The mobile switching station, abbreviated as MSC Server or MSS, is a 2G core network element which controls the

network switching subsystem Network switching subsystem (NSS) (or GSM core network) is the component of a GSM system that carries out call out and mobility management functions for mobile phones roaming on the network of base stations. It is owned and deployed by mob ...

elements. Alternatively or adaptively, MSS can be used in GSM networks as well, if the manufacturer has implemented support for GSM networks in the MSS. Since an immediate upgrade of existing GSM network to 3G is not viable due to various issues like handset incompatibilities and high expenditure, most manufacturers do implement GSM support in MSS. In fact, MSS along with other 3G network elements such as media gateway (MGW), can be configured to support GSM network exclusively and can be considered as an upgraded version of existing GSM mobile switching centres. The MSC Server is standards-based and communicates with other distributed elements using industry open standards such as

media gateway control protocol The Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) is a signaling and call control communication protocol used in voice over IP (VoIP) telecommunication systems. It implements the media gateway control protocol architecture for controlling media gatew ...

megaco The Gateway Control Protocol (Megaco, H.248) is an implementation of the media gateway control protocol architecture for providing telecommunication services across a converged internetwork consisting of the traditional public switched telephone n ...

/ H.248,

Session Initiation Protocol The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a signaling protocol used for initiating, maintaining, and terminating communication sessions that include voice, video and messaging applications. SIP is used in Internet telephony, in private IP telep ...

, M2UA and M3UA. The MSC server incorporates industry standards as defined by

ETSI The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is an independent, not-for-profit, standardization organization in the field of information and communications. ETSI supports the development and testing of global technical standard ...

, ITU, GSM, 3GPP and 3GPP2 and other leading standard bodies. The MSS supports the regulatory environment set by governing bodies via its support for E911, CALEA/legal intercept, wireless and local number portability, TTY/TTD, and Number Pooling requirements. Alternatively MSS is also called an MTS-U (Motorola telephony soft-switch) in

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...

terminology, and as MSC-S in

Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Sweden, Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in ...

terminology. MSC server functionality enables split between control plane (signalling) and user plane (bearer in network element called a media gateway), which guarantees better placement of network elements within the network. MSC server and MGW makes it possible to cross-connect circuit switched calls switched by using IP, ATM AAL2 as well as TDM.

References

3GPP TS 23.205
* {{Reflist Telecommunications equipment Telecommunications infrastructure Mobile telecommunications GSM standard