Elements of Cellular radio System Design

The Cellular Concept

Cellular Systems--Cellular
Concepts
The cellular concept was a major breakthrough in

solving the problem of spectral congestion and

user capacity. It offered very high capacity in a
limited spectrum allocation without any major
technological changes.
The cellular concept has the following system
level ideas
Replacing a single, high power transmitter with many low

power transmitters, each providing coverage to only a

small area.
Neighboring cells are assigned different groups of
channels in order to minimize interference.
The same set of channels is then reused at different
geographical locations.

Cellular Concepts
When designing a cellular mobile

communication system, it is important to

provide good coverage and services in a high
user-density area.
Reuse can be done once the total interference
from all users in the cells using the same
frequency (co-channel cell) for transmission
suffers from sufficient attenuation. Factors
need to be considered include:
Geographical separation (path loss)
Shadowing effect

Cell Footprint
The actual radio coverage of a cell is known

as the cell footprint.

Irregular cell structure and irregular placing of

the transmitter may be acceptable in the initial

system design. However as traffic grows, where
new cells and channels need to be added, it
may lead to inability to reuse frequencies
because of co-channel interference.
For systematic cell planning, a regular shape is
assumed for the footprint.

Cell Footprint
Coverage contour should be circular. However it

is impractical because it provides ambiguous

areas with either multiple or no coverage.
Due to economic reasons, the hexagon has
been chosen due to its maximum area
coverage.
Hence, a conventional cellular layout is often
defined by a uniform grid of regular hexagons.

Cell Footprint

Frequency reuse
A cellular system which has a total of S duplex

channels.
S channels are divided among N cells, with
each cell uses unique and disjoint channels.
If each cell is allocated a group of k channels,
then
S=kN.

Terminology
Cluster size : The N cells which collectively

use the complete set of available frequency is

called the cluster size.
Co-channel cell : The set of cells using the
same set of frequencies as the target cell.
Interference tier : A set of co-channel cells at
the same distance from the reference cell is
called an interference tier. The set of closest
co-channel cells is call the first tier. There is
always 6 co-channel cells in the first tier.

Co-ordinates for hexagonal

cellular geometry
With these co-

ordinates, an array
of cells can be laid
out so that the
center of every cell
falls on a point
specified by a pair
of integer coordinates.

Co-ordinates for hexagonal

cellular geometry

Designing a cellular system

N=19
(i=3, j=2)

Designing a cellular system

The cluster size must satisfy: N = i2 + ij + j2

where i, j are non-negative integers.

Designing a cellular system

Designing a cellular system

Can also verify that

where Q is the co-channel reuse ratio

Concept of Cellular
Communications
In the late 60s it was proposed to alleviate the problem of

spectrum congestion by restructuring the coverage area of

mobile radio systems.

The cellular concept does not use broadcasting over large

areas. Instead smaller areas called cells are handled by less

powerful base stations that use less power for transmission.
Now the available spectrum can be re-used from one cell to
another thereby increasing the capacity of the system.

However this did give rise to a new problem, as a mobile unit

moved it could potentially leave the coverage area (cell) of a

base station in which it established the call. This required
complex controls that enabled the handing over of a
connection (called handoff) to the new cell that the mobile unit
moved into.

In summary, the essential elements of a cellular system are:

Low power transmitter and small coverage areas called cells
Spectrum (frequency) re-use
Handoff

Cell structure
Implements space division multiplex: base station covers a certain

transmission area (cell)

Mobile stations communicate only via the base station
Advantages of cell structures:
higher capacity, higher number of users
less transmission power needed

more robust, decentralized

base station deals with interference, transmission area etc.

locally
Problems:
fixed network needed for the base stations
handover (changing from one cell to another) necessary
interference with other cells
Cell sizes from some 100 m in cities to, e.g., 35 km on the country
side (GSM) - even less for higher frequencies

Cellular Network
Other MSCs
F1,F2,..,F6

(IS 41)
F7,F8,..,F12
PSTN

F7,F8,..,F12

MSC
F1,F2,..,F6

MSC: Mobile Switching Center

PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network

Base
Station
Cell

Handoff

(Theoretical)

Practical Cell - coverage depends on antenna location and

height, transmitter power, terrain, foliage, buildings, etc.

Introduction to Cellular Systems

Solves the problem of spectral congestion and user

capacity.
Offer very high capacity in a limited spectrum without
major technological changes.
Reuse of radio channel in different cells.
Enable a fix number of channels to serve an arbitrarily
large number of users by reusing the channel throughout
the coverage region.

Spectrum and Capacity

Issues
Spectrum is limited

A llo c a te d S p e c tru m

F1 F2 F3

F4 F5

F6 F7 F8 F9

FDM
F1,F2,...F9: frequency channels

Frequency Re-use
To be able to increase the capacity of the system, frequencies must be re-

used in the cellular layout (unless we are using spread spectrum

techniques).
Frequencies cannot be re-used in adjacent cells because of co-channel

interference. The cells using the same frequencies must be dispersed across
the cellular layout. The closer the spacing the more efficient the scheme!
Fx:subset of
frequencies
used in a
cell
Cochannel
Interference

F2

F1
F1

F2
Minimum
Re-use distance

Frequency Re-use
For an omni-directional antenna, with constant signal power,

each cell site coverage area would be circular (barring any

terrain irregularities or obstacles).
To achieve full coverage without dead spots, a series of

regular polygons for cell sites are required.

The hexagonal was chosen as it comes the closest to the

shape of a circle, and a hexagonal layout requires fewer

cells (when compared to triangles or rectangles, it has the
largest surface area given the same radius R) -> less cells.
Goal is to find the minimum distance between cells using

same frequencies.

Frequency Reuse
Each cellular base station is allocated a group of radio
channels within a small geographic area called a cell.
Neighboring cells are assigned different channel groups.
By limiting the coverage area to within the boundary of
the cell, the channel groups may be reused to cover
different cells.
Keep interference levels within tolerable limits.
Frequency reuse or frequency planning

 Consider a cellular system which has a total of S duplex

channels.
kS
Each cell is allocated a group of k channels,
.
The S channels are divided among N cells.
The total number of available
S kN radio channels
The N cells which use the complete set of channels is
called cluster.
The cluster can be repeated M times within the system.
C MkN MS
The total number of channels, C, is used as a measure
of capacity
The capacity is directly proportional to the number of
replication M.
1 / N to 4, 7, or 12.
The cluster size, N, is typically equal
Small N is desirable to maximize capacity.
The frequency reuse factor is given by

 Hexagonal geometry has

exactly six equidistance neighbors
the lines joining the centers of any cell and each of its
neighbors are separated by multiples of 60 degrees.

Only certain cluster sizes and cell layout are possible.

The number of cells per cluster, N, can only have values
which satisfy
N i 2 ij j 2
Co-channel neighbors of a particular cell, ex, i=3 and
j=2.

Frequency re-use
distance I
i,j - integers -> intercell distance
along cell centers
i
A

60%
i,j: multiples of 31/2R

j
D

A
R

D - min. dist.
D=31/2R[i2+j 2+ij]1/2
R = radius of hexagonal

R: cell radius

i,j are integers

31/2R
R

1
31/2R

R
(u,v)
D

300

1
(0,0)

u2-u1=3 1/2Ri
v2-v1=31/2 Rj

Frequency re-use
distance II

For two adjacent cells: D=31/2R

The closest we can place the same frequencies is called the

first tier around the center cell (minimal re-use distance ->
lower -> more capacity!).
For simplicity we only take the first tier of cells into account

for co-channel interference (i.e., we ignore 2nd, 3rd, etc. tiers,

cause much less interference, negligible!).

Original cell
First tier of interferers
Second tier of interferers

Cluster of N cells with

different frequencies

They are all equidistant

away from each other (D)
Each cell has exactly six equidistant interfering cells

Frequency re-use
distance III
Radius = D

D
Radius

First Tier
(all use same
frequencies as
center cell)

R
Cluster of N cells with
frequencies different
from center cell
(large hexagon)

Frequency re-use
distance III
Radius

= dist. between two co-channel cells =

(3R2[i2+j2+ij])1/2 = D

Since the area of a hexagon is proportional to the

square of the distance between its center and a vertex

(i.e., its radius), the area of the large hexagon is:
Alarge = k[Radius]2 = k[3R2[i2+j2+ij]]
where k is a constant.
Similarly the area of each cell (i.e., small hexagon) is:

Asmall = k[R2]
Comparing these expressions we find that:

Alarge/Asmall = 3[i2+j2+ij] = D2/R2

Frequency re-use
distance IV
From symmetry we can see that the large hexagon

encloses the center cluster of N cells plus 1/3 the

number of the cells associated with 6 other peripheral
hexagons. Thus the total number of cells enclosed by the
first tier is:
N+6(1/3N) = 3N

Since the area of a hexagon is proportional to the

number of cells contained within it:

Alarge/Asmall = 3N/1 = 3N

Substituting we get:
3N = 3[i2+j2+ij] = D2/R2
Or:

D/R = q =(3N)1/2

q is referred to as the reuse ratio!

Concept of Frequency Reuse

Channels
A radio channel(F1 - consists of a pair of

frequencies for full duplex operation) used in

one geographic zone as named it a cell (C1)
with a coverage radius (R) can be used in
another cell with the same coverage radius at
a distance D away.

 The frequency reuse system can drastically

increase the spectrum efficiency, but if the

system is not properly designed, serious
interference may occur.
Interference due to the common use of the

same channel is called cochannel interference

and is our major concern in the concept of
frequency reuse.

 The frequency reuse concept can be used in

the time domain and the space domain.

Frequency reuse in the time domain results in

the occupation of the same frequency in

different time slots (TDM).
Frequency reuse in the space domain can be
divided into two categories.

1. Same frequency assigned in two different

geographic areas, such as AM or FM radio

stations using the same frequency in different
cities.
2. Same

frequency repeatedly used in a

same general area in one system2the
scheme is used in cellular systems. There are
many cochannel cells in the system. The total
frequency spectrum allocation is divided into K
frequency reuse patterns, as illustrated in Fig
for K = 4, 7, 12, and 19.

Frequency Reuse Distance

The minimum distance that allows the same

frequency to be reused will depend on many

factors
number of cochannel cells in the vicinity of the

center cell
the type of geographic terrain contour
the antenna height
the transmitted power at each cell site

frequency reuse distance D can be

determined
Where K is the frequency reuse pattern shown

in Fig

 If all the cell sites transmit the same power, then K

increases and the frequency reuse distance D

increases.
This increased D reduces the chance that cochannel
interference may occur.
Theoretically, a large K is desired. However, the total
number of allocated channels is fixed. When K is too
large, the number of channels assigned to each of K
cells becomes small.
It is always true that if the total number of channels in
K cells is divided as K increases, trunking inefficiency
results.
The same principle applies to spectrum inefficiency: if
the total number of channels are divided into two
network systems serving in the same area, spectrum
inefficiency increases.

 Now the challenge is to obtain the smallest

number K that can still meet our system

performance requirements.
This involves estimating cochannel
interference and selecting the minimum
frequency reuse distance D to reduce
cochannel interference. The smallest value

Number of Customers in the

System
When we design a system, the traffic conditions

in the area during a busy hour are some of the

parameters that will help determine both the
sizes of different cells and the number of
channels in them.

Co Channel Interference reduction

factor
Here we would like to find the minimum

frequency reuse distance in order to reduce

this cochannel interference.
The cell size is determined by the coverage
area of the signal strength in each cell.
the received threshold level at the mobile unit
is adjusted to the size of the cell.
Actually, cochannel interference is a function
of a parameter q defined as

The parameter q is the cochannel interference

reduction factor.
When the ratio q increases, cochannel
interference decreases.
Furthermore, the separation D in Eq. is a
function of KI and C/I
where KI is the number of cochannel

interfering cells in the first tier and C/I is the

received carrier-to-interference ratio at the
desired mobile receiver

Assume that the local noise is much less than

the interference level and can be neglected.

C/I then can be expressed

where is a propagation path-loss slope

determined by the actual terrain environment.

In a mobile radio medium, usually is
assumed to be 4. KI is the number of
cochannel interfering cells and is equal to 6 in
a fully developed system

Therefore, the cochannel interference from

the second tier of interfering cells is negligible

where qk is the cochannel interference

reduction factor with kth cochannel interfering

cell

Adjacent Channel Interference

Adjacent channel interference: interference from
adjacent in frequency to the desired signal.
Imperfect receiver filters allow nearby frequencies to leak
into the passband
Performance degrade seriously due to near-far effect.
receiving filter
response
signalon adjacentchannel

signalon adjacentchannel
desired signal

FILTER
interference

desired signal

interference

 Adjacent channel interference can be minimized

through careful filtering and channel assignment.
Keep the frequency separation between each channel in
a given cell as large as possible
A channel separation greater than six is needed to bring
the adjacent channel interference to an acceptable
level.

Desired C/I from a normal case in a

Omni directional antenna system
There are two cases:
the signal and cochannel interference
received by the mobile unit and
the signal and cochannel interference
received by the cell site.

Nm, and Nb are the local noises at the mobile

unit and the cell site and can be neglected as

compared with the interference level.

 As long as the received carrier-to-interference

ratios at both the mobile unit and the cell site

are the same, the system is called a balanced
system.
In a balanced system, we can choose either

one of the two cases to analyze the system

requirement
the results from one case are the same for

the others.
Assume that all Dk are the same for simplicity

Then D = Dk , and q = qk , and

the value of C/I is based on the required system

performance
the specified value of is based on the terrain
environment.
With given values of C/I and , the cochannel
interference reduction factor q can be determined.

 Normal cellular practice is to specify C/I to be

18 dB or higher based on subjective tests

Because a C/I of 18 dB is measured by the

acceptance of voice quality from present

cellular mobile receivers
this acceptance implies that both mobile radio

multipath fading and cochannel interference

become ineffective at that level
The path-loss slope is equal to about 4 in a
mobile radio environment.

 The 90th percentile of the total covered

be
achieved by increasing the transmitted power
at each cell; increasing the same amount of
transmitted power in each cell does not affect
the result in above equation

q is not a function of transmitted power

The factor q can be related to the finite set of

cells K in a hexagonal-shaped cellular system

by

 Above Equation indicates that a seven-cell

reuse pattern* is needed for a C/I of 18 dB.

Based on q = D/R, the determination of D can

be reached by choosing a radius R

Usually, a value of q greater than that would

be desirable.
The greater the value of q, the lower the

cochannel interference.

HANDOFF MECHANISM
It is a unique feature that allows cellular

systems to operate as effectively as

demonstrated in actual use.
There are two kinds of handoffs, hard and soft.
The hard handoff is brake before make.
The soft handoff is make before brake.

 To clearly describe the hard handoff concept, it is

easy to use a onedimensional illustration as

shown in Fig. 2.17, although a real twodimensional cellular configuration would cover
an area with cells.
The hard handoff concept as applied to a onedimensional case will also apply to twodimensional cases.
Suppose a mobile unit is starting a call in cell C1

and then moves to C2. The call can be dropped

and reinitiated in the frequency channel from F1
to F2 while the mobile unit moves from cell C1 to
cell C2.

 This process of changing frequencies can be

done automatically by the system without the

users intervention.
This process of hard handoff is carried on in the
cellular system, for FDMA and TDMA systems.
The soft handoff is used in CDMA systems.

Because in CDMA, K = 1, the soft handoff is

carried out when the mobile enters the
neighboring cell.
In the overlapped area between two cells, two
traffic channels, one from each cell, serve one
mobile call during the soft handoff.

CELL SPLITTING
Why Splitting?
The frequency reuse scheme is one concept, and

cell splitting is another concept.

When traffic density starts to build up and the
frequency channels Fi in each cell Ci cannot
provide enough mobile calls, the original cell can
be split into smaller cells.
Usually the new radius is one-half the original
radius (see Fig. 2.18). There are two ways of
splitting.
In Fig. 2.18a, the original cell site is not used, while
in Fig. 2.18b, it is.

How Splitting?
There are two kinds of cell-splitting techniques

Permanent splitting:
The installation of every new split cell has to be planned
ahead of time; the number of channels, the transmitted
power, the assigned frequencies, the choosing of the cellsite selection, and the traffic load consideration should all
be considered.
When ready, the actual service cut-over should be set at
the lowest traffic point, usually at midnight on a weekend.
Hopefully, only a few calls will be dropped because of this
cut-over, assuming that the downtime of the system is
within 2 h.

Dynamic splitting:
This scheme is based on using the allocated
spectrum efficiency in real time. The
algorithm for dynamically splitting cell sites is
a tedious job, as we cannot afford to have one
single cell unused during cell splitting at
heavy traffic hours.

CONSIDERATION OF THE
COMPONENTS OF CELLULAR
SYSTEMS