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Interference in GSM systems are classified into
three major categories .
Co-Channel Interference

Non-Co-Channel Interference

Other Interference
Interference
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Interference on a channel caused by another cell/mobile
using the same frequency.
C/Ic is the measure of co-channel interference
GSM specifies the C/Ic threshold of 9dB for a service
quality of 0.4% BER on Type II bits.
9db also includes 2db implementation margin
9db is decided considering the implementation of SFH
Without SFH, the preferred threshold is 12 dB.













C / Ic 9 db
C
Ic
Co - Channel interference
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Frequency reuse implies that in a given coverage area there
are several cells that use the same set of frequencies.These
cells are called co-channel cells,and the interference between
signals from these cells is called co-channel interference
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Co-Channel Interference can be Downlink as well as Uplink
Downlink
If caused by BCH carrier, will be present always.
Non_BCH carrier interference will be traffic dependent.
During peak traffic hours, the interference will be high.
Uplink Interference
Uplink Co-Channel Interference , will never be continuos for a
long period, since Mobiles always have bursted transmission.
So interference will be high during peak traffic hours.
Co-Channel Interference
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Causes
Distant Cells due to tight frequency re-use patterns.
Distant Cells due to errors in frequency planning.
Mulitpath from Distant cells( strong reflector, Water).
C/Ic will degrade the Ec/No, so if Noise floor itself is high, then even
a high value of C/Ic can deteriorate quality.
C
Ic
Noise
ARFCN "N"
ARFCN "N"
Co-Channel Interference
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Interference caused when wanted and unwanted GSM RF
channels co-exist.




C
Ia
GSM receivers are designed for an Adjacent Channel Suppression of
minimum 18db at an offset of 200 Khz, 50db at 400 Khz and 58db at 600
Khz.
Adjacent Channel Interference
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Interference resulting from signals which are adjacent in frequency to
the desired signal is called adjacent channel interference. Adjacent
channel interference results from imperfect receiver filters which allow
nearby frequencies to leak into the pass-band.The problem can be
particularly serious if an adjacent channel user is transmitting in very
close range to a subscribers receiver,while the receiver attempts to
receive a base station on the desired channel.

Adjacent channel interference can be minimized through careful
filtering and channel assignments.By keeping the frequency separation
between each channel in a given cell as large as possible, the adjacent
channel interference may be reduced considerably.Thus instead of
assigning channels which form a continuos band of frequencies within a
particular cell,channels are allocated such that the frequency separation
between channels in a given cell is maximized.
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C/ Ia1 = - 9 db
C/ Ia2 = - 41 db
C/ Ia3 = - 49 db
Thresholds
ACS = 18db & C/c = 9db
This means if Ia is 9db above C, then with 18db ACS, it equals C/Ic.
N N+1 N-1
9db
N+2 N-2
41 db
49 db
N-3
N-3
Adjacent Channel Interference
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Causes
Adjacent ARFCN's in same cells
Adjacent ARFCN's in adjacent cells
Distant Cells due to tight frequency re-use patterns.
Distant Cells due to errors in frequency planning.
Mulitpath from Distant cells( strong reflector, Water).
Improper Receiver filters ( low ACS )
C/Ia will degrade the Ec/No, so if Noise floor itself is high, then
even a low value of C/Ia can deteriorate quality.
Adjacent Channel Interference
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Interference coming on a GSM signal from an undesired source,
i.e neither a co/adj channel cell or MS.
Malfunctioning or Maladjusted Transmitters
Base station malfunction, rogue mobile
Paging, broadcast, etc.
Intermodulation Products
Strong signals in adjacent channels
Harmonics from Other Bands
Sources
Other Interference
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Sources
Radar
Big problem near harbors
Industrial
Lumber dryers, welders
Illegal Transmissions
Common in developing world
( Cordless Phones, etc)

Other Interference
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Malfunctioning or Maladjusted Transmitters
GSM has ARFCN of 200 KHz bandwidth
0.3 GMSK gross modulation bandwidth is 270 KHz
This means there is some spill of energy into adjacent channel
This leakage is 30 dbc for the 1st adjacent channel*
If this spill is not within specs, then this will result into co-channel
interference to other cell using this adjacent ARFCN ( next page ).
Broken Transmitters may also cause similar problems , but the
effect will only be present , when the Mobile goes on call, which is
not a continuos process.
But malfunctioning of a batch or a particular model can pose
serious issues.
Other Interference
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ARFCN 1
C/Ia1 = - 9 db
C/I = 9 db
ARFCN 2
ARFCN 4
ARFCN 3
43 dbm
200 KHz : 20 dbm
39 dbm
39 dbm
A
B
C
D
BTS broken Transmitter
Other Interference
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Spurious Emissions
GSM has a spec of -36dbm for generation of spurs
High level spurs when generated from the transmitter will result
into interference.
The interference may not that severe to the cells of the same
network since the level of spurs would be quite low and
propagation loss will be large
Spurs generated by a BTS of one Operator can very well
become quite serious to other Operator BTS cell in the same
area.
Other Interference
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Spurious Emissions
Operator "A"
Operator "B"
925 - 940 MHz
940 - 955MHz
Spur of -20 dbm at 942.0 MHz
ARFCN 35
( 942.0 MHz )
Other Interference
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TRX f1
C
O
M
B
TRX f2
f1
f2
2f1-f2
2f2-f1
Intra-cell Intermodulation
Non-linearities in the combiner can result into intermods
Intermods as GSM spec should be higher than -70dbc or -36dBm
Other Interference