Coordinated MultiPoint uplink capacity over a MIMO composite fading channel

Coordinated Multipoint comprises a set of communication strategies for cellular systems which are based on cooperation/coordination between Base Stations (BSs). These strategies have been recently included in LTE standardization in order to meet the spectral efficiency requirements. In this paper, the focus is on the uplink capacity of a cellular system over a composite fading channel, which combines Ricean fading and shadowing. In order to realistically model the cellular system, path loss and distributed users are also considered. Finally, the channel model incorporates multiple antennas, as dictated by the latest wireless standards. Based on random matrix and free probability theory, closed-form expressions are derived for the channel capacity and the MMSE achievable rate. In this context, strong Line-of-Sight component is shown to degrade capacity performance, while large shadowing statistics benefit it.