Unit Ii Cellular Architecture: EC8652: Wireless Communication Department of ECE
Unit Ii Cellular Architecture: EC8652: Wireless Communication Department of ECE
Unit Ii Cellular Architecture: EC8652: Wireless Communication Department of ECE
UNIT II
CELLULAR ARCHITECTURE
Multiple Access techniques -FDMA, TDMA, CDMA –Capacity calculations–Cellular concept-
Frequency reuse -channel assignment-hand off-interference & system capacity-trunking & grade
of service –Coverage and capacity improvement.
A network element that interconnects the mobile station (or Mobile unit (MU)) to the network
via the air interface. Each cell in the network has a BS associated with it. The primary function
of a BS is to maintain the air interface, or medium, for communication to any mobile unit within
its cell. Other functions of BS are call processing, signaling, maintenance, and diagnostics.
Also called Mobile Systems (MS) or Mobile Hosts (MH). It consists of three components: (a)
transceiver, (b) antenna, and (c) user interface. The user interface exists only at MU, which
consists of a display, a keypad for entering information, and an audio interface for speaking and
hearing voice conversation. This can be a laptop, a palmtop, or a cell phone, or any other mobile
device. A MU also stores (a) Mobile Identification Number (MIN), (b) Electronic Serial
Number (EIN), and (C) Station Class Mark (SCM). These are transmitted upon power on, cell
initiated sampling, and cell origination.
Provides wireless connection to the PSTN for any user location within the radio range of
the system.
High capacity is achieved:
By limiting the coverage of each base station transmitter to a small geographical area
called a cell, and
By reusing the same radio channels in another base station located some distance away –
Frequency reuse.
Switching system, called handoff, enables call to proceed uninterrupted when the user
moves from one cell to another.
Typical MSC handles 100,000 cellular users and 5,000 simultaneous conversations
at a time.
Frequency bands between 30 MHz to 400 MHz is crowded with large number of services and
above 10 GHz is not used due to propagation path loss, multipath fading and improper medium
due to rain activity. So 800 MHz is chosen for mobile communication
First Mobile Telephone System
• Original mobile telephone system could only support a handful of users at a time…over
an entire city!
• With only one high power base station, user’s phones also needed to be able to transmit
at high powers (to reliably transmit signals to the distant base station).
• Car phones were therefore much more feasible than handheld phones, e.g., police car
phones.
Improved Design
• Over the next few decades, researchers at AT&T Bell Labs developed the core ideas for
today’s cellular systems.
• Although these core ideas existed since the 60’s, it was not until the 80’s that electronic
equipment become available to realize a cellular system.
• In the mid 80’s the first generation of cellular systems was developed and deployed.
• The core idea that led to today’s system was the cellular concept.
• The cellular concept: multiple lower-power base stations that service mobile users within
their coverage area and handoff users to neighboring base stations as users move.
Together base stations tessellate the system coverage area.
Cellular Concept
• Thus, instead of one base station covering an entire city, the city was broken up into cells,
or smaller coverage areas.
• Each of these smaller coverage areas had its own lower-power base station.
• User phones in one cell communicate with the base station in that cell.
3 Core Principles
• Small cells tessellate overall coverage area.
• User’s handoff as they move from one cell to another.
• Frequency reuse.
Tessellation
• Some groups of small regions tessellate a large region if they over the large region
without any gaps or overlaps.
• There are only three regular polygons that tessellate any given region.
• Three regular polygons that always tessellate:
o Equilateral triangle
o Square
o Regular Hexagon
• Original cellular system was developed assuming base station antennas are
omnidirectional, i.e., they transmit in all directions equally.
• Users located outside some distance to the base station receive weak signals.
• Result: base station has circular coverage area.
• Equal area
• No overlap between cells
Cellular System
Base stations (towers) provide radio access between mobile users and MSC.
Mobile cells
The entire coverage area is a group of a number of cells. The size of cell depends upon
the power of the base stations.
MSC PSTN
Step 2: The MSC dispatches the request to all base stations in the cellular system.
Step 3: The base stations broadcast the Mobile Identification Number (MIN), telephone
number of Mobile X, as a paging message over the FCC throughout the cellular
system.
Step 4: The mobile receives the paging message sent by the base station it monitors and
responds by identifying itself over the reverse control channel (RCC).
Step 5: The base station relays the acknowledgement sent by the mobile and informs the
MSC of the handshake.
Step 6: The MSC instructs the base station to move the call to an available voice channel
within the cell.
Step 7: The base station signals the mobile to change frequencies to an unused forward
and reverse voice channel pair.
At the point another data message (alert) is transmitted over the forward voice
channel (FVC) to instruct the mobile to ring.
Now the call is in progress. The MSC adjusts the transmitted power of the mobile and
changes the channel of the mobile end and base stations in order to maintain call quality. This is
called handoff.
Step 1: When a mobile originates a call, it sends the base station its telephone number
(MIN), electronic serial number (ESN), and telephone number of called party. It
also transmits a station class mark (SCM) which indicates what the maximum
power level is for the particular user.
Step 2: The cell base station receives the data and sends it to the MSC.
Step 3: The MSC validates the request, makes connection to the called party through the
PSTN and validates the base station and mobile user to move to an unused
forward and reverse channel pair to allow the conversation to begin.
Handoff
A process, which allows users to remain in touch, even while breaking the connection with one
BS and establishing connection with another BS.
MSC MSC
MSC MSC
To keep the conversation going, the Handoff procedure should be completed while the MS (the
bus) is in the overlap region.
Ce ll ov e rlap re gion
Old BS Ne w BS
Handoff Issues
Handoff detection
Channel assignment
Radio link transfer
In this strategy, the MS continuously monitors the radio signal strength and quality of the
surrounding BSs. When predefined criteria are met, then the MS checks for the best candidate
BS for an available traffic channel and requests the handoff to occur.
In this strategy, the surrounding BSs, the MSC or both monitor the radio signal. When the
signal’s strength and quality deteriorate below a predefined threshold, the network arranges for a
handoff to another channel.
It is a variant of NCHO strategy. In this strategy, the network directs the MS to measure the
signal from the surrounding BSs and to report those measurements back to the network. The
network then uses these measurements to determine where a handoff is required and to which
channel. MACHO is used in GSM and IS-95 CDMA.
Old BS New BS
Steps
1. The MU (MS) momentarily suspends conversation and initiates the handoff procedure by
signaling on an idle (currently free) channel in the new BS. Then it resumes the
conversation on the old BS.
M SC
Old BS Ne w BS
2. Upon receipt of the signal, the MSC transfers the encryption information to the selected
idle channel of the new BS and sets up the new conversation path to the MS through that
channel. The switch bridges the new path with the old path and informs the MS to
transfer from the old channel to the new channel.
MSC
Old BS New BS
3. After the MS has been transferred to the new BS, it signals the network and resumes
conversation using the new channel.
MSC
Old BS New BS
4. Upon the receipt of the handoff completion signal, the network removes the bridge from
the path and releases resources associated with the old channel.
MSC
Old BS New BS
PSTN
Level at point A
Handoff threshold
Received signal
Improper
handoff situation Minimum acceptable
signal to make a call
level
Level at point B (call is terminated)
Time
Level at point B
Received signal
Time
BS 1
A B BS 2
Hard handoff
Channelized wireless systems assign different radio channels during a handoff. This is
called a hard handoff.
Eg: The MS connects with only one BS at a time, and there is usually some interruption
in the conversation during the link transition.
Soft handoff
Spread spectrum mobiles share the same channel in every cell. A different base station
handles the radio communication task. The ability to select between the instantaneous
received signals from a variety of base stations is called soft handoff.
Eg: The two BSs are briefly simultaneously connected to the MU while crossing the cell
boundary. As soon as the mobile's link with the new BS is acceptable, the initial BS
disengages from the MU
Roaming
When a mobile enters a city or geographic area that is different from its home service
area, it is registered as a roamer in the new service area.
Periodically, the MSC issues a global command over each FCC in the system, asking for
all mobiles which are previously unregistered to report their MIN and
ESN over the RCC for billing purposes.
If a particular mobile user has roaming authorization for billing purposes, MSC registers
the subscriber as a valid roamer.
Roaming can be provided only if some administrative and technical constraints are met.
Administrative constraints
Billing.
Subscription agreement.
Call transfer charges.
User profile and database sharing.
Any other policy constraints.
Technical constraints
Bandwidth mismatch:
For example, European 900MHz band may not be available in other parts of the world. This may
preclude some mobile equipment for roaming.
Service providers must be able to communicate with each other. Needs some standard.
Integration of a new service provider into the network. A roaming subscriber must be
able to detect this new provider.
Service providers must be able to communicate with each other. Needs some standard.
Power-down registration:
Done by the MU when it intends to switch itself off.
Power-up registration:
Opposite to power-down registration. When an MU is switched on, it registers.
Deregistration:
A MU decides to acquire control channel service on a different type of network (public,
private, or residential).
Periodic registration:
A MU may be instructed to periodically register with the network.
Forced registration:
A network may, under certain circumstances, force all MUs to register.
Two-Tier Scheme
Location tracking
Steps
Cordless telephone systems are full duplex communication systems that use radio to
connect a portable handset to a dedicated base station, which is then connected to dedicated
telephone line with a specific telephone number on the public switched telephone network
(PSTN). In first generation cordless telephone systems (manufactured in 1980’s), the portable
unit communicates only to the dedicated base unit and only over distances of few ten of meters.
Early cordless telephone operate solely as extension telephones to a transceiver connected to a
subscriber line on the PSTN and are primarily for in home use.
Second generation cordless telephones have recently been introduced which allow
subscriber to use their handsets at many outdoor locations within urban centers such as London
or hong kong.
Modern cordless telephones are sometimes combined with paging receivers so that a
subscriber may first be paged and then respond to the page using the cordless telephone.
Cordless telephone systems provide the user with limited range and mobility, as it is usually not
possible to maintain a call if the user travel outside the range of the base station. Typical second
generation base station provide coverage ranges up to a few hundred meters.
Paging Systems
Wide Area System
The paging control center dispatches pages received from the PSTN throughout several cities at
the same time.
City 1
PSTN
City 2
Land Line Link
PAGING CONTROL
Paging Terminal
CENTRE
City N
Paging Terminal
Paging System:
Paging systems are communication systems that send brief messages to a subscriber.
Depending on the type of service, the message may be a numeric message, an Alpha-numeric
message, or a Voice message. Paging systems are typically used to notify a subscriber of the
need to call a particular telephone number or travel to a known location to receive further
instructions. In modern paging systems, news headlines, stock quotations, and faxes may be sent.
A message is send to a paging subscribe via the paging system access number with a telephone
keypad or modem. 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. While simple paging
system 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. Through paging receivers
are simple and inexpensive; the transmission system required is quite sophisticated. Wide area
paging system 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 simulcasting).
Simulcast transmitter may be located within the same service area or in different cities or
countries, paging system are designed to provide reliable communication to subscribers wherever
they are: whether inside a building, driving on a highway, or flying in an airplane. This
necessitates large transmitter powers (on the order of kilowatts) and low data rates (a couple of
thousand bits per second) for maximum coverage from each base station.
Problems with cellular structure
How to maintain continuous communication between two parties in the presence of mobility?
Solution: Handoff
How to maintain continuous communication between two parties in the presence of mobility?
Solution: Roaming
Frequency Reuse
Each cellular base station is allocated a group of radio channels. Base stations in adjacent cells
are assigned channel groups which contain different channels than neighboring cells.
Cells with the same letter use the same set of frequencies.
A cell cluster is outlined in bold, and replicated over the coverage area.
Mobile cells
Metropolitan area Metropolitan area
BS
Base Station BS BS
Small cells.
High density
Smaller cells.
Higher density
Frequency reuse
A
2 A
2
7 3 2
7 3
1
1 D7 3
6 4 1 A
6 4 A
5 6 4 A
5
5
2020 - 2021 17 Jeppiaar Institute of Technology
A
A
EC8652: Wireless Communication Department of ECE
D
3N
R
D = distance between cells using the same frequency
R = cell radius
N = reuse pattern (the cluster size, which is 7).
Thus, for a 7-cell group with cell radius R = 3 miles, the frequency reuse distance D is 13.74
miles.
Frequency Reuse
Each cellular base station is allocated a group of radio channels to be used within a small
geographic area called a cell. The powers of base station antennas are limited to cover designated
cell area only to avoid interference with other cells. The design process of selecting and
allocating channels groups for all of the cellular base stations within a system is called frequency
reuse or frequency planning
For the ease of covering the entire region without gaps, hexagonal shape is selected.
Also, the base station transmitter is normally kept either at the center or at the corner. Omni
directional antennas are used in case of center location and sectored directional antennas are used
in case corner location.
Consider a cellular system has a total of S duplex channels available for use. Let each
cell is allocated a group of k channels and if the S channels are divided among N cells into
unique and disjoint channel groups, which each have the same number of channels, the total
number of available ratio channels can be expressed as S=kN. 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 C can be used as a measure of
capacity and is given as C = MkN = MS.
As can be seen, the capacity of a cellular system is directly proportional to the number of
times a cluster is replicated in a fixed service area. The factor N is called cluster size and it is
estimated for hexagonal shape as N=i2 + ij + j2. In this case for i= 1 and j = 1, N is 3; for i=1 and
j=2, N is 7; for i=2 and j=2, N = 12 and so on. If the cell area is kept and constant and the value
of N is reduced, more clusters are required to cover the entire area. This gives rise to higher
capacity to the system. However, small value of N gives rise to co channels repeated at closer
distance compared with that of larger clusters. The frequency re use factor of a cellular system
is given by 1/N, as each cell in a cell is assigned only 1/N of available channels.
To find the nearest co channel neighbors of a particular cell one must do the following:
Move i cells along any chain of hexagon and then turn 60 degrees counter clockwise and move j
cells. This is illustrated in the following figure for i=3 and j=2.
Method of locating a co
channel in cell system
EXAMPLE:
If a particular FDD cellular telephone system has a total bandwidth of 33mhz and if the phone
system uses two 25khz simplex channel to provide the no/- of channels per cell if n=4,7,12
In case of dynamic channel assignment, voice channels are assigned by MSC based on
request from the Base stations. However, before the MSC need to keep a strict account on
frequency use in candidate cell, the reuse distance of the channel and other cost functions etc.
Although this method likely to avoid blocking of the channels and provides efficient use, the
MSC need to tack a lot of data like, channel occupancy, traffic distribution, RSSI (Radio Signal
Strength Indications of all channels) on a continuous basis. This increases the storage and
computational load on the system but provides the advantage of increased channel utilization.
Co-Channel interference and system capacity: Frequency reuse implies that in a given
coverage area that there are several cell that use the same set of frequencies. These cells are
called co channels cells and the interference form these cells called co channel interference. This
cannot be controlled by increasing the transmitted signal power as it increases the interference in
the co channel cells. When the size of the each cell is approximately same and the base stations
transmit the same power, the co channel interference ratio is independent of transmitted power
and becomes a function of the cell radius R and the distance between centers of the nearest co
channel cell D. By increasing the ratio D / R, the spatial separation between co channel cells
relative to the coverage distance of a cell is increased. The parameter Q, called the co channel
reuse ration is related to the cluster size. For a hexagonal geometry
Q=D/R= 3N. (1)
A small value of Q provides larger capacity since the cluster size N is small, whereas a
large value of Q improves the transmission quality, due to a smaller level of co channel
interference. A tradeoff must be made between these two objectives in actual cellular design.
Following table gives the co channel reuse ratio for some values of N
S S
i io
- (2)
Ii
I
i 1
Where S is the desired signal power and Ii is the interference power caused by the ith
interfering co channel cell base station. If the signal levels of co channel cells are known, then
the S/I ratio for the forward link can be found using the above equation.
Propagation measurements in a mobile radio channel show that the average received
signal strength at any point decays as a power of law of the distance of separation between a
transmitter and receiver. That is the average power Pr at a distance d from the transmitter
antenna is approximately equal to
1
Pr
rn
Where n is the path loss exponent which varies between 2 to 4 in urban area..
Consider the forward link where the desired signal is the serving base station and where
the interference is due to co channel base station. If Di is the distance of the ith interferer from
the mobile, the received power at a given mobile due to the ith interfering cell will be
proportional to (Di) –n . When the transmit power of each base station is equal and the path loss
exponent is the same throughout the coverage area, S / I for a mobile can be approximated as
S R n
i io (3)
Di n
I
i 1
Considering only the first layer of interfering cells, if all the interfering base stations are
equidistance from the desired base station and if this distance is equal to the distance D between
cell centers, then the equations simplifies to
n
D n
S R 3N
(4)
I io io
This equation relates S / I to the cluster size N, which in turn determines the overall
capacity of the system. Let us we assume six closest cells are close enough to create significant
interference and that all are approximately equidistance from the desired base station. I
generation experiment indicates that good voice can be provided when S /I is greater than 18 db.
Using the first equation, it can be shown that in order to meet this requirement, the cluster size N
should be 6. 49, assuming a path loss exponent of n = 4. Thus minimum cluster size of seven is
required to meet an S/ I ratio requirement of 18 db.
Example:
If a signal to interference ratio of 15 db is required for satisfactory forward channel performance
of a cellular system, what is the frequency reuse factor and cluster size should be used for
maximum capacity if the path loss exponent is a) n = 4 and b.) n=3. Assume that there are six
co channel cells in the first tier and all of them are at the same distance from the mobile. . Use
suitable assumption.
a) n= 4
First lest us consider a seven cell reuse pattern.
Using the table the co channel re use ratio is D / R = 4.583.
Using the equation (4), the signal to noise ratio is given as
b) n=3
First consider the seven cells re use pattern.
Using the equation (4), the signal to noise ratio is given as
Since this is less than the minimum required S / I , we need to use a larger N.
Interference resulting from signals which are adjusted in frequency to the desired signal
is called adjacent channel interference. This results from imperfect receiver filters which allow
nearby frequencies to leak into the pass band. The problem is very serious if an adjacent
channel user is transmitting in very close range to a subscriber’s receiver while the receiver
attempts to receive a base station on the desired channel. This is referred as near – far effect.
Adjacent channel interference can be minimized through careful filtering and channel
assignment. As a cell is given only a fraction of available channel, a cell need not be given
frequencies that are adjacent to each other. By keeping the frequency separation between each
channel as large as possible adjacent interference can be reduced considerably.
Cell Splitting:
It is the process of subdividing a congested cell into smaller cells, each with its own base
station and a corresponding reduction in antenna height and transmitter power. It increases the
capacity of the system as the number of times the channels are reused. BY defining new cells
which have a smaller radius and by installing these smaller cells between existing cells, capacity
increases due to the additional number of channels per unit area. Cell splitting is shown below:
If every cell were reduced such that the radius of every cell is reduced to half, then it will
require approximately four smaller cells to cover the same area. The increased number of cells
would increase the number of clusters over the coverage region, which in turn would increase the
number of channels and thus capacity in the coverage area. While allocating the channels,
frequency reuse plan is preserved.
As can be seen in the figure, microcell base station labeled G was placed half way
between two larger stations utilizing the same channel as G. Similar method is followed while
allocating channels to other micro cells. In this case each cell is allowed to transmit only a
power that is equal to 1/ 16th that of original transmitter power so as to cover the smaller area.
Sectoring:
In this, the cell radius is kept unchanged, but methods are used to decrease the Ratio D /
R. In this, sectoring improves the SIR so that the cluster size may be reduced. It replaces the
omni directional antenna at the center or directional antennas at the corner with three directional
antenna at the center if the cell is divided into three sectors. Each of the directional antennas
covers a sector of 120 degrees as shown in the following figure
When sectoring is employed, the channels used in particular cell are broken down into
sectored groups and are used only within a particular sector. Assuming a seven cell reuse, for
the case of 120 deg sectors, the number of interferers in the first tier is reduced from six to two.
This is because only two of the six channels cells receive interference with a particular sectored
channel group. With this, the resulting SIR is found to be 24.2 db instead of 17 db.
This enhancement in the SIR, allows one to decrease the cluster size N in order to
improve the frequency reuse and thus the capacity of the system
In particular system, further improvement in SIR is achieved by down tilting the sector antennas
such that the radiation pattern in the vertical plane has a notch at the nearest co channels cell
distance. BY going in for 7 cell reuse pattern instead of 12 cell pattern gives rise to an increase
in capacity of 12 / 7 = 1.714 times.
However, the penalty for improved S/I and the resulting capacity improvement from the
shrinking cluster size is an increased number of antennas at each base station. Also as the
sectoring reduces the coverage areas of a particular group of channels, the number of hand off
increases. This increases the load on the switching and control link elements of the mobile
system.
Microcell Zone:
In this each of the three zone sites are connected to a single base station and share the same radio
requirement. The zones are connected by coaxial cable, fiber optic cable or microwave link to
the base station. As the mobile travels within the cell, it retains the same channel thus avoiding
the handoff and associated complexity. The base station simply switches the channels to a
different zone site. The advantage of the zone cell technique is that while the cell maintains a
particular coverage radius, the co channel interference in the cellular system is reduced such a
large central base station is replaced by several lower powered transmitters on the edges of the
cell.
Decreased co channel interferences improve the signal quality and also lead to an
increase in capacity without the degradation in trucking efficiency caused by the sectoring. For
satisfactory performance, and SIR of 18 db is required. For a system with N= 7, a D/ R of 4.6
was shown to achieve this. With respect to Zone microcell, since the transmission is confined to
a particular zone, this implies that the D / R ratio, can be improved as the R value is now equal
to the radius of the cell and is equal to the twice the length of the hexagon radius. Thus,
instead of D / R ratio of 4.6 for cluster size of 7, the D / R ratio becomes 3 with the microcell
concept. This facilitates the cluster size to be reduced from 7 to 3, thereby increasing the
capacity 7 / 3 = 2.33 times. Hence for the same SIR requirement of 18 db, the system provides
significant increase in capacity over conventional cellular planning.
2. MORE EFFICIENT MODULATION FORMATS AND CODING: Use modulation formats that require less
bandwidth (higher order modulation) and/or are more resistant to interference.
Higher order modulation allows an increase in data rate for each user. But they are more
sensitive to noise and interference.
The introduction of turbo codes and low-density parity check codes is another way of
achieving better immunity to interference, and thus increases system capacity.
3. BETTER SOURCE CODING: Depending on required speech quality, current speech coders need
data rates between 32 kbit/s and 4 kbit/s. Better models for the properties of speech allow the
data rate to be decreased without decreasing quality
5. MULTIUSER DETECTION: Multiuser detection reduces the effect of interference, and thus allows
more users per cell for CDMA systems or smaller reuse distances for FDMA systems.
6. ADAPTIVE MODULATION AND CODING: Chooses the modulation format and coding rate that are
suitable for the current link situation. This approach makes better use of available power,
and, among other effects, reduces interference.
8. FRACTIONAL LOADING: This system uses a small reuse distance, but uses only a small
percentage of the available timeslots in each cell.
Unlike Mobile Cellular telephone systems, fixed wireless communication systems are
able to take advantage of the very well defined, time-invariant nature of the propagation channel
between the fixed transmitter and fixed receiver. Furthermore, modern fixed wireless systems are
usually assigned microwave or millimeter radio frequencies in the 28 GHz band and higher,
which is greater than ten times the carrier frequency of 3G terrestrial cellular telephone
networks. At these higher frequencies, the wavelengths are extremely small, which in turn allows
very high gain directional antennas to be fabricated in small physical form factors. At Higher
frequencies, too, more bandwidth can be easily used. High gain antennas have spatial filter
properties that can reject multipath signals that arrive from directions other than the desired line
of sight, and this in turn support the transmission of very wide bandwidth signals without
distortion. Also, since the carrier frequencies of these fixed wireless access terminals are so high,
the radio channel behaves much like optical channels. Thus, fixed wireless network at very high
microwave frequencies are only viable where there are no obstructions, such as in a relatively
flat sub-urban or rural setting. Microwave wireless links can be used to create a wireless local
loop (WLL) such as the one shown in the figure below.
Large
Fiber Business in
Central
high density
Office
areas
Wireless
Central
Mid market
Office
business outside the
urban core
Copper/
Backbone xDSL
Small business
Network
DAX
ISP Cable
Residences
The local loop can be thought of as the “last mile” of the telecommunication network that
resides between the central office (CO) and the individual homes and businesses in close
proximity to the CO. In developed countries, copper or fiber optic cable has been installed to
residences and businesses. However in many developing nations, cable is too expensive or can
take months or years to install. Wireless equipment, on the other hand, can easily be deployed in
just in couple of hours.
An additional benefit of WLL technology is that once the wireless equipment is paid for,
there are no additional costs for transport between the CO and the customer premises Equipment
(CPE), whereas buried cables often must be leased from a service provider or utility company on
a monthly basis. It s possible that WLL systems could compete copper wire based Digital
Subscriber loops (DSL) technologies that are rapidly proliferating.
Trunking exploits the statistical behavior of users so that a fixed number of channels or
circuits may accommodate a large, random user community. The telephone company uses
trunking theory to determine the number of telephone circuits that need to be allocated for office
buildings with hundreds of telephones, and this same principle is used in designing cellular radio
systems. There is a trade-off between the number of available telephone circuits and the
likelihood of a particular user finding that no circuits are available during the peak calling time.
As the number of phone lines decreases, it becomes more likely that all circuits will be busy for a
particular user. In a trunked mobile radio system, when a particular user requests service and all
of the radio channels are already in use, the user is blocked, or denied access to the system. In
some systems, a queue may be used to hold the requesting users until a channel becomes
available.
To design trunked radio systems that can handle a specific capacity at a specific “grade of
service,” it is essential to understand trunking theory and queuing theory. The fundamentals of
trunking theory were developed by Erlang, a Danish mathematician who, in the late 19th
century, embarked on the study of how a large population could be accommodated by a limited
number of servers. Today, the measure of traffic intensity bears his name. One Erlang represents
the amount of traffic intensity carried by a channel that is completely occupied (i.e. one call-hour
per hour or one call-minute per minute). For example, a radio channel that is occupied for thirty
minutes during an hour carries 0.5 Erlangs of traffic.
The grade of service (GOS) is a measure of the ability of a user to access a trunked
system during the busiest hour. The busy hour is based upon customer demand at the busiest
hour during a week, month, or year. The busy hours for cellular radio systems typically occur
during rush hours, between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on a Thursday or Friday evening. The grade of
service is a benchmark used to define the desired performance of a particular trunked system by
specifying a desired likelihood of a user obtaining channel access given a specific number of
channels available in the system. It is the wireless designer’s job to estimate the maximum
required capacity and to allocate the proper number of channels in order to meet the GOS. GOS
is typically given as the likelihood that a call is blocked, or the likelihood of a call experiencing a
delay greater than a certain queuing time.
The following definitions listed below are used in trunking theory to make capacity estimates in
trunked systems.
Set-up Time:
The time required to allocate a trunked radio channel to a requesting user.
Blocked Call:
Call which cannot be completed at time of request, due to congestion. Also referred to
as a lost call.
Holding Time:
Average duration of a typical call. Denoted by H (in seconds).
Traffic Intensity:
Measure of channel time utilization, which is the average channel occupancy measured
in Erlangs. This is a dimensionless quantity and may be used to measure the time
utilization of single or multiple channels. Denoted by A.
Load:
Traffic intensity across the entire trunked radio system, measured in Erlangs.
Request Rate:
The average number of call requests per unit time. Denoted by λ seconds–1.
The traffic intensity offered by each user is equal to the call request rate multiplied by the
holding time. That is, each user generates a traffic intensity of Au Erlangs given by
Au = λH
Where H is the average duration of a call and λ is the average number of call requests per unit
time for each user. For a system containing U users and an unspecified number of channels, the
total offered traffic intensity A, is given as
A = U Au
Furthermore, in a C channel trunked system, if the traffic is equally distributed among the
channels, then the traffic intensity per channel, Ac, is given as
Ac = UAu ⁄ C
Note that the offered traffic is not necessarily the traffic which is carried by the trunked
system, only that which is offered to the trunked system. When the offered traffic exceeds the
maximum capacity of the system, the carried traffic becomes limited due to the limited capacity
(i.e. limited number of channels). The maximum possible carried traffic is the total number of
channels, C, in Erlangs. The AMPS cellular system is designed for a GOS of 2% blocking. This
implies that the channel allocations for cell sites are designed so that 2 out of 100 calls will be
blocked due to channel occupancy during the busiest hour.
There are two types of trunked systems which are commonly used. The first type offers
no queuing for call requests. That is, for every user who requests service, it is assumed there is
no setup time and the user is given immediate access to a channel if one is available. If no
channels are available, the requesting user is blocked without access and is free to try again later.
This type of trunking is called blocked calls cleared and assumes that calls arrive as determined
by a Poisson distribution. Furthermore, it is assumed that there are an infinite number of users as
well as the following: (a) there are memoryless arrivals of requests, implying that all users,
including blocked users, may request a channel at any time; (b) the probability of a user
occupying a channel is exponentially distributed, so that longer calls are less likely to occur as
described by an exponential distribution; and (c) there are a finite number of channels available
in the trunking pool. This is known as an M/M/m/m queue, and leads to the derivation of the
Erlang B formula (also known as the blocked calls cleared formula). The Erlang B formula
determines the probability that a call is blocked and is a measure of the GOS for a trunked
system which provides no queuing for blocked calls. The Erlang B formula is given by
Where C is the number of trunked channels offered by a trunked radio system and A is
the total offered traffic.
While it is possible to model trunked systems with finite users, the resulting expressions
are much more complicated than the Erlang B result, and the added complexity is not warranted
for typical trunked systems which have users that outnumber available channels by orders of
magnitude. Furthermore, the Erlang B formula provides a conservative estimate of the GOS, as
the finite user results always predict a smaller likelihood of blocking. The capacity of a trunked
radio system where blocked calls are lost is tabulated for various values of GOS and numbers of
channels in the following Table
The second kind of trunked system is one in which a queue is provided to hold calls
which are blocked. If a channel is not available immediately, the call request may be delayed
until a channel becomes available. This type of trunking is called Blocked Calls Delayed, and its
measure of GOS is defined as the probability that a call is blocked after waiting a specific length
of time in the queue. To find the GOS, it is first necessary to find the likelihood that a call is
initially denied access to the system. The likelihood of a call not having immediate access to a
channel is determined by the Erlang C formula
If no channels are immediately available the call is delayed, and the probability that the delayed
call is forced to wait more than t seconds is given by the probability that a call is delayed,
multiplied by the conditional probability that the delay is greater than t seconds. The GOS of a
trunked system where blocked calls are delayed is hence given by
Where the average delay for those calls which are queued is given by H/(C – A).
EXAMPLE:
An urban area has a population of two million residents. Three competing trunked mobile
networks (systems A, B, and C) provide cellular service in this area. System A has 394 cells with
19 channels each, system B has 98 cells with 57 channels each, and system C has 49 cells, each
with 100 channels. Find the number of users that can be supported at 2% blocking if each user
averages two calls per hour at average call duration of three minutes. Assuming that all three
trunked systems are operated at maximum capacity, compute the percentage market penetration
of each cellular provider.
Solution
System A
Given:
Probability of blocking = 2% = 0.02
Number of channels per cell used in the system, C = 19
For GOS = 0.02 and C = 19, from the Erlang B chart, the total carried traffic, A, is obtained as
12 Erlangs.
Since there are 394 cells, the total number of subscribers that can be supported by System A is
equal to 120 × 394 = 47280
System B
Given:
Probability of blocking = 2% = 0.02
Number of channels per cell used in the system, C = 57
For GOS = 0.02 and C = 57, from the Erlang B chart, the total carried traffic, A, is obtained as
45 Erlangs.
Since there are 98 cells, the total number of subscribers that can be supported by System B is
equal to 450 × 98 = 44,100
System C
Given:
Probability of blocking = 2% = 0.02
Number of channels per cell used in the system, C = 100
For GOS = 0.02 and C = 100, from the Erlang B chart, the total carried traffic, A, is obtained as
88 Erlangs.
Since there are 49 cells, the total number of subscribers that can be supported by System C is
equal to 880 × 49 = 43,120
Therefore, total numbers of cellular subscribers that can be supported by these three systems are
47,280 + 44,100 + 43,120 = 134,500 users.
Since there are two million residents in the given urban area and the total number of cellular
subscribers in System A is equal to 47280, the percentage market penetration is equal to
47,280/2,000,000 = 2.36%
134,500/2,000,000 = 6.725%
Multiple access schemes are used to allow many mobile users to share simultaneously a finite
amount of radio spectrum.
Various multiple access schemes are:
Frequency Division Multiple Access: Different frequencies are assigned to different
users.
Time Division Multiple Access: Different timeslots are assigned to different users.
Code Division Multiple Access: Each user is assigned a different code.
Packet Radio: A form of TDMA, where the assignment of timeslots to users is adaptive.
The goal of all multiple access methods is to maximize spectral efficiency – i.e., to maximize the
number of users per unit bandwidth.
Features of FDMA
Advantages
1. The transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) require little digital signal processing.
2. (Temporal) synchronization is simple. Once synchronization has been established during
the call setup, it is easy to maintain it by means of a simple tracking algorithm, as
transmission occurs continuously.
Disadvantages
1. Frequency synchronization and stability are difficult
2. Sensitivity to fading
3. Sensitivity to random Frequency Modulation (FM)
4. Intermodulation
Time division multiple access (TDMA) systems divide the radio spectrum into time slots, and in
each slot only one user is allowed to either transmit or receive.
A time unit is subdivided into N timeslots of fixed duration, and each user is assigned one such
timeslot. During the assigned timeslot, the user can transmit with a high data rate. Then, it
remains silent for the next N − 1 timeslots, when other users take their turn. This process is then
repeated periodically.
TDMA systems transmit data in a buffer-and-burst method, thus the transmission for any user is
non-continuous. So, unlike in FDMA systems which accommodate analog FM, digital data and
digital modulation must be used with TDMA.
Features of TDMA
TDMA shares a single carrier frequency with several users, where each user makes use of
non-overlapping time slots.
Data transmission for users of a TDMA system is not continuous, but occurs in bursts. This
results in low battery consumption.
Because of discontinuous transmissions in TDMA, the handoff process is much simpler for a
subscriber unit
TDMA uses different time slots for transmission and reception, thus duplexers are not
required.
Adaptive equalization is usually necessary in TDMA systems, since the transmission rates
are generally very high as compared to FDMA channels.
High synchronization overhead is required in TDMA systems because of burst transmissions.
TDMA transmissions are slotted, and this requires the receivers to be synchronized for each
data burst. In addition, guard slots are necessary to separate users. So the TDMA systems
having larger overheads as compared to FDMA.
In code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, the narrowband message signal is multiplied
by a very large bandwidth signal called the spreading signal.
The spreading signal is a pseudo-noise code sequence that has a chip rate which is orders of
magnitudes greater than the data rate of the message. Each user has its own pseudorandom code
word which is approximately orthogonal to all other code words.
The receiver performs a time correlation operation to detect only the specific desired code word.
All other code words appear as noise due to decorrelation. For detection of the message signal,
the receiver needs to know the code word used by the transmitter.
Features of CDMA
Many users of a CDMA system share the same frequency. Either TDD or FDD may be used.
Unlike TDMA or FDMA, CDMA has a soft capacity limit. The system performance
gradually degrades for all users as the number of users is increased, and improves as the
number of users is decreased.
Frequency-dependent transmission impairments (such as noise bursts and selective fading)
have less effect on the signal.
Multipath fading may be substantially reduced because the signal is spread over a large
spectrum.
Channel data rates are very high in CDMA systems.
Since CDMA uses co-channel cells, it can use macroscopic spatial diversity to provide soft
handoff.
The near-far problem occurs at a CDMA receiver if an undesired user has a high detected
power as compared to the desired user.
Packet Radio
In packet radio (PR) access techniques, many subscribers attempt to access a single channel in an
uncoordinated (or minimally coordinated) manner. Transmission is done by using bursts of data.
Packet radio access schemes break data down into packets, and each of the packets is transmitted
over the medium independently.
Packet radio shows two main differences from TDMA and FDMA:
1. Each packet has to fight for its own resources. The most common methods for resource
allocation are ALOHA systems, Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA), and packet
reservation (polling).
2. Each packet can be routed to the RX in different ways – i.e., via different relay stations.
ALOHA
Pure ALOHA: The pure ALOHA protocol is a random access protocol used for data transfer. A
user accesses a channel as soon as a message is ready to be transmitted. After a transmission, the
user waits for an acknowledgment on either the same channel or a separate feedback channel. In
case of collisions the terminal waits for a random period of time and retransmits the message.
Slotted ALOHA: In slotted ALOHA, time is divided into equal time slots of length greater than
the packet duration. The subscribers each have synchronized clocks and transmit a message only
at the beginning of a new time slot, thus resulting in a discrete distribution of packets.