Generalized fixed channel assignment in microcellular communication systems

Overlapping coverage areas of nearby base stations arise naturally in cellular communication systems-especially in small-cell, high-capacity microcellular configurations. Because of overlap, users may have access to channels at more than one base station. With an appropriate control strategy, this enhanced access can be used to improve teletraffic performance characteristics. The authors consider a generalized fixed channel assignment scheme with priority for hand-off calls. The scheme systematically accounts for and exploits coverage overlap in its channel assignment strategy. An analytically tractable model is developed for a linear array of cells, such as those that might be used along a highway. The effects of shadow fading are included. Overall performance characteristics that are computed account for both signal availability and channel availability. Blocking probability, forced termination probability, hand-off activity, and carried traffic are determined