Performance study for a microcell hot spot embedded in WCDMA macrocell system with smart antennas

The major purpose of this contribution is to analyze an hierarchical cell structure with a hot spot embedded in a WCDMA macrocellular system. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the introduction of smart antennas in this context. A system-level simulation approach is employed where we consider two main solutions to deal with the hot spot traffic: the placement of a microcell antenna or the adoption of smart antenna technology at the macrocell. Relative gains in signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) are then evaluated. Distinct scenarios are defined based on the proportion of users of different service classes. An evaluation of which solution is better suited for each scenario is then carried out.