Massive MIMO: An Overview, Recent Challenges, and Future Research Directions

The exponentially growing data traffic in modern communication systems results in the rise of both the shortage of system information rate and extra emissions of carbon. Large-scale multiple-input multiple-output techniques can enhance the energy together with the spectrum performance and have been observed as a talented approach for the next version of wireless communication systems. This paper examines the fundamentals of Massive MIMO technology, its importance, and its prominent role in 5G communication networks. As well, it statements the challenges that are still open to researchers to solving it. We discussed the researchers’ work in using the Massive MIMO technique to improve efficiency and increase throughput, as it was found MIMO systems are effectively applied to spectral efficiency and energy efficiency. Massive MIMO can be combined with current cellular technologies such as the non-orthogonal multiple access strategy to increase the data rates of these communication systems.