MULTIPLE ACCESS

TECHNIQUES

DEFFINITION :

The ability of a Communication system to

carry many signals at the same time

Multiple access schemes are used to

allow

many users to share

simultaneously a finite
spectrum.

amount of radio

DEFFINITION :

Contd..

MULTIPLEXING
Vs
MULTIPLE ACCESS

Multiplexing : Sharing of resources on

links inside the network i.e., core
network

Multiple Access : Sharing of resources

on the access part of the network

ADVANTAGES :
Capacity is maximized
Bandwidth is used efficiently
Flexibility is maintained
Cost to the user is minimized

 Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)

Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)

In FDMA, each user is allocated a unique frequency

band or channel.

During the period of the call, no other user can share

the same frequency band.

Each transmitter is allocated a channel with a particular

bandwidth.

All transmitters are able to transmit simultaneously.

FDMA :

FDMA :

Guard bands are used between each channel to

avoid the interference

Features of FDMA
If an FDMA channel is not in use, then it sits idle
and cant be used by other users.
Simultaneous and continuous transmission.
Narrowband system: FDMA is
implemented in narrowband systems.

usually

Advantages of FDMA :

Reducing the information bit rate can increase

the capacity

There is no equalization required

Since the transmission is continuous less number

of bits are needed for synchronization

Simple to implement

Fairly efficient with a small traffic

Disadvantages of FDMA :

Network & spectrum planning are intensive and

time consuming

Spectrum inefficiency due to idle channels

The guard bands between two users result in

wastage of capacity

The C/N reduction due to inter-modulation

products

The C/N ratio with Inter-modulation :

C

N

C N UP

C N DN

C N IM

Where

(C/N)up

Up link Carrier to noise ratio

(C/N)dn

Down link Carrier to noise ratio

(C/N)im
ratio

Inter - modulation Carrier to noise

Bc

B
g

B t 2B g
Bc

B g GuardBand
Bc ChannelBandwidth
Bt

Total bandwidth of the

Bg

Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

TDMA systems divide the whole transmission

time into time slots.

Unlike FDMA, only digital data and digital

modulation must be used.

It is generally considered as a wideband

communication system.

TDMA :
Allocation of time slot in TDMA

TDMA :

A guard time between the two time slots must be

allowed in order to avoid interference

P
o
w
e
r

Time

Time-frequency characteristics of TDMA

Features of TDMA

TDMA systems divide the radio spectrum into time

slots.

Each user occupies a cyclically repeating time

slot.

Data transmission is not continuous.

Flexible data rates by assigning multiple time slots to

different users based on their demand.
Efficient power utilization: FDMA systems require a 3- to
6-dB power back off in order to compensate for intermodulation effects.

Types of TDMA
Synchronous TDMA:

access to the channel is restricted to

regular.
Asynchronous TDMA:

a station may transmit at any time that the

channel is free.

Number of channels in TDMA

System
N=

m(B tot -2B guard )

Bc
m --- maximum no. of TDMA users supported on
each radio channel
B tot ---- total frame length
B guard --- guard time
Bc channel length

TDMA frame structure

One TDMA Frame
Preamble

Slot 1

Trail
Bits

Information Message

Slot 2

Sync
Bits

Slot 3

Information Data
One TDMA Slot

A Frame repeats in time

Trail Bits

Slot N

Guard
Bits

TDMA frame structure (cont.)

In TDMA, the preamble contains the address,

synchronization and other essential information.

The trail bits contains error detection bits.

The preamble and trail bits represent overhead.

Different TDMA standards have different TDMA frame

structures.
In GEO satellite system frame lengths of 125us up to
20ms have been used.
The smaller the overhead, the more efficient the
TDMA
system.

Frame Efficiency of TDMA

Efficiency of TDMA is a measure of the percentage of bits
per frame which contain transmitted data.

No.ofbits / frame containingtransmitted data

f
Total Numberof bits / frame

Frame efficiency
parameters
bT Total Number of bits per frame

=Tf R
Tf =Frame duration
R=Channel bit rate

bOH includes all overhead bits such as

guard bits, etc.

preamble,

Frame efficiency parameters (cont.)

bOH =Number of overhead bits /frame

=Nr br Nt bp Nt b g Nr b g
Nr --- Number of reference bursts/time slots per frame
br --- Number of overhead bits per reference burst/time slot
Nt --- Number of traffic bursts per frame
bp --- Number of overhead bits per preamble in each slot
bg --- Number of equivalent bits in each guard time interval

Advantages of TDMA :

More efficient use of spectrum as compared to

FDMA

Efficient power utilization

Flexible data rates

More number of channels, compared to FDMA

Carrier-to-noise ratio is high, because of no intermodulation

Disadvantages of TDMA :

large no. of overhead bits for synchronization and

framing are required.

high inter-symbol-interference , due to higher

symbol rate

data transmission is not continuous

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

In CDMA all users transmit on the same frequency and at

the same time.

CDMA is also called as

access.

Spreading occurs by combining the transmitter signal

with a spreading sequence (PN code).

CDMA channels can handle an unspecified number of

users.

spread spectrum multiple

CDMA used for military applications

CDMA :

CDMA Features:
All users use the same carrier frequency and
may transmit
simultaneously
There is no absolute limit on the number of users
in
CDMA
More secure as compared to FDMA & TDMA
CDMA is a digital technique.
Capacity is more as compared to FDMA & TDMA
Requires less frequency planning

CDMA Principle:

SPREADING

DESPREADING

CDMA transmission & reception

Spreading Example
data A

Ad

key A
key
sequence A 0
data key
1
signal A

1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1

Ak

0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
As

Real systems use much longer keys resulting in a larger dis

between single code words in code space.

Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)

A carrier is modulated by a digital code in which
the code bit rate is much larger than the
information signal bit rate. These systems are
also called pseudo-noise systems.
A short code system uses a PN code length
equal to a data symbol.
A long system uses a PN code length that is
much longer than a data symbol.

DS-SS Transmitter

DS-SS Receiver

Capacity of CDMA
Capacity

of FDMA and TDMA system is

bandwidth limited.

Capacity

of CDMA system is interference

limited.
The

link performance of CDMA increases as the

number of users decreases.

Processing Gain of CDMA

Main parameter of CDMA is the processing gain

that is defined as:

GP =

Wspread
R
Gp: processing gain
Wspread: PN code rate
R: Data rate

Number of possible users in CDMA

N 1

W R

Eb
No

where

W R Pr oces sin g Gain

h is the background thermal noise

S is the average user power
W is the total RF bandwidth
R is the information bit rate

Advantages of CDMA :

Many users of CDMA use the same frequency. Either

TDD or FDD may be used.

Multipath fading may be substantially

because of large signal bandwidth.

There is no absolute limit on the number of users in

CDMA.

reduced

Great spectrum efficiency since no guard bands

CDMA improves call quality since less interference

CDMA systems provide more privacy than TDMA &

FDMA

Disadvantages of CDMA :

Self-jamming is a problem in a CDMA system. Selfjamming arise because the PN sequence are not
exactly orthogonal, non-zero contributions from other
users in the system arise

The near- far problem occurs at a CDMA receiver if

an undesired user has high detected power as
compared to the desired user.

CDMA base station is expensive.

The system performance gradually
for all users as the number of
increased.

degrades
users is