TDMA, FDMA, and CDMA

Telecomunicazioni
Undergraduate course in Electrical Engineering
University of Rome La Sapienza
Rome, Italy
2007-2008
 Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

Each user is allowed to transmit only within specified time

intervals (Time Slots). Different users transmit in differents Time
Slots.
When users transmit, they occupy the whole frequency bandwidth
(separation among users is performed in the time domain).

2
 TDMA : Frame Structure

TDMA requires a centralized control node, whose primary function is

to transmit a periodic reference burst that defines a frame and
forces a measure of synchronization of all the users.
The frame so-defined is divided into time slots, and each user is
assigned a Time Slot in which to transmit its information.

Frame
TF

TS
B u nce

Time Slot
t
rs
re
fe
Re

3
 TDMA : Frame Structure

User 1 User 2 User 3

4
 TDMA : guard times

Since there are significant delays between users, each user receives
the reference burst with a different phase, and its traffic burst is
transmitted with a correspondingly different phase within the time slot.
There is therefore a need for guard times to take account of this
uncertainty.
Each Time Slot is therefore longer than the period needed for the
actual traffic burst, thereby avoiding the overlap of traffic burst even in
the presence of these propagation delays.

with guard time without guard time

misalignment misalignment

5
 TDMA : preamble

Since each traffic burst is transmitted independently with an uncertain

phase relaive to the reference burst, there is the need for a preamble
at the beginning of each traffic burst.
The preamble allows the receiver to acquire on top of the coarse
synchronization provided by the reference burst a fine estimate of
timing and carrier phase.

preamble information

6
 TDMA: reference transmitter scheme

IN T TDMA Pulse
W U STX
S SL
O
ST
O
coder Shaper
Mod
FA
Digital
BUFFER
signal
fP
Code Carrier
generator generator

7
 TDMA: a case study

User
j
s(j)(t)

s (t )= !k a k #(t " kT )
(j ) (j ) 1

0.8

0.6

Digital signal of user j E 0.4

D
U 0.2
Sequence of equally spaced T
I
0
binary antipodal symbols
L
P
M -0.2
A
-0.4
ak : k-th binary antipodal
(j)
-0.6

symbol generated by user j -0.8

T : time period between symbols

-1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TIME -3
x 10

8
 TDMA: a case study

Compressed signal
The symbols of the original signal
IN
s C(j )(t )
are organized in groups of Nbps
s (j )
(t ) SL
OW
ST
O U T
symbols. Each group is transmitted
F A in a single Time Slot of duration TS.
Time Slots are organized in frames
BUFFER of duration TF.

Signal after compression

1 1

0.8 0.8

0.6 ] 0.6
V
[
E 0.4 0.4
D E
U 0.2 D
T 0.2
U
I
L 0 T
I 0
P
M -0.2 L
A P -0.2
M
-0.4 A
-0.4
-0.6
-0.6
-0.8
-0.8
-1
-1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TIME x 10 -3
TIME [s] x 10

9
 TDMA: a case study

s (j )(t )= !k a (kj ) #(t " kT )

N bps

s C(j )(t )= !m ! a (kj+)mN bps #(t " kTC " mTF )

k =1
TC : time interval between symbols
after compression
Signal after compression
1 1

0.8 0.8

0.6 ] 0.6
V
[
E 0.4 0.4
D E
U 0.2 D
T 0.2
U
I
L 0 T
I 0
P
M -0.2 L
A P -0.2
M
-0.4 A
-0.4
-0.6
-0.6
-0.8
-0.8
-1
-1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TIME x 10 -3
TIME [s] x 10

10
 TDMA: a case study

m
the
fro ffer
bu
s C (t )
(j ) TDMA
coder
s (TDMA
j)
(t )
TDMA Coded Signal
The position in time of each group is
modified according to the TDMA code,
Code which is assigned to the user.
generator In other words, the TDMA code indicates
which slot inside each frame must be
occupied by the user.

Signal after compression

1 1

0.8 0.8

] 0.6 0.6
V ]
[ V
0.4 [ 0.4
E
D E
0.2 D 0.2
U
T U
I 0 T 0
L I
L
P -0.2 P -0.2
M M
A A -0.4
-0.4

-0.6 -0.6

-0.8 -0.8

-1 -1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TIME [s] x 10
-3 TIME [s] -3
x 10

11
 TDMA: a case study
N bps

s C(j )(t )= !m ! a (kj+)mN bps #(t " kTC " mTF )

k =1
N bps

s (TDMA
j)
(t )= !m ! a (kj+)mN bps # t " kTC " c (mj)TS " mTF ( )
k =1
cm(j) : TDMA code assigned to
user j for the m-th frame

Signal after compression

1 1

0.8 0.8

] 0.6 0.6
V ]
[ V
0.4 [ 0.4
E
D E
0.2 D 0.2
U
T U
I 0 T 0
L I
L
P -0.2 P -0.2
M M
A A -0.4
-0.4

-0.6 -0.6

-0.8 -0.8

-1 -1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TIME [s] x 10
-3 TIME [s] -3
x 10

12
 TDMA: a case study

e
th der
(t )
m co (j ) Transmitted signal
Pulse
f r o
M
A TDMA s Shaper
Mod S(j)TX(t) at Radio
TD Frequencies
All users adopt the same
carrier frequency fp for
Carrier modulating the base-
generator fP band signal

s (bbj ) (t ) Base-band
signal
1

0.8 100 100

0.6 ]
] ]
V V V
[ 0.4 [ [
50 50
E E
E
D 0.2 D
D
U U
U T
T 0
I T 0 I 0
L I L
P -0.2 L P
M P M
A -0.4 M A
A -50 -50
-0.6

-0.8 -100
-100
-1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TIME [s] 0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012 0.014 0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012 0.014
-3 TIME [s]
x 10
TIME [s]

13
 TDMA: a case study

N bps

s (TDMA
j)
(
(t )= !m ! a (kj+)mN bps # t " kTC " c (mj)TS " mTF )
k =1

For the sake of simplifying the notation,

let us consider the simple case of BPSK
(in phase carrier modulation)

s (TX
j)
(
(t )= 2PTX s (TDMA
j)
) (
(t )# g 0 ( t) sin 2"fP t + !(j) )
g0(t) : energy-normalized PTX : transmitted power
impulse response of the fP : carrier frequency
Pulse Shaper. It has ϕ(j) : istantaneous phase
unitary energy.

14
 TDMA: a case study

s TX (t )
(j ) s (RXj ) (t )
15

100
] 10
] V
V [
[
50
e 5
E d
D u
U t
T i
I 0 0
l
L p
P m
M A
A -5
-50

-10

-100
-15

0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012 0.014 0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012 0.014 0.016
TIME [s] Time [s]

BEWARE! Received signal after

propagation over a
At risk for multi user
two-paths channel
interference!

15
 TDMA: a case study

15

] 10
V
[

e 5

Received
d
u
t
i 0

waveform
l
p
m
A -5

Front-end filtering
-10

-15

Demodulation 0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008

Time [s]
0.01 0.012 0.014 0.016

Sampling
Threshold detection 1

0.8

0.6

Received
]
V
[ 0.4
E

binary
D 0.2
U
T 0
I
L

antipodal
P -0.2
M
A -0.4

-0.6

-0.8
signal
-1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TIME [s] -3
x 10

16
 Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)

Each user transmits with no limitations in time, but using only a

portion of the whole available frequency bandwidth.
Different users are separated in the frequency domain.

17
 FDMA vs. TDMA

Frequency division is very simple: all transmitters sharing the

medium have output power spectra in non-overlapping bands.
Many of the problems experienced in TDMA due to different
propagation delays are eliminated in FDMA.

The major disadvantage of FDMA is the relatively expensive and

complicated bandpass filters required.
TDMA is realized primarily with much cheaper logic functions.

Another disadvantage of FDMA is the rather strict linearity

requirement of the medium.

18
 FDMA: reference scheme

Pulse
S Shaper
Mod STX

Digital
signal

Code Carrier
generator generator

19
 FDMA: a case study

Digital binary signal Base-band signal FDMA-coded signal

s (j )
(t ) s bb (t )
(j ) (j )
s FDMA (t )
Generated bit stream for each user Signal after Pulse Shaping Signal after FDMA coding
60
60

1
40
40

0.5
20 20

0 0 0

-20 -20
-0.5

-40
-40
-1

-60
-60
0 5 10 0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0 0.005 0.01 0.015
-3
x 10

20
 FDMA: a case study

Digital binary signal

s (t )= !
(j )
a #(t " kT )
k k
(j )

Base-band signal

s (bbj ) (t )= s
(j )
(t )! g (t )
0

FDMA-coded signal
(j ) (j )
( (
s FDMA (t )= 2PTX s bb ( t ) sin 2# fP + c (t )"f )t + !
(j ) (j )
)
Δf : frequency spacing between adjacent users
STX(j)(t)
c(j) : FDMA code assigned to user j

21
 FDMA: a case study
8

Transmitted
]
V
[ 4

e
d 2
u
t
i 0

signal at RF
l
p
m
A -2

-4

Propagation
-6

-8
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02

] Time [s ]

Demodulation
V
[ Received Signal after Demodulation (Decoding)

Received
e 40

(Decoding) d
u
t
20

i
l
0

p -20
base-band
waveform
m Transmitted
A -40
Received
-60
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012 0.014 0.016 0.018
Sampling -3
x 10 Samples of the received waveform

4
2
Samples at
0
-2
the receiver
-4
-6 output
Threshold -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

detection 1.5

Received
1

0.5 binary
0

stream
-0.5
-4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

22
 TDMA + FDMA

FDMA TDMA + FDMA

23
TDMA + FDMA in GSM900 standard

24
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

25
 CDMA: basic principles

In CDMA each user is assigned a unique code sequence (spreading

code), which it uses to encode its data signal.
The receiver, knowing the code sequence of the user, decodes the
received signal and recovers the original data.
The bandwidth of the coded data signal is chosen to be much larger
than the bandwidth of the original data signal, that is, the encoding
process enlarges (spreads) the spectrum of the data signal.
CDMA is based on spread-spectrum modulation.
If multiple users transmit a spread-spectrum signal at the same time,
the receiver will still be able to distinguish between users, provided
that each user has a unique code that has a sufficiently low cross-
correlation with the other codes.

26
 CDMA schemes

Direct Sequence CDMA (DS-CDMA)

The original data signal is multiplied directly by the high chip rate
spreading code.
Frequency Hopping CDMA (FH-CDMA)
The carrier frequency at which the original data signal is transmitted is
rapidly changed according to the spreading code.
Time Hopping CDMA (TH-CDMA)
The original data signal is not transmitted continuously. Instead, the
signal is transmitted in short bursts where the times of the bursts are
decided by the spreading code.

27
 Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum

Cx

x(t) s(t)
CODING

frequency frequency
Band of the original band of the coded signal
signal

28
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum

Original signal
(band related to the bit rate)

Spreading sequence composed by

chips, with chip rate >> bit rate

Coded signal
(band related to the chip rate)

29
 Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
Signal 1

Coded signal
1
Signal 2

Coded signal
2

Sum of coded
signals 1 and 2

30
 Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum

code used for signal 1

Received signal

multiplier
signal 1 decoded signal

31
 Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum

In FH-SS, the transmitter spreads the spectrum by continuously

jumping from one frequency channel to another

A larger number of intervals leads to a better spreading

Each user selectees the next frequency hop according to a code
(FH code)

32
 Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum

Time-frequency occupation for a FH-SS signal

f
f9
f8
f7
f6
f5
f4
f3
f2
Dwell time
f1
f0
t
FH code period

33
 Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum

FH-SS signal robustness to a interferers at constant frequency

f
Interferer at
f9 constant frequency
Interference limited f8
f7
a un dwell time
f6
f5
f4
f3
f2
f1
f0
t

34
 Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum

Coexistence of different FH-SS signals

f
f9
f8
f7
f6
Signal 1 f5
Signal 2 f4
f3
f2
f1
f0
t

If codes are well chosen (orthogonal) No interference!!

35
 CDMA : the partial correlation problem

Partial correlations among encoded signals arise when no attempt

is made to synchronize the transmitters sharing the channel, or
when propagation delays cause misalignment even when
transmitters are synchronized.
Partial correlations impede the receiver to totally cancel the
contributions of other users even in the presence of spreading
codes having low cross-correlation.
In presence of partial correlations, the received signal is therefore
affected by Multi User Interference.
The partial correlations can be reduced by proper choice of the
spreading codes, but cannot be totally eliminated.
CDMA system capacity is thus tipically limited by the
interference from other users, rather than by thermal noise.
noise

36
 CDMA : the near-far problem

If all the users transmit at the same power level, then the received
power is higher for transmitters closer to the receiving antenna.
Thus, transmitters that are far from the receiving antenna are at a
disadvantage with respect to interference from other users.
This inequity can be compensated by using power control.
control
Each transmitter can accept central control of its transmitted power,
such that the power arriving at the common receiving antenna is the
same for all transmitters.
In other words, the nearby transmitters are assigned a lower
transmit power level than the far away transmitters.
Power control can be easily achieved in centralized access
schemes (e.g. third generation cellular networks), but is a
challenging issue in distributed systems.

37
 DS-CDMA: reference scheme

Transmitter

CDMA coder Pulse

S (multiplier) Shaper
Mod STX

Digital
signal
fP
Code Carrier
generator generator

38
 DS-CDMA: reference scheme

Receiver

Front-End
o t he
SRX filter and Multiplier Integrator t
c isor
demodulator de
Received
signal

Code
generator

39
 DS-CDMA: a case study

binary data signal Codeword DS-CDMA-coded signal

s (j )
(t ) c (j )
[k ] (j )
s DSCDMA (t )
Generated bit stream for each user Assigned Codeword Binary signal after coding for each user

1
1
0.8 1
0.8
0.6
0.6
0.4 0.5 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0
-0.2 -0.2

-0.4 -0.4
-0.5
-0.6
-0.6
-0.8
-0.8
-1 -1
-1

0 5 10 0 2 4 6 8 0 0.005 0.01
-3
x 10

40
 DS-CDMA: a case study
Digital binary signal

s (t )= !
(j )
a #(t " kT )
k k
(j )

DS-CDMA-coded signal
N DS
(j )
s DSCDMA (t )= ! a k k
(j )
! c [m]#(t " mT
m =1
(j )
C " kT )
NDS : length of the codeword
Spreading Signal
TC : chip time

(j )
(
s TX (t )= 2PTX s DSCDMA (t )# g 0 ( t) sin 2"fP t + !
(j )
) ( (j )
) Transmitted
signal
Signal after
( )
L
s (RXj ) (t )= s (TX
j)
(t )% h (j)(t )= ! $ (l j)s (TXj) t # "(l j) propagation over a
multipath channel
l =1

41
 DS-CDMA: a case study
]
V
[ -4 Received Signal after Demodulation
x 10
e
d 1
u
t
Received signal after
i
l
0
Front-End filtering and
p
m -1
A
demodulation
]
V 0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.01
[ -4 Received Signal after Code Multiplication
x 10
e
d 1
u
Signal obtained by direct
t
i 0 multiplication of the base-
l
p
m -1
band signal with the
A
] spreading signal
V 0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.01
[ -4 Received Signal after Integration
x 10
e
d
u 5
t
Received sequence
i
l
0 after integration of the
p
m -5 above samples
A
0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.01

42