896960 Lecture 8:

Introduction to Algorithmic Introduction to UMTS

Wireless Communications

David Amzallag July 6, 2008

david.amzallag@bt.com
www.cs.technion.ac.il/~amzallag/awc

[1]
Multiple access revisited

– Multiple users want to communicate in a common geographic area.

– How to allow many users as possible to communicate simultaneously?
– FDMA
– Very simple to design, narrowband, synchronization is easy, no interference among
users in a cell.
– Static spectrum allocation, frequency
reuse is hard.
– AMPS (analog), the 1st generation,
use 30 KHz for each user.

[2]
Multiple access revisited [continue]

– TDMA
– Can also partition time: users take turns
using the channel.
– IS-54 (2G) used same 30 KHz
channels, but with three users sharing
them (3 slots).
– GSM has 8 slots/270 KHz.
– Better suited for digital, often gets
higher capacity (3 times higher here),
strict synchronization and guard time
needed, still susceptible to jamming,
other-cell interference.

[3]
Alternative to FDMA and TDMA

– What if we could allow users to share time and frequency?

– Eliminates need for tight synchronization among many different users.
– Eliminates need for expensive analog filters.
– May have favorable impact on capacity (?)
– But
– How do we separate the users?
– Won’t they interfere with each other?

[4]
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

– bits for user

– spreading code.
– “spreading factor”
– transmitted signal for user
– received signal for all users.

– channel impulse response.

– noise.

[5]
Spreading codes

– The spreading code must be unique for each user.

– Ideally, they are orthogonal to one another, i.e.

– Example: Walsh codes

– For a spreading factor there are 4 Walsh codes.
– In general, is a power of 2.

[6]
How Walsh codes work?

– Assume a noiseless channel with

unity gain.
– Walsh codes allow four users to
be transmitted at the same time
and frequency using four times
the number of bits.

[7]
Properties of Walsh codes

– Synchronization of all users is required.

– In a multipath channel, delayed copies may be received which are not
orthogonal any longer!
– Only codes exist with a bandwidth expansion of , so as far as capacity,
we are right back where we started with TDMA and FDMA.

– Advantages relative to TDMA and FDMA

– No guard bands or guard times are typically required.
– No equalizer is typically required, when a RAKE receiver is used.

[8]
The near-far problem

– Users may be received with very different powers:

– Users near the base station are received with high power.
– Users far from the base station are received with low power.
– Nearby users will completely swamp far away users (inverse-square law).
– Solution: power control.
control
– Equalization of the received power per bit of all mobile stations at all times.
– What is special in WCDMA power control mechanism?

[9]
Design issues in CDMA

– So far, CDMA may be looked as stepping backwards:

– Tight synchronization is required to use orthogonal codes, which then break in
a multipath channel anyway.
– Quasi-orthogonal codes cause self-interference,
self-interference which dominates the
performance in most CDMA systems.
– Near-far problem is a serious hindrance, requiring fast and accurate power
control (that uses up bits we could otherwise send information with).
– Since there is universal frequency reuse, handoff may occurred also between
mobiles in the same cell (multiple BSs can simultaneously decode the mobile’s
data).
– And for all this, the required bandwidth is now times larger than it was before,
so there doesn’t appear to be a capacity gain.

[10]
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A short discussion on CDMA capacity

– It turns out there are serious advantages to CDMA in a multicell system.

– Unlike FDMA and TDMA, CDMA does not rely on orthogonal frequency and time
slots that are compromised by neighboring cells.
– CDMA systems can reuse frequencies every cell! (FDMA and TDMA usually need
reuse factors of 4 - 7). Capacity increased 4-7 fold.
fold
– In TDMA and FDMA systems:
– If a user doesn’t have anything to send, the time/frequency slot allocated to them
is wasted.
– It is typically very difficult to dynamically allocate time and frequency slots.
– In CDMA systems:
– If a user doesn’t have anything to send, it causes less interference to other users
of the system.
– Typically, each user needs to transmit less than half the time.
– Since interference-limited, this doubles the capacity.
capacity

[11]
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Conclusions

– Comparing the capacity of TDMA/FDMA/CDMA is very controversial.

– In 1991, a famous Qualcomm paper claimed that due to voice activity,
frequency reuse, and sectorization, CDMA increased capacity by:
– Factor of 18 relative to AMPS.
– Factor of 6 relative to US TDMA (and similar for GSM).
– This turned out to be optimistic, about 1/3 of this gain actually happened
(still depends who you ask).
– Still, doubling the capacity is very realistic.
– All 3G systems use CDMA for multiple access.

 K.S. Gilhousen et al, “On the capacity of a cellular CDMA system,'' IEEE Trans. on Vehicular Tech.,
May 1991.

[12]
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The benefits of CDMA systems

– Increased system capacity over analog and TDMA systems.

– Good power control (solution for the near-far problem).
– Improved interference protection.
– No frequency planning required between CDMA channels.
– Fraud protection due to encryption and authentication.
– Improved handoffs with MAHO and soft handoffs.
handoffs
– Accommodates new wireless features, like data.

[13]
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Standards of CDMA systems

– IS-95 (versions A and B)

– Version B, CDMAOne,
CDMAOne enabled ISDN-like data rates to exists.
– IS-2000 and CDMA2000 – A 3G system with compatibility to CDMAOne
systems, allowing operators to make strategic deployment decisions in a
graceful fashion.
– Changes in network only in stages.
– BSs with IP routing capabilities.
– Several types (CDMA2000-1X)
CDMA2000-1X as 1XEV,
1XEV 1xDO,
1xDO and 1XDV.
1XDV

[14]
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WCDMA main parameters

– WCDMA is a wideband Direct-Sequence Code Division Multiple Access (DS-

CDMA)
CDMA system.
– WCDMA supports highly variable user data rates, in other words the concept
of obtaining Bandwidth on Demand (BoD) is well supported.
– WCDMA supports two basic modes of operation: Frequency Division Duplex
(FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD).
– The WCDMA air interface advanced features: multiuser detection and
smart adaptive antennas.
antennas
– WCDMA is designed to be deployed in conjunction with GSM.

[15]
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Understanding Handoffs

[16]
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Handoff strategies

– When a mobile moves into a different cell while a conversation is in

progress, the RNC automatically transfers the call to a new channel
belonging to the new BS.
– The handoff operation not only involves identifying a new BS, but also
requires that the voice and control signals be allocated to channels
associated with the new BS.
– Processing handoffs is an important task in any cellular network.
– Many handoff strategies prioritize handoff requests over call initiation
requests.
– Handoff must be performed successfully and as infrequently as possible and
be imperceptible to the users.

[17]
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Handoff strategies [2]

– In order to meet these requirements, we must specify an optimum signal

level at which to initiate a handoff.
– Once a particular signal level is specified as the minimum usuable signal for
acceptable voice quality at the BS receiver,
a slightly stronger signal level is used as a threshold for handoff.
– The gap, given by , cannot be too large or too small.
– If is too large, unnecessary handoffs which burden the RNC may occur.
– If is too small, there my be insufficient time to complete a handoff before
a call is lost due to weak signal conditions.
– Therefore, is very important.

[18]
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Handoff strategies [3]

– In deciding when to handoff, it is important to ensure that the drop in the

measured signal level is not due to momentary fading and the mobile is
actually moving away from the serving BS.
– Hence, the BS monitors the signal level for a certain period of time before a
handoff is initiated.
– The length of time needed to decide if a a handoff is necessary depends on
the speed at which the vehicle is moving.
This data can be determined from the statistics of the uplink fading signal at
the BS.

[19]
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Handoffs in first generation (1G)

– Signal strength measurements made by the BS and supervised by the RNC.

– Each BS constantly monitors the signal strength of all of its uplink voice
channels to determine the relative location of each mobile user with respect
to the BS tower.
– In addition to RSSI measurements, a spare receiver in each BS, locator
receiver,
receiver is used to scan and determine signal strength of mobile users
which are in the neighboring cells.
– Based on the locator receiver signal strength information from each base
station, the RNC decides if a handoff is necessary or not.

[20]
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Handoffs in second generation (2G)

– Handoff decisions are mobile assisted.

– In mobile assisted handoff (MAHO),
(MAHO) every mobile measures the received
power from surrounding BSs and reports to the serving BS.
– A handoff is initiated when the power received from the BS of a neighboring
cell begins to exceed the power received from the current BS by a certain
level or for a certain period of time.
– Much faster than 1G method (measurements are made by mobiles and the
RNC is no longer constantly monitors signal strength).

[21]
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Intersystem handoff

– During a call, if a mobile moves from one cellular system to a different

system controlled by a different RNC, an intersystem handoff becomes
necessary.
– A RNC starts an intersystem handoff when a mobile signal becomes weak in
a given cell and the RNC cannot find another cell within its system to which
it can transfer the call in progress.
– Many complicated issues are involved.

[22]
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Prioritizing handoffs

– One method for giving priority to handoffs is called the guard channel
concept.
concept
– A fraction of the total available channels in a cell is reserved exclusively for
handoff requests from ongoing calls which may be handed off into the cell.
– Main disadvantage: reducing the total carried traffic, as fewer channels are
allocated to originating calls.
– Guard channels combined with dynamic channel assignment seems a good
idea.

[23]
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Practical handoff considerations

– There are several problems due to a wide range of mobile velocities.

– The umbrella cell approach:
– Different antenna heights and different power levels.
– “large” and “small” cells
– Used to provide large are coverage to high speed users while providing small are
coverage to users traveling at low speed.
– Cell dragging problem in microcell systems.
– Results from pedestrians that provide a very strong signal in uplink (e.g., in urban
environment when there is a LOS between the subscriber and the BS).
– Necessary handoff may not be made.
– For good solution, handoff thresholds must be adjusted carefully.

[24]
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Practical handoff considerations [2]

– What is the typical time to make a handoff (when signal level is deemed to
be below the handoff threshold)?
– Approximately,
– In first generation analog systems, this was about 10 seconds.
– In GSM systems, MAHO helps to determine the best handoff candidate, and
handoffs requires only 1-2 seconds.
– Usually faster handoff supports much greater range of options for handling high
speed and low speed users.
– Is handoff can be based on metrics other than signal strength?
– The co-channel and adjacent channel interference level may be measured at the
BS or the mobile. This can be combined with conventional signal strength data to
provide handoff if needed.

[25]
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WCDMA handoffs

– Traditionally, handoffs are hard:

hard users are either assigned to one cell or the
other but not both.
– In CDMA, since all the cells share the same spectrum, soft handoffs are
possible: multiple BSs can simultaneously decode the mobile’s data, with the
RNC choosing the best reception among them.
– Soft handoffs involves an intercell handoff and is a make-before-break
connection.
– Soft handoff can only occur when the old and the new BSs are operating on
the same CDMA frequency channel.
– Softer handoff:
handoff when a mobile station is in the overlapping cell coverage
area of two adjacent sectors of a base station.

[26]
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Which pilot will be used in the soft handoff process?

– Pilot is a channel component in the downlink channel of every BS.

– The answer has a direct impact on the quality of the call and the capacity for
the system.
– Setting the handoff parameters is a key element in the system.
– Which pilots are in the active, candidate, neighbor, and the other sets?
– The list of neighbor pilots is sent to the mobile when it acquires the BS or is
assigned a traffic channel.

[27]
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Type of pilot groups in the handoff mechanism

– Active set.
set The set of pilots associated with the downlink traffic channels
assigned to the mobile unit. This set can contain more than one pilot since a
total of 6 carriers, each with its own pilot, could be involved in a soft handoff
process.
– Candidate set.
set The pilots that the mobile unit has reported are of sufficient
signal strength to be used.
– Neighbor set.
set A list of the pilots that are not currently on the active or
candidate pilot list. The pilots in this set are identified by the BS via the
neighbor list and neighbor list update messages.
– Remaining set.
set The set of all possible pilots that can be possibly used by
the mobile unit.

[28]
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WCDMA handoff algorithm

1. The pilot exceeds T_ADD,

T_ADD and the mobile sends a PSMM (Pilot Signal Measurement
Message) and transfer pilot to the candidate set.
2. The BS sends an extended handoff direction message.
3. The mobile transfers the pilot to the active set and acknowledges this with a handoff
completing message.
4. The pilot strength drops below T_DROP,
T_DROP and the mobile begins handoff drop time.
5. The pilot strength goes above T_DROP prior to the handoff drop time expiring and
T_DROP sequences stopping.
6. The pilot strength drops below T_DROP,
T_DROP and the mobile begins the handoff drop
timer.
7. The handoff drop timer expires, and the mobile send a PSMM.
8. The BS sends an extended handoff direction message.
9. The mobile transfers the pilot from the active set to the neighbor set and acknowledge
completion.

[29]
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More types of WCDMA handoffs

– Inter-frequency hard handovers that can be used, for example, to hand

a mobile over from one WCDMA frequency carrier to another.
– Inter-system hard handovers that take place between the WCDMA FDD
system and another system, such WCDMA TDD or GSM.

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