Cell Broadcast
Encyclopedia
Cell Broadcast messaging is a mobile technology feature defined by the ETSI’s GSM committee and is part of the GSM standard. It is also known as Short message service
-Cell Broadcast (SMS-CB).
Cell Broadcast is designed for simultaneous delivery of messages to multiple users in a specified area. Whereas the Short Message Service-Point to Point (SMS-PP) is a one-to-one and one-to-a-few service, Cell Broadcast is a one-to-many
geographically focused messaging service. Cell Broadcast messaging is also supported by UMTS, as defined by 3GPP
.
Cell Broadcast messaging was technologically demonstrated in Paris for the first time in 1997. Some mobile operators use Cell Broadcast for communicating the area code of the antenna cell to the mobile user (via channel 050), for nationwide or citywide alerting, weather reports, mass messaging, location based news, etc. Not all operators have the Cell Broadcast messaging function activated in their network yet, and many handsets do not have the capability to support cell broadcast.
Cell Broadcast is a technology that allows a text or binary message to be defined and distributed to all mobile terminals connected to a set of cells. Whereas SMS messages are sent point-to-point, Cell Broadcast messages are sent point-to-area.
Thus, one Cell Broadcast message can reach a huge number of terminalsa at once. In other words, Cell Broadcast messages are directed to radio cells, rather than to a specific terminal. A Cell Broadcast message is an unconfirmed push service, meaning that the originator of the message does not know who has received the message, allowing for services based on anonymity. Mobile telephone user manuals describe how the user can switch the receiving of Cell Broadcast messages on or off.
Cell Broadcast is not as affected by traffic load; therefore, it may be usable during a disaster when load spikes tend to crash networks, as the 7 July 2005 London bombings
showed. Another example was during the Tsunami catastrophe in Asia. Dialog GSM, an operator in Sri Lanka
was able to provide ongoing emergency information to its subscribers, to warn of incoming waves, to give news updates, to direct people to supply and distribution centres, and even to arrange donation collections using Celltick's Cell Broadcast Center, based on Cell Broadcast Technology.
Cell broadcast is widely deployed since year 2008. In Europe, most handsets have cell broadcast capability, and the major European operators have deployed the technology in their networks.
Cell Broadcast is a mobile technology that allows messages (up to 15 pages of up to 93 characters) to be broadcast to all mobile handsets and similar devices within a designated geographical area. The broadcast range can be varied, from a single cell to the entire network.
s, which, using the default character set, equates to 93 characters.
Up to 15 of these pages may be concatenated to form a Cell Broadcast message. Each page of such a CB message will have the same message identifier (indicating the source of the message), and the same serial number. Using this information, the mobile telephone is able to identify and ignore broadcasts of already received messages.
Cell Broadcast Centre (CBC), a node which is a source of SMS-CB, is connected to Base Station Controller (BSC) in GSM networks or to Radio Network Controller (RNC) in UMTS networks via standardized interface over TCP/IP. The BSC-CBC interface is described in 3GPP
standard TS 48.049, however, non-standard implementations exist. The RNC-CBC interface is described in 3GPP
standard TS 25.419. CBC sends to the BSC/RNC SMS-CB messages a list of cells where the message is to be broadcast and the requested repetition rate and number of times they shall be broadcast. BSC and RNC's responsibility is to deliver the SMS-CB messages to the Base Station (BTSs) and NodeBs, which handle the requested cells.
In GSM SMS-CB messages are broadcast over an air interface on a special signaling channel, Cell Broadcast Channel (CBCH). CBCH reuses one of signalling channels (SDCCH). There is only one CBCH in each cell in cellular network
. GSM specification allows to send only one SMS-CB message page every 1.883 s in basic mode and another one in extended mode. However extended mode is optional in GSM thus neither networks nor mobile phones are required to support it, so the real throughput is only one message page each 1.883 s in basic mode.
Broadcast messages will be used in the United States
to send emergency alert
s, using the Commercial Mobile Alert System
C-interface protocol, which has been specified jointly by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions
and the Telecommunications Industry Association
. All four major providers have agreed to take part.
Short message service
Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...
-Cell Broadcast (SMS-CB).
Cell Broadcast is designed for simultaneous delivery of messages to multiple users in a specified area. Whereas the Short Message Service-Point to Point (SMS-PP) is a one-to-one and one-to-a-few service, Cell Broadcast is a one-to-many
One-to-many
One-to-many may refer to:* Multivalued function, a one-to-many function in mathematics* Fat link, a one-to-many link in hypertext* Point-to-multipoint communication, communication which has a one-to-many relation-See also:*One-to-one...
geographically focused messaging service. Cell Broadcast messaging is also supported by UMTS, as defined by 3GPP
3GPP
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners...
.
Cell Broadcast messaging was technologically demonstrated in Paris for the first time in 1997. Some mobile operators use Cell Broadcast for communicating the area code of the antenna cell to the mobile user (via channel 050), for nationwide or citywide alerting, weather reports, mass messaging, location based news, etc. Not all operators have the Cell Broadcast messaging function activated in their network yet, and many handsets do not have the capability to support cell broadcast.
Cell Broadcast is a technology that allows a text or binary message to be defined and distributed to all mobile terminals connected to a set of cells. Whereas SMS messages are sent point-to-point, Cell Broadcast messages are sent point-to-area.
Thus, one Cell Broadcast message can reach a huge number of terminalsa at once. In other words, Cell Broadcast messages are directed to radio cells, rather than to a specific terminal. A Cell Broadcast message is an unconfirmed push service, meaning that the originator of the message does not know who has received the message, allowing for services based on anonymity. Mobile telephone user manuals describe how the user can switch the receiving of Cell Broadcast messages on or off.
Cell Broadcast is not as affected by traffic load; therefore, it may be usable during a disaster when load spikes tend to crash networks, as the 7 July 2005 London bombings
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
showed. Another example was during the Tsunami catastrophe in Asia. Dialog GSM, an operator in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
was able to provide ongoing emergency information to its subscribers, to warn of incoming waves, to give news updates, to direct people to supply and distribution centres, and even to arrange donation collections using Celltick's Cell Broadcast Center, based on Cell Broadcast Technology.
Cell broadcast is widely deployed since year 2008. In Europe, most handsets have cell broadcast capability, and the major European operators have deployed the technology in their networks.
Cell Broadcast is a mobile technology that allows messages (up to 15 pages of up to 93 characters) to be broadcast to all mobile handsets and similar devices within a designated geographical area. The broadcast range can be varied, from a single cell to the entire network.
Technology
A Cell Broadcast message page comprises 82 octetOctet (computing)
An octet is a unit of digital information in computing and telecommunications that consists of eight bits. The term is often used when the term byte might be ambiguous, as there is no standard for the size of the byte.-Overview:...
s, which, using the default character set, equates to 93 characters.
Up to 15 of these pages may be concatenated to form a Cell Broadcast message. Each page of such a CB message will have the same message identifier (indicating the source of the message), and the same serial number. Using this information, the mobile telephone is able to identify and ignore broadcasts of already received messages.
Cell Broadcast Centre (CBC), a node which is a source of SMS-CB, is connected to Base Station Controller (BSC) in GSM networks or to Radio Network Controller (RNC) in UMTS networks via standardized interface over TCP/IP. The BSC-CBC interface is described in 3GPP
3GPP
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners...
standard TS 48.049, however, non-standard implementations exist. The RNC-CBC interface is described in 3GPP
3GPP
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners...
standard TS 25.419. CBC sends to the BSC/RNC SMS-CB messages a list of cells where the message is to be broadcast and the requested repetition rate and number of times they shall be broadcast. BSC and RNC's responsibility is to deliver the SMS-CB messages to the Base Station (BTSs) and NodeBs, which handle the requested cells.
In GSM SMS-CB messages are broadcast over an air interface on a special signaling channel, Cell Broadcast Channel (CBCH). CBCH reuses one of signalling channels (SDCCH). There is only one CBCH in each cell in cellular network
Cellular network
A cellular network is a radio network distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver known as a cell site or base station. When joined together these cells provide radio coverage over a wide geographic area...
. GSM specification allows to send only one SMS-CB message page every 1.883 s in basic mode and another one in extended mode. However extended mode is optional in GSM thus neither networks nor mobile phones are required to support it, so the real throughput is only one message page each 1.883 s in basic mode.
Broadcast messages will be used in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to send emergency alert
Emergency Alert System
The Emergency Alert System is a national warning system in the United States put into place on January 1, 1997, when it superseded the Emergency Broadcast System , which itself had superseded the CONELRAD System...
s, using the Commercial Mobile Alert System
Commercial Mobile Alert System
The Commercial Mobile Alert System , also known as the Personal Localized Alerting Network , is an alerting network designed to disseminate emergency alerts to mobile devices such as cell phones and pagers...
C-interface protocol, which has been specified jointly by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions
Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions
The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions is a standards organization that develops technical and operational standards for the telecommunication industry. ATIS is headquartered in Washington, D.C....
and the Telecommunications Industry Association
Telecommunications Industry Association
The Telecommunications Industry Association is accredited by the American National Standards Institute to develop voluntary, consensus-based industry standards for a wide variety of ICT products, and currently represents nearly 400 companies...
. All four major providers have agreed to take part.
Footnotes
- Note a: A "terminal" in this context is a "mobile " or any device (usually a mobile telephone) which can receive voice or data via the GSM/UMTS network.
External links
- Cell Broadcast Service (Cell information / Information service) (GMS Helpdesk Nederlands)
- 3GPP - The current standardization body for GSM with free standards available
- 3GPP TS 23.041 Technical realization of Cell Broadcast Service (CBS)
- 3GPP TS 44.012 Short Message Service Cell Broadcast (SMSCB) support on the mobile radio interface
- 3GPP TS 45.002 Multiplexing and multiple access on the radio path
- 3GPP TS 48.049 BSC-CBC interface specification; Cell Broadcast Service Protocol (CBSP)