Study of Cooperative MIMO Approach in Hilly Environment

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of cooperative multi-input-multi-output (CO-MIMO) on system capacity and coverage in hilly environment and thus to extend the current knowledge on CO-MIMO gains in the rural alpine regions. The radio wave propagation in the considered region was simulated for three different approaches: frequency reuse 3, frequency reuse 1 and cooperative approach. Based on the simulation results the received signal levels per base station (BS) were calculated, as well as the signal to interference noise ratio (SINR) and capacity maps, cumulative probability density function of map-bin SINR and map-bin capacity for each approach, presented as the percentage of area that exceeds the capacity and SINR. These are used for comparison of the three approaches with respect to system capacity and signal coverage respectively. The results reveal the advantages of CO-MIMO in hilly rural environments and thus we recommend the CO-MIM O approach application in rural hilly areas.