WIRELESS COMMUNICATION-MODULE 1

CELLULAR SYSTEM DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS

 If a given set of frequencies or radio channels can be reused without increasing the
interference, then the large geographical area covered by a single high power
transmitter can be divided into a number of small areas, each allocated power
transmitters with lower antennas can be used.
 The Hexagon shape was chosen for cell because it provides the most effective
transmission by approximating a circular pattern while eliminating gaps present
between adjacent circles.
 Each cellular base station is allocated a group of radio channels to be used with a
small geographic area called a cell.
 A group of cells that use a different set of frequencies in each cell is called a cell cluster.
Types of cell
 The physical size of a cell varies, depending on user density and calling patterns.
 Macro cells are large cells typically have a radius between 1 mile and 15 miles
with base station transmit powers between 1W and 6W.
 Microcells are the smallest cells typically have a radius between of 1500 feet
or less with base station transmit powers between 0.1W and 1W.
 Microcells are used in high-density areas such as in large cities and inside the buildings.
 Cellular radio signals are too weak to provide reliable communication at indoor,
especially in well- shielded areas or areas with high levels of interference. To
overcome this, very small cells, called picocells are used in same frequencies as
regular cells in the same areas.
Location of base station
 When designing a system using hexagonal-shaped cells, main consideration is the
location of the base station transmitters.

Center-excited cell- Base station transmitters can be located in the center of

the cell and uses Omni directional antennas which radiate and receive signals
equally well in all directions.
Edge- excited cell- Base station transmitters can be located in the edge of the cell
and uses sectored antennas which radiate for a particular direction.
Corner- excited cell- Base station transmitters can be located in the corner of
the cell and uses sectored directional antennas.

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Cellular system
 Figure shows a basic cellular system which consists of mobile stations, base
stations and a mobile switching center (MSC).
 The Mobile Switching Center is sometimes called a mobile telephone switching
office (MTSO), since it is responsible for connecting all mobiles to the PSTN in a
cellular system.
 Each mobile communicates via radio with one of the base stations and may be handed
off to any number of base stations throughout the duration of a call.
 The mobile station contains a transceiver, an antenna, and control circuitry, and
may be mounted in a vehicle or used as a portable hand-held unit.

Figure: Cellular system

Base station:
 The base stations consist of several transmitters and receivers which
simultaneously handle full duplex communications.
 The base stations generally have towers which support several transmitting and receiving
antennas.
 The base station serves as a bridge between all mobile users in the cell and connects
the simultaneous mobile calls via telephone lines or microwave links to the MSC.
Mobile Switching Center:
 The MSC coordinates the activities of all of the base stations and connects the entire
cellular system to the PSTN.
 A typical MSC handles 100,000 cellular subscribers and 5,000 simultaneous
conversations at a time, and accommodates all billing and system maintenance
functions.
 The channels used for voice transmission from the base station to mobiles are
called forward voice channels (FVC).

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 The channels used for voice transmission from mobiles to the base station are
called reverse voice channels (RVC).
 The two channels responsible for initiating mobile calls are the forward control
channels (FCC) and
 reverse control channels (RCC).
 Control channels are often called setup channels because they are only involved in
setting up a call and moving it to an unused voice channel.

FREQUENCY REUSE

Each cellular base station is allocated a group of radio channels to be used with a
small geographic area called cell. Cells are grouped into clusters. Each cluster
utilizes the entire available radio spectrum.
Frequency reuse or Frequency planning
Frequency reuse is the process in which the same set of frequencies can be
allocated to more than one cell and the cells are separated by sufficient distance.
The ability to reuse the frequencies offers a means to expand the total system
capacity without the need to employ high power transmitters.
Figure shows a geographic cellular radio coverage area containing three groups
of cell called clusters. Each cluster has seven cells in it and all cells are assigned
the same number of full duplex cellular telephone channels.
Spatially reusing the available spectrum so that the same spectrum can support
multiple users separated by a distance is the primary approach for efficiently
using the spectrum.
Cells with the same letter use the same set of frequencies.
The letters A, B, C, D, E, F and G denote the seven sets
of frequencies. A cell cluster is outlined in bold and
replicate over the coverage area.
The actual radio coverage of a cell is known as the foot print. It is determined
from field measurement or propagation prediction models.

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Figure: Illustration of the cellular frequency reuse concept.

Capacity expansion by frequency reuse

Consider a cellular system which has a total of S duplex channels available for use.
Let N be the cluster size in terms of the number of cells within it and each cells is
allocated a group of K channels (K<S).
The N cells which collectively use the complete set of available frequencies is
called cluster. The cluster can be replicated many times to form the entire cellular
communication systems.
The N cells in the cluster would utilize all K
available channels. For the total number of Channels
C, available in the cluster is given
S = KN
where S Number of full duplex cellular channels available in the cluster.
K Number of channels in a cell
N Number of cells in the cluster

Let M be the number of times the cluster is replicated and C be the total number of
channels used in the entire cellular system with frequency reuse. C is then the
system capacity and is given by
C=MKN
C=MS
where C Total channel capacity in a given area
M Number of clusters in a given area

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The capacity of a cellular system is directly proportional to the number of times a

cluster is replicated in a fixed service area.
The cluster size factor N= 4, 7, or 12.If the cluster size N is reduced while the cell
size is kept constant, more clusters are required to cover a given area and hence
more capacity is achieved.

The number of subscribers who can use the same set of frequencies in
non-adjacent cells at the same area is dependent on the total number of cells in the
area.
The number of users use the same set of frequencies is called the frequency reuse
factor (FRF) and is defined as

Rules for determining the nearest co-channel neighbors

To find the nearest co-channel neighbors of a particular cell, one must do the
following:
Step 1: Move I cells along any chain of hexagons;
Step 2: Turn

60 degrees counter clockwise and more j cells.

Figure: Method of locating co-channel cells in a cellular system.

In this example, N = 19 (i.e., i = 3, j = 2).
The method of locating co-channel cells in a cellular system using the preceding
rule is shown in figure for i = 3 and j= 2.

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The parameters i and j measure the number of nearest neighbor between

co-channel cells, N is related to i and j by the equation
N=i2+ij+j2
Frequency reuse needs to be structured so that co-channel interference is kept
at an acceptable level. As a distance between co-channel cell increases,
co-channel interference will decrease.
If cell size is fixed, the average signal-to-co-channel interference ratio will be
independent of the transmitted power of each cell.
Co-channel reuse ratio,

 The advantages of Cellular Systems are

The use of low power transmitter and
It allows frequency reuse for capacity improvement.

CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT STRATEGIES

A scheme for increasing capacity and minimizing interference is required.
For efficient utilization of the radio spectrum, a frequency reuse scheme is used. So
that capacity is increased, interference is reduced.
Channel assignment strategy improves the performance of the system.
 Used to manage calls when handoff is done. Minimize connection set-up time
 Adapt to changing load distribution Fault tolerance calability

 Low computation and communication overhead Minimize handoffs

 Maximize number of calls that can be accepted concurrently

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Call Admission Control

The function of call admission control is to determine whether or not to grant radio
resources to a new incoming/handoff call based on information such as the current
channel occupation, the bandwidth and QoS requirements of calls in service, and the
characteristics of the call that requests admission
 Call rejection (reject the admission of new call)
 Call dropping (forcing an ongoing call to premature termination)
Channel assignment strategies can be classified
a) Fixed Channel assignment
b) Dynamic Channel assignment
c) Hybrid Channel Allocation schemes (HCA schemes: combining both FCA and
DCA techniques)
 The choice of the channel assignment strategy impacts the performance of the
system, particularly how a call is managed when a mobile user is handoff from
one cell to another.
(a) .Fixed Channel assignment
Channels are pre-allocated to the cells during planning phase. Each cell is allocated a
predetermined set of voice channels.
Any call attempt within the cell can only be served by the unused channels in that
particular cell.
If all the channels in that cell are occupied, the call is blocked and the subscriber
does not receive service.
Due to short term fluctuations in the traffic, FCA schemes are often not able to
maintain high quality of service and capacity attainable with static traffic demands.
One approach to address this problem is to borrow free channels from neighboring cells.
(b). Dynamic Channel assignment
No pre-allocation:
In a dynamic channel assignment strategy, voice channels are not allocated to
different cells permanently.
Each time a call request is made, the serving base station requests a channel from the
MSC. MSC then allocates a channel to the requested cell using an algorithm that takes
into account
 The likelihood of future blocking within the cell
 The frequency of use of the candidate channel
 The reuse distance of the channel

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To ensure minimum quality of service, the MSC only allocates a given frequency if
that frequency is not currently in use in the cell or any other cell which falls within
the limiting reuse distance.
Dynamic channel assignment reduces the likelihood of blocking increasing the
capacity of the system. Dynamic channel assignment strategies require the MSC to
collect real-time data on channel occupancy and traffic distribution on a continuous
basis.
Advantage of dynamic Channel assignment are
Increased channel utilization
Decreased probability of a blocked call.
Disadvantage of dynamic Channel
assignment are Increases the storage
Increases computational load on the system
(c). Hybrid Channel Allocation (HCA)
 HCA schemes are the combination of both FCA and DCA techniques.
In HCA schemes, the total number of channels available for service is divided
into fixed and dynamic sets.
The fixed set contains a number of nominal channels that are assigned to cells as
in the FCA schemes and, in all cases, are to be preferred for use in their respective
cells.
The dynamic set is shared by all users in the system to increase flexibility.
Example: When a call requires service from a cell and all of its nominal channels
are busy, a channel from the dynamic set is assigned to the call.
Request for a channel from the dynamic set is initiated only when the cell has
exhausted using all its channels from the fixed set.
Optimal ratio: ratio of number of fixed and dynamic channels.
3:1 (fixed to dynamic), provides better service than fixed scheme for 50% traffic.
 Beyond 50% fixed scheme perform better.
For dynamic, with traffic load of 15% to 32%, better results are found with HCA.

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COMPARISON FCA AND DCA

Attribute Fixed Channel Allocation Dynamic Channel Allocation

Traffic load Fixed Channel Allocation is better under Dynamic Channel Allocation is
heavy traffic load better under light/moderate trafficload

Flexibility of channel Fixed Channel Allocation is less Dynamic Channel Allocation is

allocation flexible more flexible

Reusability of Fixed Channel Allocation has a Dynamic Channel Allocation has a

channels maximum possibility. limited possibility.

Temporal and spatial Fixed Channel Allocation are very Dynamic Channel Allocation arevery
changes sensitive insensitive

Grade of service Fixed Channel Allocation is Dynamic Channel Allocation is

fluctuating stable.

Forced call Large probability in Fixed Channel Low/ Moderate probability in

termination Allocation Dynamic Channel Allocation

Suitability of cell Fixed Channel Allocation uses macro Dynamic Channel Allocation uses
size cellular system micro cellular system

Radio Equipment Fixed Channel Allocation covers onlythe Dynamic Channel Allocation has to
channels allotted to the cell. cover all possible channel that could be
assigned to the cell

Computationaleffort In Fixed Channel Allocation, In Dynamic Channel Allocation,

Computational effort is low. Computational effort id high

Call setup delay Low in Fixed Channel Allocation Moderate/High in Dynamic Channel
Allocation

Implementation Low in Fixed Channel Allocation Moderate/High in Dynamic Channel

complexity Allocation

Frequency Laborious and complex in Fixed None in Dynamic Channel

planning Channel Allocation Allocation

Signaling load Low in Fixed Channel Allocation Moderate/High in Dynamic Channel

Allocation

Control Centralized in Fixed Channel Centralized, decentralized or

Allocation distributed in Dynamic Channel
Allocation

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HANDOFF STRATEGIES

 When a mobile moves into a different cell while a conversation is in progress, the
MSC automatically transfers the call to a new channel belonging to the new base
station.
 The handoff operation not only involves a new base station, but also requires that the
voice and control signals be allocated to channels associated with the new base
station.
 Handoff calls can be admitted at a higher priority than new calls.
 To manage the admission of requests based on priority, it is necessary to reserve
capacity for admitting handoff requests.
 A particular signal level is specified as the minimum usable signal for acceptable
voice quality at the base station receiver.
 A slightly stronger signal level is used as threshold at which a handoff is made.
 The time over which a call may be maintained within a cell, without handoff, is called
the dwell time.
 Dwell time depends on
 Propagation
 Interference
 Distance between the subscriber
 Speed

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Hand off methods

Depending on the information used and the action taken to initiate the handoff, the
methods for handoff can be
 Mobile Controlled Hand off (MCHO)
 Network Controlled Hand off (NCHO) and
 Mobile Assisted Hand off (MAHO)
MCHO
 MCHO is a desirable method because it reduces the burden on the network.
 However it increases the complexity of the mobile terminal.
NCHO
 In NCHO, the BSs or Access Points (APs) monitor the signal quality from
the mobile and report the measurements to the MSC.
 The MSC is responsible for choosing the candidate AP and initiating the
handoff.
 The mobile plays a passive role in the handoff process.

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MAHO
 In MAHO, the mobile measures the signal levels from the various APs
using periodic beacon generated by the APs.
 The mobile collects a set of power levels from different APs and feeds it
back to the MSC via the serving AP, for handoff decision making.
Prioritizing Handoffs
Method for giving priority to handoffs are
 Guard channel concept
 Queuing of handoff requests
Guard channel concept
 Guard channel concept is a fraction of the total available channels in a cell is reserved
exclusively for handoff requests from ongoing calls which may be handed off into the
cell.
 Disadvantage of guard channel concept is reducing the total carried traffic as fewer
channels are allocated to originating calls.
 Advantage of guard channel is efficient spectrum utilization during dynamic channel
assignment strategies.
Queuing of handoff requests
 Queuing of handoff requests decreases the probability of forced termination of a call
due to lack of available channels.
 Queuing of handoffs is possible due to the fact that there is a finite time interval
between the time the received signal level drops below the handoff threshold and the
time the call is terminated due to insufficient signal level.
 The delay time and size of the queue is determined from the traffic pattern of the
particular service area.
Practical Handoff Considerations
 In practical cellular systems, several problems arise when attempting to design for
a wide range of mobile velocities.
 High speed vehicles pass through the coverage region of a cell within a matter of
seconds, whereas pedestrian users may never need a handoff during a call.
 The MSC can quickly become burdened if high speed users are constantly being
passed between very small cells.
Umbrella cell approach
 To solve the above problem, Umbrella cell approach is used.
 By using different antenna heights (same building or tower) and different power
levels, it is possible to provide “large and “small” cells which are co-located at a
single location.

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 The umbrella cell approach is used to provide large area coverage to high speed

users while providing small area coverage to users travelling at low speeds.
Figure: The umbrella cell approach.

Cell Dragging
 Another practical handoff problem in microcell systems is known as cell dragging.
 Cell dragging results from pedestrian users that provide a very strong signal to the base
station.
 Such a situation occurs in an urban environment when there is a line-of-sight (LOS)
radio path between the subscriber and the base station.
 As the user travels away from the base station at a very slow speed, the average
signal strength does not decay rapidly.
 Even when the user has traveled well beyond the designed range of the cell, the
received signal at the base station may be above the handoff threshold, thus a
handoff may not be made.
Intersystem handoff:
During a call if a mobile moves from one cellular system to a different cellular system
controlled by a different MSC, type of handoff is called intersystem handoff.
Types of Handoff
 Hard handover (hard handoff)- If the MSC monitors the strongest signal base
station and transfer the call to that base station then it is called hard handoff.
 Soft handoff: Mobile communicates with two or more cells at the same time and
find which one is the strongest signal base station then it automatically transfers
the call to that base station is called soft handoffs.
 Softer hand over: In this instance a new signal is either added to or deleted
from the active set of signals.

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1. Hard handover
 The definition of a hard handover or handoff is one where an existing connection
must be broken before the new one is established.
 Intersystem handoff: During a call if a mobile moves from one cellular system to a
different cellular system controlled by a different MSC. This type of handoff is
called intersystem handoff.
 The connection must be broken before it can move to the new channel where the
connection is re- established.
 Intra-frequency hard handovers where the frequency channel remains the same.
 Although there is generally a short break in transmission, this is normally short
enough not to be noticed by the user.
 In UMTS- Universal Mobile Telecommunication System most of the handovers
that are performed are intra-frequency soft handovers.
2. Soft Handover
 The new 3G technologies use CDMA, it is not necessary to break the connection.
This is called soft handover.
 Soft handoff is defined as a handover where a new connection is established
before the old one is released.
3. Softer handover
 The third type of hand over is termed a softer handover, or handoff.
 In this instance a new signal is either added to or deleted from the active set of signals.
 It may also occur when a signal is replaced by a stronger signal from a different
sector under the same base station.
 This type of handover or handoff is available within UMTS as well as CDMA2000.

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 Cellular handover or cellular handoff is performed by all cellular

telecommunications networks, and they are a core element of the whole concept of
cellular telecommunications.
 Soft handover is also less efficient than hard handover, but again more reliable as
the connection is never lost.
 It is therefore necessary for the cellular telecommunications network provider to
arrange the network to operate in the most efficient manner, while still providing
the most reliable service.
Features of Handoff:
 Fast and lossless
 Minimal number of control signal exchanges.
 Scalable with network size.
 Capable of recovering from link failures.
 Efficient use of resources.

INTERFERENCE AND SYSTEM CAPACITY

 Interference is the major limiting factor in the performance of cellular radio. It limits
capacity and increases the number of dropped calls.
 Sources of interference include
 Another mobile in the same cell
 Call in progress in a neighboring cell,
 other base stations operating in the same frequency band,
 Any non cellular system which leaks energy into the cellular frequency band.
 Interference is more severe in urban areas due to
 Greater RF noise floor
 large number of base stations and mobiles
 The two major types of interferences:
 Co-channel interference (CCI)
 Adjacent channel interference. (ACI)
 Adjacent channel interference is caused due to the signals that are adjacent in
frequency.

Co-channel Interference and System Capacity

 Co-channel interference is caused due to the cells that reuse the same frequency set.
The cells using the same frequency set are called co-channel cells.
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 The interference between signals from the co-channel cells is called co-channel
interference.
 Unlike thermal noise, co-channel interference cannot be overcome by increasing
the carrier power of a transmitter
 This is because an increase in transmitter power increases the interference to
neighboring co-channel cells.
 For similar sized cells, the co-channel interference is independent of the transmitted
power and depends on the radius of the cell and the distance to the nearest
co-channel cells.
 To reduce co-channel interference, co-channel cells must be physically separated.
 Co channel reuse ratio,
Q=D/R

 It determines the spatial separation relative to the coverage distance of the cell.
 For a hexagonal geometry

 Thus, a small value of Q provides larger capacity but higher co-channel

interference. Hence there is a trade-off between capacity and
interference.
Calculation of signal-to-interference ratio(S/I or SIR)
The signal-to-interference ratio for a mobile is

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Figure: Illustration of the first tier of

co-channel cells for a cluster size of
N=7. When the mobile is at the cell
boundary (point A), it experiences
worst case co-channel interference on
the forward channel. The marked
distances between the mobile and
different co-channel cells are based on
approximations made for easy
analysis.

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Adjacent Channel Interference

Interference resulting from signals which are adjacent in frequency to the desired
signal is called adjacent channel interference.
Adjacent channel interference results from imperfect receiver filters that allow
nearby frequencies to leak into the passband.
The problem can be severe if an adjacent channel user is transmitting in very
close range to a subscriber's receiver.
The near-far effect occurs when a mobile close to a base station radiates in the
adjacent channel, while the subscriber is far away from the base station.
Adjacent channel interference can be
o Reduced by Careful filtering
o Careful channel assignments.
The frequency separation between each channel in a cell should be made as
large as possible. If the subscriber is at a distance d1 and the interferer is at d2,
then signal-to-interference ratio is

The frequency separation between each channel in a cell should be made as large
as possible while assigning them.

Power Control to Reduce Interference

In practical systems, the power levels of every subscriber are under constant control
by the serving base stations.
Power control
 Reduces interference levels
 Prolongs battery life
In CDMA spread spectrum systems, power control is a key feature to ensure
maximal utilization of the system capacity.
Reduced interference leads to higher capacity.

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TRUNKING AND GRADE OF SERVICE

 Cellular radio systems rely on trunking to accommodate a large number
of users in a limited radio spectrum.
 In a trunked radio system, each user is allocated a channel on a per call basis.
 Upon termination of the call, the previously occupied channel is
immediately returned to the pool of available channels.
Definitions of Common Terms Used in Trunking Theory

 Set-up Time: The time required to allocate a trunked radio channel to a

requesting user.
 Blocked Call: Call which cannot be completed at time of request, due to
congestion. Also referred to as a lost call.
 Holding Time: Average duration of a typical call. Denoted by H (in seconds).
 Traffic Intensity: Measure of channel time utilization, which is the average
channel occupancy measured in Erlangs. This is a dimensionless quantity and
may be used to measure the time utilization of single or multiple channels.
Denoted by A.
 Load: Traffic intensity across the entire trunked radio system, measured in
Erlangs.
 Grade of Service (GOS): A measure of congestion which is specified as the
probability of a call being blocked (for Erlang B), or the probability of a call
being delayed beyond a certain amount of time (for Erlang C).
 Request Rate: The average number of call requests per unit time. Denoted by
λ seconds–1
 The traffic intensity offered by each user is equal to the call request rate
multiplied by the holding time. That is, each user generates a traffic intensity
of Au Erlangs given by

 H is the average duration of a call and

 λ is the average number of call requests per unit time for each user.
 For a system containing U users and an unspecified number of channels, the
total offered traffic intensity A, is given as

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 Furthermore, in a C channel trunked system, if the traffic is equally

distributed among the channels, then the traffic intensity per channel, Ac, is
given as

 The Erlang B formula is given by

C is the number of trunked channels offered by a trunked radio system

A is the total offered traffic.

 The likelihood of a call not having immediate access to a channel is

determined by the Erlang C formula

IMPROVING COVERAGE AND CAPACITY IN CELLULAR

SYSTEMS
 As demand for service increases, system designers have to provide
more channels per unit coverage area.
 Common Techniques used to expand the capacity of cellular
systems are

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 Cell splitting
 Sectoring
 Microcell Zoning
 Cell splitting increases the number of base station deployed and allows an
orderly growth of the cellular system.
 Sectoring uses directional antennas to further control the interference and
frequency reuse of channels.
 Microcell Zoning distributes the coverage of a cell and extends the
cell boundary to hard-to-reach places.
Cell Splitting
 Cell splitting is the process of subdividing a congested cell into smaller
cells with
 its own base station
 Corresponding reduction in antenna
height
 Corresponding reduction in transmitter
power.
 Splitting of cells reduces the cell size and thus more number of cells has to
be used.

More number of cells => More number of clusters =>More Channels =>
Higher capacity

 By defining new cells which have a smaller radius than the original
cells and by installing these smaller cells (called microcells) between
the existing cells, capacity increases due to the additional number of
channels per unit area.
 Cell splitting allows a system to grow by replacing large cells by small
cells, without upsetting the channel allocation.
 Cells are split to add channels with no new spectrum usage
 Depending on traffic patters the smaller cells may be activated
/deactivated in order to efficiently use cell resources.
 In the figure that the original base station A has been surrounded
by six new microcell base stations.

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 The smaller cells were added in such a way as to preserve the

frequency reuse plan of the system.
 Cell splitting scales the geometry of the cluster.

Figure: Illustration of cell splitting

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Figure: Illustration of cell splitting within a 3 km square centered base station A.

Sectoring

The technique for decreasing co-channel interference and thus

increasing system capacity by using directional antennas is called
sectoring.
The factor by which the co-channel interference is reduced depends on
the amount of sectoring used. Cell Sectoring keeps R untouched and
reduces D/R.
Capacity improvement is achieved by reducing the number of cells per
cluster, thus increasing frequency reuse.

It is necessary to reduce the relative interference without decreasing the

transmitter power.
The co-channel interference may be decreased by replacing the single
omni-directional antenna by several directional antenna, each radiating

RAJESH T S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ECE, MG COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING VANDITHADAM

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within a specified sector.

A directional antenna transmits to and receives from only a fraction of
the total number of co-channel cells. Thus co-channel interference is
reduced.
A cell is normally partitioned into three 1200 sectors or six 60° sectors.

(a) 1200 sectoring. (b) 600 sectoring.

Figure: Illustration of how 120° sectoring reduces interference from

co-channel cells. Out of the 6 co- channel cells in the first tier, only 2 of them,
interfere with the center cell. If omni-directional antennas were used at each
base station, all 6 co-channel cells would interfere with the center cell.

RAJESH T S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ECE, MG COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING VANDITHADAM

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Advantages
 it improves Signal-to-interference ratio.
Disadvantages
Disadvantages of cell sectoring includes
 Increased number of antennas at each base station.
 Decrease in trunking efficiency
 Increased number of handoffs.
Repeaters for Range Extension
 Repeaters are useful for hard to reach areas
 Within buildings and basement
 Tunnels
 Valleys
 Radio transmitters called repeaters are used to provide coverage in these areas.
 Repeaters are bidirectional.
 Receive signals from the base station
 Amplify the signals
 Reradiates the signals.
Received noise and interference is also reradiated.

MICROCELL ZONE CONCEPT

 Zone Concept
 A cell is divided into microcell or zones.
 Each microcell (Zone) is connected to the same base station by
coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, or microwave link.
 Each Zone uses a directional antenna

RAJESH T S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ECE, MG COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING VANDITHADAM

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 As mobile travels from one zone to another, it retains the same channel.
i.e. Without handoff.
 The base station simply switches the channel to the next zone site.
 Mobile is served by the zone with the strongest signal.
While the cell maintains a particular coverage area, the co-channel interference is
reduced because:
 The large central base station is replaced by several low power
transmitters.
 Directional Antennas are used.
Decreased co-channel interference improves
 Signal Quality
 Capacity

Figure: The microcell concept

RAJESH T S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ECE, MG COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING VANDITHADAM