Exact matched filter bound for 2-beam Rayleigh fading [cellular radio]

The matched filter bound (MFB) is exactly evaluated for a channel modeled by the sum of two delayed and independently Rayleigh fading beams. It is shown that if the two beams have comparable average powers, and if the delay spread is moderate or large, considerable gain is obtained from a diversity-like effect. It is as if the two beams could be detected separately and their results combined. This is shown to be true even though significant interference would seem to be present between the beams