The Cellular Concept

System Design Fundamentals

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The Cellular Concept
System Design Fundamentals
 Introduction
 Frequency Reuse
 Channel Assignment Strategies
 Handoff Strategies
 Interference and System Capacity
 Trunking and Grade of Service
 Improving Capacity in Cellular Systems
 Summary
Handoff and Roaming
 Call Handoff (or handover) is the switching of an on-going call to a
different traffic channel
• Handoff categories
 Handoff inside cell - for performance or quality improvement.
 Handoff between cells - MS moves from one cell/BS to another cell/BS
within the same MSC (or operator) during an existing call.

 Roaming: A MS is handed over to a service area (market) other than

that from which service has been subscribed.
Handoff within, between cells, and
Roaming
Handoff Case
 In case of cellular system
 The transfer of a voice call from one BS to another.
In case of WLANs
 Transfer the connection from one AP to another
In case of hybrid networks
 Transfer a connection from a BS to another, from an AP
to another, between a BS and an AP.
Requirements for Handoff
 Processing handoff is an important task in any cellular
radio system.
 Handoffs must be performed successfully
 as infrequently as possible
 imperceptible to the users.
 In order to meet these requirements, system designers
must specify an optimum signal level at which to
initiate a handoff.
 Handoff
Signal strength
Region Signal strength
due to BSi due to BSj

Pi(x) Pj(x)

Pmin Δ
BSi MS BSj
X1 X3 X5 Xth X4 X2

• By looking at the variation of signal strength from either base station it is

possible to decide on the optimum area where handoff can take place.
Handoff Threshold
 Once a particular signal level is specified as the minimum
usable signal for acceptable voice quality at the base station
receiver, a slightly stronger signal level is used as a
threshold at which a handoff is made. This margin,
 given by Δ = Pr handoff – Pr minimum usable
 If Δ is too large, unnecessary handoffs which burden the MSC
may occur. (ping-pong effect)
 if Δ is too small, there may be insufficient time to complete a
handoff before a call is lost due to weak signal conditions.
 Therefore, Δ is chosen carefully to meet these conflicting
requirements.
Handoff Threshold Algorithm
 Pr minimum usable is the minimum signal strength at the BS to
maintain a acceptable communication link.
 Pr handoff , which is normally slightly higher than Pr minimum usable ,
is the Handoff threshold at which a Handoff should be made,
 Pr handoff = Pr minimum usable + Δ
 Possible Handoff call dropped scenario
 No channel is available in the new cell.
 There is an excessive delay by the MSC in assigning a handoff.
 No enough time due to small delta to set up handoff.
 The target link fails in some way during the execution of handoff.
Handoff Scenario at Cell Boundary
In this case, the MSC was
unable to perform the handoff
before the signal level dropped
below the minimum usable
level, and so the call was lost.

Value of delta is large enough.

When the Phandoff is reached,
the MSC initiates the handoff.
 Handoff Decision Time Algorithms
 Traditional handoff algorithms are all based on RSS
(Received Signal Strength) or received power p.
 Choose a new BS Bnew if:
 RSS
 Pnew > Pold
 Algorithm plus Dwell Timer
 A timer is started at the instant when the condition in the algorithm is true.
If the condition continues to be true until the timer expires, the handoff
will take place.
 Handoff Decision Time Algorithms
 The feature of newer cellular systems make handoff decisions based on a
wide range of metrics other than RSS only.
 Includes the co-channel and adjacent channel interference levels.
 Word Error Indicator (WEI): indicating the current burst was
demodulated properly in the MS.
 Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI): measurement of RSS
including the carrier (C) and interference (I) power to the channel:
RSS = C + I.
 Quality Indicator (QI): estimate the carrier to interference and noise
ratio: CIR = C/I ≈ RSS / I.
The Time to Make A Handoff
 In AMPS, Handoff takes 10 or more seconds, delta is
between 6 and 12 dB.
 In GSM, Handoff takes 1 to 2 seconds, delta is
between 0 and 6 dB.
 The faster handoff process supports a much greater
range of options for handling high speed and low
speed users and provides the MSC with substantial
time to “rescue” a call that is in need of handoff.
Handoff Call Dropping

 Handoff call (on-going call) dropping is less desirable compared to new

call blocking.
 From the user’s point of view, having a call abruptly terminated while in the
middle of a conversation is more annoying than being blocked occasionally
on a new call attempt.
 Handoff calls are given higher priority than new calls in using network
resources.
 Methods to reduce handoff call dropping
1.Handoff queuing: call is put in the queue of the BS when no free channel.
When a channel is available, that channel will be assigned to that call.
2.Handoff reservation: certain number of channels are reserved for handoff
calls only. So, no other calls, like new calls, can use these channels.
Non-prioritized Handoff Flowchart
Prioritizing Handoff – Guard Channel
 Guard channel concept
 A fraction of the total available channels in a cell is
reserved for handoff requests from ongoing calls which
may be handed off into the cell.
 Disadvantage
 Reducing the total carried traffic, as fewer channels are
allocated to originating calls.
 Improvement
 Guard channels offer efficient spectrum utilization when
dynamic channel assignment strategies are used.
 Minimize the number of required guard channels by efficient
demand-based allocation.
Guard Channel Handoff Flowchart
Practical Handoff Limitation
 Several problems arise when attempting to design for a
wide range of mobile speeds.
High speed vehicles pass through the coverage region of
a cell within a matter of seconds,
whereas walk users may take long time .
 The MSC can quickly become burdened if high speed
users are constantly being passed between very small
cells.
 Several schemes have been proposed to handle the
simultaneous traffic of high speed and low speed users
while minimizing the handoff intervention from the
MSC.
Umbrella Cell Approach
 Umbrella cell approach
 By using different antenna heights (often on the same
building or tower) and different power levels, to provide
“large” and “small” cells which are co-located at a single
location.
 To provide large area coverage to high speed users while
providing small area coverage to users traveling at low
speeds.
 Umbrella Cell Approach
If a high speed user in
the large umbrella cell
is approaching the base
station, and its speed is
rapidly decreasing, the
base station may decide
to hand the user into the
co-located microcell,
without MSC
intervention.

The speed of each user may be estimated by the

base station or MSC
e.g. evaluate how rapidly the short-term average
signal strength changes
Handoff Initiation and Decision
 Three basic handoff methods:
 Network Control Handoff (NCHO)
 Mobile Control Handoff (MCHO)
 Mobile Assisted Handoff (MAHO)
 In general, each BS constantly monitors the signal
strength of all its reverse channels. This information is
forwarded to the MSC to make Handoff decision.
 Handoff can be initiated by the MS and/or the network.
Handoff Initiation and Decision
 Network Control Handoff (NCHO)
 In first generation analog cellular systems
 Signal strength measurements are made by the base stations and
supervised by the MSC.
 Based on the locator receiver signal strength information from each
base station, the MSC decides if a handoff is necessary or not.
 Mobile Control Handoff (MCHO)
 In mobile data network, WLAN
 Decision mechanism located in mobile terminal
 New visiting database communicates with home database to obtain
mobile’s profile and authentication after mobile’s decision.
 Handoff Initiation and Decision
 Mobile Assisted Handoff (MAHO)
 In today’s 2G and 3G systems, handoff decisions are mobile
assisted.
 Every mobile station measures the received power from
surrounding base stations and continually reports the results of
these measurements to the serving base station.
 Network entity use information sent by the mobile to make
decision.
 The MAHO method enables the call to be handed over at a
much faster rate than in first generation analog systems.
 MAHO is particularly suited for microcellular environments
where handoffs are more frequent.
 A Handoff is initiated when the power of the neighboring cell
BS exceeds that of the current one by a specified amount of
time.
 Handoff Type
 Hard Handoff
 Old connection terminated before establishing new
 Channelized wireless systems that assign different radio channels
during a handoff.
 In TDMA, intra-frequency: same carrier frequency
 Could also be inter-frequency
 Soft Handoff
 Old and new connections active simultaneously for a certain period of
time
 Spread spectrum mobiles share the same channel in every cell.
 The term handoff does not mean a physical change in the assigned
channel, but rather that a different base station handles the radio
communication task.
 The ability to select between the instantaneous received signals from a
variety of base stations is called soft handoff.
Hard Handoff
Soft Handoff
Hard Handoff
 Hard Handoff
 Perform “break before make”.
 Current channel with the Old BS is released before the new channel
with the New BS is setup.
 It may results in a ping-pong effect such that MS switching back and
forth between 2 BSs.
 cause call dropping.
 Remarks:
 any moment in time one call uses only one channel. the phone's
hardware does not need to be capable of receiving two or more
channels in parallel, which makes it cheaper and simpler.
 Cause a short interruption of communication
 Used in FDMA/TDMA based systems, GSM and IS-136, because
these systems assign different channels during a Handoff.
 Handoff between two different radio wireless network.(Inter-System
Handoff)
Soft Handoff
 Soft Handoff
 Perform “make before break”.
 New channel with the New BS is setup in parallel with the current
channel with the Old BS.
 Both New and Old channels are used simultaneously for the
communications.
 By simultaneously receiving several versions of the signal at MS/BS,
the MSC/MS can determine the best one.
 Provide diversity to improve boundary conditions.
 Remarks:
 No communication interruption during Handoff.
 Used in CDMA-based systems, IS-95, WCDMA, and cdma2000
because spread spectrum mobiles shares the same channel in every
cell.
 Vertical and horizontal Handoff
• The wireless overlay networks consist of wireless networks with
different wireless access technologies
• The handoff in wireless overlay networks can be classified into
horizontal and vertical handoff.
– The handoff between two base stations with the same access
technology is called the horizontal handoff
– The handoff between two base stations with various access
technologies is called the vertical handoff
• To support vertical handoff , a mobile terminal needs to have a dual
mode card that can work under both WLAN and UMTS frequency
bands and modulation schemes.
• Handoff Decision Algorithm: Handoff Metrics in vertical handoff
include RSS, user preference, network conditions, application types,
cost etc.
Mobility Management
 Mobility management performs Handoff Management and Location
Management –that enable mobile networks to locate roaming MS for
call delivery and to maintain the connection as it moves around.
 Handoff Management
 Handoff initialization: monitor the current connection to decide and trigger
the Handoff.
 Handoff execution: allocation of new channel is done by BS.
 Location Management
 Location registration: MS periodically informs the network of its new
access point, allowing the network to authenticate the MS and update its
location profile.
 Call delivery: the network obtains the MS location profile and its current
location.
Location Management
 Location Area (LA) Concept
 To track the location of the MSs, a cellular service area is partitioned
into several location areas (LAs) or registration areas.
 Each LA is given an LA address (ID).
 Every LA consists of a group of BSs.
 An MSC covers several LAs.
 Location Area Hierarchy
 One or more MSCs connected to a VLR (Visitor Location Register)
to exchange location info using SS7 (Signaling System #7).
 The VLR exchanges location info with HLR (Home Location
Register) using SS7.
 Location Area

Partition the region

into different location
areas.
Location Management
Location Update: Example

HLR
(5) (4)
(3)
(6)
VLR MSC MSC VLR
(2)

Mobile
(1) Switching
Center
Cont’d…

1. MS transmits a LU to the new BS

2. The BS forwards the LU to the MSC

3. MSC sends LU to the HLR and updates VLR

4. HLR does the following: authenticate the MS record
the ID of the new VLR send an ACK to the new VLR

5. HLR sends a registration cancellation message to the

old VLR
6. The old VLR removes the record of the MS and
returns an ACK to HLR
Call Delivery: Example
HLR
(5) (3)

(2) (4)
(6)
VLR MSC MSC VLR

(7)

Mobile
Switching
Center
(1)

Calling Called
MS MS
 Cont’d…

1. Calling MS sends a call initiation signal to MSC through BS.

2. MSC sends a location request to HLR of the called MS

3. HLR determines serving VLR of called MS and sends a

route request message to it.
4. MSC allocates a temporary ID to MS and sends this ID to
HLR
5. HLR forwards the ID to MSC of the calling MS
6. Calling MSC requests a call set up to the called MSC
7. Paging messages are sent to cells within the LA.
 Summary
 Handoff
 Handoff within, between cells, and Roaming
 Handoff Threshold Algorithm, Handoff Decision Time Algorithm
 Non-prioritized Handoff, Guard Channel Handoff, Queuing Priority
Handoff
 Handoff Initiation and Decision: NCHO, MCHO, MAHO
 Hard Handoff and Soft Handoff, Vertical Handoff
 Location Management
 Location registration
 Call delivery