PCS (Personal Communication System)

PCS stands for Personal Communication System. The objective of PCS is to enable communication with a person at any time, at any place & in any form. It also manages their individual call services according to their service by providing unlimited reachability & accessibility. Sprint was the first company to set up a PCS network, which was a GSM-1900 network in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area in the USA. PCS promises to provide a wide range of locations and equipment-independent services to a large number of users. According to the definition given by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), PCS is the system by which every user can exchange information with everyone, at anytime, in any place, through any type of services, using a single personal telecommunication number (PTN).

Key factors of PCS are:

1. Reachability with respect to Location (Home, office, in public, in transit)
1. Accessibility with respect to Device (Cellular phone, wired phone, fax etc.)
2. Management of Service

Architecture

Architecture consists of two parts

Radio Network

PCS users carry mobile stations (MS) to communicate with a BS in a PCS n/w. MS is also referred to as handset or mobile phone. The radio coverage of a base station is called cell. In GSM n/w each cell is controlled by BSC which are connected to MS through BS. The BSCs are connected to MSC by landlines.

Wireline Transport Network

An MSC is a telephone exchange configured specially for mobile applications. It interfaces the MSC (via BS) with PSTN. MSCs are also connected with mobility database to track the location of MS and roaming management. The databases are HLR & VLR. HLR contains the authentication information like IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity), identification information like name, address of the subscriber, billing information like prepaid or postpaid, operator selection, denial of service to a subscriber etc. VLR gives information about the location area of the subscriber while on roaming and power off status of the handset.

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