• CPEs need to be synchronized for correct UL functioning. During UL, the signals from all CPEs must arrive at  the AP at the same time. Since they are typically in different locations, the CPEs need to know what delay to introduce such that their signals arrive at the AP simultaneously during UL.

Once the MU-MIMO system is set up, the links can be established. MU-MIMO systems typically use antenna arrays to maximize the Signal to Noise Radio (SNR) of signal each CPE receives. If you want to know more about antenna arrays (AA), check our short blog post.

Depending on the number of CPEs, there is a corresponding number of independent data streams the AP works with. For each data stream, the AA is configured such that the main beam of the radiation pattern is aimed at the corresponding CPE. So the individual setup of AA is different for each CPE. Once all AA setups for each CPE are known, the final radiation pattern is a sum of the individual ones.

Role of antenna arrays in MU-MIMO

Because of the antenna array size,  there is a limit to how many CPEs can be served at the same time - minimum beam width size limits how close the served CPEs can be. If CPEs are too close, they are covered by the same beam and therefore cannot be separated from each other in a logical sense. To be able to do so, the beam width would have to shrink even more, which is possible by increasing the AA size. 

There are two major ways to determine which CPEs can be grouped and served at the same time. First is to search for the maximum achievable SNR among all CPEs and picking those that have the best SNR.

Second is to search for the opposite - finding directions to which the nulls are steered to aim them at the CPEs that are not part of the served MU-MIMO group.

MU-MIMO upload & download

It is important to understand that the transmission of the signals to all CPEs happens at the same time, and at the same frequency channel. During the download, each CPE receives all the signals containing all the data streams involved. Thanks to the signal processing techniques and the knowledge of the propagation channel characteristics between AP and each CPE, the CPEs can pick the data stream meant for them.

During the upload, synchronized CPEs send their data to the AP, which again, thanks to the knowledge of propagation channel characteristics associated with each CPE and signal processing techniques then sorts through the signals received and separates them into individual data streams.