The mobile radio channel is extremely

random in nature, difficult to analyse, and

2
places fundamental limitations on the per-
formance of wireless communication sys-
tems. Therefore, for design of wireless and
mobile communication systems, it is very
important to understand the fundamen-
Mobile
tal features of mobile radio propagation.
The study of signal propagation is vital to
wireless communications because it pro-
Communication
vides prediction models for estimating the
received signal power in mobile radio envi-
ronment. It also helps in development of
compensating techniques for the impair-
Engineering
ments introduced through wireless trans-
mission. In this chapter, an insight into the
basic propagation mechanisms and the
behaviour of mobile radio channels is pre- 2.1 INTRODUCTION
sented.This provides a basic understanding
of how a signal propagates in the wireless The wireless medium is quite unreliable, has a relatively low
medium and what effects the medium has bandwidth, and is of broadcast nature. But it is the wireless
on the signal. An overview of simulation of medium alone that supports the mobility of users. All wire-
wireless fading channels is also included. less transmissions share the same medium, that is, air. It is the
frequency of operation and the legality of access to the avail-
able frequency band that differentiates a variety of alternativs
possible for wireless communications. For example, cellular
communication networks operate around a licensed 1-GHz
band, and Personal Communication Systems operate around
2-GHz band. For frequencies up to a few GHz, the radio
signals can penetrate through the concrete structures, allow-
ing indoor applications with minimal wireless infrastructure
inside a building. At higher frequencies, a radio signal that
is generated outdoors does not penetrate into buildings, and
the signal generated indoors stays confined to it. This phe-
nomenon imposes restrictions on the selection of a suitable
frequency spectrum for wireless applications. Thus, with the
wireless medium, the system capacity is limited due to alloca-
tion of a limited frequency spectrum for operation in a certain
area for a specific application until some special techniques
are deployed.
The three most important radio-propagation characteris-
tics used in the design, analysis, and installation of mobile
36 Wireless Communications

Facts to Know ! communication systems are the achievable signal

coverage, the maximum data rate that can be
Radio waves can travel large distances,
supported by the wireless channel, and the rate
unlike heat waves. They can also penetrate
non-metallic objects, unlike light waves.
of signal fluctuations in the wireless channel.
Radio waves are free of some of the limita- For efficient data communications on wireless
tions that heat and light waves experience. Heat waves channels, the maximum data rate that can be sup-
and visible light waves can be seen and felt, but radio ported becomes a critical design parameter. The
waves are invisible. Thus, radio waves are an excellent multipath structure of the wireless channel and
means to transmit data without wires. the fading characteristics of the multipath com-
ponent of the signals being transmitted strongly
influence the data-rate capabilities. This also results in the need of a proper signaling scheme and receiver
design. Depending on the nature of the operating environment, and the data rates that need to be supported
by an application, some characteristics are much more important than others. For example, signal cover-
age and slow fading are more important for low data-rate narrowband systems such as cellular voice and
low-speed data applications. The multipath delay spread becomes important for high-data-rate wideband
systems such as systems designed using spread-spectrum modulation schemes as CDMA and 3G cellular
services.
In any mobile communication system, the cell-site, or the base station, is always fixed but the subscribers
are mostly on the move. Due to movement of the mobile subscriber unit, which is surrounded by many types
of obstacles during operation, it is always under the influence of a varying multipath signal environment.
The received signal is quite weak in such a mobile radio-operating environment which experiences multiple
reflections from nearby buildings and other moving vehicles. There may also be locations where the direct
signal from the transmitter received at the mobile unit is obstructed by a nearby tall building. The movement
of the transmitter, receiver, or objects in between
Facts to Know ! mainly causes the rate of signal fluctuations in the
wireless channel in the mobile communication
The signal propagation path changes with
the movement of the mobile unit, and/
scenario. This particular aspect is characterised
or the movement of the surroundings and by the Doppler spread of the received signal. Due
environment. Even the smallest and slowest to this effect, there is great difficulty in achieving
movement causes a time-variable multipath, thus much-needed accurate timing and synchronisation
random time-variable signal reception. between the transmitted and received radio signals,
as well as the phase recovery at the receiver end.

2.2 THE RADIO PATHS

In general, a radio path is a path traveled by the radio signal in the wireless medium from the transmitter to the
receiver. The transmission path between the transmitter and the receiver can vary from a simple line-of-sight
to one that is severely obstructed by natural terrain, buildings, other nearby moving vehicles, and the presence
of heavy foliage (vegetation). Even the speed of the mobile unit impacts how rapidly the signal level fades as
it moves. In a mobile radio environment, the following types of radio paths are generally considered.
Direct wave Path It is a radio signal path from the transmitter to the receiver that is clear from the terrain
contour.
Line-of-Sight (LOS) Path It is the shortest direct radio signal path between the transmitter and receiver, a
path clear from in-between buildings. In urban areas, the line-of-sight condition is generally not met because
buildings and other terrain features usually block the radio signal path.
 Mobile Communication Engineering 37

Obstructive Path It is a radio signal path between the transmitter and receiver when the terrain contour blocks
the direct wave path. In indoor applications, walls, floors, and interior objects within buildings obstruct line-
of-sight communications. The signal strengths
of radio signal paths depend on the distance Facts to Know !
they have traveled, the obstacles they have
Assume that the mobile user is sitting in
reflected from or passed through, the location a car in a parking lot, near a busy highway.
of the objects surrounding the transmitter and Although the mobile user is relatively sta-
the receiver, and the architecture of the wireless tionary, but his/her surrounding is moving
environment. The signals may also encounter at 100 km/h. The vehicles on the highway become reflec-
diffraction phenomenon resulting into shadow tors of radio signals. If during transmission or reception,
or diffraction loss in the received radio signal. the user also starts driving at 100 km/h, the randomly
When a mobile unit is nearer to the cell- reflected signals vary at a faster rate.
site, a line-of-sight condition might be encoun-
tered. Under this situation, the average received signal at the mobile unit is higher, although the 40-dB/decade
path-loss slope still exists. So the received signal at the mobile unit is a combination of a strong line-of-sight
path, a ground-reflected wave, plus many weak reflected waves from surrounding buildings. This results into
short-term Rician fading.
When a mobile unit is far away from the cell site, an out-of-sight condition is normally encountered. Still,
the 40-dB/decade path-loss slope remains, however, all reflected waves from surroundings become dominant.
The short-term received signal at the mobile unit observes the most severe Rayleigh fading.

2.3 THE PROPAGATION ATTENUATION

In general, the propagation path loss increases with frequency of transmission, fc as well as the distance
between the cell site and mobile, R. The radio frequency of operation affects radio-propagation characteris-
tics and system design. For example, at frequencies lower than 500 MHz in the radio spectrum, the received
signal strength loss is much less with distance. Although the available bandwidth is also not adequate, and the
antenna sizes required are unusually large and thus quite impractical for large-scale system deployment. On
the other hand, adequate bandwidth is available at much higher frequencies (around 1 GHz and greater than
a few GHz). However, at such frequencies, the radio signals suffer a greater signal strength loss at shorter
distance, and also suffer larger signal strength losses while passing through obstacles such as walls.
In a real mobile radio environment the propaga-
tion path-loss Lp varies as directly proportional to Facts to Know !
Rγ, where R is the distance between the transmitter Attenuation can also be caused by
and receiver, and γ is the path loss exponent, which precipitation such as rain or snow at
varies between 2 and 6, depending on the actual atmo- certain frequencies. The density of air
spheric conditions. Table 2.1 lists typical path-loss and water vapour decreases at higher
exponent values obtained in various mobile radio altitude. Due to this, signal attenuation decreases.
environments.
Since the propagation path loss and the received signal power are reciprocal to each other, assuming all other
factors constant, we can say that the received carrier signal power, C is inversely proportional to Rγ, that is,
C α R−γ (2.1)
where C = received carrier signal power
R = distance measured from transmitter to the receiver
Let the received carrier signal power at a distance R1 be C1 and at a distance R2 be C2. The ratio in received
carrier signal powers at two different distances is
38 Wireless Communications

Table 2.1 Typical path-loss exponents in different environments.

Mobile radio environment Path-loss exponent, γ

Free space condition 2

Flat rural area 3
Rolling terrain rural area 3.5
Typical urban areas 2.7 to 3.5
Suburban with low-rise buildings 4
Shadowed urban areas 3 to 5
Dense urban with high-rise buildings 4.5
In building — line-of-sight conditions 1.6 to 1.8
In building — obstructed conditions 4 to 6
In factories — obstructed conditions 2 to 3
Typical mobile radio environment 4

(C2 / C1) = (R1 / R2) γ (2.2)

ΔC (in dB) = C2 (in dB) − C1 (in dB) = 10 log (C2 / C1)
Or, ΔC (in dB) =10 log (R1 / R2) γ = 10 γ log (R1 / R2) (2.3)

In free-space condition, γ = 2.
Therefore, C α R-2 (free space)
And ΔC (in dB) = C2 (in dB) − C1 (in dB) = 10 log (C2 / C1)
=10 log (R1 / R2) 2 = 20 log (R1 / R2) (2.4)

EXAMPLE 2.1 Signal attenuation in free-space propagation

Calculate the change in received signal strengths (in dB) in free-space propagation condition at two different distance
points
(a) when the second distance point is twice the distance of the first point
(b) when the second distance point is ten times the distance of the first point
Comment on the results obtained.
Solution
Step 1. Let the received carrier signal power at a distance R1 be C1 and at a distance R2 be C2. The change in received
signal strengths (in dB), ΔC in free space propagation, between the distance points R2 and R1 is given by
ΔC (in dB) = 20 log (R1 / R2)
(a) To calculate the change in received signal strengths
Step 2. Here, R2 = 2 R1 (given)
Therefore, ΔC (in dB) = 20 log (R1 / 2 R1 ) = 20 log (1 / 2 )
Hence, ΔC = −6 dB
Comments on the result This implies that signal strength decays at the rate of 6 dB/octave in the free space
propagation environment condition.
 Mobile Communication Engineering 39

(b) To calculate the change in received signal strengths

Step 3. Now, R2 = 10 R1 (given)
Therefore, ΔC (in dB) = 20 log (R1 / 10 R1) = 20 log (1 / 10)
Hence, ΔC = −20 dB
Comments on the result. This implies that signal strength decays at the rate of 20 dB/decade in the free
space propagation environment condition.

In mobile radio environment, the attenuation increases much more quickly with distance; values ranging
from γ =3 to a more typical value of γ = 4. That is, attenuation is roughly proportional to the fourth power
of distance because of reflections and obstacles.
Therefore, C α R-4 (mobile radio environment)
And ΔC (in dB) = C2 (in dB) − C1 (in dB)
Or, = 10 log (C2 / C1)
Or, = 10 log (R1 / R2) 4 = 40 log (R1 / R2) (2.5)

EXAMPLE 2.2 Signal attenuation in mobile radio propagation

Calculate the change in received signal strengths (in dB) in mobile radio propagation condition at two different distance
points
(a) when the second distance point is twice the distance of the first point
(b) when the second distance point is ten times the distance of the first point
Comment on the results obtained.
Solution
Step 1. Let the received carrier signal power at a distance R1 be C1 and at a distance R2 be C2. The change in received
signal strengths (in dB), ΔC in mobile radio propagation, between the distance points R2 and R1 is given by
ΔC (in dB) = 40 log (R1 / R2)
(a) To calculate the change in received signal strengths
Step 2. Here, R2 = 2 R1 (given)
Therefore, ΔC (in dB) = 40 log (R1 / 2 R1) = 40 log (1 / 2)
Hence, ΔC = −12 dB
Comments on the result This implies that signal strength decays at the rate of 12 dB/octave in the mobile
radio-propagation environment condition.
(b) To calculate the change in received signal strengths.
Step 3. Now, R2 = 10 R1 (given)
Therefore, ΔC (in dB) = 40 log (R1 / 10 R1) = 40 log (1 / 10)
Hence, ΔC = −40 dB
Comments on the result This implies that signal strength decays at the rate of 40 dB/decade in the mobile
radio-propagation environment condition.
40 Wireless Communications

2.4 BASIC PROPAGATION MECHANISMS

With any communication system, the received signal always differs from the transmitted signal due to various
transmission impairments. Radio propagation in free space and without any obstacles is the most ideal
situation. But in mobile communication applications, the ideal situation is rarely achieved. Radio signals with
frequencies above 800 MHz have extremely small wavelengths compared with the dimensions of buildings
and other obstacles, so electromagnetic waves can be treated simply as optical rays. In a wireless signal-
propagation environment, apart from direct waves, the receiver will get a number of reflected waves, diffracted
waves and scattered waves. The mechanisms behind electromagnetic wave propagation are diverse, but can
generally be attributed to mainly three basic radio propagation mechanisms, namely, reflection, diffraction,
and scattering. The vectorial addition of these waves constitutes the resultant wave which will vary in strength
in real time. A typical propagation effect in a mobile radio environment is illustrated in Fig. 2.1.
As shown in Fig.2.1 ht is the height of the cell-site antenna from the earth’s surface, hr is the height of the
mobile antenna from the earth’s surface, and r is the distance between the cell-site and the mobile unit.
The three basic propagation mechanisms are reflection, diffraction, and scattering which influence signal
propagation in a mobile communication environment are briefly described now.

m s 1 ire si n l
4 ildin 2 r nd re le ed si n l
3 e le ed si n l
4 ered si n l
5 i r ed si n l

1 3
5

2 r

r
ell si e Tx M ile Rx
Fig. 2.1 Radio propagation mechanisms in a mobile communication

2.4.1 Reflection
Reflection occurs when incident electromagnetic waves are partially reflected when they impinge on obstruc-
tions of different electrical properties. A propagating electromagnetic wave impinges on objects the sizes of
which are large compared to its wavelength, such as the surface of the earth, buildings, walls, etc. The elec-
tromagnetic radio waves get reflected from tall building structures which have a good amount of conductivity.
Reflection can also occur due to metal reinforcement. The extent of reflection of radio waves depends on the
composition and surface characteristics of the objects. The angle of reflection is equal to the angle at which
the wave strikes the object and is measured by the Fresnel reflection coefficient. Upon reflection, the signal
strength of the radio wave gets attenuated that depends on many factors like the frequency of the radio waves,
the angle of incidence, and the nature of the medium including its material properties, thickness, homogeneity,
etc. Generally, higher frequencies reflect more than lower frequencies.
As an instance, let a ground-reflected wave near the mobile unit be received. Because the ground-reflected
wave has a 180ο phase shift after reflection, the ground wave and the line-of-sight wave may tend to cancel
each other, resulting in high signal attenuation. The vector sum of the phases of the multipath received signals
 Mobile Communication Engineering 41

may give a resultant zero amplitude at certain time instants

Facts to Know !
and large signal amplitude at some other time. Most of the
times, the vectorial addition of these multipath reflected sig- The term ‘multipath distortion’
nals produce an undetectable signal. Further, because the originates from the fact that as
mobile antenna is lower than most human-made structures electromagnetic waves arrives
at different times, they are out of
in the operational area, multipath interference occurs. These
phase with one another. Since the amplitudes
reflected waves may interfere constructively or destructively of multiple signals either get added or sub-
at the receiver. In outdoor urban areas, the reflection mecha- tracted from one another, the resulting signal
nism often loses its importance because it involves multiple at the input of the receiver gets distorted.
reflections that reduce the strength of the signal to negligible
values. However, reflection mechanisms often dominate radio propagation in indoor applications. The reflections
are a source of multipath signals which cause low strength in signal reception. Reflection results in a large-scale
fading of the radio signals.

EXAMPLE 2.3 Effects of reflection on signal propagation

A wireless communication transmitter transmits a signal at 900 MHz. A receiver located at a distance of 1 km away from
transmitter receives two signals — one directly as a line-of-sight signal and another indirectly via reflection from a building
(having a height more than 10 metres), as shown in Fig. 2.2.

Tx
ire
e le ed

120° M Rx

ildin ei > 10 m

Fig. 2.2 Reflected and direct signals

Give reason(s) to justify that the reflected signal causes delay in the reception. Calculate the amount of delay in the reflected
signal with respect to the direct signal at the receiver.
Solution
Frequency of transmission, fc = 900 MHz (given)
Step 1. To find the wavelength of transmission, λc
We know that λc = c / fc
Or, λc = 3 × 108 m/s / 900 ×106 Hz
Therefore, λc = 0.33 m
Step 2. To justify that reflected signal causes delay.
The height of the building 10 m (given)
Thus, the given height of the building is much greater than the wavelength of the transmission.
It implies that the radio signal is reflected from the surface of the obstacle of size much greater than λc of
the radio transmissions. The reflected signal suffers a delay in reaching the receiver.
42 Wireless Communications

Step 3. To find the time taken by the direct path, tdirect

Distance between transmitter and receiver = 1 km or 1000 m (given)
We know that tdirect = distance traveled by direct path / speed of radio wave
Or, tdirect = 1000 m / 3 × 108 m/s
Therefore, tdirect = 3.33 μs
Step 4. To find the time taken by the reflected path, treflected
Assuming that the reflected path is approximately equal to 1000 m
Angle between incident and reflected path = 120 (given)
Thus, incident angle = 120 /2 = 60
Therefore, treflected = 1000 m / (3 × 108 m/s) × sin 60
Or, treflected = 3.85 μs
Step 5. To calculate the delay in a reflected signal
Delay = treflected tdirect
Hence, delay = 3.85 μs 3.33 μs = 0.52 s

2.4.2 Diffraction
Diffraction is referred to the change in wave pattern caused by interference between waves that have been
reflected from a surface or a point. It is based on Huygen’s principle which states that all points on a wavefront
can be considered as point sources for production of secondary wavelets that can combine to produce a new
wavefront in the direction of propagation of the signal. Diffraction occurs when the radio path between a trans-
mitter and receiver is obstructed by a surface with sharp irregular edges. Waves bend around the obstacle, even
when a line-of-sight condition does not exist. It causes regions of signal strengthening and weakening irregu-
larly. Diffraction can also occur in different situations such as when radio waves pass through a narrow slit or
the edge of a reflector or reflect off from two different surfaces approximately one wavelength apart. At higher
frequencies, diffraction depends on the geometry of the object, as well as the amplitude, phase, and polarisation
of the incident wave at the point of diffraction. Figure 2.3 depicts a simple case of diffraction of a radio signal.
Diffraction is a description of how a radio signal propagates around and over an obstruction, and is mea-
sured in dB. Diffraction often results in small-signal fading. In effect, diffraction results in propagation into
shadow regions because the diffracted field can reach a receiver, which is not in the line-of-sight of the trans-
mitter. Because a secondary wavelet is created, it suffers a signal loss much greater than that experienced via
reflection. Although the received signal strength decreases rapidly as a receiver moves deeper into the shadow
region, the diffraction field still exists and often produces useful signal strength.
Consequently, diffraction is an important phenomenon of propagation impairment in outdoor applications
such as in micro-cellular areas where signal transmission through buildings is virtually impossible. It is less
consequential in indoor applications where a diffracted signal is extremely weak compared to a reflected
signal or a signal that is transmitted through a relatively thin wall.

Tx

M Rx

e ≈33 m

Fig. 2.3 Diffraction of a radio signal

 Mobile Communication Engineering 43

In mobile communication systems, diffraction loss occurs from Facts to Know !

the blockage of secondary waves such that only a portion of the
Shadowing is caused mainly
energy is diffracted around an obstacle. Most cellular systems by terrain features of the land-
operate in urban areas where there is no direct line-of-sight path mobile wireless propagation
between the transmitter and the receiver (either from the cell-site environment. It imposes a
to the mobile unit or vice-versa), and where the presence of high- slowly changing average signal on the
rise buildings causes severe diffraction loss. In many practical Rayleigh fading statistics.
situations, the propagation path may consist of more than one
obstruction. For example, in hilly terrains, the total diffraction loss must be computed due to all of the obstacles.

2.4.3 Scattering
Scattering is a special case of reflection caused by irregular objects such as walls with rough surfaces, vehi-
cles, foliage, traffic signs, lamp posts, and results in many different angles of reflection and scatter waves in
all directions in the form of spherical waves. Thus, due to availability of numerous objects, scattering effects
are difficult to predict. Scattering occurs when the size of objects is comparable or smaller than the wave-
length of the propagating radio wave, and where the number of obstacles per unit volume is large. Figure 2.4
depicts a typical case of scattering of a radio signal.
Propagation in many directions results in reduced received-signal power levels, especially far from the
scatterer. So an incoming radio signal is scattered into several weaker outgoing radio signals. As a result,
the scattering phenomenon is not significant unless the receiver or transmitter is located in a highly noisy
environment. In a mobile radio environment, scattering provides additional radio energy levels at the receiver
to what has been predicted by reflection and diffraction models alone. In radio channels, knowledge of the
physical location of large distant objects, which induce scattering, can be used to accurately predict scattered
signal strength levels. In a mobile radio environment, heavy foliage often causes scattering. Scattering too
results in small-scale fading effects.
These three impairments to free-space propagation influence system performance in various ways depending
on local conditions and as the mobile unit moving within a cell in a cellular system.
• If a mobile unit has a clear line-of-sight condition with the cell-site then only reflection may have a
significant effect whereas diffraction and scattering have minor effects on the received signal levels.
• If there is no clear line-of-sight condition, such as in an urban area at busy street level, then diffraction
and scattering are the primary means of signal reception.
One major adverse effect of multipath propagation is that multiple copies of a signal may arrive at different
phases. If these phases add destructively, the signal level relative to noise declines, making signal detection
at the receiver much more difficult and unreliable.
The second major effect of multipath propagation is increase in received data errors due to intersymbol
interference in digital transmission. As the mobile unit moves, the relative location of various objects also

Tx erin si n ls

M Rx

e ≈33 m

Fig. 2.4 Scattering of radio signal

44 Wireless Communications

changes; hence intersymbol interference increases to the extent that makes it difficult to design signal pro-
cessing techniques that will filter out multipath effects in order to recover the intended signal with fidelity.
An extreme form of signal attenuation is blocking or shadowing of radio signals, which is caused by
obstacles much larger in size than the wavelengths of the operating signals such as a small wall, trees, or a
large vehicle on the street.
Another form of propagation effect is the effect of refraction. Refraction occurs because the velocity of
the electromagnetic waves depends on the density of the medium through which it travels. Waves that travel
into a denser medium are bent towards the medium. This is the reason for line-of-sight radio waves being bent
towards the earth since the density of the atmosphere is higher closer to the earth.

2.5 MOBILE RADIO CHANNEL

In a mobile communication system, a signal experiences multipath propagation which causes rapid signal-
level fluctuations in time, called fading. Mobile radio channels introduce noise, fading, interference, and
other distortions into the signals that they transmit. Fading effects that characterise mobile radio communica-
tion are large-scale fading and small-signal fading. If there is a large number of multiple reflective paths with
no line-of-sight signal path, it is Rayleigh fading. The Rayleigh flat-fading channel model assumes that the
channel induces amplitude which varies in time according to Rayleigh distribution. When there is a domi-
nant non-fading signal component present, the small-signal fading envelope is described by a Rician fading.
Small-signal fading results into signal dispersion and time-variant behaviour of the channel.
Rayleigh and Rician fading phenomena include multipath scattering effects, time dispersion, and Doppler
shifts that arise from relative motion between the transmitter and receiver. The major paths result in the arrival
of delayed versions of the signal at the receiver. In addition, the radio signal undergoes scattering on a local
scale for each major path. Such local scattering is typically characterised by a large number of reflections by
objects near the mobile. These irresolvable components combine at the receiver and give rise to the phenom-
enon known as multipath fading. As a result, each major path behaves as a discrete fading path.
Typically, the fading process is characterised by a Rayleigh distribution for a non-line-of-sight path and
a Rician distribution for a line-of-sight path. In mobile radio channels, the Rayleigh distribution is com-
monly used to describe the statistical time varying nature of the received envelope of a flat fading channel,
or the envelope of an individual multipath components. The relative motion between the transmitter and
receiver causes Doppler shifts. Local scatter-
Facts to Know ! ing typically comes from many angles around
The effects of multipath include constructive the mobile. This scenario causes a range of
and destructive interference, and phase shifting Doppler shifts, known as the Doppler spec-
of the signal. This causes Rayleigh fading, and its trum. The maximum Doppler shift corre-
standard statistical model gives Rayleigh distri- sponds to the local scattering components
bution. Rayleigh fading with a strong line-of-sight content whose direction exactly opposes the mobile’s
is said to have a Rician fading, or Rician distribution.
trajectory.

2.5.1 Multipath Fading

Fading of signal received by the mobile unit is an inherent problem in mobile communication. As the loca-
tion of the mobile unit keeps on changing in real time, the resultant radio signal incident on its antenna varies
continuously. Multipath in the mobile communication channel creates small-scale fading effects such as rapid
changes in signal strength over a small time interval or small distance traveled by a mobile; random frequency
modulation due to varying Doppler shifts on different multipath signals; and time dispersion caused by mul-
tipath propagation delays. Fading is the rapid fluctuation of a radio signal’s amplitude in a short time or over
a short distance.
 Mobile Communication Engineering 45

In reality, the received signal rapidly fluctuates due to the Facts to Know !
mobility of the mobile unit causing changes in multiple signal
In wireless communications,
components arriving via different paths. These multiple waves
fading may either be due
can combine constructively or destructively. Multipath waves to multipath propagation,
are also generated because the antenna height of the mobile unit referred to as multipath
is lower than its typical surrounding structures such as in built- induced fading, or due to shadowing
up urban areas of operation, and the operating wavelength is from obstacles affecting the propagation
much less than the sizes of the surrounding structures at the of electromagnetic waves, sometimes
mobile unit. The sum of multipath waves causes a signal-fading referred to as shadow fading.
phenomenon. The rapid fluctuation of the signal amplitude is
referred to as small-signal fading, and it is the result of movement of the transmitter, the receiver, or objects
surrounding them. Over a small area, the average value of the received signal is considered to compute the
propagation path loss and received signal strength. But the characteristics of the instantaneous signal level are
also important in order to design receivers that can mitigate these effects.
In fact, there are two main reasons that contribute to the rapid fluctuations of the signal amplitude. The
first, caused by the addition of signals arriving via different paths, is referred to as multipath fading. The
second, caused by the relative movement of the mobile unit towards or away from the cell-site transmitter, is
called Doppler effect. Other factors that influence small-scale fading include multipath propagation, speed of
the mobile, speed of the surrounding objects, and the transmission bandwidth of the signal. For a particular
service area, the fading effects of the received signal at the mobile unit need to be analysed towards the effort
of designing a reliable mobile communication system. Suitable diversity reception or signal-processing tech-
niques need to be provided to minimise the impact of fading.
Multipath fading results in fluctuations of the signal amplitude because of the addition of signals arriving
with different phases. This phase difference is caused due to the fact that signals have traveled different path
lengths. Because the phase of the arriving paths are too changing rapidly, the received signal amplitude under-
goes rapid fluctuation that is often modeled as a random variable with a particular distribution, called Rayleigh
distribution. The multipath waves at the mobile receiver bounce back and forth due to the surrounding buildings
and other structures, as shown in Fig. 2.5. When a mobile unit is stand-still, its receiver only receives a signal
strength at that spot, so a constant signal is observed. When the mobile unit is moving, the fading structure of the
wave in the space is received. It is a multipath fading which becomes fast as the vehicle moves faster.
Tx n enn

ireless
medi m

M li din
di

∼100λ

ell i e

Fig. 2.5 Multipath fading in a mobile radio environment

46 Wireless Communications

2.5.2 Types of Small-Scale Fading

The type of fading experienced by a signal propagating through a mobile communication channel depends
on the nature of the transmitted signal with respect to the characteristics of the wireless channel, the speed of
the mobile, and the direction of motion of the mobile with respect to the incoming received signal from the
cell-site transmitter. Fading effects in a mobile radio environment can be classified as
– fading effects due to multipath time delay spread; and
– fading effects due to Doppler spread.
Due to multipath time-delay spread, fading effects can also be classified as flat fading and frequency selec-
tive fading. Flat fading, or non-selective fading, is that type of fading in which all frequency components
of the received signal fluctuates in the same proportions simultaneously. Flat fading occurs when the radio
channel has a constant gain and linear phase response but its bandwidth is greater than that of the transmitted
signal. It implies that the desired signal bandwidth is narrower than, and completely covered by, the spectrum
affected by the fading. In flat fading, the multipath structure of the channel is such that the spectral charac-
teristics of the transmitted signal are preserved at the receiver. However, the strength of the received signal
changes with time due to fluctuations in the gain of the channel caused by multipath.
In a flat fading channel, sometimes referred to as a
Facts to Know !
narrowband channel, the bandwidth of the transmitted signal
is much larger than the reciprocal of the multipath time-delay
The effect of time-delay spread spread of the channel. The bandwidth of the applied signal
can also be interpreted as a is narrow as compared to that of the wireless channel. The
frequency-selective fading effect.
distribution of the instantaneous gain of flat-fading channels
This effect may impose a limit on
the BER performance of high-speed digital can be best described by Rayleigh distribution and is important
communication systems due to severe wave for designing wireless communication links. Typical flat-
form distortions in the demodulated signal at fading channels cause deep fades, and can be best corrected
the receiver. by increasing the transmitter power by 20 or 30 dB in order
to achieve low bit-error rates during times of deep fades as
compared to systems operating over non-fading channels.
Frequency-selective fading affects unequally the different spectral components of a radio signal. Selective
fading is usually significant only relative to the bandwidth of the overall wireless communication channel. If the
signal attenuates over a portion of the bandwidth of the signal, the fading is considered to be selective in frequency
domain. Frequency selective fading on the received signal occurs when a radio channel has a constant gain and
linear phase response, but the channel bandwidth is less than that of the transmitted signal. Under such conditions,
the channel impulse response has a multipath delay spread which is greater than the reciprocal bandwidth of the
transmitted signal. The received signal includes multiple versions of the transmitted signal which are faded and
delayed in time, and hence the received signal is distorted. Frequency selective fading is due to time dispersion of
the transmitted symbols within the channel, and the channel
induces intersymbol interference. Because this effect varies e le in
by frequency, fading is different at different frequencies and s r e
it is extremely difficult to counter its impact or compensate
Tx n enn
for the signal loss. Frequency-selective fading channels are
also known as wideband channels since the bandwidth of
e le ed
the transmitted signal is wider than the bandwidth of the ve
ire
channel impulse response.
ve
As an example, suppose a mobile receiver moves directly M ile
away from the transmitting antenna but toward a reflecting
surface. This particular scenario is depicted in Fig. 2.6. Fig. 2.6 Fast fading in a mobile environment
 Mobile Communication Engineering 47

If the two signals are in phase at a given point, they will Facts to Know !
add. As the mobile moves forward a distance of λc /4, the
Frequency-selective fading chan-
direct path is increased and the reflected path is reduced
nels are also dispersive, which
by the same amount, resulting in a total phase shift of 180 means that the signal energy asso-
degrees, resulting into partial cancellation of the signal ciated with each symbol is spread
(which means the signal may fade up to 50 dB in worst out in time. This causes transmitted symbols
cases). When the mobile moves another distance of λc /4, that are adjacent in time to interfere with each
the signals are once again in phase. Thus, the fades occur other. Equalisers are often used to compensate
each time the mobile moves a distance of λc /2. Given the for the effects of the intersymbol interference.
frequency of the the signal and the speed of the mobile, it
is easy to estimate the time between fades. The time between fades is given by
Tf = (λc /2) / Vm = λc / (2Vm) = c / (2 fc Vm) (2.6)
Due to Doppler spread, fading effects can also be classified as fast fading and slow fading. Depending on how
rapidly the transmitted baseband signal changes as compared to the rate of change of the channel, a wireless channel
is classified as a fast fading or slow-fading channel. In fast-fading conditions, as the mobile unit moves down a
street in an urban environment, rapid fluctuations in received signal strength occur over distances of about one-half
a wavelength. The channel impulse response changes rapidly within the symbol duration. That is, the coherence
time of the channel is smaller than the symbol period of the transmitted signal. This causes frequency dispersion,
also called time-selective fading, due to Doppler spreading. This results into signal distortion which increases with
increasing Doppler spread relative to the bandwidth of the transmitted signal. Therefore, a signal undergoes fast
fading if the symbol period Ts > Tf, the time between fades. Fast fading occurs when the rate of change of the
channel characteristics is faster than the rate of change of the information data signal, and results in distortion.

EXAMPLE 2.4 Slow or fast fading

A mobile subscriber travels at a uniform speed of 60 km/h. Compute the time between fades if the mobile uses
(a) a cellphone operating at 900 MHz
(b) a PCS phone operating at 1900 MHz
Comment on the results obtained.
Solution
Speed of the mobile, Vm = 60 km/h (given)
= 60 × 103 m / 3600 s = 16.7 m/s
Time between fades is given by the expression, Tf = c / (2 fc Vm)
where c is the speed of radio waves = 3 × 108 m/s
(a) To compute time between fades for a mobile operating at 900 MHz
Step 1. Frequency of operation, fc = 900 MHz or 900 × 106 Hz (given)
Time between fades, Tf = (3 × 108 m/s / (2 × 900 × 106 Hz × 16.7 m/s)
Hence, time between fades at 900 MHz = 10 ms
(b) To compute time between fades for a mobile operating at 1900 MHz
Step 2. Frequency of operation, fc = 1900 MHz or 1900 × 106 Hz (given)
Time between fades, Tf = (3 × 108 m/s / (2 × 1900 × 106 Hz × 16.7 m/s)
Hence, time between fades at 1900 MHz = 4.7 ms
Comments on the results It is observed that the rapidity of the fading increases with the frequency of the
transmission at the same speed of the mobile vehicle.
48 Wireless Communications

− 0

i n l level d m
− 0

−100

−110

−120

−130
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
el ive si i n m

Fig. 2.7 Typical fast and slow fading in an urban mobile radio environment

In mobile cellular applications operating at 900 MHz (corresponding to a wavelength of 0.33 m) in an

urban environment, a typical example of the spatial variation of a received signal amplitude is illustrated
in Fig.2.7.
The signal may fade in a range of about 40 dB (10 dB above and 30 dB below the average signal) over a
short distance. If the mobile unit moves fast, the rate of fluctuation of the radio signal also increases. This type
of rapidly changing fading phenomenon, known as fast fading, not only affects mobile phones in automobile
vehicles, but even a mobile phone user walking through an urban street.
In a slow fading channel, the channel impulse response changes at a rate much slower than the transmitted
baseband signal. As the mobile subscriber covers distances well in excess of a wavelength, the urban envi-
ronment changes, as the mobile subscriber crosses buildings of different heights, busy intersections, vacant
spaces, and so forth. Over these longer distances, there is a change in the average received power level about
which the rapid fluctuations occur. This is indicated by the slowly changing waveforms. In the frequency
domain, this implies that the Doppler spread of the channel is much less than the bandwidth of the baseband
signals. Therefore, a signal undergoes slow fading if the symbol period Ts << Tf.
Depending on the environment and the surroundings, and the location of objects, the received signal
strength for the same distance from the transmitter will be different. In fact, the actual received signal strength
will vary around the mean value of the signal. This variation of the signal strength due to location is often
referred to as shadow fading, which is similar to slow fading. Shadow fading is typically modeled by attenu-
ation in signal amplitude that follows a log-normal distribution. The variation in shadow fading is speci-
fied by the standard deviation of the logarithm of this
Facts to Know ! attenuation.
The term ‘shadow fading’ arises due to The problem caused by shadow fading is that all
the fact that very often the fluctuations locations at a given distance may not receive sufficient
around the mean value are caused signal strength for detecting the data accurately. In order
due to the signal being blocked from to achieve sufficient signal coverage, the technique
the receiver by buildings in outdoor areas, walls
employed is to add a fade margin to the path loss or the
inside buildings, and other objects in the operating
received signal strength. This is more important at the
environment. It is similar to slow fading because
the signal variations are much slower with distance edge of a cell or near the fringe cell areas. This fading
than fading caused due to multipath. margin can be applied by increasing the transmit power
and keeping the same cell size, or reducing the cell size.

2.5.3 Effects of Multipath Fading

Fading may cause rapid changes in volume, random frequency modulation, echoes, distortion, or a dropped
call. The listener notices all these effects of fading. Small-signal fading results in very high bit-error rates. In
 Mobile Communication Engineering 49

order to overcome the effects of small-signal fading, it is not possible to simply increase the transmit power
because this will require a huge increase in the transmit power. A variety of techniques are used to mitigate
the effects of small-signal fading such as error control coding with interleaving, diversity schemes, and using
directional antennas at the cell-site. Diversity techniques are useful to overcome the effects of fast fading by
providing multiple copies of the signal at the receiver. Because the probability that all these copies suffer
fading is small, the receiver is able to correctly decode the received data. requency hopping is another
technique that can be used to combat fast fading. Because all frequencies are not simultaneously under fade,
transmitting data by hopping to different frequencies is an approach to combat fading.

2.5.4 Multipath Delay Spread

Multipath interference is the reflection of radio signals from concrete structures that results in multiple copies
of the received signal. Multipath interference can allow radio signals to reach hard-to-reach areas. It can also
create some problems such as delay spread which occurs when several signals reach a receiver at different
times due to different lengths of transmission paths. Delay spread also occurs due to Rayleigh fading which
results from the signal’s amplitude and phase being altered by reflections.
In a digital communication system, the delay spread along with fading causes intersymbol interference,
thereby limiting the maximum symbol rate of a digital multipath channel. If the multipath delay spread is
comparable to or larger than the symbol duration, the received waveform spreads into neighbouring symbols
and produces intersymbol interference. The intersymbol interference results in irreducible errors that are
caused in the detected signal. Figure 2.8 shows the multiple signals received at different multipaths.
Since each radio signal path has a different path length, the time of arrival for each signal path is different.
The smearing or spreading-out effect of the received radio signal is called delay spread. For a low bit-error-
rate (BER) performance of a digital transmission, the transmission data rate, r should be
r < 1 / (2 d) (2.7)
where d is the delay spread.
The average delay spread is typically about 3 microseconds for an urban area and up to 10 microseconds
in hilly terrain. A measure of the data rate that can be supported over the channel without additional receiver
techniques is determined by the RMS multipath delay spread values. The RMS delay spread varies depending
on the type of the operating environment. In urban microcells, the RMS delay spread is of the order of a few
microseconds. In indoor applications, it could be as small as 30 nanoseconds in residential areas or as large

e eived si n ls
r m ne r
e eived si n l level

re le rs

e eived si n ls r m
in ermedi e re le rs

e eived si n ls
r m dis n re le rs

ime del
Fig. 2.8 Delay spread of a received signal
50 Wireless Communications

as 300 nanoseconds in factory environments. This means that the maximum data rate which can be supported
in outdoor applications is about 50 kbps (at 4 microseconds of RMS delay spread) and in indoor applications,
about 6.7 Mbps (at 30 nanoseconds of RMS delay spread). Table 2.2 shows the typical values of delay spread
in different operating environments.

Table 2.2 Delay spread in different operating environments

Type of environment Delay spread ( s)

Inside the building < 0.1

Open area < 0.2
Sub-urban area 0.5
Urban area 3

2.5.5 Doppler Shift

There is always a relative motion between the cell-site transmitter and the mobile receiver. As a result, Doppler
effect occurs in the shift of the received carrier frequency. Doppler spectrum is the spectrum of the fluctua-
tions of the received signal strength. Multipath fading provides the distributions of the amplitude of a radio
signal. It is important to know for what time a signal strength will be below a pre-defined threshold value, that
is, the duration of fade, and how often it crosses a threshold value, that is, frequency of transitions or fading
rate. Doppler effect results in the inaccurate operation of the system. Proper compensation technique needs to
be implemented to minimise this effect. A study of Doppler spectrum is important to design the coding and
interleaver schemes for efficient performance.
Thus, multipath propagation, speed of mobile unit, speed of reflecting objects, and Doppler shift are the
main causes of fading. Multipath propagation can result in a positive or negative Doppler shift. As mobile
unit moves around, the resulting multipath reception of waves reflected from different objects can also result
in a positive or negative Doppler shift. The Rayleigh distribution is often used to model the received enve-
lope of such a signal in a statistical, time-varying way. Rayleigh fading is also called multipath fading in the
mobile radio environment. Speed of reflecting objects can induce their own Doppler shift in the reflected
wave. Doppler frequency or Doppler shift is given by
fd = (1/λc) Vm cos θ (2.8)
where λc is the wavelength of the carrier signal, Vm is the relative velocity of the mobile, the angle θ is
between the motion of the mobile and direction of arrival of the scattered waves, and Vm cos θ represents the
velocity component of the motion of the mobile in the direction of the incoming signal.
The maximum Doppler frequency will be obtained when the mobile unit is moving in line with the direction of
the received signal, that is, θ = 0ο or cos θ = 1. Then from Eq. (2.8), the maximum Doppler frequency is given by
fdm = Vm / λc = Vm fc / c (2.9)
where fc is the frequency of transmission in Hz, Vm is the speed of the mobile and c is speed of light in
same units.
When a pure sinusoidal carrier signal having frequency fc is transmitted, the received signal spectrum,
called the Doppler spectrum, will have components in the range fc – fd to fc + fd, corresponding to whether
the direction of motion of the mobile is away from or towards the direction of the received signal respectively.
This simply means that Doppler shift will be positive or negative depending on whether the mobile receiver
is moving toward or away from the base station transmitter.
 Mobile Communication Engineering 51

EXAMPLE 2.5 Doppler shift frequency

Consider a base-station transmitter operating at 900 MHz carrier frequency. For a mobile moving at a speed of 72 km/h,
calculate the received carrier frequency if the mobile is moving
(a) directly away from the base-station transmitter
(b) directly towards the base-station transmitter
(c) in a direction which is 60 degrees to the direction of arrival of the transmitted signal
(d) in a direction perpendicular to the direction of arrival of the transmitted signal

Solution
Carrier frequency of base station transmitter, fc = 900 MHz (given)
Speed of the mobile, Vm = 72 km/h (given)
Or, Vm = (72 × 103)/3600 = 20 m/s
(a) To calculate received carrier frequency when the mobile is moving directly away from the base-station
transmitter
Step 1. In the given case, θ = 180ο, cos θ = cos 180ο = –1
So the Doppler shift is negative.
Step 2. Doppler frequency, or Doppler shift, is given by
fd = (1/ λc) Vm where λc = (c / fc)
Or, fd = ( fc / c) Vm = (900 × 106 Hz / 3 × 108 m/s) × 20 m/s
Or, fd = 60 Hz
Step 3. The received carrier frequency at the mobile = fc – fd
= 900 × 106 Hz – 60 Hz
= 899.99994 MHz
(b) To calculate the received carrier frequency when the mobile is moving directly towards the base-station transmitter.
Step 4. In this case, θ = 0ο , cos θ = cos 0ο = +1.
So the Doppler shift is positive.
Step 5. Doppler frequency or Doppler shift is given by
fd = (fc / c) Vm = (900 × 106 Hz / 3 × 108 m/s) × 20 m/s
Or, fd = 60 Hz
Step 6. The received carrier frequency at the mobile = fc + fd
= 900 × 106 Hz + 60 Hz
= 900.00006 MHz
(c) To calculate received carrier frequency when the mobile is moving in a direction which is 60 degrees to the direction
of arrival of the transmitted signal
Step 7. In this case, θ = 60ο , cos θ = cos 60ο = 0.5.
So the Doppler shift is positive.
Step 8. Doppler frequency or Doppler shift is given by
fd = ( fc / c) Vm cos 60ο
= (900 × 106 / 3 × 108 ) × 20 × 0.5
= 30 Hz
Step 9. Hence, the received carrier frequency at the mobile = fc + fd
= 900 × 106 Hz + 30 Hz
= 900.00003 MHz
52 Wireless Communications

(d) To calculate received carrier frequency when the mobile is moving in a direction perpendicular to the direction of
arrival of the transmitted signal
Step 10. In this case, θ = 90ο , cos θ = cos 90ο = 0.
So there is no Doppler shift.
Step 11. The received signal frequency is the same as the transmitted frequency.
Hence, the received carrier frequency = 900 MHz

Facts to Know ! In mobile radio applications, the Doppler spectrum or

Doppler spread for a Rayleigh fading channel is usually mod-
The rate of variations of the
signal in a mobile environ- eled by the following expression:
ment is frequently described D(λ) = (0.16 / fdm) × 1 – ( λc / fdm)2 −0.5
as Doppler’s spread. for – fdm <= λc <= fdm (2.10)
where fdm is the maximum Doppler frequency possible and is related to the velocity Vm of the mobile via
the expression fdm = Vm / λc and λc is the wavelength of the radio signal.

EXAMPLE 2.6 Vehicle speed versus Doppler spread

Determine the maximum speed of a vehicle in a mobile communication system experiencing a maximum Doppler
frequency shift of 70 Hz and a frequency of transmission 900 MHz.
Solution
The frequency of transmission, fc = 900 MHz (given)
The maximum Doppler frequency shift, fdm = 70 Hz (given)
We know that fdm = Vm / λc , where Vm is the maximum speed of the vehicle.
Or, Vm = fdm × λc
Step 1. To calculate the wavelength of the transmission signal, λc
λc = c / fc = (3 × 108 m/s) / (900 × 106 Hz ) = 0.333 m/s
Step 2. To calculate the maximum speed of the vehicle, Vm
Therefore, Vm = 70 Hz × 0.333 m/s = 23.3 m/s or 84 km/h
Hence, the maximum speed of the vehicle = 84 km/h

EXAMPLE 2.7 Doppler frequencies versus mobile antenna beamwidth

A mobile receiver is tuned to a transmission at 800 MHz and receives signals with Doppler frequencies ranging from 10 Hz
to 50 Hz when moving at a uniform speed of 80 km/h. What is the beamwidth of the mobile antenna?
Solution
Carrier frequency of transmission, fc = 800 MHz (given)
Doppler frequency 1, fd1 = 10 Hz (given)
Doppler frequency 2, fd2 = 50 Hz (given)
Speed of the mobile, Vm = 80 km/h (given)
Or, Vm = (80 × 103)/3600 = 22.222 m/s
We know that fd = (1/ λc) Vm cos θ
Or, cos θ = (λc × fd) / Vm
Step 1. To calculate the wavelength of the transmission signal, λc
λc = c / fc = (3 × 108 m/s) / (800 × 106 Hz ) = 0.375 m/s
 Mobile Communication Engineering 53

Step 2. To calculate θ1 at Doppler frequency

cos θ1 = (λc × fd1) / Vm
cos θ1 = (0.375 × 10) / 22.222 = 0.16875
Or, θ1 = cos–1(0.16875) = 80.285ο
Step 3. To calculate θ2 at Doppler frequency
cos θ2 = (λc × fd 2) / Vm
cos θ2 = (0.375 × 50) / 22.222 = 0.84376
Or, θ2 = cos-1(0.84376) = 32.461ο
Step 4. To calculate beamwidth of mobile antenna
Hence, beamwidth of mobile antenna = θ1 – θ2 = 47.824ο

It is possible to relate the time rate of change of the received signal to the signal level and velocity of
the mobile. The level crossing rate and average fade duration of a Rayleigh fading signal are two important
statistics which are useful for designing error control codes and diversity schemes to be used in mobile com-
munication systems.
The level-crossing rate is defined as the expected rate at which the Rayleigh fading envelope, normalised
to the local RMS signal level, crosses a specified threshold level in a positive-going direction. The average
number of level crossings per second at a specified level L is given by
e−ρ
2

NL = 2.5 fdm ρ e−ρ

2
(2.11)
where fdm is the maximum Doppler frequency given by Vm / λc.
ρ is the value of the specified level L, normalised to the local rms amplitude of the fading envelope, that
is, L/Lrms.
NL = 2.5 (Vm / λc) ρ e−ρ
2
Or, (2.12)
Thus, the level-crossing rate is a function of the mobile speed Vm. There are few crossings at both high and
low levels, with the maximum rate occurring at ρ = 0.707 (that is, at a level of 3 dB below the rms level).

EXAMPLE 2.8 Doppler frequency in a Rayleigh fading channel

Consider a Rayleigh fading signal experiencing a maximum Doppler frequency of 20 Hz. The carrier frequency is 900 MHz.
Compute
(a) the positive-going level-crossing rate for ρ = 1
(b) maximum velocity of the mobile for the given Doppler frequency
Solution
Carrier frequency of transmission, fc = 900 MHz (given)
Maximum Doppler frequency, fdm = 20 Hz (given)
(a) To compute the positive-going level crossing rate, NL
Step 1. Normalized specified level, ρ = 1 (given)
Average number of level crossings per second at a specified level is given by:
NL = 2.5 fdm ρ e– ρ2
Therefore, NL = 2.5 × 20 × 1 × e– 1 = 18.39 crossings per second
(b) To compute maximum velocity of the mobile, Vm
Step 2. We know that fdm = Vm / λc
Or, Vm = fdm × λc = fdm × c / fc
54 Wireless Communications

where c = 3 × 108 m/s

Therefore, Vm = (20 Hz × 3 × 108 m/s) / (900 × 106 Hz)
Hence, Vm = 6.67 m/s or 24 km/h

From the Doppler spread, it is possible to obtain the fade rate as well as the fade duration for a given mobile
velocity. Fade rate is defined as the number of times that the signal envelope crosses the threshold value in a
positive-going direction per unit time. Usually, the fade rate is related to the carrier wavelength λc, the velocity
of the mobile user Vm, and the number of multipaths. The average fade rate is given by 2 Vm / λc, that is,
average fade rate = 2 Vm / λc (2.13)
The average fade duration is defined as the average period of time for which the received signal is below a
specified level L. Fade duration is defined for which the signal is below a given threshold value. It is a random
variable and usually, average fade duration is used. For a Rayleigh fading signal, the average fade duration as
a function of ρ and fdm can be expressed as
2
Average fade duration = 0.4 ( e ρ – 1) / ( fdm ρ) (2.14)
where ρ is the value of the specified level L, normalised to the local rms amplitude of the fading envelope,
that is, L/Lrms, and fdm is the maximum Doppler frequency given by Vm / λc.
There is a fade margin built into the link budget of the mobile communication system. The average fade dura-
tion of a received signal enables one to determine the most likely number of signaling bits that may be lost during
a fade. It primarily depends upon the speed of the mobile, and decreases as the maximum Doppler frequency
becomes large. It is appropriate to evaluate the receiver performance by determining the rate at which the input
received signal falls below a given level L, and on the average how long it remains below the level. Similarly,
depth of fading is defined as the ratio between the mean square value and the minimum value of the fading
signal. It is also a random variable and usually, the average depth of fading is used. This is useful for establishing
the relationship between the signal-to-noise ratio during a fade to the instantaneous available BER.

EXAMPLE 2.9 Fade duration

Assume that a bit error occurs whenever any portion of a bit encounters a fade for which ρ < 0.1. For a given maximum
Doppler frequency of 20 Hz,
(a) What is the average fade duration for threshold levels ρ = 0.01, ρ = 0.1, ρ = 0.707, and ρ = 1?
(b) For a binary digital modulation with a data rate of 50 bps, is the Rayleigh fading slow or fast corresponding to
ρ = 0.707?
(c) What is the average number of bit errors per second for the given data rate of 50 bps?
Solution
Maximum Doppler frequency, fdm = 20 Hz (given)
It is given that a bit error occurs whenever any portion of a bit encounters a fade for which ρ < 0.1.
(a) To compute the average fade duration for ρ = 0.01, 0.1, 0.707, and 1
2
We know that average fade duration, = 0.4 ( eρ – 1) / ( fdm ρ)
Step 1. For fdm = 20 Hz, ρ = 0.01;
= 0.4 (e0.0001 1) / (20 Hz × 0.01) = 199 s
Step 2. For fdm = 20 Hz, ρ = 0.1;
= 0.4 (e0.01 1) / (20 Hz × 0.1) = 2 ms
Step 3. For fdm = 20 Hz, ρ = 0.707;
= 0.4 (e0.5 1) / (20 Hz × 0.707) = 18 ms
 Mobile Communication Engineering 55

Step 4. For fdm = 20 Hz, ρ = 1;

= 0.4 (e1 1) / (20 Hz × 1) = 34 ms
(b) To determine slow or fast Rayleigh fading corresponding to ρ = 0.707
Step 5. Data rate = 50 bps (given)
Bit period = 1/50 = 20 ms
Step 6. The average fade duration for ρ = 0.707, = 18 ms (as computed in Step 3 above)
It is observed that the given bit period of 20 ms exceeds the average fade duration of 18 ms.
Hence, the signal with a binary digital modulation @ 50 bps data rate undergoes fast Rayleigh fading.
(c) To determine the average number of bit errors per second
Step 7. Since it is given that a bit error occurs whenever any portion of a bit encounters a fade for which ρ < 0.1, the aver-
age fade duration corresponding to ρ = 0.1 is computed to be 2 ms as in Step 2 above. This is less than the duration of one
bit period, that is, 20 ms for a given data rate of 50 bps, as calculated in Step 5 above.
Therefore, only one bit will be lost during a fade.
Step 8. The average number of level crossings per second for ρ = 0.1 can be computed using the relationship
NL = 2.5 fdm ρ e ρ2
Or, NL = 2.5 × 20 Hz × 0.1 × e− 0.01
Hence, NL = 4.95 crossings per second
Step 9. A bit error is assumed to occur whenever a portion of a bit encounters a fade. Since the average fade duration of
2 ms spans only a fraction of a bit duration of 20 ms, the total number of bits in error is same as average number of level
crossings per second or 4.95, that is, approximately 5 bits per second.
Step 10. Bit-Error-rate (BER) is defined as the number of bits in error in one second divided by the total number of bits
transmitted in one second (that is, a data rate of 50 bps).
Therefore, average bit-error-rate = 5 bps /50 bps = 0.1

2.5.6 Coherence Bandwidth

The coherence bandwidth is a statistical measure of the range of frequencies over which the channel can be
considered flat. A flat channel is one which passes all spectral components with approximately equal gain and
linear phase and without any distortion. The coherence bandwidth Bc represents the correlation between two
fading signal envelopes at frequencies f1 and f2 and is a function of the delay spread d.
When the correlation coefficient between two fading signal envelopes at frequencies f1 and f2 is equal to
0.5, the coherence bandwidth Bc is approximated by:
Bc ≈ 1 / (2 π d) (2.15)
where d is the delay spread.
Two frequencies that are larger than the coherence bandwidth fade independently. This concept is also
useful for diversity reception, wherein multiple copies of the same signal are received.
The coherence bandwidth for two fading amplitudes of two received signals is given as
Δf = ⏐ f1 f2 ⏐ > Bc = 1 / (2 π d) (2.16)
The coherence bandwidth for two random phases of two received signals is given as
Δf = ⏐ f1 f2 ⏐ > E Bc = 1 / (4 π d) (2.17)
where E Bc is the average value of the coherence bandwidth Bc.
If the bandwidth of the transmitted signal is larger than the channel coherence bandwidth, a part of the
transmitted signal is truncated, which means nonlinearity is present and the signal could be severely influenced
56 Wireless Communications

by frequency-selective fading. If the bandwidth of the transmitted signal is smaller than the channel coherence
bandwidth, only the gain and phase of the signal are changed, which means nonlinear transformation could
not occur.
It is possible to support data rates that are less than the coherence bandwidth of the channel that is approxi-
mately 1 / (5 d(rms)).

2.5.7 Coherence Time

Coherence time is the time duration over which two received signals have a strong potential for amplitude
correlation. In other words, coherence time c is inversely proportional to the Doppler spread. It is used to
characterise the time-varying nature of the frequency dispersiveness of the channel in the time domain. If the
reciprocal bandwidth of the baseband signal is greater than the coherence time of the channel then the chan-
nel will change during the transmission of the baseband signal, thus causing distortion at the receiver.
If the coherence time is defined as the time over which the time correlation function is above 0.5, then the
coherence time is approximately given by
c ≈ 0.423 / fdm (2.18)
where fdm is the maximum Doppler shift given by Vm / λc.
It implies that two signals arriving with a time separation greater than c are affected differently by the
channel. It is recommended that the symbol rate must exceed 1/ c in order to avoid distortion in a digital
transmission system.

EXAMPLE 2.10 Symbol rate determination

Consider that a mobile subscriber traveling at a uniform velocity of 96 kmph receive digital data from a wireless
communication system operating at 900 MHz carrier frequency. What should be the symbol rate so as to receive
distortionless transmission?
Solution
Velocity of the mobile, Vm = 96 km/h or 26.67 m/s (given)
Frequency of operation, fc = 900 MHz (given)
Step 1. To determine wavelength of the signal, λc
Wavelength of signal, λc = c/fc
Therefore, λc = (3 × 108 m/s) / (900 × 106 Hz) = 0.33 m
Step 2. To determine maximum Doppler frequency, fdm
Maximum Doppler frequency, fdm = Vm / λc
Therefore, fdm = 26.67 m/s / 0.33 m = 80.79 Hz
Step 3. To determine coherence time, Tc
Coherence time, c ≈ 0.423 / fdm
c ≈ 0.423 / 80.79 Hz = 5.23 ms
Step 4. To determine the symbol rate
The symbol rate to receive distortionless transmission is given by = 1/ c
Hence, the symbol rate = 1 / 5.23 ms = 191 bps
Hence, the symbol rate must exceed 191 bps in order to receive distortionless transmission due to occur-
rence of frequency dispersion. The channel will not cause distortion due to vehicle mobility. However,
distortion still could result from multipath time-delay spread, depending on the channel impulse response.
 Mobile Communication Engineering 57

EXAMPLE 2.11 Correlated fading

What does a small delay spread indicate about the characteristics of a fading channel? If the delay spread is 1 microsecond,
will the two different frequencies that are 1 MHz apart, experience correlated fading?
Solution
The delay spread determines to what extent the channel fading at two different frequencies f1 and f2 are
correlated. A small delay spread indicates that smearing or spreading out effect is less. A small delay spread
indicates larger coherence bandwidth and hence correlated fading.
Delay spread, d = 1 μs (given)
Difference in frequency, Δf = ⏐ f1 f2 ⏐ = 1 MHz (given)
Step 1. To determine the coherence bandwidth, Bc
Coherence bandwidth, Bc = 1 / (2 π d)
Bc = 1 / (2 π × 1 × 10 6) = 159.15 kHz
Step 2. To determine the relationship between Δf and Bc
Since Δf = 1 MHz (given), and Bc = 159.15 kHz (as calculated in Step 1)
Therefore, Δf Bc
Hence, correlated fading will not be experienced.

2.6 SIMULATION OF WIRELESS FADING CHANNELS

From the technical point of view, one of the major distinctions between the wireline and wireless communica-
tion lies in the physical properties of wireless channels such as signal propagation losses, multipath, fading,
ambient noise, interference, and antenna characteristics. Simulation is an important tool used by engineers
to design and implement advanced wireless communication systems that deliver optimum performance.
Simulating a wireless communication system involves modeling a mobile radio channel based on mathemati-
cal descriptions of the channel. Different transmission media have different properties and are modeled dif-
ferently. In the performance analysis of a wireless communication system, the ideal Additive White Gaussian
Noise (AWGN) channel, with statistically independent Gaussian noise samples corrupting data samples, is
the usual starting point for developing basic performance result.
Mobile radio channels introduce noise, fading, interference,
and other distortions into the signals that they transmit. Fading Facts to Know !
describes the rapid fluctuations of the amplitudes, phases, or Even when a mobile receiver is
multipath delays of a radio signal over a short period of time stationary, the received signal
or travel distance so that large-scale path loss effects may be may fade due to movement
ignored. Fading is caused by interference between two or more of surrounding objects in the
versions of the transmitted signal that arrive at the receiver radio channel.
at slightly different times. These multipath waves combine at
the receiver antenna vectorially to produce a resultant signal,
Facts to Know !
which can vary widely in amplitude and phase, depending on
the distribution of the signal strength and relative propaga- Multipath fading is described
tion time of the waves and the bandwidth of the transmitted by its envelope fading (non
signal. frequency-selective amplitude
distribution), Doppler’s spread,
In designing a mobile communication system, it is required
and time-delay spread. These signals cause
to estimate the effects of multipath fading on the wireless frequency selective fades.
channel. The simplest channel model is the Additive White