GPRS and UMTS T-110.2100
Global Packet Radio Service GPRS uses the time slots not used for circuit switched services Data rate depends on the availability of free time slots GPRS uses the multislot technique, but within one frequency It also can change the coding schema used for error correction Theoretical maximum rate is 171.2 kbps 10-40 kbps more realistic Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) provides higher data rates
GPRS Network GPRS uses the same Radio Access Network (RAN) as GSM A Packet Control Unit is added to the BSS Form the BSS the data packets are tunneled over the GSM backbone network Important new elements are Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) Tracks the location of the MS Provides routing and mobility management Authenticates the MS Manages the session Collects billing data IP packets from the MS are treated as IP packets first time here Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) Connects the GPRS network to other networks, e.g. the Internet GSM VLR and HLR are used
GPRS Base Station Subsystem Network and Switching Subsystem PSTN MS BTS BSC MSC, VLR GMSC HLR Internet SGSN GGSN
GPRS Handovers There are no GPRS handovers as such Since there is no circuit to hand over The MS requests a cell reselection and the packets are routed to the new cell Requires dynamic routing
GPRS Connection Protocol Stack Application IP/X.25 Relay IP/X.25 SNDCP SNDCP GTP GTP LLC Relay LLC UDP/ TCP UDP/ TCP RLC RLC BSSGP BSSGP IP IP MAC MAC Network Network L2 L2 GSM RF GSM RF L1bis L1bis L1 L1 MS BSS SGSN GGSN
GPRS Protocols BSSGP, BSS GPRS Protocol GTP, GPRS Tunneling Protocol LLC, Logical Link Protocol MAC, Medium Access Control GSM RF, GSM Radio Physical Layer SNDCP, Subnetwork Dependent Convergence UDP, TCP and IP in their usual roles X.25 not widely implemented
GPRS Mobility Management A GPRS node may be in three states Idle - no MS location information is kept by the network, no active PDP (Packet Data Protocol) context Busy - The location is known at cell level, an active PDP context to an access point name is established Standby - The location is known at the Routing Area Identifier (RAI) level, the PDP context is active A timeout moves the MS from Busy to Standby state, helps to reduce battery consumption GPRS attachment The MS request a PDP context from the SGSN The SGSN selects the GGSN to be used based on the Access Point Name Internet, WAP gateway, a corporate network The SGSN queries the HLR to authenticate the MS and verify the request
EDGE Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution Up to 348 kbps Initially developed for operators who failed to get UMTS spectrum Uses different modulation to squeeze more data into same timeslot as GPRS Requires hardware support in both the handset and the BTS and software in the BSC
UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System A.k.a. 3G Provides: More of the same as GSM/GPRS/EDGE Up to 2 Mbps promised data rate 144 kbps a more realistic bit rate VoIP instead of PSTN calls? Video phone, other multimedia services Global roaming (almost) Convergence for the operators More effective radio spectrum usage
UMTS Circuit switched GERAN PSTN MS BTS BSC MSC, VLR GMSC HLR UTRAN Packet switched Internet UE BS RNC SGSN GGSN
UMTS RAN UMTS requires a new Radio Access Network The Wideband CDMA-based UTRAN (Universal Terrestrial RAN) provides the higher data rates 1885-2025 MHz (uplink) 2110-2200 MHZ (downlink) The GSM/EDGE GERAN can be used with UMTS Might stay for a long time in the less populated areas New names for new components Radio Network Controller Base Station User Equipment New functions Cell breathing Soft handover
Cell Breathing The CDMA technology enables multiple transmitters to use the same frequency and timeslot, since the transmitter and receiver are synchronized by the code Each transmission appears like background noise to other receivers However this reduces the signal to noise ratio Usually referred as Signal to Interference Ratio (SIR) In practice CDMA based cells shrink when more traffic is added to the cell This is known as cell breathing and it adds a new challenge to the network design The cell can handle more customers, but its size changes
Soft Handover As the UE is promised a certain Quality of Service in the beginning of an active service connection the handover issue is more complex than in 2G services, where the only service is the basic voice call Multimedia calls have variable QoS requirements In a soft handover the UE has multiple radio connections to base stations Due to CDMA technology all the base stations are using the same frequencies (wideband transmission) A more complex procedure than hard handover, intended to provide seamless service quality
How to Make More of Little? The IP header is about 20 bytes, TCP too The MAC layer of the RAN makes all connections point to point So do we really need to transport all these bytes? Instead the two parties can agree on the header content and set up a set of labels or abbreviated headers Makes IP stateful over at least one hop Enables also fast retransmission IP and TCP or UDP headers can be replaces with 1-3 bytes Several methods, see RFCs 1144, 2507, 2508, 3095 Recommended in UMTS
IP Addresses and user's rights The current IPv4 address space will not support all cellular users If we use NAT/PAT and 10.0.0.0/8 we get IP connectivity to outside services, BUT It is difficult to have servers inside the cellular packet network Or peer-to-peer services So extending IPv4 with NAT creates an un-equal network of clients and servers IPv6 is the most obvious solution Also note that having a public IP address is not always an advantage, traffic flooding attacks not only provide DoS, they also show up in the communications bill
UMTS Releases 3GPP R99 a.k.a R3 The first specification An UMTS RAN adjacent to existing GSM/GPRS network Packet switching based backbone for all traffic Otherwise uses existing components (MSC, SGSN etc.) with some upgrades R4 Minor enhancements Packet switching based backbone for GSM/GPRS also MSC becomes an MSC server R5 All IPv6 network and services IP Multimedia Subsystem provides access to the PSTN Session Initiation Protocol used for signalling GSM/GPRS RAN exists still
UMTS Services UMTS produces new service architectures Customized Application for Mobile-Enhanced Logic (CAMEL) is a standard for providing IN services to GSM and UMTS Handles the roaming issue, when a customer is under a Visiting MSC and wants to use an IN service specified in the HLR Wireless Application Protocol and other information browsing methods Location based services Rich calls Presence services Open Mobile Alliance standardizes the service platforms, http://www.openmobilealliance.org/ Roughly modeled after IETF, but corporate driven
Convergence With the UMTS R5 all IP backbone the telecoms industry will move over to using TCP/IP technology The phenomenon of traditional telecom and datacom technologies converging is a major issue to the industry 4G ideas will continue to drive this convergence Can a VoIP telephone call be handed over from the WLAN/Internet/SIP/RTP technologies to UMTS/PSTN technologies?
UMTS International Separation WCDMA vs. CDMA2000 The "European" UMTS is based on a set of standards called WCDMA and developed by the 3GPP (3:rd Generation Partnership Project), http://www.3gpp.org/ The "American" CDMA2000 is standardized by 3GPP2, http://www.3gpp2.org/ Asian standards bodies, manufacturers and operators are active in both The reasons behind the division are political and commercial Both organizations are providing open standards and try to use work from the IETF as much as possible Also national standardization in large Asian countries, mostly China, Korea and Japan
4G - after UMTS A combination of UMTS, WLAN, Bluetooth and other similar technologies is often interpreted as 4G No formal definition yet Data rates of 20-100 Mbps? WLAN is already coming to the new high end terminals, enabling e.g. VoIP 4G is more about the services than the actual networking technologies