CELLULAR CONCEPT IN GSM

 Scarce Spectrum:For GSM Uplink frequency: 890-915MHz

Downlink frequency: 935-960MHz
Available frequency spectrum: 25MHz.
Number of carriers available: 124 (200KHz each)
Maximum number of users that can be supported:
is very limited.

Power Limitation: Radio transmission coverage is limited by maximum

transmission power of mobile stations.

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 FREQUENCY REUSE

The scarcity of available spectrum necessitates the usage of same carriers

again and again.
The entire geographical area is divided into smaller overlapping zones called
“Cells” and each cell is allocated a portion of the total number of available
carriers.
Adjacent cells are assigned carrier groups which contain completely different
carriers than neighboring cells to avoid co-channel interference.
In frequency reuse carriers used in a given cell are reused a few cells away, at
a distance sufficient to avoid interference.
 Frequency reuse increases the overall system capacity.

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 7-Cell Reuse Pattern

In the above figure 7 adjacent cells using all available

carriers form a cluster.
Hence the cluster size is 7.
Number of cells in a cluster determine frequency reuse
ratio. In the above case the frequency reuse ratio is
1/7. 3
 Co-Channel Interference and C/I Ratio

Co-channel Interference: Cells which use the same set of frequencies in a given
coverage area are called co-channel cells and the interference between signals from
these cells is called co-channel interference.
Co-channel interference can be reduced by when co-channel cells are physically
separated by a minimum distance to provide sufficient isolation due to propagation.
C/I Ratio of the received signal level from the source(C) to the interference received
signal (I).
C/I plays an important role in GSM radio network design.
The normal value of C/I ratio is about 7dB.

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 CELL SECTORISATION

Sectoring means replacing a single omni directional antenna at the base station
by several directional antennas, each radiating within a specified sector.
Reduces co-channel interference and helps improve system performance.
Normally a cell is partitioned into three 1200 sectors or six 600 sectors.

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 TRAFFIC SUPPORTED BY A CELL

Definition of Erlang: It is a dimensionless quantity that defines the occupancy of a trunk or

channel. It gives us a value of traffic per subscriber, defined as the average probability that
a given user is engaged in a conversation at a given moment during peak hour.

Hence 1 Erlang may be defined as 60 minutes of use per busy hour.

Grade Of Service (GOS) : Measure of the chance of a customer accessing a free channel.
Based on busy hour congestion
GOS measured by loss or blocking probability
Usually a 2% blocking probability is assumed.

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 ERLANG B FORMULA

In the dimensioning of mobile telephone systems the following assumptions are

made:
1) Random Traffic Patterns
2) No queuing
3) Lost calls are released
These assumptions lead to the derivation of the Erlang B formula

In order to calculate the traffic per subscriber the following assumptions are
made:

1) Average of 90 second calls per subscriber (0.025 Erlang)

2) One call per subscriber per hour

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 For a 2% blocking system and number of channels = 15, the amount of traffic
generated will be 9.1Erlang
Considering each user generates .025 E of traffic, hence the number of users that can
be supported will be 9.1/.025 =364 users.
Hence for 3 sector cells the number of users that can be supported will be 3X364 =
1092.

Example: How many users can be supported for a 2% blocking system for 2 carriers in
a blocked calls cleared system, assuming each user generates .025 E of traffic?

Solution: Number of carriers = 2, hence number of channels available will be 15

(assuming 1 time slot for CCH)

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 Some Definitions

1) Speech Quality Index (SQI): SQI assesses the speech quality

as perceived by the mobile station user. The SQI values are
based on bit error rate(BER) and frame erasure rates and
their respective distributions, as well as handover events
and choice of speech codec.
2) RxQual: It is a parameter which is also used to assess
speech quality in GSM networks.it is a very basic measure
and simply reflects the average BER over a certain period of
time(0.5s) It is obtained by transforming the bit error rate
into a scale from 0 to 7.
3) RxLev: The amount of received signal strength.