Week 13 lecture 2

Cellular Networks --
Interference
MAJOR LIMITING FACTOR for Cellular System performance is the INTERFERENCE

Interferences can cause:

CROSS TALK
Missed and Blocked Calls.

SOURCES OF INTERFERENCE?
Another mobile in the same cell (if distance & frequency are close)
A call in progress in neighboring cell (if frequency is close).
Other base stations operating in the same frequency band (from co-channel cells)
Non-cellular systems leaking energy into cellular frequency band
 Interference

1. CO-CHANNEL INTERFERENCE
2. ADJACENT CHANNEL INTERFERENCE
 CO-CHANNEL INTERFERENCE
Frequency Reuse Given coverage area
area cells using the same set of frequencies co-channel cell !!!

Interference between these cells is called

CO-CHANNEL INTERFERENCE.

However, co-channel interference cannot be overcome just by increasing the carrier power of a transmitter.
Because increase in carrier transmit power increases the
interference.

How to Reduce co-channel interference?

Co-channel cells must be physically separated by a minimum distance to provide sufficient isolation.
Co-Channel Interference

Cell Site-to-Mobile Interference (Downlink)

Mobile-to Cell-Site Interferences (Uplink)

 Co-Channel Interference
(Base Mobile) : DOWNLINK

(Mobile Base) : UPLINK

UPLINK All mobiles (in 6 cells + central cell)

assigned to the same frequency channel

DOWNLINK All base stations (in 6 cells and

central cell) have the same frequency channel.

Note: if we allocate channels to a cell, part of

the channels are used for downlink; the rest
are for uplink.
 Co-Channel Interference
(Base Mobile ): DOWNLINK CASE
From the base stations of co-channel cells: interference
received by the mobile in the center cell.

Desired signal is from the base to mobile in the center

cell itself.

Alarge is the area of the hexagonal cells of the large one.

Asmall is the area of each cell.
Alarge/Asmall A number of cells in this each repetitious
pattern (3N).
 Co-Channel Interference
Intracell Interference: interferences from other mobile terminals in the
same cell.
Duplex systems
Background white noise

Intercell interference: interferences from other cells.

More evident in the downlink than uplink for reception
Can be reduced by using different set of frequencies

Design considerations:
Frequency reuse
Interference
System capacity

Bottomline: It determines link performance which in turn dictates the

frequency reuse plan and overall capacity of the system.
 Co-Channel Interference
For simplicity, we consider only the average channel quality
as a function of the distance dependent path loss.
Signal-to-Co-channel interference ratio, (S/I), at the desired
mobile receiver which monitors the forward channel is
defined by

S S
NI
I
I
i 1
i

S is the desired signal power from desired base station

Ii is interference power caused by the i-th interfering co-
channel cells base station.
NI is the number of co-channel interfering cells
(NI = Cluster size 1)
 Co-Channel Interference
The desired signal power S from desired base station
is proportional to r - , where r is the distance between
the mobile and the serving base station. is the path
loss component.

Likewise, from power viewpoint, the received

interference, Ii, between the ith interferer (base
station) and the mobile is proportional to (Di)-.

Assume the transmits powers from all base stations are

equal, then we have S r
NI
I
Di

i 1
 Co-Channel Interference

Consider only the first tier of interfering cells,

if all interfering base stations are equidistant from
the desired base station and if this distance is
equal to the distance D between cell centers,
then the above equation can be simplified to:
(i.e., r=R and assume Di=D and use q=D/R):

S r R ( D / R ) q
NI


I NI D NI NI
Di
i 1

 Co-Channel Interference
Thus Frequency reuse ratio, q q [ N I ( SI )]1/
e.g., NI = 6 S 1/
q [6( I )]
Example: for =4, S/I > 18dB (the larger, the better),
q > (6 101.8)1/4 = 4.41. (dB=10Logx)
The cluster size N should be (from eq. q=sqrt(3N) N
= q2/3 > 6.79 7.
i.e.,A 7-cell reuse pattern is needed for an S/I ratio of
18dB. Based on q=D/R, we can select D by choosing the
cell radius R.
Remember -- co-
channel reuse ratio
S 1/
q [ N I ( I )]
(Frequency Reuse

Factor) q --
q=sqrt(3N)

q=D/R

NI = Cluster size 1

N =i2+ij+j2
 Co-Channel Interference

An S/I of 18 dB is the measured value

for the accepted voice quality from the
present day cellular mobile receivers.

Sufficient voice quality is provided when

S/I is greater than or equal to 18dB.
 Example:
Co-Channel Interference
If S/I = 15 dB required for satisfactory performance for forward channel
performance of a cellular system.

a) What is the Frequency Reuse Factor q (assume K=4)?

b) Can we use K=3?

Assume 6 co-channels all of them (same distance from the mobile),

I.e. N=7
Example:
Co-Channel Interference
a) NI =6 => cluster size N= 7, and when =4
The co-channel reuse ratio is
q=D/R=sqrt(3N)=4.583

S q
16 (4.583) 4 75.3
I NI

Or 18.66 dB greater than the minimum required

level ACCEPT IT!!!
b) N= 7 and =3
S q
16 ( 4.583)3 16.04
I NI
Or 12.05 dB less than the minimum required level
REJECT IT!!!
Example:
co-Channel Interference
We need a larger N (thus q is larger). Use eq.
N =i2+ij+j2, for i=j=2 next possible value is
N=12.

q=D/R=sqrt(3N) =6 and =3

S q
111 (6) 3 19.6
I NI

Or 15.56 dB N=12 can be used for minimum

requirement, but it decreases the capacity (we
already gave an example: when cluster size is
smaller, the capacity is larger).
 Worst Case Co-Channel Interference
i.e., mobile terminal is located at the cell boundary where it
receives the weakest signal from its own cell but is subjected to
strong interference from all all the interfering cells.
We need to modify our assumption, (we assumed Di=D).
The S/I ratio can be expressed as
S r R

I NI
2( D R) 2 D 2( D R)
Di

D+R
i 1

S 1 R

I 2(q 1) 4 2q 2(q 1) 4 D D+R

D
Used D/R=q and =4. D-R
Where q=4.6 for D-R
normal seven cell reuse pattern.
 Example: Worst Case
Cochannel Interference (2)
A cellular system that requires an S/I ratio of
18dB. (a) if cluster size is 7, what is the
worst-case S/I? (b) Is a frequency reuse
factor of 7 acceptable in terms of co-channel
interference? If not, what would be a better
choice of frequency reuse ratio?

Solution
(a) N=7 q = 3 N 4.6 . If a path loss component of
=4, the worst-case signal-to-interference ratio is S/I =
54.3 or 17.3 dB.
(b) The value of S/I is below the acceptable
level of 18dB. We need to decrease I by
 Example: Worst Case
Cochannel Interference
For a conservative estimate if we use
the shortest distance (=D-R) then
S 1
4
1
6 ( 3.6 ) 4
28
I 6( q 1)

Or 14.47 dB.
REMARK: In real situations, because of imperfect cell site
locations
and the rolling nature of the terrain configuration, the S/I
ratio is often less than 17.3 dB. It could be 14dB or lower which
can occur in heavy traffic.
Thus, the cellular system should be designed around the S/I ratio
of the worst case.
 Example: Worst Case
Co-Channel Interference

REMARK:
If we consider the worst case for a 7-cell reuse pattern
We conclude that a co-channel interference reduction factor of
q=4.6 is not enough in an omnidirectional cell system.
In an omnidirectional cell system N=9 (q=5.2) or N=12 (q=6.0)
the cell reuse pattern would be a better choice.
These cell reuse patterns would provide the S/I ratio of 19.78 dB
and 22.54 dB, respectively.
 2. ADJACENT CHANNEL INTERFERENCE
Interference resulting from signals which are adjacent
in frequency to the desired signal is called
ADJACENT CHANNEL INTERFERENCE.

WHY?
From imperfect receiver filters (which allow nearby frequencies) to leak into the pass-band.

NEAR FAR EFFECT:

Adjacent channel user is transmitting in very close range to a subscribers receiver, while the receiver attempts to receive a base station
on the desired channel.
Near far effect also occurs, when a mobile close to a base station transmits on a channel close to one being used by a weak mobile.
mobile.
Base station may have difficulty in discriminating the desired mobile user from the bleedover caused by the close adjacent channel mobil
 ADJACENT CHANNEL INTERFERENCE

How to reduce?
Careful filtering
Channel assignment
assignment no channel assignment which are all adjacent in frequency.
Keeping frequency separation between each channel in a given cell as large as possible.

e.g., in AMPS System there are 395 voice channels which

are divided into 21 subsets each with 19 channels.

In each subset, the closest adjacent channel is 21 channels away.

7-cell reuse -> each cell uses 3 subsets of channels.
3 subsets are assigned such that every channel in the cell is assured of being separated from every other channel by at least 7
channel spacings.
 Cell Splitting
A method to increase the capacity of a cellular
system by dividing one cell into more smaller cells.
Cell splitting reduces the call blocking probability
because the number of channels is increased. But it
increases the handoff rate, i.e., more frequent
crossing of borders between the cells.

We have the formula in calculating path loss:

Pr(dBW) = P0(dBW) - 10 log10(d/d0)
where d0 is the distance from the reference point
to the transmitter, and P0 is the power received at
the reference point.
 Cell Splitting brings
stronger Pr
Let Pt1 and Pt2 be the transmit power of
the large cell BS and medium cell BS,
respectively.
R
From dB viewpoint, The received power at R/2
the edge of large cell is
Pr1 = P0 - 10 log10(R/d0)

From non-dB viewpoint, The received power

at the edge of large cell, Pr1 is
proportional to
Pt1 (R)- .

The received power at the edge of R/2

cell (small cell), Pr2 is proportional to
Pt2 (R/2)- .

With the equal received power, we have Pt1

(R)- = Pt2 (R/2)- , i.e., Pt1/Pt2= 2
 Example Cell Splitting
Suppose each BS is allocated 60 channels regardless of the cell
size.
Find the number of channels contained in a 3x3 km2 area
without cell splitting, (assume cell size R= 1km),
and with cell splitting, R/2 = 0.5km.

The number of cells for R=1km.

1. Each large cell can cover 3.14km 2, for 9
km2 approximately need 9/3.14 => 3 cells.
However, N =i2+ij+j2. A better
approximation is 4 cells. So the number of
channels is 4x60=240.
2. With small cells, the number of cells (to
cover 9 km2 ) is approximately 9 /
(3.14x(1/0.5)2 )= 4 (last case) x4 = 16.
Then the number of channels is
 Cell Sectoring
(Directional
Omni-directional antennas allow transmission of radio signals with equal power strength in all directions.

Antennas)
Reality is an antenna covers an area of 60 degrees or 120 degrees DIRECTIONAL ANTENNAS!!!!

Cells served by these antennas are called SECTORED CELLS !!!

ANTENNAS!!!!

Many sectored antennas are mounted a BS tower located at the center of the cell and an adequate number of
antennas is placed to cover the entire 360 degrees of the cell.

.
 CELL SECTORING
Directional Antennas
(Sectoring)
1
1
2
2 4
3 3

OMNIDIRECTIONAL 120 DEGREE SECTOR 90 DEGREE SECTOR

6
5 1

4 2
3
60 DEGREE SECTOR
 Cell Sectoring
Advantages of Cell Sectoring:
(Directional
Antennas)
Coverage of smaller area by each antenna and hence lower power is required in transmitting radio signals.

Helps to decrease interference between co-channels.

co-channels.
signals.

Increase frequency reuse since each sector can reuse the same set of frequency channels as in the parent cell .

Note that a quad-sector architecture (90) has higher capacity for 90% area coverage than a tri-sector (120) cell.
 Co-Channel Interference Reduction
with the Use of Directional
Antennas (Cell Sectoring)
The basic form of antennas are
omnidirectional. Directional antennas can
increase the system capacity.

S R q
( ) omni NI

I 6 1
Di

2
1 3
i 1 2
3
If we sectorize the cell with
120o in each sector, the S/I
becomes S q Note: now 1,2,3 can use the same
( )120 channels since each antenna only
I 2 covers its own sector (no leak to
other sectors), i.e. NI= 2 instead
of 6 now!
The capacity increase is 3.
 Fixed Channel Assignment
(FCA)

Each cell is allocated a

predetermined set of voice channels.
The BS is the entity that allocates
channels to the requests. If all
channels are used in one cell, it may
borrow a channel from its neighbors
through MSC.
Fast allocation, but may result high
call blocking probabilities.
 Dynamic Channel Assignment
(DCA)

Voice channels are not allocated to

each cell permanently.
When a request is received at the
BS, this BS request a channel from
MSC.
DCA can reduce the call blocking
probability, but it needs real-time
data collection and signaling
transmission between BS and MSC.
 Call Admission Control
CAC is used to avoid congestions over the radio links and
to ensure the QoS requirements of ongoing services.

Quality of service (QoS)

Packet-level factors
Packet loss rate, packet delay, packet delay variation,
and throughput rate.

Grade of service (GoS)

Call-level factors
New call blocking probability, handoff call dropping
probability, connection forced termination probability.
 CAC Procedure
Determine the amount of available channels, i.e., the number
of channels for accepting new and handoff requests.
When the N-th request arrives, i.e., there are (N-1) ongoing
services.
If there are enough resources to admit the N-th request,
then the new request is admitted.
Otherwise, it will be denied.

In order to maintain the continuity of a handoff call, handoff

calls are given higher priority than the new call requests.
The prioritized call admission is implemented by reserving
channels for handoff calls. This method is referred to as
guard channels.
Fixed reservation and dynamic reservation.
 Cell Capacity
The average number of mobiles requesting service in unit
time (average call arrival rate):
The average length of time a mobile requires service (the
average holding time): T
The offered traffic load: a = T
e.g., in a cell with 100 mobiles, on an average, if 30
requests are generated during an hour, with average
holding time T=360 seconds, then the arrival rate
=30/3600 requests/sec.
A servicing channel that is kept busy for 1 hour is
quantitatively defined as 1 Erlang.
Hence, the offered traffic load (a) by Erlang is then
30 Calls 360 Sec
a 3 Erlangs
3600 Sec call
 Call Blocking
How likely a new user can get a connection established
successfully? Admission control of new calls.
It is measured by the probability of call blocking,
which is a quality of service (QoS) factor, a.k.a.,
(GoS) factor.
Assume we have a total number of S channels in a
radio cell.
If the number of active users during any period of
time is S, then the call blocking probability is 1.
If and only if the number of ongoing calls is less than
S, the probability of call blocking will be less than 1.
 Summary
The advantage of cellular communications
Capacity extension by frequency reuse
Cell cluster and cochannel cells
Number of cells in a cluster
Frequency reuse ratio
Cochannel interference
Impact of cluster size
Worst-case cochannel interference
Traffic load and call blocking probability
Average delay
Probability of queuing delay
Cell splitting and sectoring
Fixed channel allocation and dynamic channel allocation