530
2, FEBRUARY 2009
On the Applicability of MIMO Principle to
10-66GHz BFWA Networks: Capacity
Enhancement through Spatial Multiplexing and
Interference Reduction through Selection Diversity
Konstantinos P. Liolis, Student Member, IEEE, Athanasios D. Panagopoulos, Member, IEEE,
Panayotis G. Cottis, and Bhaskar D. Rao, Fellow, IEEE
Abstract—This paper investigates the applicability of multiple-
input-multiple-output (MIMO) technology to broadband fixed
wireless access (BFWA) systems operating in the 10-66GHz
frequency range. In order to employ the MIMO principle at
these frequencies, the spatial channel benefits that may arise
from the rainfall spatial inhomogeneity are more relevant since
multipath is insignificant. Therefore, a special MIMO/BFWA
channel may be implemented if every subscriber is equipped
with multiple antennas and communicates with multiple base
stations. The exact relationship between conventional MIMO and
the proposed 10-66GHz MIMO/BFWA channels is established.
Then, emphasis is put on two different topics from the field of
MIMO applications: (i) capacity enhancement for spatial multi-
plexed MIMO/BFWA systems; and (ii) interference reduction for
MIMO/BFWA diversity systems employing receive antenna selec-
tion. More specifically, in the first case, a communication-oriented
single-user capacity analysis of a 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA spatial
multiplexing system is presented, the relevant optimal power
allocation policy is explored and useful analytical expressions are
derived for the outage capacity achieved in the asymptotically
low and high SNR regions. The effect of feedback on the capacity
is investigated and quantified through Monte Carlo simulations.
In the second case, a 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA diversity system with
receive selection combining is considered and its efficiency to
mitigate intrasystem/intersystem cochannel interference over the
downstream channel is studied from a propagation point of
view. A general analytical prediction model for the interference
reduction obtained by such a 2×2 MIMO/BFWA diversity system
is presented along with a numerical validation.
Index Terms—Broadband fixed wireless access (BFWA),
cochannel interference, multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO),
outage capacity, rain fading, selection diversity, spatial multiplex-
ing, WiMAX.
Paper approved by A. Lozano, the Editor for Wireless Network Access
and Performance of the IEEE Communications Society. Manuscript received
August 22, 2006; revised February 16, 2007. 50% of this work was supported
by UC Discovery grant nos. Cor02-10109 and Com04-10176.
K. P. Liolis was with the Digital Signal Processing Laboratory, Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego
(UCSD), La Jolla CA 92093-0407 USA. He is now with the Wireless & Satel-
lite Communications Group, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), 9 Iroon Polytechniou Street,
Zografou, Athens 15780, Greece (e-mail: kliolis@mail.ntua.gr).
A. D. Panagopoulos and P. G. Cottis are with the Wireless & Satellite
Communications Group, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), 9 Iroon Polytechniou Street,
Zografou, Athens 15780, Greece (e-mail: thpanag@cc.ece.ntua.gr).
B. D. Rao is with the Digital Signal Processing Laboratory, Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego
(UCSD), La Jolla CA 92093-0407 USA.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TCOMM.2009.02.060474
0090-6778/09$25.00 
c 2009 IEEE
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. 57, NO.
I. I NTRODUCTION
B ROADBAND fixed wireless access (BFWA) is employed
for the transmission of a plethora of high data rate
multimedia and IP services to stationary users over distances
of several km. It is a competitive alternative to relevant
wireline technologies, such as digital subscriber line (xDSL)
and cable, and a promising, cost-effective solution to the so
called “last-mile” problem [1]. Recently, BFWA systems have
evolved and matured to the degree of being standardized by
the IEEE 802.16 Working Group in the U.S. as well as by
the ETSI HiperMAN Committee in Europe. On top of that,
the WiMAX forum was established to promote and certify
interoperable products based on the standards addressing the
2-11GHz [2] and 10-66GHz [3] frequency ranges.
For the past decade or so, multiple-input-multiple-output
(MIMO) wireless communication systems have received much
attention due to their promise of significantly higher data rates
compared to their single antenna counterparts at no cost of
extra transmit power and frequency spectrum [4], [5]. So far,
research on MIMO technology and, specifically, on its appli-
cability to BFWA systems has been mostly concerned with the
sub-11GHz band [1], [2] where the propagation conditions are
such that channel spatial multiplexing/selectivity is feasible.
Propagation phenomena in the 10-66GHz frequency range
are quite different than those encountered in the 2-11GHz
range. At frequencies above 10GHz, line-of-sight (LOS) be-
tween the base station (BS) and subscriber station (SS) is
deemed a practical necessity and higher antenna directivities
are exploited at the SS [6]. Multipath is insignificant, while
attenuation from atmospheric precipitation is more important.
Rainfall is the dominant fading mechanism and exhibits sig-
nificant spatial inhomogeneity within the distances of interest.
Although multipath is negligible, this paper investigates
the applicability of MIMO technology to 10-66GHz BFWA
systems and proposes two different system architectures,
which promise significant performance gains over the rele-
vant single-input-single-output (SISO) cases. A key feature
of conventional MIMO systems operating below 10GHz is
their ability to turn multipath, normally a pitfall of wireless
transmission, into a benefit for the user. Multipath makes the
channel spatially selective [5]. At frequencies above 10GHz,
the required channel separability might arise from the spatial
LIOLIS: ON THE APPLICABILITY OF MIMO PRINCIPLE TO 10-66GHZ BFWA NETWORKS
structure of the rainfall medium, if the BFWA network is
deployed in an analogous way to a generalized cell site
diversity system [7]–[14]. Cell site diversity is an efficient
rain fade mitigation technique, which results in an inherent
waste of spectrum since the same amount of bandwidth should
be allocated to both BSs associated in order to implement
the switchover. However, the gains in terms of drastically
improved availability and coverage achieved when applied in a
BFWA system justify its use [7]–[14]. In the present paper, the
generalized structure of a BFWA cell site diversity scheme is
considered to form a special MIMO communication channel.
Therefore, if every SS is equipped with multiple antennas and
communicates with multiple BSs, which subtend a large angle
to the SS, so that the spatial correlation due to rain is as low
as possible, a special MIMO/BFWA communication channel
is formed. The established multiple spatial sub-channels be-
tween the transmitter and the receiver exhibit relatively low
correlation (ideally being independent), the resulting MIMO
channel becomes spatially selective and, hence, MIMO can be
considered to effectively exploit rainfall spatial inhomogeneity,
as well.
In this paper, the differences between conventional MIMO
and the proposed 10-66GHz MIMO/BFWA channels are
demonstrated and their exact relationship is established. Then,
by drawing on the vast body of available MIMO literature,
emphasis is put on two different topics from the field of MIMO
applications to 10-66GHz BFWA networks:
(i) Capacity enhancement for spatial multiplexed
MIMO/BFWA systems;
(ii) Interference reduction for MIMO/BFWA diversity
systems employing receive selection combining.
In the first case, attention is paid particularly to the single-
user capacity analysis of 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA spatial multi-
plexing systems. By properly modifying well-known capacity
formulas available in the MIMO literature [15], [16], useful
results for the outage capacity of the 10-66GHz MIMO/BFWA
systems are derived. The cases when the instantaneous channel
is known or unknown at the transmit side are examined and
the effect of feedback on the capacity is investigated. Optimal
transmit power allocation policy along the spatial sub-channels
is also investigated, and analytical closed form expressions for
the outage capacity achieved in the asymptotically low and
high SNR regions are also obtained.
In the second case, a 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA diversity sys-
tem employing receive antenna selection is considered, and
interference related issues are addressed from a propagation
point of view. To this end, note that antenna selection is
a standard MIMO technique used to alleviate the high cost
and complexity associated with multiple RF chains while
retaining the potential MIMO performance gains [5]. Empha-
sis is put specifically on intrasystem/intersystem cochannel
interference (CCI) arising over the downstream channel of
such a 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA system due to differential rain
attenuation related to an adjacent BS [17]. These problems
are further aggravated due to the spatial inhomogeneity of
rainfall and constitute typical interference scenarios of rather
practical interest [18]. By applying selection combining at
the SS receiver, the proposed MIMO/BFWA system is shown
able to significantly mitigate CCI. An analytical prediction
531
model for the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) improvement
achieved in the MIMO case with respect to the SISO one is
presented.
In both the capacity and interference analyses presented
here for the respective MIMO/BFWA systems, the general
case of an ordered MIMO channel is successfully taken into
account. An analytical physical MIMO channel model is
assumed which effectively incorporates the rain fading effects.
This model is based on general assumptions about the rain
process [8], [17], has inputs from the ITU-R rainmaps [19]
and, therefore, is flexible and can be applied on a global
scale. Thus, the capacity analysis for spatial multiplexed
MIMO/BFWA systems in this paper extends the work pre-
sented in [14], where the isomorphism between conventional
MIMO and BFWA cell site diversity channels was initially
addressed and primitive capacity results based on empirical
data appropriate only for balanced BFWA cell site diversity
channels were provided. Furthermore, the possible capacity
gain due to feedback is examined here. Useful analytical
closed form expressions for the outage capacity achieved in the
asymptotically low and high SNR regions are derived which
are extremely hard to obtain even in the well-established field
of MIMO theory [5]. Regarding the MIMO/BFWA selection
diversity systems under consideration, to the authors’ best
knowledge, the presented propagation-based interference anal-
ysis is quite different than the conventional communication-
oriented approaches used in standard MIMO theory and is the
only analytical work reported up to now in the field of the
isomorphic BFWA cell site diversity systems. So far, most of
the available literature related to cell site diversity has ignored
interference related issues and focused only on the calculation
of SNR increase. In this regard, several prediction models,
both empirical (based on experimental propagation campaigns)
[7], [10]–[12] and physical (based on general assumptions
about the rain process) [8], [9], have been proposed for the
characterization of the spatial correlation due to rain, as well.
The only work dealing with the possible SIR increase in a
cellular BFWA system employing cell site diversity is reported
in [13] and is based, however, on simulation results applicable
to a certain system case study.
The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Section II
presents the MIMO/BFWA channel model assumed. Section
III provides a communication-based single-user capacity anal-
ysis for a spatial multiplexed 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA system.
An analytical propagation prediction model for the SIR im-
provement achieved in a 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA diversity system
employing receive selection combining with respect to the
conventional SISO system is presented in Section IV. Useful
numerical results, obtained through Monte Carlo simulations
and analytical expressions for the outage capacity achieved in
the spatial multiplexing MIMO case and through the presented
analytical propagation model for the SIR enhancement in the
selection diversity MIMO case, are provided in Section V.
Conclusions are drawn in Section VI.
II. MIMO/BFWA C HANNEL M ODEL
Fig.1 depicts the configuration of the downlink of a 2 × 2
MIMO/BFWA channel. The interference scenario assumed is
illustrated, as well. The fixed SS is equipped with two highly
532
Fig. 1. Downstream channel of a 2×2 MIMO/BFWA system and interference
scenario assumed. Base stations BS1 and BS2 transmit either independent data
streams (that is, MIMO spatial multiplexed system) or the same signal over the
multiple (ideally) independent fading paths (that is, MIMO diversity system).
directive antennas (see Table I) and communicates with two
base stations, BS1 and BS2 , subtending an angle Δψ to SS.
Δψ is relatively large, so that the spatial correlation due to
rain is as low as possible. The length of each BSi -SS link
(i = 1, 2) is denoted by Li and the random variable (RV)
associated with the rain attenuation induced along each path,
expressed in dB, is denoted by ARi . Regarding the interference
scenario under consideration, another BS (denoted by BS3 ),
which may belong to either the same or to a different BFWA
system, is located at a distance L3 from the SS and shares the
same frequency band with BS1 and BS2 . Thus, intrasystem
or intersystem CCI is created on the downlink of the 2 × 2
MIMO/BFWA channel. BS1 and BS3 subtend an angle Δθ to
the SS. The RV associated with the rain attenuation on the
interfering path BS3 -SS, expressed in dB, is denoted by AR3 .
Assuming that clear LOS exists between the SS and each
wanted BSi (i = 1, 2) and that the rain attenuation is the major
fading mechanism, the path gain for the BSi -SS link (i = 1, 2)
is modeled as
gi ∝ L−2
i · 10
−ARi /10
(i = 1, 2) (1)
That is, the total path loss along each wanted link BSi -SS
(i = 1, 2), expressed in dB, is
Ai = F SLi + ARi (i = 1, 2) (2)
2 asynchronism problem have been proposed in the literature,
where F SLi = 10 log10 (4πLi f /c) is the free space loss
along each link, c is the speed of light and f is the operat-
ing frequency. The fundamental assumptions concerning the
modeling of the rain attenuation RVs ARi (i = 1, 2, 3) are
those analytically given in Appendix I. Of particular interest in
the present analyses is the lognormal distribution assumption
for the rain attenuation RVs, which is unconditional (that is,
both rainy and non-rainy periods are taken into account), and
the modeling of the spatial correlation coefficient due to the
rainfall medium ρij ((i, j) = (1, 2) , (1, 3) , (2, 3)).
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. 57, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2009
TABLE I
S UBSCRIBER S TATION A NTENNA G AIN A CCORDING TO ETSI [21]
Angle relative to the antenna SS antenna gain relative
boresight (deg) to the maximum (dB)
0 0
2 0
8 -17
30 -22
90 -30
100 -35
180 -40
Under the above assumptions together with the assumption
about frequency-flat fading, the resulting 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA
channel matrix H is modeled as
 √ 
g1 exp (jφ1 ) 0
H= √ (3)
0 g2 exp (jφ2 )
where φl (i = 1, 2) are assumed uniformly distributed over
[0, 2π).
In (3), H is diagonal1 due to the high directivity of the
SS antennas (see Table I) and to the large enough angular
separation Δψ. Thus, the number of available paths between
the transmit and receive sides is limited to m, whereas in the
conventional MIMO case, where the SS is usually equipped
with omnidirectional antennas and rich scattering environment
is assumed, it can be at most m2 resulting in higher diversity
gain [4], [5]. Furthermore, the “iid” assumption of independent
identically distributed elements of H, often made in the
conventional MIMO case [4], [5], does not hold here. Instead,
there is relatively high spatial correlation due to the rainfall
medium. Moreover, since, in general, BS1 and BS2 are located
at different distances Li from the SS, the total path losses
Ai (i = 1, 2) along each BSi -SS link are not the same and,
therefore, H is not normalized (that is, ordered MIMO system)
as usually assumed in the standard MIMO theory [4], [5].
The different path lengths Li (i = 1, 2) introduce also
a propagation delay offset which, consequently, leads to
an asynchronism problem. This is an inherent problem of
distributed communication systems, in general, and certainly
is not the case in conventional MIMO systems, where the
multiple transmit and receive antennas are collocated at the
transmitter and the receiver, respectively, and thus, the multiple
transmitted signals are simultaneously received [4], [5]. So
far, the asynchronism problem has been treated mainly in
the context of distributed MIMO networks. Furthermore, even
in the extreme and much more challenging case of mobile
multi-satellite MIMO networks where the delay difference
is much larger and more variable, practical solutions to the
such as in [20]. More specifically, according to [20], matched
filters are first applied to the received signals for the detection
of the propagation delay offset, which is then fed to a timing
aligner. Subsequently, the proposed timing aligner eliminates
the delay offset by adjusting the timing of a signal parallel-
to-serial converter. Therefore, it is feasible to tackle with and
solve the asynchronism problem at a cost of reasonably higher
1 MIMO channels with diagonal channel matrix H are usually termed in
the MIMO literature as MIMO parallel channels [16].
LIOLIS: ON THE APPLICABILITY OF MIMO PRINCIPLE TO 10-66GHZ BFWA NETWORKS 533

implementation complexity at the receiver. In the special Although H is random, the capacity of a sample channel
MIMO/BFWA channel under consideration, the delay offset realization is first studied, that is, H is considered to be
is reasonably fixed and the resulting asynchronism problem deterministic. It is well known that capacity is achieved with
is assumed to be properly estimated at the SS receiver. This Gaussian code books, that is, the zero-mean 2 × 1 transmitted
rather practical issue, which addresses mainly the SS receiver signal vector s is a circularly symmetric complex Gaussian
implementation, is out of the scope of the present paper and, vector [16]. The corresponding mutual information (in b/s/Hz)
certainly, does not retract the detailed analyses and results for s having a covariance matrix Rss is given by
presented hereafter.  
PT
Although this work does not go into further details, it is I = log2 det I2 + H · Rss · HH (4)
2N0
worthwhile noting that the use of interference cancellation
techniques2 at the SS receiver can allow for smaller directivity and the capacity of the MIMO channel (in b/s/Hz) follows as
of the SS antennas and/or for closer placement of the BS1 [16]
 
and BS2 with respect to the SS (that is, smaller angular PT H
separation Δψ). In either case, mutual “self” interference C = max log2 det I2 + H · Rss · H (5)
Rss 2N0
between BS1 and BS2 is introduced at the MIMO channel, the
channel matrix H becomes non-diagonal and the interference In the equations above, the maximization is performed over all
cancellation technique implemented at the SS receiver aims possible input covariance matrices satisfying trace (Rss ) =
to remove the non-diagonal components from the reference m = 2, I2 is the 2 × 2 identity matrix, PT is the total
transmitted signals. A similar analysis has been presented in average power available at the BSs transmitters, N0 is the
[20] concerning a 2 × 2 MIMO satellite network3 and its noise spectral density at the input of the SS receiver and the
application to the relevant terrestrial MIMO/BFWA case is superscript H denotes conjugate transposition.
left for future work. Eq. (5) gives the capacity of the deterministic 2 × 2 MIMO
channel matrix H. However, since rainfall introduces slow
fading into the channel, a useful statistic to characterize the
III. C APACITY E NHANCEMENT IN S PATIAL M ULTIPLEXED resulting fading channel is the outage capacity defined as [4]
MIMO/BFWA S YSTEMS
P (C ≤ Cout,q ) = q (6)
In this section, the interference problem depicted in Fig.1 is
where Cout,q is the information rate guaranteed for
not examined and emphasis is put particularly on the single-
(1 − q) 100% of the channel realizations.
user capacity enhancement achieved by a spatial multiplexed
2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA system. The two individual base stations
BS1 and BS2 in Fig.1 transmit independent data streams (that A. Instantaneous Channel Unknown at the Transmit Side (CU)
is, spatial multiplexing [4], [5]). The channel matrix H is Based on the standard MIMO theory for conventional
assumed to be perfectly known to the SS receiver. At the MIMO systems, in the absence of instantaneous CSI at the
transmit side, both BS1 and BS2 are assumed either to have transmitter, it is reasonable to choose s to be spatially white,
perfect instantaneous channel knowledge (that is, channel that is, Rss = I2 . This implies that the transmitted signals
known (CK)) or to know only the long term rain fading are independent and equi-powered. The capacity of MIMO
statistics (that is, channel unknown (CU)).4 In the latter case, channels (in b/s/Hz) achieved with this covariance matrix is
no communication between the two BSs is necessary, whereas given by [15], [16]
in the former one, communication between the BSs is required  
PT H
for the optimal power allocation to the two sub-channels. This CCU = log2 det I2 + HH
communication is analogous to that between the BSs and 2N0
2  
the mobile switching center in a conventional mobile cellular PT
communication system and can be realized through wired or = log2 1 + λi (7)
i=1
2N0
wireless links operating at a different frequency. Moreover,
feedback links between the SS and each BSi (i = 1, 2) should where λi (i = 1, 2) are the positive eigenvalues of the matrix
be established, so that instantaneous channel state information HHH . However, in the special MIMO/BFWA case examined
(CSI) becomes available at the transmit side. This results in this work, the two spatial sub-channels do not experience
in higher system complexity. Therefore, for reasons related the same path loss due to unequal path lengths Li (i = 1, 2).
to cost and practical implementation issues, the applicability Therefore, power should not be equally allocated to the
of the CK case is likely to be limited, unless a significant two sub-channels but should be determined according to the
capacity increase may be achieved through feedback. This SNR on each link. Hence, a reasonable choice for the input
paper intends to provide insight in this regard. covariance matrix is
 
p 0
2 For instance, a possible interference cancellation technique can be either Rss = (8)
0 2−p
a simple MMSE or a more advanced MMSE-SIC or Turbo-IC processing at
the receiver. where p reflects the transmit power to the strongest sub-
3 The reference MIMO satellite system in [20] also serves to indicate the
channel (strong eigenmode) (for example, the BS1 -SS link if
use of MIMO in a non-traditional setting, that is, other than cellular or WLAN
scenario and, in that sense, is relevant to the work presented here. L1 ≤ L2 ) and is a function of the nominal SNR values under
4 Similar assumption on the CU case has also been made in [16]. clear sky conditions, SN RCSi (i = 1, 2). Based on the path
534 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. 57, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2009

gain model in (1), the SN RCSi (i = 1, 2) values, expressed the capacity C. Taking the previous assumptions about chan-
in dB, are related through nel modeling into account and applying the “waterfilling”
solutions γiopt (i = 1, 2), the following expressions for the
SN RCS1 − SN RCS2 = 20 log10 (L2 /L1 ) (9) instantaneous capacity achieved are obtained
By properly modifying (7), p can be determined as a solution  2  
opt PT
to the following optimization problem for the ergodic capacity CCK = log2 1 + γi · λl
⎧ ⎫ 2N0

  i=1
⎨ Eλ1 log2 1 + p · PT λ1 + ⎬ 2
  

 2N  log2 1 + 0.5 · γiopt · SN RCSi · 10−AmR2 /10 (16)
0
CCU = max =
0≤p≤2 ⎩ E PT ⎭
λ2 log2 1 + (2 − p) · 2N0 λ2 i=1
(10)
where Eλi [·] denotes the expected value with respect to Since the “waterfilling” solutions are complicated non-linear
the RV λi (i = 1, 2). The expectation operation in (10) is functions of λi (i = 1, 2), the distribution of the CCK is
performed over long term periods including both raining and intractable. Thus, an analytical closed form expression for the
non-raining events and, thus, justifies the “channel unknown” outage capacity of the fading MIMO channel H is hard to
assumption made here [16]. Moreover, the unconditional log- obtain, even in the special cases of asymptotically low and
normal distribution (that is, including both raining and non- high SNR. Nevertheless, CCK can be simulated for any given
raining time) for the rain attenuation RVs ARi (i = 1, 2) is channel realization H and the corresponding outage capacity
adopted here (see Appendix I). Therefore, the averaged values can be numerically computed for any channel.
in (10) refer to both rainy and clear sky conditions and so, the
ergodic capacity expressed there covers both the “rainfall” and IV. SIR I MPROVEMENT IN S ELECTION D IVERSITY
the “clear-sky” channel states. MIMO/BFWA S YSTEMS
In the equal link length case, the solution to the constrained
In this section, the interference scenario depicted in Fig.
optimization problem in (10) reduces to the already known
1 is considered and the possible SIR increase offered by a
solution related to (7) [15], [16]. In the more general case
MIMO/BFWA diversity system with receive antenna selection
of L1 < L2 assumed here, the problem can only be solved
is studied from a propagation point of view. The two individual
numerically over the whole SNR range. If popt is the solution
base stations BS1 and BS2 in Fig.1 are assumed now to
to (10) and the assumptions about channel modeling are taken
transmit the same signal over the (ideally) independent fading
into account, the instantaneous capacity achieved is given by
paths BSi -SS (i = 1, 2) (that is, diversity [4], [5]). To alleviate
Eq. (11), see top of next page.
the high cost and complexity associated with multiple RF
In the special cases of asymptotically low and asymptoti-
chains, the dual-antenna SS receiver is equipped with only
cally high SNR, analytical solutions to (10) can be derived (see
one RF chain, and performs antenna selection [5]. Therefore,
Appendix II). For low SNR values, it is shown that the total
the SS receiver chooses the path with the highest SNR and
transmit power is exclusively allocated to the strongest sub-
performs detection based on the signal from the selected path
channel (that is, popt = 2), whereas for high SNR values, the
(that is, selection diversity or else selection combining).
total transmit power is equally allocated to each sub-channel
Regarding the interference analysis, rainfall is taken into
(that is, popt = 1). Based on these analytical solutions to (10)
account. In this respect, the signal leakage due to differential
and the channel modeling assumed, useful analytical closed
rain attenuation (DRA) from the adjacent BS3 is considered to
form expressions for the outage capacity of the fading MIMO
be the dominant cause of the SIR degradation [17]. It is shown
channel H can be obtained for the special cases of asymp-
that selection combining employed at the dual antenna SS
totically low and high SNR. Considering the transformation
receiver makes the proposed MIMO/BFWA diversity system
given in (34), which relates the lognormal rain attenuation
able to significantly mitigate CCI arising over the downstream
RVs ARi to the normalized normal RVs ui (i = 1, 2), and after
channel. The SIR improvement achieved in the 2 × 2 MIMO
substitution of (11) into (6) and some straightforward algebra,
case with respect to the SISO one is quantified through the
the following expressions for the outage capacity achieved in
analytical prediction model presented hereafter.
the asymptotically low and high SNR regions are obtained,
respectively by Eqs. (12) and (13) at the top of the next page, Due to selection combining at the dual antenna SS receiver,
where erf c (·) is the complementary error function, fU1 (u1 ) the minimum total path loss Ai along each wanted link BSi -
is the normal density function, and uA , uB are analytically SS (i = 1, 2) determines the output of the combiner at every
given by Eqs. (14) and (15) (see next page). The rest of the instant. The system becomes unavailable whenever A1 > M
parameters encountered in (12)–(15) are analytically given in and A2 > M , where M is the diversity system margin as
Appendix I. determined in [8]. The event related to the MIMO diversity
system availability is mathematically expressed as

B. Instantaneous Channel Known at the Transmit Side (CK) Ω = (min {A1 , A2 } < M ) (17)

If the instantaneous channel is known at the BSs transmit- However, due to selection diversity, it is clear that
ters, the transmit power can be optimally allocated to the
two parallel spatial modes via the “waterfilling” algorithm Ω = Ω1 ∪ Ω2
[16] so as to maximize the mutual information I and achieve Ω1 ∩ Ω2 =  (18)
LIOLIS: ON THE APPLICABILITY OF MIMO PRINCIPLE TO 10-66GHZ BFWA NETWORKS 535

   
CCU = log2 1 + 0.5 · popt · SN RCS1 · 10−AR1 /10 + log2 1 + 0.5 · (2 − popt ) · SN RCS2 · 10−AR2 /10 (11)

    
1 (ln 10 log10 2SN RCS1
Cout,q
P (CCU ≤ Cout,q ) = erf c √ −1  =q (12)
2 − ln (AmR1 ))/ 2SaR1


+∞  
1 uB − ρn12u1
P (CCU ≤ Cout,q ) = du1 fU1 (u1 ) erf c  =q (13)
2 2 (1 − ρ2n12 )
uA

    
uA = ln 10 log10 (0.5 · SN RCS2 ) − 10 log10 2Cout,q − 1 − ln (AmR2 ) /SaR2 (14)

where [23] is introduced, which, in the light of the considerations of

the present analysis, is expressed as
Ωi = (Al < M, Ai < Aj ) ((i, j) = (1, 2) , (2, 1)) (19)
AIP = P (SIR < r, Ω) = P (SIR1 < r, Ω1 )
is the event that the SS is serviced by BSi (i = 1, 2). Therefore + P (SIR2 < r, Ω2 ) = P1 + P2 (23)
P (Ω) = P (Ω1 ) + P (Ω2 ) (20) In (23), r (in dB) is the non-exceedance level of the SIR at the
receiver input of the SS. r and AIP constitute a pair of useful
Taking the previous assumptions about channel modeling design specifications concerning interference. Every user must
and the interference scenario depicted in Fig.1 into account, comply with these specifications, given the quality of service
the SIR ratios under rain fades SIRi (i = 1, 2) are expressed (QoS) related to the system availability event Ω.
(in dB) by Considering the transformation given in (34), which relates
the lognormal rain attenuation RVs ARi to the normalized
SIRi = SIRCSi − ARi + AR3 (21)
normal RVs ui (i = 1, 2, 3), and the channel model assumed,
where SIRCSi (i = 1, 2) are the nominal SIR values under the probabilities Pi (i = 1, 2) encountered in (23) after some
clear sky conditions being analytically given by straightforward algebra are expressed as

uDi 
+∞
SIRCSi = SIRi∗ − GR (θi ) (i = 1, 2) (22)
Pi = du1 du2 fU1 U2 (u1 , u2 )
In (22), GR (·) is the assumed normalized directional gain of 
uCi

u1

the SS antennas according to the ETSI standard [21] given 1 uEi − μ3/1,2
in Table I, and θi (i = 1, 2) are the off-axis angles in the 1 − erf c √ (i = 1, 2) (24)
2 2σ3/1,2
radiation pattern of the SS antennas, formed by the interfering
and the wanted links. From Fig.1, it follows that θ1 = Δθ and where fU1 U2 (u1 , u2 ) is the two-dimensional normal joint
θ2 = Δψ − Δθ. SIRi∗ (i = 1, 2) are the relevant SIR values density function.
of the interfered links BS1 -SS and BS2 -SS when θi = 10 , and For i = 1, 2, the rest of the parameters encountered in (24)
correspond to the nominal CCI levels. Their interrelationship are (see next page for Eqs. (26) and (28)).
for i = 1, 2 is defined through (9) by simply interchanging
the SIRCSi and SIRi∗ . uCi = [ln (xi ) − ln (AmRi )] /SaRi (25)
In (21), the difference ARi − AR3 (i = 1, 2) is known as
DRA [17]. The SIR is a random process due to the spatial uDi = [ln (M − F SLi ) − ln (AmRi )] /SaRi (27)
inhomogeneity of the rainfall medium. When DRA becomes
sufficiently large, severe CCI problems may arise aggravating Furthermore, the statistical parameters μ3/1,2 and σ3/1,2 are
the SIR distribution. To deal with the statistical behavior of the parameters of the conditional distribution of the normal
the SIR, the Acceptable Interference Probability (AIP ) [22], RV μ3 given the other two μ1 , μ2 , and their analytical

 
uB = ln (10 log10 (0.5SN RCS1) + 10 log10 1 + 0.5SN RCS2 · 10−AmR2 exp(u1 SaR2 )/10
 
−10 log10 2Cout,q − 1 − 0.5SN RCS2 · 10−AmR2 exp(u1 SaR2 )/10 − ln (AmR1 ) /SaR1 (15)
536 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. 57, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2009

⎧
⎨ 0 r > SIRCSi
xi = SIRCSi − r SIRCSi + F SLi − M < r ≤ SIRCSi (26)
⎩
M − F SLi r ≤ SIRCSi + F SLi − M

uEi = [ln (exp (ui · SaRi ) · AmRi − SIRCSi + r) − ln (AmR3 )] /SaR3 (28)

TABLE II 14
R AIN ATTENUATION D ISTRIBUTION PARAMETERS SISO BFWA
2x2 MIMO BFWA − CU
Atlanta,GA Atlanta,GA Atlanta,GA Singapore 12 2x2 MIMO BFWA − CK
f=25GHz f=25GHz f=42GHz f=25GHz

0.1% Outage Capacity (b/s/Hz)

(L1,L2)=(3,4)km (L1,L2)=(3,3)km (L1,L2)=(3,4)km (L1,L2)=(3,4)km
10
L3=5km L3=5km L3=5km L3=5km
( AmR1 , SaR1 ) (0.0130, 2.0179) (0.0131, 2.0179) (0.0845, 1.7429) (0.0612, 1.7587)
8
( AmR 2 , SaR 2 ) (0.0183, 1.992) (0.0131, 2.0179) (0.1186, 1.7133) (0.0859, 1.7292)

( AmR3 , SaR3 ) (0.0239, 1.9679) (0.0239, 1.9679) (0.1551, 1.6867) (0.1124, 1.7028)

ρ12 (Δψ=50o) 0.7076 0.7443 0.7076 0.7076 6

ρ12 (Δψ=90o) 0.5651 0.5994 0.5651 0.5651
ρ12 (Δψ=100o) 0.5423 0.5759 0.5423 0.5423
4

2
expressions in terms of the logarithmic correlation coefficients
ρnij ((i, j) = (1, 2) , (1, 3) , (2, 3)) (see Appendix I) can be 0
found in [23]. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
SNR (dB)
The analytical prediction model presented above for the SIR CS1

improvement can also be applied in cellular configurations Fig. 2. 0.1% outage capacity vs. SNR for a spatial multiplexed 2 × 2
commonly assumed for BFWA networks [24]-[26]. In fact, MIMO/BFWA system when instantaneous channel is either known or un-
multi-user interference analyses based on the AIP consid- known at the transmit side (SISO case is also plotted for comparison).
eration and concerning SISO/BFWA systems with cellular
structure have been performed by the authors in [22] and 70
Δψ=100o (ρ =0.5759)
[23], which deal with the CDMA- and the TDMA-based 12
Relative Capacity Gain due to Feedback (%)

o
versions of the same BFWA system, respectively. The present 60 Δψ=50 (ρ12=0.7443)

analysis has been performed for the single-user scenario of the

proposed 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA diversity system. However, its 50
0.1% Outage Capacity
incorporation in multi-user scenarios such as that considered
in [22], [23] is feasible but out of the scope of this paper. 40

V. N UMERICAL R ESULTS AND D ISCUSSION 30

The analyses presented have been applied for the predic- 20

tion of possible capacity improvement and SIR improvement
achieved by the proposed 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA spatial multi- 10
plexing and selection diversity systems, respectively, over the 1% Outage Capacity
relevant SISO cases. Depending on the simulation scenario
0
assumed, the 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA channel operates at either 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
SNRCS1 (dB)
25GHz or 42GHz, and is located in either Atlanta, GA or Sin-
gapore, where different rain climatic conditions are observed.
Fig. 3. Relative capacity gain due to feedback vs. SNR in a spatial
The lognormal statistical parameters AmRi , SaRi (i = 1, 2, 3) multiplexed 2×2 MIMO/BFWA system – effect of capacity outage probability
along with the spatial correlation coefficient due to rainfall ρ12 q and angular separation Δψ.
(see Appendix I) concerning the rain attenuation distribution
for the cases examined are given in Table II.
First, numerical results obtained through Monte Carlo sim- system is located in Atlanta, GA whereas the assumed path
ulations over 10000 channel realizations are provided con- lengths and separation angle are L1 = 3km, L2 = 4km,
cerning the outage capacity achieved by the proposed spatial and Δψ = 100◦ (that is, ρ12 =0.5423), respectively. For the
multiplexed 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA system. sake of comparison, the capacity of the SISO case is also
Fig. 2 shows the 0.1% outage capacity of the special 2 × 2 plotted. As can be seen, at low SNR levels, all three curves
MIMO/BFWA channel for both cases of CU and CK vs. the for SISO, MIMO-CU and MIMO-CK cases coincide with each
SNRCS1 (that is, clear sky SNR of strong eigenmode). The other. Therefore, exclusive power allocation to the strongest
LIOLIS: ON THE APPLICABILITY OF MIMO PRINCIPLE TO 10-66GHZ BFWA NETWORKS 537

−1
18 10
Atlanta,GA − f=25GHz Analytical Solutions (Eq.(13)) SISO BFWA
Atlanta,GA − f=42GHz f=42GHz, pavail=99.9%
16 2x2 MIMO BFWA
Singapore − f=25GHz (L ,L ,L )=(1,1,3)km

Acceptable Interference Probability (AIP)

1 2 3
−2
14 10 f=42GHz, pavail=99.9%
1% Outage Capacity (b/s/Hz)

(L ,L ,L )=(3,4,5)km
1 2 3
12
−3
10 f=25GHz, p =99.99%
avail
10 (L ,L ,L )=(3,4,5)km
1 2 3

8 −4
10
f=25GHz, p =99.9%
avail
6 (L1,L2,L3)=(3,4,5)km
Analytical Solutions (Eq.(12))
4 −5
10

2
−6
0 10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
SNR (dB) SIR level (dB)
CS1

Fig. 5. AIP vs. SIR level in a 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA diversity system with

Fig. 4. 1% outage capacity vs. SNR for a spatial multiplexed 2 × 2 receive antenna selection (SISO case is also plotted for comparison). Effect
MIMO/BFWA system when instantaneous channel is unknown at the transmit of system availability pavail and operating frequency f .
side – effect of operating frequency f and climatic conditions over the
serviced area.

achieved by a 2 × 2 spatial multiplexed MIMO/BFWA system

sub-channel (which is always the case in SISO channels) is on both the climatic conditions and the operating frequency.
the optimal choice and, so, there is a slight capacity gain of The separation angle and path lengths assumed are the same
both MIMO cases over the SISO one. As the SNR increases, as in Fig. 2. Since q = 1%, there is no significant capacity
the two curves of MIMO-CU and MIMO-CK cases coincide gain due to feedback over the whole range of SNR (see also
with each other but diverge notably from the SISO one. Thus, Fig. 3) and hence, only the MIMO-CU case is examined.
equal power allocation becomes the optimum choice and the Furthermore, together with the results obtained via Monte
capacity gains of both MIMO cases over the SISO one turn Carlo simulations, the corresponding results obtained from
out to be significant. the analytical expressions given in Eqs. (12) and (13) for the
To investigate the effect of feedback on capacity, Fig. 3 special cases of asymptotically low and asymptotically high
depicts the relative capacity gain of the MIMO-CK case over SNR, respectively, are also plotted. The agreement observed
the MIMO-CU one vs. the SNRCS1 for two different capacity between the analytical and the simulation results is very good.
outage probabilities q, 0.1% and 1%, and two different angular Since the rain conditions in Atlanta, GA, are lighter than
separations, Δψ = 50◦ and 100◦ (that is, ρ12 =0.7443 and those observed in Singapore, rain fading is less severe and the
0.5759, respectively). The system is located in Atlanta, GA outage capacity achieved by a 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA located
whereas the assumed path lengths are equal, L1 = L2 = 3km. in Atlanta, GA, is higher compared to the one achieved by
As can be seen, the relative capacity gains yielded by instanta- a similar system in Singapore. Moreover, as the operating
neous CSI are higher at low SNR and decrease asymptotically frequency increases, the rain fading increases correspondingly
to zero as the SNR increases. This is because the “waterfilling” and, hence, the capacity achieved decreases.
solution converges to equal power allocation as the SNR In the following, the proposed analytical propagation model
increases [5]. It is also observed that the relative capacity gain predicting the SIR increase achieved in a 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA
due to feedback decreases as the capacity outage probability diversity system with receive antenna selection is numerically
q increases. This can be intuitively explained as follows: As verified, and the effect of various geometrical and operational
q increases, whether or not the BSs allocate optimally the system parameters on the downstream SIR distribution is
transmitted power along the two sub-channels, the probability examined.
that both sub-channels being in outage increases. Therefore, In Fig. 5, the AIP is plotted vs. the SIR level for two
the power allocation strategy employed in the CU case seems different values of system availability pavail , 99.9% and
to be a more reasonable choice at higher values of q. However, 99.99%, and for two different operating frequencies f , 25GHz
it is shown that at higher capacity outage probabilities q, and 42GHz. For the sake of comparison, a 2×2 MIMO/BFWA
even at low SNR, feedback does not result in significant diversity system and the relevant SISO one are examined. Both
capacity gains, that is, there is no reason to increase system systems are located in Atlanta,GA whereas the other param-
complexity by establishing the required feedback links. This eters assumed for the interference scenario are L1 = 3km,
can be attributed to the relatively high spatial correlation L2 = 4km, L3 = 5km, Δθ = 30◦ , Δψ = 90◦ and SIR1∗ =
coefficient ρ12 between the rain induced attenuations AR1 , 20dB. Due to rain, an SIR degradation is observed becoming
AR2 . It can be seen that as Δψ decreases (from 100◦ to 50◦ ), more severe as either pavail or f increase. This further
ρ12 increases correspondingly (from 0.5759 to 0.7443), and indicates that BFWA systems operating at higher availabilities
the capacity gain due to feedback decreases. or higher frequencies are more sensitive to interference. The
Fig. 4 shows the dependence of the 1% outage capacity SIR improvement achieved in the 2×2 MIMO/BFWA diversity
538
55
50
45
SIR*1=25dB
40
SIR level (dB)
35
*
SIR1=15dB
30
25
clear−sky
20 2x2 MIMO BFWA
SISO BFWA
15
10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Δθ (deg)
Fig. 6. SIR level in a 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA diversity system with receive
antenna selection vs. angular separation Δθ (SISO and clear-sky cases are
also plotted for comparison) – effect of nominal CCI level.
system over the SISO one is significant, especially for high
pavail and high f . Moreover, since BFWA systems operating
at higher frequencies are characterized by smaller cell radii, an
interesting result to look at is the performance of the proposed
2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA diversity system under such conditions.
Therefore, the case where f = 42GHz, L1 = L2 = 1km,
L3 = 2km, and pavail = 99.9% (the rest parameters assumed
are the same) is also plotted in Fig. 5. It can be seen that
the SIR degradation is less severe in that case. However,
even at smaller distances, the proposed system architecture
results in sufficient SIR improvement, which can be even more
significant at higher availability pavail .
In Fig. 6, the SIR dependence on Δθ is examined for
two different nominal CCI levels SIR1∗ , 15dB and 25dB.
The parameters assumed for the interference scenario are
L1 = 3km, L2 = 4km, L3 = 5km, Δψ = 90◦ , f = 25GHz,
AIP = 0.001% and pavail = 99.99% whereas the system is
located in Atlanta, GA. As expected, an SIR improvement
is observed as SIR1∗ increases. It is also clear that the
SIR values achieved by a 2 × 2 MIMO BFWA diversity
system under rain fades get closer to the clear sky ones when
compared to those achieved by a relevant SISO system. As
an illustration, for Δθ = 30◦ and SIR1∗ = 15dB, the SIR
value achieved at the receiver input of the SS under clear sky
conditions is 37dB, whereas in the cases of a SISO/BFWA
and a 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA system, it is 25.27dB and 28.59dB,
respectively.
Finally, Fig. 7 quantifies the SIR improvement achieved
by a 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA diversity system employing re-
ceive antenna selection with respect to the relevant SISO
one. Specifically, the “CCI Reduction Level,” defined as the
difference (in dB) between the SIR non-exceedance levels
at the receiver input of the SS for the MIMO and for the
relevant SISO case, is plotted vs. the angular separation Δψ
for AIP = 0.01% and 0.001%, and for two different climatic
conditions. The operating frequency, pavail and nominal CCI
level are 25GHz, 99.99%, and SIR1∗ = 20dB, respectively,
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. 57, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2009
8
AIP=0.001%
Co−Channel Interference Reduction Level (dB)
7 AIP=0.01%
6
Singapore
5
4
3
2 Atlanta,GA
1
0
80 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Δψ (deg)
Fig. 7. CCI reduction level achieved in a 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA diversity
system with receive antenna selection vs. angular separation Δψ. Effect of
AIP level and climatic conditions over the serviced area.
while the rest of the parameters employed are the same as
those assumed in Fig. 6. As the AIP decreases or as Δψ
increases, the achieved CCI reduction level becomes higher.
Moreover, it is obvious that the SIR enhancement obtained in
Singapore is much higher than that in Atlanta, GA, due to the
corresponding heavier rain conditions.
VI. C ONCLUSIONS
In this paper, the novel applicability of MIMO technology
to 10-66GHz BFWA networks is examined. By drawing on the
vast body of available MIMO literature, an interesting mixture
between communication-based and propagation-based analy-
ses is presented for two different cases of MIMO applications
to BFWA systems operating in the 10-66GH frequency range:
capacity improvement in spatial multiplexed MIMO/BFWA
systems; and SIR enhancement in MIMO/BFWA diversity sys-
tems with receive antenna selection. Both capacity and inter-
ference analyses assume an analytical physical MIMO/BFWA
channel model. This model takes into account the effect of
rain fading, has inputs from the ITU-R rainmaps, can be
applied on a global scale and can successfully incorporate the
general case of an ordered MIMO system. The differences
between conventional MIMO and the proposed 10-66GHz
MIMO/BFWA channels are pointed out and the exact rela-
tionship is established.
Useful results are obtained for the outage capacity of a
spatial multiplexed 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA system. Significant
capacity gains over the relevant SISO case have been demon-
strated, especially for high SNR levels. Based on analytical
closed form expressions and Monte Carlo simulations, it is
shown that exclusive power allocation is the optimal strategy
at low SNR, whereas equal power allocation is optimal at high
SNR. The effect of feedback on the outage capacity is also
investigated and it is shown that a capacity gain exists only
when the capacity outage probability q is low (for example,
q = 0.1%). This further implies that no additional complexity
in terms of feedback links and communication links between
LIOLIS: ON THE APPLICABILITY OF MIMO PRINCIPLE TO 10-66GHZ BFWA NETWORKS 539

the two BSs is worthwhile at reasonably higher values of q where Rm , Sr are the point rainfall rate lognormal statistical
(for example, q ≥ 1%). parameters estimated through appropriate regression fitting
Emphasis is also put on 2 × 2 MIMO/BFWA diversity analysis on local rainfall data or on rainfall data coming from
systems with receive antenna selection and their ability to the ITU-R rainmaps [19]. In (31) and (32)
combat intrasystem/intersystem CCI arising over the down-  
Li
stream channel. A general analytical propagation model for Xi = 2Li G sinh−1
G
the calculation of the SIR improvement achieved is presented, ⎡   ⎤
which is flexible and can incorporate the influence of various 2
L i
geometrical, climatic and operational system parameters on the +2G2 ⎣1 − + 1⎦ (i = 1, 2, 3) (33)
G
SIR distribution. The proposed model is tested numerically
and it is shown that the SIR increase obtained by a 2 × 2 (v) Considering the transformation
MIMO/BFWA diversity system can take values of several
dB depending on the operating frequency, system availability, ui = [ln (ARi ) − ln (AmRi )] /SaRi (i = 1, 2, 3) (34)
nominal CCI level, angular separations, acceptable interfer- the lognormal RVs ARi are related to the normalized normal
ence level, and climatic conditions existing over the serviced RVs ui (i = 1, 2, 3). The logarithmic correlation coefficient
area. ρnij ((i, j) = (1, 2) , (1, 3) , (2, 3)) for each pair of normal
By drawing on the vast body of MIMO literature currently RVs (ln ARi , ln ARj ) is given by Eq. (35) on next page, where
available, the relationship between conventional MIMO and
the proposed MIMO/BFWA channels may be used to obtain Xij
ρij =  (36)
additional insight into the analysis and design of 10-66GHz Xi Xj
BFWA networks. with
Li Lj
A PPENDIX A
R AIN FADING M ODEL Xij = ρ0 (z1 , z2 ) dz1 , dz2
0 0
The fundamental assumptions for the modeling of rain
((i, j) = (1, 2) , (1, 3) , (2, 3)) (37)
attenuation are as follows:
(i) The specific rain attenuation AR0 (in dB/km) in terms In (35) and (36), ρij is the correlation coefficient for each
of the point rainfall rate R (in mm/hr) is given by pair of lognormal RVs (ARi , ARj ). Specifically, ρ12 is the
correlation coefficient of rather interest in the present analysis,
AR0 = aRb (29)
and the one usually referred to throughout this work.
where the constants α and b depend upon operating frequency,
incident polarization, temperature, and raindrop size distribu- A PPENDIX B
tion [28]. A NALYTICAL S OLUTIONS TO THE C ONSTRAINED
(ii) Including the non-raining time, the lognormal distribu- O PTIMIZATION P ROBLEM (10)
tion is adopted for the distribution of the unconditional point Considering the well-known approximations log2 (1 + x) ≈
rainfall rate R and the rain attenuations ARi (i = 1, 2, 3) [8], x log2 e when x ≈ 0, and log2 (1 + x) ≈ log2 x when
[9], [17]. x 1, along with the assumptions about channel modeling,
(iii) The spatial correlation coefficient of the specific rain the following useful analytical solutions to the constrained
attenuation ρ0 between two points within the rain medium is optimization problem expressed through (10) come up for the
given by the semi-empirical expression [29] particular cases of asymptotically low and asymptotically high
G SNR, respectively.
ρ0 (z1 , z2 ) =  (30)
G + d2 (z1 , z2 )
2 • Low SNR region, see Eqs. (38) and (39) on next page.

0 is a function of the distance d (z1 , z2 )

ρ = ⇒ popt = 2 (40)
z12 + z22 − 2z1 z2 cos Δω between two converging radio
links, while G is a characteristic distance ranging from 0.75 • High SNR region, see Eq. (41) on next page.
to 3 km [29]. ∂CCU 1 1
= − =0 (42)
(iv) The rain attenuations along the three converging links ∂p p 2−p
ARi (i = 1, 2, 3) (concerning the two wanted signals and
⇒ popt = 1 (43)
the interfering one, respectively) are positive RVs following
the joint lognormal distribution. The lognormal statistical
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540 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. 57, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2009

 
1  
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Konstantinos P. Liolis (S’04) was born in Athens,
Greece in September 1981. He received the Dipl.-
Eng. degree in electrical and computer engineering
from the National Technical University of Athens
(NTUA), Greece, and the M.Sc. degree in electrical
engineering from the University of California, San
Diego (UCSD), USA, in July 2004 and December
2005, respectively. He is currently working towards
his Ph.D. degree at NTUA. From September 2004
to December 2005, he was Research Assistant at the
UCSD’s California Institute for Telecommunications
and Information Technology (Cal-IT2), San Diego, USA. From June 2006 to
January 2008, he was Communication Systems Engineer at the European
Space Agency, Research and Technology Centre (ESA/ESTEC), Noordwijk,
The Netherlands. Since February 2008, he has been R&D Systems Engineer at
Space Hellas SA, Athens, Greece. His research interests include mobile/fixed
wireless and satellite communications with emphasis on their physical layer
design and analysis, and their propagation channel modeling. He has published
more than 15 papers in international journals and conference proceedings,
he has numerous technical contributions to DVB-SH, mobile DVB-RCS and
ITU-R standardization bodies, and he has participated in several EU, ESA
and US funded R&D projects in these areas. Mr. Liolis is member of the
Technical Chamber of Greece. He received the 3rd place Best Student Paper
Award in the 2006 IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium.
Athanasios D. Panagopoulos (S’98, M’02) was
born in Athens, Greece on January 26, 1975. He
received the Diploma Degree in Electrical and
Computer Engineering (summa cum laude) and the
Dr. Engineering Degree from National Technical
University of Athens (NTUA) in July 1997 and
in April 2002. From May 2002 to July 2003, he
served the Technical Corps of Hellenic Army. In
September 2003, he joined School of Pedagogical
and Technological Education, as part-time Assistant
Professor. From January 2005 to May 2008, he was
head of the Satellite Division of Hellenic Authority for the Information and
Communication Security and Privacy. Since May 2008, he is Lecturer in the
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of NTUA. He has published
more than 110 papers in international journals and conference proceedings.
He is the recipient of URSI General Assembly Young Scientist Award in
2002 and 2005. His research interests include radio communication systems
design, wireless and satellite communications networks and the propagation
effects on multiple access systems and on communication protocols. He
participates to ITU-R and ETSI Study Groups and he is member of Technical
Chamber of Greece. He serves on the editorial boards of the Hindawi
I NTERNATIONAL J OURNAL OF A NTENNAS AND P ROPAGATION and Elsevier
P HYSICAL C OMMUNICATION and since October 2008 as an Associate Editor
of IEEE T RANSACTIONS ON A NTENNAS AND P ROPAGATION.
541
Panayotis G. Cottis was born in Thessaloniki,
Greece, in 1956. He received the Dipl. (mechani-
cal and electrical engineering) and Dr.Eng. degrees
from the National Technical University of Athens
(NTUA), Greece, in 1979 and 1984, respectively,
and the M.Sc. degree from the University of Manch-
ester, (UMIST), Manchester, U.K., in 1980. In 1986,
he joined the School of Electrical and Computer
Engineering, NTUA, where he has been a Professor
since 1996. He has published more than seventy
papers in international journals and transactions. His
research interests include electromagnetic scattering, microwave theory and
applications, wave propagation in anisotropic media, wireless networks, and
satellite communications. Dr. Cottis is member of the Technical Chamber of
Greece. From September 2003 to September 2006, he was the Vice Rector
of NTUA.
Bhaskar D. Rao (S’80-M’83-SM’91-F’00) received
the B.Tech. degree in electronics and electrical com-
munication engineering from the Indian Institute
of Technology, Kharagpur, India, in 1979 and the
M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of
Southern California, Los Angeles, in 1981 and 1983,
respectively. Since 1983, he has been with the Uni-
versity of California at San Diego, La Jolla, where
he is currently a Professor with the Electrical and
Computer Engineering Department. His interests are
in the areas of digital signal processing, estimation
theory, and optimization theory, with applications to digital communications,
speech signal processing, and human-computer interactions.His paper received
the best paper award at the 2000 speech coding workshop and his students
have received the student paper awards at both the 2005 and 2006 International
Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing as well as the best
student paper award at NIPS 2006. He also received the graduate teaching
award from the graduate students in the Electrical Engineering department
at UCSD in 1998. He was elected to the IEEE Fellow grade in 2000 for
his contributions in high resolution spectral estimation. Dr. Rao has been a
member of the Statistical Signal and Array Processing technical committee
and the Signal Processing Theory and Methods technical committee of
the IEEE Signal Processing Society. He is currently a member of the
Signal Processing for Communications technical committee and serves on
the editorial board of the EURASIP S IGNAL P ROCESSING J OURNAL.