A comparison of multiple input radio channel models using geometric and stochastic methods

We present two types of multiple input channel models that have been implemented: a geometric model and a stochastic model. We consider the relative merits and limitations of these models. There are a number of factors that will indicate whether geometric or stochastic multichannel models are appropriate for a particular test scenario. The advantage of a geometric model is that all of the factors used to characterise the channel (e.g. Doppler spread, delay spread, angle of arrival, etc.) are correlated. The geometric model, by its physical ray tracing nature, automatically implements these artefacts of the signal and can be used in indoor picocells and outdoor macrocells without the need for empirical data. The disadvantage of the geometric model is that it is a simplification of the physical world, and so some of the statistical detail is likely to be lost.