Capacity unbalance between uplink and downlink in spectrally overlaid narrow-band and wide-band CDMA mobile systems

In this paper, we discuss capacity unbalance between uplink (mobile-to-base) and downlink (base-to-mobile) in future code division multiple access (CDMA) radio networks where both narrow-band and wide-band CDMA systems are coexisted. Since the two links are not operated in an identical condition, their capacities are unequal and either of the links determines the whole system capacity. The purpose of this paper is to examine which link limits the system capacity and what are the limiting factors. To facilitate the examination, "transmission capacity" and "connection capacity" are defined, and simplified formulas are presented to compute those capacities, respectively for uplink and downlink. Signal quality required for each link, effectiveness of power control, spatial distribution of mobile users and other-cell as well as same-cell user interference are usually determining the limiting link. Besides, the traffic unbalance between the links imposed by specific service applications and the network evolution scenarios are also shown to be very influencing factors.