Performance enhancement of GPRS transmission using switched beam antennas at Mobile Station

As the users call for the improvement of the datarate in GPRS system, so far an adaptive antenna implemented at base station is envisaged to be the solution. However, this concept introduces the problems of high expense and complexity. Alternatively, a switched beam antenna avoiding those impairments is worthwhile considering. Therefore, this paper investigates into the use of switched beam antenna compared with adaptive antenna in GPRS system. To achieve a fraction of expense, the implementation is considered at the mobile station instead. The simulation results reveal that employing the switched beam system provides higher performance in term of carrier-to-interference ratio and throughput, compared with adaptive antenna. The obtained results also confirm the advantages of switched beam antenna even though the system is situated in non-line-of-sight environment.