Week 4
• GSM Radio Interface
– Frequency Allocation
FDMA
– Multiple Access
TDMA
Physical Channel
• Radio Channels Signaling Channel
Control Channel
• Network Synchronisation
• Burst Structure
• Equalisation
The GSM Radio Interface
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Frequency allocation
Two frequency bands, of 25 Mhz each one, have been
allocated for the GSM system:
· The band 890-915 Mhz has been allocated for the
uplink direction (transmitting from the mobile
station to the base station).
· The band 935-960 Mhz has been allocated for the
downlink direction (transmitting from the base
station to the mobile station).
· 125 channels each way
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Multiple access scheme
• Since the radio spectrum is a limited resource the
bandwidth must be divided up among as many users
as possible.
• Multiple access defines how many users can
simultaneously use the one radio link
• GSM uses a mix of Frequency Division Multiple
Access (FDMA) and Time Division Multiple Access
(TDMA), combined with frequency hopping
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FDMA and TDMA
• Using FDMA, a frequency is assigned to a user.
• TDMA allows several users to share the same
channel.
• Each of the users, are assigned their own burst within
a group of bursts called a frame.
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Multiple Access Scheme
• In GSM, a 25 Mhz frequency band is divided, using a FDMA
scheme, into 124 carrier frequencies spaced one from each
other by a 200 khz frequency band.
• Each carrier frequency is then divided in time using a TDMA
scheme
• This scheme splits the radio channel, with a width of 200 khz,
into 8 bursts.
• A burst is the unit of time in a TDMA system, and it lasts
approximately 0.577 ms
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Multiple Access Scheme
• A TDMA frame is formed with 8 bursts and lasts,
consequently, 4.615 ms.
• Each of the eight bursts, that form a TDMA frame,
are then assigned to a single user.
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S lot 0 S lot 1 S lot 2 S lot 7
ch 1
ch 2
F requenc y ch 3
c h 124
T im e
1 F ram e = 8 tim es lots
F ram e duration = 4.61 5 m s
T im es lot duration = 0.577m s
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F D M A/T D M A bas ed radio c hannel c onc ept
T im e S lots
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
T D M A Fram e
Struc ture o f G SM TD M A fram e
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Frame Structure Summary
• GSM uses a TDMA framing format.
• This means that each radio channel is split into slots
and each user is given one of eight slots in which to
transmit.
• The slots are numbered
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,0……..
• The radio channel is normally referred to as a carrier.
• A particular allocation of one in every eight slots is
referred to as a traffic channel
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Frame Structure Summary
• So each carrier contains eight traffic channels, normally
numbered 0 to 7.
• Each user who makes a call needs their own traffic channel.
• Each transmission by a user is known as a burst.
• For the user given all the slots numbered 1, the first burst
would be the first slot, the second burst would be in the ninth
slot and so on.
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Physical Channel/Logical Channels
• A Physical Channel is defined by specifying both, a carrier
frequency and a TDMA timeslot number.
• Logical Channels are multiplexed into the physical
channels. Each logic channel performs a specific task.
• In GSM there are two types of logical channels:
_ The traffic channels used to transport speech and
data information.
_ The control channels used for network
management messages and some channel
maintenance tasks.
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Signaling Channel
• There is a requirement on the mobile to send information
concerning the received signal strength from the
surrounding cells back to the network.
• This requires a data rate of around 400 bits per second.
• This is approximately 1/24 of the data rate provided
within GSM.
• Hence, after every 24 bursts of speech information, one
burst of signalling information is sent.
• In GSM the 26th frame is left empty.
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S lots
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1
T T T T T T T T T T T T S T T T T T T T T T T T T T T
Burs ts for
us er alloc ated
slot 1.
T he traffic c hannel s truc ture for full rate c oding
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S lots
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Bursts for user
A alloc ated slot 1.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
T T T T T T T S T T T T
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
T T T T T T T T T T T T
Bursts for user
T S 26 used
B alloc ated slot 1.
for signaling
T he traffic c hannel struc ture for half rate c oding
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Summary of Physical Channel
• On each carrier, or radio frequency, eight mobiles
must send their speech and signal strength
information.
• So the carrier is divided into slots, and each mobile
gets one in every eight slots.
• Each mobile then sets aside one in every 26 of their
own bursts for signalling information.
• Every 26 bursts they repeat their structure, forever,
with no deviation from this role.
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Quiz
• How many frequencies were allocated to GSM
phase 1?
• What multiple access scheme is used in GSM?
• What is a burst?
• How long does a burst last for?
• In GSM a user gets access to the frequency every
__________ ms.
• What is the signalling channel?
• How often is a signalling channel sent?
Quiz
• What is a TDMA Frame?
• What information is needed to define a
physical channel?
Control channels
• The GSM system has a lot of information to send to the mobiles.
• It sends this information on a dedicated carrier called a control channel.
• The control channel has a number of functions:
To help the mobile find where the control channels are;
To provide information as to when the speech and control
channel repetition cycle starts;
To provide information on parameters in the cell;
To provide information on surrounding cells;
To provide paging information;
To allow random access attempts from the mobile.
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Control channels
• On one carrier, there could be one control channel
and seven speech channels (Typical for low
capacity cells with 1 TRX)
• On medium capacity cells with 4 TRX’s the main
control channel would be on the first carrier of
TRX1 with additional control information on the
3rd and 4th carrier.
• The speech channels repeat every 26 bursts and
the control channel every 51 bursts
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Slot 1 Slot 2 Slot 3 Slot 4 Slot 5 Slot 6 Slot 7 Slot 8
(Control (Speech) (Speech ) (Speech) (Speech) (Speech) (Speech) (Speech)
channel)
Round Sine Mobile 1 Mobile 2 Mobile 3 Mobile 4 Mobile 5 Mobile 6 Mobile 7
1 wave speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
2 Synch speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
3 contents speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
4 contents speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
5 paging speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
6 paging speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
7 paging speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
8 paging speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
9 paging speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
10 Sine speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
wave
11 Synch speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
12 paging speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
13 paging signal signal signal signal signal signal signal
14 paging speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
15 paging speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
16 paging speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
17 paging speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
18 paging speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
19 paging speech speech speech speech speech speech speech
etc
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Control channels
• The structure of the control channel is,
“FSBBBPPPPP FSPPPPPPPP FSPPPPPPPP FSPPPPPPPP
FSPPPPPPPP F.”
– where F is the frequency correction channel
– S means a synchronisation channel
– where B means broadcast information
– P means paging channel
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Synchronization with the Network
• When a mobile phone is turned on it does not know where it
is.
• In order to synchronise itself to the network the mobile must
synchronise itself in frequency then in time and finally read
the system and cell data.
• The mobile can find out which carriers are being used in the
cell just by measuring the signal strength received from each
carrier
• To find out whether a carrier contains a control channel it
listens for a special sequence that the network transmits
(Frequency correction burst)
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Synchronization with the Network
• When it finds this particular sequence, it knows that
the network will always send some synchronization
information next.
• This synchronization information tells the mobile
about the current frame number and the cells
training sequence.
• The mobile also knows that the third burst on the
control channel will provide it with the contents list
for the control channel.
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Burst structure
• The modulating bit rate for a GSM carrier is 270.8 Kb/s which
means that the time slot of 577s corresponds to 156.25 bits.
• A mobile needs to ramp up in power at the start of the burst
and ramp down in power at the end of the burst
• It also needs to send the sounding sequence, so that the cell
can understand what ISI is present and set the parameters
correctly in its equalizers
• In order to minimize the time between the data being
transmitted and the sounding sequence being transmitted,
the sounding sequence in the middle of the burst.
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Burst structure
• The problem with putting the sounding sequence in the
middle is that the first half of the burst cannot be decoded
until the sounding sequence is received
• The mobile needs to remember the first half of the burst; get
the sounding sequence; decode the second half of the burst,
which follows immediately after the sounding sequence; then
once the transmission has finished, decode the first half of the
burst; and reassemble the data.
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Normal Burst
0.577m s
T ail Inform ation T raining Inform ation T ail
3 58 26 58 3
start 57 data bits + 1 stealing Sounding 57 data bits + 1 stealing stop
flag flag
Norm al burst
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Equalisation
• Equalization is the process of removing ISI
• ISI occurs when the data stream is added to a delayed version
of itself.
• By taking the received signal, delaying part of it, and
subtracting it from itself, the original signal can be recovered
again.
• Before it can start decoding the received signal, the equalizer
needs to know what reflections there were and what the
signal strength was from each of the reflections.
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Equalisation
• Imagine that the network sent nothing for a period,
following by a short “blip,” and then nothing for a bit.
• The mobile would then receive a series of blips, one
corresponding to each reflected path arriving at the
mobile and the relative strength of the blip indicating
the relative strength of each reflected path.
• This is exactly the information it needs to set the
equalizer.
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Equalisation
• Each time the mobile moves just slightly, the reflected paths
change
• Hence, these blips must be sent quite frequently so that the
equalizer parameters can always be set correctly.
• In GSM a blip is sent to each mobile once every 4 ms, or 250
times a second.
• Instead of sending a blip, a special sequence of 1s and 0s is
sent, called a channel sounding sequence.
• In GSM an equalizer called Viterbi equalizer is used.
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Quiz
• What is a control Channel?
• Outline typical information carried on a control channel.
• How many control channels are in a cell?
• How does a phone synchronise in frequency?
• How does a phone synchronise in time?
• What is a frequency correction burst?
• How long does a burst last for?
• What is the function of the tail bits?
• What is the function of the sounding sequence?
