Learning Module 3
CELLULAR TELEPHONE CONCEPTS
A Module in Elective 1
(Wired and Wireless Telephony)
Prepared by:
Engr. Arrick Kristoffer S. Panopio
Electronics Engineer-Instructor
Mondriaan Aura College
(No part of this module may be reproduced or copied without the permission from the author.)
Contents:
3.1 Learning Objectives
3.2 Mobile Telephone Service
3.3 Evolution of Cellular Telephone
3.4 Cellular Telephone
3.5 Frequency Reuse
3.6 Interference
3.1 Learning Objectives
1. Give a brief history of mobile telephone service
2. Define Cellular Telephone
3. Describe the following types of cell: microcell, microcell, minicell
4. Define cell and why it has honeycomb shape
5. Describe edge-excited, center-excited, and corner-excited cells
6. Define service areas, clusters, and cells
7. Define frequency reuse
8. Explain frequency reuse factor
9. Define interference
10. Describe co-channel and adjacent channel interference
3.2 Mobile Telephone Service
- Began in the 1940s and were called “Mobile Telephone Systems” or “Manual Telephone Systems” (MTS), as all
calls were handled by an operator.
- MTS systems utilized frequency modulation and were generally assigned a single carrier frequency in the 35-MHz
to 45-MHz range that was used by both the mobile unit and the base station.
- Placing a call from an MTS mobile telephone was similar to “Push to talk” in making a call through a manual
switchboard in the public telephone network.
- Because there was only one carrier frequency, the conversation was limited to half-duplex operation, and only one
conversation could take place at a time.
- The MTS system was comparable to a party line, as all subscribers with their mobile telephones turned on could
hear any conversation. Mobile units called other mobile units by signaling the operator who rang the destination
mobile unit. Once the destination mobile unit answered, the operator disconnected from the conversation, and the two
mobile units communicated directly with one another through the airways using a single carrier frequency.
- In 1964, Improved Mobile Telephone System were introduced, which used several carrier frequencies and could,
therefore, handle several simultaneous mobile conversations at the same time. IMTS subscribers were assigned a
regular PSTN telephone number; therefore, callers could reach an IMTS mobile phone by dialing the PSTN directly,
eliminating the need for an operator.
- The term mobile suggested any radio transmitter, receiver, or transceiver that could be moved while in operation.
- The term portable described a relatively small radio unit that was handheld, battery powered, and easily carried by a
person moving at walking speed.
- Most two-way mobile radio systems can access the public telephone network only through a special arrangement
called an autopatch, and then they are limited to half-duplex operation where neither party can interrupt the other.
- Mobile telephone is a one-to-one system that permits two-way simultaneous transmissions and, for privacy, each
cellular telephone is assigned a unique telephone number.
- Cellular telephone systems replaced mobile systems serving large areas (cells) operating with a single base station
and a single high-power transmitter with many smaller areas (cells), each with its own base station and low-power
transmitter.
- Each base station is allocated a fraction of the total channels available to the system, and adjacent cells are
assigned different groups of channels to minimize interference between cells
- When demand for service increases in a given area, the number of base stations can be increased, providing an
increase in mobile unit capacity without increasing the radio-frequency spectrum.
3.3 Evolution of cellular telephone
1983-1989 - Introduced to the world in 1983 was the first-ever portable mobile phone, the Motorola DynaTAC
8000X. Features includes: mobile calling.
1991-1994 - The world’s first GSM phone and the first phone to receive a text message GSM first propelled in
Europe 1991 with the Orbitel TPU 900 first to advertise, however, it wasn’t until 1992 that mobile phone restriction was
left from business use only. Nokia was one of the first to exploit this change, and with this, a large-scale
manufacturing made ready for financially savvy shopper handsets with advanced showcases This phone also has the
first phone to receive a text message. It is said that Neil Papworth sent the world’s first text “Merry Christmas” on
3 December 1992. Features include: Mobile calling, Text message
1995-1998 - The first Phone with color. Despite the fact that it just offered four colors, the Siemens S10 breathed
life into cell phone shows without precedent for 1997. The same year Hagenuk launched the GlobalHandy, the first
device without an external aerial. Features include: Email, Colored screen
1999-2002 - In 1999 saw Nokia divulge the 7110, which was the first gadget to exploit WAP. WAP (Wireless
Application Protocol) a method for getting data over a mobile wireless network. Now a year later, in 2000, we see the
launching of the world’s absolute first camera mobile phone, the J-SH04. It was just accessible in Japan yet flagged
the beginning of the open’s fixation on mobile phone photography. It wasn’t until 2002 and the arrival of the Sony
Ericsson T68i with a clip-on camera, which grabs the interest of the western markets for a camera phone
Features include: WAP, Video Calling, GPS navigation, Camera, Bluetooth, Multimedia message.
2003-2006 – Mobile Data Revolution, the implementation of 3G took download speeds up to 2MBS in March 2003
with "3" the first to offer the service in the UK. RIM brought mobile email to the masses with its range of popular
BlackBerry devices like the 8100 Pearl. The advent of front facing cameras in 2003 on devices such as the Sony
Ericsson Z1010 meant video calling became possible, but not popular.
Features include: WiFi
2007-2010 - Mobile Phones are Getting Smarter, First touchscreen Phone was the LG Prada The era of the
traditional input button has been replaced with swiping and scrolling. Ahead of the Apple iPhone in May 2007 was the
LG Prada who boasted the first touchscreen on the market. However, Apple demonstrated to have both a more
reliable brand and superior knowledge of the capacitive touchscreen’s potential\
2011-2014 - Phone speed has moved from 1G to 4G, talking download speeds up to 12mbps. There is also the
implementation of Voice recognition. First, with Google Voice by Samsung.
3.4 Cellular Telephone
- It was determined that by subdividing a relatively large geographic market area, called a coverage zone, into small
sections, called cells, the concept of frequency reuse could be employed to dramatically increase the capacity of a
mobile telephone channel.
- Cellular telephone systems allow a large number of users to share the limited number of common-usage radio
channels available in a region.
Fundamental Concept of Cellular Telephone
- With the cellular concept, each area is further divided into hexagonal-shaped cells that fit together to form a
honeycomb pattern.
- The hexagon shape was chosen because it provides the most effective transmission by approximating a circular
pattern while eliminating gaps inherently present between adjacent circles.
- A cell is defined by its physical size and, more importantly, by the size of its population and traffic patterns.
- Macrocells are large cells typically have a radius between 1 mile and 15 miles with base station transmit powers
between 1 W and 6 W.
- Microcells are the smallest cell typically have a radius of 1500 feet or less with base station transmit powers
between 0.1 W and 1 W
- Occasionally, cellular radio signals are too weak to provide reliable communications indoors. This is especially true in
well-shielded areas or areas with high levels of interference.
- In these circumstances, very small cells, called picocells, are used. Indoor picocells can use the same frequencies
as regular cells in the same areas if the surrounding infrastructure is conducive, such as in underground malls
- When designing a system using hexagonal-shaped cells, base station transmitters can be located in the center of a
cell or on three of the cells’ six vertices (edge- or corner-excited cells). Omnidirectional antennas are normally used
in center-excited cells, and sectored directional antennas are used in edge- and corner-excited cells
(omnidirectional antennas radiate and receive signals equally well in all directions).
3.5 Frequency Reuse
- Frequency reuse is the process in which the same set of frequencies (channels) can be allocated to more than one
cell, provided the cells are separated by sufficient distance. Reducing each cell’s coverage area invites frequency
reuse.
- Cells using the same set of radio channels can avoid mutual interference, provided they are properly separated
- Each cell base station is allocated a group of channel frequencies that are different from those of neighboring cells,
and base station antennas are chosen to achieve a desired coverage pattern within its cell
- as long as a coverage area is limited to within a cell’s boundaries, the same group of channel frequencies may be
used in different cells without interfering with each other, provided the two cells are sufficient distance from one
another
- The figure shows a geographic cellular radio coverage area containing three groups of cells called clusters
- Each cluster has seven cells in it, and all cells are assigned the same number of full-duplex cellular telephone
channels. Cells with the same letter use the same set of channel frequencies
-The frequency reuse concept can be illustrated mathematically by considering a system with a fixed number of full-
duplex channels available in a given area. Each service area is divided into clusters and allocated a group of
channels, which is divided among N cells in a unique and disjoint channel grouping where all cells have the same
number of channels but do not necessarily cover the same size area. Thus, the total number of cellular channels
available in a cluster can be expressed mathematically
F=GN
Where:
F = number of full-duplex cellular channels available in a cluster
G = number of channels in a cell
N = number of cells in a cluster
-When a cluster is duplicated m times within a given service area, the total number of full-duplex channels can be
expressed mathematically
C=mGN or C=mF
Where:
C = total channel capacity in a given area
m = number of clusters in a given area
G = number of channels in a cell
N = number of cells in a cluster
Example:
Determine the number of channels per cluster and the total channel capacity for a cellular telephone area comprised
of 10 clusters with seven cells in each cluster and 10 channels in each cell.
Given:
G = 10
N=7
m = 10
Solution:
Equation 1
F = (10)(7)
F= 70 channels per cluster
Equation 2
C = (10)(10)(7)
C = 700 channels total
-The number of simultaneous users is generally four, but in densely populated areas, that number may be significantly
higher. The number of users is called the frequency reuse factor (FRF). The frequency reuse factor is defined
mathematically as:
Where:
FRF = Frequency reuse factor
N = number of cells in a cluster
C = total channel capacity in a given area
- Cells use a hexagonal shape, which provides exactly six equidistant neighboring cells, and the lines joining the
centers of any cell with its neighboring cell are separated by multiples of 60. Therefore, a limited number of cluster
sizes and cell layouts is possible. To connect cells without gaps in between (tessellate), the geometry of a hexagon is
such that the number of cells per cluster can have only values that satisfy the equation
Where:
N = number of cells in a cluster
i and j = nonnegative integer values
Example:
Determine the number of cells in a cluster and locate the first-tier co-channel cells for the following values: j = 2 and i
= 3.
N = 32 + (3)(2) + 22
N = 19 cells
3.6 Interference
Co-Channel Interference
- When frequency reuse is implemented, several cells within a given coverage area use the same set of frequencies.
Two cells using the same set of frequencies are called co-channel cells, and the interference between them is called
co-channel interference.
- Co-channel interference cannot be reduced by simply increasing transmit powers because increasing the transmit
power in one cell increases the likelihood of that cell’s transmissions interfering with another cell’s transmission. To
reduce co-channel interference, a certain minimum distance must separate co-channels.
- Interference between cells is proportional not to the distance between the two cells but rather to the ratio of the
distance to the cell’s radius. Since a cell’s radius is proportional to transmit power, more radio channels can be added
to a system by:
a. Decreasing the transmit power power per cell.
b. Making cells smaller
c. Filling vacated area with new cells
- Co-channel interference is dependent on the radius of the cells and the distance to the center of the nearest co-
channel cell
- Increasing the D/R ratio (sometimes called co-channel reuse ratio) increases the spatial separation between co-
channel cells relative to the coverage distance. Therefore, increasing the co-channel reuse ratio (Q) can reduce co-
channel interference.
Q = co-channel reuse ratio
D = distance to center of the nearest co-channel cell
R = cell radius
- The smaller the value of Q, the larger the channel capacity since the cluster size is also smaller. However, a large
value of Q improves the co-channel interference and, thus, the overall transmission quality
Adjacent-Channel Inteference
- Adjacent-channel interference occurs when transmissions from adjacent channels (channels next to one another in
the frequency domain) interfere with each other.
- Adjacent-channel interference results from imperfect filters in receivers that allow nearby frequencies to enter the
receiver.
- Adjacent-channel interference is most prevalent when an adjacent channel is transmitting very close to a mobile
unit’s receiver at the same time the mobile unit is trying to receive transmissions from the base station on an adjacent
frequency. This is called the near-far effect and is most prevalent when a mobile unit is receiving a weak signal from
the base station