A current perspective on distributed antenna systems for the downlink of cellular systems

Providing uniformly high capacity in cellular systems is challenging due to fading, path loss, and interference. A partial solution to this problem is the deployment of distributed antenna systems, where transmission points are distributed throughout the cell using coax cable or fiber, instead of being centrally located on a single tower. This article reviews how distributed antenna systems are evolving to provide higher performance on the downlink in cellular systems. Research trends in distributed antennas for the downlink of cellular systems are described along with current progress on their integration into commercial wireless cellular standards. A key observation is that distributed antenna systems are tightly integrated into the cellular architecture, and incorporate physical layer technologies like MIMO communication and multiuser MIMO to provide higher data rates.