Lecture 2

Topics: Spectrum, Antenna

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES AND SYSTEMS (EC4057D)
Winter semester 2021

ECED, NIT CALICUT EC4057D Wireless Technologies and Systems, Winter Sem. 2021
 Plan for this module
● Introduction, Performance metrics

● Unique aspects of wireless communication

○ Spectrum

○ Antennas

○ Radio propagation

○ Multiple access

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 Spectrum

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 Spectrum
● (Radio) spectrum is part of
electromagnetic spectrum in
the range 30 Hz-300 GHz*
● Spectrum is the “Lifeblood of
Mobile Connectivity”**
● Basic questions
ITU’s classification of spectrum
○ How much spectrum?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_spectrum
https://www.britannica.com/science/radio-frequency-spectrum
○ Which spectrum?

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_spectrum *https://www.qualcomm.com/documents/spectrum-lifeblood-mobile-connectivity
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 How much spectrum?
● Spectrum used by
○ WiFi is ~20 MHz*, 4G is 1.4 MHz to 20
MHz**, Bluetooth is 1 MHz*** Guard bands: some spectrum may have to be
left unused to “guard” others from adjacent
○ Advanced 4G can use up to 100 MHz channel interference
Zigbee guard bands below
● How much spectrum? Factors:
○ Throughput needed and spectral
efficiency
○ Overheads
○ Other factors like need for
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels
**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_(telecommunication)
guard-bands ***https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth
****https://www.sharetechnote.com/html/Lte_Advanced_CarrierAggregation.html

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 Link spectral efficiency
● Link spectral efficiency: bps of throughput per Hz of the link
○ Captures how efficiently link (associated wireless technology) utilizes spectrum
○ We use estimates of link spectral efficiency
■ Link spectral efficiency can depend on factors like SINR. E.g., see SNR dependence in
Shannon’s formula for spectral efficiency C/B=log2(1+SNR)
■ Many cite maximum link spectral efficiency

● Example: Max link spectral efficiency is

○ Approximately 4 bps/Hz for LTE and WiFi
○ Approximately 0.7 bps/Hz for Bluetooth 1.1 and 3 bps/Hz for Bluetooth 2.0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_efficiency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth#Bluetooth_1.2

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 System spectral efficiency
● System spectral efficiency: bps per Hz of bandwidth per unit of coverage area
○ Unit of coverage area can be maesured in units of area or cell or cell-sector
● Link spectral efficiency does not present the whole story. High link spectral
efficiency can be at the cost of low system spectral efficiency
● Example*
○ Consider cellular system using FDMA with reuse factor of ¼
○ So, each base station has 1/4 of total available frequency spectrum
○ Max system spectral efficiency in (bit/s)/Hz per cell is 1/4 of link spectral efficiency

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_efficiency
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 System vs link spectral efficiency: example
● Example*
○ In W-CDMA (3G) cellular system, a call can be 8.5 kbps and utilize entire 5 MHz
wide channel
○ So, link spectral efficiency is 0.0017 bps/Hz.
○ Assuming 100 simultaneous calls in one cell and frequency reuse factor of 1,
system spectrum efficiency is over 1 × 100 × 0.0017 = 0.17 (bit/s)/Hz per cell

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_efficiency
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 Overheads
● Can be due to
○ Redundancy added for error detection and
error correction
○ retransmissions (on detecting errors or
missed transmissions)
○ Control messages (e.g., for sending system
Retransmisssions in LTE
info, configuration etc) http://teletopix.org/4g-lte/what-is-radio-retransmission-in-lte/

● Not always easy to quantity overhead exactly and

may have to use estimated loss due to overhad

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 How much spectrum? Example
● Requirement: Support a wireless point-to-point link requiring 200 kbps
throughput
● Link spectral efficiency of wireless technology is roughly 0.125 bps/Hz
● Overheads~25%
● How much spectrum is needed? A rough calculation below
○ Total bps needed 200*1.125 = 250 kbps
○ Hence, spectrum requirement = 250000 /0.125 = 2 MHz

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 Which spectrum?

● Suppose wireless link needs B MHz spectrum. Now, which spectrum to use?

● Antenna-length considerations: Lower the frequency, larger the antenna

(roughly of the order of wavelength). More later...
● Range considerations: Higher the frequency, shorter the range. More later...
○ At very high frequencies, range can drop to just a few meters
○ E.g., compared to <GHz frequencies, higher frequencies (e.g., those used by
millimeter wave) experience more attenuation

● Regulations: National regulations and international (ITU) guidelines matter

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 Spectrum regulations: Classification of spectrum

● Licensed: license needed (usually from national regulator) to use such

spectrum in a region
○ E.g., Spectrum used by LTE

● Unlicensed with equal-access sharing: no need for license

○ e.g., spectrum used by WiFi

● Tiered-access sharing: multiple tiers of users use a common spectrum

○ E.g., CBRS in USA where tier-1 is military and lower tier users can use spectrum if
higher tier users are not using the spectrum (like cognitive radio)

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 Licensed spectrum
● License needed (usually from national regulator) to use such spectrum
● Examples
○ FM radio (88-108 MHz)
○ 3G (900 MHz, 2100 MHz)
○ 4G(850 MHz, 800MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz)
● License usually issued by national regulator (e.g., DoT in India) for a specific
geographic region and for a specific period of time
● There may be additional restrictions on the spectrum use even with license
like maximum radiated power
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 Unlicensed spectrum with equal-access sharing
● No need for license for anyone
○ fair sharing important, realized using Medium Access Protocols (more later)
● Unlicensed not unregulated: may have restrictions e.g. maximum power
● Examples: WiFi (2.4-2.4835 GHz), Bluetooth (2.4 - 2.4835 GHz)
● Unlicensed in one country may be licensed in another, and this makes it
challenging to develop wireless systems that works everywhere
○ For instance, LoRAWAN can be configured to operate in many frequencies though in
India is usually restricted to license-exempt frequency range of 865-867 MHz.
○ Organizations like ITU aim to “harmonize” spectrum regulations worldwide

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 Channels
● If using existing wireless technology, only certain
spectrum may be supported
○ E.g., some WiFi modules and Bluetooth modules use
2.4-2.4835 GHz
○ If you are designing a wireless technology from scratch,
selecting the spectrum is a important decision
● A given wireless device using existing technology may Bluetooth channels
https://www.rfwireless-world.com/Terminology/BLE-Advertising-channels-and-Data-channels-lis
t.html

only use a portion called channel of spectrum

available to that technology
○ Channel bandwidth of Bluetooth is 1 MHz, WiFi is 20
MHz
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 Which channel to select?
● Considerations
○ Devices communicating with each other should stay on same channel
○ Avoid other devices by picking less “crowded” channels to reduce interference
● Channel selection options
○ Fixed: always pick a fixed channel (ensures that all your devices are on the same
channel)
○ Random: one device (e.g., master) picks channel randomly
○ Using measurements: to avoid crowded channels
● Advanced technologies may allow devices use multiple channels (e.g., carrier
aggregation in LTE)
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 Spectrum allocation in India: Examples [1]
Technology/applicati Spectrum License needed in India? Max power, comments
on

Amateur radio Several (e.g., 1.800–1.825 Yes For non-commercial use

MHz, 5725–5840 MHz) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amateur_radio_f
requency_bands_in_India

NFC 13.56 MHz No Restrictions on received power at 10 meters

FM radio 88-108 MHz Yes 100 or 200 kHz bandwidth for each station

Remote Keyless 433 - 434.79 MHz No 10 mWwith a channel

Entry bandwidth within 10
kHZ (ERP)

LoRaWAN 865-867 MHz in India No 4W (ERP)

RFID 865 – 867 MHz No 4W (ERP)

Zigbee 2.4 - 2.4835 GHz No 4W (36 dBm) ERP

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 Spectrum allocation in India: Examples [1]
Technology/applicati Spectrum License needed in India? Max power, comments
on

Bluetooth 2.4 - 2.4835 GHz No 4W (36 dBm) ERP

WiFi 2.4-2.4835 GHz No Up to 14 channels in 2.4 GHz with bandwidth up to

5150-5250 MHz; 22 MHz some of which may be overlapping
5250-5350 MHz;
5470-5725 MHz;
5725-5875 MHz

GSM (2G) 900 MHz, 1800 MHz Yes

WCDMA (3G) 900 MHz, 2100 MHz Yes

LTE (4G) 850 MHz, 800MHz Yes

2300 MHz
2500 MHz

WiMax (4G) 2300MHz

5G TBD

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 Spectrum: takeaways
● How much? Considerations
○ Throughput requirement and spectral efficiency
○ Overheads
● Which spectrum? Considerations
○ Antenna-length
○ Range
○ Regulations
● Channelization also plays a role in how spectrum is used in practise

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 Antenna

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 Antenna: An essential component in wireless
● Interface between wires conducting electric current and space propagation radio waves*
○ Transmitter’s antenna radiates radio waves based on current from transmitter
○ Receiver’s antenna produces electric current based on received radio waves

Dipole Loop antenna Horn antenna Diople array Parabolic Microstrip

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loop_antenna https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_antenna
antenna antenna antenna antenna array
https://www.ahsystems.com/notes/dipol https://en.wikipedia.org/wik https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Para https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microstrip_
e-element-lengths.php bolic_antenna antenna
i/Antenna_types

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antenna_(radio), and [3]

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 Antenna considerations
● Impact of operational frequency and bandwidth
○ Pick antennas matching your operational frequencies, failing which can impact
antenna efficiency
○ Antenna length: for efficiency, has to be of the order of wavelength (e.g., quarter
wavelength)
■ E.g., 1 MHz will need almost 75 meters long antenna

● Cable losses: cabling used for antennas can introduce losses

● Dimensions/weight: some applications may need small/lightweight antennas
● Antenna radiation pattern (more later)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antenna_(radio)

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 Antenna considerations: directionality
● Depending on deployment, omnidirectional or directional antennas may be
more appropriate
○ directional antenna is suited for covering a sector of cell or more generally if
transmitter and receiver locations are more constrained
○ Typical WiFi APs use omnidirectional antennas when users can be anywhere
● Consider detailed radiation patterns for “custom” coverage requirements.
Otherwise, consider simpler directionality metrics like
○ Gain, measured in dBi: ratio of power gain of direction with maximum power gain
to power gain of an isotropic antenna in that direction
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antenna_(radio)

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 Omnidirectional
antenna radiation
pattern example:
dipole antenna

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wirele
ss/aironet-antennas-accessories/prod_white_paper090
0aecd806a1a3e.html

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 Directional patch antennas

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/aironet-antennas-accessories/prod_white_paper0900aecd806a1a3e.html

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 Radiation pattern: impact on coverage
Nulls in radiation pattern
can cause poor coverage
near a basestation

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wirel
ess/aironet-antennas-accessories/prod_white_paper0
900aecd806a1a3e.html

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 Commercial antennas: Examples

2400-2500 MHz 3dBi 3G/4G

2.4GHz 3.2dBi Omni Antenna LTE PCB Antenna, Cost: Rs 85 5.72-5.85 GHz 30 dBi
for WiFi, Cost: Rs 210 https://robu.in/product/2400-2500-mhz-3dbi-pcb-antenna/
https://robu.in/product/2-4ghz-3-2dbi-rp-sma-omni-antenn Parabolic Grid Directional
a-for-wifi/
Antenna, > Rs 25000
https://www.amazon.in/Antenna-World-G5730-5-72-5-85-Directional/dp/B00NQGVP7M/ref=sr
_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=antenna&qid=1610964321&refinements=p_36%3A1318507031&r
nid=1318502031&s=computers&sr=1-5

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 Takeaways: When picking antenna, consider
● Operational frequency and bandwidth
● Antenna directionality requirements
● Dimensions/weight
● Cable losses

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 References
[1] National Frequency Allocation Plan - 2018, Government of India, Ministry of Communications, Department
of Telecommunications, https://dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/NFAP%202018.pdf?download=1
[2] Antenna Patterns and Their Meaning, Cisco White Paper, Aug 2007,
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/aironet-antennas-accessories/prod_white_paper
0900aecd806a1a3e.html
[3] EE302 Lesson 13: Antenna Fundamentals,
https://www.usna.edu/ECE/ee434/Handouts/EE302%20Lesson%2013%20Antenna%20Fundamentals.pdf
[4] Cisco Aironet and Catalyst Antennas and Accessories Reference Guide Data Sheet
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/aironet-antennas-accessories/product_data_she
et09186a008008883b.html
[5] Several other references listed in each page

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