An overview of smart antenna technology: the next wave in wireless communications

Space is truly one of the "final frontiers" when it comes to next generation wireless communication systems. Large-scale penetration of such such systems into our daily lives will require the significant reductions in cost and increases in capacity that only the spatial dimension can hope to offer. That this is certainly the case is attested to by the significant number of companies that have been recently formed to bring products based on such concepts to the wireless marketplace. The approaches range from switched-beam to fully-adaptive with the benefits provided by the various approaches differing accordingly. At one end of the spectrum is Spatial Division Multiple Access (SDMA) technology, a technology with roots in various defense-related development programs, and which ArrayComm is currently developing in its IntelliCell(TM) line of products. SDMA technology employs antenna arrays and multi-dimensional nonlinear signal processing techniques to provide significant increases in capacity and quality of many wireless communication systems. Antenna arrays coupled with adaptive signal processing techniques employed at base stations improve coverage, capacity and trunking efficiency allowing lower cost deployments with cells of moderate to large size. The basic principles and architecture of SDMA wireless communication systems are outlined. Experimental results obtained from systems built to these new architectural specifications are presented demonstrating the efficacy of SDMA technology.