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CELLULAR NETWORK

By
Fikirte G

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Contents
• Introduction
• Basic concepts
• Frequency reuse
• Multiple access methods
• Location management
• Handoff
• Channel allocation

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 What is cellular network ?
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➢ A cellular network is a radio network distributed over land areas

called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver
known as a cell site or base station.
➢ When joined together these cells provide radio coverage over a
wide geographic area.
➢ This enables a large number of portable transceivers to
communicate with each other and with fixed transceivers and
telephones anywhere in the network, via base stations, even if
some of the transceivers are moving through more than one cell
during transmission.

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 Basic concepts
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 Basic components
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▪ Mobile station (MS) : Mobile handsets which is used by user

to communicate with other users.
▪ Base Stations (BS): Each cell contains an antenna, which is
controlled by a small office.
▪ Mobile Switching Center (MSC): Each base station is
controlled by a switching office, called mobile switching
center.
▪ Public switched telephone network (PSTN): The public
switched telephone network (PSTN) is the network of the
world's public circuit switched telephone networks.

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 Why cells are hexagonal ?
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Some criteria for the cell shapes

1. Geometric shape
2. Area without overlap
3. Area of the cell

Some eligible shapes

• Square
• Equilateral triangle
• Circle
• Hexagon

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Area comparisons

The area of an equilateral triangle to a circle approx = 17.77%

The area of a square to a circle approx = 63.7%
The area of a hexagon to a circle approx = 83%

✓ It means hexagon has the highest coverage area after a circle.

✓ Thus hexagon satisfies all the conditions which is why the shape
of a cell is hexagonal in cellular network.

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 MSC databases
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▪ Home location register database (HLR) - stores information about

each subscriber that belongs to it
▪ Visitor location register database (VLR) - maintains information
about currently physically in the region
▪ Authentication center database - used for authentication activities,
holds encryption keys
▪ Equipment identity register database (EIR) – keeps track of the
type of equipment that exists at the mobile station

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 Connections between MS,BS,MSC and
PSTN
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➢ The service coverage area of a cellular network is divided into

many smaller areas, referred to as cells, each of which is served
by a base station (BS).
➢ The BS is fixed, and it is connected to the mobile telephone
switching office (MTSO), also known as the mobile switching
center(MSC).
➢ An MTSO is in charge of a cluster of BSs and it is, in turn,connected
to the PSTN.
➢ MSs such as cell phones are able to communicate with wireline
phones in the PSTN.
➢ Both BSs and MSs are equipped with a transceiver.
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 GSM Network Architecture
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 Architecture of the GSM system
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Several providers setup mobile networks following the GSM

standard within each country
Components
MS (mobile station)
BS (base station)
MSC (mobile switching center)
LR (location register)
Subsystems
✓ RSS (radio subsystem): covers all radio aspects
• Base station subsystem
✓ NSS (network and switching subsystem): call forwarding,
handover, switching
✓ OSS (operation subsystem): management of the network

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 GSM: elements and interfaces
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 GSM: system architecture
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 Radio subsystem
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 Mobile Station
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❑Mobile station communicates across Um interface (air interface)

with base station transceiver in same cell as mobile unit

❑Mobile equipment (ME) – physical terminal, such as a telephone or

PDA
❖ ME includes radio transceiver, digital signal processors and subscriber
identity module (SIM)

❑GSM subscriber units are generic until SIM is inserted

❖ SIMs roam, not necessarily the subscriber devices

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 Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
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❑BSS consists of base station controller and one or more base

transceiver stations (BTS)

❑Each BTS defines a single cell

❖ Includes radio antenna, radio transceiver and a link to a base station

controller (BSC)

❑BSC reserves radio frequencies, manages handoff of mobile unit

from one cell to another within BSS, and controls paging

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 Network and switching subsystem
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 Network Subsystem (NS)
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❑Provides link between cellular network and PSTNs

❑Controls handoffs between cells in different BSSs

❑Authenticates users and validates accounts

❑Enables worldwide roaming of mobile users

❑Central element of NS is the mobile switching center (MSC)

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 Mobile Switching Center (MSC) Databases

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❑ Home location register (HLR) database – stores information

about each subscriber that belongs to it
❑ Visitor location register (VLR) database – maintains
information about subscribers currently physically in the region
❑ Authentication center database (AuC) – used for
authentication activities, holds encryption keys
❑ Equipment identity register database (EIR) – keeps
track of the type of equipment that exists at the mobile station

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 How a call is made ?
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Two types of channels are available between mobile station and base
station

1. Control channels : used to exchange information having to do with

setting up and maintaining calls
2. Traffic channels : carry voice or data connection between users

➢ Both voice and control channels are further divided into forward (or
downlink) and reverse (or uplink).

➢ A forward channel is used to carry traffic from the BS to the MS.

➢ A reverse channel is used to carry traffic from the MS to the BS.

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 At transmitting end
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• A caller enters a 10-digit code (phone number) and presses the

call button.
• The MS scans the band to select a free channel and sends a strong
signal to send the number entered to BS.
• The BS relays the number to the MSC.
• The MSC in turn dispatches the request to all the base stations in
the cellular system.
• The Mobile Identification Number (MIN) is then broadcast over all
the forward control channels throughout the cellular system. It is
known as paging.
• The MS responds by identifying itself over the reverse control
channel.
• The BS relays the acknowledgement sent by the mobile and informs
the MSC about the handshake.
• The MSC assigns an unused voice channel to the call and call is
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established.
 At receiving end
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• All the idle mobile stations continuously listens to the paging

signal to detect messages directed at them.
• When a call is placed to a mobile station, a packet is sent to
the receiver’s home MSC to find out where it is.
• A packet is sent to the base station in its current cell, which
then sends a broadcast on the paging channel.
• The receiver MS responds on the control channel.
• In response, a voice channel is assigned and ringing starts at
the MS.

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 Frequency reuse
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➢ Cellular telephone systems rely on an intelligent allocation

and reuse of channels.
➢ Each base station is given a group of radio channels to be
used within a cell.
➢ Base stations in neighbouring cells are assigned completely
different set of channel frequencies.
➢ By limiting the coverage areas, called footprints, within cell
boundaries, the same set of channels may be used to cover
different cells separated from one another by a distance large
enough to keep interference level within tolerable limits

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frequency reuse
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 ➢ The closest distance between the centres of two cells using the same
frequency is determined by reuse distance.

where R is the cell radius and N is the

number of cells per cluster.

➢ Fraction of total available channels assigned to each cell within a

cluster is 1/N which is called reuse factor.
➢ If there are a total of M channels allocated for cellular
communications and if the coverage area consists of N cells, there
are a total of MN/7 channels available in the coverage area for
concurrent use based on the seven-cell reuse pattern.

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reuse factor of 1/4 reuse factor of 1/7

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 Approaches to cope up with
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increasing demand

I. Adding new channels

II. Frequency borrowing – frequencies
are taken from adjacent cells by
congested cells
III. Cell splitting – cells in areas of high
usage can be split into smaller cells
IV. Cell sectoring – cells are divided
into a number of wedge-shaped
sectors, each with their own set of
Channels
V. Microcells – antennas move to cell splitting
buildings, hills and lamp posts
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 Multiple access methods
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❖ Within a cell covered by a BS, there are multiple MSs

that need to communicate with the BS. Those mobile
stations must share the air interface in an orderly
manner so that no MSs within the cell interfere with
each other. The methods for MSs to share the air
interface in an orderly manner are referred to as
multiple access methods.

❖ The popular multiple access methods

1. FDMA
2. TDMA
3. CDMA 3/28/2025
 FDMA
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❖ FDMA divides the frequency spectrum assigned to the BS into several

frequency bands, as known as channels.
❖ These channels are well separated and do not interfere with each other.
❖ An MS can use the assigned channel(s) exclusively.

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 TDMA
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❖ The bandwidth is timeshared

❖ In each time slot, only one MS is allowed to use the shared
channel to transmit or receive.
❖ MSs take their turn transmitting or receiving in their allocated slots in
a round robin fashion.

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 Sample TDMA Design
Considerations
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❑ Number of logical channels per physical channel (number of time

slots in TDMA frame): 8
❑ Maximum cell radius (R): 35 km
❑ Frequency: region around 900 MHz
❑ Maximum vehicle speed (Vm):250 km/hr
❑ Maximum coding delay: approx. 20 ms
❑ Maximum delay spread (Δm): 10 μs
❑ Bandwidth: Not to exceed 200 kHz (25 kHz per channel)

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 CDMA
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❖ Data from all stations are

transmitted simultaneously and are
separated based on coding theory
❖ In case of CDMA, the transmission
from different stations occupy the
entire frequency band at the same
time.
❖ Multiple simultaneous transmissions
are separated by using coding
theory.
❖ Each bit is assigned a unique m-bit
code or chip sequence.

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 Location Management
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Location management deals with how to keep track of an active

mobile station within the cellular network. A mobile station is
active if it is powered on. Since the exact location of a mobile
station must be known to the network during a call,location
management usually means how to track an active mobile station
between two consecutive phone calls.

Two basic operations

1. Location Updating: Informing the network of a devices location.

2. Paging: Polling a group of cells to determine the precise location of a
device

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 Location update Schemes
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A. Static location update schemes

Static schemes define the frequency and occurrence of location
updates independently from any user characteristics. Such static mechanisms
allow efficient implementation and low computational requirements due to the
lack of independent user tracking and parameterization

I. Always update and never update

II. Location areas

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 (..contd)
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B. Dynamic location update schemes

Dynamic location update schemes allow per-user parameterization of the
location update frequency. These account for the dynamic behavior of users and may
result inlower location management costs than static schemes. Unlike static location
management strategies, a location update may be performed from any cell in the
network, taking into consideration the call arrival and mobility patterns of the user.

I. Thresold based
a) Time based
b) Movement based
c) Distance based
II. Profile based

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 (..contd)
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Time based Movement based

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Distance based
 Paging schemes
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While mobile devices perform updates according to their location update

scheme, the network needs to be able to precisely determine the current cell
location of a user to be able to route an incoming call. This requires the network
to send a paging query to all cells where the mobile device may be located, to
inform it of the incoming transmission.

I. Simultaneous paging
II. Sequential paging
III. Intelligent paging

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 Handoff
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Continuation of an active call is one of the most important quality measurements in the
cellular systems. Handoff process enables a cellular system to provide such a facility
by transferring an active call from one cell to another.

Handoff initiation
I. Relative Signal Strength
II. Relative Signal Strength with Threshold
III. Relative Signal Strength with Hysteresis
IV. Relative Signal Strength with Hysteresis
and Threshold

Handoff decision protocols

I. Network controlled handoff (NCHO) MTS
II. Mobile assisted handoff (MAHO) by BS,MS
III. Mobile controlled handoff (MCHO by MS)

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 Handoff Management
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▪ the new BS before the link between the old BS and the MS becomes
unusable
▪ There are three primary issues that need to be considered for handoff
management
❖ Handoff detection
❖ Channel assignment
❖ Radio link transfer

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 (..contd)
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Handoff types
1. Hard handoff
The hard handoff term is used when the communication channel is released first
and the new channel is acquired later from the neighboring cell. Thus, there is a service
interruption when the handoff occurs reducing the quality of service. Hard handoff is used by
the systems which use time division multiple access (TDMA) and frequency division multiple
access (FDMA) such as GSM and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS).
2. Soft handoff
A soft handoff can establish multiple connections with neighboring cells. Soft
handoff is used by the code division multiple access (CDMA) systems where the cells use
same frequency band using different code words. Each MS maintains an active set where
BSs are added when the RSS exceeds a given threshold and removed when RSS drops
below another threshold value for a given amount of time specified by a timer. When a
presence or absence of a BS to the active set is encountered soft handoff occurs.
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 Channel assignment
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▪ As the frequency spectrum is limited and mobile users are increasing so the main
task of resource management is to serve the maximum number of possible calls
through a limited number of channels. The available wireless bandwidth is divided
into channels, where each channel is capable of supporting a communication session.

▪ When mobile station want to communicate with another mobile user then it will send
request for a channel to the base station. Depending on channel allocation algorithm
either BS or MSC will allocates a channel to mobile station. Channel allocation is a
process of allocating a channel to a call. While allocating a channel main focus is on
selecting a channel frequency without violating the interference constraint so that the
blocking of call is minimum.

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 (..contd)
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Various channel allocation schemes

1. Fixed channel allocation (FCA)
In fixed channel allocation fixed number of channels is assigned to particular
cell. In this scheme, when all the channels assigned to the cell are busy then the calls will
be blocked, so to improve the blocking probability borrowing scheme can be used along
with fixed channel allocation scheme. In borrowing scheme, if there is a channel request
and all the channels in particular cell is busy then the cell borrows some additional
channels from any of the neighbouring cells. The disadvantage of this scheme is
channel allocation become more complex
2. Dynamic channel allocation
Three types
a. Distributed dynamic channel allocation
b. Centralized dynamic channel allocation
c. Hybrid channel allocation
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 (..contd)
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a. Distributed dynamic channel allocation

In the distributed dynamic channel allocation algorithm the total number of
channels are divided into three equal size groups. Any cell in the cluster can acquire the
channel group as long as no one of its adjacent cells is holding the same group. Thus no
adjacent base station uses the same group. The same group can be used by the two base
stations as long as the distance between these two base stations is the minimum reuse
distance.
b. Centralized dynamic channel allocation
In Centralized dynamic channel allocation, a single central pool of all
available channels is maintained from which a central computer allocates channels to
various cells on demand, and the cells return the channels to the central pool. In this, the
spectral efficiency is higher but such schemes have a high centralization overhead, as
well as a there is single central computer the failure of this computer may cause a
serious problem
3. Hybrid channel allocation
It is the combination of both fixed channel allocation and dynamic channel
allocation schemes. 3/28/2025
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