New Channel Model for Wireless Communications: Finite-State Phase-Type Semi-Markov Channel Model

In this paper, a finite-state phase-type semi-Markov channel (FSPHMC) model is proposed for wireless channels with correlated fading. By introducing a phase type distributed sojourn time between channel state transitions, the proposed model generalizes the traditional Finite-State Markov Channel (FSMC) model where the sojourn time in each channel state is assumed to satisfy geometric distribution. Thanks to the flexibility of the phase type distribution, the resultant FSPHMC model is applicable to much wider range of practical fading channels. For facilitating the implementation of FSPHMC model in practical scenarios, a special case, FSPHMC model with negative binomial sojourn time (FSPHMC-NB), is also presented under constraint computational complexity. Compared with the traditional FSMC model, the FSPHMC-NB demonstrates considerable improvement in that it matches the true state duration distribution without a significant increase in complexity. Simulation results are given to validate the flexibility and versatility of the proposed FSPHMC model.