22EC822 – Mobile Computing

CDPD Network Architecture

Introduction:
As we know AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) cellular network has been developed for voice
communication in 1980s. Due to long established setup times and modem handshaking requirement
packet data communication was not supported by AMPS. In order to support packet data, CDPD has
been introduced in 1993.
CDPD stands for Cellular Digital Packet Data. Though it has its own infrastructure it utilizes vacant
AMPS assigned channels or gaps between the channels for packet communication. CDPD architecture
is explained below. It co-exist with AMPS network architecture. Hence it supports both data and voice
communication.

CDPD is a system for packet data transmission that uses idle voice channels of the AMPS or IS-54 U.S.
cellular phone system. Applications of CDPD include
• Electronic mail
• Telemetry, for instance remote inventory reading of vending machines
• Credit verification
• Wireless fax
• Road transportation informatics
• Additional data to enhance the performance of GPS positioning systems

The channel bit rate is 19.2 kbits/s. The maximum effective data throughput is
• 11.8 kbit/s on the downlink, and
• 13.3 kbit/s on the uplink

The Medium Access Protocol uses a type of ISMA: packet contention, with busy/idle feedback. Radio
access may incur delays because of
• Packet collision due to contention in uplink random access protocol.
• Channel blocking if all voice channels are in use.

CDPD Transmission Aspects

• (63,47) Reed Solomon channel coding
• Packets of 378 bits (including parity bits)
• Signalling overhead
• Downlink: busy/idle flags
• Uplink: continuity indicator

CDPD Technology Features

Following are the features of CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data).
• Communication between BS (Base station i.e. MDBS) and MS (i.e. M-ES) is full duplex.
• It utilizes or seizes 30 KHz channel from existing AMPS/GSM networks for transmitting data
at 19.2 Kbps. The net data rate is 9.2 Kbps due to large amount of overhead.
• It utilizes same frequency band as used by AMPS i.e. 824 MHz and 894 MHz for uplink and
downlink. Both uplink and downlink are separated using FDMA.
• There are two types of handsets or phones available viz. single mode and dual mode. In single
mode phone can initiate data call or voice call. In dual mode phone can switch between data call
and voice call due to simultaneous registration on both AMPS and CDPD networks.
• It utilizes DSMA (Digital Sense Multiple Access) technique. In this technique CDPD mobile
checks for flag bit in downlink channel which informs whether uplink slot is idle or busy. If idle,
it utilizes for transmission. If busy, it waits for random period instead of transmitting in the next
time slot.
• It supports different types of services and has access to internet backbone.

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CDPD Network Architecture

Fig-1: CDPD network architecture

The figure depicts CDPD network architecture. As shown, it consists three major system elements M-
ES, MDBS and MD-IS. Moreover, CDPD co-exist with AMPS network and hence will have fall back
to AMPS for voice call. Figure shows AMPS-BS and AMPS-MSC which are part of AMPS network
connected with PSTN for voice connectivity.

There are three CDPD interfaces viz. E-interface, I-interface and A-interface. E-interface exists between
CDPD and fixed network external to CDPD. I-interface exists between two CDPD networks. A-interface
exists between BS and MS. It is also known as Air interface.

Network elements used in CDPD architecture:

• M-ES: It functions similar to subscriber or mobile unit used in any cellular system. It requires
SIM for operation which can be housed in laptop, mobile or PDA. It interfaces with radio
equipment at 19.2 Kbps. Each M-ES has unique NEI (Network Equipment Identifier) which is
associated with its home MD-IS.
• MDBS: It functions similar to Base Station. It broadcasts available channels for M-ES. It takes
care of radio activities such as channel allocation, usage etc. These MDBSs co-exist with AMPS
Base Stations and hence share the same antenna and site together.
• MD-IS: It provides connectivity with internet and PSDN. It has functionalities of both frame
relay switch and packet router. It does buffer of packets routed for M-ES. It also supports
roaming management as it contains registration directory.

CDPD Advantages and Disadvantages

Following are the advantages of CDPD:
• Utilizes existing channels of the AMPS network and hence easy to install and start using the
existing channels if not in use.
• It has cellular like architecture and hence can support larger capacity due to ease in upgrading
the network.
• There is no delay in establishing data call as CDPD phone is already registered with the CDPD
network.
• Increased network efficiency: Through its ability to transmit data on unused channels, CDPD
makes optimal use of available bandwidth.
• Better battery life: As the data packets are sent in small bursts, the device does not have to stay
connected to the network all the time, thereby conserving battery life.
• Wide coverage: As CDPD utilizes existing cellular networks, it offers wide coverage for data
communication.
• Lower cost of entry: CDPD operates on existing infrastructure, which means minimal investment
is required for its implementation.

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Following are the disadvantages of CDPD:

• There is no mesh connectivity in CDPD. Hence M-ES and M-ES cannot communicate directly.
Communication between them occurs via MDBS.
• CDPD cell size is limited to less than 10 miles.
• Lower data transfer speeds: Since it relies on the idle channels, the data speeds are usually lower
compared to other wireless data technologies.
• Decreased availability: The availability of idle channels can be affected by the level of voice
communication in the cellular network, causing fluctuations in data transfer speeds and
connectivity.
• Obsolescence: As more advanced wireless data communication technologies like 3G, 4G, and
5G became widespread, CDPD has gradually become outdated and less relevant.

Radio Resource allocation:

Channel Sniffing
An Base Station MDBS periodically scans the channels within its radio coverage area and generates a
candidate list of available channels for CDPD traffic. This list is then forwarded to the MDIS. The MDIS
collects all channel lists from the associated MDBSs, and determines the CDPD channel streams based
on its knowledge of the voice channel allocation algorithm.
During the monitoring phase, the MDBS detects the channel usage through the cellular transmit path by
using a forward power monitor called sniffer. Since every cell may contains as many as 60 voice
channels, it is critical that the MDBS finds the available channels in real-time.

Emergency Hop
With the channel monitoring mechanism, the MDBS should be able to change channels before a voice
assignment is made on the current CDPD channel. This action should be completed in 40 msec. When
the MDBS detects that the CDPD channel is about to be assigned for a voice call by the cellular system,
it performs an emergency or forced hop by switching the channel without informing its M-ESs. When
an M-ES loses contact with the forward link, it searches the likely-hop channel list (broadcast by the
MDBS) to re-establish the radio link.

Planned Hop
The MDBS may periodically perform channel switching (referred to as timed or planned hop ) to avoid
channel sealing or channel stealing. When the cellular system notices interference on a channel, the
channel is sealed and becomes unavailable to a voice user. Since the cellular system cannot recognize
CDPD, it may seal a channel used by CDPD, and the channel will not be used by the cellular users. If
so, CDPD steals the channel from the cellular network, which violates the rule that CDPD should not
affect the voice system. To avoid sealing of a CDPD channel, the MDBS uses timed hop to switch a
CDPD channel stream periodically (the hop period is on the order of 10 seconds). In a timed hop, the
MDBS broadcasts a control message to all M-ESs using the channel, and instructs them to move to a
new channel (if any). Channel hopping may not be performed if dedicated channels are assigned for
CDPD use.

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GSM Network Architecture

The GSM network architecture consists of different elements including Base Station
Subsystem BSS, Network & Switching Subsystem NSS, Operation & Support Subsystem as
well as elements including- MSC, AuC, HLR, VLR, etc.
The GSM network architecture provided a simple and yet effective architecture to provide the
services needed for a 2G cellular or mobile communications system.
There were four main elements to the overall GSM network architecture and these could often
be further split. Elements like the base station controller, MSC, AuC, HLR, VLR and the like
are brought together to form the overall system.
The 2G GSM network architecture, although now superseded gives an excellent introduction
into some of the basic capabilities required to set up a mobile communications phone network
and how all the entities operate together.

GSM network architecture elements

In order that the GSM system operates together as a complete system, the overall network
architecture brings together a series of data network identities, each with several elements.
The GSM network architecture is defined in the GSM specifications and it can be grouped into
four main areas:
• Network and Switching Subsystem (NSS)
• Base-Station Subsystem (BSS)
• Mobile station (MS)
• Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS)
The different elements of the GSM network operate together and the user is not aware of the
different entities within the system.
As the GSM network is defined but the specifications and standards, it enables the system to
operate reliably together regardless of the supplier of the different elements.
A basic diagram of the overall system architecture for the 2G GSM mobile communications
system includes four major elements which are shown below:

Simplified GSM Network Architecture Diagram

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Within this diagram the different network areas can be seen - they are grouped into the four
areas that provide different functionality, but all operate to enable reliable mobile
communications to be achieved.
The overall network architecture provided to be very successful and was developed further to
enable 2G evolution to carry data and then with further evolutions to allow 3G to be established.
Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)
The GSM system architecture contains a variety of different elements, and is often termed the
core network. It is essentially a data network with a various entity that provide the main control
and interfacing for the whole mobile network. The major elements within the core network
include:
• Mobile Services Switching Centre (MSC): The main element within the core network
area of the overall GSM network architecture is the Mobile Switching Services Centre
(MSC). The MSC acts like a normal switching node within a PSTN or ISDN, but also
provides additional functionality to enable the requirements of a mobile user to be
supported. These include registration, authentication, call location, inter-MSC
handovers and call routing to a mobile subscriber. It also provides an interface to the
PSTN so that the mobile communications calls can be routed from the mobile network
to a phone connected to a landline. Interfaces to other MSCs are provided to enable
calls to be made to mobiles on different networks.
• Home Location Register (HLR): This database contains all the administrative
information about each subscriber along with their last known location. In this way, the
GSM network is able to route calls to the relevant base station for the MS. When a user
switches on their phone, the phone registers with the network and from this it is possible
to determine which BTS it communicates with so that incoming calls can be routed
appropriately. Even when the phone is not active (but switched on) it re-registers
periodically to ensure that the network (HLR) is aware of its latest position. There is one
HLR per network, although it may be distributed across various sub-centres to for
operational reasons.
• Visitor Location Register (VLR): This contains selected information from the HLR
that enables the selected services for the individual subscriber to be provided. The VLR
can be implemented as a separate entity, but it is commonly realised as an integral part
of the MSC, rather than a separate entity. In this way access is made faster and more
convenient.
• Equipment Identity Register (EIR): The EIR is the entity that decides whether a given
mobile equipment may be allowed onto the network. Each mobile equipment has a
number known as the International Mobile Equipment Identity. This number, as
mentioned above, is installed in the equipment and is checked by the network during
registration. Dependent upon the information held in the EIR, the mobile may be
allocated one of three states - allowed onto the network, barred access, or monitored in
case its problems.
• Authentication Centre (AuC): The AuC is a protected database that contains the
secret key also contained in the user's SIM card. It is used for authentication and for
ciphering on the radio channel.
• Gateway Mobile Switching Centre (GMSC): The GMSC is the point to which a ME
terminating call is initially routed, without any knowledge of the MS's location. The
GMSC is thus in charge of obtaining the MSRN (Mobile Station Roaming Number) from

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the HLR based on the MSISDN (Mobile Station ISDN number, the "directory number"
of a MS) and routing the call to the correct visited MSC. The "MSC" part of the term
GMSC is misleading, since the gateway operation does not require any linking to an
MSC.
• SMS Gateway (SMS-G): The SMS-G or SMS gateway is the term that is used to
collectively describe the two Short Message Services Gateways defined in the GSM
standards. The two gateways handle messages directed in different directions. The
SMS-GMSC (Short Message Service Gateway Mobile Switching Centre) is for short
messages being sent to an ME. The SMS-IWMSC (Short Message Service Inter-
Working Mobile Switching Centre) is used for short messages originated with a mobile
on that network. The SMS-GMSC role is similar to that of the GMSC, whereas the SMS-
IWMSC provides a fixed access point to the Short Message Service Centre.
These entities were the main ones used within the GSM network. They were typically co-
located, but often the overall core network was distributed around the country where the
network was located. This gave some resilience in case of failure.
Although the GSM system was essential a voice system, the core network was a data network
as all signals were handled digitally.

Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

The Base Station Subsystem (BSS) section of the 2G GSM network architecture that is
fundamentally associated with communicating with the mobiles on the network.
It consists of two elements:
• Base Transceiver Station (BTS): The BTS used in a GSM network comprises the radio
transmitter receivers, and their associated antennas that transmit and receive to directly
communicate with the mobiles. The BTS is the defining element for each cell. The BTS
communicates with the mobiles and the interface between the two is known as the Um
interface with its associated protocols.
• Base Station Controller (BSC): The BSC forms the next stage back into the GSM
network. It controls a group of BTSs, and is often co-located with one of the BTSs in its
group. It manages the radio resources and controls items such as handover within the
group of BTSs, allocates channels and the like. It communicates with the BTSs over what
is termed the Abis interface.
The base station subsystem element of the GSM network utilised the radio access technology
to enable a number of users to access the system concurrently. Each channel supported up
to eight users and by enabling a base station to have several channels, a large number of
subscribers could be accommodated by each base station.
Base stations are carefully located by the network provider to enable complete coverage of an
area. The area being covered bay a base station often being referred to as a cell.
As it is not possible to prevent overlap of the signals into the adjacent cells, channels used in
one cell are not used in the next. In this way interference which would reduce call quality is
reduced whilst still maintaining sufficient frequency re-use.
It is important to have the different BTSs linked with the BSS and the BSSs linked back to the
core network.
A variety of technologies were used to achieve this. As data rates used within he GSM network
were relatively low, E1 or T1 lines were often used, especially for linking the BSS back to the
core network.

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As more data was required with increasing usage of the GSM network, and also as other
cellular technologies like 3G became more widespread, many links used carrier grade
Ethernet. Often remote BTSs were linked using small microwave links as this could reduce the
need for the installation of specific lines if none were available. As base stations often needed
to be located to provide good coverage rather than in areas where lines could be installed, the
microwave link option provided an attractive method for providing a data link for the network.

Mobile station
Mobile stations (MS), mobile equipment (ME) or as they are most widely known, cell or mobile
phones are the section of a GSM mobile communications network that the user sees and
operates. In recent years their size has fallen dramatically while the level of functionality has
greatly increased. A further advantage is that the time between charges has significantly
increased.
There are a number of elements to the cell phone, although the two main elements are the
main hardware and the SIM.
The hardware itself contains the main elements of the mobile phone including the display,
case, battery, and the electronics used to generate the signal, and process the data receiver
and to be transmitted.
The mobile station, or ME also contains a number known as the International Mobile
Equipment Identity (IMEI). This is installed in the phone at manufacture and "cannot" be
changed. It is accessed by the network during registration to check whether the equipment has
been reported as stolen.
The SIM or Subscriber Identity Module contains the information that provides the identity of
the user to the network. It contains are variety of information including a number known as the
International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). As this is included in the SIM, and it means that
by moving the SIM card from one mobile to another, the user could easily change mobiles.
The ease of changing mobiles whilst keeping the same number meant that people would
regularly upgrade, thereby creating a further revenue stream for network providers and helping
to increase the overall financial success of GSM.

Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS)

The OSS or operation support subsystem is an element within the overall GSM mobile
communications network architecture that is connected to components of the NSS and the
BSC. It is used to control and monitor the overall GSM network and it is also used to control
the traffic load of the BSS. It must be noted that as the number of BS increases with the scaling
of the subscriber population some of the maintenance tasks are transferred to the BTS,
allowing savings in the cost of ownership of the system.
The 2G GSM network architecture follows a logical method of operation. It is far simpler than
current mobile phone network architectures which use software defined entities to enable very
flexible operation. However the 2G GSM architecture does show the voice and operational
basic functions that are needed and how they fit together. As the GSM system was all digital,
the network was a data network.

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GSM Burst Structure:

This GSM burst is used for the standard communications between the base station and the
mobile, and typically transfers the digitised voice data.

The structure of the normal GSM burst is exactly defined and follows a common format. It
contains data that provides a number of different functions:
i. 3 tail bits: These tail bits at the start of the GSM burst give time for the transmitter to
ramp up its power
ii. 57 data bits: This block of data is used to carry information, and most often contains
the digitised voice data although on occasions it may be replaced with signalling
information in the form of the Fast Associated Control Channel (FACCH). The type of
data is indicated by the flag that follows the data field
iii. 1 bit flag: This bit within the GSM burst indicates the type of data in the previous field.
iv. 26 bits training sequence: This training sequence is used as a timing reference and
for equalisation. There is a total of eight different bit sequences that may be used, each
26 bits long. The same sequence is used in each GSM slot, but nearby base stations
using the same radio frequency channels will use different ones, and this enables the
mobile to differentiate between the various cells using the same frequency.
v. 1 bit flag Again this flag indicates the type of data in the data field.
vi. 57 data bits Again, this block of data within the GSM burst is used for carrying data.
vii. 3 tail bits These final bits within the GSM burst are used to enable the transmitter
power to ramp down. They are often called final tail bits, or just tail bits.
viii. 8.25 bits guard time At the end of the GSM burst there is a guard period. This is
introduced to prevent transmitted bursts from different mobiles overlapping. As a result
of their differing distances from the base station.

GSM Channels:

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Traffic Channels (TCH)

A traffic channel (TCH) is used to carry speech and data traffic. Traffic channels are defined
using a 26-frame multi frame, or group of 26 TDMA frames. The length of a 26-frame multi
frame is 120ms. Out of the 26 frames, 24 are used for traffic, 1 is used for the slow
associated control channel (SACCH) and 1 is currently unused.

Full Rate & Half Rate TCH

They can be defined as full-rate TCHs (TCH/F, 22.8 kbps) and half-rate TCHs (TCH/H, 11.4
kbps). Half-rate TCHs double the capacity of a system effectively by making it possible
to transmit two calls in a single channel. If a TCH/F is used for data communications, the
usable data rate drops to 9.6 kbps (in TCH/H: max. 4.8 kbps) due to the enhanced security
algorithms. Eighth-rate TCHs are also specified, and are used for signaling. In the GSM
Recommendations, they are called stand-alone dedicated control channels (SDCCH)

Signaling channels
The signaling channels on the air interface are used for call establishment, paging, call
maintenance, synchronization, etc.
There are three type of signaling channels
1. Broadcast Channels
2. Common Control Channels
3. Dedicated Control Channel

Broadcast Channels (BCH)

Carry only downlink information and are responsible mainly for synchronization and frequency
correction. This is the only channel type enabling point-to-multipoint communications in which
short messages are simultaneously transmitted to several mobiles
BCH Characteristics
• Each cell has a designated BCH carrier
• All BCH timeslots transmit continuously on full power
• TS 0 contains logical control channels
• TS1-7 optionally carries traffic
• BCCH block occur once each 51-frame multiframe
• Each block comprises 4 frames carrying 1 message
The BCHs include the following channels;
i. Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH): General information, cell specific (local area
code (LAC), network operator, access parameters, list of neighboring cells, etc). The
MS receives signals via the BCCH from many BTSs within the same network and/or
different networks.
ii. Frequency Correction Channel (FCCH): Downlink only; correction of MS frequencies;
transmission of frequency standard to MS; it is also used for synchronization of an
acquisition by providing the boundaries between timeslots and the position of the first
timeslot of a TDMA frame.
iii. Synchronization Channel (SCH): Downlink only; frame synchronization (TDMA frame
number) and identification of base station. The valid reception of one SCH burst will
provide the MS with all the information needed to synchronize with a BTS

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Common Control Channels (CCCH)

A group of uplink and downlink channels between the MS and the BTS. These channels are
used to convey information from the network to MSs and provide access to the network. The
CCCHs include the following channels;
i. Paging Channel (PCH): Downlink only; the MS is informed by the BTS for incoming
calls via the PCH
ii. Access Grant Channel (AGCH): Downlink only, BTS allocates a TCH or SDCCH to
the MS, thus allowing the MS access to the network.
iii. Random Access Channel (RACH): Uplink only, allows the MS to request an SDCCH
in response to a page or due to a call; the MS chooses a random time to send on this
channel. This creates a possibility of collisions with transmissions from other MSs

Dedicated Control Channels (DCCH)

Responsible for roaming, handovers, encryption, etc. The DCCHs include the following
channels;
i. Stand-alone Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCH); Communications channel
between MS and the BTS; signaling during call setup before a traffic channel (TCH) is
allocated
ii. Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH); Transmits continuous measurement
reports in parallel to operation of a TCH or SDCCH
iii. Fast Associated Control Channel (FACCH); Similar to the SDCCH, but used in
parallel to operation of the TCH; if the data rate of the SACCH is insufficient, “borrowing
mode” is used: Additional bandwidth is borrowed from the TCH; this happens for
messages associated with call establishment authentication of the subscriber, handover
decisions, etc.

GSM Security:
GSM has its security methods standardized. GSM maintains end-to-end security by retaining
the confidentiality of calls and anonymity of the GSM subscriber.
Temporary identification numbers are assigned to the subscriber’s number to maintain the
privacy of the user. The privacy of the communication is maintained by applying encryption
algorithms and frequency hopping that can be enabled using digital systems and signalling.

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Mobile Station Authentication

The GSM network authenticates the identity of the subscriber through the use of a challenge-
response mechanism. A 128-bit Random Number (RAND) is sent to the MS. The MS computes
the 32-bit Signed Response (SRES) based on the encryption of the RAND with the
authentication algorithm (A3) using the individual subscriber authentication key (Ki). Upon
receiving the SRES from the subscriber, the GSM network repeats the calculation to verify the
identity of the subscriber.
The individual subscriber authentication key (Ki) is never transmitted over the radio channel,
as it is present in the subscriber's SIM, as well as the AUC, HLR, and VLR databases. If the
received SRES agrees with the calculated value, the MS has been successfully authenticated
and may continue. If the values do not match, the connection is terminated and an
authentication failure is indicated to the MS.
The calculation of the signed response is processed within the SIM. It provides enhanced
security, as confidential subscriber information such as the IMSI or the individual subscriber
authentication key (Ki) is never released from the SIM during the authentication process.

Signalling and Data Confidentiality

The SIM contains the ciphering key generating algorithm (A8) that is used to produce the 64-
bit ciphering key (Kc). This key is computed by applying the same random number (RAND)
used in the authentication process to ciphering key generating algorithm (A8) with the
individual subscriber authentication key (Ki).
GSM provides an additional level of security by having a way to change the ciphering key,
making the system more resistant to eavesdropping. The ciphering key may be changed at
regular intervals as required. As in case of the authentication process, the computation of the
ciphering key (Kc) takes place internally within the SIM. Therefore, sensitive information such
as the individual subscriber authentication key (Ki) is never revealed by the SIM.
Encrypted voice and data communications between the MS and the network is accomplished
by using the ciphering algorithm A5. Encrypted communication is initiated by a ciphering mode
request command from the GSM network. Upon receipt of this command, the mobile station
begins encryption and decryption of data using the ciphering algorithm (A5) and the ciphering
key (Kc).

Subscriber Identity Confidentiality

To ensure subscriber identity confidentiality, the Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI)
is used. Once the authentication and encryption procedures are done, the TMSI is sent to the
mobile station. After the receipt, the mobile station responds. The TMSI is valid in the location
area in which it was issued. For communications outside the location area, the Location Area
Identification (LAI) is necessary in addition to the TMSI.

Data services:
GSM networks handle both voice and data traffic requirements of the mobile communication
by providing two modes of operation:
a) Circuit switched (high-speed circuit switched data)
b) Packet switched (GPRS)
Circuit switching provides the customer with a dedicated channel all the way to the destination.
The customer has exclusive use of the circuit for the duration of the call, and is charged for the

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duration of the call. With packet switching, the operator assigns one or more dedicated
channels specifically for shared use. These channels are up and running 24 hours a day, and
when you need to transfer data, you access a channel and transmit your data. Packet switching
is more efficient than circuit switching. The standard data rate of a GSM channel is 22.8 kbps.

Circuit switched (high-speed circuit switched data)

The HSCSD feature allows subscribers to access higher data rates with multiple TCH/Fs.
HSCSD has defined mechanisms to make efficient and flexible use of radio resources for
HSCSD. Combining/splitting functionality is defined in the IWF and terminal to separate a data
stream into n TCH/F, where n ranges from 1 to 8. These n TCH/Fs, carrying a data stream,
are referred to as HSCSD channels. The HSCSD channels carry the substreams as if they
were independent of each other. However, the HSCSD channels, serving one stream, are
controlled as one radio link. Any cellular operation (e.g., handover), treats the HSCSD
channels of one stream as a single entity.

Network architecture for supporting HSCSD.

Before HSCSD, the air interface user rate in the original GSM data transmission was limited
to 9.6 Kbps. The HSCSD made it possible to have user data rates up to 57.6 Kbps, with the
same GSM RF equipment. The data rate is limited by the per-channel capacity on the A
interface, which is 64 Kbps.
To carry more than 64 Kbps, another split/combine function has to be defined and implemented
for the terrestrial circuits on the terminating party. This is not realistic and not needed for circuit
switched data.
HSCSD doesn't impose any new requirement for the interconnection with PSTN, ISDN,
CSPDN, and PSPDN. The subscriber uses general bearer services as defined in GSM TS 02
series, and the HLR stores the bearer capability information as part of the service profile.
HSCSD serves both transparent and non-transparent connections. In transparent data
transmission, the data frames on the HSCSD channels carry data substream numbers to retain
the order of transmission between the split/combine functions. Between these functions,
channel internal multiframing is also used in order to increase the tolerance against inter-
channel transmission delays. A transparent connection may request a data rate that is not a
multiple of rates provided by one TCH/F. In such a case the data bits in the n th TCH/F need
to be padded with fill bits. In non-transparent connection, the RLP and L2R are modified to
support multiple parallel TCH/Fs instead of only one TCH/F. Also, the RLP frame sequence
number range is increased to accommodate the enlarged data transmission rate.
HSCSD provides both symmetric and asymmetric connection setup. In the symmetric
connections, the number of HSCSD channels is same in both uplink and downlink directions.

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In asymmetric connections, the number of HSCSD channels is different. The network usually
allocates asymmetric connections when the desired air interface user rate requirement cannot
be met using a symmetric configuration. The network in this case gives priority to fulfilling the
air interface user rate requirement in the downlink direction. This is in consideration that the
downlink bandwidth is needed more than the uplink bandwidth for most data applications. Note
that the asymmetric connections are only given for non-transparent HSCSD.

General Packet Radio Service

The general packet radio system (GPRS) provides packet radio access for mobile Global
System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and time-division multiple access (TDMA) users.
In addition to providing new services for today's mobile user, GPRS is important as a migration
step toward third-generation (3G) networks. GPRS allows network operators to implement an
IP-based core architecture for data applications, which will continue to be used and expanded
for 3G services for integrated voice and data applications. The GPRS specifications are written
by the European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI), the European counterpart of
the American National Standard Institute (ANSI).
GPRS is the first step toward an end-to-end wireless infrastructure and has the following goals:
• Open architecture
• Consistent IP services
• Same infrastructure for different air interfaces
• Integrated telephony and Internet infrastructure
• Leverage industry investment in IP
• Service innovation independent of infrastructure

Benefits of GPRS
The GPRS provides the following benefits:
• Overlays on the existing GSM network to provide high-speed data service
• Always on, reducing the time spent setting up and taking down connections
• Designed to support busty applications such as e-mail, traffic telematics, telemetry,
broadcast services, and web browsing that do not require detected connection.
By implementing GPRS products and related solutions, mobile service providers can optimize
their networks to deploy high quality mobile voice and data services. They can also benefit
from new operating efficiencies, peer-to-peer IP-based architecture for scalability, and IP
standard interfaces to billing and customer support.

GPRS Applications
GPRS enables a variety of new and unique services to the mobile wireless subscriber. These
mobile services have unique characteristics that provide enhanced value to customers. These
characteristics include the following:
• Mobility—The ability to maintain constant voice and data communications while on the
move
• Immediacy—Allows subscribers to obtain connectivity when needed, regardless of location
and without a lengthy login session
• Localization—Allows subscribers to obtain information relevant to their current location
The combination of these characteristics provides a wide spectrum of possible applications
that can be offered to mobile subscribers.

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In general, applications can be separated into two high-level categories: corporate and
consumer. These include:
• Communications—E-mail; fax; unified messaging; intranet/Internet access
• Value-added services—Information services; games
• E-commerce—Retail; ticket purchasing; banking; financial trading
• Location-based applications—Navigation; traffic conditions; airline/rail schedules; location
finder
• Vertical applications—Freight delivery; fleet management; sales-force automation
• Advertising

Communications -
Communications applications include those in which it appears to users that they are using the
mobile communications network as a pipeline to access messages or information. This differs
from those applications in which users believe that they are accessing a service provided or
forwarded by the network operator.
• Intranet Access
The first stage of enabling users to maintain contact with their offices is through access to e-
mail, fax, and voice mail using unified messaging systems. Increasingly, files and data on
corporate networks are becoming accessible through corporate intranets. These intranets can
be protected through firewalls by enabling secure tunnels or virtual private networks (VPNs).
• Internet Access
As a critical mass of users is approached, more and more applications aimed at general
consumers are being placed on the Internet. The Internet is becoming an effective tool for
accessing corporate data and manipulating product and service information. More recently,
companies are using the Internet as an environment for conducting business through e-
commerce.
• Email and Fax
E-mail on mobile networks may take one of two forms. E-mail can be sent to a mobile user
directly or the user can have an e-mail account maintained by the network operator or their
Internet service provider (ISP). In the latter case, a notification is forwarded to the mobile
terminal and includes the first few lines of the e-mail, details of the sender, the date and time,
and the subject. Fax attachments can also accompany e-mails.
• Unified Messaging
Unified messaging provides a single mailbox for all messages, including voice mail, faxes, e-
mail, short message service (SMS), and pager messages. Unified messaging systems allow
for a variety of access methods to recover messages of different types. Some use text-to-voice
systems to read e-mail or send faxes over a normal phone line. Most allow the user to query
the contents of the various mailboxes through data access such as the Internet. Others can be
configured to alert the user on the device of their choice when messages are received.

Value Added Services

Value-added services refer to the content provided by network operators to increase the value
of services to their subscribers. Two terms that are frequently used to describe delivery of data
applications are push and pull, as defined below.

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• Push describes the transmission of data at a predetermined time or under predetermined

conditions. It also refers to the unsolicited supply of advertising (for example, delivery of
news as it occurs or stock values when they fall below a preset value).
• Pull describes the request for data in real time by the user (for example, checking stock
quotes or daily news headlines).

• E-commerce
E-commerce is defined as business conducted on the Internet or data service. This
includes applications in which a contract is established for the purchase of goods and
services and online banking applications. These applications require user authentication
and secure transmission of sensitive data over the data connection.
• Banking
The banking industry is interested in promoting electronic banking because electronic
transactions are less costly to conduct than personal transactions in a bank. Specific
banking functions that can be accomplished over a wireless connection include balance
checking, money transfers between accounts, bill payment, and overdraft alert.
• Financial Trading
The immediacy of transactions over the Internet and the requirement for up-to-the-minute
information has made the purchasing of stocks online a popular application. By coupling
push services with the ability to make secure transactions from the mobile terminal, a
service that is unique to the mobile environment can be provided.

Location-Based Services and Telematics

Location-based services provide the ability to link push or pull information services with a user's
location. Examples include hotel and restaurant finders, roadside assistance, and city-specific
news and information. This technology also has vertical applications. These allow, for example,
tracking vehicles in a fleet or managing the operations of a large workforce.

Vertical Applications
In the mobile environment, vertical applications apply to systems using mobile architectures to
support the specific tasks within a company. Examples of vertical applications include:
• Sales support—Configuring stock and product information for sales staff, integrating
appointment details, and placing orders remotely
• Dispatching—Communicating job details such as location and scheduling and permitting
information queries to support the job
• Fleet management—Controlling a fleet of delivery or service staff and vehicle, monitoring
their locations, and scheduling their work
• Parcel delivery—Tracking the locations of packages for customers and monitoring the
performance of the delivery system

Advertising
Advertising services are offered as a push information service. Advertising may be offered to
customers to subsidize the cost of voice or other information services. Advertising may be
location sensitive. For example, a user entering a mall can receive advertisements specific to
the stores in that mall.

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GPRS Architecture
GPRS is a data network that overlays a second-generation GSM network. This data overlay
network provides packet data transport at rates from 9.6 to 171 kbps. Additionally, multiple
users can share the same air-interface resources simultaneously.
GPRS attempts to reuse the existing GSM network elements as much as possible, but to
effectively build a packet-based mobile cellular network, some new network elements,
interfaces, and protocols for handling packet traffic are required. Therefore, GPRS requires
modifications to numerous network elements.

GPRS Network Elements:

GPRS Reference Architecture:

GPRS Subscriber Terminals

New terminals are required because existing GSM phones do not handle the enhanced air
interface or packet data. A variety of terminals can exist, including a high-speed version of
current phones to support high-speed data access, a new PDA device with an embedded GSM
phone, and PC cards for laptop computers. These terminals are backward compatible for
making voice calls using GSM.

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GPRS Base Station Subsystem

Each BSC requires the installation of one or more PCUs and a software upgrade. The PCU
provides a physical and logical data interface to the base station subsystem (BSS) for packet
data traffic. The BTS can also require a software upgrade but typically does not require
hardware enhancements. When either voice or data traffic is originated at the subscriber
terminal, it is transported over the air interface to the BTS, and from the BTS to the BSC in the
same way as a standard GSM call. However, at the output of the BSC, the traffic is separated;
voice is sent to the mobile switching center (MSC) per standard GSM, and data is sent to a
new device called the SGSN via the PCU over a Frame Relay interface.

GPRS Support Nodes

In the core network, the existing MSCs are based on circuit-switched central-office technology
and cannot handle packet traffic. Two new components, called GPRS support nodes (GSNs),
are added:
• Serving GPRS support node (SGSN)
• Gateway GPRS support node (GGSN)

Serving GPRS Support Node

The SGSN delivers packets to mobile stations (MSs) within its service area. SGSNs send
queries to home location registers (HLRs) to obtain profile data of GPRS subscribers. SGSNs
detect new GPRS MSs in a given service area, process registration of new mobile subscribers,
and keep records of their locations inside a predefined area. The SGSN performs mobility
management functions such as handing off a roaming subscriber from the equipment in one
cell to the equipment in another. The SGSN is connected to the base station subsystem
through a Frame Relay connection to the PCU in the BSC.
Gateway GPRS Support Node
GGSNs are used as interfaces to external IP networks such as the public Internet, other mobile
service providers' GPRS services, or enterprise intranets. GGSNs maintain routing information
that is necessary to tunnel the protocol data units (PDUs) to the SGSNs that service particular
MSs. Other functions include network and subscriber screening and address mapping. One or
more GGSNs can be provided to support multiple SGSNs.

GPRS Terminals
The term terminal equipment is generally used to refer to the variety of mobile phones and
mobile stations that can be used in a GPRS environment. The equipment is defined by terminal
classes and types. Cisco's gateway GPRS serving node (GGSN) and data network
components interoperate with GPRS terminals that meet the GPRS standards.
Three classes of GPRS terminals are provided: Class A, Class B, or Class C.

Class A Terminals
Class A terminals support GPRS and other GSM services (such as SMS and voice)
simultaneously. This support includes simultaneous attach, activation, monitor, and traffic.
Class A terminals can make or receive calls on two services simultaneously. In the presence
of circuit-switched services, GPRS virtual circuits are held (i.e., placed on hold) instead of
being cleared.

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Class B Terminals
Class B terminals can monitor GSM and GPRS channels simultaneously but can support only
one of these services at a time. Therefore, a Class B terminal can support simultaneous attach,
activation, and monitor, but not simultaneous traffic. As with Class A, the GPRS virtual circuits
are not disconnected when circuit-switched traffic is present. Instead, they are switched to
busy mode. Users can make or receive calls on either a packet or a switched call type
sequentially, but not simultaneously.
Class C Terminals
Class C terminals support only sequential attach. The user must select which service to
connect to. Therefore, a Class C terminal can make or receive calls from only the manually
selected (or default) service. The service that is not selected is unreachable. The GPRS
specifications state that support of SMS is optional for Class C terminals.

GPRS Device Types

In addition to the three terminal classes, each handset has a unique form (housing design).
Some of the forms are similar to current mobile wireless devices, while others will evolve to
use the enhanced data capabilities of GPRS.
The earliest available type is closely related to the current mobile phone. These are available
in the standard form with a numeric keypad and a relatively small display.
PC cards are credit card-sized hardware devices that connect through a serial cable to the
bottom of a mobile phone. Data cards for GPRS phones enable laptops and other devices with
PC card slots to be connected to mobile GPRS-capable phones. Card phones provide
functions similar to those offered by PC cards without requiring a separate phone. These
devices may require an ear piece and microphone to support voice services.
Smart phones are mobile phones with built-in voice, non-voice, and Web-browsing services.
Smart phones integrate mobile computing and mobile communications into a single terminal.
They come in various form factors, which may include a keyboard or an icon drive screen.
The increase in machine-to-machine communications has led to the adoption of application-
specific devices. These black-box devices lack a display, keypad, and voice accessories of a
standard phone. Communication is accomplished through a serial cable. Applications such as
meter reading utilize such black-box devices.
Personal digital assistants (PDAs), such as the Palm Pilot series or Handspring Visor, and
handheld communications devices are data-centric devices that are adding mobile wireless
access. These devices can either connect with a GPRS-capable mobile phone via a serial
cable or integrate GPRS capability. Access can be gained via a PC card or a serial cable to a
GPRS-capable phone.

Data Routing
One of the main requirements in the GPRS network is the routing of data packets to and from
a mobile user. The requirement can be divided into two areas: data packet routing and mobility
management.

Data Packet Routing

The main functions of the GGSN involve interaction with the external data network. The GGSN
updates the location directory using routing information supplied by the SGSNs about the
location of an MS. It routes the external data network protocol packet encapsulated over the

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GPRS backbone to the SGSN currently serving the MS. It also decapsulates and forwards
external data network packets to the appropriate data network and collects charging data that
is forwarded to a charging gateway (CG).
In Figure three routing schemes are illustrated:
• Mobile-originated message (path 1)—This path begins at the GPRS mobile and ends
at the Host
• Network-initiated message when the MS is in its home network (path 2)—This path
begins at the Host and ends at the GPRS mobile
• Network-initiated message when the MS roams to another GPRS network (path 3)—
This path is indicated by the dotted line
In these examples, the operator's GPRS network consists of multiple GSNs (with a gateway
and serving functionality) and an intra-operator backbone network.
GPRS operators allow roaming through an inter-operator backbone network. The GPRS
operators connect to the inter-operator network through a border gateway (BG), which can
provide the necessary interworking and routing protocols (for example, border gateway
protocol [BGP]). GPRS operators might implement quality of service (QoS) mechanisms over
the inter-operator network to ensure service-level agreements (SLAs). The main benefits of
the architecture are its flexibility, scalability, interoperability, and roaming attributes.

Figure: Routing of Data Packets between a Fixed Host and a GPRS MS

The GPRS network encapsulates all data network protocols into its own encapsulation protocol
called the GPRS tunneling protocol (GTP). The GTP ensures security in the backbone network
and simplifies the routing mechanism and the delivery of data over the GPRS network.

Mobility Management
The operation of the GPRS is partly independent of the GSM network. However, some
procedures share the network elements with current GSM functions to increase efficiency and
to make optimum use of free GSM resources (such as unallocated time slots).
An MS has three states in the GPRS system
• Active
• Standby
• Idle
The three-state model is unique to packet radio; GSM uses a two-state model (idle or active).

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Figure: GPRS States in a Mobile Station

Active State
Data is transmitted between an MS and the GPRS network only when the MS is in the active
state. In the active state, the SGSN knows the cell location of the MS.
Packet transmission to an active MS is initiated by packet paging to notify the MS of an
incoming data packet. The data transmission proceeds immediately after packet paging
through the channel indicated by the paging message. The purpose of the paging message is
to simplify the process of receiving packets. The MS listens to only the paging messages
instead of to all the data packets in the downlink channels. This reduces battery usage
significantly.
When an MS has a packet to transmit, it must access the uplink channel (i.e., the channel to
the packet data network where services reside). The uplink channel is shared by a number of
MSs, and its use is allocated by a BSS. The MS requests use of the channel in a random
access message. The BSS allocates an unused channel to the MS and sends an access grant
message in reply to the random access message. The description of the channel (one or
multiple time slots) is included in the access grant message. The data is transmitted on the
reserved channels.

Standby State
In the standby state, only the routing area of the MS is known. (The routing area can consist
of one or more cells within a GSM location area).
When the SGSN sends a packet to an MS that is in the standby state, the MS must be paged.
Because the SGSN knows the routing area of the MS, a packet paging message is sent to the
routing area. On receiving the packet paging message, the MS relays its cell location to the
SGSN to establish the active state.
The main reason for the standby state is to reduce the load in the GPRS network caused by
cell-based routing update messages and to conserve the MS battery. When an MS is in the
standby state, the SGSN is informed of only routing area changes. By defining the size of the
routing area, the operator can control the number of routing update messages.

Idle State
In the idle state, the MS does not have a logical GPRS context activated or any packet-
switched public data network (PSPDN) addresses allocated. In this state, the MS can receive
only those multicast messages that can be received by any GPRS MS. Because the GPRS
network infrastructure does not know the location of the MS, it is not possible to send
messages to the MS from external data networks.
Routing Updates

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When an MS that is in an active or a standby state moves from one routing area to another
within the service area of one SGSN, it must perform a routing update. The routing area
information in the SGSN is updated, and the success of the procedure is indicated in the
response message.
A cell-based routing update procedure is invoked when an active MS enters a new cell. The
MS sends a short message containing the identity of the MS and its new location through
GPRS channels to its current SGSN. This procedure is used only when the MS is in the active
state.
The inter-SGSN routing update is the most complicated routing update. The MS changes from
one SGSN area to another, and it must establish a new connection to a new SGSN. This
means creating a new logical link context between the MS and the new SGSN and informing
the GGSN about the new location of the MS.

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3G Technology
What is 3G?
There are currently widely different views throughout the wireless industry as to what
constitutes a 3G wireless access network. The problem is rapidly getting worse with the
increased usage of 4G to describe, in many cases, technologies that are basically just
evolutions of 3G technologies. Wireless access standards, like most other technical standards,
generally evolve during their service life to offer improved performance and capabilities. The
general concept behind different technology “generations” is that each new generation offers
significant “revolutions” in performance and capabilities compared to its predecessor. This
often means that a new “overlay” network, likely in a new frequency band, is required for each
technology generation. Cellular mobile services were initially offered using analogue radio
technologies and these were considered as the first generation systems (1G). The definition
of 2G was straight forward because analogue radio networks were replaced with digital ones
(2G networks) in the 1990’s. However, the definition of 3G is not so simple because these
various 2G digital networks have been extensively deployed throughout the world and have
evolved significantly throughout their long service life to offer greatly improved performance
and capabilities, particularly for data services.
3G is the next generation of wireless network technology that provides high speed bandwidth
(high data transfer rates) to handheld devices. The high data transfer rates will allow 3G
networks to offer multimedia services combining voice and data. Specifically, 3G wireless
networks support the following maximum data transfer rates:
• 2.05 Mbits/second to stationary devices.
• 384 Kbits/second for slowly moving devices, such as a handset carried by a walking user.
• 128 Kbits/second for fast moving devices, such as handsets in moving vehicles.
These data rates are the absolute maximum numbers. For example, in the stationary case,
the 2.05 Mb/second rate is for one user hogging the entire capacity of the base station. This
data rate will be far lower if there is voice traffic (the actual data rate would depend upon the
number of calls in progress).
The maximum data rate of 128Kbits/second for moving devices is about ten times faster than
that available with the current 2G wireless networks. Unlike 3G networks, 2G networks were
designed to carry voice but not data.
3G wireless networks have the bandwidth to provide converged voice and data services. 3G
services will seamlessly combine superior voice quality telephony, high-speed mobile IP
services, information technology, rich media, and offer diverse content.
Some characteristics of 3G services that have been proposed are:
• Always-on connectivity. 3G networks use IP connectivity, which is packet based.
• Multi-media services with streaming audio and video.
• Email with full-fledged attachments such as PowerPoint files.
• Instant messaging with video/audio clips.
• Fast downloads of large files such as faxes and PowerPoint files.
• Access to corporate applications.

Is there a 3G Standard?
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is responsible for standardizing 3G. After
trying to establish a single 3G standard, ITU finally approved a family of five 3G standards,
which are part of the 3G framework known as IMT-2000:
• Three standards based on CDMA, namely CDMA2000, WCDMA, and TD-SCDMA.
• Two standards based on based on TDMA, namely, FDMA/TDMA and TDMA-SC
(EDGE).
The CDMA standards are the leading 3G standards.
Europe, Japan, and Asia have agreed upon a 3G standard called the Universal Mobile
Telecommunications System (UMTS), which is WCDMA operating at 2.1GHz. Note that UMTS
and WCDMA are often used as synonyms. In the USA and other parts of Americas, WCDMA

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will have to use another part of the radio spectrum. Incidentally, most of the world's wireless
operators have chosen to use UMTS.
3G phones were defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and later
standardized by the ITU-T. Generally known as the Universal Mobile Telecommunication
System (UMTS), this 3G system is based on wideband CDMA that operates in 5 MHz of
bandwidth and can produce download data rates of typically 384 kb/s under normal conditions
and up to 2 Mb/s in some instances. Another 3G standard, cdma2000, was developed by
Qualcomm. It uses 1.25 MHz bands to produce data rates to 2 Mb/s. Another version of
cdma2000 is an improved IS-95 version. It is a 3GPP2 standard. It can transmit data at a rate
to 153 kb/s and up to 2 Mb/s in some cases.
3G phone standards have been expanded and enhanced to further expand data speed and
capacity. The WCDMA phones have added high speed packet access (HSPA) that use higher
level QAM modulation to get speeds up to 21 or 42 Mb/s downlink (cell site to phone) and up
to 7 and/or 14 Mb/s uplink (phone to cell site). AT&T and T-Mobile use HSPA technology. The
cdma2000 phones added 1xRTT as well as Rev. A and Rev B modifications that boost speed
as well. Verizon and Sprint use cdma2000 3G standard technology. Virtually all standard and
smartphone models and most tablets still use some form of 3G.

What are the Advantages of 3G?

3G networks offer users advantages such as:
• New radio spectrum to relieve overcrowding in existing systems.
• More bandwidth, security, and reliability.
• Interoperability between service providers.
• Fixed and variable data rates.
• Asymmetric data rates.
• Backward compatibility of devices with existing networks.
• Always-online devices. 3G will use IP connectivity, IP is packet based (not circuit based).
• Rich multimedia services.

What are Some Disadvantages of 3G?

There are some issues in deploying 3G:
• The cost of upgrading base stations and cellular infrastructure to 3G is very high.
• Requires different handsets and there is the issue of handset availability. 3G handsets will
be a complex product. Roaming and making both data/voice work has not yet been
demonstrated. Also the higher power requirements (more bits with the same energy/bit)
demand a larger handset, shorter talk time, and larger batteries)
• Base stations need to be closer to each other (more cost).
• Tremendous spectrum-license costs, network deployment costs, handset subsidies to
subscribers, etc.
• Wireless service providers in Germany and Britain who won spectrum licenses in auctions,
paid astronomical prices for them. As a result, they have little money left for building the
infrastructure. Consequently, deployment of 3G in Germany and Britain will be delayed.

What Applications will 3G enable?

3G represents a paradigm shift from the voice centric world of the previous generations of
wireless networks to the multi-media centric world of 3G. Reflecting the high 3G bandwidth
and the fact that it is packet based, 3G devices will offer capabilities that are a combination of
a phone, PC, and a TV. Examples of services that will be 3G networks can offer are:
• Always-on connection with users paying only when sending or receiving packets.
• Web surfing.
• Instant messaging and email with multimedia attachments.
• Location based services.
• Personalized services, where content can be pushed to users.

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• Broadband multimedia data services like video conferencing and streaming video.
• Receiving faxes.
• Global roaming capability.
• Getting maps and directions with a multi-modal user interface.
• Customized entertainment.
• Simultaneous access to multiple services, each service offering some combination of voice,
video, data, etc.

Potential Killer Applications

The high bandwidth of 3G networks will lead to the creation of new services, some of which
we have no idea about at this time. The big question is what services will be big revenue
makers for the wireless service providers. In 2G networks, the big winners have been short
text messaging in GSM networks (Europe and countries other than USA) and image
downloads and forwarding on iMode networks in Japan. Two candidate services for big
winners in 3G networks are
• video conferencing and
• video messaging.

CDMA 2000 Architecture:

CDMA2000® represents a family of IMT-2000 (3G) standards providing high-quality voice and
broadband data services over wireless networks. CDMA2000 builds on the inherent
advantages of CDMA technologies and introduces other enhancements, such as Orthogonal
Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), advanced control and signaling mechanisms,
improved interference management techniques, end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS), and new
antenna techniques such as Multiple Inputs Multiple Outputs (MIMO) and beamforming to
increase data throughput rates and quality of service, while significantly improving network
capacity and reducing delivery cost.
CDMA2000 includes CDMA2000 1X (1X) and CDMA2000 EV-DO (EV-DO) standards.
CDMA2000 1X (IS-2000) supports circuit-switched voice up to and beyond 35 simultaneous
call per sector and high-speed data of up to 153 kbps in both directions. It was recognized by
the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as an IMT-2000 standard in November
1999. CDMA2000 EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) introduces new high-speed packet-
switched transmission techniques that are specifically designed and optimized for a data-
centric broadband network that can deliver peak data rates beyond 3 Mbps in a mobile
environment. CDMA2000 EV-DO was approved as an IMT-2000 standard (cdma2000 High
Rate Packet Data Air Interface, IS-856) in 2001.
Built on the principle of backwards compatibility, the CDMA2000 evolution path has provided
operators favorable economics and a significant time-to-market advantage in introducing new
value-added services.
CDMA2000 1X was deployed in 2000, as the first IMT-2000 standard to be commercially
available, and today, along with EV-DO, it is the leading 3G technology serving around a half
billion users worldwide. CDMA2000 systems provide a family of related services including
cellular, PCS, WLL and fixed wireless.

CDMA2000 (IS-2000) is an IMT-2000 (3G) technology, designed to deliver high-quality voice

and high-speed data. It is an efficient wireless technology for circuit-switched voice
communications and it supports packet data speeds of up to 153.6 kbps in a single 1.25 MHz
radio channel.
CDMA2000 was the first 3G (IMT-2000) technology deployed, in October 2000.
Key features of CDMA2000:
• Voice Capacity: Today, CDMA2000 supports 33-40 simultaneous voice calls per sector in
a single 1.25 MHz FDD channel. Using a new codec (EVRC-B), additional Walsh codes
and handset interference cancellation, it can handle up to 55 simultaneous voice calls.

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• High-Speed Data: Supports bi-directional (up and downlink) peak data rates up to 153.6
kbps, delivering an average user data throughput of 80-100 kbps in commercial networks
using a 1.25 MHz FDD channel.
• Spectral Efficiency: Up to 0.180 bit/sec/MHz over a 5 MHz FDD channel.
• Average Latency: 250 msec node-to-node ping, RTT.
• Applications: Supports circuit-switched voice, short messaging service (SMS), ringtone
downloads, multimedia messaging service (MMS), games, GPS-based location services,
music and video downloads.
• Backwards Compatibility: CDMA2000 is backwards compatible with 2G cdmaOne (IS-
95A/B) systems and handsets.

Architecture:
Network architecture of CDMA 2000 in general can be explained as in figure below where, the
Radio Access Network (RAN), in CDMA2000 networks consists of multi Base Station (BS)
each connected to a Radio Network Controller (RNC) or Base Station Controller (BSC). RNC
manages several concurrent Radio Link protocol (RLP) layer-2 session with Mobile Node (MN)
and performs per-link bandwidth management functions. The 144 kbps per carrier throughput
in 3G-1x is shared among multiple active MN, though at any given instant, a single MN may
be allocated full data rate. When a MN moves from one RNC to the other, the on-going RLP
session is torn down and a new session is established with the visited RNC.
The Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) in the architecture aggregates data traffic from multiple
RNC and interfaces the RAN to a packet switched network. The PDSN terminates a Point-to-
Point (PPP) connection and maintains session state for each mobile node (MN) in its serving
area. By keeping PPP connection alive, MN will have a better quality of service.
The PDSN is required to support two modes of IP operation: Simple-IP and Mobile-IP. In
Simple-IP mode, if MN moves from one PDSN to another, the PPP connection must be re-
established, and new IP address is required. This requires the user to re-establish all their data
sessions. In the Mobile-IP mode, the PDSN implements the Foreign Agent (FA) functionality
allowing cross PDSN mobility.

Network of CDMA2000 have components as following:

• Mobile Station (MS)
Wireless devices above are integrated into Mobile Station (MS) or Mobile Node (MN) with
primary function to conduct, maintaining and terminating the access connection (voice and
data) to network. MS build connection by requesting Radio Channel to RN. After the
connection was established, MS will responsible for maintaining that radio channel and

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buffering packets if the channel was unavailable. MS usually support for encryption and
protocols such Mobile IP.
• Radio of Network (RN)
Consists of Base Station Transceiver Subsystem (BTS), Packet Control Function (PCF), and
Base Station Controller (BSC). BTS has a function to control the MN connection within
coverage area and manage data distribution to all connected MN. Primary functions of PCF
are to establish, maintain and terminating a connection with Packet Data Serving Node
(PDSN). PCF communicate with BSC for requesting and managing radio channel to perform
packet transmission from MS and vice versa. PCF is also responsible to collect accounting
information and towards it to PDSN.
• Home Agent (HA)
HA has a function in Mobile IP implementation by tunneling packets to Foreign Agent (FA) and
vice versa. HA provides secure connection by conducted MS authentication through Mobile IP
registration. HA also maintain the connection with AAA to have user profiles.
• Authentication, Authorization And Accounting (AAA)
AAA have different function depend on network type where it connected to if AAA server was
connected to service provider network, then the primary function are overcoming request of
authentication from PDSN to Home IP network, and authorize responses from Home IP
network to PDSN. AAA also stores accounting information of MS and provide user profile and
QoS information to PDSN. If AAA server connected to Home IP network, it conducts MS
authentication and authorization as local AAA request. If AAA connected to broker network, it
forward request and response between service provider network and Home IP network which
not directly connected.

When the mobile station connects to the CDMA2000 base station, it first establishes a
connection to a PDSN. In the case of Mobile IP, the mobile station is then connected to its
serving HA by a tunnel between PDSN/FA and the HA established using Mobile IP. The IP
address of the mobile station is assigned from the address space of its Home network, either
statically provisioned or dynamically allocated by the HA at the beginning of the session. On a
high-level Mobile IP authentication and authorization is normally performed by both the PDSN
and HA by querying the AAA infrastructure. In the case of Simple IP, the address must be
assigned to mobile station by the PDSN and cannot be statically provisioned in the MS. The
authentication for this access method is based only on PDSN.
The connection between the mobile station and its serving PDSN requires a second layer of
connectivity to be established for successful IP communication. This connectivity is provided
by Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) as defined by [RFC1661] and supporting IPCP, LCP, PAP,
and Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP). PPP is initiated by the mobile
station during connection negotiation and is terminated by the PDSN. Between the CDMA2000
radio network and PDSN, PPP traffic is encapsulated into the Radio-Packet (R-P) interface.
The PCF shown in this figure is the element of the CDMA2000 Radio Access Network
responsible for R-P interface setup and processing. It is often implemented as a component of
CDMA2000 MSC. One exception is CDMA2000-1xEV DO architecture, which does not rely on
MSC. The PCF can be implemented there as a part of 1xEV Radio Network Controller (RNC—
or BSC depending on the vendor). Stand-alone PCF implementation is also possible. Once
link layer connections are established, the PCF simply relays PPP frames between the mobile
device and the PDSN. Another important function of PCF is providing micro-mobility support,
which is accomplished by allowing the MS to change the PCF while keeping the mobile
anchored on the same PDSN and buffering the user data while a dormant radio link is being
re-connected. The significance of the latter feature is explained later in the chapter.
The major role of PDSN in CDMA2000 architecture is to terminate PPP sessions originated
from the mobile station and provide FA functionality, in case Mobile IP service is requested, or
to deliver IP packets to the appropriate next hop when Simple IP is used. The PDSN is also
charged with authenticating the users and authorizing them for requested services. Finally the

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PDSN is responsible for establishing, maintaining, and terminating the PPP-based link layer
connection to the mobile station. Optionally, PDSN must support secure reverse tunneling to
the Home Agent.
For basic Internet service using the Simple IP access method, the PDSN assigns a dynamic
IP address to the mobile, terminates the user's PPP link, and forwards packets directly toward
the Internet via the default gateway router on the service provider backbone IP network. The
normal PPP timers are enforced, and the packets from the mobile may be checked to ensure
the mobile is using the source IP address assigned by the PDSN. (Among other filtering rules
and policies, the PDSN may implement in Simple IP mode.)
For Mobile IP access methods, the PDSN establishes the Mobile IP protocol connectivity to
the mobile station's home network represented by the HA, which is responsible for IP address
assignment. The PDSN must support an AAA client functionality to aid in partial authentication
of the mobile by local AAA server. Per [IS835], the PDSN is also required to support Van
Jacobson TCP/IP header compression and three PPP compression algorithms: Stac LZS
[RFC1974], MPPC [RFC2118], and Deflate [RFC2394]—the latter mostly used by Linux- and
UNIX-based mobile stations.
The R-P interface connecting PCF and PDSN—also defined by TIA/EIA as A10/A11—is an
open interface based on the GRE Tunneling Protocol and is used to connect radio network
and PDSN. The R-P interface protocol is actually similar to the Mobile IP where the PCF acts
as the FA and the PDSN acts as the HA (the R-P interface uses GRE tunnels for the traffic
plane and Mobile IP-like RRQ/RRP messages for signaling). There are a few reasons for the
introduction of R-P interface or in other words "splitting" PCF and PDSN functionalities. By
supporting the R-P interface, IP-based mobile devices can cross MSC boundaries without
impacting the continuity of user sessions. In other words, if the user moves to another MSC
coverage area, the user session is not disconnected and the user is not forced to reconnect
via the new MSC and obtain a new IP address. This is accomplished by performing
PCF transfers while keeping mobile devices anchored to the same PDSN. This does, however,
require that all serving PCFs have network connections to the same pool of PDSNs. Another
purpose of splitting PDSN from PCF is to allow service providers to select PDSNs from third-
party vendors, other than those proving the bulk of their infrastructure including MSCs and
PCFs. R-P therefore enables wireless carriers to introduce multivendor PDSN solutions into
their network. Not surprisingly, the carrier community was the most vocal during the R-P
standardization process.

The following fundamental CDMA air interface techniques are incorporated into CDMA2000
and backward compatible with cdmaOne:
• Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Multiple Access: to improve spectral efficiency
(system capacity)
• Orthogonal Code Channelization: for user separation on the downlink (mitigates
interference)
• Random Access: to efficiently share radio access resources among all users
• Fast Uplink Power Control: to resolve the near-far field effect (reduce interference)
• Rake Receivers: to resolve and benefit from multipath interference and support soft
handoffs
• Soft Handoff: to handoff users between base stations
• Softer Handoff: to handoff users between base station sectors
• Soft Handoff (SHO) Active Set: to provide seamless service with increased spectral
efficiency
• Single Frequency Re-use: to increase overall network capacity
• Downlink Slotted Paging: to extend the battery life of mobile devices
• Blind Rate Detection: to enable variable rate decoding without additional overhead
• Downlink Reference Channel: to share a common pilot to increase capacity

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• Downlink Channel Structure: to simplify system implementation and efficiency by

separating channels with Walsh codes
• Scrambling: to provide communications privacy
• Speech Regulated Vocoders: to reduce interference and increase system capacity

CDMA2000 Advantages
The CDMA2000 technology roadmap provides operators with industry-leading performance
capabilities and a time-to-market advantage to support high-quality voice communications and
revenue generating data services. Thanks to its forward and backward compatible technology
upgrades within the 1.25 MHz CDMA radio channel, CDMA operators have benefited from the
favorable economics of an evolutionary “in-band” solution and have been able to deploy new
technologies and value-added services throughout their entire network faster than their
competitors and with a lower capital investment. The technology has been commercially
deployed since 2000, and the CDMA2000 industry has a mature ecosystem and large
economies of scope and scale. There are over one hundred infrastructure and handset
suppliers and thousands of application developers supporting CDMA2000 networks.
CDMA2000 key advantages include:
• Industry Leading Performance
• Support for advanced mobile services
• Device selection
• Seamless Evolution Path
• Flexible Spectral Allocation and Efficient Use of Spectrum
• Flexible Migration Path
• Flexible Network Architecture: CDMA2000 systems were designed for fixed wireless,
wireless local loop (WLL), limited mobility and full mobility applications – inside and outside
of buildings – using wide or narrow bandwidths – with or without other complementary air
links – with ubiquitous or non-contiguous coverage. CDMA2000 networks can be designed
with a centralized or distributed architecture, or with a mix of the two. CDMA2000 works
with ANSI-41 and IP-based core networks and can use a variety of backhaul technologies,
which connect base stations to the core network.
• Global Roaming and Multi-mode, Multi-band Devices

Universal Mobile Telecommunication System:

The Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) is a third generation (3G) mobile
communications system that provides a range of broadband services to the world of wireless
and mobile communications. The UMTS delivers low-cost, mobile communications at data
rates of up to 2 Mbps. It preserves the global roaming capability of second generation
GSM/GPRS networks and provides new enhanced capabilities. The UMTS is designed to
deliver pictures, graphics, video communications, and other multimedia information, as well as
voice and data, to mobile wireless subscribers.
The UMTS takes a phased approach toward an all-IP network by extending second generation
(2G) GSM/GPRS networks and using Wide-band Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
technology. Handover capability between the UMTS and GSM is supported. The GPRS is the
convergence point between the 2G technologies and the packet-switched domain of the 3G
UMTS.

UMTS Services:
The UMTS provides support for both voice and data services. The following data rates are
targets for UMTS:
• 144 kbps—Satellite and rural outdoor
• 384 kbps—Urban outdoor
• 2048 kbp—Indoor and low range outdoor

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Data services provide different quality-of-service (QoS) parameters for data transfer. UMTS
network services accommodate QoS classes for four types of traffic:
• Conversational class—Voice, video telephony, video gaming
• Streaming class—Multimedia, video on demand, webcast
• Interactive class—Web browsing, network gaming, database access
• Background class—E-mail, short message service (SMS), file downloading
The UMTS supports the following service categories and applications:
• Internet access—Messaging, video/music download, voice/video over IP, mobile
commerce (e.g., banking, trading), travel and information services
• Intranet/extranet access—Enterprise application such as e-mail/messaging, travel
assistance, mobile sales, technical services, corporate database access,
fleet/warehouse management, conferencing and video telephony
• Customized information/entertainment—Information (photo/video/music download),
travel assistance, distance education, mobile messaging, gaming, voice portal services
• Multimedia messaging—SMS extensions for images, video, and music; unified
messaging; document transfer
• Location-based services—Yellow pages, mobile commerce, navigational service,
trading

UMTS Architecture
The public land mobile network (PLMN) described in UMTS Rel. '99 incorporates three major
categories of network elements:
• GSM phase 1/2 core network elements—Mobile services switching center (MSC),
visitor location register (VLR), home location register (HLR), authentication center
(AuC), and equipment identity register (EIR)
• GPRS network elements—Serving GPRS support node (SGSN) and gateway GPRS
support node (GGSN)
• UMTS-specific network elements—User equipment (UE) and UMTS terrestrial radio
access network (UTRAN) elements
The UMTS core network is based on the GSM/GPRS network topology. It provides the
switching, routing, transport, and database functions for user traffic. The core network contains
circuit-switched elements such as the MSC, VLR, and gateway MSC (GMSC). It also contains
the packet-switched elements SGSN and GGSN. The EIR, HLR, and AuC support both circuit-
and packet-switched data. The Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is the data transmission
method used within the UMTS core network. ATM Adaptation Layer type 2 (AAL2) handles
circuit-switched connections. Packet connection protocol AAL5 is used for data delivery. The

General Packet Radio System

The General Packet Radio System (GPRS) facilitates the transition from phase1/2 GSM
networks to 3G UMTS networks. The GPRS supplements GSM networks by enabling packet
switching and allowing direct access to external packet data networks (PDNs). Data
transmission rates above the 64 kbps limit of integrated services digital network (ISDN) are a
requirement for the enhanced services supported by UMTS networks. The GPRS optimizes
the core network for the transition to higher data rates. Therefore, the GPRS is a prerequisite
for the introduction of the UMTS.
UMTS Interfaces
The UMTS defines four new open interfaces:
• Uu interface—User equipment to Node B (the UMTS WCDMA air interface)
• Iu interface—RNC to GSM/GPRS (MSC/VLR or SGSN)
o Iu-CS—Interface for circuit-switched data
o Iu-PS—Interface for packet-switched data
• Iub interface—RNC to Node B interface

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• Iur interface—RNC to RNC interface (no equivalent in GSM)

The Iu, Iub, and Iur interfaces are based on the transmission principles of aynchronous transfer
mode (ATM).

UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network

The major difference between GSM/GPRS networks and UMTS networks is in the air interface
transmission. Time division multiple access (TDMA) and freqency division multiple access
(FDMA) are used in GSM/GPRS networks. The air interface access method for UMTS
networks is wide-band code division multiple access (WCDMA), which has two basic modes
of operation: frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). This new air
interface access method requires a new radio access network (RAN) called the UTMS
terrestrial RAN (UTRAN). The core network requires minor modifications to accommodate the
UTRAN.
Two new network elements are introduced in the UTRAN: the radio network controller (RNC)
and Node B. The UTRAN contains multiple radio network systems (RNSs), and each RNS is
controlled by an RNC. The RNC connects to one or more Node B elements. Each Node B can
provide service to multiple cells.
The RNC in UMTS networks provides functions equivalent to the base station controller (BSC)
functions in GSM/GPRS networks. Node B in UMTS networks is equivalent to the base
transceiver station (BTS) in GSM/GPRS networks. In this way, the UMTS extends existing
GSM and GPRS networks, protecting the investment of mobile wireless operators. It enables
new services over existing interfaces such as A, Gb, and Abis, and new interfaces that include
the UTRAN interface between Node B and the RNC (Iub) and the UTRAN interface between
two RNCs (Iur).

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The network elements of the UTRAN are shown in Figure.

Figure: UTRAN Architecture

Radio Network Controller
The radio network controller (RNC) performs functions that are equivalent to the base station
controller (BSC) functions in GSM/GPRS networks. The RNC provides centralized control of
the Node B elements in its covering area. It handles protocol exchanges between UTRAN
interfaces (Iu, Iur, and Iub). Because the interfaces are ATM-based, the RNC performs
switching of ATM cells between the interfaces. Circuit-switched and packet-switched data from
the Iu-CS and Iu-PS interfaces are multiplexed together for transmission over the Iur, Iub, and
Uu interfaces to and from the user equipment (UE). The RNC provides centralized operation
and maintenance of the radio network system (RNS) including access to an operations support
system (OSS).
The RNC uses the Iur interface. There is no equivalent to manage radio resources in
GSM/GPRS networks. In GSM/GPRS networks, radio resource management is performed in
the core network. In UMTS networks, this function is distributed to the RNC, freeing the core
network for other functions. A single serving RNC manages serving control functions such as
connection to the UE, congestion control, and handover procedures. The functions of the RNC
include:
• Radio resource control
• Admission control
• Channel allocation
• Power control settings
• Handover control
• Macro diversity
• Ciphering
• Segmentation and reassembly
• Broadcast signalling
• Open loop power control

Node B
Node B is the radio transmission/reception unit for communication between radio cells. Each
Node B unit can provide service for one or more cells. A Node B unit can be physically located
with an existing GSM base transceiver station (BTS) to reduce costs of UMTS implementation.
Node B connects to the user equipment (UE) over the Uu radio interface using wide-band code
division multiple access (WCDMA). A single Node B unit can support both frequency division
duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) modes. The Iub interface provides the connection

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between Node B and the RNC using asynchronous transfer mode (ATM). Node B is the ATM
termination point.
The main function of Node B is conversion of data on the Uu radio interface. This function
includes error correction and rate adaptation on the air interface. Node B monitors the quality
and strength of the connection and calculates the frame error rate, transmitting this information
to the RNC for processing. The functions of Node B include:
• Air interface transmission and reception
• Modulation and demodulation
• CDMA physical channel coding
• Micro diversity
• Error handling
• Closed loop power control
Node B also enables the UE to adjust its power using a technique called downlink transmission
power control. Predefined values for power control are derived from RNC power control
parameters.

UMTS User Equipment

The UMTS user equipment (UE) is the combination of the subscriber's mobile equipment and
the UMTS subscriber identity module (USIM). Similar to the SIM in GSM/GPRS networks, the
USIM is a card that inserts into the mobile equipment and identifies the subscriber to the core
network.
The USIM card has the same physical characteristics as the GSM/GPRS SIM card and
provides the following functions:
• Supports multiple user profiles on the USIM
• Updates USIM information over the air
• Provides security functions
• Provides user authentication
• Supports inclusion of payment methods
• Supports secure downloading of new applications
The UMTS standard places no restrictions on the functions that the UE can provide. Many of
the identity types for UE devices are taken directly from GSM specifications. These identity
types include:
• International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
• Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI)
• Packet Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (P-TMSI)
• Temporary Logical Link Identity (TLLI)
• Mobile station ISDN (MSISDN)
• International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI)
• International Mobile Station Equipment Identity and Software Number (IMEISV)
The UMTS UE can operate in one of three modes of operation:
• PS/CS mode—The UE is attached to both the packet-switched (PS) and circuit-
switched (CS) domain, and the UE can simultaneously use PS and CS services.
• PS mode—The MS is attached to the PS domain and uses only PS services (but allows
CS-like services such as voice over IP [VoIP]).
• CS mode—The MS is attached to the CS domain and uses only CS services.

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4G Technology
4G technology has become an integral part of everyday life – it paved the way for the popularity
and wide-ranging use of sophisticated mobile devices, providing a lightning-fast connection
wherever you may go. However, while we may use 4G in business and our personal lives
every day, there’s still some confusion about what it is and why it is important.
4G stands for fourth generation data download speeds, 4G LTE is the 4th generation wireless
mobile modem, with high data speed, the 4G can reach 100Mbps, 150Mbps and 300Mbps,
future will update to 1000Mbps, 4G mobile networks offer amazing speed & efficiency and they
took the mobile market by storm.
When it initially came out, 4G quickly changed how we use mobile internet. While 3G networks
were relatively fast, 4G network connections allowed users to browse the web and stream HD
videos on mobile devices, which basically turned smartphones into the computers of the
modern age.
Today, you can perform most of the tasks that you could on a laptop or desktop computer on
mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. 4G networks ensure that no matter how much
data you need; you can maintain stable speeds almost everywhere.
The people in the society continue to demand quicker & easier access to their information, the
consumers are using 4G as a widespread wireless standard while the providers bolster the
security aspects of their devices, the demand from the wireless society of today has found its
solution to deliver their data as quickly as possible & it is fourth-generation technology.

How Fast is 4G?

4G network theoretically will have a higher data transfer rate over 3G networks, With the
appropriate amount of spectrum & good network engineering, 4G LTE network is very fast,
The Long Term Evolution (LTE)-based network has the potential to reach 100 Mbps, while the
WiMAX network can top out at 70 Mbps.
Standard 4G offers download speeds of around 14 Mbps, which is almost five times faster than
what its predecessor, the 3G network, was able to offer. In fact, 4G networks can reach speeds
as high as 150 Mbps, allowing users to download gigabytes of data in minutes or even
seconds, instead of hours like with 3G networks.
Uploading data is much faster as well – standard 4G upload speeds are around 8 Mbps, with
theoretical speeds reaching as high as 50 Mbps, while 3G caps off at around 0.5 Mbps. It’s a
significant difference, no matter how you look at it.
Today, with data plans becoming more affordable, many users have blended the use of mobile
and local WiFi networks since both exhibit similar speeds. Some providers even offer home-
based 4G networks for people who want to have a mobile hotspot that they can take with them
wherever they go.
4G (4G LTE) offers typical download speeds of around 20Mbps and theoretical ones of
150Mbps. So for example, you could download a medium sized app in under 15 seconds or
load a YouTube video in under 2 seconds. The same 500MB file should be downloadable in
under 4 minutes.
4G boosts upload speeds to 8Mbps on average and 50Mbps at the very top end. The same
10MB file or image would take just 1.25 seconds to download.
4G LTE-Advanced is a faster version of 4G with typical real-world download speeds of
42Mbps and theoretical limits of 300Mbps.
EE has launched this service in London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, with partial
coverage in a number of other UK cities, under the name 4G+, while Vodafone has rolled it out
to London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Nottingham, Bristol and numerous
other locations.
Three has also now launched a 4G+ service, with coverage in major cities such as London,
Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
In fact, coverage on all these networks is probably far wider than the lists above, but they
haven’t revealed up to date lists of the places with LTE-Advanced.

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With LTE-Advanced (also known as 4G+, LTE-A or 4.5G) videos will load without a discernible
pause and a 500MB file will download in under 2 minutes. In fact, it’s even faster than many
home broadband connections.
4G LTE-Advanced offers upload speeds of 30Mbps and can theoretically reach 150Mbps. At
30Mbps the same 10MB file or image would take just 2 seconds to upload.

Why is 4G Important?
4G data networks have revolutionized the mobile industry and paved the way for the
widespread use of today’s mobile devices.
Another advantage of 4G networks is its much lower latency. Low latency is important when
real-time interaction is required, for instance, in video conferencing or online gaming. Unified
Communication apps used on mobile devices remain clear, responsive, and fast – helping
distant colleagues collaborate and work together seamlessly as if they were in the same office.
What’s more, 4G was also immensely useful in the Voice over LTE (VoLTE) industry. It
provides a much more stable and clearer connection for voice calls, making it easier for
businesses to switch to internet-based telephone systems.
A benefit to enterprise businesses is the ease and speed of 4G network set up. If a company
needs to quickly set up a network in a new location, 4G can be installed in a matter of hours,
compared to days or even weeks of setting up a wired connection.
Even the automotive industry has started using LTE-based car connectivity features, some
even offering 4G network hotspots in their vehicles. Hotspots have also been shown to be
incredibly helpful to remote workers when a WiFi connection isn’t feasible.
The importance and impact of 4G networks stretch through numerous other industries, as
companies and individual users now have the freedom to stay connected in a less restrictive
way. Mobile networks will become more important as new uses and applications are
discovered. Companies of all sizes find that a 4G network solution makes sense. The flexibility,
speed, and reliability that it can offer are hard to match by any other type of technology.

Advantages of LTE
Following are the advantages of LTE:
a. LTE network uses all IP network architecture. Due to this fact, it is dedicated for packet
switched operations. It supports data as well voice. The voice can be transported using
voice over LTE protocols (i.e. VOIP) and fall-back to legacy networks (i.e. 2G/3G).
b. As LTE supports MIMO, higher data rate can be achieved.
c. LTE uses SC-FDMA in the uplink and hence mobile terminals can have low power
during transmissions and hence battery life can be enhanced on user side.
d. As LTE downloads the files faster, connection with network gets released faster for each
connection. This will decrease traffic load on the LTE network.
e. LTE uses OFDMA in the downlink, it utilizes channel resources effectively. This
increases total user capacity of the LTE network as different users utilizes different
channels to access the system.
f. It does not take much time for user to open the browser and download high bandwidth
movie. This increases user experience to a great extent. This is due to the fact that
latency is very low in LTE.
g. Due to improved architecture, handoff is smooth from one region to the other. This
results into smooth data streaming without any interruption of on-going data transfer.
h. Higher versions of LTE such as LTE advanced will further improve the performance of
existing LTE standard based products.

4G wireless network is a pure data connection, it is an end-to-end Internet Protocol connection,

the cellular providers have the opportunity to offer the data access to a wide variety of devices,
4G technology provides mobility, it is more flexible, it is more reliable, it is easier to standardize
and it offers affordability.

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You can easily access Internet, IM, Social Networks, streaming media, video calling and the
other broadband services, it is very stable when connected to the internet without any
disruption & it doesn’t throttle.
WiMAX, LTE, and HSPA+ are all versions of 4G, WiMAX is used by Sprint, LTE is used by
Verizon and AT&T, HSPA+ is used by AT&T and T-Mobile, 4G LTE network supports the
global access, the service portability & scalable mobile services, it supports IP based mobile
System-High speed, high capacity & low cost per bit.
4G LTE network is very fast & 10 times faster than the 3G network, it offers extremely high
voice quality, it is very fast when downloading huge files over a wireless network, it very good
& clear when streaming videos, watching online videos, playing online music’s, watching online
TV & the others streaming stuffs.
The younger generation of mobile device users can stream the music, videos and movies at a
much faster rate than ever before and they can also easily share the information online, 4G
technology is affordable, it is more expensive than the traditional Wi-Fi networks but it also has
a lot more advantages to offer to the users.
4G mobile network offers amazing speed, it has higher bandwidth, Increased bandwidth leads
to much faster data transfer speed, that is especially advantageous for the mobile devices, the
users of the 4G network get the benefit of superior, uninterrupted connectivity, especially for
the advanced tasks like video chats & conferences.
4G networks present much more coverage than the other systems such as Wi-Fi, that forces
the users to depend upon hotspots in each area they visit, since 4G offers a coverage of 30
miles and more, as also overlapping network ranges, the users would be assured of complete
connectivity at all times.
One of the biggest drawbacks with Wi-Fi networks is online security, this is especially true for
the mobile devices, 4G networks present complete privacy, security and safety, this is
especially beneficial for corporate establishments & business persons, who hold sensitive
information on their respective mobile devices.
4G technology provides the users with many options to choose from, many mobile carriers
offer special introductory offers for new customers, that works out to be very reasonable for
them, Seamless switching & a variety of Quality of Better spectral efficiency, Service driven
services, Better scheduling & call admission control techniques.

Disadvantages of LTE
Following are the disadvantages of LTE:
a. The existing mobile phones cannot be used to access LTE network features. The user
need to have mobile phone which supports LTE functionality. This will incur cost to the
user to avail the LTE service.
b. LTE network is completely new network which requires installation of equipment’s and
antennas to make it operational.
c. As LTE service has been recently started, it takes time to get stabilize and have LTE
signal available everywhere. At the moment, the service is available in some of the
regions or cities. The problem can be avoided by having multimode supported mobile
phone, so that user can make use of other networks such as 2G, 3G in case 4G signal
is not available.
d. LTE system is complex and hence requires skilled engineers to maintain and manage
the system. They need to be paid higher salaries in order to retain them.

Obtaining the information from the people illegally becomes easier, 4G technology involves
the possibility of some interference though not much, it is capable of being attacked (jamming
frequencies) and the invasion of the privacy increased.
The consumer is forced to buy a new device to support the 4G, New frequencies means new
components in the cell towers, Higher data prices for the consumers, your current equipment

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cannot be compatible with the 4G network, it has different network bands for different phones
It is expensive & hard to implement.
4G LTE network has higher data prices for the consumers (expensive), The consumers are
forced to buy a new device to support 4G LTE, it consumes a lot of battery when in use, it
consumes the data very fast & your battery becomes hot when it is used for a very long time
(like a microwave).
4G LTE network needs complex hardware, 4G technology is still limited to certain specified
carriers & regions but the number of cities which have 4G coverage is increasing by the day,
it would take its own time for this network to be available in all the major cities of the world.
Mobiles compatible with 4G network is cheaper than earlier but this new equipment would
have to be installed to supply these services, but it is a cumbersome process for most mobile
carriers planning to launch these services, 4G mobile technology is still fairly new but it will
most likely have its initial glitches & bugs, which could be quite annoying for the user.
4G technology use many antennae & transmitters, you would experience much poorer battery
life on your mobile, while on this network, So, you would have to use larger mobile devices
with more battery power to be able to stay online for longer periods of time.
The users would be forced to use 3G or Wi-Fi connectivity in the areas that do not yet have
4G mobile network coverage, while this is a problem in itself, the worse issue is that they would
still have to pay the same amount as specified by the 4G network plan, this situation can only
be resolved once mobile carriers expand their 4G network coverage to include more regions.
4G technology requires expensive infrastructure for operation, this is embodied in the
eNodeB’s (Access Points) & mainly EPC’s (Gateways or Routers), 4G is optimal for data rates,
but not necessarily the best for Voice services, some of these services are offloaded
(delegated) to Wi-Fi or 3G/GSM cellular technologies on your phone.

What are the benefits of 4G?

The benefits of 4G fall firmly into three categories, which are improved speeds, reduced
latency, and crystal-clear voice calls.

a. Faster speeds

Standard 4G (or 4G LTE) is around five to seven times faster than 3G, offering theoretical
speeds of up to around 150Mbps. That equates to maximum potential speeds of around
80Mbps in the real world.
With standard 4G you can download a 2GB HD film in 3 minutes 20 seconds, while it would
take over 25 minutes on a standard 3G network.
However, a faster version of 4G is also available in many parts of the UK, called 4G LTE-
Advanced (also known as LTE-A, 4.5G or 4G+).
This offers theoretical speeds of up to 1.5Gbps, but the current crop of LTE-A networks has a
maximum potential speed of 300Mbps with real world speeds falling a lot lower. EE has brought
LTE-A to several UK cities, including London, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester, among
others.

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EE is not the only network with LTE-A though, as Vodafone has also brought it to London,
Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Nottingham, Bristol, and numerous other
locations.
Most recently, three has launched a 4G+ service of its own, promising average speeds that
are 15% to 33% higher where available. The network has not provided a full list of 4G+
locations but has said that it’s been launched in high-demand cities such as London,
Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. You will know it’s working where you are if you
see a ‘4G+’ symbol on your phone.
You can expect the availability of LTE-A to increase in the coming years and speeds could get
faster still. For example, Ericsson has developed technology which could allow for peak real-
world 4G speeds of 1Gbps, though this will not likely be available for a while if at all.
But of course, the main speed boosts will come from 5G, which the UK’s main networks are
now rolling out. This at the time of writing offers average download speeds in the region of
130-250Mbps, with peak speeds of over 1Gbps, and the potential for it to get far faster still.

b. Lower latency
Download speeds aren't the only thing that has been improved, because 4G also has a better
response time than 3G – due to lower ‘latency’. This means that a device connected to a 4G
mobile network will get a quicker response to a request than the same device connected to a
3G mobile network.
The improved latency times, reduced from 80 milliseconds (3G) to around 45 milliseconds
(4G), may not seem that significant on paper. However, they can make a significant difference
when playing online games and streaming live video. Find out more about the benefits of 4G
for gaming.
On 5G, latency is lowered further still, coming in at around 21-26ms based on Ookla data from
late 2019, and likely to further decrease as 5G infrastructure improves

c. Crystal clear voice calls

Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is similar to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which use voice apps
such as Skype to support voice calls over the internet. Effectively, VoLTE rides on the back of
the 4G network and brings crystal clear voice calls and video chat to your 4G mobile phone.
Another benefit is that it allows you to call and text when you only have a 4G connection, where
previously you wouldn’t have been able to.
VoLTE is now available from Three, EE, O2, Vodafone, iD Mobile, Sky Mobile and BT Mobile,
but only on certain handsets.

4G Network Core
The LTE EPC comprises several network elements listed below.
• Mobility Management Entity (MME):
o Provides Mobility management, session management and UE authentication.
• Serving Gateway
o Transports user traffic between 4G-RAN and packet gateway.
o Packet gateway transports user traffic between serving gateway and external
data network by the internet.
o Also assigns UE’s IP address and provides QOS enforcement.
• HSS(Home Subscriber Server):
o Stores customer profile data and generates authentication vectors used by MME
for subscriber authentication.
• Policy and Charging function (PCRF):
o Provides QOS information to the packet gateway for specific traffic types
including charging roles, flow control role and traffic priority.

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Figure 1

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5G Technology
5G or fifth generation is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband
networks. 5G mainly works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high frequency spectrum — all of
which have their own uses as well as limitations.
While the low band spectrum has shown great promise in terms of coverage and speed of
internet and data exchange, the maximum speed is limited to 100 Mbps (Megabits per second).
This means that while telcos can use and install it for commercial cellphone users who may
not have specific demands for very high speed internet, the low band spectrum may not be
optimal for specialised needs of the industry.
The mid-band spectrum, on the other hand, offers higher speeds compared to the low band,
but has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals. Telcos and
companies, which have taken the lead on 5G, have indicated that this band may be used by
industries and specialised factory units for building captive networks that can be moulded into
the needs of that particular industry.
The high-band spectrum offers the highest speed of all the three bands, but has extremely
limited coverage and signal penetration strength. Internet speeds in the high-band spectrum
of 5G has been tested to be as high as 20 Gbps (giga bits per second), while, in most cases,
the maximum internet data speed in 4G has been recorded at 1 Gbps.

Early testing of this technology shows real-world speeds of 700-3000 Mbps (3 Gbps), which
consumers may experience once 5G becomes commercially available. Movies that took
minutes to download with 4G will take seconds with 5G.

While smartphones and other mobile devices are the obvious use cases for 5G, there are
many other applications for the technology. The internet of things (IoT), for example, will
benefit tremendously from the speed and bandwidth provided by 5G, especially as the industry
grows: Gartner estimates that over 20B IoT units will be installed by 2020, while IoT-related
spending will reach nearly $3T. Autonomous vehicles, robotic surgery, and critical
infrastructure monitoring are just a few of the potential applications of 5G-enabled IoT.

5G Core Architecture
• The same functions in 4G need to be performed in the 5G core, together with new
capabilities, however, the architecture is different. Some functions have been split into
multiple sperate components, while some functions have been combined. The 5G network
is also designed to provide a clear delineation between control and user plane functions
enabling an implementation using Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-
Defined Networking (SDN).
• The Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) serves part of the role of the 4G
MME, that of mobility management. The AMF maintains a NAS signaling connection with
the UE and manages the UE registration procedure. The AMF is also responsible for
paging.
• Subscriber authentication, during registration or re-registration with 5G, is managed by the
Authentication Server Function (AUSF), which obtains authentication vectors from the
UDM.

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• The 5GC Session Management Function (SMF) provides the session management
functionality of the 4G MME and additionally combines some control plane functions of the
S-GW and P-GW. The SMF allocates IP addresses to the UE.
• The User Plane Function (UPF) combines the user traffic transport functions previously
performed by the S-GW and P-GW in the 4G EPC. The UPF anchors the UE IP addresses.
The overall uplink traffic flow is from UE to gNB to UPF and the reverse for downlink traffic.
The UPF provides the QoS enforcement function.

Figure 2

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• As shown in the Figure 3, the MME functions have essentially been distributed among the
AMF, the SMF, and the AUSF.
• The two gateways in the 4G EPC, S-GW and P-GW, have both been combined and split
into control plane and user plane functions, and absorbed into the SMF and the UPF.
• When a UE is in idle mode downlink traffic is buffered at the UPF, the UPF signals the SMF
which then signals to the AMF to start the paging procedure.
• Management of Subscriber, Policy, and Other Data
• Information about subscribers, application-specific data, and policy data can be stored in
the UDR. The Unified Data Management (UDM) interfaces with NFs such as AMF and SMF
so that relevant data becomes available to AMF and SMF. The Unified Data Repository
(UDR) can store structured data that can be exposed to an NF. In contrast, the
Unstructured Data Storage Function (UDSF) is intended for storage and retrieval of
unstructured data by a suitable network function. The UDM generates authentication
vectors when requested by the AUSF.

Figure 3

Policy
Policy control in 5G is provided by the Policy Control Function (PCF), essentially the same as
the 4G PCRF but with added capabilities. In 5G, the AMF interfaces with the PCF for retrieval
of access and mobility policies. The PCF maintains its traditional diameter protocol-based
interface to an Application Function (AF) but is also enhanced to allow for resource reservation
requests using an HTTP/XML-based interface from other services. This opens the 5G network
QoS capabilities to other, non-operator, services, providing subscribers with QoS-controlled
services from internet providers, for example a movie subscription service.

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Figure 4
Summary:
• One of the key principles in 5G is control and user plane separation.
• Serving gateway and packet gateway together serves functions like UE IP address
assignment, charging, QOS enforcement etc.
• These are separated into control and user plane functions as illustrated in figure.
• Building from there, the user plane function of serving gateway and packet gateway
now constitute UPF.
• The control plane of serving gateway and packet gateway together with session
management form the SMF.
• The mobility management is now handled by the function AMF.
• Authentication is also a separate function called AUSF.
• So, the MME function is essentially being distributed among the AMF, SMF and AUS.
• The policy control has evolved from PCRF in 4g EPC to PCF in 5g Core.
• HSS: Subscribers profile and generation of authentication function are handled via
UDM.

5G Architecture Options:
5G is mainly about offering high-speed connectivity to consumers, on devices that support
fifth-gen network services. To smoothly transition from the existing legacy core to 5G, mobile
network operators have two options:
1. Non-Standalone Architecture (NSA)
2. Standalone Architecture (SA)

STANDALONE Architecture:
Standalone 5G NR comprises a new end-to-end architecture that uses mm-Waves and sub-
GHz frequencies and this mode will not make use of the existing 4G LTE infrastructure. The
SA 5G NR will use enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency
Communications (URLLC), and huge machine-type communications (mMTC) to implement
multi-gigabit data rates with improved efficiency and lower costs.
5G SA also enables more advanced network slicing capabilities, helping operators rapidly
transition to both 5G New Radio (NR) and 5G as the core network. Network slicing, URLLC,
and mMTC bring ultra-low latency along with a wide range of next-gen use cases like remote
control of critical infrastructure, self-driving vehicles, advanced healthcare, and more.
However, the NR advanced cases are not backward compatible with the EPC, which is the
framework that provides converged voice and data on a 4G LTE network. The level of reliability

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and latency that 5G provides will be indispensable for handling smart-grid control machines,
industrial automation, robotics, and drone control and coordination.

Figure 5: Standalone Architecture

NON-STANDALONE Architecture:
NSA 5G NR is considered as the early version of SA 5G NR mode, in which 5G networks are
supported by existing LTE infrastructure. It fundamentally concentrates on eMBB, where 5G-
supported handsets and devices will make use of mmWave frequencies for increased data
capacity but will continue to use existing 4G infrastructure for voice communications.
Non-Standalone 5G NR will provide increased data-bandwidth by using the following two new
radio frequency ranges:
• Frequency range 1 (450 MHz to 6000 MHz) – overlaps with 4G LTE frequencies and is
termed as sub-6 GHz. The bands are numbered from 1 to 255.
• Frequency range 2 (24 GHz to 52 GHz) – is the main mmWave frequency band. The
bands are numbered from 257 to 511.

Figure 6: Non-Standalone Architecture

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Some benefits include:

• NSA is extremely low in cost compared to SA.
• NSA eases 5G network deployments as it reuses existing 4G facilities, thus allowing
rapid time to market for 5G mobile broadband.
• With NSA, the deployment is faster and time-to-market is lower, as 4G locations can be
used to install 5G radio. SA requires building 5G base stations and the back-end 5G
core network to fully realize the characteristics and functions of 5G.
• SA involves a 5G core with SBA for scalability and flexibility to deliver a superfast
network with ultra-low latency for advanced 5G use cases.
Advantages of 5G:
There are several advantages of 5G technology, some of the advantages are listed below,
1. Greater Transmission Speed: Data rates of about 10 Gbps or higher can be achieved. This
provides better user experience as download and upload speeds are higher.
2. Lower Latency: Latency of less than 1 ms can be achieved in 5G mm wave. This leads to
immediate connection establishment and release with 5G network by 5G smartphones.
Hence traffic load is decreased on 5G base stations.
3. High Bandwidth: Higher bandwidth can be used with the help of carrier aggregation feature.
High resolution and bi-directional large bandwidth shaping.
4. High Data rate: Antenna size is smaller at higher frequencies. This leads to use of massive
MIMO concept to achieve higher data rates.
5. Beamforming: Dynamic beamforming is employed to overcome pathloss at higher
frequencies.
6. Increased Connectivity: Due to improved 5G network architecture handoff is smooth and
hence it does not have any effect on data transfer when mobile user changes cells. Most
likely, will provide a huge broadcasting data (in Gigabits), which will support more than
60,000 connections. It is possible to provide uniform, uninterrupted, and consistent
connectivity across the world.
7. Typically, 5G offers 10x throughput, 10x decrease in latency, 10x connection density, 3x
spectrum efficiency, 100x traffic capacity and 100x network efficiency.

Disadvantages of 5G:
Though 5G technology is researched and conceptualized to solve all radio signal problems
and hardship of mobile world, but because of some security reason and lack of technological
advancement in most of the geographic regions, some of the disadvantages are listed below,
1. High cost: 5G smartphones are costly. Hence it will take some time for the common man
to make use of 5G technology. It requires skilled engineers to install and maintain 5G
network. Moreover 5G equipments are costly. This increases cost of 5G deployment and
maintenance phases.
2. Still under Research: The technology is still under development and will take time before it
is fully operational without any issues.
3. Less Coverage: Coverage distance of upto 2 meters (in indoor) and 300 meters (in outdoor)
can be achieved due to higher losses at high frequencies (such as millimeter waves). 5G
mmwave suffers from many such losses (penetration loss, attenuation due to rain, foliage
loss etc.)
4. Security and Privacy Issues: It will take time for security and privacy issues to be resolved
fully in 5G network

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Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

Voice communication carried out using the Internet Protocol (IP) for the transport is known as
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Traditional phone networks, known as Public Switched
Telephone Networks (PSTN) used circuit-switching. In Circuit- Switching, resources are
reserved along the entire communication channel for the duration of the call. Conversely,
Internet Protocol (IP) uses packet-switching. In Packet- Switching, information is digitally
transmitted into one or more packets. Packets know their destination, and may arrive there via
different paths.
Implementing VoIP requires a range of protocols from those needed to do call signaling for call
establishment and more, to transport real-time voice across the network, to do quality-of-
service-aware routing, resource reservation, QoS-aware network management and billing.

End to End VoIP

The purest VoIP implementation uses IP capable end-user equipment such as IP phones or a
computer and does not rely on a standard telephone switch. Figure 1 is a simplified diagram
of an IP telephone system connected to a wide area IP network. IP phones are connected to
a LAN. Voice calls can be made locally over the LAN. The IP phones include codecs that
digitize and encode (as well as decode) the speech. The IP phones also packetize and
depacketize the encoded speech into IP packets. Calls between different sites can be made
over the wide area IP network. Proxy servers perform IP phone registration and coordinate call
signaling, especially between sites. Connections to the PSTN can be made through VoIP
gateways.
As voice communication has been around for about 100 years, there exists a very well
developed industry around the circuit-switched PSTN. There are many established incumbents
with large customer bases. In the early days of VoIP, PSTN incumbents considered it a threat
to their business, and an opportunity to the data networking vendors such as the Internet
Service Providers (ISP). Over time, the PSTN incumbents and the new entrants to voice
communications alike view VoIP as an opportunity to provide voice service at a significantly
reduced cost.
One way to understand the development of VoIP protocols is to take the perspective of these
PSTN incumbents trying to preserve and grow their existing customer base, while the new
entrants to voice communications from the data networking side begin to partake the entire pie
of voice communication. Specific architectures and protocol development for VoIP, therefore
comes from both the International Telecommunications Union domain, which is traditionally
perceived as a standards organization that understands telephony better, and the Internet
Engineering Task Force domain, which is the primary standards body responsible for Internet

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and data networking standards. Recently, there is some protocol development in a joint
domain. These architectures and protocols have been validated in public telephone networks,
in corporate telephone networks, and on the Internet. In the following subsections we will
examine the evolution of various protocols necessary to implement VoIP.

Call Signaling
VoIP requires a means for prospective communications partners to find each other and to
signal to the other party their desire to communicate. This functionality is referred to as Call
Signaling. The need for signaling functionality distinguishes Internet telephony from other
Internet multimedia services such as broadcast and media-on-demand services.
VoIP, when used for synchronous voice or multimedia communication between two or more
parties, uses signaling that creates and manages calls. The called can define a call as a named
association between applications that is explicitly set up and torn down. Examples of calls are
two-party phone calls, a multimedia conference or a multi-player game. A call may encompass
a number of connections, where a connection is a logical relationship between a pair of end
systems in a call. For example, a non-bridged three party audio only call will have three
connections, creating a full mesh among the participants. A media stream or session is the
flow of a single type of media among a set of users. This flow can either be unicast (in which
case it is between two users), or multicast (more than two users). A media session is
associated with one or more connections. In the above three party call example, if the media
is distributed using unicast, there will be one audio session per connection. If the audio is
distributed via multicast, there will be one audio session associated with all three connections.
It is not required that calls have media streams associated with them, but this is likely to be the
common case.
Internet telephony signaling may encompass a number of functions: name translation and user
location involves the mapping between names of different levels of abstraction, feature
negotiation allows a group of end systems to agree on what media to exchange and their
respective parameters such as encoding, call participant management for participants to invite
others on an existing call or terminate connections with them, feature changes that make it
possible to adjust the composition of media sessions during the course of a call, either because
the participants require additional or reduced functionality or because of constraints imposed
or removed by the addition or removal of call participants.

There are several VoIP call signaling protocols. We shall discuss and compare the
characteristics of the H.323 protocol suite, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Media Gateway
Control Protocol (MGCP), and Megaco/H.248. H.323 and SIP are peer-to-peer control-
signaling protocols, while MGCP and Megaco are master–slave control signaling protocols.
MGCP is based on the PSTN model of telephony. H.323 and Megaco are designed to
accommodate video conferencing as well as basic telephony, but they are still based on a
connection-oriented paradigm similar to circuit-switching, despite their use for packet
communications systems. H.323 gateways have more call control function than the media
gateways using MGCP, which assumes that more of the intelligence resides in a separate
media gateway controller. SIP was designed from scratch for IP networks, and accommodates
intelligent terminals engaged in not only voice sessions, but other applications as well.

Differences Between VoIP and IP Telephony

The following are some differences between VoIP and IP Telephony
VoIP
▪ It is a technology used to make a voice routed over a data network such as the public
Internet.
▪ With VoIP, a PBX (Private Branch Exchange) is used for distributing the calls within an
organization. However, it is important to note that PBX must support the Internet
protocol that is being used.

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IP Telephony
▪ IP telephony is built on the capabilities of a VoIP. It comprises several additional
software-based features that run on computers for replacing the existing infrastructure
of the PSTN.
▪ IP phones, also known as SIP or softphones designed especially for VoIP, are
connected to a data network rather than a phone network.

History of VoIP
The first technology for telephony over the Internet was presented in February 1995 by
VocalTec. The proposed Internet phone can be considered in the primitive stage compared to
the technology available today. The software was designed to run on a computer with 33,486
MHz processors or higher. The user would talk with another user using a modem to the
computer’s microphones and speakers. In the transferring processing, the software
transforms, or compressed voice was spoken over the microphone. Next, the compressed
voice would be transported over an IP packet data format as a standard Internet session.
However, using this technology, the conversation remains limited between two computer users
(PC to PC).
A year later, in March 1996, VocalTec announced that it would work with other companies for
producing hardware known as the Voice Gateway. Voice Gateway would enable audio

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connections between a phone and an Internet phone using the Public Switched Telephone
Network (PSTN). There was still a challenge in addressing and reaching a user on a computer
present anywhere in the world. The end-user must know the remotely-located computer’s IP
address, and it was not easy to find it if there was no previous communication. Voice Gateway
looks for another one that stores the telephone number of user searches. Telephone numbers
are considered to be much easier than IP addresses. Thus, the functionality of Voice Gateway
dealt simultaneously with the barriers to grid connection and addressing.

Working of VoIP
VoIP is a technique for converting voice signals into digital data and then transmitting it on the
Internet using the TCP/IP protocol. VoIP wraps the data packets before transmitting across
the Internet. With VoIP, users can make a call over the world using an active Internet
connection using Wi-Fi instead of your service provider’s network.

VoIP Components
The four most important VoIP components are:
• Signaling Gateway Controller
• Media Gateway
• Media Server
• Application Server

Signaling Gateway Controller

The Signaling Gateway Controller (SGC) is known as a "called agent" because of its call
control function and is also commonly referred to as a "Media Gateway Controller" because of
its Media Gateway control function.
The SGC entity has multiple roles. It is the heart of VoIP platform; its main role is to connect
the PSTN (public switched telephone network) world with the IP world. To simplify, the main
characteristics of the SGC component are:
• Support of Signaling System 7 (SS7) protocol stack which is the PSTN world's main
Signaling protocol suite (sometimes a separate entity called Signaling Gateway is used for
this exact purpose).
• Full support of voice call control protocols such as H.323 or SIP which are purely IP
signaling protocols.
• Full support of media control protocols such as MGCP or Megaco (H.248) which are
used for controlling Media Gateway session connections and parameters.
• Generate Call Detailed Records (CDRs) for billing purposes.
• Provide bandwidth management control through admission control mechanisms, in
other words, new sessions are admitted only if the system is able in terms of bandwidth to
provide acceptable service to them.

• Support of bandwidth policing mechanisms -- with the use of media flow profiles, the
Signaling Gateway Controller instructs the Media Gateway to monitor the RTP media flow
and apply rate limit policies to aggressive flows. This mechanism also preserves
appropriate Quality of Service levels.
• Provisioning media connection -- allocating media connection characteristics such as
coding and packetization to Media Gateways as well as specific DS0 allocation for the
reservation of Media resources.
As you can see, the SGC is the most important component of the whole VoIP structure,
therefore, it has to be redundant. Hardware or software malfunction of this component is not
tolerant. Also due to it's multitask and multiprocess behavior, it must be powerful in terms of
CPU and memory.

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Media Gateway
The Media Gateway's main role is the transmission of voice packets using the RTP
transmission protocol. When the media gateway is used in a converged PSTN/IP network it
has extra functions to perform such as packetization, since it uses TDM trunks from the one
side and IP trunks on the other.
Let's examine the Media Gateway's main functions:
• Support of MGCP or MEGACO for call control under the administration of the Media
Gateway Controller.
• Transmission of Voice data using RTP --packetization of data is also applied when TDM
trunks are interfacing the Media Gateway.
• Support of T1/E1 trunks for transferring voice in SS7 networks.
• Support of different Compression algorithms for fulfilling the requirements of the call as
instructed by the SGC.
• Manage Digital Signal Processing (DSP) resources for ideal service offering.
Some sort of high availability can also be achieved by maintaining redundant IP links. The
capabilities of the Media Gateway in terms of concurrent call support, mainly depends on the
capacity of onboard DSPs and also the selection of codecs since different codecs have
different processing requirements.

Media Server
A Media Server is used where added features are needed such as voicemail or video
conferencing. Moreover, a media server is used when special tones or announcements need
to be transmitted. Therefore, the media server has an important role within the VoIP
architecture.
The main functions of the Media Server are:
• Transmission of call progress tones and special service announcements.
• Voicemail functionality.
• Voice activated dialling.
• Voicemail to email transmission --voicemail can be transmitted as attachment to an
email address.
• Support for Interactive Voice Response (IVR) -- call routing or even service activation
can be performed based on dialled DTMF digits. The caller according to voice menus
selects the appropriate DTMF digit that triggers the required service.
The Media Server is mainly controlled by an Application Server using SIP or pure XML. For
the proper transmission of IVR, tone and announcement media proper IP routing towards the
Media Gateway should exist.

Application Server
The major responsibility of an Application Server is to provide value-added services to the IP
network. Global and customer specific services are provisioned here. Call characteristics and
session specifications are influenced by the application server.
The main functions of the Application Server component are:
• Support of customized private dialling plans.
• Basic service offering --basic services such as call forward always, call forward on busy,
call waiting, call transfer, call park and voicemail are offered through the Application Server.
• Advance service offering -- advanced features such as call authorization using PIN,
remote office, "follow me" plans can be offered by this component.
• Generation of Call Detailed Records (CDRs).
• FreePhone Service -- support of 800 number service where charging is applied to the
called party.
The Application Server is the brain of the VoIP architecture. It communicates with the Signaling
Gateway Controller through protocols such as H.323 or SIP. Services are implemented here

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and allocated to customers. It is very important to have high availability configuration; you
cannot tolerate service interruption in any way.
Hardware Used in VoIP Architecture
VoIP hardware consists of the network equipment required to initiate, route and manage virtual
voice sessions. The hardware also includes the devices used to make and receive calls.
IP PBX
The IP PBX is the main control center for any VoIP implementation. The PBX doesn’t handle
the actual VoIP stream (the voice/video part of the call) which flows directly between the
endpoints. The IP PBX handles the control or setup of calls and routing network traffic flows.
In the case of hosted VoIP, the vendor sets up and maintains the IP PBX, which is usually
software-based. For SIP trunking, you would need to purchase and maintain an IP PBX
yourself.

Endpoint Devices
Endpoint devices can be dedicated hardware devices or software applications. IP desk phones
look and work like traditional phones, but they are compatible with VoIP protocols. Meanwhile,
there are apps that you can download on computers and smartphones to handle VoIP calling
functionality. For the purpose of making a VoIP call, the endpoint device doesn’t matter. Calls
between IP phones, computers, smartphones or a mix of everything work exactly the same.

IP Network
VoIP networking connects all the various components of VoIP. The voice data packets travel
over IP networks between the source and destination. It should be able to differentiate between
data and voice packets and be able to prioritize them as well. Voice data is particularly sensitive
to time delays, and so QoS optimization is necessary to minimize service disruption.

VoIP and Media Gateways

Media gateways perform various functions including analog to digital conversions, echo
cancellation, and silence suppression, among others. Some gateways also include the ability
to connect to the PSTN for completing calls while others provide analog interfaces to VoIP
networks. The function of a gateway depends on the specific VoIP installation.

VoIP Protocols
Some of the commonly used VoIP Protocols used today include- Session Initiation Protocol
(SIP) and H.323. These protocols are widely known as Intelligent-End Protocols. They contain
the ‘intelligence’ required to find and set up a connection between the user the device (local
host) and the device user will call (remote device).

1. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)

SIP refers to a common Internet protocol that works by interchanging the short lines of ASCII
text. It is highly modular, simpler, and flexible. It can be easily integrated with other Internet
protocols. However, it doesn’t collaborate with any of the existing telephone system signaling
protocols.

Components of Session Initiation Protocol

Following are the two major components included in the SIP protocol
▪ User-Agent
User-Agent is present at SIP end stations and includes a User Agent Client (UAC) and User
Agent Server (UAS). The User-Agent Client issues the SIP requests, whereas the User-Agent
Server responds to each SIP request.
▪ Network Server
In a SIP protocol, there are three major types of servers, namely- redirect server, proxy server
and registrar.

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SIP Protocol

2. H.323

H.323 Protocol
H.323 refers to a telephone industry standard that describes the complete protocol stack. This
standard also defines what is permitted and what is prohibited. The systematically-defined
protocols help ease interoperability; however, it is complex, making it difficult for the next-
generation applications to adapt it.
Components of H.323 Protocol
Following are the major components present in the H.323 protocol
▪ Terminal
A terminal serves as the endpoints inside an IP network. Terminals provide signaling and
control, along with two-way communication in real-time and codecs. Codecs are defined as a
device or computer program that encodes or decodes digital data or signals.
▪ Gateways
Gateways refer to a connection path that is made between the packet-switched network and
the circuit-switched network. A gateway can be removed if there no other networks are
connected.
▪ Gatekeepers

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A gatekeeper’s important functionalities include translation of addresses, controlling

bandwidth, zone management, and managing the admissions. However, gatekeepers’ core
functionality is to regulate the endpoints present within its rule, also known as Zones
Advantages of VoIP
Following are the key advantages of using a VoIP
Rich in Features
VoIP provides an array of features such as call forwarding, blocking. Automatic call distribution
and interactive voice recognition.
Supports Multitasking
Besides making the traditional phone calls, VoIP can also be used for sending documents,
images, and videos simultaneously. This allows businesses to seamlessly integrate meetings
with their employees or clients spread across the globe.
Enhanced Security
VoIP can be used for mitigating various security threats through advancements made in IP
technology like encryption and better identity management.
Low Cost
This technology leads to greater financial savings. This happens because there exists only
one network carrying the voice and data provided by only one supplier. If you have a
broadband Internet connection (DSL or cable), you can make PC-to-PC phone calls anywhere
in the world for free. If you wish to make a PC-to-phone connection, there's usually a charge
for this but probably much cheaper than your regular phone service.
You can pay as you go or you can sign up with a VOIP service provider and pay a monthly fee
in return for unlimited calls within a certain geographic area. For example, some VOIP services
in the United States allow you to call anywhere in North America at no extra charge.
Low Taxes
Since the calls are being carried over the Internet, governments have not heavily taxed VoIP
phone services. Compare that to your local telephone bill (go ahead and take a close look)
and you will see you are spending quite a bit on taxes each month. Therefore, choosing a VoIP
provider could add up to significant savings for you and your family.
Portability
One important concept to understand about VoIP is that unlike it’s forefathers (let’s call them
PSTN for now), it is not distance or location dependent. As far as VoIP is concerned, you could
be calling your supplier 1,000 miles away in Indonesia or calling your business partner on the
other end of town, and it doesn’t make any difference at all, in terms of connectivity and cost.
You can make and receive phone calls wherever there is a broadband connection simply by
signing in to your VoIP account. This makes VoIP as convenient as e-mail – if you are traveling,
simply pack a headset or Internet phone and you can talk to your family or business associates
for almost nothing.
No extra cables, no extra cost
A VoIP phone number, unlike your regular phone number, is completely portable. Most
commonly referred to as a virtual number, you can take it with you anywhere you go.
Even if you change your office address to another state, you phone number can go with you.
Heck, you can even take your whole business with you wherever you travel.
Features
Unlike regular phone service which usually charges more for extra features, VOIP comes with
a host of advanced communication features. For example, call forwarding, call waiting,
voicemail, caller ID and three-way calling are some of the many services included with VOIP
telephone service at no extra charge. You can also send data such as pictures and documents
at the same time you are talking on the phone.
VoIP phones can integrate with other services available over the Internet, including video
conversation, message or data file exchange in parallel with the conversation, audio
conferencing, managing address books and passing information about whether others (e.g.
friends or colleagues) are available online to interested parties.

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Flexibility
When you choose a VoIP phone service provider, you will be sent a converter to allow a regular
phone to use the VoIP phone service. Your phone number is programmed into the converter.
This means that you can take your phone converter and phone number and use them wherever
you travel in the world, just as long as you have access to a high-speed Internet connection.
Because your telephone number is based in your converter (and not your home/office), you
have the option of choosing any area code for your phone number. Some carriers will allow
you to have more than 1 phone number in different area codes for a small additional fee (called
a virtual phone number).
video-conferencing
VoIP enables advanced bandwidth capabilities and improved video-conferencing and at a
reasonable price.

Disadvantages of VoIP:
If VOIP is starting to sound really good to you, make sure you understand the following
downsides as well.
No service during a power outage
During a blackout a regular phone is kept in service by the current supplied through the phone
line. This is not possible with IP phones, so when the power goes out, there is no VOIP phone
service. In order to use VoIP during a power outage, an uninterruptible power supply or a
generator must be installed on the premises. It should be noted that many early adopters of
VoIP are also users of other phone equipment such as PBX and cordless phone bases that
also rely on power not provided by the telephone company.
Emergency calls
Another major concern with VOIP involves emergency 911 calls. Traditional phone equipment
can trace your location. Emergency calls are diverted to the nearest call center where the
operator can see your location in case you can't talk. However, because a voice-over-IP call
is essentially a transfer of data between two IP addresses, not physical addresses, with VOIP
there is currently no way to determine where your VOIP phone call is originating from.
Although many companies are making an effort to provide for emergency calls in their service,
this issue remains an important deterrent against VoIP.
Reliability
Because VOIP relies on an Internet connection, your VOIP service will be affected by the
quality and reliability of your broadband Internet service and sometimes by the limitations of
your PC. Poor Internet connections and congestion can result in garbled or distorted voice
quality. If you are using your computer at the same time as making a computer VOIP call, you
may find that voice quality deteriorates dramatically.
This is more noticeable in highly congested networks and/or where there are long distances
and/or internetworking between end points.
VoIP Voice Quality
VoIP has a bit to improve on Voice Quality, but not in all cases. VoIP QoS(Quality of service)
depends on so many factors: your broadband connection, your hardware, the service provided
by your provider, the destination of your call etc. More and more people are enjoying high
quality of phone calls using VoIP, but still many users complain of hearing Martian, having to
wait a lot before hearing an answer etc.
Security
This one is the last in this list, but it is not the least! Security is a main concern with VoIP, as it
is with other Internet technologies. The most prominent security issues over VoIP are identity
and service theft, viruses and malware, denial of service, spamming, call tampering and
phishing attacks.

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