HSDPA Throughput Performance With Limited Number of Signal Paths

Over-the-air characterization of wireless devices is performed using specific channel models. Channel models define the distribution of the incident signals over angle and polarization, but always assuming a large number of signal paths. However, in some real cases, the number of signal paths can be limited. This letter studies the effect of the number of signal paths on the high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) throughput, using a commercial phone. Differences in performance are found, depending on the number of signal paths. This highlights the importance of the number of signal paths in the characterization of wireless devices.