A simple model for performance evaluation of a smart antenna in a CDMA system

Smart antennas are recognized as a key technology to improve the performance of wireless communication systems. In this paper we propose a simple model to analyse the mean bit error rate (BER) of an IS-95 code division multiple access (CDMA) system with base station antenna array operating in a Rayleigh fading multipath environment. We present an expression for the signal to interference plus noise (SINR) at the output of the smart antenna receiver, as a function of the system parameters. Good agreement between the results proposed by the model and the simulation results of the actual system is noted.