Terrain dependant hop count selection for transparent relay transmissions

• Main Authors: Cibile K. Kanjirathumkal, Sameer Saheerudeen Mohammed, Lillykutty Jacob
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2013-12-01
• Series: The Journal of Engineering
• Subjects: fading channels; surface topography; relay networks (telecommunication); terrain dependant hop count selection; transparent relay transmission; multihop transparent relay communication; terrain specific fading severity factor; multistream switched diversity combining system
• Online Access: http://digital-library.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/joe.2013.0153

In this Letter, the selection of the best hop count for a particular topography, in the context of enhanced connectivity using multi-hop transparent relay communication is addressed. Based on the coefficient of variation and the terrain specific fading severity factor of the distribution, it is possible to estimate the optimal hop count that can provide the required performance at detector. Two distribution models, which can adequately characterise the terrain fading effects on empirical data are considered for performance comparison. The results are useful in selecting branches, with low variability and optimal hop count for connectivity, in multi-stream switched diversity combining systems.