The Cellular Concept

System Design Fundamentals

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Outline
 Introduction
 Frequency Reuse
 Channel Assignment Strategies
 Handoff Strategies
 Interference and System Capacity
 Trunking and Grade of Service
 Improving Capacity in Cellular Systems
 Summary
 Introduction to Cellular concept
In the early years of mobile radio systems, a large coverage was
achieved by using a single high-powered transmitter with the
antenna mounted on tall tower.
Although a large coverage could be attained by this approach, it
does not allow the reuse of the same radio frequencies due to
interference.
To accommodate a large number of users over a large
geographic area, the cellular system is used.
Cellular topology is a special case of an infrastructure multi-BS
network configuration that exploits the frequency reuse concept.
 Cellular Concept
 The fundamental principle of the cellular concept is
to divide the coverage area into a number of
contiguous smaller areas which are each served by
its own radio base station.
 Each of these smaller areas is called a cell.
 Cells are grouped into clusters.
 Each cluster utilizes the entire available radio spectrum.
 The number of cells in a cluster is called cluster size or
frequency reuse factor.
 Cont…
The cellular concept is a system-level idea
 which replacing a single, high power transmitter (large cell), with
many low power transmitters (small cells), each providing coverage
to only a small portion of the service area.
 The cellular concept was a major breakthrough in solving the problem
of spectral congestion and user capacity.
 It offered very high capacity in a limited spectrum allocation without
any major technological changes.
 It enables a fixed number of channels to serve an arbitrarily large
number of subscribers by reusing the channels throughout the
coverage region.
Cont…
 Each cell is allocated a band of frequencies and is served by
a base station, consisting of transmitter, receiver, and
control unit.
 Adjacent cells are assigned different frequencies to
avoid interference or crosstalk.
 However, cells sufficiently distant from each other can use
the same frequency band
cell sizes vary from some 100 m up to certain km
depending on user density, geography, transceiver power etc.
Cellular System Architecture
 Cell Shape
 The first design decision to make is the shape of cells to
cover an area.
 As a mobile user within a cell moves toward the cell's
boundaries, it is best if all of the adjacent antennas are
equidistant.
 This simplifies the task of determining when to switch
the user to an adjacent antenna and which antenna to
choose.
 Cell Shape

R
R
R
Cell
R R

(a) Ideal cell (b) Actual cell (c) Different cell models

The cell shapes need to cover

an area without creating
ambiguous regions
Cont…
 Hexagonal cell is conceptual, however, it is universally adopted
for most theoretical treatment because:
 Hexagons are a geometric shape that approximates a circle (for
Omni-directional radiation)
 Using a hexagon geometry, fewest number of cells can cover the
entire geographic region.
 Base station can be placed :
 Center-excited cell: Base station (BS) depicted as being in the
center of the cell :Omni-directional antenna is used.
 Edge-excited cell: On three of the six cell vertices: Sectored
directional antenna is used.
Signal Strength(Ideal) Signal strength
(in dB)

Cell i Cell j
-60 -60
-70 -70
-80 -80
-90
-90 -100
-100

Select cell i on left of boundary Select cell j on right of boundary

Ideal boundary
 Signal Strength(Actual) Signal strength
(in dB)

Cell i Cell j

-60
-70
-60
-80
-70
-90
-80
-90 -100
-100 Signal strength contours indicating actual cell shape.
This happens because of terrain, presence of obstacles
and signal attenuation in the atmosphere.
The Cellular Concept
System Design Fundamentals
 Introduction
 Frequency Reuse
 Channel Assignment Strategies
 Handoff Strategies
 Interference and System Capacity
 Trunking and Grade of Service
 Improving Capacity in Cellular Systems
 Summary
Frequency Reuse Concept
 One of the major problem in cellular is to support a large number
of users with a limited frequency spectrum.
 In the 1970s, the Bell mobile system in New York could only
support 12 simultaneous calls over a thousand square miles.
 The cellular concept can solve this problem to increase the
system capacity.
 Frequency Reuse is a major cellular concept. Two fundamental
ideas:
 Cellular Topology: A large region cell is divided into small regions
called cells.
 Reuse the frequency spectrum.
Cont…
 A large service area is divided into many small regions
called cells with hexagonal shape.
 Each cell is one BS with a low power transmitter instead of
high power transmitter.
 Each cell is assigned a set of frequency channels.
Neighboring cells are assigned a different set of channels to
avoid adjacent channel.
 The same set of channels can be assigned to different cells
that are separated large enough to limit co-channel
interference to a tolerable level.
 The minimum distance between two co-channel cells (cells
using the same channel) is called reuse distance.
 Frequency Reuse

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Fx: Set of frequency

7 cell reuse cluster

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Reuse Distance (Cont’d)
•The cluster size or the number of cells per cluster is given by
j direction
N  i  ij  j
2 2

where i and j are integers. i represents the 60o

number of cells to be traversed along
direction i, starting from the center of a cell. i direction
And j represents the number of cells in a
direction 60 degree to the direction i.

N = 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16, 19, 21, 28, …, etc.

The popular value of N being 4 and 7.
 Cont…
For i=2,j=1 then N=?
For i=2,j=2 then N=?
For i=1,j=1 then N=?
For i=3,j=2 then N=?
 To find out the nearest co-channel neighbors of a
particular cell, do the following:-
 Move i cells in the i direction
 Then turn 60 degree counter clockwise and move j
cells in the j direction
Cellular Coordinate System

Use (i,j) to denote a

particular cell.

A
Example:
Cell A is represented
by (2,1).
Cont…
Reuse Distance
R Cluster
• For hexagonal cells, the reuse distance
is given by
F7 F2
D  3N R
F6 F1
F1 F3
where R is cell radius and N is the
reuse pattern (the cluster size or the
F5 F4 F7 F2 number of cells per cluster).
• Reuse factor is
F6 F1
F1 F3
D
F5 F4 q   3N
R
Prove of reuse distance
 Capacity of the cellular network
 The number of simultaneous
users is given by:
 C = N (S/k) / B = (k/N) (S/B)
 If S is the total available spectrum,
 B is the bandwidth needed per
user,
 N is cluster size,
 k is the number of cells required
to cover an area,
 The capacity of the network can
be increased by
 increasing N,
 decreasing the cluster size k
 Important Issues Related to A Cellular Topology
 A cellular topology reduces the coverage requirements of both
the mobile terminal and the BS.
 larger the number of cells
 larger the capacity
 and smaller the size of the handheld terminal.
 A fixed network infrastructure to interconnect the cells and ensure
that the entire system works in a coordinated manner
 The number of cells increasing, the cost for deploying the network increases

 Deployment of wireless cellular networks is provision for expansion.

Issues for Planning a Cellular Network
 Selection of a frequency reuse pattern for different
radio transmission techniques,
 Physical deployment and radio coverage modeling,
 Plans to account for the growth of the network,
 Analysis of the relationship between the capacity, cell
size, and the cost of the infrastructure.
Cellular Hierarchy
 In a modern deployment of a cellular network, a number of
cell sizes are used to provide a comprehensive coverage
supporting traffic fluctuations in different geographic areas
and supporting a variety of applications.
 Femtocells (Home cell): the smallest unit, cover only a few meters
 Picocells: the range of a few tens of meters, e.g. WLAN
 Microcells: cover a range of hundreds of meters
 Macrocells: These cells cover areas on the order of several
kilometers, e.g. early phases of the cellular system
 Megacells (Satellite cell): cover nationwide areas with ranges of
hundreds of kilometers and are mainly used with satellites.
 Cellular Hierarchy
 There are three reasons to use a hierarchical cellular
infrastructure supporting cells of different sizes.
 One is to extend the coverage to the areas that are difficult to
cover by a large cell.
 The second reason to have a cellular hierarchy is to increase
the capacity of the network for those areas that have a higher
density of users.
 The third reason is that sometimes an application needs
certain coverage.
The Cellular Concept
System Design Fundamentals
 Introduction
 Frequency Reuse
 Channel Assignment Strategies
 Handoff Strategies
 Interference and System Capacity
 Trunking and Grade of Service
 Improving Capacity in Cellular Systems
 Summary
 Channel Assignment Methods
 A limited frequency spectrum to support a large number of
subscribers.
 One solution is to employ a more efficient channel assignment
technique.
 Two types of channel assignment:
 Fixed and Dynamic.
 The choice of channel assignment strategy impacts the performance
of the system, particularly as to how calls are managed when a
mobile user is handed off from one cell to another.
 Channel Assignment Strategies: FCA

 Fixed Channel Assignment (FCA)

 Each cell or BS is allocated a predetermined set of frequency
channels.
 Any call within a cell can only be assigned the unused
channels from that cell.
 If all channels in a cell have been used, that call is blocked.
UFCA and NUFCA
 Uniform FCA (UFCA):
 Equal number of channels are allocated to each cell in a cluster to be
No of channels in a single cell=1/N of the total channels.
 Non-uniform FCA:
 Each cell is allocated different number of channels. The assignment
can be based on their traffic load. It means that if a cell has more
traffic, then it is assigned more channels. The sum of the channels in
each cluster is equal to the total system channels.
Channel Borrowing
 Borrowing strategy
 cell is allowed to borrow channels from a neighboring
cell if all of its own channels are already occupied.
 where a channel can be borrowed from its neighboring
cell for temporary use as long as it does not violate the
interference constraints.
 The mobile switching center (MSC) supervises such
borrowing procedures.
Simple Borrowing (SB) Schemes
 In SB schemes, cell that has used all its nominal channels can
borrow free channels from its neighboring cell to
accommodate new calls.
 Borrowing can be done from an adjacent cell which has
largest number of free channels (borrowing from the richest)
 Select the first free channel found for borrowing using a
search algorithm (borrow first available scheme)
 Return the borrowed channel when channel becomes free in
the cell (basic algorithm with reassignment)
 Channel Assignment Strategies: DCA
 Dynamic Channel Assignment(DCA)
 Channels are not allocated to cells permanently.
 When a new call arrives, any channel can be used by any
BS based on certain algorithm and rule as long as it does
not violate the interference constraints.
 A cell with higher traffic allows to use more channel to
provide higher flexibility.
Channel Assignment Strategies: DCA
 In a dynamic channel assignment strategy
 voice channels are not allocated to different cells
permanently.
 each time a call request is made, the serving base station
requests a channel from the MSC.
 The MSC switching then allocates a channel to the
requested cell following some algorithm.
 Channel Assignment Strategies: DCA
 The algorithms and rules are based on
 Predication of future blocking within the service area
 Reuse distance of the channel
 Other cost functions
 The algorithms will not violate the basic interference constraint
 if a channel is used in a particular cell, the same channel cannot be reused
in other cell within a reuse distance D.
 DCA – Advantages and Disadvantages
 DCA reduce the likelihood of blocking, which increases
the trunking capacity of the system,
 DCA strategies require the MSC to collect real-time data
on channel occupancy, traffic distribution, and RSSI of all
channels on a continuous basis.
 RSSI: radio signal strength indications
 This increases the storage and computational load.
 Centralized and Distributed DCA

 Algorithm to assign channel is  Algorithm to assign channel is

based on performance on every based on performance on its cell.
cell.  Sub-optimum performance, but
 Optimum performance, but more less complex.
complex.
Comparison between FCA and DCA

FCA DCA
 Performs better under heavy traffic  Performs better under light/moderate
 Low flexibility in channel traffic
assignment  Flexible channel allocation

 Maximum channel reusability  Not always maximum channel

 Sensitive to time and spatial reusability

changes  Insensitive to time and spatial changes

 Not stable grade of service per cell  Stable grade of service per cell in an

in an interference cell group interference cell group

 High forced call termination  Low to moderate forced call termination
probability probability
 Suitable for large cell environment  Suitable in microcellular environment

 Low flexibility  High flexibility

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Comparison between FCA and DCA

FCA DCA
 Radio equipment covers all  Radio equipment covers the temporary
channels assigned to the cell channel assigned to the cell
 Independent channel control  Fully centralized to fully distributed

 Low computational effort control dependent on the scheme

 Low call set up delay  High computational effort

 Low implementation complexity  Moderate to high call set up delay

 Complex, labor intensive  Moderate to high implementation

frequency planning complexity

 Low signaling load  No frequency planning

 Centralized control  Moderate to high signaling load

 Centralized, distributed control

depending on the scheme

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Other Channel Assignment Schemes

Based on different requirements being used as a

potential way of optimizing the performance, many
other channel assignment schemes have been
suggested.
 Hybrid Channel Assignment (HCA)
 Flexible Channel Assignment (FCA)
Hybrid Channel Assignment (HCA)

 HCA schemes are the combination of both FCA and DCA

techniques.
 In HCA schemes, the total number of channels available for
service is divided into fixed and dynamic sets.
 The fixed set contains a number of nominal channels that are
assigned to cells as in the FCA schemes and, in all cases, are to be
preferred for use in their respective cells.
 The dynamic set is shared by all users in the system to increase
flexibility.
Example: When a call requires service from a cell and all of its
nominal channels are busy, a channel from the dynamic set is
assigned to the call.
Hybrid Channel Assignment (HCA)

 Request for a channel from the dynamic set is initiated only

when the cell has exhausted using all its channels from the
fixed set.
 Optimal ratio: ratio of number of fixed and dynamic channels.
 3:1 (fixed to dynamic), provides better service than fixed
scheme for 50% traffic.
 Beyond 50% fixed scheme perform better.
 For dynamic, with traffic load of 15% to 32%, better results
are found with HCA.
 Flexible Channel Assignment (FCA)
 Similar to hybrid scheme with channels divided into fixed and
flexible (emergency) sets.
 Fixed sets used to handle lighter loads.

 Variations in traffic (peaks in time and space) are needed to

schedule emergency channels.
 Two different strategies used in allocating flexible channels:

 Scheduled: Prior estimate is done about traffic change

 Predictive: Traffic intensity and blocking probability is

monitored in each cell all the time.
Interference
 Two types of interference are important in such a
cellular architecture:
 a) Co-channel interference
 The interference due to using the same frequencies in
cells of different clusters.
 b) Adjacent channel interference
 The interference from different frequency channels used
within a cluster whose side lobes overlap.
 The allocation of channels within the cluster and
between clusters must be done so as to minimize both
of these.
Summary

 Cellular Concept
 Frequency Reused
 Reuse Distance
 Capacity
 Channel Assignment Strategies
 FCA
 UFCA and NUFCA
 Channel borrowing
 DCA