On the evolution of downlink physical layer in multi-antenna 3GPP LTE / LTE-A: A review

3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) started LTE (Long Term Evolution) as a project in 2004 and later it was introduced as the 4th generation of mobile communication standard in 3GPP Release 8. LTE uses some new technologies such as OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) with MU-MIMO (Multiuser Multiple Input Multiple Output) in the downlink and SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) in the uplink. The benefit of LTE is that it provides better performance in multimedia applications, higher data rates, improved system capacity and coverage, reduced latency, enhanced voice communication. To fulfill all this aim a better understanding of the physical layer of LTE is required. Therefore in this paper a holistic overview of the downlink physical layer of LTE been discussed.