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UNIT-I

THE CELLULAR CONCEPT-SYSTEM DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS

Introduction – Frequency Reuse - Channel Assignment Strategies - Handoff Strategies: Prioritizing

Handoffs, Practical Handoff Considerations. Interference And System Capacity: Co-Channel
Interference And System Capacity-Channel Planning For Wireless Systems, Adjacent Channel
Interference, Power Control For Reducing Interference, Trunking And Grade Of Service. Improving
Coverage And Capacity In Cellular Systems: Cell Splitting, Sectoring.

1.1 The Cellular Concept - Introduction

1. Explain the concept of cellular topology and cell fundamentals. [Dec 2015, May 2023]

 For a given set of frequencies or radio channels can be reused without increasing the
interference, the large geographical area covered by a single high power transmitter can be
divided into a number of small areas, each allocated power transmitters with lower antennas can
be used.
 The Hexagon shape was used for cell because it provides the most effective transmission.
 Each cellular base station is allocated a group of radio channels to be used with a small
geographic area called a cell.
 A group of cells that use a different set of frequencies in each cell is called a cell cluster.

Types of cell
 The physical size of a cell varies, depending on user density and calling patterns.
1. Macro cells:
 They are large cells.
 They have a radius between 1 mile and 15 miles.
 Base station transmits power between 1W and 6W.
2. Microcells:
 They are the smallest cells.
 They have a radius between of 1500 feet or less.
 Base station transmit powers between 0.1W and 1W.
 They are used in high-density areas such as in large cities and inside the buildings.

Location of base station

 For location of the base station, designing a system using hexagonal-shaped cells.

1. Center-excited cell- Base station transmitters:

 They can be located in the center of the cell.
 They use Omni directional antennas which radiate and receive signals equally well in all
directions.
2. Edge- excited cell- Base station transmitters:
 They can be located in the edge of the cell.
 They use sectored antennas which radiate for a particular direction.
3. Corner- excited cell- Base station transmitters:

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 They can be located in the corner of the cell.

 They use sectored directional antennas.
Cellular system
 Figure shows a basic cellular system.
 It consists of mobile stations, base stations and a mobile switching center (MSC).

Figure: Cellular system

Mobile station:
 The mobile station contains a transceiver, an antenna, and control circuitry.
 It may be mounted in a vehicle or used as a portable hand-held unit.
 Each mobile communicates via radio with one of the base stations
 It may be handed off to any number of base stations throughout the duration of a call.
Base station:
 The base station consists of several transmitters and receivers which simultaneously handle
full duplex communications.
 It has towers which support several transmitting and receiving antennas.
 It serves as a bridge between all mobile users in the cell.
 It connects the simultaneous mobile calls via telephone lines or microwave links to the MSC.

 The channels used for voice transmission from the base station to mobiles are called forward
voice channels (FVC).
 The channels used for voice transmission from mobiles to the base station are called reverse
voice channels (RVC).
 The two channels responsible for initiating mobile calls are the forward control channels
(FCC) and reverse control channels (RCC).

Mobile Switching Center:

 The Mobile Switching Center is sometimes called a mobile telephone switching office
(MTSO).
 It is responsible for connecting all mobiles to the PSTN in a cellular system.
 The MSC coordinates the activities of all of the base stations.
 It connects the entire cellular system to the PSTN.
 A typical MSC handles 100,000 cellular subscribers’ and 5,000 simultaneous conversations at
a time.
 It accommodates all billing and system maintenance functions.

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1.2 Frequency Reuse

2. Discuss in detail about frequency reuse. [8m] [Dec 2014] (or)
Given a foot print by the service provider, prepare and illustrate the frequency planning
addressing all practical limitations that can be envisaged. [Dec 2021]

 Frequency reuse is the process in which the same set of frequencies can be allocated to more
than one cell and the cells are separated by sufficient distance.
 It is also known as frequency planning.
 The ability to reuse the frequencies to expand the total system capacity without the need to
employ high power transmitters.
 Figure shows a geographic cellular radio coverage area.
 It contains three groups of cell called clusters.
 A cell cluster is outlined in bold and replicate over the coverage area.
 Each cluster has seven cells in it and all cells are assigned the same number of full duplex
cellular telephone channels.
 Cells with the same letter use the same set of frequencies.
 The letters A, B, C, D, E, F and G denote the seven sets of frequencies.
 The actual radio coverage of a cell is known as the foot print. It is determined from field
measurement or propagation prediction models.

Figure: Illustration of the cellular frequency reuse concept.

Capacity expansion by frequency reuse

 Consider a cellular system which has a total of S duplex channels available for use.
 Let N be the cluster size in terms of the number of cells within it.
 Each cells is allocated a group of K channels (K<S).
 The N cells which collectively use the complete set of available frequencies is called cluster.
 The cluster can be replicated many times to form the entire cellular communication systems.
 The N cells in the cluster would utilize all K available channels.
 For the total number of Channels C, the total number of available radio channels can be
expressed as
S = KN

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where,
S  Number of full duplex cellular channels available in the cluster
K  Number of channels in a cell
N  Number of cells in the cluster

 Let M be the number of times the cluster is replicated and C be the total number of channels
used in the entire cellular system with frequency reuse.
 C is then the system capacity and is given by
C=MKN
C=MS
where,
C  Total channel capacity in a given area
M  Number of clusters in a given area

 The capacity of a cellular system is directly proportional to the number of times a cluster is
replicated in a fixed service area.
 The cluster size factor N = 4, 7, or 12.
 If the cluster size N is reduced while the cell size is kept constant.
 More clusters are required to cover a given area and hence more capacity is achieved.
 The number of subscribers who can use the same set of frequencies in non-adjacent cells at
the same area is dependent on the total number of cells in the area.
 The number of users use the same set of frequencies is called the Frequency Reuse Factor
(FRF) and is defined as
N
FRF 
C
where,
N  Cluster size
C  Total number of full duplex channels in an a cell.

Rules for determining the nearest co-channel neighbors

 To find the nearest co-channel neighbors of a particular cell:
Step 1: Move I cells along any chain of hexagons.
Step 2: Turn 60 degrees counter clockwise and more j cells.

Figure: Method of locating co-channel cells in a cellular system.

In this example, N = 19 (i.e., i = 3, j = 2).
 Example for i = 3 and j = 2.

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 The parameters i and j measure the number of nearest neighbor between co-channel cells.
 N is related to I and j by the equation
N  i 2  ij  j 2
 As a distance between co-channel cell increases, co-channel interference will decrease.
 If cell size is fixed, the average signal-to-co-channel interference ratio will beindependent of
the transmitted power of each cell.
 Co-channel reuse ratio,
D
Q  3N
R
where,
Q  Co channel reuse ratio
D  Distance to the nearest co-channel cells
R  Radius of the cell
N  Number of cells in the cluster
 The advantages of Cellular Systems are,
 The use of low power transmitter and
 It allows frequency reuse for capacity improvement.
**********
Problem:
3. If a total of 33 MHz of bandwidth is allocated to a particular FDD cellular telephone system
which uses two 25 kHz simplex channels to provide full duplex voice and control channels,
compute the number of channels available per cell if a system uses (a) 4-cell reuse, (b) 7-cell
reuse (c) 12-cell reuse. If 1 MHz of the allocated spectrum is dedicated to control channels,
determine an equitable distribution of control channels and voice channels in each cell for
each of the three systems.[April/May 2019]

Given:
Total bandwidth =33 MHz
Channel bandwidth = 25 kHz x 2 simplex channels = 50 kHz/duplex channel
Total available channels = 33,000/50 = 660 channels
(a) For N= 4, total number of channels available per cell = 660/4 =165 channels.
(b) For N=7, total number of channels available per cell = 660/7 =95 channels.
(c) For N = 12, total number of channels available per cell = 660/12 = 55 channels.
 A 1 MHz spectrum for control channels implies that there are 1000/50 = 20 control
channels out of the 660 channels available.
 To evenly distribute the control and voice channels, simply allocate the same number of
channels in each cell wherever possible.
 Here, the 660 channels must be evenly distributed to each cell within the cluster.
 In practice, only the 640 voice channels would be allocated, since the control channels are
allocated separately as 1 per cell.
(a) For N = 4, we can have 5 control channels and 160 voice channels per cell.
(b) For N = 7, we can have 4 cells with 3 control channels and 92 voice channels, 2 cells with 3
control channels and 90 voice channels, and 1 cell with 2 control channels and 92 voice
channels could be allocated.
(c) For N = 12, we can have 8 cells with 2 control channels and 53 voice channels, and 4 cells
with 1 control channel and 54 voice channels each.

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**********

1.2 Channel Assignment Strategies (Or) Allocation Techniques

4. Briefly discuss the process of channel assignment in cellular networks. (or)

Explain channel assignment in detail. [April/May 2018]
 For efficient utilization of the radio spectrum, a frequency reuse scheme is used. So that
capacity is increased, interference is reduced.
 Channel assignment strategy improves the following performance of the system.
 Used to manage calls when handoff is done.
 Minimize connection set-up time
 Adapt to changing load distribution
 Fault tolerance
 Scalability
 Low computation and communication overhead
 Minimize handoffs
 Maximize number of calls that can be accepted concurrently
 Channel assignment strategies can be classified
(a) Fixed Channel assignment
(b) Dynamic Channel assignment
(c) Hybrid Channel Allocation schemes
(HCA schemes: combining both FCA and DCA techniques)

(a) Fixed Channel assignment

 Channels are pre-allocated to the cells during planning phase.
 Each cell is allocated a predetermined set of voice channels.
 Any call attempt within the cell can only be served by the unused channels in that particular
cell.
 If all the channels in that cell are occupied, the call is blocked and the subscriber does not
receive service.
 Due to short term fluctuations in the traffic, FCA schemes are often not able to maintain high
quality of service and capacity attainable with static traffic demands.
 One approach to address this problem is to borrow free channels from neighboring cells.

(b) Dynamic Channel assignment

 No pre-allocation:
 In a dynamic channel assignment strategy, voice channels are not allocated to different
cells permanently.
 Each time a call request is made, the serving base station requests a channel from the MSC.
 MSC then allocates a channel to the requested cell.
 The MSC only allocates a given frequency if that frequency is not currently in use in the cell
or any other cell which falls within the limiting reuse distance.
 Dynamic channel assignment reduces blocking and increasing the capacity of the system.
 Dynamic channel assignment strategies require the MSC to collect real-time data on channel
occupancy and traffic distribution on a continuous basis.
 Advantages of dynamic Channel assignment are
 Increased channel utilization
 Decreased probability of a blocked call.

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 Disadvantages of dynamic Channel assignment are

 Increases the storage
 Increases computational load on the system

(c) Hybrid Channel Allocation (HCA)

 HCA schemes are the combination of both FCA and DCA techniques.
 In HCA schemes, the total number of channels available for service is divided into fixed and
dynamic sets.
 The fixed set contains a number of nominal channels that are assigned to cells as in the FCA
schemes
 The dynamic set is shared by all users in the system to increase flexibility.
 Example: When a call requires service from a cell and all of its nominal channels are busy, a
channel from the dynamic set is assigned to the call.
 Request for a channel from the dynamic set is initiated only when the cell has exhausted using
all its channels from the fixed set.
 Optimal ratio: ratio of number of fixed and dynamic channels.
 3:1 (fixed to dynamic), provides better service than fixed scheme for 50% traffic.
 Beyond 50% fixed scheme perform better.
 For dynamic, with traffic load of 15% to 32%, better results are found with HCA.

**********
Comparison FCA and DCA

5. Compare FCA and DCA.

Attribute Fixed Channel Allocation Dynamic Channel Allocation

Traffic load Fixed Channel Allocation is better Dynamic Channel Allocation is
under heavy traffic load better under light/moderate
traffic load
Flexibility of Fixed Channel Allocation is less Dynamic Channel Allocation is
channel allocation flexible more flexible

Reusability of Fixed Channel Allocation has a Dynamic Channel Allocation

channels maximum possibility. has a limited possibility.

Temporal and Fixed Channel Allocation are very Dynamic Channel Allocation are
spatial changes sensitive very insensitive

Grade of service Fixed Channel Allocation is Dynamic Channel Allocation is

fluctuating stable.

Forced call Large probability in Fixed Channel Low/ Moderate probability in

termination Allocation Dynamic Channel Allocation

Suitability of cell Fixed Channel Allocation uses Dynamic Channel Allocation

size macro cellular system uses micro cellular system

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Radio Equipment Fixed Channel Allocation covers Dynamic Channel Allocation

only the channels allotted to the has to cover all possible channel
cell. that could be assigned to the cell

Computational In Fixed Channel Allocation, In Dynamic Channel Allocation,

effort Computational effort is low. Computational effort id high

Call setup delay Low in Fixed Channel Allocation Moderate/High in Dynamic

Channel Allocation

Implementation Low in Fixed Channel Allocation Moderate/High in Dynamic

complexity Channel Allocation

Frequency planning Laborious and complex in Fixed None in Dynamic Channel

Channel Allocation Allocation

Signaling load Low in Fixed Channel Allocation Moderate/High in Dynamic

Channel Allocation

Control Centralized in Fixed Channel Centralized, decentralized or

Allocation distributed in Dynamic Channel
Allocation

1.3 Hand Off Strategies

6. Explain the principle of cellular networks and various types of handoff techniques. (16m)
[May 2016, May 2013] (or)
Explain in detail a handoff scenario at cell boundary. (6m) [Dec 2014, Dec 2019] (or)
Explain hand off strategies in detail. [May 2018, May 2019] (or)
(i) Explain with neat sketch, Handoff mechanism adopted in cellular communication
detailing the condition for proper handoff.
(ii) Highlight the significance of prioritizing Handoffs and Practical Handoff
consideration (6m) [May 2021, May 2023]

Hand off:
 When a mobile move into a different cell while a conversation is in progress, the MSC
automatically transfers the call to a new channel belonging to the new base station is known
as hand off.
 The handoff operation not only involves a new base station.
 It also requires that the voice and control signals be allocated to channels associated with the
new base station.
 Handoff calls can be admitted at a higher priority than new calls.
 To manage the admission of requests based on priority, it is necessary to reserve capacity for
admitting handoff requests.
 A particular signal level is specified as the minimum usable signal for acceptable voice
quality at the base station receiver.
 A slightly stronger signal level is used as threshold at which a handoff is made.
 The time over which a call may be maintained within a cell, without handoff, is called the
dwell time.

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 Dwell time depends on

 Propagation
 Interference
 Distance between the subscriber
 Speed
 Handoff Margin △
 Margin △ = Phandoff threshold– P minimumusable signal dB
 △ is carefully selected
 △ too large → unnecessary handoff → MSC loaded down
 △ too small → not enough time to transfer → call dropped.

Figure: Illustration of a handoff scenario at cell boundary.

Hand off methods

1. Mobile Controlled Hand off (MCHO)
2. Network Controlled Hand off (NCHO) and
3. Mobile Assisted Hand off (MAHO)

1. MCHO
 Mobile controls the hand off.
 MCHO is a desirable method because it reduces the burden on the network.
 However, it increases the complexity of the mobile terminal.

2. NCHO
 In NCHO, the BSs or Access Points (APs) monitor the signal quality from the mobile and
report the measurements to the MSC.

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 The MSC is responsible for choosing the candidate AP and initiating the handoff.

3. MAHO
 In MAHO, the mobile measures the signal levels from the various Aps.
 The mobile collects a set of power levels from different APs and feeds it back to the MSC
via the AP.

1.4.1 Prioritizing Handoffs

 Method for giving priority to handoffs are
1. Guard channel concept.
2. Queuing of handoff requests.

1. Guard channel concept

 Guard channel concept is a fraction of the total available channels in a cell is reserved
exclusively for handoff requests from ongoing calls which may be handed off into the
cell.

Disadvantage
 It reduces the total carried traffic as fewer channels are allocated to originating calls.

Advantage
 It is efficient spectrum utilization during dynamic channel assignment strategies.

2. Queuing of handoff requests

 Queuing of handoff requests decreases the probability of forced termination of a call
due to lack of available channels.
 Queuing of handoffs is possible due to the fact that there is a finite time interval
between the time the received signal level drops below the handoff threshold and the
time the call is terminated due to insufficient signal level.
 The delay time and size of the queue is determined from the traffic pattern of the
particular service area.

1.4.2 Practical Handoff Considerations

 In practical cellular systems, several problems arise.
 High speed vehicles pass through the coverage region of a cell within a matter of seconds,
whereas users may never need a handoff during a call.
 The MSC can quickly become burdened if high speed users are constantly being passed
between very small cells.
 To solve this problem, Umbrella cell approach is used.

Umbrella cell approach

 By using different antenna heights (same building or tower) and different power levels, it is
possible to provide “large” and” small” cells which are co-located at a single location. This
technique is called the umbrella cell approach.
 The umbrella cell approach is used to provide large area coverage to high speed users while
providing small area coverage to users travelling at low speeds.

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Figure: The umbrella cell approach.

 Figure illustrates an umbrella cell which is co-locates with some smaller microcells.
 The umbrella cell approach ensures that the number of handoffs is minimized for high speed
users and provides additional microcell channels for pedestrian users.
 The speed of each user may be estimated by the base station or MSC by evaluating how
rapidly the short-term average signal strength on the RVC changes over time, or more
sophisticated algorithms may be used to evaluate and partition users.
 If a high speed user in the large umbrella cell is approaching the base station, and its velocity
decreasing, the base station may decide to hand the user into the co-located microcell, without
MSC intervention.

Cell Dragging
 Another practical handoff problem in microcell systems is known as cell dragging.
 Cell dragging results from users that provide a very strong signal to the base station.
 Such a situation occurs in an urban environment when there is a line-of-sight (LOS) radio path
between the subscriber and the base station.
 As the user travels away from the base station at a very slow speed, the average signal
strength does not decay rapidly.
 Even when the user has traveled well beyond the designed range of the cell, the received
signal at the base station may be above the handoff threshold, thus a handoff may not be
made.

Intersystem handoff:
During a call, if a mobile move from one cellular system to a different cellular
system controlled by a different MSC, type of handoff is called intersystem handoff.

Types of Handoff
1. Hard handover
 If the MSC monitors the strongest signal base station and transfer the call to that base
station then it is called hard handoff.
 The definition of a hard handover or handoff is one where an existing connection must be
broken before the new one is established.
 Intra-frequency hard handovers where the frequency channel remains the same.

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2. Soft handover
 Mobile communicates with two or more cells at the same time and find which one is the
strongest signal base station then it automatically transfers the call to that base station is
called soft handoffs.
 The new 3G technologies use CDMA, it is not necessary to break the connection. This is
called soft handover.
 Soft handoff is defined as a handover where a new connection is established before the old
one is released.
3. Softer handover
 The third type of hand over is termed a softer handover, or handoff.
 In this instance a new signal is either added to or deleted from the active set of signals.
 It may also occur when a signal is replaced by a stronger signal from a different sector
under the same base station.
 This type of handover or handoff is available within UMTS as well as CDMA2000.

Features of Handoff:
 Fast and lossless
 Minimal number of control signal exchanges.
 Scalable with network size.
 Capable of recovering from link failures.
 Efficient use of resources.

**********

1.4 Interference and System Capacity

7. Describe various interferences and increasing the system capacity of wireless cellular
networks. (or)
Analyze the impact of both co-channel and adjacent chancel interference on system
capacity in a cellular system. [May 2021] (or)
With neat sketch the first tier co-channel interference caused in a cluster size of 7.Also
derive the expression that relates with the expression that relates the system capacity in
terms of co-channel reuse ratio.[Nov/Dec 2021]

 Interference is the major limiting factor in the performance of cellular radio.

 It limits capacity and increases the number of dropped calls.

 Sources of interference include

 Another mobile in the same cell
 Call in progress in a neighboring cell,
 Other base stations operating in the same frequency band,
 Any non-cellular system which leaks energy into the cellular frequency band.

 Interference is more severe in urban areas due to

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 Greater RF noise floor

 Large number of base stations and mobiles

 The two major types of interferences:

1. Co-channel interference (CCI)
2. Adjacent channel interference. (ACI)

 Adjacent channel interference is caused due to the signals that are adjacent in frequency.

1.5.1 Co-channel Interference and System Capacity

 Co-channel interference is caused due to the cells that reuse the same frequency set.
 The cells using the same frequency set are called co-channel cells.
 The interference between signals from the co-channel cells is called co-channel interference.
 Unlike thermal noise, co-channel interference cannot be overcome by increasing the carrier
power of a transmitter
 This is because an increase in transmitter power increases the interference to neighboring co-
channel cells.
 For similar sized cells, the co-channel interference is independent of the transmitted power
and depends on the radius of the cell and the distance to the nearest co-channel cells.
 To reduce co-channel interference, co-channel cells must be physically separated.

 Co channel reuse ratio, Q=D/R

where,
Q  Co channel reuse ratio
D  Distance to the nearest co-channel cells
R  Radius of the cell

 It determines the spatial separation relative to the coverage distance of the cell.
 For a hexagonal geometry
D
Q   3N
R

 Thus, a small value of Q provides larger capacity but higher co-channel interference.
 Hence there is a trade-off between capacity and interference.

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Calculation of signal-to-interference ratio (S/I or SIR)

 The signal-to-interference ratio for a mobile is

S S
 i0
I
I i 1
i

where,
S  Desired signal power
Ii  Interference power caused by the ith co-channel cell
i0  Number of co-channel interfering cells
 The average received power at a distance d is
n
d 
Pr  P0  
 d0 
d 
Pr  dBm   P0  dBm   10n log  
 d0 
where,
P0  Power received at a close-in reference point in the far field region of the antenna
d0  Small distance from the transmitting antenna
n  Path loss exponent.
 If Di is the distance of the ith interferer, the received power is proportional to (Di)-i0.
 The path loss exponent, n ranges between 2 and 4.
 Thus the S/I for a mobile can be written as
S R n
 i0

 D 
I n
i
i 1

 For only the first layer of equidistant interferers

S D R 
 
n
 3N 
n

Q 
D
 3N
I i0 i0 R
 S / I is usually the worst casewhen a mobile is at the cell edge
S R 4

I 2D  R 4  2D  R 4  2 D 4
S 1

I 2Q  1  2Q  14  2Q 4
4

 For a hexagonal cluster of cells

 
i
S 1 D0 1 i0
    3N
I 6 R  6
 Hence, S/I is independent of the cell radius.

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Figure: Illustration of the first tier of co-channel cells for a cluster size of N=7. When the
mobile is at the cell boundary (point A), it experiences worst case co-channel interference on
the forward channel. The marked distances between the mobile and different co-channel cells
are based on approximations made for easy analysis.

1.5.2 Channel Planning for Wireless Systems

 Assigning the appropriate radio channels to each base station is an important process that is
much more difficult in practice.

 The Equation
S D R 
 
n
 3N 
n

is a valuable rule for determining the appropriate

I i0 i0
frequency reuse ratio (or cluster size) and the appropriate separation between adjacent co-
channel cells.
 But, the wireless engineer must deal with the real-world difficulties of radio propagation
and imperfect coverage regions of each cell.

 Generally, the available mobile radio spectrum is divided into channels.

 These channels are made up of control channels (vital for initiating, requesting, or paging
a call), and voice channels (dedicated to carrying revenue-generating traffic).
 Typically, about 5% of the entire mobile spectrum is devoted to control channels, which
carry data messages that are very brief and bursty in nature.
 The remaining 95% of the spectrum is dedicated to voice channels.

 Control channels are vital in the successful launch of any call.

 The frequency reuse strategy applied to control channels is different and generally more
conservative (e.g., is afforded greater S/I protection) than for the voice channels.

 One of the key features of CDMA systems is that the cluster size is N = 1, and frequency
planning is not nearly as difficult as for TDMA.

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 Propagation considerations require most practical CDMA systems to use some sort of
limited frequency reuse.
 In the area of bodies of water, interfering cells on the same channel as the desired serving
cell can create interference overload.

 In CDMA, a single 1.25 MHz radio channel carries the simultaneous transmissions of the
single control channel with up to 64 simultaneous voice channels.
 The coverage region and interference levels are well defined when specific radio channels
are in use than TDMA.
 The CDMA system has a dynamic, time varying coverage region which varies depending
on the instantaneous number of users.
 This effect, known as a breathing cell, requires the wireless engineer to carefully plan the
coverage and signal levels for the best and worst cases for serving cells.
 CDMA engineers must make difficult decisions about the power levels and thresholds
assigned to control channels, voice channels.
 Also, threshold levels for CDMA handoffs, in both the soft handoff case and hard handoff
case, must be planned and often measured carefully before turning up service.

1.5.3 Adjacent Channel Interference

 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 that allow nearby
frequencies to leak into the passband.
 The problem can be severe if an adjacent channel user is transmitting in very close range to a
subscriber's receiver.
 The near-far effect occurs when a mobile close to a base station radiates in the adjacent
channel, while the subscriber is far away from the base station.
 Adjacent channel interference can be reduced by
 Careful filtering
 Careful channel assignments.
 The frequency separation between each channel in a cell should be made as large as possible.
 If the subscriber is at a distance d1 and the interferer is at d2, then signal-to-interference ratio is
n
S  d1 
 
I  d 2 
 The frequency separation between each channel in a cell should be made as large as possible
while assigning them.

1.5.4 Power Control to Reduce Interference

 In practical systems, the power levels of every subscriber are under constant control by the
serving base stations.
 Power control
 Reduces interference levels
 Prolongs battery life
 In CDMA spread spectrum systems, power control is a key feature to ensure maximal
utilization of the system capacity.
 Reduced interference leads to higher capacity.
**********

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1.6 Trunking and Grade of Service

8. Describe the various terms involved in trunking and grade of service. (or)
Write short notes on i) Trunking ii) Grade of service of cell system. [Dec 2017, May 2019, Dec 2019]

 Cellular radio systems rely on trunking to accommodate a large number of users in a limited
radio spectrum.
 The concept of trunking allows a large number of user to share the relatively small number of
channels in a cell by providing access to each user, on demand, from a pool of available
channels.
 In a trunked radio system, each user is allocated a channel on a per call basis.
 Upon termination of the call, the previously occupied channel is immediately returned to the
pool of available channels.

 The time required to allocate a trunked radio channel to a requesting user is called Set-up
Time.
 Call which cannot be completed at time of request due to congestion is called Blocked Call
or lost call.
 Average duration of a typical call is called Holding Time, H.
 Request Rate is the average number of call requests per unit time.
It is denoted by λ seconds-1.
 Traffic Intensity is the measure of channel time utilization, which is the average channel
occupancy measured in Erlangs.
 Load is the Traffic intensity across the entire trunked radio system, measured in Erlangs.
 A channel kept busy for one hour is defined as having a load of one Erlang.
 Grade of Service (GOS) is measure of congestion which is specified as the probability
 Probability of a call being blocked (Erlang B)
 Probability of a call being delayed beyond a certain amount of time (Erlang C)

 The grade of service (GOS) is a measure of the ability of a user to access a

trunked system during the busiest hour.
 The grade of service is used to define the desired performance of a particular trunked system
by specifying a desired likelihood of a user obtaining channel access given a specific number
of channels available in the system.
 In order to obtain proper GOS, it is the necessary to estimate
 Maximum required capacity
 To allocate the proper number of channels.
 Each user generates a traffic intensity of Au Erlangs given by
Au  H
where,
Au  Traffic intensity
λ  Average number of call requests per unit time
H  Average duration of a call
 Total offered traffic intensity A, is given as
A  UAu
where,
U  Number of users in the system.
A  Total offered traffic.

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 Traffic intensity per channel is given as

Ac  UAu C
where,
C  Number of trunked channels offered by a trunked radio system
 The Erlang B formula is given by
AC
Pr blocking   C C! k  GOS
A

k  0 k!

 The likelihood of a call not having immediate access to a channel is determined by the Erlang
C formula
Ac
Pr delay  0 
 A  C 1 A k
Ac  c!1  
 C  k  0 k!

**********

1.6 Improving Capacity in Cellular Systems:

9. Explain some techniques intended to improve the coverage area and capacity of cellular system.
(8m) [Nov 2015] (or)
Explain in detail how to improve coverage and channel capacity in cellular systems. (16m) [May
2016, Dec 2019] (or)
Define the methods of increasing the capacity of wireless cellular networks. (10M-May 2013) (or)
Explain the capacity improvement techniques used in cellular system. (10m) [May 2010, May
2019]
Write short notes on cell splitting [May 2019]

 Common Techniques used to expand the capacity of cellular systems are

1. Cell splitting
2. Sectoring
3. Microcell Zoning

Cell splitting

 Cell splitting is the process of subdividing a congested cell into smaller cells with
 its own base station
 Corresponding reduction in antenna height
 Corresponding reduction in transmitter power.

 Splitting of cells reduces the cell size and thus more number of cells has to be used.
 More number of cells => More number of clusters => More Channels => Higher capacity
 By defining new cells which have a smaller radius than the original cells and by installing
these smaller cells (called microcells) between the existing cells, capacity increases due to the
additional number of channels per unit area.
 Cells are split to add channels with no new spectrum usage

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 Depending on traffic patterns, the smaller cells may be activated/deactivated in order to

efficiently use cell resources.
 In the figure that the original base station A has been surrounded by six new microcell
base stations.
 The smaller cells were added in such a way as to preserve the frequency reuse plan of
the system.
 Cell splitting scales the geometry of the cluster.

Figure: Illustration of cell splitting

 When new cell radius is half the original cell radius,

Pr [at old cell boundary]  Pt1R  n
Pr [at new cell boundary]  Pt 2 R / 2 n
where,
Pr  Received power
Pt1  Transmit power of larger cell base station
Pt 2  Transmit power of smaller cell base station
N  Path loss exponent

 Transmit power must be reduced by 12db in order to fill in the original coverage area with
microcell while maintaining the S/I requirement.

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Figure: Illustration of cell splitting within a 3 km square centered base station A.

Sectoring
 The technique for decreasing co-channel interference and thus increasing system capacity by
using directional antennas is called sectoring.
 The factor by which the co-channel interference is reduced depends on the amount of
sectoring used.
 Cell Sectoring keeps R untouched and reduces D/R.
 Capacity improvement is achieved by reducing the number of cells per cluster, thus increasing
frequency reuse.
 It is necessary to reduce the relative interference without decreasing the transmitter power.
 The co-channel interference may be decreased by replacing the single omni-directional
antenna by several directional antennas, each radiating within a specified sector.
 A directional antenna transmits to and receives from only a fraction of the total number of co-
channel cells. Thus co-channel interference is reduced.
 A cell is normally partitioned into three 1200 sectors or six 60° sectors.

(a) 1200 sectoring (b) 600 sectoring

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Figure: Illustration of how 120° sectoring reduces interference from co-channel cells. Out of
the 6 co-channel cells in the first tier, only 2 of them, interfere with the center cell. If omni-
directional antennas were used at each base station, all 6 co-channel cells would interfere with
the center cell.

Advantages
 It improves Signal-to-interference ratio.

Disadvantages
 Increased number of antennas at each base station.
 Decrease in trunking efficiency
 Increased number of handoffs.

Microcell Zoning
 Zone Concept
 A cell is divided into microcell or zones.
 Each microcell (Zone) is connected to the same basestation by coaxial cable, fiberoptic
cable, or microwave link.
 Each Zone uses a directional antenna
 As mobile travels from one zone to another, it retains the same channel. i.e. Without
handoff.
 The base station simply switches the channel to the next zone site.
 Mobile is served by the zone with the strongest signal.
 While the cell maintains a particular coverage area, the co-channel interference is reduced
because:
 The large central base station is replaced by several low powertransmitters.
 Directional Antennas are used.
 Decreased co-channel interference improves
 Signal Quality
 Capacity

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Figure: The microcell concept

**********

PROBLEMS

1. If a total of 33 MHz of bandwidth is allocated to a particular FDD cellular telephone system

which uses two 25 kHz simplex channels to provide full duplex voice and control channels,
compute the number of channels available per cell if a system uses (a) 4-cell reuse, (b) 7-cell
reuse (c) 12-cell reuse. If 1 MHz of the allocated spectrum is dedicated to control channels,
determine an equitable distribution of control channels and voice channels in each cell for each
of the three systems.
(Apr/may 2010, Apr/ May 2017)
Solution:
Given:
Total bandwidth =33 MHz
Channel bandwidth = 25 k}{z x 2 simplex channels = 50 kHz/duplex channel
Total available channels = 33,000/50 = 660 channels
(a) For N= 4,
Total number of channels available per cell = 660/4 = 165 channels.
(b) ForN=7,
Total number of channels available per cell = 660/7= 95 channels.
(c) For N = 12,
Total number of channels available per cell = 660/12 = 55 channels.

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A 1 MHz spectrum for control channels implies that there are 1000/50 = 20 control channels out
of the 660 channels available. It evenly distribute the control and voice channels, simply allocate the
same number of channels in each cell wherever possible. Here, the 660 channels must be evenly
distributed to each cell within the cluster. In practice, only the 640 voice channels would be
allocated, since the control channels are allocated separately as 1 per cell.
(a) For N = 4, we can have 5 control channels and 160 voice channels per cell.
In practice, however, each cell only needs a single control channel (the control channels have a
greater reuse distance than the voice channels).
Thus, one control channel and 160 voice channels would be assigned to each cell.
(b) For N = 7, 4 cells with 3 control channels and 92 voice channels, 2 cells with 3 control channels
and 90 voice channels, and 1 cell with 2 control channels and 92 voice channels could be allocated.
In practice, however, each cell would have one control channel, four cells-4vould have 91 voice
channels, andthree cells would have 92 voice channels.
(c) For N = 12, we can have 8 cells with 2 control channels and 53 voice channels, and 4 cells with 1
control channel and 54 voice channels each.
In an actual system, each cell would have 1 control channel, 8 cells would have 53 voice
channels, and 4 cells would have 54 voice channels.
2.If a signal to interference ratio of 15 dB is required for satisfactory forward channel
performance of a cellular system, what is the frequency reuse factor and cluster size that
should be used for maximum capacity if the path loss exponent is (a) n = 4 , (b) nt = 3? Assume
that there are 6 co-channels cells in the first tier, and all of them are at the same distance from
the mobile. Use suitable approximations.
Solution:
(a) n = 4
First, let us consider a 7-cell reuse pattern.co-channel reuse ratio D/R = 4.583.
The sigal-to-noise interference ratio is given by S/I = (I/6)x(4.583) = 75.3 = 18.66 dB.
Since this is greater than the minimum required S/I, N = 7 can be used.
b) n=3
First, let us consider a 7-cell reuse pattern.
S/I = (l,6)x(4.583) = 16.04 = 12.05 dB.
Since this is less than the minimum required S/I, we need to use a larger N.
The next possible value of N is 12, (i = j = 2).
The corresponding co-channel ratio is given as D/R = 6.0.
The signal-to-interference ratio is given by
S/I = (1/6) x = 36 = 15.56 dB.
Since this is greater than the minimum required S/I, N = 12 can be used

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3. A certain city has an area of 1,300 square miles and is covered by a cellular system using a 7-
cell reuse pattern. Each cell has a radius of 4 miles and the city is allocated 40 MHz of
spectrum with a full duplex channe] bandwidth of 60 kHz. Assume a GOS of 2% for an Erlang
B system is specified. If the offered traffic per user is 0.03 Erlangs, compute (a) the number of
cells in the service area, (b) the number of channels per cell, (c) traffic intensity of each cell, (d)
the maximum carried traffic; (e) the total number of users that can be served for 2% GOS, (f')
the number of mobiles per channel, and (g) the theoretical maximum number of users that
could be served at one time by the system.[Nov/Dec 2019][Nov/Dec 2021]
Solution:
(a) Given:
Total coverage area = 1300 miles
Cell radius = 4 miles
The area of a cell (hexagon) can be shown to be 2.598 / R2, thus each cell covers 2.5981 x (4)2 =
41.57 sqm..
Hence, the total number of cells are = 1300/41.57 = 31 cells.
(b) The total number of channels per cell (C)
= allocated spectrum I (channel width x frequency reuse factor)
= 40, 000,000/ (60,000 x 7) = 95 channels/cell
(c) Given: C = 95, and GOS = 0.02
From the Erlang B chart, we havetraffic intensity per cell A = 84 Erlangs/cell
(d) Maximum carried traffic = number of cells x traffic intensity per cell
= 31 x 84 = 2604 Erlangs.
(e) Given traffic per user = 0.03 Erlangs
Total number of users = Total traffic / traffic per user
= 2604 / 0.02 = 86,800 users.
(f) Number of mobiles per channel = number of users/number of channels
= 86,800 / 666 = 130 mobiles/ehannel.
(g) The theoretical maximum number of served mobiles is the number of availablechannels in the
system (all channels occupied)
= CxNc = 95 x 31 = 2945 users, which is 3.4% of the customer base.

4. A hexagonal cell within a 4-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 calls/hour,
compute the following for an Erlang C system that has a 5% probability of a delayed call:
(a) How many users per square kilometer will this system support?
(b) What is the probability that a delayed call will have to wait for more than 10 sec?
(c) What is the probability that a call will be delayed for more than 10 seconds?

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Solution :
Given, Cell radius, R = 1.387 km
Area covered per cell is 2.598 x (1.387)2 = 5 sq kin
Number of cells per cluster = 4
Total number of channels = 60
Therefore, number of channels per cell = 60 / 4 = 15 channels.
(a) From Erlang C chart, for 5% probability of delay with C = 15, traffic intensity = 9.0 Erlangs.
Therefore, number of users = total traffic intensity/ traffic per user =9.0/0.029 = 310 users
= 310 users/S sq km = 62 users/sq km
(b) Given λ=1 = 1 , holding time
H = Au/λ = 0.029 hour = 104.4 seconds.
The probability that a delayed call will have to wait for more than 10 s is
Pr[delay > t ‫ ا‬dleay ‫ =ا‬exp(.—(C.-A)t / H) = exp(—(I5—9.0)I0/l04.4) = 56.29 %
(c) Given Pr delay >0] = 5% = 0.05
Probability that a call is delayed more than 10 seconds
Pr{delay> 10] = = 0.05 x 0.5629 = 2.81 %

5. A digital mobile communication system has a forward channel frequency band ranging
between 810 MHz to 826 MHz and a reverse channel band between 940 MHz to 956 MHz.
Assume that 90 per cent of the band width is used by traffic channels. It is required to support
at least 1150 simultaneous calls using FDMA The modulation scheme employed has a spectral
efficiency of 1.68 bps / Hz. Assuming that the channel impairments necessitate the use of rate
½ FEC codes, find the upper bound on the transmission bit rate that a speech coder used in
this system should provide?
Solution :
Tbtal Bandwidth available for traffic channels = 0.9 x (810—826) = 14.4 MHz.
Number of simultaneous users = 1150.
Therefore, maximum channel bandwidth = 14.4 /1150 MHz = 12.5 kHz.
Spectral Efficiency = 1.68 bps/Hz.
Therefore, maximum channel data rate = 1.68 x 12500 bps = 21kbps.
FEC coder rate = 0.5.
Therefore, maximum net data rate = 21 x 0.5 kbps = 10.5 kbps.
Therefore, we need to design a speech coder with a data rate less than or equal
to 10.5 kbps.

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7. The output of a speech coder has bits which contribute to signal quality with varying degree
of importance. Encoding is done on blocks of samples of 20 ms duration (260 bits of coder
output). The first 50 of the encoded speech bits (say type 1) in each block are considered to be
the most significant and hence to protect them from channel errors are appended with 10 CRC
bits and convolutionally encoded with a rate 1/ 2 FEC coder. The next 132 bits (say type 2) are
appended with 5 CRC bits and the tast 78 bits (say type 3) are not error protected. Compute
the gross channel data rate achievable.
Solution :
Number of type 1 channel bits to be transmitted every 20 ms
(5+l0x2) = 120 bits
Number of type 2 channel bits to be transmitted every 20 ms
132 +5 = 137 bits
Number of type 3 channel bits to be encoded = 78 bits
Total number of channel bits to be transmitted every 20 ms
120 + 137 +78 bits = 335 bits
Therefore, gross channel bit rate = 335/ (20 x I0-3) = 16.75 kbps.
8.

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9. If GSM uses a frame structure where each frame consists of 8 time slots, andeach time slot
contains 156.25 bits, and data is transmitted at 270.833 kbps inthe channel, find (a) the time duration
of a bit, (b) the time duration of a slot,(c) the time duration of a frame, and (d) how long must a user
occupying a singletime slot must wait between two simultaneous transmissions

11. In a cellular system with total of 917 radio channels available for handling traffic. The area
of a cell is 4 km2 and the total area is 1400 km2 with cluster of 7.
(a) Calculate the system capacity.
(b) How many times signal can be replicated?
(c) Calculate the system capacity for N = 4.
(d) Compare the performance.
Solution:

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(a) System capacity C = MKN

M = Number of times the cluster has to be replicated

12. For a cellular system with a total bandwidth of 15 MHz uses 10 KHz simplex channels to
provide full duplex voice and control channels. For 12 cell reuse pattern and 1 MHz of the total
bandwidth is allocated for control channels.
(a) Calculate the total available channels.
(b) Determine the number of control channels.
(c) Calculate the number of voice channels per cell.

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13. In the FDMA system, the total spectrum bandwidth is 12.5 MHz, each channel is 30 KHz. The
edge guard spacing is 10 KHz. Find the total number of channels available in the system.

14. Consider Global System for Mobile, which is a TDMA/FDD system that uses 25 MHz for the
forward link, which is broken into radio channels of 200 kHz. If speech channels are supported on a
single radio channel, and if no guard band is assumed, find the number of simultaneous users that
can be accommodated in GSM.
Datas: 25 MHz for the forward linkradio channels of 200 kHz

Thus, GSM can accommodate 1000 simultaneous users.

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TWO MARKS
1. What is multiple access technique? [May 2016, Nov 2013][April/May2023]
Multiple access or channel access method is based on a multiplexing method that allows several
data streams or signals to share the same communication channel or physical medium.

2. Write the applications of multiple access methods.

 The multiple access methods are used in
 Satellite networks
 Cellular and mobile communication networks
 Military communication and
 Underwater acoustic networks.

3. What are the different types of multiple access schemes? [May 2012]
The different types of multiple access schemes are
 Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)
 Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
 Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

4. State the difference between Narrowband and wideband systems. [Nov 2013, Nov 2012]
NARROWBAND SYSTEMS WIDEBAND SYSTEMS
In a narrowband system, the available radio In wideband system, a large number of
spectrum is divided into a large number of transmitters are allowed to transmit on the
narrowband channels. same channels.

5. Define FDMA.
In FDMA, the total bandwidth is divided into non-overlapping frequency sub bands. Each user is
allocated a unique frequency sub band (channels) for the duration of the connection, whether the
connection is in an active or idle state.

6. What is the need of guard bands in FDMA?

The adjacent frequency bands in the FDMA spectrum are likely to interference with each other.
Therefore it is necessary to include the guard bands between the adjacent frequency bands.

7. Mention some features of FDMA.[Nov/Dec 2019]

 FDMA is relatively simple to implement.
 To provide interference-free transmissions between the uplink and the downlink channels, the
frequency allocations have to be separated by a sufficient amount (guard bands).

8. Write the nonlinear effects in FDMA.

In FDMA system, many channels share same antenna at the base station. The power amplifiers
and the power combiners used are nonlinear, and tend to generate inter modulation frequencies
resulting in inter modulation distortion.

9. Write the expression for number of channels used in FDMA system.

The number of channels that can be simultaneously supported in a FDMA system is given by

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𝑩𝒔 − 𝟐𝑩𝒈
𝑵𝑺 =
𝑩𝒄
Where, 𝑩𝒔 -Total spectrum allocation (or) system bandwidth
𝑩𝒈 -Guard band allocated at the edge of the allocated spectrum band and
𝑩𝒈 -Channel bandwidth

10. Write the formula for spectral efficiency of FDMA.

 The spectral efficiency of FDMA is given by
𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏
𝜼𝑭𝑫𝑴𝑨 = 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒕𝒉
𝑵𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝑩𝒄
𝜼𝑭𝑫𝑴𝑨 = <1
𝑩𝒔
Where 𝑵𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂 =Number of data channels in the system.
𝑵𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂 = 𝑵𝑺 -𝑵𝒄𝒕𝒍
𝑵𝒄𝒕𝒍 = Number of allocated control channels

11. Mention the disadvantages of FDMA.

 This type of multiple access support is narrow band, and is not suitable for multimedia
communications with various transmission rates.
 If a FDMA channel is not in use, then it is idle and cannot be used by other users to increase
or share capacity. It is essentially a wasted resource.
 FDMA is an old and is used for the analog signal.

12. Define TDMA.

 Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems divide the ratio spectrum into time slots,
and in each slot only one user is allowed to either transmit or receive.

13. What is W- TDMA?

 In wideband TDMA, transmission in each slot uses the entire frequency band.

14. Define N- TDMA.

 In narrow band TDMA, the whole frequency band is divided into sub band, transmission in
each slot only uses the frequency width of one sub band.

15. Write the features of TDMA.

 TDMA shares a single carrier frequency with several users, where each user makes use of
non-overlapping time slots.
 Data transmission for users of a TDMA system is not continuous, but occurs in bursts. This
results in low battery consumption, since the subscriber transmitter can be turned off when not
in use.
 Because of discontinues transmissions in TDMA, the handoff process is much simpler for a
subscriber unit, since it is able to listen for other base stations during idle time slots.

16. What is frame efficiency in TDMA?

 The frame efficiency is the percentageof bits per frame which contain transmitted data.
The frame efficiency is given by
𝜂 𝑏𝑂𝐻
𝑓=(1− )×100%
𝑏𝑇

𝑏𝑂𝐻 = Number of overhead bits per frame and

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𝑏𝑇 = Number of total bits per frame

17. What are the disadvantages of TDMA?[Nov/Dec 2019]

 High synchronization overhead is required in TDMA systems because of burst transmissions.
 In TDMA, the guard time should be minimized.

18. How does near/far problem influence TDMA systems? [Nov 2015]
The near-far problem is one of detecting or filtering out a weaker signal amongst stronger signals.
The near-far problem is particularly difficult in CDMA systems where transmitters share
transmission frequencies and transmission time. In contrast, FDMA and TDMA systems are less
vulnerable.

19. State advantages of CDMA over FDMA. [Nov 2014]

CDMA sends digital signals spread out over a larger bandwidth constantly with each signal
having a unique sequence code so that each call can be separated at the receiver. In theory, CDMA
can carry 8-10 times the number of calls as FDMA, although probably not nearly that many times in
the real world.

20. Define near-far problem in CDMA.

 Some of the mobile units are close to the base station while others are far from it. A strong
signal received at the base from a near –in mobile unit and the weak signal from a far –end
mobile unit. This phenomenon is called the near-far problem.

21. Write some features of CDMA.

 Many user of CDMA system share the same frequency.
 Channel data rates are very high in CDMA system.
 CDMA has more flexibility than TDMA in supporting multimedia service.

CELLULAR CONCEPT
22. Write the cellular concept. (or)
Why is cellular concept used for mobile telephony? [May 2017]
If a given set of frequencies or radio channels can be reused without increasing the interference,
then the large geographical area covered by a single high power transmitter can be divided into a
number of small areas, each allocated power transmitters with lower antennas can be used.

23. Why hexagon shape was selected for cell?

The Hexagon shape was chosen for cell because it provides the most effective transmission by
approximating a circular pattern while eliminating gaps present between adjacent circles.

24. Differentiate between macro cells and microcells.

The physical size of a cell varies, depending on user density and calling patterns.
 Macro cells are large cells typically have a radius between 1 mile and 15 miles with base
station transmit powers between 1W and 6W.
 Microcells are the smallest cells typically have a radius between of 1500 feet or less with base
station transmit powers between 0.1W and 1W.

25. Mention the need of Pico cells.

 Cellular radio signal are to week to provide reliable communication at indoor, especially in
well-shielded areas or areas with high levels of interference.

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 To overcome this, very small cells called Pico cells are used in same frequencies as regular
cells in the same areas.

26. Define cell & cell cluster.
 Each cellular base station is allocated a group of radio channels to be used with a small
geographic area called a cell.
 A group of cells that use a different set of frequencies in each cell is called a cell cluster.

27. Based on the location of BS, how cells are classified?

 When designing a system using hexagonal-shaped cells, main consideration is the location of the
base station transmitters.
 Center-excited cell- Base station transmitters can be located in the center of the cell and uses
Omni directional antennas which radiate and receive signals equally well in all directions.
 Edge- excited cell- Base station transmitters can be located in the edge of the cell and uses
sectored antennas which radiate for a particular direction.
 Corner- excited cell- Base station transmitters can be located in the corner of the cell and uses
sectored directional antennas.

FREQUENCY REUSE
28. Define Frequency reuse. [May 2016, May 2013, Nov 2016, Nov/Dec 2017, April/May 2018,
2021], [Nov/Dec 2021][April/May 2023]
 The design process of selecting and allocating channel groups for all of the cellular base
stations within a system is called frequency reuse or frequency planning.
 Physical separation of two cells is sufficiently wide; the same subset of frequencies can be
used in both cells.
 This is the concept of frequency reuse.
 The same spectrum can support multiple users and available spectrum is efficiently
utilized.

29. Define foot print.

 The actual radio coverage of a cell is known as the foot print. It is determined from field
measurement or propagation prediction models.

30. Express the total number of channels available in cluster.

For total number of cellular channels available in a cluster can be expressed mathematically as S=Kn
Where, S-Number of full-duplex cellular channels available in cluster.
K-Number of channels in a cell and
n-Number of cells in a cluster.

31. What are the rules used to determine the nearest co channel neighbors?
The following two-step rules can be used to determine the location of the nearest co channel cell:
Step 1: Move I cells along any chain of hexagons;
Step 2: Turn 60 degrees counter clockwise and more j cells.

32. Write the expression for cellular system capacity.

Let M be the number of times the cluster is replicated and C be the total number of channels used in
the entire cellular system with frequency reuse. C is then the system capacity and is given by
C=MKn; C=MS
Where C- Total channel capacity in a given area

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M-Number of clusters in a given area

33. Define FRF.

The number of user use the same set of frequencies is called the frequency reuse factor (FRF) and is
defined mathematically as
𝑵
𝐅𝐑𝐅 =
𝑪
Where N-Total number of full-duplex channels in an area
C-Total number of full-duplex channels in a cell.

HAND OFF
34. Write the advantages of cellular systems?
 The advantages of Cellular Systems:
 The use of low power transmitter and
 It allows frequency reuse for capacity improvement.

35. Define Dwell time.

The time over which a call may be maintained within a cell, without handoff, is called the dwell
time.

36. What are the methods used for handoffs?

Depending on the information used and the action taken to initiate the handoff, the methods for
handoff can be
 Mobile Controlled Hand off (MCHO)
 Network Controlled Hand off (NCHO) and
 Mobile Assisted Hand off (MAHO)

37. Write about umbrella cell approach and its usage.

 By using different antenna heights (same building or tower) and different power levels, it is
possible to provide “large” and” small” cells which are co-located at a single location.
 The umbrella cell approach is used to provide large area coverage to high speed users while
providing small area coverage to users travelling at low speeds.

38. Write a short note on hard handoff and Soft handoff.

What is soft handoff in mobile communication? [May 2016]
 Hard Handoff: If the MSC monitors the strongest signal base station and transfer the call to
that base station then it is called hard handoff.
 Soft handoff: Mobile communicates with two or more cells at the same time and find which
one is a strongest signal base station then it automatically transfers the call to that base station
is called soft handoffs.

39. In a cellular network, among a handoff call and new call, which one is given priority? Why?
[April 2017]
 Different systems have different methods for handling and managing handoff request.
 Some systems handle handoff in same way as they handle new originating call.
 In such system the probability that the handoff will not be served is equal to blocking
probability of new originating call.

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 But if the call is terminated abruptly in the middle of conversation then it is more annoying
than the new originating call being blocked.
 So in order to avoid this abrupt termination of ongoing call handoff request should be given
priority to new call this is called as handoff prioritization.

40. What are the techniques used to prioritize the handoff call and new call?
There are two techniques for this:
Guard Channel Concept
In this technique, a fraction of the total available channel in a cell is reserved exclusively for
handoff request from ongoing calls which may be handed off into the cell.
Queuing
Queuing of handoffs is possible because there is a finite time interval between the time the
received signal level drops below handoff threshold and the time the call is terminated due to
insufficient signal level. The delay size is determined from the traffic pattern of a particular
service area.

41. Mention the limitations of cellular communication systems? [June 2013]

Limitations of cellular communication systems
i. fixed network needed for the base stations
ii. handover (changing from one cell to another) necessary
iii. interference with other cells

42. What are the reasons for handover? [Nov 2013]

There are different reasons for handover:
i. When the phone is moving away from the area covered by one cell and entering the area
covered by another cell, the call is transferred to the second cell, in order to avoid call
termination.
ii. When the capacity for connecting new calls of a given cell is used up and an existing or new
call from a phone is transferred to that cell in order to free-up some capacity in the first cell.

43. Write the features of handoff.

 Fast and lossless
 Minimal number of control signal exchanges.
 Scalable with network size.
 Capable of recovering from link failures and
 Efficient use of resources.

CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT
44. Name the two channels assignments.
 There are essentially two channels assignment approaches
 Fixed channel assignment and
 Dynamic channel assignment

45. What is FCA?

 In FCA, each cell is allocated a predetermined (permanently) set of voice channels. Any call
attempt within the cell can only be served by the unused channels in that particular cell.

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46. Define borrowing strategy.

 To improve utilization, a borrowing option may be considered borrowing strategy; a cell is
allowed to borrow channels from a neighboring cell if all of its own channels are already
occupied.

47. What do you meant by DCA? Give its advantages.

 In DCA, voice channels are not allocated to different cells permanently. Each time a cell
request is made, the serving base station request a channel from the MSC.
 Dynamic channel assignment reduces the call blocking, which increases the trucking capacity
of the system, since all available channel under the control of the MSC are accessible to the
entire cell.

48. Define co-channel reuse ratio. [Nov 2015]

The co-channel reuse ratio Q is defined as
𝐷
𝑄=
𝑅
Where,
D - Distance between centers of the nearest co-channel cells
R - Radius of the cell

49. Mention a few techniques used to expand the capacity of a cellular system. [May 2015]
Cell splitting, Sectoring, Coverage Zone approaches are the techniques used to expand the
capacity of cellular system.

Cell splitting
 Cell-splitting is a technique which has the capability to add new smaller cells in specific areas
of the system. i.e. divide large cell size into small size.

Sectoring
 use of directional antennas to reduce Co-channel interference.
 Coverage Zone approaches
 Large central BS is replaced by several low power transmitters on the edge of the cell.

50. Define co-channel Interference. [Nov 2015, May 2016]

 Co-channel interference is caused due to the cells that reuse the same frequency set.
 The cells using the same frequency set are called co-channel cells.
 The interference between signals from the co-channel cells is called co-channel interference.

51. Define adjacent channel Interference.

 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 that allow nearby
frequencies to leak into the passband.

52. What do you mean by forward and reverse channel? [Nov/Dec 2017]
 The channels used for transmission from the base station to mobiles are called forward
channels
 The channels used for transmission from mobiles to the base station are called reverse
channels.

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53. Differentiate between FDMA, TDMA and CDMA technologies.[April/May 2018]

S. No. FDMA TDMA CDMA

1 Channel bandwidth is The radio spectrum is Sharing of bandwidth
subdivided into number divided into time slots and and time takes place.
of sub channels each slot is allotted for only
one user who can either
transmit or receive.
2 FDMA uses Narrow TDMA uses Narrow band CDMA uses Wide band
band Systems. Systems or wide band Systems.
Systems
3 FDMA is First TDMA is Second CDMA is third
generation wireless generation wireless generation wireless
standard (1G). standard (2G). standard (3G).
4 FDMA is use for the TDMA is used for data and CDMA is use for
voice and data digital voice signals digital voice signals and
transmission multimedia services.
5 Due to non-linearity of Due to incorrect Both type of
power amplifiers, inter- synchronization there can interference will be
modulation products are be interference between the present.
generated due to adjacent time slots.
interference between
adjacent channels.
6 Synchronization is not Synchronization is Synchronization is not
necessary necessary necessary
7 Code word is not Code word is not required Code words are
required required
8 Guard bands between Guard times between Guard bands and guard
adjacent channels are adjacent time slots are times are necessary.
necessary. necessary.

54. How FDMA handles near-far problem?[April/May 2019]

The near-far problem is one of detecting or filtering out a weaker signal amongst stronger signals.
The near-far problem is particularly difficult in FDMA systems where transmitters share
transmission frequencies and transmission time.

55. What do you mean by mobile – assisted handoff? [April/May 2019]

In MAHO, the mobile measures the signal levels from the various APs using periodic beacon
generated by the APs. The mobile collects a set of power levels from different APs and feeds it back
to the MSC via the serving AP, for handoff decision making.

56. Write down the procedure involved in the determination of Co-Channel Cell. [April/May
2021]
Step 1: Move I cells along any chain of hexagons;
Step 2: Turn 60 degrees counter clockwise and more j cells.

57. What is the tradeoff that exists between system capacity and coverage? [Nov/Dec 2021]
Since network coverage depends on interference, reducing traffic load to values below network
capacity with result in higher coverage. The overall performance under such circumstances can
potentially be better than provided by lower-lying tradeoff points evaluated at maximum traffic load.

******

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QUESTION BANK

UNIT-I

THE CELLULAR CONCEPT-SYSTEM DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS

PART – A
1. What is multiple access technique?
2. What is the tradeoff that exists between system capacity and coverage?
3. Write down the procedure involved in the determination of Co-Channel Cell.
4. What do you mean by mobile – assisted handoff?
5. How FDMA handles near-far problem?
6. What do you mean by forward and reverse channel?
7. Mention the limitations of cellular communication systems?
8. What are the reasons for handover?
9. In a cellular network, among a handoff call and new call, which one is given priority? Why?
10. Define Frequency reuse.
11. Why is cellular concept used for mobile telephony?
12. What are the disadvantages of TDMA?
13. State the difference between Narrowband and wideband systems.
14. What are the different types of multiple access schemes?
15. Mention some features of FDMA.

PART – B & C
1. Explain the concept of cellular topology and cell fundamentals. [Dec 2015, May 2023]
2. Discuss in detail about frequency reuse. [8m] [Dec 2014, Dec 2021]
3. Explain channel assignment in detail. [April/May 2018]
4. Explain the principle of cellular networks and various types of handoff techniques. [May 2016,
May 2013, Dec 2014, Dec 2019, May 2018, May 2019, May 2021, May 2023]
5. Describe various interferences and increasing the system capacity of wireless cellular networks.
[May 2021, Dec 2021]
6. Write short notes on i) Trunking ii) Grade of service of cell system. [Dec 2017, May 2019, Dec
2019]
7. Explain in detail how to improve coverage and channel capacity in cellular systems. [Nov 2015,
May 2016, Dec 2019, May 2013, May 2010, May 2019]
*****

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