Cellular Telephone Systems

CHAPTER OUTLINE

1 Introduction 6 Digital Cellular Telephone

2 First-Generation Analog Cellular Telephone 7 Interim Standard 95 (IS-95)
3 Personal Communications System 8 North American Cellular and PCS Summary
4 Second-Generation Cellular Telephone Systems 9 Global System for Mobile Communications
5 N-AMPS 10 Personal Satellite Communications System

OBJECTIVES

■ Define first-generation analog cellular telephone systems

■ Describe and outline the frequency allocation for the Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMPS)
■ Explain frequency-division multiple accessing (FDMA)
■ Describe the operation of AMPS control channels
■ Explain the AMPS classification of cellular telephones
■ Describe the concepts of personal communications systems (PCS)
■ Outline the advantages and disadvantages of PCS compared to standard cellular telephone
■ Describe second-generation cellular telephone systems
■ Explain the operation of N-AMPS cellular telephone systems
■ Define digital cellular telephone
■ Describe the advantages and disadvantages of digital cellular telephone compared to analog cellular telephone
■ Describe time-division multiple accessing (TDMA)
■ Describe the purpose of IS-54 and what is meant by dual-mode operation
■ Describe IS-136 and explain its relationship to IS-54
■ Describe the format for a USDC digital voice channel
■ Explain the classifications of USDC radiated power
■ Describe the basic concepts and outline the specifications of IS-95
■ Describe code-division multiple accessing (CDMA)

From Chapter 12 of Advanced Electronic Communications Systems, Sixth Edition. Wayne Tomasi.
Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education, Inc. Published by Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.
491
Cellular Telephone Systems

■ Outline the CDMA frequency and channel allocation for cellular telephone
■ Explain the classifications of CDMA radiated power
■ Summarize North American cellular and PCS systems
■ Describe global system for mobile communications (GSM)
■ Describe the services provided by GSM
■ Explain GSM system architecture
■ Describe the GSM radio subsystem
■ Describe the basic concepts of a Personal Communications Satellite System (PCSS)
■ Outline the advantages and disadvantages of PCSS over terrestrial cellular telephone systems

1 INTRODUCTION

Like nearly everything in the modern world of electronic communications, cellular tele-
phone began as a relatively simple concept. However, the increased demand for cellular
services has caused cellular telephone systems to evolve into complicated networks and in-
ternetworks comprised of several types of cellular communications systems. New systems
have evoked new terms, such as standard cellular telephone service (CTS), personal com-
munications systems (PCS), and Personal Communications Satellite System (PCSS), all of
which are full-duplex mobile telephone systems that utilize the cellular concept.
Cellular telephone began as a relatively simple two-way analog communications sys-
tem using frequency modulation (FM) for voice and frequency-shift keying (FSK) for trans-
porting 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 has recently assigned new frequency
bands for cellular telephone. The following sections are intended to give the reader a basic
understanding of the fundamental meaning of the common cellular telephone systems and
the terminology used to describe them.

2 FIRST-GENERATION ANALOG CELLULAR TELEPHONE

In 1971, Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murry Hill, New Jersey, proposed the cellular tele-
phone 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 incor-
porated 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 fre-
quency 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 satis-
factory 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.

2-1 AMPS Frequency Allocation

In 1980, the Federal Communications Commission decided to license two common carri-
ers per cellular service area. The idea was to eliminate the possibility of a monopoly and

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Cellular Telephone Systems

Reverse channels – mobile unit transmit and base station receive frequencies

Frequency 825 835 845

(MHz)
666
333 333

312 21 21 312
A A B B

Channel # 1 313 333 334 354 666

Forward channels – mobile unit transmit and base station receive frequencies

Frequency 870 880 890

(MHz)
666
333 333

312 21 21 312
A A B B

Channel # 1 313 333 334 354 666

*Shaded areas denote control channels (A-system: 313 to 333 and B-system: 334 to 354)

FIGURE 1 Original Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) frequency spectrum

provide the advantages that generally accompany a competitive environment. Subse-

quently, 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 exist-
ing 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 desig-
nated 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.
Simultaneous transmission in both directions is a transmission mode called full du-
plex (FDX) or simply duplexing. Duplexing can be accomplished using frequency- or time-
domain methods. Frequency-division duplexing (FDD) is used with AMPS and occurs
when two distinct frequency bands are provided to each user. In FDD, each duplex channel
actually consists of two simplex (one-way) channels (base station to mobile and mobile to
base station). A special device called a duplexer is used in each mobile unit and base sta-
tion to allow simultaneous transmission and reception on duplex channels.
Transmissions from base stations to mobile units are called forward links, whereas
transmission from mobile units to base stations are called reverse links. (Forward links are

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Cellular Telephone Systems

Reverse channels – mobile unit transmit and base station receive frequencies
Frequency 824 825 835 845 846.5 849
(MHz)
832
366 466

33 312 21 21 312 50 83
A A A B B A B

Channel # 991 1023 1 313 333 334 354 666 667 716 799

Forward channels – mobile unit transmit and base station receive frequencies
Frequency 869 870 880 890 891.5 894
(MHz)
832
366 466

33 312 21 21 312 50 83
A A A B B A B

Channel # 991 1023 1 313 333 334 354 666 667 716 799

*Shaded areas denote control channels (A-system: 313 to 333 and B-system: 334 to 354)

FIGURE 2 Complete Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) frequency spectrum

sometimes called downlinks and reverse links are sometimes called uplinks.) The receiver
for each channel operates 45 MHz above the transmit frequency. Consequently, every two-
way 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 fre-
quency 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.
The mobile unit’s transmit carrier frequency in MHz for any channel is calculated as
follows:
ft 0.03 N 825 for 1 ≤ N ≤ 866 (1)
ft 0.03(N 1023) 825 for 990 ≤ N ≤ 1023 (2)
where ft transmit carrier frequency (MHz)
N channel number
The mobile unit’s receive carrier frequency is obtained by simply adding 45 MHz to the
transmit frequency:
fr ft 45 MHz (3)

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Cellular Telephone Systems

The base station’s transmit frequency for any channel is simply the mobile unit’s re-
ceive frequency, and the base station’s receive frequency is simply the mobile unit’s trans-
mit frequency.

Example 1
Determine the transmit and receive carrier frequencies for
a. AMPS channel 3.
b. AMPS channel 991.
Solution
a. The transmit and receive carrier frequencies for channel 3 can be determined from Equations 1 and
3:
transmit ft 0.03N 825
0.03(3) 825
825.09 MHz
receive fr 825.09 MHz 45 MHz
870.09 MHz
b. The transmit and receive carrier frequencies for channel 991 can be determined from Equations 2
and 3:
transmit ft 0.03(991 1023) 825
824.04 MHz
receive fr 824.04 MHz 45 MHz
869.04 MHz
Table 1 summarizes the frequency assignments for AMPS. The set of control chan-
nels may be split by the system operator into subsets of dedicated control channels, paging
channels, or access channels.
The Federal Communications Commission controls the allocation of cellular telephone
frequencies (channels) and also issues licenses to cellular telephone companies to operate
specified frequencies in geographic areas called cellular geographic serving areas (CGSA).
CGSAs are generally designed to lie within the borders of a standard metropolitan statistical
area (SMSA), which defines geographic areas used by marketing agencies that generally cor-
respond to the area covered by a specific wireline LATA (local access and transport area).

2-2 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 be-
cause their transmissions are on different channels and occupy different frequency bands.

2-3 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 rep-
resents 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) num-
ber. 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.

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Cellular Telephone Systems

Table 1 AMPS Frequency Allocation

AMPS

Channel spacing 30 kHz

Spectrum allocation 40 MHz
Additional spectrum 10 MHz
Total number of channels 832

System A Frequency Allocation

AMPS

Channel
Number Mobile TX, MHz Mobile RX, MHz

1 825.030 870.030
313a 834.390 879.390
333b 843.990 879.990
667 845.010 890.010
716 846.480 891.480
991 824.040 869.040
1023 825.000 870.000

System B Frequency Allocation

c
334 835.020 880.020
354d 835.620 880.620
666 844.980 890.000
717 846.510 891.000
799 848.970 894.000
a
First dedicated control channel for system A.
b
Last dedicated control channel for system A.
c
First dedicated control channel for system B.
d
Last dedicated control channel for system B.

Table 2 AMPS Identification Codes

Length
Notation Name (Bits) Description

MIN Mobile identifier 34 Directory number assigned by

operating company to a
subscriber (telephone number)
ESN Electronic serial 32 Assigned by manufacturer to a
number mobile station (telephone)
SID System identifier 15 Assigned by regulators to a
geographical service area
SCM Station class mark 4 Indicates capabilities of a
mobile station
SAT Supervisory audio tone * Assigned by operating
company to each base station
DCC Digital color code 2 Assigned by operating
company to each base station

Another identification code used with AMPS is the electronic serial number (ESN),
which is a 32-bit binary code permanently assigned to each mobile unit. The ESN are sim-
ilar to the VIN (vehicle identification number) assigned to an automobile or the MAC ad-
dress on a network interface card (NIC) in that the number is unique and positively identi-
fies a specific unit.

496
Cellular Telephone Systems

Table 3 AMPS Mobile Phone Power Levels

Class I Class II Class III

Power Level dBm mW dBm mW dBm mW

0 36 4000 32 1600 28 640

1 32 1600 32 1600 28 640
2 28 640 28 640 28 640
3 24 256 24 256 24 256
4 20 102 20 102 20 102
5 16 41 16 41 16 41
6 12 16 12 16 12 16
7 8 6.6 8 6.6 8 6.6

The third identification code used withAMPS is the four-bit station class mark (SCM),
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).
The system identifier (SID) is a 15-bit binary code issued by the FCC to an operating com-
pany when it issues it a license to provide AMPS cellular service to an area. The SID is stored
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 com-
municating 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 dis-
tinguish one base station from a neighboring base station. The SAT is one of three analog fre-
quencies (5970 Hz, 6000 Hz, or 6030 Hz), and the DCC is one of four binary codes (00, 01,
10, or 11). Neighboring base stations transmit different SAT frequencies and DCCs.

2-4 AMPS Control Channels

The AMPS channel spectrums are divided into two basic sets or groups. One set of chan-
nels 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 infor-
mation. There are 21 control channels in the A system and 21 control channels in the B sys-
tem. The remaining 790 channels make up the second group, termed voice or user chan-
nels. 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 com-
municate 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 infor-
mation. 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 tele-
phones 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

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Cellular Telephone Systems

1 bit 10 bits 11 bits 40 bits 40 bits 120 bits 40 bits 40 bits

Busy/idle Bit Word Repeat #1 Repeat #1 Repeat #2, 3, and 4 Repeat #5 Repeat #5
bit synchronization synchronization word A word B words A and B word A word B
0 = busy 1010101010 11100010010
1 = idle (a)

30 bits 11 bits 7 bits 240 bits 240 bits 240 bits 240 bits

Bit Word Digital color 5 repeats 5 repeats 5 repeats 5 repeats

synchronization synchronization code (DCC) word 1 word 2 word 3 word n
1010101010. . 11100010010

Signal precursor
Registration
or mobile station call
initiation or mobile
or station call reception

(b)

FIGURE 3 Control channel format: (a) forward control channel; (b) reverse control channel

control channels from base stations may contain overhead data, mobile station control in-
formation, 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 se-
quence 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 in-
stantly acquire synchronization. The sync word is immediately followed by the message re-
peated 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 to-
gether. Messages to the mobile unit with the least-significant bit of their 32-bit mobile iden-
tification 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 for-
ward control channels can contain one or more words.
The types of messages transmitted over the FCC are the mobile station control mes-
sage 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 chan-
nel. 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-

498
Cellular Telephone Systems

with the RCC seizure precursor, which consists of a 30-bit dotting sequence, an 11-bit syn-
chronization word, and the coded digital color code (DCC), which is added so that the con-
trol 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 con-
tains 40 bits and is repeated five times for a total of 200 bits.

2-5 Voice-Channel Signaling

Analog cellular channels carry both voice using FM and digital signaling information us-
ing binary FSK. When transmitting digital signaling information, voice transmissions are
inhibited. This is called blank and burst: The voice is blanked, and the data are transmitted
in a short burst. The bit rate of the digital information is 10 kbps. Figure 4a shows the voice-
channel signaling format for a forward voice channel, and Figure 4b shows the format for
the reverse channel. The digital signaling sequence begins with a 101-bit dotting sequence
that readies the receiver to receive digital information. After the dotting sequence, a syn-
chronization word is sent to indicate the start of the message. On the forward voice chan-
nel, digital signaling messages are repeated 11 times to ensure the integrity of the message,
and on the receive channel they are repeated 5 times. The forward channel uses 40-bit
words, and the reverse channel uses 48-bit words.

3 PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

The Personal Communications System (PCS) is a relatively new class of cellular telephony
based on the same basic philosophies as standard cellular telephone systems (CTSs), such
as AMPS. However, PCS systems are a combination of cellular telephone networks and the
Intelligent Network, which is the entity of the SS7 interoffice protocol that distinguishes the
physical components of the switching network, such as the signal service point (SSP), sig-
nal control point (SCP), and signal transfer point (STP), from the services provided by the
SS7 network. The services provided are distinctly different from the switching systems and
protocols that promote and support them. PCS was initially considered a new service, al-
though different companies have different visions of exactly what PCS is and what services
it should provide. The Federal Communications Commission defines PCS mobile telephone
as “a family of mobile or portable radio communications services, which provides services
to individuals and business and is integrated with a variety of competing networks.” In
essence, PCS is the North American implementation of the European GSM standard.
Existing cellular telephone companies want PCS to provide broad coverage areas and
fill in service gaps between their current service areas. In other words, they want PCS to be
an extension of the current first- and second-generation cellular system to the 1850-MHz to
2200-MHz band using identical standards for both frequency bands. Other companies would
like PCS to compete with standard cellular telephone systems but offer enhanced services
and better quality using extensions of existing standards or entirely new standards. There-
fore, some cellular system engineers describe PCS as a third-generation cellular telephone
system, although the U.S. implementation of PCS uses modifications of existing cellular
protocols, such as IS-54 and IS-95. Most cellular telephone companies reserve the designa-
tion third-generation PCS to those systems designed for transporting data as well as voice.
Although PCS systems share many similarities with first-generation cellular tele-
phone systems, PCS has several significant differences that, most agree, warrant the use
of a different name. Many of the differences are transparent (or at least not obvious) to the
users of the networks. Probably the primary reason for establishing a new PCS cellular
telephone system was because first-generation cellular systems were already over-
crowded, and it was obvious that they would not be able to handle the projected demand

499
Cellular Telephone Systems

FM Binary FSK
Voice

DOT1 SYNC W1 DOT2 SYNC W2

101 11 40 37 11 40

# of bits

FM
DOT2 Sync W10 DOT2 SYNC W11
Voice

37 11 40 37 11 40

# of bits
DOT1 = 101 bit dotting sequence
DOT2 = 37 bit dotting sequence
SYNC = Synchronization word
WN = Message word (N)
N = Number of repeated message words

(a)

FM Binary FSK
Voice

FM
DOT1 SYNC W1 DOT2 SYNC W2
Voice

101 11 48 37 11 48

# of bits

FM
DOT2 SYNC W4 DOT2 SYNC W5
Voice

37 11 48 37 11 48

# of bits
DOT1 = 101 bit dotting sequence
DOT2 = 37 bit dotting sequence
SYNC = Synchronization word
WN = Message word
N = Number of repeated message words

(b)

FIGURE 4 Voice channel format: (a) forward channel; (b) reverse channel

for future cellular telephone services. In essence, PCS services were conceived to provide
subscribers with a low-cost, feature-rich wireless telephone service.
Differences between PCS systems and standard cellular telephone systems generally
include but are certainly not limited to the following: (1) smaller cell size, (2) all digital,
and (3) additional features. Cellular systems generally classified as PCS include IS-136
TDMA, GSM, and IS-95 CDMA.
The concept of personal communications services (also PCS) originated in the United
Kingdom when three companies were allocated a band of frequencies in the 1.8-GHz band

500
Cellular Telephone Systems

to develop a personal communications network (PCN) throughout Great Britain. The terms
PCS and PCN are often used interchangeably. However, PCN refers to a wireless network-
ing concept where any user can initiate or receive calls regardless of where they are using
a portable, personalized transceiver. PCS refers to a new wireless system that incorporates
enhanced network features and is more personalized than existing standard cellular tele-
phone systems but does not offer all the features of an ideal PCN.
In 1990, the Federal Communications Commission adopted the term PCS to mean
personal communications services, which is the NorthAmerican implementation of the global
system for mobile communications. However, to some people, PCS means personal commu-
nications system, which specifies a category or type of cellular telephone system. The exact
nature of the services provided by PCS is not completely defined by the cellular telephone in-
dustry. However, the intention of PCS systems is to provide enhanced features to first- and sec-
ond-generation cellular telephone systems, such as messaging, paging, and data services.
PCS is more of a concept than a technology. The concept being to assign everyone a
personal telephone number (PTN) that is stored in a database on the SS7 network. This
database keeps track of where each mobile unit can be reached. When a call is placed from
a mobile unit, an artificial intelligence network (AIN) in SS7 determines where and how
the call should be directed. The PCS network is similar to the D-AMPS system in that the
MTSO stores three essential databases: home location register, visitor location register, and
equipment identification registry.

Home location register (HLR). The HLR is a database that stores information about the
user, including home subscription information and what supplementary services the
user is subscribed to, such as call waiting, call hold, call forwarding, and call confer-
encing (three-way calling). There is generally only one HLR per mobile network. Data
stored on the HLR are semipermanent, as they do not usually change from call to call.
Visitor location register (VLR). The VLR is a database that stores information
about subscribers in a particular MTSO serving area, such as whether the unit is
on or off and whether any of the supplementary services are activated or deacti-
vated. There is generally only one VLR per mobile switch. The VLR stores per-
manent data, such as that found in the HLR, plus temporary data, such as the sub-
scriber’s current location.
Equipment identification registry (EIR). The EIR is a database that stores informa-
tion pertaining to the identification and type of equipment that exists in the mobile
unit. The EIR also helps the network identify stolen or fraudulent mobile units.

Many of the services offered by PCS systems are not currently available with stan-
dard cellular telephone systems, such as available mode, screen, private, and unavailable.

Available mode. The available mode allows all calls to pass through the network to the
subscriber except for a minimal number of telephone numbers that can be blocked.
The available mode relies on the delivery of the calling party number, which is
checked against a database to ensure that it is not a blocked number. Subscribers can
update or make changes in the database through the dial pad on their PCS handset.
Screen mode. The screen mode is the PCS equivalent to caller ID. With the screen mode,
the name of the calling party appears on the mobile unit’s display, which allows PCS
users to screen calls. Unanswered calls are automatically forwarded to a forwarding des-
tination specified by the subscriber, such as voice mail or another telephone number.
Private mode. With the private mode, all calls except those specified by the subscriber
are automatically forwarded to a forwarding destination without ringing the sub-
scriber’s handset. Subscribers can make changes in the list of allowed calling num-
bers through the dial pad on their handset.

501
Cellular Telephone Systems

Unavailable mode. With the unavailable mode, no calls are allowed to pass through
to the subscriber. Hence, all incoming calls are automatically forwarded to a for-
warding destination.

PCS telephones are intended to be small enough to fit into a shirt pocket and use dig-
ital technology, which is quieter than analog. Their transmit power is relatively low; there-
fore, PCS systems utilize smaller cells and require more base stations than standard cellu-
lar systems for a given service area. PCS systems are sometimes called microcellular
systems. The fundamental concept of PCS is to assign each mobile unit a PTN that is stored
in a database on the SS7 common signaling network. The database keeps track of where
mobile units are. When a call is placed for a mobile unit, the SS7 artificial intelligence net-
work determines where the call should be directed.
The primary disadvantage of PCS is network cost. Employing small cells requires us-
ing more base stations, which equates to more transceivers, antennas, and trunk circuits.
Antenna placement is critical with PCS. Large towers typically used with standard cellular
systems are unacceptable in neighborhoods, which is where a large majority of PCS anten-
nas must be placed.
PCS base stations communicate with other networks (cellular, PCS, and wireline)
through a PCS switching center (PSC). The PSC is connected directly to the SS7 signaling
network with a link to a signaling transfer point. PCS networks rely extensively on the SS7
signaling network for interconnecting to other telephone networks and databases.
PCS systems generally operate in a higher frequency band than standard cellular tele-
phone systems. The FCC recently allocated an additional 160-MHz band in the 1850-MHz
to 2200-MHz range. PCS systems operating in the 1900-MHz range are often referred to as
personal communications system 1900 (PCS 1900).

4 SECOND-GENERATION CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEMS

First-generation cellular telephone systems were designed primarily for a limited customer
base, such as business customers and a limited number of affluent residential customers.
When the demand for cellular service increased, manufacturers searched for new technolo-
gies to improve the inherent problems with the existing cellular telephones, such as poor
battery performance and channel unavailability. Improved batteries were also needed to re-
duce the size and cost of mobile units, especially those that were designed to be handheld.
Weak signal strengths resulted in poor performance and a high rate of falsely initiated hand-
offs (false handoffs).
It was determined that improved battery performance and higher signal quality were
possible only by employing digital technologies. In the United States, the shortcomings of
the first-generation cellular systems led to the development of several second-generation
cellular telephone systems, such as narrowband AMPS (N-AMPS) and systems employing
the IS-54, IS-136, and IS-95 standards. A second-generation standard, known as Global
System for Mobile Communications (GSM), emerged in Europe.

5 N-AMPS

Because of uncertainties about the practicality and cost effectiveness of implementing dig-
ital cellular telephone systems, Motorola developed a narrowband AMPS system called N-
AMPS to increase the capacity of the AMPS system in large cellular markets. N-AMPS was
originally intended to provide a short-term solution to the traffic congestion problem in the
AMPS system. N-AMPS allows as many as three mobile units to use a single 30-kHz cel-
lular channel at the same time. With N-AMPS, the maximum frequency deviation is re-
duced, reducing the required bandwidth to 10 kHz and thus providing a threefold increase

502
Cellular Telephone Systems

in user capacity. One N-AMPS channel uses the carrier frequency for the existing AMPS
channel and, with the other two channels, the carrier frequencies are offset by 10 kHz.
Each 10-kHz subchannel is capable of handling its own calls. Reducing the bandwidth de-
grades speech quality by lowering the signal-to-interference ratio. With narrower band-
widths, voice channels are more vulnerable to interference than standard AMPS channels
and would generally require a higher frequency reuse factor. This is compensated for with
the addition of an interference avoidance scheme called Mobile Reported Interference
(MRI), which uses voice companding to provide synthetic voice channel quieting.
N-AMPS systems are dual mode in that mobile units are capable of operating with
30-kHz channels or with 10-kHz channels. N-AMPS systems use standard AMPS control
channels for call setup and termination. N-AMPS mobile units are capable of utilizing four
types of handoffs: wide channel to wide channel (30 kHz to 30 kHz), wide channel to nar-
row channel (30 kHz to 10 kHz), narrow channel to narrow channel (10 kHz to 10 kHz),
and narrow channel to wide channel (10 kHz to 30 kHz).

6 DIGITAL CELLULAR TELEPHONE

Cellular telephone companies were faced with the problem of a rapidly expanding customer
base while at the same time the allocated frequency spectrum remained unchanged. As is
evident with N-AMPS, user capacity can be expanded by subdividing existing channels
(band splitting), partitioning cells into smaller subcells (cell splitting), and modifying an-
tenna radiation patterns (sectoring). However, the degree of subdivision and redirection is
limited by the complexity and amount of overhead required to process handoffs between
cells. Another serious restriction is the availability and cost of purchasing or leasing prop-
erty for cell sites in the higher-density traffic areas.
Digital cellular telephone systems have several inherent advantages over analog cel-
lular telephone systems, including better utilization of bandwidth, more privacy, and incor-
poration of error detection and correction.
AMPS is a first-generation analog cellular telephone system that was not designed to
support the high-capacity demands of the modern world, especially in high-density metro-
politan areas. In the late 1980s, several major manufacturers of cellular equipment deter-
mined that digital cellular telephone systems could provide substantial improvements in
both capacity and performance. Consequently, the United States Digital Cellular (USDC)
system was designed and developed with the intent of supporting a higher user density
within a fixed-bandwidth frequency spectrum. Cellular telephone systems that use digital
modulation, such as USDC, are called digital cellular.
The USDC cellular telephone system was originally designed to utilize the AMPS fre-
quency allocation scheme. USDC systems comply with IS-54, which specifies dual-mode
operation and backward compatibility with standard AMPS. USDC was originally designed
to use the same carrier frequencies, frequency reuse plan, and base stations. Therefore, base
stations and mobile units can be equipped with both AMPS and USDC channels within the
same telephone equipment. In supporting both systems, cellular carriers are able to provide
new customers with digital USDC telephones while still providing service to existing cus-
tomers with analog AMPS telephones. Because the USDC system maintains compatibility
with AMPS systems in several ways, it is also known as Digital AMPS (D-AMPS or some-
times DAMPS).
The USDC cellular telephone system has an additional frequency band in the 1.9-
GHz range that is not compatible with the AMPS frequency allocation. Figure 5 shows the
frequency spectrum and channel assignments for the 1.9-GHz band (sometimes called the
PCS band). The total usable spectrum is subdivided into subbands (A through F); however,
the individual channel bandwidth is limited to 30 kHz (the same as AMPS).

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Cellular Telephone Systems

Reverse channel transmit frequency (GHz)

1.85 1.865 1.87 1.885 1.89 1.895 1.91
A-band D-band B-band E-band F-band C-band
(15 MHz) (15 MHz) (15 MHz) (15 MHz) (15 MHz) (15 MHz)
449 30-kHz 449 30-kHz 449 30-kHz 449 30-kHz 449 30-kHz 449 30-kHz
channels channels channels channels channels channels

20 MHz separation between forward and reverse transmit frequency bands

Reverse channel transmit frequency (GHz)

1.93 1.945 1.95 1.965 1.97 1.975 1.99

A-band D-band B-band E-band F-band C-band

(15 MHz) (15 MHz) (15 MHz) (15 MHz) (15 MHz) (15 MHz)
449 30-kHz 449 30-kHz 449 30-kHz 449 30-kHz 449 30-kHz 449 30-kHz
channels channels channels channels channels channels

FIGURE 5 1.9-GHz cellular frequency band

6-1 Time-Division Multiple Accessing

USDC uses time-division multiple accessing (TDMA) as well as frequency-division multiple
accessing (FDMA). USDC, like AMPS, divides the total available radio-frequency spectrum
into individual 30-kHz cellular channels (i.e., FDMA). However, TDMA allows more than
one mobile unit to use a channel at the same time by further dividing transmissions within
each cellular channel into time slots, one for each mobile unit using that channel. In addition,
with AMPS FDMA systems, subscribers are assigned a channel for the duration of their call.
However, with USDC TDMA systems, mobile-unit subscribers can only hold a channel while
they are actually talking on it. During pauses or other normal breaks in a conversation, users
must relinquish their channel so that other mobile units can use it. This technique of time-sharing
channels significantly increases the capacity of a system, allowing more mobile-unit sub-
scribers to use a system at virtually the same time within a given geographical area.
A USDC TDMA transmission frame consists of six equal-duration time slots en-
abling each 30-kHz AMPS channel to support three full-rate or six half-rate users. Hence,
USDC offers as much as six times the channel capacity as AMPS. The original USDC stan-
dard also utilizes the same 50-MHz frequency spectrum and frequency-division duplexing
scheme as AMPS.
The advantages of digital TDMA multiple-accessing systems over analog AMPS
FDMA multiple-accessing systems are as follows:

1. Interleaving transmissions in the time domain allows for a threefold to sixfold in-
crease in the number of mobile subscribers using a single cellular channel. Time-
sharing is realized because of digital compression techniques that produce bit
rates approximately one-tenth that of the initial digital sample rate and about one-
fifth the initial rate when error detection/correction (EDC) bits are included.
2. Digital signals are much easier to process than analog signals. Many of the more
advanced modulation schemes and information processing techniques were de-
veloped for use in a digital environment.
3. Digital signals (bits) can be easily encrypted and decrypted, safeguarding against
eavesdropping.
4. The entire telephone system is compatible with other digital formats, such as those
used in computers and computer networks.
5. Digital systems inherently provide a quieter (less noisy) environment than their
analog counterparts.

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Cellular Telephone Systems

6-2 EIA/TIA Interim Standard 54 (IS-54)

In 1990, the Electronics Industries Association and Telecommunications Industry Associa-
tion (EIA/TIA) standardized the dual-mode USDC/AMPS system as Interim Standard 54
(IS-54), Cellular Dual Mode Subscriber Equipment. Dual mode specifies that a mobile sta-
tion complying with the IS-54 standard must be capable of operating in either the analog
AMPS or the digital (USDC) mode for voice transmissions. Using IS-54, a cellular tele-
phone carrier could convert any or all of its existing analog channels to digital. The key cri-
terion for achieving dual-mode operation is that IS-54 digital channels cannot interfere with
transmissions from existing analog AMPS base and mobile stations. This goal is achieved
with IS-54 by providing digital control channels and both analog and digital voice chan-
nels. Dual-mode mobile units can operate in either the digital or the analog mode for voice
and access the system with the standard AMPS digital control channel. Before a voice chan-
nel is assigned, IS-54 mobile units use AMPS forward and reverse control channels to carry
out user authentications and call management operations. When a dual-mode mobile unit
transmits an access request, it indicates that it is capable of operating in the digital mode;
then the base station will allocate a digital voice channel, provided one is available. The al-
location procedure indicates the channel number (frequency) and the specific time slot (or
slots) within that particular channel’s TDMA frame. IS-54 specifies a 48.6-kbps rate per 30-
kHz voice channel divided among three simultaneous users. Each user is allocated 13 kbps,
and the remaining 9.6 kbps is used for timing and control overhead.
In many rural areas of the United States, analog cellular telephone systems use only
the original 666 AMPS channels (1 through 666). In these areas, USDC channels can be
added in the extended frequency spectrum (channels 667 through 799 and 991 through
1023) to support USDC telephones that roam into the system from other areas. In high-
density urban areas, selected frequency bands are gradually being converted one at a time
to the USDC digital standard to help alleviate traffic congestion. Unfortunately, this grad-
ual changeover from AMPS to USDC often results in an increase in the interference and
number of dropped calls experienced by subscribers of the AMPS system.
The successful and graceful transition from analog cellular systems to digital cellular
systems using the same frequency band was a primary consideration in the development of the
USDC standard. The introduction of N-AMPS and a new digital spread-spectrum standard
has delayed the widespread deployment of the USDC standard throughout the United States.

6-3 USDC Control Channels and IS-136.2

The IS-54 USDC standard specifies the same 42 primary control channels as AMPS and
42 additional control channels called secondary control channels. Thus, USDC offers
twice as many control channels as AMPS and is, therefore, capable of providing twice the
capacity of control traffic within a given market area. Carriers are allowed to dedicate the
secondary control channels for USDC-only use since AMPS mobile users do not monitor
and cannot decode the new secondary control channels. In addition, to maintain compati-
bility with existing AMPS cellular telephone systems, the primary forward and reverse
control channels in USDC cellular systems use the same signaling techniques and modu-
lation scheme (FSK) as AMPS. However, a new standard, IS-136.2 (formerly IS-54,
Rev.C), replaces FSK with π/4 DQPSK modulation for the 42 dedicated USDC secondary
control channels, allowing digital mobile units to operate entirely in the digital domain.
The IS-136.2 standard is often called North American-Time Division Multiple Accessing
(NA-TDMA). IS-54 Rev.C was introduced to provide PSK (phase-shift keying) rather than
FSK on dedicated USDC control channels to increase the control data rates and provide
additional specialized services, such as paging and short messaging between private mo-
bile user groups. Short message service allows for brief paging-type messages and short
e-mail messages (up to 239 characters) that can be read on the mobile phone’s display and
entered using the keypad.

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Cellular Telephone Systems

IS-136 was developed to provide a host of new features and services, positioning itself in
a competitive market with the newer PCS systems. Because IS-136 specifies short messaging
capabilities and private user-group features, it is well suited as a wireless paging system. IS-136
also provides an additional sleep mode, which conserves power in the mobile units. IS-136 mo-
bile units are not compatible with IS-54 units, as FSK control channels are not supported.
The digital control channel is necessarily complex, and a complete description is be-
yond the scope of this chapter. Therefore, the following discussion is meant to present a
general overview of the operation of a USDC digital control channel.
The IS-54 standard specifies three types of channels: analog control channels, analog
voice channels, and a 10-kbps binary FSK digital control channel (DCCH). The IS-54
Rev.C standard (IS-136) provides for the same three types of channels plus a fourth—a dig-
ital control channel with a signaling rate of 48.6 kbps on USDC-only control channels. The
new digital control channel is meant to eventually replace the analog control channel. With
the addition of a digital control channel, a mobile unit is able to operate entirely in the dig-
ital domain, using the digital control channel for system and cell selection and channel ac-
cessing and the digital voice channel for digitized voice transmissions.
IS-136 details the exact functionality of the USDC digital control channel. The initial
version of IS-136 was version 0, which has since been updated by revision A. Version 0 added
numerous new services and features to the USDC digital cellular telephone system, including
enhanced user services, such as short messaging and displaying the telephone number of the
incoming call; sleep mode, which gives the telephone set a longer battery life when in the
standby mode; private or residential system service; and enhanced security and validation
against fraud. The newest version of IS-136, revision A, was developed to provide numerous
new features and services by introducing an enhanced vocoder, over-the-air activation where
the network operators are allowed to program information into telephones directly over the air,
calling name and number ID, and enhanced hands-off and priority access to control channels.
IS-136 specifies several private user-group features, making it well adapted for wire-
less PBX and paging applications. However, IS-136 user terminals operate at 48.6 kbps and
are, therefore, not compatible with IS-54 FSK terminals. Thus, IS-136 modems are more
cost effective, as it is necessary to include only the 48.6-kbps modem in the terminal equip-
ment.

6-3-1 Logical channels. The new digital control channel includes several logical
channels with different functions, including the random access channel (RACH); the SMS
point-to-point, paging, and access response channel (SPACH); the broadcast control chan-
nel (BCCH); and the shared channel feedback (SCF) channel. Figure 6 shows the logical
control channels for the IS-136 standard.

6-3-2 Random access channel (RACH). RACH is used by mobile units to request ac-
cess to the cellular telephone system. RACH is a unidirectional channel specified for trans-
missions from mobile-to-base units only. Access messages, such as origination, registration,
page responses, audit confirmation, serial number, and message confirmation, are transmit-
ted on the RACH. It also transmits messages that provide information on authentication, se-
curity parameter updates, and short message service (SMS) point-to-point messages. RACH
is capable of operating in two modes using contention resolution similar to voice channels.
RACH can also operate in a reservation mode for replying to a base-station command.

6-3-3 SMS point-to-point, paging, and access response channel (SPACH).

SPACH is used to transmit information from base stations to specific mobile stations.
RACH is a unidirectional channel specified for transmission from base stations to mobile
units only and is shared by all mobile units. Information transmitted on the SPACH chan-
nel includes three separate logical subchannels: SMS point-to-point messages, paging mes-
sages, and access response messages. SPACH can carry messages related to a single mo-

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Cellular Telephone Systems

Mobile unit Base station

Transmission direction
RACH
SPACH
PCH
ARCH
SMSCH
BCCH
F-BCCH
E-BCCH
FIGURE 6 USDC IS-136 digital
S-BCCH
control channel—logical channel and
SCF logical subchannels

bile unit or to a small group of mobile units and allows larger messages to be broken down
into smaller blocks for transmission.
The paging channel (PCH) is a subchannel of the logical channel of SPACH. PCH is
dedicated to delivering pages and orders. The PCH transmits paging messages, message-
waiting messages, and user-alerting messages. Each PCH message can carry up to five mo-
bile identifiers. Page messages are always transmitted and then repeated a second time.
Messages such as call history count updates and shared secret data updates used for the au-
thentication and encryption process also are sent on the PCH.
The access response channel (ARCH) is also a logical subchannel of SPACH. A mo-
bile unit automatically moves to an ARCH immediately after successful completion of con-
tention- or reservation-based access on a RACH. ARCH can be used to carry assignments
to another resource or other responses to the mobile station’s access attempt. Messages as-
signing a mobile unit to an analog voice channel or a digital voice channel or redirecting
the mobile to a different cell are also sent on the ARCH along with registration access (ac-
cept, reject, or release) messages.
The SMS channel (SMSCH) is used to deliver short point-to-point messages to a spe-
cific mobile station. Each message is limited to a maximum of 200 characters of text. Mo-
bile-originated SMS is also supported; however, SMS where a base station can broadcast a
short message designated for several mobile units is not supported in IS-136.

6-3-4 Broadcast control channel (BCCH). BCCH is an acronym referring to the

F-BCCH, E-BCCH, and S-BCCH logical subchannels. These channels are used to carry
generic, system-related information. BCCH is a unidirectional base station-to-mobile unit
transmission shared by all mobile units.
The fast broadcast control channel (F-BCCH) broadcasts digital control channel
(DCCH) structure parameters, including information about the number of F-BCCH, E-
BCCH, and S-BCCH time slots in the DCCH frame. Mobile units use F-BCCH informa-
tion when initially accessing the system to determine the beginning and ending of each log-
ical channel in the DCCH frame. F-BCCH also includes information pertaining to access
parameters, including information necessary for authentication and encryptions and infor-
mation for mobile access attempts, such as the number of access retries, access burst size,
initial access power level, and indication of whether the cell is barred. Information ad-
dressing the different types of registration, registration periods, and system identification
information, including network type, mobile country code, and protocol revision, is also
provided by the F-BCCH channel.

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Cellular Telephone Systems

The extended broadcast control channel (E-BCCH) carries less critical broadcast in-
formation than F-BCCH intended for the mobile units. E-BCCH carries information about
neighboring analog and TDMA cells and optional messages, such as emergency informa-
tion, time and date messaging, and the types of services supported by neighboring cells.
The SMS broadcast control channel (S-BCCH) is a logical channel used for sending
short messages to individual mobile units.

6-3-5 Shared channel feedback (SCF) channel. SCF is used to support random ac-
cess channel operation by providing information about which time slots the mobile unit can
use for access attempts and also if a mobile unit’s previous RACH transmission was suc-
cessfully received.

6-4 USDC Digital Voice Channel

Like AMPS, each USDC voice channel is assigned a 30-kHz bandwidth on both the forward
and the reverse link. With USDC, however, each voice channel can support as many as three
full-rate mobile users simultaneously by using digital modulation and a TDMA format
called North American Digital Cellular (NADC). Each radio-frequency voice channel in the
total AMPS FDMA frequency band consists of one 40-ms TDMA frame comprised of six
time slots containing 324 bits each, as shown in Figure 7. For full-speech rate, three users

Half-speech rate users

1944 bits – 40 ms
One TDMA Frame

Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile

user 1 user 2 user 3 user 4 user 5 user 6

Time Time Time Time Time Time

slot 1 slot 2 slot 3 slot 4 slot 5 slot 6
324 bits 324 bits 324 bits 324 bits 324 bits 324 bits

Mobile
user 1
Mobile
user 2
Mobile
user 3

Full-speech rate users

Ch Channels Ch Ch Channels Ch Ch
991 992-1022 1023 1 2-665 666 799

30-kHz

AMPS FDMA Frequency Band – 832 half-duplex 30-kHz channels

FIGURE 7 North American Digital Cellular TDMA frame format

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Cellular Telephone Systems

share the six time slots in an equally spaced manner. For example, mobile user 1 occupies
time slots 1 and 4, mobile user 2 occupies time slots 2 and 5, and mobile user 3 occupies time
slots 3 and 6. For half-rate speech, each user occupies one time slot per frame. During their
respective time slots, mobile units transmit short bursts (6.67 ms) of a digital-modulated car-
rier to the base station (i.e., uplink transmissions). Hence, full-rate users transmit two bursts
during each TDMA frame. In the downlink path (i.e., from base stations to mobile units),
base stations generally transmit continuously. However, mobile units only listen during their
assigned time slot. The average cost per subscriber per base station equipment is lower with
TDMA since each base station transceiver can be shared by up to six users at a time.
General Motors Corporation implemented a TDMA scheme called E-TDMA, which
incorporates six half-rate users transmitting at half the bit rate of standard USDC TDMA
systems. E-TDMA systems also incorporate digital speech interpolation (DSI) to dynami-
cally assign more than one user to a time slot, deleting silence on calls. Consequently, E-
TDMA can handle approximately 12 times the user traffic as standard AMPS systems and
four times that of systems complying with IS-54.
Each time slot in every USDC voice-channel frame contains four data channels—
three for control and one for digitized voice and user data. The full-duplex digital traffic
channel (DTC) carries digitized voice information and consists of a reverse digital traffic
channel (RDTC) and a forward digital traffic channel (FDTC) that carry digitized speech
information or user data. The RDTC carries speech data from the mobile unit to the base
station, and the FDTC carries user speech data from the base station to the mobile unit. The
three supervisory channels are the coded digital verification color code (CDVCC), the slow
associated control channel (SACCH), and the fast associated control channel (FACCH).

6-4-1 Coded digital verification color code. The purpose of the CDVCC color code is
to provide co-channel identification similar to the SAT signal transmitted in the AMPS system.
The CDVCC is a 12-bit message transmitted in every time slot. The CDVCC consists of an
eight-bit digital voice color code number between 1 and 255 appended with four additional cod-
ing bits derived from a shortened Hamming code. The base station transmits a CDVCC num-
ber on the forward voice channel, and each mobile unit using the TDMA channel must receive,
decode, and retransmit the same CDVCC code (handshake) back to the base station on the re-
verse voice channel. If the two CDVCC values are not the same, the time slot is relinquished
for other users, and the mobile unit’s transmitter will be automatically turned off.

6-4-2 Slow associated control channel. The SACCH is a signaling channel for
transmission of control and supervision messages between the digital mobile unit and the
base station while the mobile unit is involved with a call. The SACCH uses 12 coded bits
per TDMA burst and is transmitted in every time slot, thus providing a signaling channel in
parallel with the digitized speech information. Therefore, SACCH messages can be trans-
mitted without interfering with the processing of digitized speech signals. Because the
SACCH consists of only 12 bits per frame, it can take up to 22 frames for a single SACCH
message to be transmitted. The SACCH carries various control and supervisory informa-
tion between the mobile unit and the base station, such as communicating power-level
changes and hand-off requests. The SACCH is also used by the mobile unit to report sig-
nal-strength measurements of neighboring base stations so, when necessary, the base sta-
tion can initiate a mobile-assisted handoff (MAHO).

6-4-3 Fast associated control channel. The FACCH is a second signaling channel
for transmission of control and specialized supervision and traffic messages between the
base station and the mobile units. Unlike the CDVCC and SACCH, the FACCH does not
have a dedicated time slot. The FACCH is a blank-and-burst type of transmission that, when
transmitted, replaces digitized speech information with control and supervision messages
within a subscriber’s time slot. There is no limit on the number of speech frames that can
be replaced with FACCH data. However, the digitized voice information is somewhat

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Cellular Telephone Systems

12 perceptually
MSBs 7-bit CRC
Sample
Computation
(50 Hz)
5 tail bits

178 coded
77 class-1 bits Rate 1/2 class-1 bits
Analog voice Speech
convolutional
input signal coder
coder

82 class-2 bits Voice ciphering 260 bits 2-slot 260 bits

circuit interleaver
To modulator

FIGURE 8 USDC digital voice-channel speech coder

protected by preventing an entire digitized voice transmission from being replaced by

FACCH data. The 13-kbps net digitized voice transmission rate cannot be reduced below
3250 bps in any given time slot. There are no fields within a standard time slot to identify
it as digitized speech or an FACCH message. To determine if an FACCH message is being
received, the mobile unit must attempt to decode the data as speech. If it decodes in error,
it then decodes the data as an FACCH message. If the cyclic redundancy character (CRC)
calculates correctly, the message is assumed to be an FACCH message. The FACCH sup-
ports transmission of dual-tone multiple-frequency (DTMF) Touch-Tones, call release in-
struction, flash hook instructions, and mobile-assisted handoff or mobile-unit status re-
quests. The FACCH data are packaged and interleaved to fit in a time slot similar to the way
digitized speech is handled.

6-5 Speech Coding

Figure 8 shows the block diagram for a USDC digital voice-channel speech encoder. Chan-
nel error control for the digitized speech data uses three mechanisms for minimizing channel
errors: (1) A rate one-half convolutional code is used to protect the more vulnerable bits of
the speech coder data stream; (2) transmitted data are interleaved for each speech coder frame
over two time slots to reduce the effects of Rayleigh fading; and (3) a cyclic redundancy check
is performed on the most perceptually significant bits of the digitized speech data.
With USDC, incoming analog voice signals are sampled first and then converted to a
binary PCM in a special speech coder (vocoder) called a vector sum exciter linear predic-
tive (VSELP) coder or a stochastically excited linear predictive (SELP) coder. Linear pre-
dictive coders are time-domain types of vocoders that attempt to extract the most signifi-
cant characteristics from the time-varying speech waveform. With linear predictive coders,
it is possible to transmit good-quality voice at 4.8 kbps and acceptable, although poorer-
quality, voice at lower bit rates.
Because there are many predictable orders in spoken word patterns, it is possible, us-
ing advanced algorithms, to compress the binary samples and transmit the resulting bit
stream at a 13-kbps rate. A consortium of companies, including Motorola, developed the
VSELP algorithm, which was subsequently adopted for the IS-54 standard. Error-detection
and -correction (EDC) bits are added to the digitally compressed voice signals to reduce
the effects of interference, bringing the final voice data rate to 48.6 kbps. Compression/
expansion and error-detection/correction functions are implemented in the telephone hand-
set by a special microprocessor called a digital signal processor (DSP).

510
Cellular Telephone Systems

1 Frame - 1944 bits - 972 symbols - 40 ms

Time Time Time Time Time Time

slot 1 slot 2 slot 3 slot 4 slot 5 slot 6
324 324 324 324 324 324 # of bits

G R Digitized Sync Digitized SACCH CDVCC Digitized

voice voice voice
6 6 16 28 122 12 12 122 # of bits

or FACCH data

Mobile station-to-base (reverse) channel

Sync SACCH Digitized CDVCC Digitized RSVD CDL

voice voice
28 12 130 12 130 1 11 # of bits

or FACCH

Base-to-mobile station (forward) channel

FIGURE 9 USDC digital voice channel slot and frame format

The VSELP coders output 7950 bps and produce a speech frame every 20 ms, or
7950 bits 20 ms
159 bits-per-frame
second frame
Fifty speech frames are outputted each second containing 159 bits each, or
50 frames 159 bits
7950 bps
second frame
The 159 bits included in each speech coder frame are divided into two classes according to
the significance in which they are perceived. There are 77 class 1 bits and 82 class 2 bits.
The class 1 bits are the most significant and are, therefore, error protected. The 12 most sig-
nificant class 1 bits are block coded using a seven-bit CRC error-detection code to ensure
that the most significant speech coder bits are decoded with a low probability of error. The
less significant class 2 bits have no means of error protection.
After coding the 159 bits, each speech code frame is converted in a 1/2 convolution
coder to 260 channel-coded bits per frame, and 50 frames are transmitted each second.
Hence, the transmission bit rate is increased from 7950 bps for each digital voice channel to
13 kbps:
260 bits 50 frames
13 kbps
frame second
Figure 9 shows the time slot and frame format for the forward (base station to mobile
unit) and reverse (mobile unit to base station) links of a USDC digital voice channel. USDC
voice channels use frequency-division duplexing; thus, forward and reverse channel time
slots operate on different frequencies at the same time. Each time slot carries interleaved
digital voice data from the two adjacent frames outputted from the speech coder.

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Cellular Telephone Systems

G1 RSDSDVSDWSDXSDYS G2

Where G1 6-bit guard time

R 6-bit length ramp time
S 28-bit synchronization word
D 12-bit CDVCC code
G2 44-bit guard time
V 0000
W 00000000
X 000000000000
FIGURE 10 USDC shortened burst
Y 0000000000000000 digital voice channel format

In the reverse channel, each time slot contains two bursts of 122 digitized voice bits
and one burst of 16 bits for a total of 260 digitized voice bits per frame. In addition, each
time slot contains 28 synchronization bits, 12 bits of SACCH data, 12 bits of CDVCC bits,
and six guard bits to compensate for differences in the distances between mobile units and
base stations. The guard time is present in only the reverse channel time slots to prevent
overlapping of received bursts due to radio signal transit time. The ramp-up time consists of
six bits that allow gradual rising and falling of the RF signal energy within the time slot.
Thus, a reverse channel time slot consists of 324 bits. If an FACCH is sent instead of speech
data, one time slot of speech coding data is replaced with a 260-bit block of FACCH data.
In the forward channel, each time slot contains two 130-bit bursts of digitized voice
data (or FACCH data if digitized speech is not being sent) for a total of 260 bits per frame.
In addition, each forward channel frame contains 28 synchronization bits, 12 bits of
SACCH data, 12 CDVCC bits, and 12 reserved bits for a total of 324 bits per time slot.
Therefore, both forward and reverse voice channels have a data transmission rate of
324 bits 6 time slots
48.6 kbps
time slot 40 ms
A third frame format, called a shortened burst, is shown in Figure 10. Shortened bursts
are transmitted when a mobile unit begins operating in a larger-diameter cell because the
propagation time between the mobile and base is unknown. A mobile unit transmits short-
ened burst slots until the base station determines the required time offset. The default delay
between the receive and transmit slots in the mobile is 44 symbols, which results in a maxi-
mum distance at which a mobile station can operate in a cell to 72 miles for an IS-54 cell.

6-6 USDC Digital Modulation Scheme

To achieve a transmission bit rate of 48.6 kbps in a 30-kHz AMPS voice channel, a band-
width (spectral) efficiency of 1.62 bps/Hz is required, which is well beyond the capabilities
of binary FSK. The spectral efficiency requirements can be met by using conventional
pulse-shaped, four-phase modulation schemes, such as QPSK and OQPSK. However,
USDC voice and control channels use a symmetrical differential, phase-shift keying tech-
nique known as π/4 DQPSK, or π/4 differential quadriphase shift keying (DQPSK), which
offers several advantages in a mobile radio environment, such as improved co-channel re-
jection and bandwidth efficiency.
A 48.6-kbps data rate requires a symbol (baud) rate of 24.3 kbps (24.3 kilobaud per
second) with a symbol duration of 41.1523 μs. The use of pulse shaping and π/4 DQPSK
supports the transmission of three different 48.6-kbps digitized speech signals in a 30-kHz

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Cellular Telephone Systems

Table 4 NA-TDMA Mobile Phone Power Levels

Class I Class II Class III Class IV

Power Level dBm mW dBm mW dBm mW dBm

0 36 4000 32 1600 28 640 28

1 32 1600 32 1600 28 640 28
2 28 640 28 640 28 640 28
3 24 256 24 256 24 256 24
4 20 102 20 102 20 102 20
5 16 41 16 41 16 41 16
6 12 16 12 16 12 16 12
7 8 6.6 8 6.6 8 6.6 8
8 — — Dual mode only — — 4 dBm 3 dB
9 — — Dual mode only — — 0 dBm 6 dB
10 — — Dual mode only — — 4 dBm 9 dB

bandwidth with as much as 50 dB of adjacent-channel isolation. Thus, the bandwidth effi-

ciency using π/4 DQPSK is
3 48.6 kbps
η
30 kHz
4.86 bps>Hz

where η is the bandwidth efficiency.

In a π/4 DQPSK modulator, data bits are split into two parallel channels that produce a
specific phase shift in the analog carrier and, since there are four possible bit pairs, there are
four possible phase shifts using a quadrature I/Q modulator. The four possible differential
phase changes, π/4, π/4, 3π/4, and 3π/4, define eight possible carrier phases. Pulse shap-
ing is used to minimize the bandwidth while limiting the intersymbol interference. In the trans-
mitter, the PSK signal is filtered using a square-root raised cosine filter with a roll-off factor of
0.35. PSK signals, after pulse shaping, become a linear modulation technique, requiring linear
amplification to preserve the pulse shape. Using pulse shaping with π/4 DQPSK allows for the
simultaneous transmission of three separate 48.6-kbps speech signals in a 30-kHz bandwidth.

6-7 USDC Radiated Power

NA-TDMA specifies 11 radiated power levels for four classifications of mobile units, in-
cluding the eight power levels used by standard AMPS transmitters. The fourth classifica-
tion is for dual-mode TDMA/analog cellular telephones. The NA-TDMA power classifica-
tions are listed in Table 4. The highest power level is 4 W (36 dBm), and successive levels
differ by 4 dB, with the lowest level for classes I through III being 8 dBm (6.6 mW). The
lowest transmit power level for dual-mode mobile units is 4 dBm (0.4 mW) 9 dB. In a
dual-mode system, the three lowest power levels can be assigned only to digital voice chan-
nels and digital control channels. Analog voice channels and FSK control channels trans-
mitting in the standard AMPS format are confined to the eight power levels in the AMPS
specification. Transmitters in the TDMA mode are active only one-third of the time; there-
fore, the average transmitted power is 4.8 dB below specifications.

7 INTERIM STANDARD 95 (IS-95)

FDMA is an access method used with standard analog AMPS, and both FDMA and TDMA
are used with USDC. Both FDMA and TDMA use a frequency channelization approach to
frequency spectrum management; however, TDMA also utilizes a time-division accessing

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Cellular Telephone Systems

approach. With FDMA and TDMA cellular telephones, the entire available cellular radio-
frequency spectrum is subdivided into narrowband radio channels to be used for one-way
communications links between cellular mobile units and base stations.
In 1984, Qualcomm Inc. proposed a cellular telephone system and standard based on
spread-spectrum technology with the primary goal of increasing capacity. Qualcomm’s new
system enabled a totally digital mobile telephone system to be made available in the United
States based on code-division multiple accessing (CDMA). The U.S. Telecommunications
Industry Association recently standardized the CDMA system as Interim Standard 95 (IS-
95), which is a mobile-to-base station compatibility standard for dual-mode wideband
spread-spectrum communications. CDMA allows users to differentiate from one another by
a unique code rather than a frequency or time assignment and, therefore, offers several ad-
vantages over cellular telephone systems using TDMA and FDMA, such as increased ca-
pacity and improved performance and reliability. IS-95, like IS-54, was designed to be com-
patible with existing analog cellular telephone system (AMPS) frequency band; therefore,
mobile units and base stations can easily be designed for dual-mode operation. Pilot CDMA
systems developed by Qualcomm were first made available in 1994.
NA-TDMA channels occupy exactly the same bandwidth as standard analog AMPS
signals. Therefore, individual AMPS channel units can be directly replaced with TDMA
channels, which are capable of carrying three times the user capacity as AMPS channels.
Because of the wide bandwidths associated with CDMA transmissions, IS-95 specifies an
entirely different channel frequency allocation plan than AMPS.
The IS-95 standard specifies the following:

1. Modulation—digital OQPSK (uplink) and digital QPSK (downlink)

2. 800-MHz band (IS-95A)
45-MHz forward and reverse separation
50-MHz spectral allocation
3. 1900-MHz band (IS-95B)
90-MHz forward and reverse separation
120-MHz spectral allocation
4. 2.46-MHz total bandwidth
1.23-MHz reverse CDMA channel bandwidth
1.23-MHz forward CDMA channel bandwidth
5. Direct-sequence CDMA accessing
6. 8-kHz voice bandwidth
7. 64 total channels per CDMA channel bandwidth
8. 55 voice channels per CDMA channel bandwidth

7-1 CDMA
With IS-95, each mobile user within a given cell, and mobile subscribers in adjacent cells
use the same radio-frequency channels. In essence, frequency reuse is available in all cells.
This is made possible because IS-95 specifies a direct-sequence, spread-spectrum CDMA
system and does not follow the channelization principles of traditional cellular radio com-
munications systems. Rather than dividing the allocated frequency spectrum into narrow-
bandwidth channels, one for each user, information is transmitted (spread) over a very wide
frequency spectrum with as many as 20 mobile subscriber units simultaneously using the
same carrier frequency within the same frequency band. Interference is incorporated into
the system so that there is no limit to the number of subscribers that CDMA can support.
As more mobile subscribers are added to the system, there is a graceful degradation of com-
munications quality.
With CDMA, unlike other cellular telephone standards, subscriber data change in
real time, depending on the voice activity and requirements of the network and other users

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Cellular Telephone Systems

of the network. IS-95 also specifies a different modulation and spreading technique for the
forward and reverse channels. On the forward channel, the base station simultaneously
transmits user data from all current mobile units in that cell by using different spreading
sequences (codes) for each user’s transmissions. A pilot code is transmitted with the user
data at a higher power level, thus allowing all mobile units to use coherent detection. On
the reverse link, all mobile units respond in an asynchronous manner (i.e., no time or du-
ration limitations) with a constant signal level controlled by the base station.
The speech coder used with IS-95 is the Qualcomm 9600-bps Code-Excited Linear
Predictive (QCELP) coder. The vocoder converts an 8-kbps compressed data stream to a 9.6-
kbps data stream. The vocoder’s original design detects voice activity and automatically re-
duces the data rate to 1200 bps during silent periods. Intermediate mobile user data rates of
2400 bps and 4800 bps are also used for special purposes. In 1995, Qualcomm introduced a
14,400-bps vocoder that transmits 13.4 kbps of compressed digital voice information.

7-1-1 CDMA frequency and channel allocations. CDMA reduces the impor-
tance of frequency planning within a given cellular market. The AMPS U.S. cellular tele-
phone system is allocated a 50-MHz frequency spectrum (25 MHz for each direction of
propagation), and each service provider (system A and system B) is assigned half the
available spectrum (12.5 MHz). AMPS common carriers must provide a 270-kHz guard
band (approximately nine AMPS channels) on either side of the CDMA frequency spec-
trum. To facilitate a graceful transition from AMPS to CDMA, each IS-95 channel is al-
located a 1.25-MHz frequency spectrum for each one-way CDMA communications
channel. This equates to 10% of the total available frequency spectrum of each U.S. cel-
lular telephone provider. CDMA channels can coexist within the AMPS frequency spec-
trum by having a wireless operator clear a 1.25-MHz band of frequencies to accommo-
date transmissions on the CDMA channel. A single CDMA radio channel takes up the
same bandwidth as approximately 42 30-kHz AMPS voice channels. However, because
of the frequency reuse advantage of CDMA, CDMA offers approximately a 10-to-1
channel advantage over standard analog AMPS and a 3-to-1 advantage over USDC dig-
ital AMPS.
For reverse (downlink) operation, IS-95 specifies the 824-MHz to 849-MHz band and
forward (uplink) channels the 869-MHz to 894-MHz band. CDMA cellular systems also
use a modified frequency allocation plan in the 1900-MHz band. As with AMPS, the trans-
mit and receive carrier frequencies used by CDMA are separated by 45 MHz. Figure 11a
shows the frequency spacing for two adjacent CDMA channels in the AMPS frequency
band. As the figure shows, each CDMA channel is 1.23 MHz wide with a 1.25-MHz fre-
quency separation between adjacent carriers, producing a 200-kHz guard band between
CDMA channels. Guard bands are necessary to ensure that the CDMA carriers do not in-
terfere with one another. Figure 11b shows the CDMA channel location within the AMPS
frequency spectrum. The lowest CDMA carrier frequency in the A band is at AMPS chan-
nel 283, and the lowest CDMA carrier frequency in the B band is at AMPS channel 384.
Because the band available between 667 and 716 is only 1.5 MHz in the A band, A band
operators have to acquire permission from B band carriers to use a CDMA carrier in that
portion of the frequency spectrum. When a CDMA carrier is being used next to a non-
CDMA carrier, the carrier spacing must be 1.77 MHz. There are as many as nine CDMA
carriers available for the A and B band operator in the AMPS frequency spectrum. How-
ever, the A and B band operators have 30-MHz bandwidth in the 1900-MHz frequency
band, where they can facilitate up to 11 CDMA channels.
With CDMA, many users can share common transmit and receive channels with a
transmission data rate of 9.6 kbps. Using several techniques, however, subscriber informa-
tion is spread by a factor of 128 to a channel chip rate of 1.2288 Mchips/s, and transmit and
receive channels use different spreading processes.

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Cellular Telephone Systems

1.25 MHz

1.23 MHz 1.23 MHz

200-kHz
guard band

(a)

AMPS channel number

991 1 333 334 666 667 716 717 778 779

1st A-band 1st B-band

CDMA channel CDMA channel
is channel 283 is channel 384

A A B A B

1 10 10 1.5 2.5

824 825 835 845 846.5 849

Reverse channel frequency (MHz)

869 870 860 890 891.5.5 894

Forward channel frequency (MHz)

Guard band

CDMA available bandwidth

(b)

FIGURE 11 (a) CDMA channel bandwidth, guard band, and frequency separation; (b) CDMA
channel location within the AMPS frequency spectrum

In the uplink channel, subscriber data are encoded using a rate 1/2 convolutional
code, interleaved, and spread by one of 64 orthogonal spreading sequences using Walsh
functions. Orthogonality among all uplink cellular channel subscribers within a given cell
is maintained because all the cell signals are scrambled synchronously.
Downlink channels use a different spreading strategy since each mobile unit’s re-
ceived signal takes a different transmission path and, therefore, arrives at the base station at
a different time. Downlink channel data streams are first convolutional encoded with a rate

516
Cellular Telephone Systems

1/3 convolution code. After interleaving, each block of six encoded symbols is mapped to
one of the available orthogonal Walsh functions, ensuring 64-ary orthogonal signaling. An
additional fourfold spreading is performed by subscriber-specified and base station-specific
codes having periods of 214 chips and 215 chips, respectively, increasing the transmission
rate to 1.2288 Mchips/s. Stringent requirements are enforced in the downlink channel’s
transmit power to avoid the near-far problem caused by varied receive power levels.
Each mobile unit in a given cell is assigned a unique spreading sequence, which en-
sures near perfect separation among the signals from different subscriber units and allows
transmission differentiation between users. All signals in a particular cell are scrambled us-
ing a pseudorandom sequence of length 215 chips. This reduces radio-frequency interfer-
ence between mobiles in neighboring cells that may be using the same spreading sequence
and provides the desired wideband spectral characteristics even though all Walsh codes do
not yield a wideband power spectrum.
Two commonly used techniques for spreading the spectrum are frequency hopping
and direct sequencing. Both of these techniques are characteristic of transmissions over a
bandwidth much wider than that normally used in narrowband FDMA/TDMA cellular tele-
phone systems, such as AMPS and USDC.

7-1-2 Frequency-hopping spread spectrum. Frequency-hopping spread spectrum

was first used by the military to ensure reliable antijam and to secure communications in a
battlefield environment. The fundamental concept of frequency hopping is to break a mes-
sage into fixed-size blocks of data with each block transmitted in sequence except on a dif-
ferent carrier frequency. With frequency hopping, a pseudorandom code is used to generate
a unique frequency-hopping sequence. The sequence in which the frequencies are selected
must be known by both the transmitter and the receiver prior to the beginning of the trans-
mission. The transmitter sends one block on a radio-frequency carrier and then switches
(hops) to the next frequency in the sequence and so on. After reception of a block of data on
one frequency, the receiver switches to the next frequency in the sequence. Each transmitter
in the system has a different hopping sequence to prevent one subscriber from interfering
with transmissions from other subscribers using the same radio channel frequency.

7-1-3 Direct-sequence spread spectrum. In direct-sequence systems, a high-bit-rate

pseudorandom code is added to a low-bit-rate information signal to generate a high-bit-rate
pseudorandom signal closely resembling noise that contains both the original data signal and
the pseudorandom code.Again, before successful transmission, the pseudorandom code must
be known to both the transmitter and the intended receiver. When a receiver detects a direct-
sequence transmission, it simply subtracts the pseudorandom signal from the composite re-
ceive signal to extract the information data. In CDMA cellular telephone systems, the total
radio-frequency bandwidth is divided into a few broadband radio channels that have a much
higher bandwidth than the digitized voice signal. The digitized voice signal is added to the
generated high-bit-rate signal and transmitted in such a way that it occupies the entire broad-
band radio channel. Adding a high-bit-rate pseudorandom signal to the voice information
makes the signal more dominant and less susceptible to interference, allowing lower-power
transmission and, hence, a lower number of transmitters and less expensive receivers.

7-2 CDMA Traffic Channels

CDMA traffic channels consist of a downlink (base station to mobile unit) channel and an
uplink (mobile station to base station) channel. A CDMA downlink traffic channel is shown
in Figure 12a. As the figure shows, the downlink traffic channel consists of up to 64 chan-
nels, including a broadcast channel used for control and traffic channels used to carry sub-
scriber information. The broadcast channel consists of a pilot channel, a synchronization
channel, up to seven paging channels, and up to 63 traffic channels. All these channels
share the same 1.25-MHz CDMA frequency assignment. The traffic channel is identified

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Cellular Telephone Systems

Pilot Synchronization Paging Paging Traffic Traffic

Channel Channel Channel 1 Channel 7 Channel 1 Channel 62

Optional and Variable (0–7) Variable (55–62)

(a)

Access Access Access Traffic Traffic

Channel 1 Channel 2 Channel 32 Channel 1 Channel 62

Variable (1–32) Variable (31–62)

(b)

FIGURE 12 IS-95 traffic channels: (a) down-link; (b) up-link

by a distinct user-specific long-code sequence, and each access channel is identified by a

distinct access channel long-code sequence.
The pilot channel is included in every cell with the purpose of providing a signal for
the receiver to use to acquire timing and provide a phase reference for coherent demodu-
lation. The pilot channel is also used by mobile units to compare signal strengths between
base stations to determine when a handoff should be initiated. The synchronization chan-
nel uses a Walsh W32 code and the same pseudorandom sequence and phase offset as the
pilot channel, allowing it to be demodulated by any receiver that can acquire the pilot sig-
nal. The synchronization channel broadcasts synchronization messages to mobile units
and operates at 1200 bps. Paging channels convey information from the base station to the
mobile station, such as system parameter messages, access parameter messages, CDMA
channel list messages, and channel assignment messages. Paging channels are optional
and can range in number between zero and seven. The paging channel is used to transmit
control information and paging messages from the base station to the mobile units and op-
erates at either 9600 bps, 4800 bps, or 2400 bps. A single 9600-bps pilot channel can typ-
ically support about 180 pages per second for a total capacity of 1260 pages per second.
Data on the downlink traffic channel are grouped into 20-ms frames. The data are first
convolutionally coded and then formatted and interleaved to compensate for differences in
the actual user data rates, which vary. The resulting signal is spread with a Walsh code and
a long pseudorandom sequence at a rate of 1.2288 Mchips/s.
The uplink radio channel transmitter is shown in Figure 12b and consists of access
channels and up to 62 uplink traffic channels. The access and uplink traffic channels use the
same frequency assignment using direct-sequence CDMA techniques. The access channels
are uplink only, shared, point-to-point channels that provide communications from mobile
units to base stations when the mobile unit is not using a traffic channel. Access channels
are used by the mobile unit to initiate communications with a base station and to respond
to paging channel messages. Typical access channel messages include acknowledgements
and sequence number, mobile identification parameter messages, and authentication pa-
rameters. The access channel is a random access channel with each channel subscriber
uniquely identified by their pseudorandom codes. The uplink CDMA channel can contain
up to a maximum of 32 access channels per supported paging channel. The uplink traffic
channel operates at a variable data rate mode, and the access channels operate at a fixed
4800-bps rate. Access channel messages consist of registration, order, data burst, origina-
tion, page response, authentication challenge response, status response, and assignment
completion messages.

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Cellular Telephone Systems

Table 5 CDMA Power Levels

Class Minimum EIRP Maximum EIRP

I 2 dBW (630 mW) 3 dBW (2.0 W)

II 7 dBW (200 mW) 0 dBW (1.0 W)
III 12 dBW (63 mW) 3 dBW (500 mW)
IV 17 dBW (20 mW) 6 dBW (250 mW)
V 22 dBW (6.3 mW) 9 dBW (130 mW)

Subscriber data on the uplink radio channel transmitter are also grouped into 20-ms
frames, convolutionally encoded, block interleaved, modulated by a 64-ary orthogonal
modulation, and spread prior to transmission.

7-2-1 CDMA radiated power. IS-95 specifies complex procedures for regulating
the power transmitted by each mobile unit. The goal is to make all reverse-direction signals
within a single CDMA channel arrive at the base station with approximately the same signal
strength (1 dB), which is essential for CDMA operation. Because signal paths change con-
tinuously with moving units, mobile units perform power adjustments as many as 800 times
per second (once every 1.25 ms) under control of the base station. Base stations instruct mo-
bile units to increase or decrease their transmitted power in 1-dB increments (0.5 dB).
When a mobile unit is first turned on, it measures the power of the signal received
from the base station. The mobile unit assumes that the signal loss is the same in each di-
rection (forward and reverse) and adjusts its transmit power on the basis of the power level
of the signal it receives from the base station. This process is called open-loop power set-
ting. A typical formula used by mobile units for determining their transmit power is
Pt dBm 76 dB Pr (4)
where Pt transmit power (dBm)
Pr received power (dBm)

Example 2
Determine the transmit power for a CDMA mobile unit that is receiving a signal from the base sta-
tion at 100 dBm.
Solution Substituting into Equation 4 gives
Pt 76 (100)
Pt 24 dBm, or 250 mW

With CDMA, rather than limit the maximum transmit power, the minimum and max-
imum effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) is specified (EIRP is the power radiated by
an antenna times the gain of the antenna). Table 5 lists the maximum EIRPs for five classes
of CDMA mobile units. The maximum radiated power of base stations is limited to 100 W
per 1.23-MHz CDMA channel.

8 NORTH AMERICAN CELLULAR AND PCS SUMMARY

Table 6 summarizes several of the parameters common to North American cellular and PCS
telephone systems (AMPS, USDC, and PCS).

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Cellular Telephone Systems

Table 6 Cellular and PCS Telephone Summary

Cellular System

Parameter AMPS USDC (IS-54) IS-95

Access method FDMA FDMA/TDMA CDMA/FDMA

Modulation FM π/4 DQPSK BPSK/QPSK
Frequency band
Base station 869–894 MHz 869–894 MHz 869–894 MHz
Mobile unit 824–849 MHz 824–849 MHz 824–849 MHz
Base station — 1.85–1.91 GHz 1.85–1.91 GHz
Mobile unit — 1.93–1.99 GHz 1.93–1.99 GHz
RF channel bandwidth 30 kHz 30 kHz 1.25 MHz
Maximum radiated power 4W 4W 2W
Control channel FSK PSK PSK
Voice channels per carrier 1 3 or 6 Up to 20
Frequency assignment Fixed Fixed Dynamic

9 GLOBAL SYSTEM FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS

In the early 1980s, analog cellular telephone systems were experiencing a period of rapid
growth in western Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and the United Kingdom and to a
lesser extent in France and Germany. Each country subsequently developed its own cellu-
lar telephone system, which was incompatible with everyone else’s system from both an
equipment and an operational standpoint. Most of the existing systems operated at differ-
ent frequencies, and all were analog. In 1982, the Conference of European Posts and
Telegraphs (CEPT) formed a study group called Groupe Spécial Mobile (GSM) to study the
development of a pan-European (pan meaning “all”) public land mobile telephone system
using ISDN. In 1989, the responsibility of GSM was transferred to the European Telecom-
munications Standards Institute (ETSI), and phase I of the GSM specifications was pub-
lished in 1990. GSM had the advantage of being designed from scratch with little or no con-
cern for being backward compatible with any existing analog cellular telephone system.
GSM provides its subscribers with good quality, privacy, and security. GSM is sometimes
referred to as the Pan-European cellular system.
Commercial GSM service began in Germany in 1991, and by 1993 there were 36
GSM networks in 22 countries. GSM networks are now either operational or planned in
over 80 countries around the world. North America made a late entry into the GSM market
with a derivative of GSM called PCS-1900. GSM systems now exist on every continent, and
the acronym GSM now stands for Global System for Mobile Communications. The first
GSM system developed was GSM-900 (phase I), which operates in the 900-MHz band for
voice only. Phase 2 was introduced in 1995, which included facsimile, video, and data
communications services. After implementing PCS frequencies (1800 MHz in Europe and
1900 MHz in North America) in 1997, GSM-1800 and GSM-1900 were created.
GSM is a second-generation cellular telephone system initially developed to solve the
fragmentation problems inherent in first-generation cellular telephone systems in Europe.
Before implementing GSM, all European countries used different cellular telephone stan-
dards; thus, it was impossible for a subscriber to use a single telephone set throughout Eu-
rope. GSM was the world’s first totally digital cellular telephone system designed to use the
services of SS7 signaling and an all-digital data network called integrated services digital
network (ISDN) to provide a wide range of network services. With between 20 and 50 mil-
lion subscribers, GSM is now the world’s most popular standard for new cellular telephone
and personal communications equipment.

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Cellular Telephone Systems

9-1 GSM Services

The original intention was to make GSM compatible with ISDN in terms of services offered
and control signaling. Unfortunately, radio-channel bandwidth limitations and cost prohib-
ited GSM from operating at the 64-kbps ISDN basic data rate.
GSM telephone services can be broadly classified into three categories: bearer serv-
ices, teleservices, and supplementary services. Probably the most basic bearer service pro-
vided by GSM is telephony. With GSM, analog speech signals are digitally encoded and
then transmitted through the network as a digital data stream. There is also an emergency
service where the closest emergency service provider is notified by dialing three digits sim-
ilar to 911 services in the United States. A wide variety of data services is offered through
GSM, where users can send and receive data at rates up to 9600 bps to subscribers in POTS
(plain old telephone service), ISDN networks, Packet Switched Public Data Networks
(PSPDN), and Circuit Switched Public Data Networks (CSPDN) using a wide variety of
access methods and protocols, such as X.25. In addition, since GSM is a digital network, a
modem is not required between the user and the GSM network.
Other GSM data services include Group 3 facsimile per ITU-T recommendation
T.30. One unique feature of GSM that is not found in older analog systems is the Short Mes-
sage Service (SMS), which is a bidirectional service for sending alphanumeric messages up
to 160 bytes in length. SMS can be transported through the system in a store-and-forward
fashion. SMS can also be used in a cell-broadcast mode for sending messages simultane-
ously to multiple receivers. Several supplemental services, such as call forwarding and call
barring, are also offered with GSM.

9-2 GSM System Architecture

The system architecture for GSM as shown in Figure 13 consists of three major inter-
connected subsystems that interact among one another and with subscribers through

BTS

BTS BCS

PSTN

BTS

Network Switching
NSS ISDN
Subsystem (NNS)

BTS

PDN
BTS BCS
Public Networks

BTS
OSS

Base Station Operational Support

Subsystem (BSS) Subsystem (OSS)

FIGURE 13 GSM system architecture

521
Cellular Telephone Systems

specified network interfaces. The three primary subsystems of GSM are Base Station
Subsystem (BSS), Network Switching Subsystem (NSS), and Operational Support Sub-
system (OSS). Although the mobile station is technically another subsystem, it is gener-
ally considered part of the base station subsystem.
The BSS is sometimes known as the radio subsystem because it provides and man-
ages radio-frequency transmission paths between mobile units and the mobile switching
center (MSC). The BSS also manages the radio interface between mobile units and all other
GSM subsystems. Each BSS consists of many base station controllers (BSCs), which are
used to connect the MCS to the NSS through one or more MSCs. The NSS manages switch-
ing functions for the system and allows the MSCs to communicate with other telephone net-
works, such as the public switched telephone network and ISDN. The OSS supports oper-
ation and maintenance of the system and allows engineers to monitor, diagnose, and
troubleshoot every aspect of the GSM network.

9-3 GSM Radio Subsystem

GSM was originally designed for 200 full-duplex channels per cell with transmission fre-
quencies in the 900-MHz band; however, frequencies were later allocated at 1800 MHz. A
second system, called DSC-1800, was established that closely resembles GSM. GSM uses
two 25-MHz frequency bands that have been set aside for system use in all member com-
panies. The 890-MHz to 915-MHz band is used for mobile unit-to-base station transmis-
sions (reverse-link transmissions), and the 935-MHz to 960-MHz frequency band is used
for base station–to–mobile unit transmission (forward-link transmissions). GSM uses fre-
quency-division duplexing and a combination of TDMA and FDMA techniques to provide
base stations simultaneous access to multiple mobile units. The available forward and re-
verse frequency bands are subdivided into 200-kHz wide voice channels called absolute
radio-frequency channel numbers (ARFCN). The ARFCN number designates a forward/
reverse channel pair with 45-MHz separation between them. Each voice channel is shared
among as many as eight mobile units using TDMA.
Each of the ARFCN channel subscribers occupies a unique time slot within the
TDMA frame. Radio transmission in both directions is at a 270.833-kbps rate using binary
Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK) modulation with an effective channel transmis-
sion rate of 33.833 kbps per user.
The basic parameters of GSM are the following:
1. GMSK modulation (Gaussian MSK)
2. 50-MHz bandwidth:
890-MHz to 915-MHz mobile transmit band (reverse channel)
935-MHz to 960-MHz base station transmit band (forward channel)
3. FDMA/TDMA accessing
4. Eight 25-kHz channels within each 200-kHz traffic channel
5. 200-kHz traffic channel
6. 992 full-duplex channels
7. Supplementary ISDN services, such as call diversion, closed user groups, caller
identification, and short messaging service (SMS), which restricts GSM users and
base stations to transmitting alphanumeric pages limited to a maximum of 160
seven-bit ASCII characters while simultaneously carrying normal voice messages.

10 PERSONAL SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

Mobile Satellite Systems (MSS) provide the vehicle for a new generation of wireless tele-
phone services called personal communications satellite systems (PCSS). Universal wireless

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Cellular Telephone Systems

telephone coverage is a developing MSS service that promises to deliver mobile subscribers
both traditional and enhanced telephone features while providing wide-area global coverage.
MSS satellites are, in essence, radio repeaters in the sky, and their usefulness for mo-
bile communications depends on several factors, such as the space-vehicle altitude, orbital
pattern, transmit power, receiver sensitivity, modulation technique, antenna radiation pat-
tern (footprint), and number of satellites in its constellation. Satellite communications sys-
tems have traditionally provided both narrowband and wideband voice, data, video, fac-
simile, and networking services using large and very expensive, high-powered earth station
transmitters communicating via high-altitude, geosynchronous earth-orbit (GEO) satel-
lites. Personal communications satellite services, however, use low earth-orbit (LEO) and
medium earth-orbit (MEO) satellites that communicate directly with small, low-power mo-
bile telephone units. The intention of PCSS mobile telephone is to provide the same fea-
tures and services offered by traditional, terrestrial cellular telephone providers. However,
PCSS telephones will be able to make or receive calls anytime, anywhere in the world. A
simplified diagram of a PCSS system is shown in Figure 14.
The key providers in the PCSS market include American Mobile Satellite Corpora-
tion (AMSC), Celsat, Comsat, Constellation Communications (Aries), Ellipsat (Ellipso),
INMARSAT, LEOSAT, Loral/Qualcomm (Globalstar), TMI communications, TWR
(Odysse), and Iridium LLC.

10-1 PCSS Advantages and Disadvantages

The primary and probably most obvious advantage of PCSS mobile telephone is that it provides
mobile telephone coverage and a host of other integrated services virtually anywhere in the
world to a truly global customer base. PCSS can fill the vacancies between land-based cellular
and PCS telephone systems and provide wide-area coverage on a regional or global basis.

K-band
K-band

K-band
L-band L-band
K-band
K-band L-band

Mobile

Phone
booth
Iridium®
pager

Portable

Gateway

System Home
control

FIGURE 14 Overview of Iridium PCSS mobile telephone system

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Cellular Telephone Systems

PCSS is ideally suited to fixed cellular telephone applications, as it can provide a full com-
plement of telephone services to places where cables can never go because of economical, tech-
nical, or physical constraints. PCSS can also provide complementary and backup telephone ser-
vices to large companies and organizations with multiple operations in diverse locations, such as
retail, manufacturing, finance, transportation, government, military, and insurance.
Most of the disadvantages of PCSS are closely related to economics, with the primary
disadvantage being the high risk associated with the high costs of designing, building, and
launching satellites. There is also a high cost for the terrestrial-based networking and interface
infrastructure necessary to maintain, coordinate, and manage the network once it is in opera-
tion. In addition, the intricate low-power, dual-mode transceivers are more cumbersome and
expensive than most mobile telephone units used with terrestrial cellular and PCS systems.

10-2 PCSS Industry Requirements

PCSS mobile telephone systems require transparent interfaces and feature sets among the
multitude of terrestrial networks currently providing mobile and wireline telephone ser-
vices. In addition, the interfaces must be capable of operating with both ANSI and CCITT
network constraints and be able to provide interpretability with AMPS, USDC, GMS, and
PCS cellular telephone systems. PCSS must also be capable of operating dual-mode with
air-access protocols, such as FDMA, TDMA, or CDMA. PCSS should also provide unique
MSS feature sets and characteristics, such as inter-/intrasatellite handoffs, land based-to-
satellite handoffs, and land-based/PCSS dual registration.

10-3 Iridium Satellite System

Iridium LLC is an international consortium owned by a host of prominent companies, agen-
cies, and governments, including the following: Motorola, General Electric, Lockheed,
Raytheon, McDonnell Douglas, Scientific Atlanta, Sony, Kyocera, Mitsubishi, DDI,
Kruchinew Enterprises, Mawarid Group of Saudi Arabia, STET of Italy, Nippon Iridium
Corporation of Japan, the government of Brazil, Muidiri Investments BVI, LTD of
Venezuela, Great Wall Industry of China, United Communications of Thailand, the U.S.
Department of Defense, Sprint, and BCE Siemens.
The Iridium project, which even sounds like something out of Star Wars, is undoubt-
edly the largest commercial venture undertaken in the history of the world. It is the system
with the most satellites, the highest price tag, the largest public relations team, and the most
peculiar design. The $5 billion, gold-plated Iridium mobile telephone system is undoubt-
edly (or at least intended to be) the Cadillac of mobile telephone systems. Unfortunately
(and somewhat ironically), in August 1999, on Friday the 13th, Iridium LLC, the belea-
guered satellite-telephone system spawned by Motorola’s Satellite Communications Group
in Chandler, Arizona, filed for bankruptcy under protection. However, Motorola Inc., the
largest stockholder in Iridium, says it will continue to support the company and its cus-
tomers and does not expect any interruption in service while reorganization is under way.
Iridium is a satellite-based wireless personal communications network designed to
permit a wide range of mobile telephone services, including voice, data, networking, fac-
simile, and paging. The system is called Iridium after the element on the periodic table
with the atomic number 77 because Iridium’s original design called for 77 satellites. The
final design, however, requires only 66 satellites. Apparently, someone decided that ele-
ment 66, dysprosium, did not have the same charismatic appeal as Iridium, and the root
meaning of the word is “bad approach.” The 66-vehicle LEO interlinked satellite con-
stellation can track the location of a subscriber’s telephone handset, determine the best
routing through a network of ground-based gateways and intersatellite links, establish
the best path for the telephone call, initiate all the necessary connections, and terminate
the call on completion. The system also provides applicable revenue tracking.

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Cellular Telephone Systems

With Iridium, two-way global communications is possible even when the destination
subscriber’s location is unknown to the caller. In essence, the intent of the Iridium system
is to provide the best service in the telephone world, allowing telecommunication any-
where, anytime, and any place. The FCC granted the Iridium program a full license in Jan-
uary 1995 for construction and operation in the United States.
Iridium uses a GSM-based telephony architecture to provide a digitally switched tele-
phone network and global dial tone to call and receive calls from any place in the world.
This global roaming feature is designed into the system. Each subscriber is assigned a per-
sonal phone number and will receive only one bill, no matter in what country or area they
use the telephone.
The Iridium project has a satellite network control facility in Landsdowne, Virginia,
with a backup facility in Italy. A third engineering control complex is located at Motorola’s
SATCOM location in Chandler, Arizona.
10-3-1 System layout. Figure 14 shows an overview of the Iridium system. Sub-
scriber telephone sets used in the Iridium system transmit and receive L-band frequencies
and utilize both frequency- and time-division multiplexing to make the most efficient use
of a limited frequency spectrum. Other communications links used in Iridium include EHF
and SHF bands between satellites for telemetry, command, and control as well as routing
digital voice packets to and from gateways. An Iridium telephone enables the subscriber to
connect either to the local cellular telephone infrastructure or to the space constellation us-
ing its dual-mode feature.
Iridium gateways are prime examples of the advances in satellite infrastructures that
are responsible for the delivery of a host of new satellite services. The purpose of the gate-
ways is to support and manage roaming subscribers as well as to interconnect Iridium sub-
scribers to the public switched telephone network. Gateway functions include the following:

1. Set up and maintain basic and supplementary telephony services

2. Provide an interface for two-way telephone communications between two Iridium
subscribers and Iridium subscribers to subscribers of the public switched tele-
phone network
3. Provide Iridium subscribers with messaging, facsimile, and data services
4. Facilitate the business activities of the Iridium system through a set of cooperative
mutual agreements
10-3-2 Satellite constellation. Providing full-earth coverage is the underlying basis
of the Iridium satellite system. Iridium uses 66 operational satellites (there are also some
spares) configured at a mean elevation of 420 miles above Earth in six nearly-polar orbital
planes (86.4° tilt), in which 11 satellites revolve around Earth in each orbit with an orbital
time of 100 minutes, 28 seconds. This allows Iridium to cover the entire surface area of
Earth and, whenever one satellite goes out of view of a subscriber, a different one replaces
it. The satellites are phased appropriately in north–south necklaces forming corotating
planes up one side of Earth, across the poles, and down the other side. The first and last
planes rotate in opposite directions, creating a virtual seam. The corotating planes are sep-
arated by 31.6°, and the seam planes are 22° apart.
Each satellite is equipped with three L-band antennas forming a honeycomb pattern
that consists of 48 individual spot beams with a total of 1628 cells aimed directly below the
satellite, as shown in Figure 15. As the satellite moves in its orbit, the footprints move across
Earth’s surface, and subscriber signals are switched from one beam to the next or from one
satellite to the next in a handoff process. When satellites approach the North or South Pole,
their footprints converge, and the beams overlap. Outer beams are then turned off to elimi-
nate this overlap and conserve power on the spacecraft. Each cell has 174 full-duplex voice
channels for a total of 283,272 channels worldwide.

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Cellular Telephone Systems

FIGURE 15 Iridium system spot beam footprint pattern

Using satellite cross-links is the unique key to the Iridium system and the primary dif-
ferentiation between Iridium and the traditional satellite bent-pipe system where all trans-
missions follow a path from Earth to satellite to Earth. Iridium is the first mobile satellite
to incorporate sophisticated, onboard digital processing on each satellite and cross-link ca-
pability between satellites.
Each satellite is equipped with four satellite-to-satellite cross-links to relay digital in-
formation around the globe. The cross-link antennas point toward the closest spacecraft orbit-
ing in the same plane and the two adjacent corotating planes. Feeder link antennas relay infor-
mation to the terrestrial gateways and the system control segment located at the earth stations.

10-3-3 Frequency plan and modulation. On October 14, 1994, the Federal Com-
munication Commission issued a report and order Dockett #92-166 defining L-band fre-
quency sharing for subscriber units in the 1616-MHz to 1626.5-MHz band. Mobile satellite
system cellular communications are assigned 5.15 MHz at the upper end of this spectrum for
TDMA/FDMA service. CDMA access is assigned the remaining 11.35 MHz for their serv-
ice uplinks and a proportionate amount of the S-band frequency spectrum at 2483.5 MHz to
2500 MHz for their downlinks. When a CDMA system is placed into operation, the CDMA
L-band frequency spectrum will be reduced to 8.25 MHz. The remaining 3.1 MHz of the fre-
quency spectrum will then be assigned to either the Iridium system or another TDMA/FDMA
system.
All Ka-band uplinks, downlinks, and cross-links are packetized TDM/FDMA using
quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) and FEC 1/2 rate convolutional coding with Viterbi
decoding. Coded data rates are 6.25 Mbps for gateways and satellite control facility links

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Cellular Telephone Systems

and 25 Mbps for satellite cross-links. Both uplink and downlink transmissions occupy 100
MHz of bandwidth, and intersatellite links use 200 MHz of bandwidth. The frequency
bands are as follows:

L-band subscriber-to-satellite voice links 1.616 GHz to 1.6265 GHz

Ka-band gateway downlinks 19.4 GHz to 19.6 GHz
Ka-band gateway uplinks 29.1 GHz to 29.3 GHz
Ka-intersatellite cross-links 23.18 GHz to 23.38 GHz

QUESTIONS
1. What is meant by a first-generation cellular telephone system?
2. Briefly describe the AMPS system.
3. Outline the AMPS frequency allocation.
4. What is meant by the term frequency-division duplexing?
5. What is the difference between a wireline and nonwireline company?
6. Describe a cellular geographic serving area.
7. List and describe the three classifications of AMPS cellular telephones.
8. What is meant by the discontinuous transmission mode?
9. List the features of a personal communications system that differentiate it from a standard cellu-
lar telephone network.
10. What is the difference between a personal communications network and personal communica-
tions services?
11. Briefly describe the functions of a home location register.
12. Briefly describe the functions of a visitor location register.
13. Briefly describe the functions of an equipment identification registry.
14. Describe the following services: available mode, screen mode, private mode, and unavailable
mode.
15. What is meant by a microcellular system?
16. List the advantages of a PCS cellular system compared to a standard cellular system.
17. List the disadvantage of a PCS cellular system.
18. What is meant by the term false handoff?
19. Briefly describe the N-AMPS cellular telephone system.
20. What is an interference avoidance scheme?
21. What are the four types of handoffs possible with N-AMPS?
22. List the advantages of a digital cellular system.
23. Describe the United States Digital Cellular system.
24. Describe the TDMA scheme used with USDC.
25. List the advantages of digital TDMA over analog AMPS FDMA.
26. Briefly describe the EIA/TIA Interim Standard IS-54.
27. What is meant by the term dual mode?
28. Briefly describe the EIA/TIA Interim Standard IS-136.
29. What is meant by the term sleep mode?
30. Briefly describe the North American Digital Cellular format.
31. Briefly describe the E-TDMA scheme.
32. Describe the differences between the radiated power classifications for USDC and AMPS.
33. List the IS-95 specifications.
34. Describe the CDMA format used with IS-95.
35. Describe the differences between the CDMA radiated power procedures and AMPS.

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