GSM

Architecture

Subsystems and network elements in GSM

The GSM network is called Public Land Mobile
Network (PLMN). It is organised in three
subsystems:
Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)

Network

Management

Subsystem

(NMS)
The three subsystems, different network elements,
and their respective tasks are presented in the
following.

1. Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)

The Network Switching Subsystem (NSS) contains
the network elements MSC, GMSC, VLR, HLR, AC
and EIR.

Mobile services Switching Centre (MSC)

The MSC is responsible for controlling calls in the
mobile network. It identifies the origin and
destination of a call (mobile station or fixed
telephone), as well as the type of a call.
The MSC is responsible for several important tasks,
such as following.
Call control
MSC identifies the type of call, the destination, and
the origin of a call. It also sets up, supervises, and
clears connections.
Initiation of paging
Paging is the process of locating a particular mobile
station in case of a mobile terminated call (a call to

Visitor Location Register (VLR)

Visitor Location Register (VLR) is integrated with
the MSC cabinet. VLR is a database which contains
information about subscribers currently being in
the service area of the MSC/VLR, such as:
Identification numbers of the subscribers
Security information for authentication of the SIM
card and for ciphering
The VLR carries out location registrations and
updates. When a mobile station comes to a new
MSC/VLR serving area, it must register itself in the
VLR, in other words perform a location update.
The VLR database is temporary, in the sense that
the data is held as long as the subscriber is within
its service area. It also contains the address to
every subscriber's Home Location Register.

Home Location Register (HLR)

HLR maintains a permanent register of the
subscribers. For instance the subscriber identity
numbers and the subscribed services can be found
here. In addition to the fixed data, the HLR also
keeps track of the current location of its customers.
Authentication Centre (AC)
The Authentication Centre provides security
information to the network, so that we can verify
the SIM cards (authentication between the mobile
station and the VLR, and cipher the information
transmitted in the air interface (between the MS
and the Base Transceiver Station).

Equipment Identity Register (EIR)

As for AC, the Equipment Identity Register is used
for security reasons. But while the AC provides
information for verifying the SIM cards, the EIR is
responsible for IMEI checking (checking the
validity of the mobile equipment). When this
optional network element is in use, the mobile
station is requested to provide the International
Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. The
EIR contains three lists:
A mobile equipment in the white list is allowed
to operate normally.
If we suspect that a mobile equipment is faulty,
we can monitor the use of it. It is then placed in
the grey list.
If the mobile equipment is reported stolen, or it

The main functions of NSS are:

Call control
This identifies the subscriber, establishes a call, and
clears the connection after the conversation is over.
Charging
This collects the charging information about a call
(the numbers of the caller and the called subscriber,
the time and type of the transaction, etc.) and
transfers it to the Billing Centre.
Mobility management
This maintains information about the subscriber's
location.

Signaling
This applies to interfaces with the BSS and PSTN.
Subscriber data handling
This is the permanent data storage in the HLR and
temporary storage of relevant data in the VLR.

2. Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

The Base Station Subsystem is responsible for
managing the radio network, and it is controlled by
an MSC. Typically, one MSC contains several BSSs. A
BSS itself may cover a considerably large
geographical area consisting of many cells (a cell
refers to an area covered by one or more frequency
resources). The BSS consists of the following
elements:
BSC (Base Station Controller)
BTS (Base Transceiver Station)
TRAU Transcoder and Rate Adaptation Unit (often
referred to as TC (Transcoder).

Main Functions of BSS

Radio path control
In the GSM network, the Base Station Subsystem
(BSS) is the part of the network taking care of radio
resources, that is, radio channel allocation and quality
of the radio connection.
Synchronization
The BSS uses hierarchical synchronisation, which
means that the MSC synchronises the BSC, and the
BSC further synchronises the BTSs associated with
that particular BSC. Inside the BSS, synchronisation is
controlled by the BSC. Synchronisation is a critical
issue in the GSM network due to the nature of the
information transferred. If the synchronisation chain is
not working correctly, calls may be cut or the call

Air- and A-interface signaling

In order to establish a call, the MS must have a
connection through the the BSS.
The BSS is located between two interfaces, the airand the A-interface. The MS must have a connection
through these two interfaces before a call can be
established. Generally speaking, this connection may
be either a signalling connection or a traffic
(speech, data) connection.
Mobility management and speech transcoding
BSS mobility management mainly covers the
different cases of handovers. These handovers and
speech transcoding are explained in later sections.

Mobile Station (MS)

In GSM, the mobile phone is called Mobile Station (MS).
The MS is a combination of terminal equipment and subscriber
data. The terminal equipment as such is called ME (Mobile
Equipment) and the subscriber's data is stored in a separate
module called SIM (Subscriber Identity Module).
Therefore, ME + SIM = MS.
From the users point of view, the SIM is certainly the best-known
database used in a GSM network. The SIM is a small memory
device mounted on a card and contains user-specific
identification. The SIM card can be taken out of one mobile
equipment and inserted into another. In the GSM network, the
SIM card identifies the user just like a traveller uses a passport
to identify himself.

The SIM card contains the identification numbers of the user and a
list of available networks. The SIM card also contains tools needed
for authentication and ciphering. Depending on the type of the
card, there is also storage space for messages, such as phone
numbers. A home operator issues a SIM card when the user joins
the network by making a service subscription. The home operator
of the subscriber can be anywhere in the world, but for practical
reasons the subscriber chooses one of the operators in the country
where he/she spends most of the time.

Various Interfaces in GSM