The Cellular Concept- System
Design Fundamentals
Cellular concept
• Cellular concept is system level idea, which calls for replacing single
high power transmitter with many low power transmitters.
• It offer very high capacity in a limited spectrum allocation.
• Each base station is allocated portion of the total number of channels
available to the entire system.
• Neighboring base stations are assigned different groups of channels so
that interference between base stations is minimized.
What is cell?
• Each cellular base station is allocated a group of radio channels to be
used within small geographic area called a cell.
Cell Shape
R
R
R
Cell
R R
(a) Ideal cell (b) Actual cell (c) Different cell models
Cell Shape
Cellular Geometries
Frequency Reuse
By limiting the coverage area to within the boundaries of a cell,
the same group of channels may be used to cover different cells
that are separated from one another by distances large enough to
keep interference levels within tolerable limits.
The design process of selecting and allocating channel
frequencies for all cellular base stations within a system is known
as frequency re-use or frequency planning.
Frequency Reuse
F7 F2
F7 F2 F6 F1
F1 F3
F6 F1
F1 F3 F5 F4 F7 F2
F5 F4 F7 F2 F6 F1
F1 F3
F6 F1
F1 F3 F5 F4
F5 F4
Fx: Set of frequency
7 cell reuse cluster
Reuse Distance
R Cluster
• For hexagonal cells, the reuse
distance is given by
F7 F2
D 3N R
F6 F1
F1 F3
where R is cell radius and N is the
reuse pattern (the cluster size or the
F5 F4 F7 F2 number of cells per cluster).
F6 F1
F1 F3 • Reuse factor is
D
F5 F4 q 3N
R
Reuse Distance (Cont’d)
The cluster size or the number of cells per cluster is given by
j
N i 2 ij j 2
where i and j are integers. 60o
N = 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16, 19, 21, 28, …, etc.
The popular value of N being 4 and 7.
Reuse Distance (Cont’d)
j=1
j=1 i=2
i=2 j=1
j direction
i=2
60° i=2
i direction j=1
j=1
1 2 3… i i=2 i=2
j=1
(a) Finding the center of an adjacent cluster (b) Formation of a cluster for N = 7
using integers i and j (direction of i and j can with i=2 and j=1
be interchanged).
Reuse Distance (Cont’d)
j=2 i=3 j=2 i=3
j=2 i=2 j=2 j=2
i=2 j=2
i=2 i=3
i=2 i=3
i=2 j=2
j=2
j=2 i=2 j=2
j=2 i=3 j=2 i=3
(c) A cluster with N =12 with i=2 and j=2 (d) A Cluster with N = 19 cells with i=3
and j=2
Frequency Reuse Patterns
A
A
2
2
7 3 2
7 3 A
1
D7 3 A
1 A
6 4 1
6 4
5 6 4
5
5
A
A
N = 7, frequency reuse pattern
Co-Cells for N=19
Frequency Reuse Concept
• Total number of available radio channels
S = kN
• S = Total number of available duplex channels in cellular system
• k = Number of channels per cell (k<S)
• N = Cluster size (each cell having k channels & total S channels in cluster)
• If cluster is replicated M times, then total number of duplex channels,
then as measure of capacity
C = MkN = MS
Frequency reuse
S = kN
C = MkN = MS
