Making massive-MIMO easy for broadband access satellites: a practical guide

Abstract

The paper reviews issues impacting the implementation of Massive - Multi-Input Multi-Output (M-MIMO) technologies in satellite networks. Limitations of conventional M-MIMO systems based on Channel State Information (CSI) and precoding (i.e. Matched Filter - MF, Zero Forcing - ZF, Minimum Mean Square Error - MMSE) are discussed, and a simplified “pragmatic” approach approximating M-MIMO, dubbed MB M-MIMO, is introduced. MB M-MIMO key features and performances are presented together with Radio Resource Management (RRM) aspects. The combination of minimum-sum-interference RRM and MB M-MIMO is reported to achieve performance that are superior to conventional four Colour Frequency Reuse (4CFR) systems and able to cope with highly uneven traffic distributions. The throughput performance also in case of severe traffic uneven distribution is shown to be close to the ideal (and unrealisable) MMSE M-MIMO.