Signaling traffic volume generated by mobile and personal communications

The authors develop a framework for evaluating the signaling load in a wireless network. Using bounds and approximations, we find that the key parameter to estimate is the number of location updates between two calls. The results are dependent upon the choice of protocols, but are independent of the traffic parameters relating user calling behavior and mobility. We use the framework to draw general conclusions about signaling load, as well as to compare the signaling loads for the European and North American systems and demonstrate the impact of architectural tradeoffs. We also describe the message flows for the major contributors to the signaling load that are defined in the GSM system