Reverse link analysis of cellular packet data networks with multiple receive antennas

The reverse link of a wireless packet data system with a varying number of users is considered. A time scale separation approximation is used to justify the analysis of this system based on a processor sharing model, and to compute the tradeoff between the offered load and the throughput seen by a typical user. When multiple receive antennas are available at the base station, it is shown that simple random multiaccess schemes with very little coordination between users can outperform more complex orthogonal schemes.