generic reference model

Figu re 7 .28 sh o ws a gen eric referen ce m o d el fo r wireless m o b ile access t o an
ATM n etwo rk. A m o bile ATM (MATM) t erm in al u ses a WATM t erm in al ad ap ter
to gain wireless access to a WATM RAS (Rad io Access Syst em ). MATM term in als
cou ld b e rep resen ted by, e.g., lap to p s u sin g an ATM ad ap ter fo r wired access p lu s
software fo r m obility. Th e WATM term in al ad ap ter en ables wireless access, i.e., it
in clu d es th e t ran sceiver et c., bu t it d o es n ot su p p ort m o bility. Th e RAS with th e
rad io t ran sceivers is co n n ect ed t o a m o bilit y en h an ced ATM switch (EMAS-E),
w h ich in t u rn co n n ect s t o t h e ATM n et w o rk w it h m o b ilit y aware swit ch es
(EM AS-N ) an d o t h er st an d ard ATM sw it ch es. Fin ally, a w ired , n o n -m o b ilit y
aware ATM en d system m ay be th e com m u n ication p artn er in th is exam p le.
Th e rad io segm en t sp an s fro m th e term in al an d th e term in al ad ap ter t o th e
access p oin t , wh ereas th e fixed n et work segm en t sp an s fro m th e access p o in t to
th e fixed en d syst em . Th e fixed m o bility su p p o rt n et work, co m p risin g all m obil-
ity aware switch es EMAS-E an d EMAS-N, can be d istin gu ish ed fro m th e stan d ard
ATM n etwo rk with its n on -m obilit y aware switch es an d en d syst em s.
 Wireless LAN 249

Figure 7.28
radio segment fixed network segment
Example of a generic
WATM reference model
WATM fixed
MATM EMAS EMAS ATM-
terminal RAS end
terminal -E -N Switch
adapter system

7.4.2.5 Handover
O n e o f t h e m o st im p o rt an t t o p ics in a WATM en viro n m en t is h an d o ver.
Co n n ection less, best -effort p ro toco ls su p p o rtin g h an d over, su ch as m o bile IP on
layer 3 an d IEEE 802.11 with IAPP on layer 2, d o n ot h ave to t ake t o o m u ch care
abo u t h an d o ver q u alit y. Th ese p ro t o co ls d o n o t gu aran tee cert ain t raffic p ara-
m et ers as WATM d o es. Th e m ain p ro b lem fo r WATM d u rin g t h e h an d o ver is
rero u t in g all co n n ect io n s an d m ain t ain in g co n n ect io n q u ality. W h ile in co n -
n ectio n less, best-effo rt en viron m en ts, h an d over m ain ly in vo lves rerou tin g o f a
p acket st ream w it h o u t reliab le t ran sp o rt , an en d -syst em in WATM n et w o rks
co u ld m a in t ain m an y co n n ect io n s, ea ch wit h a d ifferen t q u a lit y o f service
req u irem en t s (e.g., lim it ed d elay, b o u n d ed jit t er, m in im u m b an d wid t h et c.).
Han d o ver n ot on ly in volves rerou t in g of co n n ectio n s, it also in vo lves reservin g
reso u rces in swit ch es, testin g o f availability of rad io ban d wid t h , trackin g of ter-
m in als to p erfo rm loo k-ah ead reservatio n s etc.
Man y d ifferen t req u irem en ts h ave been set u p fo r h an d o ver. Th e fo llo win g
list p resen ts so m e of th e req u irem en ts acco rd in g t o Toh (1997), Bh at (1998):

● H a n d o ver of m u lt ip le co n n ect io n s: As ATM is a con n ection -o rien ted tech -

n o logy wh ere en d -system s can su p p o rt m an y con n ectio n s at t h e sam e tim e,
h an d o ver in WATM m u st su p p o rt m o re t h an o n ly o n e co n n ect io n . Th is
resu lt s in t h e rero u t in g o f every co n n ect io n aft er h a n d o ver. Ho wever,
reso u rce availab ilit y m ay n o t allo w rero u t in g o f all co n n ect io n s o r fo rces
QoS d egrad ation . Th e term in al m ay th en d ecid e to accep t a lower q u ality or
to d rop sin gle co n n ectio n s.
● H a n d o v er o f p o in t -t o -m u lt i -p o i n t c o n n e ct io n s: Seam less su p p o rt o f
p o in t -t o -m u lt i-p o in t co n n ect io n s is o n e o f t h e m a jo r a d va n t ages o f t h e
ATM tech n o logy. WATM h an d over sh o u ld also su p p o rt th ese typ es o f co n -
n ectio n . Ho wever, d u e to t h e co m p lexity o f t h e sch em e, so m e restrict io n s
m igh t be n ecessary.
● Qo S su p p o r t : Han d over sh ou ld aim to p reserve th e QoS of all con n ection s
d u rin g h an d over. However, d ue to lim ited resou rces, th is is n ot always p oss-
ib le. Fu n ct io n s fo r Q o S re-n ego t iat io n an d d ro p p in g o f co n n ect io n s o n a
p riority basis m ay be req u ired . Can d id at e access p oin ts sh ou ld ad vertise t h eir
reso u rces t o t h e t erm in al, an d t h is in fo rm at io n co u ld t h en b e u sed b y a
h an d over algorit h m to op tim ize h an d over an d to balan ce th e load between
d ifferen t access p o in ts.
250 Mobile communicat ions

● D a t a in t eg r it y a n d sec u r it y : WATM h an d o ver sh o u ld m in im ize cell lo ss

an d avo id all cell d u p licat io n o r re-ord erin g. Secu rit y asso ciatio n s bet ween
th e term in al an d th e n etwo rk sh ou ld n ot b e com p rom ised by h an d over.
● Sign a lin g a n d ro u t in g su p p o rt : WATM m u st p rovid e t h e m ean s to id en tify
m o b ilit y-en ab led swit ch es in t h e n et w o rk, t o d et erm in e rad io ad jacen t
sw it ch es b y an o t h er sw it ch , an d t o rero u t e p a rt ial co n n ect io n s in t h e
h an d over d om ain .
● Perfo rm a n ce a n d co m p lex it y : Th e fact t h at WATM system s are com p lex by
n atu re is m ain ly d u e t o t h eir su p p ort of con n ection s with QoS. Th e sim p lic-
it y of th e h an d over fu n ction ality sh ou ld be th e cen tral goal of th e h an d over
d esign . Mod ification s to th e m obility-en abled switch es sh ou ld be extrem ely
lim it ed , b u t th e fu n ct io n s req u ired co u ld h ave rat h er st rin gen t p ro cessin g
t im e req u irem en t s. Du e t o p erfo rm an ce reaso n s, ATM sw it ch es are very
m u ch h ardware based an d it is m o re d ifficu lt to in tegrat e u p d ates an d n ew
feat u res. Th e h an d o ver co d e n eed ed fo r t h e t erm in als sh o u ld b e rat h er
sim p le d u e to th e fact th at in creasin g co de size also req u ires m ore p ro cessin g
p ower, i.e., m ore battery p ower, wh ich is typ ically a seriou s lim itation in th e
d esign of m obile term in als.

7.4.2.6 Locat ion management

As for all n et works su p p o rtin g m o bility, sp ecial fu n ction s are req u ired fo r loo k-
in g u p t h e cu rren t p o sit io n o f a m o b ile t erm in a l, fo r p ro vid in g t h e m o vin g
t erm in al wit h a p erm an en t ad d ress, an d fo r en su rin g secu rit y feat u res su ch as
p rivacy, au th en tication , or au th o rization . Th ese an d m o re fu n ction s are gro u p ed
u n d er t h e t erm lo ca t io n m a n a gem en t .
Several req u irem en t s fo r lo cat io n m an agem en t h ave b een id en t ified
(Bh at, 1998):

● Tra n sp a ren cy o f m o b ilit y : A u ser sh o u ld n o t n o tice t h e locat ion m an age-

m en t fu n ct io n u n d er n o rm al op eratio n . An y ch an ge o f locatio n sh o u ld be
p erfo rm ed wit h o u t u ser act ivit y. Th is p u t s cert ain co n st rain t s o n t h e p er-
m issible tim e d elay o f th e fu n ctio n s associated with locat ion m an agem en t.
Tran sp aren t ro a m in g b et w een d ifferen t d o m ain s (p rivat e/ p rivat e,
p rivate/ p u blic, p u blic/ p u blic) sh ou ld be p o ssible. Th is m ay in clu d e ro am in g
b et ween n et w o rks b ased o n d ifferen t t ech n o lo gies u sin g, fo r ex am p le, a
d u al m od e t erm in al.
● Secu r it y : To p ro vid e a secu rit y level h igh en o u gh t o b e accep t ed fo r m is-
sio n -critical u se (bu sin ess, em ergen cy etc.), a WATM system req u ires sp ecial
feat u res. All lo catio n an d u ser in fo rm at io n collect ed fo r lo cat io n m an age-
m en t an d accou n t in g sh ou ld be p ro tect ed again st u n au th o rized d isclosu re.
Th is p ro tect io n is p art icu larly im p o rtan t fo r ro am in g p rofiles th at allow t h e
p recise t rackin g o f sin gle t erm in als. As t h e air in t erface is very sim p le t o
access, sp ecial access restriction s m u st be im p lem en ted t o, e.g., keep p u blic
 Wireless LAN 251

u sers o u t o f p rivat e WATM n etwo rks. Users sh ou ld also be able to d eterm in e

th e n et wo rk t h eir t erm in al is allo wed to access. Essen t ial secu rit y feat u res
in clu d e au t h en t icat io n o f u sers an d t erm in als, b u t also o f access p o in t s.
En cryp tio n is also n ecessary, at least between term in al an d access p o in t, bu t
p referably en d -to -en d .
● Effi cien cy a n d sca la b ilit y : Im agin e WATM n etworks with m illion s o f u sers
like tod ay’s m ob ile p h o n e n etworks. Every fu n ct io n an d system in volved in
lo catio n m an agem en t m u st b e scalable an d efficien t. Th is in clu d es d istrib -
u t ed servers fo r lo cat io n st o rage, acco u n t in g a n d a u t h en t ica t io n . Th e
p erform an ce of all op eration s sh ou ld be p ractically in d ep en d en t of n etwork
size, n u m b er o f cu rren t co n n ect io n s an d n et wo rk lo ad . Th e clu st erin g o f
switch es an d h ierarch ies o f d om ain s sh ou ld be p ossible to in crease th e o ver-
all p erfo rm an ce o f t h e syst em b y d ivid in g t h e lo ad . In co n t rast t o m an y
exist in g cellu lar n et wo rks, WATM sh o u ld wo rk wit h a m o re efficien t, in t e-
grat ed sign alin g sch em e. All sign alin g req u ired fo r lo cat io n m an agem en t
sh o u ld t h erefo re be in co rp o rated in t o existin g sign alin g m ech an ism s, e.g.,
by ad d in g n ew in fo rm atio n elem en t s to exist in g m essages. Th is allo ws fo r
th e u tilizat io n o f t h e exist in g sign alin g m ech an ism s in th e fixed ATM n et-
work wh ich are efficien t.
● Id en t ifica t io n : Lo cat io n m an agem en t m u st p ro vid e th e m ean s t o id en t ify
all en t it ies o f t h e n et wo rk. Rad io cells, WATM n et w o rks, t erm in als, an d
swit ch es n eed u n iq u e id en t ifiers a n d m ech an ism s t o ex ch a n ge id en t it y
in fo rm at io n . Th is req u irem en t also in clu d es in fo rm at io n fo r a t erm in al
co n cern in g its cu rren t locat ion (h o m e n etwork or foreign n et wo rk) an d its
cu rren t p o in t o f a t t ach m en t . In ad d it io n t o t h e p erm a n en t ATM en d
syst em a d d ress (AESA), a term in al also n eed s a rou t able tem p o rary AESA as
so o n as it is o u t sid e it s h o m e n et wo rk. Th is t em p o rary AESA m u st be fo r-
ward ed to th e term in al’s h om e lo cation .
● In t er -w o r k in g a n d st a n d a r d s: All lo cat io n m an agem en t fu n ct io n s m u st
co o p erat e wit h exist in g ATM fu n ct io n s fro m t h e fixed n et wo rk, esp ecially
rou tin g. Lo cat io n m an agem en t in WATM h as to be h arm o n ized with oth er
lo catio n m an agem en t sch em es, su ch as location m an agem en t in GSM an d
UMTS n etworks, th e in tern et u sin g Mo bile IP, or In tran ets with sp ecial fea-
tu res. Th is h arm o n izatio n co u ld , fo r in st an ce, lead t o a two -level lo cat io n
m an agem en t if M o b ile IP is u sed o n t o p o f WATM . All p ro t o co ls u sed
in WATM fo r d at ab ase u p d at es, regist rat io n et c. h ave t o b e st an d ard ized
t o p erm it m o b ilit y acro ss p ro vid er n et wo rk b o u n d aries. Ho wever, in sid e
an ad m in ist rat ive d o m ain , p ro p riet ary en h an cem en t s an d o p t im izat io n s
co u ld be ap p lied .
252 Mobile communicat ions

7.4.2.7 Mobile qualit y of service

Q u ality o f service (Qo S) gu aran tees are o n e o f th e m ain ad van tages en visaged
for WATM n etwo rks co m p ared t o, e.g., m obile IP workin g over p acket rad io n et-
wo rks. W h ile t h e in tern et p ro t o co l IP d o es n o t gu aran t ee Q o S, ATM n etwo rks
d o (at th e co st o f h igh er co m p lexit y). WATM n etwo rks sh o u ld p ro vid e m o bile
QoS (M-QoS). M-Q oS is com p osed o f t h ree d ifferen t p arts:

● W i r ed Q o S: Th e in frast ru ct u re n et w o rk n eed ed fo r WATM h as t h e sam e

Q o S p ro p erties as an y wired ATM n etwo rk. Typ ical trad it ion al Qo S p aram e-
ters are lin k d elay, cell d elay variatio n , ban d wid th , cell erro r rate etc.
● W ireless Qo S: Th e Q oS p ro p ert ies o f th e wireless p art o f a WATM n etwork
d iffer fro m th o se of t h e wired p art . Again , lin k d elay an d erro r rat e can be
sp ecified , b u t n o w erro r rat e is t yp ically so m e o rd er o f m agn it u d e t h at is
h igh er th an , e.g., fiber o p tics. Ch an n el reservatio n an d m u ltip lexin g m ech -
an ism s at th e air in t erface stro n gly in flu en ce cell d elay variation .
● H a n d o v er Q o S: A n ew set o f Q oS p aram et ers are in t rod u ced b y h an d over.
Fo r ex am p le, h an d o ver b lo ckin g d u e t o lim it ed reso u rces at t arget access
p oin ts, cell lo ss d u rin g h an d over, o r t h e sp eed of th e wh ole h an d over p ro -
ced u re rep resen t crit ical facto rs for QoS.

Th e WATM system h as to m ap th e QoS sp ecified by an ap p lication on to th ese

sets o f Q o S p aram et ers at co n n ectio n set u p an d h as t o ch eck wh eth er th e Q o S
req u ested can be satisfied . However, ap p licatio n s will n ot sp ecify sin gle p aram e-
t ers in d et ail, b u t en d -t o -en d req u irem en t s, su ch as d elay o r b an d wid t h . Th e
WATM system m u st n ow m ap , e.g., en d -to-en d d elay on to th e cell delays on each
segm en t, wired an d wireless. To h an d le th e com p lexity of su ch a system , WATM
n etwo rks will in itially on ly offer a set of d ifferen t service classes to ap plication s.
Ad d it io n ally, ap p licatio n s m u st b e ad ap t ive t o so m e d egree t o su rvive t h e
effect s o f m o b ilit y, su ch as h igh er cell lo ss, d elay variat io n s et c. Ap p licat io n s
co u ld , for exam p le, n egotiate win d ows o f Qo S p aram et ers wh ere th ey can ad ap t
with o u t breakin g th e co n n ectio n .
A crucial poin t in m ain tain in g QoS over tim e is QoS su pp ort in h an d-over p ro-
tocols. Th ese protocols can supp ort two differen t types of QoS durin g h an dover:

● H a rd h a n d o ver Qo S: W h ile th e QoS with th e cu rren t RAS m ay be gu aran -

t eed d u e t o t h e cu rren t availab ilit y o f reso u rces, n o Q o S gu ara n t ees are
given after th e h an d over. Th is is com p arable t o th e trad it io n al ap p roach fo r,
e.g., GSM n etworks with voice co n n ectio n s. If a term in al can set u p a con -
n ect io n , t h e co n n ect io n ’s q u alit y is gu aran t eed . If t h ere are n o t en o u gh
resou rces aft er h an d o ver (t o o m an y u sers are alread y in th e target cell), t h e
sy st em cu t s o ff t h e co n n ect io n . Th is is t h e o n ly p o ssib le so lu t io n if t h e
ap p lication s an d term in als can n ot ad ap t to th e n ew situ ation .
● So ft h an d over QoS: Even for th e curren t wireless segm en t, on ly statistical QoS
guaran tees can be given , an d th e application s also h ave to adapt aft er th e h an d-
over. Th is assum es adap tive application s an d at least allows for som e rem ain in g
QoS guaran tees durin g, e.g., periods of con gestion or stron g in terferen ce.
 Wireless LAN 253

Figure 7.29
WATM reference model
1 with several access
WMT
scenarios

RAS ACT WMT

2
EMAS EMAS
WMT RAS -E -N T 5

6
3
EMAS
MT -E RAS WT

MS NMAS
RAS RAS

7.4.2.8 Access scenarios

Figu re 7.29 sh o ws p o ssible access scen ario s for WATM an d illu strat es wh at was
plan n ed durin g th e sp ecification of WATM. W h ile th is section h as focu sed on th e
wireless access of m obile ATM term in als, several oth er con figu ration s are p ossible
(Bh at, 1998). As ad dition al en tities, Figu re 7.29 sh ows th e followin g com p on en ts:

● T (t er m in a l): A st an d ard ATM term in al o fferin g ATM services d efin ed fo r

fixed ATM n etwo rks.
● M T (m o b ile t er m in a l): A stan d ard ATM term in al with th e ad d ition al cap -
ab ilit y o f reco n n ect in g aft er access p o in t ch an ge. Th e t erm in a l can b e
m oved between d ifferen t access p oin ts with in a cert ain d om ain .
● W T (w ireless t erm in a l): Th is term in al is accessed via a wireless lin k, bu t th e
term in al itself is fixed, i.e., th e term in al keep s its access poin t to th e n etwork.
● W M T (w i r ele ss m o b il e t er m in a l ): Th e co m b in at io n o f a w ireless an d a
m o b ile t erm in al resu lt s in t h e W M T. Th is is ex act ly t h e t yp e o f t erm in al
254 Mobile communicat ions

p resen ted th rou gh ou t th is WATM sect io n , as it h as th e ability to ch an ge its

access p o in t an d u ses rad io access.
● RAS (ra d io a ccess sy st em ): Poin t of access to a n et work via a rad io lin k as
exp lain ed in th is ch ap ter.
● EM AS (en d -u se r m o b i lit y su p p o r t in g ATM sw it ch , -E: e d g e , -N: n et -
w o rk ): Swit ch es with th e su p p ort o f en d -u ser m obilit y.
● NMAS (n et w o rk m o b ilit y-su p p o rt in g ATM sw it ch ): A wh o le n et work can
b e m o b ile n o t ju st t erm in als. Cert ain ad d it io n al fu n ct io n s are n eed ed t o
su p p ort th is m obility fro m t h e fixed n etwo rk.
● M S (m o b ile ATM sw it ch ): ATM swit ch es can also b e m o b ile an d can u se
wireless access t o an o th er p art of th e ATM n etwork.
● ACT (ad -h o c con tro ller term in a l): For th e con figu ration of ad-h oc n etworks,
sp ecial t erm in al t yp es m igh t be req u ired with in th e wireless n etwo rk. Th ese
term in als cou ld, for exam p le, con trol wireless access with ou t an RAS.

Based o n t h ese en t ities, we can d efin e several scen ario s wh ich sh o u ld b e su p -

p o rted by WATM if fu lly sp ecified .

● W ireless ad -h o c ATM n et w o rk (scen ario 1 ): W MTs can co m m u n icate with

each oth er wit h o u t a fixed n etwo rk. Com m u n ication can be set u p wit h o u t
an y in frast ru ctu re. Access co n t rol can be acco m p lish ed via th e ACT. If th e
ad -h oc n etwork n eed s a con n ection to a fixed n et wo rk, th is can b e p rovid ed
b y m ean s of an RAS.
● W ireless m o b ile ATM t erm in als (scen a rio 2 ): Th e co n figu ratio n d iscu ssed
t h ro u gh o u t t h is ch ap t er is t h e wireless an d m o b ile term in al accessin g th e
fixed n etwork via an RAS. In t h is con figu ratio n , a W MT can n o t co m m u n i-
cat e wit h o u t t h e su p p o rt p ro vid ed b y en t it ies wit h in t h e fix ed n et wo rk,
su ch as an EMAS-E.
● M o b il e ATM t er m in a ls (scen a r i o 3 ): Th is co n figu rat io n su p p o rt s d evice
p ortability an d allows fo r sim p le n etwo rk reco n figu ratio n . Users can ch an ge
th e access p o in t s o f t h eir ATM eq u ip m en t o ver t im e with o u t t h e n eed fo r
reco n figu rat ion b y h an d . Again , th is scen ario n eed s su p p o rt t h ro u gh en ti-
ties in th e fixed n etwo rk (e.g., EMAS-E).
● M o b ile ATM sw it ch es (scen a rio 4 ): An even m ore co m p lex co n figu ratio n
co m p rises m o b ile sw it ch es u sin g w ireless access t o o t h er fixed ATM n et -
works. No w en tities su p p ortin g switch m ob ilit y are n eed ed wit h in th e fixed
n etwo rk (NMAS). Th ere are m an y ap p licat io n s fo r t h is scen ario , e.g., n et -
wo rks in aircraft, t rain s, o r sh ip s. With in t h e m o bile n et wo rk eith er fixed ,
m o bile, wireless, o r m o bile an d wireless t erm in als can be u sed . Th is is t h e
m ost com p lex co n figu ratio n ever en visaged with in an ATM en viron m en t .
● Fix ed ATM t er m in a ls (scen a rio 5 ): Th is co n figu ration is th e stan d ard case.
Term in als an d switch es d o n ot in clu d e cap abilit ies fo r m o bility o r wireless
access. Th is is also t h e referen ce co n figu ration for ap p licat io n s wh ich work
o n t o p o f an ATM n et wo rk. C o n vergen ce layers h ave t o h id e t h e sp ecial
ch aract erist ics o f m o b ilit y an d wireless access b ecau se n o sp ecial ap p lica-
tion s sh ou ld be req u ired fo r th e scen ario s p resen ted h ere.
 Wireless LAN 255

● Fix ed w ir eless ATM t er m in a ls (sc en a r io 6 ): To p ro vid e sim p le access t o

ATM n et wo rks w it h o u t wirin g, a fix ed wireless lin k is t h e id eal so lu t io n .
Man y altern at ive carriers are u sin g o r p lan n in g to u se th is way of accessin g
cu sto m ers as t h ey d o n o t o wn t h e wired in frastru ctu re. Th is scen ario d o es
n o t req u ire an y ch an ges or en h an cem en t s in t h e fixed n etwo rk.

Th e m ain d ifferen ce b etween WATM an d ot h er ap p roach es is th e in tegratio n of

a wh o le syst em in t o t h e sp ecificat io n . WATM sp ecifies rad io access, m o b ilit y
m an agem en t, h an d o ver sch em es, m obile Qo S, secu rity et c. Th e m ain co m p lex-
ity of WATM lies with in th e fu n ction s an d p roto co ls n eed ed fo r h an d over, d u e
t o it s d esired ab ilit y t o m ain t ain Q o S p aram et ers fo r co n n ect io n s d u rin g
h an d o ver, an d t h e co n n ect io n -o rien t ed p arad igm o f ATM . Co n seq u en cen t ly
th ere is a n eed fo r reso u rce reservation , ch eckin g for available resou rces at access
p o in ts, an d rero u tin g of con n ectio n s.
As WATM was p lan n ed as an in tegrated ap p roach , issu es like location m an -
agem en t, secu rity, an d efficien cy o f th e wh o le system h ad t o be con sid ered . To
m in im ize o verh ead s, WATM t ried t o h arm o n ize t h e fu n ct io n s req u ired w it h
th ose availab le in fixed ATM. Overall, th e ap p ro ach was alread y to o am bitiou s
t o b e realized as a st an d -alo n e n et w o rk. All co n figu rat io n s sh o u ld h ave b een
ab le t o in t eract wit h ex ist in g cellu la r syst em s an d In t ern et t ech n o lo gy.
Ch akrab orty (1998) d iscu sses m an y p roblem s th at alread y arise wh en in t erwork-
in g with oth er n arro wban d n etworks like GSM, DECT, UMTS (see ch ap ter 4) an d
stan d ard TCP/ IP n etworks.

7.4.3 BRAN
Th e broad ban d rad io access n etwo rks (BRAN), wh ich h ave been stan d ard ized by
th e Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat ion s St an d ard s In st itu t e (ETSI), cou ld h ave been
an RAL fo r WATM (ETSI, 2002b).
Th e m ain m otivat ion beh in d BRAN is t h e d eregu lation an d p rivat ization of
th e telecom m u n icatio n secto r in Eu rop e. Man y n ew p ro vid ers exp erien ce p rob-
lem s gett in g access to cu stom ers becau se th e telep h on e in frastru ctu re belon gs t o
a few big com p an ies. On e p ossible t ech n ology t o p rovid e n etwork access for cu s-
t o m ers is rad io . Th e ad van t ages o f rad io access are h igh flex ib ilit y an d q u ick
in stallat ion . Differen t typ es of traffic are su p p orted , on e can m u ltip lex traffic for
h igh er efficien cy, an d th e con n ection can be asym m et rical (as, e.g., in th e t yp ical
www scen ario wh ere m an y cu stom ers p u ll a lot of d ata from servers bu t on ly p u t
very sm all am o u n t s o f d at a o n t o t h em ). Rad io access allo w s fo r eco n o m ical
growth of access ban d wid th . If m ore ban d wid th is n eed ed , ad d ition al tran sceiver
syst em s can b e in stalled easily. Fo r wired t ran sm issio n t h is wo u ld in vo lve t h e
in stallatio n o f ad d it io n al wires. Th e p rim ary m arket fo r BRAN in clu d es p rivate
cu st o m ers an d sm all t o m ed iu m -sized co m p an ies wit h In t ern et ap p licat io n s,
m u lti-m ed ia con feren cin g, an d virtu al p rivate n etworks. Th e BRAN stan d ard an d
IEEE 802.16 (Broad ban d wireless access, IEEE, 2002b) h ave sim ilar goals.
256 Mobile communicat ions

BRAN stan d ard ization h as a rath er large scop e in clu d in g in d oor an d cam p u s
m obility, tran sfer rates of 25–155 Mbit/ s, an d a tran sm ission ran ge of 50 m –5 km .
St an d ard izat io n effo rt s are co o rd in at ed wit h t h e ATM Fo ru m , t h e IETF, o t h er
grou p s from ETSI, th e IEEE etc. BRAN h as sp ecified fou r d ifferen t n etwo rk typ es
(ETSI, 1998a):

● H IPERLAN 1: Th is h igh -sp eed W LAN su p p o rt s m obilit y at d at a rates abo ve

20 Mb it / s. Ran ge is 50 m , co n n ect io n s are m u lti-p oin t-t o-m u lt i-p oin t u sin g
ad -h o c or in frastru ct u re n etworks (see sectio n 7.4.1 an d ETSI, 1998b).
● H IPERLAN/ 2: Th is tech n olo gy can be u sed for wireless access t o ATM or IP
n etworks an d su pp orts u p to 25 Mbit/s user data rate in a poin t-to-m u lti-poin t
co n figu rat io n . Tran sm issio n ran ge is 50 m wit h su p p o rt o f slo w (< 10 m / s)
m obility (ETSI, 1997). Th is stan dard h as been m od ified over tim e an d is p re-
sen ted in section 7.4.4 as a h igh perform an ce W LAN with QoS su p port.
● H IPERACCESS: Th is t ech n o lo gy cou ld be u sed to co ver th e ‘last m ile’ to a
cu stom er via a fixed rad io lin k, so cou ld be an altern at ive t o cable m od em s
o r xDSL tech n olo gies (ETSI, 1998c). Tran sm ission ran ge is u p to 5 km , d ata
rates o f u p to 25 Mbit/ s are su p p o rt ed . However, m an y p rop rietary p ro d u cts
alread y offer 155 Mbit/ s an d m o re, p lu s QoS.
● H IPERLINK: To con n ect differen t HIPERLAN access p oin t s or HIPERACCESS
n o d es wit h a h igh -sp eed lin k, H IPERLINK t ech n o lo gy can b e ch o sen .
HIPERLINK p rovides a fixed p oin t-to-p oin t con n ection with u p to 155 Mbit/ s.
Cu rren tly, th ere are n o p lan s regardin g th is stan dard .

C o m m o n ch aract erist ics o f H IPERLAN/ 2 , HIPERACCESS, an d HIPERLIN K

in clu d e th eir su p p ort of th e ATM service classes CBR, VBR-rt, VBR-n rt , UBR, an d
ABR. It is clear th at on ly Hip erLAN2 can be a can d id ate for th e RAL o f WATM.
Th is t ech n olo gy fu lfills th e req u irem en ts o f ATM Qo S su p p o rt, m o bility, wireless
access, an d h igh ban d wid th .
As an access n etwork, BRAN tech n ology is in d ep en den t from th e protocols of
th e fixed n etwork. BRAN can be used for ATM an d TCP/ IP n etworks as illustrated in
Figure 7.30 an d exp lain ed in m ore detail in section 7.4.4.2. Based on possibly differ-
en t p h ysical layers, th e DLC layer of BRAN o ffers a com m on in terface t o h igh er

Figure 7.30
Layered model of BRAN core network core network
wireless access ATM IP
networks
network convergence sublayer

BRAN data link control

BRAN PHY-1 BRAN PHY-2 ...

 Wireless LAN 257

layers. To cover special ch aracteristics of wireless lin ks an d to adapt directly to dif-

feren t h igh er layer n etwork tech n ologies, BRAN p rovides a n etwork con vergen ce
sublayer. Th is is th e layer wh ich can be used by a wireless ATM n etwork, Eth ern et,
Firewire, or an IP n etwork. In th e case of BRAN as th e RAL for WATM, th e core ATM
n etwork would use services of th e BRAN n etwork con vergen ce su blayer.

7.4.4 HiperLAN2
W h ile HIPERLAN 1 d id n o t su cceed H ip erLAN 2 m igh t h ave a b et t er ch an ce.
(Th is is also writ ten as HIPERLAN/ 2, Hip erLAN/ 2, H/ 2; official n am e: HIPERLAN
Typ e 2 .) St an d ard ized b y ETSI (2 0 0 0 a) t h is wireless n et w o rk wo rks at 5 GH z
(Eu ro p e: 5.15–5.35 GHz an d 5.47–5.725 GHz licen se exem p t ban d s; US: licen se
free U-NII b an d s, se e sect io n 7 .3 .7 ) an d o ffers d at a rat es o f u p t o 5 4 M b it / s
in clu d in g Q o S su p p o rt an d en h an ced secu rit y feat u res. In co m p ariso n w it h
basic IEEE 802.11 LANs, Hip erLAN2 offers m o re featu res in th e m an d atory p arts
of th e stan d ard (Hip erLAN2, 2002). A co m p ariso n is given in sectio n 7.6.

● H igh -t h ro u gh p u t t ra n sm issio n : Usin g O FDM in th e p h ysical layer an d a

d yn am ic TDMA/ TDD-based MAC p rotocol, Hip erLAN2 n ot on ly offers u p to
5 4 M b it / s at t h e p h ysical layer b u t a lso ab o u t 3 5 M b it / s at t h e n et w o rk
layer. Th e o verh ead s in trod u ced b y th e layers (m ed iu m access, p acket h ead -
ers et c.) rem ain s alm o st co n stan t o ver a wid e rage o f u ser p acket sizes an d
d ata rates. Hip erLAN2 u ses MAC fram es with a con stan t len gth of 2 m s.
● C o n n e ct io n -o r i e n t ed : Prio r t o d at a t ran sm issio n H ip erLAN2 n et w o rks
estab lish lo gical co n n ectio n s b etween a sen d er an d a receiver (e.g., m o bile
d evice an d access p o in t ). Con n ect ion set-u p is u sed to n egot iat e QoS p ara-
m eters. All con n ection s are tim e-d ivisio n -m u ltip lexed o ver th e air in t erface
(TDM A wit h TDD fo r sep arat io n o f u p / d o wn lin k). Bid irect io n al p o in t -t o -
p oin t as well as u n id irect ion al p oin t-to -m u lt ip oin t con n ection s are o ffered .
Ad d ition ally, a broad cast ch an n el is available to reach all m o bile d evices in
th e t ran sm ission ran ge of an access p o in t.
● Q u a lit y o f ser v ice su p p o r t : With th e h elp o f con n ectio n s, su p p ort o f Qo S
is m u ch sim p ler. Each con n ect ion h as its own set of Qo S p aram eters (ban d -
w id t h , d elay, jit t er, b it erro r rat e et c.). A m o re sim p list ic sch em e u sin g
p riorities on ly is available.
● D y n a m ic fr e q u en c y sel ec t i o n : H ip erLAN2 d o es n o t req u ire freq u en cy
p lan n in g o f cellu lar n etwo rks or st an d ard IEEE 802.11 n et wo rks. All access
p oin t s h ave bu ilt-in su p p o rt wh ich au tom atically selects an ap p rop riate fre-
q u en cy with in th eir coverage area. All APs listen to n eigh b orin g APs as well
as to oth er rad io so u rces in th e en viro n m en t. Th e best freq u en cy is ch o sen
d ep en d in g on th e cu rren t in t erferen ce level an d u sage o f rad io ch an n els.
● Sec u r it y su p p o r t : Au t h en t icat io n as well as en cryp t io n are su p p o rt ed b y
Hip erLAN2. Bo th , m o bile term in al an d access p o in t can au t h en ticate each
o t h er. Th is en su res au t h o rized access t o t h e n et w o rk as w ell as a valid
n et wo rk o p erat o r. H o wever, ad d it io n al fu n ct io n s (d irect o ry services, key
258 Mobile communicat ions

exch an ge sch em es etc.) are n eed ed to su p p ort au th en ticat ion . All user traffic
can be en cryp ted u sin g DES, Trip le-DES, o r AES to p rotect again st eavesd rop -
p in g or m an -in -t h e-m id d le attacks.
● M o b ilit y su p p o r t : Mo b ile t erm in als can m o ve aro u n d wh ile t ran sm issio n
always t akes p lace between th e term in al an d t h e access p o in t with t h e best
rad io sign al. Han d over between access p o in ts is p erform ed au tom atically. If
en ou gh resou rces are available, all co n n ectio n s in clu d in g t h eir Qo S p aram -
et ers w ill b e su p p o rt ed b y a n ew access p o in t aft er h an d o ver. Ho wever,
so m e d ata p ackets m ay be lost d u rin g h an d over.
● Ap p lica t io n a n d n e t w o r k in d e p en d en ce : Hip erLAN2 w as n o t d esign ed
with a certain gro u p of ap p licatio n s o r n etworks in m in d . Access p oin ts can
co n n ect t o LANs ru n n in g et h ern et as well as IEEE 1394 (Firewire) syst em s
u sed t o co n n ect h o m e au d io / vid eo d evices. In t ero p erat io n wit h 3 G n et -
w o rks is also su p p o rt ed , so n o t o n ly b est effo rt d at a is su p p o rt ed b u t also
t h e wireless co n n ect io n o f, e.g., a d igit al cam era wit h a TV set fo r live
st ream in g of vid eo d ata.
● P o w er sa v e: M o b ile t erm in als can n ego t iat e cert ain wake-u p p at t ern s t o
save p o w er. Dep en d in g o n t h e sleep p erio d s eit h er sh o rt lat en cy req u ire-
m en ts or lo w p o wer req u irem en t s can be su p p orted .

Th e fo llo win g sect io n s sh o w t h e referen ce m o d el o f Hip erLAN2 an d illu s-

trate so m e m o re feat u res.

7.4.4.1 Reference model and configurations

Figu re 7.31 sh ows th e stan d ard arch itectu re of an in frastru ctu re-based Hip erLAN2
n et work. In th e exam p le, two a ccess p o in t s (AP) are attach ed to a core n etwork.
Co re n et wo rks m igh t b e Et h ern et LANs, Firewire (IEEE 1 39 4 ) co n n ect io n s

Figure 7.31
HiperLAN2 basic AP
structure and handover
MT1
scenarios
APT APC
1 Core
Network
(Ethernet,
MT2 Firewire,
AP ATM,
APT
3 UMTS)
MT3 APC

APT
2

MT4
 Wireless LAN 259

bet ween au d io an d vid eo eq u ip m en t , ATM n etwo rks, UMTS 3G cellu lar p h o n e

n etwo rks etc. Each AP co n sists o f an a ccess p o in t co n t r o ller (APC) an d o n e or
m ore a ccess p o in t t ra n sceivers (APT). An APT can com p rise on e or m ore sectors
(sh o wn as cell h ere). Fin ally, fo u r m o b ile t er m in a ls (MT) are also sh o wn . MTs
can m ove arou n d in t h e cell area as sh own . Th e system au tom atically assign s th e
APT/ AP with th e best tran sm ission q u ality. No freq u en cy p lan n in g is n ecessary as
th e APs au to m atically select th e ap p rop riate freq u en cy via d y n a m ic freq u en cy
selectio n (DFS, com p are with IEEE 802.11h , section 7.3.8).
Th ree h an d o ver situ at ion s m ay occu r:

● Sect o r h a n d o ver (In t er sect or): If sector an ten n as are u sed fo r an AP, wh ich
is o p t io n al in th e st an d ard , th e AP sh all su p p ort secto r h an d over. Th is typ e
of h an d over is h an d led in sid e th e DLC layer so is n o t visible o u tsid e th e AP
(as lon g as en ou gh resou rces are available in th e n ew secto r).
● Rad io h a n d o ver (In ter-APT/In tra-AP): As th is h an dover type, too, is h an dled
with in th e AP, n o extern al in teraction is n eeded . In th e exam ple of Figu re 7.31
th e term in al MT3 , m oves from on e APT to an oth er of th e sam e AP. All con text
d ata for th e con n ection s are alread y in th e AP (en cryp tion keys, au th en tica-
tion , an d con n ect ion p aram eters) an d d oes n ot h ave to be ren egotiated .
● Net w o rk h an d o ver (In ter-AP/In tra-n etwork): Th is is th e m ost com p lex situ a-
tion : MT2 m oves from on e AP to an oth er. In th is case, th e core n etwork an d
h igh er layers are also in volved . Th is h an dover m igh t be su p ported by th e core
n etwork (sim ilar to th e IAPP, IEEE 802.11f). Oth erwise, th e MT m u st provide
th e req u ired in form ation sim ilar to th e situ ation d urin g a n ew association .

Hip erLAN2 n et w o rks can o p erat e in t wo d ifferen t m o d es (wh ich m ay b e

u sed sim u lt an eou sly in th e sam e n etwork).

● Cen t ra lized m o d e (CM): Th is in frast ru ctu re-based m od e is sh own again in

a m ore abstract way in Figu re 7.32 (left sid e). All APs are co n n ected to a co re
n etwo rk an d MTs are asso ciated with APs. Even if two MTs sh are t h e sam e
cell, all d at a is t ran sferred via th e AP. In th is m an d at ory m od e t h e AP takes
co m p lete con tro l o f everyth in g.
● Direct m o d e (DM): Th e o p t io n al ad -h o c m o d e of Hip erLAN2 is illu st rat ed
on t h e righ t sid e o f Figu re 7.32. Data is d irect ly exch an ged b etween MTs if
th ey can receive each oth er, bu t th e n etwo rk still h as t o be co n trolled . Th is
can be d on e via an AP th at co n t ain s a cen tral con t roller (CC) an yway or via
an M T t h a t co n t ain s t h e C C fu n ct io n a lit y. Th ere is n o real d ifferen ce
between an AP an d a CC besid es th e fact th at APs are always con n ected t o
an in frastru ct u re bu t h ere o n ly th e CC fu n ction ality is n eed ed . Th is is wh y
th e stan d ard coin ed two d ifferen t n am es. IEEE 802.11, to o, o ffers an ad -h oc
m od e, bu t n ot th e CC fu n ctio n ality for QoS su p p o rt .
260 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 7.32
HiperLAN2 centralized vs AP
direct mode

control data control

MT1 MT2

Centralized

AP/CC

control

data
MT1 MT2 MT1 MT2 + CC
data control
Direct

Figu re 7.33 sh o ws t h e Hip erLAN2 p ro t o co l st ack as u sed in access p o in t s.

Pro to co l st acks in m o b ile t erm in als d iffer with resp ect t o th e n u m b er o f M AC
an d RLC in st an ces (o n ly o n e o f each ). Th e lo w est layer, t h e p h y sic a l la y e r ,
h an d les as u su al all fu n ct io n s related to m o d u lat io n , fo rward error co rrect io n ,
sign al d et ect io n , syn ch ro n izat io n et c. Sect io n 7 .4 .4 .2 d escrib es t h e p h ysical
layer in m ore d etail. Th e d a t a lin k co n t ro l (DLC) layer con tain s t h e MAC fu n c-
tio n s, t h e RLC su b layer an d error co n t rol fu n ctio n s. If an AP co m p rises several
APTs t h en each APT req u ires an own MAC in stan ce. Th e MAC of an AP assign s
each M T a cert ain cap acity to gu aran tee con n ection q u alit y d ep en d in g on avail-
ab le reso u rces. Ab o ve t h e MAC DLC is d ivid ed in to a co n t ro l an d a u ser p art .
Th is sep aration is com m o n in classical con n ectio n -o rien ted syst em s su ch as cel-
lu lar p h o n es o r PSTN. Th e u ser p a rt co n t ain s er r o r c o n t r o l m ech an ism s.
H ip erLAN 2 o ffers reliab le d at a t ran sm issio n u sin g a ckn o w led gem en t s an d
retran sm issio n s. Fo r broad cast tran sm ission s a rep et it io n m o d e can be u sed th at
p ro vid es in creased relia b ilit y b y rep eat in g d at a p acket s. Ad d it io n a lly, u n ac-
kn o w led ged d at a t ra n sm issio n is a vailab le. Th e r a d io l in k c o n t r o l (RLC )
su blayer com p rises m ost co n trol fu n ction s in th e DLC layer (th e CC p art o f an
AP). Th e a sso ciat io n co n t ro l fu n ct io n (ACF) con t ro ls associat io n an d au th en ti-
catio n o f n ew MTs as well as syn ch ro n ization of t h e rad io cell via beaco n s. Th e
DLC u ser co n n ect io n co n t ro l (DCC o r DUCC) service co n trols co n n ectio n set-
u p , m od ificatio n , an d release. Fin ally, th e ra d io reso u rce co n t ro l (RRC) h an d les
h an d o ver between APs an d with in an AP. Th ese fu n ct ion s con tro l th e d yn am ic
freq u en cy selectio n an d p ower save m ech an ism s of th e MTs.
O n to p of t h e DLC layer t h ere is t h e co n v ergen ce la yer. Th is h igh est layer
o f H ip erLAN2 st an d ard izat io n m ay co m p rise segm en t at io n an d reassem b ly
fu n ctio n s an d ad ap t at io n s to fixed LANs, 3G n etwo rks et c. Th e fo llo win g sec-
tion s give so m e m ore in sigh t in to th e 3 Hip erLAN2 layers.
 Wireless LAN 261

Figure 7.33
HiperLAN2 protocol stack
Higher layers

DLC control DLC user

Convergence layer
SAP SAP

Radio link control sublayer Data link control –

basic data
Radio DLC transport function
Assoc.
resource conn.
control
control control Scope of
Error
HiperLAN2
control
standards
Radio link control

Medium access control

Physical layer

7.4.4.2 Physical layer

Man y fu n ctio n s an d feat u res of Hip erLAN2’s p h ysical layer (ETSI, 2001a) served
as an exam p le for IEEE 802.11a as d escribed in sect io n 7.3.7. It is n ot su rp risin g
t h at b o t h st a n d ard s o ffer sim ilar d a t a ra t es an d u se id en t ica l m o d u la t io n
sch em es. Tab le 7 .5 gives an o verview o f t h e d at a rat es o ffered b y Hip erLAN2
to geth er with oth er p aram eters su ch as cod in g (co m p are t h is with Table 7.3).
Figu re 7.34 illu strates t h e referen ce con figu ration of th e tran sm issio n ch ain
of a Hip erLAN2 d evice. After selectin g o n e o f t h e above t ran sm ission m od es, t h e
DLC layer p asses a PSDU t o th e p h ysical layer (PSDUs are called DLC PDU t rain s

Table 7.5 Rate

Dat a rat e Modulat ion Coding rat e Coded Coded Dat a dependent parameters
[ Mbit / s] bit s per bits per bits per for HiperLAN2
sub-carrier OFDM symbol OFDM symbol

6 BPSK 1/ 2 1 48 24
9 BPSK 3/ 4 1 48 36
12 QPSK 1/ 2 2 96 48
18 QPSK 3/ 4 2 96 72
27 16-QAM 9/ 16 4 192 108
36 16-QAM 3/ 4 4 192 144
54 64-QAM 3/ 4 6 288 216
262 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 7.34
HiperLAN2 physical layer PDU train from DLC
scrambling FEC coding interleaving
reference configuration (PSDU)

PHY bursts radio

mapping OFDM
(PPDU) transmitter

in t h e Hip erLAN2 co n t ex t ). Th e first st ep t h en is scr a m b lin g o f all d at a b it s

with t h e gen erat o r p olyn om ial x 7 + x 4 + 1 fo r DC blockin g an d wh iten in g o f th e
sp ectru m . Th e resu lt o f th is first step are scra m b led b it s. Th e n ext step ap p lies
FEC c o d in g fo r erro r p ro t ect io n . Co d in g d ep en d s o n t h e t yp e o f d at a (b ro ad -
cast , u p lin k, d o wn lin k et c.) an d t h e u sa ge o f sect o r o r o m n i-d irect io n al
an ten n as. Th e resu lt of th is step is an en co d ed b it . For m itigation of freq u en cy
select ive fad in g in t er lea v in g is ap p lied in t h e t h ird step . In terleavin g en su res
th at ad jacen t en co d ed b its are m ap p ed o n to n on -ad jacen t su b carriers (48 su b -
carriers are u sed fo r d at a t ran sm issio n ). Ad jacen t b it s are m ap p ed alt ern at ely
o n t o less an d m o re sign ifica n t b it s o f t h e co n st ellat io n . Th e resu lt is an
in t erlea ved b it .
Th e followin g m a p p in g process first d ivides th e bit seq u en ce in grou p s of 1,
2, 4, o r 6 bits dep en din g on th e m od u lation sch em e (BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, or 64-
Q AM ). Th ese gro u p s are m ap p ed o n t o t h e ap p ro p riate m o d u lat io n sym b o l
accord in g to th e con stellation diagram s stan dardized in (ETSI, 2001a). Th e resu lts
of th is m app in g are su b ca rrier m od u lat io n sym bo ls. Th e OFDM m odu lation step
co n verts th ese sym bols in to a baseban d sign al with th e h elp of t h e in verse FFT.
(For th e u sage of t h e su bcarriers co m p are wit h Figu re 7.24 an d its descrip tion in
section 7.3.7). Th e sym bol in terval is 4 µs with 3.2 µs u sefu l p art an d 0.8 µs gu ard
tim e. Pilot su b-carriers (su b-carriers –21, –7, 7, 21) are ad d ed . Th e last step before
radio tran sm ission is th e creation of PH Y b u rst s (PPDUs in ISO/OSI term in ology).
Each b u rst co n sists of a p ream ble an d a p aylo ad . Five d ifferen t PHY bu rsts h ave
been d efin ed : broadcast, d own lin k, u plin k with sh ort pream ble, u p lin k with lon g
pream ble, an d direct lin k (option al). Th e bu rsts differ in th eir p ream bles.
Th e fin a l r a d io t r a n sm issio n sh ift s t h e b aseb an d sign al t o a carrier fre-
q u en cy d ep en d in g o n t h e ch an n el n u m b er an d t h e fo rm u la alread y u sed fo r
802.11a: carrier_n u m b er = (carrier_freq u en cy – 5000 MHz)/ 5 MHz. All n o m in al
carrier freq u en cies are sp aced 20 MHz ap art, resu ltin g in a freq u en cy allocation
table for Eu rop e as illu strated in Figu re 7.35.
M axim u m t ran sm it p o wer is 20 0 m W EIRP fo r t h e lo wer freq u en cy b an d
(in d oo r u se) an d 1 W EIRP for th e h igh er freq u en cy ban d (in d o or an d ou td o o r
u se). DFS an d TPC are n ot n ecessary, if th e tran sm it p o wer stays belo w 50 m W
EIRP an d on ly 5.15–5.25 GHz are u sed (be aware t h at n at ion al d ifferen ces exist
even wit h in Eu ro p e an d regu lat io n m ay ch an ge over tim e).
 Wireless LAN 263

Figure 7.35
36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 channel Operating channels of
HiperLAN2 in Europe

5150 5180 5200 5220 5240 5260 5280 5300 5320 5350 [MHz]

16.6 MHz

100 104 108 112 116 120 124 128 132 136 140 channel

5470 5500 5520 5540 5560 5580 5600 5620 5640 5660 5680 5700 5725
[MHz]
16.6 MHz

7.4.4.3 Dat a link cont rol layer

As d escribed ab o ve, t h e DLC layer is d ivid ed in t o MAC, co n t ro l an d d at a p art
(w h ich w o u ld fit in t o t h e LLC su b layer acco rd in g t o ISO / O SI). ETSI (2 0 0 1 b )
stan d ard izes th e basic d ata tran sp o rt fu n ct ion s, i.e., u ser p art with error co n trol
an d MAC, wh ile ETSI (2002a) d efin es RLC fu n ction ality.
Th e m ed iu m access co n t ro l creat es fram es o f 2 m s d u ra t io n a s sh o w n
in Figu re 7 .3 6 . W it h a co n st a n t sym b o l len gt h o f fo u r µs t h is resu lt s in 5 0 0
O FDM sym b o ls. Each MAC fram e is fu rth er su b -d ivid ed in t o fo u r p h ases wit h
variable bo u n d aries:

● Br o a d ca st p h a se : Th e AP o f a cell b ro ad cast s t h e co n t en t o f t h e cu rren t

fram e p lu s in fo rm atio n abou t th e cell (id en tificatio n , statu s, resou rces).
● Do w n lin k p h a se: Tran sm ission of u ser d ata from an AP to t h e MTs.
● Up lin k p h a se: Tran sm ission of u ser d ata fro m MTs to an AP.
● Ra n d o m a ccess p h a se: Cap acity req u ests fro m alread y registered MTs an d
access req u ests fro m n o n -registered MTs (slotted Aloh a).

Figure 7.36
2 ms 2 ms 2 ms 2 ms Basic structure of
TDD,
HiperLAN2 MAC frames
MAC frame MAC frame MAC frame MAC frame ... 500 OFDM
symbols
per frame

random
broadcast phase downlink phase uplink phase
access phase

variable variable variable

264 Mobile communicat ions

An o p t io n al d irect lin k p h a se can b e in serted b et ween th e d o wn lin k an d

t h e u p lin k p h ase. Th e access t o th e co m m o n p h ysical m ed iu m is always co n -
tro lled by th e CC (typ ically in an AP).
Hip erLAN2 d efin es six d ifferen t so -called tran sp o rt ch an n els fo r d ata tran s-
fer in t h e ab o ve list ed p h a ses. Th ese t ra n sp o rt ch an n els d escrib e t h e b asic
m essage fo rm at with in a MAC fram e.

● Bro a d ca st ch a n n el (BCH): Th is ch an n el co n veys basic in fo rm ation for t h e

rad io cell t o all MTs. Th is co m p rises t h e id en t ificat io n an d cu rren t t ran s-
m ission p ower o f th e AP. Fu rth erm ore, th e ch an n el co n tain s p oin ters to t h e
FCH an d RCH wh ich allows for a flexible stru ctu re o f th e MAC fram e. Th e
len gt h is 15 bytes.
● Fr a m e ch a n n el (FCH ): Th is ch an n el co n t ain s a d irect o ry o f t h e d o wn lin k
an d u p lin k p h ases (LCHs, SCHs, an d em p ty p arts). Th is also co m p rises t h e
PHY m o d e u sed . Th e len gth is a m u ltip le of 27 bytes.
● Ac c ess fe ed b a c k c h a n n e l (AC H ): Th is ch an n el gives feed b ack t o M Ts
regard in g th e ran d om access d u rin g t h e RCH of th e p revio u s fram e. As t h e
access d u rin g th e RCHs is based o n slo t ted Alo h a, co llisio n at t h e AP m ay
o ccu r. Th e ACH sign als b ack wh ich slo t was su ccessfu lly tran sm it t ed . Th e
len gt h is 9 byt es.
● Lo n g t ra n sp o r t ch a n n el (LCH ): Th is ch an n el tran sp o rt s u ser an d co n t ro l
d ata fo r d own lin ks an d u p lin ks. Th e len gth is 54 byt es.
● Sh o r t t r a n sp o r t ch a n n el (SCH ): Th is ch an n el t ran sp o rt s co n t ro l d at a fo r
d o wn lin ks an d u p lin ks. Th e len gth is 9 bytes.
● Ra n d o m ch an n el (RCH ): Th is ch an n el is n eed ed to give an MT th e op p ortu -
n ity to sen d in form ation to th e AP/CC even with ou t a gran ted SCH. Access is
via slotted Aloh a so, collisio n s m ay occu r. Collision resolu tion is p erform ed
with th e h elp of an exp on en tial back-off sch em e (ETSI, 2001b). Th e len gth is
9 bytes. A m axim u m n u m ber of 31 RCHs is cu rren tly su p p orted .

BCH, FCH an d ACH are u sed in th e broad cast p h ase o n ly an d u se BPSK with
co d e rate 1/ 2. LCH an d SCH can be u sed in th e d o wn lin k, u p lin k or (op tio n al)
d irect lin k p h ase. RCH is u sed in th e u p lin k o n ly fo r ran d o m access (BPSK, cod e
rat e 1/ 2). Hip erLAN2 d efin es fu rth er h ow m an y o f t h e ch an n els are u sed with in
a MAC fram e. Th is co n figu rat io n m ay ch an ge fro m MAC fram e t o MAC fram e
d ep en d in g on th e co n n ectio n Qo S, reso u rce req u ests, n u m ber o f MTs etc. Figu re
7.37 sh o ws valid co m bin ation s of ch an n els/ t ran sfer p h ases with in MAC fram es.
It is req u ired th at th e tran sp ort ch an n els BCH, FCH an d ACH are p resen t p lu s at
least o n e RCH. W h ile th e d u ratio n of th e BCH is fixed (15 byte), th e d u ratio n o f
th e o t h ers m ay vary (eit h er d u e t o a variab le size o f t h e ch an n el o r d u e t o t h e
m u lt ip le u se o f ch an n els). H o w ever, t h e o rd er BC H -FC H -AC H-D L p h a se-UL
p h ase-RCH m u st be kep t fro m an MT’s p o in t of view (cen t ralized m od e). Fo r t h e
d irect m o d e th e DiL p h ase is in sert ed bet ween th e DL an d UL p h ases.
Data between en t it ies of th e DLC layer are tran sferred o ver so-called lo gica l
ch a n n els (ju st an o t h er n am e fo r an y d ist in ct d ata p at h ). Th e typ e o f a lo gical
 Wireless LAN 265

Figure 7.37
2 ms 2 ms 2 ms 2 ms
Valid configurations of
MAC frames
MAC frame MAC frame MAC frame MAC frame ...

random
broadcast
downlink uplink access

BCH FCH ACH DL phase DiL phase UL phase RCHs

BCH FCH ACH DiL phase UL phase RCHs

BCH FCH ACH DL phase UL phase RCHs

BCH FCH ACH UL phase RCHs

BCH FCH ACH DL phase DiL phase RCHs

BCH FCH ACH DiL phase RCHs

BCH FCH ACH DL phase RCHs

BCH FCH ACH RCHs

ch an n el is d efin ed by th e typ e o f in form atio n it carries an d t h e in terp retation of

th e valu es in t h e co rresp o n d in g m essages. Th is is a well-kn o wn co n cep t fro m ,
e.g., cellu lar p h o n e syst em s like G SM (see ch ap t er 4 ). Th e fo llo w in g lo gical
ch an n els are d efin ed in Hip erLAN2 (lo gical ch an n els u se 4 letter acro n ym s):

● Bro a d ca st co n tro l ch an n el (BCCH ): Th is ch an n el on th e down lin k con veys

a con stan t am ou n t of broad cast in form ation con cern in g th e wh ole rad io cell.
Exam p les are th e seed fo r th e scram bler, n et work/ access p o in t/ sector id en t i-
fiers, AP t ran sm ission p o wer, exp ect ed AP recep tion p o wer, p o in t ers to th e
FCH/ RCH, n u m ber of RCHs (1 to 31), load in d icator, n u m ber of sectors etc.
● Fr a m e co n t r o l c h a n n el (FCCH ): Th e FCCH d escrib es t h e st ru ct u re o f t h e
rem ain in g p arts o f th e MAC fram e. Th is com p rises reso u rce gran ts fo r SCHs
an d LC H s b elo n gin g t o cert a in M Ts. Reso u rce gran t s co n t a in t h e M AC
ad d ress t h e gran t b elo n gs t o , t h e n u m b er o f LC Hs a n d SC H s, t h eir PHY
m od es et c. Th is sch em e allo ws for a p recise reservation of th e m ed iu m with
asso ciated Q oS p rop ert ies.
● Ra n d o m a cc e ss fee d b a c k ch a n n e l (RFC H ): Th is ch an n el in fo rm s M Ts
t h at h ave u sed a n RC H in t h e p revio u s fram e ab o u t t h e su ccess o f t h eir
access attem p t.
● RLC b r o a d c a st ch a n n el (RBC H ): Th is ch a n n el t ran sfers in fo rm at io n
regard in g RLC co n t ro l in fo rm at io n , MAC IDs d u rin g an asso ciat io n p h ase,
in fo rm atio n from th e co n vergen ce layer, o r seed s fo r th e en cryp t io n fu n c-
tion o n ly if n ecessary.
266 Mobile communicat ions

● D e d ica t ed co n t r o l ch a n n el (D CCH ): Th is ch an n el carries RLC m essages

related to a certain MT an d is establish ed d u rin g th e associatio n of an MT.
● U se r b r o a d ca st c h a n n e l (U BC H ): A UBCH t ran sfers b ro ad cast m essages
fro m th e co n vergen ce layer. Tran sm issio n is p erform ed in th e u n ackn o wl-
ed ged or repetition m o d e.
● User m u lt i-ca st ch a n n el (UM CH ): Th is ch an n el p erform s u n ackn owled ged
tran sm ission of d ata to a grou p o f MTs.
● User d a t a ch an n el (UDCH): Po in t-to-p oin t d at a between an AP an d an MT
(C M) o r b et ween two MTs (DM) u se t h is ch an n el. Erro r p ro t ect io n via an
ARQ sch em e is p ossible.
● Lin k co n t r o l ch a n n el (LCCH ): Th is b i-d irect io n al ch an n el co n veys ARQ
feed back an d d iscard s m essages bet ween t h e erro r co n tro l fu n ctio n s o f an
AP an d a n M T (CM ) o r b et ween t wo M Ts (DM ). A LC C H is t yp ica lly
assign ed to a UDCH.
● Asso c ia t io n c o n t r o l c h a n n e l (ASC H ): Th is ch an n el is o n ly u sed in t h e
u p lin k an d for cu rren tly n o n -associated MTs (related to a cert ain AP). Th is
is t h e ca se fo r a n ew asso cia t io n req u est (n ew MT in t h e n et w o rk) o r a
h an d o ver req u est on beh alf o f th e RLC.

Th e read er m ay h ave n o ticed t h at som e tran sp o rt ch an n els tran sfer exactly

th e in fo rm ation o f o n e logical ch an n el as th eir d escrip t io n s were id en tical. Th is
is in d eed t h e case fo r so m e ch an n els (BCCH-BCH, FCCH-FCH, RFCH-ACH) as
th e sch em e o f m ap p in g lo gical an d t ran sp ort ch an n els sh ows (see Figu re 7.38).
Th is figu re also sh o ws in wh ich m o d e wh ich ch an n el can b e u sed (u p lin k an d
d o wn lin k in th e cen tralized m o d e, d irect lin k in t h e d irect m o d e).
Figu re 7.39 gives an exam p le for m ap p in g t h e logical ch an n el UDCH t o t h e
tran sp o rt ch an n el LCH. Th e p aylo ad of th e LCH is u sed for a seq u en ce n u m ber
p lu s th e p aylo ad of th e UDCH.

Figure 7.38
Mapping of logical and BCCH FCCH RFCH LCCH RBCH DCCH UDCH UBCH UMCH
transport channels
downlink
BCH FCH ACH SCH LCH

UDCH DCCH LCCH ASCH UDCH UBCH UMCH DCCH RBCH LCCH

LCH SCH RCH LCH SCH

uplink direct link
 Wireless LAN 267

Figure 7.39
2 406 24 bit
HiperLAN2 LCH and
LCH PDU type payload CRC LCH transfer syntax UDCH transfer syntax

2 10 396 24 bit
sequence UDCH transfer syntax
LCH PDU type payload CRC
number (long PDU)

54 byte

Th e r a d io lin k c o n t r o l su b layer in co n n ect io n o rien t ed syst em s o fferin g

QoS like Hip erLAN2 is q u it e co m p lex an d co m p rises m an y p rot ocols, fu n ctio n s,
an d m essages. ETSI (2002a) d efin es th ree m ain services fo r t h e RLC su blayer:

● Asso cia t io n co n t ro l fu n ct io n (ACF): ACF con tain s all p roced u res for asso-
ciat io n , au t h en t icat io n , an d en cryp t io n . An MT st a rt s t h e asso ciat io n
p ro cess. Th e first st ep is t h e syn ch ron izatio n with a beaco n sign al t ran sm it-
ted in each BCCH o f a MAC fram e. Th e n etwork ID m ay be ob tain ed via t h e
RBCH. Th e n ext st ep is th e MAC ID assign m en t. Th is u n iq u e ID is u sed t o
ad d ress th e MT. Fro m th is p o in t on , all RLC con tro l m essages are t ran sm it-
t ed via a DCCH. Du rin g th e fo llo win g lin k cap ab ilit y n ego t iat io n , list s o f
su p p o rt ed co n vergen ce layers, au t h en t icat io n an d en cryp t io n p ro ced u res
are exch an ged . D ep en d in g o n t h ese p aram et ers t h e fo llo win g st ep s m ay
take p lace: en cryp tio n start-u p , au th en t ication , obtain in g t h e ID o f th e MT.
If all n ecessary st ep s a re su ccessfu l t h e M T is a sso ciat ed w it h t h e AP.
Disasso ciatio n m ay take p lace at an y tim e, eit h er exp licitly (MT or AP in iti-
ated ) or im p licitly (loss o f th e rad io con n ect ion ). Th e AP m ay sen d MT-alive
m essages to ch eck if an MT is still available.
● Ra d i o r eso u r c e co n t r o l (RRC ): An im p o rt an t fu n ct io n o f t h e RRC is
h an d o ver sup p ort as alread y sh own in Figu re 7.31. Each asso ciat ed MT con -
t in u o u sly m easu res t h e lin k q u alit y. To fin d h an d o ver can d id at es t h e MT
ad d it io n ally ch ecks o t h er freq u en cies. If o n ly o n e t ran sceiver is availab le
t h e M T an n o u n ces t o t h e AP t h at it is t em p o ra rily u n a vailab le (M T
absen ce). Based o n rad io q u ality m easu rem en ts, an AP can ch an ge th e car-
rier freq u en cy d yn am ically (DFS). Th e RLC o ffers p ro ced u res t o in fo rm all
M Ts. To m in im ize in t erferen ce w it h o t h er rad io so u rces o p erat in g at t h e
sam e freq u en cy (Hip erLAN2s or o th er W LANs) tran sm issio n p ower co n tro l
(TPC) m u st b e ap p lied b y t h e RRC. An MT can save p o wer b y n ego tiat in g
with an AP a sleep in g p erio d of n MAC fram es. After th ese n fram es th e MT
m ay wake u p becau se d ata is read y to be sen t , o r t h e AP sign als d ata to be
received . If th e MT m isses t h e wakeu p m essage from th e AP it starts th e MT
alive p ro ced u re. If n o d a t a h as t o b e t ran sm it t ed t h e M T can again fall
asleep fo r n fram es.
268 Mobile communicat ions

● D LC u ser co n n ect io n co n t ro l (DCC o r DUCC): Th is service is u sed fo r set-

t in g u p , releasin g, o r m o d ifyin g u n icast co n n ect io n s. M u lt i-cast an d
b ro ad cast co n n ect io n s are im p licit ly set -u p b y a gro u p / b ro a d cast jo in
d u rin g t h e asso ciation p roced u re.

7.4.4.4 Convergence layer

As t h e p h ysical layer an d t h e d at a lin k layer are in d ep en d en t o f sp ecific co re
n etwo rk p ro to cols, a sp ecial co n v er gen ce la y er (CL) is n eed ed t o ad ap t to t h e
sp ecific featu res o f t h ese n et wo rk p ro t o co ls. Hip erLAN2 su p p o rts t wo d ifferen t
t yp es o f C Ls: cell-b ased an d p acket -b ased . Th e ce ll -b a se d CL (ETSI, 2 0 0 0 b )
exp ects d ata p acket s o f fixed size (cells, e.g., ATM cells), wh ile t h e p a ck et -b a sed
C L (ETSI, 2 0 0 0 d ) h a n d les p a cket s t h at are variab le in size (e.g., Et h ern et o r
Firewire fram es). Fo r t h e p acket -b ased CL ad d it io n al fu n ctio n alit y is n ecessary
fo r segm en t at ion an d reassem blin g o f p ackets th at d o n o t fit in to th e DLC p ay-
lo ad o f Hip erLAN2 (49.5 byte). Th ree exam p les of co n vergen ce layers fo llo w:

● Et h e r n et : Th is su b layer su p p o rt s t h e t ran sp a ren t t ran sp o rt o f Et h ern et

fram es over a Hip erLAN2 wireless n etwo rk (ETSI, 2001d ). Th is in clu d es th e
m ap p in g o f Et h ern et m u lt icast an d b ro ad cast m essages o n t o H ip erLAN2
m u lticast an d b ro ad cast m essages. A co llisio n d om ain can also be em u lated .
Th is su b layer also su p p o rt s p rio rit ies acco rd in g t o IEEE 802.1 p . Th e st an -
d ard su p p o rt s t h e t raffic classes b est effo rt , b ackgro u n d , excellen t effo rt ,
co n t ro lled lo ad , vid eo , vo ice, an d n et wo rk co n tro l. Th e su b layer d o es n o t
t ran sm it th e Et h ern et p ream b le, start o f fram e d elim it er, an d fram e ch eck
seq u en ce. Th ese field s of an Eth ern et fram e are n o t n ecessary d u rin g tran s-
m issio n an d will be ap p en d ed in th e receiver’s Eth ern et su blayer.
● IEEE 1 3 9 4 (Fir ew ir e): As a h igh -sp eed real-t im e b u s fo r co n n ect in g, e.g.,
au d io an d vid eo d evices, t im in g an d syn ch ro n izat io n is o f sp ecial im p o r-
t an ce fo r IEEE 1 39 4. ETSI (20 01 e) su p p o rt s syn ch ro n izat io n o f t im ers via
th e air an d t reat s isoch ron ou s d ata stream s wit h sp ecial regard t o jitt er.
● ATM : Th e cell-b ased CL is u sed fo r t h is t yp e o f n et wo rk (ETSI, 20 00c). As
th e p aylo ad of an ATM cell is on ly 48 byte, wh ich fits in to th e 49.5 byt e o f a
DLC-PDU, segm en tat io n an d reassem b ly is n o t n ecessary. In th is case, t h e
su blayer on ly h as to co n t rol co n n ectio n id en t ifiers an d MAC IDs.

M an y p eo p le d o u b t t h at H ip erLAN2 will ever b e a co m m ercia l su ccess.

W ireless n et w o rks fo llo w in g IEEE 8 0 2 .1 1 are a lread y in wid esp read u se. Th e
st o ry o f wireless LANs co u ld fo llo w th e race between Eth ern et an d To ken Rin g
in t h e early d ays o f LANs. In t h is case, t h e m u ch sim p ler Et h ern et su cceed ed
a lt h o u gh it co u ld n o t o ffer an y q u alit y o f service co m p a red t o To ken Rin g.
Ho wever, p lan s fo r in terwo rkin g b et ween Hip erLAN2 an d 3G cellu lar syst em s
h ave alread y b een m ad e (ETSI, 2001c). Hip erLAN2 is t o be u sed t o p rovid e h igh -
sp eed access t o t h e in t ern et wit h Q o S gu aran t ees. O n e d ifferen ce fro m o t h er
 Wireless LAN 269

W LAN so lu t io n s, b esid es Qo S, is t h e in t erwo rkin g o f Hip erLAN2 secu rit y an d

acco u n t in g m ech an ism s wit h t h e m ech an ism s o f, e.g., UMTS. A m o re d etailed
co m p ariso n o f th e IEEE 802.11a W LAN ap p ro ach an d Hip erLAN2 is given at t h e
en d o f th is ch ap ter.

7.5 Bluet oot h

Co m p ared t o t h e W LAN t ech n o lo gies p resen t ed in sect io n s 7 .3 an d 7 .4 , t h e

Blu et o o th tech n olo gy d iscu ssed h ere aim s at so -called a d -h o c p ico n et s, wh ich
are local area n etworks with a very lim ited coverage an d with ou t th e n eed for an
in frastru ctu re. Th is is a d ifferen t typ e of n etwork is n eed ed to co n n ect d ifferen t
sm all d evices in clo se p ro xim ity (ab ou t 10 m ) with ou t exp en sive wirin g or th e
n eed for a wireless in frastru ctu re (Bisd ikian , 1998). Th e en visaged gross d ata rate
is 1 Mb it / s, asyn ch ro n o u s (d at a) an d syn ch ro n o u s (vo ice) services sh o u ld b e
available. Th e n ecessary t ran sceiver co m p o n en ts sh o u ld be ch eap – t h e go al is
abou t €5 p er d evice. (In 2002, sep arat e ad ap ters are still at €50, h owever, th e ad -
d itio n al co st of t h e d evices in tegrat ed in , e.g., PDAs, alm ost reach ed th e target .)
Man y of tod ay’s d evices offer an in fra red d at a associatio n (IrDA) in terface with
tran sm ission rates of, e.g., 115 kbit/s or 4 Mbit/ s. Th ere are variou s p roblem s with
IrDA: its very lim ited ran ge (typ ically 2 m for built-in in terfaces), th e n eed for a
lin e-of-sigh t bet ween th e in terfaces, an d , it is u su ally lim ited to two p art icip an ts,
i.e., on ly poin t-to-p oin t con n ection s are su p p orted . IrDA h as n o in tern et workin g
fu n ct io n s, h as n o m ed ia access, o r an y o t h er en h an ced co m m u n icat io n m ech -
an ism s. Th e big ad van t age of IrDA is its low cost, an d it can be fou n d in alm ost
an y m obile d evice (lap top s, PDAs, m obile p h on es).
Th e h isto ry of Blu etooth starts in th e ten th cen tury, wh en Harald Gorm sen ,
Kin g o f Den m ark (so n o f Go rm ), erect ed a ru n e st o n e in Jellin g, Den m ark, in
m em o ry o f h is p aren t s. Th e st o n e h as t h ree sid es wit h elabo rat e carvin gs. On e
side sh ows a p ictu re of Ch rist, as Harald did n ot on ly u n ite Norway an d Den m ark,
bu t also brou gh t Ch ristian ity to Scan din avia. Harald h ad th e com m on ep ith et of
‘Blåtan d’, m ean in g th at h e h ad a rath er d ark com plexion (n ot a blu e tooth ).
It t o ok a t h o u san d years b efo re t h e Swed ish IT-com p an y Ericsso n in it iat ed
so m e st u d ies in 19 94 aro u n d a so -called m u lt i-co m m u n icat o r lin k (Haart sen ,
1 9 9 8 ). Th e p ro ject w as ren am ed (b ecau se a frien d o f t h e d esign ers liked t h e
Vikin gs) an d Blu et o ot h was born . In sp rin g 1998 five com p an ies (Ericsso n , In tel,
IBM, No kia, To sh iba) fou n d ed th e Blu eto oth co n sort iu m with th e go al of d evel-
o p in g a sin gle-ch ip , lo w-co st , rad io -b ased wireless n et wo rk t ech n o lo gy. M an y
o t h er co m p an ies an d research in st it u t io n s jo in ed t h e sp ecial in t erest gro u p
aro u n d Blu et o o t h (20 02), wh o se go al was t h e d evelo p m en t o f m o bile p h o n es,
lap top s, n oteboo ks, h ead sets etc. in clu d in g Blu etoo th tech n o logy, b y th e en d of
1 9 9 9 . In 1 9 9 9 , Ericsso n erect ed a ru n e st o n e in Lu n d , Swed en , in m em o ry
o f Harald Go rm sen , called Blåt an d , wh o gave h is ep it h et fo r th is n ew wireless
270 Mobile communicat ions

co m m u n icat io n t ech n o lo gy. Th is n ew carvin g sh o ws a m an h o ld in g a lap t o p

an d a cellu lar p h on e, a p ict u re wh ich is q u ite o ften cited (of co u rse th ere are n o
su ch t h in gs visible o n t h e origin al ston e, t h at’s ju st a n ice sto ry!)
In 2001, t h e first p ro d u cts h it th e m ass m arket , an d m an y m o bile p h o n es,
lap top s, PDAs, vid eo cam eras etc. are eq u ip p ed with Blu etooth tech n ology t od ay.
At th e sam e t im e th e Blu etoo th d evelop m en t started , a stu d y grou p with in
IEEE 802.11 d iscu ssed w ireless p erso n a l a rea n et w o rk s (W PAN) u n d er th e fo l-
lo win g five criteria:

● M a rk et p o t en t ia l: Ho w m an y ap p licat io n s, d evices, ven d o rs, cu stom ers are

available fo r a certain tech n ology?
● Co m p a t ib ilit y : Co m p atibility with IEEE 802.
● D ist in ct id en t it y : O rigin ally, th e st u d y gro u p d id n o t wan t t o est ab lish a
seco n d 802.11 st an d ard . Ho wever, t o p ics su ch as, lo w co st , lo w p o wer, o r
sm all fo rm factor are n ot ad d ressed in th e 802.11 stan d ard .
● Tech n ica l fea sib ilit y : Prot ot yp es are n ecessary for fu rth er d iscu ssio n , so th e
st u d y gro u p wou ld n o t rely on p ap er work.
● Eco n o m ic fea sib ilit y : Everyt h in g d evelo p ed wit h in t h is gro u p sh o u ld b e
ch eap er t h an o th er solu tion s an d allow for h igh -volu m e p rod u ction .

O b vio u sly, Blu et o o t h fu lfills t h ese crit eria so t h e W PAN gro u p co o p erat ed
w it h t h e Blu et o o t h co n so rt iu m . IEEE fo u n d ed it s o w n gro u p fo r W PAN s,
IEEE 802.15, in March 1999. Th is gro u p sh o u ld d evelo p st an d ard s fo r wireless
com m u n icatio n s with in a p erso n al o p era t in g sp ace (PO S, IEEE, 2002c). A POS
h as b een d efin ed as a rad iu s o f 10 m aro u n d a p erso n in wh ich th e p erso n o r
d evices of t h is p erson co m m u n icate with oth er d evices. Sectio n 7.5.10 gives an
o verview of 802.15 activities an d th eir relatio n t o Blu et oo th .

7.5.1 User scenarios

Man y d ifferen t u ser scen ario s can be im agin ed for wireless p ico n et s o r W PANs:

● Co n n ect io n o f p erip h era l d ev ices: To d ay, m o st d evices are con n ected t o a

d esktop co m p u ter via wires (e.g., keyboard , m ou se, jo yst ick, h ead set, sp eak-
ers). Th is typ e of co n n ectio n h as several d isad van t ages: each d evice h as its
o wn t yp e o f cable, d ifferen t p lu gs are n eed ed , wires block o ffice sp ace. In a
wireless n etwork, n o wires are n eed ed for d ata t ran sm issio n . Ho wever, bat-
teries n ow h ave to rep lace th e p o wer su p p ly, as th e wires n ot o n ly t ran sfer
d at a bu t also su p p ly th e p erip h eral d evices with p ower.
● Su p p o r t o f a d -h o c n et w o r k in g: Im agin e several p eo p le co m in g to geth er,
d iscu ssin g issu es, ex ch an gin g d a t a (sch ed u les, sa les figu res et c.). Fo r
in stan ce, st u d en ts m igh t jo in a lectu re, with t h e teach er d ist ribu tin g d ata to
t h eir p erso n al d igital assistan t s (PDAs). Wireless n etwo rks can su p p o rt th is
typ e of in teractio n ; sm all d evices m igh t n o t h ave W LAN ad ap ters followin g
th e IEEE 802.11 stan d ard , bu t ch eap er Blu eto oth ch ip s bu ilt in .
 Wireless LAN 271

Figure 7.40
Example configurations
with a Bluetooth-based
piconet

● Brid gin g o f n et w o rk s: Usin g wireless p icon ets, a m obile p h on e can be con -

n ected to a PDA or lap top in a sim p le way. Mobile p h on es will n ot h ave fu ll
WLAN adapters bu ilt in , bu t could h ave a Blu etooth ch ip . Th e m obile ph on e
can th en act as a brid ge between th e local p icon et an d, e.g., th e global GSM
n et wo rk (see Figu re 7.40). Fo r in stan ce, o n arrival at an airp o rt, a p erso n ’s
m o b ile p h o n e co u ld receive e-m ail via GSM an d fo rward it t o t h e lap to p
wh ich is still in a su itcase. Via a picon et, a fileserver could u pd ate local in for-
m ation stored on a laptop or PDA wh ile th e p erson is walkin g in to th e office.

W h en com p arin g Blu etoo th with o t h er W LAN tech n ology we h ave to keep
in m in d t h at o n e o f it s go als was t o p ro vid e lo cal wireless access at very lo w
co st. Fro m a tech n ical p oin t o f view, W LAN t ech n o logies like t h o se abo ve cou ld
also b e u sed , h o wever, W LAN ad ap t ers, e.g., fo r IEEE 8 0 2 .1 1 , h ave b een
d esign ed fo r h igh er b an d wid t h an d larger ran ge an d are m o re ex p en sive an d
co n su m e a lo t m o re p ower.

7.5.2 Archit ecture

Like IEEE 802.11b, Blu eto oth op erates in th e 2.4 GHz ISM ban d . However, MAC,
p h ysical layer an d th e offered services are com p letely d ifferen t. Aft er p resen tin g
th e overall arch itectu re o f Blu et o ot h an d its sp ecialt y, th e p icon ets, th e follo w-
in g section s exp lain all p ro to co l layers an d com p on en ts in m ore d etail.

7.5.2.1 Net working

To u n d erstan d th e n etwo rkin g o f Blu eto o th d evices a q u ick in t ro d u ctio n to its
key fea t u res is n ecessary. Blu et o o t h o p era t es o n 7 9 ch an n els in t h e 2 .4 GH z
ban d wit h 1 MHz carrier sp acin g. Each d evice p erfo rm s freq u en cy h op p in g with
1,600 h o p s/ s in a p seu d o ran d o m fash io n . Blu eto o th ap p lies FHSS fo r in t erfer-
en ce m it igat io n (an d FH -C DM A fo r sep arat io n o f n et w o rks). M o re ab o u t
Blu eto oth ’s rad io layer in section 7.5.3.
A very im p ortan t term in th e co n t ext o f Blu etoo th is a p ico n et . A p icon et is
a co llect io n o f Blu et o oth d evices wh ich are syn ch ro n ized t o th e sam e h o p p in g
seq u en ce. Figu re 7 .4 1 sh o w s a co llect io n o f d evices wit h d ifferen t ro les. O n e
d evice in th e p ico n et can act as m a st er (M), all ot h er d evices co n n ected t o t h e
272 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 7.41 M = Master

Simple Bluetooth S = Slave
piconet P = Parked
P
S SB = Standby

M P

SB
S

P
SB

m aster m u st act as sla v es (S). Th e m ast er d eterm in es th e h o p p in g p attern in th e

p icon et an d th e slaves h ave to syn ch ro n ize t o th is p attern . Each p ico n et h as a
u n iq u e h op p in g p attern . If a d evice wan ts to p art icip ate it h as to syn ch ro n ize to
t h is. Tw o a d d it io n al t yp es o f d evices are sh o wn : p arked d evices (P) can n o t
actively p articip ate in th e p ico n et (i.e., th ey d o n o t h ave a con n ection ), bu t are
kn o w n an d ca n b e react ivat ed wit h in so m e m illiseco n d s (see sect io n 7 .5 .5 ).
Devices in st an d -b y (SB) d o n o t p art icip at e in t h e p ico n et . Each p ico n et h as
exactly o n e m aster an d u p to seven sim u ltan eou s slaves. More th an 200 d evices
can b e p arked . Th e reaso n for th e u p p er lim it of eigh t active d evices, is t h e 3-bit
ad d ress u sed in Blu et oo t h . If a p arked d evice wan ts to co m m u n icate an d th ere
are alread y seven act ive slaves, o n e slave h as t o swit ch t o p ark m o d e t o allo w
th e p arked d evice t o swit ch t o active m o d e.
Figu re 7.42 gives an o verview o f t h e fo rm at io n o f a p ico n et . As all act ive
d evices h ave to u se th e sam e h op pin g seq u en ce th ey m u st be syn ch ron ized . Th e
first st ep in volves a m aster sen d in g its clock an d device ID. All Blu etooth d evices
h ave th e sam e n etworkin g capabilities, i.e., th ey can be m aster or slave. Th ere is n o
distin ction between term in als an d base station s, an y two or m ore devices can form
a p ico n et. Th e un it establish in g th e p icon et au tom atically becom es th e m aster, all
oth er devices will be slaves. Th e h opp in g p attern is determ in ed by th e device ID, a
48-bit wo rld wid e u n iq u e id en tifier. Th e p h ase in t h e h o p p in g p at tern is d et er-
m in ed by t h e m aster’s clo ck. After ad ju stin g th e in t ern al clock accord in g to t h e
m aster a d evice m ay p articip ate in th e p icon et . All active d evices are assign ed a
3-b it a ct iv e m em b er a d d r ess (AMA). All p arked d evices u se an 8-bit p a r k ed
m em b er a d d ress (PMA). Devices in stan d-by d o n ot n eed an address.
All u sers with in on e p icon et h ave th e sam e h opp in g seq u en ce an d sh are th e
sam e 1 MHz ch an n el. As m o re u sers jo in th e p ico n et, t h e th ro u gh p u t p er u ser
d ro p s q u ickly (a sin gle p ico n et o ffers less th an 1 Mb it / s gro ss d ata rat e). (O n ly
h avin g on e p icon et available with in th e 80 MHz in total is n ot very efficien t.) Th is
 Wireless LAN 273

Figure 7.42
Forming a Bluetooth
SB piconet
SB

SB

SB SB

SB
SB
P
SB S
SB

M P

SB
S

P
SB

led t o th e id ea of form in g grou p s of p icon et s called sca t t er n et (see Figu re 7.43).

On ly t h ose u n its th at really m u st exch an ge d ata sh are th e sam e picon et, so th at
m an y p icon ets with o verlap pin g coverage can exist sim u ltan eou sly.
In th e exam p le, t h e scat tern et con sists of two p icon ets, in wh ich on e d evice
p art icip at es in t wo d ifferen t p ico n et s. Bo t h p ico n et s u se a d ifferen t h o p p in g
seq u en ce, always d et erm in ed b y t h e m ast er o f t h e p ico n et . Blu et o o t h ap p lies
FH -CDMA for sep arat ion of p icon ets. In an average sen se, all p icon ets can sh are
th e t ot al o f 80 MHz b an d wid th available. Ad d in g m o re p icon ets lead s to a grace-
fu l p erfo rm an ce d egra d a t io n o f a sin gle p ico n et b ecau se m o re a n d m o re
co llisio n s m ay o ccu r. A co llisio n o ccu rs if t wo o r m o re p ico n et s u se t h e sam e
carrier freq u en cy at t h e sam e t im e. Th is will p ro b ab ly h ap p en as th e h o p p in g
seq u en ces are n o t coo rd in ated .
If a d evice wan t s t o p art icip at e in m o re t h an o n e p ico n et , it h as t o syn -
ch ro n ize t o t h e h o p p in g seq u en ce o f th e p ico n et it wan t s to t ake p art in . If a
d evice act s as slave in o n e p ico n et, it sim p ly starts to syn ch ron ize with th e h o p -
p in g seq u en ce of th e p ico n et it wan ts to jo in . After syn ch ron izat ion , it acts as a
slave in t h is p ico n et an d n o lon ger p articip at es in its fo rm er p ico n et. To en able
syn ch ro n ization , a slave h as to kn ow th e id en tity of th e m ast er th at d eterm in es
th e h op p in g seq u en ce o f a p icon et. Befo re leavin g o n e p ico n et, a slave in fo rm s
th e cu rren t m aster th at it will be u n available for a cert ain am o u n t of t im e. Th e
rem ain in g d evices in th e p icon et con tin u e to com m u n icate as u su al.
274 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 7.43
M = Master
Bluetooth scatternet S = Slave Piconets (each with a capacity of < 1 Mbit/s)
P = Parked
SB = Standby

P
S
S

S
P
P
M
M
SB
S

P
SB SB

A m aster can also leave it s picon et an d act as a slave in an oth er p icon et. It is
clearly n ot p ossible fo r a m ast er o f on e p icon et to act as t h e m ast er of an o th er
picon et as th is would lead to iden tical beh avior (both would h ave th e sam e h oppin g
seq u en ce, wh ich is d eterm in ed by t h e m aster p er defin ition ). As soon as a m aster
leaves a picon et, all traffic with in th is picon et is su spen ded un til th e m aster return s.
Com m u n icatio n between d ifferen t p icon ets takes p lace by d evices ju m p in g
b ack an d fo rt h b et ween t h eses n et s. If t h is is d o n e p erio d ically, fo r in st an ce,
iso ch ro n o u s d at a st ream s can b e fo rward ed fro m o n e p ico n et t o a n o t h er.
However, scatt ern ets are n ot yet su p p o rted by all d evices.

7.5.2.2 Prot ocol st ack

As Figu re 7.44 sh o ws, th e Blu etoo th sp ecificatio n alread y com p rises m an y p roto -
co ls an d co m p on en t s. Start in g as a sim p le id ea, it n ow co vers o ver 2,000 p ages
d ealin g with n o t o n ly th e Blu eto o t h p ro t o co ls b u t m an y ad ap tat ion fu n ct io n s
an d en h an cem en t s. Th e Blu et o o t h p ro t o co l st ack can b e d ivid ed in t o a co r e
sp ecifica t io n (Blu et o o th , 2001a), wh ich d escrib es th e p ro t o co ls fro m p h ysical
layer to th e d ata lin k con trol t o get h er with m an agem en t fu n ct io n s, an d p ro fi le
sp e c i fic a t io n s (Blu et o o t h , 20 0 1 b ). Th e la t t er d escrib es m an y p ro t o co ls an d
fu n ction s n eed ed t o ad ap t th e wireless Blu et oo th tech n olo gy to legacy an d n ew
ap p licatio n s (see sectio n 7.5.9).
Th e co re p ro t o co ls of Blu eto oth co m p rise th e followin g elem en ts:

● Ra d io : Sp ecificatio n o f th e air in t erface, i.e., freq u en cies, m o d u latio n , an d

tran sm it p ower (see section 7.5.3).
● Ba seb a n d : Descrip t io n o f b asic co n n ectio n est ablish m en t , p acket fo rm ats,
tim in g, an d basic Qo S p aram et ers (see sect ion 7.5.4).
 Wireless LAN 275

Figure 7.44
audio apps. vCal/vCard NW apps. telephony apps. mgmnt. apps. Bluetooth protocol
stack
OBEX TCP/UDP

AT modem
IP
commands
TCS BIN SDP
PPP/BNEP Control

RFCOMM (serial line interface)

Audio Logical Link Control and Adaptation Protocol (L2CAP)

Host Controller Interface Link Manager

Baseband

Radio

AT: attention sequence SDP: service discovery protocol

OBEX: object exchange RFCOMM: radio frequency comm.
TCS BIN: telephony control protocol specification – binary
BNEP: Bluetooth network encapsulation protocol

● Li n k m a n a g er p r o t o c o l: Lin k set -u p an d m an agem en t b et w een d evices

in clu d in g secu rit y fu n ctio n s an d p aram eter n ego tiation (see sectio n 7.5.5).
● Lo g i ca l lin k c o n t r o l a n d a d a p t a t i o n p r o t o c o l (L2 CAP): Ad ap t at io n o f
h igh er layers to t h e baseban d (co n n ect io n less an d co n n ectio n -o rien t ed ser-
vices, see sect ion 7.5.6).
● Se r v ic e d isc o v e r y p r o t o c o l: Device d isco very in clo se p ro x im it y p lu s
q u eryin g of service ch aracteristics (see sect io n 7.5.8).

O n t o p o f L2CAP is t h e ca b le r ep la cem en t p ro t o co l RFCOMM th at em u -

lat es a serial lin e in t erface fo llo win g t h e EIA-232 (fo rm erly RS-232) st an d ard s.
Th is allo ws fo r a sim p le rep lacem en t o f serial lin e cab les an d en ab les m an y
legacy ap p lication s an d p rotocols to ru n over Blu etooth . RFCOMM su p p ort s m u l-
tip le serial p ort s over a sin gle p h ysical ch an n el. Th e t elep h o n y co n t ro l p ro t o co l
sp ecifi ca t io n – b in a r y (TCS BIN) d escrib es a bit -o rien ted p ro to col th at d efin es
call co n t ro l sign alin g fo r t h e est ab lish m en t o f vo ice an d d at a calls b et ween
Blu etooth d evices. It also d escribes m obility an d grou p m an agem en t fu n ction s.
Th e h o st co n t ro ller in t er fa ce (HCI) bet ween th e baseban d an d L2CAP p ro-
vid es a co m m an d in t erface to t h e b aseb an d co n t ro ller an d lin k m an ager, an d
access to th e h ard ware st atu s an d co n tro l registers. Th e HCI can be seen as t h e
h ard ware/ so ftware bo u n d ary.
276 Mobile communicat ions

Man y p r o t o c o ls h ave been a d o p t e d in t h e Blu et oo t h st an d ard . Classical

In tern et application s can still use th e stan dard TCP/IP stack ru n n in g over PPP or use
t h e m ore efficien t Blu et ooth n et work en cap su lat ion p roto col (BNEP). Telep h o n y
ap p licat ion s can u se t h e AT m od em com m an d s as if t h ey were u sin g a st an d ard
m odem . Calen dar an d bu sin ess card objects (vCalen dar/ vCard) can be exch an ged
usin g th e object exch an ge protocol (OBEX) as com m on with IrDA in terfaces.
A real d ifferen ce to ot h er p rotocol stacks is t h e su p p ort of a u d io . Au d io ap p li-
cation s m ay d irectly u se th e baseban d layer after en cod in g th e au dio sign als.

7.5.3 Radio layer

Th e rad io sp ecificatio n is a rat h er sh o rt d ocu m en t (less th an ten p ages) an d on ly
d efin es th e carrier freq u en cies an d o u tp u t p o wer. Several lim itat ion s h ad to b e
t aken in t o a cco u n t w h en Blu et o o t h ’s rad io layer w as d esign ed . Blu et o o t h
d evices will be in t egrated in to typ ical m o bile d evices an d rely o n battery p o wer.
Th is req u ires sm all, low p o wer ch ip s wh ich can be bu ilt in to h an d h eld d evices.
Wo rld wid e o p erat io n also req u ires a freq u en cy wh ich is availab le wo rld wid e.
Th e co m b in ed u se fo r d at a an d vo ice t ran sm issio n h as t o b e reflect ed in t h e
d esign , i.e., Blu et o ot h h as to su p p ort m u lt i-m ed ia d ata.
Blu et o o t h u ses t h e licen se-free freq u en cy b an d at 2 .4 GH z allo win g fo r
wo rld wid e o p erat io n wit h som e m in o r ad ap t at io n s t o n at io n al rest rict io n s. A
freq u en cy-h o p p in g/ t im e-d ivisio n d u p lex sch em e is u sed fo r t ran sm issio n , with
a fast h o p p in g rat e o f 1 ,6 0 0 h o p s p er seco n d . Th e t im e b et ween t wo h o p s is
called a slo t, wh ich is an in terval of 625 µs. Each slo t u ses a d ifferen t freq u en cy.
Blu eto oth u ses 79 h o p carriers eq u ally sp aced with 1 MHz. After wo rld wid e h ar-
m on izat ion , Blu etoo th d evices can be u sed (alm ost) an ywh ere.
Blu eto oth tran sceivers u se Gau ssian FSK for m od u lation an d are available in
th ree classes:

● Po w er cla ss 1 : Maxim u m p o wer is 100 m W an d m in im u m is 1 m W (t yp .

100 m ran ge with o u t obstacles). Po wer co n trol is m an d atory.
● Po w er cla ss 2 : Maxim u m p o wer is 2.5 m W, n o m in al p o wer is 1 m W, an d
m in im u m p o wer is 0.2 5 m W (t yp . 10 m ran ge w it h o u t o b st acles). Po wer
co n trol is op tion al.
● Po w er cla ss 3 : Maxim u m p o wer is 1 m W.

7.5.4 Baseband layer

Th e fu n ction s of th e baseban d layer are qu ite com plex as it n ot on ly perform s fre-
q u en cy h op p in g for in t erferen ce m it igation an d m ed iu m access, bu t also d efin es
ph ysical lin ks an d m an y packet form ats. Figure 7.45 sh ows several exam ples of fre-
qu en cy selection durin g data tran sm ission . Rem em ber th at each device participatin g
in a cert ain p ico n et h op s at t h e sam e t im e to t h e sam e carrier freq u en cy (fi in
Figure 7.45). If, for exam ple, th e m aster sen ds data at fk, th en a slave m ay an swer at
fk+1 . Th is scen ario sh ows an oth er feature of Bluetooth . TDD is used for separation of
t h e t ran sm issio n direction s. Th e u p p er p art of Figu re 7.45 sh ows so-called 1-slo t
 Wireless LAN 277

Figure 7.45
625 µs
Frequency selection
fk fk+1 fk+2 fk+3 fk+4 fk+5 fk+6 during data transmission
(1, 3, 5 slot packets)
M S M S M S M

fk fk+3 fk+4 fk+5 fk+6

M S M S M

fk fk+1 fk+6

M S M

p ack et s as th e data tran sm ission uses on e 625 µs slot. With in each slot th e m aster or
on e ou t of seven slaves m ay tran sm it data in an altern atin g fash ion . Th e con trol of
m edium access will be described later. Bluetooth also defin es 3-slot an d 5-slot p ack-
ets for h igh er d ata rates (m u lti-slo t p ackets). If a m ast er or a slave sen ds a p acket
coverin g th ree or five slots, th e radio tran sm itter rem ain s on th e sam e frequen cy. No
frequen cy h oppin g is perform ed wit h in packets. After tran sm ittin g th e packet, th e
radio return s to th e frequen cy required for its h oppin g sequen ce. Th e reason for th is
is quite sim ple: n ot every slave m igh t receive a tran sm ission (h id den term in al prob-
lem ) an d it can n ot react on a m ulti-slot tran sm ission . Th ose slaves n ot in volved in
th e tran sm ission will con tin ue with th e h oppin g sequen ce. Th is beh avior is im por-
tan t so th at all devices can rem ain syn ch ron ized, because th e p icon et is un iqu ely
defin ed by h avin g t h e sam e h op pin g seq uen ce with th e sam e ph ase. Sh iftin g t h e
ph ase in on e device would destroy th e picon et.
Figu re 7.46 sh ows th e com p on en ts of a Blu eto ot h p acket at baseban d layer.
Th e p acket typ ically co n sists o f th e fo llo win g th ree field s:

● Access co d e: Th is first field o f a p acket is n eed ed fo r t im in g syn ch ro n iza-

t io n an d p ico n et id en t ificat io n (ch an n el access co d e, C AC ). It m a y
rep resen t sp ecial cod es d u rin g p agin g (d evice access co d e, DAC) an d in q u iry
(in q u iry access co d e, IAC, see sectio n 7.5.5). Th e access co d e con sists of a 4
b it p r ea m b l e, a sy n c h r o n iza t io n field , an d a t r a ile r (if a p acket h ead er
follows). Th e 64-b it syn ch ron izatio n field is d erived fro m th e lo wer 24 bit o f

Figure 7.46
68(72) 54 0-2744 bits
Baseband packet
access code packet header payload format

4 64 (4) 3 4 1 1 1 8 bits

preamble sync. (trailer) AM address type flow ARQN SEQN HEC

278 Mobile communicat ions

an ad d ress (lo wer ad d ress p art, LAP). If th e access cod e is u sed for ch an n el
access (i.e., d at a t ran sm issio n between a m ast er an d a slave o r vice versa),
th e LAP is d erived fro m th e m aster’s glo bally u n iq u e 48-bit ad d ress. In case
o f p agin g (DAC) th e LAP of th e p aged d evice is u sed . If a Blu eto oth d evice
w an t s t o d isco ver o t h er (arb it rary) d evices in t ran sm issio n ran ge (gen eral
in q u iry p ro ced u re) it u ses a sp ecial reserved LAP. Sp ecia l LAPs can b e
d efin ed for in q u iries of d ed icated gro u p s o f d evices.
● Pa ck et h ea d er : Th is field con t ain s t yp ical layer 2 featu res: ad d ress, p acket
t y p e, flo w an d erro r co n t ro l, a n d ch ecksu m . Th e 3 -b it a c t i v e m em b e r
a d d r ess rep resen t s t h e act ive ad d ress o f a slave. Act ive ad d resses are tem -
p orarily assign ed to a slave in a p icon et . If a m aster sen d s d ata t o a slave t h e
ad d ress is in t erp reted as receiver ad d ress. If a slave sen d s d ata to t h e m ast er
th e ad d ress rep resen ts th e sen d er ad d ress. As o n ly a m aster m ay co m m u n i-
cate wit h a slave t h is sch em e works well. Seven ad d resses m ay be u sed th is
way. Th e zero valu e is reserved fo r a broad cast from th e m aster to all slaves.
Th e 4-bit t y p e field d eterm in es th e t yp e of th e p acket. Exam p les fo r p acket
t yp es are given in Tab le 7.6 . Packet s m ay carry co n t ro l, syn ch ro n o u s, o r
asyn ch ro n o u s d at a. A sim p le flo w co n t ro l m ech an ism fo r asyn ch ro n o u s
t raffic u ses t h e 1-b it flo w field . If a p acket is received w it h flo w=0 asyn -
ch ron o u s d ata, tran sm issio n m u st sto p . As so o n as a p acket wit h flow=1 is
received , t ran sm issio n m ay resu m e. If an ackn o wled gem en t o f p acket s is
req u ired , Blu et oo th sen d s th is in th e slo t followin g th e d at a (u sin g its t im e

Table 7.6 Bluetooth

baseband data rules Type Payload User FEC CRC Symmet ric Asymmet ric Max. rat e
header payload max. rat e forward [ kbit/ s]
[ byt e] [ byt e] [ kbit / s] reverse

DM1 1 0–17 2/ 3 yes 108.8 108.8 108.8

DH1 1 0–27 no yes 172.8 172.8 172.8
DM3 2 0–121 2/ 3 yes 258.1 387.2 54.4
DH3 2 0–183 no yes 390.4 585.6 86.4
DM5 2 0–224 2/ 3 yes 286.7 477.8 36.3
DH5 2 0–339 no yes 433.9 723.2 57.6
AUX1 1 0–29 no no 185.6 185.6 185.6
HV1 na 10 1/ 3 no 64.0 na na
HV2 na 20 2/ 3 no 64.0 na na
HV3 na 30 no no 64.0 na na
DV 1D 10+ 2/ 3 D yes 64.0+ na na
(0–9) D D 57.6 D
 Wireless LAN 279

d ivisio n d u p lex sch em e). A sim p le alt ern atin g bit p ro to co l with a sin gle bit
seq u en ce n u m ber SEQN an d ackn owled gem en t n u m ber ARQN can be u sed .
An 8-bit h ea d er er ro r ch eck (HEC) is u sed to p ro tect th e p acket h ead er. Th e
p acket h ead er is also p ro tect ed by a on e-t h ird rate fo rward erro r co rrectio n
(FEC) code becau se it con tain s valu able lin k in form at io n an d sh ou ld su rvive
bit errors. Th erefo re, th e 18-bit h ead er req u ires 54 bits in t h e p acket.
● Pa yloa d : Up to 343 bytes payload can be tran sferred. Th e structure of th e pay-
load field depen ds on th e type of lin k an d is explain ed in th e followin g section s.

7.5.4.1 Physical links

Blu eto oth o ffers two d ifferen t typ es of lin ks, a syn ch ron ou s co n n ection -orien ted
lin k an d an asyn ch ron ou s con n ection less lin k:

● Sy n ch ro n o u s co n n ect io n -o rien t ed lin k (SCO ): Classical telep h on e (voice)

co n n ectio n s req u ire sym m etrical, circu it -swit ch ed , p o in t-t o -p o in t co n n ec-
tion s. For th is typ e of lin k, th e m aster reserves two co n secu tive slots (forward
an d retu rn slots) at fixed in tervals. A m aster can su p p ort u p t o th ree sim u lta-
n eou s SCO lin ks t o th e sam e slave or to d ifferen t slaves. A slave su p ports u p
t o t wo lin ks fro m d ifferen t m ast ers o r u p t o t h ree lin ks fro m t h e sam e
m aster. Usin g an SCO lin k, t h ree d ifferen t typ es of sin gle-slot p ackets can be
u sed (Figu re 7.47). Each SCO lin k carries voice at 64 kbit /s, an d n o fo rw a rd
er ro r co rrect io n (FEC), 2/ 3 FEC, or 1/ 3 FEC can be select ed . Th e 1/ 3 FEC is
as st ro n g as t h e FEC fo r th e p acket h ead er an d trip les th e am o u n t o f d ata.
Dep en d in g o n t h e erro r rat e o f th e ch an n el, d ifferen t FEC sch em es can b e
ap p lied . FEC always cau ses an o verh ead , b u t avoid s retran sm issio n o f d at a
with a h igh er p ro bability. However, voice d ata over an SCO is n ever ret ran s-
m itt ed . In stead , a very robu st voice-en cod in g sch em e, co n t in u o u s variab le
slo p e d elt a (CVSD), is ap p lied (Haartsen , 1998).

Figure 7.47
payload (30) SCO payload types

HV1 audio (10) FEC (20)

HV2 audio (20) FEC (10)

HV3 audio (30)

DV audio (10) header (1) payload (0–9) 2/3 FEC CRC (2)

(bytes)
280 Mobile communicat ions

● Asy n c h r o n o u s c o n n e ct io n l e ss li n k (ACL): Typ ical d at a ap p licat io n s

req u ire sym m et rical o r asym m et rical (e.g., web t raffic), p acket -swit ch ed ,
p o in t -t o -m u lt ip o in t t ra n sfer scen ario s (in clu d in g b ro ad cast ). H ere t h e
m ast er u ses a p o llin g sch em e. A sla ve m ay o n ly an swer if it h as b een
a d d ressed in t h e p reced in g slo t . O n ly o n e AC L lin k can ex ist b et w een a
m ast er an d a slave. Fo r ACLs carryin g d at a, 1-slo t, 3-slo t o r 5-slot p acket s
can b e u sed (Figu re 7.48). Ad d it io n ally, d ata can b e p ro tect ed u sin g a 2/ 3
FEC sch em e. Th is FEC p rotectio n h elp s in n o isy en viron m en t s wit h a h igh
lin k erro r rat e. H o w ever, t h e o verh ea d in t ro d u ced b y FEC m igh t b e t o o
h igh . Blu et o o t h t h erefo re o ffers a fast au t o m at ic rep eat req u est (ARQ )
sch em e fo r relia b le t ran sm issio n . Th e p a y lo a d h ea d er (1 b yt e fo r 1 -slo t
p acket s, 2 b yt es fo r m u lt i-slot p acket s) co n t ain s an id en t ifier fo r a lo gical
ch an n el b et w een L2 C AP en t it ies, a flo w field fo r flo w co n t ro l at L2 C AP
level, an d a len gth field in d icatin g th e n u m ber of byt es of d ata in t h e p ay-
lo ad , exclu d in g p aylo ad h ead er an d CRC. Payload is always CRC p ro tected
excep t fo r t h e AUX1 p acket.

Table 7.6 lists Blu etooth ’s ACL an d SCO p ackets. Add ition ally, con trol p ackets
are available for p ollin g slaves, h op p in g syn ch ro n ization , or ackn owled gem en t.
Th e ACL types DM1 (data m ediu m rate) an d DH1 (data h igh rate) u se a sin gle slot
an d a o n e b yt e h ead er. DM 3 an d DH3 u se t h ree slo t s, DM5 an d DH5 u se five

Figure 7.48
ACL payload types payload (0–343)

header (1/2) payload (0–339) CRC (2)

DM1 header (1) payload (0–17) 2/3 FEC CRC (2)

DH1 header (1) payload (0–27) CRC (2) (bytes)

DM3 header (2) payload (0–121) 2/3 FEC CRC (2)

DH3 header (2) payload (0–138) CRC (2)

DM5 header (2) payload (0–224) 2/3 FEC CRC (2)

DH5 header (2) payload (0–339) CRC (2)

AUX1 header (1) payload (0–29)

 Wireless LAN 281

Figure 7.49
SCO ACL SCO ACL SCO ACL SCO ACL Example data
MASTER f0 f4 f6 f8 f 12 f 14 f18 f20 transmission

SLAVE 1 f1 f7 f9 f13 f19

SLAVE 2 f5 f 17 f21

slo t s. Med iu m rat es are always FEC p ro t ect ed , th e h igh rates rely o n CRC o n ly
fo r erro r d et ect io n . Th e h igh est availab le d at a rat es fo r Blu et o o t h d evices are
433.9 kbit / s (sym m et ric) o r 723.3/ 57.6 kb it / s (asym m etric). High q u alit y vo ice
(HV) p acket s always u se a sin gle slo t b u t d iffer wit h resp ect t o t h e am o u n t o f
redu n d an cy for FEC. DV (d ata an d voice) is a com bin ed p acket wh ere CRC, FEC,
an d p ayload h ead er are valid for th e d ata p art on ly.
Figu re 7.49 sh ows an exam p le tran sm ission between a m aster an d two slaves.
Th e m aster always u ses th e even freq u en cy slots, th e od d slots are for th e slaves.
In th is exam p le every sixth slot is u sed for an SCO lin k bet ween th e m aster an d
slave 1. Th e ACL lin ks u se sin gle o r m u ltip le slo ts p ro vid in g asym m etric b an d -
wid t h fo r co n n ect io n less p acket t ran sm issio n . Th is ex am p le again sh o ws t h e
h op pin g seq u en ce wh ich is in d ep en d en t of th e tran sm ission of p ackets.
Th e robu stn ess o f Blu eto oth d ata tran sm ission s is based on several t ech n o l-
ogies. FH-CDMA sep arates d ifferen t p icon et s with in a scattern et . FHSS m itigates
in terferen ce from ot h er d evices op eratin g in th e 2.4 GHz ISM ban d . Ad d ition ally,
FEC can be u sed t o co rrect tran sm ission errors. Blu etooth ’s 1/ 3 FEC sim p ly sen d s
t h ree co p ies o f each b it . Th e receiver t h en p erfo rm s a m ajo rit y d ecisio n : each
received t rip le o f bit s is m ap p ed in t o wh ich ever b it is in m ajo rit y. Th is sim p le
sch em e can co rrect all sin gle b it erro rs in t h ese trip les. Th e 2/ 3 FEC en co d in g
d etects all d ou ble erro rs an d can correct all sin gle bit errors in a cod eword.

Figure 7.50
NAK ACK Error recovery

MASTER A C C F H

SLAVE 1 B D E

SLAVE 2 G G
282 Mobile communicat ions

ACL lin ks can ad d itio n ally b e p rotected u sin g an ARQ sch em e an d a ch eck-
su m . Each p acket can b e ackn o wled ged in t h e slo t fo llo win g t h e p acket . If a
p acket is lost, a sen d er can retran sm it it im m ed iately in t h e n ext slo t after t h e
n egat ive ackn o w led gem en t , so it is called a fast ARQ sch em e. Th is sch em e
h ard ly exh ib it s an y o verh ead s in en viro n m en t s wit h lo w erro r rat es, as o n ly
p ackets wh ich are lost or d est ro yed h ave t o be ret ran sm itt ed . Retran sm issio n is
triggered by a n egative ackn owled gem en t o r a tim e-o u t.

7.5.5 Link manager prot ocol

Th e lin k m an ager p ro t o co l (LM P) m an ages va rio u s asp ect s o f t h e rad io lin k
bet ween a m aster an d a slave an d th e cu rren t p aram eter sett in g o f th e d evices.
LMP en h an ces baseban d fu n ction ality, bu t h igh er layers can st ill d irectly access
th e baseban d . Th e fo llo win g gro u p s o f fu n ct io n s are co vered by th e LMP:

● Au t h en tica t io n , p a irin g, a n d en cryp t io n : Alth ou gh basic au th en tication is

h an dled in th e baseban d , LMP h as to con trol th e exch an ge of ran dom n u m -
bers an d sign ed respon ses. Th e pairin g service is n eed ed to establish an in itial
tru st relation sh ip between two devices th at h ave n ever com m un icated before.
Th e resu lt of pairin g is a lin k key. Th is m ay be ch an ged, accepted or rejected.
LMP is n ot d irectly in volved in th e en cryp tion p ro cess, bu t sets th e en cryp -
tion m od e (n o en cryp tion , poin t-to-poin t, or broad cast), key size, an d ran dom
sp eed. Section 7.5.7 gives an overview of Bluetooth ’s security m ech an ism s.
● Sy n ch ro n iza t io n : Precise syn ch ron ization is of m ajo r im p ort an ce with in a
Blu et o o t h n et wo rk. Th e clo ck o ffset is u p d at ed each t im e a p acket is
received fro m th e m aster. Add ition ally, sp ecial syn ch ron izat io n p acket s can
b e received . Devices can also ex ch an ge t im in g in fo rm at io n related t o t h e
tim e d ifferen ces (slot bo u n d aries) bet ween two ad jacen t p ico n et s.
● Ca p a b ilit y n ego t ia t io n : Not o n ly th e version of t h e LMP can be exch an ged
b u t a lso in fo rm a t io n ab o u t t h e su p p o rt ed feat u res. N o t all Blu et o o t h
d evices w ill su p p o rt all fea t u res t h at are d escrib ed in t h e st an d ard , so
d evices h ave to agree t h e u sage o f, e.g., m u lti-slo t p ackets, en cryp tio n , SCO
lin ks, vo ice en co d in g, p ark/ sn iff/ h o ld m o d e (exp lain ed b elo w), HV2/ HV3
p ackets etc.
● Q u a lit y o f ser v ice n ego t ia t io n : Differen t p aram et ers con trol th e Q o S o f a
Blu et oo th d evice at t h ese lower layers. Th e p o ll in terval, i.e., t h e m axim u m
tim e bet ween t ran sm ission s fro m a m aster to a p articu lar slave, co n trols th e
laten cy an d tran sfer cap acit y. Dep en d in g on t h e q u ality of t h e ch an n el, DM
o r DH p ackets m ay be u sed (i.e., 2/ 3 FEC p ro tection o r n o p ro tectio n ). Th e
n u m ber o f rep etitio n s for b ro ad cast p ackets can be con tro lled . A m aster can
also lim it t h e n u m b er o f slo t s availab le fo r slaves’ an swers t o in crease it s
o wn b an d wid t h .
● P o w e r c o n t r o l: A Blu et o o t h d evice ca n m easu re t h e received sign a l
st ren gth . Dep en d in g on th is sign al level t h e d evice can d irect t h e sen d er o f
th e m easu red sign al to in crease o r d ecrease its tran sm it p ower.
 Wireless LAN 283

Figure 7.51
standby Major baseband states
unconnected
of a Bluetooth device

detach inquiry page connecting

transmit connected
active
AMA AMA

park hold sniff

low power
PMA AMA AMA

● Lin k su p er v isio n : LMP h as to co n tro l th e activit y o f a lin k, it m ay set u p

n ew SCO lin ks, o r it m ay d eclare t h e failu re o f a lin k.
● St a t e a n d t r a n sm i ssio n m o d e ch a n g e : Devices m igh t swit ch t h e
m aster/ slave role, d etach th em selves from a con n ection , or ch an ge th e op er-
atin g m od e. Th e available m od es will be exp lain ed togeth er with Figu re 7.51.

Wit h t ran sm issio n p o wer o f u p t o 100 m W, Blu et o o th d evices can h ave a

ran ge o f u p to 100 m . Havin g th is p o wer an d relyin g o n b atteries, a Blu et o o th
d evice can n ot be in an active tran sm it m o d e all th e tim e. Blu etooth d efin es sev-
eral lo w-p o wer st a t es fo r a d evice. Figu re 7 .5 1 sh o w s t h e m ajo r st at es o f a
Blu eto oth d evice an d typ ical tran sitio n s.
Every d evice, w h ich is cu rren t ly n o t p art icip at in g in a p ico n et (an d n o t
swit ch ed o ff), is in st a n d b y m o d e. Th is is a lo w-p o wer m o d e wh ere o n ly t h e
n ative clo ck is ru n n in g. Th e n ext st ep toward s th e in q u ir y m od e can h ap p en in
two d ifferen t ways. Eit h er a d evice wan ts to est ablish a p ico n et o r a d evice ju st
wan ts to list en to see if so m eth in g is goin g on .

● A d evice wan t s to establish a p ico n et: A u ser o f th e d evice wan ts to scan for
oth er d evices in t h e rad io ran ge. Th e d evice starts th e in q u iry p ro ced u re by
sen d in g a n in q u iry access co d e (IAC ) t h at is co m m o n t o all Blu et o o t h
d evices. Th e IAC is broad cast o ver 32 so-called wake-u p carriers in tu rn .
● Devices in st an d b y t h at list en p erio d ically: Devices in st an d b y m ay en t er
th e in q u iry m o d e p erio d ically t o search fo r IAC m essages o n th e wake-u p
carriers. As so on as a d evice d etect s an in q u iry it retu rn s a p acket con tain in g
its d evice ad d ress an d tim in g in form ation req u ired by th e m aster t o in itiate
a con n ection . Fro m t h at m om en t o n , th e d evice acts as slave.
284 Mobile communicat ions

If t h e in q u iry was su ccessfu l, a d evice en t ers th e p age m o d e. Th e in q u iry

p h ase is n ot coord in ated ; in q u iry m essages an d an swers to th ese m essages m ay
co llid e, so it m ay take a wh ile before th e in q u iry is su ccessfu l. After a wh ile (typ -
ically seco n d s b u t so m et im es u p t o a m in u t e) a Blu et o o t h d evice sees all t h e
d evices in its rad io ran ge.
D u rin g t h e p a g e st at e t w o d ifferen t ro les are d efin ed . Aft er fin d in g all
req u ired d evices th e m aster is able t o set u p con n ection s to each d evice, i.e., set-
t in g u p a p ico n et . D ep en d in g o n t h e d evice ad d resses received t h e m a st er
calcu lat es sp ecial h o p p in g seq u en ces t o co n tact each d evice in d ivid u ally. Th e
slaves an swer an d syn ch ro n ize with th e m aster’s clock, i.e., start wit h t h e h o p -
p in g seq u en ce d efin ed b y t h e m ast er. Th e m ast er m ay co n tin u e t o p age m o re
d evices t h at will be ad d ed t o th e p ico n et. As soo n as a d evice syn ch ro n izes t o
th e h o p p in g p attern of th e p icon et it also en ters th e con n ection st ate.
Th e co n n ect io n st at e co m p rises t h e act ive st at e an d t h e lo w p o wer st at es
p ark, sn iff, an d h o ld . In t h e act ive st at e t h e slave p articip at es in t h e p icon et by
listen in g, tran sm it tin g, an d receivin g. ACL an d SCO lin ks can be u sed . A m aster
p eriod ically syn ch ro n izes wit h all slaves. All d evices bein g active m u st h ave t h e
3 -b it a c t iv e m e m b e r a d d r ess (AM A). W it h in t h e act ive st at e d evices eit h er
tran sm it d ata o r are sim p ly co n n ected . A d evice can en ter stan d b y again , via a
d et ach pro ced u re
To save b a t t ery p o wer, a Blu et o o t h d evice can go in t o o n e o f t h ree lo w
p o wer states:

● Sn iff st a t e: Th e sn iff stat e h as t h e h igh est p o wer co n su m p t io n o f t h e lo w

p o wer states. Here, th e d evice list en s t o t h e p ico n et at a red u ced rate (n o t
o n every ot h er slot as is th e case in t h e active state). Th e in terval for listen -
in g in t o th e m ed iu m can be p ro gram ed an d is ap p licat ion d ep en d en t. Th e
m ast er d esign at es a red u ced n u m b er o f slo t s fo r t ran sm issio n t o slaves in
sn iff st at e. Ho wever, t h e d evice keep s its AMA.
● H o ld st a t e: Th e d evice d o es n o t release it s AM A b u t st o p s AC L t ran s-
m issio n . A slave m ay st ill exch an ge SCO p ackets. If t h ere is n o act ivit y in
th e p ico n et, th e slave m ay eith er red u ce p o wer con su m p tion o r p art icip ate
in an oth er p ico n et.
● Pa rk st a t e: In th is state th e device h as th e lowest d u ty cycle an d th e lowest
p o w er co n su m p t io n . Th e d evice releases it s AMA an d receives a p arked
m em ber ad dress (PMA). Th e d evice is still a m em ber of th e p icon et, bu t gives
ro o m fo r an o th er d evice t o b eco m e act ive (AMA is o n ly 3 b it, PMA 8 bit ).
Parked d evices are still FH syn ch ron ized an d wake u p at certain beacon in ter-
vals for re-syn ch ron ization . All PDUs sen t to p arked slaves are broad cast.
 Wireless LAN 285

Table 7.7 Example

Operat ing mode Average current [ mA] power consumption
(CSR, 2002)
SCO, HV1 53
SCO, HV3, 1 s interval sniff mode 26
ACL, 723.2 kbit/ s 53
ACL, 115.2 kbit/ s 15.5
ACL, 38.4 kbit/ s, 40 ms interval sniff mode 4
ACL, 38.4 kbit/ s, 1.28 s interval sniff mode 0.5
Park mode, 1.28 s beacon interval 0.6
Standby (no RF activity) 0.047

Th e effect o f t h e lo w p o wer stat es is sh o wn in Tab le 7.7. Th is t ab le sh o ws

th e typ ical average p o wer con su m p tio n o f a Blu et oo t h d evice (Blu eCore2, CSR,
2002). It is o bviou s th at h igh er d at a rates also req u ire m ore tran sm issio n p ower.
Th e in t ervals in sn iff m o d e also in flu en ce p o wer co n su m p t io n . Typ ical IEEE
802.11b p ro d u ct s h ave an average cu rren t in th e o rd er of 200 m A wh ile receiv-
in g, 300 m A wh ile sen d in g, an d 20 m A in stan d by.

7.5.6 L2CAP
Th e lo gical lin k co n t ro l a n d a d a p t a t io n p ro t o co l (L2 CAP) is a d at a lin k con -
t ro l p ro t o co l o n t o p o f t h e b aseb an d layer o fferin g lo gical ch an n els b et ween
Blu eto oth d evices wit h QoS p ro p ert ies. L2CAP is available fo r ACLs on ly. Au d io
ap p lica t io n s u sin g SC O s h ave t o u se t h e b aseb a n d layer d irect ly (see Figu re
7.44). L2CAP p ro vid es t h ree d ifferen t t yp es o f lo gical ch an n els t h at are t ran s-
p orted via th e ACL between m aster an d slave:

● Co n n ect io n less: Th ese u n id irect io n al ch an n els are typ ically u sed for broad -
casts fro m a m ast er to its slave(s).
● Co n n ect io n -o rien t ed : Each ch an n el o f t h is t yp e is b i-d irect io n al an d su p -
p o rt s Q o S flo w sp ecificat io n s fo r each d irect io n . Th ese flo w sp ecs fo llo w
RFC 1 36 3 (Part rid ge, 19 92) an d d efin e average/ p eak d at a rat e, m axim u m
bu rst size, laten cy, an d jitt er.
● Sign a lin g: Th is t h ird typ e o f lo gical ch an n el is u sed to exch an gin g sign al-
in g m essages between L2CAP en tities.

Each ch an n el can b e id en t ified b y its ch a n n el id en t ifier (CID). Sign alin g

ch an n els always u se a CID valu e of 1, a CID value of 2 is reserved for con n ect io n -
less ch an n els. Fo r co n n ect io n -o rien t ed ch an n els a u n iq u e C ID (>= 6 4 ) is
d yn am ically assign ed at each en d o f t h e ch an n el t o id en t ify t h e co n n ect io n
286 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 7.52
Slave Master Slave
Logical channels
between devices L2CAP L2CAP L2CAP
2 d 1 1 d d d d 1 1 d d 2

baseband baseband baseband

signaling ACL connectionless connection-oriented

(CIDs 3 t o 63 are reserved ). Figu re 7 .52 gives an exam p le fo r lo gical ch an n els

u sin g th e ACL lin k between m aster an d slave. Th e m ast er h as a bi-direction al sig-
n alin g ch an n el to each slave. Th e CID at each en d is 1. Ad d ition ally, th e m ast er
m ain t ain s a co n n ect io n less, u n id irectio n al ch an n el t o b o t h slaves. Th e CID at
th e slaves is 2, wh ile th e CID at th e begin n in g o f t h e con n ection less ch an n el is
d yn am ically assign ed . L2CAP p rovid es m ech an ism s to ad d slaves to, an d rem ove
slaves fro m , su ch a m u lt icast gro u p . Th e m ast er h as o n e co n n ect io n o rien t ed
ch an n el to th e left slave an d two to th e righ t slave. All CIDs for t h ese ch an n els
are d yn am ically assign ed (between 64 an d 65535).
Figu re 7 .53 sh o w s t h e t h ree p acket t yp es b elo n gin g t o t h e t h ree lo gical
ch an n el t yp es. Th e len gt h field in d icates t h e len gth o f th e p ayload (p lu s PSM
fo r co n n ectio n less PDUs). Th e CID h as t h e m u ltip lexin g/ d em u lt ip lexin g fu n c-
t io n a s ex p la in ed ab o ve. Fo r co n n ect io n less PDUs a p r o t o co l / se r v i c e
m u lt ip lex o r (PSM ) field is n eed ed to id en t ify th e h igh er layer recip ien t fo r t h e
p aylo ad . Fo r co n n ect io n -o rien t ed PDUs t h e CID alread y fu lfills t h is fu n ct io n .
Several PSM valu es h ave been d efin ed , e.g., 1 (SDP), 3 (RFCO MM), 5 (TCS-BIN).
Valu es ab o ve 4096 can b e assign ed d yn am ically. Th e p aylo ad o f t h e sign alin g
PDU con t ain s o n e o r m ore co m m a n d s. Each co m m an d h as it s own co d e (e.g.,
for co m m an d reject, co n n ectio n req u est, d isco n n ectio n resp o n se etc.) an d an ID
th at m at ch es a req u est wit h it s rep ly. Th e len gt h field in d icat es t h e len gt h o f
th e d a t a field for th is com m an d .
Besid es p rot o col m u ltip lexin g, flo w sp ecificatio n , an d gro u p m an agem en t,
t h e L2 C AP layer a lso p ro vid es segm en t at io n an d reassem b ly fu n ct io n s.
Dep en d in g on th e baseban d cap abilities, large p ackets h ave to be ch o p p ed in t o
sm aller segm en ts. DH5 lin ks, fo r exam p le, can carry a m axim u m o f 339 b yt es
wh ile th e L2CAP layer accep ts u p to 64 kbyt e.
 Wireless LAN 287

Figure 7.53
Connectionless PDU
L2CAP packet
2 2 ≥2 0–65533 bytes formats
length CID = 2 PSM payload

Connection-oriented PDU
2 2 0–65535 bytes

length CID payload

Signaling command PDU

2 2 bytes

length CID = 1 One or more commands

1 1 2 ≥0

code ID length data

7.5.7 Securit y
A rad io in terface is by n atu re easy to access. Blu etoo th d evices can tran sm it p ri-
vat e d at a, e.g., sch ed u les b et ween a PDA an d a m o b ile p h o n e. A u ser clearly
d o es n o t wan t an o th er p erso n to eavesd rop th e d ata tran sfer. Ju st im agin e a sce-
n ario wh ere t wo Blu et o o t h en ab led PDAs in su it cases ‘m eet ’ o n t h e co n veyo r
b elt o f an a irp o rt ex ch an gin g p erso n al in fo rm at io n ! Blu et o o t h o ffers m ech -
an ism s fo r au t h en t icat io n an d en cryp t io n o n t h e MAC layer, w h ich m u st b e
im p lem en t ed in t h e sam e way wit h in each d evice.
Th e m ain secu rit y feat u res o ffered b y Blu et o o t h in clu d e a ch allen ge-
resp o n se ro u t in e fo r au t h en t icat io n , a st rea m cip h er fo r en cryp t io n , an d a
sessio n key gen eratio n . Each con n ection m ay req u ire a on e-way, two-way, or n o
au th en tication u sin g th e ch allen ge-resp o n se rou t in e. All th ese sch em es h ave t o
be im p lem en ted in silicon , an d h igh er layers sh ou ld o ffer stron ger en cryp tio n if
n eed ed . Th e secu rity feat u res in clu d ed in Blu etoo t h on ly h elp to set u p a local
d o m ain of tru st between d evices.
Th e secu rity algo rith m s u se th e p u blic id en tity of a d evice, a secret p rivate
u ser key, an d an in t ern ally gen erated ran d o m key as in p u t p aram eters. For each
t ra n sact io n , a n ew ran d o m n u m b er is gen erat ed o n t h e Blu et o o t h ch ip . Key
m an agem en t is left to h igh er layer soft ware.
Figu re 7.54 sh ows several step s in th e secu rity arch itectu re of Blu etooth . Th e
illu stration is sim p lified an d th e in terested read er is referred to Blu etooth (2001a)
fo r fu rt h er d etails. Th e first st ep , called p a ir in g, is n ecessary if t wo Blu et o o t h
devices h ave n ever m et before. To set u p trust between th e two devices a user can
en ter a secret PIN in to both devices. Th is PIN can h ave a len gth of u p to 16 byte.
Un fortun ately, m ost d evices lim it th e len gth to four digits or, even worse, program
288 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 7.54
Bluetooth security User input (initialization)
components and
protocols PIN (1–16 byte) Pairing PIN (1–16 byte)

E2 Authentication key generation E2

(possibly permanent storage)

link key (128 bit) Authentication link key (128 bit)

E3 Encryption key generation E3

(temporary storage)

encryption key (128 bit) Encryption encryption key (128 bit)

Keystream generator Keystream generator

payload key Ciphering payload key

Cipher data
Data Data

t h e d evices wit h t h e fixed PIN ‘0000’ ren d erin g t h e wh o le secu rit y co n cep t o f
Blu etooth q u estion able at least. Based on th e PIN, th e d evice add ress, an d ran dom
n u m bers, several keys can be com pu ted wh ich can be used as lin k key for a u t h en -
tica tio n . Lin k keys are typically stored in a p ersisten t storage. Th e au th en tication
is a ch allen ge-resp on se p rocess based on th e lin k key, a ran dom n u m ber gen erated
by a verifier (th e d evice th at req u ests au th en tication ), an d th e d evice ad d ress of
th e claim an t (th e device th at is auth en ticated).
Ba sed o n t h e lin k key, valu es gen erat ed d u rin g t h e au t h en t ica t io n , an d
again a ran d om n u m ber an en cryp tion key is gen erated d u rin g th e en cr yp t io n
stage of th e secu rity arch it ectu re. Th is key h as a m axim u m size o f 128 bits an d
can b e in d ivid u ally gen erated fo r each t ran sm issio n . Based o n t h e en cryp t io n
key, t h e d evice ad d ress a n d t h e cu rren t clo ck a p aylo ad key is gen erat ed fo r
cip h erin g u ser d at a. Th e p aylo ad key is a st ream o f p seu d o -ran d o m b it s. Th e
cip h erin g p rocess is a sim p le XOR o f t h e u ser d ata an d th e p ayload key.
Com p ared to W EP in 802.11, Blu et oo th offers a lo t m ore secu rit y. However,
Blu et o o t h , to o , h as so m e weakn esses wh en it co m es t o real im p lem en tat io n s.
Th e PINs are q u ite o ften fixed . So m e of th e keys are p erm an en t ly stored o n t h e
d evices an d t h e q u alit y o f t h e ran d o m n u m b er gen erato rs h as n o t b een sp eci-
fied . If Blu et o o t h d evices are swit ch ed o n t h ey can b e d et ect ed u n less t h ey
op erate in th e n o n -d iscoverable m o d e (n o an swers to in q u iry req u ests). Eith er a
 Wireless LAN 289

u ser can use all services as in ten d ed by th e Blu eto oth syst em , o r th e d evices are
h id d en to p ro t ect p rivacy. Eith er roam in g p ro files can be establish ed , o r d evices
are h id d en an d , t h u s m a n y services w ill n o t w o rk. If a lo t o f p eo p le ca rry
Blu et o o th d evices (m o bile p h o n es, PDAs et c.) th is co u ld give, e.g., d ep artm en t
stores, a lo t of in form atio n regard in g con su m er b eh avio r.

7.5.8 SDP
Blu et o o t h d evices sh o u ld wo rk t o get h er wit h o t h er d evices in u n kn o wn en vi-
ro n m en t s in an ad -h o c fash io n . It is essen t ial t o kn o w wh at d evices, o r m o re
sp ecifically wh at services, are available in rad io p roxim ity. To fin d n ew services,
Blu et o ot h d efin ed th e ser vice d isco v er y p ro t o co l (SDP). SDP d efin es o n ly th e
d isco very o f services, n o t t h eir u sage. Disco vered services can b e cach ed an d
grad u al disco very is p o ssible. Devices th at wan t to offer a service h ave t o in stal
an SDP server. Fo r all o th er d evices an SDP clien t is su fficien t.
All th e in form at ion an SDP server h as abou t a service is co n tain ed in a ser-
v ic e r e co r d . Th is co n sist s o f a list o f service at t rib u t es an d is id en t ified b y a
3 2 -b it service reco rd h an d le. SDP d o es n o t in fo rm clien t s o f an y a d d ed o r
rem oved services. Th ere is n o service access con t ro l o r service bro kerage. A ser-
v i c e a t t r i b u t e co n sist s o f an a t t rib u t e ID an d a n at t rib u t e va lu e. Th e 1 6 -b it
a t t r ib u t e ID d ist in gu ish es each service at t rib u t e fro m o t h er service at t rib u tes
with in a service reco rd . Th e at tribu t e ID also id en tifies th e sem an tics of th e asso-
ciat ed at t rib u t e valu e. Th e a t t r ib u t e v a lu e ca n b e a n in t eger, a UUID
(u n iversally u n iq u e id en t ifier), a st rin g, a Bo o lean , a URL (u n ifo rm reso u rce
locat or) et c. Table 7.8 gives som e exam p le att ribu tes. Th e service h an d le as well
as t h e ID list m u st b e p resen t . Th e ID list co n t ain s t h e UUIDs o f t h e service
classes in in creasin g gen eralit y (fro m t h e sp ecific co lo r p o st scrip t p rin t er t o

Table 7.8 Example

Att ribut e name At t ribute ID At tribute value Example attributes for an SDP
type service record

ServiceRecordHandle 0000 32-bit unsigned 1f3e4723

integer
ServiceClassIDList 0001 Data element ColorPostscriptPrinterService
sequence (UUIDs) ClassID,
PostscriptPrinterService
ClassID, PrinterServiceClassID

ProtocolDescriptorList 0004 Data element sequence ((L2CAP, PSM=RFCOMM),

(RFCOMM, CN=2), (PPP),
(IP), (TCP), (IPP))

DocumentationURL 000A URL www.xy.zz/ print/ srvs.html

IconURL 000C URL www.xy.zz/ print/ ico.png
ServiceName 0100 String Color Printer
290 Mobile communicat ions

p rin ters in gen eral). Th e p rot o co l d escrip tor list com p rises th e p ro tocols n eed ed
to access th is service. Ad d it io n ally, th e URLs fo r service d ocu m en tatio n , an icon
fo r t h e service an d a service n am e wh ich can b e d isp layed t o get h er wit h t h e
ico n are st o red in t h e exam p le service record .

7.5.9 Profiles
Alth o u gh Blu etoo th start ed as a very sim p le arch itectu re fo r sp on tan eou s ad -h oc
co m m u n ication , m an y d ifferen t p roto cols, co m p o n en t s, ext en sio n s, an d m ech -
an ism s h a ve b een d evelo p ed o ver t h e la st years. Ap p licat io n d esign ers an d
ven d o rs can im p lem en t sim ilar, o r even id en t ical, services in m an y d ifferen t
ways u sin g d ifferen t co m p o n en t s an d p ro to co ls fro m th e Blu et o o t h co re stan -
d ard . To p ro vid e co m p at ib ilit y am o n g t h e d evices o fferin g t h e sam e services,
Blu eto oth sp ecified m an y p ro files in ad d it io n t o th e core p roto cols. With o u t t h e
p ro files too m an y p aram eters in Blu eto oth wo u ld m ake in tero p eration between
d evices fro m d ifferen t m an ufactu rers alm o st im p ossible.
Pr o files rep resen t d efau lt so lu t io n s fo r a cert ain u sage m o d el. Th ey u se a
select io n o f p ro t o co ls an d p aram et er set t o fo rm a b asis fo r in t ero p erab ilit y.
Protocols can be seen as h orizon tal layers wh ile p rofiles are vert ical slices (as illu s-
trated in Figu re 7.55). Th e followin g b a sic p ro fi les h ave been sp ecified : gen eric
access, service d isco very, cord less telep h on y, in tercom , serial p ort, h ead set, d ial-
u p n et wo rkin g, fax , LAN access, gen eric o b ject exch an ge, o b ject p u sh , file
tran sfer, an d syn ch ron ization . Ad d it io n a l p ro fi les are: ad van ced au d io d istribu -
tio n , PAN, au d io vid eo rem ote co n t rol, b asic p rin t in g, b asic im agin g, ext en d ed
service d isco very, gen eric au d io vid eo d ist rib u t io n , h an d s-free, an d h ard co p y
cable rep lacem en t . Each p ro file selects a set of p rotocols. Fo r exam p le, th e serial
p o rt p ro file n eed s RFCO MM, SDP, LMP, L2CAP. Baseb an d an d rad io are always
req u ired . Th e p ro file fu rt h er d efin es all in t ero p erab ilit y req u irem en t s, su ch as
RS232 con t ro l sign als fo r RFCO MM o r co n figu rat io n o p t io n s fo r L2CAP (Qo S,
m ax. tran sm ission u n it).

Figure 7.55
Bluetooth profiles Applications
Protocols

Profiles
 Wireless LAN 291

7.5.10 IEEE 802.15

In 1 99 9 t h e IEEE est ab lish ed a wo rkin g gro u p fo r wireless p erso n al area n et -
wo rks (W PAN) with sim ilar go als t o Blu et oo t h . Th e wo rkin g grou p was d ivid ed
in t o several su b gro u p s fo cu sin g o n d ifferen t asp ect s o f W PANs (IEEE, 20 02c).
Th e fo llo w in g gives a q u ick o verview an d p resen t s t h e st an d ard fo r lo w -rat e
W PANs, 802.15.4, in so m e m ore d et ail:

● IEEE 8 0 2 .1 5 .1 : Th is gro u p st an d a rd izes t h e lo wer layers o f Bl u e t o o t h

togeth er wit h th e Blu eto ot h con sort iu m . IEEE LANs focu s o n ly on th e p h ys-
ical an d d ata lin k layer, wh ile th e Blu eto oth stan d ard also com p rises h igh er
layers, ap p licatio n p ro files, service d escrip tion etc. as exp lain ed abo ve.
● IEEE 8 02 .1 5.2 : Th e co ex ist en ce of wireless p erso n al area n etwo rks (W PAN)
an d wireless local area n et works (W LAN) is th e fo cu s of t h is gro u p . On e t ask
is t o q u an tify m u tu al in terferen ce an d t o d evelo p algorith m s an d p ro to co ls
fo r co exist en ce. W it h o u t ad d it io n al m ech an ism s, Blu et o o th / 802.15.1 m ay
act like a rogu e m em b er o f an IEEE 802.11 n etwork. Blu eto oth is n ot aware
of gap s, in ter-fram e sp acin g, fram e stru ct u res et c. Figu re 7.56 illu st rates t h e
p ro b lem . As exp lain ed in sectio n 7.3, W LANs fo llo win g th e IEEE 80 2.11b
st an d ard m ay u se t h ree n o n -o verlap p in g ch an n els t h at are ch o sen d u rin g
in st alla t io n o f t h e access p o in t s. Blu et o o t h / 8 0 2 .1 5 .1 n et w o rks u se a fre-
q u en cy h op p in g p attern to sep arat e d ifferen t p icon ets – 79 ch an n els can be
u sed . Wit h o u t ad d ition al m ech an ism s, th e h op p in g p at tern of Blu eto oth is
in d ep en d en t o f 8 02.11b ’s ch an n el select io n . Bo t h syst em s wo rk in th e 2.4
GHz ISM ban d an d m igh t in terfere with each oth er. Figu re 7.56 sh ows t wo
h o p p in g seq u en ces o f t wo p ico n et s in t erferin g wit h several d at a p acket s,
ackn o wled gem en t s, an d in ter-fram e sp acin gs o f 802.11b. Th e real effects of
t h e in t erferen ce ran ge fro m ‘alm o st n o effect ’ t o ‘co m p lete b reakd o wn o f
th e W LAN’. Pu blicat ion s o n th is issu e d iffer d ep en d in g o n th e test scen ario ,
t raffic lo ad , sign al p o w er, p ro p agat io n co n d it io n s et c. (Lan sfo rd , 2 0 0 1 ).
However, it seem s t h at Blu eto oth wit h its FHSS sch em e is m o re ro bu st th an
8 0 2 .1 1 b wit h CSM A/ CA (Pah lavan , 2 0 0 2 ). To o verco m e t h e in t erferen ce
p ro b lem s b et ween 8 0 2.1 1 b an d 80 2 .15 .1 , h o wever severe t h ey m igh t b e,
t h e 80 2.15 .2 wo rkin g gro u p p ro p o ses a d a p t iv e fr eq u en cy h o p p in g . Th is

Figure 7.56
f [MHz] Possible interference
2480 802.11b between 802.15.1
1000 byte
3 channels (Bluetooth) and 802.11b
DIFS
DIFS

SIFS
ACK

(separated by
installation)
500 byte 500 byte
DIFS

DIFS

DIFS
SIFS

SIFS
ACK

ACK

500 byte
802.15.1
79 channels
100 100 100 100 100
(separated by
DIFS

DIFS

DIFS

DIFS

DIFS
SIFS

SIFS

SIFS

SIFS

SIFS
ACK

ACK

ACK

ACK

ACK

byte byte byte byte byte

2402 hopping pattern)
t
292 Mobile communicat ions

co ex ist en ce m ech an ism is n o n -co llab o rat ive in t h e sen se t h at Blu et o o t h

d evices d o n o t h ave t o in t era ct w it h t h e W LAN. H o w ever, t h e W PAN
d evices can ch eck for t h e o ccu p ied ch an n els an d exclu d e t h em fro m t h eir
list o f ch an n els u sed fo r h o p p in g. Th is m ech an ism avo id s h o p p in g in t o a
ch an n el o ccu p ied b y 8 0 2.11 b , b u t st ill o ffers en o u gh ch an n els fo r FHSS.
Th e lo wer n u m ber o f FHSS ch an n els in creases t h e in t erferen ce am o n g th e
W PANs d u e t o a h igh er p ro bability o f collisio n s. However, if n ot t oo m an y
p ico n ets o verlap t h is effect will b e n egligib le. Th is t yp e o f in terferen ce in
th e cro wd ed 2.4 GHz ban d is a stron g argu m en t for 5 GHz W LANs.
● IEEE 8 02 .1 5.3: A h igh -rat e st ud y gro u p loo ks fo r a stan d ard p ro vid in g d at a
rates o f 20 Mbit/ s or greater wh ile st ill wo rkin g wit h lo w-p o wer at low-co st.
Th e stan d ard sh o u ld su p p ort isoch ro n o u s d ata d elivery, ad -h o c p eer-t o-p eer
n et wo rkin g, secu rit y feat u res, an d sh o u ld m eet t h e d em an d in g req u ire-
m en ts o f p o rt able con su m er im agin g an d m u lti-m ed ia ap p licatio n s.
● IEEE 8 02.15.4: Th e fo u rth workin g grou p goes in t h e o p p osite d irect ion for
d ata rates. Th is grou p stan dardizes lo w -ra te w ireless p erso n a l area n et w ork s
(LR-W PAN), wh ich are explain ed in th e followin g section in m ore d etail. Th e
ZigBee con sortiu m tries to stan dardize th e h igh er layers of 802.15.4 sim ilar to
th e activities of th e Bluetooth con sortiu m for 802.15.1 (ZigBee, 2002).

7.5.10.1 IEEE 802.15.4 – Low-rat e WPANs

Th e reaso n fo r h avin g lo w d at a rat es is t h e fo cu s o f t h e wo rkin g gro u p o n
ext rem ely lo w p o wer co n su m p t io n en ab lin g m u lti-year b at t ery life (Callaway,
2002). Co m p ared to 802.11 o r Blu et o o th , th e n ew system sh o u ld h ave a m u ch
lo wer co m p lex it y m akin g it su it ab le fo r lo w-co st wireless co m m u n icat io n
(rem em ber th at Blu etoo th started with sim ilar go als with resp ect to th e id ea o f
cable rep lacem en t). Exam p le a p p lica t io n s in clu d e in d u strial co n trol an d m on i-
torin g, sm art bad ges, in tercon n ection of en viron m en tal sen sors, in tercon n ection
of p erip h erals (also an en visaged ap p lication area for Blu et ooth !), rem ote con trols
etc. Th e n ew stan d ard sh ou ld offer d ata rates between 20 an d 250 kbit / s as m axi-
m u m an d lat en cies d o wn to 15 m s. Th is is en ou gh for m an y h o m e au tom at ion
an d co n su m er elect ron ics ap p lication s.
IEEE 802.15.4 offers two differen t PHY op tion s u sin g DSSS. Th e 868/ 915 MHz
PH Y o p erat es in Eu ro p e at 8 68.0–8 68.6 M Hz an d in t h e US at 9 02–928 MHz.
At 868 MHz on e ch an n el is available offerin g a data rate of 20 kbit/s. At 915 MHz
10 ch an n els with 40 kbit / s p er ch an n el are available (in Eu ro p e GSM u ses th ese
freq uen cies). Th e advan tages of th e lower frequ en cies are better p ropagation con -
d itio n s. Ho wever, t h ere is also in t erferen ce in t h ese b an d s as m an y an alo g
tran sm ission system s u se th em . Th e 2.4 GHz PHY op erates at 2.4–2.4835 GHz an d
offers 16 ch an n els with 250 kbit/ s per ch an n el. Th is PHY offers world wide op era-
t io n b u t su ffers fro m in t erferen ce in t h e 2 .4 GHz ISM b an d an d h igh er
prop agation loss. Typ ical devices with 1 m W ou tp u t power are expected to cover a
10–20 m ran ge. All PHY PDUs start with a 32 bit p ream ble for syn ch ron ization .
Aft er a start -o f-p acket d elim iter, th e PHY h ead er in d icates th e len gth of th e p ay-
load (m axim u m 127 bytes).
 Wireless LAN 293

Co m p ared t o Blu et o o t h t h e M AC la y e r o f 8 0 2.15 .4 is m u ch sim p ler. Fo r

exam p le, n o syn ch ro n o u s vo ice lin ks are su p p o rt ed . MAC fram es st art wit h a
2-b yte fram e co n t ro l field , wh ich sp ecifies h o w t h e rest o f th e fram e lo o ks an d
wh at it co n t ain s. Th e fo llo win g 1 -b yt e seq u en ce n u m b er is n eed ed t o m at ch
ackn owled gem en ts with a p reviou s d ata tran sm ission . Th e variable ad d ress field
(0–20 byt es) m ay con tain source an d / or d estin ation ad d resses in variou s form ats.
Th e p aylo ad is varia b le in len gt h ; h o wever, t h e wh o le M AC fram e m ay n o t
exceed 127 bytes in len gth . A 16-bit FCS p rotects th e fram e. Fou r d ifferen t MAC
fram es h ave been d efin ed : beacon , data, ackn owled gem en t, an d MAC com m an d.
Op tio n ally, th is LR-W PAN o ffers a su p erfra m e m o d e. In th is m o d e, a PAN
coo rd in ato r t ran sm it s b eaco n s in p red eterm in ed in t ervals (15 m s–245 s). With
th e h elp o f b eaco n s, th e m ed iu m access sch em e can h ave a p erio d wh en co n -
t en t io n is p o ssib le an d a p erio d wh ich is co n t en t io n free. Fu rt h erm o re, w it h
beacon s a slo tted CSM A/ CA is available. With ou t beacon s stan d ard CSMA/ CA is
u sed for m ed iu m access. Ackn owled gem en t fram es con firm in g a previou s tran s-
m issio n d o n o t u se t h e CSMA m ech an ism . Th ese fram es are sen t im m ed iat ely
followin g th e p revio u s p acket.
IEEE 802.15.4 sp ecifies t h ree levels o f secu r it y : n o secu rit y, access co n t ro l
list s, an d sym m etric en cryp tio n u sin g AES-128. Key d istribu tio n is n ot sp ecified
fu rth er. Secu rity is a m u st for h om e au t om at ion or in d u stry con t rol ap p licat ion s.
Up t o n o w, t h e su ccess o f t h is st an d ard is u n clear as it is sq u eezed b et w een
Blu et oo th , wh ich also aim s at cab le rep lacem en t , an d en h an ced RFIDs/ RF co n -
trollers. Th ese will be exp lain ed in th e su m m ary in m ore d etail.

7.6 Summary

Th is ch ap t er h as in tro d u ced t h ree d ifferen t t ech n o lo gies d esign ed fo r W LANs

(o r W PAN in t h e case o f Blu et o ot h , bu t th ere is n o real b ord er bet ween W LAN
an d W PAN). Th e b asic go als o f all t h ree LAN t yp es are t h e p ro visio n o f m u ch
h igh er flexibility for n o d es with in a n et work. All W LANs su ffer from lim itation s
of th e air in t erface an d h igh er co m p lexit y com p ared to th eir wired co u n t erp arts,
bu t allo w fo r a n ew d egree o f freed om fo r th eir u sers wit h in roo m s, bu ild in gs, o r
p ro d u ct io n h alls. W LANs are alread y in wid esp read u se in , e.g., w areh o u ses,
classroom s, m eetin g roo m s an d h osp itals.
However, th e t h ree tech n o lo gies also d iffer in som e resp ects. W h ereas in t h e
begin n in g of W LANs several p ro p riet ary p rod u cts existed , n owad ays t h ey typ i-
cally o ffer su p p o rt fo r IEEE 802.11b (wit h .11a an d .11g u p co m in g). Alth o u gh
t h e IEEE 80 2.11b st a n d ard is m u ch sim p ler co m p ared t o o t h ers, it st ill leaves
ro o m fo r d ifferen t im p lem en t at io n s. Th e w ireless Et h ern et co m p at ib ilit y
allian ce (W ECA, 2002) certifies in t ero p erability o f 802.11 p ro d u ct s (WiFi, wire-
less fid elity). Tod ay, m illion s o f wireless ad ap t ers fo llo w t h is st an d ard an d m an y
lap t o p s com e with 80 2.11b W LAN ad ap t ers alread y in t egrated . O n e reaso n fo r
t h is is t h at t o d ay t h e 2.4 GHz b an d is availab le wo rld wid e (wit h so m e m in o r
d ifferen ces). Th e big restrict io n s of t h e p ast in som e co u n t ries are go n e.
294 Mobile communicat ions

Fo r Hip erLAN2, t h e h ist ory is d ifferen t . Here, a st an d ard izat io n bod y (ETSI)
developed a com pletely n ew stan dard, but n o products are available yet. HiperLAN2
com p rises m an y in t erestin g featu res, particu larly on th e MAC layer, com p ared t o
802.11a. Main featu res are QoS support, in tegrated secu rity, an d con vergen ce sub-
layers to differen t n etworks, e.g., Firewire, wh ich is used for audio/ video con n ection .
However, IEEE 802.11a is available an d in stalled in m an y places (usin g th e PHY fea-
t u res of Hip erLAN2). Up t o n ow it is n ot clear if Hip erLAN2 will be a su ccess or
fo llo w HIPERLAN 1 wh ich n ever m ad e it t o t h e m arket alt h o u gh it s t ech n ical
p aram et ers were su p erior com p ared t o IEEE 802.11. An ast asi (1998) gives a go od
overview o f t h e cap abilit ies of t h e t wo MAC sch em es u sed in IEEE 802.11 an d
HIPERLAN 1 resp ect ively, an d in vest igat es wh et h er t h ose access sch em es can b e
used for QoS p rovision as it was th ou gh t of for, e.g., wireless ATM.
Fo r Blu etoot h , th e situ ation is co m p letely d ifferen t. Here several com p an ies
fo u n d ed a co n so rt iu m an d set u p a d e fact o in d u stry st an d ard (versio n 1.1 in
200 1). Th en IEEE, as a st an d ard izat io n b o d y fo llo wed wit h t h e IEEE 80 2.15 .1
stan d ard in 2002. Blu eto oth is alread y available in m an y p ro d u cts (PDAs, vid eo
cam eras, d igit al st ill cam eras, lap t o p s et c.) an d , is clearly t h e m o st wid esp read
W PAN t ech n o lo gy t o d ay. Th e p rim ary go al o f Blu et o o t h w as n o t a co m p lex
st an d ard co verin g m an y asp ect s o f wireless n et wo rkin g, b u t a q u ick an d very
ch eap so lu t io n en ab lin g ad -h o c p erso n al co m m u n icatio n wit h in a sh o rt ran ge
in t h e licen se-free 2.4 GHz b an d . To d ay t h e st an d ard co vers several t h o u san d
p ages an d d efin es m an y u sage scen ario s, services d efin ition , p ro to cols etc. Most
d evices im p lem en t a b asic set o f fu n ct io n ality as th e co m p lexity o f all feat u res
(e.g., su p p ort for several scattern ets, ju m p in g back an d forth bet ween p icon et s)
is too m u ch for em bed d ed d evices with a sm all foo tp rin t.
Table 7.9 gives a (sim p lified ) co m p ariso n of IEEE 802.11b, .11a, Hip erLAN2,
an d Blu et oo th . Th e m ain d ifferen ces between th e 802.11a/ b stan d ard s an d t h e
oth er two are t h e sco p e o f th e stan d ard izat ion an d th e in itial con ten t. No t on ly
d o b o t h IEEE st an d ard s sh are th e sam e M AC layer, t h ey also d escrib e t h e raw
d ata t ran sfer wit h o u t th e elabo rat e secu rit y o r au t h en t icat io n m ech an ism s o r
ad ap t at io n layers/ p ro files n ecessary fo r in t ero p erat io n wit h o t h er n et wo rks o r
ap p licat io n s. Bo t h stan d ard s assu m e an Et h ern et b ackb o n e an d , t yp ically, b est
effo rt IP ru n n in g o n top of th e MAC layer. Th is is p erfect for m o st o ffice ap p lica-
t io n s, in d eed fo r m o st o f t o d a y’s In t ern et ap p licat io n s. Sp ecial fea t u res like
secu rity o r freq u en cy selection are ad d -on s to th e stan d ard s.
Hip erLAN2 an d Blu eto o t h wan t t o co ver alm o st all asp ects relat ed to wire-
less co m m u n icat io n : p h ysical layer, m ed iu m access, m an y d ifferen t services,
ad ap t at io n layers t o d ifferen t b ackb o n es (Hip erLAN2) o r p ro files fo r d ifferen t
ap p licatio n s (Blu eto oth ).
Th is ch ap t er left o u t so m e st an d ard s an d ap p ro ach es t h at co u ld be m en -
t io n e d in t h e co n t ex t o f W LANs. O n e ex am p le is H o m e RF. Th is is a n o t h er
W LAN st a n d ard o p era t in g at 2 .4 GHz. Ho m eRF u ses a FH SS sch em e wit h 5 0
h o p s p er seco n d . Tran sm issio n rat es h ave b een st an d ard ized u p t o 1 0 Mb it / s;
h igh er rat es a re p lan n ed . Th e M AC layer o f Ho m eRF co m b in es 8 0 2 .1 1 an d
DECT fu n ction ality: a TDMA/ CSMA fram e o ffers TDMA for iso ch ron o u s (voice)
 Wireless LAN 295

Table 7.9 Comparison of

Crit erion IEEE 802.11b IEEE 802.11a HiperLAN2 Bluet oot h wireless networks
presented in
Frequency 2.4 GHz 5 GHz 5 GHz 2.4 GHz chapter 7
Max. trans. rate 11 Mbit/ s 54 Mbit/ s 54 Mbit/ s < 1 Mbit/ s
User throughput 6 Mbit/ s 34 Mbit/ s 34 Mbit/ s < 1 Mbit/ s
Medium access CSMA/ CA CSMA/ CA AP centralized Master
centralized
Frequency None 802.11h DFS FHSS
management
Authentication None/ 802.1x None/ 802.1x X.509 Yes
Encryption WEP, 802.11i WEP, 802.11i DES, 3DES Yes
QoS support Optional (PCF) Optional (PCF) ATM, 802.1p, Flow spec,
RSVP isochronous
Connectivity Connectionless Connectionless Connection- Connectionless
oriented + connection-
oriented
Available 3 12 (US) 19 (EU) Soft – increasing
channels interference
Typ. transmit 100 mW 0.05/ 0.25/ 1W, 0.2/ 1W, TPC 1/ 2.5/ 100 mW
power TPC with
802.11h
Error control ARQ ARQ, FEC ARQ, FEC ARQ, FEC
(PHY) (PHY) (MAC)

t ran sm issio n an d CSMA fo r asyn ch ro n o u s (d at a) t ran sm issio n . Differen t Q o S

sch em es are su p p o rted . Com p ared to 802.11 stron ger secu rity featu res are in t e-
grat ed fro m th e b egin n in g. Ho st / clien t an d p eer/ p eer n et wo rkin g are p o ssib le.
Ho wever, d u e t o t h e t rem en d o u s su ccess o f IEEE 802 .1 1b , Ho m eRF co u ld n o t
su cceed an d d evelo p m en t w as st o p p ed in 2 0 0 2 (alt h o u gh H o m eRF p ro d u ct s
were availab le).
Som e tech n o logies m igh t in flu en ce W LANs/ W PANs in th e fu tu re:

● W ireless sen so r n et w o rk s: Th e tech n o logy req u ired for sen sor n etwo rks is
located so m ewh ere bet ween 802.15.1 o r .4 tech n o logy an d t h e RFIDs (p re-
sen t ed in t h e fo llo win g p aragrap h ). Sen so r n et wo rks co n sist o f m an y
(th ou san d s or m o re) n odes th at are d en sely d ep loyed , p ron e to failu res, h ave
very lim it ed co m p u tin g cap abilit ies, an d ch an ge t h eir t op o lo gy freq u en tly.
Sen so r n et wo rks can b e seen as an ex t rem e fo rm o f ad -h o c n et wo rkin g
w it h very lo w-p o wer d evices. Ap p licat io n s co m p rise t h o se o f 8 02 .1 5 .4
296 Mobile communicat ions

(en viro n m en t al sen so rin g) b u t d u e t o t h e n u m b er o f d evices wh o le areas

co u ld b e ‘co vered ’ w it h sen so rs, co m p u t er, an d n et wo rkin g p o wer. Main
research top ics are: rou tin g of d ata with in th e sen sor n etwo rk, m an agem en t
o f t h e n o d es, fau lt t o leran ce/ reliab ilit y, lo w -p o wer d esign , an d m ed iu m
access con trol. Akyild iz (2002) gives an excellen t su rvey of th is top ic.
● Rad io freq u en cy id en t ifica tio n (RFID): RF con trollers h ave been well kn own
fo r m an y years. Th ey o ffer tran sm issio n rat es of u p t o 115 kb it / s (wireless
ex t en sio n o f a serial in t erface) an d o p erat e o n m an y d ifferen t ISM b an d s
(d ep en d in g o n n at io n al regu lat io n s, e.g., 27, 315, 418, 426, 433, 868, 915
MHz). App lication s in clud e garage d oor op en ers, wireless m ice/keyboard s, car
locks etc. RF con trollers, typ ically, d o n ot h ave a MAC layer, bu t sim p ly act as
m o d em . Co llisio n s h ave t o b e d et ect ed o n h igh er layers. Th e first RFIDs
em erged d u rin g t h e 1980s (RFID, 2002). In t h e begin n in g, th ese very ch eap
tags were u sed for asset trackin g on ly. As soon as a p rodu ct with an RFID tag
p assed a read er, t h e p ro d u ct was regist ered . To d ay, RFIDs are availab le in
d ozen s of differen t styles with very d ifferen t prop erties. RFIDs can respon d to
a rad io sign al an d tran sm it th eir tag. Th ey can store ad dition al d ata, em p loy
collision avoidan ce sch em es, an d com p rise sm art-card capabilities with sim ple
p ro cessin g p o wer. W h ile RFIDs are n ot com m u n icat ion d evices, th e bo rd ers
are blu rrin g as m ore an d m ore com p u tin g p ower is available on sm all em bed-
d ed syst em s an d t h e co m m u n icat io n in d u st ry is lo o kin g fo r lo w p o wer
system s, su ch as 802.15.4.
● Ult ra w id eb a n d t ech n o lo gy (UW B): Th is tech n ology go es o n e step fu rth er
related to sp read sp ectru m u sed in W LANs as it t ran sm its d igit al d ata over a
w id e sp ect ru m o f freq u en cy b an d s wit h very lo w p o wer (UW B, 2 0 0 2 ).
Typ ically, t h e o ccu p ied sp ect ru m is at least 2 5 p er cen t o f t h e cen t er fre-
q u en cy (e.g., 500 MHz fo r a 2 GHz system ). In st ead of sen d in g a sin e wave,
UW B bro ad cast s a very sh ort d igital p u lse (less th an 1 n s) th at is tim ed very
p recisely. Sen d er an d receiver m u st b e syn ch ro n ized wit h very h igh accu -
ra cy. If t h e sen d er ex act ly kn o ws wh en a p u lse sh o u ld arrive, m u lt i-p at h
p ro p agat io n is n o lo n ger an issu e (e.g., o n ly t h e st ro n gest sign al will b e
d et ect ed wit h in a very sh o rt t im e-slo t ). Besid es rad ar ap p licat io n s (wh ere
UW B com es from ), it can be u sed for LANs tran sm it tin g very h igh data rates
o ver sh o rt d istan ces.

Each stan d ard p resen ted in th is ch ap ter h as its pro s an d con s. If t h e focu s is
o n battery life, th en Blu etoo th is th e ch o ice as th e p o wer co n su m p tio n of .11b,
an d p art icu larly .1 1a an d Hip erLAN 2 is t o o h igh . If iso ch ro n o u s t raffic, Q o S,
an d h igh d at a rates h ave to be su p p ort ed , t h en Hip erLAN2 is t h e ch o ice. If t h e
so lu t io n sh o u ld b e sim p le an d fit in t o an o ffice en viro n m en t , t h en .11 b / g o r
.1 1 a are p o ssib le so lu t io n s. If in t erferen ce is a t o p ic, t h en .1 1 a is b et t er t h an
.11b . If large cells are req u ired , th en .11b is b et t er t h en .11a d u e t o t h e lo wer
p ro p agat io n lo ss (.11 g is even b et t er). IEEE st art s even m o re wo rkin g gro u p s,
e.g., 802.20, t h e ‘Mobile Broad ban d Wireless Access (MBWA)’ grou p . Th is grou p
 Wireless LAN 297

will co n t in u e t h e wo rk t h at w as p revio u sly co n d u ct ed b y t h e 80 2 .1 6 M BWA

stu d y grou p fo r cellu lar wireless d ata services su p p o rt in g fu ll veh icu lar m obility.
Th e t yp ical m o bile d evice o f to m o rro w will co m p rise several t ech n o lo gies
with th e abilit y of con n ectin g to d ifferen t n etworks, e.g., a GSM follow-on (su ch
as UMTS) for wid e area co m m u n ication , p ossibly a satellite an ten n a, an d d iffer-
en t W LAN ad ap t ers (e.g., IEEE 8 02.1 1b / g an d Blu et o o t h ). Dep en d in g o n co st ,
ap p licat io n , an d lo cat io n , t h e d evice will au t o m at ically ch o o se t h e o p t im a l
co m m u n icat ion d evice an d n etwo rk. Roam in g bet ween th ose d ifferen t n etwo rks
is still d ifficu lt (in p articu lar, en su rin g a certain q u ality o f service an d secu rit y),
b u t first so lu t io n s in t h is d irect io n are cu rren t ly p resen t ed an d in t egrat ed
802.1 1b / GSM ad ap t ers are availab le wh ere t h e W LAN u ses GSM fu n ct io n alit y
for p ro vid in g secu re access.

7.7 Review exercises

1 How is mobility restricted using WLANs? What additional elements are needed
for roaming between networks, how and where can WLANs support roaming? In
your answer, think of the capabilities of layer 2 where WLANs reside.
2 What are the basic differences between wireless WANs and WLANs, and what
are the common features? Consider mode of operation, administration, frequen-
cies, capabilities of nodes, services, national/ international regulations.
3 With a focus on security, what are the problems of WLANs? What level of security
can WLANs provide, what is needed additionally and how far do the standards go?
4 Compare IEEE 802.11, HiperLAN2, and Bluetooth with regard to their ad-hoc
capabilities. Where is the focus of these technologies?
5 If Bluetooth is a commercial success, what are remaining reasons for the use of
infra red transmission for WLANs?
6 Why is the PHY layer in IEEE 802.11 subdivided? What about HiperLAN2 and
Bluetooth?
7 Compare the power saving mechanisms in all three LANs introduced in this chap-
ter. What are the negative effects of the power saving mechanisms, what are the
trade-offs between power consumption and transmission QoS?
8 Compare the QoS offered in all three LANs in ad-hoc mode. What advantages
does an additional infrastructure offer? How is QoS provided in Bluetooth? Can
one of the LAN technologies offer hard QoS (i.e., not only statistical guarantees
regarding a QoS parameter)?
9 How do IEEE 802.11, HiperLAN2 and Bluetooth, respectively, solve the hidden
terminal problem?
10 How are fairness problems regarding channel access solved in IEEE 802.11,
HiperLAN2, and Bluetooth respectively? How is the waiting time of a packet
ready to transmit reflected?
298 Mobile communicat ions

11 What different solutions do all three networks offer regarding an increased relia-
bility of data transfer?
12 In what situations can collisions occur in all three networks? Distinguish
between collisions on PHY and MAC layer. How do the three wireless networks
try to solve the collisions or minimise the probability of collisions?
13 Compare the overhead introduced by the three medium access schemes and the
resulting performance at zero load, light load, high load of the medium. How
does the number of collisions increase with the number of stations trying to
access the medium, and how do the three networks try to solve the problems?
What is the overall scalability of the schemes in number of nodes?
14 How is roaming on layer 2 achieved, and how are changes in topology reflected?
What are the differences between infrastructure based and ad-hoc networks
regarding roaming?
15 What are advantages and problems of forwarding mechanisms in Bluetooth net-
works regarding security, power saving, and network stability?
16 Name reasons for the development of wireless ATM. What is one of the main dif-
ferences to Internet technologies from this point of view? Why did WATM not
succeed as stand-alone technology, what parts of WATM succeeded?

7.8 Ref erences

Acam p o ra, A. (1996) ‘Wireless ATM: a p ersp ective o n issu es an d p rosp ect s,’ IEEE
Personal Communications, 3(4).
Akyild iz, I., Su , W., San karasu b ram an iam , Y., Cayirci, E. (2002) ‘Wireless sen sor
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ATM,’ IEEE Personal Communications, 5(5).
Ayan o glu , E., En g, K.Y., Karo l, M.J.(1996) ‘Wireless ATM: lim its, ch allen ges, an d
p ro p o sals,’ IEEE Personal Communications, 3(4).
Ba rt o n , M ., Pain e, R., C h o w, A. (1 9 9 8 ) Description of W ireless ATM Service
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Bh at , R.R. (1 9 9 8 ) W ireless ATM Requirem en ts Specifica tion , ATM Fo ru m , RTD-
WATM-01.02.
Bisd ik ia n , C ., Bh agw at , P., G au ch er, B.P., Jan n iello , F.J., N agh sh in eh , M.,
Pan d o h , P., Ko rp eo glu , I. (19 98 ) ‘W iSAP – A wireless p erso n al access n et -
work for h an d h eld com p u tin g devices,’ IEEE Personal Communications, 5(6).
Blu eto oth (2001a) Specifica tion of the Bluetooth System, vo lu m e 1, Core, Blu eto oth
SIG, version 1.1.
Blu et o o t h (2 0 0 1 b ) Specifica tion of th e Bluetooth System , vo lu m e 2 , Pro files,
Blu eto oth SIG, versio n 1.1.
Blu eto oth (2002) Blu eto oth Sp ecial In terest Gro u p , h ttp :/ / www.blu etoo th .com / .
 Wireless LAN 299

Bo riso v, N., Gold b erg, I., Wagn er, D. (2001) Intercepting Mobile Communications:
Th e In security of 8 0 2 .1 1 , seven t h An n u al In t ern at io n al C o n feren ce o n
Mo bile Com p u tin g an d Networkin g, ACM SIGMOBILE, Rom e, Italy.
Callaway, E., Gorday, P., Hester, L., Gutierrez, J., Naeve, M., Heile, B., Bah l, V. (2002)
‘Hom e Net workin g with IEEE 802.15.4: A Developin g Stan d ard for Low-Rat e
Wireless Person al Area Networks,’ IEEE Communications Magazine, 40(8).
Ch akrabo rt y, S.S. (1998) ‘Th e in terwo rkin g ap p ro ach fo r n arro wban d access t o
ATM t ran sp o rt -b ased m u lt iservice m o b ile n et wo rks,’ IEEE Person a l
Communications, 5(4).
Ch h aya, H .S., G u p t a , S. (1 9 9 6 ) ‘Perfo rm an ce o f asyn ch ro n o u s d at a t ran sfer
m eth o d s o f IEEE 802.11 MAC p rot ocol,’ IEEE Personal Communications, 3(5).
Ch h aya, H.S., Gu p t a , S. (1 997) ‘Perfo rm an ce m o d elin g o f asyn ch ro n o u s d at a
tran sfer m eth od s o f IEEE 802.11 MAC p ro to co l,’ Wireless Networks 3(1997),
Baltzer Scien ce Pu blish ers.
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Area Network (HIPERLAN) Type 1 , Fun ction a l specifica tion , Eu ro p ea n
Telecom m u n ication Stan d ard , ETS 300 652, Eu rop ean Teleco m m u n ication s
St an d ard s In stitu te.
ETSI (1997) Radio Equipment and Systems (RES), High Performance Radio Local Area
Networks (HIPERLAN), Requirements and architectures for wireless ATM a ccess
a n d in tercon n ect ion , TR 1 0 1 0 3 1 v1 .1 .1 , Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat io n
St an d ard s In stitu te.
ETSI (1 9 9 8 a) Broa dba n d Ra dio Access Networks (BRAN): In ven tory of
broa dba nd ra dio tech n ologies a n d tech n iques, TR 10 1 1 7 3 v1 .1 .1 , Eu ro p ean
Teleco m m u n icat io n Stan d ards In stit u te.
ETSI (199 8b ) Broa dba nd Ra dio Access Networks (BRAN); High Perform a n ce Ra dio
Loca l Area Network (HIPERLAN) Type 1; Functional specifica tion, EN 300 652
v1.2.1, Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat ion s St an d ard s In stitu te.
ETSI (1998c) Broadba nd Ra dio Access Networks (BRAN): Requirements and architec-
tures for broa dba n d fixed ra dio a ccess networks (HIPERACCESS), TR 101 177
v1.1.1, Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat ion St an d ard s In stitu t e.
ETSI (2 00 0a) Broa dba n d Ra dio Access Networks (BRAN); High Perform a nce Ra dio
Local Area Network (HIPERLAN) Type 2; System Overview, TR 101 683 v1.1.1,
Eu rop ean Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In stitu te.
ETSI (200 0b ) Broa dba nd Ra dio Access Networks (BRAN); High Perform a n ce Ra dio
Loca l Area Network (HIPERLAN) Type 2; Cell ba sed Convergence la yer; Pa rt 1:
Com m on Pa rt, TS 1 0 1 7 6 3 -1 v1 .1 .1 , Eu ro p ea n Teleco m m u n icat io n s
St an d ard s In stitu te.
ETSI (2 00 0c) Broa dba nd Ra dio Access Networks (BRAN); High Performa n ce Ra dio
Loca l Area Network (HIPERLAN) Type 2; Cell ba sed Convergence la yer; Pa rt 2:
UNI Service Specific Con vergen ce Subla yer (SSCS), TS 1 0 1 7 6 3 -2 v1 .1 .1 ,
Eu rop ean Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In stitu te.
300 Mobile communicat ions

ETSI (20 00d ) Broa dba nd Ra dio Access Networks (BRAN); High Perform a nce Radio
Local Area Network (HIPERLAN) Type 2; Packet based Convergence layer; Pa rt 1:
Com m on Pa rt, TS 1 0 1 4 9 3 -1 v1 .1 .1 , Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat io n s
St an d ard s In st itu te.
ETSI (20 01 a) Broa dba nd Ra dio Access Networks (BRAN); High Performa n ce Ra dio
Loca l Area Network (HIPERLAN) Type 2 ; Ph ysica l (PHY) la yer, TS 1 0 1 4 7 5
v1.3.1, Eu rop ean Telecom m u n icat io n s Stan d ard s In stitu te.
ETSI (2 001b ) Broa dba nd Ra dio Access Networks (BRAN); High Performa nce Radio
Local Area Network (HIPERLAN) Type 2; Data Link Control (DLC) layer; Part 1:
Ba sic Da ta Tra n sport Fun ction s, TS 1 0 1 7 6 1 -1 v1 .3 .1 , Eu ro p ean
Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In stitu te.
ETSI (20 01 c) Broa dba n d Ra dio Access Networks (BRAN); High Perform a nce Ra dio
Loca l Area Network (HIPERLAN) Type 2 ; Requirem en ts a n d Arch itecture for
Interworking between HIPERLAN/2 and 3rd Generation Cellula r systems, TR 101
957 v1.1.1, Eu rop ean Teleco m m u n icatio n s Stan d ard s In st it u te.
ETSI (20 01d ) Broa dba nd Ra dio Access Networks (BRAN); High Perform a nce Radio
Local Area Network (HIPERLAN) Type 2; Packet based Convergence layer; Pa rt 2:
Eth ern et Service Specific Con vergen ce Subla yer (SSCS), TS 1 0 1 4 9 3 -2 v1 .2 .1 ,
Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icatio n s Stan d ard s In stitu te.
ETSI (20 01 e) Broa dba n d Ra dio Access Networks (BRAN); High Performa n ce Ra dio
Local Area Network (HIPERLAN) Type 2; Packet based Convergence layer; Pa rt 3:
IEEE 1394 Service Specific Convergence Subla yer (SSCS), TS 101 493-3 v1.2.1,
Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icatio n s Stan d ard s In stitu te.
ETSI (20 02 a) Broa dba nd Ra dio Access Networks (BRAN); High Performa n ce Ra dio
Local Area Network (HIPERLAN) Type 2; Data Link Control (DLC) layer; Part 2:
Ra dio Lin k Con trol (RLC) subla yer, TS 1 0 1 7 6 1 -2 v1 .3 .1 , Eu ro p ean
Telecom m u n ication s Stan d ard s In stitu te.
ETSI (2 0 0 2 b ) Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icat io n s St an d ard s In st it u t e,
h ttp :/ / www.et si.o rg/ .
Haart sen , J. (1998) ‘Blu eto oth – th e u n iversal rad io in terface fo r ad -h o c, wireless
co n n ectivit y’, Ericsson Review No. 3, h ttp :/ / www.ericsson .com / .
H än d el, R., Hu b er, N ., Sch rö d er, S. (1 9 9 4 ) ATM Networks: con cepts, protocols,
a pplications. Ad d iso n -Wesley.
H alsall, F. (1 9 9 6 ) Da ta com m un ica tion s, com puter n etworks a n d open system s.
Ad d iso n -Wesley.
H eega rd , C ., C o ffey, J., G u m m a d i, S., M u rp h y, P., Pro ven cio , R., Ro ssin , E.,
Sch ru m , S., Sh o em ake, M . (2 0 0 1 ) ‘H igh -Perfo rm an ce W ireless Et h ern et ,’
IEEE Communications Magazine, 39(11).
Hip erLAN2 (2002) Hip erLAN2 Glo bal Fo ru m , h ttp :/ / www.h ip erlan 2.co m / .
IEEE (19 90) Loca l Area Network a nd Metropolita n Area Network – Overview a nd
Architecture, Th e In stitute of Electrical an d Electron ics En gin eers, IEEE 802.1a.
IEEE (1999) W ireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physica l La yer (PHY)
specifications, Th e In stitute of Electrical an d Electron ics En gin eers, IEEE 802.11.
 Wireless LAN 301

IEEE (2 0 0 1 ) Port-ba sed Network Access Con trol, Th e In st it u t e o f Elect rica l an d

Electron ics En gin eers, IEEE 802.1x.
IEEE (2002a) IEEE P802.11, Th e Workin g Grou p for Wireless LANs, Th e In st it u te
o f Elect rical an d Electron ics En gin eers, h tt p :/ / www.ieee802.org/ 11/ .
IEEE (2002b) IEEE P802.16, Th e Workin g Gro u p o n Bro ad ban d Wireless Access
St an d ard s, Th e In st it u t e o f Elect rical an d Elect ro n ics En gin eers,
h ttp :/ / www.ieee802.org/ 16/ .
IEEE (2 0 0 2 c) IEEE P8 0 2 .1 5 , Th e Wo rkin g Gro u p fo r W PAN, Th e In st it u t e o f
Electrical an d Elect ron ics En gin eers, h ttp :/ / www.ieee802.o rg/ 15/ .
IrDA (2002) In frared Data Associat io n , h ttp :/ / www.ird a.o rg/ .
La n sfo rd , J., St ep h en s, A., Nevo , R. (2 0 0 1 ) ‘W i-Fi (8 0 2 .1 1 b ) an d Blu et o o t h :
En ablin g Coexist en ce,’ IEEE Network, 15(5).
Pah lavan , K., Krish n am u rth y, P. (2002) Principles of Wireless Networks. Pren tice Hall.
Perlm an , R. (1992) Interconnections: bridges and routers. Ad d ison Wesley Lon gm an .
Partrid ge, C. (1992) A proposed flow specifica tion, RFC 1363.
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WATM-01.07.
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an d p ro to typ in g,’ IEEE Personal Communications, 3(4).
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San tam aría, A., Ló p ez-Hern án d ez, F. (1994) Wireless LAN systems, Artech Hou se.
Toh , C.-K. (1997) Wireless ATM and ad hoc networks. Klu wer Acad em ic Pu b lish ers.
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WarDrivin g (2002) h t tp :/ / www.ward rivin g.com / .
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Wo esn er, H ., Eb ert , J.P., Sch läger, M., Wo lisz, A. (1 9 9 8 ) ‘Po w er-savin g m ech -
a n ism s in em e rgin g st an d ard s fo r wireless LAN s,’ IEEE Person a l
Communications, 5(3).
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 Mobile net work layer 8

T
h is ch ap t er in t ro d u ces p ro t o cols an d m ech an ism s d evelo p ed fo r th e n et-
work layer to su p p ort m o bility. Th e m ost p ro m in en t exam p le is Mobile IP,
d iscu ssed in th e first sectio n , wh ich ad d s m o bilit y su p p ort to th e in t ern et
n et wo rk layer p ro t o co l IP. W h ile syst em s like GSM h ave b een d esign ed wit h
m o b ilit y in m in d , t h e in t ern et st art ed at a t im e wh en n o o n e h ad t h o u gh t o f
m obile com p u ters. To d ay’s in tern et lacks an y m ech an ism s to su p p ort u sers trav-
elin g aro u n d t h e wo rld . IP is t h e co m m o n b ase fo r t h o u san d s o f ap p licat io n s
an d ru n s o ver d o zen s o f d ifferen t n et wo rks. Th is is t h e reaso n fo r su p p o rt in g
m o b ility at t h e IP layer; m o b ile p h o n e syst em s, fo r exam p le, can n ot o ffer t h is
t yp e o f m o b ilit y fo r h et ero gen eo u s n et w o rks. To m erge t h e w o rld o f m o b ile
p h on es wit h th e in tern et an d to su p p o rt m obility in th e sm all m ore efficien tly,
so -called m icro m o bility p ro toco ls h ave been d evelop ed .
An o t h er kin d o f m o b ilit y, p o rt a b ilit y o f eq u ip m en t , is su p p o rt ed b y t h e
d yn am ic h o st co n figu ratio n p ro tocol (DHCP) p resen t ed in section 8.2. In form er
tim es, co m p u ters d id n o t oft en ch an ge th eir locatio n . Tod ay, d u e to lap t op s or
n o teb ooks, stu d en t s sh ow u p at a u n iversit y with th eir com p u t ers, an d wan t t o
p lu g th em in o r u se wireless access. A n etwo rk ad m in istrato r d o es n o t wan t t o
co n figu re d ozen s of co m p u ters every d ay or h an d ou t lists o f valid IP ad d resses,
DNS servers, su bn et p refixes, d efau lt ro u ters et c. DHCP sets in at th is p o in t t o
su p p o rt au t om atic co n figu rat ion o f com p u ters.
Th e ch ap ter con clu d es with a loo k at ad -h oc n et works in com b in ation with
th e n etwork layer. Th is is a fast-growin g field o f research with st an d ard s th at are
u n clear as yet. How can rou tin g be d on e in a d yn am ic n etwork with p erm an en t
ch an ges in co n n ect ivit y? W h at if t h ere are n o d ed icat ed ro u t ers o r d at ab ases
t ellin g u s w h ere a n o d e cu rren t ly is? Th e la st sect io n d ea ls w it h so m e
ap p roach es offerin g rou tin g by ext en d in g st an d ard algorith m s kn own from t h e
in t ern et . Kn o wled ge o f t h e cu rren t sit u atio n of th e p h ysical m ed iu m or o f th e
cu rren t location can b e u tilized .

303
304 Mobile communicat ions

8.1 Mobile IP

Th e fo llowin g gives an overall view of Mo bile IP, an d th e exten sion s n eed ed for
th e in tern et to su p p o rt th e m o bility o f h o st s. A go od referen ce fo r th e o rigin al
st an d ard (RFC 2 0 0 2 , Perkin s, 1 9 9 6 a) is Perkin s (1 9 9 7 ) an d So lo m o n (1 9 9 8 )
wh ich d escrib e t h e d evelo p m en t o f m o b ile IP, all p acket form at s, m ech an ism s,
d iscu ssio n s o f t h e p ro t o co l an d alt ern at ives et c. in d et ail. Th e n ew versio n o f
Mo bile IP d oes n o t in volve m ajor ch an ges in th e basic arch itectu re bu t corrects
so m e m in o r p ro b lem s (RFC 3 3 4 4 , Perkin s, 2 0 0 2 ). Th e fo llo w in g m a t eria l
req u ires so m e fam ilia rit y wit h In t ern et p ro t o co ls, esp ecially IP. A very go o d
o verview wh ich in clu d es d et ailed d escrip tio n s o f classical In t ern et p ro to co ls is
given in St even s (1 99 4). Man y n ew ap p ro ach es relat ed t o In t ern et p ro t o co ls,
ap p lication s, an d arch it ectu res can be fo u n d in Ku ro se (2003).

8.1.1 Goals, assumpt ions and requirement s

As sh o wn in ch ap t er 1, m obile com p u t in g is clearly t h e p arad igm o f t h e fu tu re.
Th e in tern et is t h e n et wo rk fo r glo b al d at a co m m u n icat io n wit h h u n d red s o f
m illio n s o f u sers. So wh y n ot sim p ly u se a m obile com p u t er in th e in t ern et?
Th e reaso n is q u it e sim p le: yo u will n o t receive a sin gle p acket as so o n as
you leave you r h o m e n et work, i.e., th e n et wo rk you r com p u ter is con figu red for,
an d reco n n ect yo u r co m p u t er (w ireless o r wired ) at an o t h er p lace (if n o ad -
d it io n al m ech an ism s are availab le). Th e reaso n fo r t h is is q u it e sim p le if yo u
co n sid er ro u t in g m ech an ism s o n t h e in t ern et. A h o st sen d s an IP p acket with
t h e h ead er co n t ain in g a d estin at io n ad d ress with o th er field s. Th e d estin atio n
ad d ress n o t o n ly d et erm in es t h e receiver o f t h e p acket , b u t also t h e p h ysical
su bn et of th e receiver. Fo r exam p le, th e d estin at io n ad d ress 129.13.42.99 sh o ws
t h at t h e receiver m u st b e co n n ect ed t o t h e p h ysical su b n et wit h t h e n et wo rk
p refix 129.13.42 (u n less CIDR is u sed , RFC 1519, Fu ller, 1993). Ro u t ers in th e
in t ern et n o w loo k at t h e d estin atio n ad d resses o f in co m in g p ackets an d forward
t h em acco rd in g t o in t ern al lo o k-u p t ab les. To avo id an ex p lo sio n o f ro u t in g
t ab les, o n ly p refixes are st o red an d fu rt h er o p t im izatio n s are ap p lied . A ro u ter
wo u ld o t h erwise h ave t o st o re t h e ad d resses o f all co m p u t ers in t h e in t ern et ,
wh ich is obvio u sly n o t feasible. As lo n g as t h e receiver can be reach ed with in its
p h ysical su b n et , it get s t h e p acket s; as so o n as it m o ves o u t sid e t h e su b n et , a
p acket will n ot reach it. A h ost n eed s a so-called t o p o lo gica lly co rrect a d d ress.

8.1.1.1 Quick ‘solut ions’

On e m igh t th in k th at a q u ick solu tion to th is p ro blem wou ld be to assign to th e
co m p u t er a n ew, t o p o lo gically co rrect IP ad d ress. Th is is wh at m an y u sers d o
wit h t h e h elp o f DHCP (see sect io n 8.2). So m o vin g t o a n ew lo cat io n wo u ld
m ean assign in g a n ew IP ad d ress. Th e p roblem is t h at n ob od y kn o ws abo u t th is
n ew a d d ress. It is alm o st im p o ssib le t o fin d a (m o b ile) h o st o n t h e in t ern et
wh ich h as ju st ch an ged its ad d ress.
 Mobile net work layer 305

O n e co u ld argu e t h at wit h t h e h elp o f d yn am ic DNS (DDN S, RFC 2 1 3 6 ,

Vixie, 1 9 97 ) an u p d at e o f t h e m ap p in g lo gical n am e – IP ad d ress is p o ssib le.
Th is is wh at m an y co m p u ter u sers d o if th ey h ave a d yn am ic IP ad d ress an d still
wan t t o be p erm an en t ly reach able u sin g th e sam e lo gical com p u ter n am e. It is
im p ortan t t o n o te th at th ese con sid eratio n s, in deed m o st of m o bile IP’s m ot iva-
tion , are im p ortan t if a u ser wan ts to o ffer services fro m a m obile n od e, i.e., t h e
n o d e sh ou ld act as server. Typ ically, t h e IP ad d ress is o f n o sp ecial in t erest fo r
service u sage: in th is case DHCP is su fficien t . An oth er m otivat io n for p erm an en t
IP ad d resses is em ergen cy com m u n ication with p erm an en t an d q u ick reach abil-
ity via th e sam e IP ad d ress.
So wh at abou t d yn am ically ad ap tin g th e IP ad d ress with regard to th e cu r-
ren t location ? Th e p ro blem is th at t h e d o m ain n am e system (DNS) n eed s som e
tim e before it u p d at es th e in tern al t ables n ecessary to m ap a logical n am e to an
IP ad d ress. Th is ap p ro ach d oes n o t work if th e m obile n od e m oves q u ite often .
Th e in t ern et an d DN S h ave n o t b een b u ilt fo r freq u en t u p d at es. Ju st im agin e
m illion s of n o d es m o vin g at th e sam e t im e. DNS cou ld n ever p resen t a con sis-
ten t view of n am es an d ad dresses, as it u ses cach in g to im p ro ve scalability. It is
sim p ly too exp en sive to u p date q u ickly.
Th ere is a severe problem with h igh er layer p rotocols like TCP wh ich rely on IP
ad d resses. C h an gin g t h e IP ad d ress wh ile still h avin g a TCP co n n ect io n o pen
m ean s b reakin g t h e co n n ect ion . A TCP co n n ect io n is id en t ified by th e t u p le
(so u rce IP add ress, sou rce p o rt , dest in at ion IP ad d ress, d est in at io n p ort ), also
kn own as a so ck et p a ir (a socket con sist s of ad dress an d p ort ). Th erefore, a TCP
con n ection can n ot su rvive an y address ch an ge. Breakin g TCP con n ection s is n ot an
op t ion , u sin g even sim p le pro gram s like teln et wo uld be im p ossible. Th e m o bile
n ode would also h ave to n otify all com m un ication partn ers about th e n ew address.
An o t h er ap p ro a ch is t h e creat io n o f sp ecific ro u t es t o t h e m o b ile n o d e.
Rou ters always ch oo se th e best -fittin g p refix for th e rou tin g d ecision . If a ro u ter
n o w h as an en try fo r a p refix 129.13.42 an d an ad d ress 129.13.42.99, it wo u ld
ch o o se th e p o rt asso ciat ed wit h t h e lat t er fo r fo rward in g, if a p acket wit h t h e
d estin atio n ad d ress 1 29.13.42.99 co m es in . W h ile it is th eo retically p o ssible t o
ch an ge ro u t in g t ab les all o ver t h e wo rld t o creat e sp ecific ro u t es t o a m o b ile
n o d e, t h is d o es n o t scale at a ll w it h t h e n u m b er o f n o d es in t h e in t ern et .
Rou ters are bu ilt fo r ext rem ely fast fo rward in g, bu t n o t for fast u p d ates o f ro u t-
in g t ab les. W h ile t h e first is d o n e wit h sp ecial h ard ware su p p o rt , t h e lat t er is
t yp ically a p iece o f so ft ware wh ich ca n n o t h an d le t h e b u rd en o f freq u en t
u p d ates. Rou t ers are t h e ‘brain s’ o f th e in tern et, h old in g t h e wh o le n et t o get h er.
No service p ro vid er o r system ad m in ist rator wou ld allo w ch an ges to th e rou t in g
tables, p ro bably sacrificin g stab ility, ju st t o p ro vid e m obility fo r in d ivid u al u sers.

8.1.1.2 Requirements
Sin ce t h e q u ick ‘solu t ion s’ obviou sly d id n o t wo rk, a m ore gen eral arch itectu re
h a d t o b e d esign ed . M an y field t rials an d p ro p riet a ry syst em s fin ally led t o
m obile IP as a stan d ard t o en able m obility in th e in tern et. Several req u irem en ts
accom p an ied th e d evelo p m en t o f th e stan d ard :
306 Mobile communicat ions

● C o m p a t ib ilit y : Th e in st alled b ase o f In t ern et co m p u t ers, i.e., co m p u t ers

ru n n in g TCP/ IP an d co n n ect ed t o t h e in t ern et , is h u ge. A n ew st an d ard
can n o t in trod u ce ch an ges fo r ap p licatio n s or n etwo rk p ro to co ls alread y in
u se. Peop le still wan t t o u se th eir favorite bro wser fo r www an d d o n ot wan t
t o ch an ge ap p licatio n s ju st fo r m o bility, th e sam e h o ld s fo r o p erat in g sys-
t em s. Mo b ile IP h as t o b e in t egrat ed in t o existin g o p erat in g syst em s o r at
least wo rk wit h t h em (t o d ay it is availab le fo r m an y p la t fo rm s). Ro u t ers
wit h in th e in t ern et sh ou ld n ot n ecessarily req u ire o th er so ftware. W h ile it
is p o ssible to en h an ce t h e cap abilit ies of so m e ro u ters t o su p p o rt m ob ility,
it is alm ost im p o ssible t o ch an ge all of th em . Mo bile IP h as to rem ain co m -
p at ible with all lo wer layers u sed fo r th e stan d ard , n on -m obile, IP. Mo bile IP
m u st n o t req u ire sp ecial m ed ia o r MAC/ LLC p ro to co ls, so it m u st u se t h e
sa m e in t erfaces a n d m ech an ism s t o a ccess t h e lo wer layers as IP d o es.
Fin ally, en d -system s en h an ced with a m o bile IP im p lem en tation sh ou ld still
b e ab le t o co m m u n icat e wit h fixed syst em s wit h o u t m o b ile IP. M o b ile IP
h as t o en su re t h at u sers can st ill access all t h e o t h er servers an d syst em s
in t h e in t ern et . Bu t t h at im p lies u sin g t h e sam e ad d ress fo rm at an d
ro u tin g m ech an ism s.
● Tr a n sp a r en cy : M o b ilit y sh o u ld rem ain ‘in visib le’ fo r m an y h igh er layer
p roto cols an d ap p lication s. Besid es m aybe n o ticin g a lo wer ban d wid th an d
so m e in t erru p t io n in service, h igh er layers sh o u ld co n tin u e to wo rk even if
t h e m o bile co m p u ter h as ch an ged it s p o in t o f at tach m en t to t h e n et work.
Fo r TCP t h is m ean s th at th e co m p u t er m u st keep its IP ad d ress as exp lain ed
ab o ve. If th e in t erru p t io n o f th e co n n ect ivit y d o es n o t take t o o lon g, TCP
co n n ectio n s su rvive t h e ch an ge o f th e att ach m en t p oin t. Prob lem s related
t o t h e p erfo rm an ce o f TC P a re d iscu ssed in ch ap t er 9 . C lea rly, m an y o f
t o d ay’s ap p lica t io n s h a ve n o t b een d esign ed fo r u se in m o b ile en viro n -
m en t s, so t h e o n ly effect s o f m o b ility sh o u ld be a h igh er d elay an d lo wer
b an d wid th . Ho wever, th ere are som e ap p lication s for wh ich it is b et ter to be
‘m o b ilit y aware’. Ex am p les are co st -b ased ro u t in g o r vid eo co m p ressio n .
Kn owin g th at it is cu rren tly p o ssible to u se d ifferen t n etworks, th e software
co u ld ch oo se th e ch eap est on e. Or if a vid eo ap p lication kn ows th at o n ly a
lo w b an d wid t h co n n ect io n is cu rren t ly availab le, it co u ld u se a d ifferen t
co m p ressio n sch em e. Ad d itio n al m ech an ism s are n ecessary t o in fo rm th ese
ap p lication s abo u t m ob ility (Brewer, 1998).
● Sca la b ilit y a n d efficien cy : In t ro d u cin g a n ew m ech an ism to t h e in t ern et
m u st n ot jeop ard ize it s efficien cy. En h an cin g IP fo r m obilit y m u st n ot gen -
erate too m an y n ew m essages floo d in g th e wh ole n et work. Sp ecial care h as
to be taken co n sid erin g th e lo wer ban d wid th of wireless lin ks. Man y m obile
system s will h ave a wireless lin k to an attach m en t p o in t, so o n ly so m e ad -
d itio n al p acket s sh o u ld b e n ecessary between a m ob ile syst em an d a n o d e
in t h e n et wo rk. Lo o kin g at t h e n u m b er o f co m p u t ers co n n ect ed t o t h e
in tern et an d at t h e gro wt h rates o f m o b ile co m m u n ication , it is clear t h at
m yriad d evices will p articip ate in t h e in tern et as m ob ile co m p o n en ts. Ju st
 Mobile net work layer 307

t h in k of cars, tru cks, m o b ile p h o n es, every seat in every p lan e aro u n d th e
wo rld et c. – m an y o f t h em will h ave so m e IP im p lem en t at io n in sid e an d
m o ve b et ween d ifferen t n et wo rks an d req u ire m o b ile IP. It is cru cial fo r a
m o b ile IP t o b e scalab le o ver a large n u m b er o f p art icip an t s in t h e wh o le
in t ern et , world wid e.
● Secu r it y : Mo b ilit y p o ses m an y secu rit y p ro b lem s. Th e m in im u m req u ire-
m en t is t h at of all t h e m essages relat ed to th e m an agem en t of Mobile IP are
au t h en t icat ed . Th e IP layer m u st b e su re t h at if it fo rward s a p acket t o a
m o bile h o st th at th is h o st receives t h e p acket . Th e IP layer can o n ly gu aran -
t ee t h at t h e IP a d d ress o f t h e receiver is co rrect . Th ere are n o w ays o f
p reven tin g fake IP ad d resses o r o t h er att acks. Acco rd in g t o In tern et p h ilo s-
o p h y, th is is left to h igh er layers (keep th e core of th e in t ern et sim p le, p u sh
m o re com p lex services t o th e ed ge).

Th e go al o f a m o b ile IP can b e su m m a rized as: ‘su p p o rt in g en d -syst em

m o b ilit y wh ile m ain t ain in g scalab ilit y, efficien cy, a n d co m p at ib ilit y in all
resp ects with exist in g ap p licatio n s an d In tern et p rot o cols’.

8.1.2 Ent ities and t erminology

Th e followin g d efin es several en tities an d t erm s n eed ed to u n d erstan d m obile IP
as d efin ed in RFC 3344 (Perkin s, 2002; was: RFC 2002, Perkin s, 1996a). Figu re 8.1
illu strates an exam p le scen ario.

● M o b ile n o d e (M N ): A m o b ile n o d e is a n en d -syst em o r ro u t er t h a t can

ch an ge it s p o in t o f at t ach m en t t o t h e in t ern et u sin g m o b ile IP. Th e M N
keep s it s IP a d d ress an d can co n t in u o u sly co m m u n ica t e w it h an y o t h er
syst em in t h e in t ern et as lo n g as lin k-layer co n n ect ivit y is given . Mo b ile
n o d es are n o t n ecessarily sm all d evices su ch as lap t o p s wit h an t en n as o r
m o bile p h on es; a ro u ter on board an aircraft can be a p o werfu l m o bile n o d e.

Figure 8.1
COA
Mobile IP example
network
Home Router Router
MN
network HA FA

Foreign
network
Internet

CN Router
308 Mobile communicat ions

● Co rresp o n d en t n o d e (CN): At least on e p artn er is n eed ed fo r com m u n ica-

tio n . In t h e fo llo win g t h e CN rep resen t s t h is p artn er fo r t h e MN. Th e CN
can be a fixed or m obile n od e.
● H o m e n e t w o r k : Th e h o m e n et wo rk is t h e su b n et t h e M N b elo n gs t o
w it h resp ect t o it s IP ad d ress. N o m o b ile IP su p p o rt is n eed ed wit h in t h e
h o m e n etwork.
● Fo reign n et w o rk : Th e fo reign n etwo rk is t h e cu rren t su b n et th e MN visits
an d wh ich is n o t t h e h o m e n etwork.
● Fo r eign a gen t (FA): Th e FA can p ro vid e several services t o th e MN d u rin g
it s visit to t h e foreign n etwo rk. Th e FA can h ave th e COA (d efin ed below),
actin g as tu n n el en d p oin t an d forward in g p ackets to th e MN. Th e FA can be
th e d efau lt rou t er fo r th e MN. FAs can also p rovid e secu rity services becau se
th ey belo n g to t h e foreign n etwo rk as op p o sed to th e MN wh ich is o n ly vis-
it in g. Fo r m ob ile IP fu n ction in g, FAs are n o t n ecessarily n eed ed . Typ ically,
an FA is im p lem en ted on a rou ter fo r th e su bn et th e MN attach es t o .
● C a r e-o f a d d r ess (CO A): Th e COA d efin es t h e cu rren t lo cat io n o f t h e M N
from an IP p oin t of view. All IP p acket s sen t to th e MN are d elivered to t h e
CO A, n o t d irect ly t o th e IP ad d ress o f th e MN. Packet d elivery to ward th e
MN is d o n e u sin g a t u n n el, as exp lain ed lat er. To be m ore p recise, th e COA
m arks t h e t u n n el en d p o in t, i.e., th e ad d ress wh ere p acket s exit th e tu n n el.
Th ere are two d ifferen t p ossibilities for th e locatio n of th e COA:
● Fo reign agen t COA: Th e COA cou ld be lo cated at th e FA, i.e., t h e COA
is an IP ad d ress o f th e FA. Th e FA is th e tu n n el en d -p o in t an d fo rward s
p acket s t o t h e M N . M an y M N u sin g t h e FA can sh a re t h is C O A as
com m o n COA.
● Co -lo ca t ed COA: Th e COA is co-located if th e MN tem p orarily acq u ired
an ad dition al IP ad dress wh ich acts as COA. Th is ad dress is n ow top ologi-
cally correct, an d th e tu n n el en dp oin t is at th e MN. Co-located ad dresses
can be acq u ired u sin g services su ch as DHCP (see section 8.2). On e prob-
lem associated with th is ap proach is th e n eed for ad d ition al ad d resses if
M Ns req u est a CO A. Th is is n o t always a go o d id ea co n sid erin g t h e
scarcity of IPv4 ad dresses.
● H o m e a gen t (HA): Th e HA provid es several services for th e MN an d is located
in th e h om e n etwork. Th e tun n el for packets toward th e MN starts at th e HA.
Th e HA m ain tain s a location registry, i.e., it is in form ed of th e MN’s location
by th e cu rren t COA. Th ree altern atives for th e im p lem en tation of an HA exist.
● Th e HA can b e im p lem en t ed o n a ro u t er t h a t is resp o n sib le fo r t h e
h o m e n et wo rk. Th is is o b vio u sly t h e b est p o sit io n , b ecau se wit h o u t
o p t im izatio n s t o m o bile IP, all p ackets fo r th e MN h ave to go t h ro u gh
th e rou ter an yway.
● If ch an gin g th e ro u t er’s so ft ware is n o t p o ssib le, th e HA co u ld also be
im p lem en ted on an arbitrary n o d e in th e su bn et . On e d isad van tage of
th is solu tion is th e d ou ble crossin g of th e rou ter by th e p acket if t h e MN
is in a foreign n et work. A p acket for th e MN com es in via th e rou ter; th e
HA sen ds it th rou gh t h e tu n n el wh ich again crosses th e rou t er.
 Mobile net work layer 309

● Fin ally, a h om e n etwork is n o t n ecessary at all. Th e HA cou ld be again

o n th e ‘ro u ter’ bu t t h is tim e on ly act in g as a m an ager fo r MNs belon g-
in g to a virt u al h o m e n etwo rk. All MNs are always in a foreign n etwork
with th is so lu tion .

Th e exam p le n et wo rk in Figu re 8.1 sh o ws th e fo llo win g sit u atio n : A CN is

co n n ect ed via a ro u ter t o th e in tern et, as are th e h o m e n etwo rk an d t h e fo reign
n et wo rk. Th e HA is im p lem en t ed o n th e rou t er co n n ectin g t h e h om e n etwo rk
with th e in tern et , an FA is im p lem en ted o n th e ro u ter to th e foreign n et wo rk.
Th e MN is cu rren tly in th e foreign n etwork. Th e tu n n el for p ackets to ward t h e
MN st arts at th e HA an d en d s at th e FA, fo r th e FA h as th e COA in th is exam p le.

8.1.3 IP packet delivery

Figu re 8.2 illu strates p acket d elivery to an d fro m th e MN u sin g th e exam p le n et-
work o f Figu re 8.1. A co rresp on d en t n o d e CN wan ts to sen d an IP p acket to t h e
MN. On e of th e req u irem en ts o f m o bile IP was t o su p p o rt h id in g t h e m obility o f
th e MN. CN d oes n o t n eed t o kn ow an yth in g abo u t th e MN’s cu rren t lo catio n
an d sen d s t h e p acket as u su al to th e IP ad d ress o f MN (step 1). Th is m ean s th at
CN sen d s an IP p acket wit h M N as a d est in at io n ad d ress an d CN as a so u rce
ad d ress. Th e in tern et , n o t h avin g in fo rm at io n o n t h e cu rren t lo cat io n o f MN,
rou tes th e p acket to t h e rou t er resp o n sible fo r th e h om e n etwork o f MN. Th is is
d o n e u sin g th e st an d ard ro u tin g m ech an ism s of th e in t ern et.
Th e HA n ow in tercep ts th e p acket, kn o win g th at MN is cu rren t ly n ot in its
h o m e n etwo rk. Th e p acket is n ot forward ed in to t h e su bn et as u su al, bu t en cap -
su lated an d t u n n elled t o t h e CO A. A n ew h ead er is p u t in fro n t o f t h e o ld IP
h ead er sh o win g t h e COA as n ew d estin at io n an d HA as sou rce o f t h e en cap su -
lated p acket (step 2). (Tu n n elin g an d en cap su latio n is d escrib ed in m o re d etail
in sectio n 8.1.6.) Th e fo reign agen t n o w d ecap su lat es th e p acket , i.e., rem o ves
th e ad d ition al h ead er, an d forward s th e o rigin al p acket with CN as so u rce an d
MN as d estin at ion t o th e MN (st ep 3). Again , for th e MN m o bility is n ot visible.
It receives th e p acket wit h t h e sam e sen d er an d receiver ad d ress as it wo u ld h ave
d o n e in t h e h om e n et work.

Figure 8.2
3. Packet delivery to and
Home Router Router from the mobile node
MN
network HA 2. FA
4.
Foreign
network
Internet

1.

CN Router
310 Mobile communicat ions

At first glan ce, sen d in g p acket s fro m t h e MN t o t h e CN is m u ch sim p ler;

p ro blem s are d iscu ssed in section 8.1.8. Th e MN sen d s th e p acket as u su al with
its own fixed IP ad d ress as so u rce an d CN’s ad d ress as d estin ation (step 4). Th e
ro u t er wit h t h e FA act s as d efau lt ro u t er an d fo rward s t h e p acket in t h e sam e
way as it wou ld d o for an y ot h er n o d e in th e fo reign n et work. As lo n g as CN is a
fix ed n o d e t h e rem ain d er is in t h e fix ed in t ern et as u su al. If CN were also a
m o b ile n od e resid in g in a fo reign n etwo rk, th e sam e m ech an ism s as d escribed
in step s 1 th rou gh 3 wou ld ap p ly n ow in th e oth er d irectio n .
Th e fo llo win g sect io n s p resen t so m e ad d it io n a l m ech an ism s n eed ed fo r
m o b ile IP t o wo rk, so m e en h an cem en t s t o t h e p ro t o co l, an d so m e efficien cy
an d secu rity p ro blem s.

8.1.4 Agent discovery

On e in itial p roblem of an MN after m ovin g is h ow t o fin d a fo reign agen t . Ho w
d o es t h e MN d isco ver t h at it h as m o ved ? Fo r t h is p u rp o se m o b ile IP d escrib es
t w o m et h o d s: agen t ad vert isem en t an d agen t so licit at io n , wh ich are in fact
rou ter d isco very m eth od s p lu s exten sio n s.

8.1.4.1 Agent advert isement

Fo r t h e first m et h o d , fo reign agen t s an d h o m e agen ts ad vert ise t h eir p resen ce
p erio d ically u sin g sp ecial a gen t a d v er t isem en t m essages. Th ese ad vert isem en t
m essages can be seen as a beacon bro ad cast in to th e su bn et. For th ese ad vertise-
m en t s In t ern et co n t ro l m essage p ro t o co l (ICMP) m essages acco rd in g t o RFC
125 6 (Deerin g, 199 1) are u sed wit h so m e m o b ilit y ext en sio n s. Ro u t ers in t h e
fixed n et wo rk im p lem en t in g t h is st an d ard also ad vert ise t h eir ro u t in g service
p eriod ically to t h e at tach ed lin ks.
Th e agen t ad vertisem en t p acket accord in g to RFC 1256 with t h e ext en sio n
for m o bilit y is sh o wn in Figu re 8.3. Th e u p p er p art rep resen ts th e ICMP p acket
wh ile t h e lo wer p art is t h e ext en sio n n eed ed fo r m ob ility. Th e field s n ecessary
on lower layers for t h e agen t ad vertisem en t are n o t sh own in th is figu re. Clearly,
m obile n o d es m u st be reach ed with th e ap p rop riat e lin k layer ad d ress. Th e TTL
field o f t h e IP p acket is set to 1 fo r all ad vert isem en ts t o avo id forward in g th em .
Th e IP d est in atio n ad d ress acco rd in g to st an d ard ro u t er ad vertisem en ts can be
eit h er set t o 224.0.0.1, wh ich is th e m u lt icast ad d ress fo r all system s o n a lin k
(Deerin g, 1989), or to t h e bro ad cast ad d ress 255.255.255.255.
Th e field s in th e ICMP p art are d efin ed as follows. Th e t yp e is set t o 9, t h e
co d e can be 0, if th e agen t also ro u tes traffic from n on -m obile n od es, o r 16, if it
d o es n o t ro u t e an yt h in g o t h er t h an m o b ile t raffic. Fo reign agen t s are at least
req u ired t o fo rward p acket s fro m t h e m o b ile n o d e. Th e n u m b er o f ad d resses
ad vert ised wit h t h is p acket is in # a d d r esses wh ile t h e a d d r e sses t h em selves
fo llo w as sh o w n . Lifet im e d en o t es t h e len gt h o f t im e t h is ad vert isem en t is
valid . Preferen ce levels fo r each ad d ress h elp a n o d e to ch oo se th e rou t er th at is
th e m ost eager o n e to get a n ew n od e.
 Mobile net work layer 311

Figure 8.3
0 7 8 15 16 23 24 31 Agent advertisement
type code checksum packet (RFC 1256 +
mobility extension)
#addresses addr. size lifetime
router address 1
preference level 1
router address 2
preference level 2

.. .

type = 16 length sequence number

registration lifetime R B H FMG r T reserved
COA 1
COA 2
.. .

Th e d ifferen ce co m p ared with st an d ard ICMP ad vertisem en ts is wh at h ap -

p en s aft er th e ro u ter ad d resses. Th is ext en sio n fo r m o b ilit y h as t h e fo llo win g
field s d efin ed : t y p e is set to 16, len gt h d ep en d s o n th e n u m b er of CO As p ro -
vid ed with th e m essage an d eq u als 6 + 4*(n u m b er o f ad d resses). An agen t sh o ws
t h e t o t al n u m b er o f ad vert isem en t s sen t sin ce in it ializat io n in t h e se q u en c e
n u m b er. By th e regist r a t io n lifet im e t h e agen t can sp ecify t h e m axim u m life-
tim e in seco n d s a n o d e can req u est d u rin g regist ratio n as exp lain ed in sectio n
8.1.5. Th e follo win g bits sp ecify t h e ch aracteristics of an agen t in d etail. Th e R
b it (registratio n ) sh o ws, if a regist ration wit h t h is agen t is req u ired even wh en
u sin g a colo cated CO A at t h e MN. If t h e agen t is cu rren tly to o b u sy to accep t
n ew regist ration s it can set th e B bit. Th e followin g two bit s d en o te if th e agen t
o ffers services as a h o m e agen t (H ) o r fo reign agen t (F) o n th e lin k wh ere t h e
ad vertisem en t h as been sen t. Bits M an d G sp ecify t h e m eth od of en cap su lat ion
u sed fo r th e t u n n el as exp lain ed in section 8.1.6. W h ile IP-in -IP en cap su lation is
t h e m an d at o ry st an d ard , M can sp ecify m in im al en cap su lat io n an d G gen eric
ro u t in g en cap su lat io n . In t h e first versio n o f m o b ile IP (RFC 20 0 2) t h e V b it
sp ecified t h e u se o f h ead er co m p ressio n a cco rd in g t o RFC 1 1 4 4 (Jaco b so n ,
1 9 9 0 ). N o w t h e field r at t h e sa m e b it p o sit io n is set t o zero an d m u st b e
ign o red . Th e n ew field T in d icat es t h at reverse t u n n elin g (see sect io n 8.1.8) is
su p p o rted b y t h e FA. Th e fo llo win g field s co n tain th e COAs ad vertised . A fo r-
eign agen t sett in g t h e F bit m u st ad vertise at least o n e COA. Fu rth er d et ails an d
sp ecial ext en sio n s can be fou n d in Perkin s (1997) an d RFC 3220. A m obile n od e
in a su bn et can n ow receive agen t ad vertisem en ts fro m eith er its h o m e agen t o r
a foreign agen t. Th is is on e way for th e MN to d iscover its lo catio n .
312 Mobile communicat ions

8.1.4.2 Agent solicit at ion

If n o agen t advertisem en ts are p resen t or th e in ter-arrival tim e is too h igh , an d an
MN h as n ot received a CO A by oth er m ean s, e.g., DHCP as d iscu ssed in sect ion
8.2, th e m obile n ode m u st sen d agen t so licit at io n s. Th ese solicitation s are again
based on RFC 1256 for rou ter solicitation s. Care m u st be taken to en su re th at th ese
solicitation m essages do n ot flood th e n etwork, bu t basically an MN can search for
an FA en d lessly sen d in g o u t solicitation m essages. Typ ically, a m obile n o d e can
sen d ou t th ree solicitation s, on e p er secon d, as soon as it en ters a n ew n etwork. It
sh ou ld be n oted th at in h igh ly dyn am ic wireless n etworks with m ovin g MNs an d
probably with ap p lication s requ irin g con tin u ou s packet stream s even on e secon d
in tervals between solicitation m essages m igh t be too lon g. Before an MN even gets
a n ew add ress m an y p ackets will be lost with ou t ad dition al m ech an ism s.
If a n ode does n ot receive an an swer to its solicitation s it m ust decrease th e rate
of solicitation s expon en tially to avoid floodin g th e n etwork un til it reach es a m axi-
m um in terval between solicitation s (typically on e m in ute). Discoverin g a n ew agen t
can be don e an ytim e, n ot just if th e MN is n ot con n ected to on e. Con sider th e case
th at an MN is lookin g for a better con n ection wh ile still sen d in g via th e old p ath .
Th is is th e case wh ile m ovin g th rou gh several cells of differen t wireless n etworks.
After th ese step s of ad vertisem en ts o r solicitation s th e MN can n ow receive
a CO A, eit h er o n e fo r an FA o r a co -lo cat ed COA. Th e M N kn o ws it s lo cat io n
(h om e n etwork o r fo reign n etwork) an d t h e cap abilit ies of th e agen t (if n eed ed ).
Th e n ext st ep fo r th e MN is t h e registration with t h e HA if th e MN is in a for-
eign n et work as d escribed in th e fo llo win g.

8.1.5 Regist ration

Havin g received a COA, t h e MN h as to register wit h th e HA. Th e m ain p u rp o se
o f t h e regist rat io n is t o in fo rm t h e HA o f t h e cu rren t lo cat io n fo r co rrect fo r-
ward in g of p ackets. Regist ratio n can be d o n e in two d ifferen t ways d ep en d in g
on t h e lo cation of t h e COA.

● If th e COA is at th e FA, registration is d on e as illu strated in Figu re 8.4 (left ).

Th e MN sen ds its registration req u est con tain in g th e COA (see Figu re 8.5) to
t h e FA wh ich is fo rward in g t h e req u est t o t h e HA. Th e HA n o w set s u p a
m o b ilit y bin d in g con tain in g th e m obile n ode’s h om e IP ad dress an d th e cu r-
ren t CO A. Ad d it io n ally, t h e m o b ilit y b in d in g co n t ain s t h e lifet im e o f t h e
registrat ion wh ich is n egot iated d u rin g th e registration p rocess. Registration
exp ires au tom atically after th e lifetim e an d is deleted; so, an MN sh ou ld rereg-
ist er b efo re exp irat io n . Th is m ech an ism is n ecessary t o avo id m ob ilit y
bin din gs wh ich are n o lon ger used. After settin g u p th e m obility bin din g, th e
HA sen d s a rep ly m essage back to th e FA wh ich forwards it to th e MN.
● If th e COA is co -lo cated , registration can be sim p ler, as sh o wn in Figu re 8.4
(righ t ). Th e MN m ay sen d t h e req u est d irect ly t o t h e HA an d vice versa.
Th is, b y t h e way, is also t h e regist rat io n p ro ced u re fo r M Ns ret u rn in g t o
th eir h om e n etwork. Here th ey also register d irectly with t h e HA. However,
if th e MN received an agen t ad vertisem en t from th e FA it sh ou ld regist er via
th is FA if th e R b it is set in th e ad vertisem en t.
 Mobile net work layer 313

MN FA HA MN HA Figure 8.4 Registration

Regis Regis of a mobile node via the
t t
req u rat io n req u rat ion FA or directly with the HA
est est
Reg is
t
req u rat ion
est
tr at ion
Regis
reply
tr at io n
Regis
rep ly
t
tr at io n
Regis
rep ly

Figure 8.5
0 7 8 15 16 23 24 31 Registration request
type 1 S B DM G r T x lifetime
home address
home agent
COA
identification

extensions . ..

UDP p ackets are u sed for regist ra t io n req u est s. Th e IP so u rce ad d ress of t h e
p acket is set t o th e in terface ad d ress of th e MN, t h e IP d estin ation ad d ress is th at
of t h e FA o r HA (d ep en d in g on th e location of th e COA). Th e UDP d estin ation
p o rt is set to 434. UDP is u sed becau se of low o verh ead s an d better p erform an ce
co m p ared t o TCP in wireless en viro n m en t s (see ch ap t er 9). Th e field s relevan t
for m obile IP registrat io n req u ests follow as UDP d ata (see Figu re 8.6). Th e field s
are d efin ed as follows.
Th e first field typ e is set to 1 for a registration req u est. With th e S bit an MN
can sp ecify if it wan t s t h e HA to retain p rio r m o bility bin d in gs. Th is allo ws for
sim u lt an eo u s b in d in gs. Th e fo llo win g b it s d en o te t h e req u est ed b eh avio r fo r
packet forwardin g. Settin g th e B bit gen erally in d icates th at an MN also wan ts to
receive th e broad cast p ackets wh ich h ave been received by th e HA in t h e h om e
n etwork. A m ore detailed descrip tion of h ow to filter broadcast m essages wh ich are
n ot n eeded by th e MN can be fou n d in Perkin s (1997). If an MN u ses a co-located
COA, it also takes care of th e d ecap su lation at th e tu n n el en dp oin t. Th e D bit in di-
cates th is beh avior. As already defin ed for agen t advertisem en ts, th e followin g bits
M an d G d en ote th e u se of m in im al en cap su lation or gen eric rou tin g en cap su la-
tion , respectively. T in dicates reverse tu n n elin g, r an d x are set to zero.
314 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 8.6
Registration reply 0 7 8 15 16 31
type = 3 code lifetime
home address
home agent
identification

extensions . ..

Lifet im e d en o tes th e valid ity o f t h e registratio n in seco n d s. A valu e o f zero

in d icates d eregistration ; all bits set in d icat es in fin ity. Th e h o m e a d d r ess is th e
fixed IP ad d ress o f th e MN, h o m e a gen t is th e IP ad d ress o f t h e HA, an d COA
rep resen t s t h e t u n n el en d p oin t . Th e 64 b it id en t ifica t io n is gen erated b y t h e
MN to id en tify a req u est an d m atch it wit h registrat io n rep lies. Th is field is u sed
fo r p ro t ect io n again st rep lay at t acks o f regist rat io n s. Th e e x t e n sio n s m u st at
least con tain p aram eters for au t h en tication .
A regist r a t io n r ep ly , wh ich is co n veyed in a UDP p acket , co n t ain s a t y p e
field set t o 3 a n d a c o d e in d icat in g t h e resu lt o f t h e regist rat io n req u est .
Tab le 8.1 gives so m e exam p le cod es.

Table 8.1 Example

registration reply codes Regist rat ion Code Explanat ion

successful 0 registration accepted

1 registration accepted, but simultaneous mobility
bindings unsupported
denied by FA 65 administratively prohibited
66 insufficient resources
67 mobile node failed authentication
68 home agent failed authentication
69 requested lifetime too long
denied by HA 129 administratively prohibited
130 insufficient resources
131 mobile node failed authentication
132 foreign agent failed authentication
133 registration identification mismatch
135 too many simultaneous mobility bindings
 Mobile net work layer 315

Th e lifet im e field in d icates h ow m an y secon d s th e regist ration is valid if it

was su ccessfu l. H o m e a d d ress an d h o m e a gen t are th e ad d resses o f th e MN an d
t h e HA, resp ect ively. Th e 6 4 -b it id e n t ifi ca t i o n is u sed t o m at ch regist rat io n
req u ests with rep lies. Th e valu e is based o n t h e id en tificat ion field from th e reg-
ist rat io n an d t h e au t h en t icatio n m eth o d . Again , t h e ex t en sio n s m u st at least
co n t ain p aram eters fo r au th en t icat io n .

8.1.6 Tunneling and encapsulat ion

Th e fo llo win g d escrib es th e m ech an ism s u sed fo r fo rward in g p acket s b et ween
th e HA an d th e COA, as sh o wn in Figu re 8.2, step 2. A t u n n el estab lish es a vir-
t u al p ip e fo r d at a p acket s b et w een a t u n n el en t ry an d a t u n n el en d p o in t .
Packets en terin g a t u n n el are fo rward ed in sid e th e tu n n el an d leave th e tu n n el
u n ch an ged . Tu n n elin g, i.e., sen d in g a p acket t h ro u gh a t u n n el, is ach ieved b y
u sin g en cap su lation .
En ca p su la t io n is t h e m ech an ism o f t akin g a p acket co n sist in g o f p acket
h ead er an d d ata an d p u t tin g it in t o th e d at a p art o f a n ew p acket . Th e reverse
o p erat io n , t akin g a p acket o u t o f t h e d at a p a rt o f a n o t h er p acket , is called
d eca p su la t io n . En cap su lat io n an d d ecap su lat io n are t h e o p erat io n s t yp ically
p erfo rm ed wh en a p acket is t ran sferred from a h igh er p ro tocol layer to a lo wer
layer o r fro m a lo wer t o a h igh er layer resp ect ively. H ere t h ese fu n ct io n s are
u sed with in th e sam e layer.
Th is m ech an ism is sh o wn in Figu re 8.7 an d d escribes exactly wh at th e HA
at th e t u n n el en t ry d o es. Th e HA takes th e origin al p acket wit h th e MN as d est i-
n ation , p u t s it in to th e d ata p art o f a n ew p acket an d sets th e n ew IP h ead er in
su ch a way th at t h e p acket is ro u ted to th e COA. Th e n ew h ead er is also called
t h e o u t er h ea d er fo r o b vio u s reaso n s. Ad d it io n ally, t h ere is an in n er h ea d er
w h ich ca n b e id en t ica l t o t h e o rigin al h ea d er as t h is is t h e ca se fo r IP-in -IP
en cap su lation , or th e in n er h ead er can be com p u ted d u rin g en cap su latio n .

8.1.6.1 IP-in-IP encapsulation

Th ere are differen t ways of p erfo rm in g t h e en cap su lat ion n eed ed for t h e tu n n el
b et ween HA an d CO A. M an d at o ry fo r m o b ile IP is IP-in -IP en ca p su la t io n as
sp ecified in RFC 2 0 0 3 (Perkin s, 1 9 9 6 b ). Figu re 8 .8 sh o ws a p acket in sid e t h e
tu n n el. Th e field s follow th e stan d ard sp ecificat io n o f th e IP p rotocol as d efin ed

Figure 8.7
original IP header original data IP encapsulation

new IP header new data

outer header inner header original data

316 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 8.8
IP-in-IP encapsulation ver. IHL DS (TOS) length
IP identification flags fragment offset
TTL IP-in-IP IP checksum
IP address of HA
Care-of address of COA
ver. IHL DS (TOS) length
IP identification flags fragment offset
TTL lay. 4 prot. IP checksum
IP address of CN
IP address of MN

TCP/UDP/ . .. payload

in RFC 791 (Po stel, 1981) an d t h e n ew in terp retat io n o f t h e fo rm er TO S, n o w

DS field in t h e co n t ext of d ifferen tiat ed services (RFC 2474, Nich o ls, 1998). Th e
field s o f t h e o u ter h ead er are set as follows. Th e version field ver is 4 for IP ver-
sion 4, t h e in tern et h ead er len gth (IH L) d en o tes th e len gth o f t h e o u ter h ead er
in 32 bit wo rd s. DS(TOS) is ju st cop ied from t h e in n er h ead er, th e len gt h field
covers t h e co m p let e en cap su lated p acket. Th e field s u p t o TTL h ave n o sp ecial
m ean in g fo r m o b ile IP an d are set acco rd in g t o RFC 7 9 1 . TTL m u st b e h igh
en o u gh so t h e p acket can reach t h e t u n n el en d p o in t . Th e n ex t field , h ere
d en o t ed wit h IP-in -IP, is th e typ e o f t h e p rot o co l u sed in th e IP p aylo ad . Th is
field is set to 4, th e p ro t ocol t yp e for IPv4 becau se again an IPv4 p acket follows
aft er t h is ou t er h ead er. IP ch eck su m is calcu lat ed as u su al. Th e n ext field s are
th e t u n n el en t ry as so u rce ad d ress (t h e IP a d d ress o f t h e H A) an d th e t u n n el
exit p o in t as d est in ation ad d ress (th e COA).
If n o op tion s follow th e o u ter h ead er, t h e in n er h ead er st arts with th e sam e
field s as ju st exp lain ed . Th is h ead er rem ain s alm ost u n ch an ged d u rin g en cap su -
lat io n , th u s sh owin g t h e origin al sen d er CN an d th e receiver MN of t h e p acket.
Th e o n ly ch an ge is TTL wh ich is d ecrem en ted by 1. Th is m ean s th at t h e wh ole
tu n n el is co n sid ered a sin gle h op from th e origin al p acket ’s p o in t o f view. Th is
is a very im p o rt an t feat u re o f tu n n elin g as it allo ws t h e MN to b eh ave as if it
were attach ed to th e h o m e n etwo rk. No m att er h ow m an y real h o p s t h e p acket
h as to t ake in t h e tu n n el, it is ju st o n e (lo gical) h o p away fo r th e MN. Fin ally,
th e p ayload fo llo ws th e two h ead ers.

8.1.6.2 Minimal encapsulation

As seen with IP-in -IP en cap su lat io n , several field s are red u n d an t . Fo r exam p le,
TO S is ju st cop ied , fragm en tatio n is o ft en n ot n eed ed etc. Th erefo re, m in im a l
en ca p su la t io n (RFC 2004) as sh own in Figu re 8.9 is an o p tio n al en cap su lation
m eth o d for m obile IP (Perkin s, 1996c). Th e tu n n el en try p oin t an d en d p oin t are
sp ecified . In t h is case, th e field fo r th e typ e o f th e fo llo win g h ead er con t ain s t h e
 Mobile net work layer 317

Figure 8.9
ver. IHL DS (TOS) length Minimal encapsulation
IP identification flags fragment offset
TTL min. encap IP checksum
IP address of HA
care-of address of COA
lay. 4 protoc. S reserved IP checksum
IP address of MN
original sender IP address (if S=1)

TCP/UDP/ .. . payload

valu e 55 fo r t h e m in im al en cap su latio n p ro toco l. Th e in n er h ead er is d ifferen t

for m in im al en cap su latio n . Th e t yp e of th e fo llowin g p ro t o co l an d t h e ad d ress
of t h e MN are n eed ed . If th e S bit is set , th e o rigin al sen d er ad d ress o f th e CN is
in clu d ed as o m it tin g t h e sou rce is q u it e o ften n o t an op t io n . No field fo r frag-
m en t at io n o ffset is left in th e in n er h ead er an d m in im al en cap su latio n d oes n o t
wo rk with alread y fragm en t ed p ackets.

8.1.6.3 Generic routing encapsulation

W h ile IP-in -IP en cap su latio n an d m in im al en cap su latio n wo rk o n ly fo r IP, th e
follo win g en cap su lation sch em e also su p p orts oth er n etwo rk layer p roto cols in
ad d itio n t o IP. Gen er ic ro u t in g en ca p su la t io n (GRE) allows t h e en cap su latio n
of p ackets of o n e p ro to col su ite in t o th e p ayload p ortion of a p acket of an oth er
p ro t o co l su it e (Han ks, 1994). Figu re 8.10 sh o ws th is p ro ced u re. Th e p acket o f
on e p rotocol su ite with th e origin al p acket h ead er an d d ata is taken an d a n ew
GRE h ead er is p rep e n d ed . To get h er t h is fo rm s t h e n ew d at a p art o f t h e n ew
p acket. Fin ally, t h e h ead er of t h e secon d p ro to col su it e is p u t in fro n t.
Figu re 8 .11 sh o ws o n t h e left sid e t h e field s o f a p acket in sid e t h e t u n n el
between h o m e agen t an d COA u sin g GRE as an en cap su lat io n sch em e accord in g
t o RFC 17 0 1 . Th e o u t er h ead er is t h e st an d ard IP h ead er w it h H A a s so u rce
ad d ress an d COA as d est in ation ad d ress. Th e p ro t ocol t yp e u sed in th is o u ter IP

Figure 8.10
original Generic routing
original data
header
encapsulation

GRE original
outer header original data
header header

new header new data

318 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 8.11
Protocol fields for GRE ver. IHL DS (TOS) length
according to RFC 1701 IP identification flags fragment offset
TTL GRE IP checksum
IP address of HA
care-of address of COA
C R K S s rec. rsv. ver. protocol
checksum (optional) offset (optional)
key (optional)
sequence number (optional)
routing (optional)
ver. IHL DS (TOS) length
IP identification flags fragment offset
TTL lay. 4 prot. IP checksum
IP address of CN
IP address of MN

TCP/UDP/.. . payload

h ead er is 47 for GRE. Th e oth er field s of th e ou ter p acket, su ch as TTL an d TOS,

m ay b e co p ied fro m t h e o rigin al IP h ead er. Ho wever, t h e TTL m u st b e d ecre-
m en ted by 1 wh en t h e p acket is d ecap su lated to p reven t in d efin ite fo rward in g.
Th e GRE h ead er st art s with several flags in d icat in g if certain field s are p re-
sen t o r n o t . A m in im al G RE h ead er u ses o n ly 4 b yt es; n evert h eless, GRE is
flexib le en ou gh to in clu d e several m ech an ism s in its h ead er. Th e C bit in d icates
if th e ch ecksu m field is p resen t an d con tain s valid in fo rm ation . If C is set, t h e
ch eck su m field co n tain s a valid IP ch ecksu m o f t h e GRE h ead er an d th e p ay-
lo ad . Th e R bit in d icates if t h e o ffset an d rou tin g field s are p resen t an d co n t ain
valid in fo rm at io n . Th e o ffset rep resen ts th e o ffset in b yt es fo r th e first so u rce
r o u t in g en t ry. Th e ro u tin g field , if p resen t , h as a variab le len gt h an d co n tain s
field s fo r so u rce ro u tin g. If t h e C b it is set , t h e o ffset field is also p resen t an d ,
vice v ersa, if t h e R b it is set , t h e ch ecksu m field m u st b e p resen t . Th e o n ly
reaso n for th is is t o align th e fo llowin g field s to 4 bytes. Th e ch ecksu m field is
valid on ly if C is set, an d th e offset field is valid on ly if R is set resp ectively.
G RE also o ffers a k ey field wh ich m ay b e u sed fo r au t h en t icat io n . If t h is
field is p resen t , th e K bit is set. However, th e au th en tication algorith m s are n ot
fu rth er sp ecified by GRE. Th e seq u en ce n u m ber bit S in d icates if t h e seq u en ce
n u m b er field is p resen t, if t h e s bit is set , st rict so u rce rou tin g is u sed . Seq u en ce
n u m b ers m ay b e u sed b y a d eca p su lat o r t o rest o re p a cket o rd er. Th is can b e
im p o rt an t, if a p rot o col gu aran teein g in -ord er tran sm ission is en cap su lated an d
 Mobile net work layer 319

Figure 8.12
C reserved0 ver. protocol Protocol fields for GRE
checksum (optional) reserved1 (=0) according to RFC 2784

tran sferred u sin g a p rotocol wh ich d oes n ot gu aran t ee in -ord er d elivery, e.g., IP.
Now t h e d ecap su lato r at t h e tu n n el exit m u st restore th e seq u en ce to m ain t ain
th e ch aracteristic o f th e p rotocol.
Th e recu rsio n co n t ro l field (rec.) is an im p ortan t field t h at ad d it io n ally d is-
tin gu ish es GRE fro m IP-in -IP an d m in im al en cap su latio n . Th is field rep resen t s a
co u n ter th at sh o ws th e n u m ber of allo wed recu rsive en cap su lation s. As soo n as
a p acket arrives at an en cap su lato r it ch ecks wh eth er th is field eq u als zero . If t h e
field is n ot zero , ad d it io n al en cap su latio n is allowed – th e p acket is en cap su lated
an d th e field d ecrem en ted by o n e. O th erwise th e p acket will m ost likely be d is-
card ed . Th is m ech a n ism p reven t s in d efin it e recu rsive en cap su la t io n w h ich
m igh t h ap p en wit h t h e oth er sch em es if tu n n els are set u p im p rop erly (e.g., sev-
eral tu n n els fo rm in g a lo o p ). Th e d efau lt valu e o f t h is field sh o u ld b e 0 , t h u s
allowin g on ly on e level of en cap su lation .
Th e followin g reserved field s m u st be zero an d are ign ored on reception . Th e
versio n field con tain s 0 for th e GRE version . Th e followin g 2 byte p ro t o co l field
rep resen t s t h e p ro t o co l o f t h e p acket fo llo win g t h e GRE h ead er. Several valu es
h ave been d efin ed , e.g., 0 × 6558 for tran sp aren t Et h ern et brid gin g u sin g a GRE
tu n n el. In th e case of a m obile IP tu n n el, th e p rotocol field con tain s 0 × 800 for IP.
Th e stan d ard h ead er o f th e origin al p acket fo llo ws with t h e sou rce ad d ress
of th e co rresp on d en t n od e an d th e d estin atio n ad d ress o f th e m obile n od e.
Figu re 8 .1 2 sh o ws t h e sim p lified h ea d er o f G RE fo llo w in g RFC 2 7 8 4
(Farin acci, 2000), wh ich is a m ore gen eralized version of GRE com p ared to RFC
1701. Th is versio n d o es n o t ad d ress m u tu al en cap su latio n an d ign o res several
p ro tocol-sp ecific n u an ces o n p u rp ose. Th e field C in d icates again if a ch ecksu m
is p resen t. Th e n ext 5 b its are set t o zero , t h en 7 reserved bit s fo llow. Th e v er-
si o n field co n t ain s t h e valu e zero . Th e p r o t o co l t yp e, a ga in , d efin es t h e
p ro tocol of th e p ayload followin g RFC 3232 (Reyn o ld s, 2002). If t h e flag C is set,
th en ch eck su m field an d a field called reserved 1 follows. Th e latter field is con -
stan t zero set to zero fo llo w. RFC 2784 d ep recates several field s of RFC 1701, bu t
can in tero p erat e with RFC 1701-co m p lian t im p lem en t at ion s.

8.1.7 Opt imizations

Im agin e th e followin g scen ario . A Jap an ese an d a Germ an m eet at a con feren ce
on Hawaii. Bo th wan t t o u se t h eir lap to p s fo r exch an gin g d ata, bot h ru n m obile
IP for m o bility su p p o rt . Now recall Figu re 8.2 an d t h in k of th e way th e p ackets
between bo th com p u ters take.
If t h e Jap an ese sen d s a p acket to th e Germ an , h is com p u ter sen d s t h e d ata to
th e HA of th e Germ an , i.e., from Hawaii to Germ an y. Th e HA in Germ an y n ow
en cap su lates th e p ackets an d tu n n els th em t o th e COA of th e Germ an lap top on
Hawaii. Th is m ean s th at alth ou gh th e com p u ters m igh t be on ly m eters away, th e
320 Mobile communicat ions

p acket s h ave t o t ravel aro u n d t h e wo rld ! Th is in efficien t b eh avio r o f a n o n -

o p tim ized m o b ile IP is called t r ia n gu la r r o u t in g. Th e t rian gle is m ad e o f t h e
th ree segm en ts, CN to HA, HA to COA/ MN, an d MN back to CN.
With t h e basic m obile IP p rot oco l all p ackets t o th e MN h ave to go t h rou gh
th e HA. Th is can cau se u n n ecessary overh ead s for t h e n et wo rk between CN an d
HA, b u t also b et ween HA an d CO A, d ep en d in g o n t h e cu rren t lo catio n o f th e
MN. As t h e exam p le sh o ws, laten cy can in crease d ram at ically. Th is is p art icu -
larly u n fortu n ate if th e MNs an d HAs are sep arat ed by, e.g., tran satlan tic lin ks.
O n e way to op tim ize th e rou te is to in form th e CN of t h e cu rren t locat ion
o f t h e M N. Th e C N can learn t h e lo cat io n b y cach in g it in a b in d in g c a c h e
wh ich is a p art of th e lo cal rou tin g table fo r t h e CN. Th e ap p ro p riate en tity t o
in fo rm t h e C N o f t h e lo cat io n is t h e H A. Th e o p t im ized m o b ile IP p ro t o co l
n eed s fo u r ad d itio n al m essages.

● Bin d in g req u est : An y n od e th at wan ts t o kn ow t h e cu rren t lo cation o f an

M N can sen d a bin d in g req u est to th e HA. Th e HA can ch eck if th e MN h as
allo wed d issem in at io n of its cu rren t locat io n . If th e HA is allowed to reveal
th e location it sen d s back a bin d in g u p d ate.
● Bin d in g u p d a t e: Th is m essage sen t b y t h e HA t o CNs reveals t h e cu rren t
lo cat io n o f an MN. Th e m essage co n t ain s t h e fix ed IP ad d ress o f t h e M N
an d th e COA. Th e bin d in g u p d ate can req u est an ackn o wled gem en t.
● Bin d in g a ck n o w led gem en t : If req u ested , a n o de retu rn s th is ackn owled ge-
m en t after receivin g a bin d in g u p d ate m essage.
● Bin d in g w arn in g: If a n od e decap su lates a p acket for an MN, bu t it is n ot th e
cu rren t FA for th is MN, th is n od e sen ds a bin din g warn in g. Th e warn in g con -
tain s MN’s h o m e ad d ress an d a target n o d e ad d ress, i.e., t h e ad d ress of t h e
n ode th at h as tried to sen d th e p acket to th is MN. Th e recipien t of th e warn -
in g t h en kn o ws t h at t h e t arget n o d e co u ld b en efit fro m o b t ain in g a fresh
bin din g for th e MN. Th e recip ien t can be th e HA, so th e HA sh ould n ow sen d
a bin din g upd ate to th e n ode th at obviou sly h as a wron g COA for th e MN.

Figu re 8.13 exp lain s th ese ad dition al fou r m essages togeth er with th e case of
an MN ch an gin g its FA. Th e CN can req uest th e cu rren t location from th e HA. If
allowed by th e MN, t h e HA ret u rn s th e COA of th e MN via an u p d at e m essage.
Th e CN ackn owledges th is u p date m essage an d stores th e m obility bin din g. Now
th e CN can sen d its data directly to th e cu rren t foreign agen t FAold . FAold forwards
th e p ackets to th e MN. Th is scen ario sh ows a COA located at an FA. En capsu lation
of data for tu n n elin g to th e COA is n ow don e by th e CN, n ot th e HA.
Th e MN m igh t n o w ch an ge it s lo cat io n an d regist er w it h a n ew fo reign
agen t , FAn ew . Th is regist ration is also fo rward ed t o th e HA to u p d at e its location
d at ab ase. Fu rt h erm o re, FAn ew in fo rm s FAold ab o u t t h e n ew regist rat io n o f M N.
MN’s registratio n m essage co n tain s t h e ad d ress of FAold fo r th is p u rp ose. Passin g
th is in form atio n is ach ieved via an u p d ate m essage, wh ich is ackn o wled ged by
FAold . Registration rep lies are n o t sh o wn in th is scen ario. With o u t th e in fo rm a-
 Mobile net work layer 321

CN HA FAold FAnew MN Figure 8.13

Data Data Change of the foreign
Data
Update agent with an optimized
ACK mobile IP

Data Data
MN changes
Registration location
Update
ACK
Data
Data Data
Warning

Request
Update
ACK

Data
Dat a

tion p rovid ed by th e n ew FA, th e old FA wou ld n ot get to kn ow an yt h in g abo u t

t h e n ew lo cat io n o f MN. In t h is case, CN d o es n o t kn o w an yt h in g ab o u t t h e
n ew locatio n , so it st ill tu n n els its p ackets fo r MN to t h e o ld FA, FAold . Th is FA
n ow n otices p ackets wit h d estin ation MN, bu t also kn o ws th at it is n ot th e cu r-
ren t FA o f MN. FAo ld m igh t n o w forward th ese p acket s to th e n ew CO A o f MN
wh ich is FAn ew in th is exam p le. Th is fo rward in g o f p ackets is an oth er o p tim iza-
t io n o f t h e b a sic M o b ile IP p ro vid in g sm o o t h h a n d o v e r s. W it h o u t t h is
op tim ization , all p ackets in t ran sit wou ld be lo st wh ile th e MN m o ves from o n e
FA t o an ot h er. With TCP as th e h igh er layer p rot ocol th is wou ld resu lt in severe
p erfo rm an ce d egrad at ion (see ch ap ter 9).
To t ell CN th at it h as a stale bin d in g cach e, FAold sen d s, in th is exam p le, a
b in d in g w arn in g m e ssa ge t o C N . C N t h en req u est s a b in d in g u p d a t e. (Th e
warn in g co u ld also b e d irect ly sen t t o t h e HA t riggerin g an u p d at e). Th e HA
sen d s an u p d ate t o in fo rm t h e CN ab o u t th e n ew lo cat io n , wh ich is ackn o wl-
ed ged . No w CN can sen d it s p acket s d irect ly to FAn ew , again avo id in g trian gu lar
ro u tin g. Un fo rt u n at ely, th is o p tim izat io n o f m o b ile IP to avo id trian gu lar ro u t-
in g cau ses sev era l secu rit y p ro b lem s (e.g., t u n n el h ija ckin g) as d iscu ssed
in M o n t en egro (19 98 ). No t all u sers o f m o b ile co m m u n icat io n syst em s wan t
to reveal t h eir cu rren t ‘lo cat io n ’ (in th e sen se o f an IP su b n et) t o a co m m u n i-
catio n p artn er.

8.1.8 Reverse t unneling

At first glan ce, t h e ret u rn p at h fro m t h e MN t o t h e CN sh o w n in Figu re 8 .2
lo o ks q u it e sim p le. Th e M N can d irect ly sen d it s p acket s t o t h e CN as in an y
oth er stan d ard IP situ ation . Th e d estin atio n ad d ress in th e p ackets is th at of CN.
Bu t th ere are several severe p roblem s asso ciat ed with th is sim p le solu t io n .
322 Mobile communicat ions

● Fir ew a lls: Alm o st all co m p an ies an d m an y o t h er in st it u t io n s secu re t h eir

in tern al n etworks (in tran et) con n ect ed to th e in tern et with th e h elp of a fire-
w all. All d at a t o an d fro m t h e in t ran et m u st p ass t h ro u gh t h e firewall.
Besid es m an y o th er fu n ct ion s, firewalls can be set u p to filter o u t m alicio u s
ad d resses fro m an ad m in ist rato r’s p o in t o f view. Qu it e o ften firewalls o n ly
allo w p acket s with to p o logically co rrect ad d resses to p ass. Th is p rovid es at
least a first an d sim p le p ro t ect io n again st m isco n figu red syst em s o f
u n kn own ad dresses. However, MN st ill sen d s p ackets with its fixed IP ad d ress
as so u rce wh ich is n ot t o p o lo gically co rrect in a foreign n etwo rk. Firewalls
o ft en filter p acket s co m in g fro m o u t sid e co n t ain in g a so u rce ad d ress fro m
co m p u t ers of th e in tern al n et wo rk. Th is avo id s o th er co m p u ters th at cou ld
u se in tern al ad d resses an d claim to be in tern al com p u ters. However, th is also
im p lies th at an MN can n ot sen d a p acket to a com p u ter resid in g in its h om e
n etwo rk. Alt ogeth er, th is m ean s t h at n o t on ly d oes th e d estin ation ad d ress
m at ter for forward in g IP p ackets, bu t also th e sou rce add ress d u e to secu rit y
co n cern s. Fu rt h er co m p licat ion s arise th ro u gh t h e u se o f p rivat e ad d resses
in sid e t h e in tran et an d th e tran slation in to global ad d resses wh en com m u n i-
cat in g with th e in tern et. Th is n et w o rk a d d r ess t ra n sla t io n (NAT, n etwo rk
ad d ress tran slator, RFC 3022, Srisu resh , 2001) is used by m an y com p an ies t o
h id e in t ern al reso u rces (ro u t ers, co m p u t ers, p rin t ers et c.) an d t o u se o n ly
so m e glo bally available ad d resses (Levkowetz, 2002, tries t o so lve th e p rob-
lem s arisin g wh en u sin g NAT togeth er with m obile IP).
● M u lt i-ca st : Reverse tu n n els are n eed ed for t h e MN to p articip ate in a m u lti-
cast gro u p . W h ile t h e n o d es in t h e h o m e n et wo rk m igh t p art icip at e in a
m u lt i-cast gro u p , an MN in a fo reign n et wo rk can n o t t ran sm it m u lt i-cast
p acket s in a w ay t h at t h ey em a n at e fro m it s h o m e n et wo rk wit h o u t a
reverse tu n n el. Th e fo reign n etwo rk m igh t n o t even p ro vid e t h e t ech n ical
in frastru ctu re for m u lti-cast com m u n icatio n (m u lti-cast backbo n e, Mbon e).
● TTL: Co n sid er an MN sen d in g p ackets wit h a certain TTL wh ile still in its
h o m e n etwo rk. Th e TTL m igh t be low en o u gh so th at n o p acket is tran sm it-
t ed o u t sid e a cert ain regio n . If t h e MN n o w m o ves t o a fo reign n et wo rk,
th is TTL m igh t be t oo lo w fo r t h e p ackets t o reach th e sam e n o d es as befo re.
M o b ile IP is n o lo n ger t ra n sp aren t if a u ser h as t o a d ju st t h e TTL w h ile
m ovin g. A reverse tu n n el is n eed ed th at rep resen t s on ly o n e h op , n o m atter
h o w m an y h op s are really n eed ed from t h e foreign to th e h o m e n etwork.

All t h ese co n sid erat io n s led t o RFC 2 3 4 4 (M o n t en egro , 1 9 9 8 ) d efin in g

reverse tu n n elin g as an exten sion to m obile IP. Th e n ew RFC 3024 (Mon ten egro,
2001) ren d ers RFC 2344 o b so lete b u t co m p rises o n ly so m e m in o r ch an ges fo r
th e o rigin al stan d ard . Th e RFC was d esign ed backward s-co m p at ible to m obile IP
an d d efin es to p o lo gically co rrect reverse tu n n elin g as n ecessary t o h an d le th e
p ro blem s d escrib ed abo ve. Reverse t u n n elin g was ad d ed as an o p tio n to m o bile
IP in t h e n ew stan d ard (RFC 3344).
 Mobile net work layer 323

O b vio u sly, reverse t u n n elin g n o w creat es a trian gu lar ro u t in g p ro b lem in

th e reverse d irection . All p ackets from an MN t o a CN go th rou gh t h e HA. RFC
3024 d o es n o t o ffer a so lu t io n fo r t h is reverse trian gu lar ro u tin g, b ecau se it is
n o t clear if t h e CN can d ecap su lat e p acket s. Rem em b er t h at m o b ile IP sh o u ld
work to geth er wit h all trad ition al, n o n -m o bile IP n od es. Th erefore, on e can n o t
assu m e th at a CN is able to be a tu n n el en d p oin t.
Reverse t u n n elin g also raises several secu rit y issu es wh ich h ave n o t b een
really solved u p t o n o w. Fo r exam p le, tu n n els st artin g in t h e p rivate n et work o f
a com p an y an d reach in g ou t in to th e in tern et co u ld be h ijacked an d abu sed fo r
sen d in g p ackets th ro u gh a firewall. It is n o t clear if com p an ies wo u ld allow fo r
sett in g u p tu n n els t h ro u gh a firewall with o u t fu rth er ch eckin g o f p acket s. It is
m o re likely t h at a co m p an y w ill set u p a sp ecial virt u al n et w o rk fo r visit in g
m o b ile n o d es o u t sid e t h e firewall wit h fu ll co n n ect ivit y t o t h e in t ern et . Th is
allows gu ests to u se th eir m obile eq u ip m en t, an d at t h e sam e tim e, tod ay’s secu -
rit y st an d ard s are m ain t ain ed . In it ial a rch it ect u res in t egrat in g m o b ilit y an d
secu rit y asp ects wit h in firewalls exist (Min k, 2000a an d b).

8.1.9 IPv6
W h ile m obile IP was o rigin ally d esign ed for IP version 4, IP version 6 (Deerin g,
1998) m akes life m u ch easier. Several m ech an ism s th at h ad to be sp ecified sep ar-
ately for m obility su p p ort com e free in IPv6 (Perkin s, 1996d ), (Joh n son , 2002b).
On e issu e is secu rity with regard to au th en tication , wh ich is n ow a req u ired fea-
t u re fo r all IPv6 n o d es. N o sp ecial m ech an ism s as ad d -o n s are n eed ed fo r
secu rin g m o bile IP registration . Every IPv6 n od e m asters ad d ress au tocon figu ra-
t io n – t h e m ech an ism s fo r acq u irin g a C O A are alread y b u ilt in . N eigh b o r
d isco very as a m ech an ism m an d at o ry fo r every n o d e is also in clu d ed in t h e
sp ecificatio n ; sp ecial fo reign agen ts are n o lo n ger n eed ed t o ad vert ise services.
Com bin in g th e feat u res of au tocon figu ration an d n eigh bor discovery m ean s th at
every m o bile n od e is able t o create or obtain a t o p o logically correct ad d ress fo r
th e cu rren t p oin t of attach m en t.
Every IPv6 n od e can sen d bin d in g u p d ates to an oth er n o d e, so th e MN can
sen d its cu rren t COA d irectly to th e CN an d HA. Th ese m ech an ism s are an in te-
gral p art of IPv6. A so ft h an d o ver is p o ssib le wit h IPv6. Th e MN sen d s it s n ew
COA to th e old rou ter servicin g th e MN at th e old COA, an d th e old rou ter en cap -
su lates all in com in g p ackets for th e MN an d forward s th em to th e n ew COA.
Alt o geth er, m ob ile IP in IPv6 n etwo rks req u ires very few ad d itio n al m ech -
an ism s o f a CN, MN, an d HA. Th e FA is n o t n eed ed an y m ore. A CN o n ly h as to
b e able t o p ro cess b in d in g u p d at es, i.e., t o creat e o r to u p d at e an en t ry in th e
ro u t in g cach e. Th e M N it self h as t o b e ab le t o d ecap su lat e p acket s, t o d et ect
wh en it n eed s a n ew COA, an d to d et erm in e wh en to sen d b in d in g u p d at es t o
th e HA an d CN. A HA m u st be able to en cap su late p ackets. Ho wever, IPv6 d oes
n o t so lve an y firewall o r p rivacy p ro b lem s. Ad d itio n al m ech an ism s o n h igh er
layers are n eed ed fo r t h is.
324 Mobile communicat ions

8.1.10 IP micro-mobilit y support

Mo bile IP exh ibits several p ro blem s regard in g th e d u rat ion of h an d over an d t h e
scalab ilit y o f t h e regist rat io n p ro ced u re. Assu m in g a large n u m b er o f m o b ile
d evices ch an gin g n etworks q u ite freq u en tly, a h igh load on t h e h o m e agen ts as
w ell a s o n t h e n et w o rks is gen erat ed b y regist rat io n a n d b in d in g u p d at e
m essages. IP m icro -m o b ilit y p ro to co ls can co m p lem en t m o b ile IP b y o fferin g
fast an d alm ost seam less h an dover co n trol in lim it ed geo grap h ical areas.
Con sid er a clien t arrivin g with h is o r h er lap top at th e cu stom er’s p rem ises.
Th e h o m e agen t o n ly h as t o kn o w an en t ry p o in t t o t h e cu st o m er’s n et wo rk,
n o t th e d etails with in th is n et work. Th e en try p oin t act s as th e cu rren t locatio n .
C h a n ges in t h e lo ca t io n wit h in t h e cu st o m er’s n et w o rk sh o u ld b e h an d led
lo cally to m in im ize n etwo rk t raffic an d t o sp eed -u p lo cal h an d o ver. Th e b asic
u n d erlyin g id ea is th e sam e for all m icro -m ob ility p ro to cols: Keep th e freq u en t
u p d at es gen erated by lo cal ch an ges o f th e p o in t s of att ach m en t away fro m t h e
h o m e n et w o rk a n d o n ly in fo rm t h e h o m e agen t ab o u t m ajo r ch a n ges, i.e.,
ch an ges of a regio n . In so m e sen se all m icro-m o bility p ro to co ls est ablish a h ier-
arch y. Ho wever, t h e d eb at e is st ill go in g o n if m icro -m o b ilit y asp ect s sh o u ld
really b e h an d led o n t h e IP layer o r if layer 2 is t h e b ett er p lace fo r it . Layer 2
m obility su p p ort wou ld co m p rise, e.g., th e in ter access p oin t p ro to co l (IAPP) o f
802.1 1 W LANs (see ch ap t er 7) o r th e m o b ilit y su p p o rt m ech an ism s o f m o b ile
p h on e system s (see ch ap ter 4).
Th e fo llo win g p resen t s t h ree o f t h e m o st p ro m in en t ap p ro ach es, w h ich
sh ou ld be seen n eith er as stan d ard s n o r as fin al solu tion s of th e m icro -m obilit y
p ro blem s. Cam p b ell (2002) p resen ts a com p arison of t h e th ree ap p roach es.

8.1.10.1 Cellular IP
Cellu lar IP (Valko , 199 9), (Cam p b ell, 2 000) p rovid es lo cal h an d o vers with o u t
ren ewed registration b y in st alin g a sin gle cellu la r IP ga t ew a y (CIPGW ) for each
d o m ain , wh ich act s t o t h e o u t sid e w o rld as a fo reign agen t (see Figu re 8 .14 ).
In sid e t h e cellu lar IP d o m ain , all n od es co llect rou tin g in form ation for accessin g
MNs b ased o n th e o rigin o f p acket s sen t b y t h e MNs t o ward s th e CIPGW. So ft
h an d o vers are ach ieved b y allo win g sim u lt an eo u s fo rward in g o f p acket s d es-
tin ed fo r a m ob ile n o d e alo n g m u lt ip le p at h s. A m o bile n o d e m o vin g b etween
ad jacen t cells will t em p o rarily b e able t o receive p acket s via bo th o ld an d n ew
b a se st a t io n s (BS) if t h is is su p p ort ed by th e lower p ro to co l layers.
C o n cern in g t h e m an agea b ilit y o f cellu lar IP, it h as t o b e n o t ed t h at t h e
ap p ro ach h as a sim p le an d elegan t arch it ect u re an d is m o st ly self-co n figu rin g.
Ho wever, m o bile IP tu n n els co u ld b e co n t ro lled m o re easily if th e CIPGW was
in tegrated in to a firewall, bu t t h ere are n o d etailed sp ecification s in (Cam p bell,
2 0 0 0 ) regard in g su ch in t egra t io n . C ellu lar IP req u ires ch an ges t o t h e b asic
m o bile IP p ro to col an d is n o t tran sp aren t to existin g system s. Th e fo reign n et-
w o rk’s ro u t in g t ab les a re ch an ged b ased o n m essages sen t b y m o b ile n o d es.
Th ese sh ou ld n o t be tru sted blin d ly even if th ey h ave been au th en ticated . Th is
co u ld b e exp lo ited b y syst em s in t h e fo reign n et wo rk fo r wiret ap p in g p acket s
 Mobile net work layer 325

Figure 8.14
Internet Basic architecture of
cellular IP
Mobile IP

CIP Gateway

data/control
packets
from MN1

BS BS BS
packets from
MN2 to MN1

MN1 MN2

d est in ed fo r an MN b y sen d in g p acket s to t h e CIPGW with th e sou rce ad d ress

set to th e MN’s ad d ress. In en t erp rise scen arios req u irin g basic co m m u n ication s
secu rit y, th is m ay n o t be accep table.

Adva ntage
● Man ageability: Cellu lar IP is m o stly self-con figu rin g, an d in tegrat io n o f t h e
CIPGW in t o a firewall wo u ld facilitat e ad m in ist rat io n o f m o b ilit y-relat ed
fu n ction ality. Th is is, h o wever, n o t exp licit ly sp ecified in (Cam p bell, 2000).

Disadvantages
● Efficien cy: Ad d it io n al n et wo rk lo ad is in d u ced b y fo rward in g p acket s o n
m u ltip le p ath s.
● Tran sp aren cy: Ch an ges to MNs are req u ired .
● Secu rit y: Ro u t in g t ab les a re ch an ged b ased o n m essages sen t b y m o b ile
n o d es. Ad d it ion ally, all system s in th e n etwo rk can easily o btain a co p y o f
all p acket s d est in ed fo r an M N b y sen d in g p acket s wit h t h e M N’s so u rce
ad d ress to t h e CIPGW.

8.1.10.2 Hawaii
HAWAII (Han d off-Aware Wireless Access In tern et In frastru ctu re, Ram jee, 1999)
tries to keep m icro -m o b ilit y su p p o rt as t ran sp aren t as p o ssib le fo r b o th h o m e
agen ts an d m o b ile n o d es (wh ich h ave t o su p p o rt ro u te o p t im izat io n ). It s co n -
cret e go als are p erfo rm an ce an d reliab ilit y im p ro vem en t s an d su p p o rt fo r
q u ality o f service m ech an ism s. On en t erin g an HAWAII d o m ain , a m ob ile n o d e
o b t ain s a co -lo cat ed CO A (see Figu re 8.1 5 , st ep 1 ) an d regist ers wit h t h e HA
(step 2). Ad d it ion ally, wh en m ovin g to an o th er cell in sid e th e foreign d om ain ,
th e MN sen d s a regist ration req u est to th e n ew base st at ion as to a fo reign agen t
326 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 8.15
Internet
Basic architecture
of HAWAII HA

Backbone
Router

Crossover
Router

2
4 Mobile IP

BS BS BS DHCP
Server
Mobile IP
3 MN MN DHCP
1

(step 3), th u s m ixin g t h e co n cep t s o f co -lo cat ed CO A an d fo reign agen t CO A.

Th e b ase st at io n in t ercep t s t h e regist rat io n req u est an d sen d s o u t a h an d o ff
u p d at e m essage, wh ich reco n figu res all ro u ters o n th e p at h s fro m t h e o ld an d
n ew b ase st at io n t o t h e so -called cro sso ver ro u t er (st ep 4). W h en ro u t in g h as
been reco n figu red su ccessfu lly, th e base st at ion sen d s a registration rep ly to th e
m o bile n o d e, again as if it were a foreign agen t .
Th e u se o f ch allen ge-resp o n se ext en sio n s for au th en t icat in g a m o bile n od e
is m an d at ory. In co n trast to cellu lar IP, rou tin g ch an ges are always in itiated by
t h e fo reign d o m ain ’s in frastru ctu re, an d t h e co rresp o n d in g m essages co u ld b e
au th en ticated , e.g., by m ean s o f an IPSec au th en ticatio n h ead er (AH; RFC 2402,
Ken t, 1998), red u cin g th e risk o f m alicio u s rerou tin g of traffic in it iated by bogu s
m o bile h o st s. Ho wever, t h is is n o t exp licitly sp ecified in Ram jee (1999). HAWAII
cla im s t o b e m o st ly t ran sp aren t t o m o b ile n o d es, b u t t h is claim h as t o b e
regard ed with som e cau tion as th e req u irem en t to su p p o rt a co-lo cated care-o f-
ad d ress as well as t o in t eract wit h fo reign agen t s co u ld cau se d ifficu lt ies wit h
som e m obile n o d es.

Advan tages

● Secu rit y: C h allen ge-resp o n se ex t en sio n s a re m an d at o ry. In co n t rast t o

C ellu lar IP, ro u t in g ch an ges are always in it iat ed b y t h e fo reign d o m ain ’s
in frastru ctu re.
● Tran sp aren cy: HAWAII is m ostly tran sp aren t to m obile n od es.
 Mobile net work layer 327

Disadvantages

● Secu rity: Th ere are n o p rovisio n s regard in g th e setu p o f IPSec tu n n els.

● Im p lem en t at io n : No p rivat e a d d ress su p p o rt is p o ssib le b ecau se o f co -
lo cated COAs.

8.1.10.3 Hierarchical mobile IPv6 (HMIPv6)

As in t ro d u cin g h iera rch ies is t h e n at u ral ch o ice fo r h an d lin g m icro -m o b ilit y
issu es, severa l p ro p o sals fo r a ‘h ierarch ical’ m o b ile IP ex ist . W h at fo llo w s is
based on Solim an , (2002).
HMIPv6 p ro vid es m icro -m o b ilit y su p p o rt b y in stallin g a m o b ilit y a n ch o r
p o in t (M AP), wh ich is resp on sible for a cert ain d o m ain an d acts as a lo cal HA
w it h in t h is d o m a in fo r visit in g M Ns (see Figu re 8 .1 6 ). Th e M AP receives all
p acket s on b eh alf o f t h e M N, en cap su lat es an d fo rward s t h em d irect ly t o t h e
M N’s cu rren t a d d ress (lin k CO A, LCO A). As lo n g as an M N st a ys wit h in t h e
d o m ain o f a M AP, t h e glo b a lly visib le C O A (regio n al C O A, RC O A) d o es n o t
ch an ge. A MAP d o m ain ’s b o u n d aries are d efin ed b y t h e a cc ess r o u t e r s (AR)
ad vertisin g th e MAP in form atio n t o th e attach ed MNs. A MAP assists wit h lo cal
h an d o vers an d m ap s RCO A t o LCO A. M N s regist er t h eir RC O A wit h t h e HA
u sin g a bin d in g u p d ate. W h en a MN m oves locally it m u st on ly register its n ew
LCOA wit h its MAP. Th e RCOA stays u n ch an ged . To su p p o rt sm oo th h an d overs
between MAP d om ain s, an MN can sen d a bin d in g u p d ate t o it s fo rm er MAP.
It sh ou ld be m en tion ed as a secu rity ben efit th at m obile n od es can be p ro-
vid ed with som e kin d of lim ited location p rivacy becau se LCOAs on lower levels
o f t h e m ob ility h ierarch y can be h id d en fro m th e o u tsid e world . However, th is
ap p lies o n ly to m icro m o b ilit y, t h at is, as lo n g as t h e m o b ile n o d e rests in th e
sam e d o m ain . A M N can also sen d a b in d in g u p d at e t o a C N wh o sh ares t h e
sam e lin k. Th is reveals its location bu t op tim izes packet flow (d irect rou tin g with -
o u t go in g t h ro u gh th e MAP). MNs can u se t h eir RCOA as so u rce ad d ress. Th e
ext en d ed m od e of HMIPv6 su p p orts both m obile n od es an d m obile n et works.

Figure 8.16
Internet Basic architecture of
HA hierarchical mobile IP
RCOA

MAP

binding
AR AR
update
LCOAnew LCOAold

MN MN
328 Mobile communicat ions

Advanta ges
● Secu rit y: M Ns can h ave (lim it ed ) lo ca t io n p rivacy b eca u se LC O As can
b e h id d en .
● Efficien cy: Direct rou tin g between CNs sh arin g th e sam e lin k is p ossible

Disadvanta ges
● Tran sp aren cy: Ad d itio n al in frastru ctu re co m p o n en t (MAP).
● Secu rit y: Ro u t in g t ab les are ch an ged b ased o n m essages sen t b y m o b ile
n o d es. Th is req u ires st ro n g aut h en tication an d p rotection again st d en ial o f
service att acks. Ad d ition al secu rity fu n ction s m igh t be n ecessary in MAPs

Th e m ain d rivin g facto rs beh in d th e th ree arch it ectu res p resen ted h ere are
efficien cy, scalability, an d seam less h an d o ver su p p ort. However, as secu rity will
be o n e o f t h e key su ccess facto rs o f fu t u re m o bile IP n etwo rks, first ap p ro ach es
ad d in g th is feat u re exist. (Min k 2000a an d b.)

8.2 Dynamic host confi gurat ion prot ocol

Th e d yn am ic h o st co n figu ratio n p ro t o co l (DHCP, RFC 2131, Dro h m s, 1997) is

m ain ly u sed to sim plifiy th e in stallation an d m ain ten an ce of n etworked com p u t-
ers. If a n ew com p u ter is con n ected to a n etwork, DHCP can provide it with all th e
n ecessary in form ation for full system in tegration in to th e n etwork, e.g., add resses
of a DNS server an d th e defau lt rou ter, th e su bn et m ask, th e dom ain n am e, an d an
IP add ress. Provid in g an IP add ress, m akes DHCP very attractive for m obile IP as a
sou rce of care-of-ad d resses. W h ile th e basic DHCP m ech an ism s are q u ite sim p le,
m an y option s are available as described in RFC 2132 (Alexan der, 1997).
D HC P is b ased o n a clien t / server m o d el as sh o wn in Figu re 8 .1 7 . DH CP
clien t s sen d a req u est t o a server (DHCPDISCO VER in t h e exam p le) t o wh ich
th e server resp o n d s. A clien t sen d s req u est s u sin g MAC b ro ad casts t o reach all
d evices in th e LAN. A DHCP relay m igh t b e n eed ed to fo rward req u ests acro ss
in ter-workin g u n it s to a DHCP server.

Figure 8.17
Basic DHCP DHCPDISCOVER
configuration

DHCPDISCOVER
server client

client relay
 Mobile net work layer 329

Figure 8.18
Server Client Server Client initialization
(not selected) Initialization (selected) via DHCP

DHCPDISCOVER DHCPDISCOVER
Determine the Determine the
configuration configuration
DHCPOFFER DHCPOFFER
Collection of replies

Selection of configuration
Time

DHCPREQUEST DHCPREQUEST
Confirmation of
(reject) (options)
configuration
DHCPACK
Initialization completed

Release
DHCPRELEASE
Delete context

A typ ical in it ialization of a DHCP clien t is sh own in Figu re 8.18. Th e figu re

sh o ws o n e clien t an d t wo servers. As d escrib ed ab o ve, t h e clien t b ro ad cast s a
DHCPDISCOVER in to th e su bn et. Th ere m igh t be a relay to fo rward th is broad -
cast . In t h e case sh o wn , t wo servers receive t h is b ro ad cast an d d et erm in e t h e
co n figu rat io n t h ey can o ffer t o t h e clien t . O n e exam p le fo r t h is co u ld b e t h e
ch eckin g of available IP ad d resses an d ch o osin g on e for th e clien t. Servers rep ly
to t h e clien t ’s req u est wit h DHCPO FFER an d o ffer a list o f co n figu ratio n p ara-
m eters. Th e clien t can n o w ch oo se o n e of th e con figu ration s offered . Th e clien t
in t u rn rep lies t o t h e servers, accep t in g on e of th e con figu ration s an d reject in g
t h e o t h ers u sin g DHC PREQ UEST. If a server receives a DHCPREQ UEST wit h a
rejectio n , it can free t h e reserved co n figu rat io n fo r o t h er p o ssib le clien t s. Th e
server with th e con figu rat ion accep ted by t h e clien t n ow con firm s t h e con figu -
rat io n with DHCPACK. Th is co m p letes th e in it ializatio n p h ase.
If a clien t leaves a su b n et, it sh o u ld release t h e co n figu rat io n received b y
th e server u sin g DHCPRELEASE. Now th e server can free th e con text stored fo r
th e clien t an d offer th e con figu ration again . Th e con figu ratio n a clien t gets fro m
a server is o n ly leased fo r a cert ain am o u n t o f t im e, it h as t o b e reco n firm ed
fro m t im e t o t im e. O th erwise t h e server will free t h e co n figu rat io n . Th is tim e-
o u t o f co n figu ratio n h elp s in t h e case o f crash ed n o d es o r n o d es m o ved away
with o u t releasin g th e co n text.
DH C P is a go o d can d id at e fo r su p p o rt in g t h e a cq u isit io n o f care-o f-
ad d resses fo r m o b ile n o d es. Th e sam e h o ld s fo r all o t h er p aram et ers n eed ed ,
su ch as ad d resses of th e d efau lt rou t er, DNS servers, th e tim eserver etc. A DHCP
server sh ou ld be locat ed in th e su bn et o f th e access p oin t o f th e m obile n od e, o r
at least a DH CP rela y sh o u ld p ro vid e fo rw ard in g o f t h e m essages. RFC 3 1 1 8
330 Mobile communicat ions

(Droh m s, 2001) sp ecifies au th en t ication for DHCP m essages wh ich is n eed ed to

p ro t ect m o b ile n o d es fro m m alicio u s DHCP servers. Wit h o u t au t h en t icat io n ,
th e m o bile n od e can n ot tru st a DHCP server, an d t h e DHCP server can n o t tru st
th e m o bile n o d e.

8.3 Mobile ad-hoc net works

Mo bility su p p o rt d escrib ed in sectio n s 8.1 an d 8.2 relies o n t h e existen ce o f at

least so m e in frast ru ct u re. Mo b ile IP req u ires, e.g., a h o m e agen t , t u n n els, an d
d efau lt rou ters. DHCP req u ires servers an d b ro adcast cap abilities of th e m ed iu m
reach in g all p articip an t s or relays to servers. Cellu lar p h o n e n etwo rks (see ch ap -
ter 4) req u ire base statio n s, in frastru ctu re n etworks etc.
H o wever, t h ere m ay b e several situ at ion s wh ere u sers o f a n et wo rk can n o t
rely o n an in frastru ctu re, it is t oo exp en sive, or th ere is n on e at all. In th ese situ a-
tio n s m o b ile ad -h o c n et wo rks are th e o n ly ch o ice. It is im p o rt an t to n o te t h at
th is section focu ses on so-called m u lti-h op ad -h oc n etworks wh en d escribin g ad -
h oc n etworkin g. Th e ad -h oc settin g u p of a con n ection wit h an in frastru ctu re is
n ot th e m ain issu e h ere. Th ese n etworks sh ou ld be m obile an d u se wireless com -
m u n icatio n s. Exam p les fo r th e u se o f su ch m o b ile, wireless, m u lti-h o p ad -h o c
n etwo rks, wh ich are on ly called ad -h oc n etworks h ere for sim p licity, are:

● In st a n t in fr a st r u ct u r e: Un p lan n ed m eet in gs, sp o n t an eo u s in t erp erso n al

co m m u n ication s etc. can n o t rely o n an y in frast ru ct u re. In frastru ct u res n eed
p lan n in g an d ad m in istrat io n . It wo u ld t ake to o lo n g t o set u p th is kin d o f
in frastru ctu re; th erefo re, ad-h oc con n ectivity h as to be set u p .
● D isa st e r r e lie f: In frast ru ct u res t yp ica lly b rea k d o wn in d isast er area s.
H u rrican es cu t p h o n e an d p o w er lin es, flo o d s d est ro y b ase st at io n s, fires
b u rn servers. Em ergen cy team s can on ly rely o n an in frast ru ctu re th ey can
set u p t h em selves. No fo rward p lan n in g can be d o n e, an d th e set-u p m u st
b e extrem ely fast an d reliable. Th e sam e ap p lies to m an y m ilitary activities,
w h ich is, t o b e h o n est , o n e o f t h e m ajo r d rivin g fo rces b eh in d m o b ile
ad -h o c n etworkin g research .
● Rem o t e a r ea s: Even if in frast ru ctu res co u ld b e p lan n ed ah ead , it is so m e-
tim es to o exp en sive t o set u p an in frast ru ctu re in sp arsely p o p u lat ed areas.
D ep en d in g o n t h e co m m u n icat io n p at t ern , ad -h o c n et w o rks o r sa t ellit e
in frastru ctu res can be a so lu tio n .
● Effe ct iv en e ss: Services p ro vid ed b y ex ist in g in frast ru ct u res m igh t b e
t o o exp en sive fo r cert ain ap p licat io n s. If, fo r exam p le, o n ly co n n ect io n -
o rien ted cellu lar n etworks exist, b u t an ap p lication sen d s on ly a sm all statu s
in fo rm ation every oth er m in u te, a ch eap er ad -h o c p acket-o rien ted n etwork
m igh t be a bet ter so lu t io n . Regist ratio n p ro ced u res m igh t t ake too lon g, an d
co m m u n icat io n o verh ead s m igh t b e t o o h igh wit h ex ist in g n et wo rks.
Ap p licat io n -tailo red ad -h oc n etwo rks can offer a better solu tio n .
 Mobile net work layer 331

Figure 8.19
Mobile MANETs and mobile IP
Router

Manet

Mobile
Devices
Mobile IP,
DHCP

Fixed
Network

Router End system

O ver t h e last few years ad -h o c n et wo rkin g h as at t ract ed a lo t o f research

in terest. Th is h as led to creatio n o f a workin g grou p at th e IETF th at is focu ssin g
on m o b ile a d -h o c n et w o rk in g, called M ANET (MANET, 2002), (Corson , 1999).
Figu re 8.19 sh o ws th e relat io n of MANET to m obile IP an d DHCP. W h ile m obile
IP an d DHCP h an d le th e con n ection of m ob ile d evices t o a fixed in frastru ctu re,
MANET co m p rises m o bile rou ters, to o . Mo bile d evices can be co n n ect ed eith er
d irect ly with an in frast ru ctu re u sin g Mob ile IP fo r m o bilit y su p p o rt an d DHCP
as a so u rce o f m an y p a ram et ers, su ch a s an IP ad d ress. M ANET research is
resp o n sib le fo r d evelo p in g p ro t o co ls an d co m p o n en t s t o en ab le ad -h o c n et -
workin g bet ween m o bile d evices. It sh ou ld be n oted th at t h e sep aratio n of en d
syst em an d ro u ter is o n ly a lo gical sep arat io n . Typ ically, m obile n od es in an ad -
h o c scen ario co m p rise rou tin g an d en d syst em fu n ction ality.
Th e reaso n fo r h avin g a sp ecial sect io n ab o u t ad -h o c n et wo rks wit h in a
ch ap ter abo u t th e n etwo rk layer is th at rou tin g of d ata is o n e of th e m o st d iffi-
cu lt issu es in ad -h o c n et wo rks. Gen era l ro u t in g p ro b lem s are d iscu ssed in
sectio n 8.3.1 wh ile th e followin g section s give som e exam p les for rou tin g algo -
rit h m s su it ed t o a d -h o c n et w o rks. NB: ro u t in g fu n ct io n s so m et im es ex ist in
layer 2, n ot ju st in th e n etwork layer (layer 3) o f th e referen ce m od el. Blu etoo th
(see ch ap t er 7 ), fo r ex am p le, o ffers fo rward in g/ ro u t in g cap ab ilit ies in layer 2
based on MAC ad d resses for ad -h oc n etwo rks.
O n e o f t h e first ad -h o c w ireless n et w o rks was t h e p a cket rad io n et w o rk
started by ARPA in 1973. It allo wed u p t o 138 n od es in th e ad -h oc n etwork an d
u sed IP p acket s for d ata t ran sp ort. Th is m ad e an easy con n ect ion p o ssible to t h e
ARPAn et, th e st artin g p o in t of tod ay’s In tern et. Twen ty rad io ch an n els between
1718.4–1840 MHz were u sed o fferin g 100 o r 400 kb it / s. Th e system u sed DSSS
with 128 or 32 ch ip s/ bit .
A varian t o f d ist an ce vect o r ro u t in g w as u sed in t h is a d -h o c n et w o rk
(Perlm an , 1 9 92 ). In t h is ap p ro ach , each n o d e sen d s a ro u t in g ad vert isem en t
every 7.5 s. Th ese ad vert isem en t s co n t ain a n eigh b o r t ab le wit h a list o f lin k
332 Mobile communicat ions

q u alit ies t o each n eigh bor. Each n od e u p d at es th e local rou t in g table accord in g
to th e d istan ce vector algorith m b ased on th ese ad vertisem en ts. Received p ack-
et s also h elp to u p d ate th e rou t in g table. A sen d er n ow tran sm its a p acket to its
first h o p n eigh b or u sin g t h e lo cal n eigh b or table. Each n o d e fo rward s a p acket
received b ased o n it s o wn lo cal n eigh b o r t ab le. Several en h an cem en t s t o t h is
sim p le sch em e are n eed ed t o avo id rou t in g lo op s an d t o reflect th e p ossib ly fast
ch an gin g t o p o lo gy. Th e fo llo win g sect io n s d iscu ss ro u t in g p ro b lem s an d
en h a n ced ro u t in g m ech an ism s fo r ad -h o c n et w o rks in m o re d et a il. Perkin s
(2001 a) co m p rises a co llect io n o f m an y ro u t in g p ro t o co ls t o get h er wit h so m e
in itial p erfo rm an ce con sid erat io n s.

8.3.1 Routing
W h ile in wireless n et wo rks wit h in frast ru ct u re su p p o rt a b ase st at io n always
reach es all m o b ile n o d es, t h is is n o t always t h e case in an ad -h o c n etwo rk. A
d estin atio n n o d e m igh t be ou t o f ran ge o f a so u rce n o d e tran sm it tin g p ackets.
Ro u tin g is n eed ed to fin d a p at h between so u rce an d d estin at ion an d to fo rward
t h e p acket s ap p ro p riat ely. In wireless n et wo rks u sin g an in frast ru ct u re, cells
h ave b een d efin ed . W it h in a cell, th e b ase st at io n can reach all m o b ile n o d es
with o u t ro u tin g via a bro ad cast. In th e case of ad -h o c n etwo rks, each n o d e m u st
be able to forward d at a fo r o th er n o d es. Th is creates m an y ad d ition al p roblem s
th at are d iscu ssed in th e fo llo win g p aragrap h s.
Figu re 8.20 gives a sim p le exam p le o f an ad -h oc n etwork. At a certain t im e
t 1 th e n etwo rk t o p olo gy m igh t lo ok as illu strated on th e left sid e o f th e figu re.
Five n o d es, N 1 t o N 5 , are co n n ect ed d ep en d in g o n t h e cu rren t t ra n sm issio n
ch aracterist ics b et ween t h em . In t h is sn ap sh o t o f t h e n etwo rk, N 4 can receive
N 1 o ver a go od lin k, bu t N 1 receives N 4 o n ly via a weak lin k. Lin ks d o n ot n eces-
sarily h ave th e sam e ch aracteristics in bo th d irect ion s. Th e reaso n s fo r th is are,
e.g., d ifferen t an t en n a ch aracterist ics o r tran sm it p o wer. N 1 can n o t receive N 2 at
all, N 2 receives a sign al from N 1 .

Figure 8.20
Example ad-hoc network N1
N1
N2
N3 N3
N2

N4 N4
N5 N5

Time = t 1 Good link Time = t 2

Weak link
 Mobile net work layer 333

Th is situ ation can ch an ge q u ite fast as th e sn ap sh ot at t 2 sh ows. N 1 can n ot

receive N 4 an y lo n ger, N 4 receives N 1 o n ly via a weak lin k. Bu t n o w N 1 h as an
asym m et ric bu t bi-d irection al lin k t o N 2 th at d id n ot exist befo re.
Th is very sim p le ex am p le alread y sh o w s so m e fu n d am en t al d ifferen ces
between wired n etwo rks an d ad -h o c wireless n etworks relat ed t o rou tin g.

● Asy m m et ric lin k s: No d e A receives a sign al fro m n od e B. Bu t th is does n o t

t ell u s an yt h in g ab o u t t h e q u alit y o f t h e co n n ect io n in reverse. B m igh t
receive n o t h in g, h ave a weak lin k, o r even h ave a b et t er lin k t h a n t h e
reverse d irect io n . Ro u t in g in fo rm at io n co llect ed fo r o n e d irect io n is o f
alm o st n o u se fo r t h e o t h er d irect io n . Ho wever, m an y ro u t in g algo rith m s
for wired n etworks rely o n a sym m etric scen ario.
● Red u n d an t lin k s: Wired n etworks, too, h ave red u n d an t lin ks to su rvive lin k
failu res. However, th ere is on ly som e red u n d an cy in wired n etworks, wh ich ,
ad d it ion ally, are co n trolled by a n etwork ad m in istrato r. In ad -h o c n etworks
n obo dy con t rols red u n d an cy, so t h ere m igh t be m an y red u n d an t lin ks u p t o
th e extrem e of a com p let ely m esh ed top ology. Rou tin g algorith m s for wired
n etworks can h an d le som e red u n d an cy, bu t a h igh red u n d an cy can cau se a
large com p u tation al overh ead for rou t in g table u p dat es.
● In t er fer en ce: In wired n et wo rks lin ks ex ist o n ly wh ere a wire exist s, an d
co n n ect io n s are p lan n ed by n etwork ad m in istrato rs. Th is is n ot th e case fo r
wireless ad -h o c n et wo rks. Lin ks co m e an d go d ep en d in g o n t ran sm issio n
ch aract erist ics, o n e t ran sm issio n m igh t in t erfere with an o t h er, an d n o d es
m igh t overh ear t h e tran sm issio n s o f o th er n o d es. In t erferen ce creates n ew
p ro b lem s b y ‘u n p lan n ed ’ lin ks b et ween n o d es: if t wo clo se-b y n o d es fo r-
ward t wo t ran sm issio n s, t h ey m igh t in t erfere an d d est ro y each o t h er. O n
th e o th er h an d , in terferen ce m igh t also h elp ro u tin g. A n o d e can learn t h e
top olo gy wit h t h e h elp o f p ackets it h as o verh eard .
● Dyn a m ic t o p o lo gy: Th e great est p ro blem for rou tin g arises fro m t h e h igh ly
d yn am ic to p ology. Th e m ob ile n o d es m igh t m o ve as sh o wn in Figu re 8.20
or m ed iu m ch aracterist ics m igh t ch an ge. Th is resu lts in freq u en t ch an ges in
top olo gy, so sn ap sh o t s are valid o n ly for a very sh ort p eriod of t im e. In ad -
h o c n et works, ro u tin g tables m u st so m eh ow reflect t h ese freq u en t ch an ges
in top olo gy, an d ro u tin g algo rith m s h ave to be adap t ed . Ro u tin g algorith m s
u sed in wired n et works wo u ld eit h er react m u ch to o slo wly or gen erate too
m an y u p d at es t o reflect all ch an ges in t o p o lo gy. Ro u t in g t ab le u p d at es in
fixed n etwo rks, fo r exam p le, take p lace every 30 secon d s. Th is u p d atin g fre-
q u en cy m igh t be t oo low t o be u sefu l fo r ad -h oc n etworks. So m e algorith m s
rely on a com p lete p ict u re o f th e wh o le n etwo rk. W h ile th is works in wired
n et wo rks w h ere ch an ges are rare, it fails co m p let ely in ad -h o c n et wo rks.
Th e t o p o lo gy ch an ges d u rin g th e d istribu t io n of t h e ‘cu rren t ’ sn ap sh o t o f
th e n etwork, ren d erin g t h e sn ap sh ot u seless.
334 Mobile communicat ions

Let u s go back to th e exam p le n et work in Figu re 8.20 an d assu m e th at n od e

N 1 wan t s to sen d d ata to N 3 an d n eed s an ackn o wled gem en t . If N 1 h ad a com -
p let e overview of th e n etwork at tim e t 1 , wh ich is n o t always t h e case in ad -h oc
n etwo rks, it wo u ld ch o ose th e p at h N 1 , N 2 , N 3 , fo r th is req u ires o n ly t wo h op s
(if we u se h o p s as m et ric). Ackn o wled gem en t s can n o t t ake t h e sam e p at h , N 3
ch o o ses N 3 , N 5 , N 4 , N 1 . Th is t akes t h ree h o p s an d alread y sh o ws th at ro u t in g
also st ro n gly in flu en ces th e fu n ctio n o f h igh er layers. TCP, fo r exam p le, m akes
ro u n d t rip m easu rem en t s assu m in g t h e sam e p at h in b o t h d irect io n s. Th is is
o bvio u sly wro n g in t h e exam p le sh o wn , lead in g to m isin t erp retatio n s o f m ea-
su rem en ts an d in efficien cies (see ch ap ter 9).
Ju st a m o m en t later, at tim e t 2 , t h e top o lo gy h as ch an ged . No w N 3 can n o t
t ake t h e sam e p at h t o sen d ackn o wled gem en t s b ack t o N 1 , wh ile N 1 can st ill
t ake t h e o ld p at h t o N 3 . Alt h o u gh alread y m o re co m p licat ed t h an fix ed n et -
wo rks, th is exam p le st ill assu m es th at n o d es can h ave a co m p let e in sigh t in t o
th e cu rren t situ ation . Th e op tim al kn owled ge for every n od e wo u ld be a d escrip -
tio n o f t h e cu rren t co n n ectivit y b et ween all n o d es, th e exp ect ed t raffic flo ws,
cap acities o f all lin ks, d elay of each lin k, an d t h e co m p u tin g an d b at tery p o wer
o f each n o d e. W h ile even in fix ed n et wo rks t raffic flo ws are n o t ex act ly p re-
d ict ab le, fo r ad -h o c n et w o rks lin k cap acit ies are ad d it io n ally u n kn o wn . Th e
cap acit y o f each lin k can ch an ge fro m 0 t o t h e m axim u m o f t h e t ran sm issio n
tech n ology u sed . In real ad -h o c n etwo rks n o n od e kn o ws all t h ese facto rs, an d
est ablish in g u p -to-d at e sn ap sh o ts of th e n et work is alm ost im p o ssible.
Ad -h o c n et works u sin g m o bile n od es face ad d ition al p roblem s d u e to h ard -
ware lim it at io n s. Usin g t h e st an d ard ro u t in g p ro t o co ls wit h p erio d ic u p d at es
wast es bat tery p o wer with o u t sen d in g an y u ser d ata an d d isables sleep m o d es.
Perio d ic u p d at es wast e b an d wid t h an d t h ese reso u rces are alread y scarce fo r
wireless lin ks.
An ad d it io n al p ro blem is in t erferen ce b etween t wo o r m o re t ran sm issio n s
th at d o n ot u se th e sam e n o d es fo r forward in g. If, for exam p le, a secon d tran s-
m issio n fro m n o d e N 4 to N 5 (see Figu re 8.20) t akes p lace at th e sam e tim e as t h e
tran sm issio n fro m N 1 to N 3 , t h ey cou ld in t erfere. In terferen ce co u ld take p lace
at N 2 wh ich can receive sign als fro m N 1 an d N 4 , o r at N 5 receivin g N 4 an d N 2 . If
sh ield ed correctly, th ere is n o in t erferen ce between t wo wires.
Con sid erin g all t h e ad d ition al d ifficu lties in com p arison to wired n etwo rks,
th e fo llo win g o bservatio n s con cern in g rou tin g can b e m ad e fo r ad -h oc n etwo rks
with m ovin g n od es.

● Trad it io n al ro u t in g algo rit h m s kn o wn fro m wired n etwo rks will n o t wo rk

efficien t ly (e.g., d ist an ce vect o r algo rit h m s su ch as RIP (Hen d rik, 1 9 8 8 ),
(Malkin , 1998) con verge m u ch too slo wly) o r fail com p letely (e.g., lin k state
algo rit h m s su ch as O SPF (M o y, 1 9 98 ) ex ch an ge co m p let e p ict u res o f t h e
n etwo rk). Th ese algo rit h m s h ave n ot been d esign ed with a h igh ly d yn am ic
to p ology, asym m etric lin ks, o r in terferen ce in m in d .
 Mobile net work layer 335

● Ro u t in g in wireless ad -h o c n et works can n o t rely o n layer t h ree kn o wled ge

alo n e. In fo rm atio n fro m lo wer layers co n cern in g co n n ect ivit y o r in t erfer-
en ce can h elp ro u tin g algorith m s to fin d a goo d path .
● Cen t ralized ap p ro ach es will n ot really work, becau se it takes to o lon g t o col-
lect t h e cu rren t st at u s an d d issem in at e it again . W it h in t h is t im e t h e
top ology h as alread y ch an ged .
● Man y n o d es n eed rou t in g cap abilities. W h ile th ere m igh t be so m e wit h o u t,
at least o n e rou ter h as t o be wit h in t h e ran ge of each n o d e. Algo rith m s h ave
to co n sider th e lim it ed battery p o wer o f th ese n o d es.
● Th e n o tio n of a co n n ection with cert ain ch aracteristics can n ot wo rk p ro p -
erly. Ad -h o c n et wo rks will b e co n n ect io n less, b ecau se it is n o t p o ssib le t o
m ain tain a co n n ectio n in a fast ch an gin g en viro n m en t an d to forward d ata
fo llo win g th is co n n ectio n . Nod es h ave t o m ake lo cal d ecisio n s fo r fo rward -
in g an d sen d p ackets rou gh ly to ward th e fin al destin ation .
● A last altern ative to forward a p acket acro ss an u n kn own t op olo gy is floo d -
in g. Th is ap p ro ach always works if t h e lo ad is lo w, bu t it is very in efficien t.
A h o p cou n ter is n eed ed in each p acket to avo id loo p in g, an d t h e d iam et er
o f t h e ad -h o c n et w o rk, i.e., t h e m ax im u m n u m b er o f h o p s, sh o u ld b e
kn own . (Th e n u m b er o f n od es can be u sed as an u p p er bou n d .)

Hierarch ical clu st erin g o f n od es m igh t h elp . If it is p o ssib le to id en t ify cer-

t ain gro u p s o f n o d es b elo n gin g t o get h er, clu st ers can b e est ab lish ed . W h ile
in d ivid u al n o d es m igh t m ove faster, th e wh o le clu st er can be rat h er statio n ary.
Rou t in g between clu sters m igh t be sim p ler an d less d yn am ic (see section 8.3.5.2).
Th e fo llowin g section s give two exam p les fo r ro u tin g algo rith m s t h at were
h ist o rically at t h e b egin n in g o f MANET research , DSDV an d DSR, an d u sefu l
m etrics th at are d ifferen t from t h e u su al h o p co u n t in g. An o verview o f p ro t o -
co ls fo llo ws. Th is is su bd ivid ed in to t h e th ree catego ries: flat, h ierarch ical, an d
geo grap h ic-p ositio n -assisted rou t in g based on Hon g (2002).

8.3.2 Destination sequence distance vect or

D est in a t io n seq u en c e d ist a n ce v ect o r (DSD V) ro u t in g is an en h an cem en t t o
d istan ce vector ro u t in g fo r ad-h o c n et works (Perkin s, 1994). DSDV can be con -
sid ered h ist o rically, h o w ever, an o n -d em an d versio n (ad -h o c o n -d em an d
d ist an ce vector, AODV) is am o n g th e p ro to co ls cu rren tly d iscu ssed (see section
8.3.5). Distan ce vecto r ro u tin g is u sed as rou tin g in fo rm atio n p ro t ocol (RIP) in
wired n et works. It p erfo rm s extrem ely p o orly with certain n etwork ch an ges d u e
to t h e co u n t-t o-in fin it y p ro blem . Each n o d e exch an ges it s n eigh b or t ab le p eri-
o d ically wit h it s n eigh b o rs. C h an ges at o n e n o d e in t h e n et wo rk p ro p a gat e
slo wly t h ro u gh th e n et wo rk (st ep -b y-st ep wit h every exch an ge). Th e strat egies
to avoid th is p ro blem wh ich are u sed in fixed n etworks (p oison ed -reverse/ sp lit-
h o rizo n (Perlm an , 1992)) d o n o t h elp in th e case o f wireless ad -h o c n etwo rks,
d u e to t h e rap id ly ch an gin g to p o lo gy. Th is m igh t creat e lo o p s o r u n reach able
region s with in t h e n etwo rk.
336 Mobile communicat ions

DSDV n o w ad d s two th in gs to th e d istan ce vecto r algo rith m :

● Seq u e n c e n u m b er s: Each ro u t in g ad vert isem en t co m es wit h a seq u en ce

n u m b er. W it h in ad -h o c n et w o rks, ad vert isem en t s m ay p ro p a gat e alo n g
m an y p ath s. Seq u en ce n u m bers h elp to ap p ly th e ad vertisem en ts in co rrect
o rd er. Th is avo id s t h e lo o p s t h at are likely wit h t h e u n ch an ged d ist an ce
vector algo rith m .
● D a m p in g: Tran sien t ch an ges in to p olo gy th at are o f sh o rt d u ration sh ou ld
n o t d est a b ilize t h e ro u t in g m ech an ism s. Ad vert isem en t s co n t a in in g
ch an ges in t h e top olo gy cu rren tly st ored are t h erefore n o t d issem in at ed fu r-
t h er. A n o d e w ait s w it h d issem in at io n if t h ese ch a n ges are p ro b a b ly
u n stable. Waitin g tim e d ep en d s on th e tim e between th e first an d th e best
an n o u n cem en t of a p at h t o a cert ain d estin ation .

Th e ro u tin g t able for N 1 in Figu re 8.20 wou ld be as sh own in Table 8.2.

Fo r each n o d e N 1 st o res t h e n ex t h o p t o ward t h is n o d e, t h e m et ric (h ere
n u m b er of h op s), th e seq u en ce n u m b er of th e last ad vertisem en t fo r t h is n o d e,
an d th e tim e at wh ich th e p ath h as been in st alled first. Th e t able con tain s flags
an d a set t lin g t im e h elp in g t o d ecid e wh en t h e p at h can b e assu m ed st ab le.
Ro u t e r ad vert isem en t s fro m N 1 n o w co n t ain d at a fro m t h e first , t h ird , an d
fo u rt h colu m n : d estin ation ad d ress, m etric, an d seq u en ce n u m ber. Besid es bein g
lo op -free at all tim es, DSDV h as low m em o ry req u irem en ts an d a qu ick co n ver-
gen ce via triggered u p d at es.

8.3.3 Dynamic source rout ing

Im agin e wh at h ap p en s in an ad -h oc n et work wh ere n od es exch an ge p ackets from
tim e to tim e, i.e., th e n etwork is on ly ligh tly loaded , an d DSDV or on e of th e tra-
d it io n al d ist an ce vect o r o r lin k st at e algo rit h m s is u sed fo r u p d at in g ro u t in g
tables. Alt h ou gh on ly som e u ser d ata h as to be tran sm itted, th e n od es exch an ge
ro u tin g in fo rm at io n t o keep t rack o f t h e t o p o lo gy. Th ese algo rit h m s m ain tain
rou tes bet ween all n od es, alth ou gh th ere m ay cu rren t ly be n o d at a exch an ge at
all. Th is cau ses u n n ecessary traffic an d p reven ts n od es from savin g battery p ower.

Table 8.2 Part of a

routing table for DSDV Dest inat ion Next hop Met ric Sequence no. Inst al t ime

N1 N1 0 S1–321 T4–001
N2 N2 1 S2–218 T4–001
N3 N2 2 S3–043 T4–002
N4 N4 1 S4–092 T4–001
N5 N4 2 S5–163 T4–002
 Mobile net work layer 337

Dy n a m ic so u rce ro u t in g (DSR), th erefore, d ivid es th e task of ro u tin g in t o

two sep arate p ro blem s (Joh n son , 1996), (Jo h n so n , 2002a):

● Rou te d isco very: A n ode on ly tries to discover a rou te to a destin ation if it h as

to sen d som eth in g to th is d estin ation an d th ere is cu rren tly n o kn own route.
● Ro u t e m a in t en a n ce: If a n od e is con tin u ou sly sen d in g p ackets via a rou te,
it h as to m ake su re th at th e rou t e is h eld u p righ t. As so on as a n o de d et ects
p roblem s with th e cu rren t ro u te, it h as to fin d an altern at ive.

Th e b asic p rin cip le o f so u rce ro u t in g is also u sed in fix ed n et wo rks, e.g.

token rin gs. Dyn am ic sou rce rou tin g elim in ates all p eriod ic rou tin g u p d ates an d
w o rks as fo llo w s. If a n o d e n eed s t o d isco ver a ro u t e, it b ro ad ca st s a ro u t e
req u est wit h a u n iq u e id en tifier an d th e d est in ation ad d ress as p aram eters. An y
n o d e th at receives a ro u te req u est d o es t h e followin g.

● If th e n o d e h as alread y received th e req u est (wh ich is id en t ified u sin g t h e

u n iq u e id en tifier), it d rop s th e req u est p acket .
● If t h e n o d e reco gn izes it s o wn ad d ress as t h e d est in at io n , t h e req u est h as
reach ed its target .
● O th erwise, t h e n od e ap p en ds its o wn ad d ress to a list o f traversed h o p s in
th e p acket an d broad casts t h is u p d ated ro u te req u est.

Usin g t h is ap p roach , th e rou te req u est co llects a list of ad d resses rep resen t-
in g a p o ssib le p ath o n it s way t o ward s th e d est in at io n . As so o n as t h e req u est
reach es t h e d est in at io n , it can retu rn t h e req u est p acket co n tain in g t h e list t o
t h e receiver u sin g t h is list in reverse o rd er. On e co n d it io n fo r t h is is t h at t h e
lin ks wo rk bi-d irectio n ally. If th is is n o t th e case, an d t h e d estin at io n n o d e d oes
n o t cu rren tly m ain tain a rou t e back t o th e in itiato r of th e req u est, it h as to start
a rou te d isco very by itself. Th e d estin atio n m ay receive several lists co n tain in g
d ifferen t p ath s from t h e in itiato r. It cou ld retu rn th e best p at h , th e first p at h , o r
several p ath s to offer th e in itiator a ch o ice.
Ap p lyin g ro u te d isco very to th e exam p le in Figu re 8.20 for a ro u te from N 1
to N 3 at t im e t 1 resu lt s in t h e followin g.

● N 1 b ro ad ca st s t h e req u est ((N 1 ), id = 4 2 , t arget = N 3 ), N 2 an d N 4 receive

th is req u est.
● N 2 th en bro ad casts ((N 1 , N 2 ), id = 42, t arget = N 3 ), N 4 broad casts ((N 1 , N 4 ),
id = 4 2 , t arget = N 3 ). N 3 an d N 5 receive N 2 ’s b ro ad ca st , N 1 , N 2 , a n d N 5
receive N 4 ’s b ro ad cast.
● N 3 reco gn izes it self as t arget, N 5 b ro ad cast s ((N 1 , N 2 , N 5 ), id = 42, target =
N 3 ). N 3 an d N 4 receive N 5 ’s b ro ad cast . N 1 , N 2 , an d N 5 d ro p N 4 ’s b ro ad cast
p acket , b ecau se t h ey all reco gn ize an alread y received ro u t e req u est (an d
N 2 ’s broad cast reach ed N 5 before N 4 ’s d id ).
338 Mobile communicat ions

● N 4 d ro p s N 5 ’s b ro ad cast , N 3 reco gn izes (N 1 , N 2 , N 5 ) a s a n alt ern at e, b u t

lo n ger ro u te.
● N 3 n o w h as t o retu rn th e p ath (N 1 , N 2 , N 3 ) to N 1 . Th is is sim p le assu m in g
sym m et ric lin ks wo rkin g in b o th d irect io n s. N 3 can fo rward t h e in fo rm a-
tio n u sin g th e list in reverse ord er.

Th e assu m p t io n o f b i-d irect io n al lin ks h o ld s fo r m an y ad -h o c n et wo rks.

However, if lin ks are n o t bi-d irectio n al, t h e scen ario gets m o re co m plicated . Th e
algorith m h as t o be ap p lied again , in th e reverse d irect ion if th e target d oes n ot
m ain t ain a cu rren t p ath to th e sou rce of th e rou te req u est.

● N 3 h a s t o b ro ad cast a ro u t e req u est ((N 3 ), id = 1 7 , t a rget = N 1 ). O n ly N 5

receives th is req u est.
● N 5 n o w b ro ad ca st s ((N 3 , N 5 ), id = 1 7 , t arget = N 1 ), N 3 an d N 4 receive
th e bro adcast .
● N 3 d ro p s t h e req u est b eca u se it reco gn izes an alread y kn o wn id . N 4
b ro ad cast s ((N 3 , N 5 , N 4 ), id = 1 7, t arget = N 1 ), N 5 , N 2 , an d N 1 receive
th e bro adcast .
● N 5 d rop s t h e req u est p acket, N 1 recogn izes itself as target, an d N 2 bro ad casts
((N 3 , N 5 , N 4 , N 2 ), id = 17, target = N 1 ). N 3 an d N 5 receive N 2 ’s broad cast.
● N 3 an d N 5 d ro p th e req u est p acket.

No w N 3 h old s th e list fo r a p at h from N 1 to N 3 , (N 1 , N 2 , N 3 ), an d N 1 kn o ws

th e p ath from N 3 to N 1 , (N 3 , N 5 , N 4 , N 1 ). Bu t N 1 still d oes n ot kn ow h ow to sen d
d ata t o N 3 ! Th e o n ly so lu tio n is t o sen d t h e list (N 1 , N 2 , N 3 ) with t h e bro ad cast s
in it iat ed b y N 3 in t h e reverse d irection . Th is exam p le sh ows clearly h o w m u ch
sim p ler ro u tin g can be if lin ks are sym m etrical.
Th e basic algo rit h m for ro u te d iscovery can be op t im ized in m an y ways.

● To avo id t oo m an y bro ad cast s, each rou t e req u est co u ld co n t ain a co u n t er.

Every n ode rebroadcastin g th e requ est in crem en ts th e coun ter by on e. Kn owin g
th e m axim u m n et work diam eter (take th e n u m ber of n odes if n ot h in g else is
kn own ), n odes can drop a request if th e coun ter reach es th is n um ber.
● A n o d e can cach e p ath fragm en t s fro m recen t req u ests. Th ese fragm en t s can
n ow be u sed t o an swer o th er rou te req u ests m u ch faster (if th ey st ill reflect
th e to p o logy!).
● A n o d e can also u p d at e t h is cach e fro m p acket h ead ers wh ile fo rward in g
o t h er p ackets.
● If a n o d e o verh ears t ran sm issio n s fro m o t h er n o d es, it can also u se t h is
in fo rm at ion fo r sh o rten in g ro u t es.

Aft er a ro u te h as been d isco vered , it h as to be m ain t ain ed for as lo n g as th e

n od e sen d s p ackets alon g t h is ro u te. Dep en d in g o n layer two m ech an ism s, d if-
feren t ap p roach es can be taken :
 Mobile net work layer 339

● If t h e lin k layer u ses an ackn o wled gem en t (as, fo r exam p le, IEEE 8 02 .1 1)
th e n od e can in terp ret th is ackn o wled gem en t as an in tact rou t e.
● If p o ssib le, t h e n o d e co u ld a lso list en t o t h e n ex t n o d e fo rw ard in g t h e
p acket , so gettin g a p assive ackn owled gem en t.
● A n od e co u ld req u est an exp licit ackn owled gem en t .

Again , th is situ at io n is co m p licat ed if lin ks are n o t bi-d irect io n al. If a n od e

d etect s con n ectivit y p ro blem s, it h as to in fo rm t h e sen d er of a p acket, in itiatin g
a n ew rou te d iscovery st artin g fro m t h e sen d er. Altern atively, th e n od e cou ld t ry
to d isco ver a n ew rou te by itself.
Alt h o u gh d yn am ic so u rce ro u t in g o ffers b en efit s co m p ared t o o th er algo -
rit h m s by bein g m u ch m o re ban d wid th efficien t, p roblem s arise if t h e to p olo gy
is h igh ly d yn am ic an d lin ks are asym m etrical.

8.3.4 Alt ernat ive met rics

Th e exam p les sh o wn in th is ch ap t er typ ically u se t h e n u m ber of h op s as rou tin g
m etric. Alth ou gh very sim p le, esp ecially in wireless ad -h oc n et wo rks, th is is n ot
always th e b est ch o ice. Even fo r fixed n et wo rks, e.g., b an d wid t h can also be a
facto r fo r th e ro u tin g m etric. Du e t o th e varyin g lin k q u ality an d th e fact th at
d ifferen t tran sm issio n s can in terfere, oth er m etrics can b e m o re u sefu l.
O n e o t h er m et ric, called lea st in t er fer e n ce r o u t i n g (LIR), t akes p o ssib le
in terferen ce in to acco u n t. Figu re 8.21 sh ows an ad -h oc n etwork t op ology. Sen d er
S1 wan ts to sen d a p acket to receiver R1 , S2 to R2 . Usin g th e h op cou n t as m etric,
S1 co u ld ch o o se th ree d ifferen t p at h s wit h th ree h o p s, wh ich is also t h e m in i-
m u m . Possible p ath s are (S1 , N 3 , N 4 , R1 ), (S1 , N 3 , N 2 , R1 ), an d (S1 , N 1 , N 2 , R1 ). S2
wo u ld ch o o se t h e o n ly availab le p at h wit h o n ly t h ree h o p s (S2 , N 5 , N 6 , R2 ).
Takin g in t erferen ce in to accou n t , th is p ictu re ch an ges. To calcu late t h e p ossible

Figure 8.21
N1 Example for least
N2
interference routing
R1
S1 N3

N4

N5 N6 R2
S2

N8 N9
N7
Neighbors
(i.e. within radio range)
340 Mobile communicat ions

in terferen ce of a p at h , each n od e calcu lates its p ossible in terferen ce (in t erferen ce

is d efin ed h ere as th e n u m b er o f n eigh b o rs t h at can o verh ear a t ran sm issio n ).
Every n od e on ly n eed s local in form at ion to com p u te its in terferen ce.
In th is exam p le, t h e in terferen ce o f n o d e N 3 is 6, th at o f n o d e N 4 is 5 etc.
Calcu latin g t h e costs of p ossible p at h s between S1 an d R1 resu lt s in th e followin g:

C1 = cost(S1 , N 3 , N 4 , R1 ) = 16,

C 2 = cost(S1 , N 3 , N 2 , R1 ) = 15,
an d C 3 = co st(S1 , N 1 , N 2 , R1 ) = 12.

All t h ree p at h s h ave t h e sam e n u m b er o f h o p s, b u t t h e last p at h h as t h e

lo west co st d u e to in t erferen ce. Th u s, S1 ch o o ses (S1 , N 1 , N 2 , R1 ). S2 also co m -
p u tes th e cost of d ifferen t p at h s, exam p les are C 4 = cost(S2 , N 5 , N 6 , R2 ) = 16 an d
C 5 = co st (S2 , N 7 , N 8 , N 9 , R2 ) = 15. S2 wou ld , th erefo re, ch o ose th e p at h (S2 , N 7 ,
N 8 , N 9 , R2 ), alth ou gh th is p ath h as on e h op m o re t h an th e first o n e.
W it h b o t h t ran sm issio n s t akin g p lace sim u lt an eo u sly, t h ere w o u ld h ave
b een in t erferen ce b et w een t h em as sh o w n in Figu re 8 .2 1 . In t h is case, least
in t erferen ce ro u t in g h elp ed t o avo id in terferen ce. Takin g o n ly lo cal d ecisio n s
an d n o t kn o win g wh at p at h s o t h er t ran sm issio n s t ake, t h is sch em e can ju st
lo wer t h e p ro b ab ilit y o f in t erferen ce. In t erferen ce can o n ly b e avo id ed if all
sen d ers kn o w o f all o t h er tran sm issio n s (an d t h e wh o le ro u tin g t op o lo gy) an d
base rou t in g o n th is kn o wled ge.
Ro u tin g can take several m et rics in t o acco u n t at t h e sam e t im e an d weigh
th em . Metrics cou ld be th e n u m ber o f h op s h, in terferen ce i, reliability r, erro r
rat e e etc. Th e co st o f a p ath co u ld th en be d eterm in ed as:

co st = αh + βi + γr + δe + ...

It is n o t at all easy (if even p o ssib le) t o ch o o se t h e weigh t s α, β, γ, δ,... t o

ach ieve t h e d esired ro u tin g beh avior.

8.3.5 Overview of ad-hoc rout ing prot ocols

As alread y m en tion ed, ad -h oc n etworkin g h as attracted a lot of research over th e
last few years. Th is h as led to th e d evelop m en t of m an y n ew rou tin g algorith m s.
Th ey all com e wit h sp ecial p ro s an d co n s (Royer, 1999), (Perkin s, 2001a). Hon g
(2002) sep arat es th em in to th ree categories: flat ro u tin g, h ierarch ical rou tin g, an d
geograp h ic-p osition -assist ed rou tin g.

8.3.5.1 Flat ad-hoc routing

Flat ad -h o c rou tin g p ro to co ls com p rise th ose p ro toco ls t h at d o n o t set u p h ierar-
ch ies wit h clu st ers o f n o d es, sp ecial n o d es act in g as t h e h ead o f a clu st er, o r
d ifferen t ro u t in g algo rith m s in sid e o r o u t sid e certain regio n s. All n od es in th is
ap p ro ach play an eq u al role in ro u tin g. Th e ad d ressin g sch em e is flat.
 Mobile net work layer 341

Th is category again falls in to two su bcategories: proactive an d reactive p roto-

cols. Proactive p ro t o co ls set u p tables req u ired for rou tin g regardless of an y traffic
th at wou ld req u ire ro u tin g fu n ction ality. DSDV, as p resen ted in section 8.3.2 is a
classic m em ber of th is grou p . Man y protocols belon gin g to th is grou p are based on
a lin k-state algorith m as kn own from fixed n etworks. Lin k-state algorith m s flood
th eir in form ation abo u t n eigh bors p eriod ically or even t triggered (Ku rose, 2003).
In m o b ile ad -h o c en viro n m en t s t h is m et h o d exh ib it s severe d rawbacks: eit h er
u p d atin g t akes p lace o ft en en ou gh to reflect th e act u al con figu ration of th e n et-
work or it tries to m in im ize n etwork load . Both goals can n ot be ach ieved at t h e
sam e tim e with ou t ad dition al m ech an ism s. Fish eye st a te rou t in g (FSR, Pei, 2000)
an d fu zzy sig h t ed lin k -st a t e (FSLS, San t ivan ez, 200 1) at t ack t h is p ro b lem b y
m akin g t h e u p d at e p erio d dep en d en t on th e dist an ce to a cert ain h op . Rou t in g
en t ries co rresp o n d in g t o a faraway d est in at io n are p ro p agat ed wit h lo wer fre-
q u en cy th an th ose co rresp on d in g to n earby d estin atio n s. Th e resu lt are rou tin g
tables th at reflect th e p roxim ity o f a n ode very p recisely, wh ile im p recise en tries
m ay exist for n odes fu rth er away. Oth er lin k-state protocols th at try to redu ce th e
traffic cau sed b y lin k-stat e in fo rm at io n d issem in at io n are t o p o lo gy b ro a d ca st
b a sed o n reverse p at h forw a rd in g (TBRPF, Ogier, 2002) an d o p t im ized lin k -sta te
ro u tin g (OLSR, Clau sen , 2002). A gen eral a d va n ta ge of p roactive p rotocols is th at
th ey can give QoS gu aran tees related to con n ection set-u p , laten cy or oth er real-
tim e req uirem en ts. As lon g as th e top ology d oes n ot ch an ge too fast, th e rou tin g
tables reflect th e cu rren t top ology with a certain p recision . Th e prop agation ch ar-
acteristics (delay, ban d width etc.) of a certain path between a sen der an d a receiver
are alread y kn own before a d ata p acket is sen t . A big d isa d va n t a ge of p ro active
sch em es are th eir overh eads in ligh tly load ed n etworks. In d ep en d en t of an y real
com m u n ication th e algorith m con tin uou sly u pdates th e rou tin g tables. Th is gen -
erates a lot of un n ecessary traffic an d drain s th e batteries of m obile devices.
Rea ct iv e p ro t o co ls try to avo id th is p roblem b y settin g u p a p ath between
sen d er an d receiver o n ly if a co m m u n icat io n is wait in g. Th e t wo m o st p ro m i-
n en t m em bers o f th is grou p are d yn a m ic so u rce ro u t in g (DSR, Jo h n so n , 1996),
as p resen t ed in sect io n 8.3.3, an d a d -h o c o n -d em a n d d ist a n ce vect o r (AODV,
Perkin s, 2001a), an o n -d em an d versio n of DSDV. AODV acq u ires an d m ain tain s
rou tes on ly o n d em an d like DSR d o es. A com p arison o f bo th p ro to co ls is given
in Perkin s (2 001b ), wh ile Malt z (2001) gives so m e act u al m easu rem en t s d o n e
with DSR. Bo th p ro to co ls, DSR an d AODV, are th e lead in g can d id at es fo r st an -
d ard izatio n in th e IETF. However, u p to n ow th ere seem s to be n o clear win n er.
A d ozen m ore reactive p rotocols alread y exist (Hon g, 2002).
A clear a d v a n t a g e of o n -d em an d p roto cols is scalab ility as lon g as t h ere is
on ly ligh t traffic an d low m o bility. Mo bile d evices can u t ilize lo n ger lo w-p ower
p erio d s as th ey o n ly h ave to wake u p fo r d at a tran sm issio n o r ro u te d isco very.
However, th ese p ro to cols also exh ibit d isad va n t a ges. Th e in it ial search laten cy
m ay d egrad e t h e p erfo rm an ce o f in t eract ive ap p licat io n s an d t h e q u ality o f a
p ath is n o t kn o wn a priori. Ro u te cach in g, a m ech an ism typ ically em p lo yed by
o n -d em an d p ro t o co ls, p ro ves u seless in h igh m o b ilit y sit u at io n s as ro u t es
ch an ge too freq u en tly.
342 Mobile communicat ions

8.3.5.2 Hierarchical ad-hoc rout ing

Algo rit h m s su ch as DSDV, AO DV, an d DSR o n ly wo rk fo r a sm aller n u m b er o f
n o d es an d d ep en d h eavily o n th e m o bilit y o f n o d es. Fo r larger n et wo rks, clu s-
t erin g o f n o d es an d u sin g d ifferen t ro u t in g algo rit h m s b et w een an d w it h in
clu st ers can b e a scalab le an d efficien t so lu t io n . Th e m o t ivat io n b eh in d t h is
ap p ro ach is th e lo cality p ro p ert y, m ean in g th at if a clu st er can b e est ablish ed ,
n od es t yp ically rem ain with in a clu ster, on ly som e ch an ge clu st ers. If t h e t o p o l-
o gy wit h in a clu st er ch an ges, o n ly n o d es o f t h e clu st er h ave t o b e in fo rm ed .
N o d e s o f o t h er clu st ers o n ly n eed t o kn o w h o w t o reach t h e clu st er. Th e
ap p ro ach basically h id es all th e sm all d et ails in clu sters wh ich are fu rth er away.
Fro m t im e t o t im e each n o d e n eed s t o get so m e in fo rm at io n ab o u t t h e
t o p o lo gy. Again , u p d at es fro m clu st ers fu rt h er away will b e sen t o u t less fre-
q u en t ly co m p ared t o lo cal u p d at es. Clu st ers can b e co m b in ed t o fo rm su p er
clu sters et c., bu ild in g u p a larger h ierarch y. Usin g th is ap p ro ach , o n e o r m o re
n o d es can act as clu st erh ead s, rep resen t in g a ro u t er fo r all t raffic t o / fro m t h e
clu st er. All n od es with in t h e clu ster an d all oth er clu sterh ead s u se th ese as gate-
way fo r th e clu st er. Figu re 8.22 sh o ws an ad -h o c n etwo rk with in tercon n ect io n
t o t h e in t ern et via a b ase st at io n . Th is b ase st at io n t ran sfers d ata t o an d fro m
t h e clu st er h ead s. In t h is exa m p le, o n e clu st er h ea d also act s as h ead o f t h e
su p er clu ster, rou t in g traffic to an d fro m th e su p er clu ster. Differen t rou tin g p ro-
tocols m ay be u sed in sid e an d ou t sid e clu sters.
C lu st er h ea d -Ga t ew a y Sw it ch Ro u t in g (CGSR, Ch ian g, 1 997) is a t yp ical
rep resen tative o f h ierarch ical ro u tin g algo rith m s based on d istan ce vect o r (DV)
ro u t in g (Ku ro se, 2 0 0 3 ). C o m p ared t o DV p ro t o co ls, t h e h ierarch y h elp s t o
red u ce ro u tin g tab les trem en d o u sly. Ho wever, it m igh t be d ifficu lt to m ain tain

Figure 8.22
Building hierarchies in Internet
ad-hoc networks

cluster

super cluster
 Mobile net work layer 343

t h e clu st er st ru ct u re in a h igh ly m o b ile en viron m en t . An algo rit h m b ased o n

th e lin k-state (LS) p rin cip le is h iera rch ica l st a t e ro u t in g (HSR, Pei, 1999). Th is
ap p lies th e p rin cip le of clu sterin g recu rsively, creatin g m u ltip le levels o f clu sters
an d clu st ers o f clu st ers et c. Th is recu rsio n is a lso reflect ed in a h ierarch ical
ad d ressin g sch em e. A typ ical h yb rid h ierarch ical ro u tin g p ro t o co l is t h e zo n e
ro u t in g p ro t o co l (ZRP, Haas, 2001). Each n o d e u sin g ZRP h as a p red efin ed zo n e
with th e n o d e as th e cen ter. Th e zon e com p rises all ot h er n o d es wit h in a certain
h o p -lim it . Proact ive ro u tin g is ap p lied wit h in t h e zon e, wh ile o n -d em an d ro u t-
in g is u sed o u tsid e th e zo n e.
Du e t o t h e est ab lish ed h ierarch y, H SR an d C GSR fo rce t h e t raffic t o go
th rou gh certain n o d es wh ich m ay be a b ott len eck an d wh ich m ay lead t o su b-
op tim al p ath s. Ad d itio n ally, m ain tain in g clu sters or a h ierarch y of clu sters cau ses
ad d ition al overh ead s. ZRP faces th e p roblem of flat on -dem an d sch em es as soon
as th e n etwork size in creases as m an y d estin ation s are th en ou tsid e th e zon e.

8.3.5.3 Geographic-posit ion-assisted ad-hoc rout ing

If m o b ile n o d es kn o w th eir geo grap h ical p o sitio n t h is can b e u sed fo r ro u t in g
p u rp o ses. Th is im p ro ves t h e o verall p erfo rm an ce o f ro u t in g algo rit h m s if geo -
grap h ical p ro x im it y also m ean s rad io p ro x im it y (w h ich is t yp ically, b u t n o t
always, th e case – ju st th in k of obstacles between two close-by n o d es). On e way
to acq u ire p osition in form ation is via th e global p osition in g system (GPS). Mau ve
(2001) gives an overview of several p osition -based ad -h oc rou tin g p rotocols.
Geo Ca st (Navas, 1997) allows m essages to be sen t to all n od es in a sp ecific
region . Th is is do n e u sin g ad dresses based on geograp h ic in form ation in stead of
lo gical n u m b ers. Ad d it io n ally, a h ierarch y o f geo grap h ical ro u t ers can b e
em p lo yed wh ich are resp o n sib le fo r regio n s o f d ifferen t scale. Th e lo ca t io n -
a i d e d r o u t in g p ro t o co l (LAR, Ko , 2 0 0 0 ) is sim ilar t o DSR, b u t lim it s ro u t e
d iscovery to certain geograp h ical region s. An ot h er p rotocol t h at is based on loca-
tion in form at ion is gr eed y p erim et er st a t eless ro u t in g (GPSR, Karp , 2000). Th is
u ses on ly th e location in form ation of n eigh bors t h at are exch an ged via p eriod ic
beaco n m essages o r via p iggyb ackin g in d at a p acket s. Th e m ain sch em e o f th e
p rotocol, wh ich is th e greed y p art, is q u ite sim p le. Packets are always forward ed
t o t h e n eigh b o r t h at is geo grap h ically clo sest t o t h e d est in at io n . Ad d it io n al
m ech an ism s are ap p lied if a dead en d is reach ed (n o n eigh bor is closer to th e d es-
tin ation th an th e n od e cu rren tly h old in g t h e data p acket to be forward ed ).

8.4 Summary

Mo bility su p p o rt on t h e n etwork layer is o f sp ecial im p o rtan ce, as th e n etwo rk

layer h o ld s t ogeth er th e h u ge in tern et with t h e com m o n p rot ocol IP. Alth o u gh
based o n p ossib ly d ifferen t wireless or wired t ech n ologies, all n o d es of th e n et-
wo rk sh o u ld b e ab le t o co m m u n icate. Mo bile IP (an ext en sio n o f t h e classical
IP) h as been d esign ed to en able m obilit y in th e in tern et with ou t ch an gin g exist-
in g wired syst em s. Ho wever, m o bile IP leaves som e p o in ts u n reso lved , esp ecially
344 Mobile communicat ions

wh en it com es to secu rity, efficien cy o f th e p acket flo w, an d su p p o rt fo r q u alit y

o f service. So m e o f t h ese issu es are ad d ressed in IP versio n 6 m akin g wo rkin g
with m obilit y m u ch sim p ler. Man y o f th ese issu es are st ill u n reso lved . Mu ch h as
been d o n e o ver th e last years to su p p ort m icro -m obilit y, an d t o su p p ort a seam -
less, o r at least very fast , h an d o ver (Seam o b y, 20 02). Bu t t h ere are even so m e
m o re fu n d am en t al q u est io n s: is t h e n et wo rk layer t h e righ t p lace fo r fast
h an d o ver o r m icro -m o b ilit y? So m e research ers argu e th at , e.g., m o b ile p h o n e
syst em s o r layer 2 d o a bett er job h ere.
DHCP offers a fu lly au to m atic m ech an ism for a n od e to acq u ire all t h e n ec-
cessary in fo rm atio n t o b e in tegrated in t o a n etwo rk, su p p ortin g in st allat ion o f
n ew com p u t ers an d th e in t egratio n o f m o bile co m p u ters in to n etworks. DHCP
will b e a m ajor so u rce o f care-of-ad d resses n eed ed for m obile IP.
Fin ally, ad -h o c n et wo rks o ffer a co m p letely n ew way o f set t in g u p m o b ile
com m u n icatio n s if n o in frast ru ct u re is available. In t h ese n etwo rks rou tin g is a
m ajo r t op ic, becau se th ere is n o base station t h at can reach all n od es via broad -
cast as in cellu lar n et wo rks. Trad it io n al ro u t in g algo rit h m s d o n o t wo rk at all
well in t h e h igh ly d yn am ic en viro n m en t o f ad -h o c n et wo rks, so ext en sio n s o f
exist in g o r co m p letely n ew algo rith m s h ave t o b e ap p lied . Fo r larger gro u p s o f
n o d es o n ly h ierarch ical ap p ro ach es so lve t h e ro u t in g p ro b lem , flat algo rit h m s
su ch as DSR or AODV d o n ot scale well. An im p o rtan t d ifferen ce in wireless n et-
works is th e kn o wled ge req u ired abo u t layer 2 ch aracteristics. In fo rm at ion abou t
in t erferen ce an d ackn owled gem en ts can h elp in fin d in g a goo d ro u te. Locat io n
in fo rm at io n can fu rth er o p t im ize ro u t in g. Lu (2001) co m p rises several articles
p resen tin g ch allen ges in m ob ile ad -h o c n etwo rkin g, su ch as h igh er layer p erfor-
m a n ce, self-o rgan izat io n , p o wer co n su m p t io n , a n d q u alit y o f service. Zh o u
(1 9 9 9 ) p resen t s sp ecial secu rit y feat u res fo r m o b ile ad -h o c n et wo rks. Th ese
n et w o rks can n o t rely o n secu rit y m ech an ism s p ro vid ed b y an in frast ru ct u re
(e.g., au th en tication system s o f m o bile p h o n e system s).
Th ere are also critical p o sition s t oward s m o bile m u lti-h op ad -h oc n etwo rks
t h at d o n o t fo resee ap p licat io n s o u t sid e t h e m ilit ary area. Fo r alm o st all civil
ap p lication s, su ch as elect ro n ic classro om s, m eetin g p o in t s etc. an in frastru ctu re
is available. If ad -h o c co m m u n icatio n is n eed ed with o u t an in frastru ctu re t h is is
t yp ica lly n o t a m u lt i-h o p scen ario b u t , e.g., a sp o n t an eo u s ex ch an ge o f d at a
between several d evices wit h in bro ad cast ran ge. Th e real d em an d for civil m u lt i-
h o p a d -h o c n et w o rks h as st ill t o b e sh o w n . A p rem ier can d id at e fo r su ch a
scen ario cou ld be n etworks between cars on a h igh way.
Th e n et w o r k m o b i lit y (n em o ) wo rkin g gro u p at t h e IETF lo o ks at t h e
m o b ility o f an en t ire n etwo rk. Th is n et wo rk is viewed as a sin gle u n it , wh ich
can ch an ge it s p oin t o f at tach m en t to t h e fixed n etwo rk. O n e o r m ore m o bile
ro u ters p erform d ata forward in g with in th is m obile n etwork. On e basic assu m p -
tio n o f t h is ap p ro ach is t h e tran sp aren cy of m obilit y to th e en d -system s with in
t h e m o b ile n et wo rk. A typ ical exam p le fo r su ch a n et wo rk is an o n b o ard n et -
w o rk o f a car o r a t rain . Sim ilar t o m o b ile IP t h e m o b ile ro u t ers co u ld b e
co n n ect ed t o a h o m e agen t via a b id irect io n al tu n n el t o en able p erm an en t IP
ad d resses for en d system s.
 Mobile net work layer 345

However, m an y very in terestin g q u estion s of a m ob ile n etwork layer are still

o p en , n ew q u est io n s a rise every d a y, an d n o p ro t o co l em erges as t h e clear
win n er. Alt o get h er, t h e n et w o rk layer rem ain s an o p en an d very in t erest in g
research field .

8.5 Review exercises

1 Recall routing in fixed IP networks (Kurose, 2003). Name the consequences

and problems of using IP together with the standard routing protocols for
mobile communications.
2 What could be quick ‘solutions’ and why don’t they work?
3 Name the requirements for a mobile IP and justify them. Does mobile IP fulfill
them all?
4 List the entities of mobile IP and describe data transfer from a mobile node to a
fixed node and vice versa. Why and where is encapsulation needed?
5 How does registration on layer 3 of a mobile node work?
6 Show the steps required for a handover from one foreign agent to another for-
eign agent including layer 2 and layer 3.
7 Explain packet flow if two mobile nodes communicate and both are in foreign net-
works. What additional routes do packets take if reverse tunneling is required?
8 Explain how tunneling works in general and especially for mobile IP using IP-in-IP,
minimal, and generic routing encapsulation, respectively. Discuss the advantages
and disadvantages of these three methods.
9 Name the inefficiencies of mobile IP regarding data forwarding from a correspon-
dent node to a mobile node. What are optimizations and what additional
problems do they cause?
10 What advantages does the use of IPv6 offer for mobility? Where are the entities
of mobile IP now?
11 What are general problems of mobile IP regarding security and support of quality
of service?
12 What is the basic purpose of DHCP? Name the entities of DHCP.
13 How can DHCP be used for mobility and support of mobile IP?
14 Name the main differences between multi-hop ad-hoc networks and other
networks. What advantages do these ad-hoc networks offer?
15 Why is routing in multi-hop ad-hoc networks complicated, what are the
special challenges?
16 Recall the distance vector and link state routing algorithms for fixed networks.
Why are both difficult to use in multi-hop ad-hoc networks?
346 Mobile communicat ions

17 What are the differences between AODV and the standard distance vector
algorithm? Why are extensions needed?
18 How does dynamic source routing handle routing? What is the motivation behind
dynamic source routing compared to other routing algorithms from fixed networks?
19 How does the symmetry of wireless links influence the routing algorithms proposed?
20 Why are special protocols for the support of micro mobility on the network
layer needed?
21 What are the benefits of location information for routing in ad-hoc networks,
which problems arise?
22 Think of ad-hoc networks with fast moving nodes, e.g., cars in a city. What prob-
lems arise even for the routing algorithms adapted to ad-hoc networks? What is
the situation on highways?

8.6 Ref erences

Alexan d er, S., Dro h m s, R. (1 99 7 ) DHCP option s a nd BOOTP ven dor extension s,
RFC 2132.
Brewer, E.A., Kat z, R.H ., Ch aw at h e, Y., Grib b le, S.D., Ho d es, T., Ngu yen , G.,
St em m , M., Hen d erson , T., Am it, E., Balakrish n an , H., Fox, A., Pad m an abh an ,
V., Sesh an , S. (1 99 8 ) ‘A n et wo rk arch it ect u re fo r h et ero gen eo u s m o b ile
co m p u tin g,’ IEEE Personal Communications, 5(5).
C am p b ell, A., G o m ez, J., Kim , S., Valko , A., Wan , C.-Y., Tu ran yi, Z. (2 0 0 0 )
‘Design , im p lem en t at io n an d evalu at io n o f C ellu lar IP,’ IEEE Person a l
Communications, 7(4).
C am p b ell, A., Go m ez, J., Kim , S., Wan , C .-Y. (2 0 0 2 ) ‘Co m p ariso n o f IP
Microm o bility Proto cols,’ IEEE Wireless Communications, 9(1).
Ch ian g, C.-C., Gerla, M. (1997) Routing and Multicast in Multihop, Mobile Wireless
Networks, p roc. IEEE ICUPC 1997, San Diego.
C lau sen , T., Jacq u et , P., La o u it i, A., Min et , P, Mu h let h a ler, P., Q ayyu m , A.,
Vien n o t , L. (2 0 0 2) Optimized Lin k Sta te Routin g Protocol, d raft -iet f-m an et -
o lsr-07.txt, (work in p rogress).
Co rso n , S., Macker, J. (1999) Mobile ad-hoc Networking (MANET): Routing Protocol
Performa nce Issues and Evalua tion Considerations, RFC 2501.
Deerin g, S. (1 9 8 9 ) Host exten sion s for IP m ultica stin g, RFC 1 1 1 2, u p d at ed b y
RFC 2236.
Deerin g, S. (1991) ICMP router discovery messages, RFC 1256.
Deerin g, S., Hin d en , R. (1998) In tern et Pro to co l, versio n 6 (IPv6) Sp ecificatio n ,
RFC 2460.
Droh m s, R. (1997) Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, RFC 2131.
Droh m s, R., Arbau gh , W. (2001) Authentica tion for DHCP Messa ges, RFC 3118.
 Mobile net work layer 347

Farin acci, D., Li, T., H an ks, S., M eyer, D., Train a , P. (2 0 0 0 ) Gen eric Routin g
Encapsulation (GRE), RFC 2784.
Fu ller, V.; Li, T., Yu , J., Varad h an , K. (1993) Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR):
a n Address Assignm ent and Aggregation Strategy, RFC 1519.
Haas, Z., Pearlm an , M. (2001) ‘Th e Perfo rm an ce o f Qu ery Co n tro l Sch em es fo r
th e Zon e Rou tin g Pro toco l,’ ACM/IEEE Transa ctions on Networking, 9(4).
H an ks, S., Li, T., Farin acci, D., Train a, P. (1 9 9 4 ) Gen eric Routin g Enca psula tion
(GRE), RFC 1701.
H en d rick, C . (1 9 8 8 ) Routin g In form a tion Protocol, RFC 1 0 5 8 , u p d at ed b y RFC
2453 (RIP v2).
Hon g, X., Xu , K., Gerla, M. (2002) ‘Scalab le Ro u tin g Pro to co ls fo r Mobile ad -h oc
Net works,’ IEEE Network, 16(4).
Ja co b so n , V. (1 9 9 0 ) Com pressin g TCP/IP h ea ders for low-speed seria l lin ks,
RFC 1144.
Jo h n so n , D., Malt z, D. (1996) ‘Dyn am ic so u rce ro u t in g in ad -h o c wireless n et -
works,’ Mobile Computing (eds. Im ielin ski, Korth ). Kluwer Acad em ic Publish ers.
Joh n son , D., Malt z, D., Hu , Y.-C., Jetch eva, J. (2002a) The dyna mic source routing
protocol for mobile ad hoc networks, draft-ietf-m an et-dsr-07.txt (work in progress).
Jo h n so n , D., Perkin s, C., Arkko , J. (20 02 b ) Mobility Support in IPv6, d raft -iet f-
m o bileip -ip v6-18.txt (wo rk in p ro gress).
Karp , B., Ku n g, H. (2 00 0) GPSR: Greedy Perim eter Sta teless Routing for W ireless
Networks, p roc. sixth An n u al In tern ation al Con feren ce on Mobile Com pu tin g
an d Networkin g (MobiCom 2000), Boston , USA.
Ken t, S., Atkin son , R. (1998) IP Authentication Header, RFC 2402.
Ko , Y.-B., Vaid ya, N . (2 0 00 ) ‘Lo cat io n -aid ed Ro u t in g (LAR) in M o b ile Ad h o c
Net works,’ ACM/Baltzer W INET Journal, 6(4).
Ku rose, J. F., Ross, K. (2003) Com p u ter Networkin g – A top-down approach featuring
the Internet. Ad d ison -Wesley.
Levko w et z, H ., Vaa rala , S. (2 0 0 2 ) Mobile IP NAT/NAPT Tra versa l usin g UDP
Tunnelling, d raft -iet f-m o bileip -n at-traversal-05.txt (work in p rogress).
Lu , W., Giord an o, S. (2001) ‘Ch allen ges in Mobile Ad Hoc Networkin g,’ collection
of articles, IEEE Communications Magazine, 39(6).
Malkin , G. (1998) RIP version 2, RFC 2453.
M alt z, D., Bro ch , J., Jo h n so n , D. (2 0 0 1 ) ‘Lesso n s fro m a Fu ll-Scale M u lt ih o p
Wireless Ad Hoc Network Test bed ,’ IEEE Personal Communications, 8(1).
MANET (2002) Mobile Ad -h oc Net works, h t t p :/ / www.ietf.o rg/ h t m l.ch art ers/
m an et-ch arter.h tm l.
M au ve, M ., W id m er, J., Hart en st ein , H . (2 0 0 1) ‘A Su rvey o n Po sit io n -Based
Rou tin g in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks,’ IEEE Network, 15(6).
M in k, S., Päh lke, F, Sch äfer, G ., Sch iller, J. (2 0 0 0 a) FATIMA: A Firewa ll-Awa re
Transparent Intern et Mobility Architecture, IEEE In tern atio n al Sym p o siu m o n
Com p u terts an d Com m u n ication , ISCC 2000, An tibes, Fran ce.
348 Mobile communicat ions

M in k, S., Päh lke, F., Sch äfer, G., Sch iller, J. (2 0 0 0 b ) Towa rds Secure Mobilit y
Support for IP Networks, IFIP In t ern at io n al Co n feren ce o n Co m m u n icat io n
Tech n o logies, ICCT, Beijin g, Ch in a.
Mo n t en egro , G. (1998) Reverse Tunneling for Mobile IP, RFC 2344.
Mo n t en egro , G. (2001) Reverse Tunneling for Mobile IP, RFC 3024.
Mo y, J. (1998) OSPF version 2, RFC 2328.
Navas, J., Im ielin ski, T. (19 97 ) Geographic Addressing a nd Routin g, proc. Th ird
ACM/ IEEE In tern ation al Con feren ce on Mobile Com p u tin g an d Networkin g,
MobiCom ’97, Bu d ap est, Hu n gary.
Nich o ls, K., Blake, S., Baker, F., Black, D. (199 8) Definition of the Differentiated
Services Field (DS Field) in the IPv4 a nd IPv6 Headers, RFC 2474.
Ogier, R., Tem plin , F., Bellu r, B., Lewis, M. (2002) Topology Broadcast based on Reverse-
Path Forwarding (TBRPF), draft-ietf-m an et-tbrp f-05.txt (work in progress).
Pei, G., Gerla, M., Ho n g, X., Ch ian g, C.C. (1999) A W ireless Hierarchical Routing
Protocol with Group Mobility, p roc. IEEE W CNC’99, New Orlean s, USA.
Pei, G., Gerla, M., Ch en , T.W. (2000) Fisheye State Routing: A Routing Scheme for
Ad Hoc W ireless Networks,’ p roc. ICC 2000, New Orlean s, USA.
Perkin s, C ., Bh agwat , P. (1 9 94 ) High ly dyn a m ic Destin a tion-Sequenced Dista nce
Vect or routin g (DSDV) for m obile com puters, p ro c. AC M SIGC O M M ’9 4 ,
Lo n d on , UK.
Perkin s, C. (1996a) IP Mobility Support, RFC 2002.
Perkin s, C. (1996b) IP Encapsula tion within IP, RFC 2003.
Perkin s, C. (1996c) Minimal Encapsulation within IP, RFC 2004.
Perkin s, C., Joh n son , D.B. (1996d) Mobility support in IPv6, proc. ACM Mobicom 96.
Perkin s, C. (1997) Mobile IP: Design Principles a nd Practice. Ad d iso n -Wesley.
Perkin s, C. (2001a) Ad Hoc Networking. Ad d ison -Wesley.
Perkin s, C., Ro yer, E., Das, S., Marin a, M. (2001b) ‘Perfo rm an ce Co m p arison o f
Tw o O n -Dem an d Ro u t in g Pro t o co ls fo r Ad H o c N et wo rks,’ IEEE Person a l
Communications, 8(1).
Perkin s, C. (2002) IP Mobility Support for IPv4, RFC 3344.
Perlm an , R. (1992) Interconnections: Bridges a nd Routers. Ad d iso n -Wesley.
Po st el, J.B. (1981) Internet Protocol, RFC 791.
Ram jee, R., La-Porta, T., Th u el, S., Varad h an , K., Wan g, S. (1999) HAWAII: a domain
ba sed a pproa ch for supporting m obility in wide-a rea wireless networks, p ro c.
In tern ation al Con feren ce on Network Protocols, ICNP’99, Toron to, Can ada.
Reyn o ld s, J. (2 0 0 2 ) Assign ed Num bers: RFC 1 70 0 is Repla ced by a n On -lin e
Database, RFC 3232, h ttp :/ / www.ian a.o rg/ .
Ro yer, E., To h , C.K. (1999) ‘A Review o f Cu rren t Ro u t in g Pro t o co ls fo r Ad -Ho c
M obile Wireless Net wo rks,’ IEEE Persona l Communications, 6(2).
San tivan ez, C., Ram an at h an , R., St avrakakis, I. (2001) Making Link-State Routing
Sca le for Ad Hoc Networks, p ro c. ACM In t ern atio n al Sym p o siu m on Mo b ile
Ad Ho c Netwo rkin g & Com p u tin g (Mo biHOC 2001), Lo n g Beach , USA.
Seam oby (2002) Context Transfer, Handoff Candidate Discovery, and Dormant Mode Host
Alerting (seamoby), h ttp:/ / www.ietf.org/h tm l.ch arters/seam oby-ch arter.h tm l.
 Mobile net work layer 349

So lim a n , H .; C ast ellu ccia, C ., El-M alki, K., Bellier, L. (2 0 0 2 ) Hiera rch ica l
MIPv6 m obility m a n a gem en t (HMIPv6 ), d raft -iet f-m o b ileip -h m ip v6 -0 6 .t x t
(wo rk in pro gress).
Solo m on , J. D. (1998) Mobile IP – The Internet Unplugged. Pren t ice Hall.
Srisu resh , P., Egevan g, K. (2 0 0 1 ) Tra dition a l IP Network Address Tra n sla tor
(Traditiona l NAT), RFC 3022.
Steven s, W. R. (1994) TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1: The Protocols. Ad d ison Wesley.
Valko , A. (1999) ‘Cellu lar IP – a n ew ap p ro ach o f In t ern et h ost m o bilit y,’ ACM
Computer Communication Reviews, Jan u ary.
Vix ie, P., Th o m so n , S., Rekh t er, Y., Bo u n d , J. (1 9 9 7 ) Dyn a m ic Upda tes in th e
Doma in Name System (DNS UPDATE), RFC 2136, u p d ated by RFC 3007.
Zh ou , L., Haas, Z. (1999) ‘Secu rin g Ad Ho c Net works,’ IEEE Net work, 13(6).
 Mobile t ransport layer 9

S
u p p o rt in g m o b ilit y o n ly o n lo wer layers u p to t h e n et wo rk layer is n o t
en o u gh to p ro vid e m o b ilit y su p p o rt fo r ap p licat io n s. Mo st ap p licatio n s
rely o n a t ran sp ort layer, su ch as TCP (tran sm ission con tro l p rot ocol) or
UDP (u ser d atagram p rot o co l) in th e case o f th e in tern et. Two fu n ction s o f t h e
tran sp o rt layer in th e in tern et are ch ecksu m m in g over u ser d ata an d m u lt ip lex-
in g/ d em u ltip lexin g o f d ata fro m / to ap p licatio n s. W h ile th e n etwo rk layer on ly
ad d resses a h o st , p o rt s in UDP o r TC P a llo w d ed icat ed ap p lica t io n s t o b e
ad d ressed. Th e con n ection less UDP d o es n ot o ffer m u ch m ore th an th is ad d ress-
in g, so , t h e fo llo win g co n cen t rat es o n TCP. W h ile UDP is co n n ect io n less an d
d oes n o t give certain gu aran tees abou t reliable d at a d elivery, TCP is m u ch m o re
co m p lex an d , n eed s sp ecial m ech an ism s t o b e u sefu l in m o b ile en viro n m en t s.
Mobility su p p ort in IP (su ch as m obile IP) is alread y en o u gh for UDP to wo rk.
Th e m ain d ifferen ce bet ween UDP an d TCP is th at TCP o ffers co n n ectio n s
b et ween t wo ap p licat io n s. Wit h in a co n n ect io n TCP can give cert ain gu aran -
tees, su ch as in -o rd er d elivery o r reliable d at a t ran sm issio n u sin g ret ran sm ission
t ech n iq u es. TC P h as b u ilt -in m ech a n ism s t o b eh a ve in a ‘n et w o rk frien d ly’
m an n er. If, for exam p le, TCP en cou n ters p acket lo ss, it assu m es n et wo rk in ter-
n al co n gest io n an d slo ws d o wn th e t ran sm issio n rat e. Th is is o n e o f t h e m ain
reaso n s to stay with p ro to co ls like TCP. On e key req u irem en t for n ew d evelop -
m en t s in t h e in t ern et is ‘TC P frien d lin ess’. UDP req u ires t h at ap p licat io n s
h a n d le reliab ilit y, in -o rd er d elivery et c. UDP d o es n o t b eh ave in a n et wo rk
frien d ly m an n er, i.e., d oes n ot p u ll back in case o f con gestion an d con tin u es t o
sen d p ackets in to an alread y con gested n et work.
Th e fo llo win g sect io n gives an o verview o f m ech an ism s wit h in TCP t h at
p lay an im p o rt an t ro le wh en u sin g TCP fo r m o b ility. Th e m ain p ro b lem wit h
m an y m ech an ism s is th at th ey h ave been d esign ed for situ ation s th at are com -
p let ely d ifferen t fro m t h o se in m o b ile n et wo rks. Ba sed o n t h ese p ro b lem s,
wh ich can lead to a co m p let e breakd o wn o f TCP t raffic, a set o f so lu t io n s h as
been d evelo p ed (Xylo m en os, 2001). Several classical so lu t ion s are p resen ted in
sectio n s 9.2.1 to 9.2.7 ; each so lu t io n h as it s sp ecific st ren gt h s an d weakn esses.
Sect io n 9 .3 p resen t s cu rren t effo rt s t o ad ap t TC P t o em ergin g 3G n et w o rks,
wh ile section 9.4 d iscu sses cu rren t fin d in gs fo r p erfo rm an ce en h an cin g p ro xies
(PEP) in gen eral.

351
352 Mobile communicat ions

9.1 Tradit ional TCP

Th is sect io n h igh ligh ts several m ech an ism s of th e tran sm issio n co n t rol p ro to co l

(TCP) (Po stel, 1981) th at in flu en ce t h e efficien cy o f TCP in a m o b ile en viro n -
m en t. A very d et ailed p resen tation o f TCP is given in Steven s (1994).

9.1.1 Congestion cont rol

A t ran sp o rt layer p ro t o co l su ch as TCP h as b een d esign ed fo r fixed n et wo rks
with fixed en d -syst em s. Dat a t ran sm issio n takes p lace u sin g n etwo rk ad ap t ers,
fib er o p tics, co p p er wires, sp ecial h ard ware fo r ro u t ers etc. Th is h ard ware typ i-
cally wo rks wit h o u t in t ro d u cin g t ran sm issio n erro rs. If t h e so ft ware is m at u re
en o u gh , it will n o t d ro p p acket s o r flip b it s, so if a p acket o n it s way fro m a
sen d er to a receiver is lo st in a fixed n et wo rk, it is n o t becau se o f h ard ware o r
so ft w are erro rs. Th e p ro b ab le reaso n fo r a p acket lo ss in a fix ed n et w o rk is
a t em p o rary o verlo a d so m e p o in t in t h e t ran sm issio n p at h , i.e., a st at e o f
con gestion at a n od e.
C o n gestio n m ay ap p ear fro m tim e to tim e even in carefu lly d esign ed n et -
wo rks. Th e p acket b u ffers o f a ro u t er are filled an d t h e ro u t er can n o t fo rward
th e p ackets fast en o u gh becau se th e su m of th e in p u t rates of p ackets d est in ed
fo r o n e o u t p u t lin k is h igh er t h an t h e cap acit y o f t h e o u t p u t lin k. Th e o n ly
t h in g a ro u t er can d o in t h is sit u at io n is t o d ro p p acket s. A d ro p p ed p acket is
lo st fo r t h e t ran sm issio n , an d t h e receiver n o t ices a gap in th e p acket st ream .
No w t h e receiver d o es n o t d irectly tell t h e sen d er wh ich p acket is m issin g, b u t
con t in u es to ackn o wled ge all in -seq u en ce p ackets u p to t h e m issin g on e.
Th e sen d er n o t ices t h e m issin g ackn o wled gem en t fo r t h e lo st p acket an d
assu m es a p acket lo ss d u e to con gestion . Retran sm it tin g th e m issin g p acket an d
co n t in u in g at fu ll sen d in g rat e wo u ld n o w b e u n w ise, as t h is m igh t o n ly
in crea se t h e co n gest io n . Alt h o u gh it is n o t gu aran t eed t h at all p acket s o f t h e
TCP con n ection take th e sam e way th rou gh th e n et wo rk, th is assu m p tio n h o ld s
fo r m o st of th e p ackets. To m itigat e co n gestion , TCP slows d o wn th e tran sm is-
sio n rat e d ra m at ica lly. All o t h er TCP co n n ect io n s ex p erien cin g t h e sa m e
con gestion d o exact ly t h e sam e so t h e co n gestio n is soo n resolved . Th is co op er-
a t io n o f TC P co n n ect io n s in t h e in t ern et is o n e o f t h e m ain reaso n s fo r it s
su rvival as it is t o d ay. Usin g UDP is n o t a so lu t ion , b ecau se t h e t h ro u gh p u t is
h igh er co m p ared t o a TCP co n n ectio n ju st at t h e begin n in g. As soo n as every-
o n e u ses UDP, th is ad van tage d isap p ears. After th at , con gestion is st an d ard an d
d ata t ran sm issio n q u alit y is u n p red ictable. Even u n d er h eavy lo ad , TCP gu aran -
tees at least sh arin g o f th e ban d wid th .

9.1.2 Slow start

TCP’s reaction to a m issin g ackn owled gem en t is q u ite d rast ic, bu t it is n ecessary
to get rid of co n gestio n q u ickly. Th e beh avior TCP sh o ws after th e d etection o f
con gestion is called slo w st a rt (Ku rose, 2003).
 Mobile t ransport layer 353

Th e sen d er always calcu lates a co n gest io n w in d o w for a receiver. Th e start

size o f t h e co n gestio n win d o w is o n e segm en t (TCP p acket ). Th e sen d er sen d s
o n e p acket an d wait s fo r ackn o wled gem en t . If t h is ackn o wled gem en t arrives,
th e sen d er in creases t h e co n gestio n win d o w b y o n e, n o w sen d in g t wo p ackets
(co n gest ion win d o w = 2). Aft er arrival o f th e two co rresp o n d in g ackn o wled ge-
m en t s, th e sen d er again ad d s 2 to t h e co n gestio n win d o w, o n e fo r each o f th e
ackn o wled gem en ts. Now th e co n gestio n win d o w eq u als 4. Th is sch em e d ou bles
t h e co n gest io n win d o w every t im e t h e ackn o wled gem en t s co m e b ack, wh ich
t akes o n e ro u n d t rip t im e (RTT). Th is is called t h e exp o n en t ial gro wt h o f t h e
co n gest ion win d o w in t h e slow st art m ech an ism .
It is to o d an gerou s to d ou ble th e con gestion win d o w each tim e becau se t h e
step s m igh t beco m e t oo large. Th e exp on en t ial growt h sto p s at t h e co n gest io n
t h resh o ld . As soo n as th e co n gest io n win d ow reach es t h e con gestion th resh old ,
fu rth er in crease o f t h e t ran sm issio n rat e is o n ly lin ear by ad d in g 1 t o th e co n -
gestion win d ow each t im e th e ackn owled gem en ts com e back.
Lin ear in crease co n tin u es u n til a tim e-ou t at th e sen d er occu rs d u e to a m iss-
in g ackn o w led gem en t , o r u n t il t h e sen d er d et ect s a gap in t ran sm it t ed d at a
becau se of con tin u ou s ackn owled gem en ts for th e sam e p acket. In eith er case th e
sen d er sets th e co n gestio n th resh o ld t o h alf o f th e cu rren t co n gestio n win d o w.
Th e con gestion win d o w itself is set to on e segm en t an d th e sen d er starts sen d in g
a sin gle segm en t. Th e exp on en tial growth (as d escribed abo ve) starts on ce m ore
u p to th e n ew con gest ion th resh old , th en th e win d ow grows in lin ear fash ion .

9.1.3 Fast retransmit / fast recovery

Two t h in gs lead t o a red u ct io n o f t h e co n gest io n t h resh o ld . O n e is a sen d er
receivin g co n tin u o u s ackn o wled gem en t s for th e sam e p acket. Th is in form s t h e
sen d er of two th in gs. On e is th at th e receiver got all p acket s u p t o th e ackn owl-
ed ged p acket in seq u en ce. In TCP, a receiver sen d s ackn o wled gem en ts o n ly if it
receives an y p a cket s fro m t h e sen d er. Receivin g ackn o w led gem en t s fro m a
receiver also sh o ws t h at t h e receiver con t in u ou sly receives som eth in g fro m t h e
sen d er. Th e gap in t h e p acket st ream is n o t d u e t o severe co n gest io n , b u t a
sim p le p acket lo ss d u e to a tran sm issio n erro r. Th e sen d er can n o w ret ran sm it
t h e m issin g p acket (s) b efo re t h e t im er ex p ires. Th is b eh avio r is called fa st
ret ra n sm it (Ku ro se, 2003).
Th e receip t of ackn owled gem en t s sh ows th at th ere is n o con gestion to ju s-
tify a slow st art. Th e sen d er can con tin u e with th e cu rren t con gestion win d o w.
Th e sen d er p erform s a fa st reco ver y from th e p acket loss. Th is m ech an ism can
im p ro ve th e efficien cy o f TCP d ram atically.
Th e o t h er reaso n fo r act ivat in g slo w st art is a t im e-o u t d u e t o a m issin g
ackn o wled gem en t. TCP u sin g fast ret ran sm it / fast reco very in terp ret s t h is co n -
gestion in t h e n etwo rk an d activat es t h e slow start m ech an ism .
354 Mobile communicat ions

9.1.4 Implicat ions on mobilit y

W h ile slo w st art is o n e o f t h e m o st u sefu l m ech an ism s in fix ed n et w o rks, it
d rastically d ecreases t h e efficien cy o f TCP if u sed togeth er with m o bile receivers
or sen d ers. Th e reason fo r th is is th e u se of slo w st art u n d er th e wro n g assu m p -
tion s. From a m issin g ackn o wled gem en t , TCP con clu d es a con gestion situ atio n .
W h ile t h is m ay also h ap p en in n etwo rks with m obile an d wireless en d -system s,
it is n o t t h e m ain reaso n for p acket loss.
Erro r rat es o n wireless lin ks are o rd ers o f m agn it u d e h igh er co m p ared t o
fix ed fib er o r co p p er lin ks. Packet lo ss is m u ch m o re co m m o n an d can n o t
always be com p en sat ed for by layer 2 retran sm issio n s (ARQ) o r error correction
(FEC). Tryin g to retran sm it o n layer 2 co u ld , for exam p le, trigger TCP ret ran s-
m issio n if it takes too lo n g. Layer 2 n ow faces th e p ro blem o f tran sm ittin g t h e
sam e p acket t wice o ver a b ad lin k. Detectin g t h ese d u p licates o n layer 2 is n o t
an o p t io n , b eca u se m o re an d m o re co n n ect io n s u se en d -t o -en d en cryp t io n ,
m akin g it im p o ssible to lo ok at t h e p acket.
Mo bility itself can cau se p acket lo ss. Th ere are m an y situ ation s wh ere a so ft
h an d o ver fro m o n e access p o in t t o an o t h er is n o t p o ssib le fo r a m o b ile en d -
system . For exam p le, wh en u sin g m o bile IP, th ere cou ld st ill be som e p ackets in
tran sit to t h e o ld foreign agen t wh ile t h e m obile n o d e m oves to th e n ew fo reign
agen t . Th e o ld fo reign agen t m ay n o t b e ab le to fo rward t h o se p acket s t o t h e
n ew fo reign agen t o r even b u ffer t h e p acket s if d isco n n ect io n o f t h e m o b ile
n o d e t akes to o lo n g. Th is p acket loss h as n o th in g to d o wit h wireless access bu t
is cau sed by th e p ro blem s o f rero u tin g traffic.
Th e TCP m ech an ism d et ect in g m issin g ackn o w led gem en t s via t im e-o u t s
an d co n clu d in g p acket lo ss d u e t o co n gest io n can n o t d istin gu ish bet ween th e
d ifferen t cau ses. Th is is a fu n d am en tal d esign p ro blem in TCP: An erro r co n trol
m ech an ism (m issin g ackn o wled gem en t d u e to a tran sm issio n erro r) is m isu sed
for co n gestio n co n t rol (m issin g ackn o wled gem en t d u e t o n etwo rk overlo ad ). In
b o th cases p acket s are lo st (eit h er d u e t o in valid ch ecksu m s o r t o d ro p p in g in
rou ters). Ho wever, t h e reason s are com p letely d ifferen t. TCP can n o t d istin gu ish
b et w een t h ese t wo d ifferen t reaso n s. Ex p licit co n gest io n n o t ificat io n (EC N )
m ech an ism s are cu rren t ly d iscu ssed an d so m e reco m m en d at io n s h a ve b een
alread y given (RFC 3168, Ram akrish n an , 2001). Ho wever, RFC 3155 (Dawkin s,
20 0 1 b ) st at es t h at ECN can n o t b e u sed as su rro gat e fo r exp licit t ran sm issio n
error n o tificatio n . Stan d ard TCP reacts with slow start if ackn owled gem en t s are
m issin g, wh ich d o es n o t h elp in t h e case o f t ran sm issio n erro rs o ver wireless
lin ks an d wh ich d oes n o t really h elp d u rin g h an d o ver. Th is beh avior resu lts in a
severe p erfo rm an ce d egrad at io n o f an u n ch a n ged TC P if u sed t o get h er w it h
wireless lin ks o r m o bile n od es.
Ho wever, o n e can n o t ch an ge TCP com p let ely ju st to su p p o rt m o b ile u sers
o r wireless lin ks. Th e sam e argu m en t s t h at were given t o keep IP u n ch an ged
also ap p ly to TCP. Th e in stalled base of com p u ters u sin g TCP is t oo large to be
ch an ged an d , m o re im p o rtan t, m ech an ism s su ch as slow start keep th e in tern et
 Mobile t ransport layer 355

op erable. Every en h an cem en t t o TCP, t h erefo re, h as to rem ain co m p atible with
th e stan d ard TCP an d m u st n ot jeo p ard ize th e cau t io u s beh avior o f TCP in case
o f co n gest io n . Th e fo llo win g sect io n s p resen t so m e classical so lu t io n s b efo re
d iscu ssin g cu rren t TCP tu n in g recom m en d atio n s.

9.2 Classical TCP improvement s

To geth er with t h e in tro d u ct io n o f W LANs in t h e m id -n in eties several research

p ro jects were started with th e go al to in crease TCP’s p erform an ce in wireless an d
m o bile en viro n m en ts.

9.2.1 Indirect TCP

Two co m petin g in sigh ts led to th e d evelo p m en t of in d irect TCP (I-TCP) (Bakre,
1995). On e is t h at TCP p erfo rm s p oo rly t ogeth er with wireless lin ks; th e o th er is
t h at TCP wit h in t h e fixed n et wo rk can n o t b e ch an ged . I-TCP segm en t s a TCP
co n n ectio n in to a fix ed p art an d a wireless p art . Figu re 9.1 sh o ws an exam p le
w it h a m o b ile h o st co n n ect ed via a wireless lin k an d an access p o in t t o t h e
‘wired ’ in tern et wh ere th e corresp o n d en t h ost resid es. Th e corresp on d en t n o d e
cou ld also u se wireless access. Th e follo win g wou ld t h en also be ap p lied to t h e
access lin k of t h e co rresp on d en t h o st.
Stan d ard TCP is u sed bet ween th e fixed co m p u ter an d th e access p o in t. No
co m p u t er in t h e in tern et reco gn izes an y ch an ges t o TCP. In st ead of th e m ob ile
h o st , t h e access p o in t n ow term in ates th e stan d ard TCP con n ection , act in g as a
p roxy. Th is m ean s th at th e access p o in t is n o w seen as th e m o bile h o st for t h e
fixed h o st an d as t h e fixed h o st fo r th e m o bile h ost . Bet ween t h e access p o in t
an d t h e m obile h ost, a sp ecial TCP, ad ap t ed t o wireless lin ks, is u sed . Ho wever,
ch an gin g TCP fo r t h e wireless lin k is n o t a req u irem en t . Even an u n ch an ged
TCP can ben efit fro m t h e m u ch sh o rt er ro u n d trip tim e, startin g retran sm ission
m u ch fast er. A go od p lace fo r segm en tin g th e co n n ection b etween m o bile h ost
an d co rresp on d en t h o st is at th e foreign agen t o f m obile IP (see ch ap ter 8). Th e
fo reign agen t co n t ro ls t h e m o b ilit y o f t h e m o b ile h o st an yway an d can also
h an d o ver t h e co n n ect io n t o t h e n ex t fo reign agen t wh en t h e m o b ile h o st

Figure 9.1
Indirect TCP segments
a TCP connection into
Access point two parts
(foreign agent)
Mobile host ,
‘ Wired Internet

‘Wireless’ TCP Standard TCP

356 Mobile communicat ions

m oves on . Ho wever, on e can also im agin e sep aratin g th e TCP con n ect ion s at a
sp ecial server, e.g., at th e en t ry p o in t t o a m o b ile p h o n e n et wo rk (e.g., IW F in
GSM, GGSN in GPRS).
Th e co rresp o n d en t h o st in t h e fixed n et wo rk d o es n o t n o t ice t h e wireless
lin k o r t h e segm en t at io n o f th e co n n ect io n . Th e fo reign agen t act s as a p ro xy
an d relays all d at a in bot h d irectio n s. If t h e corresp o n d en t h ost sen d s a p acket,
th e fo reign agen t ackn o wled ges t h is p acket an d t ries t o fo rward t h e p acket t o
t h e m o b ile h o st . If t h e m o b ile h o st receives t h e p acket , it ackn o wled ges t h e
p acket . Ho wever, t h is ackn o wled gem en t is o n ly u sed b y th e foreign agen t . If a
p acket is lo st o n th e wireless lin k d u e to a tran sm ission error, t h e co rresp on d en t
h o st wo u ld n ot n otice th is. In t h is case, th e fo reign agen t t ries to retran sm it th is
p acket lo cally to m ain tain reliable d ata tran sp o rt.
Sim ilarly, if t h e m o bile h ost sen d s a p acket, t h e foreign agen t ackn owled ges
th is p acket an d t ries t o forward it to th e co rresp on d en t h ost. If th e p acket is lost
on t h e wireless lin k, th e m o bile h o sts n o tice th is m u ch faster d u e t o t h e lower
rou n d t rip t im e an d can d irectly retran sm it t h e p acket. Packet lo ss in th e wired
n etwo rk is n ow h an d led by th e foreign agen t .
I-TCP req u ires several action s as soon as a h an dover takes p lace. As Figu re 9.2
d em o n strates, n ot on ly th e p ackets h ave to be red irected u sin g, e.g., m obile IP. In
th e exam ple sh own , th e access p oin t acts as a p roxy bu fferin g p ackets for retran s-
m issio n . Aft er t h e h an d o ver, t h e o ld p ro xy m u st fo rward b u ffered d at a t o t h e
n ew p roxy becau se it h as alread y ackn owled ged th e d ata. As exp lain ed in ch ap t er
8 , aft er regist rat io n wit h t h e n ew fo reign agen t , t h is n ew fo reign agen t can
in form th e old on e abou t its location to en able packet forward in g. Besid es bu ffer
co n t en t , t h e so ckets o f t h e p ro xy, t o o , m u st m igrat e t o t h e n ew fo reign agen t
located in th e access p oin t. Th e socket reflects th e cu rren t state of th e TCP con -
n ectio n , i.e., seq u en ce n u m ber, ad d resses, p orts et c. No n ew con n ection m ay be
estab lish ed fo r t h e m o b ile h o st , an d t h e co rresp o n d en t h o st m u st n o t see an y
ch an ges in con n ection state.

Figure 9.2
Socket and state
Access point 1
migration after
handover of a mobile
host

Socket migration
and state transfer
Internet

Access point 2

Mobile host
 Mobile t ransport layer 357

Th ere are several ad van tages with I-TCP:

● I-TC P d o es n o t req u ire a n y ch an ges in t h e TC P p ro t o co l a s u sed b y t h e

h o st s in th e fixed n etwo rk or o th er h osts in a wireless n etwork th at do n o t
u se th is op tim izatio n . All cu rren t o p t im ization s fo r TCP st ill work b etween
th e foreign agen t an d th e co rresp on d en t h o st.
● Du e t o th e strict p artition in g in to two co n n ection s, t ran sm ission errors o n
th e wireless lin k, i.e., lost p acket s, can n o t p rop agate in to th e fixed n etwo rk.
W it h o u t p a rt it io n in g, ret ran sm issio n o f lo st p acket s w o u ld t ake p lace
b et ween m o b ile h o st an d co rresp o n d en t h o st acro ss t h e w h o le n et wo rk.
Now o n ly p ackets in seq u en ce, wit h o u t gap s leave th e foreign agen t .
● It is always d an gero u s t o in t ro d u ce n ew m ech an ism s in to a h u ge n et wo rk
su ch as t h e in t ern et wit h o u t kn o w in g ex a ct ly h o w t h ey w ill b eh a ve.
Ho wever, n ew m ech an ism s are n eed ed t o im p ro ve TCP p erfo rm an ce (e.g.,
d isab lin g slo w st art u n d er cert a in circu m st a n ces), b u t w it h I-TCP o n ly
bet ween th e m o b ile h o st an d th e fo reign agen t. Differen t so lu tio n s can be
t est ed o r u sed at t h e sam e t im e wit h o u t jeo p ard izin g t h e st ab ilit y o f t h e
in tern et . Fu rth erm o re, op tim izin g o f th ese n ew m ech an ism s is q u ite sim p le
becau se th ey on ly co ver o n e sin gle h op .
● Th e au t h ors assu m e th at th e sh o rt d elay b etween th e m o bile h ost an d for-
eign agen t co u ld b e d et erm in ed an d w as in d ep en d en t o f o t h er t raffic
stream s. An op t im ized TCP co u ld u se p recise tim e-ou ts to gu aran tee retran s-
m ission as fast as p ossible. Even stan d ard TCP co u ld ben efit fro m th e sh o rt
rou n d trip tim e, so recoverin g faster fro m p acket loss. Delay is m u ch h igh er
in a typ ical wid e area wireless n etwo rk th an in wired n et wo rks d u e to FEC
an d MAC. GSM h as a d elay o f u p t o 100 m s circu it switch ed , 200 m s an d
m ore p acket swit ch ed (d ep en d in g o n p acket size an d cu rren t traffic). Th is is
even h igh er t h an th e d elay on t ran sat lan tic lin ks.
● Partit io n in g in to two co n n ect io n s also allo ws t h e u se o f a d ifferen t t ran s-
p o rt layer p ro t o co l between t h e fo reign agen t an d t h e m o b ile h o st o r t h e
u se of co m pressed h ead ers etc. Th e fo reign agen t can n o w act as a gat eway
to tran slate between th e d ifferen t p rotocols.

Bu t th e idea of segm en tation in I-TCP also com es with so m e d isa d va n t a ges:

● Th e loss of th e en d -t o-en d sem an tics of TCP m igh t cau se p roblem s if th e for-

eign agen t p art it io n in g th e TCP con n ectio n crash es. If a sen d er receives an
ackn owled gem en t, it assu m es th at t h e receiver got th e p acket. Receivin g an
ackn o wled gem en t n o w o n ly m ean s (fo r th e m ob ile h o st an d a co rresp o n -
d en t h o st ) t h at t h e fo reign agen t received t h e p acket . Th e co rresp o n d en t
n o d e d o es n o t kn o w an yt h in g abo u t t h e p artit ion in g, so a crash in g access
n o d e m ay also crash ap p licat io n s ru n n in g o n t h e co rresp o n d en t n o d e
assu m in g reliable en d -to-en d d elivery.
358 Mobile communicat ions

● In p ractical u se, in creased h an d o ver laten cy m ay be m u ch m o re p ro b lem -

atic. All p ackets sen t by th e co rresp o n d en t h ost are bu ffered by th e fo reign
agen t besid es fo rward in g th em to th e m obile h ost (if th e TCP co n n ect io n is
sp lit at t h e fo reign agen t ). Th e fo reign agen t rem o ves a p acket fro m t h e
b u ffer as so o n as t h e ap p ro p riat e ackn o wled gem en t arrives. If t h e m o b ile
h o st n o w p erfo rm s a h an d over t o an o t h er fo reign agen t , it t akes a wh ile
b efo re t h e o ld fo reign agen t can fo rward th e b u ffered d ata t o th e n ew fo r-
eign agen t . Du rin g t h is t im e m o re p acket s m ay arrive. All t h ese p acket s
h ave t o be fo rward ed t o th e n ew fo reign agen t first , before it can start for-
ward in g t h e n ew p ackets redirect ed to it.
● Th e fo reign agen t m u st b e a t ru st ed en t it y b ecau se t h e TCP co n n ect io n s
en d at t h is p o in t . If u sers ap p ly en d -t o -en d en cryp t io n , e.g., acco rd in g
t o RFC 2401 (Ken t , 1998a), t h e fo reign agen t h as t o b e in tegrat ed in t o all
secu rity m ech an ism s.

9.2.2 Snooping TCP

On e o f th e d rawbacks of I-TCP is th e segm en t at io n of t h e sin gle TCP co n n ect ion
in t o two TCP con n ection s. Th is loses t h e o rigin al en d -to -en d TCP sem an tic. Th e
fo llo win g TCP en h an cem en t wo rks com p letely tran sp aren tly an d leaves th e TCP
en d -t o -en d co n n ect io n in t act . Th e m ain fu n ct io n o f t h e en h an cem en t is t o
bu ffer d at a clo se t o th e m obile h o st to p erform fast lo cal retran sm issio n in case
o f p acket lo ss. A go o d p lace fo r t h e en h an cem en t o f TCP co u ld b e th e fo reign
agen t in th e Mo bile IP co n text (see Figu re 9.3).
In t h is ap p ro ach , t h e fo reign a gen t b u ffers all p acket s wit h d est in a t io n
m o b ile h o st an d ad d itio n ally ‘sn oo p s’ th e p acket flow in both d irection s t o rec-
o gn ize ackn o wled gem en ts (Balakrish n an , 1995), (Brewer, 1998). Th e reaso n fo r
bu fferin g p ackets t oward th e m o bile n o d e is to en able th e foreign agen t t o p er-
fo rm a lo cal ret ran sm issio n in case o f p a cket lo ss o n t h e w ireless lin k. Th e
fo reign agen t b u ffers every p acket u n t il it receives an ackn o wled gem en t fro m
th e m o bile h ost. If th e foreign agen t d o es n o t receive an ackn owled gem en t fro m
t h e m o b ile h o st wit h in a cert a in am o u n t o f t im e, eit h er t h e p acket o r t h e
ackn o wled gem en t h as been lost . Altern at ively, th e fo reign agen t co u ld receive a
d u p licat e ACK wh ich also sh o w s t h e lo ss o f a p acket . N o w t h e fo reign agen t

Figure 9.3
Local retransmission Foreign Correspondent
Snooping TCP as a host
agent
transparent TCP
extension
‘Wired’ Internet

Snooping of ACKs Buffering of data

Mobile
host
End-to-end TCP connection
 Mobile t ransport layer 359

ret ran sm it s t h e p a ck et d irect ly fro m t h e b u ffer, p erfo rm in g a m u ch fast er

retran sm ission co m p ared to t h e corresp o n d en t h ost. Th e tim e o u t for ackn o wl-
ed gem en t s can b e m u ch sh o rt er, b ecau se it reflect s o n ly t h e d elay o f o n e h o p
p lu s p ro cessin g tim e.
To rem ain tran sp aren t, th e foreign agen t m u st n ot ackn owled ge d ata t o t h e
co rresp o n d en t h o st. Th is wo u ld m ake t h e co rresp o n d en t h o st b elieve t h at th e
m o bile h ost h ad received t h e d at a an d wou ld violat e t h e en d -to-en d sem an tic in
case o f a fo reign agen t failu re. Ho wever, th e fo reign agen t can filt er th e d u p li-
cat e ackn o wled gem en t s t o avo id u n n ecessary retran sm issio n s o f d ata fro m t h e
co rresp on d en t h o st. If th e foreign agen t n ow crash es, th e t im e-ou t of th e co rre-
sp on d en t h ost still works an d triggers a ret ran sm issio n . Th e fo reign agen t m ay
d iscard d u p licat es o f p ackets alread y retran sm it ted lo cally an d ackn owled ged by
th e m ob ile h o st. Th is avoid s u n n ecessary t raffic on th e wireless lin k.
Data t ran sfer fro m t h e m o b ile h o st wit h d est in a t io n co r resp o n d en t h o st
works as follows. Th e foreign agen t sn oop s in t o th e p acket st ream to d et ect gap s
in th e seq u en ce n u m b ers o f TCP. As soon as th e foreign agen t d etects a m issin g
p acket , it retu rn s a n egative ackn owled gem en t (NACK) to th e m obile h o st. Th e
m o bile h o st can n o w retran sm it t h e m issin g p acket im m ed iately. Reord erin g o f
p acket s is d o n e au tom atically at th e co rresp on d en t h o st by TCP.
Ex t en d in g t h e fu n ct io n s o f a fo reign agen t w it h a ‘sn o o p in g’ TC P h as
several a d va n t a ges:

● Th e en d -to -en d TCP sem an tic is p reserved . No m atter at wh at tim e t h e fo r-

eign agen t crash es (if t h is is t h e lo ca t io n o f t h e b u fferin g an d sn o o p in g
m ech an ism s), n eith er t h e corresp on d en t h ost n or th e m obile h ost h ave an
in co n sist en t vie w o f t h e TC P co n n ect io n a s is p o ssib le w it h I-TC P. Th e
ap p ro ach a u t o m at ically falls b ack t o st an d ard TC P if t h e en h an cem en t s
st op workin g.
● Th e co rresp on d en t h ost d o es n ot n eed to be ch an ged ; m o st o f th e en h an ce-
m en ts are in th e fo reign agen t . Su p p o rtin g on ly th e p acket stream from t h e
corresp o n d en t h o st t o th e m o bile h o st d oes n ot even req u ire ch an ges in t h e
m o bile h ost .
● It d o es n o t n eed a h an d o ver o f st at e as so o n as th e m o bile h o st m o ves t o
an o t h er fo reign agen t . Assu m e t h ere m igh t st ill b e d at a in t h e b u ffer n o t
tran sferred to t h e n ext fo reign agen t. All th at h ap p en s is a tim e-o u t at t h e
co rresp o n d en t h o st an d ret ran sm issio n o f t h e p acket s, p o ssib ly alread y t o
th e n ew care-of ad d ress.
● It d o es n o t m atter if th e n ext foreign agen t u ses th e en h an cem en t or n o t. If
n ot , th e ap p ro ach au tom atically falls back t o th e st an d ard so lu tion . Th is is
o n e of t h e p ro blem s o f I-TCP, sin ce th e old foreign agen t m ay h ave alread y
sign aled th e correct receip t of d ata via ackn owled gem en ts to th e co rresp on -
d en t h ost an d n o w h as t o t ran sfer th ese p acket s to th e m obile h ost via t h e
n ew fo reign agen t .
360 Mobile communicat ions

However, th e sim p licity of th e sch em e also resu lts in som e d isa d v a n t a ges:

● Sn oo p in g TCP d oes n ot isolat e th e beh avior o f th e wireless lin k as well as I-

TCP. Assu m e, fo r exam p le, th at it t akes so m e t im e u n t il th e fo reign agen t
can su ccessfu lly retran sm it a p acket from it s bu ffer d u e to p ro blem s on t h e
w ireless lin k (co n gest io n , in terferen ce). Alt h o u gh t h e t im e-o u t in t h e fo r-
eign agen t m ay b e m u ch sh o rter th an th e o n e o f th e co rresp o n d en t h o st ,
aft er a w h ile t h e t im e-o u t in t h e co rresp o n d en t h o st t riggers a ret ran s-
m ission . Th e p roblem s on th e wireless lin k are n o w also visible for th e co r-
resp on d en t h o st an d n o t fu lly isolat ed . Th e q u ality o f t h e iso lation , wh ich
sn o o p in g TCP o ffers, st ro n gly d ep en d s o n th e q u ality o f t h e wireless lin k,
tim e-o u t valu es, an d fu rth er traffic ch aracteristics. It is p ro blem at ic t h at t h e
w ireless lin k exh ib it s very h igh d elays co m p ared t o t h e wired lin k d u e t o
error correction on layer 2 (facto r 10 an d m o re h igh er). Th is is sim ilar to I-
TC P. If t h is is t h e case, t h e t im ers in t h e fo reign agen t a n d t h e
co rresp on d en t h ost are alm o st eq u al an d th e ap p ro ach is alm o st in effective.
● U sin g n egat ive ackn o w led gem en t s b et w een t h e fo reign a gen t an d t h e
m o b ile h o st a ssu m es ad d it io n al m ech an ism s o n t h e m o b ile h o st . Th is
ap p ro ach is n o lo n ger t ran sp aren t for arbit rary m o bile h osts.
● All effort s for sn o op in g an d bu fferin g d ata m ay be u seless if certain en cryp -
tio n sch em es are ap p lied en d -t o -en d b et ween t h e co rresp o n d en t h o st an d
m o b ile h o st . Usin g IP en cap su lat io n secu rit y p aylo ad (RFC 2 4 0 6 , (Ken t ,
1 9 9 8 b )) t h e TC P p ro t o co l h ead er w ill b e en cryp t ed – sn o o p in g o n t h e
seq u en ce n u m bers will n o lo n ger wo rk. Ret ran sm it t in g d at a fro m th e fo r-
eign agen t m ay n o t wo rk b ecau se m an y secu rit y sch em es p reven t rep lay
at t acks – ret ran sm itt in g d ata from th e foreign agen t m ay be m isin terp reted
as rep lay. En cryp tin g en d -to -en d is th e way m an y ap p licatio n s wo rk so it is
n o t clear h o w th is sch em e co u ld be u sed in t h e fu tu re. If en cryp tion is u sed
ab o ve th e t ran sp ort layer (e.g., SSL/ TLS) sn o op in g TCP can be u sed .

9.2.3 Mobile TCP

Dro p p in g p acket s d u e t o a h an d o ver o r h igh er b it erro r rat es is n o t t h e o n ly
p h en o m en o n of wireless lin ks an d m o bilit y – th e occu rren ce o f len gth y an d / o r
freq u en t d isco n n ect io n s is an o t h er p ro b lem . Q u it e o ften m o b ile u sers can n o t
co n n e ct at all. O n e ex am p le is islan d s o f wireless LANs in sid e b u ild in gs b u t
n o co verage o f th e wh o le cam p u s. W h at h ap p en s to stan d ard TCP in th e case
of d isco n n ectio n ?
A TCP sen d er tries to retran sm it d ata co n tro lled b y a ret ran sm ission tim er
th at d o u bles with each u n su ccessfu l retran sm ission att em p t, u p to a m axim u m
o f o n e m in u t e (t h e in it ial valu e d ep en d s o n th e ro u n d t rip t im e). Th is m ean s
th at t h e sen d er tries to retran sm it an u n ackn owled ged p acket every m in u t e an d
will give u p aft er 12 ret ran sm ission s. W h at h ap p en s if con n ectivit y is back ear-
 Mobile t ransport layer 361

lier t h an t h is? No d at a is su ccessfu lly t ran sm it t ed fo r a p erio d o f o n e m in u t e!

Th e ret ran sm ission t im e-o u t is still valid an d t h e sen d er h as to wait. Th e sen d er
also go es in to slo w-start becau se it assu m es co n gest io n .
W h at h ap p en s in th e case of I-TCP if t h e m o bile is d isco n n ected ? Th e p ro xy
h as t o b u ffer m o re an d m o re d ata, so t h e lo n ger th e p erio d o f d isco n n ect io n ,
t h e m o re bu ffer is n eed ed . If a h an d o ver fo llo ws t h e d isco n n ect io n , wh ich is
typ ical, even m o re st at e h as t o b e t ran sferred t o th e n ew p ro xy. Th e sn o o p in g
ap p ro ach also su ffers fro m b ein g d isco n n ect ed . Th e m o b ile will n o t be able t o
sen d ACKs so, sn o op in g can n ot h elp in th is situ atio n .
Th e M -TCP (m o b i le TC P) 1 ap p ro a ch h as t h e sam e go als a s I-TC P an d
sn oo p in g TCP: t o p reven t th e sen d er win d ow fro m sh rin kin g if bit erro rs o r d is-
co n n ect io n b u t n o t co n gest io n cau se cu rren t p ro b lem s. M -TC P wan t s t o
im p rove overall th ro u gh p u t, t o lower th e d elay, t o m ain t ain en d -t o-en d sem an -
t ics o f TCP, an d t o p ro vid e a m o re efficien t h an d o ver. Ad d it io n ally, M-TCP is
esp ecially ad ap ted t o th e p roblem s arisin g from len gth y or freq u en t d iscon n ec-
tio n s (Brown , 1997).
M-TCP sp lit s th e TCP con n ection in to two p art s as I-TCP d o es. An u n m od i-
fied TCP is u sed on t h e stan d ard h ost-su p er viso r y h o st (SH ) con n ectio n , wh ile
an o p t im ized TCP is u sed o n t h e SH-MH co n n ect io n . Th e su p erviso ry h o st is
resp o n sib le fo r exch a n gin g d at a b et ween b o th p art s sim ilar t o t h e p ro xy in I-
TCP (see Figu re 9.1). Th e M-TCP ap p ro ach assu m es a relat ively lo w bit error rate
o n t h e wireless lin k. Th erefo re, it d o es n o t p erfo rm cach in g/ ret ran sm issio n o f
d ata via th e SH. If a p acket is lo st on t h e wireless lin k, it h as to be retran sm itted
by th e o rigin al sen d er. Th is m ain tain s th e TCP en d -to -en d sem an tics.
Th e SH m o n it o rs all p acket s sen t t o t h e MH an d ACKs ret u rn ed fro m t h e
MH. If th e SH d oes n o t receive an ACK for som e tim e, it assu m es th at th e MH is
d iscon n ected . It th en ch okes th e sen d er by sett in g th e sen d er’s win dow size t o 0.
Sett in g th e win d ow size to 0 fo rces t h e sen d er to go in to p ersist en t m o d e, i.e.,
th e state of t h e sen d er will n ot ch an ge n o m atter h ow lon g th e receiver is d iscon -
n ected . Th is m ean s th at th e sen d er will n ot try to retran sm it d ata. As soon as th e
SH (eit h er t h e o ld SH o r a n ew SH) d et ect s co n n ect ivit y again , it reo p en s t h e
win d ow of th e sen d er to th e old valu e. Th e sen der can con tin u e sen d in g at fu ll
sp eed . Th is m ech an ism d oes n ot req u ire ch an ges to th e sen d er’s TCP.
Th e wireless sid e u ses an ad ap t ed TCP t h at can reco ver fro m p acket lo ss
m u ch fast er. Th is m o d ified TCP d o es n o t u se slo w start , t h u s, M -TCP n eed s a
b a n d w id t h m a n a ger to im p lem en t fair sh arin g over th e wireless lin k.
Th e a d v a n t a ges o f M-TCP are t h e fo llo win g:

● It m ain tain s th e TCP en d -t o-en d sem an tics. Th e SH d oes n ot sen d an y ACK

itself bu t fo rward s th e ACKs from th e MH.
● If th e MH is d isco n n ect ed , it avo id s u seless ret ran sm issio n s, slo w starts o r
breakin g con n ect ion s by sim p ly sh rin kin g th e sen d er’s win d ow to 0.

1 Th e read er sh o u ld be aware t h at m ob ile TCP d o es n o t h ave t h e sam e st at u s as m obile IP, wh ich is an

in t ern et RFC.
362 Mobile communicat ions

● Sin ce it d o es n ot bu ffer d ata in th e SH as I-TCP d oes, it is n ot n ecessary t o

fo rward bu ffers to a n ew SH. Lo st p ackets will be au t om atically retran sm it-
ted t o th e n ew SH.

Th e lack o f b u ffers an d ch an gin g TC P o n t h e wireless p a rt also h as

som e d isa d v a n t ages:

● As th e SH d o es n ot act as p roxy as in I-TCP, p acket lo ss on th e wireless lin k

d u e t o b it erro rs is p ro p agat ed t o t h e sen d er. M-TCP assu m es lo w b it erro r
rates, wh ich is n ot always a valid assu m p t ion .
● A m o d ified TC P o n t h e w ireless lin k n o t o n ly req u ires m o d ifica t io n s t o
t h e M H p ro t o co l so ft wa re b u t a lso n ew n et wo rk elem en t s like t h e
b an d wid th m an ager.

9.2.4 Fast retransmit / fast recovery

As d escribed in section 9.1.4, m ovin g to a n ew foreign agen t can cau se packet loss
or tim e ou t at m obile h osts or correspon din g h osts. TCP con clu des con gestion an d
goes in to slow start, alth o u gh t h ere is n o con gestion . Sect io n 9.1.3 sh o wed t h e
m ech an ism s of fast recovery/ fast retran sm it a h ost can u se after receivin g d up licate
ackn o wledgem en ts, th us con clu din g a packet loss with out con gestion .
Th e id ea p resen ted by Caceres (1995) is to artificially force th e fast retran sm it
beh avior on th e m obile h ost an d corresp on d en t h ost sid e. As soon as th e m obile
h ost registers at a n ew foreign agen t u sin g m obile IP, it starts sen d in g d u p licated
ackn o wled gem en ts to co rresp on d en t h osts. Th e p ro p osal is to sen d th ree d u p li-
cates. Th is forces th e corresp on din g h ost to go in to fast retran sm it m od e an d n ot
to start slow start , i.e., th e corresp on d en t h o st co n tin u es to sen d with th e sam e
rate it d id before th e m obile h ost m oved to an oth er foreign agen t.
As t h e m o b ile h o st m ay also go in t o slo w st art after m o vin g t o a n ew fo r-
eign agen t, t h is ap p ro ach add ition ally p u ts t h e m o bile h ost in to fast ret ran sm it.
Th e m o bile h ost retran sm its all u n ackn o wled ged p ackets u sin g th e cu rren t co n -
gestio n win d o w size with o u t go in g in to slow st art.
Th e a d v a n t age of th is ap p ro ach is it s sim p licity. O n ly m in o r ch an ges in th e
m o b ile h o st ’s so ft w are a lread y resu lt in a p erfo rm an ce in crease. N o fo reign
agen t or corresp on d en t h o st h as to be ch an ged .
Th e m ain d isa d v a n t age of t h is sch em e is th e in su fficien t isolat ion o f p acket
lo sses. Fo rcin g fast ret ran sm issio n in creases t h e efficien cy, b u t ret ran sm it t ed
p acket s st ill h ave t o cro ss t h e wh o le n etwo rk between co rresp o n d en t h o st an d
m ob ile h ost. If th e h an d o ver fro m o n e foreign agen t t o an o th er takes a lo n ger
t im e, t h e co rresp o n d en t h o st w ill h ave alrea d y st a rt ed ret ran sm issio n . Th e
ap p ro ach fo cu ses o n lo ss d u e to h an d o ver: p acket loss d u e to p rob lem s o n t h e
w irele ss lin k is n o t co n sid ered . Th is ap p ro a ch req u ires m o re co o p erat io n
b et ween th e m o bile IP an d TCP layer m akin g it h ard er t o ch an ge o n e with o u t
in flu en cin g th e oth er.
 Mobile t ransport layer 363

9.2.5 Transmission/ t ime-out freezing

W h ile t h e ap p roach es p resen ted so far can h an d le sh ort in terru p tion s of th e con -
n ect ion , eit h er d u e to h an dover or tran sm ission errors on th e wireless lin k, som e
were d esign ed fo r lo n ger in terru p tio n s of t ran sm ission . Exam p les are t h e u se of
m obile h osts in a car d rivin g in to a t u n n el, wh ich loses its con n ection to, e.g., a
satellite (h owever, m an y tu n n els an d su bways p rovide con n ectivity via a m obile
p h on e), o r a u ser m o vin g in to a cell wit h n o cap acity left o ver. In th is case, t h e
m o b ile p h o n e syst em will in terru p t th e co n n ectio n . Th e reactio n o f TCP, even
with th e en h an cem en ts of above, wou ld be a d iscon n ection after a tim e o u t.
Q u it e o ft en , t h e M AC la yer h as a lread y n o t iced co n n ect io n p ro b lem s,
b efo re t h e co n n ect io n is act u a lly in t erru p t ed fro m a TC P p o in t o f view.
Ad d itio n ally, th e MAC layer kn o ws th e real reason fo r t h e in terru p tion an d d o es
n o t assu m e con gestio n , as TCP wo u ld . Th e MAC layer can in fo rm th e TCP layer
of an u p com in g lo ss o f con n ection o r th at th e cu rren t in terru p tion is n ot cau sed
by co n gest io n . TCP can n o w sto p sen d in g an d ‘freezes’ t h e cu rren t st at e o f it s
co n gest ion win d ow an d fu rth er tim ers. If t h e MAC layer n otices th e u p com in g
in t erru p t io n early en o u gh , b o t h t h e m o b ile an d co rresp o n d en t h o st can b e
in fo rm ed . With a fast in terru p t io n o f th e wireless lin k, ad d ition al m ech an ism s
in t h e access p o in t are n eed ed to in fo rm th e corresp o n d en t h o st o f th e reaso n
for in terru p tion . Oth erwise, th e co rresp on d en t h ost go es in to slo w st art assu m -
in g con gestion an d fin ally breaks th e co n n ection .
As so o n as th e MAC layer d etects con n ectivity again , it sign als TCP t h at it
can resu m e o p erat io n at ex act ly t h e sam e p o in t w h ere it h ad b een fo rced t o
stop . Fo r TCP t im e sim p ly d oes n ot ad van ce, so n o tim ers exp ire.
Th e a d v a n t a ge o f t h is ap p roach is th at it offers a way to resu m e TCP co n -
n ection s even after lo n ger in terru p tio n s o f th e con n ection . It is in d ep en d en t of
an y o th er TCP m ech an ism , su ch as ackn owled gem en ts o r seq u en ce n u m bers, so
it can b e u sed t o get h er wit h en cryp t ed d at a. H o wever, t h is sch em e h as so m e
severe d isa d va n t a ges. No t o n ly d o es th e so ftware on th e m obile h ost h ave to be
ch an ged , t o b e m o re effect ive t h e co rresp o n d en t h o st ca n n o t rem a in
u n ch an ged . All m ech an ism s rely o n t h e cap abilit y o f t h e MAC layer to d etect
fu t u re in t erru p t io n s. Freezin g t h e st at e o f TCP d o es n o t h elp in case o f so m e
en cryp t io n sch em es t h at u se t im e-d ep en d en t ran d o m n u m bers. Th ese sch em es
n eed resyn ch ron izatio n after in terru p tion .

9.2.6 Select ive ret ransmission

A very u sefu l ex t en sio n o f TC P is t h e u se o f select ive ret ran sm issio n . TC P
ackn o wled gem en t s a re cu m u lat ive, i.e., t h ey ackn o wled ge in -o rd er receip t o f
p ackets u p t o a certain p acket. If a sin gle p acket is lost, t h e sen d er h as t o retran s-
m it everyt h in g st art in g fro m t h e lo st p acket (go -b ack-n ret ran sm issio n ). Th is
o b vio u sly wast es b an d wid t h , n o t ju st in th e case o f a m o bile n etwo rk, bu t fo r
an y n et w o rk (p art icu larly t h o se w it h a h igh p a t h cap acit y, i.e., b an d w id t h -
d elay-p rod u ct).
364 Mobile communicat ions

Usin g RFC 2018 (Math is, 1996), TCP can in d irectly requ est a selective retran s-
m issio n of p ackets. Th e receiver can ackn owled ge sin gle p ackets, n ot on ly train s
of in -seq u en ce p ackets. Th e sen d er can n ow d eterm in e p recisely wh ich p acket is
n eeded an d can retran sm it it.
Th e a d v a n t a ge o f t h is ap p ro ach is o bvio u s: a sen d er ret ran sm it s o n ly t h e
lo st p acket s. Th is lo wers b an d wid t h req u irem en t s an d is ext rem ely h elp fu l in
slo w wireless lin ks. Th e gain in efficien cy is n o t restricted to wireless lin ks an d
m o b ile en viro n m en t s. Usin g select ive ret ran sm issio n is also b en eficial in all
oth er n etworks. Ho wever, th ere m igh t be th e m in or d isa d v a n t a ge o f m ore com -
p lex so ft ware o n t h e receiver sid e, b ecau se n o w m o re b u ffer is n ecessary t o
reseq u en ce d at a an d t o wait fo r gap s t o b e filled . Bu t wh ile m em o ry sizes an d
C PU p erfo rm a n ce p erm an en t ly in crea se, t h e b an d wid t h o f t h e air in t erface
rem ain s alm ost th e sam e. Th erefo re, t h e h igh er com p lexity is n o real d isad van -
tage an y lon ger as it was in th e early d ays o f TCP.

9.2.7 Transact ion-orient ed TCP

Assu m e an app lication ru n n in g on th e m obile h ost th at sen ds a sh ort req u est to a
server from tim e to tim e, wh ich resp on d s with a sh ort m essage. If th e app lication
req u ires reliable t ran sp o rt o f t h e p ackets, it m ay u se TCP (m an y ap p licatio n s of
th is kin d use UDP an d solve reliability on a h igh er, app lication -orien ted layer).
Usin g TCP n o w req u ires several p acket s o ver t h e wireless lin k. First , TCP
u ses a th ree-way h an d sh ake to establish t h e co n n ectio n . At least on e ad d itio n al
p acket is u su ally n eed ed for t ran sm ission of th e req u est, an d req u ires th ree m ore
p acket s to clo se th e co n n ectio n via a th ree-way h an d sh ake. Assu m in g co n n ec-
tion s with a lo t o f t raffic or with a lo n g d u ration , th is overh ead is m in im al. Bu t
in an exam p le of o n ly on e d ata p acket, TCP m ay n eed seven p ackets alto get h er.
Figu re 9.4 sh o ws an exam p le fo r t h e o verh ead in t ro d u ced b y u sin g TCP o ver
GPRS in a web scen ario . Web services are b ased on HTTP wh ich req u ires a reli-
ab le t ran sp o rt syst em . In t h e in t ern et , TCP is u sed fo r t h is p u rp o se. Befo re a

Figure 9.4 Client Server

Example TCP connection TCP SYN
setup overhead
TCP SYN/ ACK Connection
TCP ACK setup

HTTP request
Data
HTTP response transmission

> 15 s
no data
GPRS: 500 ms!
Connection
release
 Mobile t ransport layer 365

HTTP req u est can be tran sm itted th e TCP co n n ect io n h as to be establish ed . Th is

alread y req u ires th ree m essages. If GPRS is u sed as wid e area t ran sp o rt syst em ,
on e-way d elays of 500 m s an d m o re are q u ite co m m on . Th e setu p of a TCP co n -
n ection alread y t akes far m ore th an a seco n d .
Th is led t o t h e d evelo p m en t o f a t ran sact io n -o rien t ed TCP (T/ TC P, RFC
1644 (Brad en , 1994)). T/ TCP can co m bin e p ackets for co n n ect io n establish m en t
an d co n n ectio n release wit h u ser d at a p ackets. Th is can red u ce t h e n u m ber o f
p ackets d own to t wo in stead of seven . Sim ilar con sid eratio n s led to th e d evelo p -
m en t of a tran sact ion service in WAP (see ch ap t er 10).
Th e o bviou s a d v a n t a ge fo r certain ap p lication s is th e red u ction in th e over-
h ea d w h ich st an d ard TC P h a s fo r co n n ect io n set u p a n d co n n ect io n release.
However, T/ TCP is n o t th e origin al TCP an ym ore, so it req u ires ch an ges in t h e
m o bile h o st an d all co rresp o n d en t h o sts, wh ich is a m ajo r d isa d v a n t a ge. Th is
so lu tion n o lon ger h id es m obilit y. Fu rth erm ore, T/ TCP exh ibits several secu rit y
p ro blem s (d e Vivo, 1999).

Table 9.1 Overview of

Approach Mechanism Advant ages Disadvant ages classical enhancements
to TCP for mobility
Indirect TCP Splits TCP Isolation of wireless Loss of TCP semantics,
connection into link, simple higher latency at
two connections handover, security
problems
Snooping TCP Snoops data and Transparent for Insufficient isolation of
acknowledgements, end-to-end wireless link, security
local retransmission connection, MAC problems
integration possible
M-TCP Splits TCP Maintains end-to-end Bad isolation of
connection, chokes semantics, handles wireless link,
sender via window long term and processing overhead
size frequent due to bandwidth
disconnections management, security
problems
Fast retransmit/ Avoids slow-start Simple and Mixed layers, not
fast recovery after roaming efficient transparent
Transmission/ Freezes TCP state Independent of Changes in TCP
time-out freezing at disconnection, content, works for required, MAC
resumes after longer interruptions dependent
reconnection
Select ive Retransmits only Very efficient Slightly more complex
ret ransmission lost data receiver software, more
buffer space needed
Transact ion- Combines connection Efficient for certain Changes in TCP required,
orient ed TCP setup/ release and applications not transparent,
data transmission security problems
366 Mobile communicat ions

Table 9.1 sh o ws an overview of t h e classical m ech an ism s p resen ted togeth er

with som e ad van t ages an d d isad van tages. Th e app roach es are n ot all exclu sive,
b u t can b e co m b in ed . Select ive ret ra n sm issio n , fo r ex am p le, can b e u sed
togeth er with t h e o th ers an d can even b e ap p lied to fixed n etwo rks.
An ad d it io n al sch em e t h at can b e u sed to red u ce TCP o verh ead is h ea d er
co m p ressio n (Degerm ark, 1997). Usin g t u n n elin g sch em es as in m obile IP (see
sectio n 8.1) togeth er with TCP, resu lt s in p ro tocol h ead ers o f 60 b yte in case o f
IPv4 an d 100 byt e fo r IPv6 d u e to t h e larger ad d resses. Man y field s in th e IP an d
TCP h ead er rem ain u n ch an ged fo r every p acket. On ly ju st tran sm it tin g th e d if-
feren ces is o ft en su fficien t . Esp ecially d elay sen sit ive ap p licat io n s like, e.g.,
in t era ct ive ga m es, wh ich h ave sm all p a cket s b en efit fro m sm all h ead ers.
Ho wever, h ead er co m p ressio n exp erien ces d ifficu lt ies wh en erro r rates are h igh
d u e to th e lo ss o f t h e com m o n con text between sen d er an d receiver.
With th e n ew p ossib ilities of wireless wid e area n etworks (W WAN) an d th eir
t rem en d o u s su ccess, t h e fo cu s o f research h as sh ift ed m o re an d m o re t o ward s
th ese 2.5G/ 3G n etworks. Up to n o w th ere are n o fin al so lu tion s to th e p ro blem s
arisin g wh en TCP is u sed in W WANs. Ho wever, som e gu id elin es d o exist.

9.3 TCP over 2.5/ 3G wireless net works

Th e cu rren t in t ern et d raft fo r TCP o ver 2 .5G/ 3G wireless n et wo rks (In am u ra,
2002) d escrib es a p ro file fo r o p tim izin g TCP o ver tod ay’s an d t o m o rro w’s wire-
less WANs su ch a s GSM / GPRS, UMTS, o r cd m a2 0 0 0 . Th e co n figu rat io n
o p t im izatio n s recom m en d ed in t h is d raft can be fou n d in m o st o f t od ay’s TCP
im p lem en t at io n s so t h is d raft d o es n o t req u ire an u p d at e o f m illio n s o f TC P
st acks. Th e fo cu s o n 2 .5 G / 3 G fo r t ran sp o rt o f in t ern et d at a is im p o rt an t as
alread y m ore th an 1 b illion p eop le u se m obile p h on es an d it is obviou s th at th e
m o bile p h on e system s will also be u sed to t ran sp ort arbitrary in tern et d ata.
Th e fo llo win g ch aract erist ics h ave to be co n sid ered wh en d ep lo yin g ap p li-
cation s over 2.5G/ 3G wireless lin ks:

● D a t a ra t es: W h ile t yp ical d at a rat es o f to d ay’s 2.5G syst em s are 10–20 kbit / s
u p lin k an d 20–50 kbit/ s d own lin k, 3G an d fu tu re 2.5G system s will in it ially
o ffer d at a ra t es aro u n d 6 4 kb it / s u p lin k a n d 1 1 5 –3 8 4 kb it / s d o w n lin k.
Typ ically, d at a rat es are asym m et ric as it is exp ect ed t h at u sers will d o wn -
lo ad m ore d ata co m p ared to u p lo ad in g. Up load in g is lim ited by th e lim ited
b att ery p ower. In cellu lar n etwo rks, asym m etry d o es n o t exceed 3–6 tim es,
h o wever, co n sid erin g b ro ad cast syst em s as ad d it io n al d ist rib u t io n m ed ia
(d igit al rad io , sat ellit e syst em s), asym m et ry m ay reach a fact o r o f 1 ,0 00 .
Serio u s p rob lem s t h at m ay red u ce th ro u gh p u t d ram atically are b an d wid th
o scillat io n s d u e t o d yn a m ic reso u rce sh a rin g. To su p p o rt m u lt ip le u sers
 Mobile t ransport layer 367

with in a rad io cell, a sch ed u ler m ay h ave to rep eated ly allocate an d d eallo-
cat e reso u rces fo r ea ch u ser. Th is m ay lead t o a p erio d ic a llo cat io n an d
release of a h igh -sp eed ch an n el.
● La t en cy : All wireless syst em s com p rise elabo rated algorit h m s for error co r-
rect io n an d p ro t ect io n , su ch as fo rw ard erro r co rrect io n (FEC ), ch eck
su m m in g, an d in t erleavin g. FEC an d in t erleavin g let t h e ro u n d t rip t im e
(RTT) gro w to several h u n d red m illiseco n d s u p t o so m e seco n d s. Th e cu r-
ren t GPRS stan d ard sp ecifies an average d elay of less t h an two secon d s fo r
th e t ran sp ort class with th e h igh est q u alit y (see ch ap ter 4).
● Jit t er : Wireless syst em s su ffer fro m large d elay variatio n s o r ‘d elay sp ikes’.
Reason s for su d den in crease in th e laten cy are: lin k ou tages d u e to tem p oral
lo ss o f rad io co verage, b lo ckin g d u e t o h igh -p rio rit y t raffic, o r h an d o vers.
Han d overs are q u ite often on ly virtu ally seam less with outages reach in g from
so m e 10 m s (h a n d o ver in GSM syst em s) t o several seco n d s (in t ersyst em
h an d o ver, e.g., fro m a W LAN to a cellu lar system u sin g Mo bile IP with o u t
u sin g ad d it io n al m ech an ism s su ch as m u lt icast in g d at a t o m u lt ip le
access poin ts).
● Pa ck et lo ss: Packets m igh t b e lo st d u rin g h an d overs o r d u e to co rru p t io n .
Th an ks to lin k-level ret ran sm issio n s t h e lo ss rates of 2.5G/ 3G syst em s d u e
to corru p t ion are relat ively lo w (bu t still ord ers of m agn it u d e h igh er th an ,
e.g., fiber con n ectio n s!). Ho wever, reco very at th e lin k layer ap p ears as jitt er
to t h e h igh er layers.

Based o n th ese ch aract eristics, (In am u ra, 2002) su ggests t h e fo llowin g con -
figu ratio n p a ra m et er s to ad ap t TCP to wireless en viro n m en ts:

● La r ge w in d o w s: TCP sh ou ld su p p o rt large en o u gh win d o w sizes b ased o n

t h e b an d wid t h d elay p ro d u ct ex p erien ced in w ireless syst em s. W it h t h e
h elp of th e win d o ws scale o p tio n (RFC 1323) an d larger bu ffer sizes th is can
be accom p lish ed (typ ical bu ffer size settin gs o f 16 kbyt e are n o t en o u gh ). A
larger in it ial win d o w (m o re t h an t h e t yp ical o n e segm en t ) o f 2 t o 4 seg-
m en ts m ay in crease p erform an ce p articu larly for sh ort tran sm ission s (a few
segm en t s in t ot al).
● Lim it ed t ra n sm it : Th is m ech an ism , d efin ed in RFC 3042 (Allm an , 2001) is
an ext en sio n o f Fast Ret ran sm issio n / Fast Reco very (Caceres, 1 99 5) an d is
p articu larly u sefu l wh en sm all am ou n t s o f d at a are to be tran sm itt ed (stan -
d ard for, e.g., web service req u ests).
● La rge M TU: Th e larger th e MTU (Maxim u m Tran sfer Un it) t h e faster TCP
in crea ses t h e co n gest io n w in d o w. Lin k layers fragm en t PDUs fo r t ran s-
m issio n an yway acco rd in g t o t h eir n eed s an d large M TUs m ay be u sed t o
in crease p erfo rm an ce. MTU p ath d isco very accord in g to RFC 1191 (IPv4) o r
RFC 1981 (IPv6) sh o u ld be u sed t o em p lo y larger segm en t sizes in st ead o f
assu m in g th e sm all d efau lt MTU.
368 Mobile communicat ions

● Select iv e Ack n o w led gem en t (SACK): SACK (RFC 2018) allo ws th e selective
retran sm issio n o f p acket s an d is alm o st always b en eficial co m p ared to th e
st an d ard cu m u lat ive sch em e.
● Ex p l ic it C o n g est i o n No t ific a t io n (EC N ): ECN as d efin ed in RFC 3 1 6 8
(Ram akrish n an , 2001) allows a receiver to in form a sen d er o f con gestion in
th e n etwork by settin g t h e ECN-Ech o flag o n receivin g an IP p acket th at h as
ex p erien ced co n gest io n . Th is m ech an ism m akes it easier t o d ist in gu ish
p acket lo ss d u e to t ran sm issio n erro rs fro m p acket lo ss d u e t o co n gest io n .
However, th is can on ly be ach ieved wh en ECN cap able ro u ters are d ep loyed
in th e n etwo rk.
● Tim est a m p : TCP con n ectio n s with large win d o ws m ay ben efit fro m m o re
freq u en t RTT sam p les p ro vid ed wit h t im est am p s b y ad ap t in g q u icker t o
ch an gin g n et wo rk co n d it io n s. W it h t h e h elp o f t im est am p s h igh er d elay
sp ikes can b e t o lerat ed b y TCP wit h o u t ex p erien cin g a sp u rio u s t im eo u t .
Th e effect o f ban d wid th o scillation is also red u ced.
● N o h e a d e r c o m p r essi o n : As t h e TC P h ead er co m p ressio n m ech an ism
acco rd in g t o RFC 1 1 4 4 d o es n o t p erfo rm well in t h e p resen ce o f p acket
lo sses t h is m ech an ism sh o u ld n o t b e u sed . Head er co m p ressio n accord in g
to RFC 2507 or RFC 1144 is n ot com p atible wit h TCP o p tio n s su ch as SACK
o r tim estam p s.

It is im p ortan t to n ot e th at alth ou gh th ese recom m en d at io n s are still at t h e

d raft-stage, th ey are alread y u sed in i-m od e ru n n in g over FOMA as d ep lo yed in
Jap an an d are p art o f th e WAP 2.0 stan d ard (aka TCP wit h wireless p ro file).

9.4 Perf ormance enhancing proxies

RFC 3 135 ‘Perfo rm an ce En h an cin g Pro x ies In t en d ed t o Mit igat e Lin k-Relat ed
Degrad atio n s’ lists m an y p ro xy arch itectu res th at can also be ben eficial for wire-
less an d m o b ile in tern et access (Bo rd er, 2001). So m e in it ial p ro xy ap p ro ach es,
su ch as sn o o p in g TCP an d in d irect TCP h ave alread y b een d iscu ssed . In p rin -
cip le, p roxies can be p laced o n an y layer in a co m m u n icat io n system . However,
th e ap p ro ach es d iscu ssed in RFC 3135 are lo cat ed in t h e t ran sp ort an d ap p lica-
tion layer. On e o f th e key featu res of a p ro xy is it s tran sp aren cy wit h resp ect t o
th e en d system s, th e ap p licat io n s an d t h e u sers.
Tran sp o rt layer p ro xies are t yp ically u sed fo r lo cal ret ran sm issio n s, lo cal
ackn o wled gem en t s, TCP ackn o wled gem en t filt erin g o r ackn o wled gem en t
h an d lin g in gen eral. Ap p lication level p roxies can be u sed fo r con ten t filterin g,
co n t en t-aware co m p ressio n , p ict u re d o wn scalin g et c. Pro m in en t exam p les are
in tern et/WAP gateways m akin g at least som e of th e stan dard web con ten t access-
ible from WAP d evices (see ch ap ter 10). Figu re 9.5 sh ows th e gen eral arch it ectu re
of a wireless system con n ected via a p roxy with th e in tern et.
 Mobile t ransport layer 369

Figure 9.5
Mobile Communication Performance enhancing
PEP Internet
system partner proxy
wireless

However, all p roxies sh are a com m on p roblem as th ey break th e en d -to-en d

sem an tics of a con n ection . Accordin g to RFC 3135, th e m ost d etrim en tal n egative
im p licatio n o f breakin g th e en d -t o -en d sem an tics is t h at it d isab les en d -to-en d
u se of IP secu rity (RFC 2401). Usin g IP secu rit y with ESP (en cap su lation secu rit y
p ayload ) th e m ajor p art of th e IP p acket in clu d in g t h e TCP h ead er an d ap p lica-
tion d ata is en cryp ted so is n ot accessible for a p roxy. For an y ap p lication on e h as
to ch oose between u sin g a p erform an ce en h an cin g p roxy an d u sin g IP secu rity.
Th is is a killer criterio n in an y co m m ercial en viro n m en t as t h e o n ly ‘so lu t io n ’
wou ld m ean th e in t egrat io n of th e p ro xy in to th e secu rity associatio n between
th e en d system s. Typ ically th is is n ot feasible as th e proxy d oes n ot belon g to th e
sam e organ isation as th e m obile n od e an d th e corresp on din g n od e.

9.5 Summary

Th is ch ap ter in tro d u ced t h e p roblem s of TCP as a con n ection -orien ted p rotocol
in a m o b ile en viro n m en t . Th e b asic assu m p t io n s wh ile d esign in g TC P h ave
b een co m p let ely d ifferen t fro m t h e realit y o f u sin g m o b ile h o st s. Th e m ech a-
n ism s o f TCP t h at m ake t h e p ro t o co l n et wo rk-frien d ly an d keep t h e in t ern et
to geth er, cau se severe efficien cy p roblem s.
TCP assu m es a n et wo rk co n gest io n if ackn o wled gem en t s d o n o t arrive in
tim e. Ho wever, wireless lin ks h ave m u ch h igh er error rates com pared to , e.g., a
twisted p air o r fib er o p tics, th at way cau sin g h igh er p acket lo ss rat es. Th e lin k
layer m ay try to correct m an y of th o se errors wh ich can h id e lin k layer ch arac-
teristics. Th is q u ite often lead s t o u n wan ted h igh d elays or jitter. Lin k layer erro r
co rrectio n sh ou ld t h erefo re b e u sed ap p licat ion d ep en d en t. Mob ilit y itself, i.e.,
th e h an d over bet ween d ifferen t access p o in ts, can cau se p acket loss with o u t an y
co n gest ion in th e n et wo rk. In eith er case, TCP go es in to a slow start state red u c-
in g it s sen d in g rate d rastically.
Several classic so lu t io n s h ave b een p resen t ed wh ich h ave t ried to in crease
th e efficien cy of TCP in m o bile an d wireless en viro n m en ts. Th is ch ap ter sh owed
cu rren t con sid eration s related t o TCP o ver 2.5G/ 3G n etwo rks. Besid es th e failu re
o f p erfo rm an ce en h an cin g p ro x ies in a n IP secu rit y en h an ced n et w o rk, ad -
d itio n al issu es are still op en . RFC 3150 ‘En d -to -en d p erfo rm an ce im p lication s of
slo w lin k s’ gives reco m m en d at io n s fo r n etwo rks wh ere h o st s can satu rat e th e
availab le b an d wid th (Dawkin s, 2001a). It is reco m m en d ed h ere, am on g o th ers,
th at h ead er com p ression fo llowin g RFC 1144 or RFC 2507 sh o u ld b e u sed . It is
also su ggested th at th e tim estam p op tion is tu rn ed o ff. Th ese reco m m en d ation s
co n trast with th e 2.5 G/ 3G reco m m en d atio n s described abo ve if t h ese lin ks are
co n sid ered slo w in t h e sen se o f RFC 3150. RFC 3150 sees sm aller MTU sizes as
u sefu l fo r slow lin ks with lossy ch aracterist ics.
370 Mobile communicat ions

RFC 3155 ‘En d-to-en d perform an ce im plication s of lin k s w it h errors’ discusses

th e im plication s of th e use of wireless lin ks for in tern et access on th e perform an ce
of TCP (Dawkin s, 2001b). Am on g oth ers, it is stated th at it is n ot possible to use th e
explicit con gestion n otification (RFC 2481) as a surrogate for exp licit tran sm ission
error n otification . Such a m ech an ism is still lackin g in th e in tern et.
It is easy t o see th at it is n o t easy to ad ju st TCP beh avio r acco rd in g to th e
cu rren t en viro n m en t . Users m ay ro am b et ween W LANs, 2.5G/ 3G cellu lar sys-
t em s an d o t h er wireless/ wired t ech n o lo gies. Each t ech n o lo gy m ay ex h ib it a
sp ecia l b eh avio r w h ich can b e classified as ‘lin k w it h erro r’, ‘slo w lin k’ et c.
Wit h o u t p erm an en t ad ap t atio n , TCP’s p erfo rm an ce will b e p oo r as will t h e p er-
fo rm a n ce o f all p ro t o co ls b u ilt o n t o p o f TC P (su ch as HTTP, SO AP). All t h e
p ro b lem s relat ed t o t h e relatively h igh co n n ect io n set -u p t im e d u e t o a t h ree-
way h an d sh ake still rem ain if a stream -o rien ted p ro t oco l su ch as TCP is u sed in
a t ran sact io n -o rien t ed m an n er. Very sh o rt lived co n n ectio n s an d TCP st ill d o
n o t go t ogeth er very well.
An u n ch an ged TCP faces even m ore p ro blem s wh en u sed over satellit e lin ks
or in gen eral lin ks t o a sp acecraft (ran gin g from an LEO t o in terp lan etary d eep -
sp ace p ro bes). Th e m ain p ro blem s are th e ext rem ely h igh RTT, erro r-p ro n e lin ks,
lim ited lin k cap acity, in term it ten t co n n ectivit y, an d asym m etric ch an n els (u p t o
1,000 :1). Asym m et ric ch an n els wit h , fo r exam p le, a h igh ban d wid th fro m th e
sp acecraft t o gro u n d co n t rol, lim it t h ro u gh p u t d u e t o t h e lim ited cap acit y fo r
th e ackn owled gem en ts o n th e retu rn p at h . (Du rst , 1997) p resen ts a set o f TCP
en h an cem en t s, p rim arily a se le c t iv e n e g a t iv e a c k n o w le d g em en t (SN AC K)
op tion , th at ad ap t TCP t o th e req u irem en ts in sp ace com m u n ication . Th e set of
p roto co ls d evelop ed fo r sp ace co m m u n ication is kn own as sp a ce co m m u n ica -
t io n s p r o t o co l st a n d a r d s (SCPS), t h e ext en d ed TCP is called SCPS-t r a n sp o r t
p ro t o co l (SCPS-TP). RFC 2488 (Allm an , 1999a) sp ecifies th e best cu rren t p rac-
t ise fo r en h an cin g TC P o ver sat ellit e ch an n els u sin g st an d a rd m ech an ism s
alread y availab le in TCP. Ch oo sin g t h e righ t p aram eter set tin gs en ables TCP t o
m ore effectively u t ilize t h e available cap acity o f t h e n etwo rk p ath .
M an y q u est io n s o n t h e t ran sp o rt layer are st ill u n so lved . Param et ers like
RTT are d ifficu lt to est im ate d u e t o h igh jit t er. Th is in flu en ces m an y t im e-o u t
valu es in TCP like t h e retran sm issio n t im er. Fo r an in it ial est im at io n o f TCP’s
p er fo r m a n ce t h e fo llo win g fo rm u las can b e u sed (Karn , 2002). Bo th fo rm u las
assu m e lo n g ru n n in g co n n ect io n s, large en o u gh receiver w in d o ws, an d
Ren o TCP acco rd in g t o RFC 2 5 81 (Allm an , 1 9 99 b ). Th e u p p er b o u n d o n t h e
0.93· MSS
ban d wid th (BW ) of a TCP con n ection is given by BW = –––––––––– (Math is, 1997).
RTT· p
RTT is th e average en d -to -en d rou n d trip tim e o f t h e TCP con n ection . Th e m ax-
im u m segm en t size (MSS) is t h e segm en t size bein g u sed by th e TCP co n n ection .
p d en o tes th e p acket lo ss p robab ility fo r t h e p ath .
 Mobile t ransport layer 371

Th is sim p le fo rm u la n eglect s ret ran sm issio n s d u e t o erro rs. If erro r rat e is

above o n e p er cen t th ese retran sm issio n s h ave to be con sid ered . Th is lead s to a
m ore co m p licat ed fo rm u la:

MSS
BW = ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
RTT· 1.33 p + RTO·p·(1 + 32 · p2 )·m in (1,3 0·75 p)
(Pad h ye, 1998).
Th is fo rm u la also in tegrates t h e retran sm issio n tim eo u t (RTO), wh ich TCP
b ases o n t h e RTT. Typ ically, th e sim p lificat io n RTO = 5 RTT can b e m ad e. Fo r
sh o rt livin g co n n ectio n s (less th an 10 p ackets) TCP p erfo rm an ce is co m p let ely
d riven by th e TCP slo w start algorith m with o u t ad d itio n al en h an cem en ts.
To m ake th in gs even m o re co m p licated , th e read er m ay th in k of u sin g TCP
o ver ad -h o c n et wo rk s as d escrib ed in ch ap t er 8 . Again , lo ssy ch a n n els an d
m o b ilit y m ay lead TC P t o id le st at es. De O liveira (2001 ) gives an o verview o f
several ap p ro ach es an d p oin ts ou t th eir p rem at u re state wit h resp ect to scalabil-
ity an d to secu rity issu es.

9.6 Review exercises

1 Compare the different types of transmission errors that can occur in wireless
and wired networks. What additional role does mobility play?
2 What is the reaction of standard TCP in case of packet loss? In what situation
does this reaction make sense and why is it quite often problematic in the case
of wireless networks and mobility?
3 Can the problems using TCP be solved by replacing TCP with UDP? Where could
this be useful and why is it quite often dangerous for network stability?
4 How and why does I-TCP isolate problems on the wireless link? What are the
main drawbacks of this solution?
5 Show the interaction of mobile IP with standard TCP. Draw the packet flow from a
fixed host to a mobile host via a foreign agent. Then a handover takes place.
What are the following actions of mobile IP and how does TCP react?
6 Now show the required steps during handover for a solution with a PEP. What are the
state and function of foreign agents, home agents, correspondent host, mobile host,
PEP and care-of-address before, during, and after handover? What information has to
be transferred to which entity to maintain consistency for the TCP connection?
7 What are the influences of encryption on the proposed schemes? Consider for
example IP security that can encrypt the payload, i.e., the TCP packet.
8 Name further optimizations of TCP regarding the protocol overhead which are
important especially for narrow band connections. Which problems may occur?
372 Mobile communicat ions

9 Assume a fixed internet connection with a round trip time of 20 ms and an error rate
of 10 –10. Calculate the upper bound on TCP’s bandwidth for a maximum segment
size of 1,000 byte. Now two different wireless access networks are added. A WLAN
with 2 ms additional one-way delay and an error rate of 10–3, and a GPRS network
with an additional RTT of 2 s and an error rate of 10 –7. Redo the calculation ignoring
the fixed network’s error rate. Compare these results with the ones derived from the
second formula (use RTO = 5 RTT). Why are some results not realistic?
10 Why does the link speed not appear in the formulas presented to estimate TCP’s
throughput? What is wrong if the estimated bandwidth is higher than the link speed?

9.7 Ref erences

Allm a n , M ., Glo ver, D., San ch ez, L. (1 9 9 9 a) En h a n cin g TCP Over Sa tellite
Cha nnels using Standa rd Mecha nisms, RFC 2488.
Allm an , M., Paxson , V., Steven s, W. (1999b) TCP Congestion Control, RFC 2581.
Allm a n , M ., Balakrish n an , H., Flo yd , S. (2 00 1 ) En h a n cin g TCP’s Loss Recovery
Using Limited Transmit, RFC 3042.
Bakre, A., Bad rin a t h , B. (1 9 9 5 ) I-TCP: In direct TCP for m obile h osts, p ro c.
Fift een t h In t ern a t io n al C o n feren ce o n Dist rib u t ed C o m p u t in g Syst em s
(ICDCS), Van co u ver, Can ad a.
Balakrish n an , H., Sesh an , S., Katz, R.H. (1995) ‘Im p rovin g reliable t ran sp ort an d
h an d o ff p erfo rm an ce in cellu lar w ireless n et w o rks,’ W ireless Networks,
J.C. Baltzer, n o. 1.
Bo rd er, J., Ko jo , M ., Grin er, J., M o n t en egro , G., Sh elb y, Z. (2 00 1) Perform a n ce
Enhancing Proxies Intended to Mitiga te Link-Rela ted Degrada tions, RFC 3135.
Brad en , R. (1994) T-TCP – TCP extensions for tra nsactions functional specification,
RFC 1644.
Brewer, E.A., Kat z, R.H., Ch awat h e, Y., Grib b le, S.D., Ho d es, T., Ngu yen , G.,
St em m , M., Hen d erson , T., Am it, E., Balakrish n an , H., Fox, A., Pad m an abh an ,
V., Sesh an , S. (1998) ‘A n etwork arch itectu re for h eterogen eou s m obile com -
p u tin g,’ IEEE Personal Communications, 5(5).
Bro wn , K., Sin gh , S. (1 9 9 7 ) ‘M -TC P: TCP fo r m o b ile cellu lar n et wo rks,’ ACM
Computer Communications Review, 27(5).
Caceres, R., Ift o d e, L. (1995) ‘Im p ro vin g t h e p erfo rm an ce o f reliab le t ran sp o rt
p roto cols in m o bile com p u t in g en viro n m en ts,’ IEEE Journal on Selected Areas
in Communications, 13(5).
Dawkin s, S., Ko jo, M., Magret, V. (2001a) End-to-end Performance Implications of
Slow Links, RFC 3150.
Dawkin s, S., Mo n ten egro, G., Kojo, M., Magret, V., Vaid ya, N. (2001b) End-to-end
Performance Implica tions of Links with Errors, RFC 3155.
De O liveira, R., Brau n , T. (2 002 ) ‘TC P in W ireless M o b ile Ad -Ho c N et w o rks,’
Technical Report, Un iversity of Bern e, TR-IAM-02-003.
 Mobile t ransport layer 373

De Vivo, M., d e Vivo , O., Ko en eke, G., Isern , G. (1999) ‘In tern et Vu ln erabilities
Related to TCP/ IP an d T/ TCP,’ ACM Computer Communication Review, 29(1).
Degerm ark, M., En gan , M., Nord gren , B., Pin k, S. (1997) ‘Low-loss TCP/ IP h ead er
com p ression for wireless n etworks,’ Wireless Networks, J.C. Baltzer, n o. 3.
Du rst, R.C., Miller, G.J., Travis, E.J. (1997) ‘TCP exten sio n s fo r sp ace co m m u n i-
cation s,’ W ireless Networks, J.C. Balt zer, n o. 3.
In am u ra, H., Mo n t en egro , G., Lu d wig, R., Gu rt o v, A., Kh afizo v, F. (200 2) TCP
over Second (2.5G) and Third (3G) Genera tion Wireless Networks, d raft-ietf-p ilc-
2.5g3g-09.txt, (wo rk in p ro gress).
Ka rn , P. (2 0 0 2 ) Advice for In tern et Subn etwork Design ers, d raft .-iet f-p ilc-lin k-
d esign -12.t xt, (wo rk in p rogress).
Ken t , S., At kin so n , R. (1 998 a) Security Arch itecture for th e Internet Protocol, RFC
2401, u p d ated by RFC 3168.
Ken t, S., Atkin son , R. (1998b) IP Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP), RFC 2406.
Ku ro se, J.F., Ro ss, K. (2003) Computer Networking – A top-down a pproa ch featuring
the Internet. Ad d iso n -Wesley.
M at h is, M., Mah d avi, J., Flo yd , S., Ro m an o w, A. (1 996) TCP selective a ckn owl-
edgement options, RFC 2018.
Math is, M., Sem ke, J., Mah d avi, J., O tt, T. (1997) ‘Th e Macrosco p ic Beh avio r of
t h e TC P Co n gest io n Avo id a n ce Algo rit h m ,’ Com puter Com mun ica tion
Review, 27(3).
Pad h ye, J., Firoiu , V., Towsley, D., Ku ro se, J. (1998) ‘Mod elin g TCP Th rou gh p u t:
a Sim p le M o d el a n d it s Em p irical Valid at io n ,’ UMASS CMPSCI Tech n ica l
Report, TR98-008.
Po st el, J. (1981) Transmission Control Protocol, RFC 793.
Ram akrish n an , K., Flo yd , S., Black, D. (2001) The Addition of Explicit Congestion
Notification (ECN) to IP, RFC 3168.
St eve n s, W. R. (1 9 9 4 ) TCP/ IP Illu stra ted, Volum e 1 : Th e Protocols. Ad d iso n -
Wesley Lo n gm an .
Xylom en os, G., Polyzos, G., Mäh ön en , P., Saaran en , M. (2001) ‘TCP Perform an ce
Issu es over Wireless Lin ks,’ IEEE Communications Magazine, 39(4).
 Support f or mobilit y 10

T
ra n sferrin g d at a fro m a sen d er t o a sin gle receiver o r m a n y receivers is
n o t en o u gh . O n ly ap p licat io n s m ake a co m m u n icat io n n et wo rk u sefu l.
Ho wever, t o u se well-kn o wn ap p licatio n s fro m fixed n et wo rks, so m e ad -
d it io n a l co m p o n en t s are n eed ed in a m o b ile a n d w ireless co m m u n icat io n
syst em . Exam p les are file syst em s, d at ab ases, secu rit y, acco u n t in g an d b illin g
m ech an ism s. As m ob ile d evices h ave lim ited en ergy reso u rces, p ower con su m p -
tion is an im p ortan t issu e.
Th is ch ap t er fo cu ses o n t wo asp ect s, file syst em s/ file syn ch ro n izat io n an d
access to th e w o rld w id e w eb (w w w ). Som e years ago , m an y research p rojects
d ealt wit h th e p ro blem s o f d ist rib u t ed fi le sy st em s. Som e fo cu sed o n th e su p -
p o rt o f m o b ile d ev ices, lo w b an d w id t h wireless lin ks, an d d isco n n ect ed
op eration . Th e m ain p roblem fo r d ist ribu ted , loo sely co u p led file system s is th e
m ain t en an ce o f co n sist en cy. Are all views o n t h e file syst em t h e sam e? W h at
h ap p en s if a d isco n n ected u ser ch an ges d ata? W h en an d h ow sh o u ld th e system
p ro p agat e ch an ges t o a u ser? Sect io n 10.1 d iscu sses several p ro b lem s an d p re-
sen ts so m e research p rojects, wh ile section 10.5 focu ses o n a n ew fram ework for
syn ch ro n ization , Syn cML.
However, th e su ccess o f th e www sh ifted th e focus of m an y p rojects. A lot of
research effo rt was, an d st ill is, p u t in to th e su p p ort of web browsin g for m obile
u sers, as t h e web is t h e ap p licat io n d rivin g th e in t ern et . Sect io n 10.2 exp lain s
so m e b asic p ro p ert ies o f t h e web an d p resen t s t h e h yp ert ext t ran sfer p ro t o co l
(HTTP) an d h yp ertext m arku p lan gu age (HTML) in a sh ort overview. For th is sec-
tio n , it is im p o rt an t t o d em o n strate t h e fu n d am en tal p rob lem s with HTTP an d
HTML if u sed in a m o bile n etwork with on ly low-ban d wid th wireless access. Th e
web h as been d esign ed for con ven tion al co m pu ters an d fixed n etwo rks. Several
n ew system arch itectu res try to alleviate th ese p roblem s. Th ese arch itectu res are
also good exam p les fo r clien t/ server scen arios in wireless en viron m en ts.
Section 10.3 wh ich p resen t s th e w ireless a p p lica t io n p ro t o co l (WAP) ver-
sio n 1 .x is t h e m ain p art o f t h e ch ap t er. WAP is a co m m o n effo rt o f m an y
co m p an ies an d organ izat ion s to set u p a fram ework fo r wireless an d m o bile web
access u sin g m an y d ifferen t t ran sp o rt syst em s. Exam p les are GSM, GPRS, an d
UMTS as p resen t ed in ch ap t er 4. WAP in t egrates several co m m u n icatio n layers
fo r secu rit y m ech an ism s, t ran sact io n -o rien t ed p ro t o co ls, an d a p p licat io n
su p p o rt. In th e cu rren t www, t h ese feat u res are n ot an in tegral p art bu t ad d -o n s.

375
376 Mobile communicat ions

WAP co m b in es t h e t elep h o n e n et wo rk an d t h e in t ern et b y in t egrat in g t ele-

p h o n y ap p licat io n s in t o t h e web u sin g it s o wn w ireless m a rku p lan gu age
(W ML) an d scrip tin g lan gu age (W MLScrip t ).
WAP, as in t ro d u ced so m e years ago , was n o t a co m m ercial su ccess. Asid e
fro m errors in m arket in g WAP (an n o u n ced as “In tern et o n th e m o bile p h o n e”
wh ich WAP 1.x is n ot at all), th e fatal com bin atio n of an in teractive ap p lication
(w eb b ro w sin g) wit h a co n n ect io n -o rien t ed t ran sp o rt syst em (t yp ically GSM
CSD) was on e reason for t h e failu re. I-m od e, in trod u ced in 1999 in Jap an , was a
big co m m ercial su ccess. Sect io n 10.4 gives a q u ick overview o f i-m od e an d rea-
so n s fo r t h e su ccess.
Fin ally, sectio n 10.6 p resen ts th e arch it ectu re of WAP versio n 2.0. Th is ver-
sio n co m b in es t h e arch it ect u re an d p ro t o co ls o f WAP 1 .x wit h p rot o co ls an d
co n t en t form ats kn own fro m th e in tern et. Th is also reflects th e fact th at d evices
b eco m e m o re p o werfu l o ver t im e so can h an d le m o re co m p lex p ro t o co ls an d
co n t en t fo rm at s. Ho wever, t h e read er sh o u ld b e aware t h at n ew ap p licat io n s
an d m ech an ism s are st ill evolvin g.

10.1 File syst ems

Th e gen eral go al o f a file system is t o su p p ort efficien t , t ran sp aren t, an d co n sis-

ten t access to files, n o m at t er wh ere t h e clien t req u estin g files o r t h e server(s)
offerin g files are located . Effi cien cy is o f sp ecial im p ortan ce for wireless system s
as th e ban d wid th is lo w so th e p ro to co l overh ead an d u p d atin g op eratio n s etc.
sh o u ld b e kep t at a m in im u m . Tr a n sp a r en cy ad d resses th e p ro b lem s o f lo ca-
t io n -d ep en d en t view s o n a file syst em . To su p p o rt m o b ilit y, t h e file syst em
sh ou ld p rovid e id en tical views o n d irectories, file n am es, access righ ts etc., in d e-
p en d en t o f t h e cu rren t lo cat io n . Th e m ain p ro b lem is co n sist en cy as sect io n
10.1.1 illu strat es in m o re d etail.
Gen eral p ro blem s are th e lim it ed resou rces o n p ortable d evices an d th e lo w
ban d wid th of th e wireless access. File system s can n ot rely o n large cach es in t h e
en d -system o r p erform m an y u p d ates via th e wireless lin k. Portable d evices m ay
also b e d iscon n ected for a lo n ger p erio d . Hard ware an d software co m p on en ts o f
p o rtab le d evices o ften d o n ot fo llo w st an d ard com p u ter arch itect u res or o p erat-
in g system s. Mo bile p h on es, PDAs, an d o t h er d evices h ave th eir o wn o p eratin g
syst em , h ard ware, an d ap p lication soft ware. Portable d evices are n o t as reliab le
as d eskto p system s or trad itio n al file servers.
St an d ard file syst em s like th e n etwork file system (NFS) are very in efficien t
an d alm o st u n u sable in a m obile an d wireless en viron m en t (Ho n eym an , 1995).
Trad it io n al file system s d o n o t exp ect d isco n n ect io n , lo w b an d wid t h co n n ec-
t io n s, an d h igh lat en cies. To su p p o rt d isco n n ect ed o p erat io n , t h e p o rt ab le
d evice m ay rep licate files o r sin gle o bjects. Th is can be d o n e in ad van ce by p re-
fet ch in g o r wh ile fetch in g d at a (cach in g). Th e m ain p ro b lem is con sisten cy o f
th e co p y wit h t h e origin al d ata. Th e fo llowin g sect ion p resen ts so m e m o re p ro b-
lem s an d so lu tio n s regard in g con sist en cy.
 Support f or mobilit y 377

10.1.1 Consistency
Th e basic p roblem fo r d istrib u ted file system s th at allo w rep licat io n o f d ata fo r
p erfo rm an ce reason s is th e con sist en cy o f rep licated objects (files, p art s of files,
p art s o f a d at a st ru ct u re et c.). W h at h ap p en s, fo r ex am p le, if t w o p o rt ab le
d evices h old co p ies o f th e sam e object, t h en o n e d evice ch an ges th e valu e of t h e
object an d after t h at, bo th d evices read t h e valu e? Wit h o u t fu rth er m ech an ism s,
on e p ortable d evice read s an old valu e.
To avo id in co n sist en cies m an y t rad it io n al syst em s ap p ly m ech an ism s t o
m ain tain a p erm an en t con sisten t view for all u sers o f a file system . Th is st ro n g
co n sist en cy is ach ieved by atom ic u p d ates sim ilar t o d at ab ase system s. A writer
o f an o bject lo cks th e o b ject, ch an ges t h e o b ject , an d u n lo cks t h e o b ject after
th e ch an ge. If an o bject is locked , n o oth er d evice can write th e o bject. Cach ed
o b ject s are in valid at ed aft er a ch an ge. M ain t ain in g st ro n g co n sist en cy is n o t
on ly very exp en sive in term s of exch an gin g u p d at es via th e wireless lin k, bu t is
also so m et im es im p o ssible. Assu m e a t em p orarily d iscon n ected d evice with sev-
eral o b ject s in it s ca ch e. It is im p o ssib le t o u p d at e t h e o b ject s o r in va lid at e
th em . Lo ckin g th e cach ed objects m ay n o t be visible to oth er u sers.
O n e so lu t io n is t o fo rb id access t o d isco n n ect ed o b ject s. Th is wo u ld p ro -
h ibit an y real ap p licatio n based o n t h e file system . Mobile syst em s h ave t o u se a
w ea k co n sist en cy m o d el fo r file syst em s. Weak co n sisten cy im p lies cert ain p eri-
o d s o f in co n sist en cy t h at h a ve t o b e t o lerat ed fo r p erfo rm a n ce reaso n s.
Ho wever, th e overall file system sh ou ld rem ain con sist en t so con flict resolu tion
strategies are n eed ed fo r rein tegration . Rein t egra t io n is t h e p ro cess of m ergin g
objects fro m d ifferen t u sers resu ltin g in on e con sisten t file system . A u ser co u ld
h o ld a cop y of an o b ject, d iscon n ect fro m th e n etwork, ch an ge th e object, an d
reco n n ect again . Th e ch an ged o bject m u st t h en be rein t egrated . A co n fl ict m ay
occu r, e.g., if an o bject h as b een ch an ged by two u sers workin g with two cop ies.
Du rin g rein tegrat io n th e file system m ay n o tice th at both cop ies d iffer, th e con -
flict resolu tion strategy h as to d ecid e wh ich cop y t o u se or h ow t o p ro ceed . Th e
syst em m ay d et ect co n flict s b ased o n t im e st am p s, versio n n u m b erin g, h ash
valu es, con ten t co m p ariso n et c.
Assu m e, fo r exam p le, th at several p eo p le are writin g an article. Each p erson
is workin g o n on e sect ion u sin g h is or h er o wn lap to p . As lon g as everyon e st ays
with in h is o r h er sect ion , rein tegrat ion is sim p le. As so on as on e p erson m akes a
co p y of an oth er sect ion an d starts m akin g ch an ges, rein tegratio n becom es d iffi-
cu lt an d is co n t en t -d ep en d en t . Th e exam p les in t h e fo llo win g sect io n s sh o w
d ifferen t so lu t io n s fo r file syst em s. Th ese so lu t io n s vary in t h e gran u larit y o f
cach in g an d p re-fet ch in g (files, d irect o ries, su b -t rees, d isk p art it io n s), in t h e
lo cat io n o f m o b ility su p p o rt (fixed n etwo rk an d / o r m o b ile co m p u t er), an d in
th eir co n flict reso lu tio n strat egies.
378 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 10.1
Application, cache, and Mobile client
server in Coda
Application Cache Server

10.1.2 Coda
Th e p red ecesso r o f m an y d ist rib u t ed file syst em s t h at can b e u sed fo r m o b ile
o p eration is t h e An d rew file syst em (AFS, (Ho ward , 1988)). Co d a is th e su ccessor
o f AFS an d o ffers t w o d ifferen t t yp es o f rep licat io n : server rep licat io n an d
cach in g o n clien t s. Disco n n ect ed clien t s wo rk o n ly o n t h e cach e, i.e., ap p lica-
tio n s u se on ly cach ed rep licated files. Figu re 10.1 sh o ws th e cach e b et ween an
ap p lication an d t h e server. Cod a is a t ran sp aren t ext en sio n of t h e clien t’s cach e
m an ager. Th is very gen eral arch itectu re is valid for m o st o f to d ay’s m o bile sys-
tem s t h at u tilise a cach e.
To provide all th e n ecessary files for discon n ected work, Coda offers exten sive
m ech an ism s for pre-fetch in g of files wh ile still con n ected, called h o ard in g (Kistler,
1992). If th e clien t is con n ected to th e server with a stron g con n ection (see Figu re
10.2), h oardin g tran sp aren tly pre-fetch es files cu rren tly u sed. Th is au tom atic data
collection is n ecessary for it is im p ossible for a stan dard u ser to kn ow all th e files
cu rren tly used. Wh ile stan d ard p rogram s an d app lication data m ay be fam iliar to a
u ser, h e o r sh e t yp ically d o es n o t kn o w an yt h in g ab o u t t h e n u m ero u s sm all
system files n eed ed in addition (e.g., p rofiles, sh ared libraries, drivers, fon ts).
A u ser can p re-determ in e a list of files, wh ich Coda sh ould exp licitly p re-fetch .
Ad dition ally, a user can assign priorities to certain program s. Coda n ow d ecid es on
th e cu rren t cach e con ten t u sin g th e list an d a least-recen tly-u sed (LRU) strategy.
As soon as th e clien t is d iscon n ected , ap p lication s work on t h e rep licates (see
Figu re 10.2, em u la t in g). Co d a follo ws an o p tim ist ic ap p ro ach an d allo ws read
an d write access to all files. Th e system keep s a record of ch an ged files, bu t d oes
n ot m ain tain a h isto ry o f ch an ges for each file. Th e cach e always h as on ly on e

Figure 10.2
States of a client Hoarding
in Coda Strong
connection
Disconnection Weak
connection
Write
disconnected

Connection
Disconnection

Emulating
 Support f or mobilit y 379

rep licat e (p o ssib ly ch an ged ). After reco n n ect io n , Co d a co m p ares th e rep licat es
with th e files on th e server as d escribed in Kist ler (1992). If Cod a n otices th at two
d ifferen t u sers h ave ch an ged a file, rein tegrat ion of th is file fails an d Cod a saves
th e ch an ged file as a cop y on th e server to allow for m an u al rein tegration .
Th e op t im istic ap p ro ach o f Cod a is very co arse grain ed , workin g on wh o le
files. Th e su ccess of Cod a relies on th e fact th at files in UNIX are seld om writt en
b y m o re t h an o n e u ser. Mo st files are ju st read , o n ly so m e files are ch an ged .
Ex p erien ces w it h C o d a sh o wed t h at o n ly 0 .7 2 p er cen t o f all file a ccesses
resu lted in writ e co n flict s (Sat yan arayan an , 1993). Co n sid erin g o n ly u ser files
th is is red u ced t o 0.3 p er cen t. However, t h is low co n flict rate is n o t ap p licable
to arb it rary sh ared files as u sed in , e.g., co m p u t er-su p p o rted co o p erat ive wo rk
(CSCW ). Th e too l ap p licat ion sp ecific resolver (ASR) was d evelop ed to au t om ate
co n flict reso lu t io n aft er failed rein t egrat io n (Ku m ar, 1993). A gen eral p ro blem
with th ese t o o ls is t h at t h ey can o n ly wo rk after t h e fact . Th is m ean s t h at th e
t o o ls h ave t o reco n st ru ct a h ist o ry o f ch an ges b ased o n t h e rep licat e b ecau se
Co d a d o es n o t record every sin gle ch an ge.
An o th er p ro blem o f Co d a is th e d efin itio n o f a con flict . Co d a d et ect s o n ly
write co n flicts, i.e., if two or m o re u sers ch an ge a file. Now con sider two files f1
an d f 2 . On e clien t u ses valu es fro m files f1 an d f2 t o calcu lat e so m et h in g an d
stores th e resu lt in file f1 . Th e oth er clien t u ses valu es from files f1 an d f2 to calcu -
late so m eth in g else an d st ores t h e resu lt in file f2 . Co d a wo u ld n o t d et ect an y
p roblem d u rin g rein tegrat ion of th e files. However, th e resu lts m ay n ot reflect th e
correct valu es based o n th e files. Th e ord er of execu tion p lays an im p ortan t role.
To so lve t h is p ro b lem , a sim p le t ran sact io n m ech an ism w as in t ro d u ced in t o
Co d a as an o p t io n , t h e so -called iso latio n -o n ly t ran sact io n s (IO T, (Lu , 19 94)).
IOT allows grou p in g certain op eration s an d ch ecks th em for serial execu tion .
W h ile in t h e begin n in g Co d a sim p ly d ist in gu ish ed th e t wo stat es “h o ard -
in g” w h ile co n n ect ed a n d “em u lat in g” w h ile d isco n n ect ed , t h e lo o sely
co n n ect ed st at e w r i t e d i sc o n n e c t e d wa s lat er in t egrat ed , (see Figu re 1 0 .2 ,
(M u m m ert , 1 99 5 )). If a clien t is o n ly weakly co n n ect ed , C o d a d ecid es if it is
wo rt h wh ile t o fet ch a file via t h is co n n ect io n o r t o let t h e u ser w ait u n t il a
b et t er co n n ect io n is availab le. In o t h er wo rd s, Co d a m o d els th e p at ien ce o f a
u ser an d weigh s it again st t h e cost of fetch in g th e file req u ired by th e u ser.
Figu re 10.2 illu st rat es t h e t h ree st ates o f a clien t in Co d a. Th e clien t o n ly
p erfo rm s h o ard in g wh ile a stron g co n n ectio n to th e server exists. If th e con n ec-
tion breaks com p let ely, t h e clien t goes in t o em u latin g an d u ses on ly t h e cach ed
rep licat es. If t h e clien t loses th e stro n g con n ection an d on ly a weak con n ection
rem ain s, it d oes n ot p erform h oard in g, bu t d ecid es if it sh o u ld fetch th e file in
case o f a cach e m iss co n sid erin g u ser p at ien ce an d file t yp e. Th e weak co n n ec-
tion , h o wever, is n o t u sed for rein t egration o f files.
380 Mobile communicat ions

10.1.3 Lit tle Work

Th e d istribu ted file system Little Work is, like Coda, an exten sion of AFS (Hu st on ,
1993), (Hon eym an , 1995). Little Work on ly req u ires ch an ges to th e cach e m an -
ager o f th e clien t an d d etects write con flicts d u rin g rein tegration . Little Work h as
n o sp ecific tools for rein tegration an d offers n o tran saction service.
Ho wever, Lit tle Wo rk u ses m o re clien t states to m ain tain co n sisten cy.

● C o n n ect ed : Th e o p erat io n o f t h e clien t is n o rm al, i.e., n o sp ecial m ech -

an ism s fro m Litt le Wo rk are req u ired . Th is m o d e n eed s a co n t in u ou s h igh
b an d wid th as available in typ ical o ffice en viro n m en ts u sin g, e.g., a W LAN.
● P a r t ia lly c o n n ect ed : If a clien t h as o n ly a lo wer b an d wid t h co n n ect io n ,
b u t still h as th e p o ssibilit y t o com m u n icate con t in u ou sly, it is referred to as
p artially con n ect ed . Exam p les fo r t h is typ e o f n etwo rk are p acket radio n et-
wo rks. Th ese n etworks t yp ically ch arge based o n th e am o u n t o f traffic an d
n o t b ased o n t h e d u rat io n o f a co n n ect io n . Th is clien t st at e allo ws to u se
cach e con sist en cy p ro tocols sim ilar to th e n orm al state, bu t with a d elayed
w rit e to th e server t o lo wer co m m u n icat io n co st if t h e clien t ch an ges th e
file again . Th is h elp s t o avo id co n sist en cy p ro b lem s, alt h o u gh n o h igh -
b an d wid th con n ect ion is available.
● Fet ch o n ly : If t h e o n ly n etwo rk availab le o ffers co n n ect io n s o n d em an d ,
t h e clien t go es in to th e fetch o n ly stat e. Net works o f t h is typ e are cellu lar
n etwo rks su ch as GSM wit h co st s p er call. Th e clien t u ses t h e rep licates in
th e cach e in an op tim ist ic way, bu t fetch es files via th e co m m u n icat io n lin k
if t h ey are n ot available in th e cach e. Th is en ables a u ser to access all files o f
t h e server, b u t t h is also t ries t o m in im ize co m m u n icat io n b y wo rkin g o n
re p licat es an d rein t egrat e aft er reco n n ect io n u sin g a co n t in u o u sly h igh
b an d wid th lin k.
● D isc o n n e c t e d : W it h o u t an y n et w o rk, t h e clien t is d isco n n ect ed . Lit t le
Work n ow abort s if a cach e m is-occu rs, o th erwise rep licat es are u sed .

10.1.4 Ficus
Ficu s is a d istrib u ted file system , wh ich is n ot based o n a clien t/ server ap p ro ach
(Pop ek, 1990), (Heid em an n , 1992). Ficu s allows t h e op tim istic u se o f rep licates,
d et ect s writ e co n flict s, an d so lves co n flict s o n d irect o ries. Ficu s u ses so -called
go ssip p ro t o co ls, an id ea m an y o t h er syst em s t o o k o ver lat er. A m o b ile co m -
p u ter d oes n ot n ecessarily n eed t o h ave a d irect co n n ectio n t o a server. Wit h th e
h elp o f o th er m o bile co m p u ters, it can p ro p agat e u p d ates th rou gh t h e n et wo rk
u n til it reach es a fixed n etwork an d t h e server. Th u s, ch an ges on files p ro p agate
th rou gh th e n etwork step -by-st ep . Ficu s tries to m in im ize th e exch an ge of files
th at are valid on ly fo r a sh o rt tim e, e.g. t em p o rary files. A critical issu e for gossip
p ro to co ls is h o w fast t h ey p ro p agate t o t h e clien t th at n eed s t h is in fo rm at io n
an d h o w m u ch u n n ecessary traffic it cau ses to p rop agat e in form at io n to clien ts
th at are n o t in terested .
 Support f or mobilit y 381

10.1.5 MIo-NFS
Th e system m o bile in tegratio n of NFS (MIo –NFS) is an exten sio n of t h e Netwo rk
File System (NFS, (Gu ed es, 1995)). In co n trast to m an y ot h er system s, MIo-NFS
u ses a p essim ist ic ap p ro ach wit h t o ken s co n t ro lin g access t o files. O n ly t h e
t o ken -h o ld er fo r a sp ecific file m ay ch an ge t h is file, so M Io -NFS avo id s writ e
con flicts. Read / write co n flicts as d iscu ssed in sectio n 10.1.2 can n ot be avoid ed .
MIo-NFS su p p orts t h ree d ifferen t m od es:

● Co n n ect ed : Th e server h an d les all access to files as u su al.

● Lo o sely co n n ect ed : Clien ts u se lo cal rep licates, exch an ge to ken s o ver t h e
n etwo rk, an d u p d ate files via th e n etwo rk.
● Disco n n ect ed : Th e clien t u ses o n ly lo cal rep licates. Writin g is on ly allo wed
if th e clien t is to ken -h old er.

10.1.6 Rover
Com p ared to Co d a, th e Rover p latform u ses an oth er ap p roach to su pp ort m obil-
it y (Jo sep h , 1 9 9 7 a a n d 1 9 9 7 b ). In st ead o f ad ap t in g ex ist in g ap p licat io n s fo r
m o bile d evices, Ro ver p ro vid es a p lat fo rm fo r d evelo p in g n ew, m o bilit y aware
ap p lication s. Two n ew com p o n en ts h ave been in tro d u ced in Rover. Relo ca t a b le
d y n a m ic o b ject s are objects th at can be d yn am ically lo ad ed in to a clien t co m -
p u t er fro m a server (o r vice-versa) t o red u ce clien t -server co m m u n icat io n . A
trad e-o ff between t ran sferrin g o bject s an d tran sferrin g on ly d ata for o bjects h as
to be fo u n d . If a clien t n eed s an o bject q u ite o ften , it m akes sen se to m igrate t h e
o b ject . O b ject m igra t io n fo r a sin gle access, o n t h e o t h er h an d , creat es t o o
m u ch o verh ead . Qu eu ed rem o t e p ro ced u re ca lls allo w for n o n -b lo ckin g RPCs
even wh en a h o st is d isco n n ect ed . Req u est s an d resp o n ses are ex ch an ged as
soon as a con n ection is availab le again . Co n flict reso lu t ion is d on e in th e server
an d is ap p lication sp ecific.
Som e m ore p latfo rm s for m o bile com p u tin g were in th e lat e n in eties d evel-
o p ed (e.g., Mo b iWare (An gin , 1998), a m o b ile m id d leware en viro n m en t u sin g
CORBA an d Java). Ho wever, wh ile som e id eas of t h e system s d escribed in th ese
sectio n s h ave been in t egrated in to com m ercial pro d u ct s, n o n e of th e above sys-
t em s is in u se every d ay. Th e fo cu s o f resea rch h as sh ift ed m o re an d m o re
toward s th e www.

10.2 World wide web

Th is sect io n d iscu sses so m e p ro b lem s t h at web ap p licat io n s en co u n t er wh en

u sed in a m obile an d wireless en viro n m en t. Th e read er sh o u ld be fam iliar with
t h e b asic co n cep t s o f t h e wo rld wid e web , it s p ro t o co ls (HTTP) an d lan gu age
(HTM L). Sect io n s 1 0 .3 an d 1 0 .6 p resen t a co m p let e fram ewo rk, t h e w ireless
ap p licatio n p ro to co l (WAP), th at h an d les m an y o f th e p rob lem s d iscu ssed h ere
382 Mobile communicat ions

an d , t h u s, th is sectio n serves as a basis for th is fram ework. Th e ap p roach es m en -

t io n ed in t h is sect io n a re o n ly d iscu ssed b riefly in fa vo r o f a b ro ad er
p resen t at io n o f t h e WAP fram ewo rk. Th e first t w o su b sect io n s give sh o rt
o verviews o f HTTP an d HTML to geth er with th eir p rob lem s in wireless en viro n -
m en t s. So m e ap p ro ach es t o im p ro ve HTML an d HTTP are p resen t ed , m o st o f
th em p ro p riet ary. Th e last su b sectio n in t ro d u ces d ifferen t syst em arch itect u res
u sed for web access, each tryin g t o im p rove t h e classic clien t/ server scen ario.

10.2.1 Hypert ext transfer protocol

Th e h yp er t ex t t ra n sfer p ro t o co l (HTTP) is a st ateless, ligh tweigh t, ap p lication -
level p ro t oco l fo r d at a t ran sfer b et ween servers an d clien t s. Th e first versio n ,
H TTP/ 1 .0 (Bern ers-Lee, 1996), n ever becam e a form al st an d ard d u e to t o o m an y
varian t im p lem en t at io n s. H TTP/ 1 .1 is t h e st an d ard cu rren t ly u sed b y m o st
im p lem en t at io n s (Field in g, 19 9 9 ). Krish n am u rt h y (1 9 9 9 ) list s t h e key d iffer-
en ces b et ween t h e t w o versio n s. An HTTP t r a n sa c t i o n co n sist s o f a n HTTP
req u est issu ed by a clien t an d an HTTP resp o n se from a server. Stat eless m ean s
t h at a ll HTTP t ran sact io n s are in d ep en d en t o f each o t h er. HTTP d o es n o t
‘rem em b er’ an y t ran sact io n , req u est , o r resp o n se. Th is resu lts in a very sim p le
im p lem en tat io n with ou t th e n eed fo r co m p lex state m ach in es.
A sim p le req u est m igh t p ro ceed as fo llo ws. GET req u ests t h e so u rce fo llo w-
in g n ext, h ere / in d icates th e in d ex file in th e web ro ot d irecto ry (in d ex.h tm l).
Ad d it ion ally, th e p ro tocol HTTP an d version 1.1 is in d icat ed . As th is is n o t an
in tro d u ct ion in to HTTP, th e read er is referred to th e exten sive lit eratu re abo u t
th e web an d its p ro tocols. Everyon e can try th is, ju st sen d th e followin g to p ort
80 of you r web server (u sin g, e.g., teln et):

GET / HTTP/1.1
Host: www.inf.fu-berlin.de

Th e server m igh t an swer with som eth in g sim ilar to th e followin g (th e respon se):

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 19:44:26 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.12 (Unix) mod_perl/1.24
Last-Modified: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 13:16:31 GMT
ETag: "2d8190-2322-3dbfdbaf"
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Content-Length: 8994
Content-Type: text/html

<DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01

Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
 Support f or mobilit y 383

<title>FU-Berlin: Institut f&uuml;r

Informatik</TITLE>
<base href="http://www.inf.fu-berlin.de">
<link rel="stylesheet” type="text/css"
href="http://www.inf.fu-
berlin.de/styles/homepage.css">
<!--script language="JavaScript” src="fuinf.js"-->
<!--/script-->
</head>

<body onResize="self.location.reload();">
...

Th e first lin e co n t ain s t h e st at u s co d e (200) wh ich sh o ws t h at everyth in g

was o k (n o t th e OK in t h e p lain text, th is is also sen t with error cod es in d icatin g
o n ly t h at everyth in g works). Th e HTTP h ead er follo ws with in fo rm atio n abo u t
d ate, t im e, server versio n , co n n ect io n in fo rm at io n , an d typ e o f t h e fo llo win g
co n t en t (t h e b o d y o f t h e resp o n se). Here t h e co n ten t is t h e (t ru n cat ed ) HTML
co d e of th e web p age in d ex.h tm l in t h e ro ot d irecto ry of th e web server.
HTTP assu m es a reliab le u n d erlyin g p ro to co l; t yp ically, TCP is u sed in th e
in tern et. W h ile HTTP/1.0 establish es a n ew con n ection for each requ est, version
1.1 keep s th e con n ection alive for m u ltip le req u ests. Try u sin g GET / HTTP/1.0 in
th e above exam p le (with ou t th e secon d lin e Host: …). Th e an swer will alm ost be
th e sam e. However, n ow th e con n ection to th e server is closed at on ce (an d th e
lin e Connection: close is in serted in t o th e HTTP h ead er). Som e m ore en h an ce-
m en ts h ave been in tegrated in to HTTP version 1.1 as exp lain ed in section 10.2.3.
Wit h o u t t h ese en h an cem en ts t h is m ean s t h at if a web p age co n t ain s five
ico n s, t wo p ict u res, an d so m e t ext , alt o get h er eigh t TCP co n n ect io n s will b e
establish ed with versio n 1.0 – on e for th e p ages itself in clu d in g th e text, five fo r
fet ch in g t h e ico n s, a n d t wo fo r t h e p ict u res. Th e t yp ical r e q u e st m e t h o d o f
HTTP is GET as alread y sh o wn , wh ich ret u rn s t h e req u est ed reso u rce. Th is GET
can becom e co n d itio n al if an If-Modified-Since is ad d ed to th e h ead er, wh ich
allo ws fo r fetch in g n ewer co n ten t on ly. HTTP ad d itio n ally m akes it p o ssible t o
req u est on ly th e h ead er wit h ou t a bo d y u sin g t h e HEAD req u est. If a clien t wan ts
to p ro vid e d ata to a fu n ctio n on a server, it can u se th e POST m eth o d .
Th e server m ay an swer with d ifferen t st a t u s co d es. An exam p le is th e “200”
from abo ve in d icatin g th at t h e req u est h as been accep t ed . A server can red irect
a clien t to an o th er lo cat io n , it can sh o w th at u ser au th en ticat io n is n eed ed fo r a
certain resou rce, th at it refu ses to fu lfill th e req u est , or th at it is cu rren tly u n able
to h an d le t h e req u est .
HTTP/ 1.0 su p p orted on ly sim p le ca ch in g m ech an ism s. Cach in g is u sefu l t o
avo id u n n ecessary ret ran sm issio n s o f co n t en t t h at h as n o t ch an ged sin ce t h e
la st a ccess. C a ch es m ay b e lo cat ed an ywh ere b et ween a server an d a clien t .
384 Mobile communicat ions

Typ ically, each clien t m ain tain s a cach e locally to m in im ize d elay wh en ju m p -
in g b ack an d fo rth o n web p ages. Cach es can also exist fo r a wh o le co m p an y,
u n iversit y, regio n et c. Th e sam e p ages will b e accessed b y m an y p eo p le, so , it
m akes sen se t o cach e t h ose p ages clo ser to th e clien ts. Differen t h ead er in fo rm a-
t io n su p p o rt s cach in g. Fo r ex am p le, o n e can assign an ex p iry d at e t o a p age.
Th is m ean s th at an ap p licatio n m u st n o t cach e th is p age beyo n d exp iration . A
n o -cach e en t ry in t h e h ead er d isab les cach in g in versio n 1.0 alt o get h er. Th is
m ay b e u sefu l fo r p ages wit h d yn am ic co n ten t . Ad d itio n al in fo rm atio n regard -
in g early cach in g m ech an ism s in HTTP can be fo u n d in Bern ers-Lee (1996).
H TTP (in p art icu lar versio n 1 .0 ) cau ses m a n y p r o b le m s alread y in fix ed
n etwo rks bu t even m ore in wireless n etwo rks.

● Ba n d w id t h a n d d el a y : HTTP h a s n o t b een d esign ed w it h lo w

b an d wid th / h igh d elay co n n ect io n s in m in d . Th e origin al en viron m en t h as
b een n et wo rked w it h w o rkst a t io n s ru n n in g TC P/ IP o ver w ired n et wo rks
w it h so m e M b it / s b an d wid t h . HTTP p ro t o co l h ead ers are q u it e large an d
red u n d an t . M an y in fo rm at io n field s are t ran sferred rep eat ed ly wit h each
re q u est b eca u se HTTP is st at eless. Head ers are read ab le fo r h u m a n s an d
t ran sferred in p lain ASC II. Servers t ran sfer co n t en t u n co m p ressed , i.e., if
ap p lication s d o n o t com p ress co n ten t (as is th e case for GIF or JPEG cod ed
im ages), th e server will n ot p erform an y com p ressio n . As TCP co n n ectio n s
are typ ically u sed fo r each item on a web p age (ico n s, im ages et c.), a h u ge
o verh ead com es with each it em in HTTP/ 1.0. Th in k o f a 50-byt e large ico n ,
t h en a TCP co n n ect io n h as t o b e estab lish ed in clu d in g a t h ree-way-h an d -
sh ake, d at a t ran sm issio n , a n d reliab le d isco n n ect io n . As p o in t ed o u t in
ch ap ter 9, th is m ay im p ly seven PDUs exch an ged between clien t an d server!
TC P h as n o t b een d esign ed fo r t h is t ran sa ct io n like req u est / resp o n se
sch em e wit h o n ly so m e d ata exch an ged . As also sh o wn in ch ap t er 9 , t h e
slo w-st art m ech an ism b u ilt in t o TCP can cau se ad d it io n al p ro b lem s. TCP
m ay be t oo cau t io u s in th e b egin n in g o f a t ran sm issio n , bu t befo re it can
u t ilize t h e availab le b an d wid t h , t h e t ran sm ission is o ver. In o t h er wo rd s,
TCP n ever leaves t h e slo w-st art t h at way, cau sin g u n n ecessary h igh d elay.
An o t h er p ro b lem is cau sed b y th e DNS lo o k-u p , n ecessary fo r m an y it em s
o n a web p age, red u cin g b an d wid t h an d in creasin g th e d elay even fu rt h er.
Each t im e a b ro wser read s a h yp erlin k referen ce t o a n ew sever it h as t o
reso lve th e lo gical n am e in to an IP ad d ress b efore fet ch in g t h e it em fro m
th e server. Th is req u ires an ad d ition al req u est to a DNS server over th e wire-
less lin k ad d in g a ro u n d -trip tim e to t h e d elay.
● Ca ch in g: Alth ou gh u sefu l in m an y cases, cach in g is q u ite often disabled by
co n ten t p ro vid ers. Man y co m p an ies wan t to p lace ad vert isem en t s o n web
p ages an d n eed feed b ack, e.g., t h ro u gh t h e n u m b er o f clicks o n a p age t o
estim ate th e n u m ber of p oten tial cu stom ers. With a cach e between a server
an d a clien t , co m p an ies can n o t get realist ic feed b ack. Eit h er cach es n eed
ad d itio n al m ech an ism s t o create u sage p ro files o r cach in g is d isabled fro m
 Support f or mobilit y 385

th e begin n in g u sin g th e no-cache keyword in th e HTTP/ 1.0 h ead er. Version

1.1 p ro vid es m o re d et ailed cach in g m ech an ism s. Net wo rk p ro vid ers n eed
som eon e to p ay for p ages an d follow th is n o-cach in g req u irem en t fro m t h eir
cu sto m ers. Users su ffer b y d o wn lo ad in g t h e sam e co n t en t rep eat ed ly fro m
th e server. Man y p resen t-d ay p ages con tain d yn am ic objects th at can n ot be
cach ed . Exam p les are: access cou n t ers, tim e, d ate, or oth er cu stom ized item s.
Th is con ten t ch an ges over tim e or for each access; som etim es at least a p art
o f a p age is st atic an d can be cach ed . Man y o f to d ay’s co m p an ies gen erate
cu stom ized p ages on d em an d (via CGI, ASP etc.). It is n ot p ossible to save a
bo okm ark to a p o in t fu rt h er down th e lin k h ierarch y. In stead , a u ser always
h as t o en t er t h e co m p an y’s p ages fro m t h e h o m e p age. Cu st o m izat io n is
saved in cookies. 1 Th is m ore or less p reven t s an y cach in g becau se th e n am es
of lin ks are also gen erated dyn am ically an d th e cach in g algo rith m s can n o t
d etect access to t h e sam e con t en t if th e lin ks d iffer. Th e h om ep ages o f co m -
p an ies are o ft en creat ed d yn am ically d ep en d in g o n t h e t yp e o f bro w ser,
clien t h ard ware, clien t lo cation etc. Even if a cach e cou ld store som e static
con ten t, it is often im p ossible to m erge th is with t h e d yn am ic rem ain d er of
a p age. Mo bility q u it e oft en in h ib its cach in g becau se th e ways o f accessin g
web servers ch an ge over tim e d u e to ch an gin g access p oin ts. Cach es at en try
p oin ts of m obile n etworks m ay save som e ban d wid th an d tim e. Man y secu -
rit y m ech an ism s also in h ib it cach in g. Au t h en t icat io n is o ft en b et ween a
clien t an d a server, n ot between a clien t an d its cach e. Keys for au th en t ica-
t io n h ave an asso ciat ed t im e-o u t aft er wh ich th ey are n o t valid an ym o re.
Cach in g con ten t for th is typ e of secu red tran saction s is u seless.
● PO STin g : Sen d in g co n t en t fro m a clien t t o a server can cau se ad d it io n al
p ro blem s if th e clien t is cu rren tly d isco n n ected . Th e POST req u est can n ot be
fu lfilled in a d isco n n ect ed state, so a server co u ld be sim u lated b y accep tin g
t h e p o st in g via a n ad d it io n al p ro cess. H o wever, t h is clea rly cau ses ad -
d it io n al p rob lem s, e.g., if t h e real server d o es n o t accep t t h e p o stin g o r if
th e server can n o t accep t th e d eferred p o stin g.

10.2.2 Hypertext markup language

H TM L is bro ad ly u sed t o d escrib e t h e co n ten t o f web p ages in t h e wo rld wid e
web (Ragget t, 1998). No m at ter wh ich versio n is u sed , t h ey all sh are co m m o n
p ro p ert ies: HTM L was d esign ed fo r st an d ard d eskt o p co m p u t ers co n n ect ed t o
th e in tern et with a fixed wire. Th ese com p u ters sh are com m o n p ro p erties, su ch
as a relat ively h igh p erfo rm an ce (esp ecially wh en co m p ared t o h a n d h eld
d evices), a colo r h igh -resolu tio n d isp lay (24 b it tru e co lo r, 1,200 × 1,024 p ixels is
stan d ard ), m ou se, sou n d syst em , an d large h ard d isks.

1 Usu ally, a co o kie is rep resen t ed as an en t ry in a file t h at st o res u ser-sp ecific in fo rm at io n fo r web
servers o n t h e clien t sid e. A com p an y can sto re in fo rm at ion in a co o kie an d ret rieve t h is in form atio n
as soo n as t h e u ser visit s t h e co m p an y’s web p ages again .
386 Mobile communicat ions

W h at d o st an d ard h an d h eld devices offer? Du e to restrictio n s in p ower con -

su m p tion an d fo rm factor (th ey sh o u ld still be “h an d h eld ”), t h ese d evices h ave
rat h er sm all d isp lays, so m e st ill o n ly b lack an d wh it e, wit h a lo w reso lu t io n
(e.g., 3 2 0 × 2 4 0 ), very lim it ed u ser in t erfaces (t o u ch screen s, so ft keyb o ard s,
voice com m an d s etc.), an d low p erfo rm an ce CPUs (com p ared t o d eskto p s).
Th e n etwork co n n ectio n of d esktop co m p u t ers o ften con sists of 100 Mbit / s
LANs, som e 5 Mbit/ s DSL co n n ect io n s, or at least a 64 kbit/ s ISDN co n n ectio n .
Ro u n d -t rip d elays are in t h e ran ge o f so m e m s, p ro b ab ly a few 1 0 0 m s in
tran sat lan tic lin ks. W h at d o tod ay’s wireless con n ection s o ffer in th e wid e area?
10 kb it/ s for st an d ard GSM, 50 kbit/ s with GPRS, an d abo u t 120 kbit/ s with , e.g.,
UMTS. Rou n d -trip d elays are o ften in th e ran ge of so m e secon d s.
Web p ages u sin g t h e cu rren t HTML o ft en ign o re t h ese d ifferen ces in en d -
system s. Pages are d esign ed p rim arily fo r a n ice p resen tation of co n ten t, n ot fo r
efficien t tran sfer o f t h is con ten t. HTML it self o ffers alm o st n o way o f op tim izin g
p ages fo r d ifferen t clien t s o r d ifferen t t ran sm issio n t ech n o lo gies. Ho wever,
HTML is n o t th e biggest p ro blem wh en accessin g web p ages from wireless h an d -
h eld clien ts.
Alm ost all of t oday’s web p ages, esp ecially th ose of com p an ies, are ‘en rich ed ’
wit h sp ecial ‘featu res’, som e u sin g HTML, so m e n ot. Th ese featu res in clu d e an i-
m at ed GIFs, Java Ap p let s, Fram es, Act iveX co n t ro ls, m u lt i-m ed ia co n t en t
fo llo w in g d ifferen t p ro p riet ary fo rm at s et c. So m e o f t h em can b e in t erp ret ed
d irect ly by t h e clien t ’s b ro wser, so m e n eed a sp ecial p lu g-in . Th ese ad d it io n al
con ten t form ats cau se several p roblem s. First of all, ap p rop riate p lu g-in s are often
o n ly availab le fo r t h e m o st com m o n co m p u t er p latfo rm s, n o t fo r t h o se m an y
h an dh eld d evices, each wit h its own op eratin g system . If a p lu g-in was available,
th e browser wou ld still h ave th e p roblem of d isp layin g, e.g., a tru e-color vid eo on
a sm all black an d wh it e d isp lay, or d isp layin g a GIF wit h m an y ‘clickable’ areas
et c. M an y web p ages u se exactly th ese GIFs fo r n avigat io n , t h e u ser ju st h as t o
click in th e righ t area. Bu t wh at if th ose GIFs can n ot be d isp layed ?
Th e ap p ro ach es u sin g co n t en t d ist illat io n o r sem an tic co m p ressio n m igh t
w o rk wit h H TM L, b u t t h o se m an y ad d it io n al p lu g-in s each n eed t h eir o w n
m ech an ism to tran slat e t h em in to a u sefu l form at for a wireless d evice with lim -
it ed cap a b ilit ies. W it h o u t a d d it io n al m ech an ism s an d a m o re in t egrat ed
ap p ro ach , large h igh -reso lu tion p ict u res wo u ld be t ran sferred to a m obile p h on e
w it h a lo w-reso lu t io n d isp lay cau sin g h igh co st s, b ecau se t h e u ser d o es n o t
exactly kn ow th e con seq u en ces o f follo win g a lin k. Web p ages typ ically ign ore
th e h et erogen eity of en d -system s alto geth er.

10.2.3 Some approaches t hat might help wireless access

Th e p ro b lem s w it h HTTP an d H TM L a re w ell kn o w n a n d h a ve en co u raged
m an y d ifferen t p ro p riet ary an d st an d ard ized so lu t io n s (o r b et t er p art ial so lu -
tion s). So m e of th e effort s are:
 Support f or mobilit y 387

● Im a ge sca lin g: If a p age con tain s a t ru e co lor, h igh -resolu tion p ict u re, th is
p ictu re can be scaled d o wn to fewer colors, lo wer resolu t io n , o r to ju st th e
title of th e p ict u re. Th e u ser can th en d ecid e to d o wn load th e p ictu re sep a-
rat ely. Clip p in g, zoo m in g, o r d etail stu d ies can be o ffered to u sers if t h ey are
in terested in a p art o f th e p ict u re.
● Co n t en t t r a n sfo r m a t io n : Man y d o cu m en t s are o n ly availab le in cert ain
fo rm at s, e.g. Po st scrip t o r p ort ab le d o cu m en t fo rm at (PDF) (Ad o b e, 2002).
Befo re t ran sm it t in g su ch d o cu m en t s t o a clien t wit h o u t t h e ap p ro p riat e
read er, a sp ecial co n vert er co u ld t ra n slat e t h is d o cu m en t in t o p lain t ex t
(e.g. Fo x, 1996a).
● Co n t en t ex t ra ct io n / sem a n t ic co m p ressio n : Besid es tran sfo rm in g th e co n -
ten t, e.g., h ead lin es o r keywo rd s co u ld b e extract ed fro m a d o cu m en t an d
p resen t ed t o a u ser (e.g. Bickm o re, 1 9 9 7 ). Th e u ser co u ld t h en d ecid e t o
d own lo ad m ore in fo rm at io n relatin g t o a cert ain h ead lin e o r keyword . An
ab st ra ct fro m so m e given t ex t co u ld b e au t o m a t ically gen erat ed . Th is
sem an tic co m p ressio n is q u ite d ifficu lt fo r arb itrary t ext. Ext ractin g h ead -
lin es is sim p ler, b u t som etim es u seless if HTML h ead lin es are u sed fo r layo u t
p u rp oses an d n o t for stru ctu rin g a d ocu m en t.
● Sp ecia l la n gu a g es a n d p r o t o co ls: O th er ap p ro ach es t ry t o rep lace HTML
an d HTTP wit h o th er lan gu ages an d p ro t o co ls bett er ad ap ted to a wireless
en viro n m en t . Early exam p les are t h e h an d h eld d evice t ran sp o rt p ro t o co l
(HDTP) an d th e h an d h eld d evice m arku p lan gu age (HDML) fro m Un wired
Plan et (Kin g, 1997; th e co m p an y was ren am ed to Ph on e.com , m erged with
So ft w are.co m a n d fo rm ed t h e co m p an y O p en w ave (2 0 0 2 ) in N o vem b er
20 0 0 as d o t co m in a n am e was n o lo n ger en vo gu e …). Id eas fro m t h ese
p ro p riet ary so lu t io n s h ave b een in t egrated in t o a b ro ad er ap p ro ach (wire-
less ap p lication p rot ocol) an d will be d iscu ssed in th e n ext sect ion .
● Pu sh t ech n o lo gies: In stead of pu llin g con ten t from a server, th e server cou ld
also p u sh con ten t to a clien t. Th is avoids th e overh ead of settin g u p con n ec-
tion s fo r each item , bu t is on ly u sefu l for som e con ten t, e.g. n ews, weath er
in form ation , road con d ition s, wh ere u sers d o n ot h ave to in t eract m u ch .

Typ ically, m an y o f th ese en h an cem en t s will be p laced in th e fixed n etwork

in t egrat ed eit h er in t o t h e server o r in t o a gat eway b et ween t h e fixed an d t h e
m o b ile n et wo rk. Th ese ap p licat io n gateways are alread y u sed t o p ro vid e www
con ten t to u sers with m obile ph on es an d com p rise en tities for com p ression , filter-
in g, co n t en t ext ract io n , an d au t o m at ic ad ap t at io n t o n et wo rk ch aract erist ics.
Ho wever, m an y p rop rietary ap p roach es typ ically req u ire en h an cem en ts to stan -
dard browsers an d can n ot really h an d le th e broad ran ge of h eterogen eou s d evices.
Th e stan dard tran sfer protocol for web con ten t HTTP h as also been im p roved.
388 Mobile communicat ions

H TTP versio n 1 .1 (RFC 2616 (Field in g, 1999)) offers several im p rovem en ts:

● C o n n ect io n r e-u se: Clien ts an d servers can u se th e sam e TCP con n ectio n
fo r several req u est s an d resp o n ses (p ersist en t co n n ect io n s, see t h e sim p le
exam p le abo ve). Persisten t co n n ect io n s are d efau lt in 1.1 (version 1.0 cou ld
u se th e keep -alive op tion ). A clien t m ay sen d m u lt ip le req u est s at th e begin -
n in g o f a sessio n , an d th e server can sen d all resp o n ses in t h e sam e o rd er
(p ip elin in g). Th is avo id s wait in g fo r a resp on se before th e n ext req uest m ay
b e tran sm it ted . Con sid erin g t h e h igh RTTs o f wireless co n n ectio n s, p ip elin -
in g im p roves p erform an ce dram at ically.
● Ca ch in g en h a n cem en t s: A cach e m ay n ow also st o re cach eab le resp o n ses
t o red u ce resp o n se t im e an d b an d w id t h fo r fu t u re, eq u ivalen t resp o n ses.
C ach in g t ries t o ach ieve sem an t ic t ra n sp aren cy, i.e., a cach e sh o u ld n o t
affect clien t or server b esid es in creasin g th e p erfo rm an ce. Th e correctn ess o f
cach ed en t ries h as b een en h an ced . To fetch th e m ost u p -to -d at e versio n o f
an item , th e it em can be revalid ated with t h e origin server, t h e en try can be
co n sid ered as fresh en o u gh , a warn in g can be in clu d ed if th e fresh n ess h as
b een vio lat ed , it can b e sh o wn t h at t h e it em h as n o t b een m o d ified et c.
Web p ages can con t ain fu rth er in fo rm at ion ab ou t cach eab ility an d sem an -
t ic t ran sp aren cy. A sp ecial tag allo ws fo r t h e id en t ificatio n o f co n t en t an d
h elp s t o d eterm in e if t wo d ifferen t URIs m ap to t h e sam e co n t en t. Several
m o re t ags d et erm in e if co n t en t is cach eab le, cach eab le in p rivat e cach es
o n ly etc. Alt ogeth er, HTTP/ 1.1 d efin es a large set of cach e-co n trol d irect ives.
● Ba n d w id t h o p t im iza t io n : HTTP/ 1.1 su p p o rt s n o t o n ly co m p ressio n , b u t
also t h e n ego t iat io n o f co m p ressio n p aram et ers an d d ifferen t co m p ression
st yles (h o p -b y-h o p o r en d -t o -en d ). It a llo w s fo r p a rt ia l t ran sm issio n o f
o b jects. For exam p le, first t h e in itial p art o f an im age is read t o d et erm in e
its geo m et ry (u sefu l for th e p age layou t before th e wh ole p ictu re is lo ad ed ).
Partial tran sm ission s can also be u sed to recover from n etwork failu re (p ar-
tial cach e co n t en t s can be co m p leted t o a fu ll resp o n se).
● Sec u r i t y : H TTP/ 1 .1 co m p rises fu rt h er m ech an ism s t o ch eck m essage
in tegrity an d to au th en ticate clien ts, p roxies, an d servers.

So m e kin d of state can be in trod u ced in to th e stateless beh avior of HTTP by

u sin g co o k ies (Kristol, 2000). Cookies can set u p a lon g-term “session ” by storin g
state u p on req u est . W h en a server asks to store a cookie on t h e clien t’s sid e, th is
“st art s” th e “sessio n ”. Dep en d in g o n server req u irem en t s, a co o kie m ay reflect
t h e cu rren t st at e o f b ro wsin g, clien t cap ab ilit ies, u ser p ro files et c. A sessio n
is “resu m ed ” b y ret u rn in g a co o kie t o a server. Co o kies m ay h ave ad d it io n al
attribu tes, su ch as a m axim u m age. However, th is cookie m ech an ism is n ot really
in t egrat ed in t o H TTP an d can n o t rep lace real sessio n s wit h m ech an ism s t o
su sp en d th e sessio n u p o n u ser req u est, to set-back t o a cert ain st at e etc. Man y
u sers feel un com fortable u sin g cookies becau se it is n ot obviou s wh at th ey store
an d wh at th ey reveal to servers.
 Support f or mobilit y 389

Figure 10.3
Mobile client Integrated browser
Integrated
enhancement
enhancement
Browser

Web
server

10.2.4 System architecture

Th e classic u n d erlyin g system arch itectu re of th e www is a clien t / server system .
Th e clien t, a web browser ru n n in g as an ap p lication on a com p u ter, req u ests con -
ten t fro m a server, th e web server ru n n in g o n an o t h er co m p u ter. Wit h o u t an y
en h an cem en ts, each click on a h yp erlin k in itiates th e tran sfer of th e con ten t th e
lin k p oin ts to (an d p o ssibly m u ch m ore if th e p age con tain s fu rth er referen ces –
th e b ro wser fet ch es t h em au t o m atically u sin g o n e o r m o re TCP co n n ect io n s).
Th e b ro wser u ses t h e HTTP p ro t o co l fo r co n t en t t ran sfer (see sect io n 1 0.2.1 ).
Web p ages are d escrib ed u sin g H TML (see sect io n 1 0.2.2 ) an d m an y m o re
(p rop rietary) form ats.
Cach in g is a m ajo r to p ic in th e web clien t/ server scen ario . W h ile cach in g is
also u sefu l fo r w ired co m p u t ers b ecau se it red u ces t h e d elay o f d isp layin g
p revio u sly accessed p ages, it is t h e o n ly way o f su p p o rt in g (p art ially) d isco n -
n ect ed web b ro w sers. Esp ecia lly o n m o b ile, w ireless clien t s, n et w o rk
co n n ect ion s can be d isru p t ed or q u it e o ften be of bad q u ality. Th e first en h an ce-
m en t was t h e in tegration of cach in g in to web bro wsers. Th is is stan d ard for all
of to d ay’s bro wsers (e.g. Netscap e, (2002), Microso ft, (2002)). Figu re 10.3 sh ows
a m o b ile clien t wit h a w eb b ro wser ru n n in g. Th is b ro wser h as an in t egrat ed
cach in g m ech an ism as en h an cem en t . Th is cach e d o es n o t p erfo rm au t o m atic
p re-fetch in g o f p ages b u t stores alread y tran sferred co n ten t u p t o a certain lim it.
A u ser can th en go “o fflin e” an d st ill browse t h rou gh th e cach ed co n ten t (p ages,
p ictu res, m u lti-m ed ia objects et c.). Cach in g strategies are very sim p le. Th e u ser
can , for exam p le, d eterm in e if a ch eck for u p d atin g is p erform ed every tim e h e
or sh e accesses a p age, on ly after restartin g th e browser, or n ever (i.e., a p age h as
to be refresh ed m an u ally).
Figu re 1 0.4 sh o w s an arch it ect u re fo r an early ap p ro ach t o en h an ce web
access for m obile clien ts. Th e in itial WebW h acker, fo r exam p le, is a com p an ion
ap p licat io n fo r t h e b ro wser th at su p p o rt s p re-fetch in g o f co n ten t , cach in g an d
d isco n n ected service (Blu e Sq u irrel, 2002). Ho wever, t h is ap p ro ach is n ot tran s-
p aren t fo r a b ro wser as t h ere are n o w t wo d ifferen t ways o f accessin g co n t en t
(o n e d irectly t o th e web server, on e via th e ad d ition al ap p licat ion ).
390 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 10.4
Additional application Mobile client
supporting browsing
Browser
Additional
application

Web
server

Figure 10.5
Client proxy as browser Mobile client
support
Browser
Client
proxy

Web
server

Th e t yp ical en h an cem en ts fo r web b ro wsin g act as a t ran sp aren t p ro xy as

sh o wn in Figu re 10.5 . Th e bro wser accesses t h e web server t h ro u gh t h e clien t
p ro xy, i.e., t h e p ro xy act s as server fo r t h e b ro wser an d as clien t fo r t h e w eb
server. Th e p ro x y can n o w p re-fet ch an d cach e co n t en t acco rd in g t o m an y
st rat egies. As so o n as t h e clien t is d isco n n ect ed , th e p ro xy serves t h e co n t en t.
Man y ap p ro ach es fo llo w t h is sch em e wh ich is in d ep en d en t o f th e b ro wser so
allo w s o t h er d evelo p m en t s (e.g., Cau b w eb (Lo Verso , 1 9 97 ), TeleWeb (Sch ilit ,
19 96 ), Web licat o r/ Do m in o O fflin e Services (Lo t u s, 20 02), Web W h acker (Blu e
Sq u irrel, 2002)).
Ex am p le st rat egies fo r p re-fet ch in g co u ld b e: all p ages t h e cu rren t p ages
p o in t s t o , all p ages in clu d in g th o se t h e p re-fet ch ed p ages p o in t t o (d o wn t o a
cert ain level), p ages b u t n o p ict u res, all p ages wit h t h e sam e keywo rd o n t h e
sam e server etc.
A p ro x y can also su p p o rt a m o b ile clien t o n t h e n et wo rk sid e (see Figu re
10.6). Th is n etwo rk p ro xy can p erfo rm ad ap t ive co n t en t t ran sfo rm at io n (e.g.,
sem an tic co m p ressio n , h ead lin e ext ractio n et c, see sect ion 10.2.3) or p re-fet ch
an d cach e con t en t . Pre-fetch in g an d cach in g is u sefu l in a wireless en viro n m en t
with h igh er error p ro bab ility. Sim ilar to th e en h an cem en ts, for exam p le, I-TCP
ach ieves (see ch ap t er 9), sp lit t in g web access in t o a m o b ile an d fixed p art can
im p ro ve overall system p erform an ce. Fo r t h e web server t h e n etwork p roxy acts
like an y fix ed b ro wser wit h wired access. Disco n n ect io n o f t h e m o b ile clien t
d o es n o t in flu en ce t h e w eb server. Ex am p les fo r t h is ap p ro ach are Tran Sen d
(Fo x, 1996a, 1996b), Digestor (Bickm ore, 1997).
 Support f or mobilit y 391

Figure 10.6
Mobile client Network proxy as
browser support
Browser

Network
proxy
Web
server

Figure 10.7
Mobile client Client and network proxy
as browser support
Client
Browser
proxy

Web Network
server proxy

Th e ben efits o f clien t an d n etwork p ro xies can be com bin ed , wh ich resu lts
in a syst em a rch it ect u re as illu st ra t ed in Figu re 1 0 .7 . An ex am p le fo r t h is
ap p ro ach is Web Ex p ress (H o u sel, 19 9 6), (Flo yd , 1 9 98 ). Clien t p ro x y an d n et -
wo rk p ro x y can n o w in t eract b et t er in p re-fet ch in g an d cach in g o f d at a. Th e
clien t p roxy cou ld in form , for exam p le, th e n etwo rk p roxy abou t u ser beh avior,
th e n etwork p roxy can th en p re-fetch p ages acco rd in g to th is in form atio n . Th e
wh o le ap p roach is still tran sp aren t to th e web server an d th e clien t bro wser.
You can even go on e step fu rth er an d im p lem en t a sp ecialized n etwork su b-
syst em as sh o wn in Figu re 1 0.8 . Th is so lu t io n h as t h e sam e b en efit s as t h e
p reviou s on e bu t n ow, con ten t tran sfer can be fu rth er op tim ized. Exam p les are on
lin e com p ression an d rep lacem en t o f tran sfer p rotoco ls, su ch as HTTP an d TCP,
with p rot ocols bett er ad ap ted to th e m obility an d wireless access of th e clien t.
O n e ex a m p le fo r su ch a syst em is M o wgli (Liljeb erg, 1 9 9 5 ), (Liljeb erg,
1996). Th is syst em su p p o rt s web access o ver cellu lar t elep h o n e n etwo rks, i.e.,
n etwo rks wit h lo w b an d wid t h an d relat ively h igh d elay. Th e syst em n o t o n ly
rep laces tran sp o rt p ro t o co ls b u t also p erfo rm s ad d it io n al co n t en t t ran sfo rm a-
tio n n eed ed for m obile p h o n es. Th e browser still u ses HTTP to th e clien t p roxy.
Th e clien t p ro x y t h en u ses a sp ecia lized t ran sp o rt service, t h e M o w gli d a t a
ch an n el service, t o th e n etwo rk p ro xy. St an d ard p ro t o cols are u sed t o th e web
servers. C lien t an d n et w o rk p ro x y ex ch an ge t h eir m essages o ver lo n g-lived
Mowgli co n n ectio n s. Th is avo id s TCP’s slo w start an d th e o n e TCP con n ection
p er HTTP req u est beh avio r of HTTP/ 1.0.
392 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 10.8
Client and network Mobile client
proxy with special
transmission protocol Client
Browser
proxy

Web Network
server proxy

M an y o th er en h an cem en t s are p o ssible. Exam p les are server ext en sio n s t o

p ro vid e co n t en t esp ecially su it ed fo r w ireless a ccess an d m o b ile, h an d h eld
clien t s. Th e fo llo win g sectio n p resen t s a fram ework t h at in clu d es m an y o f t h e
id eas d iscu ssed in t h e p reviou s su bsection s: en h an cem en ts t o HTML, su p p ort o f
d ifferen t syst em arch it ect u res, an d t ran sfer p ro t o co ls ad ap t ed t o t h e req u ire-
m en ts or m obile, wireless access.

10.3 Wireless applicat ion prot ocol (version 1.x)

Th e growth o f th e in t ern et, in tern et ap p licatio n s, an d m o bile co m m u n icatio n s

led t o m an y early p ro p rietary so lu t io n s p ro vid in g in t ern et services fo r m o b ile,
w ireless d evices. So m e o f t h e p ro b lem s t h ese p art ial so lu t io n s fa ce w ere d is-
cu ssed in sect io n 10.2 b ecau se th e wo rld wid e web is t h e m o st im p o rt an t an d
fast est gro win g in t ern et ap p licat io n . To avo id m an y islan d s o f in co m p at ib le
so lu t io n s, e.g. sp ecial so lu tio n s fo r GSM, IS-136, o r certain m an u factu rers, t h e
w ireless a p p lica t io n p ro t o co l fo ru m (WAP Fo ru m ) was fou n d ed in Ju n e 1997
b y Ericsso n , M o t o ro la, No kia, an d Un wired Plan et (ren am ed t o Ph o n e.Co m ,
ren am ed t o Op en wave; WAP Fo ru m , 2000a). In su m m er 2002, th e WAP fo ru m
t o get h er wit h t h e o p en m o b ile arch it ect u re fo ru m an d t h e Syn cM L in it iat ive
fo rm ed t h e o p en m o b ile a l lia n ce (O MA, 20 02 ). O MA co o p erat es wit h m an y
o th er stan d ard ization bo d ies, su ch as ETSI (2002), IETF (2002), 3GPP (2002). As
t h is sect io n d escrib es versio n 1.x o f WAP an d th e stan d ard s are st ill kn o wn as
WAP Fo ru m stan d ard s, th is n am e was kep t th rou gh o u t th e d escrip t ion o f WAP.
Th e b asic o b jectives o f t h e WAP Fo ru m an d n o w o f t h e OMA are t o b rin g
d iverse in tern et con t en t (e.g., web p ages, p u sh services) an d ot h er d ata services
(e.g., st o ck q u o t es) t o d igital cellu lar p h o n es an d o t h er wireless, m obile term i-
n als (e.g., PDAs, la p t o p s). M o reo ver, a p ro t o co l su it e sh o u ld en a b le glo b a l
w ireless co m m u n icat io n acro ss d ifferen t w ireless n et wo rk t ech n o lo gies, e.g.,
GSM, CDPD, UMTS et c. Th e fo ru m is em b racin g an d exten d in g exist in g stan -
d ard s an d t ech n o lo gies o f t h e in t ern et w h erever p o ssib le a n d is crea t in g a
fram ewo rk for t h e d evelop m en t of co n ten ts an d ap p licatio n s th at scale across a
very wid e ran ge of wireless bearer n etwo rks an d wireless d evice typ es.
 Support f or mobilit y 393

All solu tion s m u st be:

● in t ero p era b le, i.e., allowin g term in als an d software fro m d ifferen t ven d o rs
to co m m u n icate wit h n etwo rks from d ifferen t p ro vid ers;
● sca lea b le, i.e., p ro t ocols an d services sh o u ld scale wit h cu sto m er n eed s an d
n u m ber of cu st om ers;
● efficien t , i.e., p ro visio n o f Qo S su ited to th e ch aract eristics o f t h e wireless
an d m o bile n et wo rks;
● relia b le, i.e., p ro visio n of a co n sist en t an d p red ict ab le p latform fo r d ep lo y-
in g services; an d
● secu re, i.e., p reservat io n o f th e in t egrity of u ser d ata, p ro tectio n o f d evices
an d services from secu rity p roblem s.

Th e WAP Fo ru m p u b lish ed it s first set o f sp ecificatio n s in Ap ril 1998, ver-

sio n 1.0, alread y co vered m an y asp ects o f t h e wh o le arch itect u re. Versio n s 1.1
(May 1999) an d 1.2 (Novem ber 1999) followed . In Ju n e 2000 version 1.2.1 was
released (WAP Foru m , 2000a–r). Th is set o f sp ecification s form s th e basis fo r t h e
followin g section s an d is u sed by m ost of t od ay’s WAP-en abled m obile p h on es.
Sect io n 10.3.1 p resen t s t h e o verall arch it ect u re o f WAP 1.x an d co m p ares th e
WAP stan d ard izatio n with existin g in tern et p roto co ls an d ap p licatio n s; section s
10.3.2 t o 10 .3 .1 1 d iscu ss t h e co m p o n en t s o f t h e WAP arch it ect u re, wh ile sec-
tio n , 10.3.12, p resen t s exam p le co n figu rat io n s. All sp ecificat io n s are availab le
fro m O M A (2 0 0 2 ). Sin gh al (2 0 0 1 ) p resen t s a co m p reh en sive an d d et ailed
overview o f WAP 1.x. Section 10.6 p resen t s t h e n ew WAP arch itectu re, WAP 2.0
th at was stan d ard ized in 2001.

10.3.1 Archit ect ure

Figu re 10.9 gives an o verview of th e WAP arch itectu re, its p rotocols an d com p o-
n en ts, an d com p ares th is arch itectu re with t h e typ ical in tern et arch itectu re wh en
u sin g th e world wid e web. Th is com p arison is often cited by th e WAP Foru m an d
it h elp s t o u n d erst an d t h e arch it ect u re (WAP Fo ru m , 2000a). Th is co m p ariso n
can be m islead in g as n ot all com p on en ts an d p rotocols sh own at th e sam e layer
are com p arable (Kh are, 1999). For con sisten cy reason s with th e exist in g sp ecifica-
tion , th e followin g stays with th e m od el as sh own in Figu re 10.9.
Th e basis for tran sm ission of data is form ed by differen t b ea rer services. WAP
does n ot sp ecify bearer services, bu t u ses existin g d ata services an d will in t egrate
fu rt h er services. Exam p les are m essage services, su ch as sh o rt m essage service
(SMS) o f GSM , circu it -swit ch ed d at a, su ch as h igh -sp eed circu it swit ch ed d at a
(HSCSD) in GSM, o r p acket swit ch ed d at a, su ch as gen eral p acket rad io service
(GPRS) in GSM. Man y oth er bearers are su p ported, su ch as CDPD, IS-136, PHS. No
sp ecial in terface h as been specified between th e bearer service an d th e n ext h igh er
layer, t h e t r a n sp o r t la y er with its w ireless d a t a gra m p ro t o co l (W DP) an d th e
addition al w ireless co n t ro l m essage p ro t o col (W CMP), becau se th e ad aptation of
394 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 10.9 Internet WAP

A-SAP
Components and
interface of the WAP HTML, Java Application layer (WAE) additional services
1.x architecture and applications
S-SAP
Session layer (WSP)
HTTP TR-SAP
Transaction layer (WTP)
SEC-SAP
SSL/TLS Security layer (WTLS)
T-SAP

TCP/IP, Transport layer (WDP) WCMP

UDP/IP,
media Bearers (GSM, CDPD, ...)

th ese protocols are bearer-sp ecific (WAP Foru m , 2000u ). Th e tran sport layer offers
a bearer in depen den t, con sisten t d atagram -orien ted service to th e h igh er layers of
th e WAP arch itectu re. Com m u n ication is don e tran sp aren tly over on e of th e avail-
ab le b earer services. Th e t r a n sp o r t la y er ser v ice a ccess p o in t (T-SAP ) is t h e
com m on in terface to be used by h igh er layers in depen d en t of th e u n derlyin g n et-
work. WDP an d WCMP are d iscussed in m ore detail in section 10.3.2.
Th e n ext h igh er layer, th e secu rit y la yer wit h its w ir eless t ra n sp o r t la y er
secu rit y p rot o col W TLS offers it s service at th e secu rit y SAP (SEC-SAP). W TLS
is based o n t h e t ran sp ort layer secu rity (TLS, form erly SSL, secu re sockets layer)
alread y kn own from th e www. W TLS h as been o p tim ized for u se in wireless n et-
w o rks w it h n a rro w -b an d ch a n n els. It can o ffer d at a in t egrit y, p rivacy,
a u t h en t icat io n , an d (so m e) d en ial-o f-service p ro t ect io n . It is p resen t ed in
sectio n 10.3.3.
Th e WAP t r a n sa ct io n la y er wit h it s w ireless t r a n sa ct io n p r o t o co l (W TP)
o ffers a ligh t weigh t t ran sact io n service at t h e t r a n sa ct io n SAP (TR-SAP). Th is
service efficien t ly p ro vid es reliab le o r u n reliab le req u est s an d asyn ch ro n o u s
tran sactio n s as exp lain ed in sectio n 10.3.4. Tigh tly co u p led t o th is layer is t h e
n ext h igh er layer, if u sed for con n ectio n -o rien ted service as d escribed in sect io n
10.3.5 . Th e sessio n la y er wit h t h e w ir eless sessio n p r o t o co l (W SP) cu rren t ly
o ffers t wo services at t h e sessio n -SAP (S-SAP), on e con n ect ion -o rien ted an d on e
con n ectio n less if u sed d irect ly on t o p of W DP. A sp ecial service fo r browsin g th e
web (W SP/ B) h as been d efin ed th at offers HTTP/ 1.1 fu n ctio n ality, lo n g-lived ses-
sio n st at e, sessio n su sp en d an d resu m e, sessio n m igrat io n an d o t h er feat u res
n eed ed fo r wireless m obile access to th e web.
Fin ally t h e a p p lica t io n la yer with th e w ireless a p p lica t io n en v iro n m en t
(WAE) offers a fram ewo rk for th e in t egration of d ifferen t www an d m o bile tele-
p h o n y ap p licat io n s. It o ffers m an y p ro to co ls an d services wit h sp ecial service
access p o in ts as d escribed in sectio n s 10.3.6–10.3.11. Th e m ain issu es h ere are
 Support f or mobilit y 395

scrip t in g lan gu ages, sp ecial m arku p lan gu ages, in terfaces t o telep h o n y ap p lica-
tio n s, an d m an y co n t en t form at s ad ap ted to th e sp ecial req u irem en ts o f sm all,
h an d h eld , wireless d evices.
Figu re 10.9 n o t o n ly sh o ws t h e o verall WAP arch it ect u re, b u t also its rela-
t io n t o t h e t rad it io n al in t ern et arch it ect u re fo r www ap p licat io n s. Th e WAP
tran sp ort layer togeth er wit h th e bearers can be (rou gh ly) co m p ared to th e ser-
vices o ffered b y TCP o r UDP o ver IP an d d ifferen t m ed ia in t h e in t ern et . If a
bearer in t h e WAP arch it ectu re alread y offers IP services (e.g., GPRS, CDPD) th en
UDP is u sed as W DP. Th e TLS/ SSL layer o f th e in tern et h as also been ad op ted fo r
th e WAP arch it ectu re with so m e ch an ges req u ired fo r o p t im izatio n . Th e fu n c-
tio n ality of th e sessio n an d tran saction layer can rou gh ly be com p ared with t h e
ro le o f HTTP in t h e web arch itectu re. Ho wever, HTTP d o es n o t o ffer all th e ad -
d itio n al m ech an ism s n eed ed fo r efficien t wireless, m o b ile access (e.g., sessio n
m igrat ion , su sp en d / resu m e). Fin ally, t h e ap p lication layer o ffers sim ilar featu res
as HTML an d Java. Again , special form ats an d featu res op tim ized for th e wireless
scen ario h ave been d efin ed an d telep h o n y access h as been ad d ed .
WAP d oes n o t always fo rce all ap p licat io n s to u se t h e wh ole p ro to co l arch i-
tectu re. Ap p lication s can u se o n ly a p art of th e arch itectu re as sh own in Figu re
10.9. Fo r exam p le, th is m ean s th at, if an ap p licatio n d o es n o t req u ire secu rit y
bu t n eed s t h e reliable tran sp o rt of d ata, it can d irect ly u se a service o f t h e tran s-
action layer. Sim p le ap p licat io n s can d irect ly u se W DP.
Differen t scen ario s are p ossible fo r th e in tegration of WAP co m p o n en ts in to
existin g wireless an d fixed n et wo rks (see Figu re 10.10). On th e left side, d ifferen t
fixed n et wo rks, su ch as t h e t rad it io n al in t ern et an d t h e p u b lic swit ch ed t ele-
p h on e n et wo rk (PSTN), are sh o wn . On e can n ot ch an ge p rotocols an d services o f
th ese existin g n et wo rks so several n ew elem en t s will b e im p lem en ted b etween
th ese n etwo rks an d t h e WAP-en abled wireless, m o bile d evices in a wireless n et-
work on th e righ t-h an d sid e.

Figure 10.10
Fixed network Wireless network
Examples for the
integration of WAP
HTML WML WAP Binary WML components
Internet
Filter proxy

WML
HTML
HTML Filter/ Binary WML
WAP
Web HTML proxy
server

WTA Binary WML

server
PSTN
396 Mobile communicat ions

Th e cu rren t www in t h e in tern et o ffers web p ages wit h t h e h elp o f HTML

an d web servers. To be able to browse th ese p ages or add ition al p ages with h an d -
h eld d evices, a wireless m arku p lan gu age (W ML) h as been d efin ed in WAP. Sp ecial
filters with in th e fixed n etwork can n ow tran slate HTML in to WML, web servers
can alread y p rovid e p ages in W ML, or th e gateways between th e fixed an d wire-
less n etwork can t ran slate HTML in to W ML. Th ese gateways n ot on ly filter p ages
b u t also act as p ro x ies fo r web access, as exp lain ed in t h e fo llo win g sect io n s.
W ML is addition ally con verted in to bin ary W ML for m ore efficien t tran sm ission .
In a sim ilar way, a sp ecial gateway can be im p lem en ted t o access trad ition al
telep h on y services via b in ary W ML. Th is wireless telep h o n y ap p lication (W TA)
server tran slat es, e.g., sign alin g o f t h e t elep h o n e n et wo rk (in co m in g call et c.)
in t o W ML even ts d isp layed at th e h an d h eld d evice. It is im p o rtan t to n ot ice th e
in t egrat ed view fo r t h e wireless clien t o f all d ifferen t services, t elep h o n y an d
web, via th e WAE (see section 10.3.6).

10.3.2 Wireless dat agram prot ocol

Th e w ireless d a ta gra m p ro t oco l (W DP) op erates on top of m an y differen t bearer
services capable of carryin g data. At th e T-SAP WDP offers a con sisten t d atagram
tran sp ort service in d ep en d en t of t h e u n d erlyin g bearer (WAP Foru m , 2000b). To
o ffer t h is co n sist en t service, t h e ad ap t at io n n eed ed in th e tran sp o rt layer can
d iffer d ep en d in g on th e services of th e bearer. Th e closer th e bearer service is to
IP, th e sm aller th e adap tation can be. If th e bearer alread y offers IP services, UDP
(Postel, 1980) is u sed as WDP. W DP offers m ore or less th e sam e services as UDP.
W DP offers so u rce an d d est in at io n p o rt n u m b ers u sed for m u ltip lexin g an d
d em u ltip lexin g of data resp ectively. Th e service prim itive to sen d a datagram is T-
D Un i t d a t a .r eq wit h t h e d est i n a t io n a d d r ess (DA), d est in a t io n p o r t (D P),
So u rce ad d ress (SA), so u rce p ort (SP), an d u ser d at a (UD) as m an datory p aram e-
ters (see Figu re 10.11). Destin ation an d sou rce ad dress are u n iqu e ad dresses for th e
receiver an d sen d er of th e u ser d ata. Th ese cou ld b e MSISDNs (i.e., a telep h on e
n u m b er), IP ad d resses, or an y oth er u n iq u e iden tifiers. Th e T-DUn it d at a .in d ser-
vice p rim itive in d icates th e recep tion o f d ata. Here d estin ation ad d ress an d p ort
are on ly op tion al p aram eters.

Figure 10.11 T-SAP T-SAP

WDP service primitives
T-DUnitdata.req
(DA, DP, SA, SP, UD)
T-DUnitdata.ind
(SA, SP, UD)
T-DUnitdata.req
(DA, DP, SA, SP, UD)

T-DError.ind
(EC)
 Support f or mobilit y 397

If a h igh er layer req u est s a service th e W DP can n o t fu lfill, th is error is in d i-

cat ed wit h t h e T-D Er r o r.i n d service p rim it ive as sh o wn in Figu re 1 0 .1 1 . An
er r o r c o d e (EC ) is ret u rn ed in d icat in g t h e reaso n fo r t h e erro r t o t h e h igh er
layer. W DP is n o t allo wed t o u se t h is p rim it ive t o in d icat e p ro b lem s wit h t h e
bearer service. It is o n ly allowed to u se th e p rim itive to in d icate local p ro blem s,
su ch as a u ser d at a size th at is too large.
If an y erro rs h ap p en wh en W DP d at agram s are sen t from o n e W DP en t it y
to an o th er (e.g. t h e d estin at io n is u n reach ab le, n o ap p licat ion is listen in g to t h e
sp ecified d est in ation p o rt et c.), th e w ireless co n t ro l m essa ge p ro t o co l (W CMP)
p ro vid es erro r h an d lin g m ech an ism s for W DP (WAP Foru m , 2000r) an d sh o u ld
th erefo re be im p lem en ted . W CMP con tain s co n trol m essages th at resem ble t h e
in tern et co n trol m essage p rot oco l (ICMP (Postel, 1981b) for IPv4, (Con ta, 1998)
fo r IPv6) m essages an d can also b e u sed fo r d iagn o stic an d in fo rm at io n al p u r-
p o ses. W CM P ca n b e u sed b y W D P n o d es an d ga t ew ays t o rep o rt erro rs.
Ho wever, W CMP erro r m essages m u st n o t be sen t as resp o n se to o th er W CMP
error m essages. In IP-based n etwo rks, ICMP will be u sed as W CMP (e.g., CDPD,
G PRS). Typ ical W C M P m essages are d e st in a t i o n u n r e a c h a b le (ro u t e, p o rt ,
ad d ress u n reach ab le), p a r a m et er p r o b le m (erro rs in t h e p acket h ead er),
m essa ge t o o b ig, rea ssem b ly fa ilu re, or ech o req u est / rep ly .
An ad d ition al W DP m a n a gem en t en t it y su p p orts W DP an d p rovid es in for-
m at io n ab o u t ch an ges in t h e en viro n m en t , wh ich m ay in flu en ce t h e co rrect
o p erat io n o f W DP. Im p o rt an t in fo rm at io n is t h e cu rren t co n figu rat io n o f t h e
d evice, cu rren tly available bearer services, p rocessin g an d m em ory resou rces etc.
Design an d im p lem en t at io n o f t h is m a n agem en t co m p o n en t is co n sid ered
ven d o r-sp ecific an d is o u tsid e th e sco p e o f WAP.
If th e bearer already offers IP tran sm ission , WDP (i.e., UDP in th is case) relies
on th e segm en tation (called fragm en tation in th e IP con text) an d reassem bly cap -
ab ilit ies o f t h e IP layer as sp ecified in (Po stel, 1 981a). Ot h erwise, W DP h as t o
in clude th ese capabilities, wh ich is, e.g., n ecessary for th e GSM SMS. Th e WAP spec-
ificat ion pro vid es m an y m ore ad apt at ion s t o alm o st all bearer services cu rren tly
available or plan n ed for th e future (WAP Foru m , 2000q ), (WAP Forum , 2000b).

10.3.3 Wireless t ransport layer security

If req u est ed b y an ap p licat ion , a secu rity service, t h e w ir eless t r a n sp o r t la y er
secu rit y (W TLS), can b e in tegrat ed in to th e WAP arch itect u re on top of W DP as
sp ecified in (WAP Fo ru m , 2000c). W TLS can p rovid e d ifferen t levels o f secu rit y
(fo r p rivacy, d ata in tegrit y, an d au th en t icat io n ) an d h as been op tim ized fo r lo w
ban d wid t h , h igh -d elay b earer n et wo rks. W TLS t akes in to acco u n t th e lo w p ro-
cessin g p o wer an d v ery lim it ed m em o ry ca p acit y o f t h e m o b ile d evices fo r
cryp t o grap h ic algo rit h m s. W TLS su p p o rt s d at agram an d co n n ect io n -o rien t ed
tran sp o rt layer p ro t o co ls. New co m p ared t o , e.g. GSM , is th e secu rity relat io n
between two p eers an d n o t o n ly between t h e m ob ile d evice an d th e b ase statio n
(see ch ap t er 4 ). W TLS t o o k o ver m a n y feat u res an d m ech an ism s fro m TLS
(fo rm erly SSL, secu re socket s layer (Dierks, 1999)), bu t it h as an op tim ized h an d -
sh akin g between t h e p eers.
398 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 10.12 originator peer

WTLS establishing a SEC-SAP SEC-SAP
secure session SEC-Create.req
(SA, SP, DA, DP, KES, CS, CM)
SEC-Create.ind
(SA, SP, DA, DP, KES, CS, CM)
SEC-Create.res
(SNM, KR, SID, KES', CS', CM')

SEC-Exchange.req
SEC-Create.cnf
(SNM, KR, SID, KES', CS', CM')

SEC-Exchange.ind

SEC-Exchange.res
(CC)
SEC-Commit.req
SEC-Exchange.cnf
(CC)
SEC-Commit.ind
SEC-Commit.cnf

Befo re d at a can b e exch an ged via W TLS, a secu re sessio n h as t o b e est ab -

lish ed . Th is sessio n est ab lish m en t co n sist s o f several st ep s: Figu re 1 0 .1 2
illu strat es th e seq u en ce o f service p rim it ives n eed ed fo r a so -called ‘fu ll h an d -
sh ake’ (several o p t im izat io n s are p o ssib le). Th e o rigin at o r an d t h e p eer o f t h e
secu re sessio n can b o t h in t erru p t sessio n est ablish m en t an y t im e, e.g., if t h e
p aram eters p ro p o sed are n ot accep t able.
Th e first st ep is t o in it iat e t h e sessio n wit h t h e SEC-C r e a t e p rim it ive.
Param eters are so u rce a d d ress (SA), so u rce p o r t (SP) of th e o rigin ator, d est in a -
t io n a d d ress (DA), d est in a t io n p o r t (D P) o f t h e p eer. Th e o rigin at o r p ro p oses
a k e y e x c h a n g e su it e (KES) (e.g., RSA (Rivest , 1 9 7 8 ), DH (Diffie, 1 9 7 6 ),
ECC (Cert ico m , 2 002)), a cip h er su it e (CS) (e.g., DES, IDEA (Sch n eier, 1 996),
an d a co m p r essio n m e t h o d (CM ) (cu rren t ly n o t fu rt h er sp ecified ). Th e p eer
an sw e rs wit h p ara m et ers fo r t h e se q u e n c e n u m b e r m o d e (SNM ), t h e k e y
refresh cycle (KR) (i.e., h ow often keys are refresh ed with in th is secu re session ),
th e sessio n id en t ifi er (SID) (wh ich is u n iq u e with each p eer), an d t h e selected
k e y e x ch a n ge su it e (KES’), cip h e r su it e (CS’), co m p r essio n m et h o d (CM ’).
Th e p eer also issu es a SEC -Ex c h a n g e p r im it iv e . Th is in d icat es t h at t h e p eer
w ish e s t o p erfo rm p u b lic-key a u t h en t icat io n wit h t h e clien t , i.e., t h e p eer
req u est s a clien t cer t ifi ca t e (CC) from th e origin ato r.
Th e first step of th e secu re sessio n creation , th e n ego tiatio n o f th e secu rity
p aram et ers an d su it es, is in d icat ed o n t h e o rigin at o r’s sid e, fo llo w ed b y t h e
req u est fo r a cert ificate. Th e o rigin ato r an swers with its cert ificate an d issu es a
SEC-Co m m it .req p rim itive. Th is p rim it ive in d icates th at th e h an d sh ake is co m -
 Support f or mobilit y 399

sender receiver Figure 10.13

SEC-SAP SEC-SAP WTLS datagram transfer
SEC-Unitdata.req
(SA, SP, DA, DP, UD)
SEC-Unitdata.ind
(SA, SP, DA, DP, UD)

p leted fo r th e origin ator’s sid e an d th at th e origin ato r n o w wan ts to swit ch in t o

th e n ewly n ego t iat ed co n n ect io n st at e. Th e cert ificat e is d elivered t o t h e p eer
sid e an d th e SEC-Co m m it is in d icated . Th e W TLS layer o f th e p eer sen d s b ack
a co n firm at io n t o th e o rigin at o r. Th is co n clu d es t h e fu ll h an d sh ake fo r secu re
session set u p .
Aft er set t in g u p a secu re co n n ect io n b et ween t wo p eers, u ser d at a can b e
exch an ged . Th is is d o n e u sin g th e sim p le SEC-Un it d a t a p rim it ive as sh o wn in
Figu re 10.13. SEC-Un itd ata h as exactly th e sam e fu n ction as T-DUn itd ata on t h e
W DP layer, n am ely it t ran sfers a d atagram between a sen d er an d a receiver. Th is
d ata t ran sfer is still u n reliable, bu t is n ow secu re. Th is sh o ws th at W TLS can be
easily p lu gged in to th e p roto co l st ack o n t op o f W DP. Th e h igh er layers sim p ly
u se SEC-Un it d at a in st ead o f T-DUn it d at a. Th e p aram et ers are t h e sam e h ere:
so u rce a d d ress (SA), so u rce p o r t (SP), d est in a t io n a d d ress (DA), d est in a t io n
p o rt (DP), an d u ser d a t a (UD).
Th is sect io n will n o t d iscu ss t h e secu rit y-relat ed feat u res o f W TLS o r t h e
p ro s an d co n s o f d ifferen t en cryp tio n algo rith m s. Th e read er is referred t o th e
sp ecificat io n (WAP Fo ru m , 20 0 0c) an d excellen t cryp t o grap h y lit erat u re e.g.,
(Sch n eier, 1996), (Kau fm an , 1995).
Alth o u gh W TLS allo ws for d ifferen t en cryp tion m ech an ism s with d ifferen t
key len gt h s, it is q u it e clear t h at d u e t o co m p u t in g p o w er o n t h e h a n d h eld
d evices t h e en cryp t io n p ro vid ed can n o t be very stro n g. If ap p licat io n s req u ire
st ro n ger secu rity, it is u p t o an ap p licat io n o r a u ser t o ap p ly st ro n ger en cryp -
tio n o n t op o f t h e wh o le p ro to col st ack an d u se W TLS as a basic secu rit y level
on ly. Man y p ro gram s are available for th is p u rpo se. It is im p ortan t to n o te th at
th e secu rity associatio n in W TLS exist s between th e m o bile WAP-en ab led d evice
an d a WAP server o r WAP gat eway on ly. If an app lication accesses an o th er server
via t h e gat eway, ad d itio n al m ech an ism s are n eed ed fo r en d -to -en d secu rit y. If
for exam p le a u ser accesses h is or h er ban k accou n t u sin g WAP, th e W TLS secu -
rit y asso ciation typ ically en d s at t h e WAP gateway in sid e t h e n etwo rk op erator’s
d o m ain . Th e ban k an d u ser will wan t to ap p ly ad d itio n al secu rit y m ech an ism s
in t h is scen ario .
Fu t u re wo rk in th e W TLS layer com p rises con sisten t su p p ort for ap p lication
level secu rit y (e.g. d igital sign at u res) an d d ifferen t im p lem en tation classes with
d ifferen t cap abilities t o select from .
400 Mobile communicat ions

10.3.4 Wireless t ransaction protocol

Th e w ireless t ra n sa ct io n p ro t o co l (W TP) is on top of eith er W DP or, if secu rit y
is req u ired , W TLS (WAP Fo ru m , 2000d ). W TP h as been d esign ed t o ru n on very
t h in clien t s, su ch as m o b ile p h o n es. W TP o ffers several ad van t ages t o h igh er
layers, in clu d in g an im p ro ved reliab ilit y o ver d at agram services, im p ro ved ef-
ficien cy o ver co n n ect ion -orien ted services, an d su p p ort fo r tran sactio n -o rien ted
services su ch as w eb b ro w sin g. In t h is co n t ex t , a t ra n sact io n is d efin ed a s a
req u est with its resp on se, e.g. fo r a web p age.
W TP offers m an y featu res to th e h igh er layers. Th e basis is form ed from th ree
cla sses of t ran sact ion service as explain ed in th e followin g paragraph s. Class 0 pro-
vides un reliable m essage tran sfer with out an y result m essage. Classes 1 an d 2 provide
reliable m essage tran sfer, class 1 with ou t , class 2 with , exact ly on e reliable resu lt
m essage (th e typical req uest/ respon se case). WTP ach ieves reliability usin g d u p lica t e
rem oval, ret ra n sm ission , ack n ow led gem en ts an d un ique t ra n sa ct ion id en t ifi ers.
No W TP-class req u ires an y co n n ection set -u p or t ear-do wn p h ase. Th is avo ids
un n ecessary overh ead on th e com m un ication lin k. W TP allows for a syn ch ro n ou s
t ra n sact ion s, a b or t of t ra n sa ct io n s, con ca t en a t io n of m essages, an d can rep or t
su ccess or failu re of reliable m essages (e.g., a server can n ot h an dle th e request).
To be con sisten t with th e sp ecification , in th e followin g th e term in it ia t o r is
u sed for a W TP en tity in itiatin g a tran sact ion (aka clien t), an d th e term resp o n -
d er fo r th e WTP en tity resp on d in g to a tran saction (aka server). Th e th ree service
p rim it ives offered by W TP are TR-In vo k e to in itiate a n ew tran saction , TR-Resu lt
t o sen d b ack t h e resu lt o f a p revio u sly in it iat ed t ran sact io n , an d TR-Ab o r t t o
abort an existin g tran saction . Th e PDUs exch an ged between two W TP en tit ies for
n orm al tran saction s are th e in vo k e PDU, ack PDU, an d resu lt PDU. Th e u se of
th e service p rim itives, th e PDUs, an d th e associated p aram et ers with t h e classes
of tran saction service will be exp lain ed in th e followin g section s.
A sp ecial featu re o f W TP is its ability to p rovid e a u ser a ck n o w led gem en t
o r, alt ern at ively, an a u t o m a t ic a ck n o w led gem en t b y t h e W TP en t it y. If u ser
ackn o wled gem en t is req u ired , a W TP u ser h as t o co n firm every m essage
received by a W TP en tity. A u ser ackn owled gem en t p rovid es a st ro n ger versio n
o f a con firm ed service b ecau se it gu aran t ees t h at t h e resp o n se co m es fro m th e
u ser o f th e W TP an d n ot th e W TP en t it y it self.

10.3.4.1 WTP class 0

Class 0 o ffers an u n reliab le t ran sact io n service wit h o u t a resu lt m essage. Th e
tran sact io n is stateless an d can n ot be aborted . Th e service is req u ested with t h e
TR-In v o k e.r eq p rim it ive as sh o wn in Figu re 10.1 4. Param et ers are t h e so u r ce
a d d r e ss (SA), so u r ce p o r t (SP ), d est in a t io n a d d r ess (D A), d e st in a t io n p o r t
(DP ) as alread y exp lain ed in sect io n 10.3 .2 . Ad d it io n ally, wit h t h e A flag t h e
u ser o f th is service can d eterm in e, if th e resp on d er W TP en tity sh o u ld gen erate
an a ck n o w led gem en t o r if a u ser ackn o wled gem en t sh o u ld be u sed . Th e W TP
layer will tran sm it t h e u ser d a t a (UD) tran sp aren tly to its d estin ation . Th e class
t yp e C in d icat es h ere class 0 . Fin a lly, t h e t ran sact io n h a n d le H p ro vid es a
sim p le in d ex t o u n iq u ely id en tify th e t ran sact io n an d is an alias fo r th e tu p le
(SA, SP, DA, DP), i.e., a socket p air, with o n ly lo cal sign ifican ce.
 Support f or mobilit y 401

initiator responder Figure 10.14

TR-SAP TR-SAP Basic transaction,
TR-Invoke.req WTP class 0
(SA, SP, DA, DP, A, UD, C=0, H) Invok
e PD TR-Invoke.ind
U (SA, SP, DA, DP, A, UD, C=0, H')

Th e W TP en t ity at t h e in itiat o r sen d s an in voke PDU wh ich t h e resp on d er

receives. Th e W TP e n t it y a t t h e resp o n d er t h en gen era t es a TR-In v o k e .i n d
p rim it ive w it h t h e sa m e p aram et ers as o n t h e in it iat o r’s sid e, excep t fo r H ’
wh ich is n ow th e lo cal h an d le for t h e tran sactio n on t h e resp o n d er’s sid e.
In th is class, t h e resp on d er d oes n o t ackn o wled ge th e m essage an d t h e in i-
t iat o r d o es n o t p erfo rm an y ret ran sm issio n . Alt h o u gh t h is resem b les a sim p le
d at agram service, it is reco m m en d ed t o u se W DP if o n ly a d atagram service is
req u ired . W TP class 0 au gm en ts th e tran sactio n service with a sim p le d atagram -
like service for o ccasio n al u se by h igh er layers.

10.3.4.2 WTP class 1

Class 1 offers a reliab le tran saction service bu t with ou t a resu lt m essage. Again ,
t h e in it iat o r sen d s an in vo ke PDU after a TR-In v o k e.r eq fro m a h igh er layer.
Th is tim e, class eq u als ‘1’, an d n o u ser ackn o wled gem en t h as been selected as
sh own in Figu re 10.15. Th e resp on d er sign als th e in com in g in voke PDU via t h e
TR-In v o k e.in d p rim it ive t o t h e h igh er layer an d ackn o wled ges au t o m at ically
with o u t u ser in terven tion . Th e sp ecificat ion also allows th e u ser o n th e resp on -
d er’s sid e t o ackn o wled ge, b u t t h is ackn o wled gem en t is n o t req u ired . Fo r t h e
in itiato r th e tran sact io n en d s with th e recep tio n o f th e ackn owled gem en t. Th e
resp o n d er keep s th e t ran sactio n state fo r som e tim e to be able t o ret ran sm it t h e
ackn o wled gem en t if it receives th e sam e in voke PDU again in d icatin g a loss of
th e ackn o wled gem en t.
If a u ser o f t h e W TP class 1 service o n t h e in it iat o r’s sid e req u est s a u ser
ackn owled gem en t on th e resp on d er’s sid e, th e seq u en ce diagram looks like Figu re
10.16. No w th e W TP en tity o n th e resp o n d er’s sid e d o es n ot sen d an ackn o wl-
ed gem en t au t om atically, bu t waits for th e TR-In vo k e.res service p rim itive fro m

initiator responder Figure 10.15

TR-SAP TR-SAP Basic transaction,
TR-Invoke.req WTP class 1, no user
(SA, SP, DA, DP, A, UD, C=1, H) acknowledgement
Invoke TR-Invoke.ind
PDU
(SA, SP, DA, DP, A, UD, C=1, H' )
TR-Invoke.cnf
(H) Ack PDU
402 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 10.16 initiator responder

Basic transaction, TR-SAP TR-SAP
WTP class 1, with user
TR-Invoke.req
acknowledgement (SA, SP, DA, DP, A, UD, C=1, H) Invok TR-Invoke.ind
e PDU
(SA, SP, DA, DP, A, UD, C=1, H')

TR-Invoke.res
(H')
TR-Invoke.cnf DU
(H) Ac k P

t h e u ser. Th is service p rim it ive m u st h ave t h e ap p ro p riat e lo cal h an d le H’ fo r

id en t ificat io n o f t h e righ t t ran sact io n . Th e W TP en t it y can n o w sen d t h e ack
PDU. Typ ical u ses for th is tran saction class are reliable p u sh services.

10.3.4.3 WTP class 2

Fin ally, class 2 t ran sactio n service p rovid es t h e classic reliable req u est/ resp on se
t ra n sa ct io n kn o w n fro m m a n y clien t / server scen ario s. Dep en d in g o n u ser
req u irem en ts, m an y d ifferen t scen ario s are p o ssible for in itiato r/ resp o n d er in ter-
action . Th ree exam p les are p resen ted below.
Figu re 10.17 sh o ws t h e b asic t ran sact io n o f class 2 wit h o u t-u ser ackn o wl-
ed gem en t. Here, a u ser on t h e in itiato r’s sid e req u est s th e service an d th e W TP
en t ity sen d s t h e in vo ke PDU t o t h e resp o n d er. Th e W TP en t it y o n t h e resp o n -
d er’s sid e in d icates th e req u est with t h e TR-In v o k e.in d p rim itive to a u ser. Th e
resp o n d er n o w wait s fo r t h e p ro cessin g o f t h e req u est , th e u ser o n t h e resp o n -
d er’s sid e can fin ally give t h e resu lt UD* t o t h e W TP en t it y o n t h e resp o n d er

Figure 10.17 initiator responder

Basic transaction, TR-SAP TR-SAP
WTP class 2, no user TR-Invoke.req
acknowledgement (SA, SP, DA, DP, A, UD, C=2, H) Invok TR-Invoke.ind
e PDU
(SA, SP, DA, DP, A, UD, C=2, H')

TR-Result.req
(UD*, H')
TR-Invoke.cnf U
lt PD
(H) Resu

TR-Result.ind
(UD*, H)

TR-Result.res
(H)
Ac k P TR-Result.cnf
DU
(H')
 Support f or mobilit y 403

initiator responder Figure 10.18

TR-SAP TR-SAP Basic transaction,
TR-Invoke.req WTP class 2, with user
(SA, SP, DA, DP, A, UD, C=2, H) Invok acknowledgement
e PD TR-Invoke.ind
U
(SA, SP, DA, DP, A, UD, C=2, H')

TR-Invoke.res
(H')
TR-Invoke.cnf DU
(H) Ac k P
TR-Result.req
U (UD*, H')
TR-Result.ind lt PD
(UD*, H) Resu

TR-Result.res
(H)
Ac k P TR-Result.cnf
DU
(H')

sid e u sin g TR-Resu lt .req . Th e resu lt PDU can n ow be sen t back to th e in itiato r,
wh ich im p licitly ackn o wled ges t h e in vo ke PDU. Th e in itiato r can in d icate th e
su ccessfu l t ran sm issio n of t h e in vo ke m essage an d th e resu lt with th e t wo ser-
vice p rim it ives TR-In v o k e.cn f an d TR-Resu lt .in d . A u ser m ay resp o n d t o t h is
resu lt wit h TR-Resu l t .r es. An ackn o wled gem en t PDU is t h en gen erat ed wh ich
fin ally t riggers t h e TR-Re su lt .c n f p rim it ive o n t h e resp o n d er’s sid e. Th is ex-
am p le clearly sh o ws t h e co m b in at io n o f t wo reliab le services (TR-In vo ke an d
TR-Resu lt ) wit h an efficien t d at a tran sm issio n / ackn owled gem en t.
An even m ore reliable service can be p ro vid ed by u ser ackn owled gem en t as
exp lain ed abo ve. Th e tim e-seq u en ce d iagram loo ks d ifferen t (see Figu re 10.18).
Th e u ser o n t h e resp o n d er’s sid e n o w exp licit ly resp o n d s t o t h e In vo ke PDU
u sin g t h e TR-In vo k e.res p rim itive, wh ich triggers th e TR-In vo k e.cn f o n th e in i-
tiato r’s side via an a ck PDU. Th e tran sm issio n o f th e resu lt is also a con firm ed
service, as in d icat ed b y t h e n ex t fo u r service p rim it ives. Th is service w ill
likely b e t h e m o st co m m o n in st an d ard req u est / resp o n se scen ario s as, e.g.,
d istribu ted com p u t in g.
If th e calcu lation of t h e resu lt takes som e tim e, th e resp on der can p u t th e in i-
tiator on “h old on ” to p reven t a retran sm ission of th e in voke PDU as th e in itiator
m igh t assu m e p acket loss if n o resu lt is sen t back with in a certain tim efram e. Th is
is sh own in Figu re 10.19. After a tim e-ou t, th e resp on d er au tom atically gen erates
an ackn o wled gem en t fo r t h e In vo ke PDU. Th is sh o ws t h e in it iat o r t h at t h e
resp on d er is still alive an d cu rren tly bu sy p rocessin g th e req u est . After m ore tim e,
th e resu lt PDU can be sen t to th e in itiator as alread y exp lain ed.
W TP p ro vid es m an y m o re feat u res n o t exp lain ed h ere, su ch as co n caten a-
t io n an d sep arat io n o f m essa ges, asyn ch ro n o u s t ra n sact io n s wit h u p t o 2 1 5
tran saction s o u tstan d in g, i.e., req u ested bu t with o u t resu lt u p t o n ow, an d seg-
m en t at io n / reassem bly of m essages (WAP Fo ru m , 2000d ).
404 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 10.19 initiator responder

WTP class 2 transaction TR-SAP TR-SAP
with “ hold on” , no user
TR-Invoke.req
acknowledgement (SA, SP, DA, DP, A, UD, C=2, H) Invok TR-Invoke.ind
e PD
U (SA, SP, DA, DP, A, UD, C=2, H')
TR-Invoke.cnf DU
(H) Ac k P
TR-Result.req
(UD*, H')
TR-Result.ind U
lt PD
(UD*, H) Resu

TR-Result.res
(H)
Ac k P TR-Result.cnf
DU
(H' )

10.3.5 Wireless session prot ocol

Th e w ir eless sessio n p r o t o co l (W SP) h as b een d esign ed t o o p erate o n t o p o f
th e d at agram service W DP o r th e tran sact ion service W TP (WAP Foru m , 2000e).
Fo r b o t h t yp es, secu rit y can b e in sert ed u sin g t h e W TLS secu rit y layer if
req u ired . W SP p ro vid es a sh ared state between a clien t an d a server t o op tim ize
co n t e n t t ra n sfer. H TTP, a p ro t o co l W SP t ries t o rep lace wit h in t h e w ireless
d o m ain , is st at eless, wh ich alread y cau ses m an y p ro blem s in fixed n et works (see
sectio n 10.2.1). Man y web con ten t p rovid ers th erefore u se co okies to store som e
state o n a clien t m ach in e, wh ich is n o t an elegan t so lu tion (see sectio n 10.2.3).
St at e is n eed ed in web b ro wsin g, fo r exam p le, to resu m e bro wsin g in exactly t h e
sam e con text in wh ich browsin g h as been su sp en d ed . Th is is an im p o rtan t fea-
tu re fo r clien t s an d servers. Clien t u sers can co n t in u e t o wo rk wh ere t h ey left
t h e b ro wser o r wh en t h e n et wo rk was in t erru p t ed , o r u sers can get t h eir cu s-
tom ized en viro n m en t every tim e th ey start th e bro wser. Con t en t p rovid ers can
cu sto m ize th eir p ages to clien ts’ n eed s an d d o n o t h ave to retran sm it t h e sam e
p ages over an d over again . W SP offers th e fo llo win g gen eral feat u res n eed ed fo r
co n t en t exch an ge b etween coo p eratin g clien ts an d servers:

● Se ssio n m a n a g e m e n t : W SP in t ro d u ces sessio n s t h at can b e est a b li sh ed

fro m a clien t t o a server an d m a y b e lo n g lived . Sessio n s can also b e
relea sed in an o rd erly m an n er. Th e cap abilities of su sp en d in g an d resu m -
in g a session are im p o rtan t t o m o bile ap p licat ion s. Assu m e a m obile d evice
is bein g swit ch ed off – it wo u ld b e u sefu l fo r a u ser t o be ab le to co n t in u e
o p erat io n at exact ly t h e p o in t wh ere t h e d evice was swit ch ed o ff. Sessio n
lifet im e is in d ep en d en t o f t ra n sp o rt co n n ect io n lifet im e o r co n t in u o u s
o p eratio n of a bearer n et work.
 Support f or mobilit y 405

● Ca p ab ility n ego t ia t io n : Clien ts an d servers can agree u p on a com m on level

of p rot ocol fu n ct ion ality d u rin g session establish m en t. Exam p le p aram eters
to n egotiate are m axim u m clien t SDU size, m axim u m ou tstan d in g req u ests,
p rotocol option s, an d server SDU size.
● Co n t en t en co d in g: W SP also d efin es t h e efficien t bin ary en co d in g fo r t h e
co n t en t it t ran sfers. W SP o ffers co n t en t t yp in g an d co m p o sit e o b ject s, as
exp lain ed for web bro wsin g.

W h ile W SP is a gen eral-p u rp o se sessio n p ro t o co l, WAP h as sp ecified t h e

w ir eless sessio n p r o t o co l/ b r o w sin g (W SP/ B) wh ich co m p rises p ro t o co ls an d
services m o st su ited fo r browsin g-typ e ap p licatio n s. In ad d itio n to t h e gen eral
featu res of W SP, W SP/ B offers th e fo llo win g feat u res ad ap ted to web browsin g:

● H TTP/ 1.1 fu n ct io n a lit y : W SP/ B su p p o rts th e fu n ction s HTTP/ 1.1 (Field in g,

1999) o ffers, su ch as exten sib le req u est/ rep ly m et h o d s, co m p o site ob ject s,
an d co n t en t t yp e n ego t iat io n . W SP/ B is a b in ary fo rm o f H TTP/ 1 .1 .
H TTP/ 1 .1 co n t en t h ead ers are u sed t o d efin e co n t en t t yp e, ch aract er set
en co d in g, lan gu ages etc., b u t bin ary en co d in gs are d efin ed fo r well-kn o wn
h ead ers to red u ce p rotocol o verh ead s.
● Ex ch a n ge o f sessio n h ea d ers: Clien t an d server can exch an ge req u est/ rep ly
h ead ers t h at rem ain con stan t o ver th e lifetim e of th e sessio n . Th ese h ead ers
m ay in clu d e co n t en t t yp es, ch aract er set s, lan gu ages, d evice cap ab ilit ies,
an d o t h er st at ic p aram et ers. W SP/ B will n o t in t erp ret h ead er in fo rm at io n
bu t p asses all h ead ers d irectly to service u sers.
● Pu sh a n d p u ll d a t a t ra n sfer : Pu llin g d at a fro m a server is t h e t rad it ion al
m ech an ism of t h e web . Th is is also su p p o rt ed b y W SP/ B u sin g t h e
req u est/ resp on se m ech an ism from HTTP/ 1.1. Ad ditio n ally, W SP/ B su p p ort s
t h ree p u sh m ech an ism s for dat a t ran sfer: a con firm ed d at a pu sh wit h in an
existin g session con text, a n on -con firm ed data pu sh with in an existin g session
con text, an d a n on -con firm ed d ata push with ou t an existin g session con text.
● Asyn ch ro n o u s req u est s: Op tion ally, W SP/ B su p p o rts a clien t th at can sen d
m u ltip le requ ests to a server sim u ltan eou sly. Th is im p roves efficien cy for th e
req u ests an d replies can n ow be coalesced in to fewer m essages. Laten cy is also
im p roved , as each resu lt can be sen t to th e clien t as soon as it is available.

As alread y m en t io n ed , W SP/ B can ru n over th e t ran sact ion service W TP or

th e d atagram service W DP. Th e followin g sh ows several p rot o col seq u en ces typ -
ical fo r sessio n m an agem en t, m et h o d in vo catio n , an d p u sh services.

10.3.5.1 WSP/ B over WTP

W SP/ B u ses t h e t h ree service classes o f W TP p resen t ed in sect io n 10 .3 .4.1 t o
10.3.4.3 as fo llo ws. Class 0 is u sed fo r u n co n firm ed p u sh , sessio n resu m e, an d
sessio n m an agem en t . Co n firm ed p u sh u ses class 1, m eth o d in vo cat io n , sessio n
resu m e, an d sessio n m an agem en t class 2. Th e fo llo win g tim e seq u en ce ch art s
will give so m e exam p les.
406 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 10.20 client server

WSP/ B session S-SAP S-SAP
establishment S-Connect.req
(SA, CA, CH, RC) Conne
c t PD S-Connect.ind
U
(SA, CA, CH, RC)

S-Connect.res
(SH, NC)
S-Connect.cnf PDU
Reply
(SH, NC) Conn

WTP Class 2
transaction

Th e first ex am p le (seeFigu re 1 0 .2 0 ) sh o w s t h e sessio n est ab lish m en t o f

W SP/ B u sin g W TP class 2 t ran sact io n s. W it h t h e S-C o n n e c t .r e q p rim it ive, a
clien t can req u est a n ew sessio n . Param et ers are t h e ser v er a d d r ess (SA), t h e
clien t a d d ress (CA), an d t h e op t io n al clien t h ea d er (CH ) an d r eq u est ed ca p -
a b ilit ies (RC). Th e sessio n layer d irectly u ses th e ad d ressin g sch em e of th e layer
belo w. TR-SAP an d S-SAP can be d irect ly m ap ped . A clien t h ead er can com p rise
u ser-t o -u ser in fo rm at io n co m p at ib le wit h HTTP m essage h ead ers acco rd in g t o
Field in g (1999). Th ese h ead ers can be u sed , e.g., for cach in g if th ey are con stan t
th rou gh ou t th e sessio n . In terp retatio n is u p to t h e u ser o f t h is service. Th e cap -
abilities are n eed ed fo r t h e cap ab ilit y n ego tiatio n b et ween server an d clien t as
listed in th e featu res o f W SP abo ve.
W TP tran sfers th e co n n ect PDU to th e server S-SAP wh ere an S-Co n n ect .in d
p rim it ive in d icates a n ew session . Param eters are th e sam e, bu t n ow th e cap abil-
it ies a re m an d at o ry. If t h e server accep t s t h e n ew sessio n it an sw ers wit h an
S-Co n n ect .r es, p aram et ers are an o p t io n al ser v er h ea d er (SH ) wit h t h e sam e
fu n ction as th e clien t h ead er an d t h e n ego t ia t ed ca p a b ilit ies (NC) n eed ed for
cap ab ility n egotiation .
W TP n o w t ran sfers t h e co n n r ep ly PD U b ack t o th e clien t; S-Co n n ect .cn f
con firm s t h e sessio n est ab lish m en t an d in clu d es th e ser v er h ea d er (if p resen t )
an d th e n ego t ia t ed cap a b ilit ies from t h e server. W SP/ B in clu d es several p ro ce-
d u res to refu se a sessio n or to abort sessio n establish m en t.
A very u sefu l feat u re o f W SP/ B sessio n su sp en sio n an d sessio n r esu m e is
sh o w n in Figu re 1 0 .2 1 . If, fo r ex a m p le, a clien t n o t ices t h at it will so o n b e
u n a va ilab le, e.g., t h e b earer n et w o rk w ill b e u n availab le d u e t o ro a m in g t o
an o th er n et wo rk o r th e u ser swit ch es off t h e d evice, th e clien t can su sp en d t h e
sessio n . Sessio n su sp en sio n will au t o m at ically ab o rt all d ata t ran sm issio n an d
freeze th e cu rren t state o f th e sessio n on th e clien t an d server sid e. A clien t su s-
p en d s a sessio n w it h S-Su sp en d .r e q , W TP t ran sfers t h e su sp en d PD U t o t h e
server wit h a class 0 tran sact io n , i.e., u n co n firm ed an d u n reliab le. W SP/ B will
sign al t h e su sp en sio n wit h S-Su sp en d .in d o n t h e clien t an d server sid e. Th e
on ly p aram eter is t h e rea so n R fo r su sp en sion . Reason s can be a u ser req u est o r
a su sp en sion in itiated by t h e service p rovid er.
 Support f or mobilit y 407

client server Figure 10.21

S-SAP S-SAP WSP/ B session
suspension and resume
S-Suspend.req Suspe
nd PDU S-Suspend.ind
(R)
S-Suspend.ind
(R)
WTP Class 0
transaction

S-Resume.req
~ ~
(SA, CA) Resum
e PDU S-Resume.ind
(SA, CA)

S-Resume.res
PDU
S-Resume.cnf Reply

WTP Class 2
transaction

As also sh own in Figu re 10.21, a clien t can later resu m e a su sp en d ed session

wit h S-Resu m e .r eq . Param et ers a re se r v e r a d d r e ss (SA) an d cli en t a d d r ess
(CA). If SA an d CA are n o t t h e sam e as before su sp en d in g th is session , it is t h e
resp o n sibilit y o f t h e service u ser t o m ap t h e ad d resses acco rd in gly so th at t h e
sam e server in st an ce will be co n t acted . Resu m in g a sessio n is a con firm ed op era-
tion . It is u p to t h e server’s op erator h o w lo n g th is state is co n served .
Term in atin g a session is d on e by u sin g t h e S-Disco n n ect .req service p rim i-
tive (Figu re 10.22). Th is p rim itive aborts all cu rren t m eth od or p u sh tran sact ion s
u sed t o t ran sfer d at a. Disco n n ect io n is in d icat ed o n b o t h sid es u sin g
S-D isco n n ect .in d . Th e r ea so n R fo r d isco n n ectio n can be, e.g., n et wo rk erro r,
p ro t o co l erro r, p eer req u est , co n gest io n , an d m ax im u m SDU size ex ceed ed .
S-Discon n ect.in d can also in clu d e p aram eters th at red irect th e session to an oth er
server wh ere th e sessio n m ay con tin u e.

Figure 10.22
client server
S-SAP S-SAP WSP/ B session
termination
S-Disconnect.req
(R) Disc o
nnec t S-Disconnect.ind
PDU
(R)
S-Disconnect.ind
(R)
WTP Class 0
transaction
408 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 10.23 client server

WSP/ B completed S-SAP S-SAP
transaction S-MethodInvoke.req
(CTID, M, RU) Met h
od P S-MethodInvoke.ind
DU (STID, M, RU)

S-MethodInvoke.res
(STID)
S-MethodInvoke.cnf
(CTID)
S-MethodResult.req
(STID, S, RH, RB)
S-MethodResult.ind PDU
(CTIB, S, RH, RB) Reply

S-MethodResult.res
(CTID)
S-MethodResult.cnf
(STID)
WTP Class 2
transaction

Th e S-Met h o d In vok e prim itive is used to request th at an operation is executed

by th e server. Th e resu lt, if an y, is sen t back u sin g th e S-M et h od Resu lt prim it ive
(Figu re 10.23). A clien t requ est s an op erat ion wit h S-M et h o d In v o k e.r eq .
Param et ers are t h e clien t t r a n sa ct io n id en t ifier C TID t o d ist in gu ish bet ween
p en din g t ran sact io n s, th e m et h od M id en t ifyin g t h e req u est ed op eratio n at t h e
server, an d th e req u est URI (Un iform Resou rce Iden tifier (Bern ers-Lee, 1994a) RU.
URLs, su ch as h t tp :/ / www.xyz.in t / are exam p les o f URIs (Bern ers-Lee, 1994b ).
Addition al h eaders an d bodies can be sen t with th is prim itive.
Th e W TP class 2 tran sact ion service n ow tran spo rts th e m et h o d PD U to t h e
server. A m eth od PDU can be eith er a get PDU or a post PDU as defin ed in Fieldin g
(1999). Get PDUs are used for HTTP/ 1.1 GET, OPTIONS, HEAD, DELETE an d TRACE
m eth ods, an d oth er m eth ods th at do n ot sen d con ten t to th e server. A p ost PDU is
used for HTTP/1.1 POST an d PUT an d oth er m eth ods th at sen d con ten t to th e server.
O n th e server’s sid e, S-Met h o d In vo k e.in d in d icates th e req u est. In th is case
a ser v e r t r a n sa ct io n id en t ifier STID d ist in gu ish es b et ween p en d in g t ran sac-
tio n s. Th e server co n firm s t h e req u est , so W SP/ B d o es n o t gen erate a n ew PDU
bu t relies on th e lower W TP layer (see Figu re 10.24).
Sim ilarly, t h e resu lt o f t h e req u est is sen t b ack t o t h e clien t u sin g t h e S-
M e t h o d Re su lt p rim it ive. Ad d it io n a l p ara m et ers are n o w t h e st a t u s (S), t h e
resp o n se h ea d er (RH ), an d th e r esp o n se b o d y (RB). Again , W SP/ B stays clo se
t o H TTP/ 1.1 an d so t h e St at u s S co rresp o n d s t o t h e HTTP st at u s co d es in
Field in g (1999). On e fam o u s exam p le fo r a st a t u s co d e is 4 0 4 , in d icatin g t h at
th e server cou ld n o t fin d th e web p age sp ecified in t h e req u est , typ ically a sign
of an o u td ated bo okm ark or a lazy m an aged web server. Bu t m o st of t h e tim e a
server retu rn s 2 00 in d icatin g th at everyth in g is o kay. Head er an d b od y, to o, are
eq u ivalen t to th e HTTP h eader an d bod y, t h erefore th e resp o n se bod y typ ically
carries th e co d e of th e web p age if th e st at u s is 200.
 Support f or mobilit y 409

Figure 10.24
client initiator responder server
WSP utilization of WTP
S-SAP TR-SAP TR-SAP S-SAP
as lower layer
S-MethodInvoke.req TR-Invoke.req Invok
e (M et h
od)
TR-Invoke.ind S-MethodInvoke.ind

TR-Invoke.res S-MethodInvoke.res
DU
S-MethodInvoke.cnf TR-Invoke.cnf Ac k P

p ly) TR-Result.req S-MethodResult. req

lt (Re
S-MethodResult.ind TR-Result.ind Resu

S-MethodResult.res TR-Result.res
Ac k P
DU
TR-Result.cnf S-Method Result.cnf

W SP d o es n o t in t ro d u ce PDUs o r service p rim it ives ju st fo r t h e sake o f

sym m et ric an d aest h et ic p ro t o co l arch it ect u re. Figu re 1 0.2 4 sh o ws h o w
W SP (t h u s also W SP/ B) u ses th e u n d erlyin g W TP services fo r it s p u rp o ses. Th e
S-Met h o d In vo k e.req p rim itive triggers th e TR-In vo k e.req p rim itive, th e p aram e-
ters of th e W SP layer are th e u ser data of th e W TP layer. Th e in vo k e PDU of th e
W TP layer carries t h e m et h o d PDU of th e W SP layer in sid e. In con trast to a p u re-
layered com m u n icatio n m od el, th e lower W TP layer is in volved in th e sem an tics
of th e h igh er layer p rim itives an d d oes n ot con sid er th em as p u re d ata on ly.
Fo r t h e con firm at ion of its service p rim it ives th e W SP layer h as n on e of its
o wn PDUs b u t u ses t h e a ck n o w led gem en t PD Us o f t h e W TP layer as sh o wn .
S-M et h o d In v o k e.r es t riggers TR-In v o k e.res, t h e a ck PD U is tran sferred to t h e
in it iat o r, h ere TR-In v o k e.cn f co n firm s t h e in vo ke service a n d t riggers t h e
S-Met h o d In vo k e.cn f p rim itive wh ich con firm s th e m eth o d in vo catio n service.
Th is m in glin g of layers saves a lo t o f red u n d an t d ata flow bu t still allows a sep -
aratio n of th e t asks between th e two layers.
W SP n eith er p rovid es an y seq u en cin g between d ifferen t req u ests n or d oes it
rest o re an y seq u en ce b et ween resp o n ses. Figu re 10.25 sh o ws fo u r req u est s o n
th e clien t ’s sid e (S-M et h o d In v o k e_i.r eq ). W SP m ay d eliver t h em in an y o rd er
o n t h e server’s sid e as in d icat ed b y S-M et h o d In v o k e_i.in d (t h e co n firm at io n
p rim it ives S-M et h o d In v o k e.r es an d S-M et h o d In v o k e.cn f h ave b een o m it t ed
fo r clarit y). Th e u ser on th e server’s sid e m ay n eed d ifferen t am ou n ts of tim e to
resp o n d to th e req u ests, e.g., if som e req u ested data h as to be fetch ed fro m d isk
w h ile o t h er d at a is a lread y ava ilab le in m em o ry. Th erefo re, t h e resp o n ses S-
M et h o d Resu lt _i.req m ay be in arbit rary o rd er as th e W SP service o n ly d elivers
t h em t o t h e clien t S-SAP wh ere t h ey fin ally ap p ear as S-M et h o d Resu lt _i.in d .
Th is m ay be co m p let ely in d ep en d en t fro m th e o rigin al ord er o f th e req u ests.
410 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 10.25 client server

WSP/ B asynchronous, S-SAP S-SAP
unordered requests
S-MethodInvoke_1.req

S-MethodInvoke_2.req
S-MethodInvoke_2.ind
S-MethodInvoke_1.ind

S-MethodInvoke_3.req S-MethodResult_1.req
S-MethodResult_1.ind S-MethodInvoke_3.ind
S-MethodResult_3.req
S-MethodResult_3.ind

S-MethodInvoke_4.req S-MethodResult_2.req

S-MethodInvoke_4.ind
S-MethodResult_4.ind S-MethodResult_4.req

S-MethodResult_2.ind

U p t o n o w a ll service p rim it ives allo wed t h e clien t t o p u ll d at a fro m a

server. With th e h elp of p u sh p rim itives, a server can p u sh d ata to ward s a clien t
if allo wed . Th e sim p lest p u sh m ech an ism is th e n o n -co n firm ed p u sh as sh own
in Figu re 10.26. Th e server sen d s u n solicited d ata with th e S-Pu sh .req p rim it ive
t o t h e clien t . Param et ers are t h e p u sh h ea d er (PH ) an d t h e p u sh b o d y (PB)
again , t h ese are t h e h ead er an d t h e b o d y kn o wn fro m H TTP. Th e u n reliab le,
u n co n firm ed W TP class 0 t ran sact io n service t ran sfers t h e p u sh PD U t o t h e
clien t wh ere S-Pu sh .in d in d icates th e p u sh even t.
A m o re relia b le p u sh service o ffers t h e S-C o n fi r m e d Pu sh p rim it ive as
sh o wn in Figu re 10.27. Here th e server h as t o d eterm in e t h e p u sh u sin g a serv er
p u sh id en t i fie r (SPID ). Th is h elp s t o d ist in gu ish b et ween d ifferen t p en d in g
p u sh es. Th e reliable W TP class 1 tran sact ion service is n ow u sed to tran sfer th e
c o n fp u sh P D U t o t h e clien t . O n t h e clien t ’s sid e a c li e n t p u sh id e n t ifie r
(CPID ) is u sed t o d istin gu ish bet ween d ifferen t p en d in g p u sh es.

Figure 10.26 client server

WSP/ B non-confirmed S-SAP S-SAP
push
S-Push.req
S-Push.ind (PH, PB)
PDU
(PH, PB) Push

WTP Class 0
transaction
 Support f or mobilit y 411

client server Figure 10.27

S-SAP S-SAP WSP/ B confirmed push

S-ConfirmedPush.req
S-ConfirmedPush.ind U (SPID, PH, PB)
sh PD
(CPID, PH, PB) Co nfPu

S-ConfirmedPush.res
(CPID)
S-ConfirmedPush.cnf
(SPID)
WTP Class 1
transaction

Ad d it io n ally, W SP/ B p ro vid es m an y ways t o ab o rt an y o p erat io n su ch as

sessio n est ablish m en t, m eth od in vocat ion o r d at a p u sh .

10.3.5.2 WSP/ B as connect ionless session service

Th ere are cases wh ere t h e overh ead o f sessio n est ab lish m en t an d release, co n -
firm ed m et h o d in vo cat io n an d all asso ciat ed st ates is sim p ly t o o m u ch an d a
h igh d egree o f relia b ilit y is n o t req u ired . In t h ese ca ses, It is p o ssib le t o
ru n W SP/ B o n to p o f th e co n n ectio n less, u n reliable W DP service. As an alt ern -
at ive t o W DP, W TLS can alw ays b e u sed if secu rit y is req u ired . Th e service
p rim it ives are d irectly m ap p ed on to each o th er. Exam p le ap p lication s cou ld be
p eriod ic p u sh es of weath er d ata from a rem ote sen so r d evice to a clien t .
Figu re 10.28 sh ows th e th ree service p rim itives available for co n n ectio n less
sessio n service: S-Un it -M et h o d In vo k e.req to req u est an o p eratio n o n a server,
S-Un it -M et h o d Resu lt .r eq t o ret u rn resu lt s t o a clien t , an d S-Un it -Pu sh .r eq t o
p u sh d ata on to a clien t. Tran sfer of th e PDUs (m et h o d , rep ly an d p u sh ) is d on e
w it h t h e h elp o f t h e st an d a rd u n relia b le d a t a gra m t ra n sfer service o f W D P.

client server Figure 10.28

S-SAP S-SAP WSP/ B as
connectionless
S-Unit-MethodInvoke.req session service
(SA, CA, TID, M, RU) Met h
od P S-Unit-MethodInvoke.ind
DU
(SA, CA, TID, M, RU)

S-Unit-MethodResult.req
S-Unit-MethodResult.ind (CA, SA, TID, S, RH, RB)
PDU
(CA, SA, TID, S, RH, RB) Rep ly
S-Unit-Push.req
S-Unit-Push.ind (CA, SA, PID, PH, PB)
PDU
(CA, SA, PID, PH, PB) Push

WDP Unitdata
service
412 Mobile communicat ions

Besid es th e ser ver a d d ress (SA), th e clien t a d d ress (CA), t h e m et h o d (M), an d

th e req u est URI (RU), wh ich h ave alread y b een exp lain ed above, t h e u ser of th e
S-Un i t -M e t h o d In v o k e .r e q p rim it ive can d et erm in e a t r a n sa ct io n i d en t ifie r
(TID ) t o d ist in gu ish b et ween d ifferen t t ran sact io n s o n t h e u ser level. TID is
com m u n icated tran sp aren t ly from service u ser to service u ser.
Th e fu n ct io n o f t h e S-Un it -M et h o d Resu lt p rim it ive rem ain s t h e sam e as
exp lain ed above: th e st a t u s (S), resp o n se h ea d er (RH ), an d resp o n se b o d y (RB)
rep resen t t h e resu lt o f t h e o p erat io n . Th e S-U n it -Pu sh p rim it ive h as t h e p ar-
am eters clien t a d d r ess (CA), ser v er a d d r ess (SA), p u sh id en t ifi er (PID), p u sh
h ea d er (PH), an d p u sh b o d y (PB).
Alt h o u gh W SP alread y offers m an y services, e.g., sp ecifies bin ary en cod in gs
fo r h ead ers an d co n ten t et c., th ere are m an y u n solved p ro blem s. Exam p les are:
th e p ro visio n in g o f Qo S, (i.e., h ow can certain q u ality p aram eters be ap p lied to
tran saction s an d session s?) m u lti-cast su p p ort (i.e., h o w can a m u lticast sessio n
b e creat ed ?) o r iso ch ro n o u s m u lt im ed ia o b ject s (i.e., th e su p p o rt of very st rict
tim e b o u n d s fo r sessio n services). Mo reo ver, m an agem en t o f all services is still
an o p en field .

10.3.6 Wireless application environment

Th e m a in id ea b eh in d t h e w i r e le ss a p p lic a t i o n e n v i r o n m en t (WAE) is t o
creat e a gen era l-p u rp o se ap p licat io n en viro n m en t b ased m ain ly o n ex ist in g
tech n o lo gies an d p h ilosop h ies of th e wo rld wid e web (WAP Fo ru m , 2000g). Th is
en viro n m en t sh o u ld allo w service p ro vid ers, so ft ware m an u fact u rers, o r h ard -
ware ven do rs to in tegrate th eir ap p licat ion s so th ey can reach a wide variety o f
d ifferen t wireless p latform s in an efficien t way. Ho wever, WAE d oes n ot d ictate
o r assu m e an y sp ecific m an -m ach in e-in terface m o d el, bu t allows fo r a variety of
d evices, each wit h its own cap abilities an d p robably ven d o r-sp ecific ext ras (i.e.,
each ven d o r can h ave its o wn lo o k an d feel). WAE h as alread y in t egrat ed t h e
fo llo w in g t ech n o lo gies an d ad ap t ed t h em fo r u se in a wireless en viro n m en t
with low p ower h an d h eld d evices. HTML (Raggett , 1998), JavaScrip t (Flan agan ,
1997), an d th e h an d h eld d evice m arku p lan gu age HDML (Kin g, 1997) form th e
b a sis o f t h e w i r e le ss m a r k u p la n g u a g e (W M L) a n d t h e scrip t in g lan gu age
W M Lscr ip t . Th e exch an ge fo rm ats fo r b u sin ess card s an d p h o n e boo ks v Ca rd
(IMC, 1996a) an d fo r calen d ars v Ca len d a r (IM C, 1996b ) h ave b een in clu d ed .
URLs fro m t h e web can b e u sed . A w id e ran ge o f m o b ile t eleco m m u n icat io n
t ech n o lo gies h ave b een ad o p t ed an d in t egrat ed in t o t h e w ir el ess t ele p h o n y
a p p lica t io n (W TA) (WAP Fo ru m , 2000f).
Besid es relyin g o n m at u re an d est ab lish ed t ech n o lo gy, WAE fo cu ses o n
d evices wit h very lim it ed cap ab ilit ies, n arro w-b an d en viro n m en t s, an d sp ecial
secu rity an d access con trol featu res. Th e first ph ase of th e WAE sp ecification d evel-
op ed a wh ole ap p lication su ite, esp ecially for wireless clien ts as p resen ted in th e
followin g section s. Fu tu re d evelop m en ts for th e WAE will in clu d e exten sion s for
m o re con ten t form ats, in t egratio n o f fu rth er existin g or em ergin g tech n o logies,
m ore server-sid e asp ects, an d th e in tegration of in telligen t telep h on e n etworks.
 Support f or mobilit y 413

Figure 10.29
Origin servers Gateway Client WAE logical model
WTA
Web user agent
Response Encoded
server
with response
content with content
Encoders
WML
&
user agent
Push decoders Encoded
Other content
content push
server
content
Other WAE
user agents
Request Encoded
request

On e glob al goal o f th e WAE is t o m in im ize o ver-th e-air t raffic an d resou rce

co n su m p t io n o n th e h an d h eld d evice. Th is go al is also reflect ed in t h e lo gical
m odel u n d erlyin g WAE (Figu re 10.29) sh owin g som e m ore d etail th an th e gen eral
o verview in Figu re 1 0.10 . WAE ad o p t s a m o d el t h at clo sely fo llo ws t h e www
m odel, bu t assu m es ad dition al gateways th at can en h an ce tran sm ission efficien cy.
A clien t issu es an en cod ed requ est for an op eration on a rem ote server. En codin g
is n ecessary to m in im ize d ata sen t over th e air an d to save resou rces on th e h an d -
h eld d evice as exp lain ed togeth er with th e lan gu ages W ML an d W MLscrip t.
Decod ers in a ga t ew a y n o w tran slate th is en co d ed req u est in to a stan d ard
req u est as u n d erstood by th e o rigin ser v ers. Th is co u ld be a req u est to get a web
p age t o set u p a call. Th e gateway tran sfers t h is req u est t o th e ap p rop riat e o rigin
server as if it cam e fro m a stan d ard clien t. Origin servers co u ld be stan d ard web
servers ru n n in g H TTP an d gen erat in g co n t en t u sin g scrip t s, p ro vid in g p ages
u sin g a d atabase, or ap p lyin g an y o th er (p rop rietary) tech n ology. WAE d o es n ot
sp ecify an y stan d ard co n ten t gen erato r o r server, bu t assu m es th at th e m ajorit y
will fo llo w th e st an d ard tech n o lo gy u sed in tod ay’s www.
Th e o rigin servers will resp o n d t o t h e req u est . Th e gat eway n o w en co d es
th e resp on se an d its con t en t (if t h ere is an y) an d tran sfers t h e en co d ed resp o n se
wit h t h e co n t en t t o t h e clien t. Th e WAE lo gical m o d el n o t o n ly in clu d es th is
st an d ard req u est/ resp o n se sch em e, b u t it also in clu d es p u sh services. Th en an
o rigin server p u sh es co n ten t to t h e gateway. Th e gat eway en co d es th e p u sh ed
co n t en t an d tran sm it s th e en cod ed p u sh con t en t to th e clien t.
Several u ser agen ts can resid e with in a clien t . User agen ts in clu d e su ch it em s
as: browsers, p h on ebo oks, m essage ed itors etc. WAE d oes n ot sp ecify th e n u m ber
o f u ser agen ts or th eir fu n ction ality, b u t assu m es a basic W M L u ser a gen t th at
su p p o rt s W M L, W MLscrip t , o r b o t h (i.e., a ‘W M L b ro wser’). Fu rt h er d o m ain -
sp ecific u ser agen ts with varyin g arch itectu res can be im p lem en ted . Again , th is is
left to ven d ors. However, on e m ore u ser agen t h as been sp ecified with its fu n d a-
m en t al services, t h e W TA u ser a ge n t . Th is u ser agen t h an d les access t o , an d
in t eraction with , m o b ile telep h o n e feat u res (su ch as call co n t ro l). As over t im e
414 Mobile communicat ions

m an y ven d o r d ep en d en t u ser agen ts m ay d evelop , t h e stan d ard d efin es a u ser

a gen t p r o file (UAPr o f), wh ich d escrib es th e cap ab ilit ies o f a u ser agen t (WAP
Foru m , 2000aa). Cap abilities m ay be relat ed to h ard ware or so ftware. Exam p les
are: d isp lay size, o p erat in g syst em , b ro wser versio n , p ro cesso r, m em o ry size,
au d io / vid eo co d ec, o r su p p o rted n etwo rk typ es. Th e b asic lan gu ages W ML an d
W MLScrip t, an d th e W TA will be d escribed in th e followin g th ree section s.

10.3.7 Wireless markup language

Th e w ireless m ark u p la n gu age (W ML) (WAP Foru m , 2000j) is based on th e stan -
d ard HTML (Ragget t , 1998) kn o wn fro m t h e www an d on HDML (Kin g, 1997).
W ML is sp ecified as an XML (W 3 C, 1 99 8 a) d o cu m en t t yp e. W h en d esign in g
W ML, several co n st rain t s o f w ireless h an d h eld d evices h ad t o b e t aken in t o
accou n t. First of all, th e wireless lin k will always h ave on ly a very lim ited cap acity
com p ared to a wire. Cu rren t h an d h eld d evices h ave sm all d isp lays, lim ited u ser
in p u t facilit ies, lim it ed m em o ry, an d o n ly lo w p erfo rm an ce co m p u t at io n al
reso u rces. W h ile t h e b an d wid t h argu m en t will rem ain fo r m an y years, it cu r-
ren tly seem s th at th e gap between m obile an d fixed devices regard in g p rocessin g
p ower is gettin g n arrower. Tod ay’s CPUs in PDAs h ave p erform an ce figu res close
to desktop CPUs ju st a few years ago.
W ML fo llows a d eck an d card m etap h o r. A W ML d o cu m en t is m ad e u p o f
m u ltip le ca rd s. Card s can be grou p ed to geth er in to a d eck . A W ML d eck is sim i-
lar t o an HTML p age, in th at it is id en t ified by a URL an d is th e u n it of con ten t
tran sm issio n . A u ser n avigates wit h th e W ML browser t h ro u gh a series of W ML
card s, reviews th e con ten ts, en t ers req u est ed d at a, m akes ch o ices etc. Th e W ML
browser fetch es d ecks as req u ired from origin servers. Eit h er th ese d ecks can be
static files on th e server o r th ey can be d yn am ically gen erat ed .
It is im p o rtan t to n ote t h at W ML d o es n ot sp ecify h ow t h e im p lem en tation
of a W ML browser h as to in teract with a u ser. In st ead , W ML d escribes t h e in ten t
of in t eract ion in an abst ract m an n er. Th e u ser agen t on a h an d h eld d evice h as
to d ecid e h ow t o best p resen t all elem en ts of a card . Th is p resen tation d ep en d s
m u ch o n th e cap abilit ies o f th e d evice.
W ML in clu d es several basic featu res:

● Tex t a n d im a ges: W ML gives, as d o o t h er m ark-u p lan gu ages, h in t s h o w

text an d im ages can b e p resen t ed to a u ser. Ho wever, th e exact p resen tation
o f d at a t o a u ser is u p t o t h e u ser agen t ru n n in g o n t h e h an d h eld d evice.
W ML o n ly p ro vid es a set o f m ark-u p elem en t s, su ch as em p h asis elem en ts
(b o ld , italic, etc.) for text, or tab colu m n s for t abbin g align m en t.
● U se r in t e r a c t io n : W M L su p p o rt s d ifferen t elem en t s fo r u ser in p u t .
Exam p les are: t ext en t ry co n t ro ls fo r text o r p asswo rd en try, o p tio n selec-
tion s o r co n trols fo r task in vo cat io n . Again , t h e u ser agen t is free to ch oo se
h ow th ese in p u ts are im p lem en ted . Th ey co u ld be bo u n d to , e.g., p h ysical
keys, soft keys, o r vo ice in p u t.
 Support f or mobilit y 415

● N a v ig a t i o n : As w it h HTM L b ro wsers, W M L o ffers a h ist o ry m ech an ism

with n avigat io n t h rou gh th e b ro wsin g h ist o ry, h yp erlin ks an d o t h er in ter-
card n avigation elem en ts.
● Co n t ex t m a n a gem en t : W ML allo ws fo r savin g th e stat e bet ween d ifferen t
d ecks wit h o u t server in t eract io n , i.e., variab le stat e can last lo n ger t h an a
sin gle d eck, an d so st at e can b e sh ared acro ss d ifferen t d ecks. C ard s can
h a ve p aram et ers d efin ed b y u sin g t h is st at e wit h o u t access t o t h e server
o ver th e n arrow-b an d wireless ch an n el.

Th e fo llo w in g p aragrap h gives a sim p le ex a m p le o f W M L; t h e read er is

referred t o t h e stan d ard o r Sin gh al (2001) fo r a fu ll referen ce an d in -d ep th d is-
cu ssion o f t h e lan gu age.
First, a referen ce to XML is given wh ere W ML was d erived from . Th en , aft er
th e keywo rd wml th e first card is d efin ed . Th is first card of th e d eck “d isp lays” a
text after load in g (“d isp layin g” cou ld also m ean vo ice o u tp u t etc.). As so on as a
u ser activates th e do elem en t (a bu tt o n o r voice co m m an d ), th e u ser agen t d is-
p lays t h e secon d card . On th is seco n d card , th e u ser can select o n e ou t o f t h ree
p izza op t io n s. Dep en d in g o n th e ch oice of th e u ser, PIZZA can h ave on e of th e
valu es Mar, Fun, or Vul. If th e u ser p ro ceed s to th e th ird card with o u t ch o osin g a
p izza, t h e valu e M ar is u sed as d efau lt . Again , d escrib in g t h ese o p t io n s wit h
W ML d o es n o t au t o m atically m ean t h at th ese o p tio n s are d isp layed as text . It
co u ld also b e p o ssib le t h at t h e u ser agen t read s t h e o p t io n s t h ro u gh a vo ice
o u t p u t an d t h e u ser an swers t h ro u gh a vo ice in p u t . W M L o n ly d escrib es t h e
in ten t io n of a ch o ice. Th e th ird card fin ally ou t p u ts t h e valu e of PIZZA.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE wml PUBLIC "-//WAPFORUM//DTD WML 1.1//EN"
"http://www.wapforum.org/DTD/wml_1.1.xml">
<wml>
<card id="card_one" title="Simple example">
<do type="accept">
<go href="#card_two"/>
</do>
<p>
This is a simple first card!
<br/>
On the next one you can choose ...
</p>
</card>
<card id="card_two" title="Pizza selection">
<do type="accept" label="cont">
<go href="#card_three"/>
</do>
<p>
416 Mobile communicat ions

... your favourite pizza!

<select value="Mar" name="PIZZA">
<option value="Mar">Margherita</option>
<option value="Fun">Funghi</option>
<option value="Vul">Vulcano</option>
</select>
</p>
</card>
<card id="card_three" title="Your Pizza!">
<p>
Your personal pizza parameter is <b>$(PIZZA)</b>!
</p>
</card>
</wml>

W ML m ay be en cod ed u sin g a com p act bin ary rep resen tation to save b an d -
wid th o n th e wireless lin k. Th is co m p act rep resen tatio n is b ased on t h e bin ary
XML con t en t form at as sp ecified in WAP Fo ru m (2000k). Th e bin ary co d in g o f
W ML is o n ly o n e sp ecial versio n o f th is fo rm at ; th e co m p act rep resen tat io n is
valid in gen eral fo r XML co n ten t. Th e co m p act fo rm at allo ws fo r t ran sm issio n
with o u t lo ss of fu n ctio n alit y o r of sem an tic in form atio n . For exam p le, th e URL
p refix href=_http://, wh ich is very co m m on in URLs, will be cod ed as 4B. Th e
co d e fo r th e select keyword is 37 an d option is 35. Th ese sin gle b yte cod es are
m u ch m ore efficien t t h an t h e p lain ASCII t ext u sed in HTML an d t od ay’s www.

10.3.8 WMLScript
W MLScrip t com p lem en ts t o W ML an d p rovid es a gen eral scrip tin g cap ability in
t h e WAP arch it ect u re (WAP Fo ru m , 2 0 0 0 h ). W h ile all W ML co n t en t is st at ic
(after lo adin g o n th e clien t), W MLScrip t o ffers several cap abilit ies n o t su p p orted
by W M L:

● Va l id it y c h e c k o f u se r in p u t : b efo re u ser in p u t is sen t t o a server,

W MLScrip t can ch eck t h e valid ity an d save ban d wid th an d laten cy in case
o f an erro r. O t h erw ise, t h e server h a s t o p erfo rm a ll t h e ch ecks, w h ich
always in clu d es at least o n e rou n d -trip if p ro blem s occu r.
● Access t o d ev ice fa cilit ies: W MLScrip t o ffers fu n ct io n s t o access h ard ware
co m p o n en ts an d so ftware fu n ct io n s o f th e d evice. On a p h on e a u ser cou ld ,
e.g., m ake a p h o n e call, access t h e ad d ress bo ok, o r sen d a m essage via t h e
m essage service o f th e m o bile p h o n e.
● Lo ca l u ser in t era ct io n : Wit h ou t in tro d u cin g rou n d -trip d elays, W MLScrip t
can d irectly an d lo cally in t eract wit h a u ser, sh o w m essages o r p ro m p t fo r
in p u t. On ly, fo r exam p le, th e resu lt o f several in teractio n s co u ld b e t ran s-
m itted to a server.
 Support f or mobilit y 417

● Ex t en sio n s t o t h e d ev ice so ft w a r e: With th e h elp o f W MLScrip t a d evice

can b e co n figu red an d n ew fu n ct io n alit y can b e ad d ed even aft er d ep lo y-
m en t . Users can d o wn lo ad n ew so ft ware fro m ven d o rs an d , t h u s, u p grad e
th eir d evice easily.

W MLScrip t is based on JavaScrip t (Flan agan , 1997), bu t ad ap t ed to th e wire-

less en viro n m en t . Th is in clu d es a sm a ll m em o ry fo o t p rin t o f t h e sim p le
W M LScrip t b yt eco d e in t erp ret er an d an efficien t o ver-t h e-air t ran sp o rt via a
sp ace efficien t b yt eco d e. A W MLScrip t co m p iler is u sed t o gen erat e t h is b yt e-
co d e. Th is com p iler m ay be located in a gat eway (see Figu re 10.29) or th e origin
servers store p re-com p iled W MLScrip t byteco d e.
W MLScrip t is even t-based , i.e., a scrip t m ay be in vo ked in resp o n se t o cer-
t ain u ser o r en viro n m en t even t s. W M LScrip t also h as fu ll access t o t h e st at e
m od el o f W ML, i.e., W MLScript can set an d read W ML variables.
W M LScrip t p ro v id es m a n y feat u res kn o wn fro m st an d ard p ro gram m in g
lan gu ages su ch as fu n ct io n s, ex p ressio n s, o r while, if, for, return et c. st at e-
m en t s. Th e lan gu age is weakly-t yp ed , i.e., an y variab le can co n t ain an y t yp e
(su ch a s in t eger, flo at , st rin g, b o o lea n ) – n o ex p licit t yp in g is n ecessa ry.
W MLScrip t p ro vid es an au t o m atic co n versio n b et ween d ifferen t t yp es if p o ss-
ible. Param eters are always p assed by valu e to fu n ctio n s.
H ere is a sim p le ex a m p le fo r so m e lin es o f W M LScrip t : t h e fu n ct io n
pizza_test accep t s o n e valu e as in p u t. Th e local variable taste is in itialized to
th e strin g "unknown". Th en th e scrip t ch ecks if th e in p u t p aram eter pizza_type
h as th e valu e "Mar". If t h is is th e case, taste is set to "well... ", o th erwise th e
scrip t ch ecks if t h e pizza_type is "Vul". If th is is th e case, taste is set to "quite
hot". Fin ally, t h e cu rren t valu e o f tast e is retu rn ed as th e valu e of th e fu n ction
pizza_test.

function pizza_test(pizza_type) {
var taste = "unknown";
if (pizza_type = "Mar") {
taste = "well... ";
}
else {
if (pizza_type = "Vul") {
taste = "quite hot";
};
};
return taste;
};

Th e W MLScrip t co m p iler can com p ile on e or m o re su ch scrip t s in t o a

W MLScrip t co m p ila t io n u n it . A h an d h eld wireless d evice can n ow fetch su ch a
co m p ilat ion u n it u sin g st an d ard p rot o co ls wit h HTTP sem an t ics, su ch as W SP
(see section 10.3.5). With in a com pilation un it, a user can call a particular fun ction
418 Mobile communicat ions

usin g stan dard URLs with a fragm en t an ch or. A fragm en t an ch or is specified by th e

URL, a h ash m ark (#), an d a fragm en t iden tifier. If th e URL of th e com pilation un it
of th e exam p le script was: http://www.xyz.int/myscr, a user could call th e script
an d pass th e param eter "Vul" via http://www.xyz.int/myscr#pizza_test("Vul").
Th e WAP Foru m h as sp ecified several st a n d a rd lib raries for W MLScrip t (WAP
Foru m , 2000i). Th ese libraries p rovid e access to th e co re fu n ction ality of a WAP
clien t so th ey, m u st be available in th e clien t’s scrip tin g en viron m en t. On e excep-
tion is th e float library, wh ich is op tion al an d is on ly u sefu l if a clien t can su pp ort
floatin g-p oin t operation s. Th e followin g six libraries h ave been defin ed so far:

● La n g : Th is lib rary p ro vid es fu n ct io n s clo sely relat ed t o W MLScip t it self.

Exam p les are isInt to ch eck if a valu e co u ld be con verted in t o an in teger o r
float to ch eck if flo atin g-p o in t op eratio n s are su p p orted .
● Flo a t : Man y typ ical arith m etic flo atin g-p o in t o p erat io n s are in t h is library
(w h ich is op tio n al as m en tio n ed b efo re). Exam p le fu n ct io n s are round fo r
ro u n d in g a n u m ber an d sqrt for calcu latin g th e sq u are root of a given valu e.
● St rin g: Man y st rin g m an ip u lation fu n ction s are in th is library. Exam p les are
w ell-kn o wn fu n ct io n s su ch as length t o ret u rn t h e len gt h o f a st rin g o r
subString to ret u rn a su bst rin g o f a given strin g. Neverth eless, t h is lib rary
also p rovid es m ore ad van ced fu n ction s su ch as find to fin d a su bstrin g with in
a strin g or squeeze to rep lace several con secu tive wh it esp aces with on ly on e.
● U RL: Th is lib rary p ro vid es m an y fu n ct io n s fo r h an d lin g URLs wit h t h e
syn tax d efin ed in Field in g (1995):
<scheme>://<host>:<port>/<path>;<parameters>?<query>#<fragment>

fo r ex am p le: http://www.xyz.int:8080/mypages;5;2?j=2&p=1#crd. Th e
fu n ctio n getPath co u ld n o w ext ract th e p ath o f t h is URL, i.e., "mypages",
getQuery h as t h e q u ery p art "j=2&p=1" as ret u rn valu e, an d getFragment
d elivers th e fragm en t u sed in th e URL, i.e., "crd".
● W MLBro w ser: Th is library p rovid es several fu n ct ion s typ ical for a browser,
su ch as prev t o go b ack o n e card o r refresh t o u p d at e t h e co n t ext o f t h e
u ser in t erface. Th e fu n ct io n go load s th e co n t en t p ro vid ed as p aram et ers:
var my_card =
"http://www.xyz.int/pizzamatic/apps.dck#start";
var my_vars = "j=4&k=7";
WMLBrowser.go(my_card, my_vars);

● Dialo gs: For in teraction with a u ser, th is library h as been d efin ed. An exam ple
fu n ction is prompt wh ich displays a given m essage an d prom pts for u ser in pu t.

An a d d it io n al lib rary is t h e W M LSc r ip t C r y p t o Lib r a r y (WAP Fo ru m ,

2000s). Th is library con tain s, for exam p le, fu n ction s for sign in g text in ad d ition
to th e secu rity fu n ct io n s p ro vid ed by W TLS. Th e req u ired keys can be stored on
th e w ireless id en t it y m o d u le (W IM ) wh ich co u ld be p art of th e m o bile p h o n e’s
SIM (WAP Foru m , 2000t).
 Support f or mobilit y 419

10.3.9 Wireless t elephony application

Bro wsin g th e web u sin g t h e W ML b ro wser is o n ly o n e ap p licat io n fo r a h an d -
h eld d evice u ser. Say a u ser st ill wan t s t o m ake p h o n e calls an d access all t h e
featu res of th e m obile p h o n e n et work as with a trad it ion al m obile p h o n e. Th is
is wh ere t h e w ir eless t elep h o n y a p p lica t io n (W TA), th e W TA u ser a gen t (as
sh o wn in Figu re 1 0 .2 9 ), an d t h e w ir el ess t e le p h o n y a p p li c a t io n i n t e r fa ce
W TAI co m e in . W TA is a co llect io n o f t elep h o n y sp ecific ex t en sio n s fo r call
an d feat u re co n t ro l m ech an ism s, m ergin g d at a n et wo rks an d vo ice n et wo rks
(WAP Foru m , 2000l).
Th e W TA fram ework in tegrates ad van ced t elep h on y services u sin g a co n sis-
t en t u ser in t erface (e.g., t h e W M L b ro wser) an d allo w s n et w o rk o p erat o rs t o
in crease accessib ilit y fo r vario u s sp ecial services in t h eir n et wo rk. A n et wo rk
op erator can reach m o re en d -d evices u sin g W TA becau se t h is is in tegrated in t h e
wireless ap p licatio n en viro n m en t (WAE) wh ich h an d les d evice-sp ecific ch arac-
teristics an d en viron m en t s. W TA sh ou ld en able th ird -p arty d evelop ers as well as
n et w o rk o p erat o rs t o creat e n et w o rk-in d ep en d en t co n t en t t h at accesses t h e
basic featu res o f th e b earer n etwork. Ho wever, m o st of t h e W TA fu n ction ality is
reserved fo r th e n etwo rk o p erators fo r secu rit y an d stability reaso n s.
W TA ext en d s th e basic WAE ap p licatio n m od el in several ways:

● Co n t en t p u sh : A W TA o rigin server can p u sh co n ten t , i.e., W ML d ecks o r

W MLScrip t, to th e clien t. A p u sh can take p lace with ou t p rior clien t req u est
(see sect io n s 10.3 .10 an d 10.3.11). Th e con t en t can en able, e.g., th e clien t
t o h an d le n ew n et wo rk even t s t h at were u n kn o wn b efo re. An exam p le is
given in Figu re 10.31.
● Access t o t elep h o n y fu n ct io n s: Th e w ireless t elep h o n y a p p lica t io n in t er-
fa c e (W TAI, WAP Fo ru m , 2 0 0 0 m ) p ro vid es m an y fu n ct io n s t o h a n d le
telep h o n y even ts (call accep t, call setu p , ch an ge o f p h o n e boo k en tries etc.).
● Rep o sit o r y fo r even t h a n d lers: Th e rep o sito ry rep resen ts a p ersisten t st or-
age o n t h e clien t fo r co n t en t req u ired t o o ffer W TA services. Co n t en t are
eit h er ch an n els o r reso u rces. Ex a m p les fo r reso u rces are W M L d ecks,
W MLScrip t o b jects, o r W BMP p ictu res. Reso u rces are lo ad ed u sin g W SP o r
are p re-in st alled . A ch an n el com p rises referen ces to reso u rces an d is asso ci-
ated with a lifet im e. Wit h in th is lifetim e, it is gu aran teed th at all reso u rces
th e ch an n el p o in ts t o are locally available in th e rep o sit o ry. Th e m otivation
beh in d th e rep osito ry is th e n ecessity to react very q u ickly for tim e-critical
even t s (e.g., ca ll a ccep t ). It wo u ld t a ke t o o lo n g t o lo ad co n t en t fro m a
server for th is p u rp o se.
● Se cu rit y m o d el: Man d at ory for W TA is a secu rit y m od el as m an y frau d s
h app en with wron g p h on e n um bers or faked services. W TA allows th e clien t
t o o n ly co n n ect t o t ru st wo rth y gat eways, wh ich t h en h ave t o ch eck if t h e
servers p ro vid in g con ten t are aut h o rized t o sen d t h is con t en t to t h e clien t .
Obviou sly, it is n ot easy to defin e tru st wo rth y in t h is con text. In t h e begin -
n in g, th e n etwork operator’s gateway m ay be th e on ly trusted gateway an d th e
n etwork op erator m ay decide wh ich servers are allowed to p rovide con ten t.
420 Mobile communicat ions

Th ese lib raries h ave b een d efin ed in t h e W TAI sp ecificatio n (WAP Fo ru m ,

2 00 0 m ) an d allo w fo r t h e creat io n o f t elep h o n y ap p licat io n s u sin g t h e W TA
u ser agen t. Library fu n ctio n s can be u sed fro m W ML d ecks or W MLScrip t .
Th ree classes o f libraries h ave been d efin ed :

● C o m m o n n e t w o r k se r v i ce s: Th is cla ss co n t a in s lib raries fo r services

co m m o n t o all m o b ile n et wo rks. Th e c a ll c o n t r o l lib rary co n t a in s, e.g.,
fu n ctio n s t o set u p , accep t, an d release calls. Net w o rk t ex t co n t ain s fu n c-
t io n s t o sen d , read , an d d elet e t ex t m essages. Ph o n eb o o k allo ws fo r t h e
m an ip u lat io n o f t h e lo cal p h o n eb o o k en t ries (e.g. read , w rit e, d elet e).
Fin ally, t h e lib ra ry m i sc e lla n e o u s co n t ain s, e.g., a fu n ct io n t o in d icat e
in co m in g d ata, e-m ail, fax, o r voice m essages.
● Net w o rk sp ecifi c ser v ices: Libraries in th is class d ep en d o n th e cap abilities
o f t h e m o b ile n et w o rk. Ad d it io n ally, t h is cla ss m igh t co n t ain o p erat o r-
sp ecific libraries.
● Pu b lic ser v ices: Th is class co n tain s lib raries wit h p u b licly availab le fu n c-
t io n s, i.e., fu n ct io n s t h ird -p art y p ro vid ers m ay u se, n o t ju st n et wo rk
o p erato rs. On e exam p le is “m ake call” t o set u p a p h on e call.

Fu n ct ion s in th ese libraries all fo llo w th e sam e sim p le syn t ax. Fo r t h e u se in

W ML, a URI is u sed (Bern ers-Lee, 1994a).

wtai://<library>/<function>;<parameters>;!<results>

Th e first p aram eter <library> in d icates th e n am e o f t h e library, e.g., cc for

W TAC a llCo n t ro l, wp fo r W TAPu b lic. Th is is fo llo w ed b y t h e fu n ct io n n am e
<function>, e.g., sc fo r “setu p call”, mc fo r “m ake call”. If req u ired , p aram eters
m ay fo llo w. Th ese co u ld b e p h o n e n u m b ers et c. Fin ally, o n e o r m o re resu lt s
co u ld be retu rn ed . Th ese resu lts set variables in th e u ser agen t con text .
W it h in a W M L card , t h e URI fo r callin g a cert ain n u m b er co u ld n o w b e
as fo llo ws:

wtai://wp/mc;07216086415

Th e sam e fu n ct ion s can also be u sed in W MLScrip t. Here callin g a fu n ction

follows th e sam e sch em e as callin g an y oth er fu n ct ion wit h in W MLScrip t :

<returnvalue> = functionname(parameters);

Th e returnvalue is n eed ed if an ap p licat io n req u ires th is valu e fo r fu rth er

op eratio n . Th e functionname is again derived fro m th e n am e o f th e library an d
th e n am e o f th e fu n ct io n with in t h e library. Fin ally, on e or m o re valu es can be
p assed t o th e fu n ctio n .
 Support f or mobilit y 421

Th e sam e exam p le for m akin g a call wo u ld n o w be:

WTAPublic.makeCall("07216086415");

Th e execu tion of a n ew service in th e u ser agen t can h ap p en in several ways:

● Based u p o n a u ser req u est o r an o th er service a URI p lu s co n t en t st o red in

th e rep osito ry can be u sed . Th is is (rou gh ly) com p arable wit h th e access to
cach ed item s in a web browser.
● Th e u ser agen t can also access a URI via t h e W TA server. In t h is case, t h e
URI p lu s co n ten t was n o t sto red in t h e rep ository.
● A server can p u sh a m essage to th e clien t as exp lain ed in th e con text o f ser-
vice in d icatio n (see section 10.3.11).

Fin ally, an y n et wo rk even t can trigger th e execu tion o f a n ew service. Th e

clien t h as to t ran slat e th e even t in t o a URI wh ich th en can be p rocessed by t h e
W TA u ser agen t. Fo r exam p le, an in com in g call p lu s req u ired p aram et ers m ay be
accep ted via “Accep t Call” (wtai://vc/ac).
Figu re 10.30 gives an o verview o f th e W TA logical arch it ectu re. Th e co m p o -
n en ts sh o wn are n o t all m an d at o ry in t h is arch it ect u re; h o wever, firewalls o r
o t h er o rigin servers m ay b e u sefu l. A m in im al co n figu rat io n co u ld b e a sin gle
server from t h e n et wo rk op erator servin g all clien ts. Th e clien t is con n ected via
a m o b ile n et wo rk w it h a W TA ser v er , o t h er t elep h o n e n et w o rks (e.g., fix ed
PSTN), an d a WAP g a t ew a y . A W ML u ser agen t ru n n in g o n t h e clien t o r o n
o t h er u ser a gen t s is n o t sh o w n h ere. Th e clien t m ay h ave vo ice an d d a t a

Figure 10.30
Other telephone networks
WTA logical architecture
WTA server
Client
Mobile
WTA & WML WTA
WML network
server user agent
Scripts

repository
WML WTA WAP gateway
decks services
Encoders
& device
Network operator decoders specific
trusted domain function
Other
servers

Third party Firewall

servers
422 Mobile communicat ions

co n n ect io n s o ver t h e m o b ile n et wo rk. Ot h er o rigin servers wit h in th e tru st ed

d om ain m ay be con n ected via t h e WAP gateway. A firewall is u sefu l to co n n ect
th ird -p arty origin servers o u tsid e th e t ru sted d o m ain .
O n e d ifferen ce b et ween W TA servers an d o t h er servers b esid es secu rit y is
t h e t igh t er co n t ro l o f Q o S. A n etwo rk o p erat o r kn o ws (m o re o r less p recisely)
t h e lat en cy, reliab ility, an d cap acity o f its m o b ile n et wo rk an d can h ave m o re
con t ro l o ver th e beh avior of th e services. Ot h er servers, p ro bably located in th e
in t ern et, m ay n ot be able t o give as go od QoS gu aran tees as th e n etwork op era-
t o r. Sim ilarly, t h e W TA u ser agen t h a s a very rigid an d real-t im e co n t ex t
m an agem en t for b ro wsin g th e web com p ared to th e st an d ard W ML u ser agen t.
Figu re 10.31 sh o ws an exem p lary in teractio n between a W TA clien t, a W TA
gat eway, a W TA server, t h e m obile n et wo rk (with p ro bably m an y m ore servers)
an d a voice box server. Som eon e m igh t leave a m essage o n a voice box server as
in d icat ed . With ou t WAP, th e n etwork op erator th en typ ically gen erates an SMS
in d icatin g th e n ew m essage o n t h e voice bo x via a litt le sym b ol o n th e m o bile
p h o n e. However, it is t yp ically n ot in d icated wh o left a m essage, wh at m essages
are st o red et c. Users h ave t o call t h e vo ice b o x t o ch eck an d can n o t ch o o se a
p articu lar m essage.
In a WAP scen ario , t h e vo ice b o x can in d u ce t h e W TA server t o gen erat e
n ew con ten t fo r p u sh in g to th e clien t. An exam p le co u ld be a W ML d eck con -
tain in g a list o f callers p lu s len gth an d p rio rit y o f th e calls. Th e server d o es n ot
p u sh th is d eck im m ed iat ely to th e clien t, b u t sen d s a p u sh m essage co n tain in g a
sin gle URL t o t h e clien t . A sh o rt n o t e, e.g., “5 n ew ca lls are st o red ", co u ld
acco m p an y th e p u sh m essage. Th e W TA gateway tran slat es th e p u sh URL in to a
service in d icatio n (see section 10.3.11) an d cod es it in t o a m o re com p act b in ary
fo rm at. Th e W TA u ser agen t th en in d icates th at n ew m essages are stored .
If t h e u ser wan t s t o list en to th e sto red m essages, h e o r sh e can req u est a list
o f t h e m essages. Th is is d on e with t h e h elp o f th e URL. A W SP get req u est s t h e
co n t en t th e URL p o in t s t o . Th e gat eway tran slat es t h is W SP get in t o an HTTP
get an d t h e server resp on d s with th e p rep ared list o f callers. After d isp layin g th e
con t en t, th e u ser can select a vo ice m essage from th e list . Each vo ice m essage in
t h is e x am p le h as an asso ciat ed URL, wh ich can req u est a cert ain W M L card
fro m t h e server. Th e p u rp o se o f th is card is to p rep are th e clien t for an in co m in g
call. As so o n as th e clien t receives t h e card , it waits fo r t h e in co m in g call. Th e
call is th en au t o m atically accep t ed . Th e W TA server also sign als th e vo ice bo x
syst em t o set u p a (t rad it io n al) vo ice co n n ect io n t o p lay t h e select ed vo ice
m essage. Settin g u p t h e call an d accep tin g th e call is sh o wn u sin g d ash ed lin es,
as th ese are st an d ard in t eractio n s fro m t h e m o b ile p h o n e n et wo rk, wh ich are
n ot co n tro lled by WAP.
Th e followin g exam p les illu strate th e in tegration of WTA, W TAI library calls,
W ML an d W M LScrip t , an d h o w au t h o rs can u se t h e fu n ct io n s o f W TA (WAP
Foru m , 2000m ). Im agin e you are watch in g a sh ow on TV. At th e en d of th e sh ow,
you m ay vot e fo r you r p erson al ch am p ion . Th e t rad it io n al m eth od is th at each
can d id at e gets an associated p h o n e n u m ber an d yo u h ave to d ial th e n u m ber –
 Support f or mobilit y 423

WTA-Server Mobile netw ork Voice box server

Figure 10.31
WTA-User-Agent WTA-Gateway
WTA example:
Indicate new voice message voice message

Generate
new deck

Service Indication Push URL

Display deck;
user selects
WSP Get HTTP Get

Respond with
content

Binary WML WML

Display deck;
user selects
WSP Get HTTP Get

Respond with
card for call

Binary WML WML

Play requested voice message

Wait for call

Call setup
Setup call Setup call

Accept call
Accept call Accept call
Voice connection

th is is q u ite error-p ron e if lon g n u m bers are u sed. Usin g WAP with W TA, th e n et-
wo rk op erator cou ld p u sh a d eck with several card s o n to yo u r h an d h eld d evice
an d presen t a sim p le ch oice for votin g as exp lain ed in th e followin g paragrap h s.
Th e first exam p le co n sist s of W ML o n ly an d com p rises t wo card s. Th e first
card t ells yo u t o vo te. If you accep t, t h en th e seco n d card will be d isp layed . Yo u
can ch o o se b et w een Mickey, Do n a ld , an d Plu t o . Yo u d o n o t h ave t o d ial a
n u m ber bu t d irectly select t h e n am e o f yo u r ch am p ion . Th e variable dialno will
b e set t o t h e valu e (i.e., t h e p h o n e n u m b er) asso ciat ed wit h yo u r ch am p io n .
No w n o t e th e URI with in t h e do tags. Th is URI t ells t h e system to u se t h e fu n c-
tion mc (m ake call) fro m th e library wp (W TAPu blic) in t h e W TAI. Th is fu n ctio n
p laces a call to th e sp ecified n u m ber (h ere dialno). A trad ition al syst em can be
u sed fo r cou n tin g calls.
424 Mobile communicat ions

Alt o get h er, t h is W ML d eck let s t h e u ser select a ch am p io n an d t h en au t o -

m at ically calls t h e co rrect n u m b er. Th e u ser d o es n o t h ave t o kn o w wh at t h e
correct n u m bers are. A gen eral p roblem of W ML is th e lack of d yn am ic beh avior.
W h at h ap p en s in o u r exam p le, if an yt h in g go es wro n g wit h t h e call, e.g., th e
n u m b er is bu sy? To ch eck for errors an d rep ort th em to a u ser, W MLScrip t h as to
be u sed in ad d it ion to W ML.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE wml PUBLIC “-//WAPFORUM//DTD WML 1.1//EN”
“http://www.wapforum.org/DTD/wml_1.1.xml">
<wml>
<card id="card_one” title="Tele voting">
<do type="accept">
<go href="#card_two"/>
</do>
<p> Please choose your candidate! </p>
</card>
<card id="card_two” title="Your selection">
<do type="accept">
<go href="wtai://wp/mc;$dialno"/>
</do>
<p> Your selection:
<select name="dialno">
<option value="01376685">Mickey</option>
<option value="01376686">Donald</option>
<option value="01376687">Pluto</option>
</select>
</p>
</card>
</wml>

Th e fo llo win g sh o ws t h e sam e ex am p le, vo t in g fo r a ch am p io n , b u t with

W MLScrip t an d W ML fo r bet t er erro r h an d lin g an d rep o rt in g. Again , t h e n et -
work op erator cou ld p u sh th is cod e on to a h an dh eld d evice. First, t h e fu n ct io n
voteCall is d efin ed . Th is fu n ct io n t akes a n u m b er as in p u t an d t h en , in t h e
seco n d lin e, sets u p a call to th is n u m b er. No w t h e library fu n ct io n fo r sett in g
u p a call, WTAVoiceCall.setup, is u sed , n o t t h e URI as in t h e exam p le b efo re
wit h ju st W ML. Two valu es are p assed t o th is fu n ct io n , t h e first is t h e p h o n e
n u m b er to d ial an d t h e secon d is a valu e in d icat in g th at th e call sh o u ld be kep t
after t h e cu rren t con text is rem o ved . Th e ad van t age of u sin g th is fu n ction an d
n ot th e URI is t h e sim p le h an d lin g of th e retu rn valu e, h ere st ored in j.
D ep en d in g o n t h e valu e o f j, t h e n ex t lin es can p rep are a m essage t h e
W ML browser can d isp lay t o th e u ser. Th e fu n ctio n t o set u p a call is sp ecified in
a way th at a n egat ive ret u rn valu e in d icates an error. Th e valu e it self rep resen ts
 Support f or mobilit y 425

th e W TAI erro r co d e. Pred efin ed erro r co d es are, fo r exam p le, –5 for “called p art
is b u sy”, –6 fo r “n et wo rk is b u sy”, o r –7 fo r “n o an sw er” (i.e., t h e call set u p
t im ed o u t ). If t h e ret u rn valu e is n o t n ega t ive, t h e variab le Message o f t h e
browser is set to th e st rin g "Called", th e variable No to th e valu e of Nr, i.e., th e
called n u m ber. O th erwise an erro r h as occu rred an d Message is set to th e strin g
"Error" an d No is set t o th e erro r co d e sto red in j.
N o w a W M L d eck fo llo ws, sim ilar t o t h e first ex am p le, b u t wit h so m e
im p ortan t d ifferen ces. Again , t ext is d isp layed by th e first card . Aft er accep t in g,
th e W ML b ro wser d isp lays th e ch o ice o f th e t h ree can d id ates as befo re. Again ,
th e u ser can m ake a ch o ice an d t h e p h o n e n u m ber asso ciat ed with t h e can d i-
d ate is sto red in th e variable dialno. In t h is case, n o URI fo r t h e W TAI is lo ad ed
as in t h e exam p le b efo re, b u t t h e b ro wser lo ad s a URI p o in t in g t o a fu n ctio n .
Th e W MLScrip t is locat ed in th e co m p ilat io n u n it myscripts; t h e n am e o f t h e
scrip t is voteCall. Th e valu e of th e variable dialno is p assed to th is fu n ction .
It is im p o rt a n t t o n o t e t h a t t h e scrip t n o w co n t ro ls t h e ex ecu t io n . Th e
seco n d card d o es n o t fo rward co n t ro l t o t h e t h ird card . In t h e exam p le, t h is
th ird card , wh ich h as to d isp lay a m essage, is called by th e W MLScrip t fu n ct ion
with t h e lin e WMLBrowser.go ("showResult"). Th is lo ad s th e card showResult in
th e W ML bro wser. Th is th ird card d isp lays so m e text an d th e valu es of th e vari-
ables Message an d No. Th ese valu es h ave been set before in th e W MLScrip t.

function voteCall(Nr) {
var j = WTACallControl.setup(Nr,1);
if (j>=0) {
WMLBrowser.setVar("Message", "Called");
WMLBrowser.setVar("No", Nr);
}
else {
WMLBrowser.setVar("Message", "Error!");
WMLBrowser.setVar("No", j);
}
WMLBrowser.go("showResult");
}

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE wml PUBLIC "-//WAPFORUM//DTD WML 1.1//EN"
"http://www.wapforum.org/DTD/wml_1.1.xml">
<wml>
<card id="card_one" title="Tele voting">
<do type="accept"> <go href="#card_two"/> </do>
<p> Please choose your candidate! </p>
</card>
<card id="card_two" title="Your selection">
<do type="accept">
426 Mobile communicat ions

<go href="/myscripts#voteCall($dialno)"/>
</do>
<p> Your selection:
<select name="dialno">
<option value="01376685">Mickey</option>
<option value="01376686">Donald</option>
<option value="01376687">Pluto</option>
</select>
</p>
</card>
<card id="showResult" title="Result">
<p> Status: $Message $No </p>
</card>
</wml>

Th is very sim p le exam p le sh owed th e in teract io n o f W ML an d W MLScrip t

togeth er with th e W TAI. Su re, error co d es or p h o n e n u m bers sh o u ld n ot be d is-
p layed t o a cu st o m er, b u t t h ese co d es an d n u m b ers sh o u ld b e t ran slat ed in t o
p lain t ext with th e h elp of W MLScrip t.
W h ile W TAI is valid fo r m an y d ifferen t m o bile n et wo rks, t h e WAP Fo ru m
h a s sp ecified severa l W TAI ex t en sio n s valid o n ly fo r sp ecific n et wo rks. Fo r
exam p le, ext en sio n s h ave b een d efin ed fo r th e Pacific Digit al Cellu lar syst em
(PDC, (WAP Fo ru m , 20 00 n )), t h e Glo b al Syst em fo r M o b ile Co m m u n icat io n s
(G SM , (WAP Fo ru m , 2 0 0 0 o )), a n d t h e IS-1 3 6 TDM A cellu lar n et wo rk (WAP
Fo ru m , 20 00 p ). A t yp ical GSM fu n ct io n , fo r exam p le, is jo in in g a m u lt ip art y
call. Th e W TAI ex t en sio n fo r GSM h as t h e fu n ct io n WTAGSM.multiparty fo r
W MLScrip t in its library an d ad d s t h e URI wtai://gsm/jm.

10.3.10 Push archit ect ure

C o m p a red t o t h e early versio n s o f WAP, versio n 1 .2 in t ro d u ced a n ew p u sh
arch it ectu re (WAP Foru m , 2000v) to geth er with several p roto cols (WAP Foru m ,
2000y an d 2000z), m essage fo rm ats (WAP Foru m , 2000x), an d a sp ecial gat eway
(WAP Fo ru m , 2000w). Th e very gen eral arch itect u re was alread y in t ro d u ced in
Figu re 10.29; Figu re 10.32 sh ows th e p u sh arch itectu re alo n e to geth er wit h t h e
n am es in tro d u ced in t h e st an d ard . Clien ts p u llin g co n t en t from servers are typ i-
cal fo r tod ay’s www. In a p u sh con text th e server in itiat es th e m essage tran sfer,
n o t th e clien t. Th e server is called p u sh in it ia t o r (PI) an d tran sfers con ten t via a
p u sh p r o x y ga t ew a y (PPG) t o a clien t . Th e p u sh a ccess p ro t o co l (PAP) co n -
t ro ls co m m u n icat io n b et ween PI an d PPG . Th e p u sh o v er t h e a ir (O TA)
p r o t o co l is u sed b etween PPG an d t h e clien t . If t h e PI is ab le t o u se t h e p u sh
OTA p roto co l, it can d irectly co m m u n icate with t h e clien t , to o. Exam p le u sage
scen arios fo r p u sh m essages are n ews, ro ad co n d ition s, e-m ail in d icat ion etc.
 Support f or mobilit y 427

Push Figure 10.32

Push Proxy WAP push architecture
Push OTA Access
Client Gateway Push Initiator with proxy gateway
Protocol Protocol

User Coding, Server

Agents checking application

10.3.10.1 Push proxy gat eway

Sim ilar to th e W TA gateway for p u ll services, th e PPG p ro vid es m an y fu n ctio n s
t o t ran sfo rm p ro t o co l m essages an d co n t en t ex ch an ged b et w een server an d
clien t (WAP Fo ru m , 2 0 0 0 w ). Th e PPG a ccep t s p u sh m essages fro m a PI an d
ch ecks if th is m essage can be forward ed to t h e clien t. Ch eckin g com p rises m ap -
p in g of a clien t ad d ress on to a fo rm at valid in th e m o bile n etwork. Ad d ition ally,
it m ay be n ecessary t o lo cate th e clien t first . Th e con t en t m ay be t ran sco d ed to
ga in great er efficien cy d u rin g t ran sm issio n wit h t h e p u sh O TA p ro t o co l. If
req u ired , t h e PPG can sen d su ccess or failu re m essages t o t h e PI. A PPG can also
m u lticast m essages t o a grou p o f receivers.

10.3.10.2 Push access prot ocol

Th e p u sh access p ro t o co l (PAP) t ran sfers co n t en t fro m a PI t o t h e PPG (WAP
Fo ru m , 2000z). Alt h o u gh PAP was d evelop ed in d ep en d en tly from t h e u n d erly-
in g t ran sp o rt service, PAP o ver HTTP is t h e first im p lem en t at io n . HTTP POST
m essages are u sed for tran sm issio n . PAP o ffers t h e followin g op eration s:

● Pu sh su b m issio n : Delivery of p u sh m essages fro m a PI t o th e PPG fo r fo r-

w ard in g t o a clien t . Th e resp o n se in d ica t es t h e in it ial accep t a n ce o r
rejection of t h e fo rward in g req u est .
● Resu lt n o t ifica t io n : Th e PPG n o tifies t h e PI ab o u t t h e resu lt o f t h e p u sh
req u est. With th e h elp o f t h is n o tificat io n , th e server kn ows if th e m essage
reach ed th e clien t, if th e clien t d eleted th e m essage, if an error o ccu rred at
th e clien t or if t h e m essage arrived to o late.
● Pu sh ca n cella t io n : A PI can try to can cel a p u sh req u est befo re d elivery to a
clien t . Th e resu lt o f t h e PPG in d icates if th e can cellatio n was su ccessfu l o r
n ot . Can cellation m ay be u sed , e.g., for p erio d ic n ews m essages bu ffered at
t h e PPG b ecau se t h e clien t is cu rren t ly u n availab le. In th is case, o n ly t h e
m o st recen t m essage m ay be of in t erest.
● St a t u s q u er y : W it h t h e h elp o f PAP, th e PI can q u ery th e st atu s o f a p u sh
m essage. Th e resu lt co u ld in d icate, if th e PPG alread y d elivered th e m essage
o r is still t ryin g t o reach th e clien t.
● Clien t ca p a b ilit ies q u er y: Th e PI m igh t be in t erested in t h e clien t ’s cap abil-
ities (WAP Foru m , 2000aa). Ad d itio n ally, a PPG can in form th e PI abo u t its
cap abilities regard in g co n ten t t ran sfo rm ation (e.g., JPEG co d ed p ictu res in to
W BMP if th e clien t su p p o rts W BMP o n ly).
428 Mobile communicat ions

10.3.10.3 Push OTA prot ocol

Th e p u sh O TA p ro t o co l is a very sim p le p ro t o co l u sed o n t o p o f W SP (WAP
Foru m , 2000y). Th e p roto col o ffers d elivery of pu sh m essages, selection of tran s-
p o rt services fo r p u sh m essages an d au th en tication of PIs. Th e p u sh service can
be co n n ect io n -o rien t ed o r co n n ectio n less based o n a b id irectio n al o r u n id irec-
t io n al b earer. Th e st an d ard b earer fo r p u sh m essages in GSM is SMS as t h is is
typ ically th e on ly way to reach a m obile p h o n e from wit h in a n et wo rk.
Th e fo llo win g service p rim itives h ave been d efin ed :

● p o -p u sh : u n ackn owled ged p u sh of con ten t wit h in a p u sh session via a con -

n ect io n -orien ted service (m ap s to S-Pu sh in W SP);
● p o -co n fir m ed p u sh : ackn o wled ged p u sh o f co n t en t wit h in a p u sh sessio n
via a co n n ection -orien ted service (m ap s to S-Co n firm ed Pu sh in W SP);
● p o -p u sh a b o r t : reject io n of a pu sh by t h e clien t;
● p o -u n it -p u sh : u n ackn o wled ged p u sh o f co n t en t via a co n n ect io n less
sessio n service (m ap s to S-Un it-Pu sh in W SP);

Th e fo llowin g service p rim itives are also available for p u sh session m an agem en t:

● p o m -co n n ect : Creat io n of a p u sh session by th e clien t (m ap s t o S-Con n ect

in W SP);
● p o m -su sp en d : su sp en sio n of a p u sh session (m ap s t o S-Su sp en d in W SP);
● p o m -resu m e: Resu m e o f a p u sh sessio n (m ap s t o S-Resu m e in W SP);
● p o m -d isco n n e ct : Term in a t io n o f a p u sh sessio n (m ap s t o S-Disco n n ect
in W SP);
● p o m -sessio n req u est : Req u est fo r a p u sh sessio n by a server.

Ea ch clien t h as a p red efin ed u n secu red (m an d at o ry) an d W TLS secu red

(o p tio n al) W DP p ort for con n ection less p u sh services. For u n id irection al bearers
even t h e p orts for session s m ay be p red efin ed so, session s m ay alread y be set -u p
by d efau lt.

10.3.11 Push/ pull services

As m o bile d evices h ave relat ively lo w co m p u t in g p o wer (co m p ared t o d eskt o p
m ach in es), th e d evice m ay b e to o b u sy t o accep t an d execu te a p u sh m essage
fro m a PI. In t h is case, t h e PI can o n ly in d icat e a service t o t h e clien t b u t n o t
t ran sfer t h e wh o le p u sh co n t en t . WAP sp ecified a ser v ice in d ica t io n (SI) fo r
th is p u rp ose (WAP Foru m , 2000ab). Th e sim p lest version o f a SI co m p rises a URI
p o in tin g to th e service an d a sh o rt m essage. Th e PPG co n vert s m essage form ats
between th e PI an d th e clien t.
It is u p to th e u ser wh et h er to u se th e service im m ed iately o r later. As so on
as th e service is u sed (n o m atter wh en ), a classical clien t p u ll follows. Th e clien t
req u est s d at a from th e server with t h e h elp of W SP an d th e in d icated URI. Th e
server th en offers th e req u est ed service. Th e PPG tran sform s con ten t an d p roto -
co ls (e.g., W SP to HTTP an d W ML to b in ary W ML).
 Support f or mobilit y 429

A p u sh m essage m ay co m p rise ad d it io n al at t rib u t es in d icat in g, e.g., t h e

im p o rt an ce o r t h e lifet im e o f t h e m essage. Th e fo llo win g ex a m p le sh o ws a
sim p le SI m essage co n t ain in g a sp ecial p izza o ffer, wh ich is o n ly valid fo r five
m in u t es. If a cu st o m er wa n t s t o u se t h is o ffer, h e o r sh e h as t o req u est t h e
in d icated service via th e URL. After five m in u tes, th is p u sh m essage will be au to -
m at ically d eleted .

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE si PUBLIC "-//WAPFORUM//DTD SI 1.0//EN"
"http://www.wapforum.org/DTD/si.dtd">
<si>
<indication
href="http://www.piiiizza4u.de/offer/salad.wml"
created="2002-10-30T17:45:32Z"
si-expires="2002-10-30T17:50:31Z">
Salad special: The 5 minute offer
</indication>
</si>

An o t h er varian t o f d elayed service u sage can b e d escrib ed u sin g ser v ic e

lo a d in g (SL) as sp ecified in WAP Fo ru m (2000ac). In th is case, th e PI also sen d s
a sh o rt p u sh m essage t o t h e clien t . Th e clien t m ay b e b u sy. In t h e ex am p le
sh o wn , th e m essage co n tain s a URI o n ly, wh ich p o in ts to a service. In co n t rast
to SI, th e clien t ’s u ser agen t d ecid es wh en to su bm it th e URI, i.e., u sin g t h e ser-
vice. Alth ou gh th e service is accessed u sin g a trad itio n al p u ll sch em e it loo ks fo r
t h e u ser like a p u sh service. Th e u ser d o es n o t n o t ice t h e d elay b et ween t h e
arrival o f t h e p u sh m essage an d t h e p u ll. A d isad van t age o f SL is t h e h igh er
n u m b er o f m essages sen t o ver t h e air. Th e fo llowin g exam p le sh ows h o w a PI
can in d icate a certain URI to t h e clien t. No in teract io n with a u ser is in ten d ed .

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE sl PUBLIC "-//WAPFORUM//DTD SL 1.0//EN"
"http://www.wapforum.org/DTD/sl.dtd">
<sl
href="http://www.piiiizza4u.de/offer/salad.wml">
</sl>

10.3.12 Example st acks with WAP 1.x

Aft er p resen t in g d ifferen t asp ect s o f WAP 1 .x , t h is last su b sect io n d eals w it h
t h e sco p e o f st an d ard izat io n effo rt s u sin g sam p le co n figu rat io n s as sh o wn in
Figu re 10.33. WAP tries t o u se existin g tech n o lo gies an d p h ilo so p h ies as m u ch
as p o ssible, m ain ly fro m th e in t ern et. Th e sim p lest p rotocol st ack, stack n u m ber
3, d o es n ot req u ire n ew p rot o co ls o r im p lem en t at io n s. If an ap p licat io n n eed s
430 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 10.33
Sample protocol stack WAP standardization
according to WAP 1.x
WAE user agent Outside WAP

WAE
Transaction based
WSP application
Datagram based
WTP WTP application

WTLS WTLS WTLS

UDP WDP UDP WDP UDP WDP

IP non IP IP non IP IP non IP

(GPRS, ...) (SMS, ...) (GPRS, ...) (SMS, ...) (GPRS, ...) (SMS, ...)

1. 2. 3.

on ly u n reliable d atagram service with o u t secu rity, WAP o ffers a way to u se UDP
if th e bearer n etwo rk p ro vid es IP service (as th is is th e case fo r, e.g. GPRS). Based
on th is very sim p le stack, m ore an d m o re co m plex stacks can be con figu red by
ad d in g secu rit y w it h W TLS o r a reliab le t ran sa ct io n service w it h W TP.
Ap p licat io n s fo r d istrib u t ed co m p u t in g su ch as CO RBA co u ld u se t h is reliab le
d at a t ran sfer service. Cu rren t ly, t h ese ap p licat io n s m o st ly u se TCP. Ho wever,
TCP m igh t n o t always b e a go o d ch o ice in a wireless m o b ile en viro n m en t as
d em o n strated in ch ap ter 9. WAP co u ld p ro vid e an alt ern ative solu tion .
Th e t yp ical WAP ap p licat io n , i.e., a WAP u ser agen t su ch as a W ML o r a
W TA u ser agen t , m ay req u ire t h e fu ll st ack o f p ro t o co ls as sh o wn in st ack 1 .
Th ese u ser agen t s ru n in t h e WAE an d rely o n , e.g., t h e W SP p u sh service fo r
p u sh in g W TA even ts fro m a W TA server t o th e clien t.

10.4 i-mode

Th e i-m o d e service was in t ro d u ced in Jap an b y t h e m o b ile n et wo rk o p erat o r

NTT DoCoMo in 1999. W h ile o th er n etwo rk op erators in Jap an (e.g., KDDI) u se
WAP, NTT Do Co Mo d ecid ed t o u se it s o wn syst em wh ich is ro u gh ly b ased o n
th e web p ro to co ls an d co n t en t fo rm at s kn own fro m t h e www. Exam p le services
offered by i-m od e are e-m ail, web access (wit h certain restriction s), an d p ictu re
exch a n ge. Th e syst em so o n b ecam e a b ig su ccess wit h m o re t h an 3 0 m illio n
u sers on ly th ree years aft er it s in t rod u ction . In com p ariso n t o i-m o d e, WAP was
oft en cited as a failu re, an d o p erato rs o u tsid e Jap an too k o ver i-m ode to p artici-
p ate in t h e su ccess.
 Support f or mobilit y 431

Figure 10.34
mobile terminal mobile network gateway content provider
i-mode protocol stacks
cHTML + tags cHTML + tags for Japan

HTTP(S) HTTP(S)

TL TL TCP TCP TCP TCP

IP IP IP IP

PDC-P PDC-P L2 L2 L2 L2

L1 L1 L1 L1

Figu re 10.34 sh ows th e i-m od e p ro toco l stack as u sed in Jap an . Th e p acket-

orien ted PDC-P p rovid es th e bearer service between t h e m obile term in al an d t h e
o p erat o r’s n et wo rk. Typ ical d at a rat es are 9 .6 kb it / s, wh ile en h an ced versio n s
offer 28.8 kbit/ s. On t op o f t h e b earer service, i-m od e u ses a sp ecial con n ection -
o rien t ed t ran sp o rt la yer p ro t o co l w it h st o p -an d -go flo w co n t ro l, ARQ , p u sh
services (ARIB st a n d ard RCR STD2 7 X). W it h in t h e o p era t o r’s n et w o rk an d
b et ween th e o p erat o r’s gat eway an d a co n ten t p ro vid er, i-m o d e u ses st an d ard
In tern et p rotocols (TCP/ IP o ver d ifferen t layer 1 an d layer 2 p ro tocols). On to p
o f t h e t ran sp o rt services, i-m o d e u ses H TTP (wit h o r wit h o u t secu rit y if su p -
p orted by th e h an d set) as kn own from t h e www. i-m od e ap p licat io n s can u se an
e-m ail service or d isp lay p ages d escribed in co m p a ct H TM L (cHTML), wh ich is
a su b set o f H TM L (W 3 C , 1 9 9 8 b ), p lu s so m e p ro p riet ary ex t ra t a gs fo r em o t -
icon s, teleph on y an d e-m ail (t h e HTML is th en so m et im es called i-HTML).
C o m p act H TM L su p p o rt s a n im at ed co lo r p ict u res (G IF fo rm a t ), b u t n o
fram es, im age m ap s o r st yle sh eets. Ho wever, th e su p p o rted su b set of HTML is
large en ou gh t o d isp lay m an y web p ages fro m th e in t ern et . Th is is a big ad van -
t age co m p ared t o WAP 1 .x , wh ich req u ires p ages w rit t en in W ML. To u t ilize
i-m o d e fu lly m an y p ages h ave to be red esign ed . Man y p ort als to d ay offer HTML,
cHTML, an d W ML co n t en t for d ifferen t d evices.
W h y was i-m o d e a big su ccess in Jap an wh ile WAP was n ot, e.g., in Eu rop e?
Man y im p ortan t fact o rs in Jap an are in d ep en d en t o f th e tech n o lo gy. For m an y
p eop le, i-m od e was t h eir first con t act with t h e in tern et. i-m od e is very sim p le to
u se, so , m an y p eo p le u se it a s PC rep la cem en t fo r e-m ailin g, ch a t t in g et c.
i-m o d e was n ever an n o u n ced as “In t ern et o n th e m o bile p h on e,” as WAP was in
th e begin n in g. Users sim p ly exp erien ced a n ew service th at cam e with colo r d is-
p lays an d easy to u se m obile ph on es.
O n e big d ifferen ce fro m a t ech n o lo gy p o in t of view is t h e u se o f a p acket -
o rien ted b earer fro m t h e b egin n in g in i-m o d e. WAP st art ed wit h co n n ect io n -
orien ted bearers (CSD in GSM), wh ich en d ed in very poor u ser experien ce. A con -
n ect io n h ad eit h er t o b e p erm an en t ly o p en t o su p p o rt real in t eract ive web
bro wsin g (wh ich is exp en sive), o r a n ew co n n ectio n h ad to be establish ed each
432 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 10.35
i-mode push architecture application
based on SMS
WSP

WTP

WDP

SMS

tim e con ten t was load ed (wh ich takes a very lon g tim e). Alth ou gh WAP is com -
p letely in d ep en d en t of th e bearer th is fatal com bin atio n of co n n ection -orien ted
bearer, an d in t eractive browsin g beh avior led t o th e p op u lar m iscon cep tion th at
t h e w h o le WAP co n cep t was a failu re. To d ay, u sin g WAP o ver GPRS, wh ich is
p acket-orien ted, sh ows wh at a differen ce th e bearer can m ake.
Figu re 10.35 sh o ws a sim p lified p ro tocol stack fo r an i-m od e p u sh based o n
SMS as u sed in Eu ro p e. As t h e figu re sh o ws, i-m o d e p u sh in Eu ro p e u ses WAP
p rotocols! Th is stack is u sed , fo r exam p le, fo r sen d in g an SMS in d icat in g t h at a
n ew e-m ail h as arrived . If t h e u ser wan t s to read t h e m essage, th e clien t sen d s
an HTTP GET. Th e server resp on d s with th e em ail.
Figu re 10.36 sh ows th e p ossible m ix of p rotocol com p o n en t s from d ifferen t
arch it ectu res. i-m od e can be based on an y bearer, e.g., GPRS, PDC-P, or a UMTS
d ata service. Typ ically, m ost n ew p acket-orien ted bearers offer IP services. On top
of th at, i-m od e u ses TCP with a wireless p rofile (see ch ap ter 9) between th e u ser
eq u ip m en t an d t h e gateway. Gateways fu lfill m an y p u rp o ses in th e i-m od e ser-
vice: t ran slat io n o f W TC P/ TC P, ad d ress t ran slat io n , p ro t ect io n o f t h e u ser
eq u ip m en t etc. However, in con trast to WAP 1.x, th e gateway d oes n ot break th e
secu rit y association between u ser eq u ip m en t an d server (SSL is sim ply tu n n eled
th ro u gh ). cHTML/ HTTP is ad d ed fo r bro wsin g. Proto co ls like IP, TCP, HTTP etc.
stem from th e fixed in tern et an d cHTML p lu s p rop rietary tags was in trod u ced by
NTT DoCoMo. Th e ad ap tation of TCP is p erform ed by t h e IETF, an d all p rotocols
togeth er will be p art of th e WAP 2.0 arch itectu re d escribed in section 10.6.

Figure 10.36 user equipment gateway server

i-mode protocol stack
using internet/ WAP2.0 cHTML cHTML
protocols
HTTP HTTP
SSL SSL

WTCP WTCP TCP TCP

IP IP IP IP

L2 L2 L2 L2

L1 L1 L1 L1
 Support f or mobilit y 433

Table 10.1 Example

Funct ions St atus Requirement technical requirements
for i-mode systems
Web access to portal or Internet M cHTML plus tags (i-mode compatible
HTML or i-HTML)
Internet e-mail M HTTP/ 1.1 (between UE and gateway)
End-to-end security O SSL (versions 2 and 3), TLS v1
Java applications O i-mode Java
Ringing tone download M SMF, MFi
Image download M GIF (O: JPEG)
Voice call notification M 3GPP standard
Content charge billing M Operator dependent
Third party payment collection M Operator dependent
Reverse billing O Operator dependent
Subscriber ID transmission to M Operator dependent
the content provider on each
content access
Numbers of bytes per e-mail M Operator and handset dependent
(e.g., 1 kbyte, 10 kbyte)

Tab le 10.1 list s th e t yp ical t ech n ical req u irem en ts i-m o d e syst em s h ave t o
fu lfill. Th e st at u s in d icates m an d atory (M) or op t ion al (O ) m ech an ism s.
However, i-m od e is m ore th an a p u re tech n ology – it is p rim arily a bu sin ess
m o d el, wh ich is in d ep en d en t o f t ech n o lo gy. Co n ten t p ro vid ers sh are t h e rev-
en u e with th e n et work p rovid er. Th is m akes i-m od e q u ite attractive com p ared t o
th e early WAP ap p ro ach es wh ich lacked an y m o d el fo r p aym en t . Th e n et wo rk
p rovider bills cu stom ers; con ten t p rovid ers get m ore th an 80 p er cen t of th e rev-
en u e. Th is m od el is in d ep en den t of bearers, so, works as well with PDC-P as with ,
e.g., GSM/ GPRS (u sin g GPRS, i-m od e over GSM is a lot faster t h an over PDC-P).

10.5 SyncML

A set of p rotocols an d a m arku p lan gu age for syn ch ron izatio n o f data in m o bile
scen ario s is p ro vid ed b y t h e Syn cML fram ewo rk (Syn cML, 2002), (Han sm an n ,
2 0 0 3 ). Th e Syn cM L in it ia t ive is su p p o rt ed b y co m p a n ies like Ericsso n , IBM ,
Mo t o ro la, No kia, O p en wave, Pan aso n ic, St arfish , an d Sym b ian . Syn cM L p ro -
vid es ven d o r in d ep en d en t m ech an ism s n o t o n ly fo r syn ch ro n izat io n o f d at a,
b u t a lso fo r t h e ad m in ist rat io n o f d evices a n d a p p licat io n s. Th e WAP 2 .0
fram ewo rk, wh ich is d escrib ed in t h e n ex t sect io n , ch o se Syn cM L a s a syn -
ch ro n izat io n m ech an ism .
434 Mobile communicat ions

Syn ch ron ization , as alread y exp lain ed in t h e con text of file system s (see sec-
t io n 1 0 .1), p ro vid es a m ajo r service fo r m o b ile u sers. No t o n ly e-m ails an d
calen d ar d at a, bu sin ess sp read sh eet s, text d o cu m en t s, p rogram s etc. all h ave t o
be syn ch ron ized . A com m on stan d ard for syn ch ron ization sim p lifies ap p lication
d esign an d u sage of syn ch ron ization m ech an ism s. Syn cML en h an ces servers an d
clien t s with sy n c ser ver a gen t s an d syn c clien t a gen t s resp ect ively. Th e agen ts
execu te th e syn ch ro n ization p rotocol. Th e server also h as a syn c en gin e t h at is
resp o n sib le fo r d at a an alysis an d co n flict d etect ion (th e sam e co n flict s alread y
d escribed in th e con text of file system s in section 10.1 m ay ap p ear h ere, too).
Th e syn ch ro n izat io n p ro t o co l m a y ru n o ver HTTP, W SP, o r t h e o b ject
ex ch a n ge p ro t o co l O BEX. Ho w ever, m a n y m o re p ro t o co ls su ch as SM TP o r
TCP/ IP co u ld be u sed . Syn cML d o es n o t m ake m an y assu m p t ion s abou t th e d ata
st ru ct u res. Each set o f d at a m u st h ave a u n iq u e id en t ifier. Clien t s an d servers
can u se th eir in d ivid u al id en tifiers fo r d ata sets. However, servers h ave to kn ow
t h e m ap p in g b et ween t h e id en t ifiers. Clien t s an d servers h ave t o lo g ch an ges
an d m u st be able to exch an ge th ese logs.
Several m o d es are sp ecified fo r syn ch ro n izatio n . Two -way syn ch ro n izatio n
ex ch a n ges ch an ge lo gs b et ween server a n d clien t . If, fo r ex am p le, a clien t
crash ed an d h as lost all ch an ge in form atio n , a sp ecial slo w syn ch ron ization can
be u sed . Th is syn ch ro n izatio n m o d e first tran sfers all d ata from th e clien t to th e
server. Th e server th en com p ares all d at a an d sen d s th e n ecessary ch an ges back
to t h e clien t. Several varian ts o f o n e-way syn ch ro n izatio n are available. In th is
case, o n ly o n e p art y (clien t or server) is in terested in ch an ge logs.
Th e m essages exch an ged for syn ch ro n izatio n are based o n XML. Tags h ave
been sp ecified to <add>, <copy>, <delete>, an d <replace> d ata sets. Op erat io n s
can b e m ad e <atomic> (i.e., eith er all o r n o ch an ge o p eratio n s m ay be ap p lied )
o r ap p lied in a certain <sequence>. If a co n flict o ccu rs (e.g., th e sam e d at a set
h as been ch an ged o n th e clien t an d th e server) Syn cML d oes n ot sp ecify a con -
flict resolu tion strategy. In stead , several recom m en d ation s for co n flict resolu tion
are given . Dat a set s can b e m ix ed , t h e clien t m ay o verrid e server ch an ges (o r
vice v ersa), a d u p licat e o f t h e d at a set can b e gen erat ed , o r a failu re o f syn -
ch ro n iza t io n is sign a led . Th ese ex am p les sh o w t h at Syn cM L h as n o gen era l
solu tio n for th e syn ch ro n ization p roblem .

10.6 WAP 2.0

In Ju ly 2 0 01 , versio n t wo o f t h e wireless ap p licat io n p ro t o co l (WAP 2.0) was

p u b lish ed b y t h e WAP Fo ru m (t h e first WAP 2 .0 d evices h ave b een availab le
sin ce th e en d o f 2002). All stan d ard s can b e d o wn lo ad ed fro m t h e web (O MA,
2 00 2). It can b e st at ed t h at WAP 2 .0 is ro u gh ly t h e su m o f WAP 1.x , i-m o d e,
In t ern et p rotocols, an d m an y m ob ilit y sp ecific en h an cem en ts. WAP 2.0 con tin -
u es t o su p p o rt WAP 1 .x p ro t o co ls, b u t ad d itio n ally in t egrat es IP, TCP (with a
wireless p ro file), TLS, an d H TTP (wireless p ro filed ). WAP 2.0 b ro wsers su p p o rt
 Support f or mobilit y 435

W ML as well as XH TM L w it h a m o b ile p r o file (XH TM LM P). XHTM L is t h e

exten sible h yp ertext m ark-u p lan gu age d evelop ed by th e W 3C (2002) t o rep lace
an d en h an ce t h e cu rren t ly u sed HTML. WAP 2.0 u ses t h e co m p o sit e ca p a b ili-
t ies/ p referen ce p ro fi les (CC/ PP) fram ework for d escrib in g u ser p referen ces an d
d evice cap ab ilit ies. C C/ PP p ro vid es t h e t ech n ical b asis fo r t h e UAPro f d evice
p ro file fu n ct io n d escrib ed in sect io n 10 .3. Th ese exam p les fro m t h e WAP 2 .0
arch it ectu re alread y d em o n strate th e fu sion o f m an y d ifferen t con cep ts t h at led
to t h e n ew arch it ect u re.
Figu re 10.37 gives an o verview o f t h e WAP 2.0 arch it ect u re as sp ecified in
WAP Fo ru m (2 00 1a). Th e p r o t o c o l fr a m ew o r k co n sist s o f t h e fo llo win g fo u r
co m p o n en ts:

● Bea rer n et w o rk s: Sim ilar to WAP 1.x, m an y bearers are su p p ort ed . Typ ical
bearers to d ay are GPRS in GSM n etworks, SMS fo r p u sh services. Th ird gen -
eration n etworks will d irectly o ffer IP services.
● Tra n sp o rt ser v ices: Th ese services o ffer an en d -to -en d abstraction on to p o f
d ifferen t b earers. Tran sp o rt services can b e eit h er co n n ect io n -o rien t ed o r
co n n ectio n less. Fo r reliable, co n n ectio n -orien ted services TCP with a wire-
less p ro file can b e u sed a s d escrib ed in ch ap t er 9 , (WAP Fo ru m , 2 0 0 1 b ).
W DP o r UD P (in case o f an IP bearer) can b e u sed fo r u n reliab le, co n n ec-
tio n less (d at agram ) services.

Figure 10.37
Service Service WAP 2.0 architecture
Multi-media Messaging Content
discovery discovery
(E-mail) formats

Application
framework
External Crypto WAE/WTA User Agent
Push
services EFI libraries (WML, XHTMLMP)

Authenti-
Provisioning
cation Capability Negotiation
Session

Push Cookies
Navigation OTA Synchronization
Identification
Discovery

Service Hypermedia transfer Strea-

Transfer

PKI MMS
Protocol framework

Lookup (WTP+WSP, HTTP) ming

Connections
Transport

Secure Datagrams
(TCP with
transport (WDP, UDP)
wireless profile)

Secure IPv4 CSD USSD GPRS ...

bearer
Bearer

IPv6 SMS FLEX MPAK ...

436 Mobile communicat ions

● Tr a n sfer ser v ic es: Ex am p les fo r t ran sfer p ro t o co ls are a wireless p ro filed

H TTP (WAP Foru m , 2001c), t h e com bin at ion of WTP/W SP, stream in g p rot o-
co ls, an d m essage t ran sfer p ro t o co ls. W h ile t h e h y p e r m ed ia t r a n sfe r
p roto cols can be u sed for web browsin g, st rea m in g p ro to co ls p rovid e t igh t
t im e-b o u n d s t o su p p o rt iso ch ro n o u s d at a (au d io an d vid eo ). Th e m u l t i-
m e d ia m essa g i n g ser v ic e (M M S) t ran sfers asyn ch ro n o u s m u lt i-m ed ia
co n ten t (WAP Fo ru m , 2001d ). MMS su p p o rts d ifferen t m ed ia typ es, su ch as
JPEG, GIF, text, an d AMR cod ed au d io. Th ere is n o fixed u p p er bou n d for th e
m essage size. Dep en d in g on th e n et wo rk o p erato r an d d evice cap ab ilit ies,
typ ical sizes are 30–100 kbyte. MMS is alread y offered by m an y p rovid ers.
● Sessio n ser v i ce s: As d iscu ssed in t h e b egin n in g o f t h is ch ap t er, m o b ile
d evices n eed a sh ared state between n etwo rk elem en ts to op erate efficien t ly.
C C/ PP can b e u sed fo r ca p a b ilit y n ego t ia t io n . Th is in clu d es in fo rm atio n
ab ou t clien t, server, an d p roxy cap abilities, an d allows for cu stom izat ion of
co n t en t (WAP Fo ru m , 2 0 0 1e). Th e p u sh O TA service o ffers reliab le an d
u n relia b le p u sh services as d escrib ed in sect io n 1 0 .3 .1 0 (WAP Fo ru m ,
2001f). Th e co o k ie service h as been ad o p ted from t h e In tern et. Th is service
can estab lish state o n a clien t th at su rvives m u lt ip le h yp erm ed ia t ran sfers.
Fin ally, a syn ch ro n iza t io n service h as b een d efin ed for syn ch ron izin g rep li-
cat ed d ata. Th e Syn cML fram ework as p resen ted in sectio n 10.5 is u sed fo r
th is p u rp ose (Syn cML, 2002), (Han sm an n , 2003), (WAP Foru m , 2001g).

Th e a p p lic a t io n fr a m ew o r k co m p rises t h e b asic ap p licat io n s n eed ed fo r

b ro wsin g, su p p o rt o f d ifferen t co n t en t fo rm ats, e-m ail service et c. Th is fram e-
wo rk was d evelo p ed to establish an in tero p erable ap p licat io n en viro n m en t fo r
m an y d ifferen t ven d o rs, service p ro vid ers, an d n etwork o p erato rs (WAP Foru m ,
2002). Th e WAE/ W TA u ser a gen t su p p o rt s W ML kn own from WAP 1.x as well
as XH TML m o b ile p ro file (WAP Fo ru m , 2 001h ). Th is in clu d es scrip t in g, st yle-
sh eets, t elep h o n y ap p licatio n s, an d p ro gram m in g in t erfaces ad ap ted to m o bile
d evices. Th e ap p licatio n s fo r m u lt i-m ed ia m essa gin g an d p u sh services are also
lo cated in t h is fram ewo rk. Fin ally, m an y co n t en t fo r m a t s h ave to b e su p p orted :
colo r im ages, au d io, vid eo, calen d ar in fo rm atio n , p h on e boo k en tries et c.
M o b ile d evices req u ire ext en sive secu r it y ser vices. Ju st im agin e so m eo n e
p u sh in g m an y m essages on a m obile d evice th at let th e device access certain web
p ages rep eated ly. Th is m igh t cau se h eavy air traffic th at h as to be p aid for by th e
u ser! Th e u ser m igh t n o t even n o t ice an yt h in g fro m t h is at t ack as t h e m o b ile
d evice is always-o n , exch an gin g d ata with ou t u ser in teraction . Th e secu rit y ser-
vices h ave to cover th e trad ition al asp ects of secu rity, e.g., privacy, au th en tication ,
in t egrit y, an d n o n -rep u d iat io n . Cr y p t o gr a p h ic lib ra ries are n eed ed for sign in g
d ata at t h e ap p licatio n level (WAP Fo ru m , 2001i). Au t h en t ica t io n services offer
several m ech an ism s to au th en ticate servers, p roxies, an d clien ts at differen t levels.
For exam p le, at th e tran sp ort layer W TLS or TLS m ay be u sed . Th e wireless id en -
t it y m o d u le (W IM) p ro vid es t h e fu n ct io n s n eed ed fo r u ser id en t ifica t io n an d
au t h en t icat io n (WAP Fo ru m , 2 00 1j). Man y b u sin ess m o d els rely o n cu st o m er
 Support f or mobilit y 437

id en tification . In gen eral, p u b lic k ey in fra st r u ct u res (PKI) can b e u sed fo r th e

m an agem en t o f p u blic-key cryp to grap h y an d cert ificate exch an ge (WAP Foru m ,
2001k). W TLS p ro vid es secu re t ra n sp o r t o ver d atagram p ro to cols, wh ile TLS is
u sed for con n ection -o rien ted tran sp ort p rotocols (TCP). Fin ally, som e b ea rer n et-
works already p rovide secu rity fu n ction s, e.g., IPSec for IP n etworks.
Se r v ice d isco v e r y is p art icu larly im p o rt an t fo r m o b ile d evices. Ex t ern al
fu n ctio n s o r services o n a d evice (i.e., o u tsid e th e WAP sp ecificat ion , t yp ically
ven d or d ep en d en t) can be d iscovered via th e ex t er n a l fu n ct io n a lit y in t er fa ce
(EFI) as sp ecified in WAP Fo ru m (200 1l). Fo r m an y n et wo rk services, a d evice
n eed s ad d ition al p aram eters to get access (e.g., bootstrap in form ation , u ser agen t
beh avior, sm art card sp ecification , con ten t typ e in form atio n ). Th e d evice can get
th ese p aram eters via t h e p ro visio n in g service (WAP Foru m , 2001m ). W h ile su rf-
in g th rou gh t h e n et work u sin g h yp erm ed ia d ocu m en t s th e d evice m ay n eed t o
d iscover n ew n etwork services. Th e n a viga t io n d isco very p rovid es a secu re way
to d o th is. Th e ser vice lo o k u p p rovid es for th e d iscovery of p aram eters n eed ed
for a certain service with th e h elp of a d irectory. Th e d om ain n am e system (DNS)
is an exam p le m ap p in g a n am e on to an IP ad d ress. It sh ou ld be n o ted th at t h e
com p on en t s listed for secu rity services an d service d iscovery can n ot be assign ed
to o n ly on e layer. In st ead , th e services m ay sp an several layers in t h e p ro t o co l
arch it ect u re. Up t o n o w, n o t all o f t h e services h ave b een fu lly sp ecified an d ,
th u s, th e read er sh ou ld ch eck for ch an ges in th e sp ecification s.
Figu re 1 0.3 8 sh o ws fo u r exam p les o f p r o t o co l st a c k s u sin g WAP 2.0
com p on en ts. Th e stacks in th e u p p er left corn er sh ow th e classical WAP 1.x con -
figu ration with a WAP gat eway tran slatin g bet ween in tern et an d WAP p rot ocols.
Th e u p p er righ t corn er illu strates p rotocol stacks sim ilar to th ose u sed in i-m ode.
Th e WAP p roxy t ran slates th e u n ch an ged HTTP/ TCP from th e in tern et in to p ro-
filed versio n s o f t h ese p ro t o co ls. Th e lo wer left co rn er sh o ws a WAP p ro xy
tu n n elin g HTTP over TLS. Th is arch itectu re offers tru e en d-to-en d secu rity wh ich
con trasts with th e exam p le in th e u p p er left corn er th at breaks th e secu rity associ-
atio n in th e gateway. Th e exam p le in th e lo wer righ t co rn er fin ally sh o ws th at
WAP 2.0 d o es n o t n ecessarily n eed a p ro xy. Th e WAP d evice can d irectly access
in t ern et co n t en t . Alt h o u gh p ro xies are n o t req u ired in WAP 2 .0, t h ey m ay
en h an ce th e p erform an ce (p rofiled TCP, p rofiled HTTP, com p ression etc.).

10.7 Summary

Th e ap p lication of th e in tern et th at attracts an ever-growin g n u m ber of p eop le is

t h e www. As ch ap t ers 1 an d 4 sh o w, wireless an d m o b ile co m m u n icat io n , es-
p ecially in th e wid e area, h as an in creasin g n u m ber of su bscribers world wid e. It is
o n ly lo gical t o co m b in e www an d m o b ile co m m u n icatio n s. Th is ch ap ter d ealt
with several p roblem s, wh ich com bin in g th e two areas cau ses, e.g., low available
ban d wid th in co m bin atio n wit h in efficien t p ro to co ls o r HTML as a d escrip tion
lan gu age, wh ich is n o t ad ap ted to th e req u irem en ts of p ortable d evices.
438 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 10.38 WAP device WAP gateway Web server

Example protocol stacks
WAE WAE
according to WAP 2.0
WSP WSP WAP device WAP gateway Web server
HTTP HTTP
WTP WTP WAE WAE

WTLS WTLS TLS TLS HTTP' HTTP' HTTP HTTP

WDP WDP TCS TCP TCP' TCP' TCP TCP

bearer bearer IP IP IP IP IP IP

WAP 1.x Server/Gateway/Client WAP HTTP Proxy with profiled TCP and HTTP

WAP device WAP proxy Web server

WAE WAE WAP device Web server

HTTP HTTP WAE WAE

TLS TLS HTTP IP router HTTP

TCP' TCP' TCP TCP TCP TCP

IP IP IP IP IP IP IP IP

WAP Proxy with TLS tunneling WAP direct access

Th e m ajo r p art o f th e ch ap ter p resen ted th e WAP 1.x as a fram ework co m -

p risin g several co m m u n icat ion layers, a m arku p an d scrip tin g lan gu age, an d a
con n ection to th e telep h o n y n etwork. Du e t o t h e in flu en ces o f th e in tern et an d
i-m o d e, th is fram ewo rk evo lved t o WAP versio n 2.0. Devices followin g t h is stan -
d ard h ave ju st h it th e m arket. Th is n ew WAP versio n in tegrates a lot o f In t ern et
tech n o logy wh ile st ill o fferin g sp ecial t elep h o n y services t h at are n o t available
in t o d ay’s st an d ard In tern et devices.
Alt h o u gh t h ere h ave been a lo t o f d evelo p m en ts in th e co n t ext o f m o b ile
d evices, th e b ig p rob lem s o f weakly co n n ect ed d evices, as d escrib ed in th e late
n in eties, rem ain . Im p o rtan t issu es fo r all arch it ectu res an d research p rojects su p -
p o rt in g m o b ile w eb b ro wsin g are p re-fet ch in g a n d cach in g o f co n t en t
(Jian g, 1 9 9 8 ), co n t en t t ra n sfo rm at io n a n d ad ap t at io n t o t h e cap ab ilit ies o f
p o rt ab le d evices (Brewer, 1998), (Fo x, 1998), (Han , 1998), an d u sin g a b ro wser
wh ile d isco n n ected (Mazer, 1998). Man y p ro b lem s o f efficien t an d co n ven ien t
syn ch ron izat io n are u n so lved .
As t h is ch ap t er is ab o u t su p p o rt fo r m o b ilit y, m an y m o re t o p ics co u ld b e
d iscu ssed . Th e fo llo win g is an exam p le co llection o f ad d ition al to p ics:

● Messa ge q u eu in g: In stead of u sin g con n ection s fo r d ata tran sfer, th e wh ole

com m u n ication syst em co u ld be based o n m essage q u eu in g. Th is ap p ro ach
su p p ort s d iscon n ected d evices via bu fferin g of m essages u n til d evices can be
reach ed again . Typical ap plication s are asyn ch ron ous up dates, m essage distri-
 Support f or mobilit y 439

bu t io n , a n d n ews d ist rib u t io n . Exam p le p ro d u ct s are Micro so ft Message

Queu in g (MSMQ, Microsoft, 2002) an d IBM WebSph ere (MQSeries, IBM, 2002).
Message q ueuin g is n ot th at usefu l for real-tim e or in teractive application s.
● Da t a b a se su p p o r t : Man y m obile d evices carry in form ation . Alt o get h er, th is
can b e seen as a large, d ist rib u t ed d at ab ase. H o wever, st a n d ard d at ab ase
p ro d u cts are rath er h eavyweigh t an d ru n on big m ach in es. Th e p roblem s of
d ist rib u t ed d at ab ases are sim ilar t o t h e p ro b lem s o f file syst em s. Exam p le
p ro d u cts su p p ort in g m obile d evices are O racle 9i Lit e (Oracle, 2002) or IBM
Everyp lace (IBM, 2002).
● O p er a t i n g sy st e m s a n d e x e cu t io n en v ir o n m en t s: M o b ile d evices n eed
o p erat in g syst em s an d execu t io n en viro n m en t s fo r ap p licat io n s. W h ile in
th e early d ays of m obile p h on es on ly very sp ecialized , p rop riet ary op eratin g
system s were u sed , th e tren d is toward s m ore desktop -like system s. Exam p les
fo r o p erat in g sy st em s are Sym b ian O S (Sym b ian , 2 00 2 ) o r W in d o ws
Sm artp h on e (Microsoft, 2002). To su p p ort p latform in d ep en d en t ap p lication
d evelo p m en t , m o b ile d evices, t o o , co m e wit h virt u al m ach in es. Exam p les
are Java 2 Platform Micro Ed ition (J2ME) from Sun (2002) an d th e Com m on
Lan gu age Ru n tim e (CLR) fro m Micro soft (2002). Ap p licatio n s writ ten fo r a
virt u al m ach in e sh ou ld ru n everywh ere th e virtu al m ach in e is available. In
th e co n text o f m obile p h on es, 3GPP (2002) calls th ese ap p lication en viron -
m en ts m o b ile ex ecu t io n en v iro n m en t s (M Ex E). Several versio n s o f MExE
(so -called classm arks) h ave been d efin ed : classm ark 1 su p p o rt s WAP, class-
m ark 2 su p p o rt s p erso n al Java, classm ark 3 su p p o rt s J2M E wit h cert ain
libraries an d p rofiles (Mobile In form ation Device Profile/ Con n ected Lim ited
Device Con figu ration ; MIDP/ CLDC), an d classm ark 4 su p p orts th e Com m on
Lan gu age In frastru ctu re (CLI) as stan d ard ized by ECMA (2002). MExE fram e-
wo rks sit on t o p o f th e ven d o r o p erat in g system an d sh o u ld fo rm a secu re
san d box for ap p lication execu tion .
● Po sit io n in g / lo c a t io n b a sed ser v ice s: Ap p licat io n s t h at t ake t h e cu rren t
lo cat io n o f a u ser in t o acco u n t , is a b ig an d p ro m isin g field fo r research .
Th is m akes a real d ifferen ce to ap p licat io n s fo r fixed system s. Po sit io n in g
co m p rises m an y t ech n o lo gies fro m sat ellit es (GPS) an d cell ID b ased sys-
tem s to trian gu latio n of d evices.
● Se r v ic e d isc o v e r y : A lo t m o re co u ld b e writ t en ab o u t service d isco very.
W h ile t h is bo o k p resen t ed several ap p ro ach es su it ab le for cert ain en viro n -
m en ts (e.g., SDP fo r Blu eto o th , 2002, see sectio n 7.5), a m o re scalab le an d
gen eral m ech an ism fo r service d isco very wit h in a site is th e IETF’s ser v ice
lo ca t io n p r o t o c o l (SLP) as d escrib ed in RFC 2 60 8 (Gu t t m an , 1 99 9). Th e
n ext step t oward s th e d iscovery of wh o le bu sin ess services t akes t h e u n iver-
sa l d escrip t io n , d isco ver y a n d in t egra t io n (UDDI) p roject (UDDI, 2002).
440 Mobile communicat ions

10.8 Review exercises

1 Why is strong consistency of file systems problematic in a wireless and mobile

environment? What are the alternatives?
2 How do conventional file systems react to disconnected systems? Try unplugging
a computer that has mounted a file system via a network.
3 What advantages has the statelessness of HTTP? In what situations is state
useful and how is it provided today? Where is long-term state stored, where is
short-term?
4 Which properties of HTTP waste bandwidth? What is the additional problem
using HTTP/ 1.0 together with TCP? How does HTTP/ 1.1 improve the situation?
5 How does caching improve access time and reduce bandwidth requirements?
What are locations for a cache and their specific advantages?
6 What are problems of caches in real life? What type of content can be cached,
which content causes problems? What are the additional problems with
client mobility?
7 What discrepancies exist between the possibilities of HTML and the realities of
wireless handheld devices? What are the proposed solutions? What is the role
of plug-ins today and how do they influence the usability of web pages?
8 Name mechanisms to improve web access for handheld devices. What is their
common problem and what led finally to the development of WAP?
9 What are typical enhancements to the basic client/ server architecture of the web?
Reconsider these enhancements for a mobile wireless user with web access over
a mobile phone network. What are efficient locations for the enhancements?
10 What are the primary goals of the WAP Forum efforts and how are they reflected
in the initial WAP protocol architecture?
11 What migration paths does WAP 1.x offer for Internet and telephony applications
and their protocols? Compare with WAP 2.0.
12 Is WDP a fixed protocol and why does WAP not define a SAP which WDP can use?
13 Why does WAP define its own security layer and does not rely on the security pro-
vided by the mobile phone network? What problems does the WAP security layer
cause? Think of end-to-end security.
14 Name the advantages and disadvantages of user acknowledgements in WTP.
What are typical applications for both cases?
15 Which WTP class reflects the typical web access best? How is unnecessary over-
head avoided when using WSP on top of this class for web browsing?
16 What problems of HTTP can WSP solve? Why are these solutions especially
needed in wireless mobile environments?
 Support f or mobilit y 441

17 Why does WSP/ B not put responses into the same order as the requests? Think,
for example, of requests for different items on a web page.
18 What advantages does a connectionless session service offer compared to a
simple datagram service?
19 What are the enhancements of WAE to the classic client/ server model of the
web? What are functions of this enhancement?
20 What is the fundamental difference of WML compared to HTML? Why can this
difference be important for handheld devices? What is specified in addition to
save bandwidth?
21 Why has a scripting language been added to WML? How can this language help
saving bandwidth and reducing delay?
22 What are typical telephony events and how are they integrated into WAP? How
can a user access features of mobile phones via the web browser?
23 What is the role of a WTA server? What are the different ways of integrating WTA
servers into the WAP architecture?
24 What is the difference between WAP service indication and service loading?
What applications could use these services? What is a push good for anyway?
25 Name key differences between WAP 1.x and i-mode. What were problems in the
early WAP days and why was i-mode that successful in Japan?
26 Why is a common synchronization framework useful? What problems remain?
27 What are major differences between WAP 2.0 and WAP 1.x? What influenced the
WAP 2.0 development?
28 Compare the presented protocol stacks for WAP 2.0 and give application examples.

10.9 Ref erences

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Ad o be (2002) Ad o be Syst em s In c., h tt p :/ / www.ad o be.com / .
An gin , O ., Cam p b ell, A.T., Ko u n avis, M.E., Liao , R.R.F. (1 998) ‘Th e Mo b iWare
t o o lkit : Pro gra m m ab le su p p o rt fo r ad a p t ive m o b ile n et wo rkin g,’ IEEE
Personal Communications, 5(4).
Bern ers-Lee, T. (1994a) Universa l Resource Identifiers in W W W, a unifying synta x for
the expression of n a mes a nd a ddresses of objects on the network a s used in the
world wide web, RFC 1630, fo r an u p d ate see RFC 2396.
Bern ers-Lee, T. (1994 b ) Uniform Resource Loca tors (URL), RFC 1738, u p d at ed b y
RFC 1808, RFC 2368, RFC 2396.
Bern ers-Lee, T., Field in g, R., Fryst yk, H . (1 9 9 6 ) Hypertext Tra n sfer Protocol –
HTTP/1.0, RFC1945.
442 Mobile communicat ions

Bickm ore, T., Sch ilit, B. (1997) ‘Digesto r: d evice in d ep en d en t access to th e world
w id e web ,’ p ro c. sixt h In t ern at io n al Wo rld W id e Web C o n feren ce, San t a
Clara, CA, USA.
Blu e Sq u irrel (2 0 0 2 ) WebW h a cker v5 .0 , Blu e Sq u irrel Co rp o rat io n ,
h ttp :/ / www.blu esq u irrel.com / .
Blu eto o th (2002) Blu etooth Sp ecial In t erest Gro u p , h ttp :/ / www.blu etooth .co m / .
Brewer, E.A., Kat z, R.H., Ch awat h e, Y.,; G rib b le, S.D.; H o d es, T., Ngu yen , G .,
St em m , M ., H en d erso n , T., Am it , E., Ba la krish n en , H ., Fo x , A.,
Pad m an ab h an , V., Sesh an , S. (1998) ‘A n et wo rk arch itect u re fo r h et ero ge-
n eou s m o bile com p u tin g,’ IEEE Personal Communications, 5(5).
Certico m (2002) Cert ico m Co rp o ration , h t tp :/ / www.certico m .com / .
Co n t a, A., Deerin g, S. (19 98) Internet Con trol Messa ge Protocol (ICMPv6) for the
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Specification, RFC 2463.
Dierks, T., Allen , C. (1999) The TLS protocol version 1.0, RFC 2246.
Diffie, W., Hellm an , M . (19 7 6 ) ‘N ew d irect io n s in cryp t o grap h y,’ IEEE
Transactions on Informa tion Theory, 22(6).
EC M A (2 0 0 2 ) ECM A In t ern at io n al – Eu ro p ea n asso ciat io n fo r st a n d ard izin g
in fo rm at ion an d co m m u n icat ion system s, h t tp :/ / www.ecm a.ch / .
ETSI (2002) Eu ropean Telecom m u n ication s Stan dards In stitute h ttp:/ /www.etsi.org/.
Field in g, R. (1 9 9 5 ) Rela tive Un iform Resource Loca tors, RFC 1 8 0 8 , u p d at ed b y
RFC2368, RFC2396.
Field in g, R., Gettys, J., Mogu l, J., Frystyk, H., Masin ter, L., Leach , P., Bern ers-Lee, T.
(1999) Hypertext Transfer Protocol – HTTP/1.1, RFC 2616, u p d ated by RFC 2817.
Flan agan , D. (1997) Ja vaScript: the definitive guide. O’Reilly.
Flo yd , R., H o u sel, B., Tait , C. (1 99 8) ‘M o b ile web access u sin g eN et wo rk Web
Exp ress,’ IEEE Personal Communications, 5(5).
Fo x, A., Brewer, E. (19 9 6a) ‘Red u cin g W W W lat en cy an d b an d wid t h req u ire-
m en t s by real-t im e d istillat io n ,’ p ro c. Fifth In t ern atio n al World Wid e Web
Con feren ce, Paris, Fran ce.
Fo x , A., Grib b le, S., Brew er, E.A., Am ir, E. (1 9 9 6 b ) ‘Ad ap t in g t o n et wo rk an d
clien t variab ilit y via o n -d em an d d yn am ic d ist illat io n ,’ p ro c. ASPLO S’9 6 ,
Cam bridge, MA, USA.
Fo x, A., Gribble, S.D., Ch awath e, Y., Brewer, E.A. (1996b ) ‘Ad ap tin g to n etwork
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 Support f or mobilit y 445

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 Support f or mobilit y 447

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 Out look 11

W
11.1 The archit ect ure of f ut ure net works

h at will fu tu re m obile com m u n ication n etworks look like? W h ich wire-

less access will we u se fo r wh at ap p licat io n s? A lo t h as alread y b een
written abo u t fou rth gen eration or n ext gen eration m obile com m u n i-
cat io n syst em , e.g., (Jam alip o u r, 20 01), (Mäh ö n en , 2 001 ), (Arro yo -Fern an d ez,
2001), Lu (2002). However, u p to n ow, com p an ies h ave n ot recou p ed th eir in vest-
m en t in 3 G syst em s. Several arch it ect u res co m p et e fo r t h e fu t u re o f m o b ile
com m u n ication s.
W h ile we can n o t o u t lin e t h e p recise arch it ect u re fo r fu t u re n et wo rks, we
can t h in k o f u sefu l scen ario s fo r m o b ile u sers. Rem em b er Figu res 1.1 an d 1.2.
Man y d ifferen t d evices accessed d ifferen t n etworks wh ile on th e m ove o r in sid e
veh icles. Th is very d em an d in g scen ario lead s to th e gen eral con cep t of o verla y -
in g n et w o r k s. Figu re 1 1.1 sh o ws fo u r ex am p le areas t h at d ifferen t n et wo rks
m ay co ver: in -car/ in -h ou se/ p erso n al, cam p u s, m et rop olitan , an d region al. Users
on th e m o ve, like in Figu re 1.2, always wan t t o u se th e ‘b est’ (fastest, ch eap est,
m ost secu re, com p an y own ed etc.) n etwo rk. However, coverage is lim ited so t h e
wireless devices h ave to p erfo rm h an d o ver. If th e d evice stays in th e sam e wire-
less syst em (e.g., GSM) th e h a n d o ver is called h o rizo n t a l. If t h e d evice switch es
between n etworks on d ifferen t layers, th e h an d o ver is called v ert ica l.
Figu re 1 1 .2 gives an o verview o f so m e w ireless access t ech n o lo gies p re-
sen t ed in t h is b o o k an d co m p ares t h em relat ed t o b an d w id t h an d d evice
m obilit y. Wid e area system s, su ch as GSM, cd m a2000 an d UMTS, allow fo r rela-
tively h igh m o bilit y, b u t su ffer from low d ata rat es. Lo cal area system s, su ch as
IEEE 802.11 an d Hip erLAN2 h ave n o t b een d esign ed fo r h igh d evice m o bilit y.
Go in g t o h igh er ban d wid th at h igh er sp eed is d ifficu lt an d exp en sive. Research
m ay p u sh toward s m o re sop h isticated system s. However, it is u n cert ain if som e-
on e wan ts t o p ay fo r it (W LAN access p oin ts every 30 m are t ech n ically feasible,
bu t t oo exp en sive for wid e area co verage).
Th e n ext (o r fo u rt h ) gen eratio n o f m o b ile co m m u n icat io n syst em s is n o t
sim p ly p u sh in g t h e p h ysical/ eco n o m ic b o rd er t o w a rd s h igh er d at a rat es at
h igh er relat ive sp eed . Th e fo llo win g k ey fea t u r es b ased o n u ser req u irem en t s,
tech n ical lim itatio n s, an d th e cu rren t d evelop m en t in In tern et t ech n olo gy m ay
m ark fu tu re n etworks (W W RF, 2002), (DRIVE, 2001), (BRAIN, 2001):

449
450 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 11.1
Wireless overlay
networks

Regional
Vertical
handover

Metropolitan area

Campus-based Horizontal
In-car, handover
in-house,
personal area
Figure 11.2
Wireless access
technologies DAB

250
FDD
Relative speed [km/h]

Physical/
100
economic border
GSM, TETRA

UMTS
EDGE

50
EDGE

TDD

DECT 802.11b HiperLAN2,

5
802.11a/.11g
Bluetooth

0 Point-to-multipoint distribution systems

10 kbit/s 2 Mbit/s 20 Mbit/s 150 Mbit/s
Bandwidth

● Im p r o v ed ra d io t ech n o lo gy a n d a n t en n a s: Wireless d evices will u se sev-

eral sm a rt a n t en n a s to ben efit from m u lt i-p at h p ro p agatio n . Base st atio n s
can u se b ea m fo r m in g t o fo llo w sin gle wireless d evices, u sin g sp ace d ivi-
sio n m u ltip lex in a very fin e-grain ed way. Th ese tech n o lo gies will stro n gly
in crease t h e cap acity of wireless cells. In stead of ju st u sin g a sin gle an ten n a
o n each sid e o f th e wireless ch an n el, fu tu re system s will be m u lt ip le-in p u t
m u lt ip le-o u t p u t (MIMO) tran sm issio n system s u sin g m u ltip le an ten n as on
b o t h sid es. So ft w a r e d e fi n e d r a d io s (SD R) allo w fo r m u lt ip le-syst em
 Out look 451

d evices, recon figu rable sen d ers/ receivers, an d th e ad ap tation of rad io tran s-
m issio n t o ap p licat io n req u irem en t s. SDR em u la t e t h e RF h ard w are b y
so ft ware. Ho wever, t o d ay t h e co m p u t in g p o wer o f st an d ard p ro cesso rs is
n o t h igh en o u gh fo r t h is t ask. Th e RF co m p o n en t o f UM TS alo n e is est i-
m at ed to req u ire t h e p rocessin g p o wer of 10,000 GIPS (giga in stru ction s p er
seco n d ). D y n a m i c sp ec t r u m a l lo c a t io n , i.e., allo cat in g sp ect ru m o n
d em an d , will fu rt h er in crease t h e availab le cap acit y p er rad io cell. MAC
sch em es, an d co d in g can b e im p ro ved . Th e d evice can t h en ch o o se t h e
‘b est ’ co d in g an d m o d u lat io n sch em e, sp ect ru m , access t ech n o lo gy et c.
am o n g a large set o f co m b in at io n s t o ach ieve, e.g., lo w co st , h igh b an d -
wid th , lo w jitter, h igh secu rit y etc.
● C o r e n e t w o r k c o n v e r g e n ce : W h ile t h ere w ill b e m a n y d ifferen t access
t ech n o lo gies in t h e fu t u re, t h e co re b eco m es m o re an d m o re IP -b a sed .
Man y d ifferen t n et wo rks alread y u se In t ern et p ro to co ls so a co m m o n n et -
wo rk layer is alread y availab le. Th e h ard ware syst em s t en d t o b e ch eap er
d u e to th e m ass m arket . Th e fu tu re core n et wo rk u ses IPv6 an d o ffers q u a l-
it y o f ser v ice based on , e.g., th e d ifferen t iated services ap p roach com b in ed
with MPLS fo r sim p ler traffic en gin eerin g. Macro m o bility tech n o lo gies like
m o b ile IP su p p o rt vert ical h an d o ver, wh ile fast an d seam less h o rizo n t al
h an d over rem ain s in t h e access n etworks for a lon g t im e.
● Ad -h o c t ech n o lo gies: Driven by th e d em an d for sp on tan eo u s com m u n ica-
t io n , d ifferen t a d -h o c co m m u n icat io n scen ario s will sh o w u p . M an y
d ifferen t co m m u n icatio n layers will su p p ort ad -h o c co m m u n icatio n : layer
two for th e sp on t an eo u s creat io n o f lin ks, layer t h ree for efficien t rou tin g,
an d t h e ap p licat io n layer fo r service d isco very, au t o m at ic co n figu rat io n ,
au t h en t icat io n et c. Mu lt ih op ad -h o c tech n o lo gies can fu rt h erm o re ext en d
th e ran ge o f d evices or lo wer in terferen ce/ ext en d b att ery lifetim e by tran s-
m ittin g via n eigh bor n od es in st ead of tran sm itt in g d irectly to a base st at ion
with h igh tran sm ission p ower.
● Sim p le a n d o p en ser v ice p lat fo r m : Cu rren t seco n d gen eratio n m o bile sys-
tem s rely h eavily on in t elligen t n etwo rks (IN) fo r service p rovisio n in g (e.g.,
call fo rward in g, m u lt i-p art y call, t o ll-free n u m b ers et c.). Fu t u re n et wo rks
will u se In t ern et tech n olo gy fo r th is p u rp ose. Th is p u sh es th e “in telligen ce”
t o th e ed ges o f t h e n etwo rk an d leaves th e core n et wo rk sim p le. Th is also
en ables m an y m o re co m p an ies t o o ffer n ew services co m p ared to IN so lu -
tio n s wh ere t h e n etwo rk o p erator con t ro ls everyt h in g.

Figu re 11.3 gives a sim p lified view o f an IP-b ased m o b ile co m m u n icat io n
syst em with gat eways t o legacy n etwo rks. A u ser’s d evice m ay con n ect to d iffer-
en t t ech n o lo gies (U MTS, GSM , p u b lic a n d p rivat e W LAN s) o r m ay receive
bro ad casted d ata via a satellit e. Th e IP-based core o f a n etwork p ro vid er (m an y
m ay exist) co n n ects t o trad it ion al circu it swit ch ed n etworks an d an SS7 sign al-
in g syst em . Seco n d gen erat io n n et wo rks will b e aro u n d fo r m an y m o re years
d u e t o th e sh eer am o u n t of eq u ip m en t in stalled an d it s m illio n s of u sers. Th e IP
452 Mobile communicat ions

Figure 11.3
Example IP-based fourth
SS7 signaling Server farm,
generation mobile
communication network gateways, proxie
PSTN, CS core
Gateways

MSC
IP-based
Firewall, GGSN,
core
SGSN gateway
BSC Router
GSM
Internet

Access
points Private
Private WLAN
RNC WPAN

UMTS

Public
WLAN

co re n eed s m an y servers fo r n am e looku p , d evice co n figu ratio n , au th en t ication

et c. Proxies an d gateways h ave to tran slat e ad d resses, con ten t fo rm ats, an d p ro -
toco ls (Wisely, 2002).
Alth ou gh t h e figu re m ay look p erfect , th ere are m an y p ro blem s on th e way
to ward s an all-IP syst em (if it will ever com e tru e). To d ay, m o st o f th e in tern et
still relies on th e best -effort p rot ocols fro m th e eigh ties. In tegrat ed services an d
IPv6 h ave been d evelo p ed in th e m id -n in eties, bu t o n ly few system s u se it . Du e
to scalability p roblem s o f in tegrated services th e d ifferen tiated services ap p ro ach
h as been d evelop ed – again , it will take a lo n g tim e before it is really d ep lo yed .
To d ay, n o o n e can really say wh at w ill h ap p en as so o n as t h e in t ern et o ffers
q u alit y o f service at a large scale. Th e sim p licit y o f t h e In t ern et m ay b e go n e
th en . Research ers h ave to take care t h at feat u rism d oes n o t m igrate in to th e IP
co re b u t stays at th e ed ge.
As soon as In tern et tech n ology is u sed fo r m issio n critical ap p licat ion s (e.g.,
em ergen cy calls), reliabilit y an d secu rity are o f u tm o st im p o rtan ce. W h ile d en ial
of service att acks alread y to d ay are an an n oyin g th reat, th e read er can im agin e
w h at h ap p en s, if h ackers at t ack an IP-b a sed wo rld w id e t elep h o n e n et w o rk.
Co m p ared t o to d ay’s t elep h o n e t ech n o logy, In tern et tech n olo gy h as a h u ge base
o f p o t en t ia l an d skilled at t ackers. Up t o n o w it h a s n o t b een p ro ved t h at
 Out look 453

In tern et tech n o lo gy is really sim p ler co m p ared t o classical tech n o lo gy as so o n

as all th e QoS, acco u n tin g, an d secu rity featu res are in tegrated an d th e reliabil-
ity h as to be 99.9999 p er cen t.
Fin ally, we can d iscu ss m an y in t erestin g tech n o lo gies an d d ream o f a p er-
fect m o bile an d wireless world , bu t so m eon e h as to p ay for it. Cu rren t ch argin g
m od els, in p articu lar if vo lu m e or t im e based , d o n o t fit t h e u sers’ req u irem en ts.
Users u n d erst an d p ay-p er-a p p licat io n , b u t n o t p er b yt e o r p er m in u t e.
Com p an ies oft en lo o k fo r th e ‘killer ap p licatio n ’ for fast ret u rn o n in vestm en t.
Th is boo k sh owed th at th ere is n o sin gle n et work, n o sin gle tech n o logy, an d n o
sin gle ap p licatio n t h at can gu aran t ee su ccess. Th e u ser’s ch o ice o f m an y d iffer-
en t n et wo rks, seam less access, an d ‘always b est co n n ect ed ’ will d et erm in e th e
fu tu re su ccess o f m o b ile an d wireless co m m u n icat io n s.

11.2 Ref erences

Arro yo -Fern an d ez, B., DaSilva, J., Fern an d es, J., Prasad , R. (2 0 0 1 ) Life Aft er
Th ird -Gen era t io n Mo b ile C o m m u n icat io n s, co llect io n o f art icles, IEEE
Communications Magazine, 39(8).
BRAIN (2 0 0 1 ) Broa dba n d Ra dio Access for IP ba sed Networks, IST-1 9 9 9 –1 0 0 5 0 ,
h ttp :/ / www.co rd is.lu / , h t tp :/ / www.ist -brain .org/ .
DRIVE (2 001 ) Dyn am ic Rad io fo r IP-Services in Veh icu lar En viro n m en t s, IST-
1999–12515, h t tp :/ / www.cord is.lu / , h t tp :/ / www.ist -d rive.org/ .
Ja m alip o u r, A., Tekin a y, S. (2 0 0 1 ) Fo u rt h Gen erat io n W ireless Net w o rks
a n d In t erco n n ect io n St a n d ard s, co llect io n o f art icles, IEEE Person a l
Communications, 8(5).
Lu , W. (2 0 0 2 ) Fo u rt h -G en erat io n M o b ile In it iat ives a n d Tech n o lo gies, IEEE
Communications Magazine, 40(3).
Mäh ön en , P., Polyzos, G. (2001) Eu rop ean R&D on Fou rth -Gen eration Mobile an d
Wireless IP Networks, collection of articles, IEEE Personal Communications, 8(6).
Wisely, D., Eard ley, P., Bu rn ess, L. (2002 ) IP for 3G, Networking Tech nologies for
Mobile Communica tions. Wiley & Son s.
W W RF (20 0 2 ) W ireless Wo rld Research Fo ru m , h t t p :/ / ww w.wireless-w o rld -
research .o rg/ , h tt p :/ / www.ww-rf.org/ .
 Appendix 1 – Acronyms

3GPP Th ird Gen eratio n Partn ersh ip Project

AAL ATM Ad ap tation Layer
ABR Available BitRate
ACF Asso ciation Con trol Fu n ction
ACH Access feed back CHan n el
ACID Ato m icity, Co n sisten cy, Iso latio n , Du rabilit y
ACK ACKn owled gem en t
ACL Asyn ch ron ou s Con n ect ion less Lin k
ACT Ad -h o c Co n troller Term in al
ADA Alias DA
ADSL Asym m etric Digit al Su bscriber Lin e
AES Ad van ced En cryp tion Stan d ard
AESA ATM En d System Ad d ress
AFS An d rew File System
AGCH Access Gran t CHan n el
AIB Alias In form ation Base
AID Ackn owled gem en t IDen tifier
AIDCS AID Ch eckSu m
AK-HCPDU AcKn o wled gem en t HCPDU
AM Am p litu d e Mod u lat ion
AMA Active Mem ber Ad d ress
AMES ATM Mo bility Ext en sio n Service
AMPS Ad van ced Mo bile Ph o n e System
ANSI Am erican Nat io n al Stan d ard s In st itu te
AODV Ad -h o c On -d em an d Dist an ce Vect o r
AP Access Po in t
APC AP Con tro ller
APCF AP Con tro l Fu n ctio n
APCM AP Con n ection Man agem en t
APCP AP Con tro l Protocol
APT AP Tran sceiver
ARIB Asso ciation o f Rad io In d u stries an d Bro ad cast in g
ARQ Au to m atic Rep eat reQu est

455
456 Mobile communicat ions

ARQN ARQ seq u en ce Nu m ber

ASA Alias SA
ASCH Asso ciatio n Con tro l CHan n el
ASCI Ad van ced Sp eech Call Item s
ASCII Am erican Stan d ard Cod e fo r In form at ion In terch an ge
ASK Am p litu d e Sh ift Keyin g
ASP Act ive Server Page
Assoc Asso ciatio n
AT ATten tio n seq u en ce
ATIM Ad -h oc TIM
ATM Asyn ch ro n o u s Tran sfer Mo d e
ATMC ATM Co n n ectio n fu n ct ion
Au C Au th en ticatio n Cen tre
AUS AUth en t icat ion Server
Au t h Au th en ticatio n
BCA Borro win g Ch an n el Allocat io n
BCCH Broad cast CCH
BCH Broad cast CHan n el
BCH Bose-Ch au d h u ri-Hocq u en gh em
BER Bit Erro r Rate
BFSK Bin ary FSK
B-ISDN Broad ban d ISDN
BLI Blo ck Len gth In d icato r
BLIR Blo ck Len gth In d icato r Rep lica
BLIRCS BLIR Ch eckSu m
BMP Bit MaP
BNEP Blu etoo th Netwo rk En cap su lat io n Prot ocol
BPSK Bin ary PSK
BRAN Broad ban d Radio Access Networks
BSC Base Station Co n troller
BSS Base Station (Su b)system
BSS Basic Service Set
BSSAP BSS Ap p lication Part
BSSGP BSS GPRS Proto co l
BTS Base Tran sceiver Station
BTSM BTS Man agem en t
BW BackWard
CAC Ch an n el Access Co n trol
CAC Co n n ectio n Ad m ission Co n t rol
CAC Ch an n el Access Co d e
CAMEL Cu sto m ized Ap p licatio n for Mo bile En h an ced Lo gic
CATV Co m m u n it y An ten n a Television
CBR Co n stan t BitRate
CC Call Co n trol
 Appendix 1 – Acronyms 457

CC Cou n try Cod e

CC/ PP Com p osite Cap abilities/ Preferen ce Pro files
CCA Clear Ch an n el Assessm en t
CCCH Com m o n CCH
CCF Call co n t rol an d Co n n ectio n Fu n ction
CCH Con tro l CHan n el
CCIR Con su ltative Com m ittee for In tern ation al Radiocom m u n ication
CCK Com p lem en tary Cod e Keyin g
CD Com p act Disk
CDM Cod e Divisio n Mu lt ip lexin g
CDMA Cod e Divisio n Mu lt ip le Access
CDPD Cellu lar Digit al Packet Data
CDV Cell Delay Variation
CEPT Eu ro p ean Co n feren ce for Posts an d Telecom m u n ication s
CGI Com m o n Gateway In terface
CGSR Clu sterh ead -Gat eway Switch Rou tin g
cHTML co m p act HTML
CID Ch an n el ID
CIDR Classless In terDom ain Ro u tin g
CIF Com m o n In terleaved Fram e
CKSN Cip h erin g Key Seq u en ce Nu m ber
CL Con vergen ce Layer
CLDC Con n ected Lim ited Device Co n figu ratio n
CLI Com m o n Lan gu age In frast ru ctu re
CLMS Con n ection less Message Service
CM Call Man agem en t
CM Cen t ralized Mo d e
CN Core Netwo rk
CN Corresp o n d en t No d e
Cn f Con firm at io n
COA Care-Of Ad d ress
Co d ec Cod er/ d ecod er
COFDM Cod ed OFDM
COMS Con n ection -O rien ted Message Service
CORBA Com m o n Object Req u est Broker Arch itectu re
COS Cross Over Switch
CPM Con tin u ou s Ph ase Mod u lation
CPU Cen t ral Pro cessin g Un it
CRC Cyclic Redu n d an cy Ch eck
CS Ch eckSu m
CS Cod in g Sch em e
CSCW Com p u ter Sup p ort ed Coop erat ive Work
CSD Circu it Switch ed Dom ain
458 Mobile communicat ions

CSMA Carrier Sen se Mu ltip le Access

CSMA/ CA CSMA wit h Co llisio n Avoid an ce
CSMA/ CD CSMA wit h Co llisio n Detection
CT Co rd less Telep h o n e
CTS Clear To Sen d
CU Cap acit y Un it
CVSD Co n tin u o u s Variable Slo p e Delta
CW Co n ten tion Win d o w
DA Dest in atio n Ad d ress
DAB Digital Au d io Bro ad castin g
DAC Device Access Cod e
DAMA Dem an d Assign ed Mu ltip le Access
D-AMPS Digital-AMPS
DBPSK Differen tial Bin ary PSK
DC Direct Cu rren t
DCA Dyn am ic Ch an n el Allo catio n
DCC DLC u ser Con n ection Con t ro l
DCCH Ded icated CCH
DCF Distribu t ed Coo rd in ation Fu n ct ion
DCS Digital Cellu lar System
DCS Dyn am ic Ch an n el Selection
DDIB Du p licate Detectio n In fo rm at io n Base
DECT Digital En h an ced Co rd less Telecom m u n icatio n s
DES Data En cryp tio n St an d ard
DFS Dyn am ic Freq u en cy Select ion
DFW MAC Distribu t ed Fo u n d at ion Wireless MAC
DH Diffie, Hellm an
DHCP Dyn am ic Host Co n figu rat io n Prot ocol
DIFS DCF IFS
Disasso c Disassociat io n
DLC Data Lin k Con tro l
DM Direct Mod e
DNS Dom ain Nam e System
DPCCH Ded icated Ph ysical Co n trol CHan n el
DPCH Ded icated Ph ysical CHan n el
DPDCH Ded icated Ph ysical Data CHan n el
DQPSK Differen tial QPSK
DRNC Drift RNC
DS Distribu t io n System
DSDV Dest in atio n Seq u en ce Dist an ce Vecto r
DSL Digital Su bscriber Loo p
DSMA Digital Sen se Mu ltip le Access
DSR Dyn am ic Sou rce Ro u tin g
DSSS Direct Seq u en ce Sp read Sp ectru m
 Appendix 1 – Acronyms 459

DT-HCPDU DaTa-HCPDU
DTIM Delivery TIM
DTMF Du al Ton e Mu ltip le Freq u en cy
DUCC DLC User Co n n ect ion Co n trol
DV Dist an ce Vecto r
DVB Digit al Vid eo Broad castin g
DVB-C DVB-Cable
DVB-S DVB-Satellite
DVB-T DVB-Terrest rial
DVD Digit al Versatile Disk
DVTR Digit al Vid eo Tap e Reco rd er
ECDH Ellip tic Cu rve Diffie Hellm an
ECMA ECM A In t ern at io n al – Eu ro p ean asso ciat io n fo r st an d ard izin g
in fo rm at io n an d co m m u n icat io n syst em s (w as Eu ro p ean
Co m p u ter Man u fact u rers Asso ciation u n til 1994)
ECN Exp licit Co n gest io n Notification
EDGE En h an ced Data rates for [Global|GSM] Evo lu tion
EDTV En h an ced Defin itio n TV
EFI Extern al Fu n ction alit y In terface
EFR En h an ced Fu ll Rate
EHF Extrem ely High Freq u en cy
EIR Eq u ip m en t Id en t it y Regist er
EIRP Eq u ivalen t Iso tro p ic Rad iated Po wer
EIT Even t In form ation Table
EMAS En d -u ser Mobility-su p p o rtin g ATM Switch
EMAS-E EMAS-Ed ge
EMAS-N EMAS-Netwo rk
EMF Elect ro Magn et ic Field s
EMS En h an ced Message Service
ESS Exten d ed Service Set
ETSI Eu ro p ean Teleco m m u n icatio n s Stan d ard s In st it u te
EY-NPMA Elim in atio n -Yield No n -p reem p tive Prio rity Mu ltip le Access
FA Fo reign Agen t
FACCH Fast Asso ciated Ded icated CCH
FCA Fixed Ch an n el Allocation
FCC Fed eral Com m u n icatio n s Com m issio n (USA)
FCCH Fram e CCH
FCCH Freq u en cy Co rrection CHan n el
FCH Fram e CHan n el
FDD Freq u en cy Division Du p lex
FDM Freq u en cy Division Mu ltip lexin g
FDMA Freq u en cy Division Mu ltip le Access
FEC Fo rward Erro r Correction
FFT Fast Fou rier Tran sfo rm
460 Mobile communicat ions

FHSS Freq u en cy Ho pp in g Sp read Sp ectru m

FIB Fast In fo rm ation Block
FIC Fast In fo rm atio n Ch an n el
FM Freq u en cy Mod u lat ion
FOMA Freed o m Of Mo bile m u lti-m ed ia Access
FPLMTS Fu t u re Pu blic Lan d Mo bile Telecom m u n ication Syst em
FR Fram e Relay
FR Fu ll Rate
FSK Freq u en cy Sh ift Keyin g
FSLS Fu zzy Sigh t ed Lin k State
FSR Fish eye State Rou t in g
FT Fixed Rad io Term in ation
FW ForWard
GEO Geostation ary (o r Geo syn ch ron ou s) Earth Orbit
GFSK Gau ssian FSK
GGSN Gateway GSN
GIF Grap h ics In t erch an ge Form at
GIPS Giga In stru ction s Per Secon d
GMM Global Mu ltim ed ia Mobility
GMSC Gateway MSC
GMSK Gau ssian MSK
GP Gu ard Period
GPRS Gen eral Packet Rad io Service
GPS Global Po sition in g System
GPSR Greed y Perim eter Stateless Ro u tin g
GR GPRS Register
GRE Gen eric Rou tin g En cap su latio n
GSM Gro u p e Sp éciale Mo bile, Glo bal System fo r Mo bile co m m u n ica-
tion s
GSN GPRS Su p p ort No d e
GTP GPRS Tu n n elin g Pro to co l
GW L GateWay Lin k
HA Ho m e Agen t
HAP High -Altitu de Platfo rm
HBR High Bit-Rat e
HC HIPERLAN CAC
HCPDU HIPERLAN CAC PDU
HCQo S HIPERLAN CAC Q oS
HCSAP HIPERLAN CAC SAP
HCSDU HIPERLAN CAC SDU
HDA Hash ed Destin at io n HCSAP Ad d ress
HDACS HDA Ch eckSu m
HDB Ho m e Data Base
HDLC High level Dat a Lin k Co n trol
 Appendix 1 – Acronyms 461

HDML Han d h eld Device Marku p Lan gu age

HDTP Han d h eld Device Tran sp o rt Proto co l
HDTV High Defin ition TV
HEC Head er Error [Co n trol | Ch eck]
HEO High ly Ellip tical Orbit
HF High Freq u en cy
HI HBR-p art In d icat or
HIB Hello In form at io n Base
HID HIPERLAN IDen tifier
HIPERLAN High -PERfo rm an ce LAN
HLR Ho m e Location Register
HM HIPERLAN MAC
HMPDU HIPERLAN MAC PDU
HMQo S HIPERLAN MAC Qo S
HO Han d Over
HO-HMPDU HellO-HMPDU
HP HIPERLAN PHY
HR Half Rate
HSCSD High Sp eed Circu it Switch ed Data
HSDPA High Sp eed Do wn lin k Packet Access
HSR Hierarch ical State Ro u tin g
HTML Hyp erText Marku p Lan gu age
HTTP Hyp erText Tran sfer Protocol
IAC In q u iry Access Cod e
IAPP In ter Access Poin t Pro to co l
IBSS In d ep en d en t BSS
ICMP In tern et Co n trol Message Pro toco l
ICO In term ed iat e Circu lar Orbit
ID IDen t ifier
IEEE In stitu te of Electrical an d Electron ics En gin eers
IETF In tern et En gin eerin g Task Force
IFS In ter Fram e Sp acin g
ILR In terwo rkin g Location Register
IMEI In tern ation al Mobile Eq u ip m en t Id en t it y
IMF Id en tity Man agem en t Fu n ctio n
IMS IP-based Mu lti-m ed ia Services
IMSI In tern ation al Mobile Su bscriber Id en tity
IMT In tern ation al Mobile Telecom m un ication s
IN In telligen t Netwo rk
IOT Iso lat io n On ly Tran saction s
IP In tern et Protocol
IR In fra Red
IrDA In fra red Dat a Associatio n
IS In terim Stan d ard
462 Mobile communicat ions

ISDN In t egrated Services Digital Network

ISI In t erSym bo l In terferen ce
ISL In t er Satellite Lin k
ISM In d u strial, Scien t ific, Med ical
ISMA In h ibit Sen se Mu lt ip le Access
ISO In t ern ation al Organ ization for Stan d ard ization 1
I-TCP In d irect TCP
ITU In t ern ation al Teleco m m u n icat ion Un io n
ITU-R ITU Rad iocom m u n icat io n sector
ITU-T ITU Teleco m m u n icat ion sect o r
IV In itialization Vect or
IW F In t erWorkin g Fu n ction
JCT Jap an ese Co rd less Telep h o n e
JDC Jap an ese Digit al Cellu lar
JPEG Join t Ph oto grap h ic Exp ert s Grou p
KID Key IDen tifier
L2CAP Logical Lin k Co n t rol an d Ad ap tatio n Protocol
LA Locat ion Area
LAI Locat ion Area Id en tification
LAN Local Area Netwo rk
LAP Lower Ad d ress Part
LAPC Lin k Access Pro ced u re fo r th e C-Plan e
LAPD Lin k Access Pro ced u re fo r th e D-ch an n el
LAPD m LAPD for m obile
LBR Low Bit-Rate
LC Lin k Con tro ller
LCCH Lin k Con tro l CHan n el
LCH Lon g t ran sp ort CHan n el
LED Ligh t Em ittin g Diod e
LEO Low Earth Orbit
LF Low Freq u en cy
LI Len gth In d icator
LIR Least In terferen ce Rou tin g
LLC Logical Lin k Con t ro l
LM Lin k Man ager
LMP Lin k Man ager Pro toco l
Lo c Locat ion
LOS Lin e-Of-Sigh t
LR-W PAN Low-Rate W PAN
LRU Last Recen tly Used

1 Th is is n ot t h e ‘In t ern a t io n al St an d a rd s O rga n izat io n ’ o r t h e ‘In t ern at io n a l St a n d ard iza t io n

O rgan izat io n ’ or wh atever so m e au t h ors write. ISO is n o t an acron ym , b u t is d erived fro m t h e Greek
word isos wh ich m ean s eq u al as u sed (as p refix) in iso m et ric, iso m o rp h ic et c. (h t t p :/ / www.iso .ch / ).
 Appendix 1 – Acronyms 463

LS Location Server
LS Lin k State
M-Q oS Mob ile QoS
MAC Med iu m Access Con tro l
MACA Mu lt ip le Access with Collisio n Avo id an ce
MANET Mob ile Ad -h oc NETwork
MAP Mob ile Ap p licat io n Part
MATM Mob ile ATM
MBS Mob ile Broad ban d System
MBWA Mob ile Broad ban d Wireless Access
MCC Mob ile Co u n try Co d e
MCI Mu lt ip lex Con figu rat io n In fo rm at io n
MCM Mu lt iCarrier Mod u lat ion
MEO Med iu m Eart h Orbit
MExE Mob ile Execu tio n En viro n m en t
MF Med iu m Freq u en cy
MFi Melo d y Fo rm at fo r i-m o d e
MH Mob ile Ho st
MHEG M u lt i-m ed ia an d H yp erm ed ia in fo rm a t io n co d in g Ex p ert s
Gro u p
MIB Man agem en t In form at io n Base
MIDI Mu sical In stru m en t Digital In t erface
MIDP Mob ile In fo rm ation Device Profile
MIMO Mu lt ip le In p u t Mu ltip le Ou tp u t
MKK Rad io Eq u ip m en t In sp ection an d Cert ification In stitu te (Jap an )
ML MSDU Lifetim e
MM Mob ility Man agem en t
MMF Mob ility Man agem en t Fu n ction
MMS Mu lt i-m ed ia Messagin g Service
MN Mob ile No d e
MNC Mob ile Network Cod e
MO C Mob ile Origin ated Call
MO T Mu lt i-m ed ia O bject Tran sfer
MPEG Movin g Pictu res Exp ert Gro u p
MPLS Mu lt i Prot ocol Label Swit ch in g
MQ Message Qu eu in g
MS Mob ile St at io n
MS Mob ile Switch
MSAP MAC SAP
MSC Mob ile (Services) Switch in g Cen tre
MSC Mob ile Switch Con tro ller
MSC Main Service Ch an n el
MSDU MAC SDU
MSIN Mob ile Su bscriber Id en t ification Nu m ber
464 Mobile communicat ions

MSISDN Mobile [Statio n (In tern at io n al)|Su bscriber] ISDN Nu m ber

MSK Min im u m Sh ift Keyin g
MSRN Mobile [Statio n |Su bscriber] Ro am in g Nu m ber
MSS Mobile Satellite [Service|System ]
MT Mobile Term in al
MT Mobile Term in atio n
MTC Mobile Term in ated Call
M-TCP Mobile TCP
MTSA Mobile Term in al Secu rit y Agen t
MUL Mobile User Lin k
NA-TDMA No rth Am erican -TDMA
NAV Net Allocat ion Vector
NAT Network Ad d ress Tran slator
NDC Nation al Destin atio n Co d e
NEMO NEtwork MObilit y
NFS Network File Syst em
NIB Neigh bor In fo rm ation Base
NIT Net work In form at ion Table
NMAS Network Mobility-su p p o rt in g ATM Switch
NMT No rd ic Mobile Telep h o n e
NNI Net work-to -Netwo rk In t erface
NNI+M NNI+Mobility
NRL No rm alized Resid u al HMPDU Lifet im e
NSA Network Secu rity Agen t
NSS Network an d Swit ch in g Su bsystem
NTSC Nation al Television Stan d ard s Com m ittee
OBEX OBject EXch an ge
OFDM Orth ogon al FDM
OHG Op erato rs Harm on izatio n Grou p
OLSR Op tim ized Lin k St at e Ro u tin g
OMC Op eration an d Main t en an ce Cen t re
OSI Op en Syst em s In tercon n ect ion
OSS Op eration Su bsystem
OTA Over Th e Air
OVSF Orth ogon al Variable Sp read in g Fact or
PACS Perso n al Access Com m u n ication s System
PACS-UB PACS-Un licen sed Ban d
PAD PADd in g
PAD Program Associat ed Data
PAL Ph ase Alt ern atin g Lin e
PAP Pu sh Access Pro toco l
PBCC Packet Bin ary Co n volu tion al Co d in g
PC Perso n al Com p u ter
PCF Poin t Coo rd in ation Fu n ctio n
 Appendix 1 – Acronyms 465

PCH Pagin g Ch an n el
PCM Pu lse Cod e Mo d u lation
PCS Perso n al Cellu lar System
PCS Perso n al Com m u n ication s Service
PDA Perso n al Digital Assist an t
PDC Pacific Digital Cellu lar
PDCP Packet Dat a Con vergen ce Pro tocol
PDF Portable Docu m en t Form at
PDN Pu b lic Data Netwo rk
PDO Packet Dat a Op tim ized
PDTCH Packet Dat a TCH
PDU Pro to col Data Un it
PEP Perfo rm an ce En h an cin g Proxy
PHS Perso n al Han d yp h on e System
PHY PHYsical layer
PI Pu sh In itiator
PIFS PCF IFS
PIN Perso n al Id en tity Nu m ber
PKI Pu b lic Key In frastru ctu re
PLCP Ph ysical Layer Co n vergen ce Pro t oco l
PLI Pad d in g Len gth In d icator
PLL Ph ase Lock Loop
PLMN Pu b lic Lan d Mob ile Netwo rk
PLW PLCP-PDU Len gt h Wo rd
PM Ph ase Mod u lation
PMA Parked Mem ber Ad d ress
PMD Ph ysical Med iu m Dep en d en t
POS Perso n al Op eratin g Sp ace
POTS Plain O ld Telep h on e Service
PPG Pu sh Pro xy Gat eway
PPM Pu lse Po sition Mo d u lat ion
PPP Poin t-to -Poin t Pro toco l
PRACH Ph ysical Ran d o m Access Ch an n el
PRMA Packet Reservatio n Mu ltip le Access
PS Power Savin g
PSD Packet Switch ed Do m ain
PSF PLCP Sign alin g Field
PSK Ph ase Sh ift Keyin g
PSM Pro to col/ Service Mu ltip lexor
PSN PDU Seq u en ce Nu m ber
PSPDN Pu b lic Switch ed Packet Data Net wo rk
PSTN Pu b lic Switch ed Telep h o n e Network
PT Portable rad io Term in atio n
PTM Poin t-to -Mu ltip oin t
466 Mobile communicat ions

PTP Poin t-to -Poin t

PTP-CLNS PTP-Co n n ect io n Less Network Service
PTP-CONS PTP-Co n n ect io n Orien t ed Network Service
PUK PIN Un blockin g Key
QAM Qu ad ratu re AM
Qo S Qu ality o f Service
QPSK [Qu ad rat u re | Qu atern ary] PSK
RA Receiver Ad d ress
RACH Ran d om Access Ch an n el
RAL Rad io Access Layer
RAND RANDo m n u m b er
RBCH RLC Bro ad cast CHan n el
RCH Ran d om CHan n el
Req Req u est
Res Resp o n se
RF Rad io Freq u en cy
RFCO MM RF COMMu n icat io n s
RFID RF IDen t ification
RFC Req u est For Co m m en ts
RFCH Ran d om access Feed back CHan n el
RIB Rou te In fo rm at io n Base
RIP Rou tin g In fo rm ation Pro toco l
RL Resid u al Lifet im e
RLC Rad io Lin k Con trol
RLP Rad io Lin k Protocol
RM Resou rce Man agem en t
RNC Rad io Netwo rk Co n troller
RNS Rad io Netwo rk Su bsystem
ROM Read On ly Mem ory
RPC Rem o te Pro ced u re Call
RR Rad io Resou rce
RRC Rad io Resou rce Con t rol
RRM Rad io Resou rce Man agem en t
RSA Rivest , Sh am ir, Ad lem an
RSS Rad io Su bSystem
RT Rad io Tran sceiver
RTR Rad io Tran sm ission an d Recep tion
RTS Req u est To Sen d
RTT Rad io Tran sm ission Tech n o logies
RTT Rou n d Trip Tim e
S-DMB Sat ellit e-Digital Mu ltim ed ia Broad castin g
SA So u rce Ad d ress
SAAL Sign allin g AAL
SACCH Slo w Associated Ded icated CCH
 Appendix 1 – Acronyms 467

SAMA Sp read Alo h a Mu ltip le Access

SAP Service Access Po in t
SAT SIM Ap p lication Too lkit
SATM Satellit e ATM Services
SC San it y Ch eck
SC Syn ch ron ization Ch an n el
SCF Service Con tro l Fu n ct io n
SCH Sh o rt tran sp ort CHan n el
SCH Syn ch ron ization Ch an n el
SCO Syn ch ron ou s Con n ection -Orien ted lin k
SCPS Sp ace Com m u n icatio n s Pro tocol Stan d ard s
SCPS-TP SCPS-Tran sp o rt Proto col
SDCCH St an d -alo n e Ded icat ed CCH
SDM Sp ace Divisio n Mu ltip lexin g
SDMA Sp ace Divisio n Mu ltip le Access
SDP Service Disco very Proto co l
SDR Software Defin ed Rad io
SDT Service Descrip tio n Table
SDTV St an d ard Defin it ion TV
SDU Service Data Un it
SEC-SAP Secu rity SAP
SEQN SEQu en ce Nu m ber
SFD St art Fram e Delim iter
SFN Sin gle Freq u en cy Net wo rk
SGSN Servin g GSN
SH Su p ervisory Ho st
SHF Su p er High Freq u en cy
SI Service In d ication
SIFS Sh o rt IFS
SIG SIGn alin g
SIM Su bscriber Id en tity Mo d u le
SIP Session In itiatio n Prot ocol
SL Service Lo ad in g
SMF St an d ard MIDI File
SMRIB Sou rce Mu ltip o in t Relay In form at io n Base
SMS Sh o rt Message Service
SN Su bscriber Nu m b er
SNACK Select ive Negative ACKn o wled gem en t
SNAP Su b-Net wo rk Access Protocol
SNDCP Su bn et work Dep en d en t Con vergen ce Pro tocol
SRES Sign ed Resp on se
SRNC Servin g RNC
SS Su p p lem en tary Service
SS7 Sign allin g System No . 7
468 Mobile communicat ions

S-SAP Session -SAP

SSL Secu re Sockets Layer
STA STAtio n
SUMR Sat ellit e User Map p in g Regist er
SW Sh ort Wave
SwMI Swit ch in g an d Man agem en t In frast ru ctu re
T Term in al
TA Tran sm it ter Ad d ress
TBRPF To p o logy Broad cast based on Reverse Path Fo rward in g
TCH Traffic CHan n el
TCH/ F TCH Fu ll rate
TCH/ FS TCH/ F Sp eech
TCH/ H TCH Half rate
TCH/ HS TCH/ H Sp eech
TC-HMPDU Top ology Co n trol-HMPDU
TCP Tran sm ission Con tro l Protocol
TCS BIN Telep h on y Co n tro l p roto col Sp ecification – BINary
TD-CDMA Tim e Divisio n -CDMA
TDD Tim e Divisio n Du p lex
TDM Tim e Divisio n Mu lt ip lexin g
TDMA Tim e Divisio n Mu lt ip le Access
TDT Tim e an d Data Table
TE TErm in al
TEDDI TErm s an d Defin ition s Database In teractive
TETRA Terrestrial Tru n ked Rad io
TFI Tran sp o rt Fo rm at Id en tifier
TFO Tan d em Free Op eration
TFTS Terrestrial Fligh t Telep h o n e System
TI Typ e In d icato r
TIB To p o logy In form atio n Base
TIM Traffic In d ication Map
TINA Teleco m m u n ication In form ation Net wo rkin g Arch itectu re
TLLI Tem p orary Logical Lin k Id en t it y
TLS Tran sp o rt Layer Secu rity
TM Traffic Man agem en t
TMN Teleco m m u n ication Man agem en t Netwo rk
TMSI Tem p orary Mobile Su bscriber Id en tity
TOS Typ e Of Service
TPC Tran sm it Power Co n trol
TR-SAP Tran saction SAP
T-SAP Tran sp ort SAP
TSF Tim in g Syn ch ro n ization Fu n ctio n
T-TCP Tran saction TCP
TTC Teleco m m u n ication s Tech n olo gy Co u n cil
 Appendix 1 – Acronyms 469

TTL Tim e To Live

TV TeleVisio n
U-NII Un licen sed Nation al In fo rm ation In frastru ctu re
UBCH User Bro ad cast CHan n el
UBR Un sp ecified BitRate
UD User Dat a
UDCH User Dat a CHan n el
UDP User Dat agram Pro toco l
UE User Eq u ip m en t
UHF Ultra High Freq u en cy
UIM User Id en tification Mo d u le
UMCH User Mu lticast CHan n el
UMTS Un iversal Mobile Telecom m u n ication s System
UN Un ited Nat io n s
UNI User-to -Netwo rk In t erface
UNI+M UNI+Mo bility
UP User Prio rity
UPT Un iversal Person al Teleco m m u n icat ion s
URI Un iform Resou rce Id en tifier
URL Un iform Resou rce Locator
USAT UMTS SAT
UTRA Un iversal Terrestrial Rad io Access
UTRAN UTRA Net wo rk
UUID Un iversally Un iq u e ID
UW B Ultra Wid eBan d
UW C Un iversal Wireless Co m m u n icat io n s
V+D Vo ice an d Data
VAD Vo ice Act ivity Detection
VBR Variable BitRat e
VBR-n rt VBR n o n real-tim e
VBR-rt VBR real-t im e
VC Virtu al Circu it
VCC Visit or Co u n try Cod e
VDB Visit or Data Base
VHE Virtu al Hom e En viron m en t
VHF Very High Freq u en cy
VLF Very Low Frequ en cy
VLR Visit or Location Register
VNDC Visit or Nation al Destin atio n Co d e
W 3C World Wid e Web Con so rtiu m
WAE Wireless Ap p lication En viron m en t
WAN Wid e Area Net wo rk
WAP Wireless Ap p lication Pro to co l
WATM Wireless ATM
470 Mobile communicat ions

W CAC Wireless Con n ection Ad m ission Con tro l

W-CDMA Wid eban d -CDMA
W CMP Wireless Con tro l Message Protocol
W-CTRL Wireless Con TRoL
W DP Wireless Datagram Pro toco l
W EP Wired Eq u ivalen t Privacy
W HO Wo rld Health Organ ization
W IM Wireless Id en tity Mod u le
W LAN Wireless LAN
W LL Wireless Lo cal Lo op
W ML Wireless Marku p Lan gu age
W MLScrip t Wireless Marku p Lan gu age Scrip t
W MT Wireless Mo bile Term in al
W PAN Wireless Person al Area Netwo rk
W P-CDMA Wid eban d Packet -CDMA
W RC Wo rld Rad io Con feren ce
W SP Wireless Sessio n Prot ocol
W SP/ B Wireless Sessio n Prot ocol/ Browsin g
W TA Wireless Telep h o n y Ap p licatio n
W TAI Wireless Telep h o n y Ap p licatio n In t erface
W TLS Wireless Tran sp o rt Layer Secu rity
W TP Wireless Tran saction Protocol
W WAN Wireless WAN
W W RF Wireless World Research Foru m
WWW Wo rld Wid e Web
XHTML eXten sible HTML
XHTMLMP XHTML Mobile Pro file
XML eXten sible Marku p Lan gu age
XOR eXclu sive OR
ZRP Zo n e Rou tin g Prot ocol
 Appendix 2 – Glossary

● Ad -h o c n et w o rk : Ad -h oc n etworks d o n ot n eed an y in frastru ct u re t o o p er-

at e. In p a rt icu lar, t h ey d o n o t n eed a b ase st at io n co n t ro llin g m ed iu m
access. Th is t yp e o f n et wo rk allo ws fo r sp o n tan eo u s co m m u n icatio n with -
o u t p revio u s p lan n in g b et ween m o b ile d evices. So m e d evices m ay even
h ave forward in g cap abilities to exten d co verage.

Ex a m p le: Blu eto oth is th e m ost p rom in en t ad -h oc n etwo rk for sp on t an eou s com m u -
n icat ion between d ifferen t p erip h erals, su ch as m o bile p h on es, PDAs, n o tebooks, etc.
Each d evice can co m m u n icat e wit h an y o th er d evice. Wit h in o n e p ico n et a m axi-
m u m n u m b er o f eigh t d evices can b e act ive at t h e sam e t im e. C o m m u n icat io n
b et ween p ico n et s t akes p lace wit h t h e h elp o f d evices ju m p in g b ack an d fo rt h
bet ween t h e n etwo rks.

● Ba se st a t io n (a cc ess p o in t ): Typ ical in frast ru ctu re-based wireless n etwo rks

p ro vid e th e access to th e fixed n etwo rk via a base st at io n . Th e base statio n
m ay act as a rep eater, brid ge, ro u ter, o r even as gateway to filt er, tran slat e,
retran sm it etc. m essages. At least th e p h ysical layer is p resen t in a base sta-
tion , wh ich m od u lat es an d d em o d u lates t h e sign als. Mo st base station s also
in clu d e m ed iu m access con tro l.

Ex a m p le: W LANs followin g IEEE 802.11 sp ecify base stat ion s with b ridgin g fu n ction -
alit y. Th ese b rid ges co n n ect m o b ile an d wireless d evices to t h e fixed n et wo rk an d
sep arat e traffic with in t h e fixed o r wireless n etwork from th e traffic flowin g from th e
fixed in to th e wireless part o r vice versa. All com m u n icat ion between m obile d evices
h as to take place via th e base station . Ad d ition ally, th e base station m ay con trol tim e
critical services via a po llin g sch em e. With in m o bile p h on e n etworks th e fu n ctio n s of
m o du lation / d em o d u latio n an d m ed iu m access con trol are q u it e often sp lit in to two
or m o re en tit ies (BTS an d BSC/ MSC in GSM).

● Do w n lin k : Th e t erm ‘d o wn lin k’ d en o tin g a certain d irection for com m u n i-

cat io n b et ween t wo d evices h as it s o rigin in sat ellit e syst em s. In t h is case
th e lin k from th e sat ellit e d own t o th e Earth is called d own lin k. Th e d own -
lin k is t yp ically t h e d irect io n o f co m m u n ica t io n w h ere a sin gle st at io n
co n t rols m ed iu m access, i.e., n o com p etition or co llision can takes p lace in
t h at d irect io n . Th e co m m u n icat io n syst em h as t o sep arat e t h e d o wn lin k
fro m u p lin ks w it h t h e h elp o f a m u lt ip lex in g sch em e (t im e, freq u en cy,
co d e, an d sp ace) in ord er to avoid collisio n s.

471
472 Mobile communicat ions

Ex a m p le: Satellit es d eterm in e in classical satellite co m m u n icatio n syst em s at wh at

tim e an d freq u en cy th ey sen d wh ich d ata o n th e do wn lin k. Th e sep arat io n o f th e u p -
an d d o wn lin k h ap p en s via d ifferen t freq u en cies (FDD, Freq u en cy Division Du p lex).
Th e sit uat ion is sim ilar in GSM an d UTRA-FDD-system s. Th e base statio n can always
sen d d ata o n th e d own lin k to t h e term in als with ou t co llision s. Fu rth er exam p les are
TDD sch em es u sed in Blu etoo th , DECT o r USB, wh ere on ly a m ast er, a base st at io n ,
o r a roo t m ay sen d o n th e d o wn lin k.

● En d -sy st em (t erm in a l, h o st , n o d e): En d -system s co n tain ap p lication s an d

p roto co ls for th e ap p licatio n an d tran sp ort layers. Users can access services
fro m co m m u n icat io n n et wo rks o r d ist rib u t ed ap p lica t io n s via an en d -
sy st em . En d -syst em s t erm in at e layer 4 co n n ect io n s an d sh o u ld wo rk
in d ep en d en tly o f th e u n d erlyin g n etwo rk tech n ology.

Ex a m p le: Mobile p h o n es rep resen t en d-system s in m o bile p h on e n etwo rks, for wire-
less LANs PDAs, lap top s or n otebooks can act as en d -system s. Rad ios are en d -system s
fo r DAB an d TV-sets for DVB. Su re, m ain fram es an d PCs can also act as en d -system s
fo r co m m u n icatio n syst em s.

● H a n d o ver (h a n d o ff): Th e seam less h an d o ver of a con n ectio n between two

o r m o re base station s u sin g th e sam e wireless tech n olo gy is th e key featu re
o f t od ay’s cell-based m obile p h on e system s. As a sin gle sen d er can n ot cover
a wh o le co u n t ry m o b ile p h o n e system s u se m an y b ase st atio n s wit h each
b ase st at io n creat in g a rad io cell. As so o n as a u ser ch an ges a cell d u e t o
ch an ges in sign al stren gth , in t erferen ce, o r lo ad balan cin g, t h e syst em h as
to red irect all con n ection s or fo rward all d at a. Th e sh o rter th e in terru p tion
o f t h e service is – u p t o t h e id eal case o f n o service in t erru p t io n an d so ft
h an d over – th e bett er is th e q u ality of service for h igh er layers o r a u ser.

Ex a m p le: All m obile ph o n e system s, su ch as GSM, cd m aOn e, UMTS, cd m a2000 etc.

su p p o rt t h e seam less h an d o ver b et ween b ase st at io n s. W h ile GSM su p p o rt s h ard
h an d overs o n ly (with service in t errup t ion of u p to 100 m s), CDMA system s, su ch as
cd m aOn e an d W-C DMA, su p p o rt so ft h an d o ver wit h o u t an y service in t erru p t io n .
M o b ile IP, t o o , h as t o su p p o rt red irect io n o f d at a t o a n ew fo reign agen t aft er t h e
ch an ge of n etwork access. In th is case th e ad dition al d elay cau sed by th e red irectio n
is o f p articu lar in terest . To avoid th is ad d it ion al d elay, Mob ile IP m ay u se o p tim iza-
tion s su ch as rerou tin g of th e wh ole p acket flo w.

● In fra st ru ct u re: In frastru ctu re based n etworks n eed ah ead p lan n in g in co n -

trast to ad -h o c n et works. Th is p lan n in g is req u ired , e.g., for sett in g u p base
st atio n s to geth er wit h a co n n ection to th e fixed n et work an d fo r in st allin g
services for n am in g, d at a fo rward in g, au th en tication etc.

Ex a m p le: All big wireless n et wo rks o f t o d ay are b ased o n an in frast ru ct u re. GSM
req uires a rad io su bsyst em , a swit ch in g system , several d at abases an d con n ectio n s to
o t h er n etwo rks. W LANs oft en req u ire b rid ges fo r ro am in g su p p ort , m ed iu m access
co n trol, an d p acket filterin g.
 Appendix 2 – Glossary 473

● In t e r w o r k in g u n it : In gen eral, t h ese co m p o n en t s fo rward d at a an d can

op erate on d ifferen t layers in th e referen ce m od el. Rep eaters sim p ly con vert
an d regen erate sign als on th e p h ysical layer to con n ect d ifferen t m edia or t o
ext en d co verage. St o rage o f d at a o r p ro t o co l p ro cessin g is n o t p o ssib le in
rep eat ers. Brid ges co n n ect d ifferen t lin ks o n layer t wo . Th ese co m p o n en t s
m ay ad ap t d ifferen t p ro t o co ls, filt er d ata p ackets, o r st o re d at a fo r a sh o rt
am o u n t o f t im e. Sim p le ro u tin g fu n ct io n alit y is availab le, to o . At t h e n et-
workin g layer rou t ers con n ect d ifferen t su bn ets. Th e m ain p u rp ose of rou ters
is d ata forward in g accord in g to in tern al tables. Th e m ain d ifficu lty is fin d in g
an o p t im al ro u t e b et ween co m m u n icat io n p art n ers. Differen t p aram et ers
an d m etrics m ay h elp fin d in g th is o p tim u m (d istan ce in h o p s, in t erferen ce
level, cost, lo ad et c.). Gateways can con n ect d ifferen t n etwo rks at tran sp o rt
an d ap p licat io n level. In tercon n ect io n o f d ifferen t n et wo rks o ften im p lies
th e con version of d ata form ats, con ten t ext raction , or con ten t con version .

Ex a m p le: Rep eaters typ ically ext en d th e coverage of a sen d er. For exam p le, rep eaters
in train s in crease t h e sign al st ren gth o f a m o b ile p h o n e system in sid e t h e train t o
en ab le p h o n e u sage d u rin g t ravelin g. Access p o in t s o f wireless LANs are t yp ically
brid ges, wh ich con n ect th e wired with t h e wireless n etwork an d filter traffic. At th e IP
layer th e ro u ters in t h e In tern et t ake care o f p acket forward in g. Th is is also th e layer
wh ere Mobile IP ex ten d s IP fo r m o bilit y su p p ort. Several gateways are n eed ed for th e
su p p ort o f In t ern et app licat ion s on m obile p h o n es. Th ese gateways m ay con vert con -
t en t fo rm at s, d o w n scale p ict u res, ad ap t p ro t o co ls, o r co n n ect t rad it io n al p h o n e
n etworks to p u sh services.

● M o b ile n o d e: A m o b ile n o d e can h ave t h e ro le o f an en d -syst em (e.g.,

m o bile t erm in al, m o bile h o st , m o bile statio n ) or in term ed iate system (e.g.,
m o b ile ro u t er). A key fea t u re is t h e m o b ilit y o f t h e n o d e, w h ich can b e
d efin ed in m an y d ifferen t ways accord in g t o th e ap p licatio n scen ario. Usin g
veh icles m u ch larger co m p u t ers can act a s m o b ile n o d e, w h ile h u m an s
accep t on ly sm all, ligh tweigh t d evices.

Ex a m p le: Mo b ile n o d es can act as a ro u t er o n b o ard o f an aircraft t o co o rd in at e

co m m u n icat io n b etween th e p assen gers an d a base st at io n on t h e gro u n d . M o b ile
p h o n es are m obile en d-system s for In tern et access with t h e h elp of WAP o r stan d ard
In tern et p rot ocols.

● M u lt ip lex : Differen t m u ltip lex tech n o logies can be u sed to co n trol m ed iu m

access o f devices. Th is h elp s sep aratin g co m m u n ication in sp ace, tim e, fre-
q u en cy, o r co d e. Co m m u n icat io n syst em s can avo id in t erferen ce bet ween
two tran sm ission s by ap p lyin g ap p rop riate m u lt ip lexin g sch em es.

Ex a m p le: Trad ition al fixed n et works typ ically ap p ly space d ivisio n m u ltip lexin g by
u sin g d ifferen t wires fo r d ifferen t co n n ect io n s (o n e p h o n e lin e p er h o u seh o ld ).
Mo bile p h o n e syst em s su ch as GSM u se sp ace (d ifferen t cells), tim e (d ifferen t t im e-
slo t s), an d freq u en cy (d ifferen t carrier freq u en cies) d ivisio n m u lt ip lexin g fo r t h e
sep arat io n o f u sers. UMTS ad d it io n ally ap p lies co d e d ivisio n m u lt ip lex . Fu t u re
wireless system s will also u se b eam form in g tech n ologies (i.e., sp ace d ivision m u lti-
p lexin g) t o in crease u ser d en sit y.
474 Mobile communicat ions

● Pro t o co l: Protocols d eterm in e th e ru les o f co m m u n icat io n between two or

m o re co m m u n icat ion p artn ers. Pro t oco ls con t ro l co m m u n icat ion h orizon -
tally b et ween co m m u n icat io n p artn ers o n t h e sam e layer (co m m u n icatio n
p ro toco l) or vert ically bet ween two layers at th e service access p o in t with in
a system (in terface p rot o col). All p artn ers h ave to obey th e p rotocol to gu ar-
an t ee su ccessfu l com m u n ication .

Ex a m p le: Man y d ifferen t en d-system s u se TCP at layer 4 in th e in tern et for reliab le

en d -t o -en d d at a t ran sm issio n . M o b ile IP can su p p o rt d at a fo rward in g t o m o b ile
n od es at layer 3. Ap p licatio n s or h igh er layers can requ est sessio n services at th e ser-
vice access p o in t o f t h e sessio n layer W SP in t h e WAP arch it ect u re. Ho wever, t h is
req u ires t h e kn o wled ge o f t h e righ t p rim it ives an d t h eir ap p licat io n in t h e righ t
o rd er. A u ser o f th e service m u st react to even ts accord in g t o th e p rotocol.

● Qu alit y o f Service (QoS): Accordin g to th e ITU-T stan dard E.800 QoS is defin ed
as “Th e collective effort of service perform an ces, wh ich determ in e th e degree of
satisfact ion o f a u ser o f t h is service.” Services can h ave q u alit at ive (secu rit y
m ech an ism s, m an ageability etc.) an d quan titative (ban dwidth , jitter, delay etc.)
QoS param eters. QoS param eters are m easured at a service access poin t.

Ex a m p le: Th e p acket swit ch ed service GPRS o f GSM o ffers a d at a t ran sfer service
wit h sp ecified Q o S p aram et ers. Q u an t it at ive p aram et ers are t h e average d elay o f a
p acket o f cert ain size (m easu red in secon d s) o r t h e b it erro r rate. Qu alitative service
st atem en ts are, fo r exam p le, t h at GPRS d o es n ot su p p o rt iso ch ro n o u s d at a d elivery
an d d oes n ot give gu aran tees fo r d ata tran sm ission .

● Ro a m in g: In con trast to h an d o ver, ro am in g typ ically d en ot es a m o re com -

p lex , m o re t im e-co n su m in g ch an ge o f t h e n et w o rk access. Ro a m in g
typ ically t akes tim e as it can com p rise a ch an ge in n et work t ech n ology, sev-
eral d at a b ase req u est s, au t h en t icat io n p ro ced u res, fo rward in g o f d a t a,
relayin g o f con n ect io n s, o r a ch an ge o f t h e p ro vid er (wh ich t h en in vo lves
accou n tin g m ech an ism s).

Ex a m p le : N at io n al ro am in g in G SM en ab les t h e ch an ge o f t h e m o b ile p h o n e
p ro vid er wit h in a co u n t ry. In t ern at io n al ro am in g en ab les t h e u se o f fo reign n et -
works. Quite o ften ro am in g req u ires sett in g u p th e con n ection again after ch an gin g
th e n et wo rk. Ho wever, som e p ro vid ers alread y o ffer seam less cross b o rd er roam in g.
Ro am in g b et ween d ifferen t syst em s, su ch as sat ellit e, UM TS, W LAN, w ill gain
in creased im p ort an ce in th e fu tu re. Th is h elp s in creasin g coverage an d b an d wid th at
h ot -sp ots, wh ile p o ssibly lowerin g com m u n ication cost d u e to th e ch oice o f t h e m o st
ad eq u ate system in a certain sit u ation .

● Ser vice: A service d escribes th e su m o f all fu n ction s with cert ain p ro p erties
th at are o ffered at a service access p oin t located at th e bo rd er bet ween t wo
layers. In gen eral, a service is defin ed bet ween two arbit rary objects th at are
in a certain relat io n t o each o t h er. Services m ay be d escribed u sin g service
level agreem en ts (SLA).

Ex a m p le: Th e tran sp o rt layer o f th e in tern et offers a reliable service fo r d ata tran sfer
b etween two en d -syst em s at th e socket in terface if th e p rotocol TCP is u sed .
 Appendix 2 – Glossary 475

● Up lin k : Th e term ‘u p lin k’ d en o tin g a certain d irectio n fo r co m m u n ication

between two d evices h as its origin in satellite system s. In th is case th e lin k
fro m th e statio n s on th e Eart h u p t o a satellite is called u p lin k. Th e u p lin k
is also th e d irect ion of co m m u n icatio n wh ere collision s m ay t ake p lace, i.e.,
co m p etit ion o f d ifferen t m ed iu m accesses m ay d estro y tran sm issio n s if n o
en tity coord in ates th e accesses. Th e co m m u n icatio n syst em h as to sep arate
t h e u p lin ks fro m t h e d o w n lin k wit h t h e h elp o f a m u lt ip lex in g sch em e
(tim e, freq u en cy, co d e, an d sp ace) in ord er to avo id co llisio n s.

Ex a m p le: Wireless lo cal area n etwo rks follo win g IEEE 802.11 p erm it m ediu m access
fo r d evices th at wan t to sen d a m essage to a base statio n alm ost an yt im e. Th is m ech -
an ism m ay cau se co llisio n s o n th e m ediu m . Devices fo llowin g DECT o r UTRA-TDD
m ay sen d d at a o n t h e u p lin k o n ly at p red efin ed p o in t s in t im e. Th e b ase st at io n
assign s fo r th is p u rp o se a certain t im e-slot to each d evice. Th is avo id s all collisio n s.
DECT, Blu etoo th , an d UTRA-TDD u se Tim e Division Du p lex (TDD) fo r t h e sep aratio n
o f u plin k an d d o wn lin k.

● W ir ed n et w o r k : Th e t rad it io n al n et wo rk t ech n o lo gy is b ased o n wires o r

fibers an d can o ffer m u ch h igh er d at a rat es co m p ared to wireless t ech n o l-
o gy. Wired n etwo rks can gu id e all sign als alon g t h e wire an d p red eterm in e
th e p ro pagat ion o f sign als p recisely. It is m u ch sim p ler to u se sp ace d ivision
m u lt ip lex in g w it h w ires co m p a red t o an t en n as a n d rad io cells o r b ea m
fo rm in g t ech n o lo gies.

Ex a m p le: Fiber op t ics reach alread y t od ay d ata rates of several Tb it/ s, wh ile delay an d
b it erro r rat es are very lo w. W ireless n et wo rks st ill o p erat e in t h e ran ge o f several
Mbit/ s with m u ch h igh er erro r rates.

● W ir eless n et w o r k : Wireless n etwo rks d iffer m ain ly in t h eir p h ysical layer

fro m t h eir fixed co u n terp art . Dat a t ran sm issio n t akes p lace u sin g elect ro -
m agn et ic w aves w h ich p ro p agat e t h ro u gh sp ace, are reflect ed , scat t ered ,
atten u ated et c. Th is typ e of tran sm ission req u ires m o d u latio n o f data o n t o
carrier freq u en cies as it is n o t p o ssib le t o t ran sm it b aseb an d sign als.
Ad d ition ally, th e d ata lin k layer d iffers as wireless n etwo rks typ ically req u ire
m o re com p lex m ed iu m access con tro l m ech an ism s. Co m p ared to fixed n et-
works, wireless n et works o ffer lo w d at a rates an d exh ibit h igh erro r rates o r
h igh er laten cies d u e to co m plex erro r correction m ech an ism s.

Ex a m p le: W ireless n et w o rks fo llo win g t h e IEEE 8 0 2 .1 1 fam ily o f st an d ard s can
rep lace fixed n etwo rks in m an y situ ation s. Th is allows fo r m u ch h igh er u ser flexibil-
it y wh ile still sim ilar services are availab le. Ho wever, ban dwidt h is m u ch lower (e.g.,
ap p rox. 34 Mbit/ s h alf du p lex with 802.11a com p ared t o 100 Mb it / s fu ll d u p lex with
Eth ern et) an d d elay is h igh er com p ared to fixed n etworks followin g IEEE 802.3.
 Index

Abis in terface 102 AMES (ATM m obility exten sion service)

access bu rst 106 248
access gran t ch an n el (AGCH) 108 am p litu d e 31
access p o in t co n troller (APC) 259 am p litu d e m o d u lat ion (AM) 26, 47
access p o in t tran sceivers (APT) 259 am p litu d e sh ift keyin g (ASK) 47, 48–9
access rou t ers (AR) 327 AMPS (advan ced m obile p h on e syst em )
ACK (ackn owled gem en t) 217, 224 11, 29, 95
ackn owled gem en t (ACK) 217, 224 an alog m od u lation 47
ACL (asyn ch ron ou s co n n ection less lin k) an ten n as 32–5, 47, 450
280 AODV (ad-h o c on -d em an d d ist an ce
ad ap tive freq u en cy h o p p in g 291 vector) 341
ad -h oc n et workin g 17 APC (access p oin t con troller) 259
p ico n ets 269 ap p lication layer 19
rou tin g p rotocols 340–3 APSK (advan ced p h ase sh ift keyin g)
tech n ologies 451 51–2
wireless LAN (WLAN) 205–7
APT (access p oin t t ran sceivers) 259
see also m obile ad-h oc n etworks
AR (access rou t ers) 327
(MANET)
arch itectu re see p rotocol arch itectu re;
ad jacen t ch an n el in t erferen ce see gu ard
system arch itectu re
sp aces
Arm stron g, Edwin H. 10
ad van ced freq u en cy sh ift keyin g 50–1
ASK (am p litu d e sh ift keyin g) 47, 48–9
ad van ced m obile p h on e system (AMPS)
11, 29, 95 asym m etrical com m u n icatio n system s
ad van ced p h ase sh ift keyin g (APSK) 184
51–2 asyn ch ron ou s con n ection less lin k
AESA (ATM en d system ad d ress) 251 (ACL) 280
AGCH (access gran t ch an n el) 108 asyn ch ron ou s tran sfer m od e (ATM) 268
agen t ad vertisem en t 310–11 ATM en d system ad dress (AESA) 251
agen t d iscovery 310 ATM m obilit y exten sion service
agen t solicit atio n 312 (AMES) 248
air in terface u ser rate (AIUR) 123 ATIM (ad -h oc t raffic in d icat ion m ap )
AIUR (air in terface u ser rate) 123 229
Aloh a sch em e ATM see asyn ch ron ou s tran sfer m o d e
classical 75 att en u ation 36
reservatio n 77 Au C (au th en tication cen tre) 105
slo t ted 76 au t h en tication cen t re (Au C) 105
altern ative m etrics 339–40 au t h en tication key (Ki) 102
AM (am p litu d e m o d u lation ) 26, 47 au t ocorrelation 83

477
478 Index

backo ff tim er 216 broadcast con t rol ch an n els (BCCH) 108

Baird , Joh n L. 10 broadcast d isk 185
ban dwid th broadcast system s
low 17 broadcast d isks 185
m an agem en t in TCP 361 con vergen ce of m obile
Barker cod e 57 com m u n ication s an d 195–6
base st at ion 61, 324 cyclical rep etit ion of dat a 185–6
base st at ion con troller (BSC) 102 digit al au d io broadcastin g (DAB) 3,
base st at ion su bsystem (BSS) 101, 102 186–91
base st at ion su bsystem GPRS p rotocol digit al video broad castin g (DVB)
(BSSGP) 129 191–5
base tran sceiver stat ion (BTS) 102 overview 183–4
m an agem en t (BTSM) 112 browsers
basic service set (BSSi) 209 wireless session p rot ocol/ browsin g
BCA (b orrowin g ch an n el allocat ion ) 63 (W SP/ B) 405–12
BCCH (broad cast con trol ch an n els) 108 WMLBrowser 418
bearer services BSC (base station con troller) 102
GSM 98–9 BSS (base st ation su bsystem ) 101, 102
n on -tran sp aren t 99 BSS ap p lication p art (BSSAP) 113
tran sp aren t 98 BSSGP (base station su b system GPRS
WAP 1.x 393 p rotocol) 129
WAP 2.0 435 BTS (base t ran sceiver st ation ) 102
Bell, Alexan der Grah am 9 BTSM (base tran sreceiver stat io n
BFSK (bin ary freq u en cy sh ift keyin g) 49 m an agem en t ) 112
bin ary freq u en cy sh ift keyin g (BFSK) 49 bu rsts 105
bin ary p h ase sh ift keyin g (BPSK) 49–50 bu sin ess, wireless co m m u n icatio n s
blockin g of rad io sign als 37, 38 system s in 4–5
Blu et o oth 13, 60, 269–93
arch it ectu re 271–6 cach in g 186
baseban d layer 276–81 call con t rol (CC) 112, 134
lin k m an ager p rot ocol (LMP) 282–5 call d rop 117
logical lin k con tro l an d ad ap tation call m an agem en t (CM) 112
p rot ocol (L2CAP) 285–6 CAMEL (cu st om ised ap p licat ion for
n etworkin g 271–4 m obile en h an ced logic) 138
p rofiles 290 cap acity u n its (CU) 187
p rot ocol st ack 274–6 carrier sen se m u ltip le access (CSMA)
radio layer 276 76–7
secu rity 287–9 1-p ersisten t 77
service discovery p rot ocol (SDP) n on -p ersisten t 77
289–90 p -p ersist en t 77
syn ch ron ou s con n ection -o rien t ed lin k carrier sen se m u ltip le access with
(SCO) 279 collision avoid an ce (CSMA/ CA)
u ser scen arios 270–1 77, 215
borrowin g ch an n el allocat ion (BCA) 63 carrier sen se m u ltip le access with
BPSK (bin ary p h ase sh ift keyin g) 49–50 collision detect ion (CSMA/ CD) 70
BRAN (broad ban d rad io access n etwo rks) CBS 10
239, 255–7 CC/ PP (com p osit e cap abilit ies/
‘breath in g’, cell 64 p referen ce p ro files) 435
broad b an d rad io access n etworks (BRAN) CCA (clear ch an n el assessm en t) 211
239, 255–7 CCCH (com m on con trol ch an n els) 108
 Index 479

CCH (con trol ch an n els) 108 com fort n oise 111

CCIR (Co n su lt at ive Co m m it t ee com m ercial rad io station 10
fo r In t ern at io n al com m ercial tran satlan tic con n ection s 10
Rad io co m m u n icat io n ) 2 7 com m on co n trol ch an n els (CCCH) 108
CCK (com p lem en t ary cod e keyin g) 231 com m on in terleaved fram es (CIF) 187
CDM (co d e division m u ltip lexin g) 45–6, com p act HTML (cHTML) 431
64, 82 com p lem en tary code keyin g (CCK) 231
CDMA (co d e d ivision m u ltip le access) com p osite cap ab ilities/ p referen ce
12, 29, 30, 82–7 p rofiles (CC/ PP) 435
cd m a2000 138 COMS (con n ection orien t ed m essage
cd m a2000 1x 95 service) 134
cd m a2000 1x EV-DO 96 con n ectio n orien ted m essage service
cd m a2000 1x EV-DV 9 6 (COMS) 134
cd m a2000 3x 96 con n ection less m essage service (CLMS)
cd m aOn e 95 134
CDPD (Cellu lar Digital Packet Data) 82 Con su ltative Com m itt ee for
cell breath in g 64 In tern ation al
Cellu lar Digital Packet Data (CDPD) 82 Rad iocom m u n ication (CCIR) 27
cellu lar IP 324–5 con t en t ion win d ow 216
cellu lar IP gateway (CIPGW ) 324 con t in u ou s p h ase m od u latio n (CPM) 49
cellu lar system s 61–4 con tin u ou s variable slope delta (CVSD)
ad van tages 62 279
d isad van tages 62–3 con t rol ch an n els (CCH) 108
CGSR (Clu st erh ead -Gateway Switch con t rol m u ltifram e 109
Ro u tin g) 342–3 coo kies 388
Ch ap p e, Clau d e 9 cord less telep h on e 11, 30
ch ip p in g seq u en ce 56, 57 correlato r 58
ch ip s 56 cou n try cod e (CC) 113
cHTML (com p act HTML) 431 CPM (con t in u ou s p h ase m od u lation ) 49
CIF (com m on in terleaved fram es) 187 CSMA (carrier sen se m u ltip le access)
CIPGW (cellu lar IP gat eway) 324 76–7
cip h er key (Kc) 102 CSMA/ CA (carrier sen se m u lt ip le access
ciph erin g key sequ en ce n u m ber (CKSN) with collision avoid an ce) 77, 215
127 CSMA/ CD (carrier sen se m u ltip le access
CKSN (ciph erin g key sequ en ce n um ber) with collision d etection ) 70
127 CTS (clear t o sen d) 80–1, 218, 225
clear ch an n el assessm en t (CCA) 211 cu stom ised ap p lication fo r m obile
clear to sen d (CTS) 80–1, 218, 225 en h an ced logic (CAMEL) 138
CLMS (con n ection less m essage service) CVSD (con tin u ou s variab le slop e delta)
134 279
closed u ser grou p s 100
Clu sterh ead -Gat eway Switch Rou t in g DAB (d igital au dio broad castin g) 3,
(CGSR) 342–3 186–91
clu sters 63 DAMA (d em an d assign ed m u lt ip le
cod e d ivision m u ltip le access (CDMA) access) 7 7
12, 29, 30, 82–7 d at a lin k con tro l layer (DLC) 69
cod e d ivision m u ltip lexin g (CDM) 45–6, d at a lin k layer 19
64, 82 DCA (dyn am ic ch an n el allocation ) 63
cod ed OFDM (COFDM) 53, 187 DCCH (d ed icat ed con trol ch an n els) 108
COFDM (cod ed OFDM) 53, 187 d ecap su lation 315
480 Index

d ecisio n u n it 58 Digit al-AMPS 95

DECT see d igit al en h an ced cord less dip ole (Herzian ) 33
teleco m m u n icat io n s Direct Cu rren t (DC) 31
d ed icat ed con trol ch an n els (DCCH) 108 direct seq u en ce sp read sp ectru m (DHSS)
d ed icat ed p h ysical ch an n el (DPCH) 147 213
d ed icat ed p h ysical con trol ch an n el direction al an ten n as 34
(DPCCH) 147 directive effects 33
d ed icat ed p h ysical d at a ch an n el distribu ted file system s see file system s
(DPDCH) 14 6 distribu ted fo u n d ation wireless m ed iu m
DeForest, Lee 10 access con trol (DFW MAC) 214
d elay sp read 39 diversity com bin in g 34
d elays 17 DLC (d ata lin k con trol layer) 69
delivery traffic in dication m ap (DTIM) 228 Do p p ler sh ift 41
d em an d assign ed m u lt ip le access down lin k 73
(DAMA) 77 DPCCH (d ed icat ed p h ysical con trol
d estin ation seq u en ce d istan ce vector ch an n el) 147
(DSDV) 335–6 DPCH (d ed icated p h ysical ch an n el) 147
d evice p o rtability 1 DPDCH (d ed icat ed p h ysical d at a
DFWMAC (distributed foun dat ion wireless ch an n el) 146
m edium access con t rol) 214 DQPSK (d ifferen tial q u ad ratu re p h ase
DHCP (d yn am ic h ost con figu ration sh ift keyin g) 52, 187
p rot ocol) 303 drift RNC (DRNC) 155
DRNC (d rift RNC) 155
DHSS (direct sequen ce spread spectrum )
DSDV (d estin ation seq u en ce d istan ce
213
vect or) 335–6
d ifferen t ial q u adratu re p h ase sh ift
DSMA (d igital sen se m u ltip le access) 82
keyin g (DQPSK) 52, 187
DSR (dyn am ic sou rce routin g) 336–9, 341
d iffractio n of sign als 38
DTIM (delivery traffic in dication m ap) 228
Digest o r 390
DTMF (dual ton e m ultiple frequen cy) 112
d igital au d io bro ad cast in g (DAB) 3,
dual ton e m ultiple freq uen cy (DTMF) 112
186–91
du m m y bu rst 106
sin gle freq u en cy n et works (SFN) 186
du p lex ch an n el 72
d igital cellu lar n etwo rks 93 DVB (digit al video broad castin g) 191–5
world wid e m arket 93–4 DVD (d igit al versatile disk) 192
d igital cellu lar syst em (DCS) 1800 12, 97 dwell tim e 59
d igit al en h an ced co rd less dyn am ic ch an n el allocatio n (DCA) 63
t eleco m m u n icat io n s (DECT) 11, dyn am ic h ost con figu rat ion p rotocol
12, 3 0, 130–4 (DHCP) 303
d ata lin k con tro l layer (DLC) 134 dyn am ic source rou tin g (DSR) 336–9, 341
m ediu m access con trol layer (MAC) 134 dyn am ic sp ectru m allocation 451
n etwork layer 134
p h ysical layer 132–4 ECHO satellite 165
p rot ocol arch itect u re 132 EDGE (en h an ced dat a rates for global
syst em arch it ectu re 131–2 (GSM) evolu tion ) 95, 138
d igital m od u lation 47, 57 EDTV (en h an ced d efin ition TV) 192
d igital sen se m u ltip le access (DSMA) 82 EHF (extrem ely h igh freq u en cy) 27
d igital versatile d isk (DVD) 192 EIR (eq u ip m en t id en tity regist er) 105
d igital vid eo bro adcastin g (DVB) 191–5 elim in at ion -yield n on -p reem p tive
d ata broad castin g 193–4 p riority m u lt ip le access
for h igh -sp eed in t ern et access 194–5 (EY-NPMA) 77, 240
 Index 481

em bed d ed con trollers 7 FDMA (freq u en cy d ivisio n m u lt ip le

em ergen cies, wireless com m u n ication s access) 7 2
system s in 4 FEC (forward error correct ion ) 99, 111,
em ergen cy n u m ber 99 279
EMS (en h an ced m essage service) 100 Fed eral Com m u n icat ion s Com m ission
en cap su lation 315–19 (FCC) 27
gen eric rou tin g en cap su lation (GRE) feed back in fo rm ation field (FBI) 147
317–19 Fessen d en , Regin ald A. 10
IP-in -IP en cap su latio n 315–16 FH-CDMA 273
m in im al en cap su lation 316–17 FHSS (freq u en cy h op p in g sp read
en d -syst em s 18 sp ectru m ) 211–13
en h an ced d ata rates fo r global (GSM) FIB (fast in fo rm ation blocks) 187
evolu tion (EDGE) 95, 138 FIC (fast in form ation ch an n el) 187, 188
en h an ced d efin ition TV (EDTV) 192 file system s 376–81
en h an ced m essage service (EMS) 100 Cod a 378–9
en sem ble 187 con sisten cy 377
eq u alizer 40 Ficu s 380
eq u ip m en t id en tity register (EIR) 105 Litt le Work 380
ESS (exten d ed service set ) 209 Mlo-NFS 381
Eth ern et 268 Rover 381
ETSI (Eu rop ean Telecom m u n ication s fish eye stat e rou tin g (FSR) 341
St an d ard s In stitu te) 28 fixed ch an n el allocatio n (FCA) 63
Eu rop ean Con feren ce for Po st s an d fixed rad io term in at ion (FT) 132
Telecom m u n icat ion s (CEPT) 27 flat ad -h oc rou tin g 340–1
Eu rop ean Telecom m u n ication s FM (freq u en cy m od u lation ) 10, 26, 47
St an d ard s In stitu te (ETSI) 28 follow-on services 6
exp licit reservation sch em e 77 FOMA (freed om of m obile m u lti-m ed ia
exp on en tial backoff 217 access) 30
exten d ed service set (ESS) 209 forward error correction (FEC) 99, 111,
extrem ely h igh freq u en cy (EHF) 27 279
EY-NPMA (elim in ation -yield n on - forward in g of calls 100
preem ptive priority m ultiple access) Fou rier eq u ation 31
77, 240 FR (fram e relay) n etwork 129
fragm en t atio n of d ata 219–20
FACCH (fast associated con trol ch an n els) fram e relay (FR) n etwork 129
108 free sp ace loss 36
Farad ay, Mich ael 9 freed om of m obile m u lti-m ed ia access
fast associated con trol ch an n els (FACCH) (FOMA) 30
108 freq u en cies for rad io tran sm ission
fast h op p in g 60 26–30
fast in fo rm ation blocks (FIB) 187 regu lat ion s 27–30
fast in fo rm ation ch an n el (FIC) 187, 188 freq u en cy 31
FCA (fixed ch an n el allo cation ) 63 freq u en cy correct ion bu rst 106
FCC (Fed eral Com m u n icatio n s freq u en cy correct ion ch an n el (FCCH)
Com m ission ) 27 108
FCCH (freq u en cy correction ch an n el) freq u en cy d ivision d u p lex (FDD) 72
108 freq u en cy d ivision m u lt ip le access
FDD (freq u en cy d ivisio n d u p lex) 72 (FDMA) 72
FDM (freq u en cy d ivisio n m u ltip lexin g) freq u en cy d ivision m u lt ip lexin g (FDM)
43, 47, 72 43, 47, 72
482 Index

freq u en cy dom ain 32 h an d over 117–20

freq u en cy h op p in g sp read sp ect ru m localizat ion an d callin g 113–17
(FHSS) 211–13 logical ch an n els 107–10
freq u en cy m od u lation (FM) 10, 26, 47 p rotocols 110–13
freq u en cy sh ift keyin g (FSK) 47, 49 rad io in terface 105–10
ad van ced 50–1 secu rity 120–2
freq u en cy sp ectru m 26–7 tim e slots 105
FSK (freq u en cy sh ift keyin g) 47, 49 Globalstar 177
ad van ced 50–1 GMM (global m u lt im ed ia m obility) 138
FSLS (fu zzy sigh ted lin k-state) 341 GMSC (gateway MSC) 103
FSR (fish eye stat e rou tin g) 341 GMSK (Gau ssian m in im u m sh ift keyin g)
FT (fixed rad io t erm in ation ) 132 51
fu n d am en tal freq u en cy 31 gossip p rotocols 380
fu zzy sigh ted lin k-state (FSLS) 341 GP (gu ard p eriod ) 148
GPRS (gen eral p acket rad io service) 95,
GAM-Rail 97 124–30
gateway GRPRS support n ode (GGSN) 127 GPRS register (GR) 127
gat eway lin k (GW L) 168 GPRS su p p ort n od es (GSN) 127
gat eway MSC (GMSC) 103 GPRS t u n n ellin g p rotocol (GTP) 128,
Gau ssian m in im u m sh ift keyin g (GMSK) 152
51 GPS (global p osition in g system ) 3
gen eral p acket rad io service (GPRS) 95, GPSR (greedy perim eter stateless routin g)
124–30 343
GPRS regist er (GR) 127 GRE (gen eric rou t in g en cap su lat ion )
GPRS su p p ort n od es (GSN) 127 317–19
GPRS tun n ellin g protocol (GTP) 128, greedy perim eter stateless rout in g (GPSR)
152 343
gen eric rou tin g en cap su lation (GRE) grou n d wave 37
317–19 grou p 3 fax 100
GEO (geostation ary (geosyn ch ron ou s) Grou p e Sp éciale Mobile (GSM) 11
earth orb it) 171, 173 GSM see global system for m obile
GeoCast 343 com m u n icat ion
geograp h ic-p osit io n -assist ed ad -h oc gu ard p eriod (GP) 148
rou tin g 343 gu ard sp ace 42, 43, 44, 45, 105, 187
geostatio n ary (geosyn ch ro n ou s) earth GW L (gateway lin k) 168
orbit (GEO) 171, 173
GGSN (gateway GRPRS support n ode) 127 h an d over
glo bal m u ltim ed ia m obility (GMM) 138 gateway 177
glo bal p osition in g syst em (GPS) 3 GSM 117–20
global system for m obile com m un ication h orizon t al 449
(GSM) 3, 12, 95, 96–7 in ter-sat ellite 176
d ata services 122–30 in ter-system 177
fram e h ierarch y 107–10 in tra-sat ellite 176
GSM 400 97 q u ality of service 252
GSM 900 97 sat ellite 176–7
GSM 1800 97 sm oot h , m obile IP 321
GSM 1900 97 in UMTS 154–6
GSM p u blic lan d m ob ile n et work vert ical 449
(PLMN) 98 h arm on ics 31
GSM TDMA fram e 105 HAWAII 325–7
 Index 483

HDB (h om e d ata base) 131 id en tification , u ser 100

HDLC (h igh -level d ata lin k con trol) 99 IEEE 802.11 stan d ard 13, 207–239
HDTV (h igh d efin ition TV) 192 d irect seq u en ce sp read sp ect ru m
h ead er co m p ressio n 366 (DHSS) 213
Hen ry, Josep h 9 freq u en cy h op p in g sp read sp ectru m
HEO (h igh ly ellip tical o rbit) 173 (FHSS) 211–13
Hertz, Hein rich 10 in fra red tran sm ission 214
h ierarch ical ad -h oc rou tin g 342–3 MAC m an agem en t 225–31
h ierarch ical m obile IPv6 (HMIPv6) 327–8 m ediu m access con trol (MAC) layer
h ierarch ical stat e ro u tin g (HSR) 343 214–25
h igh -altit u d e p lat form s 180 basic DFW MAC-DCF u sin g
h igh d efin itio n TV (HDTV) 192 CSMA/ CA 215–18
h igh freq u en cy (HF) 2 6 DFW MAC-DCF with RTS/ CTS
h igh -level d ata lin k con trol (HDLC) 99 exten sion 218–20
h igh sp eed circu it switch ed data DFW MAC-DCF with p ollin g 220–2
(HSCSD) 123–4 MAC fram es 222–5
h igh ly ellip t ical orbit (HEO) 173 n ewer d evelop m en ts 238–9
HIPERACCESS 256 p h ysical layer 211–14
HIPERLAN 1 240–4, 256 p ower m an agem en t 227–30
elim in ation p h ase 242 p rotocol arch itectu re 210–11
p rio ritization p h ase 241–2 ro am in g 230–1
q u alit y of service su p p ort 243–4 syn ch ro n izatio n 226–7
tran sm ission p h ase 243 system arch itectu re 208–10
yield p h ase 243 IEEE 802.11a 15, 30, 234–7
HIPERLAN 12–13, 239–69 IEEE 802.11a PPDU 236
Hip erLAN2 14, 30, 256, 257–69 IEEE 802.11b 30, 231–3
con vergen ce layer 268–9 IEEE 802.11c 238
d ata lin k con trol layer 263–8 IEEE 802.11d 238
p h ysical layer 261–2 IEEE 802.11e 238
referen ce m od el an d con figu ration s IEEE 802.11f 231, 238
258–60 IEEE 802.11g 14, 238
HIPLINK 256 IEEE 802.11h 239
h istory of wireless com m u n ication 9–15 IEEE 802.11i 239
HLR (h o m e location register) 104, 176 IEEE 802.15 291–2
HMIPv6 (h ierarch ical m obile IPv6) IEEE 802.15.4 292–3
327–8 IEEE 1394 (Firewire) 268
h oard in g 378 IMEI (in tern at ion al m obile eq u ip m en t
h om e d ata base (HDB) 131 id en tity) 102
h om e location register (HLR) 104, 176 i-m od e 13, 430–3
Hom eRF 294 im p licit reservation sch em e 78
h op p in g seq u en ce 59 IMSI (in tern ation al m obile su bscriber
HSCSD (h igh sp eed circu it switch ed id en tity) 102, 104, 112, 114
d ata) 123–4 IMT (in tern ation al m obile
HSR (h ierarch ical stat e rou tin g) 343 t eleco m m u n icatio n s) 2000
HTML (h ypertext m arkup lan gu age) 385–6 136–49
HTTP (h yp ertext t ran sfer p ro t ocol) IMT-2000 (in tern ation al m o bile
382–5 t eleco m m u n icatio n s) 13
h yp erfram e 110 IMT-DS 139
h ypertext m arkup lan gu age (HTML) 385–6 IMT-FT 140
h ypertext tran sfer protocol (HTTP) 382–5 IMT-MC 140
484 Index

IMT-SC 140 Jap an ese cord less t elep h on e (JCT) 30

IMT-TC 139 Jap an ese digital cellu lar (JDC) 30
in d irect TCP (I-TCP) 355–8 JCT (Jap an ese co rd less t elep h on e) 30
in form ation services 7 JDC (Jap an ese d igital cellu lar) 30
in fot ain m en t , wireless com m u n ication s
system s in 5 L2CAP (logical lin k con trol an d
in fra red (IR) tran sm ission 27, 204–5, 214 adap tation p rot ocol) 285–6
in h ibit sen se m u ltip le access (ISMA) 82 LA (location area) 104
INMARSAT satellites 166 LAI (location area id en tification ) 102
In -Ph ase (I) 32 LAPD m p rotocol 112
lap top 8
in tegrated services d igital n etwork
LAR (location -aid ed rou t in g) 343
(ISDN) 98, 103
least in terferen ce rou tin g (LIR) 339
in tegrator 58
LEO (low eart h orbit) 173, 174
INTELSAT 166
LF (low freq u en cy) 26
in teraction ch an n els 195 Lieben , Robert vo n 10
in terferen ces 17 lin e-of-sigh t (LOS) 36, 37
In term ed iat e Circu lar Orb it 178 lin k m an ager p rotocol (LMP) 282–5
in tern ation al m obile eq u ip m en t id en t ity LIR (least in t erferen ce rou t in g) 339
(IMEI) 102 Litt le Work 380
in tern ation al m obile su bscriber id en tit y LLC (logical lin k con trol) 69, 285–6
(IMSI) 102, 104, 112, 114 LMP (lin k m an ager p rotocol) 282–5
in tern ation al m obile telecom m u n ication s location -aided rou tin g (LAR) 343
(IMT) 2000 136–49 location area (LA) 104
in tern ation al m obile teleco m m u n ica- location area id en tification (LAI) 102
tion s see en t ries u n d er IMT location aware services 6
In tern ation al Telecom m u n ication s logical lin k con trol (LLC) 69, 285–6
Un ion (ITU) 27 logical lin k con trol an d adap tation
Rad iocom m u n ication (ITU–R) 27, 28 p rotocol (L2CAP) 285–6
In tern et Protocol 126 lon g-term fad in g 40, 41
in tersat ellite lin ks (ISL) 168 LOS (lin e-of-sigh t) 36, 37
in tersym bol in t erferen ce (ISI) 40 low earth o rbit (LEO) 173, 174
in terworkin g fu n ction s (IW F) 103 low freq u en cy (LF) 26
in verse sq u are loss 36 low-rate wireless p erson al area n etwo rks
(LR-W PAN) 292
IP-in -IP en cap su lation 315–16
LR-W PAN (low-rate wireless p erso n al
IPv6 323
area n etworks) 292
Irid iu m system 13, 177
ISDN (in tegrated services digital n etwork)
MAC see m ed iu m access con trol
98, 103 MACA (m u ltip le access wit h collision
ISI (in tersym bol in terferen ce) 40 avoid an ce) 79–81
ISL (in tersatellite lin ks) 168 m ain service ch an n el (MSC) 187, 188
ISM ban d 30 MANET see m obile ad -h oc n etworks
ISMA (in h ibit sen se m u lt ip le access) 82 MAP (m obility an ch or p oin t ) 327
isotrop ic radiator 33 Marcon i, Gu glielm o 10
I-TCP (in d irect TCP) 355–8 Marcon i an ten n a 33
ITU (In tern ation al Telecom m u n ication s MARISAT satellites 166
Un ion ) 27 m arket for m ob ile com m u n ication s
Rad iocom m u n ication (ITU-R) 27, 28 15–16
IW F (in terworkin g fu n ction s) 103 Maxwell, Jam es C. 9
 Index 485

MCC (m obile cou n try cod e) 114 q u ick ‘so lu tion s’ 304–5
MCI (m u lt ip lex co n figu rat io n registrat ion 312–15
in fo rm at io n ) 18 9 req u irem en t s 305–7
MCM (m u lti-carrier m o du lation ) 53–4 t u n n elin g 315–19
m ed iu m access con trol (MAC) 69 op t im ization s 319–21
in DECT 134 reverse tu n n elin g 321–3
h idd en an d exp o sed t erm in als 70–1 m ob ile n et work cod e (MNC) 114
IEEE 802.11 stan dard 212–25 m ob ile o rigin ated call (MOC) 115
m otivation for sp ecialized 70–2 m ob ile p h on es 8
n ear an d far term in als 71–2 freq u en cies 29–30
m ed iu m eart h orbit (MEO) 173, 175 m obile services switch in g cen ter (MSC)
m ed iu m freq u en cy (MF) 26 103
MEO (m ed iu m earth o rbit) 173, 175 m ob ile st ation (MS) 98, 101, 102, 135
m essage q u eu in g 438–9 m ob ile st ation (su bscriber) in t ern ation al
MExE (m obile executio n en viron m en ts) ISDN n u m ber (MSISIDN) 104,
439 113
MF (m ed iu m freq u en cy) 26 m ob ile st ation (su bscriber) roam in g
m icrowave oven s 17 n u m ber (MSRN) 104, 114
m ilitary sat ellites 166 m ob ile su bscriber id en tification n u m ber
MIMO (m u ltiple-in put m ultiple-output) (MSIN) 114
450 m ob ile TCP (M-TCP) 360–2
m in im al en cap su lation 316–17 m ob ile term in ated call (MTC) 114
m in im u m sh ift keyin g (MSK) 50–1 m ob ile term in ation (MT) 98
MM (m obility m an agem en t) 112, 134 m ob ile tran sm itters 10
MMS (m u ltim ed ia m essage service) 100 m ob ile u ser lin k (MUL) 168
MNC (m obile n etwork cod e) 114 m ob ility an ch o r p oin t (MAP) 327
m ob ile ad -h oc n etworks (MANET) m ob ility m an agem en t (MM) 112, 134
330–43 MOC (m obile origin ated call) 115
ad -h oc rou tin g p ro to cols 340–3 m od u lation 46–54
altern at ive m etrics 339–40 MOT (m u lti-m edia object tran sfer)
d estin ation seq u en ce d istan ce vecto r p rotocol 190–1
(DSDV) 335–6 Mowgli 391
d yn am ic sou rce rou t in g (DSR) 336–9 MS (m obile st ation ) 98, 101, 102, 135
rou tin g 332–5 MSC (m ain service ch an n el) 187, 188
m ob ile cou n try cod e (MCC) 114 MSC (m obile services switch in g cen ter)
m obile execution en viron m en ts (MExE) 103
439 MSIN (m obile su bscrib er iden tification
m ob ile IP 304–28 n u m ber) 114
agen t ad vert isem en t 310–11 MSISIDN (m obile station (su bscriber)
agen t d iscovery 310 in tern ation al ISDN n um ber) 104,
agen t solicitatio n 312 113
d yn am ic h ost con figu ration p rot o co l MSK (m in im u m sh ift keyin g) 50–1
328–30 MSRN (m obile station (su bscriber)
en cap su lation 315–19 ro am in g n u m b er) 104, 114
en tities an d t erm in o logy 307–9 MT (m o bile t erm in ation ) 98
go als, assu m p tion s an d req u irem en ts MTC (m obile term in ated call) 114
304–28 M-TCP (m obile TCP) 360–2
IPv6 323 MUL (m obile u ser lin k) 168
m icro-m o bility su p p ort 324–8 m u lti-carrier m o d u lation (MCM) 53–4
p acket d elivery 309–10 m u lti-elem en t an ten n a arrays 34
486 Index

m u lti-m edia m essage service (MMS) 100 op eration an d m ain ten an ce cen ter
m u lti-m edia object tran sfer (MOT) (OMC) 104
p rot ocol 190–1 o p erat io n su b syst em (O SS) in GSM
m u lti-p arty com m u n ication 100 100, 104–5
m u ltip le access version s, com p arison of op tim ized lin k-state ro u t in g (OLSR) 341
89–90 orth ogon al cod es 45, 83
m u ltip le access with collision avo id an ce orth ogon al freq u en cy d ivision
(MACA) 79–81 m u ltip lexin g (OFDM) 53
m ultiple-in put m ultiple-output (MIMO) orth ogon al variable sp read in g factor
450 (OVSF) 143
m u ltip lex con figu ration in form ation OSS (op eration su bsyst em ) in GSM 100,
(MCI) 189 104–5
m u ltip lexin g 25, 41–6 over th e air (OTA) p rot ocol 426, 428
cod e d ivision (CDM) 45–6 overlayin g n etworks 449
freq u en cy division (FDM) 43, 47 OVSF (ort h ogon al variable sp read in g
ort h ogon al frequen cy division (OFDM) factor) 143
53
sp ace d ivision (SDM) 41–3 p acket d at a co n vergen ce p ro t o co l
tim e d ivision (TDM) 44–5 (PDCP) 152
p acket d ata n et wo rks (PDN) 127
n arrowban d in terferen ce 54–6 p acket d ata op t im ized (PDO) Voice+Data
NAT (n etwork ad d ress t ran slation ) 322 (V+D) 135
n atio n al d estin ation co de (NDC) 113 p acket d ata t raffic ch an n els (PDTCHs)
NAV (n et allocation vecto r) 218 129
n avigation , satellit es for 167 p acket reservation m u ltip le access
NDC (n ation al d estin ation cod e) 113 (PRMA) 78–9
n et allocation vector (NAV) 218 p acket switch ed d om ain (PSD) 151
n etwo rk ad d ress t ran slation (NAT) 322 PACS-Un licen sed Ban d (PACS-UB) 30
n etwo rk an d swit ch in g su b system (NSS) PACS-Un licen sed Ban d (PACS-UB) 30
in GSM 100, 103–4 PAD (p ro gram associat ed d ata) 188
n etwo rk layer 19 p ager 7–8
in DECT 134 p agin g ch an n el (PCH) 108
NMT (Nord ic Mobile Telep h on e) 11, PAP (p u sh access p rotocol) 426, 427
28, 95 p ath loss 36
Nordic Mobile Telep h on e (NMT) 11, PCF (p oin t co-ordin ation fu n ct ion ) 220
28, 95 PCH (p agin g ch an n el) 108
n orm al bu rst 105 PCM (p u lse code m o d u lation ) system s
North Am erican TDMA 29, 30 113
n oteb ook com p u ters 8 PDA (p erson al d igital assistan t) 3, 8
NSS (n etwork an d switch in g su bsystem ) PDC (p erson al d igital cellu lar) 30, 95
in GSM 100, 103–4 PDCP (p acket d ata con vergen ce
p rotocol) 152
O in terface 101 PDN (p acket d ata n etworks) 127
OFDM (ort h ogon al freq u en cy d ivision PDN (p u blic d ata n etwo rks) 104
m u lt ip lexin g) 53 PDTCH (p acket d ata traffic ch an n el) 129
OLSR (op tim ized lin k-st ate rou tin g) 341 p eriod ic sign als 31
OMA (op en m obile allian ce) 392 p erson al com m u n ication s service (PCS
O MC (o p erat io n an d m ain t en an ce 1900) 12, 97
cen t er) 104 p erson al d igital assistan t (PDA) 3, 8
op en m obile allian ce (OMA) 392 p erson al d igital cellu lar (PDC) 30, 95
 Index 487

p erson al id en tity n u m b er (PIN) 102 p seu d o-n oise seq u en ce 57

PIN u n blockin g key (PUK) 102 PSK (p h ase sh ift keyin g) 47, 49–50
p erson al op eratin g sp ace (POS) 270 ad van ced 51–2
p h ase d om ain 32 PSTN (p u blic switch ed t elep h on e
p h ase lock loop (PLL) 50 n etwork) 98, 103
p h ase m od u lat ion (PM) 47 PTM (p oin t-to-m u ltip o in t) 126
p h ase sh ift 31 PTP (p oin t -to-p oin t) 125
p h ase sh ift keyin g (PSK) 47, 49–50 PTP-CLNS (PTP con n ection n etwork
ad van ced 51–2 service) 125
p h ysical layer 19 PTP-CONS (PTP con n ection orien ted
p h ysical layer con vergen ce p ro tocol n etwork service) 125
(PLCP) 210 p u blic d ata n etworks (PDN) 104
p h ysical ran d o m access ch an n el p u blic key in frastru ctu res (PKI) 437
(PRAC H) 147 p u blic swit ch ed telep h on e n etwork
PI (p u sh in itiator) 426 (PSTN) 98, 103
p ico n et 271 PUK (PIN u n blockin g key) 102
PIN (p erson al id en t ity n u m ber)) 102 p u lse cod e m o d u lation (PCM) syst em s
PKI (p u blic key in frast ru ctu res) 437 113
PLCP (p h ysical layer co n vergen ce p u sh access p rotocol (PAP) 426, 427
p rotocol) 210 p u sh arch itectu re 426–8
PLL (p h ase lock loop ) 50 p u sh in it iator (PI) 426
p lu g-in 386 pu sh over th e air (OTA) protocol 426, 428
PM (p h ase m od u lation ) 47 p u sh p roxy gateway (PPG) 426, 427
p ocket com p u ter 8 p u sh / p u ll services 428–9
p oin t co-o rdin ation fu n ct ion (PCF) 220
p oin t-to-m u ltip oin t (PTM) 126 QAM (quadratu re am plitude m odulation )
p oin t-to-p oin t (PTP) 125 52
PTP co n n ect ion n et wo rk service QoS p rofile 126
(PTP-CLNS) 125 QPSK (q u ad ratu re p h ase sh ift keyin g)
PTP co n n ect ion orien ted n etwork 51–2
service (PTP-CONS) 125 Qu adratu re (Q) 32
p ollin g 82 quadrature am plitude m odulation (QAM)
p ort ability 1 52
p ort able rad io term in ation (PT) 132 q u ad ratu re p h ase sh ift keyin g (QPSK)
POS (p erson al op erat in g sp ace) 270 51–2
p osition in g 439
p ower efficien cy 48 RACH (ran d om access ch an n el) 108
PPG (p u sh p roxy gateway) 426, 427 rad iation p att ern 33
PRACH (p h ysical ran d o m access rad io broad cast, first 10
ch an n el) 147 radio frequen cy iden tification (RFID) 296
p rivacy 6 rad io lin k p rot ocol (RLP) 99, 129
PRMA (p acket reservatio n m u ltip le rad io m od u lation 57
access) 78–9 rad io n etwork con troller (RNC) 149, 150
p rogram associat ed d at a (PAD) 188 radio n etwork subsystem s (RNS) 142, 149
p rot ocol arch it ectu re rad io resou rce m an agem en t (RR) 112
DECT 132 rad io satellites 166
IEEE 802.11 stan dard 210–11 rad io su b syst em (RSS) in GSM 100,
WAP 393–6 101–3
p rot ocol stack 18 rake receiver 59
PSD (p acket switch ed d om ain ) 151 RAND 121
488 Index

ran d o m access ch an n el (RACH) 108 SDR (soft ware d efin ed rad io) 30, 450
ran d o m backo ff t im e 216 SDTV (st an d ard d efin ition TV) 192
redirectio n of calls 100 SEC-SAP (secu rity SAP) 394
referen ce sign al 51 sectorized an ten n a 34, 63
reflect ion of sign als 37, 38 secu rity 17
refract io n of sign als 38 secu rity SAP (SEC-SAP) 394
regu latio n s 17, 27–30 selection d iversity 34
Reis, Ph ilip 9 selective n egative ackn owled gem en t
req u est to sen d (RTS) 80–1, 218, 225 (SNACK) 370
reservat ion TDMA 79 sen sor 7
RFID (radio frequen cy iden tification ) 296
service d iscovery 439
RLP (rad io lin k p rotocol) 99, 129
servin g GPRS su p p ort n od e (SGSN) 127
RNC (radio n etwo rk con troller) 149, 150
servin g RNC (SRNC) 155
RNS (radio n etwork su bsystem s) 142, 149
session -SAP (S-SAP) 394
roam in g 113
robu st n ess 48 SGSN (servin g GPRS su p p ort n o d e) 127
RR (rad io resou rce) m an agem en t 112 sh ad owin g of rad io sign als 37, 38
RSS (radio su b system ) in GSM 100, SHF (su p er h igh freq u en cies) 27
101–3 sh ort m essage service (SMS) 99, 112
RTS (req u est t o sen d) 80–1, 218, 225 sh ort wave (SW ) 10, 26
sh ort -term fad in g 40
SACCH (slo w asso ciat ed co n t ro l sign al p rop agation 35–41
ch an n els) 108 p ath loss of sign als 36–7
SAMA (spread Aloah a m u ltiple access) m u lti-p ath p rop agatio n 39–41
87–8 sign alin g syst em No. 7 (SS7) 104, 113
satellit e ATM services (SATM) 248 sign als 31–2
satellit e syst em s 165–80 blockin g 37
ap p lication s 166–9 det ection ran ge 36
basics 169–75 diffract ion 38
exam p les 177–9 in terferen ce ran ge 36
h an d over 176–7 m u lti-p ath p rop agatio n 39–41
h ist ory 165–6 p ath loss 36–7
localization 176 p rop agation 35–41
rou t in g 175 reflectio n 37
satellite user m appin g register (SUMR) 176 refract ion 38
satellite-digit al m ulti-m edia broadcastin g
scattered 38
180
sh ad owin g 37
SATM (satellit e ATM services) 248
tran sm ission ran ge 36
scatterin g of waves 38, 39
SIM (su bscriber id en tity m od u le) 102
scattern et 273
SCH (syn ch ron izat ion ch an n el) 188 sin e waves 31
SCPS (sp ace com m u n ication s p rotocol sky wave 37
stan d ard s) 270 slo w associat ed con trol ch an n els
SCPS-t ran sp ort p rot ocol (SCPS-TP) 370 (SACCH) 108
scram blin g 144 slo w freq u en cy h op p in g 107
SDCCH (stan d-alon e con trol ch an n els) slo w h op p in g 60
108 sm art an t en n as 35
SDM (space division m ultiplexin g) 41–3, SMS (sh ort m essage service) 99, 112
72 SN (su bscriber n u m ber) 113
SDMA (Sp ace Division Mu ltip le Access) SNACK (selective n egative
72 ackn owled gem en t) 370
 Index 489

SNDCP (subn etwork d epen den t GSM 100–5

con vergen ce protocol) 128 UMTS 142–3
sn oop in g TCP 358–60 www 389–92
soft ware d efin ed rad ios (SDR) 30, 450
sp ace com m u n ication s p rotocol t an d em free op eration (TFO) 107
stan d ard s (SCPS) 270 t arget beacon tran sm ission tim e 226
Sp ace Division Mu ltip le Access (SDMA) TBRPF (top olo gy b road cast based on
72 reverse p ath forward in g) 341
sp ace division m ultiplexin g (SDM) 41–3, TCH (traffic ch an n els) 107
72 fu ll rate (TCH/ F) 107
sp ect ral efficien cy 48 h alf-rate (TCH/ H) 107
sp ect ru m 17 TCH/ FS 107
sp read Aloah a m u ltip le access (SAMA) TCP see tran sm ission con tro l p roto col
87–8 TD-CDMA 139, 148–9
sp read sp ectru m 54–61 TDD (tim e d ivision d u p lex) 74
d irect seq u en ce (DSSS) 56–8 TDM (tim e d ivision m u lt ip lexin g) 44–5
freq u en cy h op p in g (FHSS) 59–61 fixed 74–5
sp read in g fact o r 57 TDMA (tim e d ivision m u ltip le access)
SPUTNIK 165 12, 29, 73–82
SRES 121 TD-SCDMA 95, 139
SRNC (servin g RNC) 155 t ele services 98, 99–100
S-SAP (session -SAP) 394 t eleco m m u n icatio n m an agem en t
stan d -alon e con trol ch an n els (SDCCH) n etwork (TMN) 104
108 Teled esic 179
stan d ard d efin ition TV (SDTV) 192 t elep h on y 99
su bn etwo rk d ep en d en t con vergen ce t eleteach in g 10
p rotocol (SNDCP) 128 t elevision broad cast in g
su bscriber id en t ity m od u le (SIM) 102 colo r 10
su bscriber n u m ber (SN) 113 h istory 10
SUMR (satellit e u ser m ap p in g register) regu lar 10
176 sat ellites 166
su p er h igh freq u en cies (SHF) 27 tem p orary logical lin k iden tity (TLLI) 127
su p erfram e 110 t em p orary m obile su bscriber id en tity
su p p lem en t ary service (SS) 112 (TMSI) 102, 112, 114
in GSM 100 t erm in al TE 98
su p p o rt services 7 Tesla, Nikola 10
SW (sh ort wave) 10, 2 6 TETRA 3, 134–6
switch ed d iversit y 34 TFCI (tran sp ort form at com bin atio n
switch in g an d m an agem en t in frastructu re id en tifier) 147
(SwMI) 135 TFO (tan d em free op eratio n ) 107
SwMI (swit ch in g an d m an agem en t TIM (traffic in d ication m ap ) 228
in frast ru ctu re) 135 t im e d ivision d u p lex (TDD) 74
syn ch ron izat io n bu rst 106 t im e d ivision m u ltip le access (TDMA)
syn ch ron izat io n ch an n el (SCH) 188 12, 29, 73–82
Syn cML 433–4 t im e d ivision m u ltip lexin g (TDM) 44–5
SYNCOM 165 fixed 74–5
system arch itectu re t im e slot 76
DECT 131–2 t im in g syn ch ron ization fu n ct ion (TSF)
IEEE 802.11 stan dard 208–11 226, 227
490 Index

TLLI (tem p orary logical lin k iden tit y) tu n n elin g 315–19

127 reverse tu n n elin g 321–3
TMN (telecom m u n ication m an agem en t
n etwork) 104 UDDI (u n iversal descrip tion , d iscovery
TMSI (t em p orary m obile su bscriber an d in tegration ) 439
id en tity) 102, 112, 114 UHF (u ltra h igh freq u en cy) 26
top olo gy broad cast based on reverse u ltra h igh freq u en cy (UHF) 26
p ath forward in g (TBRPF) 341 u ltra wid eban d tech n ology (UW B) 296
TPC (t ran sm it p ower con trol) 147 UW C-136 138
traffic ch an n els (TCH) 107 Um in terface 102
fu ll rate (TCH/ F) 107 UMTS see u n iversal m obile
h alf-rate (TCH/ H) 107 t eleco m m u n icatio n s system
TCH/ FS 107 u n idirection al broad cast syst em s 184
traffic in d icat ion m ap (TIM) 228 u n iversal d escrip t ion , d iscovery an d
traffic m u ltifram e 109 in tegration (UDDI) 439
train in g seq u en ce 40 u n iversal m obile teleco m m u n ication s
train s, telep h on es in 10 system (UMTS) 3, 13, 30, 136–49
tran saction SAP (TR-SAP) 394 core n et work 151–3
Tran Sen d 390 h an d over 154–6
tran sfer services in WAP 2.0 436 rad io in terface 143–9
tran sm ission co n trol p rot ocol (TCP) releases an d stan d ard ization 141–2
classical im p rovem en ts 355–65 system arch itect u re 142–3
UMTS (u n iversal) terrestrial rad io
con gestion co n tro l 352
access see UTRA 138
fast retran sm it/ fast recovery 353, 362
u n iversal m obile teleco m m u n ication s
in d irect TCP (I-TCP) 355–8
system (UMTS) 3, 13, 30, 136–49
m ob ile TCP (M-TCP) 360–2
core n et work 151–3
m ob ility 354–5
h an d over 154–6
over 2.5/ 3G wireless n etworks 366–8
rad io in terface 143–9
p erfo rm an ce en h an cin g p roxies
releases an d stan d ard ization 141–2
368–9
system arch itect u re 142–3
selective retran sm ission 363–4
UMTS (u n iversal) terrestrial rad io
slow start 352–3 access see UTRA 138
sn oo p in g TCP 358–60 u p lin k 73
trad ition al 352–5 u ser m obility 1
tran saction -orien t ed TCP 364–5 UTRA n etwo rk (UTRAN) 142, 149–51
tran sm ission / t im e-ou t freezin g 363 UTRA n etwo rk (UTRAN) 142, 149–51
vs UDP 351 UTRA-FDD 96, 145–8
tran sm it p ower con trol (TPC) 147 UTRA-TDD 96, 148–9
tran sp aren cy 98–9 UW B (u ltra wid eban d tech n ology) 296
tran sp ort form at com b in ation id en t ifier UW C-136 138
(TFCI) 147
tran sp ort layer 19 vacu u m tu be, elect ron ic 10
tran sp ort layer service access p oin t VAD (voice activity d etect ion ) 111
(T-SAP) 394 vCalen d ar 412
TR-SAP( tran saction SAP) 394 vCard 412
T-SAP (tran sp ort layer service access VCC (visit or cou n try cod e) 114
p oin t) 394 VDB (visitor d ata base) 131
TSF (tim in g syn ch ron ization fu n ction ) veh icles, wireless com m u n ication s
226, 227 system s in 3
 Index 491

very h igh freq u en cy (VHF) 26 h an d over 249–50

very lo w freq u en cy (VLF) 26 location m an agem en t 250–1
VHE (virtu al h om e en viron m en t) 138 m ob ile q u ality of service 252
VHF (very h igh freq u en cy) 26 m ot ivat ion 245
virtu al h o m e en viron m en t (VHE) 138 services 247–8
visit or cou n try cod e (VCC) 114 Wireless ATM Workin g Gro u p 245–6
visit or d ata base (VDB) 131 wireless con t rol m essage p rotocol
visit or location register (VLR) 104, 176 (W CMP) 393, 397
visitor n ation al destin ation code (VNDC) wireless d at agram p rotocol (W DP) 393,
114 396–7
VLF (very lo w freq u en cy) 26 wireless d evices 1, 2
VLR (visitor location register) 104, 176 ap p lication s 3–7
VNDC (visitor n ation al destin ation code) categories of 7–9
114 wireless id en tity m od u le (W IM) 418
voice activity detection (VAD) 111 wireless LAN (W LAN) 3, 17–18, 30
voice over IP 8–9 ad -h oc n etworks 205–7
ad van tages 201–2
WAE (wireless ap p lication en viron m en t ) d esign goals 203–4
394, 412–14 d isad van tages 202–3
WAP see wireless ap p licat ion p rotocol in fra red vs rad io tran sm ission 204–5
WARC (World Ad m in istrat ion Rad io
in frastru ctu re 205–7
Con feren ce) 10
see also Blu etooth ; HIPERLAN; IEEE
WATM see wireless ATM
802.11
W-CDMA (wid eban d CDMA) 139,
wireless m arku p lan gu age (W ML) 412,
145–8
414–16
W CMP (wireless co n tro l m essage
W ML u ser agen t 413
p rotocol) 393, 397
wireless person al area n etworks (WPAN)
W DP (wireless d atagram p roto col) 393,
270
396–7
wireless sen sor n etworks 295–6
weath er forecastin g 166
WebExp ress 391 wireless session p rot o col (W SP) 394,
WebW h acker 389 404–12
W GY 10 wireless session p rot o col/ browsin g
wid eban d CDMA (W-CDMA) 139, (W SP/ B) 405
145–8 as con n ection less session service
W IM (wireless id en tity m od u le) 418 411–12
wired n etworks, rep lacem en t by wireless over W TP 405–11
com m u n ication s system s 5 wireless t elep h o n y ap p licatio n (W TA)
wireless ap p lication en viron m en t (WAE) 412, 419–26
394, 412–14 W TA u ser agen t 413
wireless ap p lication p ro toco l (WAP) 13, wireless t elep h o n y ap p licatio n in t erface
375, 392–430 (W TAI) 419
arch itectu re 393–6 wireless t ran sactio n p rotocol (W TP)
foru m (WAP Foru m ) 392 394, 400–3
WAP 1.x 429–30 class 0 400–1
WAP 2.0 434–7 class 1 401–2
wireless ATM (WATM) 244–55 class 2 402–3
access scen arios 253 –5 wireless t ran sp ort layer secu rity (W TLS)
gen eric referen ce m o d el 248 394, 397–9
492 Index

wireless world research foru m 16 WRC (World Rad io Co n feren ce) 28

W LAN see wireless LAN WSP (wireless session p rotocol) 394,
W ML (wireless m arku p lan gu age) 412, 404–12
414–16 WSP/ B (wireless session p rot o co l/
W ML u ser agen t 413 browsin g) 405–12
W MLBro wser 418 WTA (wireless telep h on y ap p lication )
W MLScrip t 412, 416–18 412, 419–26
W MLScrip t Cryp to Library 418 WTA u ser agen t 413
World Adm in istratio n Rad io Con feren ce WTAI (wireless t elep h on y ap p lication
(WARC) 10 in terface) 419
World Rad io Con feren ce (W RC) 28 WTLS (wireless tran sp ort layer secu rity)
world wid e web (www) 375, 381–92 394, 397–9
h ypertext m arkup lan guage (HTML) WTP (wireless tran sact ion p roto col)
385–6 394, 400–3
h yp ertext tran sfer p rotocol (HTTP) www see world wid e web
382–5
im p rovin g wireless access 386–8 XHTML with a m obile p rofile
syst em arch it ectu re 389–92 (XHTMLMP) 435
WPAN (wireless person al area n etworks)
270 zo n e rou tin g p rot o co l (ZRP) 343