What does MSC – Mobile Switching Center mean?
An MSC full form is Mobile Switching Center, which is sometimes referred to as a Mobile Switching Server (MSS) that allows or denies voice communication from one device to another and helps to manage to roam. It is a component of 2G and 3G cellular networks. The key feature of the MSC is supporting supplementary services such as conference calls or call holds and generating billing information.
The MSC connects to the following elements:
- Home Location Register (HLR) for obtaining data about the SIM and mobile services ISDN number, that is telephone number.
- Base Station Subsystem (BSS) is associated with and handles radio communication with 2G and 2.5G mobile phones.
- Visitor Location Register (VLR) which provides subscribed information when the subscriber is outside the home network.
- UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) associates radio communication with 3G mobile phones.
Features of MSC:
- The MSC plays an essential role in handover, certain handovers involve multiple base station controllers, which are commonly known as inter-BSC or intra-MSC handovers. On the other hand, they involve multiple MSCs, known as inter-MSC handover.
- For, Small network operators may install only one Mobile Switching Center, whereas massive system operation requires multiple Mobile Switching Centers.
- When a mobile phone travels, it is important for the MSC to identify each mobile phone’s location to effectively facilitate routing communication between them.
- The Home Location Register (HLR) database helps for this task, which stores relevant location and other information of each mobile phone.
Conclusion:
The Mobile Switching Center function delivers calls to subscribers as they arrive based on information from the VLR and connects outgoing calls as well as the SMS (Short Message Service) to other mobile phone subscribers or the PSTN. Arranging handover from BSC to BSC, which means Base Station Center