MULTIPLE ACCESS TECHNIQUES

FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

Multiple Access Techniques

Multiple access schemes are used to allow many

mobile users to share simultaneously a finite
amount of radio spectrum.
The sharing of spectrum is required to achieve
high capacity by simultaneously allocating the
available bandwidth (or the available amount of
channels) to multiple users.
For high quality communications, this must be
done without severe degradation in the
performance of the system.

Introduction

many users at same time

share a finite amount of radio
spectrum
high performance
duplexing generally required
frequency domain
time domain

Difference between multiplexing and

multiple access

Multiple Access
Techniques

Multiple Access Techniques

FDMA TDMA CDMA SDMA

Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)

Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA)
Duplex- a residential building divided into two apartments
A duplexer is an electronic device that allows
bi-directional (duplex) communication over a

Types of Channels

Control channel

Forward (Downlink) control channel

Reverse (Uplink) control channel

Traffic channel

Forward traffic (traffic or information) channel

Reverse traffic (traffic or information) channel

Types of Channels (Contd)

Reverse channel (Uplink)

Control channels

f
f
f 1

f n

f 2

f1

f2

MS

Traffic channels

Forward channels

fn

BS

(Downlink)
7

Frequency Division Duplexing

(FDD)

Frequency-Division Duplexing (FDD) is

a method for establishing a full-duplex
communications link that uses two
different
radio
frequencies
for
transmitter and receiver operation.
The transmit direction and receive
direction frequencies are separated by
a defined frequency offset.

Contd

two bands of frequencies for every user

forward band
reverse band
duplexer needed
frequency separation between forward
band and reverse band is constant
reverse channel

forward channel

frequency seperation

Time Division Duplexing

(TDD)
Time-Division Duplexing (TDD) is a
method that follows full-duplex
communication over a half-duplex
communication link.
The transmitter and receiver both
use the same frequency but
transmit and receive traffic is
switched in time.

Contd

uses time for forward and reverse link

multiple users share a single radio
channel
forward time slot
reverse time slot
no duplexer is required
reverse channel

forward channel

time seperation

Multiple Access Techniques

Frequency division multiple access

(FDMA)
Time division multiple access (TDMA)
Code division multiple access (CDMA)
Space division multiple access (SDMA)
grouped as:
narrowband systems
wideband systems

Narrowband systems

large number of narrowband channels

usually FDD
Narrowband FDMA
Narrowband TDMA
FDMA/FDD
FDMA/TDD
TDMA/FDD
TDMA/TDD

Wideband systems

large number of transmitters on one

channel
TDMA techniques
CDMA techniques
FDD or TDD multiplexing techniques
TDMA/FDD
TDMA/TDD
CDMA/FDD
CDMA/TDD

Multiple Access Techniques in

use
Cellular System

Multiple Access
Technique

Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS)

FDMA/FDD

Global System for Mobile (GSM)

TDMA/FDD

US Digital Cellular (USDC)

TDMA/FDD

Digital European Cordless Telephone (DECT) FDMA/TDD

US Narrowband Spread Spectrum (IS-95)

CDMA/FDD

Capacity of Cellular
Systems

Channel capacity of a wireless

system is the maximum number
of users possible in the system

Channel capacity depends on:

Bandwidth available

Signal to Noise ratio (SNR) in the

channel

Frequency-division Multiple Access

The user is assigned

a specific
frequency
band
in
the
electromagnetic spectrum, and
during a call that user is the only
one who has the right to access
the specific band.

Contd
Total system bandwidth is divided into
narrow frequency slots. Each user is
allocated a unique frequency band or
channel
A user is free to transmit or receive all
the time on its allocated radio channel,
but the cost of transceiver is high, as
each has to be designed on a different
band

Contd..

FDMA
f1

f 2

f2

f n

fn

MS #2

f 1

MS #1

MS #n

BS

Reverse channels

Forward channels

(Uplink)

(Downlink)

20

FDMA: Channel Structure

Sub Band Wc

Guard Band Wg

Frequency

Total Bandwidth W=NWc

f 1

f 2

f n

f1

f2

fn

Frequency
Reverse channels

Protecting bandwidth

Forward channels

21

Frequency division multiple access

FDMA

one phone circuit per channel

idle time causes wasting of resources
simultaneously
and
continuously
transmitting
usually implemented in narrowband
systems
for example: in AMPS is a FDMA
bandwidth of 30 kHz implemented

Nonlinear Effects in FDMA

many channels - same antenna

for maximum power efficiency operate
near saturation
near saturation power amplifiers are
nonlinear
nonlinearities causes signal spreading
intermodulation frequencies

Nonlinear Effects in FDMA

IM are undesired harmonics

interference with other channels in the
FDMA system
decreases performance
interference outside the mobile radio
band: adjacent-channel interference
RF filters needed - higher costs

Number of channels in a FDMA

system
Bt - 2Bguard
N=
Bc

N number of channels
Bt total spectrum allocation
Bguard guard band
Bc channel bandwidth

Example: Advanced Mobile Phone

System

AMPS
FDMA/FDD
analog cellular system
12.5 MHz per simplex band - Bt
Bguard = 10 kHz ; Bc = 30 kHz

12.5E6 - 2*(10E3)
N=
30E3

= 416 channels

Advantages of FDMA

If channel is not in use, it sits idle

Channel bandwidth is relatively narrow (30kHz)
Simple algorithmically, and from a hardware
standpoint
Fairly efficient when the number of stations is
small and the traffic is uniformly constant
Capacity increase can be obtained by reducing the
information bit rate and using efficient digital code
No need for network timing
No restriction regarding the type of baseband or
type of modulation

Disadvantages to using
FDMA

The presence of guard bands

Requires right RF filtering to minimize
adjacent channel interference
Maximum bit rate per channel is fixed
Small inhibiting flexibility in bit rate
capability
Does not differ significantly from
analog system

Time-division Multiple Access

It allows several users to share the same
frequency channel by dividing the signal
into different time slots.
The users transmit in rapid succession,
one after the other, each using its own
time slot. This allows multiple stations to
share the same transmission medium
(e.g. radio frequency channel) while using
only a part of its channel capacity.

Contd

TDMA
Slot

MS #n

#n

#n

Frame

Reverse channels
(Uplink)

#1

Frame

MS #2

#2

#2

#2

#n

MS #1

#1

#2

#1

#1

Frequency f

#n

Frequency f

t
Frame

Frame

BS

Forward channels
(Downlink)
31

TDMA: Channel Structure

#n

#n

#2

#1

Frame
#n

#1

Frame
#n

#2

#1

Frame

#2

(a). Forward channel

f

#2

#1

Frame
#n

#2

#1

Frame
#n

#2

#1

Frame

(b). Reverse channel

32

TDMA: Frame Structure (Contd)

#n

#2

#1

#n

#2

#1

#n

#2

Frame
#1

Frame
#n

#2

#1

Frequency
f=f

Time
Forward
channel

Reverse
channel

Forward
channel

Reverse
channel

Channels in Simplex Mode

33

Repeating Frame Structure

One TDMA Frame
Preamble

Information Message

Slot 1 Slot 2 Slot 3

Trail Bits

Sync. Bits

Information Data

The frame is cyclically repeated over time.

Trail Bits

Slot N

Guard Bits

Components of TDMA
Frame

Preamble Address and synchronization

information for base station and subscriber
identification

Guard times Synchronization of receivers

between different slots and frames

Time Division Multiple Access

time slots
one user per slot
buffer and burst method
noncontinuous transmission
digital data
digital modulation

Features of TDMA

a single carrier frequency for several

users
transmission in bursts
low battery consumption
handoff process much simpler
FDD : switch instead of duplexer
very high transmission rate
high synchronization overhead
guard slots necessary

Number of channels in a TDMA

system
m*(Btot - 2*Bguard)
N=
Bc

N number of channels
m number of TDMA users per radio channel
Btot total spectrum allocation
Bguard Guard Band
Bc channel bandwidth

Example: Global System for Mobile

(GSM)

TDMA/FDD
forward link at Btot = 25 MHz
radio channels of Bc = 200 kHz
if m = 8 speech channels
supported, and
if no guard band is assumed :

8*25E
N=
6200E3

= 1000 simultaneous users

Efficiency of TDMA

percentage of transmitted data

that contain information
frame efficiency f
usually end user efficiency < f ,
because of source and channel
coding
How get f ?

Efficiency of TDMA
bOH = Nr*br + Nt*bp + Nt*bg + Nr*bg

bOH number of overhead bits

Nr number of reference bursts per frame
br reference bits per reference burst
Nt number of traffic bursts per frame
bp overhead bits per preamble in each
slot
bg equivalent bits in each guard time
interval

Efficiency of TDMA
bT = Tf * R

bT total number of bits per frame

Tf frame duration
R channel bit rate

Efficiency of TDMA
f = (1-bOH/bT)*100%

f frame efficiency

bOH number of overhead bits per

frame
bT total number of bits per frame

FDMA compared to TDMA

fewer bits for synchronization

fewer bits for framing
higher cell site system costs
higher costs for duplexer used in base
station and subscriber units
FDMA requires RF filtering to
minimize adjacent channel
interference

Advantages
1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.
7.
8.

It carry data rates of 64 kbps to 120 Mbps .

It provides the user with extended battery life and talk
time.
It is the most cost effective technology to convert an
analogue system to digital.
TDMA technology separates users according to time, it
ensures that there will be no interference
TDMA allows the operator to do services like fax, voice
band data, and SMS as well as bandwidth-intensive
application such as multimedia and videoconferencing.
Flexible bit rate
No frequency guard band required
No need for precise narrowband filters

Disadvantages
1.

2.

3.

Each
user
has
a
predefined time slot.When
moving from one cell to
other, if all the time slots
in this cell are full the user
might be disconnected.
It
is
subjected
to
multipath distortion. A
signal coming from a
tower to a handset might
come from any one of
several
directions.
It
might have bounced off
several different buildings
before arriving.
Requires
network-wide
timing synchronization

Space Division Multiple Access

Spatial division multiple access (SDMA) is

a channel access method used in mobile
communication systems which reuses the
same set of cell phone frequencies in a
given service area. Two cells or two small
regions can make use of the same set of
frequencies if they are separated by an
allowable distance (called the reuse
distance).

Contd

Controls radiated energy for each user in

space
using spot beam antennas
base station tracks user when moving
cover areas with same frequency:
TDMA or CDMA systems
cover areas with same frequency:
FDMA systems

Contd

SDMA increases the capacity of the system and

transmission quality by focusing the signal into
narrow transmission beams.
Through the use of smart antennas with beams
pointed at the direction of the mobile station, SDMA
serves different users within the same region.
Mobile stations operating outside the bounds of these
directed beams experience a near zero interference
from other mobile stations operating under the same
base station with the same radio frequency.

Contd

Since the beams are focused, the radio

energy frequency can have increased
base station range. T
his attribute of SDMA allows base
stations to have larger radio coverage
with less radiated energy.
This narrow beam width also allows
greater gain and clarity.

Contd

Under traditional mobile phone network systems,

the base station radiates radio signals in all
directions within the cell without knowledge of the
location of the mobile station.
SDMA technology channels radio signals based on
the location of the mobile station.
Through this method, the SDMA architecture saves
on valuable network resources and prevents
redundant signal transmission in areas where
mobile devices are currently inactive.

Contd

The main advantage of SDMA is

frequency reuse. Provided the reuse
distance is preserved in the network
architecture, interference can be near
zero, even if mobile stations use the
same allocated frequencies.

Space Division Multiple Access

primitive applications
are Sectorized
antennas

in future adaptive
antennas
simultaneously
steer energy in the
direction of many
users at once

Reverse link problems

general problem
different propagation path from user to
base
dynamic control of transmitting power
from each user to the base station
required
limits by battery consumption of
subscriber units
possible solution is a filter for each user

Solution by SDMA systems

adaptive antennas promise to mitigate

reverse link problems
limiting case of infinitesimal beamwidth
limiting case of infinitely fast track ability
thereby unique channel that is free from
interference
all user communicate at same time using
the same channel

Disadvantage of SDMA

perfect adaptive antenna system:

infinitely large antenna needed
compromise needed

SPREAD SPECTRUM
MULTIPLE ACCESS

CDMA is a spread-spectrum multiple access

technique.
A spread spectrum technique spreads the
bandwidth of the data uniformly for the
same transmitted power.
A spreading code is a pseudo-random code
that has a narrow ambiguity function,
unlike other narrow pulse codes.

Spread Spectrum

Spread Spectrum Concept

Input fed into channel encoder

Signal modulated using sequence of digits

Spreading code/sequence
Typically generated by pseudonoise/pseudorandom
number generator

Increases bandwidth significantly

Produces narrow bandwidth analog signal around central

frequency

Spreads spectrum

Receiver uses same sequence to demodulate signal

Demodulated signal fed into channel decoder

Direct Sequence Spread

Spectrum (DSSS)

Each bit represented by multiple bits using spreading

code
Spreading code spreads signal across wider
frequency band

One method:

In proportion to number of bits used

10 bit spreading code spreads signal across 10 times
bandwidth of 1 bit code
Combine input with spreading code using XOR
Input bit 1 inverts spreading code bit
Input zero bit doesnt alter spreading code bit
Data rate equal to original spreading code

Performance similar to FHSS

Direct Sequence Spread

Spectrum Example

Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum for CDMA

Transmitter

Receiver

Spreading

Despread

Digital signal
s(t)

Power

Frequency

Digital signal
s(t)

Spreading signal
m(t)
Code
c(t)

Power

Frequency

Code
c(t)

Power

Frequency
65

Frequency Hopping Spread

Spectrum (FHSS)

Signal broadcast over seemingly

random series of frequencies
Receiver hops between frequencies
in sync with transmitter
Eavesdroppers hear unintelligible
blips
Jamming on one frequency affects
only a few bits

Basic Operation

Typically 2k carriers frequencies forming 2k

channels
Channel spacing corresponds with bandwidth
of input
Each channel used for fixed interval

300 ms in IEEE 802.11

Some number of bits transmitted using some
encoding scheme
Sequence dictated by spreading code

Concept of Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum

Transmitter

Receiver

Spreading

Digital signal

Despread

Spreading signal

Hopping Pattern
Power

Frequency

Digital signal

Hopping Pattern
Power

Power

Frequency

Frequency
69

An Example of Frequency Hopping

Pattern
Frequency

Time

70

Frequency Hoping Spread

Spectrum

Frequency Hopping Spread

Spectrum System
(Transmitter)

Frequency Hopping Spread

Spectrum System
(Receiver)

Frequency Hopping Spread

Spectrum

Slow-frequency-hop spread spectrum

The hopping duration is larger or equal to

the symbol duration of the modulated
signal
Tc >= Ts

Fast-frequency-hop spread spectrum

The hopping duration is smaller than the

symbol duration of the modulated signal
Tc < Ts

Slow Frequency-Hop SS

Fast Frequency-Hop SS

Code-Division Multiple Access

(CDMA)

There is no restriction on timeand

frequency in this scheme.
Parallel communication without collision
and whole bandwidth can be used
Users are separated by code not by
time slot and frequency slot

Contd

Each user in a CDMA system uses a

different code to modulate their signal.
Choosing the codes used to modulate the
signal is very important in the performance
of CDMA systems.
The best performance will occur when there
is good separation between the signal of a
desired user and the signals of other users.

Contd.

The separation of the signals is made by correlating

the received signal with the locally generated code
of the desired user.
If the signal matches the desired user's code then
the correlation function will be high and the system
can extract that signal.
If the desired user's code has nothing in common
with the signal the correlation should be as close to
zero as possible (thus eliminating the signal); this is
referred to as cross-correlation.

Contd

If the code is correlated with the signal

at any time offset other than zero, the
correlation should be as close to zero
as possible. This is referred to as autocorrelation and is used to reject multipath interference.

A Simple Analogy

An analogy to the problem of multiple access

is a room (channel) in which people wish to
talk to each other simultaneously.
To avoid confusion, people could take turns
speaking (time division), speak at different
pitches (frequency division), or speak in
different languages (code division).

Contd

The second option is quite similar to CDMA

students speaking the same language can
understand each other, while other languages
are perceived as noise and rejected.
Similarly, in radio CDMA, each group of users
is given a shared code. Many codes occupy
the same channel, but only those users
associated with a particular code can
communicate.

Contd

CDMA is analogous to the last example where people

speaking the same language can understand each
other, but other languages are perceived as noise and
rejected.
Similarly, in radio CDMA, each group of users is given a
shared code.
Many codes occupy the same channel, but only users
associated with a particular code can communicate.
In general, CDMA belongs to two basic categories:
synchronous (orthogonal codes) and asynchronous
(pseudorandom codes).

Contd

CDMA is multiple access scheme that allows

many users to share the same bandwidth

3G (WCDMA), IS-95

Basic Principles of CDMA

Each user is assigned a unique spreading code

The processing gain protects the useful signal and
reduces interference between the different users
PG = (Bandwidth after spreading)/(Bandwidth before spreading)

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

Frequency f

Frequency f
C1

MS #2

C2

C2

Cn

Cn

C1

MS #1

MS #n

BS

Note:

Reverse channels

Forward channels

(Uplink)

(Downlink)

Ci x Cj = 0, i.e., Ci and Cj are orthogonal codes,

Ci x Cj = 0, i.e., Ci and Cj are orthogonal codes
85

Contd

In CDMA a locally generated code runs at a much

higher rate than the data to be transmitted. Data
for transmission is combined via bitwise XOR
(exclusive OR) with the faster code.
The figure shows how a spread spectrum signal is
generated.
The data signal with pulse duration of T b (symbol
period) is XOR'ed with the code signal with pulse
duration of Tc (chip period).

CDMA for Direct Sequence

Spread Spectrum

ADVANTAGES

Potentially larger capacity (more users can communicate

simultaneously)
If users dont use the medium all the time (e.g., they are
just reading e-mail), CDMA will allow much more users to
communicate simultaneously. In other words, CDMA will
use the resource (the radio spectrum) more efficiently.
Provides larger spread spectrum, thus more robust against noise
bursts and multipath frequency selective fading

GSM bandwidth = 200 kHz

IS-95 bandwidth = 1.25 MHz

W-CDMA (3G) bandwidth = 10MHz

The transition from one BS to another (handoff) is not abrupt, as

in TDMA, and provides better quality

No absolute limit on the number of users

Easy addition of more users
Impossible for hackers to decipher the code sent
Better signal quality

89

DISADVANTAGES

As the number of users increases,

the overall quality of service
decreases
Self-jamming
Near- Far- problem arises

Advantages of CDMA

Many users of CDMA use the same frequency,

TDD or FDD may be used
Multipath fading may be substantially reduced
because of large signal bandwidth
No absolute limit on the number of users
Easy addition of more users
Impossible for hackers to decipher the code sent
Better signal quality
No sense of handoff when changing cells

Disadvantages to using
CDMA

As the number of users increases,

the overall quality of service
decreases
Self-jamming
Near- Far- problem arises