CDMA

Code Division Multiple Access is a channel access method used by several radio communication
technologies. It is a digital cellular technology and an example of multiple access. It is generally
used for mobile communication.

Multiple access means that several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a
single communication channel.

CDMA allows several users to share a band of frequencies without undue interference between
the users. It is used as a access method in many mobile phone standards.

Basics of CDMA:

CDMA is an American Standard that was developed by Qualcomm. It was originally developed
for the battlefield because it is very hard if not impossible to intercept due to their spread
spectrum nature. CDMA is now defined by a number of standards, some of which are IS-95, J-
STD-008 (PCS) and CDMA 2000.

A unique code is assigned to all digital speech bits and the signals spread across the broad
spectrum of the RF. Each CDMA base station can use the same 1.25 MHz carrier at the same
time. There are a maximum of 64 Walsh noise codes per 1.25MHz in a CDMA One system.
CDMA networks have pilot channels which carry no data but are used by the subscriber’s mobile
unit to acquire the system and assist in the soft handoff process. A separate pilot channel is
transmitted for each sector of a cell site and is uniquely identified by it’s own PN code, just like
other users.

 It is used in the Global Positioning System (GPS).

 It is used by several mobile phone companies (e.g. Qualcomm standard IS-2000
also known as CDMA2000)
 W-CDMA is used in UTMS 3G mobile phone standard.
 CDMA has been used in Omni TRACS satellite system for transportation.

Salient Features of CDMA:

CDMA, which is based on the spread spectrum technique has following salient features:
  In CDMA, every channel uses the full available spectrum.

 Individual conversations are encoded with a pseudo-random digital sequence and then
transmitted using a wide frequency range.

 CDMA consistently provides better capacity for voice and data communications,
allowing more subscribers to connect at any given time.

 CDMA is the common platform on which 3G technologies are built.

The CDMA Development Group (CDG), founded in December 1993, is an international

consortium of companies. It works together to lead the growth and evolution of advanced
wireless telecommunication systems. CDG is comprised of service providers, infrastructure
manufacturers, device vendors, test equipment vendors, application developers, and content
providers. Its members jointly define the technical requirements for the development of
complementary systems CDMA2000 and 4G. Further, the interoperability with other emerging
wireless technologies are meant to increase the availability of wireless products and services to
consumers and businesses worldwide.

CDMA Channels:

CDMA channels can be broadly categorized as Forward channel and Reverse channel. This
explains the functionalities of these channels.

Forward Channel:
The Forward channel is the direction of the communication or mobile-to-cell downlink path. It
includes the following channels:

I. Pilot Channel
Pilot channel is a reference channel. It uses the mobile station to acquire the time and as a phase
reference for coherent demodulation. It is continuously transmitted by each base station on each
active CDMA frequency. And, each mobile station tracks this signal continuously.

II. Sync Channel

Synchronization channel carries a single, repeating message, which gives the information about
the time and system configuration to the mobile station. Likewise, the mobile station can have
the exact system time by the means of synchronizing to the short code.
III. Paging Channel
Paging Channel’s main objective is to send out pages, that is, notifications of incoming calls, to
the mobile stations. The base station uses these pages to transmit system overhead information
and mobile station specific messages.

IV. Forward Traffic Channel

Forward Traffic Channels are code channels. It is used to assign calls, usually voice and
signaling traffic to the individual users.

Reverse Channel:
The Reverse channel is the mobile-to-cell direction of communication or the uplink path. It
consists of the following channels:

I. Access Channel
Access channel is used by mobile stations to establish a communication with the base station or
to answer Paging Channel messages. The access channel is used for short signaling message
exchanges such as call-ups, responses to pages and registrations.

II. Reverse Traffic Channel

Reverse traffic channel is used by the individual users in their actual calls to transmit traffic from
a single mobile station to one or more base stations.
 Figure 1: CDMA channels
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is a sort of multiplexing that facilitates various signals
to occupy a single transmission channel. It optimizes the use of available bandwidth. The
technology is commonly used in ultra-high-frequency (UHF) cellular telephone systems, bands
ranging between the 800-MHz and 1.9-GHz.

CDMA Overview:
Code Division Multiple Access system is very different from time and frequency multiplexing.
In this system, a user has access to the whole bandwidth for the entire duration. The basic
principle is that different CDMA codes are used to distinguish among the different users.
Techniques generally used are direct sequence spread spectrum modulation (DS-CDMA),
frequency hopping or mixed CDMA detection (JDCDMA). Here, a signal is generated which
extends over a wide bandwidth. A code called spreading code is used to perform this action.
Using a group of codes, which are orthogonal to each other, it is possible to select a signal with a
given code in the presence of many other signals with different orthogonal codes.

CDMA allows up to 61 concurrent users in a 1.2288 MHz channel by processing each voice
packet with two PN codes. There are 64 Walsh codes available to differentiate between calls and
theoretical limits. Operational limits and quality issues will reduce the maximum number of calls
somewhat lower than this value.
In fact, many different "signals" baseband with different spreading codes can be modulated on
the same carrier to allow many different users to be supported. Using different orthogonal codes,
interference between the signals is minimal. Conversely, when signals are received from several
mobile stations, the base station is capable of isolating each as they have different orthogonal
spreading codes.
The following figure shows the technicality of the CDMA system. During the propagation, we
mixed the signals of all users, but by that you use the same code as the code that was used at the
time of sending the receiving side. You can take out only the signal of each user.
 Figure 2: Working of CDMA

CDMA Capacity

The factors deciding the CDMA capacity are:

 Processing Gain

 Signal to Noise Ratio

 Voice Activity Factor

 Frequency Reuse Efficiency

Capacity in CDMA is soft, CDMA has all users on each frequency and users are separated by
code. This means, CDMA operates in the presence of noise and interference.
In addition, neighboring cells use the same frequencies, which means no re-use. So, CDMA
capacity calculations should be very simple. No code channel in a cell, multiplied by no cell. But
it is not that simple. Although not available code channels are 64, it may not be possible to use a
single time, since the CDMA frequency is the same.
Advantages of CDMA

CDMA has a soft capacity. The greater the number of codes, the more the number of users. It has
the following advantages:

 CDMA requires a tight power control, as it suffers from near-far effect. In other words, a
user near the base station transmitting with the same power will drown the signal latter.
All signals must have more or less equal power at the receiver.

 Rake receivers can be used to improve signal reception. Delayed versions of time (a chip
or later) of the signal (multipath signals) can be collected and used to make decisions at
the bit level.

 Flexible transfer may be used. Mobile base stations can switch without changing
operator. Two base stations receive mobile signal and the mobile receives signals from
the two base stations.

 Transmission Burst - reduces interference.

Disadvantages of CDMA

The disadvantages of using CDMA are as follows:

 The code length must be carefully selected. A large code length can induce delay or may
cause interference.

 Time synchronization is required.

 Gradual transfer increases the use of radio resources and may reduce capacity.

 As the sum of the power received and transmitted from a base station needs constant
tight power control. This can result in several handovers.
 Figure 3: FDMA CDMA TDMA frequency range

CDMA Network:
A base station is an essential element of the CDMA network. A base station covers a
small geographical area called a cell. A cell may be omnidirectional or sectoral. Each base
station has a transmitting antenna and two receiving antennas for each cell. Two receiving
antennas are used per cell for the purpose of spatial diversity. In many applications, it is a BSC
(Base Station Controller), which controls several base stations.

As the rate of the mobile phone data is either 13kbps or 8kbps, which is non-ISDN, but
the switches which are the mobile switching center (MSC) are generally switched to 64 kbps.
Therefore, before it is switched, it is necessary to convert this mobile data rates to 64 kbps. This
is accomplished by a member, which is the transcoder. The transcoder may be a separate element
or it can be collocated in each base station or MSC.

All base stations are connected to the MSC, which is the mobile switching center. MSC is
the entity that manages the establishment, connection, maintenance, and disposal of calls within
the network and also with the outside world. MSC also has a database called HLR/AC, which is
a home location register/authentication center. HLR is the database, which maintains the
database of all network subscribers. AC Authentication Centre is the part of the security of the
HLR, which some algorithms to examine mobile phones.
The MSC is connected to the outside world, i.e. the fixed line network. MSC can also be
connected to several other MSCs.
CDMA and Self-interference Problem

In CDMA, self-interference arises from the presence of delayed replicas of signal due to
multipath. The delays cause the spreading sequences of the different users to lose their
orthogonality, as by design they are orthogonal only at zero phase offset. Hence in despreading a
given user’s waveform, nonzero contributions to that user’s signal arise from the transmissions
of the other users in the network. This is distinct from both TDMA and FDMA, wherein for
reasonable time or frequency guardbands, respectively, orthogonality of the received signals can
be preserved.

CDMA and Near-Far Problem:

The near-far problem is a serious one in CDMA. This problem arises from the factvthat signals
closer to the receiver of interest are received with smaller attenuation than are signals located
further away. Therefore the strong signal from the nearby transmitter will mask the weak signal
from the remote transmitter. In TDMA and FDMA, this is not a problem since mutual
interference can be filtered. In CDMA, however, the near-far effect combined with imperfect
orthogonality between codes (e.g. due to different time sifts), leads to substantial interference.
Accurate and fast power control appears essential to ensure reliable operation of multiuser DS-
CDMA systems.

Benfits of CDMA:

CDMA has increased capacity over the older systems such as TDMA and AMPS. Simpler RF
engineering because of the N=1 reuse pattern. This reduces the time and effort required to
expand or modify a CDMA system. Increased performance over the air interface which is the
weakest link in wireless systems.

Lower transmitted power levels. Power adjustments are constantly being made to the system and
mobile units. Costing less due toless power usage.Greater security due to the encoding
(spreadspectrum) of the signals. Enhanced performance and voice quality due in part to the soft
handoff capabilities.

Categories of CDMA:

a)Synchronous CDMA (orthogonal codes) :

Synchronous data transfer means sender and receiver use the same clock signal
  supports high data transfer rate
 needs clock signal between the sender and the receiver
 requires master/slave configuration

b)Asynchronous CDMA (pseudorandom codes)

Asynchronous data transfer means sender provides a synchronization signal to the receiver
before starting the transfer of each message

 does not need clock signal between the sender and the receiver
 slower data transfer rate

Asynchronous CDMA offers a key advantage in the flexible allocation of resources.

There are a fixed number of orthogonal codes, timeslots or frequency bands that can be
allocated for CDM, TDMA and FDMA systems, which remain underutilized due to the
bursty nature of telephony and packetized data transmissions.

There is no strict limit to the number of users that can be supported in an Asynchronous
CDMA system, only a practical limit governed by the desired bit error probability, since
the SIR (Signal to Interference Ratio) varies inversely with the number of users. In a
bursty traffic environment like mobile telephony, the advantage afforded by
Asynchronous CDMA is that the performance (bit error rate) is allowed to fluctuate
randomly, with an average value determined by the number of users times the percentage
of utilization. Suppose there are 2N users that only talk half of the time, then 2N users
can be accommodated with the same average bit error probability as N users that talk all
of the time.

The key difference here is that the bit error probability for N users talking all of the time
is constant, whereas it is a random quantity (with the same mean) for 2N users talking
half of the time. In other words, Asynchronous CDMA is ideally suited to a mobile
network where large numbers of transmitters each generate a relatively small amount of
traffic at irregular intervals. CDM (Synchronous CDMA), TDMA and FDMA systems
cannot recover the underutilized resources inherent to bursty traffic due to the fixed
number of orthogonal codes, time slots or frequency channels that can be assigned to
individual transmitters.

For instance, if there are N time slots in a TDMA system and 2N users that talk half of
the time, then half of the time there will be more than N users needing to use more than N
timeslots. Furthermore, it would require significant overhead to continually allocate and
deallocate the orthogonal code, time-slot or frequency channel resources. By comparison,
Asynchronous CDMA transmitters simply send when they have something to say, and go
off the air when they don't, keeping the same PN signature sequence as long as they are
connected to the system