Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm.

System

Chapter 1
1.1 History of wireless communications

Guglielmo Marconi invented the wireless telegraph in 1896. In 1901, he sent telegraphic signals
across the Atlantic Ocean (about 3200 km). His invention allowed two parties to communicate
by sending each other alphanumeric characters encoded in an analog signal. Over the last
century, advances in wireless technologies have led to the radio, the television, the mobile
telephone, and communications satellites. All types of information can now be sent to almost
every corner of the world. Recently, a great deal of attention has been focused on satellite
communications, wireless networking, and cellular technology. Wireless networking is allowing
businesses to develop WANs, MANs, and LANs without a cable plant. The cellular or mobile
telephone is the modern equivalent of Marconi's wireless telegraph, offering two-party, two-way
communication. The first-generation wireless phones used analog technology. These devices
were heavy and coverage was patchy, but they successfully demonstrated the inherent
convenience of mobile communications. The current generation of wireless devices is built using
digital technology. Digital networks carry much more traffic and provide better reception and
security than analog networks.

Fig. (1) Some milestones in Wireless Communications

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

1.2 Evolution of mobile communications

 The first version of a mobile radio telephone being used in 1924.

 In 1926 telephone service in trains on the route between Hamburg and Berlin was approved
and offered to 1st class travelers.

 In 1935, Edwin Armstrong demonstrated FM and it has been the primary modulation
technique used for mobile communication systems throughout the world.

 In 1946, the first public mobile telephone service was launched in 25 cities across the United
States (543 users) by BELL Laboratories in USA. Early mobile systems used single high
power transmitters with AM Modulation techniques to give coverage up to about 50 miles
(only limited customers) could get the service. This inefficient use of the radio spectrum
coupled with the state of radio technology at that time severely limited the system capacity.

 A solution to this capacity problem emerged during the 50’s and 60’s when researchers at
Bell Laboratories developed the cellular concept.

 In 1973, Martin Cooper (a Motorola researcher and executive) made the first mobile
telephone call from handheld subscriber equipment.

 In 1983, the first analog cellular system deployed in Chicago, USA.

1.3 Mobile Radio Systems around the World

Many mobile radio standards have been developed for wireless systems throughout the world.
Tables below list the most common paging, cordless, cellular, and personal communications
standards used in North America, Europe, and Japan.

1- Post Office Code Standard Advisory Group (POCSAG)

- The world’s most common paging standard.
- Developed by the British Post Office in the late 1970s.
- Supports binary FSK signaling at 512 bps, 1200 bps, and 2400 bps.

2- Cordless telephony (CT2)

- Most popular cordless telephone standards throughout Europe and Asia.
- Developed in Europe.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

- Makes use of microcells which cover small distances, usually less than 100 m, using base
stations with antennas mounted on street lights or on sides of buildings.
- High quality voice transmission: uses battery efficient FSK along with a 32 kbps adaptive
differential pulse code modulation (ADPCM) speech coder.
- Handoffs between base stations are not supported, as it is intended to provide short range
access to the PSTN.

1.4 Classification of mobile radio transmission system

Mobile radio transmission systems may be classified as simplex, half-duplex or full-duplex.

a. Simplex systems: communication is possible in only one direction.

b. Half-duplex: radio systems allow two-way communication using the same radio channel
for both transmission and reception.

c. Full duplex: systems allow simultaneous radio transmission and reception between a
subscriber and a base station, by providing two simultaneous but separate channels
(frequency division duplex, or FDD) or adjacent time slots on a single radio channel
(time division duplex, or TDD) for communication to and from the user.

1.4.1 Frequency division & Time division

Provides simultaneous radio transmission channels for the subscriber and the base station, so that
they both may constantly transmit while simultaneously receiving signals from one another.

At the base station, separate transmit and receive antennas are used to accommodate the two
separate channels.

At the subscriber unit a single antenna is used for both transmission to and reception from the
base station, and a device called a duplexer is used inside the subscriber unit to enable the same
antenna to be used for simultaneous transmission and reception.

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(A) Frequency division duplexing (FDD)

A pair of simplex channels with a fixed and known frequency separation is used to define a
specific radio channel in the system.

- The channel used to convey traffic to the mobile user from a base station is called the
forward channel.
- The channel used to carry traffic from the mobile user to a base station is called the
reverse channel. FDD is used exclusively in analog mobile radio systems.

(B) Time division duplexing (TDD)

Uses the fact that it is possible to share a single radio channel in time, so that a portion of the
time is used to transmit from the base station to the mobile, and the remaining time is used to
transmit from the mobile to the base station. TDD is only possible with digital transmission
formats and digital modulation, and is very sensitive to timing. It is for this reason that TDD has
only recently been used, and only for indoor or small area wireless applications.

1.4.2 Transmission types

•Unicast (point-to-point) transmission is made from one device to a single other device. It means
that the packet is addressed to one receiver.
•Broadcast transmission is made from one device to all other devices. In this case there is just
one sender, but the information is sent to all connected receivers.
•Multicast transmission is made from one device to a subset of the other available devices. In
this case there is just one sender, but the information is sent to a group of receivers.

1.5 Types of wireless communication systems

The major types of wireless communication systems are:

1- Paging Systems
2- Cordless Telephone Systems
3- Satellite communication systems
4- Wireless LAN systems
5- Cellular Telephone Systems

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

The cost, complexity, performance, and types of services offered by each of these mobile
systems are different.

1- Paging Systems

Paging systems are communication systems that send brief messages to a subscriber. Depending
on the type of service, the message may be either text or voice messages. In modern paging
systems, news headlines, stock quotations, and faxes may be sent. The issued message is called a
page. The paging system then transmits the page throughout the service area using base stations
which broadcast the page on a radio carrier.

- Paging systems vary widely in their complexity and coverage area.

- Paging systems are designed to provide reliable communication to subscribers. This
necessitates large transmitter powers and low data rates for maximum coverage from
each base station.

Simple paging systems may cover a limited range of 2 to 5 km, or may even be confined to
within individual buildings,

Wide area paging systems can provide worldwide coverage. Wide area paging systems consist
of a network of telephone lines, many base station transmitters, and large radio towers that
simultaneously broadcast a page from each base station (this is called simulcasting)

2- Cordless Telephone Systems

• Provide wireless extension to the telephone network within a limited area

• Two-way (duplex) communications
• Consists of a portable handset, connected to dedicated base station, which is connected to the
telephone network
• 1st generation: household environment
• 2nd generation: allow mobility in workplace and public use with limited coverage in urban
areas

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

3- Satellite communication Systems

The main feature of the satellite communication systems

 Very wide range and coverage

 Very useful in sparsely populated areas: rural areas, sea, mountains, etc.
 Target: Vehicles and/or other stationary/mobile uses
 Expensive base station (satellites) systems

4- Wireless LAN (WLAN)

Characterized by

 Low mobility (not for vehicular use)

 High speed data transmission
 Confined regions – buildings and campuses
 Coverage: 100m – 300m per base station
 Uses the following bands (902-928 MHz, 2400-2483.5 MHz, 5725-5850 MHz)

5- Cellular Telephone Systems

The basic cellular system consists of: Mobile station (MS), Base stations (BS) and Mobile
switching center (MSC) or called Mobile telecommunications switching office (MTSO).

- Cellular systems accommodate a large number of users over a large geographic area,
within a limited frequency spectrum.
- Cellular radio systems provide high quality service that is often comparable to that of the
landline telephone systems.
- High capacity is achieved by limiting the coverage of each base station transmitter to a
small geographic area called a cell so that the same radio channels may be reused by
another base station located some distance away.
- Handoff: is a switching technique that enables a call to proceed uninterrupted when the
user moves from one cell to another.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

1.6 Comparison of Common Wireless Communication Systems

Tables below illustrate the types of service, level of infrastructure, cost, and complexity required
for the subscriber segment and base station segment of each of the mobile radio systems
discussed earlier.

Mobile stations:

Base stations:

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

1.7 First Generation (1G) systems

The original cellular telephone networks provided analog traffic channels; these are now referred
to as first-generation systems. Since the early 1980s the most common first-generation system in
North America has been the Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS). This approach is also
common in South America, Australia, and China.

 Two 25-MHz bands are allocated to AMPS.

 Each of these bands is split in two to encourage competition (i.e., so that in each market
two operators can be accommodated). An operator is allocated only 12.5 MHz in each
direction for its system.
 The channels are spaced 30 kHz apart, which allows a total of 416 channels per operator.
 21 channels are allocated for control, leaving 395 to carry calls.
 The control channels are data channels operating at 10 kbps.
 The conversation channels carry the conversations in analog using FM.

European Total Access Communication Systems (TACS):

- Deployed in 1985.
- Almost identical to AMPS except that the channel bandwidth is scaled to 25 kHz instead of
30 kHz as in AMPS.

Drawbacks

• Poor voice quality

• Poor battery life
• Limited capacity (number of subscribers)
• No security
• Poor handoff reliability (transition between cells)
• Large phone size

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

1.8 Second Generation (2G) systems

Second-generation systems have been developed in early 90s to provide higher quality signals,
higher data rates for support of digital services, and greater capacity. Moreover, The 2G systems
provide:

- Digital voice coding and modulation

- Security (Encryption).
- Error detection and correction.
- Multiple channels per cell.

The key differences between the two generations are:

First Generation (1G) systems Second Generation (2G) systems

Analog systems Digital systems

Designed to support voice channels Provide digital traffic channels, these
using FM, digital traffic is supported readily support digital data; voice traffic is
only by the use of a modem that converts first encoded in digital form before
the digital data into analog form. transmitting.
Capable to encrypt the traffic to prevent
No security. eavesdropping (since the user and control
traffics are digitized).
Very clear voice reception, because The
digital traffic stream of lends itself to the
Poor voice quality.
use of error detection and correction
techniques.
Each cell supports a number of channels. Provide multiple channels per cell, but
At any given time a channel is allocated each channel is dynamically shared by a
to only one user. number of users using TDMA or CDMA.
Enable message service such as short
No message service message service (SMS) and Multimedia
message service (MMS)

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

Beginning around 1990, a number of different second-generation systems have been deployed,
such as Global system for mobile communications (GSM), and Interim Standard (IS-95) scheme.
The table below lists some key characteristics of three of the most important of these systems.

GSM IS-95
Year introduced 1990 1993
Developed in Europe North America
BS transmission band 935~960 MHz 869~894 MHz
MS transmission band 890~915 MHz 824~849 MHz
Spacing between forward
45 MHz 45 MHz
and reverse channels
Channel bandwidth 200 KHz 1250 KHz
No. of duplex channels 125 20
Mobile unit maximum power 20 W 0.2 W
Users per channel 8 35
Modulation GMSK QPSK
Carrier bit rate 270.8 kbps 9.6 kbps

The GSM standard has gained worldwide acceptance as the first universal digital cellular system
with modern network features extended to each mobile user

1.10 2.5 G systems

2.5G is a technology between the 2G and 3G; it is sometimes described as 2G technology

combined with GPRS. 2.5G is an interim solution designed to allow for improved data rates
before 3G implementation. A variety of 2.5G techniques are being employed to improve the
speed of data for enhanced e-mail and Internet access.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

The main features of the 2.5G are:

- Ability to send and receive Email messages.

- Web browsing,
- Speed: 64-144 kbps

Moreover, Built-in camera can be included in the mobile station (Camera phones).

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)

 GPRS is packet switched technology which based on existing GSM cellular network
infrastructure and adds new packet-switching network equipment.
 The GPRS gives GSM subscribers access to data communication application such as e-
mail and internet using their mobile phone.
 Speed: up to 114 kbps
 The GPRS allows multiple slots of a GSM radio channel be dedicated to an individual
user (Physical channel can be shared between different mobile users).
 Physical channel is only assigned when data needs to be transmitted or received.

1.11 Third Generation (3G) systems

The objective of the third generation (3G) of wireless communication is to provide fairly high-
speed wireless communications to support multimedia, data, and video in addition to voice. 3G
developed in the early 2000s, the main features of the 3G systems are:

 High transmission rate and the support of multimedia services: Multiple-megabit

internet services, video calls, and mobile TV using a single mobile device.
 Data rate: around 2Mbps. Bandwidth: in the order of MHz

The ITU’s International Mobile Telecommunications for the year 2000 (IMT-2000) initiative has
defined the ITU’s view of third-generation capabilities as

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

• Voice quality comparable to the public switched telephone network.

• 144-kbps data rate available to users in high-speed motor vehicles over large areas.
• 384 kbps available to pedestrians standing or moving slowly over small areas.
• Support for 2.048 Mbps for office use.
• Support for both packet-switched and circuit-switched data services.
• An adaptive interface to the Internet.

Generally, the technology planned is digital using TDMA or CDMA to provide efficient use of
the spectrum and high capacity.

3G enhancements
3G has the following enhancements over previous networks:
1. Enhanced audio and video streaming
2. Several times higher data speed
3. Video-conferencing support
4. Web and WAP browsing at higher speeds
5. IPTV (TV through the Internet) support

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)

UMTS is a third generation mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard,
developed and maintained by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project).

 Aims to provide services for both mobile and fixed subscribers by common call-
processing procedures.
 Uses W-CDMA radio access technology to offer greater spectral efficiency and
bandwidth to mobile network operators.

The UMTS network architecture is split into 3 parts:

1. Core (switching) networks: The core network is responsible for performing switching and
transmission functions. Also known as Mobile Application Part (MAP).

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

2. Radio Access networks: provides channel access to mobile users and performs radio
resource management and signaling UMTS will include both terrestrial and global satellite
components. Also known as UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN).
3. User Equipment (UE): authentication of users via SIM (subscriber identity module) cards.

High Speed Packet Access (HSPA)

HSPA extends and improves the performance of existing 3G mobile telecommunication

networks utilizing the WCDMA protocols (also referred to as 3.5G). The HSPA specifications:

 increased peak data rates of up to

• 14 Mbit/s in the downlink
• 5.76 Mbit/s in the uplink.
 reduced latency
 Up to five times more system capacity in the downlink up to twice as much system
capacity in the uplink compared with WCDMA.

1.12 Pre-4G technology (3.9G)

The ITU specified a set of requirements for 4G standards, named the International Mobile
Telecommunications Advanced (IMT-Advanced) specification, setting peak speed requirements
for 4G service as follows:

 300 Mbps for high mobility communication (such as from trains and cars).
 1 Gbps for low mobility communication (such as pedestrians and stationary users).

Two 3.9G (Also known as 4G technology) standards are commercially deployed:

 Mobile WiMAX standard (first used in South Korea in 2007),

 Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard (first released in Oslo, Norway and Stockholm,
Sweden since 2009).

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

Since the first-release versions of Mobile WiMAx and LTE support much less than 1 Gbps peak
bit rate, they are not fully IMT-Advanced compliant, but are often called 4G by service
providers.

Evolved HSPA (HSPA+)

A further improved 3GPP standard was released late in 2008 with subsequent worldwide
adoption beginning in 2010. The newer standard allows bit-rates to reach as high as 337 Mbit/s
in the downlink and 34 Mbit/s in the uplink. HSPA+ supported with multiple input, multiple
output (2x2 MIMO) technologies and higher order modulation (64 QAM).

Long Term Evolution (LTE)

LTE is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data
terminals. It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS network technologies, increasing the
capacity and speed using a different radio interface together with core network improvements.
The standard is developed by the 3GPP. The LTE features are:

 downlink peak rates of 300 Mbit/s,

 uplink peak rates of 75 Mbit/s
 Quality of Service (QoS) provisions permitting a transfer latency of less than 5 ms in the
radio access network (RAN).
 Has the ability to manage fast-moving mobiles
 Supports scalable carrier bandwidths, from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz.
 Orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) for the downlink, Single-
carrier FDMA for the uplink to conserve power.
 Supports both FDD and TDD.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

1.13 Fourth Generation (4G) systems

4G provides mobile broadband Internet access, with higher data rate and expanded multimedia
services. The main features of the 4G systems are

 Higher speed 0.1~1 Gbps.

 More security.
 Higher capacity.
 Lower cost than previous generations.
 Provides digital system with voice over-IP (VOIP) technology.
 IPv6 Core.
 Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) is used instead of CDMA.

One of the main differences between 3G and 4G technology is the elimination of circuit
switching, instead employing an all-IP network. Other differences are:

The 4G system are able to provide a comprehensive IP solution where voice, data and streamed
multimedia can be given to users on an "Anytime, Anywhere" basis.

LTE Advanced (LTE-A)

LTE Advanced is a mobile communication standard and a major enhancement of the Long Term
Evolution (LTE) standard. It was formally submitted as a candidate 4G system to ITU in late

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

2009 as meeting the requirements of the IMT-Advanced standard, and was standardized by the
3GPP in March 2011.

The main features of the LTE-Advanced are:

 higher capacity,
 increased peak data rate,
- Downlink 3 Gbps,
- Uplink 1.5 Gbps
 Higher spectral efficiency (30 bps/Hz)
 Increased number of simultaneously active subscribers.
 LTE-Advanced can use up to 8x8 MIMO and 128 QAM in downlink direction.

LTE-Advanced is now available in 31 countries (including South Korea, Australia, France,

Germany, U.K. and the U.S.).

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

1.14 Fifth Generation (5G) systems

5G denotes the next major phase of mobile telecommunications standards beyond 4G. 5G can be
a complete wireless communication without limitation, which bring us perfect real world
wireless, supportable to the World Wide Wireless Web (WWWW). The Next Generation Mobile
Networks Alliance defines the following requirements for 5G networks:

 Data rates of several tens of megabits per second should be supported for tens of
thousands of users.
 High speed, high capacity.
 Spectral efficiency should be significantly enhanced compared to 4G.
 Coverage should be improved.
 Signaling efficiency should be enhanced.
 Latency should be reduced significantly compared to LTE.

The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance feels that 5G should be rolled out by 2020 to
meet business and consumer demands. In addition to providing simply faster speeds, they predict
that 5G networks also will need to meet the needs of new use cases, such as:

 Internet of Things (IoT).

 Broadcast-like services and lifeline communication in times of natural disaster.

1.15 Evolution parameters of cellular systems

In order to offer higher quality of service to subscribers, the following parameters have
been developed in cellular systems:
1. Higher spectrum utilization efficiency
2. Introduction of new frequencies (radio bands) for use in cellular systems
3. Increased capacity to support more subscribers (users)
4. Higher data transfer rates
5. Offering new services such as Internet access and video calls
6. Improving coverage and hand-off while reducing interference

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Wireless Comm. System

7. Improved roaming capability to solve the fragmentation of standards

8. Enhanced security
9. Improved energy efficiency to provide longer talking time
10. Lower service cost

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‫‪Chapter 2‬‬ ‫‪The Cellular Concept-System Design‬‬

‫‪Chapter 2 :‬‬
‫‪The Cellular Concept-System Design‬‬

‫كلية التقنيات الهندسية الكهربائية وااللكترونية‬

‫قسم هندسة تقنيات الحاسوب‬
‫مدرس المادة ‪ :‬م‪ .‬الحمزة طاهر محمد‬

‫‪1‬‬
Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

2.1 Cellular Mobile Systems

Cellular radio is a technique that was developed to increase the capacity available for mobile
radio telephone service.

Prior to the introduction of cellular radio, mobile radio telephone service was only provided by a
high-power transmitter/receiver. A typical system would support about 25 channels with an
effective radius of about 80 km. The principal elements of a cellular system include:

1- The Base Station (BS)

2- Mobile telecommunications switching office (MTSO) or MSC
3- mobile unit (or mobile station MS)

1- Base Station (BS)

 A fixed or non-moving station serves as a bridge between all mobile users in the cell
 Connects the simultaneous mobile calls via telephone lines or microwave links to the MTSO.
 Consists of several transmitters and receivers which simultaneously handle full duplex
communications
 Generally have towers which support several transmitting and receiving antennas.

The BS includes:

1- Antennas. Hanged in towers which support several transmitting and receiving antennas
2- Controller: used to handle the call process between the mobile unit and the rest of the
network.
3- Number of transceivers: used for communicating on the channels assigned to that cell.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

2- Mobile telecommunications switching office (MTSO)

The center which is set up for coordinating the routing of calls, also called a mobile switching
center (MSC). The MTSO coordinates the activities of all of the base stations and connects the
entire cellular system to the PSTN.

 The link between an MTSO and a BS is by a wire line, although a wireless link is also
possible.
 The MTSO connects calls between mobile units.
 The MTSO is also connected to the public telephone or telecommunications network and
can make a connection between a fixed subscriber to the public network and a mobile
subscriber to the cellular network.
 The main functions of the MTSO are
1- Assigns the voice channel to each call.
2- Performs handoffs.
3- Monitors the call for billing information.

Communication between the base station and the mobiles is defined by a standard common air
interface (CAI) that specifies four different channels (2) voice channels, 2 control channels.

a. Voice channels (Traffic channels):

The channels used for voice transmission from the base station to mobiles are called
forward voice channels (FVC), and the channels used for voice transmission from
mobiles to the base station are called reverse voice channels (RVC).

b. Control channels (setup channels)

The two channels responsible for initiating mobile calls are the forward control channels
(FCC) and reverse control channels (RCC). Control channels transmit and receive data
messages that carry call initiation and service requests, and are monitored by mobiles
when they do not have a call in progress.

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3- Mobile station (MS)

A station intended for use while in motion at unspecified locations. Each mobile communicates
via radio with one of the base stations and may be handed-off to any number of base stations
throughout the duration of a call. The mobile station contains a transceiver, an antenna, and
control circuitry, and may be mounted in a vehicle or used as a portable hand-held unit.

Two types of channels are available between the mobile unit and the base station (BS): control
channels and traffic channels.

• Control channels are used to exchange information having to do with setting up and
maintaining calls and with establishing a relationship between a mobile unit and the
nearest BS.
• Traffic channels carry a voice or data connection between users.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

2.2 Cellular system operation

The steps in a typical call between two mobile users within an area controlled by a single MTSO

a. Mobile unit initialization: When the mobile unit is turned on, it scans and selects the
strongest setup control channel used for this system.

- Cells with different frequency bands repetitively broadcast on different setup channels.
The receiver selects the strongest setup channel and monitors that channel. The effect
of this procedure is that the mobile unit has automatically selected the BS antenna of
the cell within which it will operate.
- Then a handshake takes place between the mobile unit and the MTSO controlling this
cell, through the BS in this cell. The handshake is used to identify the user and register
its location.
- As long as the mobile unit is on, this scanning procedure is repeated periodically to
account for the motion of the unit. If the unit enters a new cell, then a new BS is
selected.

b. Request for connection: A mobile unit originates a call by sending the number of the
called unit on the preselected setup channel.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

The receiver at the mobile unit first checks that the setup channel is idle by examining
information in the forward (from the BS) channel. When an idle is detected, the mobile
may transmit on the corresponding reverse (to BS) channel. The BS sends the request to
the MTSO.

c. Paging: The MTSO then attempts to complete the connection to the called unit. The
MTSO sends a paging message to certain BSs depending on the called mobile number.
Each BS transmits the paging signal on its own assigned setup channel.

d. Call accepted: The called mobile unit recognizes its number on the setup channel being
monitored and responds to that BS, which sends the response to the MTSO.
- The MTSO sets up a circuit between the calling and called BSs.
- At the same time, the MTSO selects an available traffic channel within each BS’s
cell and notifies each BS, which in turn notifies its mobile unit.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

- The two mobile units tune to their respective assigned channels.

e. Ongoing call: While the connection is maintained, the two mobile units exchange voice
or data signals, going through their respective BSs and the MTSO.

f. Handoff (Handover): If a mobile unit moves out of range of one cell and into the range
of another during a connection, the traffic channel has to change to one assigned to the
BS in the new cell. The system makes this change without either interrupting the call or
alerting the user.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

Other functions performed by the system include the following:

 Call blocking: During the mobile-initiated call stage, if all the traffic channels assigned
to the nearest BS are busy, then the mobile unit makes a preconfigured number of
repeated attempts. After a certain number of failed tries, a busy tone is returned to the
user.
 Call termination: When one of the two users hangs up, the MTSO is informed and the
traffic channels at the two BSs are released.
 Call drop: During a connection, because of interference or weak signal spots in certain
areas, if the BS cannot maintain the minimum required signal strength for a certain period
of time, the traffic channel to the user is dropped and the MTSO is informed.
 Calls to/from fixed and remote mobile subscriber: The MTSO connects to the public
switched telephone network (PSTN). Thus, the MTSO can set up a connection between a
mobile user in its area and a fixed subscriber via the telephone network.

2.3 RF Planning

RF Planning is the process of assigning frequencies, transmitter locations and parameters of a

wireless communications system to provide sufficient coverage and capacity for the services
required. The RF plan of a cellular communication system has two objectives: coverage and
capacity.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

a. Coverage relates to the geographical footprint within the system that has sufficient RF
signal strength to provide for a call/data session.
b. Capacity relates to the capability of the system to sustain a given number of subscribers.
Capacity and coverage are interrelated.

To improve coverage, capacity has to be sacrificed, while to improve capacity, coverage will
have to be sacrificed. It is necessary to restructure radiotelephone system to achieve high
capacity with limited spectrum.

1- Increase the capacity of the system: by using lower-power systems with shorter
radius and to use numerous transmitters/receivers (Base stations). Thereby
providing additional radio capacity with no additional increase in radio spectrum.

2- Distributing the available channels throughout geographic region: by

systematically spacing base stations and their channel groups. The available
channels can be reused as long as the interference between co-channel stations is
kept below acceptable level.

2.4 Cell types

• Macro cell – their coverage is large (aprox. 6 miles in diameter); used in remote areas,
high-power transmitters and receivers are used

• Micro cell – their coverage is small (half a mile in diameter) and are used in urban zones;
low-powered transmitters and receivers are used to avoid interference with cells in
another clusters

• Pico cell –is a small cellular system typically covering a small area, such as in-building
(offices, shopping malls, train stations) . In cellular networks, picocells are typically used
to extend coverage to indoor areas where outdoor signals do not reach well.

• Selective cells . located at the entrances of tunnels where a coverage of 360 degrees is not
needed this case, a selective cell with a coverage of 120 degrees is used.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

Decreasing the cell size gives:

 Increased user capacity

 Increased number of handovers per call
 Increased complexity in locating the subscriber
 Lower power consumption in mobile terminal: so it gives longer talk time, safer
operation

2.5 Cellular Network Coverage

The essence of a cellular network is the use of multiple low-power transmitters, on the order of
100 W or less. Because the range of such a transmitter is small, an area can be divided into cells,
each one served by its own antenna.

A- Each cell is allocated a band of frequencies and is served by a base station (consisting of
transmitter, receiver, and control unit).
B- Adjacent cells are assigned different frequencies to avoid interference or crosstalk.
However, cells sufficiently distant from each other can use the same frequency band.

While it might seem natural to choose a circle to represent the coverage area of a base station,
adjacent circles cannot be overlaid upon a map without
leaving gaps or creating overlapping regions.

The hexagon has:

 No gaps or overlapping
 The largest area compared with square and triangle.
 Fewest number of cells can cover a geographic region,
 Closely approximates a circular radiation pattern
which would occur for an omnidirectional base station
antenna and free space propagation.
 A hexagonal pattern provides for equidistant antennas.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

 When using hexagons to model coverage areas, base station transmitters are depicted as
either:
- In the center of the cell (center-excited cells): omnidirectional antennas are used
in center-excited cells.
- On three of the six cell vertices (edge-excited cells): sectored directional antennas
are used in corner-excited cells.

The radius of a hexagon is defined to be the radius of the circle that circumscribes it
(equivalently, the distance from the center to each vertex; also equal to the length of a side of a
hexagon).

For a cell radius R, the distance between the cell center and each adjacent cell center is

d = 3R

Therefore the area of the hexagon is

3 3 2
Area  R
2

 In practice, a precise hexagonal pattern is not used. Variations from the ideal are due to:

- Topographical limitations.
- Local signal propagation conditions.
- Practical limitation on siting antennas.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

2.6 Frequency Reuse

In a cellular system, each cell has a base transceiver. The transmission power is carefully
controlled

1-To allow communication within the cell using a given frequency

2-To limit the power at that frequency that escapes the cell into adjacent ones.

 The objective is to use the same frequency in other nearby cells, thus allowing the
frequency to be used for multiple simultaneous conversations.
 Generally, 10 to 50 frequencies are assigned to each cell, depending on the traffic
expected.
 The essential issue is to determine how many cells must intervene between two cells
using the same frequency so that the two cells do not interfere with each other. Various
patterns of frequency reuse are possible.

Frequency reuse (frequency planning): is the design process of selecting and allocating
channel groups for all of the cellular base stations within a system.

If the pattern consists of N cells and each cell is assigned the same number of frequencies, each
cell can have K/N frequencies, where K is the total number of frequencies allotted to the system.

- For Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), K = 395, and N = 7 is the smallest
pattern that can provide sufficient isolation between two uses of the same frequency.
This implies that there can be at most 57 frequencies per cell on average.

 In characterizing frequency reuse, the following parameters are commonly used:

D = minimum distance between centers of cells that use the same frequency band
(called co-channels)
R = radius of a cell
d = distance between centers of adjacent cells d = 3R
N = number of cells in a pattern (Cluster size)

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

(Each cell in the pattern uses a unique set of frequency bands), termed the reuse factor

In a hexagonal cell pattern: in order to tessellate (to connect without gaps between adjacent
cells), only the following values of N are possible:

N = I2 + J2 + (I × J) I, J = 0, 1, 2, 3, …

Hence, possible values of N are 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16, 19, 21, and so on.

Choice of N (assuming constant cell size)

Small N:
•More cluster are required to cover the service area
•More capacity
•Higher probability of co-channel interference
Large N:
•Less cluster are required to cover the service area
•Less capacity
•Less probability of co-channel interference

The following relationship holds:

D
 q  3N
R

Where q is the reuse ratio.

This can also be expressed as

D
 N
d

Consider a cellular system which has a total of K duplex channels available for use. If each cell
is allocated a group of C channels (C < K), and if the K channels are divided among N cells into

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

channel groups which each have the same number of channels, the total number of available
radio channels can be expressed as

K = C N_
where

Spectrumbandwidth (or Total bandwidth)

K
Channelbandwidth

The N cells which collectively use the complete set of available frequencies is called a cluster. If
a cluster is replicated M times within the system, the total number of duplex channels, can be
used as a measure of capacity and is given

Capacity = MCN = MK_

The capacity of a cellular system is directly proportional to the number of times a cluster is
replicated in a fixed service area.

The cluster size (N) is typically equal to 4, 7, or 12.

If N is reduced while the cell size is kept constant, more clusters are required to cover a given
area and hence more capacity is achieved.

- A large cluster size indicates that the ratio between the cell radius and the distance
between co-channel cells is large.
- A small cluster size indicates that co-channel cells are located much closer together.

From a design viewpoint, the smallest possible value of N is

desirable in order to maximize capacity over a given
coverage area.

To find the nearest co-channel neighbors of a particular cell,

one must do the following:

i. Move i cells along any chain of hexagons and then

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

ii. Turn 60 degrees counter-clockwise and move j cells. This is illustrated in Figure below for
i = 3 and j = 2 (example, N = 19).

Example 1

Assume a system of 32 cells with a cell radius of 1.6 km, a total of 32 cells, a total frequency
bandwidth that supports 336 traffic channels, and a reuse factor of N = 7.

(a) If there are 32 total cells, what geographic area is covered, how many channels
are there per cell, and what is the total number of concurrent calls that can be
handled?
(b) Repeat for a cell radius of 0.8 km and 128 cells.

Solution:

(a)
The area of a hexagon of radius R is

3 3 2 3 3
Areaa  R  (1.6) 2  6.65 km 2
2 2
The total area covered is 6.65 × 32 = 213 km2.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

For N = 7, the number of channels per cell is K/N = 336/7 = 48,

Total number of concurrent calls that can be handled is

Capacity = 48 × 32 = 1536 channels

(b)
The area of a hexagon of radius R is
3 3 2 3 3
Areab  R  (0.8) 2  1.66 km 2
2 2
The area covered is 1.66 × 128 = 213 km2.
The number of channels per cell is K/N = 336/7 = 48,
Total number of concurrent calls is

Capacity = 48 × 128 = 6144 calls

Example 2

Consider a cellular system in which total available voice channels to handle the traffic are 960.
The area of each cell is 6 km2 and the total coverage area of the system is 2000 km2. Calculate:

(a) The system capacity if the cluster size N is 4

(b) The system capacity if the cluster size is 7.

• How many times would a cluster of size 4 have to be replicated to cover the entire cellular
area? Does decreasing N increase the system capacity? Explain.

Solution

Total available channels =960 , Cell area = 6 km2

Total coverage area = 2000 km2

(a) N = 4

Area of a cluster = 4 × 6 = 24 km2

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

Number of clusters for covering total area = 2000/24 = 83.33 ~ 83

Number of channels per cell = 960/4 = 240

System capacity = 83 × 960 = 79, 680 channels

(b) N = 7

Area of cluster = 7 × 6 = 42 km2

Number of clusters for covering total area = 2000/42 = 47.62 ~ 48

Number of channels per cell = 960/7 = 137.15 ~ 137

System capacity = 48 × 960 = 46,080 channels

It is evident when we decrease the value of N from 7 to 4, we increase the system

capacity from 46,080 to 79,680 channels. Thus, decreasing N increases the system
capacity.

2.7 Channel Assignment Strategies

For efficient utilization of the radio spectrum, a frequency reuse scheme that is consistent with
the objectives of increasing capacity and minimizing interference is required. A variety of
channel assignment strategies have been developed to achieve these objectives.

Channel assignment strategies can be classified as either fixed or dynamic. The choice of
channel assignment strategy impacts the performance of the system, particularly as to how calls
are managed when a mobile user is handed off from one cell to another.

a) Fixed channel assignment strategy: each cell is allocated a predetermined set of voice
channels.
- Any call attempt within the cell can only be served by the unused channels in that
particular cell.
- If all the channels in that cell are occupied, the call is blocked and the subscriber
does not receive service.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

- Borrowing strategy: a cell is allowed to borrow channels from a neighboring cell if

all of its own channels are already occupied. The mobile switching center (MSC)
supervises such borrowing procedures and ensures that the borrowing of a channel
does not disrupt or interfere with any of the calls in progress in the donor cell.

b) Dynamic channel assignment strategy: voice channels are not allocated to different cells
permanently. Instead,
- Each time a call request is made, the serving base station requests a channel from the
MSC.
- The switch then allocates a channel to the requested cell following an algorithm that
takes into account the likelihood of
o Future blocking within the cell,
o The frequency of use of the candidate channel,
o The reuse distance of the channel,
o Other cost functions.
- Accordingly, the MSC only allocates a given frequency if that frequency is not
presently in use in the cell or any other cell which falls within the minimum
restricted distance of frequency reuse to avoid co-channel interference.

Advantage:

- Dynamic channel assignment reduces the likelihood of blocking, which increases the
trunking capacity of the system, since all the available channels in a market are
accessible to all of the cells.
- Increases the channel utilization and decreases probability of a blocked call.

Disadvantage:

- Require the MSC to collect real-time data on channel occupancy, traffic distribution,
and radio signal strength indications (RSSI) of all channels on a continuous basis.
This increases the storage and computational load on the system.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

2.8 Co-channel Interference

The S/I ratio at the desired mobile receiver is given as:

where:
Ik = the interference due to the kth interferer

NI = the number of interfering cells in the first tier.

In a fully equipped hexagonal-shaped cellular system, there are always six co-channel interfering
cells in the first tier (i.e., NI = 6).

 Most of the co-channel interference results from the first tier.

 Interference from second and higher tiers amounts to less than 1% of the total
interference (ignored).
 Co-channel interference can be experienced both at the cell site and the mobile stations in
the center cell.
 In a small cell system, interference will be the dominating factor and thermal noise can be
neglected. Thus the S/I ratio can be given as:

where:

2 ≤ γ ≤ 5 : the propagation path loss, and γ depends upon the terrain environment.
Dk : the distance between mobile and kth interfering cell
R : the cell radius

If we assume Dk is the same for the six interfering cells for simplification, or D = Dk, then
Equation above becomes:

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

Therefore

Since q  3N , therefore

2
1   S  
N  6   
3   I 

Example 3

Consider the advanced mobile phone system (AMPS) in which an S/I ratio of 18 dB is required
for the accepted voice quality. Assume γ = 4.

(a) What should be the reuse factor for the system?

(b) What will be the reuse factor of the Global System of Mobile (GSM) system in which an
S/I of 12 dB is required?

Solution

2
1   S  
N  6   
3   I 

1   10  4
18
N AMPS  6 10   6.486  7

3   

(b)

1   10  4
12
N GSM  6 10   3.251  4

3   

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

Example 4

Consider a cellular system with 395 total allocated voice channel frequencies. Calculate the
mean S/I ratio for cell reuse factor equal to 4, 7, and 12. Assume omnidirectional antennas with
six interferers in the first tier and a slope for path loss of 40 dB/decade (γ = 4). Discuss the
results.

Solution

For a reuse factor N = 4, the number of voice channels per cell site = K/N = 395/4 = 99.

2
1   S  
N  6   
3   I 

2
1   S  4
4  6   
3   I 

S
 24 (13.8 dB)
I

The results for N = 7 and N = 12 are given in Table below.

N Voice channels per cell Mean S/I (dB)

4 99 13.8
7 56 18.7
12 33 23.3

It is evident from the results that, by increasing the reuse factor from N = 4 to N = 12, the mean
S/I ratio is improved from 13.8 to 23.3 dB.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

2.9 Co-channel Interference Reduction

In the case of increased call traffic, the frequency spectrum should be used efficiently. We should
avoid increasing the number of cells N in a frequency reuse pattern. As N increases, the number
of frequency channels assigned to a cell is reduced, thereby decreasing the call capacity of the
cell.

Instead of increasing N, we either

a. Perform cell splitting to subdivide a congested cell into smaller cells.

Or

b. Use a directional antenna arrangement (sectorization) to reduce co-channel interference.

In this case, each cell is divided into three or six sectors and uses three or six directional
antennas at the base station to reduce the number of co-channel interferers

Co-channel
interference with 120°
sectorized cells.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

Co-channel
interference with 60°
sectorized cells.

Each sector is assigned a set of channels (frequencies) (either 1/3 or 1/6 of the frequencies of the
omnidirectional cell).

2.10 Adjacent Channel Interference (ACI)

Signals which are adjacent in frequency to the desired signal cause adjacent channel interference.
ACI is brought about primarily because of imperfect receiver filters which allow nearby
frequencies to move into the pass band, and nonlinearity of the amplifiers.

The ACI can be reduced by:

(1) Using modulation schemes which have low out-of-band radiation.

(2) Carefully designing the band-pass filter (BPF) at the receiver front end.
(3) Assigning adjacent channels to different cells in order to keep the frequency
separation between each channel in a given cell as large as possible.

The effects of ACI can also be reduced using advanced signal processing techniques that employ
equalizers.

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Chapter 2 The Cellular Concept-System Design

Review
We developed a relationship between the reuse ratio (q) and cell cluster size (N) for the
hexagonal geometry. Co-channel interference ratios for the omnidirectional and
sectorized cell were derived. A numerical example was given to demonstrate that, for a
given cluster size, sectorization yields a higher S/I ratio, but reduces spectral efficiency.
However, it is possible to achieve a higher spectral efficiency by reducing the cluster size
in a sectorized system without lowering the S/I ratio below the minimum requirement.

2.11 Handoff (Handover) Strategies

When a mobile moves into a different cell while a conversation is in progress, the MSC
automatically transfers the call to a new channel belonging to the new base station.

The Handoff decision is made depending on:

a. Power
b. Traffic
c. Channel quality
d. Distance
e. Administration

The handoff operation involves:

1. Identifying a new base station,

24