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Global System of Global Communications (GSM) Overview

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If you use a mobile phone or PDA you may not realize it but you use it as a communications tool. Think about it. When you make a call you and you connect to the other party, you are communicating. When you use your PDA you are using a form of communication to get the information you need. What you may not realize is that these communication devices all run under a system referred to as a Global System for Global Communications or as it is now known as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) today. Over 2 billion people use GSM worldwide in more than 210 countries. If you were to travel somewhere and you see roaming displayed on your cell phone, this is GSM in action. To understand GSM more you just have to know what it entails. GSM works by way of a certain type of architecture. This architecture includes:

• Mobile stations: Mobile stations consist of a mobile unit and a smart card, also referred to in the trade as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card. This card sits inside the cell phone right under the battery. The SIM gives the user more personal mobility by providing and storing many functions that the user many not normally get or use with a cell phone. The equipment itself is identified by a unique number known as the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI).
• Base stations: The base station is composed of the Base Transceiver Station (BTS) and the Base Station Controller (BSC). Communication is established across the standardized Abis interface. The BTS contains the radio transceiver, which is in reality the cell, and takes care of the radio-link protocols of the station. It is here that signals from and to cell phones are established.
• Network stations: the network station consists of the Mobile Services Switching Center (MSC). This system is what handles all the mobile subscribers including registration, authentication, location of user and cell, and call routing. The MSC in cooperation with the Home Location register (HLR) and the Visitor Location Register (VLR), take care of mobile calls and routing of phone calls.

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