Spectral-efficiency of uplink cellular networks with distributed base-station detection and cooperation

The uplink spectral-efficiency of space-division multiple-access (SDMA) cellular systems is studied, when distributed base-station (BS) detection and distributed BS cooperation are employed. In contrast to the related works in literature, which mainly consider the linear and hexagonal Wyner models (or their extensions) with a constant factor for intercell interference (ICI), we address the impacts of radio propagation pathloss, shadowing and fast fading on the achievable spectral efficiency. In this contribution, two representative schemes are proposed for implementing distributed detection; They are the optimum multiuser detection (OMUD) and minimum mean-square error assisted successive interference cancellation (MMSE-SIC), both of which mitigate the ICI via data exchange supported by a backhaul system. Our studies and performance results show that both distributed schemes are effective in suppressing ICI, while the MMSE-SIC employs some advantages over the OMUD.