Single- and Multicarrier Transmission in Multipoint-to-Point Scenarios with Intersymbol Interference: A Comparison

Equalization schemes for multipoint-to-point scenarios (multiple access problem) where the transmission paths exhibit intersymbol interference are investigated. In particular, singlecarrier modulation employing decision-feedback equalization, multicarrier modulation employing BLAST per carrier, and frequency-division multiplexing in disjoint frequency bands are considered. The rate regions, i.e., the region of admissible rates of the users, for these approaches are given and compared. It is shown, that despite single- and multicarrier transmission can achieve the same sum rate, in each case MIMO OFDM offers the largest rate region. The results are illustrated via numerical examples.