MA2-3
Frequency Coordination Between CDMA and Non-CDMA Systems
Samir Soliman and Chuck Wheatley
QUALCOMM Incorporated
6455 Lusk Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92121
Abstract-Mutual interference between non-
CDMA (FM and TDMA) subscriber stations (SS)
and CDMA base stations (BS), as well as
interference between CDMA SS and non-CDMA
BS are investigated.
The noise figure is used as a measure of
degradation of the receiver performance. It is
shown that at a frequency offset of more than
870 kHz, the non-CDMA SS will not cause any
degradation to the CDMA BS. Conversely, the
CDMA BS will degrade the noise figure of the
non-CDMA SS. It is also shown that a space
separation (guard zone) of 144 dB path loss or
more is sufficient in cases where the CDMA
system shares the frequency band with the non-
CDMA system. This can be achieved by having
one tier of cells, operating at a different
frequency, separating the two systems.
The effect of a CDMA SS on an FM BS
depends on the size of the CDMA BS. For large
cells, the CDMA SS is required to transmit at full
power with noticeable sidebands and will cause
more degradation to the FM BS before the FM
BS can degrade the CDMA SS noise figure.
For medium size cells, the CDMA SS is not
required to transmit at full power (hence, having
much lower sidebands). In this case the FM BS
will be able to tolerate the CDMA SS.
Meanwhile, the CDMA SS will suffer
degradation as it is moved closer to the FM BS.
For small cells, the CDMA SS will transmit
at much less than full power and will have no
effect at all on the FM BS, even if moved very
close to the FM BS.
1. INTRODUCTION
Frequency coordination is the process of
assigning frequency bands to neighboring or
79
TH0661-9195/0000-0079$01.OO 0 1995 IEEE
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coexisting systems to minimize interference
effects. This interference is characterized by
unwanted signals from other frequency channels
"spilling over" or injecting energy into the desired
channel. The unwanted interference can be
classified as either "in-band" or "out-of-band".
The primary design objective of any
commercial mobile radio system is to conserve
the available spectrum by reusing frequency
channels in the adjacent areas, provided that some
frequency coordination can be exercised. This
allows the CDMA system to be phased into
operation in a given geographical area without
immediately obsoleting existing equipment
operating in the same band. It is even possible
that the CDMA and the FM systems can coexist
permanently, using the same band.
The objective of this paper is to provide
insight into the frequency coordination issue of
CDMA cellular site engineering and network
planning. We shall also introduce new terms such
as guard bands and guard zones and provide
useful tools to calculate them. We wish to state at
the outset that these tools contain simplifying
assumptions made for the sake of analytical
tractability. Nevertheless, the results obtained
can be viewed as building blocks that can be
assembled by network planners (designers) and
applied to more sophisticated scenarios of
network architecture. In practice, frequency
coordination is a complex task that must take into
account the detailed terrain of the area in
question. Computer analysis is extensively used
to help in such tasks.
Section 2 presents masks for both transmitter
and receiver characteristics. Section 3
quantitatively assesses the level of mutual
interference between CDMA base stations and
FM (TDMA) subscriber stations.
MTT-S 1995 International Topical Symposium
 Section 4 treats the mutual interference almost all of this distortion occurs in the final
between CDMA subscriber stations and FM power amplifier stage of the radio. The third
(TDMA) base stations. The treatment is based on order non-linearity will cause almost parabolic
the average values of the system parameters shaped sidebands (convolving three rectangular
without paying too much attenuation to the exact shaped spectra will result in an approximately
statistical distribution. The objective is to provide Gaussian shaped curve on a linear scale and a
the system engineer with simple tools to help parabolic shape on a dB scale). A similar
efficiently budget for different types of argument can be applied to the fifth order non-
interference and channel impairment. We will linearity. Figure I illustrates the mask of
lump the propagation loss and the fading effect in measured performance of a typical AB SS power
one parameter called the path loss, expressed in amplifier operating approximately 2 dB short of
dB, rather than absolute distance. The system it's 1 dB compression point transmitting full
designer can then use the best server (coverage) power. Within 2 MHz of the center frequency all
maps to determine the actual distance for a interference results from 3rd order distortion in
particular cell site. the final amplifier. At lower transmit powers the
absolute noise floor at 750 kHz offset will
2. TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER decrease approximately 3 dB for every 1 dB of
CHARACTERISTICS transmit power reduction. Outside the 2 MHz
range, the interference is due to the 5th order non-
Receivers on a given channel can tolerate
linearity. Consequently, its level will decrease
only a certain level of adjacent channel signal at
5 dB for every 1 dB of power in the main lobe.
the input without suffering significant degradation
Figure 2 illustrates the BS transmitter. It is very
in performance[l]. The proximity in frequency
similar to the SS transmit characteristics, except
(guard band) and space (guard zone) with which
that it has better sidebands.
CDMA channels and non-CDMA can be located
is determined by many parameters. Among those
parameters are the network architecture, the 5
receiver's filter characteristics, and the path loss. 2! 0
The network architecture (macro vs. micro) will ; - 5
determine the cell size, the power levels of the ::-10
interfering signals, the reuse factor, etc., while the Q) -15
U
path loss will depend on the environment in 2 -20
.-c.
which the system is deployed (e.g., open vs. c -25
ul
suburban area propagation models), antenna -30
height and fading characteristics. Transmitter and -35
receiver characteristics are component design -40
issues; they will determine the amount of 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
--cOmo(um)(~c) c)(Do)cUII)CO-
interference passed by the receiver's filters. By .---cy
considering masks for both the SS transmitter and ?:--'
. I "

Frequency (kHz)
the BS receiver frequency characteristics, we can
obtain an estimate of the amount of mutual
interference between CDMA and non-CDMA Figure 1 . Subscriber Station Transmit Mask
systems.
2.1 Transmitters
For the CDMA system defined in the
TIA/EIA/IS-95 E2]- the transmit spectrum is
initially determined by the FIR filters at the
baseband, then translated and amplified to the
desired UHF band and power level. In this
process, nonlinear effects in the amplifiers
generate inter-modulation products which show
up as a noise floor surrounding the desired, nearly
ideal spectrum. With a good transmitter design,

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 straightforward L e elliptic filters. The final
5 stages of lowpass filtering are only needed to
0 suppress final mixing products before the ADC.
E - 5 Figure 3 defines the overall performance of a BS
-70
U) -15 design based on this approach. Note that this
0 -20 defines frequency coordination as a selectivity
2
c)
-25 problem at the cell and not a dynamic range
z -30 problem. The assumption is that the cell
-35
-40
receiver's amplifiers can be designed to handle
-45 the full dynamic range of expected interference at
-50 any frequency.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
mCo""--
For BS to SS links, neither the receiver's
.-m"NyyT
N r r r r r r N selectivity nor the dynamic range can be as good
, , s o

Frequency (kHz) as that of the cell. However, still assume a triple

conversion receiver (UHF to analog baseband
prior to ADC), keeping the SAW filter at the first
IF stage as the best approach to a combination
Figure 2. Base Station Transmit Mask
matched filter and first level of interference
2.2 Receivers rejection.
Due to the size constraints, the second IF
There are three distinct ways that the received
filters cannot be as good as those of the cell but
signal can be degraded by interference:
still can provide close in interference rejection.
(1) Interference that makes its way into the As before, the final stages of lowpass filtering are
analog-to-digital converters (ADC) of the only needed to suppress final mixing products
receiver. This is reduced by increased before ADC. Figure 4 illustrates the overall
filter selectivity anywhere in the receiver selectivity of a SS design based on this approach.
channel.
(2) Interference which enters the AGC path,
but is rejected prior to the ADC. This
form of interference, if it is slowly
varying, will not cause significant losses
as the radio will adapt by changing its
operating point.
(3) Interference that is so large as to cause
one or more gain stages of the receiver to
go nonlinear before the interference can
be removed by filtering. This effect is
reduced by providing high dynamic range 0
0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
elements in the receiver, especially in the Z z y y ? m w " a
7 -

earlier stages. Clearly this is more easily I ,

Frequency (kHz)
accomplished in a base station than in a
subscriber unit.
Figure 3. Cell Receiver Selectivity
For SS to BS links, frequency coordination
limits are based on the selectivity that can be
realistically provided in a very good BS receiver
design. Specifically, this design assumes a triple
conversion receiver (UHF to analog baseband
prior to the ADC) using state of the art SAW
filters at the first IF stage. These filters can
provide very low distortion filtering but not close-
in interference rejection. This is followed at the
second IF stage where a significant amount of
close-in rejection can be realized with relatively

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 Assume that the sensitivity of the FM and
0 CDMA base stations are -1 16 and -122 dBm,
?
-10 respectively. Also assume that the output power
;- 2 0 of the SS will change as a function of the SS
," - 3 0 location with respect to BS.
0 -40
-
U
3
.- -50
-60
3. MUTUAL INTERFERENCE BETWEEN FM SS
AND CDMA BS
5 -70
To achieve a satisfactory frequency channel
.a0
-90 assignment plan it is necessary to understand the
0
0
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
0
0
0
0
effects of interference on radio reception.
m
,
w
S
o m
I
o m w m Assume that the CDMA BS has a 5 dB noise
Frequency (kHz) figure and its ERP is 50 dBm. The FM SS is a
Class-I unit that has a noise figure of 8 dB and
Figure 4. Subscriber station receiver selectivity transmits a maximum 36 dBm ERP.
Consider the situation in which one FM SS is
2.3 Subscriber Station Output Power interfering with one isolated CDMA cell and let:
SS have different output power levels
according not only to their type, but also
according to demands of the radio path in use. pt" = FM SS transmit ERP
Base stations instruct subscriber stations to
p: = CDMA BS transmit ERP
decrease or increase their output power levels to
maintain an acce table received signal strength at
Lp(r) = path loss at a distance r
the BS receiver f3741. This minimizes the total
amount of radiated R F power from the
L ~ ( A Q = CDMA RX. filter rejection loss
community of SS in each cell and doing so,
minimizes mutual interference. at Af kHz
The path loss depends on the propagation L;(M = CDMA TX. filter rejection loss
model and fading characteristics. The minimum
propagation loss (maximum coupling between the Af kHz
two antennas) depends upon the gain of each = One-sided Noise power
antenna and the difference in their heights. For NO
an open area propagation model the minimum spectral density
loss is about -72 dB. We will assume a 4th power W = CDMA waveform bandwidth
propagation law and that the distance between the B = FM waveform bandwidth
two BS's corresponds to -152 dB path loss (= 30
miles). The path loss from a SS at a normalized
distance r ( O a c l ) from the CDMA BS to both The amount of interference from an FM SS
the CDMA and FM BS is: See Figure 5. operating at frequency (Af) from the center of the
CDMA radio channel and at a distance (r) from
LCDMA -40log (r) 0.01 < r S 1 the CDMA cell site is given by:
P (r)= { -152
-72 0 < r IO.01 (1)

~ P ~ ( r ) -72
= { -152 -40 log (1-r)0.99055r r<<10.99 (2) Similarly, the amount of interference from the
CDMA BS into the FM SS is:
-152 -72 t
e
-147
I - -140
I
-128
I Jm = Pf + LF (Af)-10 log W+10 log B+Lp(r)
-72 -128 -140 -147 -152 (4)
CDMA cell mobile FM cell

Figure 5. Path Loss Calculations

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 The noise figure is a good measure of the
degradation in the performance of a specific 100
receiver that is subjected to interference. The
corresponding noise figures are: 90
-Lp=-128
80
I

FCDMA= F~~~~ i-
J~~~~

~
(5)
A

70
-- Lp= - 116
Y

NOW 60
2
2
c
50
CII 40
.-
30
Using the CDMA BS transmit and receive
masks it can be shown that the noise figure for the 20
CDMA BS will change with the frequency offset 10
as shown in Figure 6.
0
630 690 750 810 870 930
70
Frequency offset (kHz)

60
A

E 50 Figure 7. FM SS Noise Figure as a Function of

v Frequency Offset
3.1 Guard Band Calculations
The guard band between a CDMA and a non-
0) CDMA system is defined as the minimum
.-
U)
separation in frequency (see Figure 8) such that
g 20
the level of interference caused by one FM S S is
less than a predetermined threshold. The
10 threshold will be taken arbitrary to equal the
thermal noise level in each receiver (3 dB
0 increase in the noise figure).
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
O m c n " c a r b t - O C 9 a c n
m w w b b b o 3 c a c a m c n c n f n
630 kHz
Frequency off set (kHz) I I Guard band I
- 1 -
Figure 6. CDMA BS Noise Figure Due to an FM SS

Figure 7 illustrates the variation of the FM SS

noise figure for three different SS locations as a
function of the frequency offset.

Frequency

Figure 8. Guard Zone Definition

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 Figures 6 and 7 show that the frequency 3.2 Guard Zone Calculation
spacing which results in a 3 dB increase in the
Guard zone is defined as the minimum
noise figure of the CDMA cell is 870 kHz. For
distance between the BS and the SS such that the
the FM SS, this noise figure is still very poor
level of interference caused by one FM SS on
unless the unit is moved away from the CDMA
CDMA BB, or vice versa, is less than a
cell. That is, the CDMA cell will interfere with
predetermined threshold. In the following
the F M SS at a much greater distance than that at discussion, it is assumed that the threshold is
which the FM SS can cause any degradation to
equal to the thermal noise power NOW in the
the CDMA cell. Figure 9 illustrates the behavior
CDMA receiver or NOB in the FM receiver (a
of the noise figures as a function of the path loss
3 dB increase in the receiver noise figure). In
for a frequency separation of 870 kHz. Figure 10
such situations, worst case occurs when the FM
is a graphical illustration of the fact that the FM
SS is transmitting at full power. The minimum
SS should not be located closer than a certain
path loss required is then:
distance from the CDMA cell.
L = -108 - 36 = -144 dB
P
70
A safe assumption then is that FM and
60 CDMA BS's should be separated by at least one
FM mobile tier of cells that operate at a different frequency.
50
m 4. MUTUAL INTERFERENCE BETWEEN CDMA
9 40
SS AND FM BS
;
In
C 30 The level of mutual interference is given by:
x
._
0
20

10
................................................................................ m t
0
Jw=P, -10 log W+10 log B+Lp(r)+LF(Af) (8)
= -152 -142 -132 -122 -112 -102 -92 -82 z-72
Path loss (dB)
The noise figure of both the CDMA SS and
the FM BS are given by ( 5 ) and (6), respectively.
There are several factors to consider in
Figure 9. Noise Figures as a Function of Path calculating these numbers. First, when the
LOSS(Af=870 kHz) CDMA SS is far from the FM BS (close to its
CDMA cell) it does not have to transmit at full
power. Secondly, if the CDMA SS is not
transmitting full power its sidebands are reduced
drastically (see the discussion in Section 2). The
result is that, with sufficient frequency spacing
(Af>870 kHz) and for big cells (CDMA SS
transmitting full power) the CDMA SS will
degrade the FM BS noise figure before the FM
BS can cause any degradation to the CDMA SS.
Figures 11 and 12 illustrate the variation in the
CDMA cell FM cell noise figures as a function of frequency spacing
for two different CDMA SS locations.
FM mobile noise figure degraded For frequency coordination purposes the
problem of large signal desensitization cannot be
ignored in the CDMA SS. Note that the CDMA
SS will be desensitized when it is close to the FM
Figure 10. Mutual Interference between CDMA BS with a frequency separation of 750 kHz or
BS and FM SS at a Frequency Offset of 870 kHz less.

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 1. Big cells : distance between the two BS =
90 -152 dB (= 30 miles)
80
70
-.- In this case the CDMA SS is required to
transmit full power, especially when it is close to
60 -FM BS the FM BS. Figure 13 illustrates the degradation
50
in the noise figure as a function of the path loss
for a frequency separation of 870 kHz. It is clear
40 that for big cells, the interference from the
30 CDMA SS will degrade the noise figure of the
20 FM BS before the FM BS can cause any
10
degradation to the CDMA SS.
0
0
z0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
O u l m " a r * b O O u J 70
ulululbbbaaacncncn
Frequency offset(kHz)
60
m
3 50
Figure 1 I. Noise Figures as Function of $ 40
Frequency Spacing
-.-
.-cn
0
30

45 0 20
z
40 10

35 0
v
30
?!
t
, , , I , , ,

-
3 25 Path loss (dB)
.-0 FM BS
20
0
.Y 1 5
0 Figure 13. Noise Figures as a Function of Path Loss
z
10

5
0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
m u l u J " a - * b o o u l m
W u l u J b b b a m a c n c n c n c n
Frequency offset (kHz)

Figure 12. Noise figures as a Function of

Frequency Spacing.
FM BS CDMA BS

Because of the CDMA SS power control and CDMA SS noise figure degrades
the dependence of the sidebands on the level of 19 FM BS noise figure degrades
the SS output power, the level of the mutual
interference depends on the size of the cells. Let
us consider the following three cases:
Figure 14. Mutual interference: Big Cells

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2. Medium cells: Distance between the BS =
-140 dB (= 16 miles)
In this case, the CDMA SS is not required to
transmit full power. The sidebands of the
transmit characteristics will be reduced
drastically, hence the amount of interference
suffered by the FM BS will be decreased
noticeably. The effect of the FM BS on the
CDMA SS will show up much earlier as the SS
moves toward the BS. Figures 15 displays the
results for a medium size cell.
3. Small Cells: distance between the BS =
-112 dB (= 4 miles)
For small cells, the CDMA SS will transmit
at less than 10 dBm. The sidebands will be less
than -90 dBm. At an 870 kHz frequency offset,
the CDMA SS will have virtually no effect of the
FM BS. On the other hand, the FM BS will cause
degradation to the CDMA SS especially when the
SS gets closer to the BS. Figures 17 and 18
demonstrate the effect of an FM BS on a CDMA
SS for small cells.

25

-
m
U
20
14
13
v -C
. DMA SS
5 15 12
-
F
M BS
3 -
F
M BS
.-ol
U-
11
0 '0 10
.-0
2 9
5
8
0 7
-142 -120 -114 -100 -86 -72

CDMA BS f Path loss (dB) FM BS

Figure 15. Noise Figures: Medium Cell

-105 -94 -83 -72
FM BS 4
Figure 17. Noise Figures: Small Cell

FM BS CDMA BS
FM cell CDMA cell
CDMA S S noise figure degrades
CDMA mobile noise figure degrades
FM BS noise figure degrades
Figure 18. Mutual Interference: Small Cells

Figure 16. Mutual Interference: Medium Cell

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4.1 Guard Zone Calculations
Following the argument of Section 3, the
frequency offset between a CDMA SS and an €34
BS should be greater than 870 kHz.
4.2 Guard Zone Calculations
From (7) and (8), the minimum path loss
between a CDMA SS and an in-band FM BS is:
Lmin = -105 - 36 = -141 dB
Again, a space separation of o n e cell
operating at a different frequency between the FM
and CDMA cells should be enough to provide the
needed isolation.
REFERENCES
U.L. Rohde and T.T.N Bucher, Communications
Receivers: Principles and Design, McGraw Hill,
1988.
TIA/EIA Interim Standard: Mobile Station-Base
Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode
Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System ,
July, 1993.
S. Soliman, C. Wheatley, R. Padovani, "CDMA
Reverse Link Open Loop Power Control," Proc.
of IEEE Globecom'92, Orlando, FL, Dec. 6-9,
1992.
Samir Soliman, "Closed Loop Power Control
Feedback Model," Qualcomm Internal memo.
Samir S . Soliman (S'80-M'83-
SM'88) received his B.Sc. degrees
in Electrical Engineering and
Applied Mathematics from Ain
Shames University, Cairo, Egypt,
both with honors in 1974 and
1977, respectively, and M.S.
(1980) and Ph.D. (1983) degrees
in Electrical Engineering from the
University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
He served as the Communication Theory technical
representative for ICC'90 and as a vice chair of the
technical program committee for Globcom'89. Dr.
Soliman's research interests include coding and
synchronization over fading dispersive channels,
detection and estimation over non-Gaussian channels,
channel modeling, and personal communications
networks and services. From August 1983 to May
1990 he was with the Department of Electrical
Engineering, Southern Methodist University, Dallas,
Texas. He spent the Summer of 1990 on sabbatical at
Bell Northern Research, Richardson, Texas,
conducting research on indoor wireless
communications. He is currently employed at
QUALCOMM, Incorporated., San Diego, California.
Dr. Soliman has published more than 35 technical
articles and is the principal author of the book,
Continuous and Discrete Signals and Systems
(Prentice-Hall, 1990). He is a member of Sigma Xi and
Eta Kappa Nu.
Charles E. Wheatley (SM 91)
received the B.S. degree in
Physics from the California
Institute of Technology, Pasadena,
in 1956, the M.S. degree in
Electrical Engineering from the
University of Southern California,
Los Angeles, in 1958, and the
Ph.D. degree in Electrical
Engineering from the University of California, Los
Angeles, in 1972.
He has been involved with Spread Spectrum
systems for over 30 years, starting in 1963 with
Frequency Hopping Systems at North American
Aviation, Autonetics Division, later Collins, Rockwell
Collins, then Rockwell International. From 1973 to
1981, he contributed to the GPS program on various
terminal designs and also on the space borne Rubidium
Atomic frequency standard. In 1982, he moved to
Linkabit Corporation, where he was involved primarily
with the Milstar Program, concentrating on RF and
System Issues.
He joined QUALCOMM Inc. in 1987, and is now
Vice President, Technology, concentrating equally on
RF hardware design, system design, and standards
development. Since 1989, these efforts have been
devoteh almost entirely to CDMA as applied to
wireless mobile applications.
Dr. Wheatley holds 15 patents on various
techniques and devices, all related to the field of
communications.

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