Evolution of mobile radio communication fundamentals

In the year 1887 Heinrich Hertz proved existence of EM waves.

Guglielmo Marconi developed the world's first commercial radio service in 1897.
The first use of mobile radio in an automobile was in 1921. Early radio telephone systems
were too bulky.
The key technological breakthrough came in 1935, when Edwin Armstrong introduced
frequency modulation (FM) to improve radio broadcasting.
This technology reduced the required bulk of radio equipment and improved transmission
quality.
In 1946, Bell Telephone Labs inaugurated the first mobile system for public. The system was
known as mobile telephone service (MTS).
In 1965, Bell system introduced improved version of MTS known as improved mobile
telephone service (IMTS), which was the first automatic mobile system and full duplex in
nature.
Bell laboratories made the ability to provide wireless communication to an entire population
possible with the development of cellular concept in 1960s and 1970s.
The wireless communication era was born with the development of highly reliable,
miniature, solid state radio frequency hardware in the 1970s.

General Model of Wireless Communication Link

The Structure of a wireless communication link involves several key components that work
together and maintains the connection between the transmitter and the receiver. Every
component plays an important role in the proper transmission of data from the transmitter
to the receiver. The following block diagram demonstrates the complete structure of the
wireless communication link.

Basic Elements of Wireless Communication

 Structure of Wireless Communication

Transmitter Side
 Information Source: It is a device that contains the information, or we can say
it produces information and that information must be processed before
transmitting through the propagation channel.
 Source Encoder: It is a device that compresses the data provided by the
information source in order to reduce the amount of data to be transmitted by
removing the redundancies in the data.
 Channel Coder: It is a device that is used to increase the reliability of the
system by adding the redundant bit (parity bit) to the codded message to protect
against errors that may occur during the transmission.
 Modulator: It is a device that converts the codded message into a signal so that
it can be transmitted through the communication channel. It converts digital data
into analog signals.
 Multiplexer: It is a device that allows multiple signals to share a single
transmission line by combining them to a single composite signal.
Propagation Channel
It is a physical medium that carries the modulated signal. it is s the medium through which
the signal travels. It can be air, water, or any other medium that allows the signal to
propagate.
Receiver Side
 Diversity Combiner: It is a device that combines multiple versions of the same
signal that have been transmitted through different paths or channels. It
Combines all the best-arising signals and by combining them produces the high
power signal.
 Equalizer: It is a device that compensates for the distortion introduced by the
propagation channel by adjusting the amplitude and phase of the received signal.
 Demodulator: A device that extracts the original codded message from the
modulated signal received from the propagation channel. it is a device that
converts the analog signal to digital data.
 Channel Decoder: It is a device that corrects the errors in the codded message
transmitted by the information source. It uses various techniques in order to
correct the errors that occur due to noise and various other causes.
 Source Decoder: It is a device that performs the opposite of the work performed
by the source encoder, It decompresses the coded message back to its original
format in order to recover the original data.
  Information Sink: A device that receives and processes the information
transmitted by the information source.

characteristics:

Wireless communication links have several special characteristics that differentiate them
from wired communication links. These characteristics include:
1. Mobility: Wireless communication links allow for mobile communication,
where the user can move around freely while staying connected to the network.
This is especially useful in situations where mobility is required, such as in a car
or on a mobile device.
2. Flexibility: Wireless communication links are flexible and can be used in a
variety of environments, including indoors and outdoors, in rural or urban areas,
and in remote locations.
3. Scalability: Wireless communication links can be easily scaled up or down to
accommodate changes in demand. This makes them ideal for situations where
the demand for communication services may fluctuate over time.
4. Accessibility: Wireless communication links can provide access to
communication services in areas where wired communication links are not
available or feasible. This is particularly important in rural or remote areas,
where wired infrastructure may be limited.
5. Interference: Wireless communication links are susceptible to interference from
other wireless signals and noise, which can affect their performance. This
requires careful management of the wireless spectrum to ensure that different
wireless networks can coexist without interfering with each other.
6. Security: Wireless communication links require special security measures to
protect against eavesdropping and other security threats. This includes
encryption of data and authentication of users to prevent unauthorized access to
the network.

Different Types of Signals:

The signals are classified into several types depending on the criteria used for their
classification. This classification aims to exploit the basic properties of the signals
to our advantage in the analysis of signals and systems. In this article, we will
discuss the types of signals those are useful in the analysis of signals and systems,
namely

 Continuous-Time and Discrete-Time Signals

 Even and Odd signals
 Periodic and Aperiodic Signals
 Energy and Power signals
 Deterministic Signals and Random signals
 Causal and Non-causal Signals
 Analog and Digital Signals
Cellular System Infrastructure
Early wireless systems had a high-power transmitter, covering the entire service area. This
required a very huge amount of power and was not suitable for many practical reasons.

The cellular system replaced a large zone with a number of smaller hexagonal cells with a
single BS (base station) covering a fraction of the area. Evolution of such a cellular system is
shown in the given figures, with all wireless receivers located in a cell being served by a BS.

Wireless devices need to be supported for different types of services, the wireless device
could be a wireless telephone laptop with wireless card, personal digital assistant (PDA), or
web enabled phone. For simplicity, it could be called an MS.

In a cellular structure, a MS (mobile station) needs to communicate with the BS of the cell
where the MS is currently located and the BS acts as a gateway to the rest of the world.
Therefore, to provide a link, the MS needs to be in the area of one of the cells (and hence a
BS) so that mobility of the MS can be supported. Several base stations are connected through
hard-wires and are controlled by a BS controller (BSC), which in turn is connected to a
mobile switching center (MSC).

Several mobile switching centers are interconnected to a PSTN (public switched telephone
network) and the ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) backbone. To provide a better
perspective of wireless communication technology, simplified system infrastructure for
cellular system is shown in the figure:

A cellular system requires a fairly complex infrastructure. A generic block diagram in shown
in the figure:

A BS consists of a base transceiver system (BTS) and a BSC. Both tower and antenna are a
part of the BTS, while all associated electronics are contained in the BSC.
The HLR (home location register) and VLR (visitor location register) are two sets of pointers
that support mobility and enable the use of the same telephone numbers worldwide.

The AUC (authentication center) unit provides authentication and encryption parameters that
verify the user's identity and ensure the confidentiality of each cell.

The EIR (equipment identity register) is a database that information about identity of mobile
equipment. Both AUC and EIR can be implemented as individual stand-alone units or as a
combined AUC/EIR unit.

The HLR is located at the MSC where MS is initially registered and is the initial home
location for billing and access information.

In simple words, any incoming call, based on the calling number, is directed to the HLR of
the home MS where the MS is registered. The HLR then points to the VLR of the MSC
where the MS is currently located.

Bidirectional HLR-VLR pointers help in carrying out various functionalities, as illustrated in

the figure:

The VLR contains information about all MS visiting that particular MSC and hence points to
the HLR of the visiting MSs for exchanging related information about the MS.

Such a pointer allows calls to be routed or rerouted to the MS, wherever it is located. In
cellular systems, a reverse direction pointer is needed that allows traversal of many control
signals back and forth between the HLR and VLR such bidirectional HLR-VLR pointers help
in carrying out various functionalities.

Types of antennas for cellular systems : For coverage use-

omnidirectional antennas : Omnidirectional antennas are nothing but the dipoles and they
radiate in all lateral directions. An omnidirectional antenna on a tower radiates equally in
360°, whereas a directional antenna for directional radiation with certain radiation angle.
There are standard 6-dB and 9-dB gain omnidirectional antennas.
 For interference reduction use-directional antennas : A directional antenna shapes and
projects beam of radio energy in a specific direction and receive radio energy only from a
specific direction, employing various horizontal beamwidths. Here, the term beamwidth
refers to the deviation of a radiated beam in degrees with respect to the point of radiation of
the directional antenna and the intended direction. Directional antennas are effectively
omniantennas that use a reflecting element for directing or focusing the RF signal (energy)
over a specified beamwidth. There are many types of directional antennas used by wireless
carriers log periodic, yagi, phased-array and panel antennas.

i. Downtilt antenna : To compensate for coverage shadows, antenna

manufacturers have developed electrical downtilt antennas and mechanical
downtilt kits specifically for the wireless industry. system. The radiation pattern
ofa downtilt antenna is electrically or mechanically tilted downwards at a
specified number of degrees.
ii. Downtilting of antennas decreases distance coverage horizontally, but increases
signal coverage closer to the cell site. A common place to install a downtilt
antenna is at a cell site that is on a very tall tower, on a hill or near a large body of
water.

CELLULAR OPERATION:
Cellular network organization uses low power transmitter(100W or less).The areas are
divided into cells. Each cell is served by its own antenna and a base station consisting of
transmitter, receiver, and control unit.
There are three basic devices they are:
· A mobile station(MS)
· A base transceiver Station(BS)
· A Mobile Telecommunications Switching Office (MTSO)
Base station include an antenna, a controller, and a number of receivers.
Base station is at center of each cell. Base station is connected to MTSO. One MTSO serve
as multiple Base station. The link between MTSO to BS is by wire or [Link]
connects calls between mobile units and from mobile to fixed telecommunications
network .It assigns voice channel and performs handoffs and monitors calls (billing).

Two channels are available between mobile unit and BS, they are:
1. Control channel: They are used to exchange information and perform setup and
maintenance calls. It establishes a relationship between Mobile unit and nearest BS.
2. Traffic channel: It carries voice or data connection between users.
Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) refer to a cellular network that has land and radio
based sections.
 This network consist of:
· Mobile station (MS) is a device used for communication over the network. 
· Base station transceiver (BST) is atransmitter/receiver that are used to transmit/receive
signals over the network.
· Mobile switching center (MSC) is used to Sets up and maintain calls made over the
network.
· Base station controller (BSC) which provides a Communication between a group of BSTs
and a single MSC is controlled by the BSC
· Public switched telephone network (PSTN) Consist of Section of the network that is land
base.
Steps in MTSO controlled call connecting mobile units:
1. Mobile unit initialization scans and choose strongest set up control channel
and automatically pick up a BS antenna of cell. Handshake is used to spot user
and register location. Scan is recurring to allow for movement of change of
cell.
2. Mobile originated call check if the set up channel is free and Send number
on pre-selected channel.
3. In Paging MTSO attempts to connect to mobile unit. Depending on called
mobile number the paging message will be sent to BSs. By using the setup
channel Paging signal is transmitted.
In call accepted, the Mobile unit recognizes the number on the set up channel
and responds to BS which in turn send response to MTSO. Then the MTSO
sets up a circuit between calling and called BSs and select a available traffic
channel within cells and notifies BSs. The BSs notify mobile unit of channel.
5. In Ongoing call the Voice/data is exchanged through respective BSs and
MTSO.
 6. If the signal strength decreases as the mobile moves out of range from BTS it
is called handoff. And the traffic channel changes to the one assigned to new
BS.

Other Functions:
1. Call blocking: On mobile-initiated call stage, if all the traffic channels are busy, the
mobile tries again and again. After numeral retries, a busy tone will be returned.
2. Call termination: The User will hang up, MTSO is informed and the traffic
channels at two BSs are released.
3. Call drop: If the BS cannot maintain a required signal strength then call drop will
occur and the traffic channel is dropped and MTSO informed.
4. Calls to/from fixed and remote mobile subscriber: Here the MTSO connects to
PSTN and can connect to mobile user and fixed subscriber via PSTN. MTSO can also
connect to remote MTSO via PSTN or via dedicated line.

Mobile Radio Propagation Effects: Signal strength between BS and mobile unit is strong
enough to maintain signal quality at the receiver. Signal propagation effects may interrupt the
signal and causes error. This is called fading.
Power control:
Design issues making it advantageous to include dynamic power control in cellular
[Link] effective communication, the power received must be sufficiently above the
background noise. It is advantageous to minimize the power in the transmitted signal from
the mobile. Thus it reduce co-channel interference, save battery power and alleviate health
[Link] of power control.
 Open-loop power control:
It depends solely on mobile unit. There is no feedback from BS. Open loop is
not as accurate as closed loop, but it can react quicker to fluctuate in signal strength.
Closed-loop power control:
Based on performance metric the signal strength is adjusted in reverse [Link] makes
power tuning decision and communication to mobile on control channel.

Traffic Engineering:
Traffic engineering is a method of optimizing the performance of a telecommunication
network by vigorously analyzing, predicting and regulating the behavior of data transmitted
over that network. Traffic engineering is also known as tele traffic engineering and traffic
management. The method of traffic engineering can be applied to networks of all kinds,
together with the PSTN (public switched telephone network), LANs (local area networks),
WANs (wide area networks), cellular telephone networks, proprietary business and the
[Link] N simultaneous user capacity and L subscribers
L < N – non-blocking system, L > N – blocking system.
Traffic Intensity:
Load accessible to a system:
A=l h
Where
l -mean rate of calls attempted per unit time
h -mean holding time per successful call
A -average number of calls arriving during average holding period, for normalized

Channel Assignment

We can divide the channel assignment strategies into two parts:

Fixed channel assignment strategy: Fixed channel assignment strategy depicts that a fixed
set of frequencies (voice channels) is allocated to each cell.
Maximum number of calls that can be attempted depend on the number of voice channels.
If all the channels in a cell are found occupied then the call is blocked and no service will be
delivered to the subscriber. In this strategy, an approach is sometimes adopted that is known
as borrowing approach
Borrowing approach: In this approach, one cell is allowed to borrow some voice channels
from its neighboring cell under the control of mobile switching center (MSC). Main point to
note in this approach is that neighboring cell should not be disturbed or interfered in any way
by borrower cell.
Dynamic channel assignment strategy :
No fixed set of voice channel is present in this strategy.
When request of a call is made through a cell then this request is passed to the MSC via
BSC. The MSC then allocates a voice channel to the requesting cell.
The main advantage of this strategy is that blocking probability of a call is reduced in this
case which increases the trunking capacity of the system.
 Frequency Reuse
Frequency reusing is the concept of using the same radio frequencies within a given area, that
are separated by considerable distance, with minimal interference, to establish
communication.

Frequency reuse offers the following benefits −

 Allows communications within cell on a given frequency

 Limits escaping power to adjacent cells
 Allows re-use of frequencies in nearby cells
 Uses same frequency for multiple conversations
 10 to 50 frequencies per cell

For example, when N cells are using the same number of frequencies and K be the total
number of frequencies used in systems. Then each cell frequency is calculated by using the
formulae K/N.

In Advanced Mobile Phone Services (AMPS) when K = 395 and N = 7, then frequencies per
cell on an average will be 395/7 = 56. Here, cell frequency is 56.

Channel Assignment Strategies

Channel Assignment Strategies are designed in such a way that there is efficient use of
frequencies, time slots and bandwidth.
There are three types of Channel Assignment Strategies they are: Fixed, Dynamic, and
Hybrid Channel Assignment.
 Fixed Channel Assignment (FCA): It is a strategy in which fixed number of
channels or voice channels are allocated to the cells. Once the channels are allocated
to the specific cells then they cannot be changed. Fixed channel assignment are very
simple and requires least amount of processing. Cells in this strategy are allowed to
borrow channels from adjacent cells if their channels are fully occupied while
adjacent cells have free channels. No interference occurs by moving the channel from
one cell to another.
 Dynamic Channel Assignment (DCA): Dynamic Channel Assignment is a strategy
in which channels are not permanently allocated to the cells. When a User makes a
call request then Base Station send that request to the MSC (Mobile Station Cente) for
the allocation of channels or voice channels. Each time a call request is made, serving
BS requests a channel from the MSC. MSC assigns a channel only if it is not used and
if it will not cause co‐channel interference with any cell in range. In this MSC has to
collect real time data on channel occupancy, traffic distribution, radio signal strength
indication of all channels on continuous basis, thus increasing the computational load
on MSC.
 Hybrid Channel Assignment (HCA): Hybrid Channel Allocation is a combination
of both Fixed Channel Allocation (FCA) and Dynamic Channel Allocation (DCA). In
this total number of channels or voice channels are divided into fixed and dynamic
sets. If a user make a call then first fixed set of channels are utilized but if all the fixed
 sets are busy then dynamic sets are used. The main purpose of HCA is to work
efficiently under heavy traffic

Types of Interference in Mobile Communication

1. Co-Channel Interference
2. Adjacent Cell Interference
Co-Channel Interference
Co-channel cells are those cells that use the same frequency in a given coverage area.
Interference from these cells is called co-channel interference. In co-channel interference,
the cells are clustered as close together as possible to reduce the co-channel interface and
provide sufficient isolation. Increasing the co-channel reuse ratio improves the transmission
quality because of the smaller level of co-channel interference. An example of co-channel
interference is when a radio transmitter is operating on the same frequency.

The reasons behind Co-channel interference are:

 Bad weather condition
 Poor frequency planning
Ways we can reduce co-channel interference in cellular communication are:
 Proper planning and implementation.
 The frequency reuse technique increases overall system capacity.
Adjacent Channel Interference
It is the interference caused to the signal which is adjacent in frequency to the desired
signal. Imperfect receiver side filters allow the neighboring signal to mix with the actual
pass band. if adjacent channel signal strength becomes strong, it will be difficult for Base
Station to differentiate the actual mobile signal from the strong mobile signal.
The reasons behind adjacent channel interference are as follows:
 Due to multiple channels close to each other communicating using similar
frequencies.
 Irrelevant power emission from an adjacent channel.
Factors for reducing Adjacent Channel Interference are as follows:
 Proper filtering
 Careful Channel Assignments
 By managing the space between two adjacent cells which should remain
constant.

Sectorization
 Cell sectoring is another method to increase capacity. It keeps the radius of the cell
constant and decreases the co-channel reuse ratio D/R to reduce the cluster size N.
 Cell sectoring is a method of decreasing the co-channel interference and enhancing
system performance by using a directional antenna.
 The size of clusters in a particular service area can be reduced because the cell
sectoring increases the signal to interference ratio (SIR).
 So in cell sectoring process enhancing the system performance by using a directional
antenna and reducing the co-channel interference value. here the reduction in the co-channel
interference is dependent on the amount of sectoring used.
 So here in cell sectoring process generally cell divided in 120 ₀ & 60 ₀ sectors.
 A cell is in sectoring is 120 ₀ then hexagon cell consists of three sectors and if the
sector is 60 ₀ then the hexagonal type cell consists of six sectors.
 The single to noise ratio improvement allows the cellular provider to decreases the
cluster size N in order to improve the frequency reuse and thus, the system capacity.
 120 ₀ and 60 ₀ sectoring

Now let us talk about some advantages and disadvantages of cell splitting to know more
details about this concept.

Advantages of cell sectoring :

 Better S/I ratio.
 Reduces interference.
 Increases capacity.
 Reduces cluster size.
 More freedom in assigning a channel

Disadvantages of cell sectoring :

 Increases number of antennas per base station.

 A decrease in trunk efficiency.
 Loss of traffic.
 Increased number of handoffs.

Improving coverage and capacity

Introduction:

As the demand for wireless service increases, the number of channels assigned to a cell
eventually becomes insufficient to support the required number of users. At this point,
cellular design techniques are needed to provide more channels per unit coverage area

Methods of Improving the coverage and capacity:

 Cell Splitting
 Sectoring
 Microcell Zone Concept
 

Cell Splitting:

 Cell splitting is the process of subdividing a congested cell into smaller cells, each
with its own base station and a corresponding reduction in antenna height and
transmitter power.

Cell splitting increases the capacity of a cellular system since it increases the number of times
that channels are reused

 New cells which have a smaller radius than the original cells and by installing
 These smaller cells (called microcells) between the existing cells, capacity increases
due to the additional number of channels per unit area.
 Cell splitting allows a system to grow by replacing large cells with smaller cells,
while not upsetting the channel allocation scheme required to maintain the
minimum co-channel reuse ratio Q
 Between co-channel cells.
Sectoring:

 The technique for decreasing co-channel interference and thus increasing system
capacity by using directional antennas is called sectoring.
 The factor by which the co-channel interference is reduced depends on the amount
of sectoring used.

 A cell is normally partitioned into three 1200 sectors or six 60° sectors.
 When sectoring is employed, the channels used in a particular cell are broken down
into sectored groups and are used only within a particular sector.

Microcell Zone Concept:

 The increased number of handoffs required when sectoring is employed results in an

increased load on the switching and control link elements of the mobile system.
 In this scheme, each of the three (or possibly more) zone sites is connected to a
single base station and share the same radio equipment.
 The zones are connected by coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, or microwave link to the
base station. Multiple zones and a single base station make up a cell
 This approach is superior to sectoring since antennas are placed at the outer edges of
the cell, and any base station channel may be assigned to any zone by the base
station.

Advantage of the zone cell

 The co-channel interference in the cellular system is reduced

 improves the signal quality
  Leads to an increase in capacity, without the degradation in trunking efficiency
caused by sectoring

wireless channels.

wireless channel is a dielectric unguided medium that can be analysed in the following
different ways:

By using the fundamentals of electromagnetic (EM) wave theory, such as phase velocity,
phase propagation constant, amplitude, frequency, and phase.

By using the fundamentals of digital signal processing (DSP) such as channel transfer
function, spectrum, channel impulse response (CIR) and convolution with transmitting
signal.

The channel can act as a low-pass or band-pass filter in certain conditions.

The channel characteristic is of a random nature and depends upon the situation; hence,
probability theory and the concept of probability distribution function (PDF) can be applied
to wireless channel.

What is Noise?
Noise is an unwanted signal which interferes with the original message signal and corrupts
the parameters of the message signal. This alteration in the communication process, leads to
the message getting altered. It is most likely to be entered at the channel or the receiver.

The noise signal can be understood by taking a look at the following example.
Hence, it is understood that noise is some signal which has no pattern and no constant
frequency or amplitude. It is quite random and unpredictable. Measures are usually taken to
reduce it, though it can’t be completely eliminated.

Most common examples of noise are −

 Hiss sound in radio receivers

 Buzz sound amidst of telephone conversations
 Flicker in television receivers, etc.

Effects of Noise

Noise is an inconvenient feature which affects the system performance. Following are the
effects of noise.

Noise limits the operating range of the systems

Noise indirectly places a limit on the weakest signal that can be amplified by an amplifier.
The oscillator in the mixer circuit may limit its frequency because of noise. A system’s
operation depends on the operation of its circuits. Noise limits the smallest signal that a
receiver is capable of processing.

Noise affects the sensitivity of receivers

Sensitivity is the minimum amount of input signal necessary to obtain the specified quality
output. Noise affects the sensitivity of a receiver system, which eventually affects the output.

Types of Noise

The classification of noise is done depending on the type of the source, the effect it shows or
the relation it has with the receiver, etc.
There are two main ways in which noise is produced. One is through some external
source while the other is created by an internal source, within the receiver section.

External Source

This noise is produced by the external sources which may occur in the medium or channel of
communication, usually. This noise cannot be completely eliminated. The best way is to
avoid the noise from affecting the signal.

Examples

Most common examples of this type of noise are −

 Atmospheric noise (due to irregularities in the atmosphere).

 Extra-terrestrial noise, such as solar noise and cosmic noise.
 Industrial noise.

Internal Source

This noise is produced by the receiver components while functioning. The components in the
circuits, due to continuous functioning, may produce few types of noise. This noise is
quantifiable. A proper receiver design may lower the effect of this internal noise.

Examples

Most common examples of this type of noise are −

 Thermal agitation noise (Johnson noise or Electrical noise).

 Shot noise (due to the random movement of electrons and holes).
 Transit-time noise (during transition).
 Miscellaneous noise is another type of noise which includes flicker, resistance effect
and mixer generated noise, etc.

What is fading?
The time variation of received signal power due to changes in transmission medium or
paths is known as fading. Fading depends on various factors as mentioned above. In
fixed scenario, fading depends on atmospheric conditions such as rainfall, lightening
etc. In mobile scenario, fading depends on obstacles over the path which are varying
with respect to time. These obstacles create complex transmission effects to the
transmitted signal.
The figure-1 depicts amplitude versus distance chart for slow fading and fast fading
types which we will discuss later.

Fading types
Considering various channel related impairments and position of transmitter/receiver
following are the types of fading in wireless communication system.
➤Large Scale Fading: It includes path loss and shadowing effects.

➤Small Scale Fading: It is divided into two main categories viz. multipath delay spread and
doppler spread. The multipath delay spread is further divided into flat fading and frequency
selective fading. Doppler spread is divided into fast fading and slow fading.
➤Fading models: Above fading types are implemented in various models or distributions
which include Rayleigh, Rician, Nakagami, Weibull etc.
As we know, fading signals occur due to reflections from ground and surrounding
buildings as as well as scattered signals from trees, people and towers present in the
large area. There are two types of fading viz. large scale fading and small scale fading.

1.) Large Scale Fading

Large scale fading occurs when an obstacle comes in between transmitter and
receiver. This interference type causes significant amount of signal strength reduction.
This is because EM wave is shadowed or blocked by the obstacle. It is related to large
fluctuations of the signal over distance.

1.a) Path loss

The free space path loss can be expressed as follows.
➤Pt/Pr={(4*π*d)2/λ2}=(4*π*f*d)2/c2
Where,
Pt=Transmitpower
Pr = Receive power
λ = wavelength
d = distance between transmitting and receiving antenna
c = speed of light i.e. 3 x 108
From the equation it implies that transmitted signal attenuates over distance as the
signal is being spread over larger and larger area from transmit end towards receive
end.
1.b) Shadowing effect

• It is observed in wireless communication. Shadowing is deviation of received power

of EM signal from average value.
• It is result of obstacles over the path between transmitter and receiver.

• It depends on geographical position as well as radio frequency of EM (ElectroMagnetic)

waves.
2. Small Scale Fading
Small scale fading is concerned with rapid fluctuations of received signal strength over very
short distance and short time period.
Based on multipath delay spread there are two types of small scale fading viz. flat fading and
frequency selective fading. These multipath fading types depend on propagation
environment.
2.a) Flat fading
The wireless channel is said to be flat fading if it has constant gain and linear phase response
over a bandwidth which is greater than the bandwidth of the transmitted signal.
In this type of fading all the frequency components of the received signal fluctuate in same
proportions simultaneously. It is also known as non-selective fading.
• Signal BW << Channel BW
• Symbol period >> Delay Spread
The effect of flat fading is seen as decrease in SNR. These flat fading channels are known as
amplitude varying channels or narrowband channels.
2.b) Frequency Selective fading
It affects different spectral components of a radio signal with different amplitudes. Hence the
name selective fading.
• Signal BW > Channel BW
• Symbol period < Delay Spread
Based on doppler spread there are two types of fading viz. fast fading and slow fading. These
doppler spread fading types depend on mobile speed i.e. speed of receiver with respect to
transmitter.
2.c) Fast fading
The phenomenon of fast fading is represented by rapid fluctuations of signal over small areas
(i.e. bandwidth). When the signals arrive from all the directions in the plane, fast fading will
be observed for all directions of motion.
Fast fading occurs when channel impulse response changes very rapidly within the symbol
duration.
• High doppler spread
• Symbol period > Coherence time
• Signal Variation < Channel variation
This parameters result into frequency dispersion or time selective fading due to doppler
spreading. Fast fading is result of reflections of local objects and motion of objects relative to
those objects.
In fast fading, receive signal is sum of numerous signals which are reflected from various
surfaces. This signal is sum or difference of multiple signals which can be constructive or
destructive based on relative phase shift between them. Phase relationships depend on speed
of motion, frequency of transmission and relative path lengths.
Fast fading distorts the shape of the baseband pulse. This distortion is linear and
creates ISI (Inter Symbol Interference). Adaptive equalization reduces ISI by removing linear
distortion induced by channel.
2.d) Slow fading
Slow fading is result of shadowing by buildings, hills, mountains and other objects over the
path.
• Low Doppler Spread
• Symbol period <<Coherence Time
• Signal Variation >> Channel Variation
Slow fading results in a loss of SNR. Error correction coding and receiver diversity
techniques are used to overcome the effects of slow fading.