UNIT-III

Fundamentals of Communication Systems

Cellular Communication
Embedded Systems
• Communication is the basic process of exchange of information or
transmission of information from one point to another

• The information is generated from the thought process in the human mind
and it is sent to the receiver in the form of speech, text, sign or in any other
understandable form.

• Communication in our daily life are in different ways: Telephone, Radio, TV,
Computers etc.,
• Communication provides directions for ships, aircrafts, rockets and
satellites in space (magnetic compass, GPS trackers, Direction finder).
• Modern communication systems include mobile communication, point to
point communication, radio telemetry (radio signals of invisible, silent
electromagnetic waves to determine the location) and so on.

• Communication need not directly involve human beings always.

• For example, communication between two or more computers, the
human decision/intervention is required only while giving commands or

to monitor the results.

• Radio and acoustic telemetry (internet)
Tracking fish using pop up satellite archival tags (to store the data of
depth, temp, position, light intensity as fish migrates in ocean)
Basic Blocks of Communication Systems:

• The basic blocks of a communication system is as shown in the figure

above
• It involves a transmitter, a channel and a receiver
• The transmitter is situated at one point and the receiver is situated
somewhere else far away
• Channel is the medium that connects the transmitter and the receiver

• The elements of communication system are as follows:

Information source
Transmitter
Communication Channel
Noise
Receiver
Destination
Information:

• Information or message to be communicated are generated from

information sources.
• Main sources of information are human brain or changes in the physical
environment.
• Information may be the speech signal, image, text, music, video etc.
• The amount of information is measured in bits.
Transmitter:

• The information (message) generated from a source is not in a suitable form

(raw) to be transmitted directly through the channel.

• The transmitter is an electronic circuit designed to convert the information

into a signal suitable to be transmitted over a given communication
channel.

• Signal in its original form will be non-electrical in nature, hence, such signal
cannot be transmitted through the channel as it is.
• Using suitable transducers (converts physical quantity to electrical form),
the messages are converted into electrical form and then they are
processed and coded (binary bits) before the transmission.

• The signal processing techniques (filtering) are also applied at this stage to
make the communication more effective.

• Transmitter includes – transducer, modulator, filters, encoder and also

amplifiers to ensure faithful signal transmission and reception.
Communication channels:

• The communication channel is the physical medium through which the

electronic signal is transmitted.

• The channel connects the transmitter and receiver either through wire
or without wire. In general, the communication channel can be
classified as:

1. Wired channel or line communication

2. Wireless channel or radio channel

Wired channel:

• The examples for a wired medium are: copper wire, coaxial cable, fibre

optic cable etc.

• For applications like telephony two physical wires or conductors are

connected between the transmitter and the receiver.

• Latest applications use optical fibre cables, which are well known for their
high capacity and immunity to noise.
• In optical fibres the information will be transmitted in the form of
light wave.

• Coaxial cables are preferred over pair of wires as they have higher
bandwidth and lower losses.

• Optical fibers are logical extension of coaxial cables which can be

operated at higher frequencies and greater bandwidths.

• Optical fibres are also cheaper and are more immune to interference
and noise.
Wireless channel:

• It is most commonly known as radio channel or electromagnetic medium.

• This type of channel connects the transmitter and receiver wirelessly.

• No physical wire is necessary to carry the information, the signal is sent

through air (atmosphere) or free space.

• Radio communication requires two antennas, one for the transmission and
the other for reception.
• The signal received at the receiving antenna will be attenuated (loss of
signal strength) and hence its amplitude will be smaller.

• With proper amplification, the signal will be processed further to get back
the original information.

• Radio communication allows the signal to be transmitted to any longer

distance – thousands of kilometers, perhaps even more.
 Noise:

• Noise is basically any unwanted signal that disturbs the communication.

• Noise enters the communication system normally in the medium or

channel.

• Noise may also be generated at the transmitter or receiver.

• This means noise can be internally generated in a system or externally

added to the signal.
• Noise can also be classified as:
- natural noise or man-made noise.
Natural noise includes –
• lightening during rainy season, radiations from the sun and cosmic
radiations.
Man-made noise includes --
• Noise generated by the electric ignition systems, industrial noise,
fluorescent lights etc.
• Noise imposes serious problem on electronic communication systems, if not
controlled.
• Noise cannot be completely eliminated, but its effect can be reduced using
different methods.
Receiver:
• It is a collection of electronic circuits designed to convert the signal
back to its original form. The process includes amplification, mixing,
demodulation and decoding etc.

• The receiver performs the task of operating on the received signal to

generate the estimation of the original signal.

• If the estimated signal is same as the original transmitted signal, then we

say that the reception is proper.
Modulation:

• The transmission of an information bearing signal over a communication

channel requires a shift in the range of frequencies from the original to
another frequency range suitable for transmission.

• This is accomplished through the process of modulation.

• Modulation is defined as the process by which some characteristic of a

carrier signal is varied in accordance with a modulating signal.
• The message signal is referred to as modulating signal
• The result of modulation is referred to as modulated signal.
• The carrier signal is usually a high frequency signal than the message
signal.
• The message signal modifies the amplitude, frequency or phase of the
carrier signal in the process of modulation.
The types of modulation are:
1. Amplitude modulation – amplitude of the carrier is varied in
accordance with the modulating signal, keeping the frequency and
phase of the carrier constant
2. Frequency modulation – the frequency of the carrier signal is varied
according to the modulating signal
3. Phase modulation – phase of the carrier is varied in accordance with
the modulating signal
Need for modulation:
• The message signal cannot be transmitted in its direct form, over the
communication channel. It should be modulated suitably.
• The advantages of the modulation are:
-- Reduces the antenna height
-- The range(distance) of communication can be increased
-- Signals can be multiplexed
-- Bandwidth can be used efficiently
-- Quality of reception can be improved
-- Avoids mixing of the signals
Height of the antenna:

• Minimum height of the antenna for proper transmission and reception

is λ/4, where λ is the wavelength.

• We know that, λ =c/f, where ‘c’ is velocity of light and ‘f’ is the frequency.

• At lower frequencies, wavelength is high and antenna height is also high.

• Hence by modulating the message signal using a high frequency carrier, the
height of the antenna can be decreased.
Range of communication:

• Since message signal frequency range is low (20 Hz to 20 kHz),

the possibility of signal attenuation is more.

• Modulation process increases the frequency and hence the range of

communication may be increased.
Multiplexing:

• Modulation allows the multiplexing of signals.

• Multiplexing means two or more message signals are transmitted

simultaneously over the same channel.

• Eg: broadband data services, TV channels operating simultaneously,

radio stations in MW (medium wave) and SW (short wave) band
simultaneously.
Bandwidth utilization:

• Bandwidth of the modulated signal can be made smaller or larger than

the original signal.

Quality of reception:

• By using specific types of modulation schemes, such as FM, noise

performance of the receiver can be improved.

Avoids mixing:
• Message signal frequencies are located within the range from 20 Hz to 20
kHz.
• Simultaneous transmission of multiple message signals may lead to mixing
of the signals, which may cause interference in the reception.
• Instead, if each message signal is modulated separately using different
carrier frequencies, then each signal will be located at different portions in
the spectrum.
• The receiver tuned to particular carrier will be able to receive the signal.
• Therefore, modulation process avoids mixing of signals.
 Cellular Communication
• Telecommunication is the most widely used application as it connects the
people around the globe

• Device used for this type of communication is ‘telephone’

• If wireless communication is taking place with the movement of the

communication devices, it is referred to as ‘mobile communication’

• Today, the telephone is replaced by a mobile phone and communication is

still possible with the movement of the sending or receiving end devices or
both.
Why mobile communication is called a ‘Cellular communication’?

• If the mobile communication involves mobile devices and a coordinator

station called base transceiver station or base station within a small
geographical area, the communication is cellular communication.

• Each cellular base station is allocated by a group of radio channels to be

used within a small geographic area called a cell.
A cellular communication system
• Mobile user with the mobile device in automobile shown here wirelessly
communicate when it moves from one cell to another cell.

• The base stations of the respective cell connect the mobile devices using
Radio Frequency (RF) link.

• The base stations are controlled by Mobile switching centres (MSC) which
are connected to the existing telephone system referred to as Public
Switching Telephone Network (PSTN).

• Base station is provided with a call/data communication handling

processor.
RF linkage using Base station and Mobile station:

• The entire radio frequency spectrum is divided into small frequency

bands.

• The RF connectivity is established by the MSC with the help of Base station
when a call is to be established.

• It assigns an available frequency band (channel), out of the entire

bandwidth to the mobile unit temporarily till the end of the call.
Hand-off Process:
• Whenever a mobile user crosses one cell boundary and moves to another
cell with an active call, the call is softly handed over to a new frequency
band.

• The MSC adjusts the transmitted power of the mobile phone and changes
the channel of the mobile unit and base stations in order to maintain call
quality.

• This is called a hand-off process in mobile communication

Different events between the mobile unit and a cellular system while a
phone number is entered
• Before the MSC connects to an available frequency band, the initial
handshaking is achieved by 4 different frequency bands or channels.
They are as listed in table 1 below.
When a mobile originates a call,
• A call initiation request is sent on the reverse control channel.
• With this request, the mobile unit transmits its telephone number, Mobile
Identification Number (MIN), Electronic Serial Number (ESN) and the telephone
number of the called party.
• The mobile also transmits a station class mark (SCM) which indicates as what the
maximum transmitter power level is for the particular user.
• The cell base station receives this data and sends it to the MSC.
• The MSC validates the request, makes connection to the called party through the
PSTN
• Now, MSC instructs the base station and mobile user to move to an unused forward
and reverse voice channel pair to begin the call for conversation.
Frequency reuse concept in a cellular system

Cellular frequency reuse with hexagonal shaped cells

• In the above figure, cells numbered from A – G forms a group of cells
called Cluster.

• There are 3 such clusters shown in the Figure, with the frequency bands
repeated.

• Cells with the same letter use the same set of frequencies.

• A cell cluster is outlined in bold and replicated over the coverage area.

• The ‘N’ cells which collectively use the complete set of available
frequencies is called a cluster
• From the Figure, it is clear that,

• A cluster with cells from A – G uses frequency bands that is not repeated in the
adjacent cells.

• The frequency bands are repeated only in the next cluster.

• The number of cells in a cluster is known as cluster size, denoted as ‘N’

• Frequency reuse factor is the reciprocal of cluster size.

Frequency reuse factor = 1/N

• In this example, the cluster size, N, is equal to 7, and the frequency reuse factor is
1/7 since each cell contains one-seventh of the total number of available channels
Why a cell is Hexagon in shape?
• A cell must be designed to serve the weakest mobiles located at the
edge of the cell. The hexagonal cell shape is conceptual.

• Thus, when considering geometric shapes, the entire region is to be

covered without overlap and with equal area.

• A circle may be thought of to represent the coverage area of a base

station, but adjacent circles cannot be overlaid upon a map without
leaving gaps creating overlapping regions.
There are three sensible choices:

• a square;

• an equilateral triangle;

• a hexagon. Eg: circular cells

Theoretically, the radiation zone cannot be represented by a square or a

triangle.

The hexagon permits easy and manageable analysis of a cellular system.

The hexagon permits easy and manageable analysis of a cellular system

• For a given distance, between the center of a polygon and its farthest
perimeter points, the hexagon has the largest area.

• The hexagon closely approximates a circular radiation pattern.

• Using this, the fewest number of cells can cover a geographic region,
which would occur for an omni-directional base station antenna.
Capacity of a cell with the necessary equations and Capacity of a
Cluster
• Consider a cellular system which has a total of S duplex channels

• If each cell is allocated group of k channels (k <S), and if the S channels

are divided among N cells into unique channel groups, the total number
of available radio channels will be

𝑆 = 𝑘𝑁 ------ (1)
• If a cluster is replicated M times within the system, the total number of
duplex channels, C, the capacity is given by

• 𝐶 = 𝑀𝑘𝑁

From (1),

• 𝐶 = 𝑀𝑆 ------(2)

• The capacity of a cellular system is directly proportional to the number of

times a cluster is replicated in a fixed service area.

• The factor ‘N’ is called the cluster size and is typically equal to 4, 7, or 12.
• If the cluster size ‘N’ is reduced while the cell size is kept constant, more
clusters are required to cover a given area and hence more capacity (a
larger value of ‘C’) is achieved.

• The smallest possible value of ‘N’ is desirable in order to maximize

capacity over a given coverage area
Effect of Interference:

• Interference on voice channels causes cross talk

• A user hears interference in the background due to an undesired

transmission called cross talk

• Interference is more severe in urban areas, due to the greater HF noise

floor and the large number of base stations and mobiles.

• Interference does not allow increase of capacity and there will be call drop.
Types of interference:

1. Co-channel interference
2. Adjacent channel interference
• Co-channel cells use frequency reuse where the cells in a given
geographical area use the same set of frequency.

• The interference between signals from these cells is called co-channel

interference.
Fig: Adjacent co-channel cells
with parameters
• Co-channel reuse ratio: (Q) It related to the Cluster size - N

• Distance between the centers of the nearest co-channel cells - D Radius of

the cell – R

• For a hexagonal geometry, Q is given by

• Smaller the Q, larger will be the capacity since N (Cluster size) is small.

• Larger the Q, co-channel interference will be smaller. This improves the

transmission quality of the signal.
Numericals:

1. If a total of 33 MHz of bandwidth is allocated to a particular cellular

telephone system which uses two 25 kHz simplex channels to provide
full duplex voice and control channels. Compute the total available
channels in the system
Given:
Total bandwidth =33 MHz = 33x106 Hz
Channel bandwidth = 25 kHz x 2 simplex channels = 50 kHz/duplex channel
Total available channels = 33x106 /50x103 = 660 channels.
2. If there are 4 groups of channels in a cellular system with a cluster size of
7, find the total number of duplex channels. If there are 5 clusters covering
the geographical area, then find the cellular capacity.
Given:

We know that 𝑆 = 𝑘. 𝑁
k = 4, N = 7 S = ?

Therefore, S = 4 x 7
S = 28 duplex channels.
Given M = 5 clusters
The cellular capacity is C = M.S = 5 x 28 = 140 duplex channels.
3. If there are total of 32 duplex channels in each cell in a cellular
system, having a capacity of 64 duplex channels, find the number of
clusters.

Given

S = 32, C = 64

𝐶=𝑀𝑆
M=? ,

Hence, the number of clusters is M = C/S = 64/32 = 2

4. If the radius of a cell is 10 km and the distance between the centers of
adjacent co-channel cells is 160 km, find the cluster size of the cellular
system

Given
R = 10 km, D = 160 km
=,N=

Hence, the cluster size is N = 85.33