Principles of Cellular Networks

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

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 1

Sequence 16

Cellular Network Organization

Multiple low power transmitters
100W or less

Area divided into cells

Each with own antenna Each with own range of frequencies Served by base station
Transmitter, receiver, control unit

Adjacent cells on different frequencies to avoid crosstalk

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 2

Sequence 16

Shape of Cells
Square
Width d cell has four neighbors at distance d and four at distance 2 d Better if all adjacent antennas equidistant
Simplifies choosing and switching to new antenna

Hexagon
Provides equidistant antennas Radius defined as radius of circum-circle
Distance from center to vertex equals length of side

Distance between centers of cells radius R is Not always precise hexagons

Topographical limitations Local signal propagation conditions Location of antennas

3R

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 3

Sequence 16

Cellular Geometries

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 4

Sequence 16

Frequency Reuse
Power of base transceiver controlled
Allow communications within cell on given frequency Limit escaping power to adjacent cells Allow re-use of frequencies in nearby cells Use same frequency for multiple conversations 10 50 frequencies per cell

E.g.
N cells all using same number of frequencies K total number of frequencies used in systems Each cell has K/N frequencies Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) K=395, N=7 giving 57 frequencies per cell on average

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 5

Sequence 16

Characterizing Frequency Reuse

D = minimum distance between centers of cells that use the same band of frequencies (called co-channels) R = radius of a cell d = distance between centers of adjacent cells (d = 3 R) 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 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= D/d =
CS420/520 Axel Krings

3N N
Page 6 Sequence 16

Frequency Reuse Patterns

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 7

Sequence 16

Increasing Capacity (1)

Add new channels
Not all channels used to start with

Frequency borrowing
Taken from adjacent cells by congested cells Or assign frequencies dynamically

Cell splitting
Non-uniform distribution of topography and traffic Smaller cells in high use areas
Original cells 6.5 13 km 1.5 km limit in general More frequent handoff More base stations
Page 8 Sequence 16

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Cell Splitting

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 9

Sequence 16

Increasing Capacity (2)

Cell Sectoring
Cell divided into wedge shaped sectors 3 6 sectors per cell Each with own channel set Subsets of cells channels Directional antennas

Microcells
Move antennas from tops of hills and large buildings to tops of small buildings and sides of large buildings Even lamp posts Form microcells Reduced power Good for city streets, along roads and inside large buildings
CS420/520 Axel Krings Page 10 Sequence 16

Frequency Reuse Example

Assume: 32 cells, cell radius = 1.6 km, frequency bandwidth supports 336 channels, reuse factor N=7. How many channels per cell? What is total # of concurrent calls?

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 11

Sequence 16

Operation of Cellular Systems

Base station (BS) at center of each cell
Antenna, controller, transceivers

Controller handles call process

Number of mobile units may in use at a time

BS connected to Mobile Telecommunications Switching Office (MTSO)

One MTSO serves multiple BS MTSO to BS link by wire or wireless MTSO: Connects calls between mobile units and from mobile to fixed telecommunications network Assigns voice channel Performs handoffs Monitors calls (billing) Fully automated
CS420/520 Axel Krings Page 12 Sequence 16

Overview of Cellular System

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 13

Sequence 16

Channels
Control channels
Setting up and maintaining calls Establish relationship between mobile unit and nearest BS

Traffic channels
Carry voice and data

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 14

Sequence 16

Typical Call in Single MTSO Area (1)

Mobile unit initialization
Scan and select strongest set up control channel Automatically selected BS antenna of cell
Usually but not always nearest (propagation anomalies)

Handshake to identify user and register location Scan repeated to allow for movement
Change of cell

Mobile unit monitors for pages (see below)

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 15

Sequence 16

Typical Call in Single MTSO Area (2)

Mobile originated call
Check if set up channel is free
Monitor forward channel (from BS) and wait for idle

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

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 16

Sequence 16

Typical Call in Single MTSO Area (3)

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
CS420/520 Axel Krings Page 17 Sequence 16

Typical Call in Single MTSO Area (4)

Ongoing call
Voice/data exchanged through respective BSs and MTSO

Handoff
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
CS420/520 Axel Krings Page 18 Sequence 16

Call Stages

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 19

Sequence 16

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

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 20

Sequence 16

10

Other Functions
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
CS420/520 Axel Krings Page 21 Sequence 16

Mobile Radio Propagation Effects

Signal strength
Strength of signal between BS and mobile unit strong enough to maintain signal quality at the receiver Not strong enough to create too much co-channel interference Noise varies
Automobile ignition noise greater in city than in suburbs 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 in effective range, signal propagation effects may disrupt the signal

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 22

Sequence 16

11

Design Factors
Propagation effects
Dynamic Hard to predict

Maximum transmit power level at BS and mobile units Typical height of mobile unit antenna Available height of the BS antenna These factors determine size of individual cell Model based on empirical data Apply model to given environment to develop guidelines for cell size
CS420/520 Axel Krings Page 23 Sequence 16

Fading
Time variation of received signal Caused by changes in transmission path(s) E.g. atmospheric conditions (rain) Movement of (mobile unit) antenna

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 24

Sequence 16

12

Multipath Propagation
Reflection
Surface large relative to wavelength of signal May have phase shift from original May cancel out original or increase it

Diffraction
Edge of impenetrable body that is large relative to wavelength May receive signal even if no line of sight (LOS) to transmitter

Scattering
Obstacle size on order of wavelength
Lamp posts etc.

If LOS, diffracted and scattered signals not significant

Reflected signals may be

If no LOS, diffraction and scattering are primary means of reception

CS420/520 Axel Krings Page 25 Sequence 16

Reflection, Diffraction, Scattering

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 26

Sequence 16

13

Effects of Multipath Propagation

Signals may cancel out due to phase differences Inter-symbol 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

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 27

Sequence 16

Two Pulses in Time-Variant Multipath

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 28

Sequence 16

14

Types of Fading
Fast fading
Rapid changes in strength over distances about half wavelength
900MHz wavelength is 0.33m 20-30dB

Slow fading
Slower changes due to user passing different height buildings, gaps in buildings etc. Over longer distances than fast fading

Flat fading
Nonselective Affects all frequencies in same proportion

Selective fading
Different frequency components affected differently

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 29

Sequence 16

Error Compensation Mechanisms (1)

Forward error correction
Applicable in digital transmission applications Typically, ratio of total bits sent to data bits between 2 and 3 Big overhead
Capacity one-half or one-third Reflects difficulty of mobile wireless environment

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 30

Sequence 16

15

Error Compensation Mechanisms (2)

Adaptive equalization
Applied to transmissions that carry analog or digital information Used to combat inter-symbol interference Gathering the dispersed symbol energy back together into its original time interval Techniques include so-called lumped analog circuits and sophisticated digital signal processing algorithms

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 31

Sequence 16

Error Compensation Mechanisms (3)

Diversity
Based on fact that individual channels experience independent fading events Provide multiple logical channels between transmitter and receiver Send part of signal over each channel Doesnt eliminate errors Reduce error rate Equalization, forward error correction then cope with reduced error rate May involve physical transmission path
Space diversity Multiple nearby antennas receive message or collocated multiple directional antennas

More commonly, diversity refers to frequency or time diversity

CS420/520 Axel Krings Page 32 Sequence 16

16

Frequency Diversity
Signal is spread out over a larger frequency bandwidth or carried on multiple frequency carriers E.g. spread spectrum

CS420/520 Axel Krings

Page 33

Sequence 16

17