Slow Associated Control Channel (SACCH)

The SACCH is always associated with a traffic channel or a SDCCH and maps onto the SAME physical channel. Thus, each ARFCN systematically carries SACCH data for all of its current users. As in the USDC standard, the SACCH carries general information between the MS and BTS. On the forward link, the SACCH is used to send slow but regularly changing control information to the mobile, such as transmit power level instructions and specific toning advance instructions for each user on the ARFCN. The reverse SACCH carries information about the received signal strength and quality of the TCH, as well as BCH measurement results from neighbouring cells. The SACCH is transmitted during the thirteenth frame (and the twenty-sixth frame when half-rate traffic is used) of every speech/dedicated control channel multi frame (Figure below), and within this frame, the eight timeslots are dedicated to providing SACCH data to each of the eight full-rate (or sixteen half-rate) users on the ARFCN.

Fast Associated Control Channels (FACCH)

FACCH carries urgent messages, and contains essentially the same type of information as the SDCCH. A FACCH is assigned whenever a SDCCH has not been dedicated for a particular user and there is an urgent message (such as a handoff request). The FACCH gains access to a time slot by 'stealing" frames from the traffic channel to which it is assigned. This is done by setting two special bits, called stealing bits, in a TCH forward channel burst. If the stealing bits are set, the time slot is known to contain FACCH data, not a TCH, for that frame.