3D-MIMO with Massive Antennas: Theory, Implementation and Testing

This chapter evaluates the performance of 3D-multiple input multiple output (MIMO) with massive antennas by system-level simulation using practical assumption and channel model, and by testing the 3D-MIMO in field trial with commercial terminal and networks. It compares system-level simulation results and field trial test measurements. The system-level simulation results showed that by equipping 3D-MIMO with 64 active antennas, the performance can be significantly improved. 3D-MIMO shows better performance in the UMi scenario than than in the UMa scenario. The testing results from the field trial in a typical urban micro scenario verify the performance gain of 3D-MIMO obtained by simulation. Finally, the chapter analyzes how to take 3D-MIMO from theory to practice in terms of transmit hardware design and commercialization considerations. By balancing the tradeoff between cost and performance, the active antenna systems (AAS) antenna is considered a key for commercialization of 3D-MIMO with massive antennas in future 5G systems.