Uplink Performance of Large Optimum-Combining Antenna Arrays in Poisson-Cell Networks

The uplink of a wireless network with base stations distributed according to a Poisson Point Process (PPP) is analyzed. The base stations are assumed to have a large number of antennas and use linear minimum-mean-square-error (MMSE) spatial processing for multiple access. The number of active mobiles per cell is limited to permit channel estimation using pilot sequences that are orthogonal in each cell. The cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the spectral efficiency of a randomly located link in a typical cell of such a system is derived when accurate channel estimation is available. A simple bound is provided for the spectral efficiency when channel estimates suffer from pilot contamination. The results provide insight into the performance of so-called massive Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems in spatially distributed cellular networks.