TABLE OF CONTENTS Third generation mobile communications systems are already offering significant improvements over their 2G counterparts in peak data rates and throughput. However, impairments caused by the propagation channel such as multipath and interference caused by other users in the system still represent challenges for the network and system design. As we have seen, in CDMA systems the performance of most users except those at the cell edge is interference limited. Techniques to reduce the average interference would therefore significantly improve performance in terms of capacity and coverage. As such, the technology of smart antennas can be considered as complimentary to existing multiple access techniques and an extra tool at the disposal of the system designer.
