Performance Evaluation of Mobile WiMAX with AMC and MIMO Tradeoffs

Mobile WiMAX (worldwide interoperability for microwave access) is one of the candidate technologies for 4G wireless systems, promising high data rates and affluent multimedia services. The orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) based physical layer ensures simple transceiver structure while maintaining affordable complexity for the realisation of advanced multiple input multiple output (MIMO) architectures. In addition, adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) in conjunction with MIMO techniques constitute a technological breakthrough that greatly helps in satisfying the ever increasing demands of wireless networks. This paper presents a performance study of Mobile WiMAX networks based on MIMO and AMC perspectives. The impact of various MIMO modes (diversity, multiplexing and dynamic realisation of these two) with AMC is analysed using AIRCOM International´s radio network planning tool, ASSET. The results are presented in terms of network coverage and capacity, highlighting the specific performance gains and tradeoffs that exist with MIMO and AMC in Mobile WiMAX networks.