CELLULAR TELEPHONE

SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION

• Like nearly everything in the modern world of electronic communications,

cellular telephone began as a relatively simple concept. However, the increased
demand for cellular services has caused cellular telephone systems to evolve into
complicated networks and internetworks comprised of several types of cellular
communications systems. New systems have evoked new terms, such as
standard cellular telephone service (CTS), personal communications systems
(PCS), and Personal Communications Satellite System (PCSS), all of which
are full-duplex mobile telephone systems that utilize the cellular concept.
• - began as a relatively simple two-way analog communications system using
frequency modulation (FM) for voice and frequency-shift keying (FSK)
for transporting control and signaling information. The most recent cellular
telephone systems use higher-level digital modulation schemes for conveying
both voice and control information. In addition, the Federal
Communications Commission(FCC) has recently assigned new frequency
bands for cellular telephone.
FIRST-GENERATION ANALOG CELLULAR
TELEPHONE
• In 1971, Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murry Hill, New Jersey, proposed the cellular
telephone concept as the Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMPS). The cellular
telephone concept was an intriguing idea that added a depth or spatial dimension to the
conventional wireline trunking model used by the public telephone company at the time.
The cellular plan called for using many low-profile, low-power cell-site transceivers
linked through a central computer-controlled switching and control center. AMPS is a
standard cellular telephone service (CTS) initially placed into operation on October 13,
1983, by Illinois Bell that incorporated several large cell areas to cover approximately
2100 square miles in the Chicago area.
• The original system used omnidirectional antennas to minimize initial
equipment costs and employed low-power (7-watt) transmitters in both base
stations and mobile units. Voice-channel radio transceivers with AMPS
cellular telephones use narrowband frequency modulation (NBFM) with a
usable audio-frequency band from 300 Hz to 3 kHz and a maximum
frequency deviation of +_12 kHz for 100% modulation.
• Using Carson’s rule,this corresponds to an approximate bandwidth of 30
kHz. Empirical information determined that an AMPS 30-kHz telephone
channel requires a minimum signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) of 18 dB for
satisfactory performance. The smallest reuse factor that satisfied this
requirement utilizing 120° directional antennas was 7. Consequently, the
AMPS system uses a seven-cell reuse pattern with provisions for cell
splitting and sectoring to increase channel capacity when needed.
AMPS FREQUENCY ALLOCATION

• In 1980, the Federal Communications Commission decided to license two

common carriers per cellular service area. The idea was to eliminate the
possibility of a monopoly and provide the advantages that generally accompany
a competitive environment. Subsequently, two frequency allocation plans
emerged—system A and system B—each with its own group of channels that
shared the allocated frequency spectrum. System A is defined for the non-
wireline companies (i.e.,cellular telephone companies) and system B for
existing wireline companies (i.e., local telephone companies).
• The Federal Communications Commission initially assigned the AMPS
system a 40-MHz frequency band consisting of 666 two-way channels per
service area with 30-kHz spacing between adjacent channels.
• Figure 1 shows the original frequency management system for the AMPS
cellular telephone system. The A channels are designated 1 to 333, and the B
channels are designated 334 to 666. For mobile units,channel 1 has a transmit
frequency of 825.03 MHz,and channel 666 has a transmit frequency of
844.98 MHz. For base stations, channel 1 has a transmit frequency of 870.03
MHz, and channel 666 has a transmit frequency of 889.98 MHz. The receive
frequencies are, of course, just the opposite.
• Full duplex(FDX) or simply duplexing- can be accomplished using frequency- or time
domain methods.
• Frequency-division duplexing (FDD) - used with AMPS and occurs when two distinct
frequency bands are provided to each user.
• Forward links- Transmissions from base stations to mobile units.
• Reverse links - transmission from mobile units to base stations.
(Forward links are sometimes called downlinks and reverse links are sometimes
called uplinks.)
• The receiver for each channel operates 45 MHz above the transmit
frequency. Consequently, every twoway AMPS radio channel consists of a
pair of simplex channels separated by 45 MHz. The 45-MHz separation
between transmit and receive frequencies was chosen to make use of
inexpensive but highly selective duplexers in the mobile units.
• In 1989, the Federal Communications Commission added an additional 10-
MHz frequency spectrum to the original 40-MHz band, which increased the
number of simplex channels by 166 for a total of 832 (416 full duplex). The
additional frequencies are called the expanded spectrum and include channels
667 to 799 and 991 to 1023. The complete AMPS frequency assignment is
shown in Figure 2.
• Note that 33 of the new channels were added below the original frequency
spectrum and that the remaining 133 were added above the original
frequency spectrum. With AMPS, a maximum of 128 channels could be used
in each cell.
• Cellular geographic serving areas(CGSA)- cellular telephone companies to
operate specified frequencies in geographic areas.
- Generally designed to lie within the borders of a standard metropolitan
statistical area (SMSA), which defines geographic areas used by
marketing agencies that generally correspond to the area covered by a
specific wireline LATA(local access and transport area).
FREQUENCY-DIVISION MULTIPLE
ACCESSING

• Standard cellular telephone subscribers access the AMPS system using a

technique called frequency-division multiple accessing(FDMA). With
FDMA, transmissions are separated in the frequency domain—each channel
is allocated a carrier frequency and channel bandwidth within the total
system frequency spectrum. Subscribers are assigned a pair of voice channels
(forward and reverse) for the duration of their call.
• Once assigned a voice channel, a subscriber is the only mobile unit using that
channel within a given cell. Simultaneous transmissions from multiple
subscribers can occur at the same time without interfering with one another
because their transmissions are on different channels and occupy different
frequency bands.
AMPS IDENTIFICATION CODES

• The AMPS system specifies several identification codes for each mobile unit
(see Table 2). The mobile identification number(MIN) is a 34-bit binary
code, which in the United States represents the standard 10-digit telephone
number. The MIN is comprised of a three-digit area code, a three-digit prefix
(exchange number), and a four-digit subscriber (extension) number. The
exchange number is assigned to the cellular operating company. If a subscriber
changes service from one cellular company to another, the subscriber must be
assigned a new cellular telephone number.
• Electronic serial number (ESN) - identification code used with AMPS,
which is a 32-bit binary code permanently assigned to each mobile unit. The
ESN are similar to the VIN (vehicle identification number) assigned to an
automobile or the MAC address on a network interface card (NIC) in that
the number is unique and positively identifies a specific unit.
• Four-bit Station class mark(SCM) – The third identification code used with AMPS
which indicates whether the terminal has access to all 832 AMPS channels or only
666. The SCM also specifies the maximum radiated power for the unit(Table 3).
• System identifier(SID) - isa15-bit binary code issued by the FCC to an operating
company when it issues it a license to provide AMPS cellular service to an area.
- Isstored in all base stations and all mobile units to identify the operating
company and MTSO and any additional shared MTSO. Every mobile unit knows
the SID of the system it is subscribed to, which is the mobile unit’s home system.
• .Whenever a mobile unit initializes, it compares its SID to the SID broadcast
by the local base station. If the SIDs are the same, the mobile unit is
communicating with its home system. If the SIDs are different, the mobile
unit is roaming.
• Local operating companies assign a two-bit digital color code(DCC) and a
supervisory audio tone(SAT) to each of their base stations. The DCC and
SAT help the mobile units distinguish one base station from a neighboring
base station. The SAT is one of three analog frequencies (5970Hz,6000Hz,or
6030Hz), and the DCC is one of four binary codes(00,01, 10,or 11).
Neighboring base stations transmit different SAT frequencies and DCCs.
AMPS CONTROL CHANNELS

• The AMPS channel spectrums are divided into two basic sets or groups. One set
of channels is dedicated for exchanging control information between mobile
units and base stations and is appropriately termed control channels (shaded
areas in Figures 1 and 2). Control channels cannot carry voice information;
they are used exclusively to carry service information. There are 21 control
channels in the A system and 21 control channels in the B system. The remaining
790 channels make up the second group, termed voice or user channels. User
channels are used for propagating actual voice conversations or subscriber data.
• Control channels are used in cellular telephone systems to enable mobile units to
communicate with the cellular network through base stations without interfering
with normal voice traffic occurring on the normal voice or user channels.
Control channels are used for call origination, for call termination, and to obtain
system information. With the AMPS system, voice channels are analog FM,
while control channels are digital and employ FSK. Therefore, voice channels
cannot carry control signals, and control channels cannot carry voice
information. Control channels are used exclusively to carry service information.
• With AMPS, base stations broadcast on the forward control channel (FCC)
and listen on the reverse control channel (RCC). The control channels are
sometimes called setup or paging channels. All AMPS base stations
continuously transmit FSK data on the FCC so that idle cellular telephones
can maintain lock on the strongest FCC regardless of their location. A
subscriber’s unit must be locked (sometimes called camped) on an FCC
before it can originate or receive calls.
• Each base station uses a control channel to simultaneously page mobile units
to alert them of the presence of incoming calls and to move established calls
to a vacant voice channel. The forward control channel transmits a 10-kbps
data signal using FSK. Forward control channels from base stations may
contain overhead data, mobile station control information, or control file
information.
• Figure 3a shows the format for an AMPS forward control channel. As the
figure shows, the control channel message is preceded by a 10-bit dotting
scheme, which is a sequence of alternating 1s and 0s. The dotting scheme is
followed by an 11-bit synchronization word with a unique sequence of 1s and
0s that enables a receiver to instantly acquire synchronization. The sync word
is immediately followed by the message repeated five times. The redundancy
helps compensate for the ill effects of fading. If three of the five words are
identical, the receiver assumes that as the message.
• Forward control channel data formats consist of three discrete information
streams: stream A, stream B, and the busy-idle stream. The three data streams
are multiplexed together. Messages to the mobile unit with the least-
significant bit of their 32-bit mobile identification number (MIN) equal to 0
are transmitted on stream A, and MINs with the least significant bit equal to
1 are transmitted on stream B.
• The busy-idle data stream contains busy-idle bits, which are used to indicate
the current status of the reverse control channel (0 = busy and 1 = idle).
There is a busy-idle bit at the beginning of each dotting sequence, at the
beginning of each synchronization word, at the beginning of the first repeat
of word A, and after every 10 message bits thereafter. Each message word
contains 40 bits, and forward control channels can contain one or more
words.
• The types of messages transmitted over the FCC are the mobile station control
message and the overhead message train. Mobile station control messages
control or command mobile units to do a particular task when the mobile unit
has not been assigned a voice channel. Overhead message trains contain
system parameter overhead messages, global action overhead messages, and
control filler messages. Typical mobile-unit control messages are initial voice
channel designation messages, directed retry messages, alert messages, and
change power messages.
• Figure 3b shows the format for the reverse control channel that is transmitted
from the mobile unit to the base station. The control data are transmitted at a
10-kbps rate and include page responses, access requests, and registration
requests. All RCC messages be with the RCC seizure precursor, which
consists of a 30-bit dotting sequence, an 11-bit synchronization word , and the
coded digital color code(DCC),which is added so that the control channel is
not confused with a control channel from a nonadjacent cell that is reusing the
same frequency.
• The mobile telephone reads the base station’s DCC and then returns a coded
version of it, verifying that the unit is locked onto the correct signal. When
the call is finished, a 1.8-second signaling time-out signal is transmitted.
Each message word contains 40 bits and is repeated five times for a total of
200 bits.
VOICE-CHANNEL SIGNALING

• Blank and burst - When transmitting digital signaling information, voice

transmissions are inhibited. The voice is blanked, and the data are transmitted
in a short burst. The bit rate of the digital information is 10 kbps.
• Figure4a shows the voice channel signaling format for a forward voice
channel, and Figure 4b shows the format for the reverse channel. ( WILL BE
DISCUSS BY THE NEXT REPORTER)