On the Capacity of MIMO Broadband Power Line Communications Channels

TL;DR

This paper investigates the theoretical capacity limits of broadband power line communication channels, considering their unique noise and channel variations, providing explicit bounds and numerical insights.

Contribution

It derives explicit capacity bounds for BB-PLC channels accounting for non-Gaussian noise and periodic channel variations, advancing understanding of their fundamental limits.

Findings

Explicit capacity bounds for various noise models

Numerical analysis illustrating fundamental limits

Insights into the impact of non-Gaussian noise and periodic variations

Abstract

Communications over power lines in the frequency range above 2 MHz, commonly referred to as broadband (BB) power line communications (PLC), has been the focus of increasing research attention and standardization efforts in recent years. BB-PLC channels are characterized by a dominant colored non-Gaussian additive noise, as well as by periodic variations of the channel impulse response and the noise statistics. In this work we study the fundamental rate limits for BB-PLC channels by bounding their capacity while accounting for the unique properties of these channels. We obtain explicit expressions for the derived bounds for several BB-PLC noise models, and illustrate the resulting fundamental limits in a numerical analysis.