Enhancing HSUPA system level performance with dual carrier capability

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how dual carrier capability can enhance High Speed Uplink Packet Access performance in comparison to using only single carrier. Dual carrier operation gives the User Equipment the possibility to transmit simultaneously using two 5 MHz bands, theoretically doubling the peak data rates and user throughput. The analysis is conducted with a system level simulation tool. This paper first indicates with single carrier simulations that, especially in small cells, terminals have spare power available for dual carrier operation. These observations are verified with dual carrier simulations by showing that the burst throughput can be practically doubled. In the larger cells only the users in good position can fully benefit from using dual carrier.