GSM – Comprehensive
- Course:GSM – Comprehensive
- Course ID:GSM-I Duration:5 days Where: Your Office (7+ Persons)
- Download Course Description (PDF)
Available as a private, customized course for your group at your offices or ours and in some cases as a WebLive(TM) class.
Course Outline
- GSM Network Architecture and System Overview
- GSM architecture: Original, current, and evolving
- Key core network features of GSM, incuding Signaling System Number 7 (SS7)
- GSM core network evolutionary path
- Key aspects of GSM’s air interface
- GSM TDMA Structures on the RF Carrier
- Time slots and their structure within the frame
- Frame structures and framing hierarchy: Frames, multiframes, superframes, and hyperframe
- Physical channels and their properties
- Uplink versus downlink timing alignment
- Logical Channels and Their Relationship to the RF Carriers and Resource Allocation/Logical Channel Optimization Issues
- Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH)
- Frequency Correction Channel (FCCH)
- Synchronization Channel (SCH)
- Common Control Channels (CCCH)
- Stand-alone Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCH)
- Traffic Channels (TCH), full rate, half rate, and other data-carrying traffic channels
- Associated Control Channels (ACCH)
- Mapping of Logical Channels to Physical Channels, Burst Structures, and Optimization of Mapping Schemes
- The 26-frame multiframe and its structure: Optimization options
- The 51-frame multiframe and its structure: Optimization options
- Burst structures, usage, and operation
- Normal burst: Structure and usage
- Frequency correction burst: Structure and usage
- Synchronization burst: Structure and usage
- Random access burst: Structure and usage
- Dummy burst: Structure and usage
- The End-to-End Digital Path: An Overview before the GSM Specifics Can Be Discussed
- Overview of speech coding
- Overview of error control coding, including error correction and error detection
- Overview of modulation techniques, leading up to the GSM modulation technique
- GSM Speech Coding
- Full rate vocoder
- Enhanced full rate vocoder
- Half rate vocoder
- Adaptive, multirate codec and voice quality performance optimization
- GSM Error Control Coding
- Voice traffic channel coding (error correction and error detection)
- Data traffic channel coding options and optimization issues/limitations
- Summary of strengths and weaknesses of the error control strategies used in GSM
- Gaussian, Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK): The Digital Modulation Scheme Used in GSM
- Why not BPSK, or QPSK, or something similar
- What’s unique about GMSK and its properties
- GMSK versus frequency correction burst
- Call Establishment Procedures and Algorithms
- Idle mode procedures, including details, parameters, etc of the camping algorithm
- Cell selection/reselection procedures and parameters, including C1 and C2
- Random Access channel (RACH) procedures and parameters
- Dedicated mode procedures, including measurements, BSIC identification, handovers, and system optimization considerations
- SDCCH structures, parameters, and resource allocation optimization
- Layer 2 and Layer 3 Message Structures
- Information Elements (IE) and their functionality
- Layer 3 message structures and issues
- Layer 3 to layer 2 interfaces
- Layer 2 messages, associated structures, and mapping to layer 1
- Evolutionary Path of GSM
- Overview and motivation for HSCSD
- Overview and motivation for GPRS
- Overview and motivation for EDGE
- Overview and motivation for CAMEL
- Overview and motivation for 3G/WCDMA/UMTS/UTRA
- Course Recap and Conclusions
Course Overview
Course in a Nutshell
The Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) is the world’s dominant wireless technology. It’s no exaggeration to state that all wireless technologies that have come since GSM have been impacted by it, at least in a conceptual way. How does GSM solve the multitude of problems that need to be solved to provide simultaneous services to a large number of mobiles over a large geographical area? This question, simply stated, forms the agenda of this intensive five-day course.
Upon course completion, you will be able to identify the components of a GSM network and the protocols that allow them to communicate with each other. You will be in a position to critically evaluate and compare solutions to specific problems within the rules set forth by GSM. While GSM is a complex system, rich in details, the course will allow you to understand the GSM structures and articulate their interactions. This, in turn, will enable you to identify good design and optimization strategies as well as performance problems and solution approaches.
Customize It!
Customize this course to your specific needs at little-to-no additional cost. We offer distinct versions of this course tailored for audiences such as:
- Network design and optimization engineers
- Equipment or application designers
- Less technical audiences such as managers, executives, business planners, sales and marketing specialists, and operations and support personnel
Audience / Prerequisites
Aimed At
Those with some prior GSM experience who wish to study GSM in depth.
Prerequisites
Knowledge of wireless network structure and operation, RF propagation and fading, and RF link budget analysis.
Testimonials
- "Great introduction to GSM from an instructor who is passionate about teaching it. He was knowledgeable and entertaining, adapted the material to class level, and made the audience THINK. The book is good reference on the important features of GSM." – International Science and Technology Enterprise
- “It was exactly what we were looking for. The topics were right on the mark and the instructor presented the material in a way that allowed those of us who aren’t EE’s to understand, as well as challenging to our engineers. He was able to tailor the instruction to our needs and spent more time on the subjects that we found most beneficial for our purposes. He had the ability to answer in-depth questions about the finer details and proved himself to be profoundly knowledgeable on the subjects of discussion. The entire group was pleased with the instruction as well as the material provided. He was also able to “read” the group dynamically and allow for the positive group discussion of material while keeping us from straying from the subject matter. Everyone involved in the training felt that it was a positive experience and felt that they gleaned a lot from the instruction. In the future, should the need arise for more instruction on cellular technologies, we would be happy to have him as our instructor.” – R. Evans, US Department of Defense
- "Great overview of GSM; how the communication works at frame/time-slot level was very interesting. Instructor did excellent job tailoring the course materials to us. He was great, made everyone feel welcome ... provided the tools to a better understanding of factors in my job. Great slides and hand-outs; beneficial in having a better understanding of networks. I appreciated the use of PowerPoint being merely a small portion of a spring board for more interactive discussions and drawings. We had 4 different drawings on a massive paper to view lots of portions of the same topic. The drawings were referenced well and enabled us to really learn some of these things after much exposure. Value of the course is very high!" – US Naval Surface Warfare Center
- "Very good introduction to GSM! The instructor explains things very clearly without getting into the weeds so as not to overwhelm people new to GSM." – SW, Electronics Technician, US Department of the Navy
- “We needed deep technical knowledge of GSM systems to help us with the redesign of one of our core products. The work was difficult and would push the state of the art. The Eogogics engineers were more than “subject matter experts”; they became an integral part of our team, working closely with our developers to engineer a product that surpassed our expectations. They took personal pride in the project. With their work completed, they still call me monthly to make sure everything is working correctly! And it does work correctly – our data quality has improved by orders of magnitude. We hope we can use them again in the near future.” - Chris Oliver, Vice President, Engineering, IntelliOne Technologies