REVOLUTION OF GLOBAL SYSTEM FOR MOBILE COMUNICATION (GSM)

ABSTRACT

Cellular is one of the fastest growing and most demanding telecommunications applications. Today, it
represents a continuously increasing percentage of all new telephone subscriptions around the world. Currently
there are more than 45 million cellular subscribers worldwide, and nearly 50 percent of those subscribers are
located in the United States. It is forecasted that cellular systems using a digital technology will become the
universal method of telecommunications. By the year 2005, forecasters predict that there will be more than
100 million cellular subscribers worldwide. Different techniques are used in mobile communication in which
one technique is GLOBAL SYSTEM FOR MOBILE COMUNICATION (GSM).

A GSM modem is a wireless modem that works with a GSM wireless network. A wireless modem behaves
like a dial-up modem. The main difference between them is that a dial-up modem sends and receives data
through a fixed telephone line while a wireless modem sends and receives data through radio waves.
A GSM modem can be an external device or a PC Card / PCMCIA Card. Typically, an external GSM modem
is connected to a computer through a serial cable or a USB cable. A GSM modem in the form of a PC Card /
PCMCIA Card is designed for use with a laptop computer. It should be inserted into one of the PC Card /
PCMCIA Card slots of a laptop computer. Like a GSM mobile phone, a GSM modem requires a SIM card
from a wireless carrier in order to operate.
Both GSM modems and dial-up modems support a common set of standard AT commands. You can use a
GSM modem just like a dial-up modem. In addition to the standard AT commands, GSM modems support an
extended set of AT commands. These extended AT commands are defined in the GSM standards.

INTRODUCTION

During the early 1980s, analog cellular telephone systems were experiencing rapid growth in Europe,
particularly in Scandinavia and the United Kingdom, but also in France and Germany. Each country developed
its own system, which was incompatible with everyone else's in equipment and operation. This was an
undesirable situation, because not only was the mobile equipment limited to operation within national
boundaries, which in a unified Europe were increasingly unimportant, but there was a very limited market for
each type of equipment, so economies of scale, and the subsequent savings, could not be realized.
The Europeans realized this early on, and in 1982 the Conference of European Posts and Telegraphs (CEPT)
formed a study group called the Groupe Spécial Mobile (GSM) to study and develop a panEuropean public
land mobile system. The proposed system had to meet certain criteria:
good subjective speech quality,
low terminal and service cost,
support for international roaming,
ability to support handhald terminals,
support for range of new services and facilities,
spectral efficiency, and
ISDN compatibility.
In 1989, GSM responsibility was transferred to the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI),
and phase I of the GSM specifications were published in 1990. Commercial service was started in mid1991,
and by 1993 there were 36 GSM networks in 22 countries, with 25 additional countries having already selected
or considering GSM . This is not only a European standard - South Africa, Australia, and many Middle and
Far East countries have chosen GSM. By the beginning of 1994, there were 1.3 million subscribers
worldwide . The acronym GSM now (aptly) stands for Global System for Mobile telecommunications.
The developers of GSM chose an unproven (at the time) digital system, as opposed to the thenstandard analog
cellular systems like AMPS in the United States and TACS in the United Kingdom. They had faith that
advancements in compression algorithms and digital signal processors would allow the fulfillment of the
original criteria and the continual improvement of the system in terms of quality and cost. The 8000 pages of
the GSM recommendations try to allow flexibility and competitive innovation among suppliers, but provide
enough guidelines to guarantee the proper interworking between the components of the system. This is done in
part by providing descriptions of the interfaces and functions of each of the functional entities defined in the
system

What is GSM?

GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) is a digital mobile telephone system that is widely used in
Europe and other parts of the world. GSM uses a variation of Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and is
the most widely used of the three digital wireless telephone technologies (TDMA, GSM, and CDMA). GSM
digitizes and compresses data, then sends it down a channel with two other streams of user data, each in its
own time slot. It operates at either the 900 MHz or 1,800 MHz frequency band.
GSM is the de facto
wireless telephone standard in Europe. GSM has over one billion users worldwide and is available in 190
countries. Since many GSM network operators have roaming agreements with foreign operators, users can
often continue to use their mobile phones when they travel to other countries.
Mobile Frequency Range Rx: 925-960; Tx: 880-915
Multiple Access Method TDMA/FDM
Duplex Method FDD
Number of Channels 124 (8 users per channel)
Channel Spacing 200kHz
Modulation GMSK (0.3 Gaussian Filter)
Channel Bit Rate 270.833Kb
The Future of GSM
GSM together with other technologies is part of an evolution of wireless mobile telecommunication that
includes High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data (HSCSD), General Packet Radio System (GPRS), Enhanced Data
rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE), and Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS).
GSM Network Operators
T-Mobile and Cingular operate GSM networks in the United States on the 1,900 MHz band. GSM networks in
other countries operate at 900, 1,800, or 1,900 Mhz.
The GSM System for Mobile Communications

The digital standard known as the Global System for Mobile (GSM) has captured a large share of the global
cellular market. This book aims to bridge the gap between a reader's basic knowledge of telecommunications
and the complexities of the 5000-page GSM technical specification. It describes the system as a whole,
covering all aspects of the standard, including mobile stations, switching equipment, the radio interface,
infrastructure, transmission methods, and signaling protocols. System architects involved in the design of
personal communications systems will find the book to be a complete description of the GSM communications
system. It also may serve as a general introduction to digital cellular systems.
Introduction to GSM: Physical Channels, Logical Channels, Network, and Operation
Introduction to GSM: Physical Channels, Logical Channels, Network, and Operation explains the basic
components, technologies used, and operation of GSM systems. You will discover why mobile telephone
service providers have upgraded from 1st generation analog systems to more efficient and feature rich 2nd
generation GSM systems. You will also discover how 2nd generation systems are gradually evolving into 3rd
generation broadband multimedia systems.

This book starts with the system components and basic services that the GSM system can provide. You will
learn that the key types of GSM devices include single mode and dual mode mobile telephones, wireless
PCMCIA cards, embedded radio modules, and external radio modems. You will then discover the different
types of available services such as voice services, data services , group call, and messaging services.

Explained are the physical and logical radio channel structures of the GSM system along with the basic frame
and slot structures.

Described are the fundamental capabilities and operation of the GSM radio channel including channel coding,
modulation types, speech coding, RF power control, and mobile assisted handover. You will learn how each
GSM radio channels has 8 time slots per frame and that some of these are used for signaling (control channels)
and others are used for user traffic (voice and data ). Because the needs of voice and data communication are
different, you will discover that the GSM system essentially separates circuit switched (primarily voice) and
packet switched (primarily data) services.

Described are key functional sections of a GSM network and how they communicate with each other. You will
learn how and why GSM is evolving into 3rd generation broadband systems including GPRS, EDGE, and
WCDMA.

GSM and UMTS: The Creation of Global Mobile Communications

GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) provides a service to more than 500 million users
throughout 168 countries worldwide. It is the world market leader serving 69 0f all mobile digital users and is
currently evolving into UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System).

By describing the critical decisions and the phases of the development this key text explains how the GSM
initiative became a success in Europe and how it evolved to the global mobile communication system. Initially
the strategy and technical specifications were agreed for Europe and the subsequent evolution to a global
solution was achieved by incorporating all non-European requirements and by inviting all committed parties
worldwide to participate. The process started in 1982 and the first GSM networks went into commercial
service in 1992. The first UMTS networks are expected in 2002 and the fourth generation discussions have
begun.
Presents a complete technical history of the development of GSM and the early evolution to UMTS
Clarifies the creation of the initial GSM second generation system in CEPT GSM, the evolution to a
generation 2.5 system in ETSI SMG and the evolution to the Third Generation (UMTS) in ETSI SMG and
3GPP
Covers all of the services and system features together with the working methods and organisational aspects

types of Mobile Telephone Systems

The main mobile telephone systems in the last twenty five years have been:

Year Mobile Telephone System

1981 Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT)
1983 Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS)
1985 Total Access Communication Systems (TACS)
1986 Nordic Mobile Telephony (NMT)
1991 American Digital Cellular (ADC)
1991 Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM)
1992 Digital Cellular System (DCS) 1800
1994 Japanese Personal Digital Cellular (PDC)
1995 Personal Communications Service (PCS) 1900 - Canada
1996 Personal Communications Service (PCS) - USA
Analog and Digital Mobile Telephone Technologies
Mobile telephone systems are either analog or digital. In analog systems, voice messages are transmitted as
sound waves. When you speak into an analog mobile telephone, your voice wave is linked to a radio wave and
transmitted. In digital systems, voice messages are transmitted as a stream of zeroes and ones. When you speak
into a digital mobile telephone, your voice wave is converted into a binary pattern before being transmitted.

GSM is a Digital System

As demand for mobile telephone service has increased, service providers found that basic engineering
assumptions borrowed from wireline (landline) networks did not hold true in mobile systems. While the
average landline phone call lasts at least 10 minutes, mobile calls usually run 90 seconds. Engineers who
expected to assign 50 or more mobile phones to the same radio channel found that by doing so they increased
the probability that a user would not get dial tone—this is known as call-blocking probability. As a
consequence, the early systems quickly became saturated, and the quality of service decreased rapidly. The
critical problem was capacity. The general characteristics of time division multiple access (TDMA), Global
System for Mobile Communications (GSM), personal communications service (PCS) 1900, and code division
multiple access (CDMA) promise to significantly increase the efficiency of cellular telephone systems to allow
a greater number of simultaneous conversations. Figure 8 shows the components of a typical digital cellular
system.

The advantages of digital cellular technologies over analog cellular networks include increased capacity and
security. Technology options such as TDMA and CDMA offer more channels in the same analog cellular
bandwidth and encrypted voice and data. Because of the enormous amount of money that service providers
have invested in AMPS hardware and software, providers look for a migration from AMPS to digital analog
mobile phone service (DAMPS) by overlaying their existing networks with TDMA architectures.

FDM, TDMA, and CDMA Mobile Telephone Technologies

Mobile telephone system all utilize some method to allow multiple users to share the system concurrently. The
three methods for doing this are:

FDM Frequency Division Multiplexing

TDMA Time Division Multiple Access
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
In a FDM system, the available frequency is divided into channels. Each conversation is given a channel.
When the system runs out of channels in a given area, no more telephone calls can be connected. In this way,
FDM operates much like the channel button on your television set. The AMPS and NAMPS mobile telephone
systems utilize FDM.
In a TDMA system, your encoded voice is digitized and then placed on a radio-frequency (RF) channel with
other calls. This is accomplished by allocating time slots to each call within the frequency. In the D-AMPS
(Digital AMPS) system, each 30kHz carrier frequency is divided into three time slots. In the GSM and PCS
systems, each 200kHz carrier is divided into eight time slots. The D-AMPS, D-AMPS 1900, GSM, PCS and
iDEN systems all utilize TDMA.
In a CDMA system, your encoded voice is digitized and divided into packets. These packets are tagged with
"codes." The packets then mix with all of the other packets of traffic in the local CDMA network as they are
routed towards their destination. The receiving system only accepts the packets with the codes destined for it.
Analog systems are FDM. Digital systems can utilize either TDMA or CDMA.
FDM systems typically allow one call per 10Khz or 30Khz of spectrum. Early TDMA systems tripled the
capacity of FDM systems. Recent advances in TDMA promise to provide forty times the carrying capacity of
FDM systems. CDMA promises to improve on the results of TDMA.

Cellular Radio Network

Main article: Cellular Network
GSM is a cellular network, which means that mobile phones connect to it by searching for cells in the
immediate vicinity.
There are five different cell sizes in a GSM network—macro, micro, pico, femto and umbrella cells. The
coverage area of each cell varies according to the implementation environment. Macro cells can be regarded as
cells where the base station antenna is installed on a mast or a building above average roof top level. Micro
cells are cells whose antenna height is under average roof top level; they are typically used in urban areas.
Picocells are small cells whose coverage diameter is a few dozen meters; they are mainly used indoors.
Femtocells are cells designed for use in residential or small business environments and connect to the service
provider’s network via a broadband internet connection. Umbrella cells are used to cover shadowed regions of
smaller cells and fill in gaps in coverage between those cells.
Cell horizontal radius varies depending on antenna height, antenna gain and propagation conditions from a
couple of hundred meters to several tens of kilometres. The longest distance the GSM specification supports in
practical use is 35 kilometres (22 mi). There are also several implementations of the concept of an extended
cell, where the cell radius could be double or even more, depending on the antenna system, the type of terrain
and the timing advance.
Indoor coverage is also supported by GSM and may be achieved by using an indoor picocell base station, or
an indoor repeater with distributed indoor antennas fed through power splitters, to deliver the radio signals
from an antenna outdoors to the separate indoor distributed antenna system. These are typically deployed when
a lot of call capacity is needed indoors, for example in shopping centers or airports. However, this is not a
prerequisite, since indoor coverage is also provided by in-building penetration of the radio signals from nearby
cells.
The modulation used in GSM is Gaussian minimum-shift keying (GMSK), a kind of continuous-
phase frequency shift keying. In GMSK, the signal to be modulated onto the carrier is first smoothed with
a Gaussianlow-pass filter prior to being fed to a frequency modulator, which greatly reduces the interference to
neighboring channels (adjacent channel interference).

GSM Frequencies

GSM frequency ranges

GSM networks operate in a number of different frequency ranges (separated into GSM frequency ranges for
2G and UMTS frequency bands for 3G). Most 2G GSM networks operate in the 900 MHz or 1800 MHz
bands. Some countries in the Americas (including Canada and the United States) use the 850 MHz and 1900
MHz bands because the 900 and 1800 MHz frequency bands were already allocated. Most 3G GSM networks
in Europe operate in the 2100 MHz frequency band
The rarer 400 and 450 MHz frequency bands are assigned in some countries where these frequencies were
previously used for first-generation systems.
GSM-900 uses 890–915 MHz to send information from the mobile station to the base station (uplink) and
935–960 MHz for the other direction (downlink), providing 124 RF channels (channel numbers 1 to 124)
spaced at 200 kHz. Duplex spacing of 45 MHz is used. In some countries the GSM-900 band has been
extended to cover a larger frequency range. This 'extended GSM', E-GSM, uses 880–915 MHz (uplink) and
925–960 MHz (downlink), adding 50 channels (channel numbers 975 to 1023 and 0) to the original GSM-900
band. Time division multiplexing is used to allow eight full-rate or sixteen half-rate speech channels per radio
frequency channel. There are eight radio timeslots (giving eight burst periods) grouped into what is called
a TDMA frame. Half rate channels use alternate frames in the same timeslot. The channel data rate for all 8
channels is 270.833 kbit/s, and the frame duration is 4.615 ms.
The transmission power in the handset is limited to a maximum of 2 watts in GSM850/900 and 1 watt in
GSM1800/1900.
Voice Codecs
GSM has used a variety of voice codecs to squeeze 3.1 kHz audio into between 5.6 and 13 kbit/s. Originally,
two codecs, named after the types of data channel they were allocated, were used, called Half Rate(5.6 kbit/s)
and Full Rate (13 kbit/s). These used a system based upon linear predictive coding (LPC). In addition to being
efficient with bitrates, these codecs also made it easier to identify more important parts of the audio, allowing
the air interface layer to prioritize and better protect these parts of the signal.
GSM was further enhanced in 1997[12] with the Enhanced Full Rate (EFR) codec, a 12.2 kbit/s codec that uses
a full rate channel. Finally, with the development of UMTS, EFR was refactored into a variable-rate codec
called AMR-Narrowband, which is high quality and robust against interference when used on full rate
channels, and less robust but still relatively high quality when used in good radio conditions on half-rate
channels.

The structure of a GSM network

The network behind the GSM seen by the customer is large and complicated in order to provide all of the
services which are required. It is divided into a number of sections and these are each covered in separate
articles.
the Base Station Subsystem (the base stations and their controllers).
the Network and Switching Subsystem (the part of the network most similar to a fixed network). This is
sometimes also just called the core network.
the GPRS Core Network (the optional part which allows packet based Internet connections).
all of the elements in the system combine to produce many GSM services such as voice calls and SMS.

Subscriber Identity Module

One of the key features of GSM is the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), commonly known as a SIM card.
The SIM is a detachable smart card containing the user's subscription information and phone book. This allows
the user to retain his or her information after switching handsets. Alternatively, the user can also change
operators while retaining the handset simply by changing the SIM. Some operators will block this by allowing
the phone to use only a single SIM, or only a SIM issued by them; this practice is known as SIM locking, and
is illegal in some countries.
In Australia, North America and Europe many operators lock the mobiles they sell. This is done because the
price of the mobile phone is typically subsidised with revenue from subscriptions, and operators want to try to
avoid subsidising competitor's mobiles. A subscriber can usually contact the provider to remove the lock for a
fee, utilize private services to remove the lock, or make use of ample software and websites available on the
Internet to unlock the handset themselves. While most web sites offer the unlocking for a fee, some do it for
free. The locking applies to the handset, identified by itsInternational Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI)
number, not to the account (which is identified by the SIM card).
In some countries such as Bangladesh, Belgium, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan, all
phones are sold unlocked. However, in Belgium, it is unlawful for operators there to offer any form of subsidy
on the phone's price. This was also the case in Finland until April 1, 2006, when selling subsidized
combinations of handsets and accounts became legal, though operators have to unlock phones free of charge
after a certain period (at most 24 months).

ARCHITECTURE

A GSM network is composed of several functional entities, whose functions and interfaces are defined.
Figure 1 shows the layout of a generic GSM network. The GSM network can be divided into three broad
parts. The Mobile Station is carried by the subscriber, the Base Station Subsystem controls the radio link with
the Mobile Station. The Network Subsystem, the main part of which is the Mobile services Switching Center,
performs the switching of calls between the mobile and other fixed or mobile network users, as well as
management of mobile services, such as authentication. Not shown is the Operations and Maintenance center,
which oversees the proper operation and setup of the network. The Mobile Station and the Base Station
Subsystem communicate across the Um interface, also known as the air interface or radio link. The Base
Station Subsystem communicates with the Mobile service Switching Center across the A interface
.
,---------------------------------------------------------------------------,
| Um A |
| Interface A-bis Interface |
| | Interface | ,--------------------, |
| | ,-----, ,-----, | |
| | ,----------|----------, | | | VLR | | HLR | | ,-------, |
| ,-----, | ,-----, | | `-----' `-----' | | Other | |
| | SIM | | | | BTS | | ,-----, | | | ,-----, | | MSCs | |
| `--,--' | `-----'---| | | | | |--------------'-------' |
| | , | : | | BSC |-----------| MSC | | |
| ,-----, /| | ,-----,---| | | | | |--------------,------, |
| | MS |' | ,---| BTS | | `-----' | | | `-----' | / PSTN / \ |
| `-----' |/ | `-----' | | ,-----, ,-----, | \ ISDN / |
| ' `----------|----------' | | | EIR | | AC | | `------' |
| | `-----' `-----' | |
| | Base Station Subsystem `--------------------' |
| Network Subsystem |
`----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
SIM Subscriber Identity Module HLR Home Location Register
MS Mobile Station VLR Vistor Location Register
BTS Base Transceiver Station EIR Equipment Identity Register
BSC Base Station Controller AC Authentication Center
MSC Mobile services Switching Center PSTN Public Switched Telecomm Network
VLR Visitor Location Register ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network
 FIGURE 1
Mobile Station

The mobile station (MS) consists of the physical equipment, such as the radio transceiver, display and digital
signal processors, and a smart card called the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). The SIM provides personal
mobility, so that the user can have access to all subscribed services irrespective of both the location of the
terminal and the use of a specific terminal. By inserting the SIM card into another GSM cellular phone, the
user is able to receive calls at that phone, make calls from that phone, or receive other subscribed services.
The mobile equipment is uniquely identified by the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). The SIM
card contains the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), identifying the subscriber, a secret key for
authentication, and other user information. The IMEI and the IMSI are independent, thereby providing
personal mobility. The SIM card may be protected against unauthorized use by a password or personal
identity number.
Base Station Subsystem
The Base Station Subsystem is composed of two parts, the Base Transceiver Station (BTS) and the Base
Station Controller (BSC). These communicate across the specified Abis interface, allowing (as in the rest of
the system) operation between components made by different suppliers.
The Base Transceiver Station houses the radio tranceivers that define a cell and handles the radiolink protocols
with the Mobile Station. In a large urban area, there will potentially be a large number of BTSs deployed. The
requirements for a BTS are ruggedness, reliability, portability, and minimum cost.
The Base Station Controller manages the radio resources for one or more BTSs. It handles radiochannel setup,
frequency hopping, and handovers, as described below. The BSC is the connection between the mobile and
the Mobile service Switching Center (MSC). The BSC also translates the 13 kbps voice channel used over the
radio link to the standard 64 kbps channel used by the Public Switched Telephone Network or ISDN.
Network Subsystem
The central component of the Network Subsystem is the Mobile services Switching Center (MSC). It acts like
a normal switching node of the PSTN or ISDN, and in addition provides all the functionality needed to handle
a mobile subscriber, such as registration, authentication, location updating, handovers, and call routing to a
roaming subscriber. These services are provided in conjuction with several functional entities, which together
form the Network Subsystem. The MSC provides the connection to the public fixed network (PSTN or
ISDN), and signalling between functional entities uses the ITUT Signalling System Number 7 (SS7), used in
ISDN and widely used in current public networks.
The Home Location Register (HLR) and Visitor Location Register (VLR), together with the MSC, provide the
callrouting and (possibly international) roaming capabilities of GSM. The HLR contains all the administrative
information of each subscriber registered in the corresponding GSM network, along with the current location
of the mobile. The current location of the mobile is in the form of a Mobile Station Roaming Number
(MSRN) which is a regular ISDN number used to route a call to the MSC where the mobile is currently
located. There is logically one HLR per GSM network, although it may be implemented as a distributed
database.
The Visitor Location Register contains selected administrative information from the HLR, necessary for call
control and provision of the subscribed services, for each mobile currently located in the geographical area
controlled by the VLR. Although each functional entity can be implemented as an independent unit, most
manufacturers of switching equipment implement one VLR together with one MSC, so that the geographical
area controlled by the MSC corresponds to that controlled by the VLR, simplifying the signalling required.
Note that the MSC contains no information about particular mobile stations - this information is stored in the
location registers.
The other two registers are used for authentication and security purposes. The Equipment Identity Register
(EIR) is a database that contains a list of all valid mobile equipment on the network, where each mobile station
is identified by its International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). An IMEI is marked as invalid if it has
been reported stolen or is not type approved. The Authentication Center is a protected database that stores a
copy of the secret key stored in each subscriber's SIM card, which is used for authentication and ciphering of
the radio channel.

Services Provided by GSM

From the beginning, the planners of GSM wanted ISDN compatibility in services offered and control
signalling used. The radio link imposed some limitations, however, since the standard ISDN bit rate of 64
kbps could not be practically achieved.
Using the ITUT definitions, telecommunication services can be divided into bearer services, teleservices, and
supplementary services. The digital nature of GSM allows data, both synchronous and asynchronous, to be
transported as a bearer service to or from an ISDN terminal. Data can use either the transparent service, which
has a fixed delay but no guarantee of data integrity, or a nontransparent service, which guarantees data
integrity through an Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) mechanism, but with a variable delay. The data rates
supported by GSM are 300 bps, 600 bps, 1200 bps, 2400 bps, and 9600 bps .
The most basic teleservice supported by GSM is telephony. There is an emergency service, where the nearest
emergencyservice provider is notified by dialling three digits (similar to 911).
Group 3 fax, an analog method described in ITUT recommendation T.30, is also supported by use of an
appropriate fax adaptor. A unique feature of GSM compared to older analog systems is the Short Message
Service (SMS). SMS is a bidirectional service for sending short alphanumeric (up to 160 bytes) messages in a
storeandforward fashion. For pointtopoint SMS, a message can be sent to another subscriber to the service,
and an acknowledgement of receipt is provided to the sender. SMS can also be used in a cellbroadcast mode,
for sending messages such as traffic updates or news updates. Messages can be stored in the SIM card for later
retrieval .
Supplementary services are provided on top of teleservices or bearer services, and include features such as
caller identification, call forwarding, call waiting, multiparty conversations, and barring of outgoing
(international) calls, among others.

CONCLUSION

GSM security
GSM was designed with a moderate level of security. The system was designed to authenticate the subscriber
using a pre-shared key and challenge-response. Communications between the subscriber and the base station
can be encrypted. The development of UMTS introduces an optional USIM, that uses a longer authentication
key to give greater security, as well as mutually authenticating the network and the user - whereas GSM only
authenticates the user to the network (and not vice versa). The security model therefore offers confidentiality
and authentication, but limited authorization capabilities, and no non-repudiation. GSM uses several
cryptographic algorithms for security. The A5/1 and A5/2 stream ciphers are used for ensuring over-the-air
voice privacy. A5/1 was developed first and is a stronger algorithm used within Europe and the United States;
A5/2 is weaker and used in other countries. Serious weaknesses have been found in both algorithms: it is
possible to break A5/2 in real-time with a ciphertext-only attack, and in February 2008, Pico Computing, Inc
revealed its ability and plans to commercialize FPGAs that allow A5/1 to be broken with a rainbow
table attack [1]. The system supports multiple algorithms so operators may replace that cipher with a stronger
one.