WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

MODULE I
 Prerequisite
2

 ECT 305 Analog and Digital Communication

 Mark distribution
3

Total CIE ESE ESE Duration

Marks
150 50 100 3 hours

Continuous Internal Evaluation Pattern:

Attendance : 10 marks
Continuous Assessment Test (2 numbers) : 25 marks
Assignment/Quiz/Course project : 15 marks
 Question Paper Pattern
4

Part Questions Question Nature Marks

2 questions from each

A Attend all 3 each x 10 = 30
module

2 questions* from each Attend 1 from

B 14 each x 5 = 70
module each module

* Each part B question can have a maximum of 2 subparts

 Introduction
5

 Earlier mobile radio system was to achieve large

coverage area by using a single high powered
transmitter with an antenna mounted on a tall
tower.
 Good coverage could be achieved but impossible to
reuse frequencies throughout the system.
 Attempt to implement frequency reuse would result in
interference.
 Cellular Concept
6
 Introduction to Cellular Concept

◻ A single high power transmitter is replaced by many low

power transmitters.
◻ Each base station is allocated a group of radio channels

to be used in a cell.
◻ Neighboring base stations are assigned different
groups of channels to minimize the interference.
◻ By limiting the coverage within a cell, the same group of

channels may be used in different cells separated by

large distances.
 Cellular Concept
8

 Proposed by Bell Labs in 1971.

 Replaces a single, high power transmitter (large cell)
with many low power transmitters (small cells).
 Each low power transmitter provides coverage to a
small portion of the service area.
 Each base station is allocated a portion of the total
number of channels available.
 Nearby base stations are assigned a different
group of channels.
 Cellular Concept

MSC-Mobile Switching Center

PSTN - Public Switched Telephone Network

• The actual radio coverage of a cell is known as the footprint

and is determined from field measurements.
 Why Hexagonal Shape ???
◻ The hexagonal cell shape is conceptual and it permits easy analysis of
a cellular system.

◻ Circular shape-adjacent circles can not be overlaid upon a map

without gaps or overlapping regions.

◻ Without overlap there are three choices: a square, an equilateral

triangle, a hexagon.
◻ A cell must serve the weakest mobiles located at the edges of the cell.

◻ For a given distance between the center of a polygon and its farthest
perimeter points, the hexagon has the largest area of the three.

◻ Using the hexagon geometry, a minimum number of cells can

cover a geographic region.

◻ Hexagon approximates a circular radiation pattern for an omni-

directional base station antenna.
 Cellular Concept…
11

 Interference between base stations is minimized by

allocating different group of channels to neighboring base
stations.
 The available channels may be reused by ensuring that
the interference between co-channel base stations is
below an acceptable level.
 The number of base stations can be increased to cater to
an increased demand with no additional increase in the
radio spectrum.
 Increase system capacity by frequency reuse.
 Advantages and Disadvantages
12

 Traditional Concept:
 Number of simultaneous users would be very limited
 Mobile handset would have greater power requirement

 Cellular Concept:
 Advantages:
 Lower power handsets
 Increases system capacity with frequency reuse

 Disadvantages:
 Costof cells
 Handoffs between cells must be supported
Center-Excited Cells, Edge-Excited
Cells & Corner-Excited Cells
◻ Base station transmitters are in the center of the cell (center-excited
cells) or on three of the six cell vertices (edge-excited cells).
◻ Omni-directional antennas are used in center-excited cells and
sectored directional antennas are used in corner-excited cells.
 Frequency Reuse
14

 The design process of selecting and allocating channel

groups for all cellular base stations is called frequency
reuse.
 A small geographic area which is allocated a group of
radio channels is called a cell.
 A base station antenna is designed to achieve coverage
in a particular cell.
 By limiting the coverage of a base station to within a
cell boundary, the same set of channels can be reused
in a different cell.
Frequency Reuse

• Cells with the same letter use

the same group of channels
known as co-channel cell.

• The group of cells with

different channels is
known as Cluster
 Locate Co-channel Cells

 The geometry of hexagons

is such that the number of
cells per cluster N, can
have values satisfying the
equation
N=i2+ij+j2
 where i and j are non-
negative integers.
 Procedure to find nearest co-channel

◻ Step 1 : Move i cells along any chain of hexagons and then

◻ Step 2 : Turn 60 degrees counter-clockwise

◻ Step 3 : Move j cells.

In the figure i = 3 and j = 2 and N=19.

 Locating Co-channels
18
 Cellular Capacity
19

 Consider a cellular system with a total of S duplex

channels.
 If each cell is allocated a group of k channels (k<S), and if
the S channels are divided among N cells, then the total
number of radio channels
S = kN
 The N cells which use the complete set of available
frequencies is called a cluster.
 If a cluster is replicated M times in the system, the total
number of duplex channels, C, a measure of capacity is
C = MkN = MS
 Cellular Capacity
20

 The capacity of a cellular system is directly

proportional to the number of times a cluster is
replicated.
 The factor N is called the cluster size and is typically
equal to 4, 7, or 12.
 If the cluster size 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 distance between
co-channel cells is large.
 Frequency Reuse…
21

 A small cluster size indicates that co-channel cells are

located much closer together.
 The value for N is a function of how much
interference a mobile or base station can tolerate to
maintain a certain quality of communication.
 The frequency reuse factor of a cellular system is
given by 1/N, since each cell within a cluster is only
assigned 1/N of the total available channels in the
system.
 Channel Assignment Strategies
22

 Aimed at maximizing capacity and minimizing

interference.
 Can be either fixed or dynamic.
 In 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.
 Channel Assignment Strategies…
23

 Several variations of the fixed strategy exist.

 In one approach, called the 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 ensuring that it does not disrupt the
ongoing calls of the donor cell.
 In a dynamic channel assignment strategy, voice
channels are not allocated to cells permanently.
 Each time a call request is made, the serving base
station requests a channel from the MSC.
 Channel Assignment Strategies
24

 MSC allocates a channel to the requested cell

following an algorithm.
 MSC allocates a channel if it is not presently in use in
the cell or any other neighboring cell which falls
within the minimum restricted distance to avoid co-
channel interference.
 Dynamic channel assignment reduce the likelihood of
blocking, which increases the trunking capacity of the
system, since all the available channels are accessible
to all of the cells.
 Channel Assignment Strategies…
25

 Dynamic channel assignment strategies require the

MSC to collect real-time data on channel occupancy,
traffic distribution, and radio signal strength
indications of all channels on a continuous basis.
 This increases the storage and computational load on
the system but provides increased channel utilization
and decreased probability of a blocked call.
 Handoff
26

 When a mobile moves into a different cell while a

conversation is in progress, the MSC transfers the call
to a new channel in the new base station.
 Involves identifying a base station and allocating
voice and control signals to channels associated
with the new base station.
 Prioritize handoff requests over call initiation
requests.
 Must be performed successfully and must be
imperceptible to the user.
 Handoff
27

 System designers specify an optimum signal level at which to

initiate a handoff.
 A particular signal level is specified as the minimum usable
signal for acceptable voice quality at the base station
receiver .
 A slightly stronger signal level is used as a threshold at
which a handoff is made.
 The margin, Δ= Pr handoff –Pr minimum usable, cannot be too large
or too small.
 If Δ is too large, unnecessary handoffs which burden the
MSC may occur.
 If Δ is too small, there may be insufficient time to complete a
handoff before a call is lost due to weak signal conditions.
 Handoff
28
 Handoff
29

 Call dropping can happen when there is an excessive

delay by the MSC in assigning a handoff, or when the
threshold Δ is too small.
 Excessive delays may occur during high traffic conditions
leading to loading the MSC or non-availability of
channels in the adjacent base station.
 We have to ensure that the drop in the signal level is not
due to momentary fading and the mobile is actually
moving away from the serving base station.
 For this, the base station monitors the signal level for a
certain period of time before a handoff is initiated.
 The time over which a call is maintained within a cell,
without handoff, is called the dwell time.
 Handoff
30

 In first generation systems, signal strength

measurements are made by the base stations and
supervised by the MSC.
 In addition to measuring the RSSI of calls in progress
within the cell, a spare receiver in the base station,
called the locator receiver scans and monitors signal
strength of users in the neighboring cells.
 Based on the locator receiver information on signal
strength, the MSC decides if a handoff is necessary or
not.
 Handoff
31

 In second generation systems, handoff decisions are mobile

assisted.
 In MAHO(Mobile Assisted Handoff), every mobile station
measures the received power from surrounding base stations
and continuously reports to the serving base station.
 A handoff is initiated when the power received from the base
station of a neighboring cell exceeds the power received from
the current base station by a certain level or for a certain period
of time.
 The MAHO is much faster since the handoff measurements are
made by each mobile, and the MSC no longer constantly
monitors signal strengths.
 Handoff
32

 During the course of a call, if a mobile moves from one

cellular system to a different cellular system controlled
by a different MSC, an intersystem handoff becomes
necessary.
 An MSC engages in an intersystem handoff when the
mobile signal becomes weak and the MSC cannot find
another cell within the system to which it can transfer
the call in progress.
 Prioritizing Handoffs
33

 One method for giving priority to handoffs is called the

guard channel concept whereby a fraction of the total
available channels in a cell is reserved exclusively for
handoff requests.
 This method has the disadvantage of reducing the total traffic
as only few channels are assigned to originating calls.
 Offers efficient spectrum utilization in dynamic channel
assignment strategies.
 Queuing of handoff requests is another method to decrease
the probability of forced termination.
 Queuing is possible because there is a time interval between
the time the received signal drops below the threshold level
and the time the call is terminated due to insufficient signal
strength.
 Practical Handoff Considerations
34

 In practical cellular systems, several problems arise in design

for a wide range of mobile velocities.
 High speed vehicles pass through the coverage region of a
cell within seconds, whereas pedestrian users may never
need a handoff during a call.
 MSC gets burdened if high speed users are constantly
passed between very small cells.
 Additional channels and base stations at the same physical
location of an existing cell are provided.
 By using different antenna heights and power levels, it is
possible to provide large and small cells which are co-
located at a single location.
 This technique is called the umbrella cell approach.
 Practical Handoff Considerations…
35

 This provides large area coverage to high speed users

while providing small area coverage to users with low
speeds.
 Practical Handoff Considerations…
36

 The umbrella cell approach ensures that the number of

handoffs is minimized for high speed users and provides
additional microcell channels for pedestrian users.
 Another practical handoff problem in microcell systems
is known as cell dragging.
 Cell dragging results from pedestrian users that provide
a very strong signal to the base station.
 This occurs in an urban environment when there is a line-
of-sight radio path between the subscriber and the
base station.
 Practical Handoff Considerations…
37

 As the user travels away from the base station at a

very slow speed, the average signal strength does not
decay rapidly.
 Even when the user has traveled into the neighboring
cell, the received signal at the base station may be
above the handoff threshold, thus a handoff may not
be made.
 This creates a potential interference and traffic
management problem.
 In new cellular systems, handoff decisions are made
based on signal strength, adjacent and co-channel
interference levels.
 Practical Handoff Considerations…
38

 In channelized wireless systems, different radio channels

assigned during a handoff - called as hard handoff.
 Spread spectrum mobiles share the same channel in every cell.
 Handoff does not mean a physical change in the channel, but
rather a different base station handles the radio
communication.
 By simultaneously evaluating the received signals from a
subscriber at several neighboring base stations, the MSC may
actually decide which version of the user's signal is best.
 MSC makes a soft decision that which version of the user's
signal to pass along to the PSTN at any instance.
 The ability to select between the instantaneous received signals
from a variety of base stations is called soft handoff.
 Interference And System Capacity
39

 Interference is the major limiting factor in the performance of

cellular radio systems.
 Sources of interference include:
 another mobile in the same cell
 a call in progress in a neighboring cell
 other base stations operating in the same frequency band
 any noncellular system leaking energy into the cellular band.
 Interference on voice channels causes cross talk (background
noise).
 Interference is more severe in urban areas and is the major
bottleneck in increasing capacity.
 The two major types of system generated cellular interference
are co-channel interference and adjacent channel interference.
 Co-channel Interference and
40
System Capacity
 Due to frequency reuse, in a given coverage area there
are several cells using the same set of frequencies.
 These cells are called co-channel cells, and the
interference between signals from these cells is called
co-channel interference.
 Co-channel interference cannot be overcome by simply
increasing the carrier power of a transmitter.
 To reduce co-channel interference, co-channel cells
must be physically separated by a minimum distance.
 Co-channel Interference and
41
System Capacity…
 When the size of each cell is the same, and the base
stations transmit the same power, the co-channel
interference ratio is independent of the transmitted power.
 It is a function of the radius of the cell and the distance
between centers of the nearest co-channel cells.
 By increasing the ratio of D/R, the spatial separation
between co-channel cells is increased relative to the
coverage distance and interference is reduced.
 The parameter, Q, called the co-channel reuse ratio is
given by,
Q =D/R=√(3N) (for hexagonal geometry)
 Co-channel Interference and
42
System Capacity…
 A small value of Q provides larger capacity (N small),
a large value of Q improves the transmission quality
(less co-channel interference).
 Co-channel Interference and
43
System Capacity…
 Let i0 be the number of co-channel interfering cells.
 Then, the signal-to interference ratio for a mobile
station can be expressed as

Where S is the desired signal power from the desired

base station and Ii is the interference power caused by
the ith interfering co-channel cell.
 Co-channel Interference and
44
System Capacity…
 The average received signal strength at any point decays as a
power of the distance between a transmitter and receiver.
 The average received power Pr at a distance d from the
transmitting antenna is

Where P0 is the power received at a reference point in the far field region
at a small distance d0 from the transmitting antenna and n is the path loss
exponent.
 When the transmit power of each base station is equal and the path loss
exponent n is the same throughout the coverage area, S/I for a mobile
can be approximated as
 Co-channel Interference and
45
System Capacity…
 Consider only the first layer of interfering cells.
 If all the interfering base stations are equidistant from the
desired base station and if this distance is equal to D
between cell centers, then

 This relates S/I to the cluster size N, which in turn determines

the overall capacity of the system.
 Co-channel Interference and
46
System Capacity…
 Co-channel Interference and
47
System Capacity…
 For a 7-cell cluster, with the mobile unit at the cell
boundary, the mobile is at a distance D-R from the two
nearest co-channel interfering cells and approximately
D, and D+R from the other interfering cells in the first
tier.
 For n=4, the signal-to-interference ratio for the worst
case can be given by
 Adjacent Channel Interference
48

 Interference resulting from signals adjacent in frequency

to the desired signal is called adjacent channel
interference.
 Adjacent channel interference results from imperfect
receiver filters which allow nearby frequencies to leak
into the passband.
 The problem can be serious if an adjacent channel user
is transmitting very close to a subscriber's receiver, while
it receives a base station signal.
 This is referred to as the near-far effect, where a
nearby transmitter captures the receiver of the
subscriber.
 Adjacent Channel Interference…
49

 Adjacent channel interference can be minimized through

proper filtering and channel assignments.
 Since each cell is given only a fraction of the available
channels, a cell need not be assigned channels which
are all adjacent in frequency.
 Adjacent channel interference may be reduced
considerably by keeping the frequency separation
maximum between each channel in a given cell.
 By sequentially assigning successive channels to
different cells, we can achieve separation of N
channel bandwidths, where N is the cluster size.
 Power Control for Reducing
50
Interference
 In practical cellular systems the power levels transmitted
by every subscriber unit are under constant control by
the serving base stations.
 This is done to ensure that each mobile transmits the
smallest power necessary to maintain a good quality
link on the reverse channel.
 Power control not only helps prolong battery life for the
subscriber unit, but also reduces the reverse channel S/I
in the system.
 Trunking and Grade of Service
51

 Trunking allows a large number of users to share a

small number of channels in a cell by providing access
to each user, on demand, from a pool of available
channels.
 Accommodate a large number of users in a limited
radio spectrum.
 Each user is allocated a channel on demand, and upon
termination of the call, the channel is immediately
returned to the pool of available channels.
 Trunking and Grade of Service…
52

 In a trunked radio system, when a particular user

requests service and all the radio channels are
already in use, the user is blocked.
 In some systems, a queue may be used to hold the
requesting users until a channel becomes available.
 The measure of traffic intensity is Erlang.
 One Erlang represents the amount of traffic intensity
carried by a channel that is completely occupied.
 Radio channel that is occupied for 30 minutes in an
hour carries 0.5 Erlangs of traffic.
 Trunking and Grade of Service…
53

 The Grade of Service(GoS) is a measure of the ability

of a user to access a trunked system during the busiest
hour.
 GoS is a benchmark to define the desired
performance of a trunked system by specifying the
likelihood of a user obtaining channel access given a
specific channel availability in the system.
 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.
 Trunking and Grade of Service…
54

 Set-up Time: The time required to allocate a trunked channel to a

requesting user.
 Blocked Call: Call which cannot be completed at time of request,
due to congestion (lost call).
 Holding Time(H): Average duration of a typical call.
 Traffic Intensity(A): Measure of channel time utilization, which is
the average channel occupancy measured in Erlangs.
 Load: Traffic intensity across the entire trunked radio system,
measured in Erlangs.
 Grade of Service: A measure of congestion specified as the
probability of a call being blocked (Erlang B), or the probability
of a call being delayed beyond a certain amount of time (Erlang
C).
 Request Rate: The average number of call requests per unit time.
Denoted by λ per second.
 Trunking and Grade of Service…
55

 The traffic intensity offered by each user is the call

request rate multiplied by the holding time.
 Au = λH
 For a system containing U users and an unspecified
number of channels, the total offered traffic intensity A
is given as
A = UAu
 If there are C channels in a trunked system and the
traffic is equally distributed among the channels, then
the traffic intensity per channel Ac is
 Ac =UAu/C
 Trunking and Grade of Service…
56

 There are two types of trunked systems:

 Blocked Calls Cleared:
 Firsttype offers no queuing for call requests.
 When a user requests service immediate access to a channel is
given if available, no setup time is required.
 Calls are assumed to arrive as per Poisson distribution
 Consider there are infinite number of users and
 All users, including blocked users, may request a channel at any time
 The probability of a user occupying a channel is exponentially
distributed, ie. longer calls are less likely to occur.
 There are a finite number of channels available in the trunking pool.
 This is known as an M/M/m/m queue.
 Trunking and Grade of Service…
57

 From the above mentioned assumptions the Erlang

B(Blocked calls cleared) formula is derived:

 where C is the number of channels in a trunked system

and A is the total offered traffic.
 The Erlang B formula is a measure of the GOS of a
trunked system which provides no queuing.
 Trunking and Grade of Service…
58

 The second type of trunked system is:

 Blocked Calls Delayed:
 Provides a queue to hold calls which are blocked
 If a channel is not available immediately, the call request may
be delayed until a channel becomes available.
 Its measure of GOS is the probability that a call is blocked
after waiting a certain length of time.
 The likelihood of a call which is delayed is given by Erlang C
formula
 Trunking and Grade of Service…
59

 If no channels are immediately available the call is

delayed.
 Probability that a call is delayed greater than t sec

= probability that a call is delayed × the conditional

probability that the delay is greater than t seconds.
 Pr[Delay>t] = Pr[Delay>0] . Pr[Delay>t/ Delay>0] ]

where H is the average duration of a call.

 Trunking and Grade of Service…
60

 The average delay D for all calls in the system is

given by,
𝐻
D = Pr[delay >0] *
(𝐶 −𝐴)
 Trunking efficiency is a measure of the number of
users offered with a particular GOS with a fixed
channels.
 Improving Coverage and Capacity
61

 As the demand for wireless service increases, the number of

channels assigned to a cell becomes insufficient.
 Techniques such as cell splitting, sectoring, and coverage
zone approaches are used to expand the capacity of
cellular systems.
 Cell splitting allows an orderly growth of the cellular
system.
 Sectoring uses directional antennas to control the
interference and frequency reuse of channels.
 The zone microcell concept distributes the coverage of a
cell and extends the coverage to hard-to-reach places.
 Cell Splitting
62

 A congested cell is subdivided into smaller cells, each

with its own base station and a reduction in antenna
height and transmitter power.
 Cell splitting increases the capacity of a cellular system
since it increases the number of times that channels
are reused.
 By defining smaller cells (microcells) between the
existing cells, capacity increases due to the additional
number of channels per unit area.
 Cell Splitting…
63

 If the radius of every cell is reduced to half, to cover the

entire service area, the number of cells required will be
four times.

 The increased number of cells would increase the

number of channels thereby increasing the capacity.

 Cells splitting replaces larger cells with smaller ones

while maintaining the co-channel reuse ratio.
 Cell Splitting…
64

• Here the base stations are placed at

corners of the cells, and the area served
by base station A is assumed to be
saturated with traffic.

• New base stations are needed in the

region to increase the number of channels
in the area.

• Base station A has been surrounded by

six new microcell base stations.

• The smaller cells added preserves

the frequency reuse plan of the system.
 Cell Splitting…
65

 The transmit power of the base stations of these new

cells must be reduced.
 Assume that the radius of each new microcell is half
that of the original cell.
 The received power Pr at the new and old cell
boundaries must be the same.
 Pr[at old cell boundary] ∝ Pt1 R−n
 Pr[at new cell boundary] ∝ Pt2 (R/2)−n

 Where Pt1 and Pt2 are the transmit powers of larger

and smaller base stations respectively and n is the
path loss exponent.
 Cell Splitting…
66

 Take n = 4 and set the received powers equal to each

other, then
 Pt2 = Pt1/16
 i.e. the transmit power must be reduced by 16 times for
the coverage with microcells, while maintaining the S/I
requirement.
 Not all cells are split at the same time and hence
different size cells exist in the same region
simultaneously.
 In such cases neither the original transmit power Pt1 nor
the new transmit power Pt2 can be used for all cells.
 Cell Splitting…
67

 Channels in the original cell are broken down into two

groups, one for smaller cell reuse requirements(small
power) and the other for larger cell reuse
requirements(larger power).
 At the beginning of the cell splitting process, there will
be fewer channels in the lower power group.
 As cell splitting progresses the smaller groups will
require more channels.
 The splitting process continues until all the channels are
used in the lower power groups.
 Cell Sectoring
68

 Increases capacity keeping the cell radius unchanged

and decreasing the D/R ratio.
 Sectoring increases SIR so that the cluster size can be
reduced.
 First SIR is improved using directional antennas.
 Then capacity is increased by reducing the number of
cells in a cluster.
 The co-channel interference is reduced by replacing a
single omni-directional antenna at the base station by
several directional antennas, each radiating within a
specified sector.
 Cell Sectoring…
69

 By using directional antennas, a given cell will receive

and transmit interference with only a fraction of the
available co-channel cells.
 The technique for decreasing co-channel interference
and thus increasing system capacity by using
directional antennas is called sectoring.
 The factor by which the co-channel interference is
reduced depends on the amount of sectoring used.
 A cell is normally partitioned into three 120° sectors or
six 60° sectors.
 Cell Sectoring…
70

 The channels used in a particular cell are broken down

into sectored groups and are used within a particular
sector.
 Cell Sectoring…
71
 Disadvantages of Sectoring
72

 Increase in the number of antennas at each base

station.

 Decrease in trunking efficiency due to breaking up of

available channels into smaller pools for specific
antenna.

 The number of handoffs increases as sectoring

reduces the coverage area of a group of channels.
 Repeaters for Range Extension
73

 A wireless operator needs to provide dedicated coverage

for hard to reach areas, like within buildings, tunnels etc.
 Radio re-transmitters known as repeaters are used to
provide range extension capabilities.
 Repeaters are bidirectional in nature, simultaneously send
signals to and receive signals from a serving base station.
 On receiving the signals from a base station the repeater
amplifies and reradiates the base station signals to the
specific coverage region.
 Repeaters do not add capacity to the system.
 Microcell Zone Concept
74

 Sectoring results in an increased load on the cellular

system due to increased number of handoffs.
 A solution to this problem is microcell concept.
 Microcell Zone Concept…
75

 Each of the three zone sites are connected to a single base

station and share the same radio equipment.
 The zones are connected by coaxial cable, fiber optic
cable, or microwave link to the base station.
 Multiple zones and a single base station make up a cell.
 As a mobile travels within the cell, it is served by the zone
with the strongest signal.
 This is superior to sectoring since antennas are placed at the
outer edges of the cell, and any base station channel may
be assigned to any zone by the base station.
 Microcell Zone Concept…
76

 As a mobile travels from one zone to another within the cell,

it retains the same channel.
 Thus handoff is not required at the MSC when the mobile
travels between zones within the cell.
 The base station simply switches the channel to a different
zone site.
 A given channel is active only in the particular zone in which
the mobile is traveling, and hence the base station radiation
is localized and interference is reduced.
 The channels are distributed in time and space by all three
zones and are also reused in co-channel cells in the normal
fashion.
 Microcell Zone Concept…
77

 Advantage:
 The co-channel interference is reduced since a large central
base station is replaced by several low power zone
transmitters.
 Decreased co-channel interference improves the signal
quality and leads to an increase in capacity, without
degradation in trunking efficiency.
 Problems
78

Q) A total of 33MHz of bandwidth is allocated to an FDD cellular system

which uses two 25kHz simplex channels to provide full-duplex voice &
control channels. Compute the number of channels available per cell if the
system uses a) 7- cell reuse b) 4 – cell reuse.

Total bandwidth = 33 MHz

Bandwidth of channel = 2 * 25kHz = 50 kHz
Number of channels = 33M/50k = 660
a) Number of channels available per cell = 660/7 ≈ 95
b) Number of channels available per cell = 660/4 ≈ 165
 Problems
79

Q) If S/I ratio of 15 dB is required for the satisfactory performance of a

cellular system, what is the frequency reuse factor and cluster size that
should be used for maximum capacity if the path loss exponent is a) n = 4
b) n = 3. Assume that there are 6 cochannel cells in the first tier and all of
them are equidistant from the mobile.

S/I = (√(3N))n/i0

a) For n = 4, if we consider a 7 – cell reuse pattern, S/I = 73.5 = 18.66

dB. Since S/I is greater than the required minimum, N = 7 can be used.

b) a) For n = 3, if we consider a 7 – cell reuse pattern, S/I = 16.04 =

12.04 dB. Since S/I is smaller than the required minimum, a larger N
need to be used. If N = 12, S/I = 36 = 15.56 dB
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