where we are

• We are still focusing on taking a tour of a variety of

communication systems

• We started with a look at radio

A Tour of Some Wireless and Mobile • We focused on digital radio and we saw that a number of
Communication Systems developments are taking place
Cellular Networks
• We now move to mobile communications / cellular
networks.
Linda Doyle
Centre for Telecommunications Value-Chain Research
Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering
Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland

class exercise

• break into groups

• sketch out what you know about any one mobile/cellular

system

some basics

Sharing 1G – Separate Frequencies

• When we go on to look at 1G, 2G and 3G systems a key issue is

how the radios share the spectrum among themselves FDMA - Frequency Division Multiple Access

• We use the term ‘multiple access’ to describe the process of

sharing 90 KHz
80 KHz
70 KHz
• Multiple entities have access to the shared wireless medium
Frequency

60 KHz
50 KHz
40 KHz
• How each system does multiple access is not the only defining 30 KHz
feature of the system as we will see later. But it is a distinctive one. 20 KHz

1
 2G & 3G
2G

TDMA - Time Division Multiple Access

CDMA - Code Division Multiple Access

One timeslot = 0.577 ms One TDMA frame = 8 timeslots

• Spread spectrum modulation

500 KHz
– originally developed for the military
400 KHz
– resists jamming and many kinds of interference
Frequency

300 KHz – coded modulation hidden from those w/o the code
200 KHz

• All users share same (large) block of spectrum

– one for one frequency reuse
Time

spread spectrum multi- access radio techniques

• Traditional radio communications focussed on the use of narrow

band signals – FM radio etc.
• Spread spectrum works by taking a narrow band signal and using
mathematical techniques to diffuse the signal power over a larger
range of frequencies.
• Both the transmitter and receiver agree on the same technique,
allowing the receiver to reconstitute the narrow band signal from the
diffused signal.
• Looks like noise to narrow-band receivers
• Co-patented by Austrian-born actress Hedy Lamarr in 1942. Billed
by Hollywood’s Louis B. Mayer as the as the ‘most beautiful woman
in the world’, the model for Catwoman in the original Batman comics
and the first actress to appear nude on film in a German film,
Courtesy of Petri Possi, UMTS World
‘Extasy’, in 1932

Courtesy of Suresh Goyal & Rich Howard Courtesy of Suresh Goyal & Rich Howard

2
Courtesy of Suresh Goyal & Rich Howard Courtesy of Suresh Goyal & Rich Howard

The Cellular Concept

• The concept was developed in 1947 at AT&T Bell

Laboratories.

• First tests were conducted in 1962 for commercial

applications.

• FCC finally set aside new radio frequencies for land

1G
mobile communications in 1970.

• In 1970, AT&T proposed to build the first high capacity

cellular phone system called “Advanced Mobile Phone
Service (AMPS)”.

Some early visualisations of cellular networks, made by Motorola and AT&T Some early visualisations of cellular networks, made by Motorola and AT&T
at the time that they were trying to convince the at the time that they were trying to convince the
FCC that mobile telephony was important. FCC that mobile telephony was important.
http://www.nearfield.org/2008/05/early-visualisations-of-cellular-networks http://www.nearfield.org/2008/05/early-visualisations-of-cellular-networks

3
 Cellular Concept what is a channel?

• Instead of covering the whole area with one transmitter (base • it is whatever the unit is with which you decide to share
station) of high power the idea is to deploy multiple base stations of
moderate (lower) power. the medium (a frequency for 1G systems)

• Each base station covers some specific area.

• Each base station is assigned a portion of the total number of

channels, while neighboring base stations are assigned different what is a co
- channel interference?
groups of channels so that the interference between base stations
(and mobile users) is minimized.

• Spacing the base stations systematically and allocating the
channels appropriately results in minimizing the co-channel
interference.
• when a basestation interferes with another basestation
that is on the same frequency but in a DIFFERENT
geographical area.

It also features rather nice footage and photos of early

mobile phone prototypes from Motorola,
that displayed many contemporary form factors such as sliders and flip-phones.
http://www.nearfield.org/2008/05/early-visualisations-of-cellular-networks
This is Marty Cooper – he worked for Motorola and is considered the father of the
mobile phone.
The Motorola researcher made the first-ever wireless
call from a busy New York street corner in April 1973,

4
 nice article on the phone 1G

• Mobile phones began to proliferate through the 1980s.At this

time analogue transmission was in use in all systems. They
used FDMA.

• These systems later became known as first generation mobile

http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/2007/3/2007_3_20.shtml phones.

• In September 1981 the first cell phone network with automatic

roaming was started in Saudi Arabia; it was an Nordic Mobile
Telephony (NMT) system.
• One month later the Nordic countries started an NMT network
with automatic roaming between countries

Second Generation – 2G

• digital systems
• leverage technology to increase capacity
– Speech compression; digital signal processing
• utilize/extend “Intelligent Network” concepts
• improve fraud prevention
• add new services

2G
• whole range of standards
• most successful GSM (TDMA based)
• other US versions (CDMA based)

GSM

• GSM = Global System for Mobile Communications

• Originally, the acronym GSM stood for Groupe Spécial Mobile, a

group formed by the Conference of European Posts and
Telegraphs (CEPT) in 1982 to research the merits of a European
standard for mobile telecommunications.

• GSM was taken over in 1989 by the ETSI (European

Telecommunications Standards Institute) and they finalized the

GSM
GSM standard in 1990.

• Commercial service using the GSM system did not start until 1991.

• GSM cellular phones use a combination of Time and Frequency

Division Multiple Access.

5
 mobile phone usage in the UK as an example
From GSM World

• Terrestrial GSM networks now cover more than 80% of

the world’s population.

• GSM satellite roaming has also extended service access

to areas where terrestrial coverage is not available.

• http://www.gsmworld.com/technology/gsm/index.htm

Frequencies Basic GSM

• GSM operates in the 900MHz and 1.8GHz bands in • For 1G phones people were not thinking data.
Europe.
• GSM supports voice calls and data transfer speeds of up
• The and the 1.9GHz and the 850MHz band is used in to 9.6 kbit/s, together with the transmission of SMS
the US.
(Short Message Service).
• The 850MHz band is also used for GSM and 3G in
Australia, Canada and many South American countries.
• SMS became a surprise killer application.
• By having harmonised spectrum across most of the
globe, GSM’s international roaming capability allows
users to access the same services when travelling
abroad as at home.

System Architecture

6
 • The next four or five slides are from
http://www.mobilemastinfo.com/information/masts.htm

Basestations

• Radio base stations are sites that enable mobile

phones to work. They can be big or small and have
transmitters and receivers in a cabin or cabinet
connected to antennas. They can be mounted on a large
mast or tower, an existing building, rooftops or street
furniture such as street lamps.
• Without base stations, mobiles will not work.
• At the start of 2009 there were approximately 51,300
base station sites in the UK, and this figure could rise to
approximately 52,500 by the end of 2009.

Macrocells

• A macrocell provides the main coverage in a mobile

network.
• The antennas for macrocells are mounted on ground-
based masts, rooftops and other existing structures.
• They must be positioned at a height that is not
obstructed by surrounding buildings and terrain.
Macrocell base stations have a typical power output of
tens of watts.
• A macrocell tends to have a range from 3-35 km.

7
 Microcells

• Microcells provide infill radio coverage and additional

capacity where there are high numbers of users within
macrocells.
• The antennas for microcells are mounted at street level,
typically on the external walls of existing structures, lamp
posts and other street furniture.
• The antennas are smaller than macro cell antennas and,
when mounted on existing structures, often blend in
with building features to minimise visual impact.
• Typically, microcells provide radio coverage across
smaller distances and are placed 300m-1000m apart.
• They have lower outputs than macrocells, usually a few
watts.

Picocells

• A picocell provides more localised coverage than a

microcell.
• They are normally found inside buildings where
coverage is poor or where there are a high number of
users, such as airport terminals, train stations or
shopping centres.

Nothing Stands Still

2 7
3 5 2
GPRS
1 6 3
4 1 6
A very widely deployed wireless data service, available
2
now with most GSM networks
7 4
5 2 7
3 5 EDGE
1 6 3 GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology provides up to three
1
times the data capacity of GPRS
4
2 7
5

8
 GPRS

• GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) is a very widely

deployed wireless data service, available now with most
GSM networks.

• In other words it is a means for the GSM network to deal

with DATA.

• As we all known DATA has become so important and

taken over from VOICE.

• GPRS offers throughput rates of up to 40 kbit/s, so that

users have a similar access speed to a dial-up modem,.
ntrg.cs.tcd.ie/undergrad/4ba2.01/group1/gprs2.htm

EDGE

• Further enhancements to GSM networks are provided by Enhanced

Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology, which provides
up to three times the data capacity of GPRS.
• Using EDGE, operators can handle three times more subscribers
than GPRS, triple their data rate per subscriber, or add extra
capacity to their voice communications.
• EDGE allows the delivery of advanced mobile services such as the
downloading of video and music clips, multimedia messaging, high-
speed Internet access and e-mail on the move.
• Simple upgrade
EDGE uses the same structure, as today's GSM networks, which
allows it to be overlaid directly onto an existing GSM network. For
many existing GSM/GPRS networks, EDGE is a simple software-
upgrade.
• .
http://irshadwap.com/web/archives/7

GSM Operators in Ireland

Meteor
GSM Coverage

• Vodafone
• 02
• Meteor

9
 some points

• emphasis now hugely on mobility (roaming)

• all operations are using licensed spectrum
• very regulated
• standards everywhere

3G
• very successful market

• Developed by the global GSM community as its chosen

where we are now path for 3G evolution, WCDMA is the air interface for
one of the International Telecommunications Union's
(ITU's) family of third-generation mobile communications
systems.

• We are now in the era of 3G cellular networks • 3G/WCDMA (Third Generation / Wideband Code
Division Multiple Access) enables the continued
support of voice, text and MMS services in addition to
richer mobile multimedia services such as

• In Europe we call 3G systems UMTS

• UMTS offers data speeds up to 384kb/s along with voice

services.

IMT
- 2000 Terrestrial Radio Interfaces
wcdma and cdma200
i.e. 3G

WCDMA is an evolution of GSM, while CDMA2000 is an evolution

of CDMA.

WCDMA uses a broader spectrum and the signalling is based on

GSM. CDMA's signalling is somewhat related to TDMA signalling.

Both use Code Division to get the packets in sequence and both
offer similar data speed and voice capabilities.

WCDMA handsets use an extended SIM, called a USIM (UMTS

Subscriber Information Module) which contains additional WCDMA
information.

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 (voice side)

(data /GPRS side)

HSPA (high speed packet access)

• HSPA is the set of technologies that defines the migration path for
3G/WCDMA operators worldwide.
• It includes HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), HSUPA
(High Speed Uplink Packet Access) and HSPA Evolved.

but nothing stands still!!!!! • In most HSPA networks, the end-user can expect to enjoy speeds of
at least 1Mbps upwards, depending upon the peak speed of the
network (anywhere from 1.8Mbps to 14.4 Mbps) with peak uplink
speeds of up to 5.7Mbps.

• HSPA Evolved
HSPA Evolved introduces MIMO (Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output)
capabilities and higher order modulation (64QAM), enabling greater
throughput speeds and higher performance.

mimo?

11
 02 3
only dark pink Network
is 3G

rest is GSM

but nothing stands still!!!!!

femtocells

some interesting comments

• Marty Cooper: “The wireless capacity has doubled every 30 months

over the last 104 years”.

• Approximately million-fold capacity increase since 1957:

– 25x improvement from using wider spectrum
the latest buzz word!!! – 5x improvement from reducing channel sizes
– 5x improvement from improved modulation
– 1600x improvement from reduced cell sizes and transmit distance

• M.–S Alouini and A.J. Goldsmith, “Area Spectral Efficiency of

Cellular Mobile Radio Systems,” IEEE Transactions on Vehicular
Technology, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 1047 – 1066, July 1999.

12
 Femtocells are low-power wireless access points
that operate in licensed spectrum to connect
standard mobile devices to a mobile operator’s
network using residential DSL or cable broadband
connections.

http://www.femtoforum.org/femto/index.php?id=46

but nothing stands still!!!!!

LTE

13
 or you get these kinds of diagrams

http://www.nsma.org/Presentations2008.htm

note

• we are back to OFDM again

• OFDM good for high speed and large throughputs
• OFDM good for multipath
• OFDM dominating in the wireless world

http://www.nsma.org/Presentations2008.htm

some questions

• can you follow the evolution of mobile communications

systems?
• what is a circuit switched network?
• what is a packet switched network?
• what contributed to the success of GSM?
• do you think 3G is successful?
• are you aware whether you are using 3G or not on your
phone.

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