WLC EE 447 (Spring 2024)

Wireless Communication and the

Concepts of Cellular Systems and
Frequency Reuse
Ahmed Salim
Text Book
 Cellular Communications System
Cellular communications systems are wireless mobile communications
systems that divide a large geographic area into smaller sections or cells,
each with a low-power wireless transmitter, for the purpose of optimizing
the use of a limited number of frequencies.

A cellular communication system consists of four major components—

namely, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a mobile telephone
switching office (MTSO), cell sites with antenna systems, and mobile
subscriber units (MSU).
 Cellular System

Early Mobile Telephone System Cellular System

Traditional mobile service was
similar to radio/TV broadcasting:
One very powerful transmitter
located at the highest spot in a
large area.
In a cellular system, instead of
using one powerful transmitter,
many low-power transmitters were
placed throughout a coverage
area.
 Why cellular system was adopted?

Early Mobile Telephone

Early Mobile Telephone System Cellular System
System
LowLow Capacity:
Capacity: Consider
Consider that that
the the High Capacity: Consider that the
assigned
assigned frequency
frequency ban canband
affordcan assigned frequency band is reused
100 afford 100conversations
simultaneous simultaneous in 10 cells, the system may afford
conversations (channels).
(channels). 1000 simultaneous conversations
(channels).

⚫⚫The
Thecellular
cellularconcept
conceptwas
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problem
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ofspectral
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congestionand
anduser
usercapacity.
capacity.
How???
⚫⚫ItItoffered
offeredvery
veryhigh
highcapacity
capacityininaalimited
limitedspectrum
spectrumallocation
allocationwithout
without
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majortechnological
technologicalchanges.
changes.
If a system capacity means the number of users
accommodated (simultaneous call handling), then how
was it increased by employing cells of small size?
Engineers discovered that the interference effects were not due to the distance
between areas, but to the ratio of the distance between areas to the transmitter
power (radius) of the areas. By reducing the radius of an area by 50 percent, service
providers could increase the number of potential customers in an area fourfold.
Systems based on areas with a one-kilometer radius would have one hundred times
more channels than systems with areas 10 kilometers in radius. Speculation led to
the conclusion that by reducing the radius of areas to a few hundred meters,
millions of calls could be served.
What is an optimum cell size?
How much BW should be assigned to a cell?
❑ The cellular concept employs variable low-power levels, which allow
cells to be sized according to the subscriber density and demand of a
given area. As the population grows, cells can be added to
accommodate that growth. Frequencies used in one cell cluster can be
reused in other cells. Conversations can be handed off from cell to cell
to maintain constant phone service as the user moves between cells.
❑ Like the early mobile radio system, the base station communicates
with mobiles via a channel. The channel is made of two frequencies,
one for transmitting to the base station and one to receive information
from the base station.
❑ Summary: It depends on the number of users, and each user requires
a certain bandwidth (BW).
 Frequency Reuse
A cluster is a group of cells. No channels are reused within
a cluster.
As shown in Figure, a cell cluster is outlined in bold, and
replicated over the coverage area. Cells with the same
letter use the same set of frequencies.
Practically speaking, the interference within a cell may
exist because of imperfect filters that don't have sharp
edges; however, neighboring cells within a cluster will not
interfere with each other because they will be using Figure
different frequency bands. In this example, the cluster
The coverage area of cells is called the footprint. This size is N=7, and the frequency
footprint is limited by a boundary so that the same group reuse factor is 1/7, since each
of channels can be used in different cells that are far cell contains 1/7 of the total
enough away from each other so that their frequencies number of available channels.
do not interfere.
Frequency reuse leads to an increase in capacity
Consider a cellular system
Total duplex channels : S
Cluster size : N cells

No. of channels in each cell : k = S/N

Capacity in a cluster : C = kN = S

If a cluster is replicated M times

Total capacity : C = MkN = MS

→ The capacity is increased by M.

Different cluster sizes
Macro, Micro and Picocells in Wireless
Communications
1) Coverage Area:
• Macrocell: Macrocells provide the largest coverage area among the three. They can cover several kilometers
in radius and are typically used for providing wide-area coverage in urban, suburban, and rural areas.
• Microcell: Microcells have a smaller coverage area compared to macrocells, typically ranging from a few
hundred meters to a couple of kilometers. They are often used to enhance capacity and coverage in areas
with high user density.
• Picocell: Picocells have the smallest coverage area of the three, usually ranging from tens to a few hundred
meters. They are deployed to provide coverage in indoor environments, densely populated urban areas, or
to fill coverage gaps in specific locations.
2) Capacity:
• Macrocell: Macrocells have relatively high capacity, suitable for serving a large number of users
simultaneously. They are used for broad coverage and capacity.
• Microcell: Microcells have a moderate capacity, designed to serve users in specific regions with higher
traffic demands.
• Picocell: Picocells have a lower capacity compared to macro and microcells. They are used to offload traffic
from larger cells or serve localized areas with high user density.
Macro, Micro and Picocells in Wireless
Communications (continued)
3) Deployment Scenarios:
• Macrocell: Macrocells are deployed as the primary cell layer for wide-area coverage, such as citywide or
regional coverage.
• Microcell: Microcells are typically deployed to enhance capacity and coverage in areas with high user
density, like shopping malls, stadiums, and busy urban streets.
• Picocell: Picocells are deployed in indoor environments (e.g., offices, airports, shopping centers) or areas
with specific coverage needs, like small urban canyons.

4) Use Cases:
• Macrocell: Macrocells serve as the backbone of cellular networks, covering large geographic areas and
providing connectivity to a wide range of devices.
• Microcell: Microcells are used to alleviate congestion in busy areas, ensuring that users in high-traffic
locations receive sufficient network capacity.
• Picocell: Picocells are used to extend coverage into indoor areas and small outdoor spaces, improving signal
quality in places where macrocells may have difficulty penetrating.
 Macro, Micro and Picocells in Wireless
Communications (continued)
5) Interference and Frequency Reuse:
• Macrocell: Due to their large coverage area, macrocells may face interference challenges, requiring
careful frequency planning and cell sectorization.
• Microcell: Microcells can use frequency reuse more effectively than macrocells, as they cover smaller
areas and can reuse frequencies in a more localized manner.
• Picocell: Picocells can reuse frequencies even more efficiently than microcells since they cover very
small areas and are typically deployed in locations with a limited number of users.

Figure shows the relation

between cell sizes and
associated transmit
power of antenna

Figure shows cells of

different sizes in
wireless communication
 Choices of Hexagonal Cell Geometry
Factors
• Equal area
• No overlap between cells

Choices

R R
R

A1 A2 A3
For a given R, A3 provides maximum coverage area.
By using hexagon geometry, the fewest number of cells covers a
given geographic region.
Ideal vs real footprint of a particular cell shape

Actual cellular footprint is determined by the contour of a given

transmitting antenna.
 Channel Assignment Strategies

Fixed
FixedChannel
ChannelAssignment
Assignment Dynamic
Dynamic Channel Assignment
Channel Assignment
Strategy:
Strategy: Strategy:
Strategy:
Each
Eachcell
cellisisallocated
allocatedaapredetermined
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set
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 Types of Interferences

Major limiting factor in performance of cellular radio systems:

• Co-channel interference
-Cells that use the same set of frequencies are called co- channel
cells.
- Interference between them is called co-channel interference.
• Adjacent channel interference
-Interference resulting from signals which are adjacent in frequency to
the desired signal.
-Due toimperfect receiver filters that allow nearby frequencies to leak
into pass band.
 Example 3.1 from the textbook
Problem:
If a particular FDD cellular telephone system has a total bandwidth
of 33 MHz, and if the phone system uses two 25 KHz simplex
channels to provide full duplex voice and control channels.
Compute the number of channels per cell if N = 4, 7, 12.
Solution:
Total bandwidth = 33 MHz
Channel bandwidth = 25 KHz x 2 = 50 KHz
Total available channels = 33 MHz / 50 KHz = 660
N=4 Channel per cell = 660 / 4 =165 channels
N=7 Channel per cell = 660 / 7 = 95 channels
N = 12 Channel per cell = 660 / 12 = 55 channels
 Source:

Example 3.1
(full length text)
Mobility Management
Mobility management is the key feature in cellular communication, due to limited c
overage of Base station. The process followed to avoid such conditions known as Ha
ndoff or Handover. So, handover is the process in telecommunication system that al
lows transmission of voice and data, when user roam from one cell to another with
out losing connectivity.
• Another definition of Handoff:
Handoff is the process of changing the channel (frequency, time slot, spreading
code, or combination of them) associated with the current connection while a call is
in progress. It is often initiated either by crossing a cell boundary or by a
deterioration in quality of the signal in the current channel. Handoff is divided into
two broad categories— hard and soft handoffs. They are also characterized by
“break before make” and “make before break.”
Handoffs!
In hard handoffs, current resources are released before new resources are used; in soft
handoffs, both existing and new resources are used during the handoff process. Poorly
designed handoff schemes tend to generate very heavy signaling traffic and, thereby, a
dramatic decrease in quality of service (QoS). The reason why handoffs are critical in
cellular communication systems is that neighboring cells are always using a disjoint subset
of frequency bands, so negotiations must take place between the mobile station (MS), the
current serving base station (BS), and the next potential BS. Other related issues, such as
decision making and priority strategies during overloading, might influence the overall
performance.
Types of handoffs
Handoffs are broadly classified into two categories—hard and soft handoffs. Usually, the
hard handoff can be further divided into two different types—intra- and intercell handoffs.
A hard handoff is essentially a “break before make” connection. Under the control of the
MSC, the BS hands off the MS’s call to another cell and then drops the call. In a hard
handoff, the link to the prior BS is terminated before or as the user is transferred to the
new cell’s BS; the MS is linked to no more than one BS at any given time. Hard handoff is
primarily used in FDMA (frequency division multiple access) and TDMA (time division
multiple access), where different frequency ranges are used in adjacent channels in order
to minimize channel interference. So, when the MS moves from one BS to another BS, it
becomes impossible for it to communicate with both BSs (since different frequencies are
used). Figure below illustrates hard handoff between the MS and the BSs.
 Types of handoffs (continued)
A hard handoff occurs when the old connection is broken before a new connection
is activated. The performance evaluation of a hard handoff is based on various
initiation criteria. It is assumed that the signal is averaged over time, so that rapid
fluctuations due to the multipath nature of the radio environment can be
eliminated. Numerous studies have been done to determine the shape as well as
the length of the averaging window and the older measurements may be
unreliable. Figure below shows a MS moving from one BS (BS1) to another (BS2).
The mean signal strength of BS1 decreases as the MS moves away from it. Similarly,
the mean signal strength of BS2 increases as the MS approaches it.

Signal strength and hysteresis between two adjacent BSs for

potential handoff
Types of handoffs
In simple term it is MAKE BEFORE BREAK, the handover process in which terminal
first connected to next available cell then release first one without losing
connectivity either voice or data is known as soft handover. This is terminal
supported handover, in this case cellphone continuously measures powers and
maintain list of cells in parallel that can use during handover. In Figure below, both
types of handoffs are illustrated.

Hard handoff Soft handoff