High-speed simulation of the GPRS link layer

The General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is due to be implemented in current mobile networks, introducing a whole new range of mobile data applications and services. Considerable effort has been devoted to test its capabilities and system performance. In this paper, a modular and high-speed GPRS simulator is presented. In order to validate the simulation method, the GPRS link layer performance is assessed. The performance, for a single slot packet data channel, is evaluated in a typical urban environment for a range of mobile velocities. The impact of frequency hopping on link quality measures is also evaluated.