IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 41, NO.
3, AUGUST 1992
Ordered Dynamic Channel Assignment Scheme
with Reassignment in Highway Microcells
S.S. Kuek and W.C. Wong
Abstracf- An ordered dynamic channel assignment with
reassignment (ODCAR) scheme is proposed, and its performance
is studied in a highway microcellular radio environment.
Channels are assigned in an ordered basis in conjunction with
a minimax algorithm under co-channel interference constraints,
to provide high capacity and to alleviate worst case channel
congestion in each microcell. Simulation results show significant
performance improvements in terms of channel utilization and
probability of call failure, at the expense of an increase in
complexity and call switching requirements.
I. INTRODUC~ON
I N order to provide high capacity and maintain good ser-
vice quality, cellular radio systems partition the available
radio spectrum into channel sets and employ frequency reuse,
subject to co-channel interference and topological constraints.
Within each channel set is a group of frequency channels
and a subscriber obtains service when it is assigned a pair of
frequency channels for full-duplex communications [8 1. Chan-
nel assignment schemes can be roughly classified into two
types, namely fixed channel assignment (FCA) and dynamic
channel assignment (DCA). In the FCA scheme, channels
are permanently allocated to each cell. On the other hand,
in the DCA scheme, all channels can be dynamically used
in every cell subject to a minimum intercell reuse interval
based on co-channel interference limitations. DCA strategies
may also be applicable to the newer generation of radio
communications systems such as CT2 (Cordless Telephone 2)
[12], and the European digital radio systems like Groupe
Speciale Mobile (GSM) [9] and Digital European Cordless
Telecommunications (DECT) [ 101. Although all these systems
employ some form of time division multiple access (TDMA),
nevertheless, time slots and frequency channels may be re-
garded more generically as a resource that must be suitably
assigned if efficiency and utilization are to be optimized. The
techniques proposed here could provide insight to solving
the resource allocation problem, particularly if a dynamic
algorithm is desired.
In a symmetrical load situation, where teletraffic load is
evenly distributed across all cells, it has been shown that
DCA schemes [l],[2], [7], in general, perform better than
the FCA scheme for low teletraffic load situations but worse
when teletraffic load is high. DCA schemes are also not
particularly sensitive to time and spatial changes in offered
Manuscript received July 10, 1991; revised September 16, 1991.
The authors are. with the Department of Electrical Engineering, National
University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 0551.
LEEE Log Number 92002220.
0018-9545/92$03.00 0 1992 IEEE
~-
271
traffic [3].Engel and Peritsky [6] proposed a dynamic channel
reassignment/borrowing (DCRB) scheme that is statistically
optimum in a certain minimax sense. Channels are borrowed
on the basis that they will cause the least harm to neighboring
cells. Likewise, reassignment of borrowed channels is done
in a way to cause maximum relief in the neighboring cells.
Meanwhile, Elnoubi et al. [5] proposed an ordered assignment
of channels with the aim of maintaining minimum co-channel
interference distance and hence maximizing capacity. Our
proposal combines the merits of these two latter systems
with improvements to yield higher performance. We study
the performance of our proposed scheme for a highway
microcellular radio environment [4], [ l l ] where the microcells
are shaped to segments of the highway. We also investigate
its performance in an asymmetrical teletraffic load situation
and examine how load sharing is accomplished under such
circumstances.
In general, DCA schemes involve a greater amount of
switching to maintain call connectivity, compared to an FCA
scheme where switching occurs only during handoffs from one
base station to another when existing received signal strength
becomes weak. We examine this issue and determine the extent
and impact of our ordered dynamic channel assignment with
reassignment (ODCAR) scheme on switching requirements.
11. ORDERED DYNAMIC
CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT
WITH REASSIGNMENT
SCHEME
In our proposed ODCAR scheme, the total available chan-
nels are divided into N channel sets and allocated to the
microcells according to the cellular frequency reuse concept, as
in the FCA scheme. The channels that are nominally allocated
to a microcell are denoted as standard channels (SC’s). A
user requires a channel when he makes a new call or when
his existing radio path with the current base station has
deteriorated to an extent that he requires a new channel from
an adjacent base station, i.e., a call handoff. When a user
requires a channel the base station checks to see if there are
any available SC’s. If these are available, the user will be
assigned one on an ordered basis. All channels are numbered
in a predetermined order, and the lowest numbered available
idle channel is always selected. Implementing such an ordered
selection facilitates high frequency reuse and thus maximizes
capacity. However, if all SC’s are busy, he may borrow a
channel from a neighboring cell. Borrowable channels are
denoted as nonstandard channels (NSC’s).
To facilitate channel assignment, each base station maintains
a list of all available SC’s and NSC’s. Whenever a channel is
272
- Mutual Interference Zone
of Cell J
Fig. 1. Mutual interference zone of cell J using channel set K in a highway
microcellular network with N channel sets.
assigned, the availability lists of all affected microcells where
the assigned channel would cause interference are updated.
For example, consider a highway microcellular environment
with N channel sets and co-channel microcells are separated
a distance of N microcell lengths apart. This arrangement is
illustrated in Fig. 1, where the indices in the microcell boxes
refer to the channel set number. If an SC in a particular
microcell is assigned to a user, then this channel will be
deleted from the availability list of that microcell. In addi-
tion, assignment of that channel prevents further use in the
neighboring (N - 1) microcells to its left and right, because
of co-channel interference constraints. This loss is reflected
in the affected 2(N - 1) neighboring microcells by deleting
its entry in the corresponding lists. Similarly, when an NSC
is assigned, the lists of the affected 2N - 1 microcells are
updated accordingly. We denote this zone of (2N - 1) affected
microcells as the mutual interference zone. For example, Fig. 1
shows the mutual interference zone for cell J.
A. Channel Assignment Procedure
A flowchart of the channel assignment algorithm is shown in
Fig. 2. First, if there are idle SC’s, then one is selected from the
front of the ordered sequence, i.e., a lower numbered channel.
Subsequently the availability lists of the (2N - 1) affected
microcells in the mutual interference zone are updated. If there
are no idle SC’s, the base station then looks for a suitable
idle NSC. For each available NSC, we determine its impact
on the two nearest microcells in which this candidate NSC
is an SC. For example, referring to Fig. 1, if we select an
+
NSC from channel set (K 1) in cell J , the list of available
+ +
SC’s in cells (J 1) and (J - N 1) are affected. If the
NSC in question is selected, each of the affected microcells
will lose an available SC for future use because of co-channel
interference limitations. (In some cases, the availability list is
unaffected if the channel in question is also used in a microcell
at a distance between N to (2N - 1) microcells away from
the current microcell. This is because the channel in question,
if chosen, will result in a situation that already minimizes
or nearly minimizes the reuse interval. Consequently, these
cases will not be considered in the selection procedure as they
are deemed to be passive or neutral options.) The minimum
count of available SC’s in the affected microcells in the mutual
interference zone, conditioned on the selection of the channel
in question, is noted. This procedure is carried out for all
available NSC’s.
From the table of minimum counts generated, we select
the NSC that yields the highest minimum count. In doing so
we ensure that a worst case selection is avoided. However, if
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 41, NO. 3, AUGUST 1992
Channel
front of case impact for request
ordered seq. each idle NSC failed
I 1
Select best
candidate
+
NSC
Update
availability
lists
there is more then one NSC with the same highest minimum
count, we always pick an NSC from the nearest neighbor and
from the end of the ordered sequence. This is contrary to the
ordered selection of the SC from the front of the sequence. This
procedure helps to ensure that there is as large a number of
available channels while minimizing the reuse interval. Again
after selecting the most suitable NSC, the availability lists of
all affected microcells are updated. We refer to this selection of
the maximum from the table of minimum counts as a minimax
algorithm.
Finally, of course, if there are no idle SC’s or NSC’s
available the call request will not be granted. If the request
is from a new call, it will be blocked. On the other hand, if it
is an existing call, it will be terminated abruptly.
B. Channel Release Procedure
Whenever a channel is no longer required, the availability
lists of the (2N - 1) affected microcells within the mutual
interference zone are updated accordingly. In certain instances
the release of a channel may not result in an increase in
available SC or NSC. This occurs when the same channel
is currently in use at a distance between N and (2N - 1)
microcells in either direction from the microcell in which the
channel is released. After a channel is released, further checks
are done to determine whether calls need to be reassigned in
order to maintain the ordered sequences of used and unused
channels, and to facilitate the minimum reuse interval among
co-channels.
C. Channel Reassignment Procedure
Whenever a SC becomes available due to a recently released
call or handoff, the channel reassignment procedure is initiated
to ensure efficient utilization. This procedure is illustrated in
Fig. 3. For each microcell in which a new SC is recently
made available, it first determines if any NSC’s are in use.
If no NSC’s are used in that microcell, then a reassignment
of the currently active SC’s may be necessary to maintain
KUEK AND WONG: ORDERED DYNAMIC CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT 213

the reassignment propagation effect is limited to the borders

A N
Active NSC?
o , of the congestion region, where upon encountering a low or
medium load microcell which does not utilize any NSC, the
reassignment effect terminates. In our investigations we have
assumed that all assignments and reassignments occur almost
instantaneously.

I I
Determineworst Reassign SC
case impact for each to maintain
candidate NSC ordered seq.
v 111. SIMULATION RESULTSAND DISCUSSIONS

Select Our simulation model comprises a highway microcellular

candidate mobile radio system where the microcells are shaped to seg-
ments of the highway. We assume free-flowing highway traffic
where the vehicular speeds are modeled using a truncated
Update Gaussian distribution with a mean value of 100 Ws, a standard
Availability
deviation of 40 k/h, a maximum speed of 200 Wh, and a
minimum speed of 20 Wh [4]. Only mobiles making calls are
1 considered. The interarrival time of the new call attempts is
End I
given a negative exponential distribution. Call durations are
Fig. 3. Channel reassignment procedure for ODCAR scheme. similarly distributed with a mean of 120 s. For the asymmet-
rical load situation, the new call arrival rate in the congested
microcell is increased with respect to that in the surrounding
the ordered sequence. For example, suppose SC’s #l-#5 were microcells, which are kept at a level of 0.04 call arrivals/s/cell.
previously active and SC #2 was made available, then the call At the same time the vehicles are decelerated from their
using SC #5 would be reassigned to SC #2. This ensures that original free-flowing speed to a predetermined congestion
the lowest ordered SC’s are always used first. speed over one-eighth of a microcell length in the preceding
On the other hand, if there are NSC’s currently being used, microcell before entering the congested microcell. Inside the
then the channel reassignment procedure determines the best
congested microcell, the vehicles move at a constant speed
NSC candidate to be reassigned to the newly available SC. For of 20 k/h. After traversing the congested microcell, vehicles
each of the currently active NSC’s we determine its possible accelerate to their former free-flowing speed over one-eighth
impact on microcells in the mutual interference zone if it was
of the succeeding microcell. A five-channel set configuration
chosen for reassignment. A candidate NSC, if reassigned, will is used where each contains 10 SC’s. The network simulated
increase the available SC lists in the nearest two microcells in comprises 20 concatenated microcells, however, statistics are
which this channel is nominally allocated. (Again in certain
collected only from the middle microcells to avoid end effects.
cases, the availability list is unaffected if the channel in
All microcells are 2 km in length unless otherwise stated.
question is also used in a microcell at a distance between
The performance of the channel assignment schemes is
N to (2N - 1) microcells away from the current microcell,
measured in terms of the probability of new calls blocked, PB,
for the reasons given earlier.) The minimum count of available
and the probability of handoff failure, PF. These probabilities
SC’s in these two affected microcells is noted. This procedure
are defined as
is performed for all currently active NSC’s in the microcell
in which the SC is just released. The NSC that results in probability of new calls blocked
the highest minimum count is then selected for reassignment. total number of new calls blocked
= pB = (1)
This again ensures that the worst case situation is avoided. total number of new call arrivals
If, however, there are several NSC’s with the highest count,
then the NSC from the furthest microcell within the mutual probability of handoff failure
interference zone, and at the front of the ordered sequence total number of handoff failures
is selected. This channel reassignment procedure attempts to =pF = (2)
total number of handoff requests‘
reassign a NSC call that results in maximum relief to the most
congested microcell within the mutual interference zone. It We compare the performances of our ODCAR scheme with
also ensures that more calls are carried by SC’s which are FCA and the DCRB scheme. Figs. 4 and 5 show the perfor-
at the minimum reuse interval. Again we refer to this as a mance of these schemes at various levels of new call arrival
minimax algorithm. rates. We clearly see substantial improvements in performance
Each reassigned NSC call results in relieved SC’s in their in terms of PB and PF, for most levels of arrival rates.
respective nominal microcells. This in turn results in pos- The ODCAR scheme is the best giving lower levels of call
sible further reassignments. Thus, there is a propagation of failure in all cases. This indicates the advantage of combining
reassignments throughout the network until one encounters ordered selection with the minimax algorithm. Both the DCRB
microcells which do not utilize any NSC’s. Note that this and ODCAR schemes, however, exhibit a slight worsening of
propagation effect is brought about only when NSC’s are the blocking situation for new calls at very high teletraffic
reassigned to SC’s. Reordering of SC’s does not cause this loads. Fortunately, this lost in performance for the dynamic
effect. This implies that for localized congestion situations, schemes occur at unrealistic blocking probabilities. Within the
274 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 41, NO. 3, AUGUST 1992

Probabilitv of new calls blocked Probability of handoff failure

I

0.1

0.01

0.001

1 0 I I I 1

IE44 o.ooo1
0.05 0.I 0.15 0.2 0.05 0. I 0.15 0.2 0.2s
Call arrivals/s/cell Call arrivals/s/cell

Fig. 4. Probability of new calls blocked versus average call arrival rate under Fig. 5. Probability of handoff failure versus average call arrival rate under
symmetrical loading conditions. symmetrical loading conditions.

Probability of new calls blocked

region of interest, i.e., PB of 0.1 to 0.01, there is certainly
a notable improvement in performance over FCA. This is a
result of the implicit priority given to an existing call when
it hangs on to its previously assigned channel when moving
across microcell boundaries into a congested microcell. For
example, let us suppose that the call is served by an SC
in cell J. It leaves cell J , i.e., the radio signal from cell J
becomes too weak, and requests for a new channel on entering
+
cell (J 1). However, since there are no available SC’s or
+
NSC’s, cell (J 1) allocates the same frequency channel the
call was using, i.e., the previous SC has now become the
0.02
0.01 ’t I
0. I
I
0.2
4
0.3
Call arrivals/s/cell
I
0.4
I
0.5

new NSC, to support the call in this new cell. The continued
use of the same channel is prohibited only if co-channel Fig. 6. Probability of new calls blocked versus average call arrival rate for
congested cell.
interference constraints are not met. Although the minimax
algorithm here tries to maximize capacity by assigning calls as
close to the reuse interval, however, it is not always possible Probability of handoff failure
I &
to assign channels separated at the minimum reuse interval.
+
This margin is capitalized by cell (J 1) to maintain the call. os
03
This phenomenon leads to fewer handoff failures, which can
0.2
be very annoying to subscribers. A new call does not have
this advantage of hanging onto an allocated channel and must
search for an idle one. These curves also indicate that the bulk
of the performance gains are due to dynamic borrowing and
reassignment. The contribution due to ordered selection is not
as significant, but nevertheless noticeable. For example, when
the new call arrival rate is 0.1 arrivals/s/cell, the measured PF
values are 0.17, 0.12, and 0.09 for FCA, DCRB, and ODCAR,
respectively.
The performance of these schemes in an asymmetrical
teletraffic load situation is examined next. In these experi-
ments, the new call arrival rate for the congested microcell is the best system giving the least deterioration in performance
higher than its surrounding microcells, which have an arrival as congestion increases. Both new calls as well as existing
rate of 0.04 call arrivals/s/cell. Vehicles also decelerate to a calls benefit in the dynamic schemes. However, in this case
congestion speed of 20 Wh prior to entering the congested we see that the performance gain for ODCAR over DCRB is
microcell, and later accelerate back to their former free-flowing much greater. This indicates the effectiveness of load sharing
speed on leaving the congested microcell. The deceleration and over the congested region, and improvements brought about
acceleration zone comprises the adjoining one-eighth of the by ordered selection in attempting to maintain the minimum
preceding and succeeding microcells. Figs. 6 and 7 show the reuse interval and thus maximizing capacity.
PB and PF curves, respectively, of the congested microcell Figs. 8 and 9 show the corresponding performance curves
at various levels of congestion. We see that the load sharing averaged over the five-cell cluster where the congested mi-
nature of the dynamic schemes yield impressive performance crocell is the middle cell. At lower teletraffic loading the
gains over the FCA scheme. Again the ODCAR scheme is dynamic schemes show improvements in both PB and PF.
KUEK AND WONG: ORDERED DYNAMIC CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT 275

Probability of new calls blocked Total load carried (Erlangs)

,
1
I , I 10

0.5

0.3 -
0.2 -

0.1 -

0.05 -
0.03 -
0.02 -

0.01 I I I I I I I I
006 0.08 0.I 0.12 0.14 0.oOol 0.001 0.01 0.1
Call arrivals/s/cell Grade.of Service (GOS)
Fig. 8. Probability of new calls blocked versus average call arrival rate for Fig. 10. Total load carried in Erlangs versus grade of service.
entire cluster under asymmetrical loading conditions.
AV. switchinadcall
Probability of handoff failure

0.3
0.5
I

1 fZJo0 O O o 0 0

0.01 I I I I
0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12
Call arrivals/s/cell
Fig. 9. Probability of handoff failure versus call arrival rate for entire cluster
under asymmetrical loading conditions.
However, as seen in Fig. 8, PB for the dynamic schemes is
compromised at high loading compared to the FCA scheme.
Again this occurs at impractical blocking probabilities. Within
the region of interest, i.e., PB below 0.1, we obtain significant
improvements for the dynamic schemes compared to FCA.
This is in line with the explanation offered earlier pertaining
to the implicit priority of existing calls. Microcells neighboring
the congested region are to a certain extent starved of available
channels in servicing the congestion, because of load sharing.
This adversely affects new call attempts leading to higher
blocking probabilities. However, the advantage is that existing
calls experience improved service availability resulting in
lower handoff failures.
In Fig. 10 we show the amount of teletraffic carried in
Erlangs, under a symmetrical loading condition, at various
grades of service (GOS) which we define as
where PB is the probability that a new call is blocked, PF is
the probability of handoff failure, AN is the new call arrival
rate, and AH is the call handoff rate.
We see that for the same GOS, the dynamic schemes
provide significant improvements in the amount of teletraffic
carried. This is indeed true at grades of service below 0.1.
For example, at a GOS of 0.05 the load carried is increased
from about 5.7 Erlangs to about 7.4 and 7.7 Erlangs for the
I 1 I I 1 I
I nmoi 0.00l 0.01 0.1 I
Grade of Service ((30.5)
0.14
Fig. 11. Average switchings/call versus grade of service.
DCRB and ODCAR schemes, respectively. When the GOS
deteriorates to a level approaching 0.4, the carried traffic of
the various schemes converges to 8.9 Erlangs compared to the
maximum capacity of 10 Erlangs for the network simulated
here. Alternatively, one can view the dynamic schemes as
providing a very comfortable GOS below 0.05 even at high
utilizations of about 70 to 75% of network capacity.
To get an insight on the amount of switching occurring
for each scheme, we obtain the curves shown in Fig. 11. The
FCA scheme shows an average of about two to three channel
requests over the duration of a call, which is expected for
the conditions simulated, i.e., 120 s calls for mobiles with
mean speed of 100 k/h and cell length of 2 km. The DCRB
scheme experiences an increase of about 8 to 28% in switching
requirements, while in the case of the ODCAR scheme there
is a 200% increase. This increase is not surprising and is
largely attributed to the reassignment of calls from higher order
SC’s to lower order SC’s to maintain the ordered sequence of
used SC’s, which is absent in the DCRB scheme. We carried
out similar experiments with smaller cell sizes and obtained
similar results. For example, when the cell length is 500 m
and for a 0.01 GOS, about 5.5, 6.0 and 10.5 switchingskall
are obtained for the FCA, DCRB, and ODCAR schemes,
respectively. For all schemes, we also see that as the GOS
increases and deteriorates, the average switching per call
decreases due to increasing number of calls being forced to
terminate prematurely.
Fig. 12 shows the average channel reuse interval against the
GOS for the dynamic schemes. The ODCAR scheme displays
~

276 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 41, NO. 3, AUGUST 1992

AV.channel reuse interval (cell length) Performance comparisons with the FCA and DCRB schemes
6.4
show significant improvements, particularly under asymmetric
6.2 loading conditions. The load sharing feature of this improved
scheme is demonstrated in a highway microcellular radio
6
network. The ODCAR scheme, which tries to keep the channel
5.8 reuse interval to a minimum, shows better channel utilization
and system performance than the DCRB and the FCA schemes.
5.6
The ODCAR scheme also gives better performance than
5.4
the FCA at blocking probabilities below 0.1, which is the
operating region of interest thus overcoming a major weakness
O.(
5.2 of DCA schemes. However, the ODCAR scheme incurs a
Grade of Service (GOS) higher computational overhead in assigning and reassigning
Fig. 12. Average channel reuse interval versus grade of service.
channels, and more frequent switching of channels due to the
reassignment propagation effect. At a 0.05 GOS, ODCAR is
capable of supporting 7.7 Erlangs of traffic, which is 77% of
Ratio of NSC to SC used
0.08 , I the total capacity, giving improvements of about 4 and 35%
0.07
over DCRB and FCA schemes, respectively.
0.06
REFERENCES
0.05 1
0.04 t [ l ] D. C. Cox and R. 0. Reudink, “Dynamic channel assignment in high
capacity mobile communications system,” Bell Syst. Tech. J., vol. 50,
0.03 pp. 1833- 1857, July-Aug. 1971.
[2] __ “A comparison of some channel assignment strategies in
0.02 large-scale mobile communications systems,’’ IEEE Trans. Commun.,
vol. COM-20, pp. 190-195, Apr. 1972.
0.01

I
O0w o l OW1
I
0 01
I
01
Grade of Service (GOS)
Fig. 13. Ratio of nonstandard to standard channels used versus grade of
service.
a reasonably constant reuse interval of about 5.4 cell lengths,
which is close to the minimum reuse interval of 5 cell length.
On the other hand, DCRB only approaches this minimum
interval at high GOS when the system is very congested. The
effectiveness of the ordered selection procedure is clearly seen
in these curves.
Finally, Fig. 13 shows the ratio of NSC to SC used at
different GOS. In general, the bulk of the traffic is carried
by SC’s. At a GOS of 0.05, the corresponding ratios are
0.026 (1:38.5) and 0.045 (1:22.2) for the DCRB and ODCAR
schemes respectively. Hence dynamic channels carry about
twice as much traffic in the ODCAR scheme compared to the
DCRB scheme. At a GOS of 0.15 we see a turning point for
the DCRB scheme which indicates a limit in the number of
NSC’s available for borrowing when congestion occurs. This
limit has not been reached for the ODCAR scheme for the
situations simulated. However, it is intuitive to expect some
limit on the number of NSC’s available for borrowing as the
system becomes excessively congested. On the other hand,
performance beyond GOS of about 0.05 is not practically
useful. The ODCAR scheme makes better use of NSC’s to
achieve greater throughput at the same GOS compared to the
DCRB scheme.
IV. CONCLUSION
We have proposed and examined the performance of a
DCA scheme that employs ordered selection together with a
minimax algorithm for channel assignment and reassignment.
[3]- “Effects of some nonuniform spatial demand profiles on mobile
I radio system performance,” IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol., vol. VT-21,
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[4] S. A. El-Dolil, W. C. Wong, and R. Steele, “Teletraffic performance
of highway microcells with overlay macrocell,” IEEE J. Select. Areas
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[ 5 ] S.M. Elnoubi, R. Singh, and S.C. Gupta, “A new frequency channel
assignment algorithm in high capacity mobile communication systems,”
IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol., vol. VT-31, pp. 125-131, Aug. 1982.
[6] J. S. Engel and M. M. Peritsky, “Statistically-optimum dynamic server
assignment in systems with interfering servers,” IEEE Trans. Veh.
Technol., vol. VT-22, pp. 203-209, Nov. 1973.
[7] T. J. Kahwa and N. D. Georganas, “A hybrid channel assignment scheme
in large-scale cellular-structured mobile communication systems,” IEEE
Trans. Commun., vol. COM-26, pp. 432-438, Apr. 1978.
[8] V. H. MacDonald, “The cellular concept,” Bell Syst. Tech. J., vol. 58,
no. 1, pt. 3, pp. 15-42, Jan. 1979.
[9] B. J. T. Mallinder, “An overview of the GSM system,” in Proc. 3rd
Nordic Seminar on Digital Land Mobile Radio Commun., Copenhagen,
Sept. 1988, pp. 3.1.1-3.1.13.
[ 101 H. Ochsner, “DECT-Digital European cordless telecommunication,”
in Proc. 39th IEEE Veh. Technol. Conj, May 1989, pp. 718-721.
[ll] R. Steele, “Towards a high capacity digital cellular mobile radio system,”
Inst. Elec. Eng. Proc., pt. F, vol. 132, no. 5 , pp. 405-415, Aug. 1985.
[12] R.S. Swain and A.J. Motley, “Requirements of an advanced cord-
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S. S. Kuek received the B.Eng (hons.) degree
in electrical engineering from the University of
Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1989.
Since 1989 he has been working as a Research
Assistant in the Electrical Engineering Department,
National University of Singapore, where he is
also pursuing the Ph.D. degree. His research
interests include cellular mobile radio systems and
performance analysis of communication systems.
KUEK AND WONG: ORDERED DYNAMIC CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT 277

W.C. Wong received the BSc. (hons.) and Ph.D.

degrees in electrical and electronics engineering
from Loughborough University of Technology,
U.K., in 1976 and 1980, respectively.
From 1980 to 1983, he was a member of the
technical staff, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Crawford
Hill, NJ. He joined the Department of Electrical
Engineering, National University of Singapore, in
1983. He has been a visiting consultant at AT&T
Bell Laboratories on several occasions between
1984 and 1992, and a visiting researcher at
Southampton University, U.K., in 1987, and at the Wireless Information
Networks Laboratory, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, in 1991. His
research interests are in high capacity wireless information networks, digital
communications systems, combined source and channel coding, digital speech
and image processing and integrated networks.
Dr. Wong was a co-recipient of the Institute of Electrical Engineering
Marconi Premium Award in 1989.