Finite-Rate Feedback MIMO Broadcast Channels with a Large Number of Users

We analyze the sum-rate performance of a multi-antenna downlink system carrying more users than transmit antennas, with partial channel knowledge at the transmitter due to finite rate feedback. In order to exploit multiuser diversity, we show that the transmitter must have, in addition to directional information, information regarding the quality of each channel. Such information should reflect both the channel magnitude and the quantization error. Expressions for the SINR distribution and the sum-rate are derived, and tradeoffs between the number of feedback bits, the number of users, and the SNR are observed. In particular, for a target performance, having more users reduces feedback load