On the influence of a CDMA cellular repeater in the capacity of a donor base station

The low cost of CDMA cellular repeaters suggests that its use may be always advantageous. However, the interference inserted by such repeaters in the CDMA system must not be neglected. The CDMA repeater inserts thermal noise in the repeated carrier, amplifies the carriers of other Base Stations, and thus can also be a source of interference for the mobile stations served by it. In this paper we perform a numerical analysis of the traffic capacity loss of a carrier in the donor Base Station. The analysis is based on real interference measurements, and the classical CDMA capacity equations. Results indicate a considerable loss in capacity.