Cellular Systems Design

Foundation

Definitions

definitions

Definitions

basic cellular system

Mobile Switching Center (MSC)

MSC
The MSC coordinates the activities of all of the base stations and connects the entire cellular system to the PST ! " ty#ical MSC handles $%%&%%% cellular subscribers arid '&%%% simultaneous conversations at a time& and accommodates all billing and system maintenance functions& as well! (n large cities& several MSCs are used by a single carrier!

Ty#es of channels
forward voice channels (F)C) reverse voice channels (*)C)! forward control channels (FCC) reverse control channels (*CC)! Control channels are often called setu# channels because they are only involved in setting u# a call and moving it to an unused voice channel!

+ow a Cellular Tele#hone Call is Made

First scans the grou# of forward control channels to determine the one with the strongest signal! Then monitors that control channel until the signal dro#s below a usable level! "t this #oint it again scans the control channels in search of the strongest base station signal!

 Since the control channels are standardi,ed and are identical throughout different mar-ets within the country or continent& every #hone& scans the same channels while idle! .hen a tele#hone call is #laced to a mobile user& the MSC dis#atches the re/uest to all base stations in the cellular system!

 The mobile identification number (M( )& which is the subscriber0s tele#hone number& is then broadcast as a #aging message over all of the forward control channels throughout the cellular system! The mobile receives the #aging message sent by the base station which it monitors& and res#onds by identifying itself over the reverse control channel!

 The base station relays the ac-nowledgment sent by the mobile and informs the MSC of the handsha-e! Then& the MSC instructs the base station to move the call to an unused voice channel within the cell (ty#ically& between ten to si1ty voice channels and 2ust one control channel are used in each cell0s base station)!

 "t this #oint the base station signals the mobile to change fre/uencies to an unused forward and reverse voice channel #air& at which #oint another data message (called an alert) is transmitted over the forward voice channel to instruct the mobile tele#hone to ring!

.hen a mobile originates a call

" call initiation re/uest is sent on the reverse control channel! .ith this re/uest the mobile unit transmits its tele#hone number (M( )& electronic serial number (3S )& and the tele#hone number of the called #arty! The mobile also transmits a station class mar- (SCM) which indicates what the ma1imum transmitter #ower level is for the #articular user!

 The cell base station receives this data and sends it to the MSC! The MSC validates the re/uest& ma-es connection to the called #arty through the PST & and instructs the base station and mobile user to move to an unused forward and reverse voice channel #air to allow the conversation to begin!

Channel "ssignment Strategies

(ncreasing ca#acity and minimi,ing interference Fi1ed and Dynamic The choice of channel assignment strategy im#acts the #erformance of the system& #articularly as to how calls are managed when a mobile user is handed off from one cell to another

*oaming
Subscribers can o#erate in service areas other than the one from which service is subscribed! .hen a mobile enters a city or geogra#hic area that is different from its home service area& it is registered as a roamer in the new service area!

*oaming
"ccom#lished over the FCC& since each roamer is cam#ed on to a FCC at all times! 3very several minutes& the MSC issues a global command over each FCC in the system& as-ing for all mobiles which are #reviously unregistered to re#ort their M( and 3S over the *CC!

Fi1ed channel assignment

3ach cell is allocated a #redetermined set of voice channels! (f all the channels in that cell are occu#ied& the call is bloc-ed
4 one a##roach& called the borrowing strategy& a cell is allowed to borrow channels from a neighboring cell if all of its own channels are already occu#ied!

Fi1ed channel assignment (borrowing strategy)

The mobile switching center (MSC) su#ervises such borrowing #rocedures and ensures that the borrowing of a channel does not disru#t or interfere with any of the calls in #rogress in the donor cell!

Dynamic Channel "ssignment

3ach time a call re/uest is made& the serving base station re/uests a channel from the MSC! The switch then allocates a channel to the re/uested cell following an algorithm that considers5
4 6i-elihood of fi1ture bloc-ing within the cell 4 Fre/uency of use of the candidate channel& 4 *euse distance of the channel 4 7ther cost functions!

Dynamic Channel "ssignment

The MSC only allocates a given fre/uency if that fre/uency is not #resently in use in the cell or any other cell which falls within the minimum restricted distance of fre/uency reuse to avoid co8channel interference!

Dynamic Channel "ssignment

*educes the li-elihood of bloc-ing& which increases the trun-ing ca#acity of the system& since all the available channels in a mar-et are accessible to all of the cells! re/uires the MSC to collect real8time data on channel occu#ancy& traffic distribution& and radio signal strength indications (*SS() of all channels on a continuous basis!

+andoff Strategies
.hen a mobile moves into a different cell while a conversation is in #rogress& the MSC automatically transfers the call to a new channel belonging to the new base station! This handoff o#eration not only involves a new base station& but also re/uires that the voice and control signals be allocated to channels associated with the new base station!

*e/uirements for successful handoff

"s infre/uently as #ossible (m#erce#tible to the users (n order to meet these re/uirements& system designers must s#ecify an o#timum signal level at which to initiate a handoff!

+andoff
7nce a #articular signal level is s#ecified as the minimum usable signal for acce#table voice /uality at the base station receiver (normally ta-en as between 9:% d;m and 9$%% d;m)& a slightly stronger signal level is used as a threshold at which a handoff is made! This margin cannot be too large or too small!

+andoff margin
(f the margin is too large& unnecessary handoffs which burden the MSC may occur& and if he margin is too small& there may be insufficient time to com#lete a handoff before a call is lost due to weasignal conditions

Pro#er and (m#ro#er handoff

+andoff
" dro##ed call event can ha##en when there is an e1cessive delay by the MSC in assigning a handoff& or when the threshold (margin) is set too small for the handoff time in the system! 31cessive delays may occur during high traffic conditions due to com#utational loading at the MSC or due to the fact that no channels are available on any of the nearby base stations (thus forcing the MSC to wait until a channel in a nearby cell becomes free)!

+andoff
(n deciding when to handoff& it is im#ortant to ensure that the dro# in the measured signal level is not due to momentary fading and that the mobile is actually moving away from the serving base station! (n order to ensure this& the base station monitors the signal level for a certain #eriod of time before a handoff is initiated!

Dwell Time
The time over which a call may be maintained within a cell& without handoff& is called the dwell time! The dwell time of a #articular user is governed by a number of factors& which include #ro#agation& interference& distance between the subscriber and the base station& and other time varying effects!

+andoff First <eneration

(n first generation analog cellular systems& signal strength measurements are made by the base stations and su#ervised by the MSC! 3ach base station constantly monitors the signal strengths of all of its reverse voice channels to determine the relative location of each mobile user with res#ect to the base station tower!

+andoff First <eneration

(n addition to measuring the *SS( (*adio Signal Strength (ndication) of calls in #rogress within the cell& a s#are receiver in each base station& called the locator receiver& is used to determine signal strengths of mobile users which are in neighboring cells! The locator receiver is controlled by the MSC and is used to monitor the signal strength of users in neighboring cells which a##ear to be in need of handoff and re#orts all *SS( values to the MSC! ;ased on the locator receiver signal strength information from each base station& the MSC decides if a handoff is necessary or not!

+andoff Second <eneration

(n second generation systems that use digital TDM" technology& handoff decisions are mobile assisted! (n mobile assisted handoff (M"+7)& every mobile station measures the received #ower from surrounding base stations and continually re#orts the results of these measurements to the serving base station!

+andoff Second <eneration

" handoff is initiated when the #ower received from the base station of a neighboring cell begins to e1ceed the #ower received from the current base station by a certain level or for a certain #eriod of time!

+andoff Second <eneration

The M"+7 method enables the call to be handed over between base stations at a much faster rate than in first generation analog systems since the handoff measurements are made by each mobile& and the MSC no longer constantly monitors signal strengths! M"+7 is #articularly suited for microcellular environments where handoffs are more fre/uent!

;loc-ing handoff= bloc-ing call

From the user0s #oint of view& having a call abru#tly terminated while in the middle of a conversation is more annoying than being bloc-ed occasionally on a new call attem#t!

Prioriti,ing +andoffs
guard channel conce#t
4 " fraction of the total available channels in a cell is reserved e1clusively for handoff re/uests from ongoing calls which may be handed off into the cell! 4 This method has the disadvantage of reducing the total carried traffic& as fewer channels are allocated to originating calls!

Prioriti,ing +andoffs
guard channel conce#t (advantage)
4 7ffer efficient s#ectrum utili,ation when dynamic channel assignment strategies are used& which minimi,e the number of re/uired guard channels by efficient demand8based allocation!

Prioriti,ing +andoffs
>ueuing conce#t
4 Tradeoff between the decrease in #robability of forced termination and total carried traffic! 4 >ueuing of handoffs is #ossible since there is a finite time interval between the time the received signal level dro#s below the handoff threshold and the time the call is terminated due to insufficient signal level! 4 The delay time and si,e of the /ueue is determined from the traffic #attern of the #articular service area!

Prioriti,ing +andoffs
>ueuing conce#t
4 (t should be noted that /ueuing does not guarantee a ,ero #robability of forced termination& since large delays will cause the received signal level to dro# below the minimum re/uired level to maintain communication and hence lead to forced termination!

Practical +andoff Considerations

Problems arise when attem#ting to design for a wide range of mobile velocities!
4 +igh s#eed vehicles (/uic-ly through a cell) 4 Pedestrian (may never need handoff)

.ith microcells& the MSC can /uic-ly become burdened if high s#eed users are constantly being #assed between very small cells! The idea is to have schemes to minimi,e the handoff intervention from the MSC with simultaneous lows#eed and highs#eed users!

+andoff Considerations
(n #ractice it is difficult for cellular service #roviders to obtain new #hysical cell site locations in urban areas! it is often more attractive for a cellular #rovider to install additional channels and base stations at the same #hysical location of an e1isting cell!

The umbrella8cell a##roach

Different antenna heights and different #ower levels #rovide ?large? and ?small? cells which are co8located at a single location! Provides large area coverage to high s#eed users while #roviding small area coverage to users traveling at low s#eeds!

The umbrella8cell a##roach

Minimi,es the number of handoffs! The s#eed of each user may be estimated by the base station or MSC by evaluating how ra#idly the short8 term average signal strength on the *)C changes over time!

+andoff considerations (cell8dragging #roblem)

Pedestrian users that #rovide a very strong signal to the base station (67S urban environment) +andoff may not be made even when the user has traveled well beyond the designed range of the cell (dee# into a neighburing cell) Potential interference and traffic management #roblem! +andoff thresholds and radio coverage #arameters must be ad2usted carefully!

+andoff ty#ical features

First generation analog cellular systems
4 the ty#ical time to ma-e a handoff& once the signal level is deemed to be below the handoff threshold& is about $% seconds! This re/uires margin between @ d; to $A d;!

<SM (and modern systems)

4 M"+7 determines the best handoff candidates! 7nce the decision is made& handoff ty#ically re/uires only $ or A seconds! Conse/uently& the margin is usually between % d; and @ d;!

Modern +andoff features

ewer cellular systems can ma-e handoff decisions based on a wide range of metrics other than signal strength!
4 The cochannel and ad2acent channel interference levels may be measured at the base station or the mobile& 4 This information may be used with conventional signal strength data to #rovide a multi8dimensional algorithm for determining when a handoff is needed!

+ard handoff vs! Soft handoff

+ard handoff!
4 Channeli,ed wireless systems that assign different radio channels during a handoff

Soft +andoff! (S#read s#ectrum mobiles share the same channel in every cell)
4 means that a different base station handles the radio communication tas- 4 not a #hysical change in the assigned channel!

Soft handoff
Simultaneously evaluates the received signals from a single subscriber at several neighboring base stations! MSC may actually decide which version of the user0s signal is best at any moment in time! This techni/ue e1#loits macrosco#ic s#ace diversity #rovided by the different #hysical locations of the base stations and allows the MSC to ma-e a ?soft? decision as to which version of the user0s signal to #ass along to the PST at any instance! The ability to select between the instantaneous received signals from a variety of base stations is called soft handoff!