The mobile station (MS) comprises all user equipment and software needed for communication with a mobile network.
The mobile station refers to global system connected to the mobile network, i.e. mobile phone or mobile computer connected using a mobile broadband adapter. This is the terminology of 2G systems like GSM. In the 3G systems, mobile station (MS) is now referred as user equipment (UE).
In GSM, the mobile station consists of four main components:
- Mobile termination (MT) - offers common functions of a such as: radio Transmission and handover, speech encoding and decoding, Error detection and correction, signalling and access to the SIM. The IMEI code is attached to the MT. It is equivalent to the network termination of an ISDN access.
- Terminal equipment (TE) - is any device connected to the MS offering services to the user. It does not contain any functions specific to GSM.
- Terminal adapter (TA) - Provides access to the MT as if it was an ISDN network termination with extended capabilities. Communication between the TE and MT over the TA takes place using AT commands.
- Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) - is a removable subscriber identification token storing the IMSI a unique key shared with the mobile network operator and other data.
In a mobile phone, the MT, TA and TE are enclosed in the same case. However, the MT and TE functions are often performed by distinct processors. The application processor serves as a TE, while the baseband processor serves as a MT, communication between both takes place over a bus using AT commands, which serves as a TA.
Famous quotes containing the words mobile and/or station:
“From three to six months, most babies have settled down enough to be fun but aren’t mobile enough to be getting into trouble. This is the time to pay some attention to your relationship again. Otherwise, you may spend the entire postpartum year thinking you married the wrong person and overlooking the obvious—that parenthood can create rough spots even in the smoothest marriage.”
—Anne Cassidy (20th century)
“To act the part of a true friend requires more conscientious feeling than to fill with credit and complacency any other station or capacity in social life.”
—Sarah Ellis (1812–1872)