This work deals with the problem of cellular network reconfiguration. In particular, we focus on the development of a very complete simulation tool that allows an accurate performance analysis of realistic mobile radio systems. The results we show in the paper have been achieved by means of an integrated approach taking both the system and link level aspects into account. Since the accuracy of the simulation results depends strongly on the mobility model considered, we propose a methodology to assign a given class of mobility to the cells. Finally, to validate the simulation tool we have compared the results with those obtained in a realistic network The results show that the agreement between simulation and the measured values is very good.

Provides an abstract of articles to be presented in a forthcoming issue.

The performance of a time-division multiple-access mobile radio system adopting slow frequency hopping is analyzed by following an original procedure that allows the evaluation of thermal noise and fast fading (e.g., Rayleigh) effects on block-coded transmission with nonideal interleaving. Starting from this approach, service coverage can be analytically evaluated when the "slow" disturbances affecting the transmission are fixed. The method proposed is able to take several impairments and parameters into account, such as shadowing and discontinuous transmission. The experimental results confirmed the validity of the theoretical approach.

An analytical approach is proposed to evaluate the performance of a slow frequency hopping (SFH) mobile radio system. The effects of frequency diversity and interference diversity are investigated by considering the use of error correcting codes, multipath Rayleigh fading and cochannel interference; by means of an analytical procedure and proper definition of carrier-to-interference ratio the role of several parameters such as the number of hopping frequencies and system load are emphasized.