Bit error rate comparison of MATLAB multipath fading channel simulator and measurement based channel simulator using real measurement data

In this paper bit error rate (BER) performances of the built-in MATLAB multipath fading simulator, which recreates a theoretical channel based on user´s specified parameters, have been compared to that of a `playback´ based channel simulator. The MATLAB fading simulator has been configured with parameters estimated from the same radio channel measurements used by the `playback´ based simulator. The method of moment and the complex based estimator have been used to estimate the parameters of the multipath fading simulator. Channel measurements at 3.5 GHz and 5.8 GHz frequency bands obtained in a rural/semi-rural environment demonstrate the performance of both simulators in an IEEE 802.16 physical layer system. Results show similar performance between the simulators, particularly when the multipath simulator has been configured with parameters estimated with the complex based estimator.