2.3.

2 IS-95 CDMA
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The existing 12.5 MHz cellular bands are used to derive 10 different CDMA bands (1.25MHz per band). The frequency reuse factor in CDMA is 1. The channel rate is 1.2288Mbps (actually chips not bits!). Multipath fading is exploited in CDMA. It provides for space (path) diversity, RAKE receivers are used to combine the output of several received signals. Ofcourse fading does still occur on the individual signals but each signal is affected differently and so using several of them to make a decision improves the probability of obtaining a correct decision. This is referred to as multipath diversity combining. The rake receiver at the mobile uses three correlators to receive three different signals that are spaced more than (>) .8micro secs (1 chip width) away. Signals spaced less than (<) .8microsecs cause interference and signals spaced exactly .8microsecs away will cause a maximum fade. A fourth receiver is used as a roving finger, it is used to detect new strong incoming signals. This process ensures that the RAKE receiver always uses the 3 strongest signals. At the BS all four correlators are used to receive signals (note BS use antenna diversity).
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2.3.2.1 The Coding and Modulation process in CDMA 64 bit Walsh codes (proving 64 bit orthogonal codes) are used to provide 64 channels within each frequency band. They are used for spreading in the forward link. In the reverse link it is used to provide orthogonal modulation but not spreading to the full 1.2288 rate. Besides the Walsh codes, 2 other codes are used in IS-95:
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Long PN code:generated from a 42 bit shift register having 242-1=4.398 x 1012 different codes. A mask is used to overlay the codes, the mask differs from channel to channel.The chip rate is 1.2288Mcps. These codes are used for:
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Data scrambling/encryption in the forward path Data spreading and encryption in the reverse path

Short PN code: generated from a pair of 15 bit shift registers having 215 - 1 = 32,767 codes. These codes are used for synchronization in the forward and reverse links and cell identification in the forward link (each cell uses one of 512 possible offsets, adjacent cells must use different offsets). The chip rate is 1.2288Mcps (i.e., not used for spreading!)
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2.3.2.2 The CDMA Channels (or Links) The forward and reverse links are separated by 45MHz. The forward link comprises the following logical channels:
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Pilot channel (always uses Walsh code W0) Paging channel(s) (use Walsh codes W1 - W7) Sync channel (always uses Walsh code W32) Traffic channels ( use Walsh codes W8 - W31 and W33 - W63)

The reverse link comprises the following logical channels:

Access channel Traffic channel

The link protocol can be summarised as follows:

Mobile acquires phase, timing, and signal strength via the pilot channel. Mobile synchronizes via the sync channel.
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Mobile gets system parameters via the paging channel. Mobile and BS communicate over the traffic channels during a connection. Mobile and BS communicate over the access and paging channels during system acquisition and paging.

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The forward channels and reverse channels use different spreading and scrambling processes.
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The forward channels are spread using one of 64 orthogonal Walsh functions. This provides perfect separation between the channels (in the absence of multpath!). Then, to reduce interference between mobiles that use the same Walsh function in neighboring cells, all signals in a particular cell are scrambled using the short PN sequence (cell identification) in the radio modulator. For the paging and the traffic channels, the long PN sequence is used to scramble the signal before spreading. It can also be used for encryption on the traffic channel if the mask instead of being the ESN of the mobile is a private long code exchanged during the authentication procedure. The reverse channels are spread using the long PN sequence. All 64 orthogonal Walsh functions are used to provide orthogonal modulation. The stream is then scrambled using the short PN sequence for cell identification purposes.
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2.3.2.3 The CDMA Vocoder and Transmission Rates

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IS-95 supports different transmission rates. The vocoder (QCELP) outputs 9.6Kbps when there is a full speech signal and 1.2Kbps when a silent period is detected (studies have shown that 50% of the time there is no speech signal in one direction, and there are pauses in the speech signal). Intermediate rates such as 4.8Kbps and 2.4Kbps are used to progressively move in rate up or down between 1.2 and 9.6 Kbps based on the speech signal content. Rate decisions are made every 20msec intervals (the interval over which samples are collected and processed). Note : in CDMA we can never send no signal, it takes too long for the receivers to ramp up again for reception. (rate set 1) To accommodate all the different data rates using the same air interface, the bits in the lower bit rate streams are repeated to bring the rate up to 9.6Kbps. However the bits are output at a correspondingly lower power. For example: the 1.2Kbps bits are repeated 8 times to bring it up to 9.6Kbps, but, the signal strength is reduced to 1/8 the power. In 1995 Qualcomm introduced a higher rate coder (QCELP13) that produces a 14.4Kbps speech signal and 1.8Kbps when a silent period is detected. The other intermediate rates are 7.2Kbps and 3.6Kbps. It is a much higher quality coder. (rate set 2)
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So as not to change the air interface and the transmitters and receivers (in particular the interleaver) this higher rate signal is encoded on the reverse link at 1/2 rate (as opposed to 1/3 rate) and in the forward direction puncturing of the code is used to reduce it from 1/2 to 3/4 (i.e., 2 symbols from every 6 encoded symbols are dropped). IS-95 also supports variable rate transmission on the reverse link. Instead of repeating the symbols and sending them at 9.6 or 14.4Kbps, the repeated symbols are randomly deleted from the frame (after interleaving) so that mobiles transmitting at the same rate do not have all their bits arrive at the same time at the BS so as to reduce interference. When this mode is used then the symbols are sent at full power as opposed to reduced power when using repetition.

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2.3.2.4 The Forward Logical Channels

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The Pilot channel is:

transmitted at all times (sequence of 0s) uses Walsh code W0 provides phase and timing reference to the mobile terminal provides singal strength to the mobile for channel acquisition resused in every cell and sector with different short PN code offset

The Sync channel can be received by a mobile after it has been able to lock onto a pilot signal. Features of the sync channel:
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operates at 1200bps has a frame length of 26.666ms uses Walsh code W32 and uses the same PN sequence and offset as Pilot. provides timing information to the mobile for synchronization provides pilot PN offset provides system time (needed for the short PN sequence generation)
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provides system and network IDs provides paging channel rates provides BS protocol revision level CDMA channel number

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Paging channel is used to page mobiles and transmit system information. A system can use1 -7 paging channels depending on traffic load.The paging channel can operate in slotted mode cycle where a mobile will only listen to a predefined set of slots in a cycle of slots. This allows the mobile to power down and conserve power. The paging channel number and the predefined slots can be determined by a mobile from its ESN and MIN (and of course the number of used paging channels!). The long PN code mask consists of the paging channel number and pilot (i.e., BS) PN offset. Features are:
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bit rate of 9600 or 4800 bps frame length 80ms - messages can occupy several slots (1 -4) Use Walsh codes W1 - W7 transmit the system parameter message: registration information, BS class, BS longitude and latitude, power control thresholds, etc.
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transmit the access parameter message: number of access chanels, initial access power requirements, no. of access attempts, authentication info., etc. carry pages for mobiles carry the channel assignment for a traffic channel to a mobile

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Forward Traffic channels are used to carry user data and signaling data. Features are:
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bit rates up to 9600bps (rate set 1) and up to 14.4Kbps (rate set 2) frame length of 20ms (192 bits for rate set 1 and 288 bits for rate set 2) use Walsh codes W8-W31 and W33-W63 can be used in two modes: blank and burst or dim and burst
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blank and burst is similar to NA-TDMA, signaling data replaces speech data dim and burst multiplexes signaling data or a secondary data stream with speech data (speech data sent at 4.8, 2.4 or 1.2 Kbps for rate set 1 and 7.2, 3.6 and 1.8 Kbps for rate set 2)

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2.3.2.5 The Reverse Logical Channels

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Access channel: it is a random access channel used by mobiles to send information (not user data) to the BS. One or more access channels are paired with a paging channel (max. is 32 in total). Mobiles respond to paging messages on their corresponding access channels.Features of the access channel:
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The bit rate is 4800bps. The long PN code mask consists of: access channel number, BS identifier, the corresponding paging channel number, and PN_offset (Note that no PN offset is used for the quadrature spread!). Mobiles compete for access. A mobile chooses an access channel at random from the set associated with the paging channel. If two mobiles choose the same access channel, and PN time alignment (time shift for long code), their transmissions will interfere with each other and the BS will not be able to distinguish between them. No channel sensing for collision avoidance! If a terminal does not get an ACK back before the timer expires it makes another attempt (at a higher power level) after a random wait. It repeats this process for a max. number of times, if it does not succeed, it waits a random time and then restarts it all over again.
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Reverse Traffic channel: used to carry user data (primary and secondary) and signaling data. A BS will support up to 61 channels. Its main features are:
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it supports data transfers at 4 different levels within a rate set. signaling information is multiplexed with the user data, where possible (i.e. if variable data rates are supported). If not possible, then the signaling information takes over the channel briefly to transmit a message (blank and burst). Instead of signaling information, a secondary traffic stream can be multiplexed too (i.e., voice is primary, and data is secondary). a long PN mask is used to uniquely identify a mobile. Can be of two types: The public one consists of the mobiles ESN, the private one is derived from the encryption and authentication process. the orthogonal modulation consists of sending one of 64 possible Walsh functions for each group of six coded bits. The Walsh function number is selected as follows: Walsh function number = c0+2c1+4c2+8c3+16c4+32c5 where the cs represent the coded bits. Output rate is 28.8x64/6 = 307.2Kbps.

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2.3.2.6 Power Control

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It is of paramount importance for a CDMA system. In order to have max. efficiency, the power received at the BS from all the mobiles must be nearly equal. If a terminals power is too low, then many bit errors will occur. If a terminals power is too high , the level of interference will go up. Closed loop power control at the terminals: power control information is sent to the terminal from the BS . Puncturing is used, 2 data symbols are replaced by one power control symbol (double the power). This bit either indicates a transition up or a transition down in power in 1db increments. The power bit is sent 16 times per 20ms frame (every 1.25ms)! (Pclosed) Open loop power control at the terminals:. The mobile senses the strength of the pilot signal and can adjust its power based upon that. If signal is very strong, the assumption can be made that the mobile is very close to BS and the power should be dropped. The mobile uses Ptarget sent in the access param. msg.(Popen) The transmitted power at the terminal in units of dBm is: Ptran=Popen+Pclosed Open loop power control at the BS: the BS decreases its power level gradually and waits to hear from the mobile what the frame error rate (FER) is (power measurement report). If high then it increases its power level.
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2.3.2.7 Handoffs
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CDMA supports two types of handoffs: 1) hard handoff, similar to the NATDMA (i.e., IS136) and 2) soft handoff. A hard handoff is a break before make scenario, where prob. of dropping a call is higher. A soft handoff is a make before break scenario. The mobile assists in the handoff process and therefore it is referred to as Mobile Assisted Hand Off (MAHO) (just as in IS-136). It reports signal measurements to the BS. The roving finger (or searcher) of the RAKE receiver is used to measure the pilot signals of neighboring BSs (neighbor list messages sent to terminals periodically). During call set-up a mobile is given a list of handoff thresholds and a list of likely new cells. The mobile keeps track of those cells that fall above the threshold and sends this information to the MSC whenever requested. The mobile and the MSC classify the neighboring BSs to keep track of the handoff process (based upon data received from the mobile the MSC constantly re-classifies BSs with regard to the mobile):
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active list: contains BSs currently used for communication (contains at least one BS)

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candidate list: contains list of BSs that could be used for communication based upon current signal strength measurements neighbor list: contains a list of BSs that could soon be promoted to candidate list remaining list: all other BSs that do not qualify

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The MSC, when it moves a BS from the cnadidate list into the active list, will direct that BS to serve the terminal. When is does that it informs both the new BS and the mobile and assigns a forward channel number (Walsh code!) for communication (on condition there is one available!). Soft handoffs consist of the mobile being served by two BSs. That means that 1) a mobile receives the signal from two BSs (that is possible because a terminal is always receiving 3 signals (RAKE receiver - one correlator can be used to receive a signal from a different BS!)), and 2) two BSs are also receiving the signal from the mobile (as a CDMA channel simply consists of a transmission by the mobile using its ESN to identify itself on the reverse channel and only requires a correlator at the BS to be used to receive the signal). Soft handoffs also eliminate the ping pong effect (i.e., when travelling along boundary of two cells and switching back and forth between two BSs) as the
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mobile is being served by two BSs and does not have to switch BSs until absolutely necessary!
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The handoff process is also unique in that the mobile initiates the hand off. The terminals analyze the measurements and inform the MSC when a handoff might be necessary. (If one BSs signal strength becomes much higher than the other). The handoff process is controlled by the MSC. When a handoff finally occurs all three correlators are switched over to the new cell and used as a RAKE receiver again, the connection to the current BS is cutoff and the new BS becomes the current BS. In summary: the handoff process is executed in three steps:
1. mobile is in communication with original/current BS. 2. mobile is in communication with both the current cell and the new cell. 3. mobile is in communication with the new cell only (which becomes the current cell).

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2.3.2.8 Authentication and Privacy

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It uses the same procedure as IS-136 for authentication and encryption.

2.3.2.9 Mobility Management

Moibles must register with a system if they want to receive or send calls. There are 5 different types of autonomous registration messages in IS-95, each one is related to a different scenario and not all maybe in effect (system msgs. on sync channel will indicate which are):
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power up power down (deregistration!) timer exceeds a threshold distance between new and old BS (with which it previously registered) exceeds a certain limit. BSs send out GPS info. in systems messages and also distance threshold. new zone (cells under one MSC are clustered in zones)

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There are also 4 other types of registration that are not mobile initiated, e.g., BS asks for it, mobile changes some parameters and informs BS, implicit in page response. When a mobile registers it also will indicate which slots it will listen to when the paging channel is in slotted mode. It also provides other parameters such as protocol version that it is using, and terminal class type so that the MSC knows how to communicate with it and what services to provide. Roaming: A CDMA system consists of system IDs (SID) and network IDs (NID). A system will have many networks within it. A mobile has to keep track of the SID/NID pair of the area it is in (broadcast by the BSs). Each mobile has a list of home SIDs and NIDs. If it enters an area that has a NID that is not on the list but the SID is, it is classified as NID roaming, if the SID is not on the list it is SID roaming. Once it knows it is a roamer it will figure out what kind of services it will be able to access in this foreign (non home) environment.

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