Capacity and spectral efficiency of MIMO wireless systems in multipath urban environments with fading

Abstract

This work describes theoretical and numerical investigations of data stream parameters, such as capacity and spectral efficiency of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication systems taking into account fading phenomena caused by the multipath of radio propagation in urban environments. The propagation characteristics of urban wireless channel are described using a unified stochastic approach, which allows to obtain the Ricean parameter as a ratio of coherent and incoherent component of the total signal after multiple scattering reflection and diffraction. A simple formula to predict the channel capacity and spectral efficiency for MIMO wireless systems are derived. These formulas are numerically calculated for different urban areas and fading situations and are compared with those obtained for single-input-single-output (SISO) wireless systems. Obtained results allow us to conclude that the proposed method can be very useful as a tool for a network planner in predicting MIMO system performance for various urban and sub-urban environments.