Review of Wireless Technologies for Smart Grid Communication

The assignment is focused on reviewing wireless technologies for smart grid communication. It includes references to various research papers and articles related to the topic, providing a comprehensive overview of the subject matter. The assignment also covers the evolution of cellular systems and the development of 5G technology. It highlights the importance of wireless communication in smart grid systems and provides insights into future developments in this field.

Running head: A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
A Detailed Comparison of the GSM,GPRS,EDGE and UMTS Air
Interfaces
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
Abstract
The purpose of this report is to identify and analyze the properties and components of GSM,
GPRS, EDGE and UMTS AIR interfaces. The GSM or global system of mobile
communication is a digital mobile telephony system that is widely used across the globe. It
makes use of different variation of Time division multiple access and is forms the base of
different telephony technologies such as TDMA, GSM and CDMA. The GPRS is another
standard technology that extends GSM with the support of data features. However, EDGE or
enhanced data GSM environment is the fastest version of the GSM. UMTS or universal
mobile telecommunication provides third generation or 3G broadband service. Therefore, the
interfaces of these systems have some unique characteristics, which are quite different from
each other. The report evaluates the different characteristics of their interfaces and draws a
comparison among them. The detailed comparison of the interfaces is elaborated in this
report.

2A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
GSM...............................................................................................................................3
Issues with GSM........................................................................................................6
Possible solutions.......................................................................................................7
GPRS..............................................................................................................................8
Issues with GPRS.......................................................................................................9
EDGE...........................................................................................................................11
Development of the EDGE......................................................................................13
Implementation of the EDGE...................................................................................13
Technology behind EDGE.......................................................................................14
UMTS...........................................................................................................................15
User Equipment (UE)...............................................................................................15
UMTS Core Network...............................................................................................16
Conclusion....................................................................................................................19
References....................................................................................................................19

3A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
Introduction
From its inception in the 1970’s the wireless technology has evolved at an
exponential rate till date. In the last few decades the number of users also have increased
throughout the world. The main reasons for which the wireless technology is popular in the
tele-communication sector are its efficiency, availability, flexibility and reduced amount of
cost (Stüber 2017). With the improved and advanced communication systems the wireless
technology leads to faster information transfer within the wireless networks. In addition to
that, the users do not have to carry the adapters or connecting cables in order to connect and
communicate with the other users in the Networks (Gupta and Jha 2015). Most of the
equipment’s required for setting up wireless networks comparatively cheaper to install as
well as maintain. Therefore, in long term the use of the wireless networks reduces the overall
the cost.
The GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), GPRS (General Packet
Radio Service), EDGE (Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution), UMTS (Universal
Mobile Telecommunication System) are the different generations of which the
UMTS is the latest one. For every next generation listed above additional features are added
compared to the previous one. Due to this additional features to each generation the QoS
improved with every next generation.
GSM
The GSM is the abbreviation of Global System for Mobile Communications. GSM
gives mobile communication depending on the transmission of digital data which is
transmitted at the speed up to 9.6 kbps, notwithstanding the audio communication (Durkop,

4A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
Czybik and Jasperneite 2015). A large portion of the GSM benchmarks were outlined with
the interest of the service providers or the operators and to prevent the network abuse; the
obligation regarding the implementation of the features for the security of end user’s privacy
is designated to the service providers or the operators.
The GSM is helpful in providing high quality and secure portable voice as well as
data services. For example, fax and messaging services alongside the roaming abilities
throughout the world. As the GSM could initially give just a 9.6-Kbps data rate (Mulla et
al.2015). Henceforth the advancements were made to redesign 2G or the GSM systems
without supplanting the systems in order to address the poor transmission rates of these
systems.
The main components of the GSM networks are listed as,Base station system (BSS),
Base transceiver station (BTS), Mobile station (MS), Base station controller (BSC), Base
station subsystem (BSS),Authentication center (AuC), Mobile switching center (MSC),
Home location register (HLR), Visitor location register (VLR) (ElNashar, El-Saidny and
Sherif 2014).
MS (Mobile station): It is considered as the starting point for the network. Usually it
contains two subcomponents which are Mobile terminal and Terminal equipment (which may
be a computer or a PDA (Personal digital assistant)).
Base station controller: It is the controlling component of the entire radio network.
The BSC’s reserves the radio frequencies and controls the flow of data whenever a MS roams
in different network cells (Parvez et al.2017). Paging of the incoming calls or data is mainly
controlled by the BSC.

5A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
Base Transceiver Station: BTS or the Base Transceiver Station is responsible for
transmission of the radio signals sent by the mobile stations used by the users. The data is
transmitted with in some specific geographical regions which are called cells. This stations
incorporates radio signal processing equipment’s, amplifiers and antennas).
Base station subsystem: Any GSM network can comprise of several base station
subsystems. Each of these BSS’s are controlled by the Base station controllers. The BSS
plays out the essential functionalities for ensuring the radio connectivity with the mobile
stations (MS), signal rate adaptions, coding and decoding of the voice over the transmission
medium, coming from the remote mobile stations (Alonso, Alejos and Sánchez 2015).
Multiple BTS can be controlled under one Base Station Subsystem.
Mobile Switching Center: The MSC is an integrated services digital network switch
that helps in establishing the connection between the other MSC’s. A single MSC is capable
of connecting to multiple numbers BSC or Base station controllers.
Authentication Center: The AuC is s Related with the HLR. This is the database that
is important for verifications of the users; this database contains different algorithms for
verifying users or the subscribers and the vital keys for encryption of the transmitted data to
protect the inputs by the users required for authentication in the network (Miraz et al. 2017).
Visitor Location Register: The VLR or the Visitor Location Register is considered
as a distributed database that briefly stores data about the MS’s that are dynamic in the
geographic locations for which the VLR is mainly responsible (George et al. 2015). A VLR
is related with every MSC in a particular network. At the point when a newuser or subscriber
enters inside the particular network area or zone, the VLR is in charge of replicating user data
from the HLR to its nearby database.

6A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
This relationship between the VLR and HLR avoids the frequent update in the HLR
database. In addition to that it also avoids long distance motioning of the user data, enabling
speedier access to the required data.
Home Location Register: The HLR or the home location register is the database for
all clients to register to a particular GSM network. It stores static data about the users or the
subscribers, for example, the IMSI (international mobile subscriber identity), services, and a
key for the authentication of the users or the subscribers (Mahmood, Javaid and Razzaq
2015). The HLR additionally stores dynamic data (such as, present area of the user).
Any GSM network can easily route the data flow or the voice calls to the base station
for the appropriate MS. At the point when a user switches on their PDA or MS, it registers
with the system and from this it is conceivable to figure out which BTS it speaks with so
approaching calls can be routed appropriately (Tadayoni, Henten and Sørensen 2017).
Notwithstanding this scenario, when the MS of the user is not active it re-establishes
intermittently to guarantee that the system (HLR) knows about its most recent position. There
is one HLR available for every network, in spite of the fact that it might be circulated
crosswise over different sub stations for operational reasons.
Issues with GSM
lack of visibility: The process of ciphering of the transmitted data is controlled by the
BTS. The subscribers or the users are not informed or cautioned when the ciphering mode is
not active (Miraz et al. 2017). A BTS can likewise deactivate the mode and enforces the MS
to transmit the data without any encryption.
Lack of protection for user anonymity: whenever a user/subscriber enters a
network at a certain geographical location for the first time and at the time the mappingg

7A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
table between the users Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity(TMSI) and International
mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) isnot available, then the network explicitly request for to
proclaim the IMSI (Sauter 2014). This can be abused to come up short the user’s obscurity
and can be achieved by sending an IDENTITY REQUEST command from a false BTS to the
MS.
DoS attack vulnerability: due to the lack of security measures it is possible for single
DoS attacker to exploit a complete network.The attacker can send the CHANNEL REQUEST
command to BSC for a few times however while does not finishing the protocol, the attacker
again demands another channel. Since the number of channels is restricted, this prompts a
DoS attacks (Chen et al. 2014). It is considered as a feasible way to attack the network since
the call setup protocol completes the resources allocation process without any authentication
process.
Lack of integrity checks: In spite of the fact, that architecture ofGSM keeps in mind
the securityaspects (such as confidentiality of the transmitted data as well as authentication of
the different requests), but there is no mechanism in place for checking the integrity of the
transmitted or received data at the receiving end.
Increased redundancy: The FEC or the Forward Error Correcting mechanism is
performed prior to the ciphering of the transmitted data (Miraz et al. 2015). Therefore, it is
evident that there is a redundant process that is responsible for increasing the vulnerabilities
of cryptographic algorithms used for ciphering of the data.
Possible solutions
For most of the security vulnerabilities the easiest and best security arrangement is to
implement the end- to-end security mechanism or implementing the security mechanisms at
the application layer of the network. A larger part of the security vulnerabilities related to the

8A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
GSM (except the DoS attacks and SIM cloning) are not intended to affect the individual
customers or individuals, and their objectives are generally limited to unique group of
people(Medudula, Sagar and Gandhi 2016). Therefore, it is sensible and practical that such
groups make their communication channel more secure by utilizing the end -to-end security.
As the encryption and security mechanisms are implemented at the end points, thus
any change to the GSM network architecture would not be required. Along these lines,
regardless of whether the communication channel is eavesdropped by attackers or any legal
authorities, they would not be able to decrypt the transmitted information without having the
actual cipher key used by the communicating parties (given that secure cryptographic
algorithm is in place) (Kaur 2016).
GPRS
GPRS reuses the existing infrastructures used for GSM in order to provide end-to-end
packet switching services. Advantages of GPRS incorporates efficient usage of the resources
of the existing GSM network infrastructure, quick set-up as well as access time and high data
transmission rates compared to the GSM by utilizing multiple time slots for data transmission
(Pavithra and Srinath 2014). GPRS also provides a smooth way to GSM advancement to the
third generation mobile network evolution. Particularly it can be said that, third
generationmobile networks are still utilizing the GPRS IP as their backbone.
On the contrary of GSM, GPRS gives a more efficient security function. GPRS is
responsible for the validation of the service requests andauthentication. This in turn helps in
the unauthorized usage of the services (Mehmood et al. 2017). User data confidentiality is
likewise ensured utilizing the temporary identification while establishing connections inside a

9A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
network using the GPRS interface. In GPRS, the client data is secured by using the cipher
technique from any unauthorized access.
In wireless telecommunication GPRS emerged as one of the noteworthy
improvement in the GSM standard. The GPRS benefits the user from the data packet
switching technique toprovide the high data transfer rates that are required for bulky
transmissions of the data packets (Gupta and Garg 2015). It is conceivable for users to utilize
multiple time slots or data transmission channels all the at the same time.
MMS (Multimedia Messaging System) is the distinguishing feature of GPRS that
makes it better from its predecessor GSM. GPRS allowed users to sendpictures, videos,
sound clips or other multimedia files to the other users similar to the text messages in GSM.
Using the GPRS also helped the users to use their mobile handset to surf the web or
Internet at the speed of dial-up connections (Al-Sultan et al. 2014). This speed is achieved
through WAP enabled websites. Compared to the GSM, GPRS offered higher data transfer
rate whichis Up to 171kb/s in the ideal situations while using the packet-linked technology
over the architecture of GSM.
Issues with GPRS
GSM was mainly intended for voice based services. It likewise utilizes cells which
empowers it utilize the diverse frequencies. The GSM mainly works in three
differentfrequency ranges. These are described below,
GSM 1900 (often denoted as PCS or the Personal Communication Services) – Mainly
used in theCanada andUnited States for GSM.
GSM 1800 (likewise called PCN or the Personal Communication Network): functions
at 1800 MHz. mainly used in the nations including France, Germany, UK, and Russia.

10A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
GSM 900 (additionally called GSM) - works in the 900 MHz n and is the
mostcommon in Europe and in the rest of world.
In practical scenario the GPRS transmission rates are much lower than proposed in
the different theories. In order to reach the hypothetical speed described in the theories most
extreme of around 170 kbit/s possibly requires assigning eight slots for a single user which is
not a feasible and likely for the operators (Emmanuel and Marvis 2014). Regardless of
whether this most extreme portion was permitted, the GPRS terminals might be compelled by
the number of slots they can deal with for each of the users.
GPRS mainly depends on the data packet switching techniques which implies that
data packets can navigate different routes inside a networkand afterward the data packets can
be again reassembledwhen all the data packets reach to the destination (Zayas et al. 2018).
This results into potential travel delays affecting the QoS of the GPRS.
GPRSdepends likewise on the re-transmission and the protocols that are responsible
for checking the integrity of the data packets. This integrity checking is important in order to
ensure and guaranteethat the data packetstransmitted over the networks are not corrupted or
lost when they reach the destination (Campos 2017). In case the data packets are lost or
corrupted they may lead to further packet transmission delay issues.
GPRS permits the specification of QoS profiles utilizing priority of the services,
delay, quality of the service as well as reliability, mean and peak throughputin the service. In
spite of the fact that these properties are motioned in the protocols and are arranged between
the system and the mobile station using these protocol, no methods are defined to give QoS
differentiation between different services (Brandolini et al.2017). Lack of differentiation
causes an absence of consistency for QoS amongst service operators and the manufacturers of
the devices.

11A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
It is conceivable hypothetically to indicate a high QoS profile for GPRS protocol
considering an ideal environment, traffic over the transmission medium serious imperatives
on the quality or performance of the protocol.
Differences between the different services and standards mostly supports
asynchronous data transfer between the applications making it more complex toexecute
interactivetraffic in real time.
The GSM is utilized for circuit switched traffic in order to fundamentally transmit the
voice data. On the other hand, the GPRS is utilized for data packet switching traffic mainly
used for the web and MMS. Because of this in case of GPRS interface PDTCH (Packet Data
Traffic Channel) is used (Shahabuddin et al. 2018). This is helpful inallocating the channels
on demand of the user opposite to the static channel allocation nature in GSM.
EDGE
Enhanced data rate for GSM evolution is an enhancement of the GPRS and the GSM
such that the technology is enhanced. It can be used for sending and receiving large emails or
browsing complex webpages at a faster speed than the GSM networks. The EDGE are based
on the radio signals and that is utilized for transferring of data at a high speed. It is a
technology that is used for handling the services of the third generation mobile network
(Parmar and Pattani 2017). The EDGE was developed for the mobile network operators who
are unable to win the UMTS spectrum. The EDGE offers the GSM operators to provide data
service at a speed near to the UMTS network. There are different services that are embedded
with the EDGE such as multimedia email, video conferencing, web infotainment and it can
be easily accessed using the wireless terminals installed in the network architecture. There are
five terms used for the high speed transmission of wireless data such as first generation,

12A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
second generation, 2.5 generation, third generation and fourth generation (Shiu and
Yasumoto 2017). Analog transmission is used for first generation networks and for the
second generation network digital transmission is used for the voice signals. More calls can
be fitted in the same frequency at a time in case of digital transmission and it can be used for
eliminating the noise from the static calls. The digital technology can also be used for
improvement of the battery life and it can also different features top the call such as text
messaging, intelligent roaming and caller ID. The voice channel is used for transferring data
and it ranges from 9.6 kbps – 14.4 kbps. The 2.5 generation is used for the transportation of
the voice and including the packet service for allowing the speed of 20 – 40 kbps similar to
the dial up service (Thomas et al. 2017). The third generation of the network can be utilized
for increasing the transportation speed of the data packets and speed about 100 kbps.
Currently global system for mobile communication is used and it has the largest
digital mobile standards that is used in more than 170 countries. The GSM technology is used
in more than 70 percent of the mobile phones and it is implemented using the 400MHZ,
800MHZ, 900 MHZ, 1800 MHZ and 1900 MHZ. It is an enhanced version of the GPRS and
the core network of GSM for the transmission of the data packets utilizing the radio spectrum
(Akpakwu et al. 2017). The EDGE technology is used for providing the GSM network to
handle the 3g services and transferring large data packets at a peak rate of 472 kbps. An
average speed of 80 to 130 kbps can be achieved by the users. The EDGE is also compatible
with the GPRS network and it is evolving at a rapid rate. The second generation of the EDGE
has become a success for the worldwide network with more than 135 million subscriber in
100 countries. The voice is the main service offered by the EDGE but it have the ability to
transfer data using multislot operations. Gaussian minimum shift keying GMSK acts as the
base for high speed data transfer. Time division multiplexing TDMA is used for modulation
and it is based on the transceiver equipment (Sinha and Park 2017). Third generation

13A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
capabilities can be implemented on the GSM for the utilization of the packet switching
technology, IP connectivity and internet accessibility. With the implementation of the
technology the existing networks can be reused for supporting the mobile environment and
addition of new services such as circuit switching, authentication service for the users, etc
(Sathyan et al. 2016). The implementation of the packet switching helps in providing the
multimedia core network to evolve the existing telephony network.
Development of the EDGE
The EDGE technology was firstly proposed to the European telecommunication
Standards Institute, Europe in the year 1997. It acts as an evolution to the GSM because it
uses the bandwidth of the GSM carrier and there are no restriction to be applied within the
GSM cellular networks (Punz, Mur and Samdanis 2015). For the standardization of the
EDGE it requires to pass through the two phases, where the first phase emphasis is given on
the enhancement of the GPRS and in the second phase enhanced circuit switched data. The
same frame structure of TDMA and the logic channel are utilized by EDGE for the
transmission of the data and voice (Belal et al.2016). Thus it causes the tariff plan of the
mobile operator to remain same and offering better service to the users with high speed data,
rich media content and application services to its subscribers.
Implementation of the EDGE
For the implementation of the EDGE network the network design must be kept simple
and an EDGE transceiver is needed to be applied to each of the cell. The software upgrades
can be done remotely and for the base station controller. The standard GSM traffic needs to
be managed and it should be automatically switched between the EDGE modes and is
expected to support the high data rates for the downlink receiver (Selvi and Sendhilnathan
2017). The device type needs greater modification of the terminal and it is designed to

14A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
migrate from the GSM to the TDMA network. The attraction of the EDGE is the smooth up
gradation and evolution of the existing software and hardware that is required to be
introduced into the current GSM and TDMA network of the existing bands of frequency.
Technology behind EDGE
The first step is the evolution of the third generation mobile wireless services and in
case of the GPRS network EDGE acts as the most effective solution because it have
minimum impact as there is a requirement of software upgrades and transceiver units. This
also reduces the investment of the operator and thus allowing them to reuse the existing
equipment of the network and the radio systems. The EDGE is used for providing a migration
path from GPRS to UMTS with the implementation of the modulation changes required for
the implementation of the UMTS (Mitikie 2016). The main idea for the development of the
EDGE is to provide an evolutionary path of migration for the GPRS – UMTS by
implementing the UMTS or later. It also helps in improvement of the data rates and on the
200 Khz radio carrier by changing the modulation in the current circuit switches. It is an
improvement of the primary radio interface and it can be viewed as a system concept for
allowing the GSM and TDMA for offering new service to the users. One of the fundamental
characteristics for the cellular system is the implementation of the different channels for
signal to interference ratio for affecting the distance in the base station, interference and
fading (Ali et al. 2017). With the attempt for affecting the quality of the channel using the
power control a distribution of the channel quality is important and the quality of the
traditional service should be improved. Planning should be made on the radio quality the
EDGE network should be designed for the improvement of the situation and it is referred as
the link quality control (Hameed 2017). The link quality control is used for adaptation and
protecting the data such that the channel quality are optimal for gaining the bit rate. All the
transmission modes must be included and it offers the EDGE bearer services.

15A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
UMTS
It is also referred to as the 3G network and applied in the network for getting
improved level of performance from the GSM network. It differs itself from the GSM and the
EDGE network by the ability to carry data from different nodes connected in the network.
The UMTS network can be implemented over the WCDMA network for reducing the cost of
the network architecture and upgrading the current components. The main constituents of the
3G UMTS network are the user equipment’s, radio network subsystem and the core network
(Sun et al. 2015). The user equipment’s consists of the handheld mobile devices such as cell
phones, smart phones, tablets, etc. This are named as user equipment because the handheld
devices have greater functionality and it can be used for communicating via voice and data.
The radio network subsystem is also known as Radio Access Network and it is similar to the
base station subsystem of GSM. The air interface are managed by the overall network
(Thomas et al. 2017). The core network is used for central processing and managing the
system for switching between the NSS (Network Switching Subsystem) and the GSM
network.
User Equipment (UE)
The UE or the user equipment are the major elements of the UMTS 3G network
architecture because it is used by the user as the final interface for communicating with the
user. It can be used for viewing more number of facility and application for performing and
taking effective decision for calling the device a user equipment. There are different elements
of the user equipment’s such as the RF circuitry, baseband processing, battery and universal
subscriber identity module (Sathyan et al. 2016). The user equipment RF circuitry is used for
handling all the elements of the signal i.e. both the receiver and the transmitter. The main
challenges faced by the RF power amplifier was reducing the power consumption and the

16A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
modulation used for WCDMA requires using linear amplifier. The linear amplifier consumes
more power than the non-linear amplifier and it is used for the modulation of the GSM. The
battery life is maintained and different measures are taken for maintaining the efficiency and
design (Parmar and Pattani 2017). The baseband processing uses the digital circuitry and it is
complicated than the use of complicated mobile phones than the previous generations
modules. This also needs to be optimized for maintaining the optimum current consumption
and extending the battery life of the user equipment’s. For extending the battery life the
power consumption should be minimum. New battery technologies should be used for new
generation mobile phones because it is essential for the users expecting the same battery life
as their old generation mobile phones. The use of the lithium ion batteries can solve the
problem and it can also save space of the phone and improve the changing and overall life of
the battery (Punz, Mur and Samdanis 2015). The user equipment consists of the SIM card
module and in case of the UMTS the SIM is named as USIM Universal subscriber Identity
Module. The USIM is more advanced than the normal SIM cards used in the GSM
technology. Same informations are retained in the SIM such as the International Mobile
Subscriber Identity Number, Mobile Station International ISDN Number. There are several
other information that is embedded in the USIM such as the preferred languages such that the
user can correct the language information and it also contains the prohibited and public land
mobile networks.
UMTS Core Network
The UMTS network is created by migrating the different components of the GSM
network and adding different further elements for the implementation of additional
functionality that is required for the development of the UMTS network. It differs from the
GSM network on terms of the data carrying technology and the core network of UMTS can

17A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
be divided into two types such as: Circuit switched elements and packet switched elements
(Tadayoni, Henten and Sørensen 2017).
The circuit switched elements are primarily based on the entities of the GSM network
for carrying data utilizing the permanent channel when a call is established between two
users. The packet switched elements are designed for the network for carrying packet data
and. The application of packet switching causes full usage of the network resources and the
capacity needs to be shared between the destination nodes and the sender (Chen et al. 2014).
The network elements installed in the network that are related with the association should be
shared by the domains and it should operate similarly as the GSM.
The main elements of the circuit switch are the mobile switching centre and the
gateway MSC. The mobile switching centre is similar with the GSM and it is used for
management of the circuit switched calls. The gateway mobile switching centre is an
effective way for establishment of the connection between the external networks. The
elements of the packet switching are thee serving GPRS support nodes. The SGSN was
developed during the development of the GPRS and it is used for carrying the UMTS
network architecture (Mulla et al. 2015). There are a number of functionality of the UMTS
network such as the mobile management, session management, interaction with the other
components of the network and billing. The attachment of the user equipment with the packet
switching domain of the core network of UMTS the serving GPRS support Node generates
the MM information and it is based on the current location of the mobile. The session
management is used for management of the data sessions and serving the users with
improved quality service and management of the packet data protocol contexts (ElNashar, El-
Saidny and Sherif 2014). The interaction with the external areas of the network is established
for the management of the elements in the network and communicating with the users of
other areas such as the MSC and the circuit switched areas. The billing can be done using the

18A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
SGSN by monitoring the data flow across different GPRS network. The call details records
can be generated with the serving GPRS support node before transferring it to the entities of
charging with the implementation of the CFG charging gateway Function.
The gateway GPRS support node is also similar to the serving GPRS support node
because it was also first implemented into GPRS network. The GGSN act as the central
element within the UMTS packet switching network (George et al. 2015). The interworking
in the UMTS packet switched network and the external packet switched network can be
handled utilizing the GGSN and it acts as a sophisticated router. It operates by receiving data
address from a specific group of users connected in the network and a checking is run for
finding the active users and forwarding the data packets to the SGSN serving the user
equipment’s.
Shared Elements of the UMTS core network architecture consists of the following
entities such as the home location register, equipment identity register and the authentication
centre. The home location register consists of the administrative information for each of the
subscriber and with their location information. The UMTS network have the ability to route
thee calls to the RNC by fetching the location details of the subscriber (Stuber 2017). When
the user equipment of the subscriber is switched it gets registered with the network and thus it
can be used for determining the nodes for communicating such that all the calls are router
appropriately. If the user equipment of the subscriber is not active but it is in on state, it needs
to re-register for ensuring that the latest position of the user is known for routing the calls
efficiently. The equipment identity is also registered for taking an effective decision for
allowing or blocking the user equipment to communicate in the network (Durkop, Czybik and
Jasperneite 2015). Each of the user equipment has a unique IMEI number that is used for
checking the registration of the device in the network. The authentication centre contains a
database that is protected with a secret key that is stored in the USIM card.

19A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE GSM, GPRS, EDGE AND UMTS AIR INTERFACES
Conclusion
From the above report it can be concluded that with the comparison of the GSM,
GPRS, EDGE and UMTS air interfaces the advantages and the disadvantages of the
interfaces can be identified. The report provides a detailed explanation of the network
technology and the evolution of the network for high capacity service and circuit switching
using the transceiver and minimum upgrades of the GSM network. The allocation of the
bandwidth depends on the current demands of the market and implementation of the new
services requires additional spectrum. GSM, EDGE and GPRS operates in the 800, 900, 1800
and 1900 MHZ frequency. The common parts of the network are the core network, service
network and it generally operates in the 2 Ghz spectrum.Flexibility of wireless networks
using the GSM, GPRS, EDGE and UMTS for data and voice transmission makes it an
obvious choice for communication. The following paper contributes to the discussion about
the different technical aspects of the GSM, GPRS, EDGE and UMTS interfaces, the drivers
for the adoption of the interfaces. In addition to that, the issues and benefits related to this
interfaces are also discussed in the different sections of this report.
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