TRAFFIC CHANNEL

GSM Glossary

GSM — Traffic Channel

Information on Traffic Channel

A GSM traffic channel (TCH) carries speech and data traffic. Of each 26-frame multiframe, 24 frames are used for traffic channels, one is used for the slow associated control channel (SACCH) and one is unused.
     A GSM full-rate traffic channel (TCH/F) has a raw rate of 22.8 Kbps, with a useable rate of 9.6 Kbps for data (or approximately 13 Kbps for speech). One full-rate traffic channel is allocated one slot in each frame.
     A GSM half-rate traffic channel (TCH/H) has a raw rate of 11.4 Kbps, with a useable rate of 4.8 Kbps for data. A half-rate traffic channel is allocated one slot in every second frame.

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