Wireless Communication

· What is wireless communication?

– Basically the study of how signals travel in the wireless medium

– To understand wireless networking, we first need to understand

the basic characteristics of wireless communications
– How further the signal can travel
– How strong the signal is
– How much reliable would it be (how frequently the signal strength vary)
– Indoor propagation
– Outdoor propagation and
– Many more…

– Wireless communication is significantly different from wired

communication
 Basics

· When electrons move, they create electromagnetic

waves that can propagate through the space
· Number of oscillations per second of an
electromagnetic wave is called its frequency, f,
measured in Hertz.
· The distance between two consecutive maxima is
called the wavelength, designated by l.

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 Basics

· By attaching an antenna of the appropriate size to

an electrical circuit, the electromagnetic waves can
be broadcast efficiently and received by a receiver
some distance away.
· In vacuum, all electromagnetic waves travel at the
speed of light: c = 3x108 m/sec.
· In copper or fiber the speed slows down to about
2/3 of this value.
· Relation between f, l , c: lf = c

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 Basics

· We have seen earlier the electromagnetic

spectrum.
· The radio, microwave, infrared, and visible light
portions of the spectrum can all be used to transmit
information
– By modulating the amplitude, frequency, or phase of the
waves.

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 Basics

· wireless channel is characterized by a

frequency band (called its bandwidth)
· Amount of information a wireless channel can
carry is related to its bandwidth
· Most wireless transmission use narrow
frequency band (Df << f)
– Df: frequency band
– f: middle frequency where transmission occurs
· New technologies use spread spectrum
techniques
– A wider frequency band is used for transmission

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 Basics - Propagation

· Radio waves are

– Easy to generate, Can travel long distances
– Can penetrate buildings, They are both used for indoor
and outdoor communication
– They are omni-directional: can travel in all directions
– They can be narrowly focused at high frequencies
(greater than 100MHz) using parabolic antennas (like
satellite dishes)
– Properties of radio waves are frequency dependent
– At low frequencies, they pass through obstacles well,
but the power falls off sharply with distance from source
– At high frequencies, they tend to travel in straight lines
and bounce of obstacles (they can also be absorbed by
rain)
– They are subject to interference from other radio wave
sources
Ibrahim Korpeoglu
CS 515
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 Basics - Propagation

At VLF, LF, and MF bands,

radio waves follow the
ground.
AM radio broadcasting uses
MF band

reflection

At HF bands, the ground waves Ionosphere

tend to be absorbed by the earth.
The waves that reach ionosphere
(100-500km above earth surface),
are refracted and sent back to
earth.

absorption

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 Basics - Propagation

VHF Transmission
LOS path

Reflected Wave

• Directional aantennas are used

• Waves follow more direct paths
• LOS: Line-of-Sight Communication
•Reflected wave interfere with the
original signal

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 Basics - Propagation

· Waves behave more like light at higher frequencies

– Difficulty in passing obstacles
– More direct paths
· They behave more like radio at lower frequencies
– Can pass obstacles

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 Propagation Models

· We are interested in propagation characteristics

and models for waves with frequencyy in range: few
MHz to a few GHz
· Modeling radio channel is important for:
– Determining the coverage area of a transmitter
– Determine the transmitter power requirement
– Determine the battery lifetime
– Finding modulation and coding schemes to improve the channel
quality
– Determine the maximum channel capacity

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 Radio Propagation Models

· Transmission path between sender and receiver

could be
– Line-of-Sight (LOS)
– Obstructed by buildings, mountains and foliage
· Even speed of motion effects the fading
characteristics of the channel

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 Radio Propagation Mechanisms

· The physical mechanisms that govern radio

propagation are complex and diverse, but
generally attributed to the following three
factors
1. Reflection
2. Diffraction
3. Scattering
– Reflection
– Occurs when waves impinges upon an obstruction
that is much larger in size compared to the
wavelength of the signal
– Example: reflections from earth and buildings
– These reflections may interfere with the original
signal constructively or destructively

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 Radio Propagation Mechanisms

– Diffraction
– Occurs when the radio path between sender and receiver
is obstructed by an impenetrable body and by a surface
with sharp irregularities (edges)
– Explains how radio signals can travel urban and rural
environments without a line-of-sight path

– Scattering
– Occurs when the radio channel contains objects whose
sizes are on the order of the wavelength or less of the
propagating wave and also when the number of
obstacles are quite large.
– They are produced by small objects, rough surfaces and
other irregularities on the channel
– Follows same principles with diffraction
– Causes the transmitter energy to be radiated in many
directions
– Lamp posts and street signs may cause scattering

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 Radio Propagation Mechanisms

R
Transmitter
Street
S D

R: Reflection Receiver
D: Diffraction Building Blocks
S: Scattering

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 Radio Propagation Mechanisms

· As a mobile moves through a coverage area, these

3 mechanisms have an impact on the instantaneous
received signal strength.
– If a mobile does have a clear line of sight path to the base-
station, than diffraction and scattering will not dominate the
propagation.
– If a mobile is at a street level without LOS, then diffraction and
scattering will probably dominate the propagation.

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 Radio Propagation Models

· As the mobile moves over small distances, the

instantaneous received signal will fluctuate rapidly
giving rise to small-scale fading
– The reason is that the signal is the sum of many contributors coming
from different directions and since the phases of these signals are
random, the sum behave like a noise (Rayleigh fading).
– In small scale fading, the received signal power may change as much
as 3 or 4 orders of magnitude (30dB or 40dB), when the receiver is
only moved a fraction of the wavelength.

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 Radio Propagation Models

· As the mobile moves away from the transmitter

over larger distances, the local average
received signal will gradually decrease. This is
called large-scale path loss.
– Typically the local average received power is
computed by averaging signal measurements over
a measurement track of 5l to 40l. (For PCS, this
means 1m-10m track)
· The models that predict the mean signal
strength for an arbitrary-receiver transmitter (T-
R) separation distance are called large-scale
propagation models
– Useful for estimating the coverage area of
transmitters
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 Small-Scale and Large-
Scale Fading
Received Power (dBm)

-30

-40

-50

-60

This figure is just an illustration

to show the concept. It is not based on read
-70 data.

14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28

T-R Separation (meters)

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 What is Decibel (dB)

· What is dB (decibel):
– A logarithmic unit that is used to describe a ratio.
– Let say we have two values P1 and P2. The
difference (ratio) between them can be expressed in
dB and is computed as follows:
– 10 log (P1/P2) dB
– Example: transmit power P1 = 100W,
received power P2 = 1 W
– The difference is 10log(100/1) = 20dB.

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 dB

· dB unit can describe very big ratios with numbers of

modest size.
–See some examples:
– Tx power = 100W, Received power = 1W
– Tx power is 100 times of received power
– Difference is 20dB
– Tx power = 100W, Received power = 1mW
– Tx power is 100,000 times of received power
– Difference is 50dB
– Tx power = 1000W, Received power = 1mW
– Tx power is million times of received power
– Difference is 60dB

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 dBm

· For power differences, dBm is used to denote a

power level with respect to 1mW as the reference
power level.
– Let say Tx power of a system is 100W.
– Question: What is the Tx power in unit of dBm?
– Answer:
– Tx_power(dBm) = 10log(100W/1mW) = 10log(100W/0.001W) =
10log(100,000) = 50dBm

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 dBW

· For power differences, dBW is used to denote a

power level with respect to 1W as the reference
power level.
– Let say Tx power of a system is 100W.
– Question: What is the Tx power in unit of dBW?
– Answer:
– Tx_power(dBW) = 10log(100W/1W) = 10log(100) = 20dBW.

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Decibel (dB)
versus
Power Ratio

Comparison of
two Sound Systems

25
 Wireless Propagation Characteristics

· Most wireless radio systems operate in

urban area
– No direct line-of-sight (los) between
transmitter and receiver

· Radio wave propagation attributed to

– Reflection
– Diffraction and
– Scattering Reflection (R), diffraction (D) and scattering
(S).

· Waves travel along different paths of

varying lengths
– Multipath propagation
– Interaction of these waves can be
constructive or destructive
 Wireless Propagation Characteristics(contd.)

· Strengths of the waves decrease as the distance between Tx and Rx

increase

· We need Propagation models that predict the signal strength at Rx

from a Tx

· One of the challenging tasks due to randomness and unpredictability

in the surrounding environment

Pr v
Pt

d=vt
 Wireless Propagation Models

· Can be categorized into two types:

– Large-scale propagation models
– Small-scale propagation models

· Large-scale propagation models

– Propagation models that characterize signal strengths over Tx-
Rx separation distance

· Small-scale propagation models

– Characterize received signal strengths varying over short
scale
– Short travel distance of the receiver
– Short time duration
 Large-scale propagation model

· Also known as Path loss model

· There are numerous path loss models
– Free space path loss model
– Simple and good for analysis
– Mostly used for direct line-of-sight
– Not so perfect for non-LOS but can be approximated

– Ray-tracing model
– 2-ray propagation model
– Site/terrain specific and can not be generalized easily

– Empirical models
– Modeled over data gathered from experiments
– Extremely specific
– But more accurate in the specific environment
 Free space Path Loss Model

· What is the general principle?

– The received power decays as a function of Tx-Rx
separation distance raised to some power
– i.e., power-law function

· Path loss for unobstructed LOS path

· Power falls off :
– Proportional to d2

Pt
Pr (d )  2
d
 Free space Path Loss Model (contd.)

Pt Gt Gr 
2
• Pt is transmited power
Pr (d )  • Pr(d) is the received power
(4 ) d L
2 2
• Gt is the trasmitter antenna
gain (dimensionless
quantity)
• Gr is the receiver antenna
4 Ae gain (dimensionless
where, G  2 quantity)
 • d is T-R separation distance
in meters
• L is system loss factor not
related to propagation (L >=
c 1)
and ,   • L = 1 indicates no loss in
f system hardware (for our
purposes we will take L =
1, so we will igonore it in
our calculations).
• l is wavelength in meters.
 Free space Path Loss (contd.)

· What is the path loss?

– Represents signal attenuation

Tx power Pt

Rx power Pr
 Path Loss in dB

· It is difficult to express Path loss using transmit/receive

power
– Can be very large or
– Very small
· Expressed as a positive quantity measured in dB
– dB is a unit expressed using logarithmic scale
– Widely used in wireless

Pt  Gt Gr 2 
PL ( dB ) 10 log  10 log  2 
Pr  ( 4 ) 2
d 
– With unity antenna gain,

Pt  2 
PL ( dB ) 10 log  10 log  2 
Pr  ( 4 ) 2
d 
 dBm and dBW

· dBm and dBW are other two variations of dB

– dB references two powers (Tx and Rx)
– dBm expresses measured power referenced to one mW
– Particularly applicable for very low received signal strength
– dBW expresses measured power referenced to one watt
– dBm Widely used in wireless

 P 
x dBm 10 log 
 1mW 
– P in mW

· In a wireless card specification, it is written that typical range for

IEEE 802.11 received signal strength is -60 to -80 dBm. What is
the received signal strength range in terms of watt or mW?
 Relationship between dB and dBm

· What is the relationship between dB and dBm?

– In reality, no such relationship exists
– dB is dimensionless
– dB is 10 log(value/value) and dBm is 10 log (value/1miliwatt)

· However, we can make a quick relationship between dBm and

dBW and use the concept wisely!

x dBm x
3
x
10 10
in W
10 10
in mW x
10(  3) in dBW
x 10
10 10
/ 103 in W x  30 in dBW
x
3
10 10
in W
 Back to Path Loss model

· We saw Path loss expressed in dB

Pt  2 
PL ( dB ) 10 log  10 log  2 
Pr  ( 4 ) 2
d 
– Note, the above eqn does not hold for d=0

· For this purpose, a close-in distance d0 is used as a reference point

– It is assumed that the received signal strength at d0 is known
– Received signal strength is then calculated relative to d0

d  d0
– For a typical Wi-Fi analysis, d0 can be 1 m.
 Back to Path Loss model (contd.)

· Pt is transmited
The received power at a distance d is then power
Pr(d) is the received 2 power
 d0 
Pr ( d )  GP is
t r ( d
the )
0 
trasmitter  antenna

gain (dimensionless d  quantity)
Gr is the receiver antenna
gain (dimensionless quantity)
· In dBm, d is T-R separation distance
in meters

L is system loss
2
 dfactor
0 
 not
related to Pr propagation
(d 0 )   (L >=
 d  
Pr ( d ) ( dBm) 10 log  1)
 1mW 
L = 1 indicates no loss  in

system hardware (for our 
purposes we will take L =
1, so we will igonore it in
 Pr (our
d 0 ) calculations).
  d0 
Pr ( d ) ( dBm) 10 log l is
 1 wavelength   20 log
in meters.
 d 
 mW   

d 
Pr ( d ) ( dBm) Pr ( d 0 )( dBm)  20 log  0 
 d 
 Path Loss Model Generalized

· In reality, direct LOS may not exist in urban areas

· Free space Path Loss model is therefore generalized
n
d 
Pr ( d )  Pr ( d 0 )  0 
 d 
– n is called the Path Loss exponent
– Indicates the rate at which the Path Loss increases with
distance d, obstructions in the path, surrounding environment
– The worse the environment is the greater the value of n
 Path Loss Exponents for different environments

Environment Path Loss Exponent, n

Free space 2
Urban area cellular radio 2.7 – 3.5
Urban area cellular (obstructed) 3–5
In-building line-of-sight 1.6 – 1.8
Obstructed in-building 4–6
Obstructed in-factories 2–3
 Path Loss Model Generalized (contd.)

· Generalized Path Loss referenced in dB scale

n
d 
Pr ( d )  Pr ( d 0 )  0 
 d 
 Pt   Pt   d 
10 log   10 log    10 n log  
 Pr ( d )   Pr ( d 0 )   d0 
 d 
PL ( d ) PL ( d 0 ) 10n log  
d
 0
· Received signal strength referenced in dBm scale

 P (d )   Pr ( d 0 )   d0 
10 log  r  10 log  1mW   10 n log  d 
 1mW     
 Path Loss Example

· Consider Wi-Fi signal in this building. Assume power at a

reference point d0 is 100mW. The reference point d0=1m.
Calculate your received signal strength at a distance,
d=100m. Also calculate the power received in mW. Assume
n=4.

· This is a typical Wi-Fi received signal strength.

 Indoor Propagation Model

· The indoor radio channel differs from the traditional mobile

radio channel in outdoor
– Distances covered are much smaller
– Variability of the environment is much greater

· Propagation inside buildings strongly influenced by specific

features
– Layout and building type
– Construction materials
– Even door open or closed
– Same floor or different floors

· Partition Losses
 Partition Losses

· Partition Losses
– Same floor
– Between floors
– Characterized by a new factor called Floor Attenuation Factors (FAF)
– Based on building materials
– FAF mostly empirical (computed over numerous tests)

 d 
PL( d ) PL( d 0 ) 10nSF log    FAF [ dB]
 d0 
– For example,
– FAF through one floor approx. 13 dB
– Two floors 18.7 dB
– Three floors 25 dB and so on…
 Cellular Model (signal to interference)

·
d 
From the propagation model, Pr ( d )  Pr ( d 0 )  0 
 d 
· Let’s combine today’s concept with last week’s cellular concept
– Let’s find out signal to interference Q: co-channel
Reuse ratio
m co-channel
interferer S S R n ( D / R) n ( 3N ) n
 m
 m  
I m m
 Ii  Di
n
Cell radius R
Co-channel i 1 i 1
interferer distance Di

· In a cellular radio system with 7-cell reuse pattern and

a 6 co-channel interferers, what is the signal to
interference in dB? Assume Path loss exponent = 4.
 Numerical example (signal to interference)

· In a cellular radio system, the required signal to

interference must be at least 15 dB. What should be
the cluster size (N) if Path loss exponent = 3. Assume
6 co-channel interferers.

· Soln hint: Let’s assume N =7

To convert it to dB,
n 3
S ( 3N ) ( 3* 7 ) do 10log(16.04) = 12.05 dB
  16.04
I m 6

This is still less than reqd 15 dB.

So we need to use a larger N. Try for next feasible N.
 Mobile Radio Propagation: Small scale fading

· What is small-scale fading?

– In contrast to large-scale propagation we studied so far

– Small-scale fading describe rapid fluctuation of the signal over

– short period of time and/or
– short travel distance

Pr v
Pt

d=vt
 Factors influencing small-scale fading

· Multipath propagation
– Interference between two or more versions of the transmitted signal
– Arrive at the receiver at slightly different times

· Speed of the Mobile

– Relative motion between Base Station and the mobile
– Signals travel varying distances

· Speed of the surrounding objects

– Typically this can be ignored if the obstacles are fixed
– May not be so in a busy urban area