GSM Introduction and Cellular Principle

Presented By
Shafi M S, JTO
RTTC, Trivandrum
Objective
At the end of the session, the trainee will be able to explain:-
 The overview of mobile communication
 the cellular concept used in mobile communication
technology
 Cells, cluster and different types of cells
 cell sectoring and cell splitting techniques
 features of digital cellular system
Mobile Communication Introduction
Main Objectives:-
 Anytime anywhere communication

 Mobility and roaming

 High capacity

 Low cost and innovative services

 Standard interfaces

 Seamless network architecture

Mobile Communication Introduction

In the beginnings of cellular systems :--

 The equipment was limited to operate only within the

boundaries of each country.

 The market for each mobile equipment was limited.

 Mobile Communication Introduction
In the beginnings of cellular systems :--
 The equipment was limited to operate only within the boundaries of
each country.

 The market for each mobile equipment was limited.

In order to overcome these problems, the Conference of European Posts and

Telecommunications (CEPT) formed, the Group Special Mobile (GSM) in 1982,

later Global System for Mobile communications.

The standardized system had to meet certain criteria:-
 Spectrum efficiency

 International roaming

 Low mobile and base stations costs

 Good subjective voice quality

 Compatibility with other systems such as ISDN

 Ability to support new services

GSM Evolution
GSM Systems

Two Systems:
 900 MHz Systems
 1800 MHz Systems
For 900 M Hz System
For 1800M Hz System
 U/L: 890-915 M Hz
 U/L: 1710-1785 M Hz
 D/L: 935-960 M Hz  D/L: 1805-1880 M Hz
Channel Bandwidth: 200kHz Channel Bandwidth: 200kHz
Total No. of Channels :124 Total No. of Channels :374
GSM Scheme
 Splits the radio channel, with a width of 200 kHz, into 8
bursts.
 A burst is the unit of time in a TDMA system, and it lasts
approximately 0.577 ms.
 A TDMA frame is formed with 8 bursts and lasts 4.615
ms.
 Each of the eight bursts, that form a TDMA frame, are
then assigned to a individual users.
 Multiple Access Technique used is FDMA/TDMA.
Cellular Concept
 A cellular mobile communication system uses a large number of

low-power wireless transmitters to create cells.

 Variable power levels allow cells to be sized according to

subscriber density and demand within a particular region.

 As mobile users travel from cell to cell, their conversations are

handed over between cells.

Cellular Concept
 Channels (frequencies) used in one cell can be reused in another

cell some distance away – Frequency reuse

 Frequency reuse offers very high capacity in a limited spectrum

without major technological changes

 Cells can be added to accommodate population growth

Cells
 A cell is the basic geographic unit of a cellular system.

 Cells are base stations transmitting over small geographic areas

that are represented as hexagons.

 Size varies depending on the landscape.

 Two conditions to be satisfied by cellular system

- Power of transmitter must be limited within a cell

- Neighboring cells can not share the same channels

Cells
 The term cellular comes from the honeycomb shape of
the areas into which a coverage region is divided.
Cluster
 A cluster is a group of cells in
which no channels are reused.

 The number of cells per cluster, K,

can only have values which satisfy


where i and j are integers.

A seven Cell Cluster
Co-Channel Cells
 Cells using the same channel set
are called Co-channel cells.

 Co-channel neighbors of a particular cell,

Eg:- i = 3 and j = 2 is shown in figure.
Types of Cells
 Macro cells
- Large cells for remote and sparsely populated areas.

 Micro cells
- Small cells used for densely populated areas.

 Pico cells
- Pico cells are small cells whose diameter is only few
dozen meters; used mainly in indoor applications.
Types of Cells
 Selective cells
- It is not always useful to define a cell with a full coverage of
360 degrees. In some cases, cells with a particular shape and
coverage are needed. These cells are called selective cells. Eg. cells
located at the entrances of tunnels.
 Umbrella cells
- An umbrella cell covers several micro cells. Used to
reduce the number of handovers in case of a fast moving mobile
subscriber.
Types of Cells
Different types of cells are shown below:-
Cell Sectoring
 One way of reducing the level of interference
 Here the cell is split into several sectors
 Each sector has separate transmit/receive antennas and
behave as an independent cell
 Use directional antenna at base stations, with each antenna
illuminating a sector of the cell, and with a separate channel
set allocated to each sector
 Cell Sectoring
Two commonly used methods of Sectorisation:-
 120˚ sector
 60˚ sector

Omni Directional Three Sectored Six Sectored

Cell Cell
Frequency Planning Aspects
A1 B1 C1 D1 A2 B2 C2 D2 A3 B3 C3 D3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

A1
A2
D1 A3 B1
D2 B2
D3 C1 B3
C2
C3
Cell Splitting
 Cell splitting is the process of subdividing a congested cell
into smaller cells with their own Base Station
◦ reduction in antenna

height

◦ reduction in transmit

power
Cell Splitting
Cell Splitting is an effective way to increase the system capacity:-

More number of cells ► More number of clusters ►

More channels ►High capacity

 Features of Digital Cellular Systems
 Use of small cells.
 Frequency reuse allows a much higher subscriber density
than other systems.
 Use of small, battery-powered handsets.
 Continuous coverage is achieved by executing handover (the

seamless transfer of the call from one base station to another)

as the mobile crosses cell boundaries.
 Cellular Concept

 Solves the problem of

spectral congestion and
user capacity
 Offer very high capacity in
a limited spectrum without
major technological
changes
Other Topics
 GSM architecture
 GSM Functions
 Various interfaces
 GSM Channels
 Traffic Channels
 Control channels
 Speech coding and Multi-frame structure
 Call and Mobility Management Functions
 GSM Services
 Summary
Familiarized:-

 the cellular concept used in mobile communication

technology
 Cells, cluster and different types of cells
 cell sectoring and cell splitting techniques
 features of digital cellular system
Thank You……