Performance Analysis of Uplink Massive MIMO System over Rician Fading Channel

Massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) is considered as one of the promising technology to significantly improve the spectral efficiency of fifth generation (5G) networks. In this paper, we analyze the performance of uplink massive MIMO systems over a Rician fading channel and imperfect channel state information (CSI) at a base station (BS). Major Rician fading channel parameters including path-loss, shadowing and multipath fading are considered. Minimum mean square error (MMSE) based channel estimation is done at the BS. Assuming a zero-forcing (ZF) detector, a closed-form expression for the uplink achievable rate is derived and expressed as a function of system and propagation parameters. The impact of the system and propagation parameters on the achievable rate are investigated. Numerical results show that, when the Rician K-factor grows, the uplink achievable sum rate improves. Specifically, when both the number of BS antenna and the Rician K-factor become very large, channel estimation becomes more robust and the interference can be average out and thus, uplink sum rate improves significantly.