Frequency Division

Multiple Access (FDMA)

Frequency Division Multiple

Access
implemented at themedia access
control (MAC) layer
the user is assigned a specific
frequency band in the
electromagnetic spectrum, and
during a call that user is the only one
who has the right to access the
specific band

Frequency Division Multiple

Access
Total system bandwidth is divided
into narrow frequency slots. Each
user is allocated a unique frequency
band or channel
A user is free to transmit or receive
all the time on its allocated radio
channel, but the cost of transceiver
is high, as each has to be designed
on a different band

Frequency Division Multiple

Access

Numbers of Channels in
FDMA
Let Btotal be the total system
bandwidth, Bguard be the guard
band at edge, and Bch the single
radio channel bandwidth. Then the
number of channels in a FDMA
system:

Numbers of Channels in
FDMA
Example:
AMPS uses FDMA/FDD with Btotal =
12.5 MHz, Bguard = 10 kHz and Bch
= 30 kHz

FDMA vs TDMA
Frequency division is very simple: all transmitters
sharing the medium have output power spectra in
non-overlapping bands.
Many of the problems experienced in TDMA due to
different propagation delays are eliminated in FDMA.

The major disadvantage of FDMA is the relatively

expensive and complicated bandpass filters
required.
TDMA is realized primarily with much cheaper logic
functions.

Another disadvantage of FDMA is the rather strict

linearity requirement of the medium.

Reference
http://lenst.det.unifi.it/~mucchi/DOCS
/ING/3bis.Multiplexing.pdf
http://www.thenetworkencyclopedia.c
om/entry/frequency-division-multipl
e-access-fdma
/
http://
users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/sqc/EZ412-612
/RCL-19.pdf