Optimal Antenna Type Selection in a Real SU-MIMO Network Planning Scenario

Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology is ready for deployment in the near future. A variety of MIMO antenna types including cross-polarized antennas, uniform linear arrays, and remote radio heads will be available. While theoretical MIMO performance gains have thoroughly been investigated, one of the major tasks of network operators, the selection process of an optimal MIMO antenna type for every sector in cellular network planning and optimization workflows, has rarely been treated so far. Consequently this paper presents a method on how advantages of different MIMO antenna types can be analyzed in coverage and capacity studies based on a MIMO gain benchmark. We show by simulations in a sample planning environment that the meaningful deployment of a variety of MIMO antenna types can increase the overall cellular network capacity and how mobile user positions influence the results.