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Multiple access schemes are used to allow many simultaneous users to use the same
fixed bandwidth radio spectrum. In any radio system, the bandwidth that is allocated
to it is always limited. For mobile phone systems the total bandwidth is typically 50
MHz, which is split in half to provide the forward and reverse links of the system.
Sharing of the spectrum is required in order increase the user capacity of any
wireless network. FDMA, TDMA and CDMA are the three major methods of sharing
the available bandwidth to multiple users in wireless system.
For systems using Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), the available
bandwidth is subdivided into a number of narrower band channels. Each user is
allocated a unique frequency band in which to transmit and receive on. During a call,
no other user can use the same frequency band. Each user is allocated a forward link
channel (from the base station to the mobile phone) and a reverse channel (back to
the base station), each being a single way link. The transmitted signal on each of the
channels is continuous allowing analog transmissions. The channel bandwidth used in
most FDMA systems is typically low (30kHz) as each channel only needs to support a
single user. FDMA is used as the primary subdivision of large allocated frequency
bands and is used as part of most multi-channel systems. Figures below show the
allocation of the available bandwidth into several channels.
FDMA showing that the each narrow band channel is allocated to a single user
FDMA spectrum, where the available bandwidth is subdivided into narrower band
channels
Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) divides the available spectrum into multiple
time slots, by giving each user a time slot in which they can transmit or receive.
Figure 8 shows how the time slots are provided to users in a round robin fashion,
with each user being allotted one time slot per frame.
TDMA systems transmit data in a buffer and burst method, thus the transmission of
each channel is non-continuous. The input data to be transmitted is buffered over
the previous frame and burst transmitted at a higher rate during the time slot for the
channel. TDMA can not send analog signals directly due to the buffering required,
thus is only used for transmitting digital data. TDMA can suffer from multipath
effects as the transmission rate is generally very high, resulting in significant inter-
symbol interference.
TDMA is normally used in conjunction with FDMA to subdivide the total available
bandwidth into several channels. This is done to reduce the number of users per
channel allowing a lower data rate to be used. This helps reduce the effect of delay
spread on the transmission. Figure 9 shows the use of TDMA with FDMA. Each
channel based on FDMA, is further subdivided using TDMA, so that several users can
transmit of the one channel. This type of transmission technique is used by most
digital second generation mobile phone systems. For GSM, the total allocated
bandwidth of 25MHz is divided into 125, 200kHz channels using FDMA. These
channels are then subdivided further by using TDMA so that each 200kHz channel
allows 8-16 users [13].
TDMA / FDMA hybrid, showing that the bandwidth is split into frequency channels
and time slots
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is a spread spectrum technique that uses
neither frequency channels nor time slots. With CDMA, the narrow band message
(typically digitised voice data) is multiplied by a large bandwidth signal that is a
pseudo random noise code (PN code). All users in a CDMA system use the same
frequency band and transmit simultaneously. The transmitted signal is recovered by
correlating the received signal with the PN code used by the transmitter. Figure
shows the general use of the spectrum using CDMA.
network.
2. From that tower to the tower under which the receiving subscriber comes.
This is done through Radio Access Network(RAN). It provides the basic
transmission, local control and the management functions associated with
processing subscriber device service.
In this section we will discuss only the first and last sets of processes. The details of
RAN are discussed in next section.
In Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems all users transmit in the same
bandwidth simultaneously. Communication systems following this concept are
``spread spectrum systems''. In this transmission technique, the frequency
spectrum of a data-signal is spread using a code uncorrelated with that signal. As a
result the bandwidth occupancy is much higher then required.
The codes used for spreading have low cross-correlation values and are unique to
every user. This is the reason that a receiver which has knowledge about the code of
the intended transmitter, is capable of selecting the desired signal.
Modulation is the process of varying a carrier signal in order to use that signal to
convey information. The three key parameters of a sinusoid are its amplitude, its
phase and its frequency, all of which can be modified in accordance with an
information signal to obtain the modulated signal.
The amplitude variation will integrate into the original modulating signal. There are
several ways to demodulate an FM signal.
If the filter response changes linearly with frequency, the final analog output will be
proportional to the input frequency, as desired. Another one is to use two AM
demodulators, one tuned to the high end of the band and the other to the low end,
and feed the outputs into a difference amp.
Another is to feed the signal into a phase-locked loop and use the error signal as the
demodulated signal.
The result is that proper data detection is not possible. Another spread
spectrum technique Frequency-Hopping is less effected by this Near-
Far effect.
. Band Pass filtering the output and transmitting the resulting RF signal.
. Demodulating the signal with the known spreading sequence and integrating the
despread signal over a bit rate to recover the information signal.
The figure below shows the series of steps that are follwed after the signal has
reached the tower from the mobile and before the signal comes to the mobile from
the tower. The process of decoding and interleaving also takes place in the mobile
set itself.
Pseudo-Noise Sequences
So far we haven't discussed what properties we would want the spreading signal to
have. This depends on the type of system we want to implement. Let's first consider
a system where we want to use spread spectrum to avoid jamming or narrow band
interference.
If we want the signal to overcome narrow band interference, the spreading function
needs to behave like noise. Random binary sequences are such functions. They have
the following important properties:
PN sequences are periodic sequences that have a noise like behavior. They are
generated using shift registers, modulo-2 adders (XOR gates) and feedback loops.
The following diagram illustrates this
CDMA is interference limited multiple access system. Because all users transmit on
the same frequency, internal interference generated by the system is the most
significant factor in determining system capacity and call quality.
The transmit power for each user must be reduced to limit interference, however,
the power should be enough to maintain the required Eb/No (signal to noise ratio)
for a satisfactory call quality. Maximum capacity is achieved when Eb/No of every
user is at the minimum level needed for the acceptable channel performance. As the
MS moves around, the RF environment continuously changes due to fast and slow
fading, external interference, shadowing, and other factors.
The aim of the dynamic power control is to limit transmitted power on both the links
while maintaining link quality under all conditions.
The "Magic" of CDMA
CDMA offers an answer to the capacity problem. The key to its high capacity is the
use of noise-like carrier waves. Instead of partitioning either spectrum or time into
disjoint "slots" each user is assigned a different instance of the noise carrier. While
those waveforms are not rigorously orthogonal, they are nearly so. Practical
application of this principle has always used digitally generated pseudo-noise, rather
than true thermal noise. The basic benefits are preserved, and the transmitters and
receivers are simplified because large portions can be implemented using high-
density digital devices.
The major benefit of noise-like carriers is that the system sensitivity to interference
is fundamentally altered. Traditional time or frequency slotted systems must be
designed with a reuse ratio that satisfies the worst-case interference scenario, but
only a small fraction of the users actually experience that worst-case. Use of noise-
like carriers, with all users occupying the same spectrum, makes the effective noise
the sum of all other-user signals. The receiver correlates its input with the desired
noise carrier, enhancing the signal to noise ratio at the detector. The enhancement
overcomes the summed noise enough to provide an adequate SNR at the detector.
Because the interference is summed, the system is no longer sensitive to worst-case
interference, but rather to average interference. Frequency reuse is universal, that
is, multiple users utilize each CDMA carrier frequency. The reuse pattern is
The rainbow cells indicate that the entire 1.25 MHz passband is used by each user,
and that same passband is reused in each cell.
Multipath Propagation
There are two questions that one must address regarding multipath fading and
CDMA. First, under what circumstances will CDMA experience fading, and second,
what is the effect of fading, when it occurs, on the CDMA channel?
When the multipath components are "resolved" by the CDMA waveform, that is,
when their delays are separated by at least the decorrelation time of the spreading,
then they can be separated by the despreading correlator in the receiver. They do
not interfere because each component correlates at a different delay. When the
multipath components are separated by less than the decorrelation time, then they
cannot be separated in the receiver, and they do interfere with one another, leading
to what is sometimes called flat fading.
The duration of one spreading chip is 1/1.2288MHz = 814 ns, or at the speed of
light, 244 meters. Multipath differences less than this will lead to flat fading; greater
will lead to resolved multipath, which will be diversity combined by the receiver.
To address the second question, that of the effects of fading, the answer is complex
and is different in the forward and reverse links. It also depends on the fading rate,
which in turn depends on the velocity of the mobile station. Generally fading
increases the average SNR needed for a particular error rate. The increase can be as
much as perhaps 6 dB. In the reverse link, the power control will mitigate the effects
of fading at low speed; at high speed it has little effect. At high speed, and in both
links, the interleaving becomes more effective as the characteristic fade time
becomes less than the interleaver span.
RAKE RECEIVERS
One of the main advantages of CDMA systems is the capability of using signals that
arrive in the receivers with different time delays. This phenomenon is called
multipath. FDMA and TDMA, which are narrow band systems, cannot discriminate
between the multipath arrivals, and resort to equalization to mitigate the negative
effects of multipath.
Due to its wide bandwidth and rake receivers, CDMA uses the multipath signals and
combines them to make an even stronger signal at the receivers. CDMA subscriber
units use rake receivers. This is essentially a set of several receivers.
One of the receivers (fingers) constantly searches for different multipaths and feeds
the information to the other three fingers. Each finger then demodulates the signal
corresponding to a strong multipath. The results are then combined together to
make the signal stronger.
There are separate names given and frequencies allotted to the accesses from the
tower to the mobile and from the mobile to the tower.
• Forward link: also called downlink is the link from the tower to the
mobile station (MS). Its frequency range is from 869 to 894MHz for
Tata Teliservices.
• Reverse Link: also called the uplink is the link from the mobile station
(MS) to the tower of the network. Its frequency range is from 824 to
849 MHz for the same.
Two different types of signals or channels may be transmitted on the reverse link in
IS-95 systems. These signal types are the Access Channels and the traffic channels.
There can be as many as 32 Access Channels per paging channel associated with any
one pilot. The number of reverse-link traffic channels is generally determined by the
system self-interference.
The total number of reverse-link channels supporting calls in progress equals the
total number of forward-link traffic channels also supporting the same number of
calls. Therefore, the number of traffic channels cannot exceed 63, the maximum
number of Walsh words available to traffic, even though there are many more than
this number of long code offsets which uniquely identify the individual Access
Channels and mobile users.
The Mobile Identification Number (MIN) is a 34-bit number that is derived from the
10-digit directory telephone number assigned to a mobile station.
The rules for deriving the MIN from the 10-digit telephone number are given in the
IS-95 standard. MIN1 is the first or least significant 24 binary digits of the MIN. MIN2
is the second part of the MIN containing the 10 most signif-icant binary digits. MIN1,
and the ESN, along with other digital input, are used during the authentication
process. The MIN is used to identify a mobile station.
Access Channels
Now to make contact with the subscriber there are various access channels that are
used in CDMA. First let us define what are access channels.
Application: In CDMA, up to 32 Access Channels are associated with the pilot offset
of a particular base station. The mobile uses an Access Channel to transmit to a base
station when it is not in the traffic mode. Overhead or control data and short
messages are sent to the base station at a rate of 4800 bits/second. Mobile
transmitting power control and randomized timing are used to control or limit
contention, which is the simultaneous reception of access messages at the base
station. An Access Channel is identified by its unique long code mask, which in part
depends on the pilot offset of the base station to which the mobile is transmitting.
After the mobile initially acquires the Pilot of a base station and reads the data on
the Synchronization channel, it transmits to the base station on an Access Channel.
This is the first indication that the base station has that the mobile is present and
active. All communications with the base station occur using the Access Channel until
the mobile is placed in the traffic mode.
Pilot Channel
Application: The pilot channel provides several critically important functions to the
forward links in IS-95 systems. As its definition states, the pilot channel is only
modulated by the PN spreading codes.
This facilitates the process of generating a time synchronized replica at the receiver
of the PN spreading sequences used at the transmitter to modulate the
Synchronization, paging, and traffic channels transmitted from that base station. The
power of the pilot is an indication to the mobile of its ability to successfully use the
signals from the base station transmitting that pilot.
The individual pilots are recognizable based on a specific offset of the short pilot PN
sequences which have a period of exactly 215 chips. The pilot channel also provides
the coherent reference signal needed to demodulate the coherent Binary Phase Shift
Keying (BPSK) modulation used on the forward link. The pilot channel, when
processed by the pilot searcher, also identifies the multipath-delay structure on
which the mobile receiver bases its decisions of how best to use its RAKE-receiver
fingers. To provide all these important functions reliably, the power level at which
the pilot channel is transmitted is typically higher than the power used on any other
channel. A pilot-power level of 2 Watts is not unusual. With a total forward-link
power output of say 8 Watts, the pilot power is usually on the order of 25% of the
total forward-link power.
Paging Channel
Application: There are up to 7 paging channels available to each base station. While
the mobile is not in the traffic mode, the base sends orders and messages to the
mobile on the paging channel. It receives responses and requests via the mobile's
Access Channel.
The data rate on the paging channels is either 9600 or 4800 bits/sec. The paging
traffic is protected by rate 1/2 convolutional encoding, interleaving, and scrambling
using a paging channel mask. The nth paging channel, n equal 1 up to 7, is always
assigned the nth Walsh word. There is no power control on the paging channel. The
pilot PN code offset used to spread the paging channels is the same as used to
spread all the other signals transmitted by a given base station.
Traffic Channel
Application: The major purpose of the traffic channels in IS-95 is to carry the
primary digital voice messages. However, when a mobile has been assigned to a
traffic channel, that channel also carries signaling traffic and, on the forward link,
power control bits. The forward link to a particular mobile is identified by a Walsh
word assigned to that mobile for use during a call.
The forward-link traffic channels use rate 1/2 convolutional encoding, symbol
repetition to produce a common symbol stream at a rate of 19.2 ksym/sec, and
inter-leaving over a Vocoder frame of 20 msec. The traffic channel is scrambled
using a 19.2 chip/sec stream derived by decimating a long PN code generator whose
mask belongs to the user to whom the message is being sent.
After scrambling for privacy, and possible puncturing by power control bits, the
traffic channel is spread using quadrature spreading codes common to every QPSK
signal transmitted from a given base station. The power on the for-ward-link traffic
channels is controlled based on frame error rate statistics of the forward-link
messages which are measured by the mobile and reported to the base station.
The power transmitted varies on a frame-to-frame basis depending on the bit rate at
the Vocoder output.The reverse link from a mobile to a base station is identified by a
long code offset or mask which is permanently assigned to that mobile. The reverse-
link traffic channels use rate 1/3 convolutional encoding, symbol repetition to
produce a common symbol stream at a rate of 28.8 ksym/sec, and interleaving over
a Vocoder frame of 20 msec.
The interleaver output is partitioned into 6-symbol blocks used to select one of 64
orthogonal Walsh words. Any duplicate symbols produced by repetition are removed
by the data burst randomizer. The bursts out of the data burst randomizer are
scrambled using a 1.2288 Mchip/sec stream derived from a long PN code generator
with a mask belonging to the mobile user.
After scrambling for privacy, the traffic channel is spread using quadrature spreading
codes to produce offset or staggered QPSK. The power on the reverse-link traffic
channels is controlled based by the open loop, closed loop, and outer loop power
control procedures.
The 4800 sym/sec stream is interleaved 128 symbols at a time spanning exactly
26.666... msec, which equals the period of the pilot code. Walsh word 32, consisting
of 32 binary zeros followed by 32 binary ones is used to identify the Synchronization
channel. The 32 zeros and 32 ones of Walsh word 32 may be viewed as a square
wave which is zero for about 26.04 µsec and then one for 26.04 µsec.
Having a bandwidth of about 38.4 kHz. This signal is then PN spread to the
approximate 1.25 MHz of the physical channel by the pilot PN codes. Power control is
not used on the Synchronization channel.
Antennas
Now, having studied about the channels let us concentrate on the Antennas that
transmit all these channels from the base station to the mobile station. An antenna
or aerial is an electronic component designed to transceive radio signals (and, more
generally, other electromagnetic waves). Antennas are for transmission of radio
wave energy through the natural media (i.e., air, earth, water, etc.) for point-to-
point communication or for the reception of such transmitted radio wave energy.
Antennas are primarily designed for transmission of radio wave energy through free
space or any space where the movement of energy in any direction is substantially
unimpeded, such as interplanetary space (such as the interplanetary medium or
interstellar medium), the atmosphere, the ocean (and other large bodies of water),
or the Earth. Antennas are used for communicating and conveying information
specifically in larger systems, such as the radio, telephone, and the telegraph.
Physically, an antenna is an arrangement of conductors designed to radiate
(transmit) an electromagnetic field in response to an applied alternating voltage and
the associated alternating electric current, or to be placed into an electromagnetic
field so that the field will induce an alternating current in the antenna and a voltage
between its terminals.
Any conducting mass may function as a radiator or collector of radio wave energy
and may act as an antenna. Antennas, more specifically, are passive conducting
masses, which may be in the form of a metallic current conductor, waveguide, or
space discharge. This mass in use is in direct engagement with free space to emit or
collect radio wave energy to or from free space, and is coupled or connected to a
source of energy or to a load. To act as an antenna, the mass usually has a
particular shape and size, or may have electrical circuit elements, namely resistance,
inductance, or capacitance, associated with it. "Scanning" an antenna repeatedly
moves the antenna beam over an area in space, such as in radar. "Sweeping" an
antenna moves the antenna beam repeatedly along a single line (which may be
straight or curved) in space.
When the circuit is much shorter than the wavelength of the signal, the rate at which
it radiates energy is proportional to the size of the current, the length of the circuit
and the frequency of the alternations. In most circuits, the product of these three
quantities is small enough that not much energy is radiated, and the result is that
the reactive field dominates the radiating field. When the length of the antenna
approaches the wavelength of the signal, the current along the antenna is no longer
uniform and the calculation of power output becomes more complex.
Practical antennas:
Although any circuit can radiate if driven with a signal of high enough frequency,
most practical antennas are specially designed to radiate efficiently at a particular
frequency. An example of an inefficient antenna is the simple Hertzian dipole
antenna, which radiates over wide range of frequencies and is useful for its small
size. A more efficient variation of this is the half-wave dipole, which radiates with
high efficiency when the signal wavelength is twice the electrical length of the
antenna.
One of the goals of antenna design is to minimize the reactance of the device so that
it appears as a resistive load. An "antenna inherent reactance" includes not only the
distributed reactance of the active antenna but also the natural reactance due to its
location and surroundings (as for example, the capacity relation inherent in the
position of the active antenna relative to ground).
Reactance diverts energy into the reactive field, which causes unwanted currents
that heat the antenna and associated wiring, thereby wasting energy without
contributing to the radiated output.
Once the reactance has been eliminated, what remains is a pure resistance, which is
the sum of two parts: the ohmic resistance of the conductors, and the radiation
resistance. Power absorbed by the ohmic resistance becomes waste heat, and that
absorbed by the radiation resistance becomes radiated electromagnetic energy. The
greater the ratio of radiation resistance to ohmic resistance, the more efficient the
antenna.
A collinear array is usually mounted vertically, in order to increase overall gain and
directivity in the horizontal direction. When stacking dipole antennas in such a
fashion, doubling their number will, with proper phasing, produce a 3 dB increase in
directive gain.
The use of an antenna array at a base-station for cellular CDMA is studied. Analysis
for a multicell CDMA network with an antenna array at the base-station for use in
both base-station to mobile (downlink) and mobile to base-station (uplink) links has
modeled the effects of path loss, Rayleigh fading, log-normal shadowing, multiple
access interference, and thermal noise, and show that by using an antenna array at
the base-station, both in receive and transmit, one can increase system capacity
several fold.