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author | Harald Welte <laforge@gnumonks.org> | 2017-05-29 20:51:30 +0200 |
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committer | Harald Welte <laforge@gnumonks.org> | 2017-05-29 20:52:02 +0200 |
commit | 8e23a8e3ab2e4bba82d2ca7906174dc0e04b6ad0 (patch) | |
tree | 4dd3b916a4f27fc1b6cc388d21e9ccad1b0a67b7 /common/chapters/cell-broadcast.adoc | |
parent | 724bb5166fd43fbdc75d51ee10effb87fade7c27 (diff) |
Add chapter on Cell Broadcast Support in Osmocom (to BSC+NITB manual)
Change-Id: I2c621def499dc0564d31eb9440e22e79948a5466
Diffstat (limited to 'common/chapters/cell-broadcast.adoc')
-rw-r--r-- | common/chapters/cell-broadcast.adoc | 75 |
1 files changed, 75 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/common/chapters/cell-broadcast.adoc b/common/chapters/cell-broadcast.adoc new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d439128 --- /dev/null +++ b/common/chapters/cell-broadcast.adoc @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ +[[cell_broadcast]] +== Cell Broadcast + +Normally, all user plane data in GSM/GPRS networks are sent in +point-to-point channels from the network to the user. Those are called +"dedicated" radio channels which exist between the network and one +given phone/subscriber at a time. + +Cell Broadcast is an exception to that rule. It permits user data +(so-called SMS-CB data) to be broadcast by the network in a way that +can be received by all phones in the coverage area of the given BTS +simultaneously. + +More high-level information can be found at +https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_Broadcast and the related +specification is <<3gpp-ts-23-041>>. + +=== Use Cases + +Cell Broadcast was used for various different use cases primarily in +the 1990ies and early 2000s, including + +* advertisement of the GPS position of the cell tower you're currently camping on +* advertisement of the calling codes of your current "home zone", i.e. a + "lower cost short distance" call zone travelling with you as you roam around. + +More recently, SMS-CB is seeing some uptake by various disaster +warning systems, such as + +* CMAS (Commercial Mobile Alert System), later renamed to WEA (Wireless Emergency Alerts) in the US. +* EU-Alert in the European union +* Messer Ishi (Rocket Alert) in Israel +* ETWS (Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System) in Japan +* KPAS (Korean Public Alert System) + +=== Osmocom Cell Broadcast support + +* OsmoBTS implements the "SMS BROADCAST COMMAND" Message in RSL + according to Section 8.5.8 of 3GPP TS 08.58 +* OsmoNITB and OsmoBSC implement a VTY command + `bts <0-255> smscb-command <1-4> HEXSTRING` to send a given hex-formatted cell + broadcast message to a specified BTS + +[mscgen] +---- +include::osmocom-cbs.msc[] +---- + +==== What'a miaaing + +What's missing (for production operation in larger networks) + +* mechanism to broadcast one (set of) cell broadcast messages from the + BSC to multiple/all BTSs, rather than one BTS individually +* OsmoBTS reporting of current CBCH load +* BSC scheduler scheduling multiple alternating sets of CBCH messages + based on the current CBCH load reported by BTS +* external interface from BSC to a Cell Broadcast Center (CBC), e.g. + according to 3GPP TS 48.049 +* an Osmocom implementation of the Cell Broadcast Center (OsmoCBC) + which can manage and distribute messages to multiple BSCs and which + has an external interface by which cell-broadcast can be entered + into the network + +If you would like to contribute in any of those areas (by means of +code or funding), please reach out to us any time. + +=== Message Structure + +* Each message has a meximum of 15 pages +* Each page is 82 bytes of data, resulting in 93 characters in GSM + 7-bit default alphabet +* Messages are broadcast on logical channels (more like an address) +* Subscribers can activate/deactivate selective addresses + |