A theoretical treatment of the relationship between propagation parameters, quality of service and capacity

Future wireless communications will aim to merge the services of cellular, cordless, private mobile radio, paging, wireless data, and satellite networks, enabling global integrated voice, computer and video communications. The products offering integrated services are already available in the market, but in terms of quality of service, capacity, and cost, the universal system is still in its infancy. It is also apparent that the next generation mobile systems will most probably evolve from existing (second generation) wireless services, having cellular communications as a core concept. Optimal design and planning of such a system depends primarily upon a thorough understanding and accurate description of the propagation environment, in order to most efficiently combat the impairments imposed by the physical phenomena. We examine the limitations due to the transmission media in the quality of service and network capacity in existing digital TDMA cellular mobile systems (GSM, American Digital Cellular IS-54, and Japanese Personal Digital Cellular). In addition we draw attention to potential errors that may occur in cellular planning as a result of inaccurate description of the environment, and show and quantify the resulting consequences.