Exact BER analysis of MIMO MRC systems with channel estimation error and interference

In this paper, we investigate the impact of channel estimation error on the average bit error rate (BER) of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless systems with maximum ratio transmission (MRT) beamforming and maximum ratio combining (MRC) reception, known as MIMO MRC systems. The analysis is performed over frequency-flat Rayleigh fading channels in the presence of co-channel interference, where each interferer is assumed to be from a single transmit antenna. Previous error rate expressions in the literature are approximate and include hypergeometric functions. In contrast, the analytical result derived in this paper is exact and in the form of finite terms of elementary functions. It is verified by Monte Carlo simulations and utilized to evaluate the overestimation arising in the error rate results obtained in the literature.