Basic UMTS Procedures

The procedures described in the first phase of UMTS specifications concentrate predominantly on the air interface and UTRAN.

The Core Network is considered as an evolved GSM network, hence the procedures are those specified for the GSM Core Network, including GPRS. As network operators move to an All-IP network, the procedures in the core network will reflect this and will be based more on the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) specifications.

As the core network is not the subject for UMTS standardisation, it follows that the way it interacts with UE will remain essentially that specified for GSM. Hence, when considering UMTS procedures, we can initially concentrate on the Air Interface and UTRAN.

It is still useful to examine the Non-Access stratum and Core Network procedures in order to show the overall system operation, and how UTRAN and Air Interface procedures fit into the bigger picture.

Basic UMTS Procedures PDF