GMR Institute of Technology

Rajam, Andhra Pradesh

(An Autonomous Institution Affiliated to JNTUK, AP)

Cohesive Teaching – Learning Practices (CTLP)

Class 6th Sem. – B. Tech. (ECE) Department: ECE
Course Cellular and Mobile Communications Course Code 16EC601
Prepared by Dr. T. Prabhakar, Dr.V.Jagan Naveen, Mrs. S.Sri Durga Kameswari
Lecture Topic Introduction to Cellular Mobile System
Course Outcome (s) CEC601.1 Program Outcome (s) PO1, PO2 , PO3, PO14
Duration 50 Min Lecture 1 of 45 Unit I
Pre-requisite (s) Wired and wireless systems, EM spectrum

1. Objective

❖ To impart basic knowledge on Introduction to Cellular Mobile Syste.

2. Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

At the end of this session the students will able to:

A. Know the concept of cellular system

B. Identify the need for a spectrum efficient system
C. Illustrate the Cell system for frequency re-use
D. Inducate the need for cell clusters.
E. Classify various types of cells according to their size and function

3. 2D Mapping of ILOs with Knowledge Dimension and Cognitive Learning Levels of

RBT

Cognitive Learning Levels

Knowledge
Remember Understand Apply Analyse Evaluate Create
Dimension
Factual
Conceptual E A, B
Procedural C,D
Meta Cognitive

Form No. AC 04. 01. 2016 (R: 06.10.2016)– GMRIT, Rajam, Andhra Pradesh
4. Teaching Methodology

❖ Chalk & Board, Visual Presentation

5. Evocation

6. Deliverables

Cellular systems are widely used today and cellular technology needs to offer very
efficient use of the available frequency spectrum. With billions of mobile phones in use
around the globe today, it is necessary to re-use the available frequencies many times over
without mutual interference of one cell phone to another. It is this concept of frequency re-use
that is at the very heart of cellular technology. However the infrastructure technology needed
to support it is not simple, and it required a significant investment to bring the first cellular
networks on line.
Early schemes for radio telephones schemes used a single central transmitter to cover
a wide area. These radio telephone systems suffered from the limited number of channels that
were available. Often the waiting lists for connection were many times greater than the
number of people that were actually connected. In view of these limitations this form of radio
communications technology did not take off in a big way. Equipment was large and these
radio communications systems were not convenient to use or carry around.

The need for a spectrum efficient system

To illustrate the need for efficient spectrum usage for a radio communications system,
take the example where each user is allocated a channel. While more effective systems are
now in use, the example will take the case of an analogue system. Each channel needs to have
a bandwidth of around 25 kHz to enable sufficient audio quality to be carried as well as
enabling there to be a guard band between adjacent signals to ensure there are no undue
levels of interference. Using this concept it is only possible to accommodate 40 users in a
frequency band 1 MHz wide. Even of 100 MHz were allocated to the system this would only
enable 4000 users to have access to the system. Today cellular systems have millions of

Form No. AC 04. 01. 2016 (R: 06.10.2016)– GMRIT, Rajam, Andhra Pradesh
subscribers and therefore a far more efficient method of using the available spectrum is
needed.

Cell system for frequency re-use

The method that is employed is to enable the frequencies to be re-used. Any radio
transmitter will only have a certain coverage area. Beyond this the signal level will fall to a
limited below which it cannot be used and will not cause significant interference to users
associated with a different radio transmitter. This means that it is possible to re-use a channel
once outside the range of the radio transmitter. The same is also true in the reverse direction
for the receiver, where it will only be able to receive signals over a given range. In this way it
is possible to arrange split up an area into several smaller regions, each covered by a different
transmitter / receiver station.
These regions are conveniently known as cells, and give rise to the name of a "cellular"
technology used today. Diagrammatically these cells are often shown as hexagonal shapes that
conveniently fit together. In reality this is not the case. They have irregular boundaries
because of the terrain over which they travel. Hills, buildings and other objects all cause the
signal to be attenuated and diminish differently in each direction.
It is also very difficult to define the exact edge of a cell. The signal strength gradually
reduces and towards the edge of the cell performance will fall. As the mobiles themselves will
have different levels of sensitivity, this adds a further greying of the edge of the cell. Therefore
it is never possible to have a sharp cut-off between cells. In some areas they may overlap,
whereas in others there will be a "hole" in coverage.

Cell clusters
When devising the infrastructure technology of a cellular system, the interference
between adjacent channels is reduced by allocating different frequency bands or channels to
adjacent cells so that their coverage can overlap slightly without causing interference. In this
way cells can be grouped together in what is termed a cluster.
Often these clusters contain seven cells, but other configurations are also possible. Seven
is a convenient number, but there are a number of conflicting requirements that need to be
balanced when choosing the number of cells in a cluster for a cellular system:

• Limiting interference levels

• Number of channels that can be allocated to each cell site
It is necessary to limit the interference between cells having the same frequency. The
topology of the cell configuration has a large impact on this. The larger the number of cells in
the cluster, the greater the distance between cells sharing the same frequencies.
In the ideal world it might be good to choose a large number of cells to be in each cluster.
Unfortunately there are only a limited number of channels available. This means that the
larger the number of cells in a cluster, the smaller the number available to each cell, and this
reduces the capacity.

Form No. AC 04. 01. 2016 (R: 06.10.2016)– GMRIT, Rajam, Andhra Pradesh
 This means that there is a balance that needs to be made between the number of cells in a
cluster, and the interference levels, and the capacity that is required.

Cell size
Even though the number of cells in a cluster in a cellular system can help govern the
number of users that can be accommodated, by making all the cells smaller it is possible to
increase the overall capacity of the cellular system. However a greater number of transmitter
receiver or base stations are required if cells are made smaller and this increases the cost to
the operator. Accordingly in areas where there are more users, small low power base stations
are installed.

The different types of cells are given different names according to their size and function:

• Macro cells: Macro cells are large cells that are usually used for remote or sparsely
populated areas. These may be 10 km or possibly more in diameter.
• Micro cells: Micro cells are those that are normally found in densely populated areas
which may have a diameter of around 1 km.
• Pico cells: Picocells are generally used for covering very small areas such as particular
areas of buildings, or possibly tunnels where coverage from a larger cell in the cellular
system is not possible. Obviously for the small cells, the power levels used by the base
stations are much lower and the antennas are not position to cover wide areas. In this
way the coverage is minimised and the interference to adjacent cells is reduced.
• Selective cells: Sometimes cells termed selective cells may be used where full 360
degree coverage is not required. They may be used to fill in a hole in the coverage in
the cellular system, or to address a problem such as the entrance to a tunnel etc.
• Umbrella cells: Another type of cells known as an umbrella cell is sometimes used in
instances such as those where a heavily used road crosses an area where there are
microcells. Under normal circumstances this would result in a large number of
handovers as people driving along the road would quickly cross the microcells. An
umbrella cell would take in the coverage of the microcells (but use different channels
to those allocated to the microcells). However it would enable those people moving
along the road to be handled by the umbrella cell and experience fewer handovers than
if they had to pass from one microcell to the next.

7. Keywords

❖ Cellular communication
❖ Frequency reuse
❖ cells

Form No. AC 04. 01. 2016 (R: 06.10.2016)– GMRIT, Rajam, Andhra Pradesh
8. Sample Questions

Remember

1. Define micro and macro cells

2. What are selective cells ?

Understanding

1. Explain the need for a spectrum efficient system.

2. Classify the cells according to size and function.

9. Stimulating Question (s)

1. Which type of cells are preferred in a region where a heavily used road crosses an
area where there are microcells. ? Justify your answer.
2. Explain why an area is split up into several smaller regions, each covered by a
different transmitter / receiver station for cellular communications?

10. Mind Map

11. Student Summary

At the end of this session, the facilitator (Teacher) shall randomly pic-up few students to
summarize the deliverables

Form No. AC 04. 01. 2016 (R: 06.10.2016)– GMRIT, Rajam, Andhra Pradesh
12. Reading Materials

❖ Mobile Cellular Telecommunications – W.C.Y. Lee, Tata McGraw Hill, 2nd Edn.,
2006. Page no. 1-9
❖ Wireless Communications - Theodore. S. Rapport, Pearson education, 2nd Edn.,
2002. Page no. 1-3

13. Scope for Mini Project

❖ ---

Form No. AC 04. 01. 2016 (R: 06.10.2016)– GMRIT, Rajam, Andhra Pradesh