CDMA - Code Division Multiple Access

Presented by:
MUHAMMAD ILYAS CHANNA
ADE(U/T)
RH#1902

CDMA Evolution
Developed for commercial use by Qualcomm in
early 90s
Power control is still proprietary to Qualcomm
Copyright issues with major vendors like Nokia
IS-95 (cdmaOne), CDMA2000, CDMA2000
1xEVDO, CDMA2000 1xEVDV
PTCL has opted for CDMA 2000 1xEVDV for its
WLL network. M/S Huawei, China are the
manufacturers and suppliers

CDMA Attributes
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Wideband communication system (1.25 - 5 MHz carrier)

High transmission rate (upto 2 Mb/s for stationary MS)
Same frequency, different code
Precise power control on the reverse link
Much higher capacity than TDMA (GSM) and FDMA (AMPS) based
systems
Improved QoS - multipath fading and rake receivers
Frequency reuse is not required as N = 1

FDMA

Frequency spectrum is divided into channels

For call duration, each channel is used by a
single user
Least spectrally efficient
Frequenc
y

1 2

Time

Cod
e

TDMA

Channels occupy cyclically repeating time intervals

or time slots
DAMPS is 6 times more spectrally efficient than
FDMA, and GSM is 8 times more so
Time

n
2
1

Cod
e

Frequenc
y

CDMA
Each channel is assigned a unique code and occupies
the same frequency and time as other users
Most prone to interference
Maximum spectral efficiency
Frequency

1
2

Time

Cod
e

Direct Sequence Spread

Spectrum
DSSS is a wideband system which makes the
entire BW available to each user
Spreading signal or Code bit rate is much higher
than information signal bit rate
At the receiver, despreading is done with a
replica of the same signal used to spread data
DSSS systems are also known as Pseudo Noise
(PN) systems
CDMA is interference limited, hence system
design is a major challenge
Normally upto 33 simultaneous conversations
can be supported for an SNR of 6 dB

Spreading of data signal

CDMA DSSS example
Data Bit Time

Data
Signal
PN Code
Output

Chi
p
Tim
e

O/P =Digital Signal+

PNCo

X-OR

PN Code and how it spreads data for a spreading factor

of 5

CDMA - Codes and

Orthogonal or Walsh
Codes
Orthogonality

Used to separate users. Each forward channel (BS-MS) is assigned a distinct

Walsh Code

Orthogonal Spreading and Despreading

XOR twice and retrieve original signal
each encoded symbol is XORed with 64 Walsh Code chips
eg 1 0000111111110000111100000000111111110000000011110000111111110000

1111000000001111000011111111000000001111111100001111000000001111

After XORing, pattern is transmitted as a 64 bit representation and at Rx, it is

+
again XORed
with the 64 bit Walsh code which gives original symbol. Tx signal
64 bit Walsh Code = 1
Despreading occurs in the MS

The second type of code used in CDMA systems is the

+
Psuedorandom Noise (PN) code

Codes and OrthogonalityAn

Example
+1
-1

+1

Signal from user A

Signal
00 code
0101

Symbol
Period

Signal from user

B
10
0011

+1

-3

User A

-1
+1
+1
-1

+1

Signal
from user
C
11
0000
Composite Signal
A+B+C

Composite Signal
A+B+C

Walsh Code
0101

-1

+3

Product

-1
-3

Spreadin
g

3 users and 3 orthogonal

codes
Signals are spread and then
summed up for
transmission

Despreadin
g

At As receiver, composite signal

is multiplied by As Walsh code
0101
Result is averaged over symbol
time correlation
Average voltage over symbol

PN Codes

PN Codes are deterministic codes that mimic

randomness
If current state and generating function of PN code
are known, the future state of PN code can be
predicted
2 short codes (215 = 32768)
Unique offsets serve as identifiers for cells and sectors
Clock rate of 1.2288 Mcps
Repeat every 26.67 msec

1 long code (242 ~ 4400 Billion)

Used for spreading and scrambling
clock rate of 1.2288 Mcps
Repeats every 41 days

PN Codes
Channelisation of users in reverse direction is
accomplished by assigning them different
time shifted versions (masks) of the long PN
code, thus making them uncorrelated with
each other
Each cell or sector uses a unique short PN
code separated from possible interfering cells
with a unique offset - 64 PN chips
PN codes are generated by simple
mechanisms that employ shift registers and
XOR gates

Downlink (Forward Direction) BS MS

64 Walsh codes W0-W63 identify downlink channels

1 pilot (0), 1 sync (32), up to 7 paging (1-7) and 55
traffic channels are used in the forward link
Speech signals are scrambled by long PN code,
using 42 bits mask. First 10 bits of the mask are
constant, whereas 32 bits are ESN of concerned MS
The resulting 19.2 ksps signal is changed to 1.2288
Mcps by appropriate Walsh Code assigned to the
user
After orthogonal spreading by appropriate Walsh
Code, data is modulated by short PN codes at fixed
rate of 1.2288 Mcps

Uplink (Reverse Direction) BS-MS

Users are channelised by using different
long code offsets for spreading
Data burst randomiser (DBR) is used for
rapid power control
MS uses full rate power when it transmits
when redundant information is produced by
symbol repitition scheme, transmitter is
turned off by DBR, reducing average tx
power, thereby increasing talk time

Frequency Planning in CDMA

Since cluster size N = 1, frequency planning is
not a big issue
Adjacent base stations may use the same
frequency
However limited frequency reuse is required in
certain conditions
Interfering cells on the same channel as the
serving cell may create interference overload
leading to dropped calls
f1/f2 cell planning (hard handoffs)
Near far effect

Frequency planning in CDMA

IS-95 has a total available bandwidth of 25
MHz for uplink and 25 MHz for downlink
1.25 MHz (10% of available bandwidth for
one system) radio channel is used for
simultaneous transmissions of 1 CC and up to
64 VCs
User data rate changes in real time
Coverage region and interference levels are
not well defined, but depend on users at a
particular time

Frequency planning in CDMA

Contd
If number of users increase beyond a
certain level, there may be an abrupt
increase in dropped calls
More users mean degraded
performance
Power levels and thresholds for VC and
CC have to be meticulously designed

Traffic carrying capability

CDMA is not bandwidth limited, but is interference limited
Increasing simultaneous conversations within a cell
increases interference, and decreases channel throughput
At busy hour, QoS is at its minimum, whereas at non busy
hours, there is enhanced service quality
Most prone to interference, but there are ways to counter
interference problems such as precise power control on
control channel and voice channels

CDMA2000 Band Allocations

CDMA2000 allows the
following

5 wideband
carriers with 625
kHz guard band

3 wideband
carriers and
additional
IS-95 carriers

20 MHz

15 MHz

1 wideband

carrier with 625

kHz
guard band

5 MHz

CDMA Band Planning

Co-existence of 1.25 MHz and 3.75 MHz gives better
band packing
1.25 MHz at edge of frequency block reduces spurious
emissions in adjacent blocks
Allocated Block
5 MHz
10 MHz
15 MHz
20 MHz

3x Carrier Deployment
1 x 3.75 Carrier + Guard Band
2 x 3.75 Carrier + 1 x 1.25 Carrier +
Guard Band
3 x 3.75 Carrier + 2 x 1.25 Carrier +
Guard Band
4 x 3.75 Carrier + 3 x 1.25 Carrier +
Guard Band
or
5 x 3.75 Carrier + Guard Band

Traffic carrying capability .

Contd
GSM uses FDMA and TDMA to offer greater compression

than DAMPS. Upto 8 simultaneous conversations may be

carried out at half rate and 4 at full rate
CDMA is the most spectrally efficient technology. IS 95
CDMA uses a single channel of 1.25 MHz to carry entire
traffic load for one or more base stations
The same channel may be used in adjacent cells and for
split up and sectorised cells to increase traffic handling
capacity
Soft handoff is employed whenever neighbouring cells use
the same frequency as the reference cell

CDMA specific behaviour

f1/f2 cell planning
nearest cells use different radio frequencies
implemented where interference is experienced
used for hard handoffs

Breathing Cell

dynamic, time varying, user dependent cell boundaries

Soft handoff
MSC monitors MS from two or more base stations
the strongest channel is automatically allocated to MS
without a change in frequency

CDMA specific behaviour

Near Far Effect
precise power control for each user
power from each user should be equal at base station. If
not, near far effect occurs
generally stronger signal at Rx drowns weaker signals
this is avoided by sending power change commands over
the forward radio link to all mobiles
each MS provides the same signal level to the base
station Rx and near far effect is avoided from mobiles
within a cell
however, out of cell mobiles may cause near far effect

CDMA Handoffs
Soft handoff
Make before break handoff
MSC monitors MS from two or more base stations
the strongest channel is automatically allocated to MS
without a change in frequency

Softer Handoff
Done among different sectors of the same cell

Hard handoff
Required where different frequencies are used in
neighbouring base stations

Cellular Calls

L/L to Cellular
Major Cities
LE
City
A

DTE
City A

MSC
City A
or B

DTE
City B

BTS

BSC

Leased
Lines

...

Smaller Cities POP

LE
City
B

Leased
Lines

DTE
City A

MSC
City A
or B

DTE
City B
Leased
Lines

BTS

BSC

...

POP entails infrastructure for routing local mobile calls

(origination and termination) to nearest DTE on
dedicated trunks, so that local rates are charged for
local calls

Thank You