WIRELESS AND MOBILE

COMMUNICATIONS
(TE-308)

I N S TR U C TOR
ENGR. IQRA JABEEN
L E CT U RE R T E D , U E T TA X I L A
E MA I L :IQRA .J ABE E N@UE T TA XIL A .E DU .PK
 Introduction to Cellular Communication
Mobile Communication System Definitions
Mobile: A handheld radio terminal that is intended to be used while in motion at high speed
at an unspecified location.
Portable: A radio terminal that can be handheld and used by users having much slower
speed for example cordless phone or laptop.
Subscriber: Those who use mobile or portable devices (taking benefit of mobile service)
Base Station: A fixed antenna unit with which the subscriber will communicate. It is located
ideally at the center of cellular coverage or even at the edge where it is connected to a
commercial power source and a backbone network. It consists of a radio channel a
transmitter, a receiver antenna (Sectoring of a particular zone) mounted on a tower.
Control Channel: Virtual logical (doesn’t exist & only a band) Radio access channel used
for transmission of call setup, call request, call initiation, and other control purposes.
Introduction to Cellular Communication
Sector Antenna
 Introduction to Cellular Communication
Forward Channel: Radio channel used for transmission of information from the base
station to the mobile. (Forward→ uplink, Base station to Mobile station )
Reverse Channel: Radio channel used for transmission of information from mobile to the
base station. (Reverse→ Downlink, Mobile station to base station)
Cells: The footprint of the overall coverage area can be subdivided into many smaller virtual
segments known as cells. Each cell will ideally have a base station at the center or edge of
the cell with multiple mobile subscribers.
Mobile Switching Centre: Switching center that coordinates the routing of calls in a large
service area. In a cellular radio system, MSC connects the cellular base station and mobile to
PSTN.
Wireless Transceiver: A device capable of simultaneously transmitting and receiving radio
signals.
 Introduction to Cellular Communication
A to D conversion, guard
Wireless Transceiver
band insertion might happen

Source & Channel Encoding

Characterize the channel

 Introduction to Cellular Communication
Handoff: Mechanism to transfer any mobile device from one base station coverage to
another for uninterrupted call service.
Full Duplex System: Allows simultaneous transmission and reception between the
transmitter and receiver using the principle of Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) or
Time Division Duplexing (TDD).FDD involves simultaneous transmission and reception
of the signals using two separate (make device bluky) transmit and receive antennae.
▪ To reduce the cost, at the subscribers unit, only one single antenna, working both for
transmission and reception is used.
▪ TDD uses the fact that it is possible to share a single radio channel in time. Where a
portion of time is to be used for uplink and the remaining during downlink.
▪ Only possible with digital transmission formats and sensitive to timing offset.
▪ Suited for Indoor applications, where the propagation delay is small.
 Cellular Concept
▪ The cellular concept is a system-level idea, which calls for replacing a single high-power
transmitter with many low-power transmitters.
▪ It offers very high capacity in a limited spectrum allocation.
▪ Each base station is allocated a portion of the total number of channels available to the
entire system.
▪ Neighboring base stations are assigned different groups of channels so that interference
between base stations is minimized.
▪ Each cellular base station is allocated a group of radio channels to be used with small
with small geographic area called a cell.
 Cellular Concept
Why Circle?
Cellular Coverage

Coverage holes/no
coverage from any of Omni Directional Antenna will
the base stations so it is have a pattern of this nature
not an optimal solution which is why it is assumed to
be a circle first.
 Cell Shape
Possible Solutions
No access/
at early stages of
coverage
development
Unequal
distribution of
power
 Hexagon is optimal Solution only
Cell Shape for theoretical understanding
Hexagon is
Solution
Cell Shape
Cell Shape
Blind spots/no
Coverage

Practical Solution
Octagonal Cell Shape
 Frequency Reuse
▪ To understand the frequency reuse concept, consider a cellular system with S duplex
channels (total channels) available for use. If each cell is allocated a group of K channels
(K<S), and if S channels are divided among N cells into unique (frequency reuse) and
disjoint channel groups each has the same number of channels. The total number of
available radio channels can be expressed as ;
𝑺 = 𝒌𝑵=[Total channels/cell ](k) x Number of cells (N)
▪ If a cluster is replicated by M times within a system, the total number of duplex channels can
be used as a measure of capacity and is given by;
Capacity =𝑪 = 𝑴𝒌𝑵 = 𝑴𝑺
Smaller cluster M might go up , for larger cluster M is small
▪ The capacity of a cellular system is directly proportional to the number of times a cluster is
replicated (N) in a fixed service area.
Frequency Reuse
 Co-Channel Cell Location
Reuse frequency replication in cluster formula
Rules: 1. Move i times along any chain
2.60 degrees anticlockwise to move j times

N=Cluster Size
1
2
3
1

2 1
1
2
Reuse Distance
 Which one is better? When the radius of the cell
or coverage region is large
Depends on the density
repetitions are less
(more calls)of the population
(user)

When the radius of the cell Capacity =𝑪 = 𝑴𝒌𝑵 = 𝑴𝑺

or coverage region is smaller Smaller cluster M might go up , for larger cluster M is small
repetitions are more
 Frequency Reuse
▪ By limiting the coverage area within the boundaries of a cell, the same group of channels
may be used to cover different cells that are separated by one another by distances large
enough to keep interference levels within tolerable limits.
▪ The design process of selecting and allocating channel frequencies for all cellular base
stations within a system known as frequency reuse or frequency planning.
▪ For hexagonal cells the reuse distance is given by 𝐃 = 𝟑𝐍 R . Where R is cell radius
and N is the reuse pattern (the cluster size or the number of cells per cluster.
▪ Reuse factor is ;
𝑫
𝒒 = = 𝟑𝑵
𝑹
The cluster size or number of cells per cluster is given by N=𝒊𝟐 +ij+ 𝒋𝟐 . Where I and j are
integers. N=1,3,4,7,9,12,13,16,19,21,28,…The proper value of N being 4 and 7.
Reuse Distance
D=The distance between the two frequency reused cells
 Frequency Reuse
Frequency reuse

Frequency reuse
Frequency Reuse

Frequency reuse equation

Proof of Co-Channel Frequency Reuse Ratio
Proof of distance between adjacent cell d= 𝟑 R

Proof → The radius of cell=R C

AC=R R/2
R B
AP+BP=AB P
𝟑𝑹𝟐 𝟑
AC=R, PC=R/2 , 𝑨𝑷𝟐 = , AP= R A
𝟒 𝟐
𝟑
AB=2xAP =2x R = 𝟑R
𝟐 A & B are representing two
base stations here
Proof of Co-Channel Frequency Reuse Ratio
Proof of Reuse Distance D= 𝟑𝑵 R
Proof#1 → Let i=2, j=1
Cosine Rule of triangle 𝑫𝟐 = 𝒃𝟐 + 𝒄𝟐 -2abCos (C) B
𝑫𝟐 = (𝒊𝒅)𝟐 + (𝒋𝒅)𝟐 -2(id)(jd)Cos (120)
𝟏 D
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
𝑫 = (𝒊) (𝒅) + (𝒋) (𝒅) -2 i.j (𝒅) (− ) 𝟏𝟐𝟎𝟎
𝟐
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
𝑫 = (𝒊) (𝒅) + (𝒋) (𝒅) + i.j (𝒅)
𝑫𝟐 = (𝒅)𝟐 {(𝒊)𝟐 + (𝒋)𝟐 + i.j}
𝑫𝟐 = 𝟑(𝑹)𝟐 {(𝒊)𝟐 + (𝒋)𝟐 + i.j} d
A
𝑫𝟐 = 𝟑(𝑹)𝟐 N
𝑫 d=adjacent cell
D= 𝟑𝑵 R → q= = 𝟑𝑵
𝑹 distance
 Co-Channel Interference
▪ Co-Channel Cells: Cells that use the same set of frequencies in a coverage area
(frequency reuse concept)
▪ Co-Channel Interference: The interference between signals from the co-channel
cells.
▪ Unlike thermal noise which can be overcome by increasing the signal-to-noise ratio
(SNR) co-channel interference cannot be combated by simply increasing the carrier
power of the transmitter.
▪ This is because an increase in carrier transmit power increases the interference to
neighboring co-channel cells.
▪ To reduce co-channel interference co-channel cells must be physically separated by a
minimum distance to provide sufficient isolation due to propagation
 Co-Channel Interference
▪ When the size of each cell is the same and the BSS transmits the same power. The co-
channel interference ratio depends on;
▪ The radius of the cell (R)
▪ The distance between centers of the nearest co-channel cells (D).
𝑫
▪ Q= =co-channel reuse ratio=the spatial separation between co-channel cells relative
𝑹
to the coverage distance of the cell.
▪ Interference is reduced when Q is increased (improved isolation of RF energy from
co-channel cell).
▪ Q is related to the cluster size (N) for a hexagonal geometry
Co-Channel Interference
Co-Channel Interference
 Interference and System Capacity
▪ The frequency reuse method is useful for increasing the efficiency of spectrum usage.
Still, it results in co-channel interference because the same frequency is used repeatedly
in different co-channel cells in a service area.
▪ As co-channel interfering signals are amplified, processed, and detected in the same
manner as the desired signal, the RX is particularly vulnerable to these emissions. Hence,
masking of the original signal takes place.
▪ Co-channel interference can be measured by selecting any one channel.
▪ In a typical cellular system, there are always six co-channel interfering cells.
▪ Let S (Serving cell), I (interference from co-channels), and N (Noise)denote,
respectively, the power of the desired signal, the power of the co-channel interference,
and the power of the noise at the output of the receiver demodulator.
Interference and System Capacity
 Interference and System Capacity
▪ A channel scanning MS records three received signals while moving in any one co-channel
cell under the following conditions;
▪ When only the serving cell transmits (signal recorded is termed as S)
▪ Cell sites (BS) of all six co-channel cells only transmit (signal recorded is termed as I)
▪ No transmission by any BS (Signal recorded is termed as N)
▪ Observations
▪ If the S/I> 18dB and S/N>18 dB (threshold for voice communication): the system is said
to be properly designed, and proper voice communication can take place.(Best case)
▪ If the S/I< 18dB and S/N>18 dB : Co-channel interference problem
▪ If the S/I< 18dB and S/N<18 dB and S/I=S/N: Radio Coverage problem
▪ If the S/I< 18dB and S/N<18 dB and S/I<S/N: Interference and radio coverage problem
(Worst case)
 Interference and System Capacity
▪ Let 𝒊𝟎 be the number of co-channel interfering cells, then the signal-to-interference ratio
for a mobile receiver that monitors a forward channel is
(S=Signal power of serving cell)
(I=Interference from neighboring cell)

▪ The average received signal strength at any point decays as a power law of the distance of
separation between the transmitter and receiver.

▪ Where 𝑷𝟎 is the power received at a close-in reference point at a small distance 𝒅𝟎 from
the transmitting antenna,n is the path loss exponent ranging between 2 and 4.
 Interference and System Capacity
▪ If 𝑫𝒊 is the distance of ith interferer from the mobile, the received power will be
proportional to 𝑫𝒊 −𝒏 . When the transmit power of each BS is equal and the path loss
exponent is same throughout coverage then S/I can be approximated as;
 Interference and System Capacity
▪ 𝑸𝒊 is the co-channel interference reduction factor with ith co-channel interfering cell.
▪ Considering only the first layer of interfering cells which are equidistant D from the
desired BS.
 Example
If a S/I = 15 dB is required for channel performance of the cellular system, what is the
frequency reuse factor and cluster size that should be used for maximum capacity if the
path loss exponent (a) n = 4 (b) n = 3? Assume 6 co-channel cells are there in the first tier.

(a) Determine the minimum cluster size of a cellular system designed with an acceptable
value of S/I = 18 dB. Assume n = 4 and there are six equidistant co-channel cells.
Solution
Solution
 Hand-Off In Mobile
Hand-off: A process that allows users to remain in touch even while breaking the
connection with one BS and establishing a connection with another BS.
▪ When the mobile moves into a different cell while the conversation is in progress, the
MSC automatically transfers the call to a new channel belonging to the new base
station
 Hand-Off Region
Scenario#1: HO may be needed at a cell boundary based on the threshold level of the
received signal. Typically -100 dBm in noise-limited environments and -95dBm in
interference-limited systems.
Scenario#2: HO may be needed at a cell boundary based on the carrier-to-interference
ratio (C/I).Typically 18dB in order to have a telephone voice quality signal.
Scenario#3: HO may be needed at a cell boundary based on MS reaching the signal
strength holes (weak spots/signal gaps/coverage holes) within the coverage area.

Hand-off point decision

 Hand-Off Strategies
▪ This margin is given by;

▪ ∆ 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙

▪ If ∆ is too large , unnecessary hand-off may occur, which burdens the MSC.
▪ If ∆ is too small, there may be insufficient time to complete a handoff before a call is lost
due to weak signal conditions.
▪ Therefore ∆ is chosen carefully to meet these above conflicting requirements.
 Hand-off point decision and poorly designed by
setting a higher value of the minimum threshold

Handoff Threshold:
Minimum amount of signal
that is required before we take
a handoff decision.
Hand-Off Scenario at Cell Boundary
 Types of Hand-Off with Reference to Link
Transfer
Inter-Cell Hand-off
Hard Handoff: The old connection is broken
before the new connection is activated.
(“Break Before Make”)
▪ Primarily used in FDMA and TDMA
systems (e.g, GSM)
▪ Different frequency ranges are used in
adjacent cells to minimize the interference.
▪ Disadvantage: If a handoff fails, the call
may be temporarily terminated,
interrupted, or even terminated.
 Types of Hand-Off with Reference to Link
Transfer
Soft Handoff: A new connection is activated
before the old connection is broken.
(“Make Before Break”)
▪ Primarily used in UMTS to improve the
signal quality
▪ Uplink and downlink signals may be
combined for a better signal.
▪ A mobile in UMTS may spend a large part
of the connection time in soft handover
▪ Better connection reliability.
 Hand-Off Detection Strategies
1. Mobile Controlled Hand-off (MCHO)
2. Network Controlled Hand-off (NCHO)
3. Mobile Assisted Hand-Off (MAHO)
Mobile Controlled Hand-off (MCHO)
▪ The MS unit controls and makes complete decisions on hand-off. An MS keeps on
measuring the signal strength from all the neighboring cell sites. If the MS finds that there
is a new cell site with a stronger strength than that of an old serving cell site, it may
consider HO from the old cell to the new cell, after reaching a defined signal threshold.
▪ MCHO is the highest degree of HO decentralization, hence very fast HO speed. Typically
0.1 seconds only.
▪ MS and cell site both make the necessary measurements and cell sites sends the
measurement data to MS.
 Hand-Off Detection Strategies
Network Controlled Hand-off (NCHO)
▪ Used in 1G and AMPS
▪ The BS monitors signals from the MSS. If the criteria are met, the network asks all the
surrounding BS to monitor the signal from mobile and report the measurement back to the
network. (Surrounding BSS, the MSC, or both monitor the signal )
▪ The network selects a new BS for handoff and informs both the mobile and the new BS
about the handover.
▪ The handover usually takes 100-200ms with a noticeable interruption in the conversion
with a delay of about 5-10 seconds.
▪ The main disadvantage is the network will be busy all throughout the handover process.
 Hand-Off Detection Strategies
Mobile Assisted Hand-off (MAHO)
▪ Used in 2G and beyond
▪ The network provides the mobile with a list of BS frequencies (nearby BS). The network
asks the mobile to measure the signal strength and signal quality (RSSI) from the
surrounding BS as well as the serving BS. (The network directs the MS to measure the
signal from the surrounding BSS and to report those measurements back to the network)
▪ The MS is capable of monitoring the signal strength of the control channels of the
neighboring cell during the call.
▪ MS will report to serving BS so that the network can decide whether a handoff is necessary
and to which BS.
▪ More sophisticated and complex.