Performance Evaluation at the System Level of Reconfigurable Space-Time Coding Techniques for HSDPA

In this paper a novel reconfigurable space-time coding technique for a High speed Downlink Packet Access multiple antenna network which combats the effects of antenna correlation is investigated. Reconfigurability is achieved at the link level by introducing a linear precoder in a space-time block coded system. The technique assumes the knowledge of the long-term characteristics of the channel, namely the channel correlation matrix at the transmitter. The benefits of the proposed reconfigurable technique versus the conventional non-reconfigurable ones are evaluated through system level simulations. In order to guarantee realistic system level performance evaluation, a novel link-to-system interface has been developed. The average system throughput and the number of satisfied users are the performance metrics of interest to be evaluated. Simulation results demonstrate the performance enhancements achieved by the application of reconfigurable techniques compared to the conventional ones.