sts that LTE MIMO in local-area applications may also be of marginal value particularly if it compromises wide-area performance. WiFi might be a better (more cost- and energy-efficient) option for load shedding. 5.6.6 SIMO Gains SIMO refers to the user/device path from the base station from where a modulated waveform is transmitted using specific resource blocks delineated in the time domain and frequency domain (frequency subcarriers within a wideband channel). This 'single input' to the radio channel is then transmitted and is received by multiple antennas at the receiver each with its own version of the signal based on the multipath channel. The receiver then combines these signals to create a better signal than is possible from one receiver. Generally, in almost all small- and large-cell propagation conditions, there will be strong multipath components (with a longer time delay in larger cells). Wireless User Hardware In WCDMA (and GSM) multipath signals are equalised out at baseband. In HSPA and LTE the additional option of diversity gain is supported (multiple outputs from the channel). If implemented with a separate receive path then additional gain can be achieved in most channel conditions provided antenna efficiencies have not been compromised by the SIMO implementation. Diversity also mitigates fast fading, though there are other processes, for example channel sensitive scheduling, that have the same or similar effect at least in small-cell environments. Quite often one technique is credited with delivering more gain than it really achieves in practice, it is the combination of adaptive averaging mechanisms that is important. Note that none of these techniques are a substitute for good RF performance but should be seen as techniques for getting higher throughput though a complex rapidly changing multipath channel where fast and slow fading and Doppler effects need to be managed. As stated above, good RF performance in larger cells may be as important as high peak data rates in small cells and an overem