Mobile station

Mobile station (MS, Eng. Mobile Station) is the terminal in the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). A mobile station basically consists of two units of Mobile Equipment (ME) and Subscriber Identity Module (SIM).

The mobile terminal

One unit of the mobile station is the actual mobile terminal ( english mobile equipment (ME) ), this is a mobile phone, a UMTS data card or a UMTS stick to pure data transmission, a stationary GSM desk phone, a mobile gateway, a UMTS router or a mobile device for the payment card into a taxi.

The terminal is a unique number, the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI ) allocated. With the IMEI can be detected, whether the device is allowed and where the device was manufactured. The network operator can query this IMEI in the authentication process and recognize as illegal, faulty or stolen devices and lock if necessary.

SIM card

The second unit of the mobile station is the SIM card ( Subscriber Identity Module English (SIM) ). The SIM card contains a processor and data storage and is protected by a variable personal identification number (PIN) from unauthorized use. By the SIM card, the mobile terminal is assigned to a network and authenticated. For these purposes, algorithms and secret keys are stored on the SIM card. The encryption of the speech and signaling data ( encryption ) is not carried out in the SIM card, but in the terminal. The corresponding (temporary) keys are, however, provided by the SIM card. In addition, on the SIM card more data to be stored, for example:

• Preferred networks
• Configurations of mobile services such as SMS, MMS, GPRS, etc.
• News of the Short Message Service ( SMS)
• Phone book
• Temporary network related data
• Forbidden networks

• Mobile