SNR and SINR-based selection combining algorithms in the presence of arbitrarily distributed co-channel interferers

The performance of selection combining (SC) diversity in the presence of additive white Gaussian noise as well as multiple co-channel interfering signals over fading channels is analysed. The analysis considers two SC algorithms, namely, the signal-to-noise ratio-(SNR) based SC algorithm and the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR)-based SC algorithm. Closed-form expressions for the distribution of the resulting SINR and the outage probability performance are derived for both SC algorithms. The derived expressions are valid for arbitrary number of interfering signals, and when the desired signal replicas experience independent Rayleigh fading with generalised statistics. In addition, they are applicable for the general case when the interfering signals are subject to arbitrary fading models, which include the cases of identical, non-identical, correlated and mixed-mode fading scenarios. Numerical results are presented to examine the impact of different fading conditions and system parameters on the outage performance for both SC algorithms under consideration.