Spectral Efficiency Analysis of Ultra-Dense Small Cell Networks With Heterogeneous Channel Estimation Capabilities

This letter analyzes a spectral efficiency (SE) performance reflecting heterogeneous channel estimation (CE) capabilities across user equipment (UE) in ultra-dense small cell networks. Specifically, we derive asymptotic and approximated SE performances considering different kinds of CE capabilities. The analysis and simulation results lead us to some new intuitions as follows. First, the heterogeneity of CE capabilities across UEs has a great effect on SE performance in ultra-dense networks. Second, as the cell density increases, SE performance is asymptotically converged to its limit point when heterogeneous CE capabilities are considered, whereas the SE logarithmically increases in the perfect CE case.