Large scale field trial results on time domain compression for uplink joint detection

Inter-cell interference in the cellular uplink can be combated effectively by joint detection (JD) of multiple users at cooperative base stations, a concept known as network MIMO or more generally as coordinated multi-point (CoMP). Field trials verify large improvements in spectral efficiency and fairness which were proven theoretically. On the downside, JD requires a vast amount of data traffic to be exchanged over the backhaul. However, recent studies promise great performance of JD even under stringent backhaul constraints provided that the exchanged signals are compressed. The present work investigates the limits and potentials of this approach in a practical setting using large scale field trials.