KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY

School Of Engineering
Department Of Electrical & Electronics Engineering

Case Study on
Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK)

ETEG 320: Communication System Engineering

Submitted By:
Sakriya Dahal (31028)
Utkrista Jung Niroula (31038)
Srijana Sah (31046)

Submitted To:
Mr. Bijaya Shrestha
Associate Professor
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Nepal Engineering College

Date: June 14, 2024

Introduction of Modulation
Modulation is defined as the process in which some characteristics of high frequency carrier signal
vary in accordance with the instantaneous value of the information bearing signal known as
modulating signal or message signal or baseband signal. The signal resulted after modulation is
referred to as the modulated signal. Modulation is important for simultaneous transmission of
several signals, reducing the noise and for practicality of antenna. The reverse process known as
demodulation is performed in the receiver section to recover the original message signal from the
modulated signal.

Digital Modulation Techniques

Some of the digital modulation techniques are:
1. Binary Amplitude Shift Keying (BASK):
Binary Amplitude Shift Keying (BASK) is a digital modulation technique in which the amplitude
of the carrier signal varies in accordance with the digital data (in form of ‘1’ or’0’) being
transmitted. It is used in telecommunications in the transmission of digital data over radio
frequency, particularly where bandwidth efficiency is not critical. It is susceptible to noise and is
less efficient in comparison to FSK or PSK for high data transmission.
Let the sinusoidal carrier be represented by c(t) and ASK signal by s(t). Then, c(t) = Accos (2πfct)
Therefore,
s(t) = x(t). Accos (2πfct)
where, x(t) is ‘1’ or ‘0’.

2. Binary Frequency Shift Keying (BFSK):

Binary Frequency Shift Keying (BFSK) is a digital modulation technique in which the frequency
of the carrier signal varies in accordance with the digital data (in form of ‘1’ or’0’) being
transmitted. FSK is commonly used in various communication systems including radio
broadcasting and wireless data transmission.
Mathematically, Let, f1 and f2 be different frequencies where 0 and 1 are being transmitted
respectively and FSK can be represented by s(t). Then,
s(t) = Accos (2πf1t) for ‘0’ s(t) = Accos (2πf2t) for ‘1’

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 3. Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK):
Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) is a digital modulation technique in which the phase of the
carrier signal varies in accordance with the digital data (in form of ‘1’ or’0’) being transmitted.
FSK is commonly used in digital communication systems where bandwidth efficiency is
important. It can achieve higher rates compared to ASK and FSK.
Let, FSK be represented by s(t), then,
s(t) = Ac cos (2πfct + Ф)
where, Ф is the phase shift that depends on 0 or 1 BPSK.

4. Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK):

Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) us a digital modulation technique in which the phase of
the carrier takes on one of four equally spaced values, such as 𝜋/4, 3𝜋/4, 5𝜋/4 and 7𝜋/4 and can
be expressed by

where 𝑖 = 1, 2, 3, 4, and 𝐸 is the transmitted signal energy per symbol, 𝑇 is the symbol duration.
Each possible value of the phase corresponds to a unique pair of bits called a dibit. The Gray
encoded set of dibits is 10, 00, 01 and 11.

5. Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM):

In binary PSK, QPSK and M-ary PSK, one symbol is distinguished from the other in phase, but
all the symbols are of same amplitude. If the symbol is varied also in amplitude, then the separation
between signal points in the constellation may be larger thereby improving the noise immunity of
the system. Such a technique is known as QAM or M-ary QAM. The general form of M-ary QAM
is defined by

where, E0 denotes the energy of the lowest amplitude signal and 𝑎i and 𝑏i are a pair of independent
integers chosen in accordance with the position of a message point.

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Introduction of Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK):
GMSK is referred to as Gaussian filtered Minimum Shift Keying which is a form of frequency
modulation that is used in radio communications systems. This form of frequency modulation is
related to the 2G GSM mobile communication system. It is an effective form of modulation. Since
high efficiency is obtained from RF power amplifiers, GSM cell phones used to have a long battery
life. GMSK modulation is based on MSK, which is itself a form of continuous-phase frequency
shift keying, CPFSK. One of the problems with standard forms of PSK is that sidebands extend
out from the carrier. To overcome this, MSK and its derivative GMSK can be used.

GMSK modulation is known as a continuous phase scheme. In this scheme, no phase

discontinuities are seen because of the frequency changes at the carrier zero crossing points. This
arises because of the unique factor of MSK that the frequency difference between the logical one
and logical zero states is always equal to half the data rate. When expressed in the terms of the
modulation index, the modulation index of GMSK is always equal to 0.5.

It is a form of continuous-phase frequency-shift keying (CPFSK) and is known for its spectral
efficiency and constant-envelope properties. In GMSK, binary data (0s and 1s) are typically
encoded into symbols. Let's denote the binary data as a sequence of bits: b[n], where n is the index
of the bit.

GMSK starts with pulse shaping using a Gaussian filter. The Gaussian pulse shape g(t) can be
represented as:

where,
g(t) is the Gaussian pulse shape σ is the standard deviation of the Gaussian pulse,
determining its bandwidth and t is time.

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 Figure 1: Working of MSK after performing Gaussian filtration

The phase of the carrier signal accumulates based on the shaped pulses. The phase at any time t
is given by:

The frequency deviation, often denoted as Δf, is proportional to the derivative of the phase with
respect to time.

The frequency-modulated signal represents the FSK component of GMSK. The instantaneous
frequency is shifted based on the binary data. For example, if the data symbol is 0, the frequency
remains unchanged, and if it's 1, the frequency shifts in one direction. The energy of the GMSK
signal s(t) can be computed by integrating the squared magnitude of the signal over all time is:

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Then GMSK signals can be represented mathematically by,
s(t)= I(t) cos(2𝜋fct)+ Q(t) sin(2𝜋fct)

The received signal under ideal conditions, can be given as:

s(t)= I(t) cos(2𝜋fct +𝜃d(t)) + Q(t) sin(2𝜋fct +𝜃d(t))

where, 𝜃d(t) is the frequency deviation occurred due to channel characteristics.

Generation of GMSK Signal

The GMSK modulation can be generated by:
Quadrature Modulator (I-Q Modulator) Method:
This is a more widely used method, a quadrature modulator is employed.
Quadrature Modulator (I-Q Modulator): This modulator utilizes two signals: one "in phase"
(I) and another "in quadrature" (Q). In-phase and quadrature elements refer to signals that are 0
degrees and 90 degrees out of phase with each other, respectively. This type of modulator is often
referred to as an I-Q modulator.
Maintaining Modulation Index: With the I-Q modulator, it becomes possible to maintain the
modulation index precisely at 0.5 without the need for manual adjustments or settings. This is
advantageous because it simplifies the setup and ensures consistent performance.

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 Figure 2: Quadrature Modulator Technique of GMSK

Reception of GMSK signal

The same I-Q technique can be used in reverse for demodulation. In GMSK demodulation, an I-Q
demodulator is employed to extract the original modulating signal from the received GMSK signal.
Demodulation of the GMSK signal is carried out considering it as a partial response continuous
phase modulation signal. If the GMSK signal is considered as a partial response continuous phase
modulation signal with modulation index of 0.5, then the receiver is made of an ideal multiplier
that multiplies the received signal with a locally generated carrier, followed by low-pass filters to
generate the real and imaginary parts of the complex envelope of the received signal. Then a phase
generator builds all the possible phase transitions, finally the bits are reconstructed.

Figure 3: Quadrature Demodulator Technique of GMSK

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This technique is well-suited for maintaining the modulation index during both modulation and
demodulation processes. The I-Q modulator method simplifies the process by naturally
maintaining the required modulation index of 0.5, making it more practical and widely used in
modern communication systems.

Advantages of GMSK
1. It has improved spectral efficiency when compared to other phase shifted key modes.
2. It can be amplified by a non-linear amplifier and remain undistorted. This is because there
are no elements of the signal that are carried as amplitude variations.
3. Abrupt transition of carrier waveform occurs in PSK which causes interference to adjacent
channels by producing non-linear distortion, this problem is solved by MSK.
4. None of the information is carried as amplitude variations. This means that it is immune to
amplitude variations and therefore more resilient to noise than some other forms of
modulation, because most noise is mainly amplitude based.

Disadvantages of GMSK
1. GMSK has higher power requirements compared to other modulation schemes like QPSK.
To reliably transmit the same amount of data, GMSK needs a higher power level.
2. The Gaussian filter used in GMSK increases the modulation memory in the system and
causes intersymbol interference. This makes it more difficult to differentiate between
different transmitted data values and requires more complex channel equalization.
3. While GMSK is more spectrally efficient than MSK, it also has slightly higher error rates.
This means the bit error rate (BER) performance of GMSK is not as good as MSK.
4. Compared to MSK, GMSK is less frequency efficient due to its wider bandwidth usage.
This can be a disadvantage in scenarios where frequency spectrum is limited.

Application of GMSK
Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK) is a modulation technique used primarily in digital
communication systems. Since, it is a form of continuous phase modulation and is known for its
spectral efficiency. The applications of GMSK are listed below:

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 1. GMSK is commonly used in 2G mobile communication systems like GSM for voice and
data transmission. Its spectral efficiency and resistance to interference make it suitable for
efficient use of radio spectrum.
2. GMSK is used in the physical layer of Bluetooth communication. Bluetooth is a wireless
technology commonly used for short-range data and audio communication between
devices.
3. GMSK is used in satellite communication systems due to its resistance to multipath fading
and its ability to provide reliable data transmission over long distances.
4. GMSK has been used in some wireless LAN (Local Area Network) standards, such as
IEEE 802.11 FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) and some proprietary systems,
although it's less common in modern Wi-Fi standards.
5. GMSK modulation is used in certain RFID systems for tracking and identification
applications, especially in the UHF (Ultra High Frequency) and microwave frequency
bands.
6. GMSK is employed in some medical telemetry systems for monitoring patients' vital signs
and transmitting the data wirelessly to a monitoring station.
7. GMSK can be found in some industrial and process control systems that require reliable
communication in noisy or harsh environments.

Conclusion
Overall, GMSK is suited for a wide range of applications in digital communication systems due to
its effective use of bandwidth, resistance against noise and interference, and capacity to support
reliable data transmission.

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References
[1] Bonfring International Journal of Research in Communication Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 2,
June 2012.
[2] http://docs.neu.edu.tr/staff/fahreddin.sadikoglu/7.%20mobile_18.pdf