Cellular Handout

Cellular Systems
Mobile Communications
Cellular Systems
Wen-Shen Wuen
Trans. Wireless Technology Laboratory

National Chiao Tung University
Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 1
Outline Cellular Systems
Outline
1 Cellular System Fundamentals
2 Frequency Reuse
3 Interference and System Capacity
4 Trunking and Grade of Services
5 Improving Coverage and Capacity in Cellular Systems
6 Channel Assignment Strategies
7 Handoff Strategies

Cellular System Fundamentals Cellular Systems
Introdcution
Early mobile radio systems:

Cover a large area by using a single, high powered transmitter
with an antenna mounted on a tall tower.
No frequency reuse, no interference
Limited user capacity
Cellular concept:
Based on power fall off with distance of signal propagation and
reuse the same channel frequency at spatially separated
locations
Sovling problem of spectral congestion and user capacity
Replacing a single, high power transmitter (large cell) with
many low power transmitters (small cells)
Available channels can be reused as many times as necessary
so long as the co-channel interference is kept below acceptable
levels
Cellular System
Each cell is assigned to a unique channel set, Cn

Adjacent cells: cells assigned to a different channel sets
Co-channel cells: cells using the same channel sets

Tesselating Cell Shapes
To approximate the contours of constant received power

around the base station
Hexagonal cells:
Having largest area for a given distance between the center of a
polygon and its farthest perimeter points
Approximating a circular radiation pattern for an omnidirectional
base station antenna and free space propagation
Diamond cells: better approximating contours of constant
power in modern urban microcells
Frequency Reuse Cellular Systems
Frequency Reuse
S: total number of duplex channels available for use

k: number of channels assigned to a cell (k < S)
N : number of cells sharing the S duplex channels
S = kN (1)
Cluster: a group of N cells use the complete set of available

frequencies
C : the total number of duplex channels with frequency reuse
M : number of replica of a cluster
C = MkN = MS (2)
Cluster size: N is typically 4, 7 or 12 for hexagonal cell shape.

Frequency reuse factor: 1/N
For the same cell size at a given area, N ↓⇒ M ↑⇒ C ↑

Various Cluster Sizes for Hexagonal Cells

Cluster sizes:
4-cell reuse
7-cell reuse
12-cell reuse
19-cell reuse
N -cell reuse
Locating Co-Channel Cells in Hexagonal Cells

Example: N = 19, i = 3, j = 2

Reuse Distance
The distance between co-channel (frequency reuse) cells
Origin: (0, 0)
Nearest co-channel location
P : (i, j)
Reuse Distance, D
p q
D = 3R i2 + ij + j2 (3)
p
= R 3N (4)
Number of Cells Per Cluster

Number of cells per cluster, N
p p 2
Acluster 3 3x2 /2 3D /2
N = = p = p
Acell 3 3R2 /2 3 3R2 /2
Ã ¢!
1 D 2 1 3R2 i2 + ij + j2
µ ¶ ¡
= = 2
= i2 + ij + j2 (5)
3 R 3 R

Interference and System Capacity Cellular Systems
Interference
Major limiting factor in the performance and major bottleneck

in increasing capacity
Sources of interference:
anothr mobile in the same cell
a call in progress in a neighboring cell
other base station operating in the same frequency band
any noncellular system which leaks energy into the cellular
frequency band
Interference effects:
Cross talk: interference on voice channels
Missed and blacked calls: interference on control channels
System-generated cellular interference
Co-channel interference
Adjacent channel interference
Co-channel Interference
Cannot be combated by simply increasing transmitter power

To reduce, co-channel cells must be separated by a minimum
distance to provide sufficient isolation

Co-channel Interference, cont’d
Assume
the size of each cell is the same
base stations transmit the same power
⇒ co-channel interference ratio is independent of TX power and
is a function of the radius of the cell, R, and the distance
between centers of nearest co-channel cells, D.
Co-channel reuse ratio, Q
D p
Q, = 3N (6)
R
Q ↑⇒ spatial separation of co-channel cells ↑⇒ co-channel
interference ↓
Q ↓⇒ N ↓⇒ M ↑⇒ C ↑ channel capacity ↑, but co-channel
interferece ↑
Signal to Interference Ratio, SIR, S/I
S S
= PN (7)
I co
Iii=1
S: desired signal power from the desired station
Ii : the interference power caused by the i-th interfering co-channel
cell base station
Di : the distance of the i-th interferer from the mobile.
µ ¶−n
d
∵ Pr = P0 ∴ Ii ∝ Di−n (8)
d0
Assume transmit power of each base station is equal and the

path loss exponent is the same, the SI of for a mobile at cell
boundary:
¡p ¢n
S R−n R−n 3N
= PN = = (9)
I co
D −n Nco D−n Nco
i=1 i

Co-channel Interference For N =7
Consider first tier of

co-channel cells:
S R−4
≈
I 2(D − R)−4 + 2(D + R)−4 + 2D−4
(10)
S 1
≈
I 2(Q − 1)−4 + 2(Q + 1)−4 + 2Q−4
(11)
where Q = D/R and assume n = 4.
Example 1
If signal-to-interference ratio of 15 dB is required for satisfactory
forward channel performance of a cellular system, what is the
co-channel reuse factor and cluster size that should be used for
maximum capacity if the path loss exponent is (a) n=4, (b)n=3?
Assume there are six co-channel cells in the first tier and all of them
are at the same distance from the mobile.
Solution:
p
(a) Consider 7-cell reuse pattern: Q = D/R = 3N = 4.583,
p
S/I = ( 3N)n /Nco = 4.5834 /6 = 75.3 = 18.66 dB ⇒ N = 7 can be used.
(b) Consider 7-cell reuse pattern: S/I = 4.5833 /6 = 16.04 = 12.05 dB
< 15 dB, therefore a larger N should be used.
N = 12 ⇒ D/R = 6, S/I = 63 /6 = 36 = 15.56 dB > 15 dB, therefore N = 12
should be used.

Channel Planning of Wireless Systems
Typically 5% of the entire mobile spectrum is devoted to control

channels and 95% of the spectrum is dedicated to voice
channels.
Air interface standards ensure a distinction between voice and
control channels and control channels are not allowed to be
used as voice channels and vice versa.
Different frequency reuse strategy is applied to control
channels to ensure greater S/I protection in control channels.
For propagation consideration, most practical CDMA systems
limits frequency reuse with f 1/f 2 cell planning.
CDMA system has a dynamic, time-varying coverage region
depending on the instantaneous number of users on the radio
channel. ⇒ breathing cell ⇒ dynamic control of power levels
and thresholds assigned to control channels, voice channels for
changing traffic intensity
Adjacent Channel Interference
results from imperfect receiver filters which allows nearby

frequency to leak into the passband.
causes near-far effect, a nearby TX captures the receiver of the
subscriber.
ACI can be minimized through careful filtering and channel
assignments.
Keeping frequency separation between each channel as large as
possible
Avoiding the use of adjacent channels in neighboring cell sites
For a close-in mobile (MS1) is X times as close to the BS as
another mobile (MS2) and has energy leaks to the passband,
the S/I at the BS for the weak mobile (MS2) before receiver
filtering is approximately
S
= X −n
I
S
for n = 4 ⇒ I ≈ −40 dB
Trunking and Grade of Services Cellular Systems
Definition of Common Terms in Trunking Theory
Set-up Time: The time required to allocated a trunked radio

channel to a requesting user.
Blocked Call (Lost Call): Call which cannot be completed at time
of request, due to congestion.
Holding Time: Average duration of a typical call. Denoted by H
(in seconds).
Traffic Intensity: Measure of channel time utilization, which is
the average channel occupancy measured in Erlangs.
Load: Traffic intensity across the entire trunked radio system,
measured in Erlangs.
Grade of Service (GOS): A measure of congestion specified as
the probability of a call being blocked (for Erlang B), or the
probability of a call being delayed beyond a certain amount of
time (for Erlang C).
Request Rate: The average number of call requests per unit
time. Denoted by λ second−1 .
Trunking Theory
Each user generates a traffic intensity of Au Erlangs:
Au = λH
The total offered traffic intensity A for a system containing U

users:
A = UAu
In a C channel trunked system, if the traffic is equally

distributed, the traffic i ntensity per channel, Ac :
Ac = UAu /C
Erlang: the amount of traffic intensity carried by a channel that

is completely occupied (1 Erlang = 1 call-hour / hour).
Busy hour traffic, Ab = call/busy hour × mean call holding time.

Example 2
Call established at 2 am between a central computer and a data
terminal. Assuming a continuous connection and data transferred at
34 kbit/s what is the traffic if the call is terminated at 2:45am?
Solution:
Traffic=(1 call)×(45 min)×(1 hour / 60 min) =0.75 Erlangs
Example 3
A group of 20 subscribers generate 50 calls with an average holding
time of 3 minutes, what is the average traffic per subscriber?
Solution:
Traffic=(50 calls)×(3min)×(1 hour/60 min)=2.5 Erlangs
2.5/20=0.125 Erlangs per subscriber.
Erlang B: Blocked Calls Cleared
AC
C!
p [blocked] = PC A k = GOS
k=0 k!
where C : the number of trunked channels offered by a trunked radio
system; A: the total offered traffic.
Assumptions of Erlang B:
There are memoryless arrivals of requests.
The probability of a user occupying a channel is exponentially
distributed.
There are a finite number of channels available in the trunking
pool.

GOS of an Erlang B System
Trunking efficiency: a meaure of the number of users which can be

offered a particular GOS with a particular configuration of fixed
channels.
Erlang B Chart

Erlang C: Blocked Calls Delayed
Probability of a call not having immediate access to a channel

and being queued:
AC
C!
p [delay > 0] = = GOS
Ak
AC + C! 1 − CA C−1
¡ ¢P
k=0 k!
The probability that the delayed call is forced to wait more than
t second:
p [delay > t] = p [delay > 0] p [delay > t|delay > 0]

(C − A)t
µ ¶
= p [delay > 0] exp − (12)
H
Average delay D for all calls in a queued system
H
D = p [delay > 0]
C −A
Erlang C Chart

Example 4
How many users can be supported for 0.5% blocking probability for
the following number of trunked channels in a blocked calls clear
system? (a) 1, (b) 5, (c) 10, (d) 20, (e) 100. Assume each user
generate 0.1 Erlangs of traffic.
Solution:
(a) C = 1, Au = 0.1, GOS = 0.005, from the chart,
A = 0.005 ⇒ U = A/Au = 0.005/0.1 = 0.05 users
(b) C = 5, Au = 0.1, GOS = 0.005, from the chart,
A = 1.13 ⇒ U = A/Au = 1.13/0.1 ' 11 users
(c) C = 10, Au = 0.1, GOS = 0.005, from the chart,
A = 3.96 ⇒ U = A/Au = 3.96/0.1 ' 39 users
(d) C = 20, Au = 0.1, GOS = 0.005, from the chart,
A = 11.1 ⇒ U = A/Au = 11.1/0.1 ' 111 users
(e) C = 100, Au = 0.1, GOS = 0.005, from the chart,
A = 80.9 ⇒ U = A/Au = 80.9/0.1 ' 809 users
Example 5
Trunked mobile networks A, B, and C provide cellular services in an urban
area with 2 million residents. The (no. of cells, no. channels/cell) for the
three providers are (394,19), (98,57) and (49,100). Find the number of
users that can be supported at 2% blocking if each user averages two
calls/hour at an average call duration of 3 min. Find the percentage market
penetration for each provider.
Solution:
System A: GOS = 0.02, C = 19, Au = λH = 2(3/60) = 0.1 Erlangs. For GOS = 0.02
and C = 19 ⇒ A = 12 Erlangs U = A/Au = 12/0.1 = 120 ⇒
total number of subscribers is 120 × 394 = 47289
System B: GOS = 0.02, C = 57, Au = λH = 2(3/60) = 0.1 Erlangs. For GOS = 0.02
System C: GOS = 0.02, C = 100, Au = λH = 2(3/60) = 0.1 Erlangs. For GOS = 0.02
Market penetration: A: 47280/2,000,000=2.36%; B:
44100/2,000,000=2.205%;C: 43120/2,000,000=2.156%

Example 6
Given a city area: 1300 mile2 , with 7-cell reuse pattern, cell radius=4 miles
and frequency spectrum: 40MHz with 60KHz channel bandwidth. Assume
GOS=2% for an Erlang B system, if the offered traffic per user is 0.03
Erlangs, compute (a) the no. of cells in the service area (b) the no. of
channels per cell (c) traffic intensity of each cell (d) the maximum carried
traffic (e) the total no. of users can be served for the GOS (f) the no. of
mobiles per unique channel (g) the theoretical maximum no. of users that
could be served at one time by the system.
Solution:
p
(a) Acell = 1.5 3R2 = 2.5981 × 42 = 41.57 square mile. Total no. of cells
Nc = 1300/41.57 = 31 cells.
(b) Total no. of channels per cell C = 40MHz/(60kHz × 7) = 95 channels/cell.
(c) C = 95, GOS = 0.02 ⇒ traffic intensity per cell A = 84 Erlangs/cell.
(d) Maximum carried traffic=no. of cells × traffic intensity per cell =
31 × 84 = 2604 Erlangs.
(e) Traffic/user=0.03 Erlangs ⇒ Total no. of users = 2604/0.03=86800 users
(f) no. of mobiles per channel= no. of users/no. of channels =86800/(40
MHz/60 kHz)=130 mobiles/channel.
(e) The theoretical maximum no. of served mobiles (all channels are
occupied)= C × Nc = 95 × 31 = 2945 users
Example 7
A hexagonal cell within a four-cell system has a radius of 1.387 km. A total
of 60 channels are used within the entire system. If the load per user is
0.029 Erlangs and λ = 1 call/hour, compute the following for an Erlang C
system which has a 5% probability of delayed call: (a) how many user per
square kilometer will the system support? (b) the probability that a delayed
call will have to wait for more than 10 seconds? (c) the probability that a
call will be delayed for more than 10 seconds?
Solution:
Cell area=2.598 × (1.387)2 = 5km2 . no. of channel per cell C = 60/4 = 15
channels.
(a) For Erlang C of 5% probability of delay with C = 15, the traffic
intensity=9.0 Erlangs.
no. of users=total traffic intensity/traffic per user = 9/0.029=310 users for
5 km2 or 62 users/km2
(b) H = Au /λ = 0.029hour = 104.4 second.
p[delay > 10|delay] = exp (−(C − A)t/H) = exp(−(15 − 9)10/104.4) = 56.29% (c)
p[delay > 0] = 5% = 0.05
p[delay > 10] = p[delay > 0]p[delay > 10|delay] = 0.05 × 0.5629 = 2.81%

Improving Coverage and Capacity Cellular Systems
Cell Splitting
Let R ↓ and keeps D/R

unchanged
Pr [at old cell boundary] ∝ Pt1 R−n
Pr [at new cell boundary] ∝ Pt2 (R/2)−n
for n = 4
Pt1
Pt2 =
16
Cell Splitting
Example 8
Assume each BS uses 60
channels and large cell radius of 1
km and microcell radius of 0.5
km. Find the number of channels
in a 3 km by 3 km square around
A when (a) without the use of
microcells (b) the labeled
microcells are used (c) all original
BS are replaced by microcells.
Solution:
(a) 5 × 60 = 300 (b) (5 + 6) × 60 = 660
(2.2x) (c) (5 + 12) × 60 = 1020 (3.4x)

Sectoring
Increasing S/I ratio, keeping cell radius R the same and

decreasing D/R ⇒ D ↓⇒ N ↓⇒ frequency reuse ↑ ⇒ cluster size
N can be reduced because of S/I is improved.
Sectoring, cont’d

Microcell Zone
Microcell Zone

Channel Assignment Strategies Cellular Systems
Channel Assignment Strategies
Fixed channel assignment

each cell is allocated to a predetermined set of voice channels ⇒
the call is blocked is all the channels are occupied.
borrowing strategy: a cell is allowed to borrow channels from a
neighboring cell if all of its own channels are occupied.
MSC supervises the borrowing procedure to ensure no disrupting
calls or interference with any of the calls in progress in the donor
cell.
Dynamic channel assignment
the serving BS request a channel from MSC whenever a call
request is made.
following an algorithm considering the likelihood of future
blocking in the cell, the frequency of use of the candidate cell, the
reuse distance of the channel and other cost functions.
MSC needs to collect real-time data on channel occupancy, traffic
distribution, and radio signal strength indicator (RSSI) of all
channels on a continuous basis. ⇒ increasing storage and
computational load on the system.
Handoff Strategies Cellular Systems
Handoff
When a mobile moves into a different cell when a conversation

is in progress, the MSC automatically transfer the call to a new
channel belonging to a new BS.
Many handoff strategy prioritize handoff requests over call
initiation requests when allocating an unused channel.
Handoff threshold: a signal level slightly stronger than the
minimum usable signal for acceptable voice quality.
∆ = Pr,handoff − Pr,min.usable
∆ too large ⇒ unnecessary handoffs burden MSC

∆ too small ⇒ may be insufficient time to complete a handoff
before a call is lost

Handoff Scenario at Cell Boundary
Handoff Decision
Monitor the signal level of MS for a period of time
to ensures MS is actually moving away from the serving BS.
Dwell time
The time over which a call may be maintained within a cell,
without handoff, depending on propagation, interference,
distance between the MS and BS, and other time varying
effects
Monitor RSSI
BS monitors the signal strengths of all its reverse voice
channels to determined the relative location of each MS.
Locator receivers monitor the signal strength of users in
neighboring cells need of handoff and report RSSI to MSC.
Mobile assisted handoff (MAHO)
MS measures the received power from the surrounding BS’s
and continuously reports to the serving BS.
Faster handoff time than first generation analog system
Suited for microcellular environments
Handoff Considerations
Prioritizing Handoffs
Guard channel concept: reserves a fractional of total available
channels exclusively for handoff ⇒ reducing total carried traffic
⇒ combining with dynamic channel assignment to offer
efficient spectrum utilization
Queuing of handoff requests: using the finite time interval
between the time the received signal levels drops below the
handoff threshold and the time the call is terminated ⇒ not
guarantee a zero probability of forced termination
Handoff Considerations
Umbrella cells
Cell dragging
Hard handoff
Soft handoff

Cellular Handout

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Cellular Handout

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Cellular Systems

Trans. Wireless Technology Laboratory

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 1

Outline Cellular Systems

1 Cellular System Fundamentals

3 Interference and System Capacity

4 Trunking and Grade of Services

5 Improving Coverage and Capacity in Cellular Systems

6 Channel Assignment Strategies

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 2

Early mobile radio systems:

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 4

Cellular System Fundamentals Cellular Systems

Each cell is assigned to a unique channel set, Cn

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 5

Tesselating Cell Shapes

To approximate the contours of constant received power

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 6

Frequency Reuse Cellular Systems

S: total number of duplex channels available for use

Cluster: a group of N cells use the complete set of available

Cluster size: N is typically 4, 7 or 12 for hexagonal cell shape.

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 8

Various Cluster Sizes for Hexagonal Cells

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 9

Frequency Reuse Cellular Systems

Locating Co-Channel Cells in Hexagonal Cells

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 10

The distance between co-channel (frequency reuse) cells

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 11

Frequency Reuse Cellular Systems

Number of Cells Per Cluster

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 12

Major limiting factor in the performance and major bottleneck

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 14

Interference and System Capacity Cellular Systems

Cannot be combated by simply increasing transmitter power

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 15

Co-channel Interference, cont’d

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 16

Interference and System Capacity Cellular Systems

Signal to Interference Ratio, SIR, S/I

Assume transmit power of each base station is equal and the

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 17

Co-channel Interference For N =7

Consider first tier of

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 18

Interference and System Capacity Cellular Systems

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 19

Channel Planning of Wireless Systems

Typically 5% of the entire mobile spectrum is devoted to control

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 20

Interference and System Capacity Cellular Systems

Adjacent Channel Interference

results from imperfect receiver filters which allows nearby

Definition of Common Terms in Trunking Theory

Set-up Time: The time required to allocated a trunked radio

Trunking and Grade of Services Cellular Systems

Each user generates a traffic intensity of Au Erlangs:

The total offered traffic intensity A for a system containing U

In a C channel trunked system, if the traffic is equally

Erlang: the amount of traffic intensity carried by a channel that

Vincent W.-S. Wuen Mobile Communications 24