Cellular Design

Concept S Fundamentals
esign Objectives
Large Coverage Area
Tall antenna/ high power
High Capacity
Frequency reuse
Old Systems: A single antenna had a capacity of
only 12 users in an area of 1000 sq. mi.!
esign Coals: High capacity/large coverage
area at optimal radio spectrum efficiency
Cellular Solution
!n the 1370s, Bell Labs developed a solution
(ANPS): !nstead of using one large powerful
transmitter, lets use many small less powerful
transmitters
Advantages:
very high capacity
Limited spectrum usage
Nobile sets can be manufactured with same sets
of frequencies
The Cellular Concept
ivide coverage area into smaller
regions(cells of radius 2S0km) with one base
station at the center
ivide spectrum into groups of non
contiguous RF channels
Allocate one frequency group to each BS,
nearby cells use a different group
!f demand increases, increase no. of cells
Some esign Parameters
Cell size
Cell location
RF channel allocation
hy Hexagonal Cells?
Radio coverage of a BS is modeled as a
hexagon because:
!t permits easy analysis
!t resembles a circle (no overlaps S gaps)
!t requires the fewest cells to cover an
area (compared to other shapes)
!t approximates a circular radiation pattern
for an omnidirectional antenna
Frequency Reuse or Planning
ef'n: The process of allocating channel
groups to each BS in the system
Civen a set of S duplex channels, divide them
into N cells with k channels/cell, !.e.
S=kN
These N cells form a cluster (of size N)
Typical cluster size is N=4,7, or 12
Frequency Reuse !llustration

Cluster Size Tradeoff

!f a cluster is replicated N times, capacity is:
C=NkN=NS
!f the cluster size (N) is reduced (while cell
size remains constant), more clusters will be
required, hence, capacity will increase, but
interference will also increase
e want to minimize N such that a certain
S!R ratio can be maintained
Frequency Reuse Factor
The Frequency Reuse factor of a
cellular system is defined as:
1/N
because each cell uses only 1/N th of
the available channels
Channel Assignment
ixed Assignment
Predetermined fixed set
of channels are assigned
to each cell
!f all channels are busy,
calls are blocked
Borrowing Strategy
Borrows a channel from
neighboring cells
NSC supervises the
process
ynamic Assignment
NSC assigns a
channel to the BS as
per some algorithm
Advantages:
!ncreases capacity
!ncreases channel
utilization
Disadvantages:
!ncreased
computational load
Handoff
ef'n: The transfer of a call from one BS to
another while a NU moves in the area
!t involves:
!dentification of a new BS
New voice and control channel assignment
!t must be performed:
successfully, infrequently and imperceptibly to the
user
Handoff Threshold
Def'n: Optimal signal level at which to
initiate a handoff
Handoff Threshold (P
ht
)is usually set at a
value slightly higher than the minimum
usable power level(P
min
) received at the BS
The margin, = P
ht
-P
min
, is a system
parameter, which has to be set carefully
!f is too high, unnecessary handoffs occur
!f is too low, the call will be lost because
there will be insufficient time to complete
handoff
Handoff deception
Fading can result in the signal level
dropping below P
ht
Running average signal level (over a
time period) must be used to counter
this deception
Speed of NU alters running average
Speed can be computed at BS from
signal statistics
well Time
ef'n: The time over which a call may be
maintained within a cell without handoff
well time is determined by:
Propagation
!nterference
istance
Timevarying effects (speed?)
well time statistics are needed to design
handoff algorithms
1C Handoff Strategy
RSS!( Received Signal Strength !ndicator) of
all NUs is measured by the BS
A locator receiver (in each BS) is used to
measure RSS! of NUs in neighboring cells
Based on this information, the NSC decides if
handoff is necessary or not
Typical Handoff time is about 10 sec,
requiring to be about 612 dB
2C Handoff Strategy
NAHO (Nobile Assisted Handoff) used
Each NU measures the received power from
surrounding BS and continually reports the
results to BS
Handoff is initiated when Power received
from neighboring BS is higher for a certain
period of time
NAHO is much faster (about 12 sec), suited
for microcellular environments
Soft Handoff
ef'n: The ability to select between
RSS! from various BS
!n !S3S, CNA spread spectrum
systems, NU's share the same channel
in each cell. Hence, handoff does not
require new channel assignment
NSC decides which version of the signal
to send to the PSTN
Prioritizing Handoffs
Nany Handoff techniques prioritize
Handoff over call initiation by using:
Cuard Channels
Some channels are reserved for handoff.
Capacity decreases
ith dynamic channel assignment, spectrum
utilization efficiency increases
Oueuing
Handoff requests are put in a queue
Practical Handoff !ssues
NU Speed
vehicles need more handoffs than pedestrians
mbrella cells solve this problem
New Cell sites
Zoning laws S barriers restricts new cell's to be
formed
Cell ragging
NU travels to next cell yet its RSS! is still good
Handoff Thresholds must to be adjusted carefully
!nterference
Najor limiting factor
Sources are:
Another mobile in the same cell
A call in progress in a neighboring cell
Other BS operating in the same freq. band
other systems which inadvertently leak energy
into the cellular frequency band
voice channel cross talk
Control channel missed/blocked calls
CoChannel !nterference
!nterference from cells using the same
frequency group in a cluster
Cannot simply increase SNR to combat it
Cochannel cells have to be physically
separated to provide isolation
!t is a function of cell radius (R) and distance
to the center of the nearest cell ()
CoChannel Reuse Ratio
The Cochannel Reuse Ratio, O, is defined as:
!ncreasing O increases the spatial separation
between cochannel cells, however, it also
increase N thereby decreasing capacity
Tradeoff must be made between O and N

"
Signalto!nterference Ratio
!f the transmit power of each BS is equal,
then the Signalto!nterference Ratio (S!R) is:
where S is the desired signal power, !
i
, is the
interference power caused by the i
th
co
channel, i
0
is the number of cochannel
interfering cells and n is the propagation
exponent

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S!R Approximation
!f we consider only the first layer of
interfering cells, then the S!R will be:
Note that S!R - N!
For ANPS, Civen S!R=18dB, then N=7

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3

Adjacent Channel !nterference
!nterference from signals adjacent in
frequency
!t is caused by:
!mperfect receiver filters
Nearfar effect
High S low power transmitted in contiguous
channels
!t can be minimized by careful filtering, use of
guard bands and channel assignment
Power Control
Power level transmitted by NU's are
constantly controlled by BS's
PC ensures that each NU transmits at the
smallest power level necessary
This process reduces S!R, increases capacity
and increases battery life
!t is especially important in CNA where all
users in the cell share one channel
ANPS Channel Allocation
832(666+166) channels allocated by FCC
The forward channel (870.030NHz) and
reverse channel (82S.030NHz) is numbered
Channel 1
FCC licensed out the channels to two
competitors and divided the channels into
Block A S Block B
Out of the 416 channels, 33S are voice
channels and 21 are control
ANPS (example 2.3)
The 33S channels are divided into 21
groups of about 13 channels each
For N=7, each cell uses 3 groups or
about S7 channels (channels are at
least 7 channels away from each other)
For example, one group will contain
channels 1,8,1S,22,23,.303,670,1017
(see table 2.2)
Trunking Theory
!t allows a large number of users to
share the limited number of channels in
a cell according to statistics
How many channels do ! need to
accommodate x numbers of users?
Tradeoff b/w number of channels, C,
and Outage percentage
Crade of Service
COS is a measure of congestion in system,
!.e. it is the ability of a user to access a
trunked system during its busiest hour
!t is a benchmark
esign !ssue: Civen a COS, estimate a
maximum capacity level for a set of channels
in the wireless network
!n ANPS, COS is 2% blocking
Traffic !ntensity
!t is a measure of channel utilization time, or
the average channel occupancy
One Erlang represents the amount of Traffic
!ntensity carried by a channel that is
completely occupied
The Traffic !ntensity per user is:
A
u
=H
where is the average number of call
requests per unit time and H is the average
call duration
Total Offered Traffic !ntensity
!f the system has U users, then the
total offered traffic !ntensity is:
A=UA
u
!f the total Traffic is distributed evenly
amongst C Channels, then the total
Traffic !ntensity per channel is:
A=Ua
u
/C
Blocked Calls Cleared
This trunked system offers no queuing for call
requests
User is given access to a channel on demand
and blocked if no channel is available
Assumptions are:
Poisson call arrivals/exponential channel
occupation
!nfinite number of users/finite number of channels
Erlang B Formula
Blocked Calls Cleared truncked system aka
N/N/m queue and leads to the Erlang B
formula
!t determines blocking probability and is a
measure of the COS
!t provides a conservative estimate of COS
because in actual life there are finite number
of users
See Fig. 2.6 page 43 of text
Capacity
At any given time, capacity of a system
is limited to the number of channels, C.
Using Trunking/Oueuing theory,
Capacity can be increased
Capacity increases with C and with COS
(outage percentage)
Blocked Calls elayed
This trunked system provides a queue
to hold calls which are blocked
Call requests are delayed until a
channel is available
COS is the Probability that a call is
blocked after waiting t sec in a queue
Erlang C Formula
!t is the probability that a call is initially
denied access? !.e. Pr|delay>0].
!t is a function of the Traffic !ntensity,
A, and the number of channels, C.
See Fig. 2.7 on page S0.
COS of BC Trunked system
COS is given by:
Pr|delay >t]=Pr|delay>0]Pr|delay >t ]delay >0]
=Pr|delay>0]exp((CA)t/H)
The average delay, , for all calls is:
=Pr|delay>0]H/(CA)
The average delay for those calls that are
queued is:

q
=H/(CA)
Trunking Efficiency
!t is a measure of the number of users which
can be offered a particular COS using fixed
number of channels
10 channel trunked system has higher
Trunking efficiency than two S channel
trunked systems because it can support 60%
more traffic |See table 2.4 on pg. 47]
Be careful when you allocate channels!
Capacity !mprovements
!ncrease in emand warrants Capacity
enhancements
Three practical techniques are:
Cell splitting
Sectoring
Coverage zone
Cell Splitting
!t is the process of subdividing a congested
cell into smaller cells
Capacity increased because freq. reuse
increased. !.e. no. of channels increased
Channel allocation scheme remains intact
Antenna Power and height are subsequently
reduced
!f microcells have half the radius, and with
n=4, trasmit power must be reduced by 1/16
or 12 dB for the same S!R
Cell Splitting 2
!n practice, not all cells are split at the
same time. !.e. different cell sizes exist
simultaneously
!n such cases, channels in the old cell
must be broken into two channel
groups
Antenna downtilting is used to limit the
coverage of microcells
Sectoring
Replace single omnidirectional antenna
with several directional antenna,
thereby sectoring the cell
Reduces the cochannel interference
Normally, three 120
o
sectors or six 60
o
sectors are formed
Channels are also broken into sectored
groups
Sectoring 2
For a 7cell reuse, interference is reduced
from 6 to 2, resulting in a S!R of 24dB (up
from 17 dB)
Antenna downtilting improves S!R further
Sectoring reduces interference by a factor of
12/7 or 1.7, this allows us to decrease N
rawback is increased no. of Antennas and a
decrease in trunking efficiency
Handoff's increase from one sector to another
Nicrocell Zone
ivide the cell into zones and connect them
to the same BS and NSC
Antennas are placed at outer edges of the
cell and channels are assigned to the BS
Handoff not required between zones, BS
merely switches the channel to a different
zone
Each channel is active in only one zone,
hence interference is reduced
Nicrocell Zone 2
Especially useful along highways
Cochannel interference is reduced
Capacity is increased yet trunking
efficiency is not degraded
Capacity is increased by a factor of 7/3
or 2.33 over a conventional 7cell omni
system
Comparison
Cell Splitting Sectoring Nicrocell
Zone
No. of BS !ncrease Same Same
CoChannel
!nterference
Same ecrease ecrease
Trunking
Efficiency
Same ecrease Same
Handoffs Same !ncrease Same