MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS (18CS886): Elective Course

MODULE #1.2
Wireless Transmission
 Transmission over different wires typically does not cause interference, this is an
important topic in wireless transmission.
 The frequencies used for transmission are all regulated.
 The some basic facts: signals, antennas, and signal propagation
 The varying propagation characteristics create particular complications for radio
transmission, frequently causing transmission errors.
 Multiplexing is a major design topic in this context, because the medium is always
shared. Multiplexing schemes have to ensure low interference between different
senders.
 Modulation is needed to transmit digital data via certain frequencies

Frequencies for radio transmission

Radio transmission can take place using many different frequency bands. Each frequency band
exhibits certain advantages and disadvantages. Figure 1 gives a rough overview of the
frequency spectrum that can be used for data transmission.

Figure 1 Frequency Spectrum

The figure shows frequencies starting at 300 Hz and going up to over 300 THz. Directly
coupled to the frequency is the wavelength λ via the equation:
λ = c/f, where c ≅3·108 m/s (the speed of light in vacuum) and f the frequency.
For traditional wired networks, frequencies of up to several hundred kHz are used for distances
up to some km with twisted pair copper wires, while frequencies of several hundred MHz are
used with coaxial cable (new coding schemes work with several hundred MHz even with
twisted pair copper wires over distances of some 100 m). Fiber optics are used for frequency
ranges of several hundred THz, but here one typically refers to the wavelength which is, e.g.,
1500 nm, 1350 nm etc. (infrared).
Radio transmission starts at several kHz, the very low frequency (VLF) range. These are very
long waves. Waves in the low frequency (LF) range are used by submarines, because they can
penetrate water and can follow the earth’s surface. Some radio stations still use these
frequencies, e.g., between 148.5 kHz and 283.5 kHz in Germany. The medium frequency
(MF) and high frequency (HF) ranges are typical for transmission of hundreds of radio
stations either as amplitude modulation (AM) between 520 kHz and 1605.5 kHz, as short wave
(SW) between 5.9 MHz and 26.1 MHz, or as frequency modulation (FM) between 87.5 MHz
and 108 MHz. The frequencies limiting these ranges are typically fixed by national regulation
and, vary from country to country. Short waves are typically used for (amateur) radio
transmission around the world, enabled by reflection at the ionosphere. Transmit power is up
to 500 kW –which is quite high compared to the 1 W of a mobile phone.
As we move to higher frequencies, the TV stations follow. Conventional analog TV is
transmitted in ranges of 174–230 MHz and 470–790 MHz using the very high frequency
(VHF) and ultra high frequency (UHF) bands. In this range, digital audio broadcasting (DAB)
takes place as well (223–230 MHz and 1452–1472 MHz) and digital TV is planned or currently
being installed (470–862 MHz), reusing some of the old frequencies for analog TV. UHF is
also used for mobile phones with analog technology (450–465 MHz), the digital GSM (890–
960 MHz, 1710–1880 MHz), digital cordless telephones following the DECT standard (1880–
1900 MHz), 3G cellular systems following the UMTS standard (1900–1980 MHz, 2020–2025
MHz, 2110–2190 MHz) and many more. VHF and especially UHF allow for small antennas
and relatively reliable connections for mobile telephony.
Super high frequencies (SHF) are typically used for directed microwave links (approx. 2–40
GHz) and fixed satellite services in the C-band (4 and 6 GHz), Ku-band (11 and 14 GHz), or
Ka-band (19 and 29 GHz). Some systems are planned in the extremely high frequency (EHF)
range which comes close to infra red. All radio frequencies are regulated to avoid interference,
e.g., the German regulation covers 9 kHz–275 GHz.
The next step into higher frequencies involves optical transmission, which is not only used for
fiber optical links but also for wireless communications. Infra red (IR) transmission is used
for directed links, e.g., to connect different buildings via laser links. The most widespread IR
technology, infra red data association (IrDA), uses wavelengths of approximately 850–900 nm
to connect laptops, PDAs etc. Finally, visible light has been used for wireless transmission for
thousands of years. While light is not very reliable due to interference, but it is nevertheless
useful due to built-in human receivers.

Regulations
Radio frequencies are scarce resources. Many national (economic) interests make it hard to
find common, worldwide regulations. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
located in Geneva is responsible for worldwide coordination of telecommunication activities
(wired and wireless). ITU is a sub-organization of the UN.
The ITU Radio communication sector (ITU-R) handles standardization in the wireless
sector, so it also handles frequency planning.
To have at least some success in worldwide coordination and to reflect national interests, the
ITU-R has split the world into three regions: Region 1 covers Europe, the Middle East,
countries of the former Soviet Union, and Africa. Region 2 includes Greenland, North
and South America, and Region 3 comprises the Far East, Australia, and New Zealand.
Within these regions, national agencies are responsible for further regulations, e.g., the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) in the US.
Several nations have a common agency such as European Conference for Posts and
Telecommunications (CEPT) in Europe. While CEPT is still responsible for the general
planning, many tasks have been transferred to other agencies

To achieve at least some harmonization, the ITU-R holds, the World Radio Conference (WRC),
to periodically discuss and decide frequency allocations for all three regions. This is obviously
a difficult task as many regions or countries may have already installed a huge base of a certain
technology and will be reluctant to change frequencies just for the sake of harmonization.
Harmonization is, however, needed as soon as satellite communication is used. Satellites,
especially the new generation of low earth-orbiting satellites (see chapter 5) do not ‘respect’
national regulations, but should operate worldwide. While it is difficult to prevent other nations
from setting up a satellite system it is much simpler to ban the necessary devices or the
infrastructure needed for operation. Satellite systems should operate on frequencies available
worldwide to support global usage with a single device.
 Signals
Signals are the physical representation of data. Users of a communication system can only
exchange data through the transmission of signals. Layer 1 of the ISO/OSI basic reference
model is responsible for the conversion of data, i.e., bits, into signals and vice versa (Halsall,
1996), (Stallings, 1997 and 2002).
Signals are functions of time and location. Signal parameters represent the data values. The
most interesting types of signals for radio transmission are periodic signals, especially sine
waves as carriers. The general function of a sine wave is:

Signal parameters are the amplitude A, the frequency f, and the phase shift φ. The amplitude
as a factor of the function g may also change over time, thus At, . The frequency f expresses
the periodicity of the signal with the period T = 1/f. (In equations, ω is frequently used instead
of 2πf.) The frequency f may also change over time, thus ft, (see section 2.6.2). Finally, the
phase shift determines the shift of the signal relative to the same signal without a shift. An
example for shifting a function is shown in Figure 2.2. This shows a sine function without a
phase shift and the same function, i.e., same amplitude and frequency, with a phase shift φ.
Sine waves are of special interest, as it is possible to construct every periodic signal g by using
only sine and cosine functions according to a fundamental equation of Fourier:

In this equation the parameter c determines the Direct Current (DC) component of the signal,
the coefficients an and bn are the amplitudes of the nth sine and cosine function. The equation
shows that an infinite number of sine and cosine functions is needed to construct arbitrary
periodic functions. However, the frequencies of these functions (the so-called harmonics)
increase with a growing parameter n and are a multiple of the fundamental frequency f.
The bandwidth of any medium, air, cable, transmitter etc. is limited and, there is an upper limit
for the frequencies. In reality therefore, it is enough to consider a limited number of sine and
cosine functions to construct periodic.

A typical way to represent signals is the time domain (Figure 2). Here the amplitude A of a
signal is shown versus time (time is mostly measured in seconds s, amplitudes can be measured
in, e.g., volt V). This is also the typical representation known from an oscilloscope. A phase
shift can also be shown in this representation.

Figure 2 Time domain representation of a signal

Representations in the time domain are problematic if a signal consists of many different
frequencies (as the Fourier equation indicates). In this case, a better representation of a signal
is the frequency domain (see Figure 2.3). Here the amplitude of a certain frequency part of
the signal is shown versus the frequency.
Figure 3 only shows one peak and the signal consists only of a single frequency part.

Figure 3 Frequency domain representation of a signal

Figure 4 Phase domain representation of a signal

A third way to represent signals is the phase domain shown in Figure 4. This representation,
also called phase state or signal constellation diagram, shows the amplitude M of a signal and
its phase φ in polar coordinates. (The length of the vector represents the amplitude, the angle
the phase shift.) The x-axis represents a phase of 0 and is also called In-Phase (I). A phase
shift of 90° or π/2 would be a point on the y-axis, called Quadrature (Q).

Antennas
As the name wireless already indicates, this communication mode involves ‘getting rid’ of
wires and transmitting signals through space without guidance. A medium that transport
electromagnetic waves to couple the energy from the transmitter to the out-side world and, in
reverse, from the outside world to the receiver called antennas.
A theoretical reference antenna is the isotropic radiator, a point in space radiating equal power
in all directions, i.e., all points with equal power are located on a sphere with the antenna as its
center. The radiation pattern is symmetric in all directions (Figure 2.5, a two dimensional
cross-section of the real three-dimensional pattern).

Figure 5 Radiation pattern of an isotropic radiator

Real antennas all exhibit directive effects, i.e., the intensity of radiation is not the same in all
directions from the antenna. The simplest real antenna is a thin, center-fed dipole, also called
Hertzian dipole, as shown in Figure 6 (right-hand side). The dipole consists of two collinear
conductors of equal length, separated by a small feeding gap. The length of the dipole is not
arbitrary, but, for example, half the wavelength λ of the signal to transmit results in a very
efficient radiation of the energy. If mounted on the roof of a car, the length of λ/4 is efficient.
This is also known as Marconi antenna.
A λ/2 dipole has a uniform or omni-directional radiation pattern in one plane and a figure eight
pattern in the other two planes as shown in Figure 7. This type of antenna can only overcome
environmental challenges by boosting the power level of the signal. Challenges could be
mountains, valleys, buildings etc.

Figure 6 Simple antennas

Figure 7 Radiation pattern of a simple dipole

If an antenna is positioned, e.g., in a valley or between buildings, an omnidirectional radiation

pattern is not very useful. Figure 8 shows the radiation pattern of a directional antenna with
the main lobe in the direction of the x-axis.

Figure 8 Radiation pattern of a directed antenna

Directed antennas are typically applied in cellular systems . Several directed antennas can be
combined on a single pole to construct a sectorized antenna. A cell can be sectorized into, for
example, three or six sectors. Figure 9 shows the radiation patterns of these sectorized antennas.
Figure 9 Radiation patterns of sectorized antennas

Grouping of two or more antennas to obtain radiating characteristics that cannot be obtained
from a single element ; Antenna diversity-switched diversity, selection diversity; receiver
chooses antenna with largest output; diversity combining- combine output power to produce
gain cophasing needed to avoid cancellation

Figure 10 Diversity antenna systems

Signal propagation
In wireless networks, the signal has no wire to determine the direction of propagation. For
wireless transmission, the predictable behaviour of signal is only valid in a vacuum, i.e.,
without matter between the sender and the receiver. The situation would be as follows (Figure
11):

Figure 11 Ranges for transmission, detection, and interference of signals

Transmission range: Within a certain radius of the sender transmission is possible, i.e., a
receiver receives the signals with an error rate low enough to be able to communicate and can
also act as sender.
● Detection range: Within a second radius, detection of the transmission is possible, i.e., the
transmitted power is large enough to differ from background noise. However, the error rate is
too high to establish communication.
● Interference range: Within a third even larger radius, the sender may interfere with other
transmission by adding to the background noise. A receiver will not be able to detect the
signals, but the signals may disturb other signals.

Problems arising in Transmission

 Path loss of radio Signals
Radio signals propagate as light in free space- follow a straight line besides
gravitational effects; Vacuum between sender & receiver-signal experience the
free-space-loss
Received Power (Pr) is proportional to 1/d², d= distance bt S & R
If there is no obstacle, sending energy equally distributed over the sphere’s surface. Surface
Area grows w.r.t. d, S=4IId²
If any obstacles bt S &R, situation is more complex.
Path loss or Attenuation causes for longer distance; Commn links may break down due to
rain, snow, fog, dust particles, smog etc; Radio wave can penetrate objects based on
frequency (Low Frequency and higher frequency)
Three fundamental propagation behaviors depending on frequency
1. Ground wave(<2MHZ): Low freq follow earth surface, longer distance (AM radio and
Submarine)
2. Sky wave(2-30MHZ): International broadcasts and amateur radio, short wave, reflected at
ionosphere
3. Line of Sight (>30MHz): Mobile Phone Systems, Satellite Systems, Cordless telephones etc
use higher freq, Straight line of sight, bent by the atmosphere due to refraction

Additional Signal Propagation Effects

 Signal propagation in free space-Straight line like light
 Mobile phones used in big cities – tall buildings, while travelling, valley etc several
effects in additional to attenuation
 Extreme form of attenuation is “Blocking or Shadowing” due to large obstacles
 Another effect is Reflection of Signals- If object is large than wavelength of the signal
(Huge building, Mountains)
 Effects of Refraction – occurs because the velocity of the electromagnetic waves
depends on the density of the medium through which it travels
 Shadowing & Reflection caused by objects much larger than wavelength

Figure 12 Blocking (shadowing), reflection and refraction of waves

 Two effects exhibits the wave – character of radio signals
 Radio wave propagation is affected by the following
o Scattering at small obstacles
o Diffraction at edges
 Both effects varying signal strengths depending on the location of the receiver
Figure 13 Scattering and diffraction of waves

Effects like attenuation, scattering, diffraction, and refraction all happen simultaneously and
are frequency and time dependent. It is very difficult to predict the precise strength of signals
at a certain point in space. How do mobile phone operators plan the coverage of their antennas,
the location of the antennas, the direction of the beams etc.? Two or three dimensional maps
are used with a resolution down to several meters. With the help of, e.g., ray tracing or radiosity
techniques similar to rendering 3D graphics, the signal quality can roughly be calculated in
advance. Additionally, operators perform a lot of measurements during and after installation of
antennas to fill gaps in the coverage.
Multi-path propagation:
Together with the direct transmission from a sender to a receiver, the propagation effects like
reflection, scattering, diffraction etc lead to one of the most severe radio channel
impairments, called multi-path propagation.

Due to the finite speed of light signals travelling along different paths with
different lengths arrives at the receiver at different times. This effect is called
delay spread, the original signal is spread due to different delays of parts of the signal, no
wire guides the wave here. Values for delay spread are 3 microsec in cities, upto 12 microsec,
GSM can tolerate upto 16 microsec;
Effects of this delay spread on the signals
1. Short Impulse
2. Inter-symbol Interference (ISI)
3. Short-term and Long-term fading
Figure 14 shows a sender on the left and one possible receiver on the right. Radio waves
emitted by the sender can either travel along a straight line, or they may be reflected at a large
building, or scattered at smaller obstacles. This simplified figure only shows three possible
paths for the signal. In reality, many more paths are possible.
Due to the finite speed of light, signals travelling along different paths with different lengths
arrive at the receiver at different times. This effect (caused by multi-path propagation) is called
delay spread: the original signal is spread due to different delays of parts of the signal. This
delay spread is a typical effect of radio transmission, because no wire guides the waves along
a single path as in the case of wired networks
Figure 14 Multi-path propagation and intersymbol interference

 Short Impulse – from several paths, single impulse -> Many weaker impulses at
receiver with noise
 Both impulses are separated at sender side, at receiver side both impulses interfere, they
overlap in time
“ The energy intended for one symbol spills over an adjacent symbol, an effect is called inter-
symbol interference”
The delay spread & ISI occur between S & R, the situation is worse if both S&R move,
characteristics of the channel changes over time and signal path vary, this is audible while
driving, the power of the received signal changes over time. These quick changes in the
received power called short-term fading.
Channel characteristics change over time and location: signal paths change, different delay ,
variations of different signal parts, different phases of signal parts, quick changes in the
power received (short term fading)
Additional changes in distance to sender, obstacles further away, slow changes in the average
power received (long term fading)

The power of the received signal changes considerably over time. These quick changes in the
received power are also called short-term fading. Depending on the different paths the signals
take, these signals may have a different phase and cancel each other as shown in Figure 15.
The receiver now has to try to constantly adapt to the varying channel characteristics, e.g., by
changing the parameters of the equalizer. However, if these changes are too fast, such as driving
on a highway through a city, the receiver cannot adapt fast enough and the error rate of
transmission increases dramatically.

Figure 15 Short-term and long-term fading

An additional effect shown in Figure 15 is the long-term fading of the received signal. This
long-term fading, shown here as the average power over time, is caused by, for example,
varying distance to the sender or more remote obstacles. Typically, senders can compensate
for long-term fading by increasing/decreasing sending power so that the received signal always
stays within certain limits.