Introduction to Mobile Communication Syllabus Introduction to Cellular Service Progression, Cell Geometry, Overview of Cellular mobile and Network architecture, Cellular radio system design - Frequency assignments, frequency reuse channels, Concept of cell splitting and Cell sectoring. Significance of Handover in cellular systems with Handoff algorithms and roaming. Contents 31 Cellular Service May-17, ” 3.2 Frequency Reuse April-16, 17, 18, May-16, 23 Channel Assignment April-16, May-17, Dec.-16, 17,---- 34 Handoff Strategies May-16, April-17, 3.5 Cell Splitting May-16, April-16, 17, 18, Dec.-17, 3.6 Short Answered Questions 3.7 Multiple Choice Questions aDCellular Networks 3-2 Introduction to Mobile Communication Cellular Service © The cellular topology is dominant topology that is used in all large-scale terrestrial and satellite wireless networks. * A cellular system is a combination of a modulation and multiple access techniques, this method is equally applicable to both analog and digital systems, © Cellular 5 several disciplines of engineering and has taken much enterprise and development to assemble into global systems. Cellular radio requres combination of many large scale technology e.g, HF semiconductor technologies, radio transmission planning and global fixed telecommunications networks. tems are complex but a much more efficient. It includes © In cellular systems, improved spectral efficiency and ability to handle heavy traffic demands can be achieved by frequency reuse and cell splitting techniques. Frequency reuse refers to the use of radio channels on the same carrier frequency to cover different areas which are separated from one another by a sufficient distance so that co-channel interference is not objectionable. © Cell splitting is further dividing a cell into smaller cells a set of channel frequencies is reused more often, leading to a higher spectral efficiency. * Higher spectral efficiency leads to more subscribers, cheaper equipment due to mass production, low call charges and, overall lower cost per subscriber. * The overall service area is divided into small cell, ideally with no gaps or overlaps, each cell being served by its own base station and a set of channel frequencies. The power transmitted by each station is controlled in such a way that the local mobile stations in the cell are served, while co-channel interference, in the cells using the same set of radio channel frequencies is kept minimum. * As shown in Fig. 3.1.1 the cells are hexagons with the repeater and base station at the centre. Cr) The N cells which collectively (+) use the complete set of (2) available frequencies is called a cluster. * Cell sizes are made smaller at ‘Three-cell Guster Four-cell cluster the centre of the city or area of occupation of most subscribers. Fie 31-4 TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS® - an up-thrust for knowiedgeCellular Networks 3-3 Introduction to Mobile Communication * Celis are arranged in clusters. Only certain cluster sizes are possible, principally due to geometry of a hexagon and the allowable cluster sizes of 3, 4, 7 and 12 are shown by way of illustration. * The hexagon shape permits easy and manageable analysis of a cellular system. The actual radio coverage of a cell is known as footprint. The footprint of cell is determined by field measurements or propagation prediction models. * The hexagonal cells fit together to form a honey comb pattern. Fig. 3.1.2 shows seven cell honey comb pattern or seven cell cluster. «fi <7 050) (@) Honey comb pattern or seven cell cluster (0) Two sizes of col Fig. 3.1.2 The concept of cell + The hexagonal shape of cell ensures the most effective transmission but in reality the antenna patterns will not achieve this pattern, the cells more likely takes the circular pattern with some overlap. * When planning a system the aim must be to achieve the maximum use of the available radio spectrum. Also there must be low interference, good quality speech and an acceptable grade of service. * The frequency channels are full duplex hence each conversation requires a pair of frequencies. The forward and reverse directions from the base station to the mobile are to different frequency band and the two frequencies are separated by 45 MHz. * The factors affecting number of channels in a particular area : 1. The available frequency spectrum. 2. The cell size or transmitter power. 3. The reduction in the quality of the link that can be tolerated due to co-channel interference. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS® - an up-thrust for knowiedgeCellular Networks 3-4 Introduction to Mobile Communication * The normal maximum number of channels operating in a cell is limited to 120 and this occurs in places where the traffic is highest. The capacity of a system in an area is determined by the number of channels in a cell and the cell size. * The number of simultaneous users is given by expression : n= ROWAN) B Where, W is total available spectrum, B is bandwidth needed per user, N is frequency reuse factor, m is number of cell required to cover an area. * Above expression indicates the capacity of network can be increased by : 4) Increasing m ii) Decreasing frequency reuse factor Cellular Hierarchy © Hierarchical cellular infrastructures of different sizes are used in cellular network because of following reasons : i) To extend the coverage to the areas those are difficult to cover by a large cell. ii) To increase the capacity of the network for those areas that has a higher density of users. iii) To provide coverage for specific application. * For deployment of cellular network numbers of cell sizes are used to provide a comprehensive coverage supporting traffic fluctuations in different geographic areas and supporting a variety of applications. © Different cell sizes are defined as following, 1, Femtocells © Femtocells are the smallest unit of hierarchy used for connection of personal equipment such as laptops and cellular telephones. * The femtocells cover only few meters where these devices are used within physical range of users. 2. Picocells * Picocells are the small cells inside a building that support local indoor networks. For example, wireless LANs, Wi-Fi networks. + The size of these networks is in the range of a few tens of meters, TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS® - an up-thrust for knowiedgeCellular Networks 3-5 Introduction to Mobile Communication 3, Microcells * The microcells cover the interiors of streets and its antenna is located at the heights lower than the rooftop of the building, © The microcell covers range of few hundreds of meter. It is used for personal communication systems. . Macrocells * Macrocells cover metropolitan areas and its antennas are mounted above the rooftop of the buildings in the coverage area. * The macrocells cover areas on the order of several kilometres. . Megacells * Megacells cover nationwide areas with satellites. It usually covers ranges of hundreds of kilometers. Fig. 3.1.3 Coverage areas of different cells eens cua A service provider wants to provide cellular communication to a particular ‘geographic area. The tolal bandwidth the service provider licensed is 5 MHz and system subscriber requires 10 kHz of bandwidth. Determine the system capacity, if the service provider implements a cellular system with 35 transmitter sites and cluster size of 7. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS® - an up-thrust for knowiedgeCellular Networks 3-6 Introduction to Mobile Communication Solution : Given : Cluster size N=7 Total system bandwidth B = 5 MHz = 5000 kHz Bandwidth per subscriber = 10 kHz Total cell transmitter = 35 j B _ 5000 kt Bandwidth per cell = 5 = 200% 2714 eH: jandwidth per cell = = 7 iz 714 kHz of each cell = —{ 2 _ «71 use Capacity of each cell = 5 Tage ~ 71 user Total system capacity = Total number of cells * Capacity of each cell Total 5} "71 users = 2485 users ‘stem capacity = 35 13.1.3 * The use of hexagon allows for the complete theoretical coverage of an area without any overlapping cells or gaps in the coverage area. | Fundamental * The use of hexagons makes the theoretical calculations of system parameters much easier. * There are a few geometrical figures which ensure full coverage of a given area without either overlapping or holes. These are equilateral triangles, squares and hexagons. Hexagons best approximate the circular shape of base station coverage in a flat terrain without obstacles and the hexagonal edges well approximate the borders between cells of the same size. © In reality, the base station coverage does not have a regular circular shape because the coverage is a result of terrain architecture and obstacles such as houses, trees, etc. 1, What is Microcell zo1 concept ? How is it used to improve capacity ? SEE SrA EEE Frequency Reuse SAO * In a cellular system, the frequency space allocated is insufficient. For a 7 cell cluster arrangement the allocation of frequencies into seven sets is required. The same frequency band or channel used in a cell can be reused in another cluster or TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS® - an up-thrust for knowiedgeCellular Networks 3-7 Introduction to Mobile Communication Reuse distance 7 [ Reusedistance F1,F2,F3, ....F7 : Set of frequency bands Fig. 3.2.1 Frequency reuse for 7 cell cluster cell ie. frequency to be used for multiple simultaneous conversations. This is referred to as frequency reuse. © Frequency reuse is the process of using the same set of frequencies to 1 more than one cell. * However frequency reuse depends on various factors suchas. transmitter power of base station, antenna gain and height, distance ada between cells. The distance between the two cells using the same frequency is known as reuse distance, is denoted by D. A typical cluster of seven cells shows frequency reuse pattem and reuse Fig. 3.2.2 distance. * Frequency reuse distance is decided by cluster size 'N’. In hexagonal cell pattern the cluster size (number of cells per cluster) is given by, +P TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS® - an up-thrust for knowiedgeCellular Networks 3-8 Introduction to Mobile Communication where N_ represents the cluster size. i represents the number of cells to be transversed along direction qi from center of cell. j represents number of cells in direction 6(P to the direction of i Substituting different values of i and j (nonnegative integers) N=1,3,4,7,9, 12, 13 Most popular value of N are 4 and 7. * Due to hexagonal geometry, there are six equidistant neighbours and each neighbor is separated by multiples of 60°, Frequency Reuse Factor * The relationship between frequency reuse distance 'D’, radius and cell 'R’ and number of cells per cluster 'N’ is represented by, D =W3NR DG The ratio = is known as reuse R factor. v 2. * Fig. 3.2.3 shows various reuse patterns. * If the system is not properly designed with respect to the number of cells in a cluster, topographic cell distribution and channel assignment, then it will experience excessive interference between _ the channels in different cells which use the same carrier frequencies. Fig, 3.2.3 Freuency reuse patterns for N = 3, N= 4andN=7 TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS® - an up-thrust for knowiedgeCellular Networks 3-9 Introduction to Mobile Communication Secu For a mobile system of cluster size of 7, determine the frequency reuse distance if the cell radius is 5 km. Repeat the calculation for a cluster size of 4. ize N= 7 Solution : Given : Cluster Cell radius R = 5 km requency reuse distance is given by D = V3NR D = J37 +5 = 4.5923" D = 22.913 km so Ans, For luster size N=4 D = V3*4 ‘5 = 3.4645 D = 1732 km v Ans. Determine frequency reuse distance for a cell radius of 2 km and cluster size of 8. Solution : Given : Cluster size N= 8 Cell radius R = 2 km Frequency reuse distance is given by D = JBN-R D = J3"8 '2 = 4.8989°2 D = 9.7979 km c= Ans. EE) For siven path loss component n = 4 and frequency reuse factor of N = 7 calculate S/I ratio in a cellular system. a Solution : Given : n = 4; Reuse pattern N = 7 cell Frequency reuse factor = V3*N = V3°7 = 4.582 Signal to noise ratio _ VG*N™ _ 45824 3 - 18.66 dB TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS® - an up-thrust for knowledgeCellular Networks 3-10 Introduction to Mobile Communication A spectrum of 30 MHz is allocated to a wireless FDD cellular system which uses two 25 kHz simplex channels to provide full duplex voice ani control channels, compute the number of channels available per cell if a system. i) Uses seven cell reuse and ii) 12 cell reuse Solution : BW = 30 MHz Channel BW = 25 kHz * 2 Simplex channel = 50 kHz per duplex channel. Total No. of channels = 30 MHz / 50 kHz = 600 Channel i) For N=7 No. of channels available per cell = 600/7 = 85 Channels ii) For N = 12 No. of channels available per cell = 600/12 = 50 Channels A spectrum of 30 MHz is allocated to a wireless FDD cellular system which uses fo 25 kHz simplex channels to provide full duplex voice and control channel, compute the number of channels available per cell if a system uses : i) 4 cell reuse ii) 7 cell reuse iti) 8 cell reuse Assume 1 MHz of spectrum is allocated to control channel. Give distribution of voice and control channels, Sa Solution : BW = 30 MHz i a Channel BW = 25 kHz * 2 Simplex channel = 50 kHz per duplex channel. Total No. of channels = 30 MHz / 50 kHz = 600 Channel i) ForN=4 No. of channels available per cell = 600/4 = 150 Channels a Ans. li) For N= 7 No. of channels available per cell = 600/7 1 85 Channels o» Ans. ii) ForN-8 No, of channels available per cell = 600/8 = 75 Channels + Ans. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS® - an up-thrust for knowiedgeCellular Networks 3-11 Introduction to Mobile Communication Co-Channel Interference * With frequency reuse, many cells at a distance will be using the same frequency bands within a given area. These cells are called as co-channels, There is possibility of interference between them since they are operating at same frequency, the interference between them is called as co-channel interference. For a 7 cell clusters there could be up to six immediate interferers as shown in Fig. 3.24. Ter ed 2” Ter 6 \ Shaded cells are co-channel cells Reuse distance * o N int “tier Fig. 3.24 Interfering cells in a 7 cell cluster pattern + The co-channel interference exists even after the power levels of the interfering cells are low enough. The co-channel interference can be experienced by mobile unit and within cell site also. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS® - an up-thrust for knowiedgeCellular Networks 3-12 Introduction to Mobile Communication © The co-channel interference is measured by the ratio of carrier to interference (C/I) at the cell site. * For measuring cartier to interference ratio consider two cells using the same frequencies at a reuse distance * D * as shown in Fig, 3.2.5. Cell# 1 Coll #2 Reuse distance ‘0’ Fig. 3.2.5 Carrier to interference ratio * Let the power transmitted by each base station is fixed. Then the received power by mobile at a distance from the base station is proportional to r where y is propagation constant. * Typical value of y for free space is 2 and for urban area it is 4. Co-channel Interference Ratio (CIR) is given by © _ _Carrier T Interference where — | represents co-channel interference. m represents number of interfering cells. For 7-cluster size, m = 6 . cle ' T Yon G. @¢ . ¢ £-—< s(R) (8) * The co-channel interference is a function of a parameter, q [3-3] ‘The parameter ‘g! is called the co-channel interference reduction factor. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS® - an up-thrust for knowiedgeCellular Networks 3-13 Introduction to Mobile Communication * Factor q is independent of actual power level Py which is assumed the same for all cells. Let all the cells contribute interference equally. fx (sy Carrier signal power I = Interference level e If C/I drops in a cell and if the occurance of handoffs is dependent on C/I then in this case as a response to drop C/I either the propagation distance or interference will increase. EE] Dropped Call © When a mobile unit moves into a cell where all the channels are busy, there is possibility that the call may be dropped because of lack of free channels, it is called as blocked call. The reason of blocked call is non-availability of voice channels. * The call may drop because of poor signal of the assigned voice channel the termination of call due to weak signal is referred to as dropped call. The signal becomes weak because of fading phenomena. The dropped call rate should be minimum to achieve the maximum efficiency of the system. Dropped call rate is given by N p= Don Ph n=O where P,, represents probability of dropped call after n handoff. G1, represents weighted value for calls having n handoff. N represents the maximum number of handoff. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS® - an up-thrust for knowiedgeCellular Networks 3-28 Introduction to Mobile Communication Handoff Initiation * In the cell site the signal strength is continously monitored using a reverse voice channel. Depending on the strength the decision for handoff is made. © If the signal strength reaches a level that is higher than the threshold level set for minimum voice quality, cell site will request the switching office (MISO) for handoff to continue the call. Occurance of handoff either earlier or later can be determined by intelligence within the call site also. * Two points have to be considered and they should be avoided, 1) An unnecessary handoff will be requested if the handoff decision is very early. 2) A failure handoff would result if the handoff decision is very late. © Thus the decision for a handoff on call should be perfect depending on accuracy of signal strength measurements. The threshold can be determined by two parameters namely velocity of vehicle 'V’ and the pathloss slope 7 in the pathloss curve. * Assume the threshold level is — 100 dBm at cell boundary. To have a handoff here the signal strength level should be higher than - 100 dBm (A). © If signal strength is = — 100 dBm + AdB then a request for handoff will be initiated. The value of A should not be too large or too small so that proper handoff initiation at right time will be made. Note : Handoff may be necessary but cannot be done at following cases 1) Mobile is at signal strength hole and not at cell boundary. 2) If the mobile is at cell boundary but no channel in the new cell is available to make handoff # In these cases MTSO has to take step to make handoff faster before a dropped call occurance. Number of handoffs © If the call size is smaller the number of handoffs taking place will be high. The number of handoffs for one call progress depends on the size of the cell. eg. Cell area Number of handoffs 16 to 24 km cell 0.2 handofi / call 32 1 8 km cell 1-2 handloffs / call TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS® - an up-thrust for knowiedge