Program : B.

Tech
Subject Name: Mobile Communication
Subject Code: EC-503
Semester: 5th
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Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Subject Name: Mobile Communication Subject Code: EC-503(B)
Subject Notes
UNIT-5
Content: Spread spectrum multiple access (Frequency Hopped Multiple Access and Code Division Multiple
Access ). Different spreading codes. CDMA Digital Cellular system: different standards with detailed description
of forward and reverse channels. Capacity of cellular systems.

A collective class of signaling techniques are employed before transmitting a signal to provide a secure
communication, known as the Spread Spectrum Modulation. The main advantage of spread spectrum
communication technique is to prevent “interference” whether it is intentional or unintentional.
The signals modulated with these techniques are hard to interfere and cannot be jammed. An intruder with
no official access is never allowed to crack them. Hence, these techniques are used for military purposes.
These spread spectrum signals transmit at low power density and has a wide spread of signals.
Pseudo-Noise Sequence:
A coded sequence of 1s and 0s with certain auto-correlation properties, called as Pseudo-Noise coding
sequence is used in spread spectrum techniques. It is a maximum-length sequence, which is a type of cyclic
code. Narrow-band and Spread-spectrum Signals
Both the Narrow band and Spread spectrum signals can be understood easily by observing their frequency
spectrum as shown in the following figures.
Narrow-band Signals
The Narrow-band signals have the signal strength concentrated as shown in the following frequency
spectrum figure.

Following are some of its features −

 Band of signals occupy a narrow range of frequencies.
 Power density is high.
 Spread of energy is low and concentrated.
Though the features are good, these signals are prone to interference.
Spread Spectrum Signals
The spread spectrum signals have the signal strength distributed as shown in the following frequency
spectrum figure.

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Following are some of its features −

 Band of signals occupy a wide range of frequencies.
 Power density is very low.
 Energy is wide spread.
With these features, the spread spectrum signals are highly resistant to interference or jamming. Since
multiple users can share the same spread spectrum bandwidth without interfering with one another, these
can be called as multiple access techniques.
FHSS and DSSS / CDMA
Spread spectrum multiple access techniques uses signals which have a transmission bandwidth of a
magnitude greater than the minimum required RF bandwidth.
These are of two types.
 Frequency Hopped Spread Spectrum (FHSS)
 Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
Frequency Hopped Spread Spectrum (FHSS)
This is frequency hopping technique, where the users are made to change the frequencies of usage, from one
to another in a specified time interval, hence called as frequency hopping. For example, a frequency was
allotted to sender 1 for a particular period of time. Now, after a while, sender 1 hops to the other frequency
and sender 2 uses the first frequency, which was previously used by sender 1. This is called as frequency
reuse.
The frequencies of the data are hopped from one to another in order to provide a secure transmission. The
amount of time spent on each frequency hop is called as Dwell time.
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
Whenever a user wants to send data using this DSSS technique, each and every bit of the user data is
multiplied by a secret code, called as chipping code. This chipping code is nothing but the spreading code
which is multiplied with the original message and transmitted. The receiver uses the same code to retrieve
the original message.
Comparison between FHSS and DSSS/CDMA
Both the spread spectrum techniques are popular for their characteristics. To have a clear understanding, let
us take a look at their comparisons.
FHSS DSSS / CDMA

Multiple frequencies are used Single frequency is used

Hard to find the user’s frequency at any instant of time User frequency, once allotted is always the
same

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Frequency reuse is allowed Frequency reuse is not allowed

Sender need not wait Sender has to wait if the spectrum is busy

Power strength of the signal is high Power strength of the signal is low

Stronger and penetrates through the obstacles It is weaker compared to FHSS

It is never affected by interference It can be affected by interference

It is cheaper It is expensive

This is the commonly used technique This technique is not frequently used
Advantages of Spread Spectrum:
Following are the advantages of spread spectrum −
 Cross-talk elimination
 Better output with data integrity
 Reduced effect of multipath fading
 Better security
 Reduction in noise
 Co-existence with other systems
 Longer operative distances
 Hard to detect
 Not easy to demodulate/decode
 Difficult to jam the signals
Although spread spectrum techniques were originally designed for military uses, they are now being used
widely for commercial purpose.
Spread Spectrum:
• Analog or digital data
• Analog signal • Spread data over wide bandwidth
• Makes jamming and interception harder
• Frequency hoping – Signal broadcast over seemingly random series of frequencies
• Direct Sequence – Each bit is represented by multiple bits in transmitted signal – Chipping code.
Spread Spectrum Concept:
• Input fed into channel encoder – Produces narrow bandwidth analog signal around central frequency
• Signal modulated using sequence of digits – Spreading code/sequence–Typically generated by pseudo
noise/pseudorandom number generator
• Increases bandwidth significantly – Spreads spectrum
• Receiver uses same sequence to demodulate signal
• Demodulated signal fed into channel decoder

General Model of Spread Spectrum System:

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Pseudorandom Numbers:
• Generated by algorithm using initial seed
• Deterministic algorithm – Not actually random – If algorithm good, results pass reasonable tests of
randomness
• Need to know algorithm and seed to predict sequence.

Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS):

• Signal broadcast over seemingly random series of frequencies
• Receiver hops between frequencies in sync with transmitter
• Eavesdroppers hear unintelligible blips
• Jamming on one frequency affects only a few bits.

Basic Operation:
• Typically 2k carriers’ frequencies forming 2k channels
• Channel spacing corresponds with bandwidth of input
• Each channel used for fixed interval – 300 ms in IEEE 802.11 – Some number of bits transmitted using some
encoding
scheme
• May be fractions of bit (see later) – Sequence dictated by spreading code.

Frequency Hopping Example:

Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum System (Transmitter):

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Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum System (Receiver):

Slow and Fast FHSS:

• Frequency shifted every Tc seconds
• Duration of signal element is Ts seconds
• Slow FHSS has Tc  Ts
• Fast FHSS has Tc < Ts
• Generally fast FHSS gives improved performance in noise (or jamming).

Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) :

• Each bit represented by multiple bits using spreading code
• Spreading code spreads signal across wider frequency band – In proportion to number of bits used – 10 bit
spreading code spreads signal across 10 times bandwidth of 1 bit code
• One method:
– Combine input with spreading code using XOR
– Input bit 1 inverts spreading code bit – Input zero bit doesn’t alter spreading code bit
– Data rate equal to original spreading code
• Performance similar to FHSS

Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Transmitter:

Multiple Access Techniques:

• The transmission from the BS in the downlink can be heard by each and every mobile user in the cell, and is
referred as broadcasting. Transmission from the mobile users in the uplink to the BS is many-to-one, and is
referred to as multiple access.
• Multiple access schemes to allow many users to share simultaneously a finite amount of radio spectrum
resources.
– Should not result in severe degradation in the performance of the system as compared to a single user
scenario.

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– Approaches can be broadly grouped into two categories: narrowband and wideband.

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA):

• Spreading signal (code) consists of chips
– Has Chip period and hence, chip rate
– Spreading signal use a pseudo-noise (PN) sequence (a pseudorandom sequence)
– PN sequence is called a codeword
– Each user has its own cord word
– Code words are orthogonal. (low autocorrelation)
– Chip rate is order of magnitude larger than the symbol rate.
• The receiver correlator distinguishes the senders signal by examining the wideband signal with the same
time synchronized spreading code
• The sent signal is recovered by dispreading process at the receiver.

CDMA Advantages:
• Low power spectral density.
– Signal is spread over a larger frequency band
– Other systems suffer less from the transmitter
• Interference limited operation
– All frequency spectrum is used
• Privacy
– The codeword is known only between the sender and receiver. Hence other users can not decode the
messages that are in transit
• Reduction of multipath affects by using a larger spectrum
--Random access possible
– Users can start their transmission at any time
• Cell capacity is not concrete fixed like in TDMA or FDMA systems. Has soft capacity
• Higher capacity than TDMA and FDMA
• No frequency management
• No equalizers needed
• No guard time needed
• Enables soft handoff

CDMA code types:

There are several types of codes that can be used within a CDMA system for providing the spreading function:
 PN codes: Pseudo-random number codes (pseudo-noise or PN code) can be generated very easily. These
codes will sum to zero over a period of time. Although the sequence is deterministic because of the limited
length of the linear shift register used to generate the sequence, they provide a PN code that can be used
within a CDMA system to provide the spreading code required. They are used within many systems as
there is a very large number that can be used.
A feature of PN codes is that if the same versions of the PN code are time shifted, then they become
almost orthogonal, and can be used as virtually orthogonal codes within a CDMA system.
 Truly orthogonal codes: Two codes are said to be orthogonal if when they are multiplied together the
result is added over a period of time they sum to zero. For example a codes 1 -1 -1 1 and 1 -1 1 -1 when
multiplied together give 1 1 -1 -1 which gives the sum zero. An example of an orthogonal code set is the
Walsh codes used within the IS95 / CDMA2000 system.

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CDMA Digital Cellular system:

CDMA channels can be broadly categorized as Forward channel and Reverse channel. This chapter explains
the functionalities of these channels.

Forward Channel:
The Forward channel is the direction of the communication or mobile-to-cell downlink path. It includes the
following channels −
 Pilot Channel − Pilot channel is a reference channel. It uses the mobile station to acquire the time and
as a phase reference for coherent demodulation. It is continuously transmitted by each base station
on each active CDMA frequency. And, each mobile station tracks this signal continuously.
 Sync Channel − Synchronization channel carries a single, repeating message, which gives the
information about the time and system configuration to the mobile station. Likewise, the mobile
station can have the exact system time by the means of synchronizing to the short code.
 Paging Channel − Paging Channel’s main objective is to send out pages, that is, notifications of
incoming calls, to the mobile stations. The base station uses these pages to transmit system overhead
information and mobile station specific messages.
 Forward Traffic Channel − Forward Traffic Channels are code channels. It is used to assign calls, usually
voice and signaling traffic to the individual users.

Reverse Channel:
The Reverse channel is the mobile-to-cell direction of communication or the uplink path. It consists of the
following channels −
 Access Channel − Access channel is used by mobile stations to establish a communication with the
base station or to answer Paging Channel messages. The access channel is used for short signaling
message exchanges such as call-ups, responses to pages and registrations.
 Reverse Traffic Channel − Reverse traffic channel is used by the individual users in their actual calls to
transmit traffic from a single mobile station to one or more base stations.

Channel capacity:

One fundamental concept of information theory is one of channel capacity, or how much information can be
transmitted in a communication channel. In the 1940’s Claude Shannon invented formal characterization of
information theory and derived the well-known Shannon’s capacity theorem. That theorem applies to wireless
communications.

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The Shannon capacity equation gives an upper bound for the capacity in a non-faded channel with added
white Gaussian noise:

where C= capacity (bits/s), W=bandwidth (Hz), S∕N= signal to noise (and interference) ratio.

That capacity equation assumes one transmitter and one receiver, though multiple antennas can be used
in diversity scheme on the receiving side. The formula will be revisited for multi-antenna systems. The
equation singles out two fundamentally important aspects: bandwidth and SNR. Bandwidth reflects how much
spectrum a wireless system uses, and explains why the spectrum considerations seen are so important: they
have a direct impact on system capacity. SNR of course reflects the quality of the propagation channel, and
will be dealt with in numerous ways: modulation, coding, error correction, and important design choices such
as cell sizes and reuse patterns.

Cellular Capacity:

Practical capacity of many wireless systems are far from the Shannon’s limit (although recent standards are
coming close to it); and practical capacity is heavily dependent on implementation and standard choices.

Digital standards deal in their own way with how to deploy and optimize capacity. Most systems are
limited by channel width, time slots, and voice coding characteristics. CDMA systems are interference limited,
and have tradeoffs between capacity, coverage, and other performance metrics (such as dropped call rates or
voice quality).

Cellular analog capacity:

Fairly straight forward, every voice channel uses a 30 kHz frequency channel, these frequencies may be
reused according to a reuse pattern, the system is FDMA. The overall capacity simply comes from the
total amount of spectrum, the channel width and the reuse pattern.

TDMA/FDMA capacity:

In digital FDMA systems, capacity improvements mainly come from the voice coding and elaborate
schemes (such as frequency hopping) to decrease reuse factor. The frequency reuse factor hides a lot
of complexity; its value depends greatly on the signal to interference levels acceptable to a given
cellular system. TDMA systems combine multiple time slots per channels.

CDMA capacity:

a usual capacity equation for CDMA systems may be fairly easily derived as follows (for the reverse
link): first examine a base station with N mobiles, its noise and interference power spectral density
dues to all mobiles in that same cell is ISC = (N - 1)Sα, where S is the received power density for each
mobile, and α is the voice activity factor. Other cell interferences IOC are estimated by a reuse
fraction β of the same cell interference level, such that IOC = βISC; (usual values of β are around 1∕2). The
total noise and interference at the base is therefore Nt = ISC(1 + β). Next assume the mobile signal
power density received at the base station is S = REb∕W. Eliminating ISC, we derive:

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where

 W is the channel bandwidth (in Hz),

 R is the user data bit rate (symbol rate in symbol per second),
 Eb∕Nt is the ratio of energy per bit by total noise (usually given in dB Eb∕Nt ≈ 7dB),
 α is the voice activity factor (for the reverse link), typically 0.5,
 and β is the interference reuse fraction, typically around 0.5, and represents the ratio of
interference level from the cell in consideration by interferences due to other cells. (The
number 1 + β is sometimes called reuse factor, and 1∕(1 + β) reuse efficiency)

This simple equation gives us a number of voice channels in a CDMA frequency channel .

We can already see some hints of CDMA optimization and investigate certain possible improvement for
a 3G system. In particular: improving α can be achieved with dim and burst capabilities, β with
interference mitigation and antenna downtilt considerations, R with vocoder rate, W with wider band
CDMA, Eb∕Nt with better coding and interference mitigation techniques.

Some aspects however are omitted in this equation and are required to quantify other capacity
improvements mainly those due to power control, and softer/soft handoff algorithms.

Of course other limitations come into play for wireless systems, such as base station (and mobile)
sensitivity, which may be incorporated into similar formulas; and further considerations come into play such
as: forward power limitations, channel element blocking, backhaul capacity, mobility, and handoff.

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