Protocol design of the EC 900 cellular radio system

The Mobile Automatic Telephone System EC 900 is a high-capacity cellular system developed for operation in the CEPT 900 MHz-band. This contribution concentrates on the so-called "radio interface", i.e. signalling and protocols used on the radio path between mobile and fixed stations. In particular, the access, paging, and broadcast Functions handled on common control channels are explained in detail, which allow the implementation of off-air call set-up and call queueing in order to increase spectrum efficiency. Results of detailed system simulations are used to demonstrate system performance.