Wireless Communication BEC703
Module-1
Principles of Wireless Communications: The Wireless Communication Environment, Modelling
of wireless systems, System model for narrowband Signals, Rayleigh fading Wireless Channel.
The Wireless Channel: Basics of Wireless Channel Modelling, Average Delay Spread in Outdoor
Cellular Channels, Coherence bandwidth, Relation between ISI and Coherence Bandwidth,
Doppler fading, Doppler Impact on a wireless Channel, Coherence Time.
[Text1: 3.1 to 3.4, 4.1 to 4.7]
Questions
1. Define multipath propagation. Explain the wireless system model for base band and
narrow band signal. (10 marks)
2. Define wireless communication system. Explain Rayleigh Fading wireless channels. (10
marks)
3. Explain the basics of wireless channel modelling (10 marks)
Or
Explain a) Delay spread
b) Coherence bandwidth
c) Doppler spread
d) coherence Time
4. Explain the doppler impact and doppler fading in wireless channels. (10 marks)
5. Write note on coherence Time (10 marks)
1. Define multipath propagation. Explain the wireless system model for base band and
narrow band signal.
Principles of Wireless Communications
In wireless systems, a signal can travel to the receiver via multiple paths (direct, reflected,
scattered). This results in multiple copies of the signal, each with different delays, attenuations,
and phase shifts, arriving at the receiver and causing multipath interference.
This interference leads to multipath fading (or simply fading), where the combined signal power
can be amplified or attenuated. A deep fade is a strong destructive interference that causes a
severe drop in signal power, potentially leading to communication failure.
The system model for Baseband band signals
The transmitted signal is represented as a passband signal
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where sb(t) is the complex baseband signal and fc is the carrier frequency.
The wireless channel itself is modelled as a Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) system with L multipath
components. Each path i is characterized by:
Where ai : attenuation factor
τi: A path delay
The sum of all individual path responses:
The paths can include (i) Line-Of-Sight (LOS)
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(ii) Non-Line-Of-Sight (NLOS) (and reflected/scattered)
The received signal y(t) is derived by convolving the transmitted signal s(t)s(t) with the channel's
impulse response h(τ).
Where e−j2πfcτi is phase shift
An important channel parameter introduced is the delay spread Tm, which is the time
difference between the first and last arriving signal copies. The text notes that for a
narrowband channel, the delay spread is much smaller than the symbol time T (Tm<<T), which
allows for further simplification of the model.
The system model for Narrow band signals
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Problems:
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2. Define wireless communication system. Explain Rayleigh Fading wireless channels. (10
marks)
A wireless communication system is a system that transfers information (like voice, data, video)
between two or more points without the use of any physical connecting wires, cables, or
waveguides.
Rayleigh Fading wireless channel
The complex fading coefficient h is represented as:
where X and Y are the real and imaginary parts, resulting from the sum of many multipath
components xi and yi.
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3. Explain the basics of wireless channel modelling (10 marks)
Or explain a) Delay spread
b) Coherence bandwidth
c) Doppler spread
d) coherence Time
The Wireless Channel
Basics of wireless channel modelling
The channel is characterized by multiple Non-Line-Of-Sight (NLOS) signal paths caused by
scattering from objects in the environment (e.g., buildings, trees).
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Channel Model: The wireless channel's impulse response is modelled as a sum of delayed and
attenuated signal paths:
where ai is the complex attenuation and τi is the delay for the ith path.
Power Profile: The multipath power profile, ϕ(t), describes the distribution of received power
over time. It is defined as the sum of the power gains ‖𝑎𝑖 ‖2 (denoted as gi) at their respective
delays:
1. Delay Spread: Because the total signal power arrives incrementally over a range of delays
(from τ0 to τL−1), it is spread out in time. This phenomenon is called the delay spread.
In a wireless channel, power arrives and spread out over time due to multiple paths
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a) Maximum delay spread
The maximum delay spread is defined as the time difference between the arrival of the first
and last significant multipath components:
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It measures the total time interval over which the signal's energy is received.
1. A larger indicates a "richer" scattering environment with greater differences in path
lengths.
2. The delay spread depends only on the difference in path delays, not on the absolute distance
to the transmitter. A receiver far away with only one path (like in free space) will have a delay
spread of zero.
3. Delay spread is fundamentally caused by the presence of multiple propagation paths. Its value
is determined by the richness of the scattering environment.
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b) RMS delay spread
The RMS delay spread automatically suppresses the contribution of weak, spurious multipath
components, providing a better measure of the actual power spread of the signal.
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c). Average Delay Spread in Outdoor Cellular Channels
For a typical outdoor cellular scenario with a 1 km path difference between a direct path (2 km)
and a scattered path (3 km), the maximum delay spread is calculated as:
Outdoor: Delay spreads are on the order of 1–3 microseconds (μs).
Indoor: Due to much shorter distances (around 10 m), delay spreads are significantly smaller,
on the order of 10–50 nanoseconds (nsns).
These approximate values are crucial for the practical design of wireless communication
systems (like 3G/4G), as the delay spread is a key parameter that influences system
performance and design choices. The example illustrates how the scale of the environment
directly determines the scale of the delay spread.
2. Coherence bandwidth in wireless communication
Coherence Bandwidth (Bc) is a statistical measure of the range of frequencies over
which a wireless channel can be considered "flat," meaning all frequency components
experience approximately the same magnitude of fading and linear phase shift.
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4. Relation between ISI and coherence bandwidth
1. Cause of ISI: ISI occurs when multiple copies of a signal, delayed in time (e.g., from a line-of-
sight path and a scattered path), arrive at the receiver. If the delay spread (T𝒹) is comparable
to or larger than the symbol time (Tₛ), symbols overlap, causing interference.
2. Coherence Bandwidth (Bc) is a statistical measure of the range of frequencies over which a
wireless channel can be considered "flat" or, in other words, over which the channel passes all
spectral components with approximately equal gain and linear phase.
3. ISI Criterion: The condition for significant ISI is empirically given as T𝒹 ≥ ½ Tₛ.
4. Duality of Perspectives:
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o Time Domain: ISI is a time-domain phenomenon caused by a large delay spread
relative to the symbol time.
o Frequency Domain: This is equivalent to the signal bandwidth (Bₛ) being larger than
the channel's coherence bandwidth (Bc), which is the condition for frequency-
selective fading.
5. Frequency-selective distortion and ISI are two interpretations of the same underlying channel
behaviour.
5. . Explain doppler impact and Doppler fading on wireless channel. (10 marks)
Doppler fading in wireless systems
Doppler fading is a phenomenon in wireless communications where the frequency of a
transmitted radio wave is perceived to change due to relative motion between the transmitter
and receiver. This is a fundamental characteristic of mobile wireless systems that distinguishes
them from static, wired communications.
1. Cause: Relative motion between the transmitter and receiver.
2. Effect: A shift in the perceived frequency of the signal.
Higher perceived frequency if the transmitter and receiver are moving towards
each other.
Lower perceived frequency if they are moving apart.
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Doppler impact on wireless channel
When the user moves, the signal paths keep changing, which shifts the frequency (Doppler
effect). This makes the wireless channel coefficients vary with time, leading to fluctuations
(fading) in the received signal.
User Movement and Signal Paths
In wireless communication, the transmitted signal doesn’t travel along just one path.
It reflects off buildings, trees, vehicles, and other obstacles, creating multiple paths (multipath
propagation).
Each path has a different distance → which introduces a different time delay before it reaches
the receiver.
Effect of Movement: Frequency Shift (Doppler Effect)
The movement of the user (towards or away from the base station) causes a Doppler shift.
If moving towards the transmitter: the frequency appears slightly higher.
If moving away: the frequency appears slightly lower.
This shift depends on:
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Impact on Wireless Channel Coefficients
The wireless channel is represented by a coefficient h
which tells how the signal is modified when passing through the channel.
With Doppler, these coefficients are no longer fixed but change with time:
1. Write note on coherence time of wireless channels (10 marks)
Coherence Time (Tc) is time during which the channel (the connection between MS and BTS)
stays roughly the same and predictable.
1. Cause: It is caused by the time-varying nature of the channel due to the Doppler shift
resulting from user mobility.
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2. Definition: The coherence time is the approximate time interval for which the channel
can be assumed to be constant.
3. Relationship to Doppler: The coherence time (T꜀) is inversely proportional to the
Doppler frequency (f𝒹) and the Doppler spread (B𝒹).
Fast Changing Channel (High f𝒹): A high Doppler frequency (from high user velocity) leads to a
short coherence time. The channel changes rapidly.
Slow Changing Channel (Low f𝒹): A low Doppler frequency leads to a long coherence time. The
channel remains relatively static.
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