T e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n
s y s t e m :
STAGES -> “JOURNEY OF A TEXT”
“ H o w
d o e s
A
T E X T
M E S S A G E
g e t
U T 2 3 0 :
s e n t ? ”
TRANSPORT THE “TEXT”
SENDING “TEXT”
FIND OUT WHERE TO SEND THE “TEXT”
D e s i g n
&
U r b a n
TRANSPORT THE “TEXT”
I n q u i r e s
RECEIVING “TEXT”
INFRASTRUCTURAL CONNECTIVITY When you send a text... it travels from your mobile device to other physical infrastructure before it reaches the person you are texting.
This layer reveals the necessary infrastructure for a text message to be sent successfully.
Average
Distance (Intensity of Color)
Near
Far
Phone
Text message
MOBILE EQUIPMENT#1
CELL TOWER#1
BASE BAND UNIT#1
-or-
BASE TRANSCEIVER STATION#1
“Primary Layer”
BASE STATION
CONTROLLER#1
MOBILE SWITCHING CENTRE#2
MOBILE SWITCHING CENTRE#1
BASE STATION
CONTROLLER#2
BASE BAND UNIT#2
-or-
BASE TRANSCEIVER STATION#2
CELL TOWER#2
MOBILE EQUIPMENT#2
TECHNICAL PROCESSES
When you send a text... there is a step-
cAN BE FOUND EITHER AT THE BASE OF THE TOWER OR SOMEWHERE ELSE AS A SEPARATE UNIT
by-step technical procedure invisible to the human’s eyes. When the text appears on the other person phone, that
physical version
is when such procedure is finished.
This layer highlights the essential technical components of the physical infrastructure, while giving a glimpse into the role each component plays in sending a text message.
VARIABLES OF DISRUPTION When you send a text... there are things that can prevent you from sending that text message. This interference is caused by the “environment” you are texting in.
This layer illustrates some major variables that can lead to a slow or no service from the mobile equipment perspective, which will ultimately lead to the text message not getting sent.
powering the sim card provides access to the cellular data, acting as identification for the network
b
Mo ile circuit
board converts text message into binary
information (digital signal), that generates a specific series of electrical impulses
ANtenna
Antenna
the resulting electrons sequence triggers the cell phone’s antenna to send out radio waves with the encoded information
(Reversal process)
Receives encoded radio message and forwards informat ion to RRH/rrC
Remote radio
(
/
)
head RRH RRC
collects radio waves (RF signal) and transmits data into a fiber optic cable for further decoding within the BBU
/
BBU BTS
modulates the incoming data, extracts relevant recipient information
-
Electric optic modulator
takes electrical impulses from BBU and commits them into an electrical optic signal
work Hardware Net
servers run virtual functions to manipulate and chart best path to the recipient
base station
coNTROLLER (bSC) efficiently coordinate multiple BTS through
allocation of radio frequencies to ensure quality transmission of voice and data traffi ensures seamless connection for the text message to travel
b
-
MO ile
Optical
ELECTRIC OPTIC
s
fi re
MO ULATOR
witching
(
centre MSC
)
contains information on Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) that informs of the location of mobile device of the corresponding SI routes the data to the correct destination
b Cables
the wiring system that allows lightspeed transfer of data
D
/
BBU BTS
decodes incoming data extracting message information, forwarding to RRH
takes in fiber optic light pulses and sends them as electrical pulses to BBU
/
RRH RRC
transforms message data from optic data to a RF signal to be released by the antenna
ANtenna
SIM
takes RF signal from RRC and sends it on frequency of recipients device
authenticates through cell network that device is intended recipient
ANtenna
antenna receives radio waves and forwards electrical signals for processing within circuit board
b
Mo ile circuit
board
converts electrical signals into binary, which is translated in the messaging system UI into readable text
weather/ atmosphere natural elements
(building) materials
Environmental OBSTRUCTIONS Sample situation? You are in a bathroom, filled with water pipes and no window. There is barely any signal in there.
get a good signal to a cell tower: a necessary condition for the user to send or receive that text message.
Wavelength
Radio Access Network (RAN) Architecture
(different generation needs different technological composition of RAN)
cell - basic geographic unit of a cellular communication system
RELEVANCE? The cell phone needs to
“Tertiary Layer”
TOwer
Virtual Version
SIM
“Secondary Layer”
T
BSC -> B S -> CELl
Amount of users
PROXIMITY oF CELL TOWERS
Cellular provider
TECHNOLOGICAL Assets
tHE underlying physics
Sample situation? It is night time, a lot of people living in your area are back from work, they are all using the cellular network.
Sample situation? You entered the more suburban part of the city, and you noticed that your signal has gotten weaker.
Sample situation? You are in ann arbor, and you use t-Mobile. You wonder why your AT&T friends have better service.
Sample situation? With the advancement of technology, 5G is now available. Yet, it is not accessible everywhere?
Sample situation? You use 5G, but notices that the coverage distance is quite short. This did not happen quite as often when you used 4G.
RELEVANCE? There is a limit to how many devices can connect to a cell tower at a time, without the signal getting weaker to the point that it is not usable.
RELEVANCE? The further away a cell tower is, the worse the signal strength is on a logarithmic scale. Every cell is serviced with a cell tower; in more dense areas, the cell is smaller in size, which means there are more cell towers to accommodate to a higher volume of people.
RELEVANCE? A cellular network might not have coverage in the area you are in. The cellular provider need to install their cellular technology on the cell tower relevant to where you reside. You can look at a coverage map for a good guess of whether there is coverage (or ask around)!
RELEVANCE? RAN Architecture advancement to a newer generation of cellular service implies structural modification, which needs the installation of those new technologies in the target area.
RELEVANCE? In telecommunications, radio waves are the forms that data travel in. Thus, it is important to take into consideration its properties such as wavelength and frequency. 5G networks uses higher frequencies for faster transmission, but that results in shorter travel distance and being more prone to absorption or reflection by obstacles.
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