The Impact of Synchronous Digital

Hierarchy on Digital Microwave Radio:

A View from Australasia
Mansoor ShaJi
Les Davey
W aIt er Srn it h

. .. ,..
,

L. HE INTRODUCTION OF BROADBAND INTEGRAT-
ed Services Digital Network (BISDN) will result in the need to
transport a growing number of non-telephony services. Some
of these services are: person-to-person video communications,
office automation, computer communication, high-speed
communication of data text and graphics, and access to video
information. The introduction of these services will require
substantial increases in transmission capacity and a network
architecture which can facilitate their reticulation in an effi-
cient and economical manner.
The newly agreed-upon Synchronous Digital Hierarchy
(SDH) standard [ 1-41 will provide a means to manage, multi-
plex, and access various forms of digital traffic in an economi-
cal and efficient manner. Along with many other administra-
tions Telecom Australia and Telecom Corporation of New
Zealand are currently investigating the possibility of introduc-
ing synchronous transmission in their respective communica-
tion networks.
Although fiber optic transmission is expected to be used ex-
tensively in new synchronous transmission networks, digital
radio relay systems (SDH-DRRS) will also be required to carry
SDH payloads. This is because there is considerable invest-
ment in the radio infrastructure already in place in our net-
works, and it is capable of generating attractive economic re-
turns for the foreseeable future. Furthermore radio is also
economically attractive for interim applications, e.g., where
network demand is growing modestly and the deployment of
new fiber routes can be deferred.
Initial applications of SDH transmission systems will be to
transport existing asynchronous payloads in the
inter-exchange networks for trunk applications. However
SDH-DRRS will have many other forms of application in our
networks, most of which are listed below:
As a back-up for long distance fiber optic systems carrying
SDH pay loads to improve network security
Radio and fiber optic systems working in tandem
Reticulation of broadband services in the business dis-
trict
Cross-connection of radio systems in the junction network
to radio or fiber optic systems in the long distance network
Cross-connection of various subscriber radio systems into
radio or optical systems in the long distance network
To provide compatibility with fiber systems the SDH-
DRRS must be capable of carrying the Synchronous Transport
Module-Level 1 (STM-I) signal which has a bit rate of 155.5
Mb/s or its integer multiples. The STM-1 rate represents an in-
crease of I 1 % over 140 Mb/s and may require the use of sharp-
er roll off filters and/or using higher order modulation
schemes.
In this article we address some of the issues involved in in-
troducing SDH compatible radio systems in our respective net-
works. I n particular we examine the following key issues:
Technical requirements of SDH-DRRS
Interaction of radio with SDH overhead facilities
Frequency planning
Transmission capacities
The format of this article is as follows. First, we give a brief
overview of the SDH standards and describe how radio sys-
tems can be deployed in SDH networks. This is followed by a
discussion on the technical requirements for SDH-DRRS
equipment. Next. the issues concerning frequency planning are
given: we will also discuss gross transmission capacities which
can be realized for various options of modulation schemes and
Radio Frequency (RF) channel spacing
Rows
9 Columns 261 Columns -
SOH
Pointers
SOH
C 125 s

16 May 1990 - IEEE Communications Magazine 0 163-6804/90/0005-0016 $01.OO ‘ 1990 IEEE

 Table 1. Functions of SOH Bytes.
The SDH Standard
The synchronous digital hierarchy recommendations [ 1-31
have been ratified by the International Consultative Commit-
tee for Telephone and Telegraph (CCITT) Plenary Assembly in
November 1988. These recommendations are concerned with (A,, A2),for frame alignment
bit rates for the synchronous digital hierarchy, details ofthe re- B,, parity byte for regenerator
sulting network node interface, and a synchronous network section BER monitoring
multiplexing structure. Three digital STMs have been so far B,, parity byte for multiplex sec-
specified: tion BER monitoring
STM-1 155.52 Mbk C,, STM identifier
STM-4 622.08 Mb/s (01-3, 04-12); data communica-
tion channels
STM-16: 2488.32 Mb/s
E,, regenerator section orderwire
The North American version of the standards uses a basic ,E2,multiplex section orderwire
transport module of 5 1.84 Mb/s (Synchronous Transport F , , for user's purpose
Signal-Level I . STS-1) and is described in a recent article by H. pointer row
Ballart and Ching [ 5 ] . K , , K,, automatic protection
The frame structure of an STM-1 signal has a byte-oriented switching signal
structure. The frame consists of 2430 bytes. each byte consist- Z,, Z2, not yet defined
ing of 8 bits. These bytes are often pictured in a matrix o f 9 Bytes for national use
rows and 270 columns as shown in Figure 1. The byte structure
allows the multiplexing of tributaries of various levels in the I 27 I 54 I Total
payload of the STM-1 frame. The bytes in rows 1-3 and 5-9 in
the first 9 columns are used for various network management,
and communication and maintenance features. These bytes assembly of a payload and its points o f disassembly. (As there
are collectively referred to as Section Overhead (SOH). Access is no interaction between the radio system and POH, it will not
to payload is achieved via pointers in row 4. More details on be discussed here.) The functions of the various bytes in SOH
the description of SDH can be found in [ 1-31. are summarized in Table I.
I n addition to optical interfaces for the above synchronous The bytes reserved for national use may also be used for
bit rates. CCITT Working Party XVIII/7 has agreed to standar- media specific purposes. At the time of writing this article, In-
dize an STM- 1 electrical interface for inclusion in Recommen- ternational Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR) Study
dation (3.703. Group 9 is deliberating on the use of national reserved bytes
for radio specific applications. Some suggestions in this regard
Overhead Functions will be discussed later.
The SDH signal contains a substantial amount of standard-
ized overhead bits for operation maintenance, and communi- Applications of Radio Relay Systems to
cation and performance monitoring functions. There are two
main types of overhead functions associated with synchronous
SDH Networks
digital hierarchy. These are Path Overhead (POH) and SOH. Like any other transmission medium, radio relay systems
The POH provides for communication between the points of must make connection with SDH networks at standardized in-

. SDH
Terminal
--
NNI
- Optical
Repeater
I

-
_~~.
I
SDH
Terminal
i

1 t'
1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3
5-9 5-9
L
Regenerator Section

P Multiplex Section

Pi,?. ?(U). Radio r e l q sj,stcms .for a multip1e.u or a generator section

Optical - - SDH
Terminal T, Terminal Terminal
NNI
1 t'
1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3
5-9 5-9 5-9 5-9 5-9

Multiplex Section

Fig. N J ) Radio tert?iitial not integrated to S D H terminal.

May 1990 - IEEE Communications Magazine 17

 1-3
5-9
~~~,
Fig 2(c) Incorporating rnultrplev and radio terrnrnal functions
Repeater

1-3
Drop & Insert Traffic

' Drop

Terminal

1-3
5-9
Pickup

terface points. The preferred interconnection procedure given
by the CCIR [6] [7] is to make the baseband input points coin-
cide with the Network Node Interface ("1) points. Therefore
an SDH radio system must meet the following:
It merely accepts the signal output of an SDH terminal and
has no need to alter any of the SDH payload bytes.
It can be interfaced to equipment supplied by different
manufacturers.
It transports the complete NNI signal regardless of how it is
multiplexed.
However all of the specialized radio functions, e.g., forward
error correction, orderwire communication. and protection
switching signals, are carried out without using any of the spe-
cialized bytes in the SOH.
Within a synchronous network, radio relay systems may be
considered to form a multiplex section or a regenerator section
depending on the degree of SOH byte access available (see Fig-
ures 2(a) and 2(b)). A multiplex section is that part of the net-
work where the SOH in rows 1-3 and 5-9 is accessible for over-
head functions. A regenerator section only has access to rows
1-3 of the SOH. It should be noted that SOH byte access at all
repeater sites is not mandatory.
In the radio system shown in Figure 2(b) the radio terminal
is not integrated with the SDH terminal. A different approach
may be to use terminal equipment which incorporates both
multiplex and radio terminal functions as shown in Figure
2(c). This configuration is attractive as it reduces the amount
of hardware and signal processing needed and also may be use-
ful in providing for drop and insert along a route.
Technical Considerations for SDH
Compatible Digital Radio
Relay Systems
The following several areas will have an impact on the tech-
nical characteristics of SDH-DRRS:
Baseband interface
Increased transmission rates
Possible use of standard overhead bits for maintenance and
alarms
The interfaces in the first two are shown in Figures 3(a) and
3(b) respectively.
The electrical characteristics of the synchronous interfaces
have now been defined by the CCITT for the STM-I level. A
draft text of the interface recommendations is currently being
considered by CCITT Study Group XVIII.
Radio systems usually carry additional bits for supervisory
and Forward Error Correction (FEC) as part ofthe radio over-
head. The SDH standards do not impose any specifications on
the radio overhead. At the present moment there is no inten-
tion to standardize the radio overhead. This in turn implies
that unlike fiber systems, radio systems will not have the facili-
t k of a mid-span meet.
Increased Transmission Rates
The requirement to transmit an STM-1 payload at a bit rate
of 155.52 Mbls represents an increase of I 1 % over existing data
rates. The addition of FEC and digital service channel over-
head would result in further increases, making the gross bit rate
about 166.4 Mb/s. Therefore the transmission of synchronous
data rates within present R F channel widths will require the
use of much tighter filtering and/or higher modulation levels to
maximize spectrum efficiency.
In order to examine the adequacy of existing microwave
bands to carry SDH payloads, it is necessary to determine the
bandwidth requirements of candidate radio schemes.
It is desirable that SDH-DRRS be introduced in existing R F
channel plans to ensure compatibility with existing infrastruc-
ture. R F channel plans in Australia and New Zealand are either
channeled at a 30 MHz spacing or at a 40 MHz spacing. Exam-
ples of candidate systems for these two channel widths are
shown in Table I1 for the case of interleaved and co-channel
configurations. The necessary roll-off factor ( a ) values to en-
Modulator/
Demodulator Transmitter1
Receiver

Baseband Interface I Signal

I
Current high-capacity radio systems have a 140 Mb/s inter- f-ig. 3(a). SDH-DRRS with a 140 Mb/s interface during a transition to
face. SDH compatible radio systems should be capable of an SDII nctwork.
being interfaced with both the synchronous and asynchronous
hierarchies. Therefore SDH-DRRS may require the following
interface capabilities:
140 Mb/s interface for connectivity with the existing net- Radio
work (this requirement is of a transitional nature)
An STM- 1 interface, optionally optical or electrical
*
Payload
SDH
Terminal
Radio
Modem -* < ~ Transmitter/
Receiver
Signals Point ,
Incidental capacity, say 2 Mb/s (e.g., wayside traffic), to be
built into the radio frame and be accessible separately from
the STM signal
Commonality of protection channel with existing bearers (if
feasible) Fig. 3(h). SDII-DRRS bt.ith a ST.\{-1 iriter:facc.

18 May 1990 - IEEE Communications Magazine

 Table 11. Possible Arrangements for 1 x STM-1 and 2 x STM-1 Systems for Interleaved and Co-Channel Configurations(16 QAM System
does not include FEC)

29/30 64 QAM (a50.2) - 256 QAM ( ~ 2 0 . 5 ) -

128 QAM ( ~ 5 0 . 3 )
40 16 QAM (a50.2) 512 QAM (a20.1) 32 QAM (as0.2) 1024 QAM
32 QAM (a20.3) 64 QAM ( ~ 2 0 . 5 ) (a50.2)

sure minimum adjacent channel interference are shown in pa- However, the national use bytes in the SOH cannot be used
renthesis for each system. for the purpose of FEC. This is because most FEC codes for
I t should be noted that co-channel operation may require single or double error correction require the addition of 3% to
the use of high cross-polar discrimination ( 2 35 dB) antennas j r 4 redundant bits [8] whereas the total unused part ofthe SOH
and cross-polarization interference cancelers so as to ensure amounts to about 1.56%.There is also a view that the unused
adequate system performance. SOH should be largely used for purposes common to radio and
fiber optic systems, otherwise it could lead to incompatibilities
Radio Interaction with SOH between the two transmission media.
The functions of the section overhead bytes in the SDH
frame are shown in Table I. The overhead bytes provide infor- Planning of SDH-DRRS Systems
mation which can be used for improved maintenance, trouble High-capacity radio relay systems are extensively used in
shooting. and telemetry, to enhance the management of the Australia and New Zealand [9] [lo]. There is a large amount of
transmission network. infrastructure already present which can be upgraded so that
In a synchronous network, the radio terminal is required to SDH payloads could be carried.
access SOH bytes in rows 1-3 and 5-9. In the case of radio re-
peaters access to SOH bytes in rows 1-3 may be desired as dis- Table 111. Frequency Bands Suitable for High Capacity Radio
cussed above. Relay Systems.
There are two possibilities of handling the repeater function
in a synchronous radio network. The radio could supply the re-
peater function transparently by carrying a copy of the bytes in
rows 1-3 in the radio overhead (see Figure 4). This overhead is 4G (AuSt) 3580-4200 MHz 40.0 MHZ 7
commonly used for the transaction ofbusiness between a radio 4G (NZ) 3600-4200 MHz 40.0 MHz 6
terminal and a radio repeater. In this case it may also be desir- L6G 5925-6425 MHz 29.65 MHz 8
able for the radio frame to be locked to the STM-1 frame. U6G 6430-7110 MHz 40.0 MHz 8
The second possibility could be for the repeater to separate 11G 10700-11700 MHz 40.0 MHz 12
the overhead from the payload and hand it over either to an
SDH terminal or an optical repeater for byte interaction. How- The following key issues must be considered in the planning
ever this may entail the creation of a new switch section to of SDH-DRRS systems:
maintain radio protection switching.
The first approach, i.e., transparent radio repeater is natu- Maximum capacity required
rally simpler. cheaper, with lower power consumption, and Existing or new R F band plan
also has the advantage of providing additional synchronous ca- Characteristics of suitable equipment
pacity (e.g., wayside traffic) in the radio frame. Evolutionary strategy
The SOH bytes reserved for national use may be used for
The ultimate capacity of a radio system is dependent upon
the following suggested radio specific purposes:
the choice of a modulation scheme and the number of R F
.Automatic Gain Control (AGC) voltages channels in a frequency band. Modulation schemes for 30 and
Channel dispersion (In-Band Power Difference or In-Band 40 MHz spaced channel widths have already been discussed in
.Amplitude Dispersion indicators) Table 11. Frequency bands suitable for high-capacity long dis-
Errored seconds tance transmission are shown in Table 111[6]. Examples oftyp-
Severely crrored seconds ical system capacities are shown in Table IV. It is also possible
Unavailable seconds to increase the capacity by a factor of 2 by using 5 12 Quadra-

(1 - 3)Transmitted as part of radio OH

I
SDH
Terminal
Radio
Terminal
U 4
t- Terminal

11 - 3t l1 - 3t i
1-3
i
1-3 1-3
5-9 5-9 5-9 5-9

F i ? 4 SOH carried in radio overlead

May 1990 - IEEE Communications Magazine 19

Table IV. Typical System Capacities for Various RF Bands.
12-14 64 QAM, Co-Channel
8 256 QAM, Interleaved
16 64 QAM, Co-Channel
24 64 QAM, Co-Channel
ture Amplitude Modulation (QAM), a 5 0.1, for 4U MHz
spaced bands. Each polarization would then carry 2 x STM-1
in single or multi-carrier format, leading to 4 x STM- 1 capaci-
ty per channel.
Whilst large capacities are possible using radio systems it
may be worthwhile to consider the long term role of radio, e.g.,
it may compete with fiber on heavy routes or it may be de-
ployed on light and perhaps modest growth routes. In our view
the latter appears to be the most likely application for radio or
for special geographic or strategic situations, or on those routes
where fiber construction may be deferred pending sufficient
growth.
Initial applications of synchronous radio systems in a plesi-
ochronous network will be to carry asynchronous traffic, e.g.,
140 Mb/s with a bit rate adapter to form a dummy STM-1 sig-
nal. The bit rate adapter will of course be redundant when real
synchronous traffic is needed to be transported but radio hard-
ware will be reusable.
Summary and Conclusions
In this article we have examined the impact of transporting
SDH payloads by radio relay systems. In particular we have ex-
amined the technical characteristics of SDH-DRRS, and the
R F channel widths required to carry the STM-1 signal. Our
main conclusions are:
Radio systems can be used to carry SDH payloads.
The introduction of SDH-DRRS will result in radio and
fiber systems being regarded as supportive rather than com-
petitive media.
The capital investment in existing infrastructure on existing
radio routes should be exploited to provide economic SDH-
D M R capacity.
Acknowledgment
We would like to express our appreciation to R.P. Slade of
AT&T Bell Laboratories for his valuable and constructive
comments and to our respective management for providing the
facilities to do this work and publish the findings.
References
[ 11CCITT Recornmendation G 707, "Synchronous Digital Hierarchy Bit
Rates," Study Group XVlll Plenary Assembly, Melbourne, Nov 1988
[2] CCITT Recommendation G 708,"Network Node Interface for the Syn-
chronous Digital Hierarchy," Study Group XVlll Plenary Assembly,
Melbourne, Nov 1988
20 May 1990 - IEEE Communications Magazine
CCITT Recornmendation G 709, "Synchronous Multiplexing Struc-
ture," Study Group XVll Plenary Assembly, Melbourne, Nov. 1988.
K. Asatani, "Network Node Interface for Synchronous Digital
Networks-Concepts and Standardization," Conf. Proc. Globecorn
1988. Dec. 1988,Florida. USA.
R. Ballart and Y.C. Ching, "SONET: Now Its the Standard Optical Net-
work," IEEE Cornrnun. Mag., pp. 8-1 5,Mar. 1989.
Recommendations and Reports of the CCIR, vol. 9,Dubrovnik, 1986.
"Radio Relay Systems in a Synchronous Digital Network," Draft of New
Report, Doc. 9/443 (Rev. 1). CClR Study Group 9, Final Meeting,
Geneva 1989.
T . Noguchi, Y. Daido, and J . A . Nossek. "Modulation Techniques for
Microwave Digital Radio," IEEE Commun. Mag.. vol. 24,no. 10,pp.
2 1-30, Oct. 1986.
R. 8 Wilkinson, M . Shafi, and R. D. Cooper, "An Overview of Digital
Transmission Systems in New Zealand," Conf. Proc. Globecorn 1987,
Tokyo. Japan, pp. 5.1.1-5.1.5, Dec. 1987.
J Steel and H. G. Nowotony, "Digital Radio and Fiber Optics in Austral-
ia Telecommunications," Conf Proc. Globecorn 1987. Tokyo, Japan,
pp 5.1 5-5.1.7.Dec. 1987
Biography
Mansoor Shafi received his B.Sc. degree from the University of Engineer-
ing and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan. in 1970,and the Ph.D. degree from the
University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, in 1979,both in electrical en-
gineering
From 197 1 t o 1974 he worked as a Lecturer in the University of Engineer-
ing and Technology, Lahore, and conducted research on power systems and
generalized machines. From 1975 t o 1979 he worked as Junior Lecturer in the
University of Auckland and was engaged in research in systems identification
and signal processing Since 1979 he has been with the New Zealand Post Of-
fice (now Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Ltd.) in the transmission sec-
tion, Wellington. During 1982 he was employed as a Senior Postdoctoral Fel-
low at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where he worked on
equalization techniques for digital radio During the period from July 1985 t o
September 1986,he worked as a Research Engineer in the Communications
Research Lab at McMaster University and worked on the modeling of radio
channels. He has published several articles in the area of digital radio systems
His current research interests are digital radio systems, high-speed fiber optic
systems. and cellular radio.
Dr. Shafi serves as a New Zealand delegate t o the meetings of the CClR
Study Group IX in Geneva.
Les Davey received a diploma in electronic engineering from Swinburne In-
stitute of Technology, Australia, in 197 1 , and a Post Graduate Diploma in digi-
tal computer engineering from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Aus-
tralia, in 1982.
He joined Telecom Australia in 1972 and has worked on the installation,
maintenance, evaluation. and system design of radio relay systems. He is cur-
rently Supervising Engineer, Transmission Systems Development Section, re-
sponsible for design and performance aspects of new high-capacity radio and
optical transmission systems including the conduct of laboratory evaluation
and field trials of new equipment.
He has actively participated in the work of CClR Study Group IX and has un-
dertaken international radio relay consulting assignments in China and Thai-
land.
Walter S m i t h received a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from
the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, in 1981,and a Master's degree in
electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1982.
He worked for AT&T Bell Laboratories from 1981 t o 1988,and was in-
volved in microwave studies, 64 Q A M radio system development, and terrain
scatter interference investigations.
In 1988 he moved to New Zealand and joined Telecom Corporation of New
Zealand Ltd. His current areas of interest are digital radio systems, submarine
fiber optic systems. and transmission system performance. He is actively in-
volved in CClR Study Group IX and is the New Zealand Secretary.