Performance analysis of a GERAN switched beam system by simulations and measurements

Switched beam (SB) technology is an appropriate method for boosting GSM/EDGE radio access network (GERAN) capacity especially in hot spots or cell deployments, where the installation of additional sites and new antennas is not possible. A SB solution with four 30 degree sub-sectors is presented and the potential capacity gain in uplink and downlink is evaluated by simulations and drive tests. A performance comparison with the upcoming single antenna interference cancellation (SAIC) feature is given for the downlink. Finally, it is shown that SB and SAIC provide an additive quality and capacity gain.