Evolution of Wireless Communication Systems 7

Some wireless technologies can provide added levels of security with authorisation features prior to gaining
access to the network. Network administrators can also limit access for approved wireless devices only. As fur-
ther protection, data transmitted between the wireless device and the access point can also be encrypted in such
a way that only the intended recipient can decode the message.
Health Hazards High power levels of RF energy can pro- Facts to Know !
duce biological damage. However, it is not yet established
accurately as to how much levels of RF can cause adverse Questions exist regarding the
safety of handheld cellular
health effects. But continuous radiations even at lower levels
phones, the kind with a built-
can be harmful to sensitive body organs. Radio transmitters in in antenna that is positioned
wireless communications devices emit radio frequency (RF) very close to the user’s head during normal
energy. Typically, these wireless devices emit low levels of RF conversation.
while being used. Although some research has been done to
address these issues, no clear facts of the biological effects of this type of radiations have emerged to date.
The safety of cordless phones, which have a base unit connected to the telephone wiring in a house and
which operate at far lower power levels and frequencies, has never been questioned. It is always wise to be
aware of the health concerns and to monitor ongoing scientific research, even though the available science
does not conclude either way about the safety of wireless mobile devices.

1.4 WIRELESS NETWORK GENERATIONS

The cellular systems have been classified into three distinct evolution of generations: The first-generation
(1G) analog cellular communication systems are voice-oriented analog cellular systems using frequency
division multiple access technique. The first-generation systems used large cells and omni-directional anten-
nas in the 800-MHz band. The AMPS and ETACS systems use a seven-cell reuse pattern with provisions for
cell-sectoring and cell-splitting to increase capacity when needed. These systems provide satisfactory voice
communication on the move with limited traffic-handling capacity.

1.4.1 First-Generation Analog Cellular Systems

The first-generation cellular systems are based on analog transmission technology. The most popular first-
generation cellular systems are AMPS (widely deployed in most parts of US, South America, Australia,
China), and ETACS (deployed throughout Europe). The systems transmit speech signals employing FM, and
important control information is transmitted in digital form using FSK. The entire service area is divided into
logical cells, and each cell is allocated one specific band in the frequency spectrum. To explore a frequency
reuse pattern, the frequency spectrum is divided among seven cells, improving the voice quality as each sub-
scriber is given a larger bandwidth.
AMPS and ETACS cellular radio systems deploy cell-sites with tall towers that support several receiving
antennas and have transmitting antennas that typically radiate a few hundred watts of effective radiated power.
Each cell-site has one control channel transmitter that broadcasts on the forward control channel, one control
channel receiver that listens on the reverse control channel for any mobile phone to set-up a call, and eight or more
FM duplex voice channels.
Facts to Know !
Table 1.1 shows the worldwide 1G analog cellular systems.
All these systems use two separate frequency bands for for- The channel bandwidth in
ward (from cell-site to mobile) and reverse (from mobile to AMPS is 30 kHz in an 800-MHz
cell-site) links. Such a system is referred to as a frequency spectrum whereas the chan-
nel bandwidth in ETACS is
division duplex ( DD) scheme. The typical allocated overall
30 kHz in a 900-MHz spectrum.
band in each direction, for example, for AMPS, and NMT-900,
8 Wireless Communications

is 25 MHz in each direction. The dominant spectra of operation for these systems are the 800-and 900-MHz
bands. In an ideal situation, all countries should use the same standard and the same frequency bands. However,
in practice, as shown in Table 1.1, a variety of frequencies and standards are adopted all over the world.

Table 1.1 Existing 1G analog cellular systems

Standard orward Reverse Channel Number of Multiple Major region

frequency frequency spacing (kHz) channels access/ of operation
band (MHz) band (MHz) Modulation
technique

AMPS 824–849 869–894 30 832 FDMA/FM US

ETACS 872–905 917–950 25 1240 FDMA/FM UK
NMT 900 890–915 935–960 12.5 1999 FDMA/FM EU
JTACS/ 915–925 860–870 25/12.5 400/800 FDMA/FM Japan
NTACS 898–901 843–846 25/12.5 120/240
918.5–922 863.5–867 12.5 280

AMPS Advanced Mobile Phone System

ETACS Enhanced Total Access Communication System
NMT Nordic Mobile Telephone
JTACS Japanese Total Access Communication System; NTACS: Narrowband JTACS

All the 1G cellular systems use analog frequency modulation (FM) for which the transmission power
requirement depends on the transmission bandwidth. On the other hand, power is also related to the coverage
and size of the cells. Therefore, one can compensate for the reduction in transmission bandwidth per sub-
scriber by reducing the size of a cell in a cellular network. Reduction in size of the cell increases the number
of cells and the cost of installation of the infrastructure. The channel spacing, or bandwidth, allocated to each
subscriber is either 30 kHz or 25 kHz or a fraction of either of them.

1.4.2 Second-Generation Digital Cellular Systems

First-generation analog cellular systems were followed by second-generation digital cellular systems. The second-
generation (2G) cellular systems represent the set of wireless air interface standards that rely on digital modula-
tion and sophisticated digital signal processing in the handset and the base station. Digital cellular technologies
support a much larger number of mobile subscribers within a given frequency allocation, thereby offering higher
user capacity, providing superior security and voice quality, and lay the foundation for value-added services
(including data) that will continue to be developed and enhanced in future. To have efficient use of the frequency
spectrum, time division or code-division multiple access technique is used in 2G digital cellular systems so that
low-rate data along with voice can be processed. Table 1.2 summarises the major 2G digital cellular standards.
There are four major standards in this category: the North American Interim Standard (IS-54) that later on
improved into IS-136; GSM, the pan-European digital cellular; and Personal digital cellular (PDC) — all of
them using TDMA technology; and IS-95 in North America, which uses CDMA technology. Like the 1G analog
cellular systems, the 2G digital cellular systems are all FDD and mostly operate in the 800- and 900-MHz bands.
The carrier spacing of IS-54/136 and PDC is the same as the carrier spacing of 1G analog cellular systems in
their respective regions, but GSM and IS-95 use multiple analog channels to form one digital carrier.
The most popular 2G cellular standards include three TDMA standards and one CDMA standard. Interim
Standard 54 or 136 (IS-54 or IS-136), also known as US Digital Cellular (USDC), which supports three time-
slotted mobile subscribers for each 30-kHz radio channel in both the cellular 800 MHz and PCS 1900 MHz
 Evolution of Wireless Communication Systems 9

Table 1.2 2G digital cellular standards

Standard orward frequency Reverse frequency Multiple access Major region of

band (MHz) band (MHz) technique operation

IS-54/136 869–894 824–849 TDMA/FDD US

GSM 935–960 890–915 TDMA/FDD Europe/Asia
PDC 940–956 810–826 TDMA/FDD Japan
IS-95 869–894 824–849 CDMA/FDD US/Asia

bands. Based on the analog AMPS cellular system, the TDMA system IS-54/136 was developed in the US
that adds digital traffic channels. IS-54/136 uses dual-mode mobile phones and incorporates associated con-
trol channels, authentication procedures using encryption, and mobile assisted handoff. The IS-136 includes
digital control channels which enable to provide several additional services such as identification, voice mail,
SMS, call waiting, group calling, etc. The USDC systems share the same frequency spectrum, frequency
reuse plan, and cell-sites as that of AMPS.
Global System for Mobile (GSM), which Facts to Know !
supports eight time slotted mobile subscribers Three primary benefits of 2G cellular net-
for each 200-kHz radio channel in both the cel- works over their predecessors are that phone
lular and PCS bands; and Pacific Digital Cellular conversations are digitally encrypted, 2G sys-
(PDC), a Japanese TDMA standard that is similar tems are significantly more efficient on the
to IS-136, are the other two most popular TDMA- spectrum allowing for far greater mobile phone penetra-
based digital cellular standards. The popular 2G tion levels; and 2G introduced data services for mobile,
CDMA standard (IS-95), also known as cdmaOne, starting with SMS text messages.
can support up to 64 mobile subscribers that are
orthogonally coded and simultaneously transmitted on each 1.25 MHz channel.
The speech-coding technique of all 2G systems operates at about 10 kbps. It is assumed that large cell
sizes and a large number of subscribers per cell are available, which necessitates lower speech-coding rates.
The peak transmission power of the mobile terminals can be between several hundreds of mW up to 1W, and
on the average they consume about 100 mW. All of these systems employ centralised power control, which
reduces battery power consumption and helps in controlling the interference level. In digital communications,
information is transmitted in packets or frames. The duration of a packet/frame in the air should be short
enough, so that the channel does not change significantly during the transmission, and long enough, so that
the required time interval between packets is much smaller than the length of the packet. A frame length of
around 5 to 40 ms is typically used in 2G cellular networks.
GSM supports eight users in a 200-kHz band; IS-54 and JDC support three users in 30 and 25-kHz
bands, respectively. In other words, GSM uses 25 kHz for each user, IS-54 uses 10 kHz per user, and JDC
uses 8.33 kHz per user. Therefore, GSM supports 2.5 times less number of subscribers in the given band-
width. The number of users for CDMA depends on the acceptable quality of service; therefore, the number
of users in the 1,250 kHz CDMA channels cannot be theoretically fixed. But this number is large enough
to convince the standards organisation to adopt CDMA technology for next-generation 3G systems.

1.4.3 Evolution from 2G to 3G Cellular Networks

There are two steps of 3G evolution paths from present 2G technologies based on GSM and IS-95 CDMA
respectively. An evolution path from second generation digital cellular GSM network to third generation
network is depicted in Fig. 1.1.
10 Wireless Communications

v l i n
M

384 – 2048 kbps

P

384 kbps
P

9.6 – 53.6 kbps

M
M 9.6 – 28.8 kbps P se

9.6 kbps 144 – 384 kbps

r e

Fig. 1.1 An evolution path from GSM to 3G network

GSM is an open, digital cellular technology which supports voice calls and data transfer speeds of up to
9.6 kbps, together with the transmission of SMS (Short Message Service). GSM operates in the 900 MHz and
1.8 GHz bands in Europe and the 850 MHz and 1.9 GHz bands in the US. GSM provides international roam-
ing capability that enables users to access the seamless services
Facts to Know ! when travelling abroad. HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched
Data) enables data to be transferred more rapidly than the stan-
The range of GSM and CDMA
dard GSM system by using multiple channels. GPRS is a very
technology is different, and
they also have different rates widely deployed wireless data service, available now with most
and modulation schemes, GSM networks. GPRS offers throughput rates of up to 53.6 kbps,
and that is why handsets are different so that users have a similar access speed to a dial-up modem,
between the two technologies. GSM uses but with the convenience of being able to connect from almost
SIM cards, whereas CDMA based phones anywhere. Further enhancements to GSM networks are provided
do not by Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology
or EGPRS, which offers up to three times the data capacity of
GPRS. Various mobile data services such as multimedia messaging, high-speed Internet access and e-mail are
possible on the move. EDGE allows it to be overlaid directly onto an existing GSM network with simple soft-
ware-upgrade. WCDMA is the air interface for third-generation mobile communications systems. It enables
the continued support of voice, text and MMS services in addition to richer mobile multimedia services.
UMTS offers data speeds up to 384 kbps on the move and 2.048 Mbps stationary. Chapters 11 and 13 gives
detailed descriptions of GSM based cellular technologies.
Besides GSM, CDMA is the most popular mobile communication standard. The initial evolution of CDMA
started in 1991 as IS-95A cdmaOne 2G digital cellular technology for voice communication as well as data
and multimedia services because it could allow multiple users to communicate within the spectrum, avoid-
ing interference or jamming among users. Code division ensures that each user’s signal remains separate in
the spectrum. An evolution path from second generation digital cellular CDMA networks to third generation
networks is depicted in Fig. 1.2.
 Evolution of Wireless Communication Systems 11

v l i n
M 2000
M 3x

M 2000 14.4 kbps – 2 Mbps

M 1x

14.4 – 307 kbps

5

14.4 – 144 kbps

5

14.4 kbps

r e

Fig.1.2 An evolution path from CDMA to 3G network

IS-95A describes the structure of the wideband 1.25 MHz CDMA channels, power control, call process-
ing, hand-offs, and registration techniques for system operation. In addition to voice services, many IS-95A
operators provide circuit-switched data connections at 14.4 kbps. The IS-95B or cdmaOne, categorised as a
2.5G technology, defines a compatibility standard for 1.8 to 2.0 GHz CDMA PCS systems, offers up to 144
kbps packet-switched data, in addition to voice services. CDMA2000 Multi-Carrier (MC) delivers improved
system capacity and spectrum efficiency over 2G systems and it supports data services at minimum transmis-
sion rates of 144 kbps in mobile (outdoor) and 2 Mbps in fixed (indoor) environments. Chapters 12 and 13
gives the detailed description of CDMA-based cellular technologies.

1.4.4 Third-Generation Digital Cellular Systems

The fundamental purpose of the 3G mobile communications system is to provide a globally integrated wire-
less communication system combining different incompatible network technologies already deployed across
the world. All 2G and 2.5G cellular communications systems and mobile phones will eventually evolve
towards a global standard, which is referred to IMT-2000. While no one common standard for the air interface
has been approved, the number of different standard specifications includes one FDMA standard, one TDMA
standard, and one CDMA standard with three variations. The IMT-2000 system incorporates three variations
of CDMA. The modes differ in how duplexing is accomplished and how many carriers are used. All varia-
tions operate in a 5-MHz channel, as compared to 1.25 MHz for cdmaOne systems. Figure 1.3 illustrates how
these different standards are evolved into one standard IMT-2000.
The need for a capacity increase necessitates a greater spectrum allocation (1885 MHz–2025 MHz and
2110 MHz–2200 MHz) for 3G systems. The key features of the IMT-2000 system defining the ITU’s view of
3G cellular network capabilities are as follows:
(a) High degree of worldwide commonality of design
(b) Compatibility of services with fixed networks and within IMT-2000
(c) More efficient use of the available spectrum
(d) Voice quality comparable to that of PSTN
12 Wireless Communications

13 M dm 2000
M
M M M M
M

M M M M
ime de ire s re d M l i rrier

M M
re en ime in le rrier M 3 m des
M / M M

M 2000

Fig. 1.3 Evolution of IMT-2000 standards

(e) 144–kbps data rate available to users in high-speed vehicles over large areas
(f) 384 kbps available to pedestrians standing or moving slowly over small areas
(g) Support for 2-Mbps data rate for office use
(h) Symmetrical and asymmetrical data-transmission rates
(i) Support for both circuit-switched and packet-switched data services
(j) Support for wide variety of mobile phones for worldwide use including pico, micro, macro, and global
cellular/satellite cells
(k) Worldwide roaming capability
(l) Capability for multimedia applications and a wide range of services
(i) Flexibility to allow the introduction of new services and technologies

The third generation aims to combine telephony,

Internet, and multimedia into a single device. A
ele n
convergence of all these applications in IMT-2000
i e
ide is depicted in Fig. 1.4. This entails an additional
x requirement that it supports the Internet protocols and
M il x be based on a packet-switched network backbone.
n erne
To achieve the convergence of various services,
e s r in IMT-2000 systems have been designed with six broad
m il Convergence classes of service in mind. Cellular service providers
n rm i n IMT-2000
will be able to offer whatever data rates the mobile
M mmer e
users want up to a maximum 2 Mbps or so, and the
M l imedi mobile users will also have flexibility to choose the
elevisi n required data-rate service. Three of the service classes
di are already present on 2G networks to some extent,
n inmen
i n servi es while three more service classes are new and involve
mobile multimedia. In order of increasing data rate
requirements, these services are the following:
(a) Voice 3G systems will offer speech quality at least
Fig. 1.4 Convergence of services in IMT-2000 as good as the fixed telephone network. Voicemail will
 Evolution of Wireless Communication Systems 13

also be eventually integrated fully with email service through computerised voice recognition and synthesis
techniques.
(b) Switched data This includes dial-up access to corporate networks or fax service or the Internet access
that doesn’t support a fully packet-switched network.
(c) Messaging This is an extension of paging, combined with Internet e-mail service. Unlike the text-only
messaging services built into some 2G systems, 3G systems will allow e-mail attachments. It can also be used
for payment and electronic ticketing.
(d) Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) The MMS is designed to allow rich text, colour, icons and logos,
sound clips, photographs, animated graphics, and video clips. It works over the broadband wireless channels
in 3G networks.
(e) Immediate messaging MMS features push capability that enables the message to be delivered instantly if
the called mobile user is active. It avoids the need for collection from the server. This always-on characteristic
of the mobile users opens up the exciting possibility of multimedia chat in real time.
(f) Medium multimedia This is likely to be the most popular 3G service. Its downstream data rate is ideal for
web surfing, games, location-based maps, and collaborative group working.
(g) High multimedia This can be used for very high-speed Internet access, as well as for high-definition
video and CD-quality audio on demand. Another possible application is online shopping for intangible prod-
ucts that can be delivered over the air such as a software program for a mobile computer.
(h) Interactive high multimediaThis can be used for high-quality videophones, videoconferencing or a com-
bination of videoconferencing and collaborative working.
(i) Sending multimedia postcards A clip of a holiday video could be captured through the integral video cam
of a user’s mobile handset or uploaded via Bluetooth from a standard camcorder, then combined with voice
or text messages and mailed instantly to any other mobile user.

1.4.5 Wireless Networking Technologies

The use of radio signals for data transmission during World War II by the US Army inspired a group of
researchers in 1971 at the University of Hawaii to create the first packet-based radio communications network
called ALOHAnet, the very first wireless local area network (WLAN). It consisted of 7 computers that com-
municated in a bi-directional star topology. The first generation of WLAN technology used an unlicensed
ISM band of 902–928 MHz. To minimise the interference from small appliances and industrial machinery, a
spread spectrum was used which operated at a 500-kbps data rate. In 1990, the IEEE 802 Executive Committee
established the 802.11 Working Group to create the WLAN standard. The standard specified an operating
frequency in the 2.4-GHz ISM band. In 1997, the group approved IEEE 802.11 as the world’s first WLAN
standard with data rates of 1 and 2 Mbps. Like cellphones, wireless-equipped laptops within range of a given
access point have the ability to communicate with the network.
A single access point can communicate with multiple wireless- Facts to Know !
equipped laptops. Many systems allow roaming between access The challenge for future
points. Despite their limited range (up to 100 m) and lower WLANs is to support many
data rates (as compared to 1 Gbps offered by wired Ethernets), users simultaneously with
WLANs have become the preferred Internet access method for extended range for band-
e-mail and Web browsing applications, in many offices, homes, width-intensive applications such as
video.
campus environments, and public places.
14 Wireless Communications

A wireless personal area network (WPAN), such as Bluetooth IEEE 802.15.1, enables wireless com-
munication between devices, ranging from computers and cell phones to keyboards and headphones, and
operates in ISM 2.4 GHz band. WiMAX (WMAN based on the IEEE 802.16 family of standards) will soon
offer wireless broadband Internet access to residences and businesses at relatively low cost.

1.5 COMPARISON OF WIRELESS SYSTEMS

Wireless communication systems primarily comprise of a fixed-base transceiver station and a number of
fixed/mobile subscriber transceiver equipments. The base station as well as the mobile subscriber of vari-
ous types of mobile or portable wireless communication systems can be compared for the types of ser-
vices, functionality (Transmitter Tx only or Receiver Rx only or Transceiver), operating carrier frequency
range, the level of infrastructure needed, configuration complexity, hardware cost, and radio coverage
range. Table 1.3 gives a brief account of the comparison of three most commonly used household wireless
communication systems, that is, paging systems, cordless phone systems, and cellular telephone systems.
The details of all these systems are covered in Chapter 10.

Table 1.3 Comparison of wireless communication systems

Service type unctionality Operating Level of Complexity Hardware cost Range

frequency infrastructure

Paging BS: Tx only < 1 GHz High BS: High BS: High High
system MS: Rx only MS: Low MS: Low
Cordless Transceivers 1–3 GHz Low BS: Low BS: Medium Low
phone system MS: Medium MS: Low
Cellular Transceivers < 2 GHz High High BS: High High
phone system MS: Medium

Virtually, all these wireless communication systems aim to connect a mobile subscriber (vehicle-installed
or handheld or portable) to a fixed wireless base transceiver system having antennas mounted at reasonably
high towers. The user expectations vary widely among the type of services needed. The infrastructure costs
are dependent upon the required coverage area. The radio link between the cordless phone base station and
the portable cordless handset is designed to behave identically to the coiled cord connecting a traditional
wired telephone handset to the telephone base. For example, cordless telephones use fixed base stations so
that they may be plugged into the existing standard telephone line.
Similarly, in case of low power, hand-held cellular phones, a large number of cell sites are required to
ensure that any mobile phone is in close range to a cell site within its service area. If cell sites area is
not within the radio coverage range, a high transmitter
Facts to Know ! power would be required at the mobile phone which is
The cellular systems have been evolved limited by the battery life.
from the first generation of analog Table 1.4 summarises the most common cellular
cellular systems standards through systems standards used in North America, Europe, and
second-generation digital cellular stan- Japan. The details of AMPS, ETACS, USDC-IS 54/136,
dards, followed by more advanced third-generation GSM, PDC, and IS-95 cellular systems are covered in
digital cellular standards providing multiple user Chapters 10–12.
services including voice, high-speed data and mul- The first-generation analog cellular systems use
timedia applications.
frequency modulation scheme for speech transmission.
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
Cellular communication is designed to
enhance the spectrum efficiency as well
4
as the system capacity while maintain-
ing the desired signal quality. The main
principle of cellular communication is to
divide a large geographical area into a
number of contiguous smaller geograph-
Principles
ical coverage areas called cells, each one
of which is served by its own cell-site or
low-power base station located at its
of Cellular
centre. Cells constitute the design of the
heart of cellular systems. The focus in this
chapter is to understand the essential
principles of cellular communication, and
Communication
the formation of regular hexagonal cel-
lular structures with multiple clusters. The
most serious concern due to frequency
reuse is cochannel interference which may 4.1 CELLULAR TERMINOLOGY
degrade the performance of a cellular
system operation. Finally, a brief overview A cell is the basic geographic unit of a cellular system. A cell
of various methods employed to reduce is the radio area covered by a cell-site that is located at its
cochannel interference is also given. centre. In other words, the radio coverage by one base sta-
tion or a cell-site is referred to as a cell, which is also called
a footprint. In a cellular system, the most important factor is
the size and shape of a cell. Because of constraints imposed
by natural irregular terrain, man-made structures, and non-
uniform population densities, the actual shape of the cell
may not be either a circle or a regular geometrical shape but
may be a little distorted. For proper analysis and evaluation
of a cellular system, an appropriate model of a cell shape is
needed. Figure 4.1 depicts ideal cell, actual cell and possible
cell models such as equilateral triangle, square, and hexagon
that represent a cell boundary with a radius R from the centre
of the cell.

R
R R

R
R
de l ell l ell i ii s ell m dels

Fig. 4.1 Ideal, actual and fictitious cell models

100 Wireless Communications

The actual shape of the cell is determined by the desired received signal level by the mobile subscribers
from its base-station transmitter in its operating area. The received signal is affected by many factors includ-
ing reflections, refractions, and contour of the terrain as well as multipath propagation due to presence of
natural and man-made structures.
A cell is not a perfect polygon. So real footprints are vague in nature. On the other hand, cellular layouts using
irregular structures limit growth and are also inefficient. For this reason, cellular layouts and performance stud-
ies are based on regular topologies as they allow the systematic growth though they may be just conceptual.
The base station, also called Cell-Site (CS), located
approximately at its centre, serves all mobile users in the
de l ell cell. Figure 4.2 illustrates an ideal cell area (circular), a
ir l r M hexagonal cell area (used in most models), and a square
cell area (an alternative shape) with a cell-site at its centre
ell and a number of mobile units (M) within the cell area.
i i i s ell
ex n l The shape of the cell can be circular around the
cell-site transmitting tower under ideal radio envi-
re s e M ronment. The periphery of the circle is equal to the
ell acceptable received signal level from the transmitting
signal. It means that if the cell-site is located at the
centre of the cell, the cell area and periphery are deter-
ell si e M ile M M ile M
mined by the signal strength within the region. This
depends on many factors, such as the height of the
Fig. 4.2 Illustration of a cell with a CS and Mobile
cell-site transmitting antenna; contour of the terrain;
presence of tall buildings, hills, valleys, vegetation; and atmospheric conditions. Therefore, the actual shape
of the cell may be a zigzag shape which indicates a true radio coverage area. However, for all practical pur-
poses, a regular hexagonal geometry shape approximates the cell boundary, which is a good approximation of
a circular region. However, the square is another alternative shape that can be used to represent the cell area.

4.2 CELL STRUCTURE AND CLUSTER

In practice, cells are of arbitrary shape which is quite close to a circle, is the ideal radiation pattern of an
omnidirectional antenna. Because of the randomness inherent nature of the mobile radio propagation and
irregular geographical terrain, it is easier to obtain insight and plan the cellular network by visualising all
the cells as having the same shape. By approximating a uniform cell size for all cells, it is easier to analyse
and design a cellular topology mathematically. It is highly desirable to construct the cellular system such that
the cells do not overlap, and are tightly packed without any dead signal spots. The cellular topology formed
by using ideal circular shape results into overlaps or gaps between them which is not desirable in cellular
communications which has to be essentially
continuous. This form of layout requires the use
of regular topologies (say, a hexagonal topology)
instead of a circular shape, as depicted in Fig. 4.3.
In Fig. 4.3, the middle dark circles represent
cell-sites. This is where the base-station radio
equipment and their antennas mounted on tall
towers are located. A cell-site gives radio signal
de l ir l r ex n l coverage to a cell. In other words, the cell-site is a
ell s r re ell s r re location or a point at the centre of the cell, whereas
Fig. 4.3 The ideal and regular hexagonal cell structure the cell is a wide geographical service area.
 Principles of Cellular Communication 101

The design and performance of cellular systems

using regular geometrical topologies may not
correspond to real mobile environments, but
these topologies do provide valuable information
and guidelines for structuring practical cellular
configuration layouts. Cells of the same shape form
a tessellation so that there are no ambiguous areas
that belong to multiple cells or to no cell. The cell
shape can be of only three types of regular polygons: ri n l r re ex n l
equilateral triangle, square, or regular hexagon as
Fig. 4.4 Illustration of possible geometrical
shown in Fig. 4.4.
cellular structures
A cellular structure based on a regular hexagonal
topology, though fictitious, offers best possible non-overlapped cell radio coverage. Traditionally, a regular
hexagonal-shaped cell is the closest approximation to a circle out of these three geometrical shapes and has
been used for cellular system design. In other words, for a given radius (largest possible distance between
the polygon centre and its edge), the hexagon has the largest area. Moreover, it allows a larger region to be
divided into nonoverlapping hexagonal subregions of equal size, with each one representing a cell area.
Octagons and decagons geometrical patterns do represent shapes closer to a circular area as compared to
hexagons, but they are not used to model a cell as it is not possible to divide a larger area into non-overlapping
subareas of the same size.
A mobile radio communication system is generally required to operate over areas too large to be economically
covered by a single cell-site. Therefore, several or many widely spaced transmitter sites are required to provide
total area coverage. The spacing between the base stations need not be regular and the cell or the area served by a
base station need not have any particular shape. However, the absence of an orderly geometrical structure makes
the system design more difficult and results in inefficient use of spectrum and uneconomical deployment of
equipment. The propagation considerations recommend the circle as a cell shape for defining the area covered by
a particular base station. This is impracticable for design purpose, since there could be areas which are contained
either in no cell or in multiple cells. On the other hand, any regular polygon can cover the service area with no
gaps or overlaps. The regular hexagonal shape results in the most economical system layout design.
In most modeling, simulation, measurements, and analy-
sis of interference in cellular systems, hexagons are used to Facts to Know !
represent the cell structure. A hexagon is closer to a circular Cells are always drawn as hexagons
area and multiple hexagons can be arranged next to each because it makes it simpler and
other, without having an overlapping area or uncovered easier to show adjacent cells with-
space in between. In other words, the hexagonal-shaped out any overlap. In reality, the cell
cells fit the planned area nicely, with no gap and no overlap shape is closer to a circle but it may be affected
among the adjacent hexagonal cells. Thus, it simplifies the by surrounding buildings and other geographic
features.
planning and design of a cellular system.

EXAMPLE 4.1 Significance of cellular topology

Consider a single high-power transmitter that can support 40 voice channels over an area of 140 km² with the available
spectrum. If this area is equally divided into seven smaller areas (cells), each supported by lower power transmitters so that
each cell supports 30% of the channels, then determine
(a) coverage area of each cell
(b) total number of voice channels available in cellular system
Comment on the results obtained.
102 Wireless Communications

Solution
Total service area to be covered = 140 km (given)
Total number of channels available = 40 (given)
Number of cells = 7 (given)
(a) To determine coverage area of each cell
Step 1. Coverage area of a cell = Total service area / Number of cells
Hence, coverage area of a cell = 140 km / 7 = 20 km
(b) To determine total number of voice channels available in the cellular system
Step 2. Number of voice channels per cell = 30% of original channels (given)
Number of voice channels per cell = 0.3 × 40 = 12 channels/cell
Total number of voice channels available in cellular system is given by the number of channels per cell
multiplied by the number of cells in the service area.
Hence, total number of voice channels = 12 × 7 = 84 channels
Comment on the results
• Thus, there is a significant increase in the number of available channels (84 channels as calculated above)
in a given cellular system as compared to a non-cellular system (40 channels as given).
• This means the system capacity is increased.
• However, care has to be taken in allocation of channels to various cells in such a way so as to prevent
interference between the channels of one cell and that of another cell.
• Adjacent cells should not be allocated the same channels, whereas cells located far apart can be allocated
the same channels using frequency reuse scheme.

A Cellular Cluster A group of cells that use a different set of frequencies in each cell is called a cellular
cluster. Thus, a cluster is a group of cells with no reuse of channels within it. It is worth mentioning here
that only a selected number of cells can form a cluster.
It follows certain rules before any cell can be repeated
at a different location.
Some common reuse cluster patterns are given in
Fig. 4.5.
1 ell 3 ells 4 ells 7 ells Two or more different cells can use the same set
of frequencies or channels if these cells are separated
in space such that the interference between cells at
any given frequency is at an acceptable level. That
means, the cluster can be repeated any number of
times in a systematic manner in order to cover the
designated large geographical service area. Let there
ells 12 ells 13 ells be K number of cells having a different set of frequen-
Fig. 4.5 Common reuse patterns of hexagonal cies in a cluster. Then K is termed as the cluster size
cell clusters in terms of the number of cells within it.

EXAMPLE 4.2 Number of clusters

Calculate the number of times the cluster of size 4 have to be replicated in order to approximately cover the entire service
area of 1765 km2 with the adequate number of uniform-sized cells of 7 km2 each.
Solution
Size of the cluster, K = 4 (given)
Area of a cell, Acell = 7 km2 (given)
 Principles of Cellular Communication 103

Step 1. To determine area of the cluster

Area of a cluster, Acluster = K × Acell
Therefore, Acluster = 4 × 7 km2 = 28 km2
Step 2. To determine number of clusters in the service area
Total service area, Asystem = 1765 km2 ( given)
Number of clusters in service area = Asystem / Acluster
Number of clusters in service area = 1765 km2 / 28 km2
Number of clusters in service area = 63
Hence, the number of times the cluster of size 4 has to be replicated is 63.

Each cell size varies depending on the landscape. Typical size of a cell may vary from a few 100 metres
in cities (or even less at higher frequencies) to several kilometres on the countryside. Smaller cells are used
when there is a requirement to support a large number of mobile users, in a small geographic region, or when
a low transmission power may be required to reduce the effects of interference. So typical uses of small cells
are in urban areas, low transmission power required,
Facts to Know !
or higher number of mobile users.
It is clear that if the cell area is increased, the The cell radius is mainly determined
number of channels per unit area is reduced for the by the cell-site transmitter power and
same number of channels and is good for less popu- cell-site antenna height; these two
parameters are decided by the system
lated areas, with fewer mobile users. Generally, large
design engineer. Therefore, it is his responsibility
cells are employed in remote areas, coastal regions,
to estimate how many radio channels (and hence
and areas with few mobile users, large areas that need system capacity) would be created through fre-
to be covered with minimum number of cell-sites. It quency reuse.
may also be noted that the cell area and the boundary
length are important parameters that affect the handoff from a cell to an adjacent cell. A practical solution for
optimum cell size is to keep the number of channels per unit area comparable to the number of mobile sub-
scribers to be served within that cell.

EXAMPLE 4.3 Cell size and system capacity

(a) Assume a cellular system of 32 cells with a cell radius of 1.6 km, a total spectrum allocation that supports 336 traffic
channels, and a reuse pattern of 7. Calculate the total service area covered with this configuration, the number of
channels per cell, and a total system capacity. Assume regular hexagonal cellular topology.
(b) Let the cell size be reduced to the extent that the same area as covered in Part (a) with 128 cells. Find the radius of the
new cell, and new system capacity.
Comment on the results obtained.
Solution
(a) To calculate total service area, number of channels per cell, and system capacity
Total number of cells in service area = 32 (given)
Radius of a cell, R = 1.6 km (given)
Step 1. To calculate area of a regular hexagonal cell
Area of a regular hexagonal cell, Acell = 3√3 / 2 × R2
Therefore, Acell = 3√3 / 2 × (1.6 km)2 = 6.65 km2
Step 2. To calculate total service area
Total service area covered = no. of cells in total area × Area of a cell
Hence, total service area covered = 32 × 6.65 = 213 km2
104 Wireless Communications

Step 3. To calculate number of channels per cell

Total number of available traffic channels = 336 (given)
Frequency reuse pattern (cluster size) = 7 (given)
Hence, number of channels per cell = 336/7 = 48
Step 4. To calculate total system capacity
Total system capacity = number of channels per cell × number of cells
Hence, total system capacity = 48 × 32 = 1536 channels
(b) Total number of available cells = 128 (given)
Total service area = 213 km2 (as calculated in Step 2)
Step 5. To determine area of new regular hexagonal cell
Area of a regular hexagonal cell = total service area / number of cells
= 213 km2 / 128 = 1.66 km2
Step 6. To find radius of new smaller cell, R
Area of a regular hexagonal cell = 3√3 / 2 × R2
But, 3√3 / 2 × R2 = 1.66 km2 (as calculated in Step 5)
Or, R = 0.8 km
Hence, radius of new smaller cell R = 0.8 km
Step 7. To find new system capacity
New system capacity = number of channels per cell × number of cells
New system capacity = 48 × 128
Hence, new system capacity = 6144 channels
Comment on the results It is observed that as the number of cells are increased from 32 to 128 to cover the
same service area (213 km2), the size of the cell (in terms of radius R) is decreased from 1.6 km to 0.8 km.
Keeping the identical number of channels (48) per cell, total system capacity is significantly increased from
1536 channels to 6144 channels. Hence, cell size is one of the major factors to determine the system capacity
for a given number of frequency channels allocated to serve the designated area.

4.3 FREQUENCY REUSE CONCEPT

What is the essence of cellular communication? As outlined previously, if a single base station serves
a wireless communication system, a high power transmitter is needed to support a large number of users.
Moreover, due to availability of limited RF spectrum, the maximum number of simultaneous users in this
system is also limited. If allocated RF spectrum or a given set of frequencies (frequency channels) can be
reused in a given large geographical service area without increasing the interference then the service area can
be divided into a number of small areas called cells, each allocated a subset of frequencies. With smaller area
coverage, lower power transmitters with lower height antennas can be used at a base station.
The conventional radio communication systems are faced with the problems of limited service area
capability and inefficient spectrum utilisation. This is because these systems are usually designed for pro-
viding service in an autonomous geographic zone and by selecting RF channels from a specified allocated
frequency band. Contrary to this, the present mobile radio communication system are designed for wide
area coverage and high grade of service. At the same time, the systems are required to provide continuous
communication through an effective usage of available spectrum. This dictates that the mobile radio network
design must satisfy the objective of providing continuous and wide service area coverage while optimally
using the RF spectrum.
 Principles of Cellular Communication 105

The increase in system capacity is achieved with the Facts to Know !

use of smaller cells, reuse of frequencies, and cell sector-
An n-cell frequency reuse scheme
ing. Frequency reuse is the core concept of the cellular
allows only 1/n of the total number
communications. The design process of selecting and allo-
of channels to be available in each
cating channel groups for all the cellular base stations within cell, which greatly increases the
a system is called frequency reuse. Thus, large coverage area, probability of blocking for a user trying to access
efficient spectrum utilisation and enhanced system capacity the system.
are the major attributes of cellular communication. However,
this requires proper system design and complex operation of the cellular mobile system working in a hostile
mobile propagation environment and system interference in order to ensure the desired service performance.
In a mobile radio network designed on the basis of frequency reuse concept, it must be ensured that the
service area is adequately protected from the cochannel and the adjacent-channel interference. The carrier-
to-interference ratio (C/I) requirements are considerably lower for digital systems as compared to analog
systems. It is seen that spectrum efficiency increases if the C/I value is lowered. This is due to the fact
that lowering the acceptable value of C/I reduces the frequency reuse distance and the reuse pattern. The
cochannel interference can be controlled by geographical separation whereas adjacent-channel interference
depends on the receiver filter characteristics and out-of-band transmission.
A regular geometrical hexagonal pattern results in
obtaining optimum area coverage and efficient spec- Facts to Know !
trum utilisation. The minimum value of cluster size The plan of dividing the large
provides optimum spectrum occupancy. However, in geographic service area into
actual design, due to physical limitations the location many small contiguous cells and
of base stations cannot follow the regular geometri- using a low-power transmitter
cal hexagonal pattern. The resultant location errors with low antenna as base station in each cell
distort the regular pattern, thereby causing serious is referred to as cellular communications.
interference problems.
Mobile users communicate only via the base
stations. Each cell is allocated a finite number of 7
Radio Frequency (RF) channels, depending upon the 2 7
number of simultaneous users required to be served. 1 2
This enables the cells that are located sufficiently 5 3 1
physically apart to reuse the same set of frequencies, 7 4 5 3
without causing cochannel interference. However, 2 7 4
each adjacent cell within a cluster operates on differ- 1 2 7
ent frequencies to avoid interference. 5 3 1 2
Cells, which use the same set of frequencies, are 4 5 3 1
referred to as cochannel cells. The space between adja-
7 4 5 3
cent cochannel cells is filled with other cells that use
2 7 4
different frequencies to provide frequency isolation.
1 2
A typical cluster of seven cells, each repeated seven
5 3 1
times with frequency reuse, is illustrated in Fig. 4.6.
4 5 3
If the system is not properly designed, cochannel
4
interference may occur due to the simultaneous use
of the same channel. This is the major concern in
frequency reuse. Specifically, if the available channels Fig. 4.6 Illustration of frequency reuse (Fx: A set of
are reused for additional traffic, it is possible to frequency channels)
106 Wireless Communications

Facts to Know ! serve more number of users, thereby increasing the system
capacity within allocated RF spectrum, and hence enhancing
Frequency channels are allo-
spectrum efficiency as well.
cated to each cell by means of an
intelligent frequency-planning
The total number of channels available in a cellular
technique so as to minimise system is finite because of limited RF spectrum alloca-
the cochannel and adjacent channel interfer- tion. The capacity of a cellular system is defined by the
ence while meeting the performance require- total number of channels available, which depends on how
ments both in terms of received signal quality the available channels are deployed. So, the total number
as well as traffic capacity in these cells. of available channels without frequency reuse, N, is the
allocated RF spectrum band divided by the number of RF
channels having equal channel bandwidth.

EXAMPLE 4.4 Frequency reuse and spectrum efficiency

Consider a single high-power transmitter that can support 100 voice channels covering a given service area. Let the service
area be divided into seven smaller areas (cells) as shown in Fig. 4.7, each supported by lower power transmitters. The
available spectrum of 100 voice channels is divided into 4 groups of 25 channels each. The cells (1, 7), (2, 4), (3, 5), and 6 are
assigned distinct channel groups. Show that the total number of channels that can be supported is enhanced to 175 to
cover the same service area. Comment on the results obtained.
Solution
Total number of channels available, N = 100 (given)
P i P er
Case 1. When a single high-power transmitter is used to cover
2 3 r nsmi er
the given service area
This implies that it is a non-cellular system.
1
P P er
Hence, total number of channels in the system are
7
4 limited to 100 only.
r nsmi er
6
5
Case 2. When the service area is divided into seven cells
Number of distinct cells = 7 (given)
Fig. 4.7 Illustration for frequency reuse and Number of channel groups = 4 (given)
spectrum efficiency Number of channels per channel group = 25 (given)
Step 1. Allocation of channel groups to cells
Let channel group 1 be allocated to cells 1 as well as 7; channel group 2 be allocated to cells 2 as well as 4; channel
group 3 be allocated to cells 3 as well as 5; and channel group 4 be allocated to cell 6 (refer given Fig. 4.7).
Step 2. Total number of channels available in the specified cellular system
Total number of channels allocated to all cells is equal to the number of channels per channel group
multiplied by the number of distinct cells. That is,
Total number of channels allocated to all cells = 25 × 7
Hence, total number of channels available = 175 channels
Comment on the results It is seen from the above example that the total number of channels that can be supported
by the given cellular system is increased to 175 from 100 in a non-cellular system to cover the same service area.
Hence, it can be concluded that
‘The theoretical coverage range and capacity of a cellular communication system are unlimited, with
optimum use of RF spectrum utilisation.’
‘The frequency reuse can drastically increase the spectrum efficiency, thereby increasing the system
capacity.’
 Principles of Cellular Communication 107

However, there is a need to address the following technical issues for proper design and planning of
a cellular network:
• Selection of a suitable frequency reuse pattern
• Physical deployment and radio-coverage modeling
• Plans to account for the expansion of the cellular network
• Analysis of the relationship between the capacity, cell size, and the cost of the infrastructure
The reason for the complexity of the cellular
system is, of course, frequency reuse. Once a mobile Facts to Know !
moves out of the radio coverage of a cell, the channel In the first instance, it seems that there is
pair it occupied for duplex communication link is now no theoretical limit to this (smaller cells,
available for another communication link in that cell. more frequency reuse and thus higher
By making cells smaller, frequencies can be reused capacity), but there are practical limits.
at shorter distances. Typically, once the radius drops As cells become smaller, more cell sites are needed
below about 0.5 km, the hand-offs occur so frequently and hand-offs occur more frequently, requiring more
that it is difficult to cope with a mobile moving at computing power and faster response both at the
system level and in the individual mobile phone.
high speed. The flexibility of cell sizes allows for
larger cells in less-developed areas and smaller cells
in areas of higher traffic.

EXAMPLE 4.5 Frequency reuse and system capacity

A mobile communication system is allocated RF spectrum of 25 MHz and uses RF channel bandwidth of 25 kHz so that a
total number of 1000 voice channels can be supported in the system.
(a) If the service area is divided into 20 cells with a frequency reuse factor of 4, compute the system capacity.
(b) The cell size is reduced to the extent that the service area is now covered with 100 cells. Compute the system capacity
while keeping the frequency reuse factor as 4.
(c) Consider the cell size is further reduced so that the same service area is now covered with 700 cells with the frequency
reuse factor of 7. Compute the system capacity.
Comment on the results obtained.

Solution
Number of available voice channels, N = 1000 (given)
Step 1. To determine the cluster capacity
We know that in a cellular system based on frequency-reuse concept, all the given available channels, that
is, 1000, are allocated to each cluster uniformly.
Therefore, each cluster can serve 1000 active users simultaneously.
In other words, the capacity of a cluster = 1000
(a) To compute the system capacity for given K
Number of cells covering the area = 20 (given)
Frequency reuse factor or cluster size = 4 (given)
Step 2. To determine number of clusters
Number of clusters = number of cells/cluster size
Therefore, number of clusters = 20/4 = 5
Step 3. To determine the system capacity
The capacity of a cluster = 1000 (as calculated is Step 1)
Number of clusters = 5 (as calculated is Step 2)
108 Wireless Communications

Thus, number of channels in all 5 clusters = 1000 × 5 = 5000

Hence, the system capacity = 5000 users
(b) To compute new system capacity for increased number of cells.
Number of cells covering the area = 100 (given)
Frequency reuse factor or cluster size = 4 (given)
Step 4. To determine number of clusters
Therefore, number of clusters = 100/4 = 25
Step 5. To determine new system capacity
Thus, number of channels in all 25 clusters = 1000 × 25 = 25000
Hence, the new system capacity = 25000 users
(c) To compute new system capacity for increased number of cells and cluster size.
Number of cells covering the area = 700 (given)
Frequency reuse factor or cluster size = 7 (given)
Step 6. To determine number of clusters
Therefore, number of clusters = 700/7 = 100
Step 7. To determine new system capacity
Thus, number of channels in 100 clusters = 1000 × 100 = 100,000
Hence, the new system capacity = 100 000 users
Comments on the results It is observed that as the number of cells covering a given service area is increased,
the number of clusters having all available number of channels increases. This results into significant
increase in the number of active users in the system or the system capacity. Hence, it is concluded that
frequency reuse enhances system capacity.

4.4 CLUSTER SIZE AND SYSTEM CAPACITY

The K number of cells in the cluster would utilise all N available channels. In this way, each cell in the cluster
contains N/K number of channels only.
Alternately, the total number of channels available in a cluster, N is equal to the number of channels per
cell (J ≤ N) multiplied by the number of cells per cluster (K), that is,
N=J×K (4.1)
In a cellular system, the whole geographical area where the cellular services are required to be provided
is divided into a number of clusters having a finite number of cells. The K cells in a cluster use the complete
set of available frequency channels.
Since N is the total number of available channels, it can be seen that a decrease in the cluster size K is
accompanied by an increase in the number of channels J allocated per cell. Thus, by decreasing the cluster
size, it is possible to increase the capacity per cell.
The cluster can be replicated many times to cover the desired geographical area by a cellular communica-
tion system. The overall system capacity, C, can then be theoretically determined by simply multiplying the
number of clusters in a system (say M) with total number of channels allocated to a cluster, N, i.e.,
C=M×N (4.2)
Using the relationship N = J × K, we get
C=M×J×K (4.3)
 Principles of Cellular Communication 109

If K is decreased and J is proportionally increased so that C = M × J × K is satisfied, it is necessary to

replicate the smaller cluster more times in order to cover the same geographical service area.
This means the value of M has to be increased. Since J × K (=N ) remains constant and M is increased, it
shows that the system capacity C is increased. That is, when K is minimised, C is maximised. But minimising
K will increase cochannel interference.
EXAMPLE 4.6 Cellular system capacity
Consider that a geographical service area of a cellular system is 4200 km2. A total of 1001 radio channels are available for
handling traffic. Suppose the area of a cell is 12 km2.
(a) How many times would the cluster of size 7 have to be replicated in order to cover the entire service area? Calculate the
number of channels per cell and the system capacity.
(b) If the cluster size is decreased from 7 to 4, then does it result into increase in system capacity? Comment on the results
obtained.
Solution
Service area of a cellular system, Asys = 4200 km2 (given)
Coverage area of a cell, Acell = 12 km2 (given)
Total number of available channels, N = 1001 (given)
(a) To calculate number of clusters, cell capacity, and system capacity
Cluster size, K=7 (given)
Step 1. To calculate the coverage area of a cluster
The coverage area of a cluster, Acluster = K × Acell
Therefore, Acluster = 7 × 12 km2 = 84 km2
Step 2. To calculate the number of clusters
The number of times that the cluster has to be replicated to
cover the entire service area of cellular system = Asys Acluster
Or, number of clusters, M = 4200 84
Hence, number of clusters, M = 50 clusters
Step 3. To calculate cell capacity
Since total number of available channels are allocated to one cluster, therefore,
the number of channels per cell, J = N K
Or, cell capacity, J = 1001 7
Hence, cell capacity, J = 143 channels/cell
Step 4. To calculate system capacity
The system capacity, C = N × M
Or, system capacity, C = 1001 × 50
Hence, the system capacity, C = 50 050 channels
(b) To calculate new system capacity for reduced K
New cluster size, K = 4 (given)
Step 5. To calculate the coverage area of a new cluster
The coverage area of a cluster, Acluster = K × Acell
Therefore, Acluster = 4 × 12 km2 = 48 km2
Step 6. To calculate increased number of clusters
The number of times that the cluster has to be replicated to
cover the entire service area of a cellular system = Asys Acluster
110 Wireless Communications

Or, number of clusters, M = 4200 48

Hence, number of clusters, M = 87 (approx.)
Step 7. To calculate new system capacity
The system capacity, C = N × M
Or, system capacity, C = 1001 × 87
Hence, the system capacity, C = 87 000 channels
Comments on the results From (a) and (b) above, it is seen that for decrease in cluster size from 7 to 4 results
into an increase in number of clusters from 50 to 87 for a given service area. The system capacity is increased
from 50,050 channels to 87,000 channels. Therefore, decreasing the cluster size does increase the system
capacity. However, the average signal-to-cochannel interference also increases which has to be kept at an
acceptable level in order to achieve desirable signal quality.

Assume that the cell size is kept constant and a fixed spectrum per cluster is allocated. Then more number
of cells per cluster (that is, higher value of K) means
• Fewer channels per cell
• Less system capacity
• Less cochannel interference (cochannel cells farther apart)
And less number of cells per cluster (that is, lower value of K) means
• More channels per cell
• More system capacity
• More cochannel interference (cochannel cells closer together)
So it is desirable to choose reuse factor K to maximise capacity per area subject to interference limitations.

EXAMPLE 4.7 Cluster and system capacity

A cellular communication service area is covered with 12 clusters having 7 cells in each cluster and 16 channels assigned
in each cell. Show that
(a) the number of channels per cluster are 112
(b) the system capacity is 1344
Solution
Number of clusters in the service area = 12 (given)
Number of cells in a cluster = 7 (given)
Number of channels in a cell = 16 (given)
(a) To determine the number of channels per cluster
Number of channels in a cluster is given by the number of cells in a cluster multiplied by the number of
channels in a cell, that is,
Number of channels in a cluster = 7 × 16
Hence, number of channels per cluster = 112 channels/cluster
(b) To determine the system capacity
The system capacity is given by the number of clusters in a given area multiplied by the number of channels
in a cluster, that is,
Number of channels in the system = 112 × 12
Hence, the system capacity = 1344 channels/system
114 Wireless Communications

EXAMPLE 4.9 To determine cluster size K

Determine the number of cells in clusters for the following values of the shift parameters i and j in a regular hexagonal
geometry pattern:
(a) i = 2 and j = 4 (b) i = 3 and j = 3
Solution
(a) To determine the number of cells in a cluster for i = 2 and j = 4
Using the relationship, K = i2 + j2 + i × j
The number of cells in a cluster, also called cluster size K, can be determined as
K = 22 + 42 + 2 × 4 = 4 + 16 + 8 = 28
(b) To determine the number of cells in a cluster for i = 3 and j = 3
K = 32 + 32 + 3 × 3 = 9 + 9 + 9 = 27
Therefore, it must be remembered that only the specific values of cluster size are valid and used in frequency
planning of the cellular system as determined by the given integers of shift parameters i and j in a regular
hexagonal geometry.

Table 4.1 depicts several frequency reuse patterns, together with the cluster sizes for easy reference.

Table 4.1 Frequency reuse pattern and cluster size

requency reuse pattern Cluster size

( i, j) or ( j, i) K = i2 + j2 + i × j

(1, 1) 3
(2, 0) 4
(2, 1) 7
(3, 0) 9
(2, 2) 12
(3, 1) 13
(4, 0) 16
(2, 3) 19
(4, 1) 21
(5, 0) 25
(3, 3) 27

4.6 FREQUENCY REUSE DISTANCE

Reusing an identical frequency channel in different cells is limited by cochannel interference between cells
and the cochannel interference can become a major problem in cellular communication. So it is desirable to
find the minimum frequency reuse distance D in order to reduce this cochannel interference.
The minimum distance, which allows the same frequency to be reused in cochannel cells, will depend on
many factors such as
• the number of cochannel cells in the vicinity of the centre cell,
• the type of geographic terrain contour,
• the antenna height, and
• the transmitted power at each cell-site.
 Principles of Cellular Communication 115

Assume that the size of all the cells is approximately same; Facts to Know !
the cell size is usually determined by the coverage area of the
The real power of the cellular
signal strength in each cell. As long as the cell size is fixed,
concept is that interference is
cochannel interference is independent of transmitted power of not related to the absolute dis-
each cell. It means that the received signal threshold level at tance between cells but to the
the mobile unit is adjusted to the size of the cell. ratio of the distance between cochannel
Actually, cochannel interference is a function of a param- (same frequency) cells to the cell radius.
eter known as frequency reuse ratio, q, and is defined as
q=D R (4.14)
where D is the distance between two nearest cochannel cells
1 1
marked as C1, and R is the radius of the cells under consider-
ation, as shown in Fig. 4.14. It may be noted here that this ratio R R
is applicable for any value of cluster size K.
The parameter q is also referred to as the cochannel reuse
Fig. 4.14 Frequency reuse ratio q = D ⁄ R
ratio or the cochannel reuse factor or cochannel interference
reduction factor or frequency reuse ratio.

EXAMPLE 4.10 Frequency reuse distance, D

Determine the distance from the nearest cochannel cell for a cell having a radius of 0.64 km and a cochannel reuse
factor of 12.
Solution
The radius of a cell, R = 0.64 km (given)
The cochannel reuse factor, q = 12 (given)
To determine the distance from the nearest cochannel cell, D
We know that q = D R,
Or, D=q×R
Therefore, D = 12 × 0.64 km = 7.68 km
Hence, the distance from the nearest cochannel cell D = 7.68 km
Thus, the important parameters of the network designed on cellular approach are
• Reuse pattern, K
• Reuse distance, D
• Frequency reuse factor, q
The frequency reuse factor determines the minimum distance for repeating a set of frequencies and is
expressed as q = D/R where R is the cell radius. The spectrum efficiency is most significantly influenced
by the frequency reuse factor. The concept of frequency reuse when applied, permits the system to meet
the important objective of serving a large area, while using a relatively small frequency spectrum. But if
the network is not designed properly, serious interferences may occur. To minimise interference, there must
be adequate spatial separation between cells that use the same frequencies and the cells that use adjacent
channel frequencies. The frequency assignment depends on the channel bandwidth, modulation scheme
adopted, reuse factor and the carrier-to-interference ratio requirements.

EXAMPLE 4.11 Frequency reuse ratio, q

Determine the frequency reuse ratio for a cell radius of 0.8 km separated from the nearest cochannel cell by a distance
of 6.4 km.
116 Wireless Communications

Solution
The radius of a cell, R = 0.8 km (given)
The distance between nearest cochannel cells, D = 6.4 km (given)
To determine the frequency reuse ratio, q
We know that q = D R
Or, q = 6.4 0.8 = 8
Hence, the frequency reuse ratio for given parameters q = 8

The frequency reuse ratio q is related to the cluster size (or frequency reuse factor) K by
q = D R = 3K (4.15)
Theoretically, a large K is desired. However, the total number of allocated channels N is fixed. When K is too
large, the number of channels assigned to each of K cells becomes small. It is always true that the total number
of allocated channels N in a cluster is divided by K to calculate the system capacity per cell. As K increases,
system capacity per cell and hence spectrum efficiency will reduce significantly.

EXAMPLE 4.12 Relationship between frequency reuse ratio q and cluster size K
Illustrate and prove that for a regular hexagonal geometry, the frequency reuse ratio is given by the relationship
q= 3K
where K = i2 + j2 + i × j; i and j being the shift parameters.
7 2
Solution
The geometry of an array of regular hexagonal cells is depicted in
1 3
Fig. 4.15, where R is the radius of the hexagonal cell (from its centre to
one of its vertex). A hexagon has exactly six equidistant neighbouring
5 4 hexagons corresponding to six sides of the hexagon.
Step 1. Relation between d and R
Let the distance between the centres of two adjacent hexagonal cells be
Fig. 4.15 Distance between two denoted by d. Then, using the trigonometry, it can be seen that
adjacent cells, d.
d= 3R (4.16)
j Step 2. Procedure of locating a cochannel cell
The nearest cochannel hexagonal cell to the cell under
consideration can be located using shift parameters i, j
i
in a regular hexagonal geometry. Figure 4.16 depicts the
regular hexagonal geometry of one colocated cell. The
procedure of locating a cochannel cell, corresponding to
120 any one side of the hexagon is as follows:
• Firstly, move i number of cells along the i axis from the
R centre of the hexagonal cell under consideration (say
point to point Y) along one side of hexagon.
• Secondly, turn 60 degrees counterclockwise.
• Then move j number of cells along j axis (point Y to point
) to locate the centre of the nearest cochannel cell.
Let D be the distance from the centre of the cell under
Fig. 4.16 Cochannel cell in a regular consideration to the centre of a nearest cochannel cell
hexagonal geometry (that is, ).
 Principles of Cellular Communication 117

Step 3. To derive the relation between D. d and shift parameters

Applying cosine formula to Δ Y , we have
D2 = (i × d ) 2 + ( j × d ) 2 − 2 × (i × d ) × ( j × d ) cos 120
Or, D2 = (i × d) 2 + ( j × d)2 − 2 × (i × d) × ( j×d) × (− )
Or, D2 = (i × d ) 2 + ( j × d ) 2 + (i × d ) × ( j × d )
Or, D2 = d 2 (i 2 + j 2 + i × j ) (4.17)
Using Eq. (4.16),
D2 = 3 × R2 × (i 2 + j 2 + i × j) (4.18)
Step 4. To establish relationship between K and shift parameters
K = i2 + j2 + i × j (given)
Substituting it in Eq. (4.18), we get
D2 = 3 × R2 × K
Or, D R2 = 3 × K
2

Or, D R = 3K
By definition q = D R; therefore, we get
q = 3K
Thus, the frequency reuse ratio q can be determined from the cluster size K (i.e., the number of cells per cluster).

q = D/R ratio is a parameter used to describe the frequency reuse factor for a cellular system. The D/R ratio
for any cellular system determines the reuse factor as well as the distance D between the frequency reusing
cell-sites and the radius R of the serving cell-sites. Table 4.2 illustrates standard frequency reuse ratios for
different cluster size, K.

Table 4.2 Frequency reuse ratio and cluster size

Cluster size requency reuse ratio

K q = 3K

3 3.00
4 3.46
7 4.58
9 5.20
12 6.00
13 6.24
19 7.55
21 7.94
27 9.00

Because the D/R measurement is a ratio, if the radius of the cell is decreased, the distance between
frequency reusing cochannel cells sites is also decreased in the same proportion for maintaining same
cochannel interference reduction factor. Conversely, if a cell has a large radius, the distance between
frequency reusing cells must be proportionally increased to maintain the same D/R ratio.
Since q increases with K and a smaller value of K has the effect of increasing the capacity of the cellular
system. But at the same time, this results into increase in cochannel interference. Hence the choice of q (or K )
118 Wireless Communications

has to be made such that the signal-to-cochannel interference ratio is at an acceptable level. If all the cell-sites
transmit the same power, then as K increases, the frequency reuse distance D increases. This increased D reduces
the possibility that cochannel interference may occur.
The frequency reuse method is useful for increasing the efficiency of spectrum usage but results in
cochannel interference because the same frequency channel is used repeatedly in different cochannel cells.
In most mobile radio environments, use of K = 7 is not sufficient to avoid interference. Increasing K greater
than 7 would reduce the number of channels per cell, and that would also reduce the spectrum efficiency.
Now the challenge is to obtain the optimum value of K that can still meet the desired system performance
requirements in terms of system capacity, spectrum utilisation and signal quality. This involves estimat-
ing cochannel interference and selecting the minimum frequency reuse distance D to reduce cochannel
interference.

4.7 COCHANNEL INTERFERENCE AND SIGNAL QUALITY

The frequency reuse method is useful for increasing the efficiency of spectrum usage but results in cochannel
interference because the same frequency channel is used repeatedly in different cochannel cells in a service
area. In this situation, the received signal quality is affected by the amount of radio coverage area as well as
the cochannel interference.
The cochannel interference is caused due to the reuse of
Facts to Know ! the same carrier frequency at different geographical locations.
Cochannel interference occurs Because cochannel interfering signals are amplified, processed
equally in all available chan- and detected in the same manner as the desired signal, the receiver
nels in a given area assuming is particularly vulnerable to these emissions. Thus, cochannel
non-selective fading channel interference may either desensitise the receiver or override or
environment. mask the desired signal. It may also combine with the desired
signal to cause serious distortions in the detected output.
The cochannel interference can then be measured by selecting any one channel (as one channel represents
all the channels) and transmitting on that channel at all cochannel sites. In a fully equipped hexagonal-shaped
cellular system, there are always six cochannel inter-
fering cells in the first tier. Figure 4.17 depicts a
irs ier
typical field measurement test set-up 1 to measure
cochannel interference at the mobile unit, in which
the mobile unit is moving in its serving cell.
Let the symbol C, I, and N denote respectively
the power of the desired signal, the power of the
M ile
n er erin cochannel interference, and the power of the noise
ells at the output of the receiver demodulator. Cochannel
ervin interference can be experienced both at the cell-site
ell and at mobile units in the serving cell. If the inter-
ference is much greater then the carrier to interfer-
ence ratio C/I at the mobile units caused by the six
interfering cell-sites is (on the average) the same as
the C/I received at the serving cell site caused by
interfering mobile units in the six cells. According
ell si e m ile in er eren e nlin to the reciprocity theorem and the statistical summa-
Fig. 4.17 Test 1: Cochannel interference tion of radio propagation, the two C/I values can be
measurement at the mobile unit very close.
 Principles of Cellular Communication 119

A channel-scanning mobile receiver records three received signals while moving in any one cochannel
cell, under the following conditions:
• When only the serving cell transmits (signal recorded is termed as C )
• Cell-sites of all six cochannel cells only transmit (signal recorded is termed as I )
• No transmission by any cell-site (signal recorded is termed as N )
Let a value of C/I = 18 dB or greater be acceptable in a cellular system. In general, the performance of
such types of interference-limited cellular system can be evaluated from the following results.
(a) If the carrier-to-interference ratio C/I is greater than 18 dB in most of the area being served by a cell,
the system is said to be properly designed.
(b) If C/I is less than 18 dB and carrier-to-noise ratio C/N is greater than 18 dB in some areas, the system is
said to have a cochannel interference problem.
(c) If both C/I and C/N are less than 18 dB and C/I is approximately same as C/N in a given area, the
system is said to have a radio coverage problem.
(d) If both C/I and C/N are less than 18 dB and C/I is less than C/N in a given area, the system is said to
have both cochannel interference as well as radio coverage problem.
In fact, the reciprocity theorem can be applied for the study of area coverage problem but not so accurately for
the study of cochannel interference problem at the cell-site. Therefore, it is recommended to perform Test 2 to mea-
sure cochannel interference at the cell-site. In Test 2, the mobile unit is transmitting in its serving cell as well as six
mobile units are transmitting in cochannel cells simultaneously at the same frequency channel. Figure 4.18 depicts
a typical field measurement test set-up 2 to measure
cochannel interference at the cell-site.
The received signal-level measurements are irs ier
recorded at the serving cell-site, under the following
conditions:
– When only the mobile unit in the serving cell
M ile
transmits (signal recorded is termed as C )
– Up to six interference levels are obtained at the
serving cell-site from six mobile units trans- n er erin ell
mitting in six cochannel interfering cells (the ervin
statistical average signal recorded is termed as I) ell
– No transmission by any mobile unit (signal
recorded is termed as N )
Then the C/I and C/N received at the serving
cell site is computed. The test result analysis will be
same as obtained in Test 1. From the analysis of the
M ile ell si e in er eren e lin
results, it can be easily deduced whether the cellular
system has a radio coverage problem, or a cochannel Fig. 4.18 Test 2: Cochannel interference
interference problem or both. measurement at the cell-site

4.8 COCHANNEL INTERFERENCE REDUCTION METHODS

Interference is the major limiting factor in the performance of cellular communication systems. Sources of
interference may include another mobile operating in the same cell, other cells operating in the same fre-
quency band, an on-going communication link in a neighbouring cell, or any noncellular system that may be
leaking energy into the cellular frequency band.