A Finite Resource

„ “Spectrum is like real estate—they just

Cellular Systems don’t make it anymore” [Webb ’99]
„ Cellular systems enable a service
provider to serve more customers
Instructor: M. A. Ingram within a limited spectrum allocation
ECE 4823

Before Cells… One Call per Channel

„ A single antenna would serve all the „ A different channel for every active call
customers in the service area „ Even with trunking, demand quickly exceeded
„ Service provider was limited to a certain resources
bandwidth
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System Bandwidth
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Only 16 users can
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be served with
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. .. 16 channels
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Frequency Reuse Cells

„ Partition the service area into smaller cells „ Total number of channels, C, are used in one
„ One antenna (base station) serves each cell, cluster
transmitting lower power, using only a subset
of the available channels Four cells f
to a cluster System Bandwidth
„ Adjacent cell uses a mutually exclusive subset
of channels .
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Original channel subset used in a cell that is
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far away from the first cell
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 Reuse in Each Cluster Co-channel Interference
„ The same C channels are used „ In the 4-cell cluster case, the nearest
simultaneously in another cluster interfering signal comes from 2 cells
„ Max no. of users = C times no. of over
clusters Another cluster

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Smaller Cells Serve More

Transmit Power Constraint Users
„ The power transmitted by each base „ The cells can be made small enough to support any
user density
station needs to be large enough to „ Macrocells
cover its own cell, but small enough to „ Microcells
not cause too much interference in the „ Picocells
The cost is in more base stations and system complexity
co-channel cells
„

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As cells get smaller, transmit power is
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reduced
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Cluster Size, N Location Rule

„ N only takes values N=i2+ij+j2 where i „ To find the nearest co-channel cell,
and j are non-negative integers. move i cells along a chain of hexagons,
„ Examples: turn 60 degrees counterclockwise and
„ i =2, j =0: N =4
move j cells
„ i =2, j =1: N =7
„ i =2, j =1: N =7

A 7-cell cluster

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Measures of Quality of the
Received Signal SNR
„ Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) „ Ratio of received desired signal power over
the average noise power in the receiver
„ Signal-to-interference ratio (SIR)
Pdes
SNR =
Pnoise
„ SNR can be improved by
„ Increasing the transmitted power
„ Decreasing the range
„ Using a better low noise amplifier (LNA)

SIR Computing Received Power

„ Ratio of received desired signal power over „ Let
the received interference power „ ddes be the distance to the desired transmitter

„ do be a reference distance (depends on antenna height)

Pdes
SIR = ni ni is the number of „ Po be the power received at the reference distance

∑P i =1
int,i
interfering base stations „ n be the path loss exponent (3-to-4 for mobile cellular)

−n
If all base stations increase their transmitted d 
„
power by the same amount, the SIR doesn’t
Pdes = Po  des 
change  do 

Worst Case Interference Co-channel Reuse Ratio

„ The SIR is worst for a mobile on the edge of a cell „ R=“major” radius of hexagonal cell
„ If all base stations transmit „ D=distance between centers
equal power, SIR can be of nearest co-channel cells
expressed „ Q=D/R=Co-channel reuse
−n
d des
SIR = ni
ratio R

Increasing Q decreases
∑d −n „
int,i interference D
i =1
„ In this example, there are „ Q= 3 N , where
six interferers N=cluster size
N=4 N =4

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 Adjacent Channel Interference
„ Even though the neighboring cells share no
channels with the serving cell, the adjacent
channels from those cells leak through the
bandpass filter of the mobile
Adjacent channels from
neighboring cells
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Summary
„ Cells allow a service provider to re-use
frequencies so it can serve more
customers
„ Smaller cells serve more customers
„ Co-channel and adjacent channel
interference are important

The serving channel

References
„ [Rapp, ’96] T.S. Rappaport, Wireless
Communications, Prentice Hall, 1996
„ [Webb, ’99] W. Webb, The Complete
Wireless Communications Professional,
Artech House, 1999
„ [Lee, ’98] W.C.Y. Lee, Mobile
Communications Engineering, McGraw-
Hill, 1998