Chapter 3

Cellular Concept
 Sections
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Frequency Reuse
3.3. Channel Assignment Strategies
3.4. Handoff Strategies
3.5. Interference and System Capacity
3.6. Trunking and Grade of Service
3.7. Improving Capacity in Cellular
Systems
 3.1. Introduction
 The design objective of early mobile systems
was to achieve a large coverage area by using a
single, high powered transmitter with an
antenna mounted on a tall tower.
 The approach achieved very good coverage.
 The disadvantage is the impossibility of
frequency reuse.
 Any attempts to achieve frequency reuse
would result in interference.
 The bell mobile system in New York city in
1970s only support a maximum of 12
simultaneous calls over a 1000 square miles.
Cont…
 The figure below shows cellular Concept
 Cont…
 Increased demand for mobile services became
imperative to restructure the radio telephone
system to achieve high capacity with limited
radio spectrum while at the same time covering
very large areas.
 The cellular concept was a major breakthrough in
solving the problem of spectral congestion and
user capacity.
 The concept is replacing a single high power
transmitter (large cell) with many low power
transmitters (small cells).
 Each base station is allocated a portion of the total
number of channel available to the entire system.
 Cont…
 Nearby base stations are assigned different
groups of channels.
 This fundamental principle is the
foundation for all modern wireless
communication systems.
 The concept allows mobile within a country
or continent to be manufactured with the
same set of channels.
 Any type of mobile can be used anywhere
within the region.
 3.2. Frequency Reuse
 Cellular radio systems rely on an
intelligent allocation and reuse of channels
throughout a coverage region.
 Each cellular base station is allocated a
group of radio channels to be used within a
small geographic area called a cell.
 Base stations in adjacent cells are assigned
channel groups which contain completely
different channels than neighboring cells.
 The base station antennas are designed to
achieve the desired coverage within the
particular cell.
 Cont…
 The group of channels used to cover
different cells that are separated from one
another by distances large enough to keep
interference levels within tolerable limits.
 The design process of selecting and
allocating channel groups for all of the
cellular base stations within a system is
called frequency reuse or frequency
planning.
 The figure below shows the concept of
cellular frequency reuse.
 Cont…
 The hexagonal cell shape is conceptual and a
simplistic model of the radio coverage.
 It has been universally adopted since the
hexagon permits easy and manageable analysis
of a cellular system.
 The actual radio coverage of a cell is known as
the footprint and is determined from field
measurements or propagation prediction models.
 The real footprint is amorphous in nature.
 A regular cell shape is needed for systematic
system design and adaptation for future growth.
 Cont…
 Hexagon closely approximates a circular
radiation pattern.
 Choosing a circle to represent the coverage
area might seem natural.
 Adjacent cells cannot be overlaid upon a
map without leaving gaps or creating
overlapping regions.
 Omnidirectional antennas are used in
center-excited cells.
 Sectored directional antennas are used in
corner-excited cells.
 Cont…
 Consider a cellular system which has a
total of S duplex channels.
 Each cell is allocated a group of k channels
(k<S).
 S channels are divided among N cells into
unique and disjoint channel groups.
 Total number of available radio channels
can be expressed as S = kN.
 N cells which collectively use the complete
set of available frequencies is called a
cluster.
 Cont…
 If a cluster is replicated M times within the
system, the total umber of duplex channels, C,
measure of capacity is given by:
C = MkN = MS
 The capacity of cellular system is directly
proportional to the number of times cluster
replicated in a fixed service area.
 The factor N is called the cluster size and is
typical equal to 4, 7 and 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 (a
large value of C) is achieved.
 Cont…
 A larger cluster size causes the ratio between the
cell radius and the distance between co-channel
cell to decrease, leading to weaker co-channel
interference.
 The value for N is a function of how much
interference a mobile or base station can tolerate
while maintaining a sufficient quality of
communications.
 The smallest possible value of N is desirable in
order to maximize capacity over a given coverage
area.
 1/N is the frequency reuse factor of a cellular
system.
Cont…
 Each cell within a cluster 1/N of the total
available channels in the system is
assigned.
 The number of cells (N) per cluster can only
have values which satisfy equation.
N = i2 + ij + j2
where: I and j are non-negative integers.
 To find the nearest co-channel neighbors of
a particular cell: move i cells along any
chain of hexagons and then turn 60 degrees
counter-clockwise and move j cells.
Cont…
 The figure below shows example of co-channel cells
for N = 19, i = 3, and j = 2. (19-cell reuse example)
 Cont…
 Example:
Total 33 MHz b/w allocated to a FDD
cellular system which uses 25 kHz simplex
channels to provide full duplex voice and
control channels. Find the number of
channels available per cell if a system uses:
a) four-cell reuse, b) 7-cell reuse c) 12-cell
reuse. If 1 MHz of the allocated spectrum is
dedicated to control channels, find an
equitable distribution of control channels
& voice channels.
 Cont…
 Solution
 Total b/w = 33 MHz
 Channel b/w = 2 X 25khz = 50 khz
 Total available channels S = 33, 000/50 =
660 channels
 For N=4,
 Total no of ch per cell k = 660/4 = 165
channels
 For N = 7,
 Total no of ch per cell k = 660/7 = 95
channels
 For N = 12,
 K = 660/12 = 55
 Cont…
 1MHz for control channels ie. 1000/50 = 20
control channels. So only 640 channels (660-
20) would be allotted for voice
 For N = 4,
 5 control ch + 160 voice ch per cell
 In practice each cell 1 control channel and
160 voice channels.
 For N =7,
 4 cells with (3 control ch + 92 voice ch) & 2
cells with (3 control + 90 voice ch) & 1 cell
with (2 control ch + 92 voice channels)
 In practice each cell with 1 control ch and
4 cells with 91 voice ch and 3 cells with 92
voice ch
 Cont…
 For N = 12
 8 cells with 2 CCh and 53 voice channels
 4 cells with 1 CCh and 54 voice channels
 In practice each cell 1 CCh , 8 cells with 53
voice channels and 4 cells with 54 voice
channels.
3.3. Channel Assignment Strategies
 Increase capacity and minimize interference
 Suitable frequency re-use scheme
 Ch assignment strategies
1. fixed or
2. dynamic
 Fixed scheme can borrow if the cell is full
(blocked)
 A cell is allowed to borrow channels from a
neighboring cell if all of its own channels
are occupied.
 MSC-Mobile Switching Center does this
job
 Cont…
 Dynamic channel assignment requires MSC
to collect real-time data on channel
occupancy, traffic distribution, and RSSI
(radio signal strength indication)
 This increases the storage and
computational load on the system
 but provides the advantage of increased
channel utilization and decreased
probability of a blocked call.
3.4. Handoff Strategies
 Handoff:- is transferring of a call when a
mobile moves into a different cell while a
conversation is in progress.
 Many handoff strategies prioritize handoff
requests over call initiation requests.
 Handoff must be performed successfully
and as infrequently as possible.
 Imperceptible to the users.
 System designers must specify an optimum
signal level to initiate a handoff.
Cont…
 Signal level is specified as the minimum usable
signal for acceptable voice quality at the base
station receiver. (-100dBm - -90dBm)
 A slightly stronger signal level is used as a
threshold at which a handoff is made.
 This margin Δ = prhandoff – prminimum usable ,
cannot be large or to small.
 If too large unnecessary handoffs which burden
MSC
 If too small insufficient time to complete a
handoff before a call is lost due to weak signal
Cont…
 The figure below shows a handoff situation
 Cont…
 The time over which a call maintained with
a cell, without handoff, is called dwell
time.
 Factors that govern dwell time:
1. Propagation
2. Interference
3. Distance b/n subscriber and BTS
 In 1st G handoff is done by MSC and
signal strength measurement by BTS.
 In 2G handoff decisions are mobile
assisted.
 Prioritizing Handoffs
 Guard channel concept – fraction of the total
available channels in a cell is reserved exclusively
for handoff requests.
 Disadvantage – reducing the total carried traffic.
 In dynamic channel assignment strategy offer
efficient spectrum utilization which minimize
the number of required guard channels.
 Queuing of handoff requests is another method
to decrease the probability of forced termination
of a call.
 Tradeoff b/n the decrease in probability of forced
termination and total carried traffic.
Practical handoff considerations
 Problems arise when attempting to design
for a wide range of mobile velocities.
 MSC quickly burdened if high speed users
are constantly being passed b/n very small
cells.
 Umbrella cell approach is used to provide
large area coverage to high speed users.
 The speed of each user is estimated by
BTS or MSC.
 The following figure shows Umbrella cell
approach.
Cont…
 Cell dragging is another practical handoff
problem in microcell system.
 Cell dragging creates a potential
interference and traffic management
problems.
 Dragging occurs in an urban environment
when there is a line-of-sight (LOS).
3.5. Interference and System Capacity
 Interference is major limiting factor in the
performance of cellular radio systems.
 Sources:
 Mobile stations in the same cell
 Call in progress in a neighboring cell
 Base stations operating in the same
frequency band
 Non-cellular system which inadvertently
leaks energy into the cellular frequency
band.
 Cont..
 Two major types of system-generated
cellular interferences are:
1. Co-channel interference
2. Adjacent channel interference
Co-channel interference and System Capacity
 Co-channel cells – cells that use the same set
of frequencies in a given coverage area.
 co-channel interference
 To reduce interference co-channel cells
must be physically separated by a minimum
distance to provide sufficient isolation due
to propagation.
 Co-channel interference ratio (Q) is a
function of the radius of the cell (R) and the
distance b/n centers of the nearest co-
channel cells (D).
Cont…
Q = D/R = 3N
 Increasing the ratio increases the spatial separation b/n co-
channel cells.
 Let i0 be the number of co-channel interfering cells.
 The signal to interference ratio (S/I, SIR) is:
S S
 i0
I
Ii 1
i

 Where S is the desired signal power from the desired BS.

 Ii is the interference power caused by the ith interfering co-
channel cell BS.
 Cont…
 Propagation measurements in a mobile radio channel
show that the average received signal strength at any
point decays as a power law of the distance of
separation b/n a transmitter and receiver.
 The average received power pr at a distance d from
the transmitting antenna is approximated by:

n
 d 
pr  p0   or
 d0 
 d 
pr dBm   p0 dBm   10n log  
 d0 
Cont…
 Where p0 is the power received at a close-in
reference point in the far field region of
the antenna at a small distance d0 from the
transmitting antenna.
 n is the path loss exponent.
 If Di is the distance of the ith interferer from
the mobile
 The received power at a given mobile due
to the ith interfering cell will be
proportional to (Di)-n.
Cont…
 The path loss exponent typically ranges b/n 2 and 4 in
urban cellular systems.
 When the transmit power of each BS is equal and the
path loss exponent is the same throughout the coverage
area, S/I for mobile is:
S R n
 i0
I
 i
( D
i 1
) n

 Considering the 1st layer of interfering cells, if all

interfering BSs are equidistant from the desired BS and
if this distance is equal to D b/n cell centers, then above
equation is simplified to:
Cont…
n n
S ( D / R) ( 3N )
 
I i0 i0
 Example: observe the following figure for N=7 and
n=4. SIR for worst case can be approximated as:

S R 4

or I 2( D  R) 4  2( D  R) 4  2 D 4

S 1
 4 4 4
I 2(Q  1)  2(Q  1)  2Q
Cont…
Cont…
 Example:
If a signal to interference ratio of 15 dB is
required for satisfactory forward channel
performance of a cellular system, what is
the frequency reuse factor and cluster size
that should be used for maximum capacity
if the path loss exponent is (a) n = 4 , (b) n =
3? Assume that there are 6 co-channels cells
in the first tier, and all of them are at the
same distance from the mobile. Use
suitable approximations.
Cont…
 Solution:
(a) n = 4
First, let us consider a 7-cell reuse pattern.
The co-channel reuse ratio Q = 4.583. The
signal-to-noise interference ratio is given
by S/I = (1/6)x(4.583)4 = 75.3 = 18.66 dB.
Since this is greater than the minimum
required S/I, N = 7 can be used.
Cont…
b) n = 3
First, let us consider a 7-cell reuse pattern.
The signal-to-interference ratio is given by S/I =
(l/6)x(4.583)3 = 16.04 = 12.05 dB.
Since this is less than the minimum required S/I, we
need to use a larger N.
The next possible value of N is 12, (i = j = 2). co-
channel ratio is Q = 6.0.
The signal-to-interference ratio is given by S/I = (1/6)
x (6)3 = 36 = 15.56 dB.
Since this is greater than the minimum required S/I,
N = 12 can be used.
 Adjacent Channel Interference
 Interference resulting from signals which
are adjacent in frequency to the desired
signal.
 Results from imperfect receiver filters
which allow nearby frequencies to leak
into the passband.
 near-far effect
 Minimized through careful filtering and
channel assignments.
 a cell need not be assigned channels which
are all adjacent in frequency.
Cont…
 keeping the frequency separation between
each channel in a given cell as large as
possible.
 By sequentially assigning successive channels
in the frequency band to different cells.
 prevent a secondary source of adjacent
channel interference by avoiding the use of
adjacent channels in neighboring cell sites.
 If the frequency reuse factor is small, the
separation between adjacent channels may not
be sufficient to keep the interference level
within tolerable limits.
Power Control for Reducing Interference
 Power levels transmitted by every
subscriber unit are under constant control
by the serving base stations.
 ensures that each mobile transmits the
smallest power necessary to maintain a
good quality link on the reverse channel.
 helps prolong battery life.
 dramatically reduces the reverse channel
S/I in the system.
 3.6. Trunking and Grade of Service
 Cellular radio systems rely on trunking to
accommodate a large number of users in a limited
radio spectrum.
 Allows a large number of users to share the
relatively small number of channels in a cell.
 Providing access to each user, on demand, from a
pool of available channels
 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.
 Cont…
 Trunking exploits the statistical behavior of
users so that a fixed number of channels or
circuits may accommodate a large, random
user community.
 In a trunked mobile radio system, when a
particular user requests service and all of
the radio channels are already in use, the
user is blocked, or denied access to the
system.
 a queue may be used to hold the requesting
users until a channel becomes available.
Cont…
 The grade of service (GOS) is a measure of
the ability of a user to access a trunked
system during the busiest hour.
 GOS is a benchmark used to define the
desired performance of a particular trunked
system.
 GOS is typically given as the likelihood
that a call is blocked, or the likelihood of a
call experiencing a delay greater than a
certain queuing time.
Cont…
 Definitions 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, the average channel occupancy
measured in Erlangs. A dimensionless quantity
used to measure the time utilization of single or
multiple channels. Denoted by A.
Cont…
 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.
Cont…
 The traffic intensity offered by each user is
equal to the call request rate multiplied by the
holding time.
 Each user generates a traffic intensity of Au
Erlangs given by:
Au = λH
 Where H is the average duration of a call and λ
is the average number of call requests per unit
time.
 For a system containing U users and an
unspecified number of channels, the total
offered traffic intensity A, is given as A = U
Au.
Cont…
 If the traffic is equally distributed among
the channels the traffic intensity per
channel, is given as:
Ac = U Au./C
 There are two types of trunked systems:
1. blocked calls cleared
2. Blocked Calls Delayed
Cont…
1. blocked calls cleared
 No queuing for call requests
 If no channels are available, the
requesting user is blocked.
 free to try again later
 The Erlang B formula
 The Erlang B formula determines the
probability that a call is blocked and is a
measure of the GOS for a trunked system
which provides no queuing for blocked
calls.
Cont…
 The Erlang B formula is given by:
AC
pr (blocking )  C C! k  GOS
A
k 0 k!
 where C is the number of trunked
channels and A is the total offered traffic.
 The capacity of a trunked radio system
where blocked calls are lost is tabulated
for various values of GOS and numbers of
channels in the following Table.
Cont…
Cont…
2. Blocked Calls Delayed
 queue is provided to hold calls which are
blocked.
 If no channels are immediately available the
call is delayed
 GOS is defined as the probability that a call
is blocked after waiting a specific length of
time in the queue.
 The likelihood of a call not having
immediate access to a channel is determined
by the Erlang C formula.
 Erlang C formula is:
Cont…
C
A
pr[delay  0]  C 1
 A k
A
A  C!1  
C

 C  k  0 k!
 The probability that the delayed call is forced to wait
more than t seconds is given by the probability that a call
is delayed, multiplied by the conditional probability that
the delay is greater than t seconds.
 The GOS of a trunked system where blocked calls are
delayed is hence given by:

pr[delay  t ]  pr[delay  0] pr[delay  t | delay  0]

 pr[delay  0] exp( (C  A)t / H )
Cont…
 The average delay D for all calls in a
queued system is given by:
H
D  pr[delay  0]
CA
 where the average delay for those calls
which are queued is given by H/(C—A).
 Erlang C formulas are plotted in graphical
form in the following figure.
Cont…
Cont…
 Example 1:
How many users can be supported for 0.5%
blocking probability for the following
number of trunked channels in a blocked
calls cleared system? (a) 1, (b) 5, (c) 10, (d)
20, (e) 100. Assume each user generates 0.1
Erlangs of traffic.
 Solution:
From Erlang B Table we can find the total capacity in
Erlangs for the 0.5% GOS for different numbers of
channels. By using the relation A = UAu, we can
obtain the total number of users that can be supported
in the system.
Cont…
 (a) Given C = 1 , Au= 0.1, GOS = 0.005
From Erlang B figure, we obtain A = 0.005.
total number of users, U = A/Au = 0.005/0.1
= 0.05 users.
But, actually one user could be supported
on one channel. So, U = 1.
 (b) Given C = 5, Au = 0.1, GOS = 0.005 From
table, we obtain A = 1.13.
total number of users, U = A/Au = 1.13/0.1 ≈
11 users.
 Cont…
 (c) Given C = 10, Au = 0.1 , GOS = 0.005 From
table, we obtain A = 3.96.
total number of users, U = A/Au = 3.96/0.1 ≈ 39
users.
 (d) Given C = 20, Au = 0.1 , GOS = 0.005 from
table, we obtain A = 11.10.
total number of users, U = A/Au = 11.1/0.1 = 111
users.
 (e) Given C = 100, Au= 0.1 , GOS = 0.005, From
table, we obtain A = 80.9.
total number of users, U = A/Au = 80.9/0.1 = 809
users.
Cont…
 Example 2:
An urban area has a population of 2 million residents.
Three competing trunked mobile networks (systems
A, B, and C) provide cellular service in this area.
System A has 394 cells with 19 channels each, system
B has 98 cells with 57 channels each, and system C has
49 cells, each with 100 channels. Find the number of
users that can be supported at 2% blocking, if each
user averages 2 calls per hour at an average call
duration of 3 minutes. Assuming that all three
trunked systems are operated at maximum capacity,
compute the percentage market penetration of each
cellular provider.
 Cont…
 Solution:
System A
Given:
Probability of blocking = 2% = 0.02
Number of channels per cell used in the system, C =
19
Traffic intensity per user, Au = λH = 2 x (3/60) = 0.1
Erlangs
For GOS = 0.02 and C = 19, from the Erlang B chart,
the total carried traffic, A, is obtained as 12 Erlangs.
Therefore, the number of users that can be supported
per cell is U = A/Au = 12/0.1 = 120.
Since there are 394 cells, the total number of'
subscribers that can be supported by System A is equal to
120 x 394 = 47280.
Cont…
System B
Given:
Probability of blocking = 2% = 0.02
Number of channels per cell used in the system, C = 57
Traffic intensity per user, Au = λH = 2 x (3/60) = 0.1
Erlangs
For GOS = 0.02 and C = 57, from the Erlang B chart, the
total carried traffic, A, is obtained as 45 Erlangs.
Therefore, the number of users that can be supported
per cell is U = A/Au = 45/0.1 = 450.
Since there are 98 cells, the total number of subscribers
that can be supported by System B is equal to 450 x 98 =
44100.
Cont…
System C
Given:
Probability of blocking = 2% = 0.02
Number of channels per cell used in the system, C =
100
Traffic intensity per user, = λH = 2 x (3/60) = 0.1
Erlangs
For GOS = 0.02 and C = 100, from the Erlang B chart,
the total carried traffic, A is obtained as 88 Erlangs.
Therefore, the number of users that can be supported
per cell is U = A/Au = 88/0.1 = 880.
Since there are 49 cells, the total number of
subscribers that can be supported by System C is equal to
880 x 49 = 43120
Cont…
 Therefore, total number of cellular subscribers that
can be supported by these three systems are 47280 +
44100 + 43120 = 134500 users.
 Since there are 2 million residents in the given urban
area and the total number of cellular subscribers in
System A is equal to 47280, the percentage market
penetration is equal to 47280/2000000 = 2.36%
 market penetration of System B is equal to
44100/2000000 = 2.205%
 market penetration of System C is equal to
43120/2000000 = 2356%
 The market penetration of the three systems combined
is equal to 134500/2000000 = 6.725%
Cont…
 Example 3:
A certain city has an area of 1,300 square miles and
is covered by a cellular system using a 7-cell reuse
pattern. Each cell has a radius of 4 miles and the
city is allocated 40 MHz of spectrum with a full
duplex channel bandwidth of 60 kHz. Assume a
GOS of 2% for an Erlang B system is specified. If
the offered traffic per user is 0.03 Erlangs,
compute
(a) the number of cells in the service area
(b) the number of channels per cell
(c) traffic intensity of each cell
(d) the maximum carried traffic
(e) the total number of users that can be served for 2% GOS,
(f) the number of mobiles per channel and
(g) the theoretical maximum number of users that could be served at
one time by the system.
Cont…
 Solution:
(a)Given:
The total coverage area = 1300 miles
Cell radius = 4 miles
The area of a cell is 2.5981R2 = 2.5981 x (4)2 =
41.57 sqmi.
Hence, the total number of cells are =
1300/41.57 = 31 cells.
Cont…
 (b) The total number of channels per cell (C) =
allocated spectrum / (channel width x frequency
reuse factor) = 40, 000/ (60 x 7) = 95 channels/cell.
 (c) Given: C = 95, and GOS = 0.02, From the Erlang
B chart, we have traffic intensity per cell A = 84
Erlangs/cell.
 (d) Maximum carried traffic = number of cells x
traffic intensity per cell = 31 x 84 = 2604 Erlangs.
 (e) Given traffic per user = 0.03 Erlangs, total
number of users = total traffic / traffic per user =
2604 / 0.02 = 86,800 users.
Cont…
 (f) Number of mobiles per channel =
number of users/number of channels =
86,800 / 666 = 130 mobiles/channel
 (g) The theoretical maximum number of
served mobiles is the number of available
channels in the system (all channels
occupied) = C x Nc = 95 x 31 = 2945 users
which is 3.4% of the customer base.
Cont…
 Example 4:
A hexagonal cell within a 4-cell system has a
radius of 1.387 km. A total of 60 channels are used
within the entire system. If the load per user is
0.029 Erlangs, and λ = call/hour, compute the
following for an Erlang C system that has a 5%
probability of a delayed call:
 (a) How many users per square kilometer will this
system support?
 (b) What is the probability that a delayed call will
have to wait for more than l0 seconds?
 (c) What is the probability that a call will be
delayed for more than 10 seconds?
Cont…
 Solution:
Given,
Cell radius, R = 1.387 km
Area covered per cell is 2.598 x (1.387)2 = 5
sq km
Number of cells per cluster = 4
Total number of channels = 60
Therefore, number of channels per cell = 60
/ 4 = 15 channels.
Cont…
 (a) From Erlang C chart, for 5% probability of
delay with C = 15, traffic intensity = 9.0 Erlangs.
Therefore, number of users = total traffic intensity
/ traffic per user =9.0/0.029 = 310 users = 310
users/5 sq km = 62 users/sq km.
 (b) Given λ = 1 , holding time H = Au/λ = 0.029
hour = 104.4 seconds.
The probability that a delayed call will have to wait
for more than 10 s is
Pr[delay>t|delay] = exp(—(C-A)t/H)
= exp(—(15—9.0)10/l04.4) = 56.29 %
Cont…
 (c) Given pr[delay >0] = 5% = 0.05
Probability that a call is delayed more than
10 seconds,
Pr[delay> 0] =pr[delay>0]pr[delay>t|delay]
= 0.05 x 0.5629 = 2.81 %
3.7. Improving Capacity in Cellular Systems
 The number of channels assigned to a cell
eventually becomes insufficient to support
the required number of users.
 Cellular design techniques are needed to
provide more channels per unit coverage
area.
 Techniques:
 cell splitting
 sectoring and
 coverage zone approaches
Cell Splitting
 Process of subdividing a congested cell into
smaller cells.
 Each cell with its own base station and a
corresponding reduction in antenna height and
transmitter power.
 Increases the number of times that channels are
reused.
 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.
 The following figure shows cell splitting.
Cont…
 Sectoring
 capacity improvement is achieved by
reducing the number of cells in a cluster
and thus increasing the frequency reuse.
 necessary to reduce the relative interference
without decreasing the transmit power.
 The co-channel interference in a cellular
system may be decreased by replacing a
single omni-directional antenna at the base
station by several directional antennas,
each radiating within a specified sector.
Cont…
 By using directional antennas, a given cell
will receive interference and transmit with
only a fraction of the available co-channel
cells.
 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.
Cont…

 A cell is normally partitioned into three

1200 sectors or six 60° sectors.
 Sectoring improves S/I.
 The following figure shows 1200 sectoring
of N = 7.
Cont…
 A Novel Microcell Zone Concept
 The increased number of handoffs required
when sectoring is employed results in an
increased load on the switching and control
link elements of the mobile system.
 A solution to this problem was proposed
based on a microcell concept for 7 cell reuse.
 Figure below shows each of the three (or
possibly more) zone sites (represented as
Tx/Rx) are connected to a single base station
and share the same radio equipment.
 zones are connected by coaxial cable, fiber-
optic cable, or microwave link to the base
station.
Cont…

The Zone Cell Concept

Cont…
 Multiple zones and a single base station make
up a cell.
 As a mobile travels within the cell, it is served
by the zone with the strongest signal.
 any base station channel may be assigned to any
zone by the base station.
 As a mobile travels from one zone to another
within the cell, it retains the same channel.
 unlike in sectoring, a handoff is not required at
the MSC when the mobile travels between
zones within the cell.
 The base station simply switches the channel to
a different zone site.
Cont…
 a given channel is active only in the particular zone in
which the mobile is traveling.
 The channels are distributed in time and space by all
three zones and are also reused in co-channel cells in
the normal fashion.
 The advantage of the zone cell technique is that while
the cell maintains a particular coverage radius, the co-
channel interference in the cellular system is reduced
since a large central base station is replaced by several
lower powered transmitters (zone transmitters) on the
edges of the cell.
 Decreased co-channel interference improves the signal
quality and also leads to an increase in capacity
without the degradation in trunking efficiency.
Summary
 Handoff
 Frequency reuse
 Trunking efficiency
 Frequency planning
 capacity of a cellular system
 Channel assignments
 Grade of Service