MIMO/HSDPA with fast fading and mobility: capacity and coverage study

A semi analytical model and framework for the estimation of MIMO/HSDPA cell capacity for UMTS is presented. The model includes the effect of fast fading, mobility and coverage on the capacity. An algorithm to select the number of HS-DSCH codes allocated to a given user and the associated modulation and coding schemes is proposed. The capacity model is used to compare MIMO systems and provide insight on expected performance and capacity. Results indicate that adaptive MIMO in the sense of number of activated antennas at the transmitter increases capacity and that adaptive space time coding outperforms adaptive BLAST techniques for the explored scenarios. The effect of coverage on MIMO/HSDPA cell capacity is also reported.