CMEN 502: Wireless and Mobile

Communications

Mahmoud Tukur Kabir, Ph.D

Department of Electronic and Telecommunications Engineering
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

Second Semester 2021/2022 Session

Module 3
Channel Allocation
 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT
 Background

 To establish communication with a base station, a mobile terminal must

first obtain a channel from the base station.

 A channel consists of a pair of frequencies:

• The forward link/down link) for transmission from the base station
to the mobile terminal

• The reverse link/up link for transmission in the reverse

direction(i.e., mobile to base station).

 An allocated channel is released under two scenarios:

• The user completes the call

• The mobile user moves to another cell before the call is completed.
 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT

 The Channel Allocation Problem

 A channel can simultaneously be used by multiple base stations if their

mutual separation is more than the reuse distance.

• Reuse distance is the minimum distance at which two signals of the

same frequency do not interfere.

 In a cellular environment, the reuse distance is usually expressed in

units of number of cells.

 The task of assigning frequency channels to the cells that satisfies the
frequency separation constraints with a view to avoiding channel
interference and using as little bandwidth as possible is known as the
channel allocation problem (CAP)
 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT

 Goals

 Allocate channels to cells or mobiles in such a way so as to:

 minimise the probability that the incoming calls are blocked;

 minimise the probability that calls are dropped;

 ensure the carrier-to-interference ratio of any call does not fall

below a pre-specified threshold.

 Increase capacity

 Ensure efficient utilization of spectrum

 Minimise interference
 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT

 Rules for Channel Assignment

 Do not assign co-channels or adjacent channels at the same cell site

(not applicable for CDMA).

 Do not assign co-channels in adjacent cell sites (not applicable for

CDMA).

 Do not mix and match channel groups in a cell or sector.

 Avoid adjacent channel assignment in adjacent cell sites (not

applicable for CDMA).

 Maintain proper channel separation for any channel assignment for

a sector or site.

 Maximize the distance between reusing cell sites

 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT

 Schemes for Solving the CAP Problem

 Channel allocation schemes can be divided in general into

 Fixed Channel Allocation schemes (FCA schemes);

 Dynamic Channel Allocation schemes (DCA schemes);

 Hybrid Channel Allocation schemes (HCA schemes:

combining both FCA and DCA techniques);
 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT
 Fixed Channel Assignment (FCA)

 Each cell is allocated a predetermined set of voice channels.

 A call attempt can only be served if unused channel in that

particular cell is available

 If all channels are occupied then the call is blocked.

 Several variation exist:

• A cell is allowed to borrow a channel from neighboring cell if

all of its channels are occupied

 A mobile switching center (MSC) supervises such

procedures and ensures that borrowing of channel does not
disrupt the or interfere with any of the calls in progress in
the donor cell
 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT
 Fixed Channel Assignment (FCA) ..

 The total number of available channels, C, in the system, is divided into

sets and the minimum number of channel sets, N, required to serve the
entire coverage area is related to the reuse distance, D as follows:

N = ; for hexagonal cells

Where:
σ = ;

Where:
is the radius of the cell

D is the physical distance between the two cell centers

 N can assume only the integer values 3, 5, 7, 9, ……, etc as generally

presented by the series; - ij , with i and j being integers.
 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT
 Fixed Channel Assignment (FCA) ..

 The uniform channel distribution in FCA is efficient provided the traffic

distribution of the system is also uniform

 Traffic distribution in cellular systems is often non-uniform with temporal

and spatial fluctuations

 Consequently, a uniform allocation of channels to cells may result in high

blocking in some cells while others might have a sizeable number of spare
channels. This results in poor channel utilization
 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT
 Fixed Channel Assignment (FCA) ..

 Possible solutions:

 Non-uniform channel allocation

• An algorithm called Non-uniform Compact Pattern allocation used

 Static borrowing
• Unused channels from lightly loaded cells are re-assigned to
heavily loaded ones at distances the minimum reuse distance, σ
 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT

 Dynamic Channel Assignment

 Voice channels are not allocated to cells permanently

 On each call request, the BS requests a channel from MSC.

 MSC allocates a channel by taking into account:

• the likelihood of future blocking within the cell

• The frequency of use of the candidate channel, reuse distance

 Hence, MSC only allocates a channel if that is not presently in use in the
cell which falls within minimum restricted distance of frequency reuse.
 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT

 Dynamic Channel Assignment ….

 Advantage: reduces call blocking (i.e, it increases the trunking capacity),

and increases voice quality

 Disadvantages:

 increases storage and computational load at the Mobile Switching

Center ( MSC )

 requires real-time data from entire network related to:

• channel occupancy
• traffic distribution
• Radio Signal Strength Indications (RSSI's) from all channels
 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT
 Hybrid Channel Assignment

 The total number of channels available for service is divided into fixed and
dynamic sets.

 In the fixed sets, channels are assigned using FCA schemes and the second set of
channels is shared by all users in the system.

 If a call requires service from a cell and all the channels from the fixed
sets have been exhausted, then a channel from the dynamic set is
allocated to the call using the DCA scheme.

 A call blocking probability in an HCA scheme is defined as the probability that a

call arrives to a cell and finds both the fixed and dynamic channels busy.

 The ratio of fixed to dynamic channels is a key parameter which determines the
performance of the system.

 The ratio of fixed to dynamic channels is a function of the traffic load and would
vary over time according to offered load distribution estimations.
 CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT
 FCA Vs DCA
 Interference and System Capacity
 Interference and System Capacity
 Interference and System Capacity
 Interference and System Capacity
 Co-Channel Interference

 Fundamental tradeoffs in cellular system design:

• small Q → small cluster size → more frequency reuse → larger system capacity

• small Q → small cell separation → increased co-channel interference (CCI) →

reduced voice quality

• Tradeoff: Capacity vs. Voice Quality

 Interference and System Capacity
 Co-Channel Interference

 Possible Solutions?

1) Increase base station Tx power to improve radio signal

reception?

• this will increase interference from co-channel cells by

the same amount

• no net improvement

2) Separate co-channel cells by some minimum distance to

provide sufficient isolation from propagation of radio
signals?

• if all cell sizes, transmit powers, and coverage patterns ≈

same → co-channel interference is independent of Tx
power
 Interference and System Capacity

 Co-Channel Interference

• Let i0 be the number of co-channel interfering cells. The signal-to-

interference ratio (SIR) for a mobile receiver can be expressed as;

S S
 i0
I
I
i1
i

Where:
S : the desired signal power

I i : interference power caused by the ith interfering co-channel

io : number of co-channel interfering cells

 Interference and System Capacity
 Adjacent Channel Interference

• Interference from adjacent in frequency to the desired signal.

• Imperfect receiver filters allow nearby frequencies to leak into the passband

• Performance degrade significantly due to near-far effect.

receiving filter
response

signal on adjacent channel signal on adjacent channel

desired signal

FILTER
interference
interference desired signal
 Interference and System Capacity

 Adjacent Channel Interference

• Adjacent channel interference can be minimized through

careful filtering and channel assignment.

• Keep the frequency separation between each channel in a

given cell as large as possible

• A channel separation greater than six is needed to bring the

adjacent channel interference to an acceptable level.
 Interference and System Capacity

 Power Control for Reducing Interference

• Ensure each mobile transmits the smallest power necessary

to maintain a good quality link on the reverse channel

 long battery life

 increase SIR

 solve the near-far problem

Thank You