Network Group Interference in Cellular Networks

DRAFT
Network Group

Interference in Cellular
Networks

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Network Group Interference in Cellular Networks

Contents

1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................
1.1 Scope................................................................................................................................
1.2 Objectives.........................................................................................................................
1.3 References.....................................................................................................................3
2. PROCEDURE ..3
2.1. Introduction....................................................................................................................3
2.2. Growth Scenarios..........................................................................................................3
2.3. Frequency Reuse..........................................................................................................4
2.4. Interference...................................................................................................................4
2.5. Techniques to Minimise Interference............................................................................9
2.6. Effects on Coverage and Interference by applying power decrease, antenna height
decrease and beam tilting..................................................................................................10
2.7. Antenna Patterns.........................................................................................................11
3. PROCEDURE DETAILS...................................................................................................13
4. DEFINITIONS...................................................................................................................14

Interference in Cellular Networks

1.

Introduction

1.1

Objectives

One of the most important limitations in a cellular system is the frequency resource. The
challenge is to serve the greatest number of customers with an acceptable system quality
using the allocated frequency spectrum. This document provides information to determine
the reasons for, and effects of interference on system quality in a cellular network. Several
techniques to minimize interference are also discussed.
1. 2

Scope

Inter-modulation, inter-symbol, adjacent and co-channel interference in a cellular mobile

radio network will be discussed.
1.3

References

1. Advanced Radio Planning Training Manual, Training Course, Quotient Communications,

1995.
2. CME20 System Survey, Training Document, Ericsson.
3. Cell Planning Principles, Training Document, Ericsson.
4. M. D. Yacoub, Foundations of Mobile Radio Engineering, CRC Press, 1993.
5. R. Steele, J. Whitehead, and W. C. Wong, System Aspects of Cellular Radio, IEEE
Communications Magazine, pp. 80-86, January 1995.

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Network Group Interference in Cellular Networks

6. William C. Y. Lee, Mobile Cellular Telecommunications - Analog and Digital Systems,

Second Edition, McGraw-Hill International Editions, 1995.

2.

Procedure

2.1 Introduction
The number of users a network can support is fundamentally dependent on the Common
Air Interface (CAI) over which users communicate. User capacity is dependent on many
factors, but the main ones are the amount of spectrum allocated, the size of the radio
coverage area from a Base Station (BS), and the amount of interference a particular radio
link can tolerate.

2.2 Growth Scenarios

At the conception phase of a cellular network, capacity is not the problem since there are
limited users. However, the designer must provide coverage. During this phase, BSs are
often sited according to the maximum range that can be obtained. Since capacity is of little
importance at this stage, cluster sizes tend to be larger, as this provides negligible cochannel and adjacent channel interference.
As the network matures, capacity becomes increasingly important. Cluster size is
decreased while maintaining Signal-to-Interference Ratios (SIRs) that ensure acceptable
link quality. To accommodate increased capacity without additional BS sites, omnidirectional antennas are replaced by directional ones that partition cells into sectors.
Sectorization generally results in an increased SIR, which improves the quality of the radio
link.
The minimum acceptable SIR (SIRmin) is system specific. It is believed that a GSM system
can be designed with SIRmin of 9 dB, although network designers are advised to use a
higher figure. A low SIRmin enables fewer cells per cluster to be used.

2.3 Frequency Reuse

Frequency reuse patterns is a fundamental principle in the design of cellular systems. This
is defined as the use of radio channels on the same carrier frequency covering
geographically different areas. These areas must be separated from one another by a
sufficient distance so that any co-channel or adjacent channel interference that may be
encountered does not compromise the radio link quality.
Frequency reuse methods are useful for increasing the efficiency of spectrum usage but
can easily result in interference. See Reference [5], Chapter 2 for more information on
frequency re-use distances and patterns.

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2.4 Interference
Interference can be defined as an unwanted signal, which is received into the same
antenna port as the desired carrier signal and is the major limiting factor in the performance
of cellular radio systems.
Sources of interference include another mobile in the same cell, a call in progress in a
neighboring cell, another BS operating on the same frequency, or any other non cellular
system that leaks energy into the cellular frequency band. Interference on voice channels
causes cross talk where the subscriber hears interference in the background due to an
undesired transmission. On control channels, interference leads to missed and blocked
calls due to errors on the digital signaling. Interference is more severe in urban areas due
to the greater RF noise floor and the large number of BSs and mobiles. Interference is a
major bottleneck in increasing capacity and is often responsible for dropped calls.
Transmitters from competing cellular operators are often a significant source of out of band
interference.
The two major interference problems in mobile radio systems are adjacent channel
interference and co-channel interference. Other types of interference include
intermodulation and intersymbol. These problems will be addressed, but the focus will be
on adjacent-channel and co-channel interference.
2.4.1 Inter-modulation interference
This type of interference is generated in any non-linear circuit when the product of two or
more signals results into another signal, having a frequency that is equal or almost equal to
the required signal. In the transmitter, intermodulation interference usually occurs in the
power amplifier, whereas in the receiver, it is produced in the first converter stage.
2.4.2 Inter-symbol Interference
Time dispersion causes inter-symbol interference (ISI) where consecutive symbols interfere
with each other making it difficult for the receiver to determine which symbol is the correct
one. The interfering symbol is a result of the signal being reflected off an object that is far
away eg. mountains, hilly cities, high metal covered buildings etc. See Figure 1 below. ISI
can be considered as co-channel interference, however in this case the interferer is a time
delayed reflection of the wanted signal. If the time delay is smaller than 15us (ie. 4 bits or
approximately 4.4km), the equaliser can solve the problem. The location of the BTS is
crucial in combatting ISI and antennas should be pointed away from reflecting objects.

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Figure 1: Time Dispersion

2.4.3 Co-channel Interference
Co-channel interference is a complication that arises in mobile systems using cellular
architecture, because channels are used simultaneously in as many cells as possible, with
the minimum acceptable separation, in order to increase the reuse efficiency. A base station
receiving the required signal from a mobile station within its cell may also receive unwanted
signals (interferers) from mobiles within other cell clusters using the same channel.
The determination of the frequency reuse distance, and hence the cell repeat pattern, has
a direct influence on the co-channel interference levels ie. a bigger reuse distance implies
smaller co-channel interference. However, this also implies a larger quantity of cells per
cluster, resulting in smaller reuse efficiency. Consequently, a trade-off between interference
and efficiency must be made to provide the required bandwidth at the best possible radio
quality.
The performance parameter of special interest is the carrier to co-channel interference (C/I)
ratio. The C/I ratio is defined as the ratio of the level of the received required signal to the
level of the received unwanted signal. See Figure 2. The C/I ratio is a random variable,
affected by the random phenomena such as :
Location of mobile
Rayleigh fading
Log normal shadowing
Antenna characteristics
Cell site location

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Figure 2: Co-channel interference

The ultimate objective of estimating the C/I ratio is to determine the reuse distance and, the
repeat cell pattern. See table below for Ericcson and GSM recs. for C/I for non-hopping and
hopping networks.
Non-hopping
>9dB
>12dB

GSM recs.
Ericsson

Hopping
>6dB
>9dB

Table 1
2.4.4 Adjacent channel Interference
Adjacent channel interference occurrence is due to equipment limitations such as
frequency instability, receiver bandwidth, filtering, etc. which results in nearby frequencies
leaking into the passband. Adjacent channel interference can be minimised by careful
channel assignment and utilising high Q cavity filters.

Figure 3: Adjacent channel interference

The carrier to adjacent C/A ratio is defined as the relation in dB in signal strength between
the serving and an adjacent frequency, for example 200 kHz apart. See table below for
Ericcson and GSM recs. for C/A for non-hopping networks.
Non-hopping

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GSM recs.
Ericsson

> -9dB
> -3dB
Table 2

2.4.4.1
Intra-cell Adjacent Channel Interference
If adjacent channels are used in the same cell site, a situation may arise where a mobile
station, transmitting from a short distance to the base station, will strongly interfere with the
signal from another mobile, transmitting from a long distance to the same base station, on
an adjacent channel. This is known as intracell adjacent channel interference. One possible
solution to this problem is to avoid the use of adjacent channels with the same cell.
2.4.4.2
Inter-cell Adjacent Channel Interference
Even in the situation where adjacent channels are not used in the same cell but in adjacent
cells, interference may still occur. For instance, consider two mobiles near the cell border,
each one transmitting to its own base station through adjacent
channels. Each base station receives the required signal and a certain interference level of
the unwanted signal.
Adjacent channel interference may occur because of two main factors:
Both signals experience attenuation and fading.
The fadings of both signals are uncorrelated (the signals travel through different
trajectories) so that the interfering signal may become larger than the unwanted
signal.
One possible solution to this problem is to avoid the use of adjacent channels in adjacent
cells.
2.4.4.3
Adjacent Channel Interference at the Mobile
The conditions causing inter-cell adjacent channel interference at the mobile
are depicted in Figure 4. The mobile using channel may suffer interference from channel
+1 and/or channel -1 if they are active in adjacent cells.

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Figure 4: Adjacent Channel Interference at the Mobile

2.4.4.3
Adjacent Channel Interference at the Base Station
The conditions causing inter-cell adjacent channel interference at the base station are
depicted in Figure 5. BS B1 receives the wanted signal from mobile unit M1 and interfering
signal(s) from M2 and/or M3 that are transmitting on adjacent channels to B 2 and B3
respectively. Note that besides the strategic location of M 2 and M3, near the cell borders, M1
must be located in a weak signal area of cell1.

Figure 5: Adjacent Channel Interference at the Base Station

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2.5. Techniques to Minimise Interference

The techniques listed below can be used to minimize interference in cellular networks. The
application and success of the method used is greatly dependent on the unique situation.

Antenna Diversity
Frequency Hopping
Power Control
Discontinuous Transmission
Intracell Handover

2.5.1. Antenna Diversity

This method requires 2 receive antennas at the BS independently receiving the same
signal. Antenna diversity is only possible in the uplink path, hence no reduction in
frequency re-use distance is possible. However, diversity will improve the mean C/I ratio by
exploiting spacial independence of Rayleigh fading. At 900Mhz, it is possible to increase
C/I by 3dB with a distance of 56m between receiving antennas.
2.5.2. Frequency Hopping
As with diversity, frequency hopping will also improve the mean C/I performance by
exploiting frequency independence of Rayleigh fading. See Figure 6. The thin solid and
thin dashed lines indicate receive levels for two different frequencies and the thick solid line
shows the smoothing effect when hopping between these two frequencies. Frequency
hopping makes fading dips appear shallower. It is effective for both uplink and downlink,
but shows more improvement for slow-moving mobiles.
As can be seen from Figure 7, antenna diversity and frequency hopping combined result in
a remarkable improvement in C/I performance.

Figure 6: Schematic picture of multipath fading at two different frequencies and at

frequency hopping between the two frequencies for a slow moving mobile

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Figure 7: C/I Performance with Antenna Diversity and Frequency Hopping

2.5.3. Intra-cell Handover
Intracell handover is a feature that aims at obtaining a good, even speech quality although
temporary interference may be present. When bad quality is measured on either the up or
downlink at the same time that the signal strength is high, there is reason to believe that
there is severe interference, and that the interference only exists on the serving channel. In
this situation, the probability of finding a better channel within the same cell is rather high.
With intracell handover, poor quality of signal (as opposed to weak signal) will be detected
by the system and may result in a change in carrier frequency or time slot.
2.5.4. Power Control
Power control enables the output power of the mobile or BS to be adjusted according the
distance the mobile is away from the BS ie. the nearer the mobile is to the BS, the lower the
mobile and BS transmitted power is. This results in the total amount of radiated power in
the network being reduced uplink/downlink and co/adj-channel interference in the
network is reduced. There is one limitation with power control in that it cannot be used on
the BCCH carrier.

2.5.5. Discontinuous Transmission (DTX)

DTX allows the radio transmitter to be switched off during speech pauses. In a normal
conversation, this leads to a decrease in transmission time of about 50%. DTX can be used
on the uplink and the downlink to reduce interference in the system. DTX also cannot be
used on the BCCH carrier.

2.6. Effects on Coverage and Interference by applying power decrease,

antenna height decrease and beam tilting
Situations are sometimes encounted where coverage must be reduced to compensate for
interference. There are several ways of doing this viz.
Reorienting the directional antenna patterns
Changing the antenna beam width
Synthesizing the antenna pattern

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Decreasing the power

Decreasing the antenna height

The latter two are quite effective and will be discussed further.
Power Decrease. As long as the set-up of the antenna configuration at the cell site
remains the same, and is the cell site transmitted power is decreased by 3dB, then
the reception at the mobile unit is also decreased by 3dB. This is a one-on-one (ie.
linear) correspondence and thus easy to control.
Antenna Height Decrease. When antenna height is decreased, the reception power
is also decreased. However, the formula
Antenna height gain (or loss) =

is based on the difference between the old and new effective antenna heights and not on
the actual antenna heights. Therefore, the effective antenna height is the same as the
actual antenna height only when the mobile unit is traveling on flat ground. It is easy to
decrease antenna height to control coverage in a flat-terrain area. Decreasing antenna
height in a hilly area results in signal-strength contours different from the situation of power
decrease. A decrease in antenna height would effect the coverage area. Instead of a almost
constant decrease in signal-strength along the border of the coverage (like with power
reduction), the coverage area changes to take on completely different signal-strength
contours.

(a)

(b)

Figure 7: The signal-strength effect as measured by different parameters, (a) different

antenna heights, (b)signal-strength changes with power changes.

2.7. Antenna Patterns

The design of cells using different antenna patterns for minimum interference is discussed
in detail in Reference [5], Chapter 5. The choice of antenna patterns is important and
should be based on the terrain contour, the population and building density, and other
conditions within a given area. Implementation of antenna tilting or use of an umbrella

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pattern might be necessary in certain areas to reduce interference. Sidelobe control (i.e.,
control of secondary lobe information in an antenna radiation pattern) is also very critical in
the implementation of a directional antenna.

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3. Procedure Details
Originator Name:

Hilton Goodhead

Location:

Head Office

Title of Originator:

National Manager : Planning and Optimisation

Bernard van der Merwe

Author Name:
Location:
Title of Author:

Head office
Planning and Optimization Engineer

Originators Manager:

Karel Pienaar

Location:

Head office

Title:

Group Executive

Quality manager:
Creation Date:
Revision Number:

1.0

Last Saved On:

1 November 1999

Last Saved By:

Thaigan Govender

Last Printed On:

Distribution List:

Network Group

Authorization:
Designation:

Nat. Manager Radio Originators

Network Planning & Manager
Optimization

Document
Originator/Author

DCS
Administrator

Name:
Signature:
Date:

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4.

Definitions

BS : Base Station
CAI : Common air interface
C/A : Carrier to adjacent channel interference ratio in dB
C/I : Carrier to co-channel interference ratio in dB
Cell Cluster : group of cells within which no frequency reuse is possible
DTX : Discontinuous Transmission - transmission stops while user is not speaking
D/R : Frequency Reuse Distance - separation between the mid-points of two co-channel
cells, normalized to the cell radius
ISI : Inter-symbol interference
SIR : Signal to interference ratio

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