CHP 1 Introduction to Cellular/Wireless Communication Systems
Introduction
A cellular network is a radio network distributed over land areas called cells, each
served by at least one fixed-location transceiver known as a cell site or base station.
When joined together these cells provide radio coverage over a wide geographic area.
This enables a large number of portable transceivers (e.g., mobile phones, pagers,
etc.) to communicate with each other and with fixed transceivers and telephones
anywhere in the network, via base stations, even if some of the transceivers are
moving through more than one cell during transmission.
Advantages
Cellular networks offer a number of advantages over alternative solutions:
increased capacity
reduced power use
larger coverage area
reduced interference from other signals
Example
An example of a simple non-telephone cellular system is an old taxi driver's radio
system where the taxi company has several transmitters based around a city that can
communicate directly with each taxi
Mobile Radio Systems Standards around the World
Wireless Communications System Definitions
Examples of Wireless Communication Systems
1. Paging Systems
Paging systems are communication systems that send brief messages to a subscriber.
Depending on the type of service, the message may be either a numeric message, an
alphanumeric message, or a voice message. Paging systems are typically used to
notify a subscriber of the need to call a particular telephone number or travel to a
known location to receive further instructions. A message is sent to a paging
subscriber via the paging system access number (usually a toll-free telephone number)
with a telephone keypad or modem. The issued message is called a page. The paging
system then transmits the page throughout the service area using the base stations
which broadcast the page on a radio carrier. Paging systems may cover a limited
range of 2 to 5 km, or may even be confined to within individual buildings. Wide area
paging systems consist of a network of telephone lines, many base station
transmitters, and large radio towers that simultaneously broadcast a page from each
base station (this is called simulcasting).
2. Cordless Telephone Systems
Cordless telephone systems are full duplex communication systems that use radio to
connect a portable handset to a dedicated base station, which is then connected to a
dedicated telephone line with a specific telephone number on the public switched
network (PSTN). Cordless telephone systems provide the user with limited range and
mobility, as it is usually not possible to maintain a call if the user travels outside the
range of the base station.
3. Cellular Telephone Systems
A cellular telephone system provides a wireless connection to the PSTN for any user
location within the radio range of the system. Cellular systems accommodate a large
number of users over a large geographic area, within a limited frequency spectrum.
Cellular radio systems provide high quality service that is often comparable to that of
the landline systems. High capacity is achieved by limiting the coverage of each base
station transmitter to a small geographic area called a cell so that the same radio
channels may be reused by another base station located some distance away. A
sophisticated switching technique called a handoff enables a call to proceed
uninterrupted when the user moves from one cell to another. The mobile switching
center is sometimes called a Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO), since it is
responsible for connecting all mobiles to the PSTN in a cellular system. Each mobile
communicates via radio with one of the base stations and maybe handed-off to any
number of base stations throughout the duration of a call. The mobile station contains
a transceiver, an antenna, and control circuitry, and maybe mounted in a vehicle or
used as a portable hand-held unit. The base stations consist of several transmitters and
receivers which simultaneously handle full duplex communications and generally
have towers which support several transmitting and receiving antennas. The base
station serves as a bridge between all mobile users in the cell and connects the
simultaneous mobile calls via telephone lines or microwave links to the MSC. The
MSC coordinates the activities of all the base stations and connects the entire cellular
system to the PSTN. A typical MSC handles 100,000 cellular subscribers and 5,000
simultaneous conversations at a time, and accommodates all billing and system
maintenance functions, as well. In large cities, several MSCs are used by a single
carrier. Communication between the base station and the mobiles is defined by a
standard common air interface (CAI) that specifies four different channels. The
channels used for voice transmission from the base station to mobiles are called
forward voice channels (FVC), and the channels used for voice transmission from
mobiles to the base station are called reverse voice channels (RVC). The two channels
responsible for initiating mobile calls are the forward control channels (FCC) and
reverse control channels (RCC). Control channels are often called setup channels
because they are involved in setting up a call and moving it to an unused voice
channel. Control channels transmit and receive data messages that carry call initiation
and services request and are monitored by mobiles when they do not have a call in
progress. Forward control channels also serve as beacons which continually broadcast
all of the traffic requests for all mobiles in the system.
How a Cellular Telephone Call is made
Call made from Landline to Mobile
When a telephone call is placed to a mobile user, the MSC dispatches the request to
all base stations in the cellular system. The mobile identification number (MIN),
which is the subscriber’s telephone number, is then broadcast as a paging message
over all of the forward control channels throughout the cellular system. The mobile
receives the paging message sent by the base station which it monitors, and responds
by identifying itself over the reverse control channel. The base station relays the
acknowledgement sent by the mobile and informs the MSC of the handshake. Then,
the MSC instructs the base station to move the call to an unused voice channel within
the cell. At this point, the base station signals the mobile to change frequencies to an
unused forward and reverse voice channel pair, at which another data message (called
an alert) is transmitted over the forward voice channel to instruct the mobile telephone
to ring, thereby instructing the mobile user to answer the phone.
Call made from a Mobile
When a mobile originates a call, a call initiation request is sent on the reverse control
channel. With this request the mobile unit transmits its telephone number (MIN),
electronic serial number (ESN), and the telephone number of the called party. The
mobile also transmits a station class mark (SCM) which indicates what the maximum
transmitter power level is for the particular user. The cell base station receives this
data and sends it to the MSC. The MSC validates the request, makes connection to the
called party through PSTN, and instructs the base station and mobile user to move to
an unused forward and reverse voice channel pair to allow the conversation to begin.
ESN & IMEI Numbers
ESN
Electronic Serial Numbers (ESNs) were created by the U.S. Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to uniquely identify mobile devices from the
days of AMPS in the United States from the early 1980s. The administrative role was
taken over by the Telecommunications Industry Association in 1997. ESNs are
mainly used with CDMA phones in the United States (and were previously used by
AMPS and TDMA phones), compared to International Mobile Equipment Identity
(IMEI) numbers used by all GSM phones.
IMEI
The International Mobile Equipment Identity or IMEI is a number, usually
unique, to identify GSM, WCDMA, and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some
satellite phones. It is usually found printed inside the battery compartment of the
phone. It can also be displayed on the screen of the phone by entering *#06# into the
keypad on most phones.
The IMEI number is used by the GSM network to identify valid devices and therefore
can be used for stopping a stolen phone from accessing the network in that country.
For example, if a mobile phone is stolen, the owner can call his or her network
provider and instruct them to "blacklist" the phone using its IMEI number. This
renders the phone useless on that network and sometimes other networks too, whether
or not the phone's SIM is changed.
The IMEI is only used for identifying the device and has no permanent or semi-
permanent relation to the subscriber. Instead, the subscriber is identified by
transmission of an IMSI number, which is stored on a SIM card that can (in theory) be
transferred to any handset. However, many network and security features are enabled
by knowing the current device being used by a subscriber.
