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Sci-Tech Dictionary

code-division multiple access

(′kōd də¦vizhən ′məltəpəl ′ak′ses)

(communications) The transmission of messages from a large number of transmitters over a single channel by assigning each transmitter a pseudorandom noise code
(typically more than 2000 symbols long for each bit of information) so that the codes are mathematically independent of each other. Abbreviated CDMA.

CDMA

Computer Encyclopedia

CDMA

(Code Division Multiple Access) A method for transmitting simultaneous signals over a shared portion of the spectrum. The foremost application of CDMA is the digital
cellular phone technology from QUALCOMM that operates in the 800MHz band and 1.9GHz PCS band. CDMA phones are noted for their call quality.

CDMA Is Efficient

CDMA requires fewer cell sites than the GSM and TDMA digital cellphone systems and provides three to five times the calling capacity. Providing more than 10 times
the capacity of the analog cellphone system (AMPS), CDMA has become widely used in North America and is also expected to become the third-generation (3G)
technology for GSM. For example, in the U.S., the Verizon and Sprint cellphone services are based on CDMA.

Spread Spectrum

Unlike the other digital systems that divide the spectrum into different time slots, CDMA's spread spectrum technique overlaps every transmission on the same carrier
frequency by assigning a unique code to each conversation. The often-used analogy for this is your ability to detect your own language in a room full of people
speaking other languages. See TDMA.

A Different Kind of Chip

After the speech codec converts voice to digital, CDMA spreads the voice stream over the full 1.25MHz bandwidth of the CDMA channel, coding each stream separately
so it can be decoded at the receiving end. The rate of the spreading signal is known as the "chip rate," as each bit in the spreading signal is called a "chip" (no relation
to an integrated circuit). All voice conversations use the full bandwidth at the same time. One bit from each conversation is multiplied into 128 coded bits by the
spreading techniques, giving the receiving side an enormous amount of data it can average just to determine the value of one bit.

More Secure

CDMA transmission has been used by the military for secure phone calls. Unlike FDMA and TDMA, CDMA's wide spreading signal makes it difficult to detect and jam. For
more information, contact the CDMA Development Group (CDG) at www.cdg.org.. See BREW, cellular generations, IS-95, CDMA2000, WCDMA, GSM, FDMA, TDMA, CDPD,
CDG and spread spectrum.

How the Technology Works

The following illustration, which was created with the assistance of Klein Gilhousen, co-inventor of CDMA, shows how bits are encoded at the base station and decoded
in the cellphone. A single bit example is used to take you through the Boolean math.

Transmitting from the Base Station

Each voice conversation is compressed with a vocoder. The output is doubled by a convolutional encoder that adds redundancy for error checking. Each bit from the
encoder is replicated 64 times and exclusive OR'd with a Walsh code that is used to identify that call from the rest.

The output of the Walsh code is exclusive OR'd with the next string of bits (PN sequence) from a pseudo-random number generator, which is used to identify all the
calls in a particular cell's sector. At this point, there is 128 times as many bits as there were from the vocoder's output. All the calls are combined and modulated onto
a carrier frequency in the 800 MHz range.

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Receiving at the Cellphone

The received frequencies are quantized into bits ("chips") by the analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The output is run through the Walsh code and PN sequence
correlation receiver to recover the transmitted bits of the original signal. When 20ms of voice data is received, a Viterbi decoder corrects the errors using the
convolutional code. The Viterbi output goes to the vocoder and digital-to-analog converter (DAC), which decompresses the bits and turns them back into waveforms
(sound).

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Follow the Single Bit Example

This exclusive OR truth table shows you the Boolean
algebraic rules to prove the single bit example in the
illustrations above. The example bit is a 1, and the Walsh
and PN codes are 0.

Abbreviations

CDMA is short for:

Meaning Category
Cadema Corporation Business->NASDAQ Symbols
Chain Drug Marketing Association Business->Firms
Academic & Science->Electronics
Computing->Telecom
Code Division Multiple Access Computing->General
Academic & Science->Amateur Radio
Computing->Networking
Customers Don't Matter Anymore Business->General

Click here to submit an acronym.

Wikipedia

Code division multiple access

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with IS-95. (Discuss)
Mobile communication standards
Code division multiple access (CDMA) describes a communication channel access principle that employs spread-spectrum GSM / UMTS Family
technology and a special coding scheme (where each transmitter is assigned a code). By contrast, time division multiple access
(TDMA) divides access by time, while frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) divides it by frequency. CDMA is a form of
2G
"spread-spectrum" signaling, since the modulated coded signal has a much higher bandwidth than the data being communicated.

z GSM
An analogy to the problem of multiple access is a room (channel) in which people wish to communicate with each other. To avoid
z GPRS
confusion, people could take turns speaking (time division), speak at different pitches (frequency division), or speak in different
z EDGE (EGPRS)
directions (spatial division). In CDMA, they would speak different languages. People speaking the same language can understand
z HSCSD
each other, but not other people. Similarly, in radio CDMA, each group of users is given a shared code. Many codes occupy the
same channel, but only users associated with a particular code can understand each other. 3G

CDMA is also the current name for the cellular technology originally known as IS-95. Developed by Qualcomm and enhanced by z W-CDMA
Ericsson, CDMA is characterized by high capacity and small cell radius. { UMTS (3GSM)
{ FOMA
z UMTS-TDD
CDMA also refers to digital cellular telephony systems that use this multiple access scheme, as pioneered by QUALCOMM, and W-
{ TD-CDMA
CDMA by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which is used in GSM’s UMTS.
{ TD-SCDMA
z HSPA
CDMA has been used in many communications and navigation systems, including the Global Positioning System and the { HSDPA
OmniTRACS satellite system for transportation logistics. { HSUPA
z HSPA+
Use in mobile telephony z

Pre-4G
GAN (UMA)

The terms are used to refer to CDMA implementations. The original US standard defined by QUALCOMM was known as IS-95, UMTS Revision 8
z
where IS refers to an Interim Standard of the US Telecommunications Industry Association. IS-95 is often referred to as the second { LTE
generation (2G) cellular, or as cdmaOne (the QUALCOMM brand name). CDMA has been submitted for approval as a mobile air { HSOPA (Super 3G)
interface standard to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
cdmaOne / CDMA2000 Family
Whereas Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a specification of an entire network infrastructure, CDMA relates only
to the air interface — the radio portion of the technology. For example, GSM specifies an infrastructure based on internationally 2G
approved standard, while CDMA allows each operator to provide network features it finds suitable. On the air interface, the
signalling suite (GSM: ISDN SS7) work has been progressing to harmonise these features. z cdmaOne
3G
After some revisions, IS-95 was superseded by the IS-2000 standard (CDMA2000). This standard was introduced to meet some of
the criteria laid out in the IMT-2000 specification for third generation (3G) cellular. It is also called 1xRTT which means "1 times z CDMA2000
Radio Transmission Technology" because IS-2000 uses the same 1.25 MHz carrier shared channel as the original IS-95 standard. A z EV-DO
related scheme, called 3xRTT, uses three 1.25 MHz carriers for a 3.75 MHz bandwidth that would allow higher data burst rates for
an individual user, but the 3xRTT scheme has not been commercially deployed. More recently, QUALCOMM has led the creation of
Pre-4G

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a new CDMA-based technology called Evolution-Data Optimized (1xEV-DO, or IS-856), which provides the higher packet data z UMB
transmission rates required by IMT-2000 and desired by wireless network operators.
Other Technologies

This CDMA system is frequently confused with a similar but incompatible technology called Wideband Code Division Multiple
0G
Access (W-CDMA) which is the basis of the W-CDMA air interface. The W-CDMA air interface is used in the global 3G standard
UMTS and the Japanese 3G standard FOMA, by NTT DoCoMo and Vodafone; however, the CDMA family of US national standards
(including cdmaOne and CDMA2000) are not compatible with the W-CDMA family of ITU standards. z PTT
z MTS
z IMTS
Another important application of code division multiplexing — predating and distinct from CDMA — is the Global Positioning
z AMTS
System (GPS).
z OLT
z MTD
The QUALCOMM CDMA system includes very accurate time signals (usually referenced to a GPS receiver in the cell base station), z Autotel / PALM
so cell phone CDMA-based clocks are an increasingly popular type of radio clock for use in computer networks. The main z ARP
advantage of using CDMA cell phone signals for reference clock purposes is that they work better inside buildings, thus often
1G
eliminating the need to mount a GPS antenna outside a building.

z NMT
Technical details z AMPS / TACS / ETACS
z Hicap
z CDPD
Code Division Multiplexing (Synchronous CDMA) z Mobitex
z DataTAC
Synchronous CDMA exploits mathematical properties of orthogonality between vectors representing the data strings. For example, 2G
binary string "1011" is represented by the vector (1, 0, 1, 1). Vectors can be multiplied by taking their dot product, by summing
the products of their respective components. If the dot product is zero, the two vectors are said to be orthogonal to each other. z iDEN
Some properties of the dot product help to understand how WCDMA works. If vectors a and b are orthogonal, then z D-AMPS
z PDC
z CSD
z PHS
z WiDEN
Pre-4G

ziBurst
zHIPERMAN
z WiMAX
z WiBro (Mobile WiMAX)
Example
Frequency bands

z SMR
z Cellular
z PCS

An example of four mutually

orthogonal digital signals.

Start with a set of vectors that are mutually orthogonal. (Although mutual orthogonality is the only condition, these vectors are usually constructed for ease of
decoding, for example columns or rows from Walsh matrices.) An example of orthogonal functions is shown in the picture on the right.

Now, associate with one sender a vector from this set, say v, which is called the "code", "chipping code" or "chip code". Associate a zero digit with the vector –v, and a
one digit with the vector v. For example, if v=(1,–1), then the binary vector (1, 0, 1, 1) would correspond to (v, –v, v, v) which is then constructed in binary as ((1,–1),
(–1,1),(1,–1),(1,–1)). For the purposes of this article, we call this constructed vector the transmitted vector.

Each sender has a different, unique vector v chosen from that set, but the construction method of the transmitted vector is identical.

Now, due to physical properties of interference, if two signals at a point are in phase, they add to give twice the amplitude of each signal, but if they are out of phase,
they "subtract" and give a signal that is the difference of the amplitudes. Digitally, this behaviour can be modelled by the addition of the transmission vectors,
component by component.

If sender0 has code (1,–1) and data (1,0,1,1), and sender1 has code (1,1) and data (0,0,1,1), and both senders transmit simultaneously, then this table describes the
coding steps:

Step Encode sender0 Encode sender1

0 vector0=(1,–1), data0=(1,0,1,1)=(1,–1,1,1) vector1=(1,1), data1=(0,0,1,1)=(–1,–1,1,1)
1 encode0=vector0.data0 encode1=vector1.data1
2 encode0=(1,–1).(1,–1,1,1) encode1=(1,1).(–1,–1,1,1)
3 encode0=((1,–1),(–1,1),(1,–1),(1,–1)) encode1=((–1,–1),(–1,–1),(1,1),(1,1))
4 signal0=(1,–1,–1,1,1,–1,1,–1) signal1=(–1,–1,–1,–1,1,1,1,1)

Because signal0 and signal1 are transmitted at the same time into the air, they add to produce the raw signal: (1,–1,–1,1,1,–1,1,–1) + (–1,–1,–1,–1,1,1,1,1) = (0,–2,–
2,0,2,0,2,0)

This raw signal is called an interference pattern. The received then extracts an intelligible signal for any known sender by combining the sender's code with the
interference pattern, the receiver combines it with the codes of the senders. The following table explains how this works.

Step Decode sender0 Decode sender1

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0 vector0=(1,–1), pattern=(0,–2,–2,0,2,0,2,0) vector1=(1,1), pattern=(0,–2,–2,0,2,0,2,0)

1 decode0=pattern.vector0 decode1=pattern.vector1
2 decode0=((0,–2),(–2,0),(2,0),(2,0)).(1,–1) decode1=((0,–2),(–2,0),(2,0),(2,0)).(1,1)
3 decode0=((0+2),(–2+0),(2+0),(2+0)) decode1=((0–2),(–2+0),(2+0),(2+0))
4 data0=(2,–2,2,2)=(1,0,1,1) data1=(–2,–2,2,2)=(0,0,1,1)

Further, after decoding, all values greater than 0 are interpreted as 1 while all values less than zero are interpreted as 0. For example, after decoding, data0 is (2,–
2,2,2), but the receiver interprets this as (1,0,1,1).

Asynchronous CDMA
The previous example of orthogonal Walsh sequences describes how 2 users can be multiplexed together in a synchronous system, a technique that is commonly
referred to as Code Division Multiplexing (CDM). The set of 4 Walsh sequences shown in the figure will afford up to 4 users, and in general, an NxN Walsh matrix can be
used to multiplex N users. Multiplexing requires all of the users to be coordinated so that each transmits their assigned sequence v (or the complement, -v) starting at
exactly the same time. Thus, this technique finds use in base-to-mobile links, where all of the transmissions originate from the same transmitter and can be perfectly
coordinated.

On the other hand, the mobile-to-base links cannot be precisely coordinated, particularly due to the mobility of the handsets, and require a somewhat different
approach. Since it is not mathematically possible to create signature sequences that are orthogonal for arbitrarily random starting points, unique "pseudo-random" or
"pseudo-noise" (PN) sequences are used in Asynchronous CDMA systems. These PN sequences are statistically uncorrelated, and the sum of a large number of PN
sequences results in Multiple Access Interference (MAI) that is approximated by a Gaussian noise process (following the "central limit theorem" in statistics). If all of
the users are received with the same power level, then the variance (e.g., the noise power) of the MAI increases in direct proportion to the number of users.

All forms of CDMA use spread spectrum process gain to allow receivers to partially discriminate against unwanted signals. Signals encoded with the specified PN
sequence (code) are received, while signals with different codes (or the same code but a different timing offset) appear as wideband noise reduced by the process
gain.

Since each user generates MAI, controlling the signal strength is an important issue with CDMA transmitters. A CDM (Synchronous CDMA), TDMA or FDMA receiver can in
theory completely reject arbitrarily strong signals using different codes, time slots or frequency channels due to the orthogonality of these systems. This is not true for
Asynchronous CDMA; rejection of unwanted signals is only partial. If any or all of the unwanted signals are much stronger than the desired signal, they will overwhelm
it. This leads to a general requirement in any Asynchronous CDMA system to approximately match the various signal power levels as seen at the receiver. In CDMA
cellular, the base station uses a fast closed-loop power control scheme to tightly control each mobile's transmit power.

Advantages of Asynchronous CDMA over other techniques

Asynchronous CDMA's main advantage over CDM (Synchronous CDMA), TDMA and FDMA is that it can use the spectrum more efficiently in mobile telephony applications.
(Quick note: In theory, CDMA, TDMA and FDMA have exactly the same spectral efficiency. When it comes to practical application, each has its own challenges. Timing
in the case of TDMA, power control in the case of CDMA and frequency generation/filtering in the case of FDMA.). TDMA systems must carefully synchronize the
transmission times of all the users to ensure that they are received in the correct timeslot and do not cause interference. Since this cannot be perfectly controlled in a
mobile environment, each timeslot must have a guard-time, which reduces the probability that users will interfere, but decreases the spectral efficiency. Similarly,
FDMA systems must use a guard-band between adjacent channels, due to the random doppler shift of the signal spectrum which occurs due to the user's mobility. The
guard-bands will reduce the probability that adjacent channels will interfere, but decrease the utilization of the spectrum.

Most importantly, Asynchronous CDMA offers a key advantage in the flexible allocation of resources. There are a fixed number of orthogonal codes, timeslots or
frequency bands that can be allocated for CDM, TDMA and FDMA systems, which remain underutilized due to the bursty nature of telephony and packetized data
transmissions. There is no strict limit to the number of users that can be supported in an Asynchronous CDMA system, only a practical limit governed by the desired bit
error probability, since the SIR (Signal to Interference Ratio) varies inversely with the number of users. In a bursty traffic environment like mobile telephony, the
advantage afforded by Asynchronous CDMA is that the performance (bit error rate) is allowed to fluctuate randomly, with an average value determined by the number
of users times the percentage of utilization. Suppose there are 2N users that only talk half of the time, then 2N users can be accommodated with the same average bit
error probability as N users that talk all of the time. The key difference here is that the bit error probability for N users talking all of the time is constant, whereas it is
a random quantity (with the same mean) for 2N users talking half of the time.

In other words, Asynchronous CDMA is ideally suited to a mobile network where large numbers of transmitters each generate a relatively small amount of traffic at
irregular intervals. CDM (Synchronous CDMA), TDMA and FDMA systems cannot recover the underutilized resources inherent to bursty traffic due to the fixed number of
orthogonal codes, time slots or frequency channels that can be assigned to individual transmitters. For instance, if there are N time slots in a TDMA system and 2N
users that talk half of the time, then half of the time there will be more than N users needing to use more than N timeslots. Furthermore, it would require significant
overhead to continually allocate and deallocate the orthogonal code, time-slot or frequency channel resources. By comparison, Asynchronous CDMA transmitters simply
send when they have something to say, and go off the air when they don't, keeping the same PN signature sequence as long as they are connected to the system.

Macro diversity usage

Main article: Handoff

Soft handover
Soft handoff (or soft handover) is an innovation in mobility. It refers to the technique of adding additional base stations (in IS-95 as many as 5) to a connection to be
certain that the next base is ready as you move through the terrain. However, it can also be used to move a call from one base station that is approaching congestion
to another with better capacity. As a result, signal quality and handoff robustness is improved compared to TDMA systems.

In TDMA and analog systems, each cell transmits on its own frequency, different from those of its neighbouring cells. If a mobile device reaches the edge of the cell
currently serving its call, it is told to break its radio link and quickly tune to the frequency of one of the neighbouring cells where the call has been moved by the
network due to the mobile's movement. If the mobile is unable to tune to the new frequency in time the call is dropped.

In CDMA, a set of neighbouring cells all use the same frequency for transmission and distinguish cells (or base stations) by means of a number called the "PN offset", a
time offset from the beginning of the well-known pseudo-random noise sequence that is used to spread the signal from the base station. Because all of the cells are on
the same frequency, listening to different base stations is now an exercise in digital signal processing based on offsets from the PN sequence, not RF transmission and
reception based on separate frequencies.

As the CDMA phone roams through the network, it detects the PN offsets of the neighbouring cells and reports the strength of each signal back to the reference cell of
the call (usually the strongest cell). If the signal from a neighbouring cell is strong enough, the mobile will be directed to "add a leg" to its call and start transmitting
and receiving to and from the new cell in addition to the cell (or cells) already hosting the call. Likewise, if a cell's signal becomes too weak the mobile is directed to
drop that leg. In this way, the mobile can move from cell to cell and add and drop legs as necessary in order to keep the call up without ever dropping the link.

It should be noted that this "soft handoff" does not happen via CDMA from cell tower to cell tower. A group of cell sites are linked up with wire and the call is synced
over wire, TDM, ATM, or even IP.

Hard handover
When there are frequency boundaries between different carriers or sub-networks, a CDMA phone behaves in the same way as TDMA or analog and performs a hard

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handoff in which it breaks the existing connection and tries to pick up on the new frequency where it left off.

Roaming
The capability to use many services of the home system in other wireless systems is known as roaming. Roaming is a critical capability of wide-area wireless systems,
such as GSM systems. While most subscribers spend most of their time within their home system, many do spend time outside it, and expect their phones to work
everywhere with all services.

When TIA/EIA-41 was first developed, the systems it connected were predominantly regional in extent. Domestic roaming was the first priority. However, international
roaming soon became an important requirement. A series of add-on standards were developed to support a variety of enhancements to gradually remove the barriers
of international roaming, thereby allowing CDMA carriers to launch international roaming globally.

CDMA2000 bases its roaming capabilities on ANSI-41,

Regional, National or International roaming all have several elements that are required in order for CDMA roaming to be facilitated:

CDMA Roaming Business Elements

CDMA Roaming Technical Elements

CDMA Roaming Service Features

Roaming Service Providers

CDMA Roaming Inter-carrier Implementation

CDMA Roaming Carrier Maintenance

Features
z Narrowband message signal multiplied by wideband spreading signal or pseudonoise code
z Each user has his own pseudonoise (PN) code
z Soft capacity limit: system performance degrades for all users as number of users increases
z Cell frequency reuse: no frequency planning needed
z Soft handoff increases capacity
z Interference limited: power control is required
z Wide bandwidth induces diversity: rake receiver is used

See also
z Comparison of mobile phone standards
z Near-far problem
z CDMA2000
z Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), another standard for mobile phones
z Orthogonal variable spreading factor (OVSF), an implementation of CDMA
z Pseudorandom noise

References
z Andrew J. Viterbi (1995). CDMA: Principles of Spread Spectrum Communication (1st edition) Prentice Hall PTR. ISBN 0201633744
z Cuschieri, Henry (Sr. Director). The Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2). The 3GPP2 Secretariat. Retrieved on 2006-04-09.
z CHATTERJEE, Asok (Chairman) (2006). The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Project Coordination Group. Retrieved on 2006-04-09.
z LaForge, Perry (Executive Director) (2006). CDMA Development Group (CDG). Retrieved on 2006-04-09.
z Telecom Resources - CDMA. Telecom Resources (undated). Retrieved on 2006-04-09.
z Lee, Kira (Public Relations Officer) (2006). QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies (QCT)]. Retrieved on 2006-04-09.
z Lohninger, Hans (2005-12-17). Direct Sequence CDMA Simulation. Learning by Simulations. Retrieved on 2006-04-09.
z Den Beste, Steven (2002). History of Development at QUALCOMM. Retrieved on 2006-04-09.

External links
z CDMA Overview & Resources
z CDMA - Directory & Informational Resource
z CDMA Tutorial - Introduction, signal generation, voice restoration, features.
z Civil Spread Spectrum History

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