Mobile Communication and Mobile Computing

Mobile communication refers to the exchange of information, voice, and data between mobile
devices over a wireless network infrastructure.

It enables users to communicate and access information on the go without being tethered to a fixed
location.

Mobile communication encompasses various technologies, protocols, and services that facilitate
wireless connectivity and interaction between mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and
wearable gadgets.

Key components include cellular networks, wireless communication standards (e.g., GSM, CDMA,
LTE, 5G), telecommunication service providers, and mobile applications.

Mobile computing, on the other hand, refers to the use of mobile devices to access and process
information while on the move.

It involves the integration of computing capabilities into portable devices, enabling users to perform
tasks traditionally carried out on desktop or laptop computers.

Mobile computing leverages the power of mobile devices, coupled with wireless connectivity, to
enable access to data, applications, and services from anywhere at any time.

It encompasses a wide range of activities, including web browsing, email communication, social
networking, GPS navigation, multimedia playback, and productivity applications.

Types of wireless data communication

Wireless data communication can be categorized into three main types: ad hoc networks, sensor
networks, and cellular networks. Each operates within different frequency ranges and serves distinct
purposes:

1. Ad hoc networks: Ad hoc networks are decentralized networks where devices communicate
directly with each other without the need for a centralized infrastructure. They are often
used in situations where infrastructure-based networks are unavailable, such as in disaster
recovery scenarios or military operations. Ad hoc networks typically operate in the
unlicensed ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) bands, including:

• 2.4 GHz band (e.g., IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi)

• 5 GHz band (e.g., IEEE 802.11a/n/ac Wi-Fi)

• 60 GHz band (e.g., IEEE 802.11ad WiGig)

2. Sensor networks: Sensor networks consist of small, low-power devices equipped with
sensors for monitoring and collecting data from the environment. These networks are
commonly used in various applications such as environmental monitoring, healthcare, and
industrial automation. Sensor networks often operate in the following frequency bands:

• Sub-GHz bands (e.g., 433 MHz, 868 MHz, 915 MHz)

• 2.4 GHz band (e.g., Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy)

3. Cellular networks: Cellular networks provide wide-area coverage for mobile communication
using a network of base stations connected to a core network. They are designed to handle
high volumes of voice and data traffic for mobile users. Cellular networks operate in licensed
frequency bands allocated by regulatory authorities. These bands include:

• Sub-1 GHz bands (e.g., 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz)

• 1.8 GHz band

• 2.1 GHz band

• 2.3 GHz band

• 2.5 GHz band

• 3.5 GHz band

• 5 GHz band (used for small cells and Wi-Fi offloading in some cases)
Signal Propagation
Signal propagation refers to the process by which electromagnetic signals travel through a medium
from a transmitter to a receiver. It can be categorized into several factors:

1. Distance: Signal propagation can be affected by the distance between the transmitter and
the receiver. As the distance increases, the signal strength typically decreases, leading to
potential loss of information or degradation in signal quality.

2. Interference: Signal propagation can be affected by interference from other electromagnetic

sources, such as nearby transmitters, electronic devices, or environmental factors like
atmospheric conditions. Interference can distort or disrupt the original signal, leading to
errors or loss of data.

3. Attenuation: Attenuation refers to the decrease in signal strength as it travels through a

medium. Factors such as absorption, scattering, and reflection can cause attenuation,
leading to a reduction in signal power over distance.

4. Noise: Noise refers to unwanted signals or disturbances that interfere with the original signal
during propagation. Noise can be generated by various sources, including electronic devices,
thermal effects, and environmental factors. It can degrade the quality of the signal and make
it more difficult to interpret by the receiver.

5. Propagation Delay: Propagation delay refers to the time it takes for a signal to travel from
the transmitter to the receiver. It depends on the speed of propagation through the medium
and the distance travelled. Propagation delay can impact the timing of signals in
communication systems and may introduce latency or synchronization issues.

6. Medium: The medium through which the signal propagates can also affect its characteristics.
Different mediums, such as air, water, or optical fibre, have varying properties that can
influence signal propagation, including speed, attenuation, and susceptibility to interference.

Signal propagation mechanisms can be categorized into various phenomena that affect the
transmission of signals through a medium. Here are the basic signal propagation mechanisms
categorized into fading, shadowing, reflection, diffraction, and scattering:

1. Fading: Fading refers to the attenuation or variation in the strength of a signal due to factors
such as multipath propagation, interference, and other environmental conditions. Fading can
be further divided into two types:

• Fast Fading: Rapid fluctuations in signal strength due to changes in the propagation
environment, typically caused by multipath effects.

• Slow Fading: Gradual variations in signal strength due to changes in the propagation
environment over time, such as changes in distance or obstructions.

2. Shadowing: Shadowing occurs when obstacles such as buildings, hills, or vegetation

attenuate or block the direct path between the transmitter and receiver. This results in
variations in signal strength due to obstruction in the propagation path.

3. Reflection: Reflection occurs when a signal encounters an obstacle or boundary and is

redirected back towards the transmitter or receiver. Reflections can cause multipath
propagation, leading to signal interference and fading.
 4. Diffraction: Diffraction refers to the bending of waves around obstacles or through openings.
When a signal encounters an obstruction, it diffracts around the edges of the obstacle,
allowing the signal to propagate into the region behind the obstacle.

5. Scattering: Scattering occurs when signals encounter small objects or irregularities in the
propagation medium, causing the signal to be scattered in various directions. Scattering can
contribute to multipath propagation and can affect the signal's strength and quality.

Modulation
Modulation is the process of varying a carrier signal's properties, such as amplitude, frequency, or
phase, in order to encode information. There are two main categories of modulation: analog
modulation and digital modulation.

Analog modulation is a technique used in telecommunications to encode information onto an analog

carrier signal. The process involves varying one or more properties of the carrier signal in accordance
with the information being transmitted. The main types of analog modulation are amplitude
modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), and phase modulation (PM).

1. Amplitude Modulation (AM):

• In AM, the amplitude of the carrier signal is varied in proportion to the waveform of
the modulating signal.

• The modulating signal is typically an audio signal, and the carrier signal is usually a
high-frequency sine wave.

• The resulting modulated signal contains the original audio information encoded in
the variations of the carrier wave's amplitude.

2. Frequency Modulation (FM):

• FM varies the frequency of the carrier signal in accordance with the modulating
signal.

• As the amplitude of the modulating signal changes, the frequency of the carrier
signal changes correspondingly.

• FM is commonly used in radio broadcasting because it provides better resistance to

amplitude variations and noise compared to AM.

3. Phase Modulation (PM):

• PM involves varying the phase of the carrier signal in relation to the modulating
signal.

• When the amplitude of the modulating signal changes, the phase of the carrier
signal shifts accordingly.

• PM is often used in certain digital modulation schemes as well, such as phase-shift

keying (PSK), where discrete phase shifts represent different digital symbols.
Digital modulation is a method of encoding digital information onto a carrier signal for transmission
in telecommunications systems. Unlike analog modulation, which encodes continuous analog signals,
digital modulation involves representing data as discrete symbols or bits.

There are several types of digital modulation techniques, each suited for different applications and
transmission environments. Some of the common digital modulation techniques include:

1. Phase Shift Keying (PSK):

• PSK modulates the phase of the carrier signal to represent digital data.

• In binary PSK (BPSK), two phases (usually 0 and 180 degrees) represent binary 0 and
1.

• In quadrature PSK (QPSK), four phases are used to represent two bits at a time,
allowing for higher data rates.

2. Frequency Shift Keying (FSK):

• FSK modulates the frequency of the carrier signal to represent digital data.

• In binary FSK (BFSK), two frequencies represent binary 0 and 1.

• Multiple frequencies can be used in more advanced forms like multi-level FSK (M-ary
FSK).

3. Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK):

• ASK modulates the amplitude of the carrier signal to represent digital data.

• The amplitude of the carrier signal is varied to represent different symbols.

4. Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM):

• QAM combines both amplitude and phase modulation to achieve higher data rates.

• By varying both amplitude and phase, multiple bits can be represented by a single
symbol.

• Common examples include 16-QAM, 64-QAM, and 256-QAM.

5. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM):

• OFDM divides the available frequency spectrum into multiple subcarriers, each
carrying a low-rate data stream.

• By using many narrowband subcarriers, OFDM can achieve high data rates while
maintaining robustness against frequency-selective fading and interference.
Spread Spectrum
The increasing demand for wireless communications has problems due to limited spectrum efficiency
and multipath propagation. The use of spread spectrum communication has simplified these
problems. In the spread spectrum, signals from different sources are combined to fit into larger
bandwidth.

Most stations use air as the medium for communication, stations must be able to share the medium
without an interception and without being subject to jamming from a malicious intruder. To achieve
this, spread-spectrum techniques add redundancy means it uses extended bandwidth to
accommodate signals in a protective envelope so that more secure transmission is possible. The
spread code is a series of numbers that looks random but are actually a pattern. The original
bandwidth of the signal gets enlarged (spread) through the spread code as shown in the figure.

Spread Spectrum

Principles of Spread Spectrum process:

1. To allow redundancy, it is necessary that the bandwidth allocated to each station should be
much larger than needed.

2. The spreading process occurs after the signal is created by the source.

Conditions of Spread Spectrum are:

1. The spread spectrum is a type of modulation where modulated signal BW is much larger
than the baseband signal BW i.e. spread spectrum is a wide band scheme.

2. A special code (pseudo noise) is used for spectrum spreading and the same code is to be
used to despread the signal at the receiver.

Characteristics of the Spread Spectrum are:

1. Higher channel capacity.

2. Ability to resist multipath propagation.

3. They cannot easily intercept any unauthorized person.

4. They are resistant to jamming.

5. The spread spectrum provides immunity to distortion due to multipath propagation.

 6. The spread spectrum offers multiple access capabilities.

Two types of techniques for Spread Spectrum are:

1. Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)

2. Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)

Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS):

In Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS), different carrier frequencies are modulated by the
source signal i.e. M carrier frequencies are modulated by the signal. At one moment signal
modulates one carrier frequency and at the subsequent moments, it modulates other carrier
frequencies. The general block diagram of FHSS is shown in the below figure.

Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum

A pseudorandom code generator generates Pseudo-random Noise of some pattern for each hopping
period Th. The frequency corresponding to the pattern is used for the hopping period and is passed
to the frequency synthesizer. The synthesizer generates a carrier signal of that frequency. The figure
above shows the spread signal via FHSS.

Advantages of FHSS:

• Synchronization is not greatly dependent on distance.

• Processing Gain is higher than DSSS.

Disadvantages of FHSS:

• The bandwidth of the FHSS system is too large (in GHz).

• Complex and expensive Digital frequency synthesizers are required.

Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS):

In DSSS, the bandwidth of the original signal is also expanded by a different technique. Here, each
data bit is replaced with n bits using a spreading code called chips, and the bit rate of the chip is
called as chip-rate. The chip rate is n times the bit rate of the original signal. The below Figure shows
the DSSS block diagram.

Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum

In wireless LAN, the sequence with n = 11 is used. The original data is multiplied by chips (spreading
code) to get the spread signal. The required bandwidth of the spread signal is 11 times larger than
the bandwidth of the original signal.

Advantages of DSSS:

• The DSSS System combats the jamming most effectively.

• The performance of DSSS in presence of noise is superior to FHSS.

• Interference is minimized against the signals.

Disadvantages of DSSS:

• Processing Gain is lower than DSSS.

• Channel Bandwidth is less than FHSS.

• Synchronization is affected by the variable distance between the transmitter and receiver.

When transmitter and receiver are in the line of sight(line of sight is the direct path from a
transmitter to the receiver and the obstructions that may fall in that path) then free space
propagation model come into existence.

When they are not in line of sight, then indoor and outdoor propagation model comes into play.
Free Space Propagation Model
The free space propagation model is used to predict received signal strength when
the transmitter and receiver have a clear, unobstructed line-of-sight path between
them. In free space radio signals propagate as light does i.e., they follow a straight
line. If such a straight line exists between a sender and a receiver it is called line-of-
sight (LOS).Even if no matter exists between the sender and the receiver, the signal
still experiences the free space loss. The received power Pr is proportional to 1/d2
with d being the distance between sender and receiver (inverse square ).

Free Space Model:

• The free space model predicts that received power decays as a function of
the T-R separation
• The free space power received by a receiver antenna which is separated
from a radiating transmitter antenna by a distance d, is given by the Friis
free space equation:

• Where, Pr(d)= Received power;

Pt =Transmitted power ;

Gt &Gr = Tx & Rx antenna gain respectively λ= wavelength;

D =Distance;

L = loss Factor

• The gain of an antenna is related to its effective aperture, by

• The effective aperture is related to the physical size of the antenna, and X is
related to the carrier frequency by
 • The effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) is defined as

EIRP = Pt.Gt

• The path loss for the free space model when antenna gains are included is
given by

• When antenna gains are excluded, the antennas are assumed to have unity
gain, and path loss is given by

• The Friis free space model is only a valid predictor for Pr values of d which
are in the far-field of the 'transmitting antenna.

Fraunhofer Region of a transmitter for field display

Outdoor Propagation Model
Radio transmission in a mobile communications system often takes place over
irregular terrain. Estimating PL(d) over a particular area requires terrain
profile for propagation over irregular terrain such as

• simple curved earth profile

• highly mountainous
• obstacles: trees, building,

all models predict Pr(d) at given point or small area (sector)

• wide variations in approach, complexity, accuracy

• most based on systematic interpretation of empirical data

Some of the commonly used outdoor propagation models are:

• Longley Rice
• Durkins Model
• Okumura Model
• Hata Model
• Cost-231 Hata Model
• Cost-231 Walfisch Ikagami Model

Longley Rice Model:

The Longley–Rice model (LR) is a radio propagation model a method for

predicting the attenuation of radio signals for a telecommunication link in the
frequency range of 40 MHz to 1000 GHz.

Longley-Rice is also known as the “irregular terrain model” (ITM). It was created
for the needs of frequency planning in television broadcasting in the United
States in the 1960s and was extensively used for preparing the tables of channel
allocations for VHF/UHF broadcasting there. The Irregular Terrain Model (ITS) of
radio propagation the Longley-Rice model named for Anita Longley & Phil Rice,
1968 is a general purpose model that can be applied to a large variety of
engineering problems. The model, which is based on electromagnetic theory
and on statistical analyses of both terrain features and radio measurements,
predicts the median attenuation of a radio signal as a function of distance and
the variability of the signal in time and in space.

Longley rice model is applicable to point-to-point communication systems over

different kind of terrain. The median transmission loss is predicted using the
path geometry of the terrain profile and the refractivity of the troposphere.
Modes Of Operation:

Longley-Rice method operates in two modes

• Point-to-point Mode Prediction

• Area Mode Prediction

Point-to-point Mode Prediction:

“Longley-Rice” point-to-point model for radio propagation in the Terrain Analysis

Package (TAP) when a detailed path profile is available, the path-specific
parameters can be easily determined.

Area Mode Prediction:

When the terrain path profile is not available, the Longley-Rice method provides
techniques to estimate the path-specific parameters.

Modifications:

There have been many modifications and corrections to the Longley-Rice model
since its original publication. One point modification deals with radio
propagation in urban areas and this is particularly relevant to mobile radio. This
modification introduces an excess term as an allowance for the additional
attenuation due to urban clutter near the receiving antenna. The extra term
called the Urban “Urban Factor” has been derived by comparing the predictions
by the original Longley-Rice model with those obtained by Okumura.

Shortcoming:

• Does not providing a way of determining corrections due to environmental

factors in the immediate vicinity of the mobile receiver.
• No consideration of correlation factors to account for the effects of buildings and
foliage.
• No consideration of multipath.

Durkin’s Model:

In 1969 & 1975, Durkin propose a computer simulator for predicting field
strength contours over irregular terrain. Durkin’s model Adopted by the Joint
Radio Committee in the U.K. for estimation of effective mobile radio coverage
areas.

• predicts field strength contours over irregular terrain

• adopted by UK joint radio committee
 • consists of two parts

(1) Ground profile

• Reconstructed from topographic data of proposed surface along radial joining

transmitter and receiver
• Models LOS & diffraction derived from obstacles & local scatters
• Assume all signal received along radial (no multipath)

(2) Expected path loss calculated along the radial

• move receiver location to deduce signal strength contour

• pessimistic in narrow valleys
• identifies weak reception areas well
Indoor Propagation Models

Introduction:

PCS service help users to communicate within a building. Propagation within

buildings is strongly influenced by specific features such as the layout of the building,
the construction materials, and the building type. Indoor propagation models also
works on same mechanism like diffraction, reflection and scattering. But conditions
are much more variable. The signal levels vary greatly depending on whether interior
doors are open or closed inside a building. Antenna position also affects the indoor
propagation. Indoor channels may be classified either as line-of-sight (LOS) or
obstructed (OBS), with varying degrees of clutter

Some of the key models which have recently emerged are now

1. Partition Losses (same floor)

2. Partition Losses between Floors

3. Log-distance Path Loss Model

4. Ericsson Multiple Breakpoint Model

5. Attenuation Factor Model

Partition Losses (same floor):

• Buildings have a wide variety of partitions and obstacles which form the internal
and external structure
• Partitions that are formed as part of the building structure are called hard
partitions, and partitions that may be moved and which do not span to the ceiling
are called soft partitions
• Partitions vary widely in their physical and electrical characteristics, making it
difficult to apply general models to specific indoor installations

Partition Losses between Floors:

• The losses between floors of a building are determined by the external dimensions
and materials of the building, as well as the type of construction used to create the
floors and the external surroundings.
• Even the number of windows in a building and the presence of tinting (which
attenuates radio energy) can impact the loss between floors
Log-distance Path Loss Model:

• Indoor path loss has been shown by many researchers to obey the distance
power law in equation 1

― (1)

Where the value of n depends on the surroundings and building type, and X σ
represents a normal random variable in dB having a standard deviation of σ
dB