Chapter 15: Cell-Free Massive MIMO Performance Analysis

Learning Objectives

• Derive achievable rate expressions for cell-free massive MIMO under imperfect CSI and limited fronthaul
• Apply the use-and-then-forget bound and the hardening-based bound in cell-free settings
• Compare spectral efficiency of cell-free, small-cell, and co-located massive MIMO architectures
• Evaluate fairness using the 95%-likely per-user rate metric and CDF comparisons
• Formulate and solve the min-rate maximization problem for cell-free networks
• Model total power consumption including AP hardware, fronthaul links, and signal processing
• Optimize energy efficiency by tuning AP density and cooperation level
• Discuss practical deployment considerations for ultra-dense cell-free networks in 6G