Cellular Wireless Networks

William Stallings chapter 14 in Data and Computer

Communications and Chapter 10 in Wireless
Communications and Networks

Principles of Cellular Networks

Cellular technology is the underlying
technology for mobile phones, personal
communication systems, wireless networking
etc.
Developed for mobile radio telephone
Replace high power transmitter/receiver systems
Typical support for 25 channels over 80km

Use lower power, shorter range, more

transmitters

Cellular Network Organization

Cellular network use multiple low power
transmitters , on the order of 100W or less
Range of such a transmitter is small,
Therefore area is divided into cells
Each cell served by its own antenna
Each with own range of frequencies
Served by base station
Transmitter, receiver, control unit

Adjacent cells are assigned different frequencies

to avoid interference or crosstalk
However, cells sufficiently distant from each other
can use the same frequency band

Cellular Systems Terms

Mobile Unit (MU)
Base Station (BS)
Mobile telecommunications switching office
(MTSO)

Operation of Cellular Systems

Mobile Unit (MU).

Mostly Hand held device used to communicate at the user end.

Base station (BS)

Placed at centre of each cell

Controller handles call process between the MU and the rest of
the network
Number of mobile user units may be active and moving around
within the cell, communicating with the BS
Both MU and BS contains Antenna, controller, transceivers

MTSO:

Assigns voice channel, Performs handoffs, Monitors calls (billing)

Connects calls between mobile units and from mobile to fixed
telecommunications network
One MTSO serves multiple BS
MTSO to BS link by wire or wireless

Channels
Two types of channels are available between
the mobile unit and the base station (BS):
Control channels
Setting up and maintaining calls
Establish relationship between mobile unit and
nearest BS

Traffic channels
Carry voice and data connection between the
users

Typical Call in
Single MTSO Area
Mobile unit initialization
Scan and select strongest set up control channel
Automatically select BS antenna of cell
Usually but not always nearest (propagation irregularity)

Handshake to identify user and register location

Scan repeated to allow for movement
Change of cell can happen

Mobile unit monitors for pages (see below)

Mobile originated call

Check if set up channel is free
Monitors the forward channel (from BS) and wait for idle state

Send number on pre-selected channel

Paging
MTSO attempts to connect to mobile unit
Paging message sent to BSs depending on called mobile number
Paging signal transmitted on set up channel

Typical Call in
Single MTSO Area
Call accepted
Mobile unit recognizes number on set up channel
Responds to BS which sends response to MTSO
MTSO sets up circuit between calling and called BSs
MTSO selects available traffic channel within cells and
notifies BSs
BSs notify mobile unit of channel

Ongoing call
Voice/data exchanged through respective BSs and MTSO

Handof
Mobile unit moves out of range of cell into range of another
cell
Traffic channel changes to one assigned to new BS
Without interruption of service to user

Call Stages

Other Functions
Call blocking

During mobile-initiated call stage, if all traffic channels busy,

mobile tries again
After number of fails, busy tone returned

Call termination

User hangs up
MTSO informed
Traffic channels at two BSs released

Call drop

BS cannot maintain required signal strength

Traffic channel dropped and MTSO informed

Calls to/from fixed and remote mobile

subscriber

MTSO connects to PSTN

MTSO can connect mobile user and fixed subscriber via PSTN
MTSO can connect to remote MTSO via PSTN or via dedicated
lines
Can connect mobile user in its area and remote mobile user

Shape of Cells
Square
The first design decision to make is the shape
of cells to cover an area
A matrix of square cells would be simplest
layout to define
This geometry is not ideal.
Width of the square cell is d, then cell has four
neighbours at distance d and four at distance

2d
Better if all adjacent antennas equidistant
Simplifies choosing and switching to new antenna

Shape of Cells
Hexagon
Hexagonal pattern provides equidistant
antennas
Radius defined as radius of circum-circle
Distance from centre to vertex equals length of side

For a cell radius R, the distance between the

3
cell centre and each adjacent cell centre is d=
R

Precise hexagonal pattern is not used

Topographical limitations
Local signal propagation conditions
Practical limitation on sitting antennas

Cellular Geometries

Frequency Reuse
In a cellular system, each cell has a base
transceiver.
Transmission power is carefully controlled to
allow communication within the cell using a
given frequency while limiting the power that
escapes the cell into adjacent ones.
The objective is to use the same frequency in
other nearby cells thus,
Allowing the frequency to be used for multiple
simultaneous conversations
Generally 10 to 50 frequencies are assigned to
each cell depending upon the traffic expected

Frequency Reuse
The essential issue is to determine how many cells must
intervene between two cells using the same frequency
So that the two cells do not interfere with each other
Various patterns of frequency reuse are possible
The pattern consist of N Cells and each cell is
assigned the same number of frequencies. Each cell
can have K/N frequencies, where
K is the total number of frequencies used allotted to
the system
For Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) K=395,
N=7 giving 57 is the smallest pattern that can provide
sufficient isolation between two uses of same
frequency
It means at most 57 frequencies per cell on average

Frequency Reuse Patterns

Characterizing Frequency
Reuse
In characterizing frequency reuse, the following parameters are
commonly used:
D = minimum distance between centers of cells that use the
same band of frequencies (called cochannels)
R = radius of a cell
d = distance between centers of adjacent cells
d 3R
N = number of cells in repetitious pattern
Reuse factor
Each cell in pattern uses unique band of frequencies

Hexagonal cell pattern, following values of N is possible

N = I2 + J2 + (I x J),

I, J = 0, 1, 2, 3,

Possible values of N are 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 12.

.13, 16, 19, 21,
D/R=
3N
D/d = N

Characterizing Frequency Reuse

As long as the cell size is fixed,
cochannel interference will be
independent of the transmitted power
of each cell
The cochannel interference is a
function of q where q= D/R
An increase in q reduces co-channel
interference and also the traffic
capacity of the cellular system

Mobile Radio
Propagation Effects
Signal strength
Strength of signal between BS and mobile unit
should be strong enough to maintain signal
quality at the receiver, But strong enough can
create too much co-channel interference
Noise can effect signal ,and it varies

Automobile ignition noise greater in city than in suburban

Other signal sources vary
Signal strength varies as function of distance from BS
Signal strength varies dynamically as mobile unit moves

Fading
Even if signal strength is in effective range, signal
propagation effects may disrupt the signal

Example
Consider four different cellular systems with the cluster of cells N= 4,7,12
and 19 are duplicated 16 times. each cell has a radius of 1.6 Km.
Supposing an FDMA system with frequency bands being used are 825 to
845MHz for mobile unit transmission ,and 870 to 890 MHz for Base station
transmission ,A duplex circuit consists of one 30 KHz channel in each
direction Find for each system
1.
2.
3.
4.

The total area covered

The total number of frequencies used
Number of channels per cell
The total capacity. (Total Number of simultaneous calls)

Example
Consider four different cellular systems with the cluster of cells N= 4,7,12
and 19 are duplicated 16 times. each cell has a radius of 1.6 Km.
Supposing an FDMA system with frequency bands being used are 825 to
845MHz for mobile unit transmission ,and 870 to 890 MHz for Base station
transmission ,A duplex circuit consists of one 30 KHz channel in each
direction Find for each system
1.
2.
3.
4.

The total area covered

The total number of frequencies used
Number of channels per cell
The total capacity. (Total Number of simultaneous calls)

Increasing Capacity
As the number of customers increases in the system,
more traffic may build up that require enough
frequencies assigned to a cell at a time to handle all
calls.
A number of approaches have been used to cope with
this situation, including the following:
1.Adding new channels
When a system is setup in a region, not all of the
channels are used to start with. Growth and expansion
can be managed in an orderly fashion by adding new
channels
2.Frequency borrowing
Frequencies are taken from adjacent cells by
congested cells
The frequencies can also be assigned to cells
dynamically

Increasing Capacity
3. Cell splitting
The distribution of traffic and topographic features
is not uniform, and this presents opportunities for
capacity increases.
Cells in areas of high usage can be split into
smaller cells
The original cells are about 6.5 to 13 km in size
1.5 km limit in general

Increases Number of Base stations and handoffs

A radius Reduction by a factor of F reduces the coverage

area and increases the required number of base stations
by a factor of F2
To use a smaller cell, the mobile units move, they pass
from cell to cell, which requires transferring the call from
one base transceiver to another. This process is called a
handof.
As the cell get smaller more frequent handoff

Cell Splitting

Increasing Capacity
4. Cell Sectoring
Cell divided into wedge shaped sectors
3 6 sectors per cell
Each with own channel set
Subsets of cells channels

Require Directional antennas

Sectoring improves S/N

Increasing Capacity
5. Microcells
As cell become smaller, move antennas from
tops of hills and large buildings to tops of small
buildings and sides of large buildings
Form microcells
Reduced power
Good for city streets, congested areas, along
roads and inside large buildings

Typical parameters for Macrocells

and Microcells
MACRO
CELL

MICRO
CELL

1 to 20 Km

0.1 to 1 Km

Transmission
power

1 to 10 Watt

0.1 to 1 Watt

Average delay
spread
(Multipath delay)

0.1 to 10
microsec

10 to 100 nsec

Maximum bit rate

0.3Mbps

1Mbps

Cell radius

Design Factors
In design of a cellular layout, the communication
engineer must take account of these various
propagation effects
The factors that will determine the size of individual
cell
Maximum transmit power level at BS and MUs
Typical height of mobile unit antenna
Available height of the BS antenna

Unfortunately, the propagation effects are dynamic

and difficult to predict
The best that can be done is to come up with a
model based on empirical data and to apply that
model to a given environment to develop guidelines
for cell size

Design Factors
One of the most widely used models was
developed by Okumura et al and
subsequently refined by Hata
Detailed analysis of Tokyo area
Produced path loss information for an urban
environment
Hata's model is an empirical formulation
Takes into account variety of environments and
conditions
For an urban environment, predicted path loss is

(14.1)

Design Factors
Where
fc = carrier frequency in MHz from 150 to
1500MHz
ht = height of transmitting antenna (BS) in m,
from 30 to 300m
hr = height of receiving antenna (mobile
station) in m, from 1 to 10 m
d = propagation distance between antennas in
km, from 1 to 20 km
A(hr) = correction factor for mobile antenna
height

Design Factors
For a small or medium-sized city, the
correction factor is given by

And for a large city is given by

Design Factors (Example)

Design Factors
To estimate the path loss in a suburban area, the
formula for urban path loss in equation above is
modified as

And the path loss in open areas, the formula is

modified as

The Okumura/Hata model is considered to be

among the best in terms of accuracy in path loss
prediction and provides a practical means of
estimating path loss in a wide variety of situations

Fading
The most challenging technical problem
facing communication system engineers in a
mobile environment is Fading
Caused by changes in transmission path(s)
In a fixed environment, fading is affected by
changes in atmospheric conditions such as
rainfall
But in mobile environment movement of
(mobile unit) antenna
The relative location of various obstacles
changes over time, creating complex
transmission effects

Multipath Propagation
Reflection
Occurs when an electromagnetic signal encounter a
surface that is large relative to the wavelength of the
signal
May have phase shift from original
These reflected waves may interfere constructively or
destructively at the receiver

Difraction
Occurs at the edge of an impenetrable body that is large
compared to the wavelength of the radio wave
When a radio wave encounters such an edge, waves
propagate in different directions with the edge as the
source
Thus, the signals can be received even when there is no
unobstructed LOS from the transmitter

Multipath Propagation
Scattering
If the size of an obstacle is on the order of the
wavelength of the signal or less, scattering occurs
An incoming signal is scattered into several weaker
outgoing signals
Lamp posts and traffic signs that can cause
scattering

If a mobile unit has a clear LOS to the

transmitter , then the diffraction and scattering
are generally minor effects, although reflection
may have significant impact
If there is no clear LOS, such as in urban area
at street level, then diffraction and scattering
are the primary means of signal reception

Reflection, Diffraction,
Scattering

Effects of Multipath
Propagation
Signals may cancel out due to phase differences
Intersymbol Interference (ISI)
Sending narrow pulse at given frequency between fixed
antenna and mobile unit
Channel may deliver multiple copies at different times
Delayed pulses act as noise making recovery of bit
information difficult
Timing changes as mobile unit moves
Harder to design signal processing to filter out multipath effects

As the mobile antenna moves, the location of

various obstacles changes, hence the number,
magnitude, and timings of the secondary pulses
change

Two Pulses in Time-Variant

Multipath

HARD & SOFT HANDOFF

Hand off is the process of
handing over the ongoing call
from one base station to another
without dropping the call while
the MU is in move

A traditional handoff is Hard

handoff i.e. break-beforemake.
In some cases like in CDMA
Soft hand off is possible
.Since all cells in CDMA use
the same frequency, it is
possible to make the
connection to the new cell
before leaving the current
cell. This is known as a
make-before-break
Soft handoffs require less
power, which reduces
interference and increases
capacity.

Handoff Performance Metrics

Handoff blocking probability probability that a handoff
cannot be successfully completed
Handoff probability probability that a handoff occurs
before call termination
Rate of handoff number of handoffs per unit time
Interruption duration duration of time during a handoff in
which a mobile is not connected to either base station
Handoff delay distance the mobile moves from the point
at which the handoff should occur to the point at which it
does occur

Handoff Strategies Used to Determine

Instant of Handoff

Relative signal strength

Relative signal strength with threshold
Relative signal strength with hysteresis
Relative signal strength with hysteresis and threshold
Prediction techniques

Handoffs

Umbrella Cells

Power Control
Design issues making it desirable to include dynamic
power control in a cellular system
Received power must be sufficiently above the
background noise for effective communication
Desirable to minimize power in the transmitted signal from
the mobile
Reduce cochannel interference, alleviate health concerns, save
battery power

In SS systems using CDMA, its desirable to equalize the

received power level from all mobile units at the BS

Types of Power Control

Open-loop power control
Depends solely on mobile unit
No feedback from BS
Not as accurate as closed-loop, but can react quicker to
fluctuations in signal strength

Closed-loop power control

Adjusts signal strength in reverse channel based on metric
of performance
BS makes power adjustment decision and communicates
to mobile on control channel

GSM Network Architecture

Mobile Station
Mobile station communicates across Um interface
(air interface) with base station transceiver in same
cell as mobile unit
Mobile equipment (ME) physical terminal, such as
a telephone or PCS
ME includes radio transceiver, digital signal processors
and subscriber identity module (SIM)

GSM subscriber units are generic until SIM is

inserted
SIMs roam, not necessarily the subscriber devices

Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

BSS consists of base station controller and one or
more base transceiver stations (BTS)
Each BTS defines a single cell
Includes radio antenna, radio transceiver and a link to a
base station controller (BSC)

BSC reserves radio frequencies, manages handoff of

mobile unit from one cell to another within BSS, and
controls paging

Network Subsystem (NS)

NS provides link between cellular network and
public switched telecommunications networks
Controls handoffs between cells in different BSSs
Authenticates users and validates accounts
Enables worldwide roaming of mobile users

Central element of NS is the mobile switching center

(MSC)

Mobile Switching Center (MSC) Databases

Home location register (HLR) database stores
information about each subscriber that belongs to it
Visitor location register (VLR) database maintains
information about subscribers currently physically in
the region
Authentication center database (AuC) used for
authentication activities, holds encryption keys
Equipment identity register database (EIR) keeps
track of the type of equipment that exists at the
mobile station

GSM Speech Signal

Processing

GSM Signaling Protocol Architecture

Functions Provided by Protocols

Protocols above the link layer of the GSM signaling
protocol architecture provide specific functions:
Radio resource management
Mobility management
Connection management
Mobile application part (MAP)
BTS management

Reading Assignment :

Generation evolvements of Wireless

mobile networks :
1G, 2G, 3G and 4G

Find out the technical differences between

them