Symbol error rate performance for macrodiversity maximal ratio combining in flat Rayleigh fading

Abstract

The performance of maximal ratio combining (MRC) in Rayleigh channels with co-channel interference (CCI) is well-known for receive arrays which are co-located. Recent work in network MIMO, edge-excited cells and base station collaboration is increasing interest in macrodiversity systems. Hence, in this paper we consider MRC performance in Rayleigh channels with CCI and a macrodiversity architecture. This appears to be the first analytical work in this area. We derive approximate symbol error rate results for MPSK and M-QAM and exact results for BPSK modulations. Numerical results, verified by simulations, are used in conjunction with the analysis to gain insight into the effects of the link powers on performance.