Performance analysis of multicarrier frequency-hopping (MC-FH) code-division multiple-access systems: uncoded and coded schemes

In this paper, we provide multiuser performance analysis of a multicarrier frequency-hopping (MC-FH) code-division multiple-access system as first introduced in the work of Lance and Kaleh. We propose to use a practical low-rate convolutional error-correcting code in this system, which does not require any additional bandwidth than what is needed by the frequency-hopping spread-spectrum modulation. We provide multiuser exact performance analysis of the system for both uncoded and coded schemes in additive white Gaussian noise and fading channels for a single-user correlator receiver. We also derive the performance analysis of the system based on a Gaussian distribution assumption for multiuser interference at the receiver output. Our numerical results first indicate that the coded scheme significantly increases the number of users supported by the system at a fixed bit error rate, in comparison with the uncoded MC-FH scheme. Moreover, it shows that the Gaussian analysis in some cases does not accurately predict the number of users supported by the system.