Supporting PACS on a GSM MSC

The personal access communications system (PACS) is one of the ANSI air interface standards developed for the 1.9 GHz PCS band in the United States. PACS been optimized for both indoor wireless access and low-mobility pedestrian outdoor usage. The Global System for Mobile Telecommunications (GSM) system is widely deployed in Europe and Asia and is being considered for many other regions around the world. A natural evolution path for PCS would be one that combined the advantages of PACS with readily available GSM network capabilities. This article addresses solutions to interfacing a PACS radio system to a GSM or GSM-derivative network at the GSM A-interface.