Enabling of BTSs for cell broadcast

I have been told that most operators' PLMNs don't support Cell
Broadcast. I know that a Cell Broadcast Centre is needed, but I have
been told that a control hardware device is needed in each BTS as well.
Can anyone tell me the correct name of that device so I can look it up?


Best regards

Peter Simonsen

"Peter Simonsen" <svupstik@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1167491435.921457.258040@i12g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
>I have been told that most operators' PLMNs don't support Cell
> Broadcast. I know that a Cell Broadcast Centre is needed, but I have
> been told that a control hardware device is needed in each BTS as well.
> Can anyone tell me the correct name of that device so I can look it up?
>
>
> Best regards
>
> Peter Simonsen
>
Cell broadcast has been widely in use but marginally in the form it was
originally intended. The main purpose has been to indicate customers the
area where they get lower cost calls like at their home area. Often referred
as Cell info.

Down at the BSS (BTS + BSC) all that is needed is the standard HW. Not all
operators have acquired the licence for the CBS SW, this may be something
you need to look for. Why don't you call the company who provides the BSS
for the network you're interested on?

Any background info for the query? Could motivate experts chime up.

Sorry, I think this is the wrong group. I have moved the post to
alt.cellular.

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.c...e786b38d9e1b6e


/Peter

Peter Simonsen wrote:

> I have been told that most operators' PLMNs don't support Cell
> Broadcast. I know that a Cell Broadcast Centre is needed, but
> I have been told that a control hardware device is needed in
> each BTS as well. Can anyone tell me the correct name of that
> device so I can look it up?

Hardware details are left to the equipment manufacturer. But
have a look at GSM 03.41, "Technical realization of Cell
Broadcast Service (CBS)", for the specifications to be met.
You can download copy from www.etsi.org or www.3gpp.org

John

> Hardware details are left to the equipment manufacturer. But
> have a look at GSM 03.41, "Technical realization of Cell
> Broadcast Service (CBS)", for the specifications to be met.
> You can download copy from www.etsi.org or www.3gpp.org

I'm writing my master's thesis about public emergency alert systems
- comparing SMS and CB with regard to the authorities' and users'
requirements for such a system. For doing that I have to know exactly
how CB (and SMS) works.

My professor told me about the control hardware device (he just
couldn't remember the name of it...). It surprised me because I
hadn't read about that anywhere in the specifications. My impression
was that a Cell Broadcast Centre is all what is needed for
broadcasting.

I have already looked at GSM 03.41 (and a bunch of other specs). I can
read which nodes do what. But can I be sure that the manufacturers have
implemented the full standard in their BSC/BTSs?

Peter Simonsen wrote:

> I'm writing my master's thesis about public emergency alert
> systems - comparing SMS and CB with regard to the authorities'
> and users' requirements for such a system. For doing that I
> have to know exactly how CB (and SMS) works.

In this day and age, I think that security would be a major
issue in implementing such a CB system (serious potential for
simultaneous triggering of devices, whether by direct control
or opportunistically).

> My professor told me about the control hardware device (he
> just couldn't remember the name of it...). It surprised me
> because I hadn't read about that anywhere in the
> specifications. My impression was that a Cell Broadcast Centre
> is all what is needed for broadcasting.
>
> I have already looked at GSM 03.41 (and a bunch of other
> specs). I can read which nodes do what. But can I be sure that
> the manufacturers have implemented the full standard in their
> BSC/BTSs?

Other than contacting individual BTS manufacturers, a search for
"cell broadcast centre" (and "cell broadcast center") in
conjunction with "ericsson", "nokia", "nortel", etc might prove
fruitful.

John

> In this day and age, I think that security would be a major
> issue in implementing such a CB system (serious potential for
> simultaneous triggering of devices, whether by direct control
> or opportunistically).

Will you please elaborate on that? I don't think I agree...

> Other than contacting individual BTS manufacturers, a search for
> "cell broadcast centre" (and "cell broadcast center") in
> conjunction with "ericsson", "nokia", "nortel", etc might prove
> fruitful.

Thanks for tip. I did find some new information that might turn out to
be useful.

/Peter

Peter Simonsen wrote:

> Will you please elaborate on that? I don't think I agree...

I'm sorry, but I don't want to give instructions on how to do
it. Others have raised the possibility on this NG previously,
otherwise I wouldn't have even mentioned it in such a public
forum.

John

"John Henderson" <jhenRemoveThis@talk21.com> wrote in message
news:4vo9rhF1cjdo5U1@mid.individual.net...
> Peter Simonsen wrote:
>
>> Will you please elaborate on that? I don't think I agree...
>
> I'm sorry, but I don't want to give instructions on how to do
> it. Others have raised the possibility on this NG previously,
> otherwise I wouldn't have even mentioned it in such a public
> forum.
>
> John
Security needs to be taken seriously but also relatively to the pros and
cons.

If in the far east tsunami case one out of ten people would have gotten an
early warning to their cell phones, how many would have survived? How many
false alarms would you accept against saving those people?

Assuming that cell phone operators take security seriously, you cannot tap
to a BTS and start broadcasting CBS messages of your own. You would need to
work with a false base station and then your coverage would be pretty
limited.

Don't want to put words on anybody's master thesis but as a hint, think how
long it would have taken to send a point-to-point SMS to all the people that
were in the area affected by The tsunami. CBS is not affected by the network
load or number of active users. Almost all existing GSM phones can receive
CBS, one could almost start the service tomorrow and would immediately reach
2 billion people. SMS has important benefits too, leaves a good deal of work
for the thesis.

I think I have got a little bit closer to what I'm looking for. I
guess I should still ask the equipment manufacturers but I just want to
give at shot here...

In a report by the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority
(www.ficora.fi) I made an interesting finding.
It says that CBS requires one radio channel to be reserved/converted
for CBS usage.

CB messages are broadcasted via control channels - but maybe this
channel isn't enabled in a standard BSC setup?

FICORA estimates the costs for implementing CBS to be > €1 million
for "implementation of facility in all BS Cs" (for each operator)
and > €10,000 for "modifications in BSS" (for each operator).
Does this make sense for you?

Happy New Year! :-)

/Peter