Mobile Handset Cellular Network

Cellular Network Basics

There are many types of cellular services; before delving into details, focus on basics (helps navigate the acronym soup) Cellular network/telephony is a radio-based technology; radio waves are electromagnetic waves that antennas propagate Most signals are in the 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 1900 MHz frequency bands

Cell phones operate in this frequency range (note the logarithmic scale)

Cellular Network
Base stations transmit to and receive from mobiles at the assigned spectrum
Multiple base stations use the same spectrum (spectral reuse)

The service area of each base station is called a cell Each mobile terminal is typically served by the closest base stations
Handoff when terminals move

Cellular Network Generations

It is useful to think of cellular Network/telephony in terms of generations:
0G: Briefcase-size mobile radio telephones 1G: Analog cellular telephony 2G: Digital cellular telephony 3G: High-speed digital cellular telephony (including video telephony) 4G: IP-based anytime, anywhere voice, data, and multimedia telephony at faster data rates than 3G (to be deployed in 20122015)

Evolution of Cellular Networks

1G

2G

2.5G

3G

4G

The Multiple Access Problem

The base stations need to serve many mobile terminals at the same time (both downlink and uplink) All mobiles in the cell need to transmit to the base station Interference among different senders and receivers So we need multiple access scheme

Multiple Access Schemes

3 orthogonal Schemes:
Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

Frequency Division Multiple Access

frequency

Each mobile is assigned a separate frequency channel for the duration of the call Sufficient guard band is required to prevent adjacent channel interference Usually, mobile terminals will have one downlink frequency band and one uplink frequency band Different cellular network protocols use different frequencies Frequency is a precious and scare resource. We are running out of it
Cognitive radio

Time Division Multiple Access

Guard time signal transmitted by mobile terminals at different locations do no arrive at the base station at the same time

Time is divided into slots and only one mobile terminal transmits during each slot
Like during the lecture, only one can talk, but others may take the floor in turn

Each user is given a specific slot. No competition in cellular network

Unlike Carrier Sensing Multiple Access (CSMA) in WiFi

Code Division Multiple Access

Use of orthogonal codes to separate different transmissions Each symbol of bit is transmitted as a larger number of bits using the user specific code Spreading
Bandwidth occupied by the signal is much larger than the information transmission rate But all users use the same frequency band together
Orthogonal among users

2G(GSM)

GSM
Abbreviation for Global System for Mobile Communications Concurrent development in USA and Europe in the 1980s The European system was called GSM and deployed in the early 1990s

GSM Services
Voice, 3.1 kHz Short Message Service (SMS)
1985 GSM standard that allows messages of at most 160 chars. (incl. spaces) to be sent between handsets and other stations Over 2.4 billion people use it; multi-billion $ industry

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)

GSM upgrade that provides IP-based packet data transmission up to 114 kbps Users can simultaneously make calls and send data GPRS provides always on Internet access and the Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) whereby users can send rich text, audio, video messages to each other Performance degrades as number of users increase GPRS is an example of 2.5G telephony 2G service similar to 3G

GSM Channels
Downlink

Channels
Uplink

Physical Channel: Each timeslot on a carrier is referred to as a physical channel Logical Channel: Variety of information is transmitted between the MS and BTS. Different types of logical channels: Traffic channel Control Channel

GSM Frequencies
Originally designed on 900MHz range, now also available on 800MHz, 1800MHz and 1900 MHz ranges. Separate Uplink and Downlink frequencies
One example channel on the 1800 MHz frequency band, where RF carriers are space every 200 MHz
UPLINK FREQUENCIES DOWNLINK FREQUENCIES

1710 MHz

1785 MHz

1805 MHz

1880 MHz

UPLINK AND DOWNLINK FREQUENCY SEPARATED BY 95MHZ

GSM Architecture

Mobile Station (MS)

MS is the users handset and has two parts Mobile Equipment
Radio equipment User interface Processing capability and memory required for various tasks
Call signalling Encryption SMS

Equipment IMEI number

Subscriber Identity Module

Subscriber Identity Module

A small smart card Encryption codes needed to identify the subscriber Subscriber IMSI number Subscribers own information (telephone directory) Third party applications (banking etc.) Can also be used in other systems besides GSM, e.g., some WLAN access points accept SIM based user authentication

Base Station Subsystem

Transcoding Rate and Adaptation Unit (TRAU)
Performs coding between the 64kbps PCM coding used in the backbone network and the 13 kbps coding used for the Mobile Station (MS)

Base Station Controller (BSC)

Controls the channel (time slot) allocation implemented by the BTSes Manages the handovers within BSS area Knows which mobile stations are within the cell and informs the MSC/VLR about this

Base Transceiver System (BTS)

Controls several transmitters Each transmitter has 8 time slots, some used for signaling, on a specific frequency

Network and Switching Subsystem

The backbone of a GSM network is a telephone network with additional cellular network capabilities Mobile Switching Center (MSC)
An typical telephony exchange (ISDN exchange) which supports mobile communications Visitor Location Register (VLR)
A database, part of the MSC Contains the location of the active Mobile Stations

Gateway Mobile Switching Center (GMSC)

Links the system to PSTN and other operators

Home Location Register (HLR)

Contain subscriber information, including authentication information in Authentication Center (AuC)

Equipment Identity Register (EIR)

International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI) codes for e.g., blacklisting stolen phones

Home Location Register

One database per operator Contains all the permanent subscriber information
MSISDN (Mobile Subscriber ISDN number) is the telephone number of the subscriber International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) is a 15 digit code used to identify the subscriber
It incorporates a country code and operator code

IMSI code is used to link the MSISDN number to the subscribers SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) Charging information Services available to the customer

Also the subscribers present Location Area Code, which refers to the MSC, which can connect to the MS.

Other Systems
Operations Support System
The management network for the whole GSM network Usually vendor dependent Very loosely specified in the GSM standards

Value added services

Voice mail Call forwarding Group calls

Short Message Service Center

Stores and forwards the SMS messages Like an E-mail server Required to operate the SMS services

Location Updates
The cells overlap and usually a mobile station can see several transceivers (BTSes) The MS monitors the identifier for the BSC controlling the cells When the mobile station reaches a new BSCs area, it requests an location update The update is forwarded to the MSC, entered into the VLR, the old BSC is notified and an acknowledgement is passed back

Handoff (Handover)
When a call is in process, the changes in location need special processing Within a BSS, the BSC, which knows the current radio link configuration (including feedbacks from the MS), prepares an available channel in the new BTS The MS is told to switch over to the new BTS This is called a hard handoff
In a soft handoff, the MS is connected to two BTSes simultaneously

Roaming
When a MS enters another operators network, it can be allowed to use the services of this operator
Operator to operator agreements and contracts Higher billing

The MS is identified by the information in the SIM card and the identification request is forwarded to the home operator
The home HLR is updated to reflect the MSs current location

3G, 3.5G and 4G (LTE)

3G Overview
3G is created by ITU-T and is called IMT-2000

Evolution from 2G
2G IS-95 GSMIS-136 & PDC

2.5G

IS-95B HSCSD

GPRS EDGE

Cdma2000-1xRTT 3G

W-CDMA EDGE TD-SCDMA 3GPP2 3GPP

Cdma2000-1xEV,DV,DO Cdma2000-3xRTT

Service Roadmap
Improved performance, decreasing cost of delivery
3G-specific services take advantage of higher bandwidth and/or real-time QoS Broadband in wide area Video sharing Video telephony Real-time IP A number of mobile Multitasking multimedia and games services are bearer WEB browsing Multicasting independent in nature Corporate data access Streaming audio/video MMS picture / video xHTML browsing Application downloading E-mail Presence/location Voice & SMS Push-to-talk
Typical average bit rates (peak rates higher)

GSM 9.6 kbps

GPRS 171 kbps

CDMA 2000 1x

EGPRS 473 kbps

WCDMA 2 Mbps
CDMA 2000EVDO CDMA 2000EVDV

HSDPA 1-10 Mbps

GSM Evolution to 3G
High Speed Circuit Switched Data Dedicate up to 4 timeslots for data connection ~ 50 kbps Good for real-time applications c.w. GPRS Inefficient -> ties up resources, even when nothing sent Not as popular as GPRS (many skipping HSCSD) Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution GSM Uses 8PSK modulation HSCSD 9.6kbps (one timeslot) 3x improvement in data rate on short distances GSM Data Can fall back to GMSK for greater distances Also called CSD Combine with GPRS (EGPRS) ~ 384 kbps Can also be combined with HSCSD

GSM

GPRS EDGE

WCDMA

General Packet Radio Services Data rates up to ~ 115 kbps Max: 8 timeslots used as any one time Packet switched; resources not tied up all the time Contention based. Efficient, but variable delays GSM / GPRS core network re-used by WCDMA (3G)

UMTS
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) UMTS is an upgrade from GSM via GPRS or EDGE The standardization work for UMTS is carried out by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Data rates of UMTS are:
144 kbps for rural 384 kbps for urban outdoor 2048 kbps for indoor and low range outdoor

Virtual Home Environment (VHE)

UMTS Frequency Spectrum

UMTS Band
1900-2025 MHz and 2110-2200 MHz for 3G transmission In the US, 17101755 MHz and 21102155 MHz will be used instead, as the 1900 MHz band was already used.

UMTS Architecture
Mobile Station Base Station Subsystem Network Subsystem Other Networks

SIM

ME

BTS

BSC

MSC/ VLR

GMSC PSTN

EIR

HLR

AUC

PLMN

RNS
Node B RNC SGSN GGSN Internet

USIM

ME

SD

UTRAN

Note: Interfaces have been omitted for clarity purposes.

UMTS Network Architecture

UMTS network architecture consists of three domains
Core Network (CN): Provide switching, routing and transit for user traffic UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN): Provides the air interface access method for user equipment. User Equipment (UE): Terminals work as air interface counterpart for base stations. The various identities are: IMSI, TMSI, P-TMSI, TLLI, MSISDN, IMEI, IMEISV

UTRAN
Wide band CDMA technology is selected for UTRAN air interface
WCDMA TD-SCDMA

Base stations are referred to as Node-B and control equipment for Node-B is called as Radio Network Controller (RNC).
Functions of Node-B are
Air Interface Tx/Rx Modulation/Demodulation

Functions of RNC are:

Radio Resource Control Channel Allocation Power Control Settings Handover Control Ciphering Segmentation and reassembly

3.5G (HSPA)
High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) is an amalgamation of two mobile telephony protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), that extends and improves the performance of existing WCDMA protocols 3.5G introduces many new features that will enhance the UMTS technology in future. 1xEV-DV already supports most of the features that will be provided in 3.5G. These include: - Adaptive Modulation and Coding - Fast Scheduling - Backward compatibility with 3G - Enhanced Air Interface

4G (LTE)
LTE stands for Long Term Evolution Next Generation mobile broadband technology Promises data transfer rates of 100 Mbps Based on UMTS 3G technology Optimized for All-IP traffic

Advantages of LTE

Comparison of LTE Speed

Major LTE Radio Technogies

Uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) for downlink Uses Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) for uplink Uses Multi-input Multi-output(MIMO) for enhanced throughput Reduced power consumption Higher RF power amplifier efficiency (less battery power used by handsets)

LTE Architecture

LTE vs UMTS
Functional changes compared to the current UMTS architecture

Case Study Mobility: A Double-Edged Sword for HSPA Networks

Fung Po Tso, City University of Hong Kong Jin Teng, Ohio State University Weijia Jia, City University of Hong Kong Dong Xuan, Ohio State University
ACM Mobihoc10

Context
Evolved hardware technologies + Improved network bandwidth = Entertainment apps on mobile

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Context
When you are NOT mobile, you use

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Context
When you are mobile, you use

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Context

Millions of passengers per day!

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Context
HSPA Node B HSPA Node B

Can HSPA provide the same level of service to mobile users on public transport?

pictures source: Wikipedia

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Outline
Measurement Methodology General Impact of Mobility Mobility Impact on Bandwidth Sharing Mobility Impact in Transitional Region Conclusion

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Measurement Routes

Type
Trains

Average Speed
40 kmh

Highest Speed
100 kmh

Characteristics
Surface ground

Subways
Self-driving Vehicles & Buses Ferries

30 kmh
50 & 30 kmh 80 kmh

80 kmh
80 kmh 90 kmh

Underground
Surface ground Sea, Surface ground

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Measurement Route

Over 100 km in 3 months

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Measurement Setup
Two Servers:
Lab & Data Center

Three types of evaluations:

download only; upload only; simultaneous download & upload.

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General Impact of Mobility

A large spread of HSDPA bit rates and signal quality

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Context
Common View: Mobility is irrelevant, if not detrimental, to the fairness in HSPA bandwidth sharing among users

Observation: The bandwidth sharing practice in stationary HSPA environments is unfair. In contrast, mobility surprisingly improves fairness of bandwidth sharing (fairer).

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Bandwidth Sharing among Users

Mobility actually improves the fairness of bandwidth sharing among users

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Bandwidth Sharing among Users

UE can hardly keep its dominancy under rapid change of radio environment.
Mobile nodes may see better signal quality at new locations

Cell to cell based scheduling algorithm prevent unfairness from propagating

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Context
Common View: Mobility affects all flows equally. And TCP flows suffer more than UDP ones

Observation: TCP flows unexpectedly see much better performance during mobility than UDP flows.

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Bandwidth Sharing among Traffic Flows

TCP flows see better performance during mobility

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Bandwidth Sharing among Traffic Flows

TCP traffic is much constrained and adaptive to the channel condition, while UDP traffic keeps pumping almost the same amount of data regardless of the channel condition

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Context
Common View: Handoffs are triggered in the transitional region between cells and always result in a better wireless connection

Observation: Nearly 30% of all handoffs, selection of a base station with poorer signal quality can be witnessed

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Mobility Impact in Transitional Regions

throughput often drops sharply, and sometimes, as high as 90% during handoff period.

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Mobility Impact in Transitional Regions

Ec/Io of the new base stations are statistically better than the original base stations by 10dBm. But almost 30% of all the handoffs do not end up with a better base stations
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Conclusion
Mobility is a double edged sword
Degrades HSPA services, e.g. throughput Improves fairness in bandwidth allocation among users and traffic flows

Communication characteristics in HSPA transitional regions are very complicated

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Acknowledgement
Part of the slides are adapted from the slides of Posco Tso, Harish Vishwanath, Erran Li and Justino Lorenco, Saro Velrajan and TCL India