Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3

(21EC72)
Module -3 Notes

Mobile Communication Engineering: Wireless Network generations, Basic propagation

Mechanisms, Mobile radio Channel. Principles of Cellular Communications: Cellular
terminology, Cell structure and Cluster, Frequency reuse concept, Cluster size and system
capacity, Frequency Reuse Distance, Co-channel Interference and signal quality

1.4 WIRELESS NETWORK GENERATIONS

The cellular systems have been classified into three distinct evolutions of generations:
Q.1 Explain the 1G Analog Cellular system

ud
1.4.1 First-Generation Analog Cellular Systems
 The first-generation (1G) analog cellular communication systems are voice-oriented analog
cellular systems using frequency division multiple access technique.

 The first-generation systems used large cells and omni-directional antennas in the 800-MHz
band.


lo The AMPS and ETACS systems use a seven-cell reuse pattern with provisions for cell-
sectoring and cell-splitting to increase capacity when needed.
Limited traffic-handling capacity.
 The first-generation cellular systems are based on analog transmission technology.

C
The most popular first generation cellular systems are AMPS (widely deployed in most parts
of US, South America, Australia, China), and ETACS (deployed throughout Europe).
 The systems transmit speech signals employing FM, and

tu

Important control information is transmitted in digital form using FSK.

 The entire service area is divided into logical cells, and each cell is allocated one specific
band in the frequency spectrum.

 To explore a frequency reuse pattern, the frequency spectrum is divided among seven cells,
improving the voice quality as each subscriber is given a larger bandwidth.
V

 AMPS and ETACS cellular radio systems deploy cell-sites with tall towers that support
several receiving antennas and have transmitting antennas that typically radiate a few
hundred watts of effective radiated power.

 Each cell-site has one control channel transmitter that broadcasts on the forward control
channel, one control channel receiver that listens on the reverse control channel for any
mobile phone to set-up a call, and eight or more FM duplex voice channels.
Table 1.1 shows the worldwide 1G analog cellular system.
 All these systems use two separate frequency bands for forward (from cell-site to

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 1

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
mobile) and reverse (from mobile to cell-site) links.
 Such a system is referred to as a frequency division duplex ( DD) scheme.
 The typical allocated overall band in each direction, for example, for AMPS, and
NMT-900, is 25 MHz in each direction.

ud
lo
C
tu
V

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 2

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
 The dominant spectra of operation for these systems are the 800-and 900-MHz bands.
In an ideal situation, all countries should use the same standard and the same
frequency bands.
 However, in practice, as shown in Table 1.1, a variety of frequencies and standards
are adopted all over the world

ud
 All the 1G cellular systems use analog frequency modulation (FM) for which the transmission


lo
power requirement depends on the transmission bandwidth.
power is also related to the coverage and size of the cells.
 Therefore, one can compensate for the reduction in transmission bandwidth per subscriber by
reducing the size of a cell in a cellular network.
C
 Reduction in size of the cell increases the number of cells and the cost of installation of the
infrastructure. The channel spacing, or bandwidth, allocated to each subscriber is either 30 kHz
or 25 kHz or a fraction of either of them.
tu

 Q.2 Explain the 2G Analog Cellular system

1.4.2 Second-Generation Digital Cellular Systems

1) The second generation (2G) cellular systems represent the set of wireless air interface
standards that rely on digital modulation and sophisticated digital signal processing in the
handset and the base station.
V

2) Digital cellular technologies support a much larger number of mobile subscribers within a
given frequency allocation, thereby offering higher user capacity, providing superior security
and voice quality, and lay the foundation for value-added services (including data) that will
continue to be developed and enhanced in future.
3) To have efficient use of the frequency spectrum, time division or code-division multiple
access technique is used in 2G digital cellular systems so that low-rate data along with voice
can be processed.
There are four major standards in this category:
The North American Interim Standard (IS-54) that later on improved into
 IS-136;

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 3

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
 GSM,
 the pan-European digital cellular; and
 Personal digital cellular (PDC)
- All of them using TDMA technology; and IS-95 in North America, which uses CDMA
technology.

 The 2G digital cellular systems are all FDD and mostly operate in the 800- and 900-MHz
bands.

 The carrier spacing of IS-54/136 and PDC is the same as the carrier spacing of 1G analog
cellular system in their respective regions, but GSM and IS-95 use multiple analog channels
to form one digital carrier.

ud
 The most popular 2G cellular standards include three TDMA standards and one CDMA
standard. Interim

 Standard 54 or 136 (IS-54 or IS-136), also known as US Digital Cellular (USDC), which
supports three time slotted mobile subscribers for each 30-kHz radio channel in both the
cellular 800 MHz and PCS 1900 MHz bands.

 Based on the analog AMPS cellular system, the TDMA system IS-54/136 was developed in
lo the US that adds digital traffic channels. IS-54/136 uses dual-mode mobile phones and
incorporates associated control channels, authentication procedures using encryption, and
mobile assisted handoff.

 The IS-136 includes digital control channels which enable to provide several additional
services such as identification, voice mail, SMS, call waiting, group calling, etc. The USDC
C
systems share the same frequency spectrum, frequency reuse plan, and cell-sites as that of
AMPS.

 Global System for Mobile (GSM), which supports eight time slotted mobile subscribers for
each 200-kHz radio channel in both the cellular and PCS bands; and Pacific Digital Cellular
tu

(PDC),

 A Japanese TDMA standard that is similar to IS-136, are the other two most popular TDMA
based digital cellular standards.

 The popular 2G CDMA standard (IS-95), also known as cdmaOne, can support up to 64
mobile subscribers that are orthogonally coded and simultaneously transmitted on each 1.25
V

MHz channel.
- In digital communications, information is transmitted in packets or frames.
- The duration of a packet/frame in the air should be short enough, so that the channel does not
change significantly during the transmission, and long enough, so that the required time
interval between packets is much smaller than the length of the packet.
- A frame length of around 5 to 40 ms is typically used in 2G cellular networks..

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 4

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
1.4.3 Evolution from 2G to 3G Cellular Networks
There are two steps of 3G evolution paths from present 2G technologies based on GSM and IS-95
CDMA respectively. An evolution path from second generation digital cellular GSM network to
third generation network is depicted in Fig. 1.1.

ud
lo
 GSM is an open, digital cellular technology which supports voice calls and data transfer
speeds of up to 9.6 kbps, together with the transmission of SMS (Short Message Service).

 GSM operates in the 900 MHz and 1.8 GHz bands in Europe and the 850 MHz and 1.9 GHz
C
bands in the US.

 GSM provides international roaming capability that enables users to access the seamless
services when travelling abroad. HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data) enables data to
be transferred more rapidly than the standard
tu

 GSM system by using multiple channels. GPRS is a very widely deployed wireless data
service, available now with most GSM networks. GPRS offers throughput rates of up to 53.6
kbps

 Enhancements to GSM networks are provided by Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution
V

(EDGE) technology or EGPRS, which offers up to three times the data capacity of GPRS.
 Various mobile data services such as multimedia messaging, high-speed Internet
access and e-mail are possible
 EDGE allows it to be overlaid directly onto an existing GSM network with simple
software- upgrade.
 WCDMA is the air interface for third-generation mobile communications systems. It enables
the continued support of voice, text and MMS services in addition to richer mobile
multimedia services..

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 5

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)

ud
 Q.3 Explain the 3G Analog Cellular system
1.4.4 Third-Generation Digital Cellular Systems

1) The fundamental purpose of the 3G mobile communications system is to provide a globally

lointegrated wireless communication system combining different incompatible network
technologies already deployed across the world.
2) All 2G and 2.5G cellular communications systems and mobile phones will eventually evolve
towards a global standard, which is referred to IMT-2000.

3) The third generation aims to combine telephony, Internet, and multimedia into a single
device. it supports the Internet protocols and be based on a packet-switched network
C
backbone.

The IMT-2000 system incorporates three variations of CDMA.

 The modes differ in how duplexing is accomplished and how many carriers are used.
 All variations operate in a 5-MHz channel, as compared to 1.25 MHz for cdma One systems.
tu

Q.4 List out the 3G cellular network capabilities

(a) High degree of worldwide commonality of design
(b) Compatibility of services with fixed networks and within IMT-2000
(c) More efficient use of the available spectrum
V

(d) Voice quality comparable to that of PSTN

(e) 144–kbps data rate available to users in high-speed vehicles over large areas
(f) 384 kbps available to pedestrians standing or moving slowly over small areas
(g) Support for 2-Mbps data rate for office use
(h) Symmetrical and asymmetrical data-transmission rates
(i) Support for both circuit-switched and packet-switched data services
(j) Support for wide variety of mobile phones for worldwide use including pico, micro, macro, and
global cellular/satellite cells
(k) Worldwide roaming capability
(l) Capability for multimedia applications and a wide range of services
(i) Flexibility to allow the introduction of new services and technologies

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 6

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
Q.5 List and Explain the services offered by 3G Cellular Networks
In order of increasing data rate requirements, the services are the following:

1) Voice 3G systems will offer speech quality at least as good as the fixed telephone network.
Voicemail will also be eventually integrated fully with email service through computerized
voice recognition and synthesis techniques.

2) Switched data This includes dial-up access to corporate networks or fax service or the
Internet access that doesn’t support a fully packet-switched network.

3) Messaging This is an extension of paging, combined with Internet e-mail service. Unlike the
text-only messaging services built into some 2G systems, 3G systems will allow e-mail

ud
attachments. It can also be used for payment and electronic ticketing.

4) Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) The MMS is designed to allow rich text, colour,
icons and logos, sound clips, photographs, animated graphics, and video clips. It works over
the broadband wireless channels in 3G networks.

5) Immediate messaging MMS features push capability that enables the message to be
delivered instantly if the called mobile user is active. It avoids the need for collection from
lothe server. This always-on characteristic of the mobile users opens up the exciting possibility
of multimedia chat in real time.

6) Medium multimedia This is likely to be the most popular 3G service. Its downstream data
rate is ideal for web surfing, games, location-based maps, and collaborative group working.
C
7) High multimedia This can be used for very high-speed Internet access, as well as for high-
definition video and CD-quality audio on demand. Another possible application is online
shopping for intangible products that can be delivered over the air such as a software
program for a mobile computer.
tu

8) Interactive high multimedia This can be used for high-quality videophones,

videoconferencing or a combination of videoconferencing and collaborative working.

9) Sending multimedia postcards A clip of a holiday video could be captured through the
integral video cam of a user’s mobile handset or uploaded via Bluetooth from a standard
camcorder, then combined with voice or text messages and mailed instantly to any other
V

mobile user.

1G Used analogue technologies: AMPS, NMT, TACS, J-TACS

and C-Netz.
2G GSM, D-AMPS and IS-95
3- G CDMA2000 and UMTS
4-G LTE for fourth
5- G NR

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 7

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)

Q.6 Compare 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G and 5 G wireless communications

ud
lo
C
1.4.5 Wireless Networking Technologies
tu

1) In 1971 at the University of Hawaii to create the first packet-based radio communications
network called ALOHAnet,

2) The very first wireless local area network (WLAN). It consisted of 7 computers that
communicated in a bi-directional star topology.
- The first generation of WLAN technology used an unlicensed ISM band of 902–928 MHz.
V

3) To minimise the interference from small appliances and industrial machinery, a spread
spectrum was used which operated at a 500-kbps data rate.

4) In 1990, the IEEE 802 Executive Committee established the 802.11 Working Group to create
the WLAN standard.
5) The standard specified an operating frequency in the 2.4-GHz ISM band. In 1997, the group
approved IEEE 802.11 as the world’s first WLAN standard with data rates of 1 and 2 Mbps.
Like cellphones, wireless-equipped laptops within range of a given access point have the
ability to communicate with the network.

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 8

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
6) A single access point can communicate with multiple wireless equipped laptops. Many
systems allow roaming between access points. Despite their limited range (up to 100 m) and
lower data rates (as compared to 1 Gbps offered by wired Ethernets),

7) WLANs have become the preferred Internet access method for e-mail and Web browsing
applications, in many offices, homes,campus environments, and public places.

8) A wireless personal area network (WPAN), such as Bluetooth IEEE 802.15.1, enables
wireless communication between devices, ranging from computers and cell phones to
keyboards and headphones, and operates in ISM 2.4 GHz band. WiMAX (WMAN based on
the IEEE 802.16 family of standards) will soon offer wireless broadband Internet access to
residences and businesses at relatively low cost.

ud
2.4 BASIC PROPAGATION MECHANISMS
Q.7 In brief Explain the basic signal propogation Mechanisms
2.4.1 Reflection page -9
2.4.2 Diffraction Page-10
2.4.3 Scattering Page-11
lo Refraction Page-12

In a wireless signal propagation environment, apart from direct waves, the receiver will get a number
of reflected waves, diffracted waves and scattered waves.

A typical propagation effect in a mobile radio environment is illustrated in Fig. 2.1.

As shown in Fig.2.1 ht is the height of the cell-site antenna from the earth’s surface, hr is the height
C
of the mobile antenna from the earth’s surface, and r is the distance between the cell-site and the
mobile unit.

The three basic propagation mechanisms are reflection, diffraction, and scattering which
influence signal propagation in a mobile communication environment are briefly described now.
tu
V

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 9

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
2.4.1 Reflection
 Reflection occurs when incident electromagnetic waves are partially reflected when they impinge
on obstructions of different electrical properties.
 A propagating electromagnetic wave impinges on objects the sizes of which are large compared to
its wavelength, such as the surface of the earth, buildings, walls, etc.
 The electromagnetic radio waves get reflected from tall building structures which have a good
amount of conductivity.

 Reflection can also occur due to metal reinforcement.

 The extent of reflection of radio waves depends on the composition and surface characteristics of
the objects.

ud
 The angle of reflection is equal to the angle at which the wave strikes the object and is measured
by the Fresnel reflection coefficient.

 Upon reflection, the signal strength of the radio wave gets attenuated that depends on many
factors like the frequency of the radio waves, the angle of incidence, and the nature of the medium
including its material properties, thickness, homogeneity, etc. Generally, higher frequencies
reflect more than lower frequencies.
lo
 As an instance, let a ground-reflected wave near the mobile unit be received. Because the ground-
reflected wave has a 180ο phase shift after reflection, the ground wave and the line-of-sight wave
may tend to cancel each other, resulting in high signal attenuation.

 The vector sum of the phases of the multipath received signals may give a resultant zero
C
amplitude at certain time instants and large signal amplitude at some other time.

 Most of the times, the vectorial addition of these multipath reflected signals produce an
undetectable signal. Further, because the mobile antenna is lower than most human-made
structures in the operational area, multipath interference occurs.
tu

 These reflected waves may interfere constructively or destructively at the receiver.

 In outdoor urban areas, the reflection mechanism often loses its importance because it involves
multiple reflections that reduce the strength of the signal to negligible values. However, reflection
mechanisms often dominate radio propagation in indoor applications.
V

 The reflections are a source of multipath signals which cause low strength in signal reception.
Reflection results in a large-scale fading of the radio signals.

EXAMPLE 2.3 Effects of reflection on signal propagation

A wireless communication transmitter transmits a signal at 900 MHz. A receiver located at a

distance of 1 km away from transmitter receives two signals — one directly as a line-of-sight signal
and another indirectly via reflection from a building having a height more than 10 metres), as shown
in Fig. 2.2.

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 10

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)

ud
Problem 1
Give reason(s) to justify that the reflected signal causes delay in the reception. Calculate the
amount of delay in the reflected signal with respect to the direct signal at the receiver

lo
C
Thus, the given height of the building is much greater than the wavelength of the transmission.
It implies that the radio signal is reflected from the surface of the obstacle of size much greater
than λc of the radio transmissions. The reflected signal suffers a delay in reaching the receiver
tu
V

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 11

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
2.4.2 Diffraction

 Diffraction is referred to the change in wave pattern caused by interference between waves that
have been reflected from a surface or a point.

 It is based on Huygen’s principle which states that all points on a wavefront can be considered
as point sources for production of secondary wavelets that can combine to produce a new
wavefront in the direction of propagation of the signal.

 Diffraction occurs when the radio path between a transmitter and receiver is obstructed by a
surface with sharp irregular edges.

 Waves bend around the obstacle, even when a line-of-sight condition does not exist. It causes

ud
regions of signal strengthening and weakening irregularly.

 Diffraction can also occur in different situations such as when radio waves pass through a
narrow slit or the edge of a reflector or reflect off from two different surfaces approximately one
wavelength apart.
 At higher frequencies, diffraction depends on the geometry of the object, as well as the
amplitude, phase, and polarization of the incident wave at the point of diffraction. Figure 2.3
depicts a simple case of diffraction of a radio signal.


lo
Diffraction is a description of how a radio signal propagates around and over an obstruction,
and is measured in dB. Diffraction often results in small-signal fading.

 In effect, diffraction results in propagation into shadow regions because the diffracted field can
reach a receiver, which is not in the line-of-sight of the transmitter.
C
tu
V

 In mobile communication systems, diffraction loss occurs from the blockage of secondary
waves such that only a portion of the energy is diffracted around an obstacle. Most cellular
systems operate in urban areas where there is no direct line-of-sight path between the
transmitter and the receiver (either from the cell-site to the mobile unit or vice-versa), and
where the presence of highrise buildings causes severe diffraction loss.

 In many practical situations, the propagation path may consist of more than one obstruction.
For example, in hilly terrains, the total diffraction loss must be computed due to all of the
obstacles.

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 12

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)

2.4.3 Scattering
 Scattering is a special case of reflection caused by irregular objects such as walls with rough
surfaces, vehicles, foliage, traffic signs, lamp posts, and results in many different angles of
reflection and scatter waves in all directions in the form of spherical waves. Thus, due to
availability of numerous objects, scattering effects are difficult to predict.

 Scattering occurs when the size of objects is comparable or smaller than the wavelength of the
propagating radio wave, and where the number of obstacles per unit volume is large. Figure 2.4
depicts a typical case of scattering of a radio signal.

 Propagation in many directions results in reduced received-signal power levels, especially far

ud
from the scatterer. So an incoming radio signal is scattered into several weaker outgoing radio
signals.

 As a result, the scattering phenomenon is not significant unless the receiver or transmitter is
located in a highly noisy environment. In a mobile radio environment, scattering provides
additional radio energy levels at the receiver to what has been predicted by reflection and
diffraction models alone. In radio channels,
 Knowledge of the physical location of large distant objects, which induce scattering, can be
lo
used to accurately predict scattered signal strength levels.
 In a mobile radio environment, heavy foliage often causes scattering.
 Scattering too results in small-scale fading effects.

Major adverse effect of multipath propagation

C
1) Multiple copies of a signal may arrive at different phases. If these phases add destructively, the
signal level relative to noise declines, making signal detection at the receiver much more difficult
and unreliable.
tu

2) Increase in received data errors due to intersymbol interference in digital transmission. As the
mobile unit moves, the relative location of various objects also changes; hence intersymbol
interference increases to the extent that makes it difficult to design signal processing techniques
that will filter out multipath effects in order to recover the intended signal with fidelity.
V

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 13

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
Refraction

 Another form of propagation effect is the effect of refraction.

 Refraction occurs because the velocity of the electromagnetic waves depends on the density
of the medium through which it travels.
 Waves that travel into a denser medium are bent towards the medium. This is the reason for
line-of-sight radio waves being bent towards the earth since the density of the atmosphere is
higher closer to the earth

2.5 MOBILE RADIO CHANNEL

Q.8 what do you mean by Fading and Multipath fading

 In a mobile communication system, a signal experiences multipath propagation which causes

ud
rapid signal level fluctuations in time, called fading.
 Mobile radio channels introduce noise, fading, interference, and other distortions into the
signals that they transmit.
Fading effects that characterise mobile radio communication are large-scale fading and small-signal
fading.
Rayleigh Fading.
lo
1) If there is a large number of multiple reflective paths with no line-of-sight signal path, it is
Rayleigh fading.
2) The Rayleigh flat-fading channel model assumes that the channel induces amplitude which
varies in time according to Rayleigh distribution.

Rician fading.
C
1) When there is a dominant non-fading signal component present, the small-signal fading
envelope is described by a Rician fading.
2) Small-signal fading results into signal dispersion and time-variant behaviour of the channel.

Causes for Rayleigh and Rician fading phenomena

tu

1) include multipath scattering effects, time dispersion, and Doppler shifts that arise from
relative motion between the transmitter and receiver.
2) The major paths result in the arrival of delayed versions of the signal at the receiver.
3) In addition, the radio signal undergoes scattering on a local scale for each major path. Such
local scattering is typically characterized by a large number of reflections by objects near the
mobile.
4) These irresolvable components combine at the receiver and give rise to the phenomenon
V

known as multipath fading. As a result, each major path behaves as a discrete fading path.

5) Typically, the fading process is characterised by a Rayleigh distribution for a non-line-of-

sight path and
6) A Rician distribution for a line-of-sight path. In mobile radio channels,
7) The Rayleigh distribution is commonly used to describe the statistical time varying nature of
the received envelope of a flat fading channel, or the envelope of individual multipath
components.
2.5.1 Multipath Fading

 Fading of signal received by the mobile unit is an inherent problem in mobile

communication.

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 14

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)

 As the location of the mobile unit keeps on changing in real time, the resultant radio signal
incident on its antenna varies continuously.
 Multipath in the mobile communication channel creates small-scale fading effects such as
rapid

 changes in signal strength over a small time interval or small distance traveled by a mobile;
random frequency modulation due to varying Doppler shifts on different multipath signals;
and time dispersion caused by multipath propagation delays.

 Fading is the rapid fluctuation of a radio signal’s amplitude in a short time or over a short
distance.

ud
 In reality, the received signal rapidly fluctuates due to the mobility of the mobile unit causing
changes in multiple signal components arriving via different paths.

 These multiple waves can combine constructively or destructively.

 Multipath waves are also generated because the antenna height of the mobile unit is lower
than its typical surrounding structures such as in builtup urban areas of operation, and the
operating wavelength is much less than the sizes of the surrounding structures at the mobile


lo unit.

The sum of multipath waves causes a signal-fading phenomenon. The rapid fluctuation of the
signal amplitude is referred to as small-signal fading, and it is the result of movement of the
transmitter, the receiver, or objects surrounding them. Over a small area, the average value of
the received signal is considered to compute the propagation path loss and received signal
C
strength. But the characteristics of the instantaneous signal level are also important in order
to design receivers that can mitigate these effects.

 Multipath fading results in fluctuations of the signal amplitude because of the addition of
tu

signals arriving with different phases. This phase difference is caused due to the fact that
signals have traveled different path lengths.
 Because the phase of the arriving paths are too changing rapidly, the received signal
amplitude undergoes rapid fluctuation that is often modeled as a random variable with a
particular distribution, called Rayleigh distribution.
 The multipath waves at the mobile receiver bounce back and forth due to the surrounding
buildings and other structures, as shown in Fig. 2.5. When a mobile unit is stand-still, its
V

receiver only receives a signal strength at that spot, so a constant signal is observed. When
the mobile unit is moving, the fading structure of the wave in the space is received. It is a
multipath fading which becomes fast as the vehicle moves faster.

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 15

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)

Reasons that contribute to the rapid fluctuations of the signal amplitude

1) The first, caused by the addition of signals arriving via different paths, is referred to
as multipath fading.
2) The second, caused by the relative movement of the mobile unit towards or away
from the cell-site transmitter, is called Doppler effect. Other factors that influence
small-scale fading include multipath propagation, speed of the mobile, speed of the
surrounding objects, and the transmission bandwidth of the signal.
3) For a particular service area, the fading effects of the received signal at the mobile
unit need to be analysed towards the effort of designing a reliable mobile
communication system. Suitable diversity reception or signal-processing techniques
need to be provided to minimise the impact of fading.

ud
Q,9 List and Eplain the types of small scale Fadings
2.5.2 Types of Small-Scale Fading

1) The type of fading experienced by a signal propagating through a mobile communication channel
depends
lo
 On the nature of the transmitted signal with respect to the characteristics of the wireless
channel,
 The speed of the mobile, and
 The direction of motion of the mobile with respect to the incoming received signal from the
cell-site transmitter.
 Fading effects in a mobile radio environment can be classified as
C
– fading effects due to multipath time delay spread; and
– fading effects due to Doppler spread.
2) Due to multipath time-delay spread, fading effects can also be classified as
 Flat fading :
 Frequency selective fading.
tu

2.5.3 Flat fading, or non-selective fading, is that type of fading in which all frequency
components of the received signal fluctuates in the same proportions simultaneously.
- Flat fading occurs when the radio channel has a constant gain and linear phase response but
its bandwidth is greater than that of the transmitted signal.

- It implies that the desired signal bandwidth is narrower than, and completely covered by, the
V

spectrum affected by the fading.

- In flat fading, the multipath structure of the channel is such that the spectral characteristics of
the transmitted signal are preserved at the receiver. However, the strength of the received
signal changes with time due to fluctuations in the gain of the channel caused by multipath.

- In a flat fading channel, sometimes referred to as a narrowband channel, the bandwidth of the
transmitted signal is much larger than the reciprocal of the multipath time-delay spread of the
channel.

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 16

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
- The bandwidth of the applied signal is narrow as compared to that of the wireless channel.
The distribution of the instantaneous gain of flat-fading channels can be best described by
Rayleigh distribution and is important for designing wireless communication links.
Frequency-selective fading affects unequally the different spectral components of a radio signal.
- Selective fading is usually significant only relative to the bandwidth of the overall wireless
communication channel.

- If the signal attenuates over a portion of the bandwidth of the signal, the fading is considered
to be selective in frequency domain.

- Frequency selective fading on the received signal occurs when a radio channel has a constant
gain and linear phase response, but the channel bandwidth is less than that of the transmitted
signal.

ud
-

- Under such conditions, the channel impulse response has a multipath delay spread which is
greater than the reciprocal bandwidth of the transmitted signal.

Frequency selective fading is due to time dispersion of the transmitted symbols within the
channel, and the channel induces intersymbol interference.
Frequency-selective fading channels are also known as wideband channels since the
lo bandwidth of the transmitted signal is wider than the bandwidth of the channel impulse
response.
As an example, suppose a mobile receiver moves directly away from the transmitting antenna but
toward a reflecting surface. This particular scenario is depicted in Fig. 2.6.
C
tu

Q,10 Explain the multipath delay spread

2.5.4 Multipath Delay Spread
 Multipath interference is the reflection of radio signals from concrete structures that results in
V

multiple copies of the received signal.

 Multipath interference can allow radio signals to reach hard-to-reach areas.
 It can also create some problems such as delay spread which occurs when several signals
reach a receiver at different times due to different lengths of transmission paths. Delay spread
also occurs due to Rayleigh fading which results from the signal’s amplitude and phase being
altered by reflections.
 In a digital communication system, the delay spread along with fading causes intersymbol
interference, thereby limiting the maximum symbol rate of a digital multipath channel.
 If the multipath delay spread is comparable to or larger than the symbol duration, the
received waveform spreads into neighbouring symbols and produces intersymbol
interference. The intersymbol interference results in irreducible errors that are caused in the
detected signal.

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 17

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
 Figure 2.8 shows the multiple signals received at different multipaths.

2.5.5 Doppler Shift

 There is always a relative motion between the cell-site transmitter and the mobile receiver.
 As a result, Doppler effect occurs in the shift of the received carrier frequency.
 Doppler spectrum is the spectrum of the fluctuations of the received signal strength.
Multipath fading provides the distributions of the amplitude of a radio signal.
 It is important to know for what time a signal strength will be below a pre-defined threshold
value, that is, the duration of fade, and how often it crosses a threshold value, that is,
frequency of transitions or fading rate.
 Doppler effect results in the inaccurate operation of the system. Proper compensation
technique needs to be implemented to minimise this effect.

ud
 A study of Doppler spectrum is important to design the coding and interleaver schemes for
efficient performance.
Thus, multipath propagation, speed of mobile unit, speed of reflecting objects, and Doppler
shift are the main causes of fading.

2.5.6 Coherence Bandwidth

 The coherence bandwidth is a statistical measure of the range of frequencies over which the
lo channel can be considered flat.
 A flat channel is one which passes all spectral components with approximately equal gain
and linear phase and without any distortion.
 The coherence bandwidth Bc represents the correlation between two fading signal envelopes
at frequencies f1 and f2 and is a function of the delay spread d.
 When the correlation coefficient between two fading signal envelopes at frequencies f1 and
C
f2 is equal to 0.5, the coherence bandwidth Bc is approximated by:
Bc ≈ 1 / (2 π d ) (2.15)
- where d is the delay spread.
2.5.7 Coherence Time
 Coherence time is the time duration over which two received signals have a strong potential
tu

for amplitude correlation.

 In other words, coherence time c is inversely proportional to the Doppler spread.
 It is used to characterise the time-varying nature of the frequency dispersiveness of the
channel in the time domain.
 If the reciprocal bandwidth of the baseband signal is greater than the coherence time of the
channel then the channel will change during the transmission of the baseband signal, thus
causing distortion at the receiver.
V

 If the coherence time is defined as the time over which the time correlation function is above
0.5, then the coherence time is approximately given by
c ≈ 0.423 / fdm (2.18)
- where fdm is the maximum Doppler shift given by Vm / λc.

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 18

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
Principles of Cellular Communication
1) Cellular communication is designed to enhance the spectrum efficiency as well as the system
capacity while maintaining the desired signal quality.
2) The main principle of cellular communication is to divide a large geographical area into a
number of contiguous smaller geographical coverage areas called cells, each one of which is
served by its own cell-site or low-power base station located at its centre.
3) Cells constitute the design of the heart of cellular systems.
 The focus in this chapter is to understand the essential principles of cellular
communication, and
 The formation of regular hexagonal cellular structures with multiple clusters.
 The most serious concern due to frequency reuse is cochannel interference which may
degrade the performance of a cellular system operation. Finally, a brief overview of

ud
various methods employed to reduce cochannel interference is also given.

Q,11 Explain the cellular Terminologies

4.1 CELLULAR TERMINOLOGY
 A cell is the basic geographic unit of a cellular system.
 A cell is the radio area covered by a cell-site that is located at its centre. In other words, the
loradio coverage by one base station or a cell-site is referred to as a cell, which is also called a
footprint.
 In a cellular system, the most important factor is the size and shape of a cell. Because of
constraints imposed by natural irregular terrain, man-made structures, and non uniform
population densities, the actual shape of the cell may not be either a circle or a regular
geometrical shape but may be a little distorted.
 For proper analysis and evaluation of a cellular system, an appropriate model of a cell shape
C
is needed. Figure 4.1 depicts ideal cell, actual cell and possible cell models such as
equilateral triangle, square, and hexagon that represent a cell boundary with a radius R from
the centre of the cell.
tu
V

 The actual shape of the cell is determined by the desired received signal level by the mobile
subscribers from its base-station transmitter in its operating area.

 The received signal is affected by many factors including reflections, refractions, and contour
of the terrain as well as multipath propagation due to presence of natural and man-made
structures.
 A cell is not a perfect polygon. So real footprints are vague in nature.
 On the other hand, cellular layouts using irregular structures limit growth and are also
inefficient. For this reason, cellular layouts and performance studies are based on regular
topologies as they allow the systematic growth though they may be just conceptual.
 The base station, also called Cell-Site (CS), located approximately at its centre, serves all
mobile users in the cell.

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 19

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
 Figure 4.2 illustrates an ideal cell area (circular), a hexagonal cell area (used in most models),
and a square cell area (an alternative shape) with a cell-site at its centre and a number of
mobile units (M) within the cell area.
 The shape of the cell can be circular around the cell-site transmitting tower under ideal radio
environment.
 The periphery of the circle is equal to the acceptable received signal level from the
transmitting signal. It means that if the cell-site is located at the centre of the cell, the cell
area and periphery are determined by the signal strength within the region.
 This depends on many factors, such as the height of the cell-site transmitting antenna;
contour of the terrain; presence of tall buildings, hills, valleys, vegetation; and atmospheric
conditions.
 Therefore, the actual shape of the cell may be a zigzag shape which indicates a true radio
coverage area. However, for all practical purposes, a regular hexagonal geometry shape

ud
approximates the cell boundary, which is a good approximation of a circular region.
However, the square is another alternative shape that can be used to represent the cell area.

lo
C
tu

Q,12 Explain the cell structure and Cluster

4.2 CELL STRUCTURE AND CLUSTER
V

1) In practice, cells are of arbitrary shape which is quite close to a circle, is the ideal radiation
pattern of an omnidirectional antenna. Because of the randomness inherent nature of the
mobile radio propagation and irregular geographical terrain,
2) it is easier to obtain insight and plan the cellular network by visualising all the cells as having
the same shape.
3) By approximating a uniform cell size for all cells, it is easier to analyse and design a cellular
topology mathematically. It is highly desirable to construct the cellular system such that the
cells do not overlap, and are tightly packed without any dead signal spots.
4) The cellular topology formed by using ideal circular shape results into overlaps or gaps
between them which is not desirable in cellular communications which has to be essentially
continuous.

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 20

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
5) This form of layout requires the use of regular topologies (say, a hexagonal topology) instead
of a circular shape, as depicted in Fig. 4.3.
In Fig. 4.3, the middle dark circles represent cell-sites. This is where the base-station radio
equipment and their antennas mounted on tall towers are located.
 A cell-site gives radio signal coverage to a cell. In other words, the cell-site is a
location or a point at the centre of the cell, whereas the cell is a wide geographical
service area.

ud
lo  The design and performance of cellular systems using regular geometrical topologies
may not correspond to real mobile environments, but these topologies do provide
valuable information and guidelines for structuring practical cellular configuration
layouts.
 Cells of the same shape form a tessellation so that there are no ambiguous areas that
belong to multiple cells or to no cell.
C
 The cell shape can be of only three types of regular polygons: equilateral triangle,
square, or regular hexagon as shown in Fig. 4.4.
tu
V

 A cellular structure based on a regular hexagonal topology, though fictitious, offers best
possible non-overlapped cell radio coverage.
 Traditionally, a regular hexagonal-shaped cell is the closest approximation to a circle out of
these three geometrical shapes and has been used for cellular system design. In other words,

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 21

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
for a given radius (largest possible distance between the polygon centre and its edge), the
hexagon has the largest area. Moreover, it allows a larger region to be divided into
nonoverlapping hexagonal subregions of equal size, with each one representing a cell area.
 Octagons and decagons geometrical patterns do represent shapes closer to a circular area as
compared to hexagons, but they are not used to model a cell as it is not possible to divide a
larger area into non- overlapping subareas of the same size.
 A mobile radio communication system is generally required to operate over areas too large to
be economically covered by a single cell-site.
 Therefore, several or many widely spaced transmitter sites are required to provide total area
coverage.
 The spacing between the base stations need not be regular and the cell or the area served by a
base station need not have any particular shape. However, the absence of an orderly
geometrical structure makes the system design more difficult and results in inefficient use of

ud
spectrum and uneconomical deployment of equipment.
 The propagation considerations recommend the circle as a cell shape for defining the area
covered bya particular base station. This is impracticable for design purpose, since there
could be areas which are contained either in no cell or in multiple cells. On the other hand,
any regular polygon can cover the service area with no gaps or overlaps.
 The regular hexagonal shape results in the most economical system layout design.
In most modeling, simulation, measurements, and analysis of interference in cellular systems,
hexagons are used to represent the cell structure.
lo
 A hexagon is closer to a circular area and multiple hexagons can be arranged next to each
other, without having an overlapping area or uncovered space in between. In other words, the
hexagonal-shaped cells fit the planned area nicely, with no gap and no overlap among the
adjacent hexagonal cells. Thus, it simplifies the planning and design of a cellular system.
C
Problem3 important
Example 1
Consider a single high-power transmitter that can support 40 voice channels over an area of
140 km² with the available spectrum. If this area is equally divided into seven smaller areas
(cells), each supported by lower power transmitters so that each cell supports 30% of the
tu

channels, then determine

(a) Coverage area of each cell
(b) Total number of voice channels available in cellular system
Comment on the results obtained.
Solution
Total service area to be covered = 140 km (given)
Total number of channels available = 40 (given)
V

Number of cells = 7 (given)

(a) To determine coverage area of each cell
Step 1. Coverage area of a cell = Total service area / Number of cells
Hence, coverage area of a cell = 140 km / 7 = 20 km
(b) To determine total number of voice channels available in the cellular system
Step 2. Number of voice channels per cell = 30% of original channels (given)
Number of voice channels per cell = 0.3 × 40 = 12 channels/cell
Total number of voice channels available in cellular system is given by the number of
channels per cell multiplied by the number of cells in the service area.
Hence, total number of voice channels = 12 × 7 = 84 channels

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 22

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
1) A Cellular Cluster A group of cells that use a different set of frequencies in each cell is called
a cellular cluster. Thus, a cluster is a group of cells with no reuse of channels within it. It is
worth mentioning here that only a selected number of cells can form a cluster.
2) It follows certain rules before any cell can be repeated at a different location. Some common
reuse cluster patterns are given in Fig. 4.5.
3) Two or more different cells can use the same set of frequencies or channels if these cells are
separated in space such that the interference between cells at any given frequency is at an
acceptable level. That means, the cluster can be repeated any number of times in a systematic
manner in order to cover the designated large geographical service area.

Let there be K number of cells having a different set of frequencies in a cluster. Then K is termed as
the cluster size in terms of the number of cells within it.

ud
lo
C
problem 4
Calculate the number of times the cluster of size 4 have to be replicated in order to approximately
cover the entire service area of 1765 km2 with the adequate number of uniform-sized cells of 7
tu

km2 each.
Solution
Size of the cluster, K = 4 (given)
Area of a cell, Acell = 7 km2 (given)
Step 1. To determine area of the cluster
Area of a cluster, Acluster = K × Acell
Therefore, Acluster = 4 × 7 km2 = 28 km2
V

Step 2. To determine number of clusters in the service area

Total service area, Asystem = 1765 km2 ( given)
Number of clusters in service area = Asystem / Acluster
Number of clusters in service area = 1765 km2 / 28 km2
Number of clusters in service area = 63
Hence, the number of times the cluster of size 4 has to be replicated is 63.

Each cell size varies depending on the landscape. Typical size of a cell may vary from a few 100
metres

- in cities (or even less at higher frequencies) to several kilometres on the countryside.

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 23

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
- Smaller cells are used when there is a requirement to support a large number of mobile users, in
a small geographic region, or when a low transmission power may be required to reduce the
effects of interference.
- So typical uses of small cells are in urban areas, low transmission power required, or higher
number of mobile users.

It is clear that if the cell area is increased, the number of channels per unit area is reduced for the
same number of channels and is good for less populated areas, with fewer mobile users. Generally,
large cells are employed in remote areas, coastal regions, and areas with few mobile users, large
areas that need to be covered with minimum number of cell-sites.
It may also be noted that the cell area and the boundary length are important parameters that affect
the handoff from a cell to an adjacent cell.
A practical solution for optimum cell size is to keep the number of channels per unit area

ud
comparable to the number of mobile subscribers
to be served within that cell.

Q.13 Explain frequency Reuse concept

4.3 FREQUENCY REUSE CONCEPT

About the essence of cellular communication?

lo
1) if a single base station serves a wireless communication system, a high power transmitter is
needed to support a large number of users.
2) Moreover, due to availability of limited RF spectrum, the maximum number of simultaneous
users in this system is also limited.
3) If allocated RF spectrum or a given set of frequencies (frequency channels) can be reused in
C
a given large geographical service area without increasing the interference then the service
area can be divided into a number of small areas called cells, each allocated a subset of
frequencies. With smaller area coverage, lower power transmitters with lower height
antennas can be used at a base station.
4) The conventional radio communication systems are faced with the problems of limited
tu

service area capability and inefficient spectrum utilisation. This is because these systems are
usually designed for providing service in an autonomous geographic zone and by selecting
RF channels from a specified allocated frequency band.
5) Contrary to this, the present mobile radio communication system are designed for wide area
coverage and high grade of service.
6) At the same time, the systems are required to provide continuous communication through an
V

effective usage of available spectrum. This dictates that the mobile radio network design
must satisfy the objective of providing continuous and wide service area coverage while
optimally using the RF spectrum.
 The increase in system capacity is achieved with the use of smaller cells, reuse of
frequencies, and cell sectoring.
 Frequency reuse is the core concept of the cellular communications

7) In a mobile radio network designed on the basis of frequency reuse concept, it must be
ensured that the service area is adequately protected from the cochannel and the adjacent-
channel interference.
8) The carrierto- interference ratio (C/I) requirements are considerably lower for digital systems
as compared to analog systems. It is seen that spectrum efficiency increases if the C/I value is

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 24

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
lowered. This is due to the fact that lowering the acceptable value of C/I reduces the
frequency reuse distance and the reuse pattern. The co channel interference can be controlled
by geographical separation whereas adjacent-channel interference depends on the receiver
filter characteristics and out-of-band transmission.

9) The design process of selecting and allocating channel groups for all the cellular base stations
within a system is called frequency reuse. Thus, large coverage area, efficient spectrum
utilisation and enhanced system capacity are the major attributes of cellular communication.

10) This requires proper system design and complex operation of the cellular mobile system
working in a hostile mobile propagation environment and system interference in order to
ensure the desired service performance
11) A regular geometrical hexagonal pattern results in obtaining optimum area coverage and

ud
efficient spectrum utilisation.

12) The minimum value of cluster size provides optimum spectrum occupancy. However, in
actual design, due to physical limitations the location of base stations cannot follow the
regular geometrical hexagonal pattern. The resultant location errors distort the regular
pattern, thereby causing serious interference problems.


lo Mobile users communicate only via the base stations. Each cell is allocated a finite number
of Radio Frequency (RF) channels, depending upon the number of simultaneous users
required to be served.
 This enables the cells that are located sufficiently physically apart to reuse the same set of
frequencies, without causing cochannel interference.
 However, each adjacent cell within a cluster operates on different frequencies to avoid
C
interference. Cells, which use the same set of frequencies, are referred to as cochannel cells.
 The space between adjacent cochannel cells is filled with other cells that use different
frequencies to provide frequency isolation.
 A typical cluster of seven cells, each repeated seven times with frequency reuse, is illustrated
in Fig. 4.6.
tu

If the system is not properly designed, cochannel interference may occur due to the simultaneous use
of the same channel. This is the major concern in frequency reuse. Specifically, if the available
channels are reused for additional traffic, it is possible to
V

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 25

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
serve more number of users, thereby increasing the system capacity within allocated RF spectrum,
and hence enhancing spectrum efficiency as well.
 The total number of channels available in a cellular system is finite because of limited RF
spectrum allocation.
 The capacity of a cellular system is defined by the total number of channels available, which
depends on how the available channels are deployed. So, the total number of available
channels without frequency reuse, N, is the allocated RF spectrum band divided by the
number of RF channels having equal channel bandwidth.

Q.14 Explain Cluster size and System capacity

4.4 CLUSTER SIZE AND SYSTEM CAPACITY
 The K number of cells in the cluster would utilise all N available channels. In this way, each

ud
cell in the cluster contains N/K number of channels only.
 Alternately, the total number of channels available in a cluster, N is equal to the number of
channels per cell (J ≤ N) multiplied by the number of cells per cluster (K), that is,
N = J × K (4.1)
 In a cellular system, the whole geographical area where the cellular services are required to
be provided is divided into a number of clusters having a finite number of cells. The K cells
in a cluster use the complete set of available frequency channels.
 Since N is the total number of available channels, it can be seen that a decrease in the cluster
lo size K is accompanied by an increase in the number of channels J allocated per cell. Thus, by
decreasing the cluster size, it is possible to increase the capacity per cell.
 The cluster can be replicated many times to cover the desired geographical area by a cellular
communication system. The overall system capacity, C, can then be theoretically determined
by simply multiplying the number of clusters in a system (say M) with total number of
channels allocated to a cluster, N, i.e.,
C
C = M × N (4.2)
Using the relationship N = J × K, we get
C=M×J×K
 If K is decreased and J is proportionally increased so that C = M × J × K is satisfied, it is
tu

necessary to replicate the smaller cluster more times in order to cover the same geographical
service area.
 This means the value of M has to be increased. Since J × K (=N ) remains constant and M is
increased, it shows that the system capacity C is increased. That is, when K is minimised, C
is maximised. But minimizing K will increase cochannel interference.

Q.15 Explain Frequency Reuse Distance

V

4.6 FREQUENCY REUSE DISTANCE

1) Reusing an identical frequency channel in different cells is limited by cochannel interference
between cells and
2) The cochannel interference can become a major problem in cellular communication. So it is
desirable to find the minimum frequency reuse distance D in order to reduce this cochannel
interference.
The minimum distance, which allows the same frequency to be reused in cochannel cells, will
depend on many factors such as
• The number of co channel cells in the vicinity of the centre cell,
• The type of geographic terrain contour,
• The antenna height, and

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 26

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)
• The transmitted power at each cell-site.
3) Assume that the size of all the cells is approximately same; the cell size is usually determined
by the coverage area of the signal strength in each cell. As long as the cell size is fixed,
cochannel interference is independent of transmitted power of each cell.
4) It means that the received signal threshold level at the mobile unit is adjusted to the size of
the cell.
Actually, cochannel interference is a function of a parameter known as frequency reuse ratio, q, and
is defined as q = D R (4.14)
Where D is the distance between two nearest cochannel cells marked as C1 and R is the radius of the
cells under consideration, as shown in Fig. 4.14.
It may be noted here that this ratio is applicable for any value of cluster size K.
5) The parameter q is also referred to as the cochannel reuse ratio or the cochannel reuse factor
or cochannel interference reduction factor or frequency reuse ratio.

ud
lo
Problem 5
EXAMPLE 4.10 Frequency reuse distance, D
Determine the distance from the nearest cochannel cell for a cell having a radius of 0.64 km and
a cochannel reuse factor of 12.
Solution
The radius of a cell, R = 0.64 km (given)
C
The cochannel reuse factor, q = 12 (given)
To determine the distance from the nearest cochannel cell, D
We know that q = D R,
Or, D = q × R
Therefore, D = 12 × 0.64 km = 7.68 km
tu

Hence, the distance from the nearest cochannel cell D = 7.68 km

 The
Thus, the important
frequencyparameters of thedetermines
reuse factor network designed on cellular
the minimum approach
distance forare
repeating a set of
• Reuse pattern, K
frequencies and is expressed as q = D/R where R is the cell radius.
• Reuse distance, D
• Frequency
 The spectrum
reuse factor, q is most significantly influenced by the frequency reuse factor.
efficiency
 The concept of frequency reuse when applied, permits the system to meet the important
V

objective of serving a large area, while using a relatively small frequency spectrum. But if the
network is not designed properly, serious interferences may occur.
 To minimise interference, there must be adequate spatial separation between cells that use the
same frequencies and the cells that use adjacent channel frequencies.
 The frequency assignment depends on the channel bandwidth, modulation scheme adopted,
reuse factor and the carrier-to-interference ratio requirements.

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 27

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)

Problem 6
EXAMPLE 4.11 Frequency reuse ratio, q
Determine the frequency reuse ratio for a cell radius of 0.8 km separated from the nearest co
channel cell by a distance
of 6.4 km.
R 1
R1
Fig. 4.14 Frequency reuse ratio q = D ⁄ R

The real power of the cellular concept is that interference is not related to the absolute
distance
between cells but to the ratio of the distance between cochannel (same frequency) cells to the

ud
cell radius.
Solution
The radius of a cell, R = 0.8 km (given)
The distance between nearest cochannel cells, D = 6.4 km (given)
To determine the frequency reuse ratio, q
We know that q = D R
Or, q = 6.4 0.8 = 8
Hence, the frequency reuse ratio for given parameters q = 8


lo The frequency reuse method is useful for increasing the efficiency of spectrum usage but
results in cochannel interference because the same frequency channel is used repeatedly in
different cochannel cells in a service area.
 In this situation, the received signal quality is affected by the amount of radio coverage area
as well as the cochannel interference.
C
 The cochannel interference is caused due to the reuse of the same carrier frequency at
different geographical locations.
 Because cochannel interfering signals are amplified, processed and detected in the same
manner as the desired signal, the receiver is particularly vulnerable to these emissions.
 Thus, cochannel interference may either desensitise the receiver or override or mask the
tu

desired signal.

 The cochannel interference can then be measured by selecting any one channel (as one
channel represents all the channels) and transmitting on that channel at all cochannel sites.
 In a fully equipped hexagonal-shaped cellular system, there are always six cochannel
interfering cells in the first tier. Figure 4.17 depicts a typical field measurement test set-up 1
V

to measure cochannel interference at the mobile unit, in which the mobile unit is moving in
its serving cell.
 Let the symbol C, I, and N denote respectively the power of the desired signal, the power of
the cochannel interference, and the power of the noise at the output of the receiver
demodulator. Cochannel interference can be experienced both at the cell-site and at mobile
units in the serving cell. If the interference is much greater then the carrier to interference
ratio C/I at the mobile units caused by the six interfering cell-sites is (on the average) the
same as the C/I received at the serving cell site caused by interfering mobile units in the six
cells.
 According to the reciprocity theorem and the statistical summation of radio propagation, the
two C/I

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 28

Nipani
Optical & Wireless Communication – module-3
(21EC72)

ud
values can be very close.

A channel-scanning mobile receiver records three received signals while moving in any one
cochannel cell, under the following conditions:
• When only the serving cell transmits (signal recorded is termed as C )
• Cell-sites of all six cochannel cells only transmit (signal recorded is termed as I )
lo
• No transmission by any cell-site (signal recorded is termed as N )
C
tu
V

Shruthi N, Assistant Prof. ECE.dept, SVIT Page 29

Nipani