 Frequencies  Multiplexing

 Signals
 Antenna  Spread spectrum
 Signal propagation
 Modulation
 Cellular systems
twisted coax cable optical transmission
pair

1 Mm 10 km 100 m 1m 10 mm 100 m 1 m
300 Hz 30 kHz 3 MHz 300 MHz 30 GHz 3 THz 300 THz

VLF LF MF HF VHF UHF SHF EHF infrared visible light UV

 VLF = Very Low Frequency UHF = Ultra High Frequency
 LF = Low Frequency SHF = Super High Frequency
 MF = Medium Frequency EHF = Extra High Frequency
 HF = High Frequency UV = Ultraviolet Light
 VHF = Very High Frequency

 Frequency and wave length:

 = c/f
 wave length , speed of light c  3x108m/s, frequency f
 VHF-/UHF-ranges for mobile radio
◦ simple, small antenna for cars
◦ deterministic propagation characteristics, reliable connections
 SHF and higher for directed radio links, satellite communication
◦ small antenna, beam forming
◦ large bandwidth available
 Wireless LANs use frequencies in UHF to SHF range
◦ some systems planned up to EHF
◦ limitations due to absorption by water and oxygen molecules (resonance frequencies)
 weather dependent fading, signal loss caused by heavy rainfall etc.
 ITU-R holds Europe USA manages frequency bands
auctions for new frequencies, Japan
worldwide (WRC, World Radio
Conferences)
Cellular GSM 450-457, 479- AMPS, TDMA, CDMA PDC
Phones 486/460-467,489- 824-849, 810-826,
496, 890-915/935- 869-894 940-956,
960, TDMA, CDMA, GSM 1429-1465,
1710-1785/1805- 1850-1910, 1477-1513
1880 1930-1990
UMTS (FDD) 1920-
1980, 2110-2190
UMTS (TDD) 1900-
1920, 2020-2025
Cordless CT1+ 885-887, 930- PACS 1850-1910, 1930- PHS
Phones 932 1990 1895-1918
CT2 PACS-UB 1910-1930 JCT
864-868 254-380
DECT
1880-1900
Wireless IEEE 802.11 902-928 IEEE 802.11
LANs 2400-2483 IEEE 802.11 2471-2497
HIPERLAN 2 2400-2483 5150-5250
5150-5350, 5470- 5150-5350, 5725-5825
5725
Others RF-Control RF-Control RF-Control
27, 128, 418, 433, 315, 915 426, 868
868
 physical representation of data
 function of time and location
 signal parameters: parameters representing the value of data
 classification
◦ continuous time/discrete time
◦ continuous values/discrete values
◦ analog signal = continuous time and continuous values
◦ digital signal = discrete time and discrete values
 signal parameters of periodic signals:
period T, frequency f=1/T, amplitude A, phase shift 
◦ sine wave as special periodic signal for a carrier:

s(t) = At sin(2  ft t + t)

 Transmission range
◦ communication possible
◦ low error rate
 Detection range
◦ detection of the signal
possible
◦ no communication
possible sender
 Interference range
◦ signal may not be
detected
transmission
◦ signal adds to the
distance
background noise
detection

interference
  Propagation in free space always like light (straight line)
 Receiving power proportional to 1/d² in vacuum – much more in real environments
(d = distance between sender and receiver)
 Receiving power additionally influenced by
 fading (frequency dependent)
 shadowing
 reflection at large obstacles
 refraction depending on the density of a medium
 scattering at small obstacles
 diffraction at edges

shadowing reflection refraction scattering diffraction

 Signal can take many different paths between sender and receiver due to reflection, scattering,
diffraction

multipath
LOS pulses pulses

 Time dispersion: signal is dispersed over time

signal at sender
  interference with “neighbor” symbols, Inter Symbol Interference (ISI)
signal at receiver
 The signal reaches a receiver directly and phase shifted
  distorted signal depending on the phases of the different parts
 Channel characteristics change over time and location
◦ signal paths change
◦ different delay variations of different signal parts
◦ different phases of signal parts
  quick changes in the power received (short term fading)

 Additional changes in
◦ distance to sender
power long term
◦ obstacles further away fading
  slow changes in the average power
received (long term fading)

t
short term fading
 channels ki

k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
 Multiplexing in 4 dimensions
◦ space (si)
◦ time (t) c
◦ frequency (f)
t c
◦ code (c)
t
 Goal: multiple use
of a shared medium s1
f
s2
 Important: guard spaces needed! f
c
t

s3
f
 Separation of the whole spectrum into smaller frequency bands
 A channel gets a certain band of the spectrum for the whole time
 Advantages:
 no dynamic coordination
necessary
 works also for analog signals

 Disadvantages: k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
 waste of bandwidth
if the traffic is c
distributed unevenly
 inflexible f
 guard spaces

t
 A channel gets the whole spectrum for a certain amount of time

 Advantages:
 only one carrier in the
medium at any time
 throughput high even
for many users

 Disadvantages:
 precise
k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
synchronization
necessary
c
f

t
 Combination of both methods
 A channel gets a certain frequency band for a certain amount of time
 Example: GSM

 Advantages:
◦ better protection against
tapping
◦ protection against frequency k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
selective interference
◦ higher data rates compared to
code multiplex c
 but: precise coordination
required f

t
 Each channel has a unique code

 All channels use the same spectrum

at the same time
k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
 Advantages:
◦ bandwidth efficient
◦ no coordination and synchronization necessary c
◦ good protection against interference and tapping
 Disadvantages:
◦ lower user data rates
◦ more complex signal regeneration
 Implemented using spread spectrum technology

t
 Digital modulation
◦ digital data is translated into an analog signal (baseband)
◦ ASK, FSK, PSK - main focus in this chapter
◦ differences in spectral efficiency, power efficiency, robustness
 Analog modulation
◦ shifts center frequency of baseband signal up to the radio carrier
 Motivation
◦ smaller antennas (e.g., /4)
◦ Frequency Division Multiplexing
◦ medium characteristics
 Basic schemes
◦ Amplitude Modulation (AM)
◦ Frequency Modulation (FM)
◦ Phase Modulation (PM)
 analog
baseband
digital
signal
data digital analog
101101001 modulation modulation radio transmitter

radio
carrier

analog
baseband
digital
signal
analog synchronization data
demodulation decision 101101001 radio receiver

radio
carrier
 1 0 1
 Modulation of digital signals known as Shift Keying
 Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK):
◦ very simple
◦ low bandwidth requirements t
◦ very susceptible to interference

 Frequency Shift Keying (FSK): 1 0 1

◦ needs larger bandwidth

 Phase Shift Keying (PSK): t

◦ more complex
◦ robust against interference
1 0 1

t
 Problem of radio transmission: frequency dependent fading can wipe out narrow band signals for
duration of the interference
 Solution: spread the narrow band signal into a broad band signal using a special code
 protection against narrow band interference

power interference spread power signal

signal
 protection against narrowband interference spread
detection at interference
 Side effects:
receiver
◦ coexistence of several signals without dynamic coordination
◦ tap-proof
f f
 Alternatives: Direct Sequence, Frequency Hopping
 dP/df dP/df

user signal
i) ii) broadband interference
narrowband interference
f f
sender
dP/df dP/df dP/df

iii) iv) v)
f f f
receiver
channel
quality

1 2 5 6
narrowband channels
3
4
frequency
narrow band guard space
signal

channel
quality
2
2 spread spectrum channels
2
2
2
1

spread frequency
spectrum
 XOR of the signal with pseudo-random number (chipping sequence)
◦ many chips per bit (e.g., 128) result in higher bandwidth of the signal
 Advantages
◦ reduces frequency selective
fading
◦ in cellular networks tb
 base stations can use the
same frequency range user data
 several base stations can
detect and recover the signal 0 1 XOR
 soft handover
tc
 Disadvantages
◦ precise power control necessary chipping
sequence
01101010110101 =

resulting
signal
01101011001010

tb: bit period

tc: chip period
 spread
spectrum transmit
user data signal signal
X modulator

chipping radio
sequence carrier

transmitter

correlator
lowpass sampled
received filtered products sums
signal signal data
demodulator X integrator decision

radio chipping
carrier sequence

receiver
 Discrete changes of carrier frequency
◦ sequence of frequency changes determined via pseudo random number sequence
 Two versions
◦ Fast Hopping:
several frequencies per user bit
◦ Slow Hopping:
several user bits per frequency
 Advantages
◦ frequency selective fading and interference limited to short period
◦ simple implementation
◦ uses only small portion of spectrum at any time
 Disadvantages
◦ not as robust as DSSS
◦ simpler to detect
 tb

user data

0 1 0 1 1 t
f
td
f3 slow
f2 hopping
(3 bits/hop)
f1

td t
f

f3 fast
f2 hopping
(3 hops/bit)
f1

tb: bit period td: dwell time

 narrowband spread
signal transmit
user data signal
modulator modulator

frequency hopping
synthesizer sequenc
transmitter e

narrowband
received signal
signal data
demodulator demodulator

hopping frequency
sequenc synthesizer
e receiver
 Implements space division multiplex: base station covers a certain transmission area (cell)
 Mobile stations communicate only via the base station

 Advantages of cell structures:

◦ higher capacity, higher number of users
◦ less transmission power needed
◦ more robust, decentralized
◦ base station deals with interference, transmission area etc. locally
 Problems:
◦ fixed network needed for the base stations
◦ handover (changing from one cell to another) necessary
◦ interference with other cells
 Cell sizes from some 100 m in cities to, e.g., 35 km on the country side (GSM) - even less for higher frequencies
 Frequency reuse only with a certain distance between the base stations
 Standard model using 7 frequencies:

f3
 Fixed frequency assignment:
f
5 2 f
◦ certain frequencies are assigned to a certain cell f 4 f 6 f5
◦ problem: different traffic load in different cells f1 f4
 Dynamic frequency assignment:
f3 f7 f1
f2
◦ base station chooses frequencies depending on the frequencies already used in
neighbor cells
◦ more capacity in cells with more traffic
◦ assignment can also be based on interference measurements
 f3 f3 f3
f2 f2
f1 f1 f1 f2 f3 f7
f3 f3
f2 f2 f2
3 cell cluster f5 f2
f4 f6 f5
f1 f1 f1 f4
f3 f3 f3 f3 f7 f1
f2 f3
f6 f5 f2

7 cell cluster

f2 f2 f2
f1 f f1 f f3
h f3 h 1
3
h1 2
g2 h3
h1 2
g2 h3 g2 3 cell cluster
g1 g1 g
g3 g3 1
g3 with 3 sector antennas
 CDM systems: cell size depends on current load
 Additional traffic appears as noise to other users
 If the noise level is too high users drop out of cells