Interference and Capacity in

Cellular Systems

Interference & System Capacity

The wireless environment constitutes a shared
medium
Interference is the major limiting factor in
performance of wireless systems in general

Types of Interference:
Co-channel interference
Adjacent channel interference

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Co-channel Interference

Frequency reuse implies that several cells use the same set of chann

G
F
G
F

B
A
E

B
A
E
C
D
G
F

C
D
G
F
B
A
E

G
F
B
A
E
C
D

B
A
E
C
D
G
F

C
D
G
F
B
A
E

B
A
E

C
D

C
D

Frequency reuse = 7
Co-channel interfering cells for cell allocated with channel group A
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Co-channel Interference, SIR & System Capacity

Co-channel
Interfering Cells
H21

H12

P1
H11

H22
D

BS 1

P2

MT 2

BS 2
R

P1H11
SIR1
P2H21
SIR 2

P2H22
P1H12

MT 1

BS: Base Station

MT: Mobile Terminal
Px: Transmitter power by base station x
Hxy: Small-scale & Large-scale channel between base station x and mobile terminal y
SIRy: Signal-to-Interference Ratio at mobile terminal y

Improving SIR1 by increasing P1 would result in a decrease in SIR2

Improving BOTH SIR1 & SIR2 is possible by increasing the distance
separation between BS1 and BS2
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Distance Separation between Base Stations

3
R
2
where R is the Cell Radius

R'

D
j(2R)
i(2R)

Q: Co-channel reuse Ratio

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SIR Computations
Assume interference from first tier (ring)
of co-channel interferers

d
Pr P0

d
0
SIR

P0 R d0
k

P D
i1

SIR

Tallal Elshabrawy

d0

3N
NB

R n
NB

D
i1

X
D

Qn

NB

Di: interfering distance

from ith co-channel
interference
NB No. of co-channel
interfering sites
6

SIR Computations
Assume interference from first tier (ring)
of co-channel interferers

d
Pr P0

d
0
SIR

D+R

P0 R d0
k

P D
i1

d0

D+R

NB

i1

Worst Case SIR

SIR

SIR

D-R

R n
2 D R

2D R

2 D

Tallal Elshabrawy

2 Q 1

2 Q

D
D-R

1
2 Q 1

Di: interfering distance

from ith co-channel
interference
NB No. of co-channel
interfering sites
7

SIR & System Capacity

SIR Q , Q=D R

3N

Improving SIR means increasing cluster size, which

corresponds to a decrease in system capacity
Decreasing the cell size does not affect the SIR as
Q=D/R remains constant. A decrease in cell size
corresponds to an increase in system capacity

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Example
In First Generation cellular systems, sufficient
voice quality is achieved when SIR = 18 dB

SIR

1
2 Q 1

2 Q 1

2 Q

N=7Q=4.6. Worst Case SIR = 49.56 (17 dB)

To design cellular system with worst performance
better than 18 dB, N=9
Capacity reduction = 7/9

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Adjacent Channel Interference

Adjacent channel interference results from
imperfect receiver which allows nearby
frequencies to leak into the passband
Adjacent channel interference can be minimized
through careful filtering and channel
assignments

Tallal Elshabrawy

10

Improving Coverage and Capacity in Cellular

Systems: Cell Splitting

Subdividing a congested cell into smaller cells,

each with its own base station and a
corresponding reduction in antenna height and
transmitter power
Cell splitting Increasing system capacity by
increasing the number of clusters in a given area
Decreasing Transmitter
Power
SIR Qn , Q=D R 3N

The SIR is independent of

transmitted power as long
as it is the same for all base
stations

Why not make Transmitter Power as low as possi

SNR Pr Noise
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The SNR must be a above a

minimum threshold controlled by
Pr
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Capacity of FDMA Cellular Systems

Capacity: Maximum number of channels or users that
could be supported while maintaining a certain SIR
requirement

SIR

3N

NB

Assume interference from first tier (ring)

of co-channel interferers

Qn

1
Qn

SIR th Q 6 SIR th n
6

m=

Bt
BcN

channels/cell

Q 3N
Bt
m

Bc Q2 3

R
6

Bc n 2 SIR th
3

m=
Bc
Tallal Elshabrawy

2
SIR th
3

2
n

m: Number of Channels per Cell

B t : Total available bandwdith
Bc : Channel bandwdith
N: Cluster Size

Bt

For n=4
Bt

D
Di: interfering distance from
ith co-channel interference
NB No. of co-channel
interfering sites
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Capacity & Interference in 3G

SINR in CDMA Systems: Base Station-to-Mobile

(Forward Link)
SINR j

P0 d0 dj
K

P d
i1
i j

dj

dj

Noise

Effective SINR because of Codes

Cross-Correlation (Pseudo-Random
Codes)
SINR j

eff

P0 d0 dj

1
K 1 P0 d0 dj
G

1
Noise
G

GP0 d0 dj

K 1 P0 d0

dj

dK

MT2

0 K 1 P d

eff

Tallal Elshabrawy

1
Noise
G

MTK
MT1

Cross-Correlation (Orothgonal Codes)

P0 d0 dj

d1

Noise

G is called the processing gain (Tsymbol/Tchip), reflects the

decline in perceived interference due to spreading and despreading
The term Noise reflects noise power in the spreaded
bandwidth
Effective SINR because of Codes

SINR j

MTj

d2

GP0 d0 dj

Single cell with K

active Mobile
Terminals

Noise
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SINR in CDMA Systems: Mobile-to-Base Station

(Reverse Link)
SINR j

P0 d0 dj
K

P d
i1
i j

di Noise
n

dj

Effective SINR because of Codes

Cross-Correlation (Pseudo-Random
Codes)
n
SINR j

eff

P0 d0 dj

n
1 K
1
P0 d0 di Noise

G i1
G
i j

GP0 d0 dj

P d
i1
i j

dK

di Noise

Cross-Correlation (Orothgonal Codes)

eff

P0 d0 dj
K

0 P0 d0 di

Tallal Elshabrawy

i1
i j

1
Noise
G

MT2

d1
MTK

G is called the processing gain (Tsymbol/Tchip), reflects the

decline in perceived interference due to spreading and despreading
The term Noise reflects noise power in the spreaded
Effective SINR because of Codes
bandwidth

SINR j

MTj

d2

GP0 d0 dj

MT1

Single cell with K

active Mobile
Terminals

Noise
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The Near-Far Effect

Mobile-to-Base Station Communication
(Uplink or Reverse Link)
SINR1

SINR 2

eff

eff

GP0 d0 d1

d1

P0 d0 d2 Noise

MT1

GP0 d0 d2

d2

P0 d0 d1 Noise
n

MT2

The Near-Far Effect

SINR2|eff is much worse than SINR1|eff
The strongest received mobile signal may capture the
demodulator at the base station
The Near-Far effect is the resultant of multiple users using
the same transmit power level to communicate with the
base station over the same frequency and in the same time
within the same cell.
Tallal Elshabrawy

16

Strength-Based Power Control

To address the Near-Far Effect
Control the transmission
power of each mobile terminal
such that it is received at the
base station at an equal level S

dj

dK
MT2

Mobile-to-Base Station
Communication
(Uplink or Reverse
Link)
Strength-Based
Power
Control n
n

Tallal Elshabrawy

eff

d1
MTK
MT1

P0 d0 d1 P0 d0 d2 P0 d0 dj

SINR j

MTj

d2

GS

K 1 S Noise
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Capacity of CDMA Cellular Systems

Assume Forward Link and Ignore Noise Assume interference from first tier (ring)
of co-channel interferers

SIR
SIR

GP0 d 0 R

K 1 P0 d 0

R 6KP0 d 0 D
n

K 1 6K R D
G

K 1 6K Q

SIR th

G
n

K 1 6K Q
SIR th
G

SIR 1
th

K
n
6 Q 1

SIR 1
th

For n=4,Q= 3N K
2

2
3 N 1

Tallal Elshabrawy

Di: interfering distance from

ith co-channel interference
NB No. of co-channel
interfering sites
K: Number of Channels (i.e., Codes) per Cell
N: Cluster Size

18

Diversity in 2G/3G CDMA Systems

Multi-Path resistant
RAKE Receiver can collect energy spread by the small-scale channel
Suitable for bursty applications
No need for frequency planning (frequency reuse of one)
Soft blocking and soft handoff

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