User Load Analysis and Pilot Sequence Design for Multi-Cell Massive MIMO Networks

Abstract

We propose a novel algorithm to design user load-achieving pilot sequences that mitigate pilot contamination in multi-cell massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) networks. To this end, we first derive expressions for the user load and the load region of the network considering both small-scale and large-scale propagation effects. We then develop the pilot sequence algorithm for multi-cell massive MIMO networks as per the rules of generalized Welch bound equality design. Notably, we find that our algorithm and the corresponding downlink power allocation ensure that the user load is achieved when the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) requirements for the users lie within the load region. Furthermore, we demonstrate the performance advantage of our proposed design relative to the existing designs, in terms of a larger load region and a higher maximum permitted SINR. Finally, we show that our proposed design can satisfy the pre-defined SINR requirements for users with a finite number of antennas at the base station (BS), while the existing designs cannot satisfy the same requirements even with an infinite number of antennas at the BS.

GlobeCOM 2016 best paper award (SPC Symposium)

Cited by in corpus (5)

• On the Pilot Contamination Attack in Multi-Cell Multiuser Massive MIMO Networks
• Mitigating Pilot Contamination Through Location-Aware Pilot Assignment in Massive MIMO Networks
• Max-Min Power Control in Downlink Massive MIMO with Distributed Antenna Arrays
• Downlink Power Control in Massive MIMO Networks with Distributed Antenna Arrays
• Active Attack on User Load Achieving Pilot Design in Massive MIMO Networks