On the spectrum of large random hermitian finite-band matrices

The open problem of calculating the limiting spectrum (or its Shannon transform) of increasingly large random Hermitian finite-band matrices is described. In general, these matrices include a finite number of non-zero diagonals around their main diagonal regardless of their size. Two different communication setups which may be modeled using such matrices are presented: a simple cellular uplink channel, and a time varying inter-symbol interference channel. Selected recent information-theoretic works dealing directly with such channels are reviewed. Finally, several characteristics of the still unknown limiting spectrum of such matrices are listed, and some reflections are touched upon.