UNIT-I

Fundamentals of Cellular Radio

System Design(Part II)
 Cellular System Design- Basic Concepts
• High capacity is achieved by limiting the coverage of
each base station to a small geographic region called
a cell.
• Same frequencies or timeslots or codes are reused by
spatially separating the base stations
• A Switching technique called handoff enables a call
to proceed uninterrupted when a user moves from
one cell to another.
• Resolves the problem of limited radio spectrum

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

―Neighboring base stations are assigned a
different group of channels so as to minimize
the interference.
―By systematically spacing base stations and the
channel groups, we may reuse the recourses.
―As the demand increases, the number of base
stations may be increased thereby providing
additional capacity

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

 Concept of Frequency Reuse
Need for Frequency Reuse?
― A Fixed telephone system runs wires to every
household
― Suppose we give every household their own
allocation of radio spectrum for analog speech of
4kHz bandwidth
― 12.5 million households x 4kHz= 50GHz
― Clearly impractical

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

Frequency Reuse
― Cellular radio systems rely on intelligent
allocation and reuse of channels throughout
the coverage area.
― Each base station is allocated a group of radio
channels to be used within the small
geographic area of its cell.
― Neighboring base stations are given different
channel allocation from eachother.

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

― By design of antennas, the coverage area is
limited within the cell, and the same group of
frequencies is reused to cover another cell
separated by a large enough distance to keep
Co-channel Interference within limits.
― The design procedure of allocating channel
groups for all of the cellular BS within a
system is called Frequency Resuse or
Frequency Planning.

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

• The frequency reuse schemes can be in
 time domain
 the space domain.
• Frequency reuse in the time domain results in the
occupation of the same frequency in different time slots. It
is called time-division multiplexing (TDM).
• Frequency reuse in the space domain can be divided into
two categories. .
1. Same frequency assigned in two different geographic
areas, such as AM or FM radio stations using the same
frequency in different cities.
2. Same frequency repeatedly used in a same general area
in one system—the scheme is used in cellular systems.
GNITS M.Bhavana,Asst Prof,Dept of ECE
• Cluster and Capacity
― the total number of available radio channels can be
expressed as
S=kN
S is total no.of duplex channels available for use
k is no.of channels allocated per cell
N is no.of Cells
― N cells which collectively use the complete set of
available frequencies is called a cluster.
― measure of capacity is given by C=MkN=MS

GNITS M.Bhavana,Asst Professor,Dept of ECE

 FREQUENCY REUSE: Example
Co channel cells

Cluster Size N=7

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

The Geometry of the Hexagons:
y v
60o

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

•  

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

 Co-channel cell location
• Method of locating co-channel cells
1. Move i cells along any chain of heaxagons
2. Turn 60 degrees counter conter-clockwise
and move j cells j direction

60
i direction
1 2 3 …i
Formation of a cluster for N=7 with i=2 and j=1
GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE
Frequency Reuse Distance

The frequency reuse distance D can be

determined by

Where K is the Cluster Size

R is the Radius of the Cell

GNITS
M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE
Interference
• Interference is a major limiting factor in the
performance of cellular radio. It limits capacity and
increases the number of dropped calls
• sources of interference include:
 another mobile in the same cell,
 call in progress in a neighboring cell
 other base stations operating in the same
frequency band.
• Interference is more severe in the urban areas due to
greater RF- radio frequency noise floor and more
number of mobile stations and base stations
GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE
Effects of interference:
• Interference on voice channels can cause
cross-talks and noise in the background.
• Interference on control channels causes error
in digital signaling which in turn causes
 missed calls
 blocked calls
 dropped call

M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

• Two major types of interferences.
1. Co channel Interference ( CCI)
2. Adjacent Channel Interference or ACI.
• Co channel interference is caused due to the
cells that reuse the same frequency. These
cells using the same set of frequencies are
called Co-channel Cells.
• Adjacent Channel Interference is caused due
to the signals that are adjacent in the
frequency band.
GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE
Co Channel Interference Reduction Factor

• Co-channel interference is a function of a

parameter q defined as
•
• = ____________ (1)

• It determines the spatial separation relative to

the coverage area of a cell.

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE
Calculation of Carrier to Interference (C/I) Ratio

GNITS M.Bhavana,Asst Prof,Dept of ECE

• The separation D is also a function of K and C/I and is denoted

___________ (2)
• Where K1 is the no.of co channel interfering cells in the first
tier
C/I is the received carrier to interference ratio at the desired
mobile receiver and is given by

___________(3)

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

• We know that C α R-γ

• ______________(4)

• Modifying and substituting eq 1 in eq 4

______________(5)

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

 Desired C/I from a Normal Case in an
Omnidirectional Antenna System
• Two cases to be considered:
(1) the signal and cochannel interference
received by the mobile unit and
(2) the signal and cochannel interference
received by the cell site.

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE
• As long as the received carrier-to-interference
ratios at both the mobile unit and the cell site
are the same, the system is called a balanced
system.
• Assume that all Dk are the same for simplicity,
then D = Dk , and q = qk ,
• ___________(1)

• __________ (2)

• ___________(3)

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

• Normal cellular practice of C/I is 18 dB
• Because a C/I of 18 dB is measured by the acceptance of voice
quality from present cellular mobile receivers, this acceptance
implies that both mobile radio multipath fading and cochannel
interference become ineffective at that level.
•
_______________(4)

• The factor q can be related to the finite set of cells K in a hexagonal-

shaped cellular system by
q = √ (3K) _________(5)
• On Substituting eq .4 in eq.5 ,we obtain K=7
• indicates that a seven-cell reuse pattern is needed for a C/I of 18 dB.

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

 Trunking and Grade of Service
• Cellular radio systems rely on trunking to
accommodate a large number of users in a limited
radio spectrum.
• The concept of trunking allows a large number of
users to share the relatively small number of
channels in a cell by providing access to each user,
on demand, from a pool of available channels
• The fundamentals of trunking theory were
developed by Erlang

GNITS M.Bhavana,Asst Prof,Dept of ECE

• The grade of service (GOS) is a measure of the
ability of a user to access a trunked system
during the busiest hour.
• The grade of service is a benchmark used to
define the desired performance of a particular
trunked system
 Definitions of Common Terms Used In
Trunking Theory
• Set-up Time: The time required to allocate a trunked radio
channel to a requesting user.
• Blocked Call: Call which cannot be completed at time of
request, due to congestion. Also referred to as a lost call.
• Holding Time: Average duration of a typical call.
• Traffic Intensity: Measure of channel time utilization, which is
the average channel occupancy measured in Erlangs.
• Load: Traffic intensity across the entire trunked radio system,
measured in Erlangs.
• Request Rate: The average number of call requests per unit
time.

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

• Grade of Service (GoS): A measure of
congestion which is specified as the
 probability of a call being blocked (for
Erlang B),
 the probability of a call being delayed
beyond a certain amount of time (for
Erlang C).

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

 Improving Coverage & Capacity In Cellular
Systems
• As the demand for service increases, system designers
have to provide more channels per unit coverage area
• Common techniques of improving capacity are Cell
splitting, Sectoring and Microcell zoning
• Cell splitting increases the number of base stations
deployed and allows an orderly growth of the cellular
system
• Sectoring uses directional antennas to control the
interference and frequency reuse.
• Microcell zoning distributes the coverage of a cell and
extends the cell boundary to hard-to-reach places
GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE
Cell splitting
• Cell splitting is the process of subdividing congested cells into
smaller cells
 their own base stations
 correspondingly reduction in the antenna height
 correspondingly reduction in the transmit power
• Splitting the cell reduces the cell size and thus more number of
cells have to be used.
• more number of cells more number of clusters
more number of channels higher capacity.
• Cell splitting allows a system to grow by replacing large cells
by smaller cells without upsetting the channel allocation.

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

 Large cells(low density)

Small cells(high density)

Smaller cells(higher density)

•Cells are split to add channels with no new spectrum usage.

•Depending on the traffic pattern, the smaller cells may be activated or
deactivated in order to efficiently use cell resources.

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

• Suppose the cell radius of the new cells are to be reduced by half
• What is the required transmit powers for this new cell

For n=4

• The transmit power must be reduced by 12 dB in order to fill in

the original coverage area with microcells, while maintaining the
S/I requirement

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

• There are two kinds of cell-splitting techniques:
1. Permanent splitting: The installation of every new
split cell has to be planned ahead of time When
ready, the actual service cut-over should be set at
the lowest traffic point, usually at midnight on a
weekend.
2. Dynamic splitting: This scheme is based on using the
allocated spectrum efficiency in real time. The
algorithm for dynamically splitting cell sites is a
tedious job, as we cannot afford to have one single
cell unused during cell splitting at heavy traffic
hours.
GNITS M.Bhavana,Asst Professor,Dept of ECE
Cell sectoring
• Cell sectoring as opposed to cell splitting where D/R
ratio is kept constant while decreasing R, sectoring
keeps the R untouched and reduces the D to R
• Capacity improvement is achieved by reducing the
number of cells per cluster, thus increasing
frequency reuse
• In order to do this, it is necessary to reduce the
relative interference without decreasing the
transmitted power

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

• CCI may be decreased by replacing the single
omnidirectional antenna by several directional
antennas each radiating within a specified
sector.
• a directional antenna transmits to and receives
from only a fraction of the total number of
cochannel cells. Thus the CCI is reduced.
• A cell is normally partitioned into three 120 o
sectors,4- 90o sectors ,6- 60osectors

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

 a)Omni
b) 120 degrees b) 120 degrees

b) 60 degrees b) 90 degrees

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

• Placing directional transmitters at corners where 3
adjacent cells meet is one way to do sectoring.

Sectoring improves S/I

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

Cell sectoring problems:
• the first problem is the increase in the number
of antennas at each base station
• decrease in the trunking efficiency.
• increased number of hand offs

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

Microcell Zone Concept
• The problems of sectoring can be effectively addressed
by the concept of microcell zones
• A cell into microcells or zones
• Each microcell or zone is connected to the same base
station by using either a fiber optic link or a microwave
link
• Each zone uses a directional antenna
• As a mobile travels from one zone to another, it retains
the same channel i.e no handoff
• The base station simply switches the channel to the next
zone site
GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE
GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE
• While the cell maintains a particular coverage
area, the CCI is reduced because
• The large central base station is replaced by
several low power transmitters. we have
reduced the power.
• Directional antennas are used.
• CCIs are also reduced

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

 Performance criteria of cellular system

There are three categories for specifying performance criteria.

1. Voice Quality It is a complicated parameter for design
engineers. Because it depends on person to person opinion
and mobile unit used differs. So, engineers cannot decide
how to build a system without knowing the voice quality
that will satisfy the users. In military communications, the
situation differs: armed forces personnel must use the
assigned equipment.
CM: For any given commercial communications system,
the voice quality will be based on the following criterion: a
set value x at which y percent of customers rate the system
voice quality as good or excellent
GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE
M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE
2. Service Quality
• Three items are required for service quality.
1. Coverage.
 should be large
 it is usually not practical to cover 100 percent of the area for two
reasons:
a. The transmitted power would have to be very high to illuminate weak
spots with sufficient reception, a significant added cost factor.
b. The higher the transmitted power, the harder it becomes to control
interference. The combined voice quality and coverage criteria in AMPS
state that 75 percent of users rate the voice quality between good and
excellent in 90 percent of the served area, which is generally flat terrain.
The voice quality and coverage criteria would be adjusted as per
decided various terrain conditions. In hilly terrain, 90 percent of users
must rate voice quality good or excellent in 75 percent of the served
area. A system operator can lower the percentage values stated above
for a low-performance and low-cost system.

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

1. Required grade of service. For a normal start-up system, the
grade of service is specified for a blocking probability of .02 for
initiating calls at the busy hour. This is an average value. However,
the blocking probability at each cell site will be different. At the
busy hour, near freeways, automobile traffic is usually heavy, so
the blocking probability at certain cell sites may be higher than 2
percent, especially when car accidents occur. To decrease the
blocking probability requires a good system plan and a sufficient
number of radio channels.
2. Number of dropped calls. During Q calls in an hour, if a call is
dropped and Q − 1 calls are completed, then the call drop rate is
1/Q. This drop rate must be kept low. A high drop rate could be
caused by either coverage problems or handoff problems related
to inadequate channel availability or weak reception.

M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

3. Special Features:A system would like to
provide as many special features as possible,
such as call forwarding, call waiting, voice
stored (VSR) box, automatic roaming, short
message service (SMS), multimedia service
(MMS), push-to-talk (PTT), or navigation
services.

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

 Planning a cellular systems
• Determine two elements
 Regulations and market situation
Regulations:
• Federal regulations are same in US.
• Regulations change from city to city based on
building codes and zonal laws
• Should be ahead before planning a system

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

• Market situation: Three tasks handled by the marketing
department
1. Prediction of gross income
 Predicted by determining the population, average
income, buisness types and buisness zones
2. Understanding competitors:
 Situation, no.of customers, coverage, system
performance
3. Decision of geographic coverage: What general area
should be covered?

GNITS M.Bhavana, Asst Prof, Dept of ECE

Problem:
• If a total of 33 MHz of bandwidth is allocated
to a particular FDD cellular telephone system
which uses two 25 kHz simplex channels to
provide full duplex voice and control channels,
compute the number of channels available per
cell if a system uses (a) 4-cell reuse, (b) 7-cell
reuse (c) 12-cell reuse. If 1 MHz of the
allocated spectrum is dedicated to control
channels Then find control channels.