An Introduction to CDMA Air Interface: TIA/EIA/IS-95A

Visual Signal Processing & Communication Lab SHB Rm301 Department of Electronic Engineering The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong

Tutor: wei zhenyu zywei@ee.cuhk.edu.hk March 27, 2006

Contents
Introduction Forward CDMA Channel Reverse CDMA Channel Specifications on CDMA Project

Multiple Access
FDMA
Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) and Total Access Communications System (TACS) AMPS systems use 30 kHz "slices" of spectrum for each channel Narrowband AMPS (NAMPS) requires only 10 kHz per channel TACS channels are 25 kHz wide

TDMA
IS-54 systems, designed to coexist with AMPS systems, divide 30 kHz of spectrum into three channels PDC divides 25 kHz slices of spectrum into three channels GSM systems create 8 time-division channels in 200 kHz wide carriers

Multiple Access
CDMA
unique digital codes are used to differentiate subscribers codes are shared by both MS and BS all users share the same range of radio spectrum

Benefits of CDMA:
Capacity increases: 8 to 10 times (AMPS); 4 to 5 times (GSM) Improved call quality Simplified system planning Enhanced privacy Improved coverage characteristics Increased talk time for portables Bandwidth on demand

CDMA
There are two CDMA common air interface standards:
Cellular (824-894 MHz) - TIA/EIA/IS-95A PCS (1850-1990 MHz) - ANSI J-STD-008

They are very similar in their features, with exceptions of the frequency plan, mobile identities, and related message fields. IS-95A
45 MHz spacing for forward & reverse channel Permissible frequency assignments are on 30 kHz increments W/R = 10 log (1.2288 MHz/9600Hz) = 21 dB for the 9600 bps rate set

ANSI J-STD-008
80 MHz spacing for forward & reverse channel Permissible frequency assignments are on 50 kHz increments

Forward CDMA Channel of IS-95A

From BSS to MS It carries traffic, a pilot signal, and overhead information. Pilot is a spread but unmodulated DSSS signal. Pilot and overhead channels establish the system timing and station identity. Pilot channel is also used in the mobile-assisted handoff (MAHO) process as a signal strength reference. FEC code rate is 1/2 and the PN rate is 1.2288 MHz (1.2288 MHz = 128*9600 bps).

Forward Link Channel Parameters

Channel
Data rate Code repetition Modulation symbol rate PN chips/ modulation symbol PN chips/bit

Sync
1200 2 4800 256 1024

Paging
4800 2 9600 1 1200 8

Traffic
2400 4 4800 9600 bps 2 1

19,200 19,200 19,200 19,200 19,200 19,200 sps 64 256 64 128 64 1024 64 512 64 256 64 128

Signal Structure
The forward link consists of up to 64 logical channels (code channels). Code channels is one of a set of 64 so-called Walsh functions. Only whole periods of the Walsh functions occur in each code symbol, the Walsh makes the channels completely separable in the receiver. Each forward code channel is spread by the Short Code, which has I- and Q-components. The two coded, covered, and spread streams are vectormodulated on the RF carrier. The spreading modulation is thus QPSK, superimposed on a BPSK code symbol stream.

Overhead Channels
There are three types of overhead channel in the forward link:
pilot, is required in every station sync paging

Pilot channel
pure short code with no additional cover or information content always code channel zero a demodulation reference for the mobile receivers and for handoff level measurements carries no information all stations use the same short code, distinguished by the phase period of the short code, 215= 26.667 ms at the 1.2288 MHz chip rate

Overhead Channels
Pilot channel (Conti.)
pilot phases always be assigned to stations in multiples of 64 chips, giving a total of 215-6 = 512 possible assignments 9-bit number that identifies the pilot phase assignment is called the Pilot Offset

Sync Channel
sync channel carries timing and system configuration information data rate is always 1200 bps interleaver period is also 80/3 = 26.667 ms, simplifies finding frame boundaries, once the mobile has located the pilot code period ambiguity is then resolved by the long code state and system time fields

Overhead Channels
Paging channel
used to communicate with MSs when they are not assigned to a traffic channel successful accesses are normally followed by an assignment to a dedicated traffic channel paging channel may run at either 4800 or 9600 bps each BS must have at least one paging channel per sector, on at least one of the frequencies in use

Traffic Channel
Traffic channels
assigned dynamically, in response to MS accesses, to specific MS always carries data in 20 ms frames carry variable rate traffic frames, either 1, 1/2, 1/4, or 1/8 of 9600 bps rate variation is accomplished by 1, 2, 4, or 8-way repetition of code symbols, but the energy per bit approximately constant rate is independently variable in each 20 ms frame the 800 bps reverse link power control subchannel is carried on the traffic channel by puncturing 2 from every 24 symbols transmitted.

Timing
all base stations must be synchronized within a few microseconds

Reverse CDMA Channel of IS-95

From MS to BSS It carries traffic and signaling information. FEC code rate is 1/3, the code symbol rate = 28,800 symbols/sec, 6 code symbols/modulation symbol, and the PN rate is 1.2288 MHz modulation is 64-ary orthogonal Walsh functions, each period of the Walsh function is repeated for four chips of the PN code Walsh symbol rate is 1.2288 MHz/(4 chips per Walsh chip)/(64 Walsh chips per Walsh symbol) = 4,800 modulation symbols/ second

Reverse CDMA Channel Parameters, Rate Set 1

Channel Access Traffic 1,200 2,400 4,800 9,600 bps 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/3 3,600 7,200 14,400 28,800 sps 8 4 2 1 28,800 28,800 28,800 28,800 sps 1/8 1/4 1/2 1 6 6 6 6 256 256 256 256 128 128 128 128

Data rate 4,800 Code Rate 1/3 Symbol Rate before Repetition 14,400 Symbol Repetition 2 Symbol Rate after Repetition 28,800 Transmit Duty Cycle 1 Code Symbols/Modulation Symbol 6 PN Chips/Modulation Symbol 256 PN chips transmitted/bit 256

Signal Structure
Reverse CDMA Channel consists of 2 42-1 logical channels One of the logical channel is permanently and uniquely associated with each MS. The channel does not change upon handoff. Reverse link addressing is accomplished through manipulation of period 2 42-1 Long Code, which is part of the spreading process. The reverse CDMA Channel does not use strict orthogonality in any sense to separate logical channels. Rather, it uses a very long period spreading code, in distinct phases. The correlations between stations are not zero, but they are acceptably small.

Main blocks
IS-95A CRC Generator IS-95A Reverse Channel Convolutional Encoder IS-95A Reverse Channel Interleaver/Deinterleaver IS-95A Reverse Channel Repeater/Derepeater IS-95A Reverse Channel Walsh Modulation and Spreading (inside Spreading and Modulation subsystem) IS-95A Short Code Generator