Cellular systems are a spectrally efficient means of providing wide area mobility to a large number of users, and are the established means of offering mobile communications to the mass market. This chapter introduces key principles of cellular systems, with particular emphasis on the network aspects, and presents the state of the art of cellular network design by describing the architecture and signalling of the GSM system. Basic principles of cellular systems are introduced, including the features needed to support mobility. The GSM network architecture, the roles of the major network components, interfaces, and protocols are also outlined. To appreciate fully the operation of the system it is necessary to understand how these various elements work together. The chapter concludes by describing typical GSM network operations, such as call set-up and location update.

Inspec keywords: signalling protocols; cellular radio; mobility management (mobile radio)

Other keywords: mobile communication; cellular network design; cellular signalling; wide area mobility; cellular architecture; protocol; GSM network architecture

Subjects: Mobile radio systems