Performance of WCDMA in a Multicellular Network for different Multiuser Detection Strategies

The purpose of the study presented in this paper is to investigate the performance of a multicelluar Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) network for different multiuser detection (MUD) strategies in terms of maximum achievable capacity. Capacity is evaluated both with system level simulations for different loading, as well as with link level simulations for different MUD techniques. Due to the increased complexity of the problem, a grid-enabled problem solving environment is developed in order to reduce execution time and make feasible the Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of scenarios with up to 4 tiers of cells and increased number of users. Hence, this Grid enabled WCDMA simulator now allows for detailed consideration of the multi-cell multi-user interference with complex techniques like MUD, previously not possible. Results indicate that the parallel interference cancellation (PIC) technique with one stage detection has the best performance in a multicellular network with ideal power control.