This paper investigates the impact of realistic propagation conditions on the achievable secrecy performance of multiple-input multiple-output systems in the presence of an eavesdropper. Specifically, we concentrate on the $κ$-$μ$ shadowed fading model because its physical underpinnings capture a wide range of propagation conditions, while, at the same time, it allows for much better tractability than other state-of-the-art fading models. By considering transmit antenna selection and maximal ratio combining reception at the legitimate and eavesdropper's receiver sides, we study two relevant scenarios $(i)$ the transmitter does not know the eavesdropper's channel state information (CSI), and $(ii)$ the transmitter has knowledge of the CSI of the eavesdropper link. For this purpose, we first obtain novel and tractable expressions for the statistics of the maximum of independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) variates related to the legitimate path. Based on these results, we derive novel closed-form expressions for the secrecy outage probability (SOP) and the average secrecy capacity (ASC) to assess the secrecy performance in passive and active eavesdropping scenarios, respectively. Moreover, we develop analytical asymptotic expressions of the SOP and ASC at the high signal-to-noise ratio regime. In all instances, secrecy performance metrics are characterized in closed-form, without requiring the evaluation of Meijer or Fox functions. Some useful insights on how the different propagation conditions and the number of antennas impact the secrecy performance are also provided.
Performances of cellular networks over κ-μ shadowed fading with long-term shadowing has been studied in the existing literature. However, the impact of κ-μ shadowed fading with instantaneous shadowing on performances of cellular networks is unknown. Therefore, this letter analyzes the downlink coverage probability of a Poisson network with double shadowed fading which is composed of a large-scale fading of lognormal distribution and κ-μ shadowed fading with integer fading parameters. The closest base station association rule without shadowing is considered. For analytical tractability, the dou…
This letter presents a unified analytical framework for relay-assisted mixed FSO/RF transmission. In addition to accounting for different FSO detection techniques, the mathematical model offers a twofold unification of mixed FSO/RF systems by considering mixed Málaga-$\mathcal{M}$/$κ$-$μ$ shadowed fading, which includes as special cases nearly all linear turbulence/fading models adopted in the open literature.
The performance of energy detection (ED) for independent and identically distribution (i.i.d.) signal models is analyzed over generalized composite non-linear line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) shadowed fading scenarios. The novel expressions for α-\k{appa}-μ/Gamma and α-η-μ/Gamma fading channels have been derived to approximate by using the mixture gamma (MG) distribution under low instantaneous signal-to-noise (SNR) condition. On the basis of the deduced fading distributions, novel, exact and close-form detective models are derived to evaluate the sensing performance with diffe…
In this paper, novel closed-form expressions for the level crossing rate (LCR) and average fade duration (AFD) of $κ-μ$ shadowed fading channels are derived. The new equations provide the capability of modeling the correlation between the time derivative of the shadowed dominant and multipath components of the $κ-μ$ shadowed fading envelope. Verification of the new equations is performed by reduction to a number of known special cases. It is shown that as the shadowing of the resultant dominant component decreases, the signal crosses lower threshold levels at a reduced rate. Furthermore, the i…
The downlink coverage probability of a cellular network, when the base station locations are modelled by a Poisson point process (PPP), is known when the desired channel is Nakagami distributed with an integer shape parameter. However, for many interesting fading distributions such as Rician, Rician shadowing, $κ$-$μ$, $η$-$μ$, etc., the coverage probability is unknown. $κ$-$μ$ shadowed fading is a generic fading distribution whose special cases are many of these popular distributions known so far. In this letter, we derive the coverage probability when the desired channel experiences $κ$-$μ$ …
The $κ$-$μ$ shadowed fading model is a very general fading model as it includes both $κ$-$μ$ and $η$-$μ$ as special cases. In this work, we derive the expression for outage probability when the signal-of-interest (SoI) and interferers both experience $κ$-$μ$ shadowed fading in an interference limited scenario. The derived expression is valid for arbitrary SoI parameters, arbitrary $κ$ and $μ$ parameters for all interferers and any value of the parameter $m$ for the interferers excepting the limiting value of $m\rightarrow \infty$. The expression can be expressed in terms of Pochhammer integral…
In this paper, we analyze the performance of cognitive radio (CR) systems over different composite generalized multipath /shadowed fading scenarios. The \k{appa}-μ shadowed and Fisher-Snedecor F fading channels which are proposed as a simple and high accurate distributions in comparison with generalized-K (KG) and Nakagami-m shadowed conditions are used in this analysis. For the \k{appa}-μ shadowed, a novel simple exact closed-form analytic expression for the probability density function (PDF) and the cumulative distribution function (CDF) are introduced by assuming the fading parameters are i…
In this paper, the physical layer security aspects of a wireless framework over α-\k{appa}-μ shadowed (AKMS) fading channel are examined by acquiring closed-form novel expressions of average secrecy capacity, secure outage probability (SOP), and strictly positive secrecy capacity. The lower bound of SOP is derived along with the asymptotic expression of SOP at the high signal-to-noise ratio regime in order to achieve secrecy diversity gain. Capitalizing on these expressions, the consequences due to the simultaneous occurrence of fading and shadowing are quantified. Finally, Monte-Carlo simulat…
This paper presents a novel unified performance analysis of Space-Time Block Codes (STBCs) operating in the Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) network and subjected to generalized shadowed fading and noise scenarios. Specifically, we derive novel, simple and accurate average bit error rates (ABER) expressions for coherent modulation schemes in the generalized η-μ and shadowed κ-μ fading channels. The noise in the network is assumed to be modeled by the additive white generalized Gaussian noise (AWGGN), which encompasses the Laplacian and the Gaussian noise environments as special cases. The…
We here introduce an extension and natural generalization of both the κ-μ$\,$shadowed and the classical Beckmann fading models: the Fluctuating Beckmann (FB) fading model. This new model considers the clustering of multipath waves on which the line-of-sight (LoS) components randomly fluctuate, together with the effect of in-phase/quadrature power imbalance in the LoS and non-LoS components. Thus, it unifies a variety of important fading distributions as the one-sided Gaussian, Rayleigh, Nakagami-m, Rician, κ-μ, η-μ, η-κ, Beckmann, Rician shadowed and the κ-μ$\,$shadowed distribution. The chief…
In this paper we present a bivariate Rician shadowed fading model where the shadowing is assumed to follow a Nakagami-$m$ distribution. We derive exact expressions involving a single integral for both the joint probability density function (PDF) and the joint cumulative distribution function (CDF) and we also derive an exact closed-form expression for the moment generating function (MGF). As a direct consequence we obtain a closed-form expression for the power correlation coefficient between Rician shadowed variables as a function of the correlation coefficient between the underlying variables…
The effective throughput of multiple-input single-output (MISO) wireless communication systems over $κ-μ$ shadowed fading channels is analysed. To obtain exact closed-from expression, the moment generating function (MGF) of the instantaneous signal to noise ratio (SNR) with independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) transmit antennas is employed. In addition, a special case of integer values for the fading parameter is performed to simplify the derived expression. The asymptotic behaviour of the effective throughput at high values of SNR is also studied. The Monte Carlo simulations and t…
Energy detection is a reliable non-coherent signal processing technology of spectrum sensing of cognitive radio networks, which thanks to its low complexity, no requirement of priori received information and fast sensing ability etc. Since the excellent performance of energy detection would be actually affected by physical multipath fading, this paper is concentrating on characteristics analysis of energy detection over composite shadowed fading channels. The small-scale and line-of-sight fading distribution consists of particular examples such as Rayleigh, Hoyt, Nakagami-m and one sided Gauss…
The effective capacity of communication systems over generalized $κ$-$μ$ shadowed fading channels is investigated in this letter. A novel and analytical expression for the exact effective capacity is derived in terms of extended generalized bivariate Meijer's-$G$ function. To intuitively reveal the impact of the system and channel parameters on the effective capacity, we also derive closed-form expressions for the effective capacity in the asymptotically high signal-to-noise ratio regime. Our results demonstrate that the effective capacity is a monotonically increasing function of channel fadi…
In this paper, we propose a mixture Gamma shadowed (MGS) distribution as a unified composite model via representing the shadowing by an inverse Nakagami-$m$. Accordingly, the exact expression and the asymptotic behaviour at high average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime of the fundamental statistics of a MGS distribution are derived first. These statistics are then applied to analyze the performance of the wireless communications systems over double shadowed $α-κ-μ$ fading via providing the outage probability (OP), the average bit error probability (ABEP), the average channel capacity (ACC), …
In this paper, a novel unified analytical expression for average bit error rates (ABER) and average channel capacity (ACC) is presented for the $κ-μ$ shadowed fading model. This new shadowed fading model has shown to be suitable for underwater wireless channel modeling for the measurements conducted by the Naval Research Laboratory, and is not so well covered in the public literature. Deploying the Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC) receiver, a new simple analytical expression for the probability density function (PDF) of the receiver output signal to noise ratio is presented. Based on this new PDF…
Emerging cellular technologies such as those proposed for use in 5G communications will accommodate a wide range of usage scenarios with diverse link requirements. This will include the necessity to operate over a versatile set of wireless channels ranging from indoor to outdoor, from line-of-sight (LOS) to non-LOS, and from circularly symmetric scattering to environments which promote the clustering of scattered multipath waves. Unfortunately, many of the conventional fading models adopted in the literature to develop network models lack the flexibility to account for such disparate signal pr…
This paper introduces a new and unified bit error rates performance analysis of space-time block codes (STBC) deployed in wireless systems with spatial diversity in generalized shadowed fading and noise scenarios. Specifically, we derive a simple and a very accurate approximate expressions for the average error rates of coherent modulation schemes in generalized $η-μ$ and $κ-μ$ shadowed fading channels with multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems. The noise in the network is assumed to be modeled using the additive white generalized Gaussian noise (AWGGN), which encompasses the classical…
In this paper, the secrecy analysis of physical layer when both the main and wiretap channels undergo $κ-μ$ shadowed fading channel is investigated. In particular, the average secrecy capacity (ASC), secure outage probability (SOP), the lower bound of SOP (SOP$^L$), and the probability of strictly positive secrecy capacity (SPSC) are derived by using the classic Wyner's wiretap model. Two different scenarios for the fading parameters, i.e., $μ$ and $m$ which represents the shadowing impact have been studied. These parameters are chosen first as arbitrary numbers, thus the performance metrics a…
Statistical characterization of the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) via its cumulative distribution function (CDF) is ubiquitous in a vast majority of technical contributions in the area of cellular networks since it boils down to averaging the Laplace transform of the aggregate interference, a benefit accorded at the expense of confinement to the simplistic Rayleigh fading. In this work, to capture diverse fading channels that appear in realistic outdoor/indoor wireless communication scenarios, we tackle the problem differently. By exploting the moment generating function (MGF)…
The frequency scarcity imposed by fast growing demand for mobile data service requires promising spectrum aggregation systems. The so-called higher-order statistics (HOS) of the channel capacity is a suitable metric on the system performance. While prior relevant works have improved our knowledge on the HOS characterization of spectrum aggregation systems, an analytical framework encompassing generalized fading models of interest is not yet available. In this paper, we pursue a detailed HOS analysis of $κ$-$μ$ and $κ$-$μ$ shadowed fading channels by deriving novel and exact expressions. Furthe…
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are set to feature heavily in upcoming fifth generation (5G) networks. Yet, the adoption of multi-UAV networks means that spectrum scarcity in UAV communications is an issue in need of urgent solutions. Towards this end, downlink non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is investigated in this paper for multi-UAV networks to improve spectrum utilization. Using the bivariate Rician shadowed fading model, closed-form expressions for the joint probability density function (PDF), marginal cumulative distribution functions (CDFs), and outage probability expressions are …
Through ordinary transmissions over wireless multicast networks are greatly hampered due to the simultaneous presence of fading and shadowing of wireless channels, secure transmissions can be enhanced by properly exploiting random attributes of the propagation medium. This study focuses on the utilization of those attributes to enhance the physical layer security (PLS) performance of a dual-hop wireless multicast network over kappa-mu shadow-fading channel under the wiretapping attempts of multiple eavesdroppers. In order to improve the secrecy level, the best relay selection strategy among mu…
In this era of 5G technology, the ever-increasing demands for high data rates lead researchers to develop hybrid satellite-terrestrial (HST) networks as a substitution to the conventional cellular terrestrial systems. Since an HST network suffers from a masking effect which can be mitigated by adopting the terrestrial relaying strategy, in this work, we focus on wireless multicasting through an HST relaying net-work (HSTRN) in which a satellite sends messages to multiple terrestrial nodes via multiple relays under the wiretapping efforts of multiple eavesdroppers. Our concern is to protect the…
This paper investigates the application of non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) to satellite communication network over Shadowed-Rician fading channels. The impact of imperfect successive interference cancellation (ipSIC) on NOMA-based satellite network is taken into consideration from the perspective of practical scenarios. We first derive new exact expressions of outage probability for the p-th terrestrial user and provide the corresponding asymptotic analysis results. The diversity order of zero and p are achieved by the p-th terrestrial user with ipSIC and perfect successive interference …
This paper proposes new accurate approximations for average error probability (AEP) of a communication system employing either $M$-phase-shift keying (PSK) or differential quaternary PSK with Gray coding (GC-DQPSK) modulation schemes over $κ-μ$ shadowed fading channel. Firstly, new accurate approximations of error probability (EP) of both modulation schemes are derived over additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel. Leveraging the trapezoidal integral method, a tight approximate expression of symbol error probability for $M$-PSK modulation is presented, while new upper and lower bounds for …
In this paper, we investigate the physical layer security over the Alternate Rician Shadowed fading channel, which is a novel channel model for body-centric wireless links and land mobile satellite. We derive exact closed-form expressions for the average secrecy capacity (ASC), secrecy outage probability (SOP), and probability of non-zero secrecy capacity (PNZ) for two cases: (i) m is a positive real number and (ii) m is a positive integer number, where m describes the level of fluctuation of the line-of-sight component. In the first case, SOP is derived in terms of the Meijer's G-function, wh…
In this paper, we derive the data-aided Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) in an interference limited system when both the desired signal and interferers experience independent and non identically distributed $κ$-$μ$ shadowed fading. Then it is analytically shown that the EVM is equal to the square root of number of interferers when the desired signal and interferers do not experience fading. Further, EVM is derived in the presence of interference and noise, when the desired signal experiences $κ$-$μ$ shadowed fading and the interferers experience independent and identical Nakagami fading. Moreover,…
Using tools from extreme value theory (EVT), it is proved that, when the user signal and the interferer signals undergo independent and non-identically distributed (i.n.i.d.) $κ-μ$ shadowed fading, the limiting distribution of the maximum of $L$ independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) random variables (RVs) is a Frechet distribution. It is observed that this limiting distribution is close to the true distribution of maximum, for maximum SIR evaluated over moderate $L$. Further, moments of the maximum RV is shown to converge to the moments of the Frec…
One of the use cases for 5G systems and beyond is ultra-reliability low-latency communication (URLLC). An enabling technology for URLLC is massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), which can increase reliability due to improved user separation, array gain and the channel hardening effect. Measurements have been performed in an operating factory environment at 3.7 GHz with a co-located massive MIMO array and a unique randomly distributed array. Channel hardening can appear when the number of antennas is increased such that the variations of channel gain (small-scale fading) is decreased an…
In this work, the product of two independent and non-identically distributed (i.n.i.d) $κ- μ$ shadowed random variables is studied. We derive the series expression for the probability density function (PDF), cumulative distribution function (CDF), and moment generating function (MGF) of the product of two (i.n.i.d) $κ- μ$ shadowed random variables. The derived formulation in this work is quite general as they incorporate most of the typically used fading channels. As an application example, outage probability (OP) has been derived for cascaded wireless systems and relay-assisted communications…
In this paper, we consider downlink low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems where multiple LEO satellites are uniformly distributed over a sphere at a certain altitude according to a homogeneous binomial point process (BPP). Based on the characteristics of the BPP, we analyze the distance distributions and the distribution cases for the serving satellite. We analytically derive the exact outage probability, and its approximated expression is obtained using the Poisson limit theorem. With these derived expressions, the system throughput maximization problem is formulated under the…
In this correspondence, we analyze the ergodic capacity of a large uplink multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) system over generalized-$K$ fading channels. In the considered scenario, multiple users transmit their information to a base station equipped with a very large number of antennas. Since the effect of fast fading asymptotically disappears in massive MIMO systems, large-scale fading becomes the most dominant factor for the ergodic capacity of massive MIMO systems. Regarding this fact, in our work we concentrate our attention on the effects of large-scale fading for massiv…
In this contribution, the evaluation of the diversity of the MIMO MMSE receiver is addressed for finite rates in both flat fading channels and frequency selective fading channels with cyclic prefix. It has been observed recently that in contrast with the other MIMO receivers, the MMSE receiver has a diversity depending on the aimed finite rate, and that for sufficiently low rates the MMSE receiver reaches the full diversity - that is, the diversity of the ML receiver. This behavior has so far only been partially explained. The purpose of this paper is to provide complete proofs for flat fading…
Orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) modulation is a recently introduced multiplexing technique designed in the 2-dimensional (2D) delay-Doppler domain suited for high-Doppler fading channels. OTFS converts a doubly-dispersive channel into an almost non-fading channel in the delay-Doppler domain through a series of 2D transformations. In this paper, we focus on MIMO-OTFS which brings in the high spectral and energy efficiency benefits of MIMO and the robustness of OTFS in high-Doppler fading channels. The OTFS channel-symbol coupling and the sparse delay-Doppler channel impulse response enab…
In this paper, we study the statistical characterization of the sum of the squared $κ-μ$ shadowed random variables with correlated shadowing components. The probability density function (PDF) of this sum is obtained in the form of a power series. The derived PDF is utilized for obtaining the performance results of the maximal ratio combining (MRC) scheme over correlated $κ-μ$ shadowed fading channels. First, we derive the moment generating function (MGF) of the received signal-to-noise ratio of the MRC receiver. By using the derived MGF expression, the analytical diversity order is obtained; i…
We establish the optimal diversity-multiplexing (DM) tradeoff of coherent time, frequency and time-frequency selective-fading MIMO channels and provide a code design criterion for DM-tradeoff optimality. Our results are based on the analysis of the "Jensen channel" associated to a given selective-fading MIMO channel. While the original problem seems analytically intractable due to the mutual information being a sum of correlated random variables, the Jensen channel is equivalent to the original channel in the sense of the DM-tradeoff and lends itself nicely to analytical treatment. Finally, as…
The Golden space-time trellis coded modulation (GST-TCM) scheme was proposed in \cite{Hong06} for a high rate $2\times 2$ multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system over slow fading channels. In this letter, we present the performance analysis of GST-TCM over block fading channels, where the channel matrix is constant over a fraction of the codeword length and varies from one fraction to another, independently. In practice, it is not useful to design such codes for specific block fading channel parameters and a robust solution is preferable. We then show both analytically and by simulation t…
We investigate the problem of message transmission and the problem of common randomness (CR) generation over single-user multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) slow fading channels with average input power constraint, additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), arbitrary state distribution and with complete channel state information available at the receiver side (CSIR). First, we derive a lower and an upper bound on the outage transmission capacity of MIMO slow fading channels for arbitrary state distribution and show that the bounds coincide except possibly at the points of discontinuity of the out…
We propose iterative detection and decoding (IDD) algorithms with Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems operating in block-fading and fast Rayleigh fading channels. Soft-input soft-output minimum mean-square error receivers with successive interference cancellation are considered. In particular, we devise a novel strategy to improve the bit error rate (BER) performance of IDD schemes, which takes into account the soft \textit{a posteriori} output of the decoder in a block-fading channel when Root-Check LDPC codes are used. A MIMO IDD receiver w…
We propose an Iterative Detection and Decoding (IDD) scheme with Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems for block-fading $F = 2$ and fast fading Rayleigh channels. An IDD receiver with soft information processing that exploits the code structure and the behaviour of the log likelihood ratios (LLR)'s is developed. Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) with Successive Interference Cancellation (SIC) and with Parallel Interference Cancellation (PIC) schemes are considered. The soft \textit{a posteriori} output of the decoder in a block-fading channel wi…
We investigate the problem of message transmission over time-varying single-user multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) Rayleigh fading channels with average power constraint and with complete channel state information available at the receiver side (CSIR). To describe the channel variations over the time, we consider a first-order Gauss-Markov model. We completely solve the problem by giving a single-letter characterization of the channel capacity in closed form and by providing a rigorous proof of it.
We describe the structure of optimal Input covariance matrices for single user multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) communication system with covariance feedback and for general correlated fading. Our approach is based on the novel concept of right commutant and recovers previously derived results for the Kronecker product models. Conditions are derived which allow a significant simplification of the optimization problem.
We studynthe high-SNR capacity of generic MIMO Rayleigh block-fading channels in the noncoherent setting where neither transmitter nor receiver has a priori channel state information but both are aware of the channel statistics. In contrast to the well-established constant block-fading model, we allow the fading to vary within each block with a temporal correlation that is "generic" (in the sense used in the interference-alignment literature). We show that the number of degrees of freedom of a generic MIMO Rayleigh block-fading channel with $T$ transmit antennas and block length $N$ is given b…
This paper addresses point-to-point communication over block-fading channels with independent fading blocks. When both channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT) and receiver (CSIR) are available, most achievable schemes use separable coding, i.e., coding independently and in parallel over different fading states. Unfortunately, separable coding has drawbacks including large memory requirements at both communication ends. In this paper a lattice coding and decoding scheme is proposed that achieves the ergodic capacity without separable coding, with lattice codebooks and decoding decis…
A fading broadcast channel is considered where the transmitter employs two antennas and each of the two receivers employs a single receive antenna. It is demonstrated that even if the realization of the fading is precisely known to the receivers, the high signal-to-noise (SNR) throughput is greatly reduced if, rather than knowing the fading realization \emph{precisely}, the trasmitter only knows the fading realization \emph{approximately}. The results are general and are not limited to memoryless Gaussian fading.
Discrete-time Rayleigh fading multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels are considered, with no channel state information at the transmitter and receiver. The fading is assumed to be correlated in time and independent from antenna to antenna. Peak and average transmit power constraints are imposed, either on the sum over antennas, or on each individual antenna. In both cases, an upper bound and an asymptotic lower bound, as the signal-to-noise ratio approaches zero, on the channel capacity are presented. The limit of normalized capacity is identified under the sum power constraints, and, …
In this paper, we consider an automatic-repeat-request (ARQ) retransmission protocol signaling over a block-fading multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) channel. Unlike previous work, we allow for multiple fading blocks within each transmission (ARQ round), and we constrain the transmitter to fixed rate codes constructed over complex signal constellations. In particular, we examine the general case of average input-power-constrained constellations as well as the practically important case of finite discrete constellations. This scenario is a suitable model for practical wireless communication…
In this paper, we investigated the capacity and bit error rate (BER) performance of Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) satellite systems with single and multiple dual polarized satellites in geostationary orbit and a mobile ground receiving station with multiple antennas. We evaluated the effects of both system parameters such as number of satellites, number of receive antennas, and SNR and environmental factors including atmospheric signal attenuations and signal phase disturbances on the overall system performance using both analytical and spatial models for MIMO satellite systems.
We establish the optimal diversity-multiplexing (DM) tradeoff of coherent time, frequency, and time-frequency selective-fading multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels and provide a code design criterion for DM tradeoff optimality. Our results are based on the new concept of the "Jensen channel" associated to a given selective-fading MIMO channel. While the original problem seems analytically intractable due to the mutual information between channel input and output being a sum of correlated random variables, the Jensen channel is equivalent to the original channel in the sense of the DM…
The high-SNR capacity of the noncoherent MIMO channel has been derived for the case of independent and identically distributed (IID) Rayleigh block fading by exploiting the Gaussianity of the channel matrix. This implies the optimal degrees of freedom (DoF), i.e., the capacity pre-log factor. Nevertheless, as far as the optimal DoF is concerned, IID Rayleigh fading is apparently a sufficient but not necessary condition. In this paper, we show that the optimal DoF for the IID Rayleigh block fading channel is also the optimal DoF for a more general class of generic block fading channels, in whic…