Mobile and Wireless Communication

Complete Lecture Notes #3

Lecture # 3
By
Student Lecture Notes
 Lecture # 3

The Cellular Concept

System Design Fundamentals
Basics
 Early mobile telephony systems were not cellular. Coverage over a
large area was provided by a high powered transmitter mounted on a
tall tower. Frequency reuse was not employed. That resulted in very
low capacity

 The cellular concept arose from the need to restructure the radio
telephone system with the increase in demand. The increase in demand
could not be satisfied just by additional spectrum allocations

 Cellular Concept: replace large transmitters with many smaller

transmitters. Neighboring base stations (BS) are assigned different sets
of channels. Capacity can be increased by additional partitions
Basics
 Cell – a geographical area covered by a BS

 Frequency Reuse – The design process of selecting and allocating

channel groups for all the cellular base stations within a system is
called frequency reuse or frequency planning

 For convenience, the cells are shown with a hex pattern. A hex
pattern is the simplest pattern that can tessellate an area
 An Example of Cellular Cluster

The N Cells which

collectively use the complete
set of available frequencies is
called a cluster
Capacity Computations
 Assume there are N cells, each allocated k different frequency channels. These
N cells are said to form a cluster. Total number of channels per cluster is given
by

S=kN

 Total capacity associated with M clusters:

C=MkN=MS

 A cluster may be replicated more times in a given area if the cells are made
smaller (note that power needs to be reduced accordingly)

 Capacity of cellular system is directly proportional to “M”, number of times a

cluster is replicated
Capacity Vs Interference for same size cell

 Decrease N for More Capacity: If Cluster Size, N is decreased while

cell size remains fixed, more clusters are required to cover the area (M
increases). Therefore, Capacity increases

 Increase N for Less Interference: On the other hand, if N is increased

(large cluster size) means that co-channels are now farther than before,
and hence we have will have less interference

 Value of N is a function of how much interference a mobile or a base

station can tolerate
Frequency Reuse

 Frequency reuse factor (1/N) is the fraction of

channels allocated to each cell in a cluster
 Frequency Reuse

 Geometry of the hexagonal cells is such that

to cover adjacent areas completely, N can have only some of the values

 N should satisfy the relationship, (Homework)

N = i2 + i j + j2

where i and j are positive integers. Typical values of N are 4,7,12 etc.

 To draw the cell pattern given i and j:

1. Move i cells across hexagons.
2. Turn 60º CCW and move j cells
Frequency Reuse (N=7, i=2, j=1)
Frequency Reuse (N=19, i=3, j=2)
Channel Allocation Techniques

 To satisfy the user, a channel needs to be available on request

 Reasonable probability of call blockage (GOS) is 2%
 GOS fluctuate with location and time.
 The goal is to keep a uniform GOS across the system.
 Three types of algorithms for channel allocation:

• Fixed channel allocation (FCA)

• Channel Borrowing
• Dynamic channel allocation (DCA)
Fixed Channel Allocation Technique
 Available spectrum is W Hz and each channel is B Hz. Total number
of channels:

Nc = W/B
 For a cluster size N, the number of channels per cell:

Cc = Nc/N
 To minimize interference, assign adjacent channels to different cells

Features
• FCA is the optimum allocation strategy for uniform traffic across
cells
• Simple to implement
Channel Borrowing

 Borrow frequencies from low traffic cells to high traffic cells.

 Temporary channel borrowing: channel is returned after call is

completed

 If all the channels in a cell are occupied, channels are borrowed from
neighboring cells.

 The MSC supervises such borrowing procedures and ensures

disruption free service

 All channels are placed in a pool, and are assigned to new calls
according to the reuse pattern. Signal is returned to the pool, when call
is completed.

 Issues related to channel allocation are still under research

Dynamic Channel Assignment (DCA)

 Voice channels are not allocated to different cells permanently

 Each time a call request is made the serving base station requests a
channel from the MSC.

 Switch then allocates a channel to the requested cell following an

algorithim
that takes into account

• The likelihood of future blocking within the cell

• The frequency of use of the candidate channel
• The reuse distance of the channel, and the other cost functions
Comparison of Channel Allocation Techniques

 Fixed Channel Allocation

Advantages:
• Less load on MSC
• Simple

Disadvantages:
• Blocking may happen

 Dynamic Channel Allocation

Advantages:
• Voice channels are not allocated permanently. That is, resource is shared on
need-basis

Disadvantages:
• Requires MSC for processing---burden on MSC
• May be very complicated
Interference and System Capacity
Interference
 A major limiting factor in the performance
 Creates bottleneck in increasing capacity
 Sources of interference are:
• Mobile Stations
• Neighboring Cells
• The same frequency cells
• Non-cellular signals in the same spectrum

 Interference in
• Voice Channels: Cross-Talk
• Control Channels: missed/blocked calls

 Urban areas usually have more interference, b/c of

• Greater RF Noise Floor
• More Number of Mobiles
Types
1) Co-Channel Interference (CCI)
2) Adjacent Channel Interference (ACI)
3) Other services: like a competitor cellular service
in the same area

Co-Channel Interference and System Capacity

• The cells that use the same set of frequencies are called co-channel cells.
• The interference between signals from these cells is called Co-Channel
Interference (CCI).
• Cannot be controlled by increasing RF power. Rather, this will increase CCI.
• Depends on minimum distance between co-channels
Co-Channel Interference and System Capacity

 The yellow cells use the same set of

frequency channels, and hence,
interfere with each other

 In the cellular system there are 6 first-

layer co-channels

 In constant cell size and RF power, CCI

is a function of Distance between the
co-channel cells (D), and the size of
each cell (R)

 Increasing ratio D/R, CCI decreases.

 Define Channel Reuse Ratio = Q = D/R

Co-Channel Interference and System Capacity

 For hexagonal geometry, D/R can be calculated:

 Smaller Q provides larger capacity, since that would mean smaller N.

(Capacity 1/N)

 Larger Q improves quality, owing to less CCI.

 For N=3, Q=3,
• N=7, Q=4.58,
• N=12, Q=6,
• N=13, Q=6.24
Co-Channel Interference and System Capacity

 Signal-to-interference ratio

 S is the power of the signal of interest and Ik is the power of kth

interference. The signal strength at distance d from a source is

 That is, received signal power is inversely related to nth power of the
distance
where n = path loss exponent
Co-Channel Interference and System Capacity
Co-Channel Interference and System Capacity
Co-Channel Interference and System Capacity

 Increasing N from 7 to 12, brings C/I above the 18dB level. However,
the system capacity is decreased.

 Reduction of capacity by 7/12 for taking care of the worst case

situation when CIR 17.4 dB is not justified because this situation will
occur very rarely.

 Conclusion: Co-Channel Interference controls the link

performance which then decides Frequency Reuse Plan, and
System Capacity
Quiz
 In a signal to interference ratio of 18db is required for
satisfactory forward channel performance, what is
frequency reuse factor and cluster size that should be used
for max capacity if the path loss exponent is
 A) n=4 B) n=3

Assume that there are six channels in first tier and all of
them are at the same distance from the mobile.
Use suitable approximations