Wireless communication

Multiple access techniques in wireless communications

Multiple access technique is used to allow many mobile users to share simultaneously same radio spectrum.

There are several different ways to allow access to the channel.

• Frequency division multiple-access (FDMA)
• Time division multiple-access (TDMA)
• Code division multiple-access (CDMA)
• Space division multiple access (SDMA)

Frequency division multiple-access (FDMA)

• Frequency division multiple access (FDMA) assigns individual channels to individual users.
• In FDMA each user is allocated a unique frequency band or channel. These channels are assigned on
demand to users who request service. During the period of the call, no other user can share the same
frequency band.
• In FDMA if the channel is not in use, then it sits idle and cannot be used by other users to increase or
share capacity.
• After the assignment of a voice channel, the base station and the mobile transmit simultaneously and
continuously. The bandwidths of FDMA channels are relatively narrow (30 kHz) as each channel
supports only one circuit per carrier That is, FDMA is usually implemented in narrowband systems.
• The symbol time is large as compared to the average delay spread. This implies that the
amount of inter symbol interference is low and, thus, little or no equalization is required in
FDMA narrowband systems.

• BGUARD is the guard band allocated at the edge of the allocated spectrum to avoid the
overlapping between channels in the spectrum

𝐵𝑡 −2𝐵𝑔𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑑
• 𝑁=
𝐵𝑐

Where, N= No. of channels

Bt = Total Bandwidth
Bguard =Guard Band
Bc = Channel Bandwidth
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FDMA/FDD.

• The first U.S. analog cellular system, AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) is based on FDMA/FDD.
• A single user occupies a single channel while the call is in progress, and the single channel is actually two
simplex channels which are frequency duplexed with a 45 MHz split.
• When a call is completed or when a handoff occurs the channel is vacated so that another mobile subscriber
may use it.
• Multiple or simultaneous users are accommodated in AMPS by giving each user a unique signal.
• Voice signals are sent on the forward channel from the base station to the mobile unit, and on the reverse
channel from the mobile unit to the base station.
• In AMPS, analog narrowband frequency modulation (NBFM) is used to modulate the carrier.

Q.
Simplex channels to provide full duplex voice and control channels. Compute the number of channels
available per cell if a system uses,
a) Four cell reuse
b) Seven cell reuse
c) 12 cell reuse
d) 13 cells reuse
Ans.
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TIME DIVISION MULTIPLE ACCESS

• In digital systems, continuous transmission is not required because users do not use the allotted
bandwidth all the time.
• In such cases, TDMA is a complimentary access technique to FDMA. Global Systems for Mobile
communications (GSM) uses the TDMA technique.
• In TDMA, the entire bandwidth is available to the user but only for a finite period of time. In most
cases the available bandwidth is divided into fewer channels compared to FDMA.
• The users are allotted time slots during which they have the entire channel bandwidth at their disposal.

• TDMA FRAME STRUCTURE

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• In a TDMA frame, the preamble contains the address and synchronization information that both the
base station and the subscribers use to identify each other. Guard times are utilized to allow
synchronization of the receivers between different slots and frames.

The features of TDMA

• TDMA is a single carrier frequency with several users, where each user makes use of non-
overlapping time slots. The number of time slots per frame depends on several factors, such as
modulation technique, available bandwidth, etc.

• In TDMA system the data is transmitted in bursts. This results in low battery consumption, since the
subscriber transmitter can be turned off when not in use.

• TDMA, the handoff process is much simpler for a subscriber unit, since it is able to listen for other
base stations during idle time slots.

• In TDMA, the guard time should be minimized. If the transmitted signal at the edges of a time slot are
suppressed sharply in order to shorten the guard time, the transmitted spectrum will expand and cause
interference to adjacent channels.

• TDMA transmissions are slotted, and this requires the receivers to be synchronized for each data burst.
Guard slots are necessary to separate users, and this results in the TDMA systems having larger
overheads as compared to FDMA.
Efficiency of TDMA
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Spread Spectrum Multiple Access

• Spread Spectrum Multiple Access (SSMA) uses the complete transmission bandwidth with the help
of PN-sequence.
• There are two types of SSMA i.e.,
o Frequency Hopped Multiple Access (FHMA)
o Code division Multiple Access (CDMA)

Frequency Hopped Multiple Access (FHMA)

• In FHMA the carrier frequencies of the individual user are varied using pseudorandom manner with
in wideband channel.
• FHMA allows multiple users to occupy the spectrum simultaneously at the same time without any
interference.
• The spectrum allotted is first divided into narrow subchannels. The digital data of each user is broken
into uniform sized bursts which are transmitted on different frequency channels within the allocated
spectrum band.
• The next burst by the same user is transmitted on a different frequency channel. This pseurandom
change of subchannels by each user after specific time interval allows many users to transmit over the
same spectrum.
• FHMA can be defined as ‘A spread spectrum multiple access technique in which the carrier hops
randomly from one frequency to another’.

Block diagram of a single channel modulation FH transmitter

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• The main component of FH modulator is a PN code generator which generates a pseudo random code
at periodic intervals.
• This output is fed to a frequency synthesizer and the different carrier frequencies are generated
according to the incoming code.
• The outputs of modulator and frequency synthesizer are fed to the mixer for multiplication. The mixer
produces sum and difference frequency components as, (fc + fm) and (fc−fm), which are passed
through next stage of mixer.
• It is band pass filter although not shown in the block diagram. This filter is designed to select the sum
frequency component (fc +fm)
• Depending upon the code clock, PN code changes and hence the carrier frequency. Thus, the digital
data is modulated to different carrier frequency and frequency Hopped signal is generated.
.
Direct Sequence spread spectrum (CDMA)

• In a CDMA system, the narrowband message signal is multiplied with a very large bandwidth signal
called as the spreading signal.
• The zeroes and ones of this spreading signal are called chips. It is basically a pseudo noise code
sequence that has a chip rate which is very high as compared to the data rate of the message.
• PN code is unique for every user and is orthogonal to the other codes, hence interference between users
is minimized so that many users can use the same carrier frequency and can transmit simultaneously.
• The receivers need to know the code word of the corresponding sender to detect it.

Block diagram of DSSS system

Transmitter
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DS-SS system Receiver

• A direct sequence spread spectrum signal S(t) is received and fed to a wideband filter.
• The received spread spectrum signal S(t) for a single user can be represented as,
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Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA)
• Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) is a third-generation (3G) standard that employs
the direct-sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) channel access method and the
frequency-division duplexing (FDD) method to provide high-speed and high-capacity service.
• WCDMA features two modes:
o Frequency Division Duplex (FDD): Separates users by employing both codes as well as
frequencies. One frequency is used for the uplink, while another is used for the downlink.
o Time Division Duplex (TDD): Separates users by employing codes, frequencies and time,
wherein the same frequency is used for both uplink and downlink.
o WCDMA is able to artificially increase a signal’s bandwidth. It does so by modulating each
baseband symbol with a binary or quaternary signature with a much higher rate than that of the
original data symbol.

Advantage
• One major advantage of WCDMA is its ability to handle large amounts of data, making it well-suited
for applications such as mobile internet browsing and streaming video. It also has good coverage
and reliability, as it is able to transmit signals over long distances and through physical barriers such
as walls and buildings.

Disadvantage
• One drawback is that it requires a more complex and expensive infrastructure to support its wideband
frequency bands. It is also more susceptible to interference from other sources, such as other wireless
devices or electrical equipment. Additionally, WCDMA has been superseded by newer, faster mobile
technologies such as 4G and 5G.
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Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA)
Space division multiple access or spatial division multiple access is a technique which is MIMO (multiple-
input multiple-output) architecture and used mostly in wireless and satellite communication. It has the
following features.

• All users can communicate at the same time using the same channel.
• SDMA is completely free from interference.
• A single satellite can communicate with more satellite’s receivers of the same frequency.
• The directional spot-beam antennas are used and hence the base station in SDMA, can track a
moving user.
• Controls the radiated energy for each user in space.

SPECTRAL EFFICIENCY

spectral efficiency depends on parameters such as

• Channel spacing in KHz
• frequency reuse factor
• cell area in Km2
• Modulation techniques
• Multiple Access techniques of types
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• The difference between FDMA, TDMA, SDMA and CDMA