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Wireless Notes
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Contents
1.3.1 Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5 Diffraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.6 Scattering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1
1.7.3 Determination of Percentage of Coverage Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.6.2 Sectoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Spring 2017, 2
Lecture 1
It is used to predict the received signal strength when the receiver and the transmitter have a
clear Line Of Sight (LOS) path. Satellite communication and microwave radio link typically
undergo free space propagation. The free space model predicts that received power decays
as a function of the separation distance raised to some power (i.e., a power law function).
The power received Pr by a receiver antenna having a gain Gr which is separated from a
radiating transmitter antenna having Gr by a distance d, is given by the Friis free space
equation,
Pt Gt Gr λ2
Pr (d) = , (1.1)
(4π)2 d2 L
where Pt is the transmitted power, L is the system loss factor not related to propagation
(L ≥ 1 ), and λ = c
f
is the wavelength in meters. The gain of an antenna is related to its
3
effective aperture, Ae , by
4π
G= Ae , (1.2)
λ2
The effective aperture Ae is related to the physical area (A) of the antenna, Ae = ηA; η is
the antenna efficiency. The losses L are usually due to transmission line attenuation, filter
losses, and antenna losses in the communication system. A value of L = 1 indicates no loss
The Friis free space Equation(1.1) shows that the received power falls off as the square
of separation distance.
An isotropic radiator is an ideal antenna which radiates power with unit gain uniformly in
all directions, and is often used to reference antenna gains in wireless systems. The effective
EIRP = Pt Gt (1.3)
and represents the maximum radiated power available from a transmitter in the direction of
The path loss, which represents signal attenuation as a positive quantity measured in dB, is
defined as the difference (in dB) between the effective transmitted power and the received
power. The path loss for the free space model when antenna gains are included is given by
Pt G t G r λ2
P L(dB) = 10 log = −10 log . (1.5)
Pr (4π)2 d2
The Friis free space model is only a valid predictor for Pr , for values of d which are in the
Spring 2017, 4
region beyond the farfield distance df , which is related to the largest linear dimension of the
2D2
df = (1.6)
λ
It is clear that Equation (1.1) does not hold for d = 0. For this reason, large-scale
propagation models use a close-in distance, d0 , as a known received power reference point.
The received power Pr (d) at any distance d > d0 , may be related to Pr at d0 . The value
Pr (d0 ) may be predicted from Equation (1.1), or may be measured in the radio environment
by taking the average received power at many points located at a close-in radial distance d0
from the transmitter. The reference distance must be chosen such that d0 ≥ df .
Using equation (1.1), the received power in free space at a distance greater than d0 is
given by
( d )2
0
Pr (d) = Pr (d0 ) , df ≤ d0 ≤ d (1.7)
d
The typically reference distance d0 for practical systems is chosen to be 1 m in indoor
EIRP Pt Gt |E|2
Pd = = = , (1.8)
4πd2 4πd2 η
where η is the intrinsic impedance of free space given by η = 120Ω = 377Ω. Thus, the power
flux density is
|E|2 P t G r G t λ2
Pr (d) = Pd Ae = Ae = Watt, (1.9)
η (4π)2 d2
Equation (1.9) relates electric field to received power.
Spring 2017, 5
1.3 The Three Basic Propagation Mechanisms
Reflection. diffraction, and scattering are the three basic propagation mechanisms which
• Reflection occurs when a propagating wave impinges upon an object which has very
large dimensions when compared to the wavelength of the propagating wave. Reflec-
tions occur from the surface of the earth and from buildings and walls.
• Diffraction occurs when the radio path between the transmitter and receiver is ob-
structed by a surface that has sharp irregularities (edges). The refracted waves are
present throughout the space and even behind the obstacle, giving rise to a bending of
waves around the obstacle, even when a LOS path does not exist between transmitter
and receiver. At high frequencies, diffraction. like reflection. depends on the geometry
of the object, as well as the amplitude, phase. and polarization of the incident wave
• Scattering occurs when the medium through which the wave travels consists of objects
with dimensions that are small compared to the wavelength. and where the number
of obstacles per unit volume is large. Scattered waves are produced by rough surfaces,
small objects, or by other irregularities in the channel. In practice, foliage, street signs,
A mount of energy of the propagating wave which is reflected, refracted or scattering de-
pends on the electric properties of the medium (boundaries), such as (µ: permeability, ϵ:
Spring 2017, 6
1.3.1 Reflection
When a radio wave propagating in one medium impinges upon another medium having
different electrical properties, the wave is partially reflected and partially transmitted. If
the plane wave is incident on a perfect dielectric, part of the energy is transmitted into the
second medium and part of the energy is reflected back into the first medium, and there
is no loss of energy in absorption. If the second medium is a perfect conductor, then all
incident energy is reflected back into the first medium without loss of energy. When a radio
wave propagating in one medium impinges upon another medium having different electrical
properties, the wave is partially reflected and partially transmitted. If the plane wave is
incident on a perfect dielectric, part of the energy is transmitted into the second medium
and part of the energy is reflected back into the first medium, and there is no loss of energy in
absorption. If the second medium is a perfect conductor, then all incident energy is reflected
back into the first medium without loss of energy. The reflected and transmitted waves is
related to the incident wave in the medium of origin through the reflection coefficient (Γ).
The reflection coefficient is a function of the material properties, and generally depends on
The reflection coefficient is a function of the material properties, and generally depends
on the wave polarization, angle of incidence. and the frequency of the propagating wave.
Figure 1.1 shows an electromagnetic wave incident at an angle θi ; with the plane of the
boundary between two dielectric media. Part of the energy is reflected back to the first
media at an angle θr , and part of the energy is transmitted (refracted) into the second
media at an angle θt . The nature of reflection varies with the direction of polarization of the
Spring 2017, 7
E-field. In Figure 1.1, the E-field polarization is perpendicular to the plane of incidence (that
is, the incident E-field is pointing out of the page towards the reader, and is perpendicular
to the page and parallel to the reflecting surface). The subscripts i, r, t in the figure refer to
σ3 represent the permittivity, permeability, and conductance of the two media, respectively.
If a dielectric material is lossy, it will absorb power and may be described by a complex
Er η2 sin θt − η1 sin θi
Γ∥ = = (E-field in plane of incidence) (1.11)
Ei η2 sin θt + η1 sin θi
Er η2 sin θi − η1 sin θt
Γ⊥ = = (E-field not in plane o incidence) (1.12)
Ei η2 sin θi + η1 sin θt
√
where ηi ; is the intrinsic impedance of the ith medium (i = 1, 2 ), and is given by µi /ϵi
, the ratio of electric to magnetic field for a uniform plane wave in the particular medium.
√
The velocity of an electromagnetic wave is given by 1/ µ/ϵ. The boundary conditions at
the surface of incidence obey Snell’s Law which, referring to Figure 1.1, is given by
√ √
µ1 /ϵ1 sin(90 − θi ) = µ2 /ϵ2 sin(90 − θt ) (1.13)
polarization.
Spring 2017, 8
For the case when the first medium is free space and µ1 = µ2 , the reflection coefficients
for the two cases of vertical and horizontal polarization can be simplified to
√
−ϵr sin θi + ϵr − cos2 θi
Γ∥ = √ (1.14)
ϵr sin θi + ϵr − cos2 θi
√
sin θi − ϵr − cos2 θi
Γ⊥ = √ (1.15)
sin θi + ϵr − cos2 θi
The Brewster angle is the angle at which no reflection occurs in the medium of origin. It
occurs when the incident angle θB is such that the reflection coefficient Γ is equal to zero.
For the case when the first medium is free space and the second medium has a relative
Since electromagnetic energy cannot pass through a perfect conductor a plane wave incident
on a conductor has all of its energy reflected. As the electric field at the surface of the
conductor must be equal to zero at all times in order to obey Maxwell’s equations, the
reflected wave must be equal in magnitude to the incident wave. For the case when E-field
polarization is in the plane of incidence, the boundary conditions require that θi = θr , and
Spring 2017, 9
1.4 Ground Reflection (2-ray) Model
In a mobile radio channel, a single direct path between the base station and a mobile is sel-
dom the only physical means for propagation, and hence the free space propagation model
of Equation (1.1) is in most cases inaccurate when used alone. The 2-ray ground reflection
model shown in Figure 1.2 is a useful propagation model that is based on geometric optics,
and considers both the direct path and a ground reflected propagation path between trans-
mitter and receiver. This model has been found to be reasonably accurate for predicting the
large-scale signal strength over distances of several kilometers for mobile radio systems In
only a few tens of kilometers, and the earth may be assumed to be flat. The total received
E-field, ET OT , is then a result of the direct line-of-sight component, ELOS , and the ground
reflected component, Eg . Referring to Figure 1.2, ht is the height of the transmitter and hr
is the height of the receiver. If E0 is the free space E-field at a reference distance d0 from
the transmitter, then for d > d0 , the free space propagating E-field is given by
E0 d0 ( ( d ))
E(d, t) = cos ωc t − , (d > d0 ) (1.18)
d c
Spring 2017, 10
Two propagating waves arrive at the receiver: the direct wave that travels a distance d′ ; and
the reflected wave that travels a distance d′′ . The E-field due to the line-of-sight component
be expressed as
E0 d0 ( ( d′′ ))
′′
Eg (d , t) = ′′ cos ωc t − , (1.20)
d c
According to laws of reflection in dielectrics, θi = θ0 , and Er = ΓEi , and Et = (1 + Γ)Ei .
For small values of θi , (i.e., grazing incidence), the reflected wave is equal in magnitude and
180◦ out of phase with the incident wave. The resultant E-field, assuming perfect ground
reflection (i.e., Γ = −1 and Et = 0) is the vector sum of ELOS and Eg , and the resultant
difference, ∆, between the line-of-sight and the ground reflected paths can be expressed as
√ √
∆ = d′′ − d′ = (ht + hr )2 + d2 − (ht − hr )2 + d2 (1.22)
When the d is very large compared to (ht + hr ) Equation (1.22) can be simplified using a
ponents and the time delay τd between the arrival of the two components can be easily
Spring 2017, 11
Figure 1.3: The method of images concept to find the path difference between the LOS and
1.5 Diffraction
Diffraction allows radio signals to propagate around the curved surface of the earth, beyond
the horizon, and to propagate behind obstructions. Although the received field strength
decreases rapidly as a receiver moves deeper into the obstructed (shadowed) region, the
diffraction field still exists and often has sufficient strength to produce a useful signal.
Consider a transmitter and receiver separated in free space as shown in Figure 1.4-a. Let
an obstructing screen of effective height h with infinite width at a distance d1 from the
transmitter and d2 from the receiver. It is apparent that the wave propagating from the
transmitter to the receiver via the top of the screen travels a longer distance than if a direct
LOS path (through the screen) existed. Assuming h << d1 , d2 , and h >> λ, then the
difference between the direct path and the diffracted path, ∆ , can be obtained from the
Spring 2017, 12
Figure 1.4: Diagrams of knife-edge geometry.
(d + d
1 2
α≃h )
d1 d2
Spring 2017, 13
the dimensionless Fresnel-Kirchoff diffraction parameter ν is given by
√ √
2(d1 + d2 ) 2(d1 d2 )
ν=h =α (1.24)
λd1 d2 λ(d1 + d2 )
Fresnel zones represent successive regions where secondary waves have a path length from
the transmitter to receiver which are nλ/2 greater than the total path length of a LOS path,
forming successive circles. These circles are called Fresnel zones. The successive Fresnel
zones may be constructive and destructive interference to the total received signal. The
Estimating the signal attenuation caused by diffraction of radio waves over hills and buildings
is essential in predicting the field strength in a given service area. Generally, it is impossible
to make very precise estimates of the diffraction losses. Over complex and irregular terrain,
edge model gives good insight into the order of magnitude of diffraction loss.
The diffraction loss or gain due to the presence of a knife edge as a function of ν given
Spring 2017, 14
Gd (dB) = 0 ν ≤ −1
= 20 log(0.5 − 0.62ν) −1 ≤ ν ≤ 0
Figure 1.5: Knife-edge diffraction gain as a function of Fresnel diffraction parameter ν’.
In many practical situations, especially in hilly terrain, the propagation path may consist of
more than one obstruction, in which case the total diffraction loss due to all of the obstacles
Spring 2017, 15
must be computed. It is suggested that the series of obstacles be replaced by a single
equivalent obstacle so that the path loss can be obtained using single knife-edge diffraction
1.6 Scattering
When a radio wave impinges on a rough surface, the reflected energy is spread out (diffused)
in all directions due to scattering. Objects such as lamp posts and trees tend to scatter
energy in all directions, thereby providing additional radio energy at a receiver. Surface
roughness is often tested using a critical height (hc ) of surface protuberances for a given
and is considered rough if the protuberance is greater than hc , For rough surfaces, the flat
Spring 2017, 16
surface reflection coefficient needs to be multiplied by a scattering loss factor, ρs , assuming
that the surface height h is a Gaussian distributed random variable with a local mean and
found ρs to be given by
( ( πσh sin θi )2 )
ρs = exp − 8 (1.28)
λ
where σh is the standard deviation of the surface height about the mean surface height. The
reflected E-fields for h > hc can be solved for rough surfaces using a modified reflection
coefficient given as
Γrough = ρs Γ. (1.29)
The Radar Cross Section (RCS) of a scattering object is defined as the ratio of the power
density of the signal scattered in the direction of the receiver to the power density of the
radio wave incident upon the scattering object, and has units of square meters.
Based on bistatic radar equation which describes the propagation of a wave traveling in
free space
(1.30)
where dT and dR are the distance from the scattering object to the transmitter and receiver,
For medium and large size buildings located 5 − 10 km away, RCS values were found to be
Spring 2017, 17
1.7 Link Budget Design Using Path Loss Models
Most radio propagation models are derived using a combination of analytical and empirical
methods. Some classical propagation models have emerged, which are now used to predict
large-scale coverage for mobile communication systems design. By using path loss models
to estimate the received signal level as a function of distance. it becomes possible to predict
Both theoretical and measurement-based propagation models indicate that average received
where n is the path loss exponent which indicates the rate at which the path loss increases
with distance d0 .
(d)
P L(dB) = P L(d) + 10n log (1.32)
d0
The value of n depends on the specific propagation environment. For example, in free space,
n is equal to 2, and when obstructions are present, n will have a larger value. See Table 1.1.
The model in Equation (1.32) does not consider the fact that the surrounding environmental
may be different at two different locations. Measurements have shown that at any value of d,
the path loss P L(d) at a particular location is random and distributed log-normally (normal
Spring 2017, 18
Table 1.1: Path Loss Exponents for Different Environments
Environment value of n
Free space 2
Obstructed in building 4 to 6
(d)
P L(d)[dB] = P L(d) + Xσ = P L(d0 ) + 10n log + Xσ (1.33)
d0
where Xσ is a zero-mean Gaussian distributed random variable (in dB) with standard devi-
The log-normal distribution describes the random shadowing effects which occur over a large
number of measurement locations which have the same T-R separation, but have different
shadowing. The reference distance d0 , the path loss exponent , and the standard deviation
σ, statistically describe the path loss model for an arbitrary location having a specific T-R
separation. In practice, the values of n and σ are computed from measured data, using
linear regression such that the difference between the measured and estimated path losses
is minimized in a mean square error sense over a wide range of measurement locations and
T-R separations.
Spring 2017, 19
1.7.3 Determination of Percentage of Coverage Area
Due to random effects of shadowing, some locations within a coverage area will be below a
particular threshold. It is often useful to compute how the boundary coverage relates to the
percent of area covered within the boundary. For a circular coverage area having radius R
from a base station, let there be some desired received signal threshold γ. We are interested
in computing U (γ), the percentage of useful service area (i.e., the percentage of area with a
where
( γ − P (d) )
r
P r[Pr (r) > γ] = Q (1.35)
σ
Using Equation (1.32), and with some mathematical manipulations and assumptions Equa-
Radio transmission in a mobile communications system often takes place over irregular ter-
rain. The terrain profile of a particular area needs to be taken into account for estimating
the path loss. The terrain profile may vary from a simple curved earth profile to a highly
mountainous profile. The presence of trees, buildings, and other obstacles also must be taken
into account. A number of propagation models are available to predict path loss over irreg-
ular terrain. While all these models aim to predict signal strength at a particular receiving
Spring 2017, 20
point or in a specific local area (called a sector), the methods vary widely in their approach,
complexity, and accuracy. Most of these models are based on a systematic interpretation
of measurement data obtained in the service area. Some of the commonly used outdoor
Okumura’s model is one of the most widely used models for signal prediction in urban areas.
• Frequency range : 150 MHz to 1920 MHz (typically extrapolated up to 3000 MHz)
• Distances : of 1 km to 100 km
antennas
• Mare valid for urban and suburban environments. Not as good in rural areas.
where L50 is the median value of propagation path loss, LF is the free space propagation
loss, Mmu is the median attenuation relative to free space, G(hr ) is the base station antenna
height gain factor, G(ht ) is the mobile antenna height gain factor, and GAREA is the gain
The Hata model is an empirical formulation of the graphical path loss data provided by
• Distances : of 1 km to 100 km
L50 (urban)(dB) = 69.55+26.16 log fc −13.82 log ht −a(hr )+(44.9−6.55 log ht ) log d) (1.39)
where a(hr ) is the correction factor for effective mobile antenna height which is a function
a(hr ) = (1.1 log f )c − 0.7)hr − (1.56 log fc − 0.8) dB small to medium sized city
To obtain the path loss in a suburban area the standard Hata formula in Equation (1.43) is
modified as
[ ]2
fc
L50 (suburban)(dB) = L50 (urban) − 2 log( ) − 5.4 (1.41)
28
and for path loss in open rural areas, the formula is modified as
( )2
L50 (dB) = L50 (urban) − 4.782 log fc − 18.33 log fc − 40.98 (1.42)
Spring 2017, 22
1.8.3 PCS Extension to Hata Model (COST-231)
The European Co-operative for Scientific and-Technical research (COST) developed an ex-
• Distances : of 1 km to 20 km
L50 (urban)(dB) = 46.3 + 33.9 log fc − 13.82 log ht − a(hr ) + (44.9 − 6.55 log ht ) log d + CM
(1.43)
Spring 2017, 23
Lecture 2
Small-scale fading(simply fading) is the rapid fluctuation of the amplitude of a radio signal
over a short period of time or travel distance, so that large-scale path loss effects may be
ignored. Fading is caused by interference between two or more versions of the transmitted
signal which arrive at the receiver at slightly different times. These waves, called multipath
waves
Multipath in the radio channel creates small-scale fading effects. The three most important
effects are:
• Rapid changes in signal strength over a small travel distance or time interval
• Random frequency modulation due to varying Doppler shifts on different multi path
signals
24
• Time dispersion (echoes) caused by multipath propagation delays.
Due to the relative motion between the mobile and the base station, each multi path wave
experiences an apparent shift in frequency. The shift in received signal frequency due to
motion is called the Doppler shift, and is directly proportional to the velocity and direction
of motion of the mobile with respect to the direction of arrival of the received multi path
wave.
• Multi path propagation: The random phase and amplitudes of the different multi
path components cause fluctuations in signal strength, thereby inducing fading, sig-
nal distortion, or both. Multipath propagation often lengthens the time required for
the baseband portion of the signal to reach the receiver which can cause intersymbol
interference.
• Speed of the mobile: - The relative motion between the base station and the mobile
whether the mobile receiver is moving toward or away from the base station.
• Speed of surrounding objects: If objects in the radio channel are in motion, they
objects move at a greater rate than the mobile, then this effect dominates the small-
scale fading. Otherwise, motion of surrounding objects may be ignored, and only the
Spring 2017, 25
• The transmission bandwidth of the signal: If the transmitted signal bandwidth
is greater than the channel bandwidth, the received signal will be distorted. The co-
herence bandwidth is a measure of the maximum frequency difference for which signals
Consider a mobile moving at a constant velocity v, along a path segment having length d
between points X and Y , while it receives signals from a remote source S, as illustrated in
Figure 2.1.
The difference in path lengths traveled by the wave from source S to the mobile at points
X and Y is
θ is assumed to be the same at points X and Y since the source is assumed to be very far
away.
2π∆l 2πv∆t 1 ∆ϕ v
∆ϕ = = θ, fd = = · cos θ (2.1)
λ λ 2π ∆t λ
where fd is the Doppler shift. If the mobile is moving toward the direction of arrival of
Spring 2017, 26
the wave, the Doppler shift is positive (i.e., the Doppler is increased), and if the mobile is
moving away from the direction of arrival of the wave, the Doppler shift is negative.
The small-scale variations of a mobile radio signal can be directly related to the impulse
response of the mobile radio channel. The impulse response is a wideband channel charac-
terization and contains all information necessary to simulate or analyze any type of radio
Since the received signal in a multipath channel consists of a series of attenuated, time-
delayed, phase shifted replicas of the transmitted signal, the baseband impulse respense of
where a(t, τ ) and τi (t) are the real amplitudes and excess delays, respectively, of ith multi
path component at time t. The phase term 2πfc τi (t) + ϕi (t, τ ) represents the phase shift
due to free space propagation of the ith multi path component, plus any additional phase
shifts which are encountered in the channel. N is the total possible number of multipath
Time Dispersion Parameters The mean excess delay(τ ), rms delay spread (στ ), and ex-
cess delay spread (X dB) are multipath channel parameters that can be determined
Spring 2017, 27
Figure 2.2: Time varying discrete-time impulse response model for a multi path radio chan-
nel.
∑ 2 2 ∑
ak τk P (τk )τk2
τ2 = ∑ 2 = ∑k
k
(2.4)
k ak k P (τk )
√
στ = τ 2 − (τ )2 (2.5)
of frequencies over which the channel can be considered ”flat” (i.e., a channel which
passes all spectral components with approximately equal gain and linear phase). The
coherence bandwidth is defined as the bandwidth over which the frequency correlation
If the definition is relaxed so that the frequency correlation function is above 0.5, then
1
Bc ≃ (2.7)
5στ
Spring 2017, 28
Doppler Spread and Coherence Time Note that delay spread and coherence bandwidth
do not offer information about the time varying nature of the channel caused by either
relative motion between the mobile and base station, or by movement of objects in the
channel. Doppler spread and coherence time are parameters which describe the time
Doppler spread BD is a measure of the spectral broadening caused by the time rate
of change of the mobile radio channel and is defined as the range of frequencies over
which the received Doppler spectrum is essentially non-zero. If the baseband signal
bandwidth is much greater than BD , the effects of Doppler spread are negligible at the
Coherence time Tc , is the time domain dual of Doppler spread. The Doppler spread
1
TC ≃ , (2.8)
fm
statistical measure of the time duration over which the channel impulse response is
essentially invariant. It is the time duration over which two received signals have a
If the coherence time is defined as the time over which the time correlation function is
9
TC ≃ (2.9)
16πfm
A popular rule of thumb for modern digital communications is to define the coherence
Spring 2017, 29
The definition of coherence time implies that two signals arriving with a time separa-
tion greater than Tc are affected differently by the channel For example, for a vehicle
traveling 60 mph using a 900 MHz carrier, a conservative value of Tc can be shown to
be 2.22 ms from Equation (2.8). If a digital transmission system is used, then as long
as the symbol rate is greater than 1/Tc = 454 bps, the channel will not cause distor-
tion due to motion. Using the practical formula of Equation (2.9), Tc = 6.77 ms and
the symbol rate must exceed 150 bits/s in order to avoid distortion due to frequency
dispersion.
Depending on the relation between the signal parameters (such as bandwidth, symbol period,
etc.) and the channel parameters (such as rms delay spread and Doppler spread), different
transmitted signals will undergo different types of fading. The time dispersion and frequency
dispersion mechanisms lead to four possible distinct effects. Mu1tipath delay spread leads to
time dispersion and frequency selective fading. Doppler spread leads to frequency dispersion
and time selective fading. The two propagation mechanisms are independent of one another.
(a) Flat fading If the mobile radio channel has a constant gain and linear phase
response over a bandwidth which is greater than the bandwidth of the transmitted
signal, then the received signal will undergo flat fading. The characteristics of a
flat fading channel are illustrated in Figure 2.4. A signal undergoes flat fading if
Spring 2017, 30
Figure 2.3: Types of small-scale fading.
where TS is the reciprocal bandwidth (i.e., symbol period) and BS is the band-
(b) Frequency Selective Fading If the channel possesses a constant-gain and lin-
ear phase response over a bandwidth that is smaller than the bandwidth of trans-
mitted signal, then the channel creates frequency selective fading on the received
signal. Under such conditions the channel impulse response has a multipath delay
spread which is greater than the reciprocal bandwidth of the transmitted mes-
Spring 2017, 31
Figure 2.4: Flat fading channel characteristics.
received signal spectrum have greater gains than others. Refer to Figure 2.5 the
spectrum S(f ) of the transmitted signal has a bandwidth which is greater than
the channel becomes frequency selective, where the gain is different for different
which approach or exceed the symbol period of the transmitted symbol. Fre-
quency selective fading channels are also known as wideband channels since the
bandwidth of the signal s(t) is wider than the bandwidth of the channel impulse
response. As time varies, the channel varies in gain and phase across the spectrum
Spring 2017, 32
Figure 2.5: Flat fading channel characteristics.
(a) Fast Fading In a fast fading channel, the channel impulse response changes
rapidly within the symbol duration. That is, the coherence time of the chan-
nel is smaller than the symbol period of the transmitted signal. This causes
frequency dispersion (also called time selective fading) due to Doppler spreading,
which leads to signal distortion. Viewed in the frequency domain, signal distor-
tion due to fast fadi:lg increases with increasing Doppler spread relative to the
In the case of a frequency selective, fast fading channel, the amplitudes, phases,
and time delays of any one of the multipath components vary faster than the rate
of change of the transmitted signal. In practice, fast fading only occurs for very
Spring 2017, 33
low data rates.
(b) Slow Fading In a slow fading channel, the channel impulse response changes at
a rate much slower than the transmitted baseband signal s(t). In this case, the
intervals. In the frequency domain, this implies that the Doppler spread of the
channel is much less than the bandwidth of the baseband signal. Therefore, a
It should be clear that the velocity of the mobile (or velocity of objects in the
channel) and the baseband signaling determines whether a signal undergoes fast
Spring 2017, 34
Lecture 3
Fundamentals
3.1 Introduction
The cellular concept became the major solution for the problem of spectral congestion and
user capacity. It offered very high capacity in a limited spectrum allocation. The cellular
concept is a system level idea which calls for replacing a single, high power transmitter (large
cell) with many low power transmitters (small cells), each providing coverage to only a small
portion of the service area. Each base station is allocated a portion of the total number of
channels available to the entire system, and nearby base stations are assigned different groups
of channels so that all the available channels are assigned to a relatively small number of
neighboring base stations. Neighboring base stations are assigned different groups of channels
so that the interference between base stations (and the mobile users under their control) is
minimized. The available channels are distributed throughout the geographic region and
may be reused as many times as necessary, so long as the interference between co-channel
35
stations is kept below acceptable levels. This fundamental principle is the foundation for
all modern wireless communication systems, since it enables a fixed number of channels to
serve a large number of subscribers by reusing the channels throughout the coverage region.
Each cellular base station is allocated a group of radio channels to be used within a small
geographic area called a cell. Base stations in adjacent cells are assigned channel groups
which contain completely different channels than neighboring cells. The base station anten-
nas are designed to achieve the desired coverage within the particular cell. 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 groups for all of the cellular base stations within a system is called frequency reuse
or frequency planning.
Figure 3.1 illustrates the concept of cellular frequency reuse, where cells labeled with the
same letter use the same group of channels. The hexagonal cell shape is conceptual and is
a simplistic model of the radio coverage for each base station, but it has been universally
adopted since the hexagon permits easy and manageable analysis of a cellular system. The
actual radio coverage of a cell is known as the footprint and is determined from field mea-
nature, a regular cell shape is needed for systematic system design and adaptation for future
growth. While it might seem natural to choose a circle to represent the coverage area of a
base .station, adjacent circles can not be overlaid upon a map without leaving gaps or
The power of the radio signals transmitted by the BS decay as the signals travel away
Spring 2017, 36
Figure 3.1: Illustration of the cellular frequency reuse concept. Cells with the same letter
use the same set of frequencies. A cell cluster is outlined in bold and replicated over the
coverage area. ln this example, the duster size, N = 7, and the frequency reuse factor is 1/7
since each cell contains one-seventh of the total number of available channels.
from it. A minimum amount of signal strength is needed in order to be detected by the
receiver. The region over which the signal strength lies above this threshold is known as the
there may be an overlap between any two such side by side circles or there might be a
gap between the creating overlapping regions. Thus, when considering geometric shapes
which cover an entire region without overlap and with equal area, there are three sensible
choices: a square; an equilateral triangle; and a hexagon. A cell must be designed to serve
the weakest mobiles within the footprint, and these are typically located at the edge of the
Spring 2017, 37
Figure 3.2: Different cell shapes.
cell. For a given distance between the center of a polygon and its farthest perimeter points,
the hexagon has the largest area of the three. Thus, by using the hexagon geometry, the
fewest number of cells can cover a geographic region, and the hexagon closely approximates
a circular radiation pattern which would occur for an omni-directional base station antenna
and free space propagation. Of course, the actual cellular footprint is determined by the
To understand the frequency reuse concept, consider a cellular system which has a total
of S duplex channels available for use. If each cell is allocated a group of k channels ( k < S
), and if the S channels are divided among N cells, the total number of available radio
S=kN
The N cells which collectively use the complete set of available frequencies is called a cluster.
If a cluster is replicated M times within the system, the total number of duplex channels,
C=M kN =M S
So, the capacity of a cellular system is directly proportional to the number of times a cluster
Spring 2017, 38
is replicated in a fixed service area. The factor N is called the cluster size and is typically
equal to 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. A
large cluster size indicates that the ratio between the cell radius and the distance between
co-channel cells is large. Conversely, a small cluster size indicates that co-channel cells are
located much closer together. The value for N is a function of how much interference a
mobile or base station can tolerate while maintaining a sufficient quality of communications.
From a design viewpoint, the smallest possible value of N is desirable in order to maximize
capacity over a given coverage area. The frequency reuse factor of a cellular system is given
by 1/N , since each cell within a cluster is only assigned 1/N of the total available channels
in the system.
Due to the hexagonal geometry which has exactly six equidistant neighbors and that the
lines joining the centers of any cell and each of its neighbors are separated by multiples of
60 degrees, there are only certain cluster sizes and cell layouts which are possible.
N = i2 + ij + j 2
where i and j are non-negative integers. To find the nearest co-channel neighbors of a
For efficient utilization of the radio spectrum and for increasing capacity and minimizing
interference, A variety of channel assignment strategies have been developed to achieve these
Spring 2017, 39
objectives.
(a) Fixed channel assignment strategy: 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.
– borrowing strategy
(b) Dynamic channel assignment strategy: Voice channels are not allocated to dif-
ferent cells permanently, each time a call request is made, the serving base station
– The switch allocates a channel to the requested cell following an algorithm that
∗ cost functions
– MSC only allocates a given frequency if that frequency is not presently in use in
the cell or any other cell which falls within the minimum restricted distance of
– reduce the likelihood of blocking, since all the available channels in a market are
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– require the MSC to collect real-time data on channel occupancy, traffic distribu-
tion, and radio signal strength indications (RSSI) of all channels on a continuous
basis
of a blocked call.
Interference is the major limiting factor in the performance of cellular radio systems. Sources
of interference
4) any noncellular system which inadvertently leaks energy into the cellular frequency
band
Types of interference:
1) interference on voice channels causes cross talk (hearing interference in the background
2) interference on control channels leads to missed and blocked calls due to errors in the
digital signaling
Interference has been recognized as a major bottleneck in increasing capacity and is often
Spring 2017, 41
i) co-channel interference
Unlike thermal noise which can be overcome by increasing SNR, co-channel interference can-
not be combated by simply increasing the carrier power of a transmitter because an increase
in carrier transmit power increases the interference to neighboring co-channel cells. To re-
When the size of each cell is approximately the same, and the base stations transmit
the same power, the co-channel interference ratio is independent of the transmitted power
and becomes a function of the radius of the cell (R) and the distance between centers of the
nearest co-channel cells (D). By increasing the ratio of D/R, the spatial separation between
co-channel cells relative to the coverage distance of a cell is increased. Thus interference is
reduced from improved isolation of RF energy from the co-channel cell. The parameter Q,
called the cochannel reuse ratio, is related to the cluster size. For a hexagonal geometry:
D
Q=
R
A small value of Q provides larger capacity since the cluster size N is small, whereas a large
value of Q improves the transmission quality, due to a smaller level of co-channel interference.
A trade-off must be made between these two objectives in actual cellular design.
Let i0 be the number of co-channel interfering cells. Then, the signal-to-interference ratio
S S
= ∑i0 (3.1)
I k=1 Ik
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Table 3.1: Co-channel Reuse Ratio for Some Values of N
i = 1, j = 1 3 3
i = 1, j = 2 7 4.58
i = 2, j = 2 12 6
i = 1, j = 3 13 6.24
where S is the desired signal power from the desired base station and Ik is the interference
( d )−n
Pr = P0 (3.2)
d0
If Dk is the distance of the k th interferer from the mobi1e, the received power at a given
When the transmit power of each base station is equal and the path loss exponent is the
same throughout the coverage area, S/I of Equation (3.1) for a mobile can be approximated
as
S R−n
= ∑i0 (3.3)
I −n
k=1 (Dk )
Considering only the first layer of interfering cells, if all the interfering base stations are
equidistant from the desired base station and if this distance is equal to the distance D
For the AMPS cellular system, sufficient voice quality is provided when S/I is greater than
Spring 2017, 43
From Figure 3.3, it can be seen for a 7-cell cluster, with the mobile unit is at the cell
boundary, the mobile is a distance D − R from the two nearest co-channel interfering cells
and approximately D + R/2, D, D − R/2, and D + R from the other interfering cells in
the first tier. Using Equation (3.4) and assuming n = 4, the SIR for the worst case can be
approximated as
Figure 3.3: 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
S 1
= (3.5)
I 2(Q − 1) + 2(Q + 1)−4 + 2Q−4
−4
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3.4.2 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 which allow nearby frequencies to leak into the passband.
By keeping the frequency separation between each channel in a given cell as large as
The concept of trunking allows a large number of users to share the relatively small number
of channels in a cell. The telephone company uses trunking theory to determine the number
of telephone that need to be allocated for office buildings. Same principle is used in designing
cellular radio systems. In a trunked mobile radio system, when a particular user requests
service and all of the radio channels are already in use, the user is blocked, or denied access
to the system. In some systems, a queue may be used to hold the requesting users until a
To design trunked radio systems that can handle a specific capacity at a specific ”grade of
service”, it is essential to understand trunking theory and queuing theory. The fundamentals
of trunking theory were developed by Erlang. One Erlang represents the amount of traffic
intensity carried by a channel that is completely occupied (i.e.1 call-hour per hour or 1 call-
minute per minute). For example, a radio channel that is occupied for thirty minutes during
The grade of service (GOS) is a measure of the ability of a user to access a trunked
Spring 2017, 45
3.5.1 Number of Definitions Used in Trunking Theory
Traffic Intensity: Measure of channel time utilization, which is the average channel oc-
Load: Traffic intensity across the entire trunked radio system, measured in Erlangs
of a call being blocked (for Erlang B), or the probability of a call being delayed beyond
Request Rate: The average number of call requests per unit time. Denoted by λ seconds−1 .
The traffic. intensity offered by each user is equal to the call request rate multiplied by the
holding time. That is, each user generates a traffic intensity of Au Erlangs given by
Au = λH
where H is the average duration of a call and λ is the average number of call requests per
unit time. For a system containing U users and an unspecified number of channels, the total
A = U Au
There are two types of trunked systems which are commonly used. The first type offers no
queuing for call requests. That is, for every user who requests service, it is assumed there is
no setup time and the user is given immediate access to a channel if one is available. If no
channels are available, the requesting user is blocked. This type of trunking is called Blocked
Spring 2017, 46
• calls arrive as determined by a Poisson distribution
This is known as an M/M/m queue, and leads to the derivation of the Erlang B formula
AC /C!
P r[blocking] = ∑C = GOS (3.6)
k
k=0 A /k!
where C is the number of trunked channels offered by a trunked radio system and A is the
The second kind of trunked system is one in which a queue is provided to hold calls which
are blocked. If a channel is not available immediately, the call request may be delayed until
a channel becomes available. This type of trunking is called Blocked Calls Delayed (BCD),
and its measure of GOS is defined as the probability that a call is blocked after waiting a
AC
P r[delay > 0] = ( )∑ (3.7)
AC + C! 1 − CA C−1 k
k=0 A /k!
If no channels are immediately available the call is delayed, and the probability that the
delayed call is more than t seconds is given by the probability that a call is delayed, multiplied
by the conditional probability that the delay is greater than t seconds. The GOS of a trunked
( )
P r[delay > t] = P r[delay > 0]P r[delay > t|delay > 0] = P r[delay > 0] exp − (C − A)t/H
Spring 2017, 47
The average delay D for all calls in a queued system is given by
H
D = P r[delay > 0] =
C −A
where the average delay for those calls which are queued is given by H/(C − A).
As the demand for wireless service increases, the number of channels assigned to a cell
eventually becomes insufficient to support the required number of users. At this point,
cellular design techniques are needed to provide more channels per unit coverage area.
To expand the capacity of cellular systems, techniques such as cell splitting and sectoring
Cell splitting allows an orderly growth of the cellular system (increases the number of base
stations)
Sectoring uses directional antennas to further control the interference and frequency reuse
of channels
Cell splitting is the process of subdividing a congested cell into smaller cells, each with its
own base station and a corresponding reduction in antenna height and transmitter power.
Cell splitting increases the capacity of a cellular system since it increases the number of
times that channels are reused. 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.
Spring 2017, 48
An example of cell splitting is shown in Figure 3.4, where the base stations are placed
at comers of the cells, and the area served by base station A is assumed to be saturated
with traffic. New base stations are therefore needed in the region to increase the number
of channels in the area and to reduce the area served by the single base station. Note 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. For the new cells to be smaller in size, the transmit power of these cells must
be reduced. The transmit power of the new cells with radius half that of the original cells
can be found by examining the received power P , at the new and old cell boundaries and
setting them equal to each other. This is necessary to ensure that the frequency reuse plan
for the new microcells behaves exactly as for the original cells.
and
Spring 2017, 49
where Pt1 and Pt2 are the transmit powers of the larger and smaller cell base stations,
respectively. If we take n = 4 and set the received powers equal to each other, then
Pt1
Pt2 =
16
In other words, the transmit power must be reduced by 12 dB in order to fill in the original
3.6.2 Sectoring
Here the cell is kept unchanged and decreases the D/R ratio. In this approach, capacity
improvement is achieved by reducing the number of cells in a cluster and thus increasing the
frequency reuse.
omni-directional antenna at the base station by several directional antennas, each radiating
within a specified sector. By using directional antennas, a given cell will receive interference
and transmit with only a fraction of the available co-channel cells. The factor by which
the co-channel interference is reduced depends on the amount of sectoring used. A cell is
normally partitioned into three 120 sectors or six 60 sectors. Assuming 7-cell reuse, for the
case of 120 sectors, the number of interferers in the first tier is reduced from 6 to 2. The
resulting S/I for this case can be found using Equation (3.3) to be 24.2 dB.
Spring 2017, 50
Figure 3.5: lllustration 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.
Spring 2017, 51