BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Engineering
Electronics Engineering Department
NAME: TORRES, Godwin C. DATE: 06/27/21
YR AND SEC: BSECE-3C
MULTIPLE ACCESS CHANNELING PROTOCOLS
Introduction
As what I have discussed in the previous activity, Multiplexing is the process of sharing a
communications channel by mixing signals locally at a shared location. In Multiple Access
Channeling Protocols, these protocols allow a number of nodes or users to access a shared network
channel. In other words Multiple Access Channeling is an application of multiplexing that allows
users to communicate over a single common channel.
There are three schemes have been devised for efficient sharing of a single channel under
these conditions; they are called frequency-division multiple access (FDMA), time-division
multiple access (TDMA), and code-division multiple access (CDMA).
Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)
FDMA is the most basic way of creating channels, by assigning users to nonoverlapping
frequency bands, it was used in first and 2G cellular systems. The purpose of FDMA is to divide
the frequency spectrum into slots and then isolate various users' signals by placing them in distinct
frequency slots. Each user is assigned an own frequency channel, as shown in Figure 1. Subscribers
who request service are assigned these channels on demand.
Figure 1: Frequency Division Multiple Access
The problem is that the frequency spectrum is finite, and there are usually far more potential
communicators than available frequency slots. A mechanism for controlling the available slots
must be established in order to make optimum use of the communications channel.
Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
Time division multiple access (TDMA) employs a time allocation approach to allow
numerous users to use a common media. TDMA’s goal is to divide time into slots and segregate
distinct users' signals by placing them in various time slots. The problem is that requests to use a
single communication channel happen at random, therefore there are times when the number of
requests for time slots exceeds the number of available slots. TDMA can operate as wideband or
narrowband. TDMA was used in 2G cellular networks to generate channels by giving users non-
overlapping time intervals. Each user in a system with N users can thus use the complete bandwidth
W, but only 1/N of the time. This means that, unlike FDMA, TDMA is unsuitable for analog
communication as from we can see from the figure below.
Figure 2: Time Division Multiple Access
In TDMA, A user can only broadcast in buffer-and-burst mode within the time window
allotted to them. As a result, transmission for each user is non-continuous, necessitating
communication in digital form. Because the transmitter may be turned off when not in use, which
is most of the time, the non-continuous transmission results in reduced battery consumption.
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a type of spread spectrum communication that is
utilized in several second-generation cellular phone systems, among other things. Signals are sent
in the same frequency band at the same time in CDMA. At the receiver, a user-specific signature
waveform, which is created from an allocated spreading code, is used to select or reject signals.
The CDMA technology is used in the IS95 cellular system. CDMA is also known as spread-
spectrum multiple access (SSMA) because the process of multiplying the signal by the code
sequence spreads the power of the transmitted signal over a greater bandwidth.
Figure 3.1: Code Division Multiple Access Transmission
Figure 3.2: Code Division Multiple Access
The CDMA transmission principle is depicted in Figure 3,1. QAM modulation is
frequently used as the basic modulation. A higher-speed pseudorandom bit sequence (PRBS), also
known as a spreading code or spreading sequence, is exclusive ORed with the data to be modulated
on each axis. After that, the signal is modulated, usually with m-ary QAM.
When another user wishes to use the communications channel, it is assigned a code and
immediately transmits instead of being stored until a frequency slot opens which is demonstrated
on Figure 3.2.
Difference between FDMA, CDMA and TDMA
FDMA TDMA CDMA
Frequency Division Multiple Time Division Multiple Code Division Multiple
Access Access Access
sharing of bandwidth among only the sharing of time of sharing of both i.e. bandwidth
different stations satellite transponder and time among different
stations
There is no need of any There is no need of any Codeword is necessary
codeword codeword
The rate of data is low. The rate of data is medium. The rate of data is high.
It is little flexible It is moderate flexible It is highly flexible
data transfer is continuous data transfer is signal in burts data transfer is digital signal
signal
References
Academic Press Library in Mobile and Wireless Communications, 2016
Ali Grami, in Introduction to Digital Communications, 2016 (https://www.sciencedirect.com)
Vijay K. Garg, Yih-Chen Wang, in The Electrical Engineering Handbook, 2005
(https://www.sciencedirect.com)
Fraidoon Mazda MPhil DFH DMS MBIM CEng FIEE, in Telecommunications Engineer's
Reference Book, 1993 (https://www.sciencedirect.com)
https://www.britannica.com/technology/telecommunication
https://www.rfwireless-world.com/Terminology/FDMA-versus-TDMA-versus-CDMA.html
