CDMA / Spread Spectrum Resources: Introduction to CDMA ABCs of Spread Sprectum CDMA Technology CDMA Basics Overview of CDMA

CDMA vs TDMA Comparision between GSM IS-95 Book: Spread Spectrum: Hedy Lamarr and the mobile phone CDMA Discussion Forum

Introduction to CDMA by Michael Hendry This paper provides an introduction to Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) comm unications, covering a Radio Carrier Station (RCS) and a Fixed Subscriber Unit ( FSU). This introduction to CDMA proceeds heuristically, we use very little mathematics in developing the theories, and do not assume a deep mathematical or engineerin g background. If you would like further information on the math and communicatio n theories behind this introduction, please consult the following references: Viterbi, A. CDMA: Principles of Spread Spectrum Communication Addison-Wesley Wir eless Communications Series, 1995 Pickholtz, R. L., Schilling, D. L., and Milstein, L. B. Theory of Spread-Spectrum CommunicationsA Tutorial IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. COM30, no. 5, May 1982, pp 855 -884. Pickholtz, R. L., Schilling, D. L., and Milstein, L. B. Revisions to Theory of Sp read-Spectrum CommunicationsA Tutorial IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. COM32, no. 2, Feb 1984, pp 211-212. Introduction to Spread Spectrum Communications CDMA is a form of Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum communications. In general, Sp read Spectrum communications is distinguished by three key elements: 1. The signal occupies a bandwidth much greater than that which is necessary to send the information. This results in many benefits, such as immunity to interfe rence and jamming and multi-user access, which well discuss later on. 2. The bandwidth is spread by means of a code which is independent of the data. The independence of the code distinguishes this from standard modulation schemes in which the data modulation will always spread the spectrum somewhat. 3. The receiver synchronizes to the code to recover the data. The use of an inde pendent code and synchronous reception allows multiple users to access the same frequency band at the same time. In order to protect the signal, the code used is pseudo-random. It appears rando m, but is actually deterministic, so that the receiver can reconstruct the code for synchronous detection. This pseudo-random code is also called pseudo-noise ( PN). Figure 1. Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum System Three Types of Spread Spectrum Communications There are three ways to spread the bandwidth of the signal: Frequency hopping. The signal is rapidly switched between different frequencies

within the hopping bandwidth pseudo-randomly, and the receiver knows before hand where to find the signal at any given time. Time hopping. The signal is transmitted in short bursts pseudo-randomly, and the receiver knows beforehand when to expect the burst. Direct sequence. The digital data is directly coded at a much higher frequency. The code is generated pseudo-randomly, the receiver knows how to generate the sa me code, and correlates the received signal with that code to extract the data. Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum CDMA is a Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum system. The CDMA system works directly on 64 kbit/sec digital signals. These signals can be digitized voice, ISDN chan nels, modem data, etc. Figure 1 shows a simplified Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum system. For clarity, the figure shows one channel operating in one direction only. Signal transmission consists of the following steps: 1. A pseudo-random code is generated, different for each channel and each succes sive connection. 2. The Information data modulates the pseudo-random code (the Information data i s spread). 3. The resulting signal modulates a carrier. 4. The modulated carrier is amplified and broadcast. Signal reception consists of the following steps: 1. The carrier is received and amplified. 2. The received signal is mixed with a local carrier to recover the spread digit al signal. 3. A pseudo-random code is generated, matching the anticipated signal. 4. The receiver acquires the received code and phase locks its own code to it. 5. The received signal is correlated with the generated code, extracting the Inf ormation data. Implementing CDMA Technology The following sections describe how a system might implement the steps illustrat ed in Figure 1. Input data CDMA works on Information data from several possible sources, such as digitized voice or ISDN channels. Data rates can vary, here are some examples: Data Source Data Rate Voice Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) 64 kBits/sec Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation (ADPCM) 32 kBits/sec Low Delay Code Excited Linear Prediction (LD-CELP) 16 kBits/sec ISDN Bearer Channel (B-Channel) 64 kBits/sec Data Channel (D-Channel) 16 kBits/sec The system works with 64 kBits/sec data, but can accept input rates of 8, 16, 32 , or 64 kBits/sec. Inputs of less than 64 kBits/sec are padded with extra bits t o bring them up to 64 kBits/sec. For inputs of 8, 16, 32, or 64 kBits/sec, the system applies Forward Error Corre ction (FEC) coding, which doubles the bit rate, up to 128 kbits/sec. The Complex Modulation scheme (which well discuss in more detail later), transmits two bits at a time, in two bit symbols. For inputs of less than 64 kbits/sec, each symbol is repeated to bring the transmission rate up to 64 kilosymbols/sec. Each compo nent of the complex signal carries one bit of the two bit symbol, at 64 kBits/se c, as shown below. Generating Pseudo-Random Codes For each channel the base station generates a unique code that changes for every connection. The base station adds together all the coded transmissions for ever y subscriber. The subscriber unit correctly generates its own matching code and uses it to extract the appropriate signals. Note that each subscriber uses sever al independant channels. In order for all this to occur, the pseudo-random code must have the following p

roperties: 1. It must be deterministic. The subscriber station must be able to independentl y generate the code that matches the base station code. 2. It must appear random to a listener without prior knowledge of the code (i.e. it has the statistical properties of sampled white noise). 3. The cross-correlation between any two codes must be small (see below for more information on code correlation). 4. The code must have a long period (i.e. a long time before the code repeats it self). Code Correlation In this context, correlation has a specific mathematical meaning. In general the correlation function has these properties: It equals 1 if the two codes are identical It equals 0 of the two codes have nothing in common Intermediate values indicate how much the codes have in common. The more they ha ve in common, the harder it is for the receiver to extract the appropriate signa l. There are two correlation functions: Cross-Correlation: The correlation of two different codes. As weve said, this sho uld be as small as possible. Auto-Correlation: The correlation of a code with a time-delayed version of itsel f. In order to reject multi-path interference, this function should equal 0 for any time delay other than zero. The receiver uses cross-correlation to separate the appropriate signal from sign als meant for other receivers, and auto-correlation to reject multi-path interfe rence. Figure 2a. Pseudo-Noise Spreading Figure 2b. Frequency Spreading Pseudo-Noise Spreading The FEC coded Information data modulates the pseudo-random code, as shown in Fig ure 2a. Some terminology related to the pseudo-random code: Chipping Frequency (fc): the bit rate of the PN code. Information rate (fi): the bit rate of the digital data. Chip: One bit of the PN code. Epoch: The length of time before the code starts repeating itself (the period of the code). The epoch must be longer than the round trip propagation delay (The epoch is on the order of several seconds). Figure 2b shows the process of frequency spreading. In general, the bandwidth of a digital signal is twice its bit rate. The bandwidths of the information data (fi) and the PN code are shown together. The bandwidth of the combination of the two, for fc>fi, can be approximated by the bandwidth of the PN code. Processing Gain An important concept relating to the bandwidth is the processing gain (Gp). This is a theoretical system gain that reflects the relative advantage that frequenc y spreading provides. The processing gain is equal to the ratio of the chipping frequency to the data frequency: There are two major benefits from high processing gain: Interference rejection: the ability of the system to reject interference is dire ctly proportional to Gp. System capacity: the capacity of the system is directly proportional to Gp. So the higher the PN code bit rate (the wider the CDMA bandwidth), the better th e system performance. Figure 3a. Complex Modulator

Figure 3b. Complex Modulation Transmitting Data The resultant coded signal next modulates an RF carrier for transmission using Q uadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK). QPSK uses four different states to encode e ach symbol. The four states are phase shifts of the carrier spaced 90_ apart. By convention, the phase shifts are 45, 135, 225, and 315 degrees. Since there are four possible states used to encode binary information, each state represents t wo bits. This two bit word is called a symbol. Figure 3 shows in general how QPSK works. First, well discuss Complex Modulation in general, applying it to a single channe l with no PN-coding (that is, well show how Complex Modulation would work directl y on the symbols). Then well discuss how we apply it to a multi-channel, PN-coded , system. Complex Modulation Algebraically, a carrier wave with an applied phase shift, (t), can be expressed as a sum of two components, a Cosine wave and a Sine wave, as: I(t) is called the real, or In-phase, component of the data, and Q(t) is called the imaginary, or Quadrature-phase, component of the data. We end up with two Bi nary PSK waves superimposed. These are easier to modulate and later demodulate. This is not only an algebraic identity, but also forms the basis for the actual modulation/demodulation scheme. The transmitter generates two carrier waves of t he same frequency, a sine and cosine. I(t) and Q(t) are binary, modulating each component by phase shifting it either 0 or 180 degrees. Both components are then summed together. Since I(t) and Q(t) are binary, well refer to them as simply I and Q. The receiver generates the two reference waves, and demodulates each component. It is easier to detect 180_ phase shifts than 90_ phase shifts. The following ta ble summarizes this modulation scheme. Note that I and Q are normalized to 1. Symbol I Q Phase shift 00 +1 +1 45 01 +1 -1 315 10 -1 +1 135 11 -1 -1 225 For Digital Signal Processing, the two-bit symbols are considered to be complex numbers, I +jQ. Working with Complex Data In order to make full use of the efficiency of Digital Signal Processing, the co nversion of the Information data into complex symbols occurs before the modulati on. The system generates complex PN codes made up of 2 independent components, P Ni +jPNq. To spread the Information data the system performs complex multiplicat ion between the complex PN codes and the complex data. Summing Many Channels Together Many channels are added together and transmitted simultaneously. This addition h appens digitally at the chip rate. Remember, there are millions of chips in each symbol. For clarity, lets say each chip is represented by an 8 bit word (its slig htly more complicated than that, but those details are beyond the scope of this discussion). At the Chip Rate Information data is converted to two bit symbols.

 The first bit of the symbol is placed in the I data stream, the second bit is pl aced in the Q data stream. The complex PN code is generated. The complex PN code has two independently gene rated components, an I component and a Q component. The complex Information data and complex PN code are multiplied together. For each component (I or Q): Each chip is represented by an 8 bit word. However, since one chip is either a o ne or a zero, the 8 bit word equals either 1 or -1. When many channels are added together, the 8-bit word, as the sum of all the chi ps, can take on values from between -128 to +128. The 8-bit word then goes through a Digital to Analog Converter, resulting in an analog level proportional to the value of the 8-bit word. This value then modulates the amplitude of the carrier (the I component modulate s the Cosine, the Q component modulates the Sine) The modulated carriers are added together. Since I and Q are no longer limited to 1 or -1, the phase shift of the composite carrier is not limited to the four states, the phase and amplitude vary as A2 = I2 + Q2 Tan(( ) = Q/I At the Symbol Rate Since the PN-code has the statistical properties of random noise, it averages to zero over long periods of time (such as the symbol period). Therefore, fluctuat ions in I and Q, and hence the phase modulation of the carrier, that occur at th e chip frequency, average to zero. Over the symbol period the modulation average s to one of the four states of QPSK, which determine what the symbol is. The symbol only sees the QPSK, and obeys all the statistical properties of QPSK transmission, including Bit Error Rate. Receiving Data The receiver performs the following steps to extract the Information: Demodulation Code acquisition and lock Correlation of code with signal Decoding of Information data Demodulation The receiver generates two reference waves, a Cosine wave and a Sine wave. Separ ately mixing each with the received carrier, the receiver extracts I(t) and Q(t) . Analog to Digital converters restore the 8-bit words representing the I and Q chips. Code Acquisition and Lock The receiver, as described earlier, generates its own complex PN code that match es the code generated by the transmitter. However, the local code must be phaselocked to the encoded data. The RCS and FSU each have different ways of acquirin g and locking onto the others transmitted code. Each method will be covered in mo re detail in later sections. Correlation and Data Despreading Once the PN code is phase-locked to the pilot, the received signal is sent to a correlator that multiplies it with the complex PN code, extracting the I and Q d ata meant for that receiver. The receiver reconstructs the Information data from the I and Q data. Automatic Power Control The RCS gets bombarded by signals from many FSUs. Some of these FSUs are close a nd their signals are much stronger than FSUs farther away. This results in the N ear/Far problem inherent in CDMA communications. System Capacity is also dependa nt on signal power. For these reasons, both the RCS and FSU measure the received power and send signals to control the others transmit power. Near/Far Problem Because the cross-correlation between two PN codes is not exactly equal to zero, the system must overcome what we call the Near/Far problem. The output of the correlator consists of two components:

 The autocorrelation of the PN code with the desired coded signal The sum of the cross-correlation of the PN code with all the other coded signals . Mathematically, if we are trying to decode the kth signal, we have: Where: Aj is the amplitude of the jth signal, jk is the cross-correlation between the kth and jth signal, and is the sum over all the j signals (excluding k). Since the cross-correlation is small (ideally, it is zero), the sum of cross-cor relation terms should be much less than the amplitude of the desired signal. How ever, if the desired signal is broadcast from far away, and undesired signals ar e broadcast from much closer, the desired signal may be so small as to be drowne d out by the cross-correlation terms. Note that this problem only exists in the reverse direction. The RCS is receivin g signals from many FSUs at different distances, but the FSU is receiving all si gnals from one RCS. The RCS controls the power of each FSU so that the signals r eceived from all FSUs are the same strength. System Capacity The capacity of a system is approximated by: where: is the maximum number of simultaneous calls is the processing gain is the total signal to noise ratio per bit, and is the inter-cell interference factor. Notice, as we said earlier, the capacity is directly proportional to the process ing gain. Capacity is also inversely proportional to the signal to noise ratio o f the received signal. So, the smaller the transmitted signal, the larger the sy stem capacity (as long as the receiver can detect the signal in the noise!). Bot h the RCS and FSU control the power transmitted by the other so that the receive d signal is as small as possible while maintaining a minimum signal to noise rat io. This maximizes system capacity. Figure 4. Multi-Path Interference Rejection

Interference Rejection CDMA technology is inherently resistant to interference and jamming. A common pr oblem with urban communications is multi-path interference. Multi-path interference is caused by the broadcast signal traveling over differe nt paths to reach the receiver. The receiver then has to recover the signal comb ined with echoes of varying amplitude and phase. This results in two types of in terference: Inter-chip interference: The reflected signals are delayed long enough that succ essive bits (or chips, in this case) in the demodulated signals overlap, creatin g uncertainty in the data. Selective fading: The reflected signals are delayed long enough that they are ra ndomly out of phase, and add destructively to the desired signal, causing it to fade. Combating Interference Two methods are commonly used to combat multi-path interference: Rake filter: Correlators are set up at appropriate time intervals to extract all the echoes. The relative amplitude and phase of each echo is measured, and each echo signal is phase corrected and added to the signal. Adaptive Matched Filter. This filter is matched to the transfer function (i.e. th propagation characteristics) of the signal path. It phase shifts the echo signa ls and adds them to maximize the received signal. System Operation

The following sections describe a hypothetical implmentation of CDMA technology. A connection can be one of many types of data, but for simplicity we will refer to any connection as a call. These sections cover the following system states: System Idle: System operation when there is no call in progress. Call Setup: The steps to setup a connection. Call Processing: The processing and transmission of the digital data once a conn ection is established. Call Teardown: The steps taken once a call is finished to free system resources. But first, in order to understand system operation, you must understand the Pilo t codes and communication channels the system uses. Pilot Codes At each phase of operation, the system broadcasts pilot signals. These pilot sig nals are the unmodulated PN codes associated with each channel, used to synchron ize and track the locally generated PN codes for despreading. The system uses th e following pilot signals. Global Pilot: Broadcast by the RCS. All FSUs use the Global Pilot for all receiv ed channels. Short Access Pilot: Broadcast by FSU. Monitored by the RCS for an incoming acces s attempt by an FSU. Alerts the RCS that an FSU is requesting access. Long Access Pilot: Broadcast by the FSU. Allows the RCS to synchronize to the FS U to setup a call. Assigned Pilot: Broadcast by FSU. Unmodulated PN code of the assigned channel. A llows RCS to synchronize to and track the PN codes of the FSU assigned channels for despreading. Communication Channels In order to understand system operation, we need to introduce the system communi cation channels. The system has the following channel groups: The Broadcast Channel group: Channels continuously broadcasted by the RCS. Call Setup Channel group: Channels used to setup a call. There are four sets of these channels; up to 4 FSUs can request access at one time. Assigned Channel group: Channels used for the call. Each logical channel in each group is realized by assigning a unique PN code to it. Channel Group Channel Name Direction Number of Channels Descript ion Broadcast Global Pilot F One An unmodulated PN code that the FSU can synchronize to. Fast Broadcast Channel F One A single message indicating whic h services and access channels are available. This information may change rapidl y. Slow Broadcast Channel F One Paging messages and other system information that does not need to be updated rapidly. Call Setup Short Pilot R Four Alerts the RCS that an FSU is re questing access. Long Pilot Four Allows the RCS to synchronize to the FSU to setup a call. Access Channel R Four Used by the FSUs to access an RCS and ge t assigned channels. Control Channel F Four Used by the RCS to reply to acce ss attempts from FSUs. Control Channel APC F Four Controls FSU power during initia l access. Assigned Assigned Pilot R One per FSU An unmodulated PN code t hat the RCS can synchronize to. APC Channel F One per FSU Controls FSU power during call. R Controls RCS power of assigned FSU channels. Traffic Channels F Up to 3 per FSU Signal data from RCS to FSU.

R Signal data from FSU to RCS. Order wire F One per FSU Control signals: CDMA and Telco messages. R Note on Direction: F - Forward - From RCS to FSU R - Reverse - From FSU to RCS Pilot Ramp Up When the FSU transmits its Short and Long Access Pilots, it ramps the power up t o determine what power level it should transmit. When the RCS detects the Short Access Pilot, it acknowledges over the Fast Broadcast Channel. The FSU then know s that it is being received, and switches to the Long Access Pilot code. The Lon g Access Pilot code ramps up more slowly, until the RCS locks and starts transmi tting Automatic Power Control signals. System Idle On startup, the RCS places one of its modems in broadcast mode, in which state i t broadcasts the following Global Channels continuously: Global Pilot Slow Broadcast Channel Fast Broadcast Channel In addition, the RCS sets aside 4 modems for Call Setup channels. These modems c ontinuously listen for access attempts by the FSUs. Well discuss the operation of the modems in more detail later. Paging Groups and Sleep Cycles The RCS divides all the FSUs associated with it into paging groups. The RCS assi gns each paging group a particular time slot on its Slow Broadcast Channel (the first time slot is reserved for general Slow Broadcast information). When the RC S pages an FSU, the RCS will only page it during the time slot of that FSUs pagin g group. The Slow Broadcast Channel cycles through all the paging groups. The cycle takes approximately one second to complete. Each FSU remains powered down for most of the cycle. When the Slow Broadcast Channel reaches the time slot of the FSUs pag ing group, the FSU powers up, synchronizes to the Global Pilot, and checks for i ts address in the paging group. If it recognizes its paging address, it requests access; if not, it powers down. This results in a duty cycle of less than 10%, and saves considerable power at the FSU. Figure 5. Call Setup Call Setup Two events can initiate a call: The FSU receives a page from the RCS, as explained above. This is called a termi nating call. The FSU generates an off-hook signal in response to subscriber equipment. The FS U locks on to the Global Pilot. This is called an originating call. Once either of these events occur, call setup proceeds as follows: 1. FSU requests access. FSU transmits Short Access Pilot Code. RCS detects transmission and acknowledges. Flags Call Setup Channel as busy. FSU transmits Long Access Pilot Code. RCS synchronizes to the FSU and confirms sync over Control Channel. RCS measures received power and starts transmitting APC signal on APC Control Ch annel. RCS and FSU exchange messages on Access and Control Channels. Type of service an d types of traffic channels are specified. 2. RCS assigns channel group to FSU. RCS designates assigned code on Control Channel FSU generates complex PN codes for all channels in its assigned group. Both FSU and RCS synchronously switch to the assigned channel groups. The call is connected. The RCS flags the Call Setup Channel as available, and assigns it to the next av

ailable modem. Note that the RCS now tracks the Assigned Pilot; the FSU continues to track the Global Pilot. Call Processing Call processing puts together everything weve covered so far. There are slight di fferences in the way the RCS and FSU process calls, so we will cover both the Fo rward link (RCS to FSU) and Reverse link (FSU to RCS). Note that the system uses Frequency Division Duplexing for the Forward and Reverse links: they transmit o ver different frequencies. In the forward direction, the RCS: 1. Generates CDMA data signal for each traffic channel: FEC codes the Information data, and converts the data to two-bit symbols. Converts the symbols to I and Q data, and pads each data stream to 64 kbits/sec. Generates the Complex PN code for each channel. Multiplies the Complex Information data and the Complex PN code together. Reads APC data from FSU, digitally scales channels accordingly. 2. Generates other signal channels: Calculates APC signal Converts it to I data only Multiplies it with its own Complex PN code 3. Adds all signals together: Traffic channels APC channel Order Wire channel Global Pilot 4. Adds together the signals for all currently active FSUs. 5. Modulates and transmits carriers I and Q data modulate Cosine and Sine carriers. Carriers are combined, amplified, and broadcast. The FSU: 1. Extracts the I and Q data: Receives and amplifies the modulated carriers. Demodulates the signal and extracts the I and Q data. 2. Filters the I and Q data: Extracts multi-path information from the Pilot Rake filter and supplies it to th e Adaptive Matched Filter. Removes multi-path interference from I and Q data using the Adaptive Matched Fil ter. Performs Automatic Gain Control on received signal 3. Extracts the CDMA data signal for each traffic channel: Generates the Complex PN code for each channel. Multiplies the Complex signal and the Complex PN code together. Converts the I and Q data to symbols. Decodes the symbols for error correction. Extracts the signal data. In the reverse direction, the FSU: 1. Generates CDMA data signal for each traffic channel: FEC codes the Information data, and converts the data to two-bit symbols. Converts the symbols to I and Q data, and pads each data stream to 64 kbits/sec. Generates the Complex PN code for each channel. Multiplies the Complex signal and the Complex PN code together. Reads APC data from FSU, digitally scales channels accordingly. 2. Generates other signal channels: Calculates APC signal Converts it to I data only Multiplies it with its own Complex PN code 3. Adds all signals together: Traffic channels

 APC channel Order Wire channel Global Pilot 4. Passes the signal through a pulse shaping digital filter. 5. Modulates and transmits carriers I and Q data modulate Cosine and Sine carriers. Carriers are combined, amplified, and broadcast. The RCS: 1. Extracts the I and Q data: Receives and amplifies the modulated carriers. Demodulates the signal and extracts the I and Q data. 2. Filters the I and Q data: Extracts multi-path information from the Pilot Rake filter and supplies it to th e Adaptive Matched Filter. Removes multi-path interference from I and Q data using the Adaptive Matched Fil ter. Performs Automatic Gain Control on the received signal 3. Extracts the CDMA data signal for each traffic channel, for each subscriber c onnection: Generates the Complex PN code for each channel. Multiplies the Complex signal and the Complex PN code together. Converts the I and Q data to symbols. Decodes the symbols for error correction. Extracts the Information data. Call Teardown An on-hook signal causes the RCS to release the resources, and the FSU returns t o its idle state. Home News Industry Technology Applications 3G Devices Events Articles FAQ Resources 3G Jobs History Links Downloads Last Words Contact Us ________________________________________

________________________________________ CDMA Overview ACCESS SCHEMES For radio systems there are two resources, frequency and time. Division by frequ ency, so that each pair of communicators is allocated part of the spectrum for a ll of the time, results in Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA). Division b y time, so that each pair of communicators is allocated all (or at least a large

part) of the spectrum for part of the time results in Time Division Multiple Ac cess (TDMA). In Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), every communicator will be allocated the entire spectrum all of the time. CDMA uses codes to identify conn ections. Multiple Access Schemes CODING CDMA uses unique spreading codes to spread the baseband data before transmission . The signal is transmitted in a channel, which is below noise level. The receiv er then uses a correlator to despread the wanted signal, which is passed through a narrow bandpass filter. Unwanted signals will not be despread and will not pa ss through the filter. Codes take the form of a carefully designed one/zero sequ ence produced at a much higher rate than that of the baseband data. The rate of a spreading code is referred to as chip rate rather than bit rate. See coding process page for more details. CDMA spreading CODES CDMA codes are not required to provide call security, but create a uniqueness to enable call identification. Codes should not correlate to other codes or time s hifted version of itself. Spreading codes are noise like pseudo-random codes, ch annel codes are designed for maximum separation from each other and cell identif ication codes are balanced not to correlate to other codes of itself. See codes page for more details. Example OVSF codes, used in channel coding THE SPREADING PROCESS WCDMA uses Direct Sequence spreading, where spreading process is done by directl y combining the baseband information to high chip rate binary code. The Spreadin g Factor is the ratio of the chips (UMTS = 3.84Mchips/s) to baseband information rate. Spreading factors vary from 4 to 512 in FDD UMTS. Spreading process gain can in expressed in dBs (Spreading factor 128 = 21dB gain). See spreading page for more details. CDMA spreading

POWER CONTROL CDMA is interference limited multiple access system. Because all users transmit on the same frequency, internal interference generated by the system is the most significant factor in determining system capacity and call quality. The transmi t power for each user must be reduced to limit interference, however, the power should be enough to maintain the required Eb/No (signal to noise ratio) for a sa tisfactory call quality. Maximum capacity is achieved when Eb/No of every user i s at the minimum level needed for the acceptable channel performance. As the MS moves around, the RF environment continuously changes due to fast and slow fadin g, external interference, shadowing , and other factors. The aim of the dynamic power control is to limit transmitted power on both the links while maintaining

link quality under all conditions. Additional advantages are longer mobile batte ry life and longer life span of BTS power amplifiers See UMTS power control page for more details. HANDOVER Handover occurs when a call has to be passed from one cell to another as the use r moves between cells. In a traditional "hard" handover, the connection to the c urrent cell is broken, and then the connection to the new cell is made. This is known as a "break-before-make" handover. Since all cells in CDMA use the same fr equency, it is possible to make the connection to the new cell before leaving th e current cell. This is known as a "make-before-break" or "soft" handover. Soft handovers require less power, which reduces interference and increases capacity. Mobile can be connected to more that two BTS the handover. "Softer" handover is a special case of soft handover where the radio links that are added and remove d belong to the same Node B. See Handover page for more details. CDMA soft handover MULTIPATH AND RAKE RECEIVERS One of the main advantages of CDMA systems is the capability of using signals th at arrive in the receivers with different time delays. This phenomenon is called multipath. FDMA and TDMA, which are narrow band systems, cannot discriminate be tween the multipath arrivals, and resort to equalization to mitigate the negativ e effects of multipath. Due to its wide bandwidth and rake receivers, CDMA uses the multipath signals and combines them to make an even stronger signal at the r eceivers. CDMA subscriber units use rake receivers. This is essentially a set of several receivers. One of the receivers (fingers) constantly searches for diffe rent multipaths and feeds the information to the other three fingers. Each finge r then demodulates the signal corresponding to a strong multipath. The results a re then combined together to make the signal stronger. UMTS Network UMTS Frequencies UMTS Coding UMTS Link Budget UMTS Security UMTS Codes Synchronisation Co-location 3G Data Speeds UTRA Time Slots UTRA Channels WCDMA Spreading UMTS QoS Channel Coding Media Formats Compressed Mode UMTS HSDPA UMTS Handovers Location Services UMTS Power Control UMTS Overview

Cell Search Random Access RCC States Iui Frame Structure CDMA Overview Call Setup UTRAN Interfaces Paging Virtual Home Environment

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CDMA vs TDMA

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Last Updated: 15-Apr-2004 NOTE: During this discussion I will use the generic term "CDMA" to refer to the IS-95B standard. Technically speaking, CDMA is only a means to transmit bits of information, while IS-95B is a transmission protocol that employs CDMA. You may also hear the term "TDMA" used to refer generically to the IS-136 standard. Once again, TDMA is only a method of transmitting bits, while IS-136 is a protocol t hat happens to employ TDMA. I spend quite a bit of time reading the messages that flow through the various P CS newsgroups and forums on the Internet, and if one thing is abundantly clear, it is that people don t seem to know the true differences between CDMA and TDMA. And who could blame them? There is so much hype surrounding these two competing technologies that it is difficult for a regular PCS subscriber to know who is t elling the truth. I personally am NOT an RF engineer, nor do I work for any of the cellular or PCS companies. It is however my hobby to keep up with the latest developments in mo bile communication (as this web site amply demonstrates). I would like to clear the air by interjecting my own spin on this debate. I hope that by the time you

finish reading this editorial you will have a better understanding of the true s trengths and weaknesses of both technologies. The Basics Let s begin by learning what these two acronyms stand for. TDMA stands for "Time Division Multiple Access", while CDMA stands for "Code Division Multiple Access ". Three of the four words in each acronym are identical, since each technology essentially achieves the same goal, but by using different methods. Each strives to better utilize the radio spectrum by allowing multiple users to share the sa me physical channel. You heard that right. More than one person can carry on a c onversation on the same frequency without causing interference. This is the magi c of digital technology. Where the two competing technologies differ is in the manner in which users shar e the common resource. TDMA does it by chopping up the channel into sequential t ime slices. Each user of the channel takes turns transmitting and receiving in a round-robin fashion. In reality, only one person is actually using the channel at any given moment, but he or she only uses it for short bursts. He then gives up the channel momentarily to allow the other users to have their turn. This is very similar to how a computer with just one processor can seem to run multiple applications simultaneously. CDMA on the hand really does let everyone transmit at the same time. Conventiona l wisdom would lead you to believe that this is simply not possible. Using conve ntional modulation techniques, it most certainly is impossible. What makes CDMA work is a special type of digital modulation called "Spread Spectrum". This form of modulation takes the user s stream of bits and splatters them across a very wide channel in a pseudo-random fashion. The "pseudo" part is very important her e, since the receiver must be able to undo the randomization in order to collect the bits together in a coherent order. If you are still having trouble understanding the differences though, perhaps th is analogy will help you. This my own version of an excellent analogy provided b y Qualcomm: Imagine a room full of people, all trying to carry on one-on-one conversations. In TDMA each couple takes turns talking. They keep their turns short by saying o nly one sentence at a time. As there is never more than one person speaking in t he room at any given moment, no one has to worry about being heard over the back ground din. In CDMA each couple talks at the same time, but they all use a diffe rent language. Because none of the listeners understand any language other than that of the individual to whom they are listening, the background din doesn t ca use any real problem. Voice Encoding At this point many people confuse two distinctly different issues involved in th e transmission of digital audio. The first is the WAY in which the stream of bit s is delivered from one end to the other. This part of the "air interface" is wh at makes one technology different from another. The second is the compression al gorithm used to squeeze the audio into as small a stream of bits as possible. This latter component is known at the "Voice Coder", or Vocoder for short. Anoth er term commonly used is CODEC, which is a similar word to modem. It combines th e terms "COder" and "DECoder". Although each technology has chosen their own uni que CODECs, there is no rule saying that one transmission method needs to use a specific CODEC. People often lump a technology s transmission method with its CO DEC as though they were single entities. We will discuss CODECs in greater detai l later on in this article.

Voice encoding schemes differ slightly in their approach to the problem. Because of this, certain types of human voice work better with some CODECs than they do with others. The point to remember is that all PCS CODECs are compromises of so me sort. Since human voices have such a fantastic range of pitch and tonal depth , one cannot expect any single compromise to handle each one equally well. This inability to cope with all types of voice at the same level does lead some peopl e to choose one technology over another. All of the PCS technologies try to minimize battery consumption during calls by keeping the transmission of unnecessary data to a minimum. The phone decides whe ther or not you are presently speaking, or if the sound it hears is just backgro und noise. If the phone determines that there is no intelligent data to transmit it blanks the audio and it reduces the transmitter duty cycle (in the case of T DMA) or the number of transmitted bits (in the case of CDMA). When the audio is blanked your caller would suddenly find themselves listening to "dead air", and this may cause them to think the call has dropped. To avoid this psychological problem many service providers insert what is known as "Comfort Noise" during the blanked periods. Comfort Noise is synthesized whit e noise that tries to mimic the volume and structure of the real background nois e. This fake background noise assures the caller that the connection is alive an d well. However, in newer CODECs such as EVRC (used exclusively on CDMA systems) the bac kground noise is generally suppressed even while the user is talking. This piece of magic makes it sound as though the cell phone user is not in a noisy environ ment at all. Under these conditions, Comfort Noise is neither necessary, nor des irable. You can read my article on EVRC by clicking here. CDMA Now that we have a rudimentary understanding of the two technologies, let s try and examine what advantages they provide. We ll begin with CDMA, since this newe r technology has created the greatest "buzz" in the mobile communications indust ry. One of the terms you ll hear in conjunction with CDMA is "Soft Handoff". A hando ff occurs in any cellular system when your call switches from one cell site to a nother as you travel. In all other technologies this handoff occurs when the net work informs your phone of the new channel to which it must switch. The phone th en stops receiving and transmitting on the old channel, and it commences transmi tting and receiving on the new channel. It goes without saying that this is know n as a "Hard Handoff". In CDMA however, every site are on the SAME frequency. In order to begin listeni ng to a new site the phone only needs to change the pseudo-random sequence it us es to decode the desired data from the jumble of bits sent for everyone else. Wh ile a call is in progress the network chooses two or more alternate sites that i t feels are handoff candidates. It simultaneously broadcasts a copy of your call on each of these sites. Your phone can then pick and choose between the differe nt sources for your call, and move between them whenever it feels like it. It ca n even combine the data received from two or more different sites to ease the tr ansition from one to the other. This arrangement therefore puts the phone in almost complete control of the hand off process. Such an arrangement should ensure that there is always a new site p rimed and ready to take over the call at a moment s notice. In theory, this shou ld put an end to dropped calls and audio interruptions during the handoff proces s. In practice it works quite well, but dropped calls are still a fact of life i n a mobile environment. However, CDMA rarely drops a call due to a failed handof

f. A big problem facing CDMA systems is channel pollution. This occurs when signals from too many base stations are present at the subscriber s phone, but none are dominant. When this situation occurs the audio quality degrades rapidly, even w hen the signal seem otherwise very strong. Pollution occurs frequently in densel y populated urban environments where service providers must build many sites in close proximity. Channel pollution can also result from massive multipath proble ms caused by many tall buildings. Taming pollution is a tuning and system design issue. It is up to the service provider to reduce this phenomenon as much as po ssible. In defense of CDMA however, I should point out that the new EVRC CODEC is far mo re robust than either of the earlier CODECs. Because of its increased robustness it provides much more consistent audio in the face of high frame error rates. E VRC is an 8 kilobit CODEC that provides audio quality that is almost as good to the older 13 kilobit CODEC. Since CDMA consumes only as much of the "ether" as a user talks, switching everyone to an 8 kilobit CODEC was an inevitable move. Don t confuse EVRC with the old (and unlamented) 8 kilobit CODEC implemented in the early days of CDMA deployment. That CODEC was simply awful, and very few goo d things could be said about it. EVRC is a far more advanced compression algorit hm that cleans up many of the stability problems inherent in the two older CODEC s. The sound reproduction is slightly muddier than the 13 kilobit CODEC, but the improvement in stability makes up for this. Supporters often cite capacity as one CDMA s biggest assets. Virtually no one di sagrees that CDMA has a very high "spectral efficiency". It can accommodate more users per MHz of bandwidth than any other technology. What experts do not agree upon is by how much. Unlike other technologies, in which the capacity is fixed and easily computed, CDMA has what is known as "Soft Capacity". You can always a dd just one more caller to a CDMA channel, but once you get past a certain point you begin to pollute the channel such that it becomes difficult to retrieve an error-free data stream for any of the participants. The ultimate capacity of a system is therefore dependent upon where you draw the line. How much degradation is a carrier willing to subject their subscribers to before they admit that they have run out of useable capacity? Even if someone d oes set a standard error rate at which these calculations are made, it does not mean that you personally will find the service particularly acceptable at that e rror rate. TDMA Let s move away from CDMA now and have a look at TDMA. Before we can go any furt her though, I should note that there are actually three different flavors of TDM A in the PCS market. Each of these technologies implements TDMA in a slightly di fferent way. The most complex implementation is, without a doubt, GSM. It overla ys the basic TDMA principles with many innovations that reduce the potential pro blems inherent in the system. To reduce the effects of co-channel interference, multipath, and fading, the GSM network can use something known as Frequency Hopping. This means that your call literally jumps from one channel to another at fairly short intervals. By doing this the likelihood of a given RF problem is randomized, and the effects are fa r less noticeable to the end user. Frequency Hopping is always available, but no t mandated. This means that your GSM provider may or may not use it. iDEN is a proprietary Motorola technology that no other company seems to partici pate in. Only Motorola makes iDEN phones, and only Motorola makes iDEN infrastru cture equipment. Perhaps the company guards its technology on purpose. iDEN was initially deployed as an alternative to standard packet radio systems commonly u

sed by public safety and business users. However, it also provided phone interco nnect services that are extinguishable from phone services offered by the other PCS systems, as well as packet data services for web browsing and hooking up you r laptop to the Internet. Finally there is the old IS-136 technology, but this is now an officially dead t echnology. All of the North American providers who used it (Rogers, Cingular, an d AT&T) are abandoning it in favor of GSM. The same is happening in other parts of the world where IS-136 was used. I therefore will not spend much time talking about this variation of TDMA. Each of these TDMA technologies uses a different CODEC. GSM sports a CODEC calle d EFR (short for Enhanced Full Rate). This CODEC is arguable the best sounding o ne available in the PCS world. IS-136 used to sound horrible, but in the fall of 1997 they replaced their old CODEC with a new one. This new CODEC sounds much b etter than the old, but it doesn t quite match the GSM and CDMA entries. TDMA systems still rely on the switch to determine when to perform a handoff. Un like the old analog system however, the switch does not do this in a vacuum. The TDMA handset constantly monitors the signals coming from other sites, and it re ports this information to the switch without the caller being aware of it. The s witch then uses this information to make better handoff choices at more appropri ate times. Perhaps the most annoying aspect of TDMA system to some people is the obviousnes s of handoffs. Some people don t tend to hear them, and I can only envy those in dividuals. Those of us who are sensitive to the slight interruptions caused by h andoffs will probably find GSM the most frustrating. It s handoffs are by far th e most messy. When handoffs occur infrequently (such as when we are stationary o r in areas with few sites), they really don t present a problem at all. However, when they occur very frequently (while travelling in an area with a huge number of sites) they can become annoying. Spectral Efficiency Channel capacity in a TDMA system is fixed and indisputable. Each channel carrie s a finite number of "slots", and you can never accommodate a new caller once ea ch of those slots is filled. Spectral efficiency varies from one technology to a nother, but computing a precise number is still a contentious issue. For example , GSM provides 8 slots in a channel 200 kHz wide, while iDEN provides 3 slots in a channel only 25 kHz wide. GSM therefore consumes 25 kHz per user, while IS-13 6 consumes only 8.333 kHz per user. When Direct Connect is used on iDEN, 6 users can be stuffed into a single channel, thus only 4.166 kHz is consumer per user. There is also a new 6:1 interconnect CODEC coming for iDEN which will allow 6 p hone users per channel. One would be sorely tempted to proclaim that iDEN has 3 to 6 times the capacity of GSM. In a one-cell system this is certainly true, but once we start deploying multiple cells and channel reuse the situation becomes more complex. Due to GSM s better error management and frequency hopping the interference of a co-channe l site is greatly reduced. This allows frequencies to be reused more frequently without a degradation in the overall quality of the service. Capacity is measured in "calls per cell per MHz". An GSM system using N=4 reuse (this means you have 4 different sets of frequencies to spread out around town) the figure is 5.0 We get an efficiency value of 6.6 for N=3. Unfortunately I cou ld not find any figures for iDEN systems, but based on similar figures released for the IS-136 system we can expect efficiency values of 6.0 to 10.0. Computing this figure for CDMA requires that certain assumptions are made. Formu las have been devised, and using very optimistic assumptions CDMA can provide a whopping 45 users per cell per MHz. However, when using more pessimistic (and pe

rhaps more realistic) assumptions, the value is 12. That still gives CDMA an alm ost 2:1 advantage over GSM, but questionable advantage over a well-implement iDE N system. In-building Coverage Now let s deal with another issue involving CDMA and TDMA. In-building coverage is something that many people talk about, but few people properly understand. Al though CDMA has a slight edge in this department, due to a marginally greater to lerance for weak signals, all the technologies fair about the same. This is beca use the few dB advantage CDMA has is often "used up" when the provider detunes t he sites to take advantage of this process gain. So, while a CDMA phone might be able to produce a reasonable call with a signal level of -106 dBm, whereas a GSM phone might need -99 dBm to provide the same le vel of service, does this mean that CDMA networks will always have a 7 dB advant age? If all things were equal, then yes, but they aren t equal. As I mentioned earlier, channel pollution is a big issue with CDMA networks and to keep channel pollution to a minimum in urban environments a CDMA provider nee ds to keep site overlap to a minimum. Subsequently, a CDMA network engineer will use that 7 dB advantage to his advantage by de-tuning the network accordingly. This means that CDMA users will frequently see markedly lower signal levels indo ors than a GSM user will, but in the end it all works out about the same. The most important aspect to in-building coverage is the proximity of the neares t site. When a site is located just outside of a building it can penetrate just about any building material. When a site is much further away however, the signa ls have a much harder time of getting past the walls of a structure. When it comes to distance, remember that signals are subject to the "distance sq uared law". This means that signals decrease by the square of the distance. A si te at 0.25 kilometers away will have 4 times the signal strength of a site at 0. 50 kilometers away, and 16 times that of a site 1.0 kilometers away. Distance sq uared however is the rate of signal reduction in free space. Recent studies have shown that terrestrial communications are usually subject to rates as high as " Distance cubed", or even "Distance to the 4th". If the latter is true, then a si te 1.0 kilometers away will actually be 1/256th as strong than a site 0.25 kilom eters away. In-building penetration is therefore less a technology issue than it is an imple mentation issue. Service providers who have sites close to the buildings you com monly visit will inevitably look better than those who don t. Never use someone else s in-building experiences unless you expect to go in the same buildings as they do. You cannot make useful generalizations about in-building coverage based upon one person s experience. CDMA does have one peculiarity concerning in-building penetration that does not affect TDMA. When the number of users on a channel goes up, the general level of signal pollution goes up in tandem. To compensate for this the CDMA system dire cts each phone to transmit with slightly more power. However, if a phone is alre ady at its limit (such as might be the case inside a building) it cannot do anyt hing to "keep up with the pack". This condition is known as "the shrinking cover age phenomenon" or "site breathing". During slow periods of the day you might fi nd coverage inside a specific building quite good. During rush hour however, you might find it exceedingly poor (or non-existent). Think of this as the differen ce between one person calling a number and an entire call center calling the num ber. The less people using the system, the more likely the call will go through. Some Final Observations In the end, can we really proclaim a winner in the CDMA vs TDMA war? For the tim e being I think not. Perhaps in the future, when newer technologies built around wider bandwidth CDMA technologies come into existence, the issue will warrant a

nother look. By that time, even GSM will have moved to CDMA as its air interface of choice, but don t let that fool you into believing that they think the curre nt TDMA air interface is inadequate for its purpose. Future standards are being built around high speed data. If you are presently in the market for a new phone my advise to you is to ignore the hype surrounding the technologies and look at service provider instead. Jud ge each with an eye to price, phone choice, coverage, and reputation. Technology should play a very small roll in your choice (with the exception of IS-136, who se future is extremely limited at this time). If you follow this advice, you ll probably be much happier with the phone and service you inevitably wind up with.