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Beamforming is a kind of radio frequency (RF) management in which an access point makes use of various antennas to transmit the exact same signal. Beamforming is considered a subset of smart antennas or Advanced Antenna Systems (AAS).
By broadcasting various signals and examining client feedback, the wireless LAN infrastructure could very well modify the signals it transmits. This way, it can identify the ideal path the signal must follow to get to a client device. Beamforming efficiently enhances the uplink and downlink SNR performances as well as the overall network capacity.
Beamforming is also known as spatial filtering.
Techopedia Explains Beamforming
Beamforming entails an advanced algorithm that keeps track of several parameters, such as terminal location, speed, distance, the level of QoS required, signal/noise level and traffic type. This gives beamforming a greater advantage when it comes to signal improvement.
Beamforming functions by shaping the beam in the direction of the receiver. A number of antennas broadcast exactly the same signal; however, each one is specifically distorted in the phase. An algorithm applies a signature to every transmission.
The various transmitted shapes merge in the air by normal coherence of the electromagnetic waves, thereby forming a virtual “beam”, which is a signal that is targeted toward the destination. If the beam travels to undesired locations (locations other than the destined receiver), the phases will collide and be destroyed.
In theory, the increase in the number of antennas used in the array results in a much stronger beamforming effect; every additional broadcast antenna could possibly double the signal.
Beamforming has several advantages:
- Higher SNR: The highly directional transmission enhances the link budget, improving the range for both open-space as well as indoor penetration.
- Interference prevention and rejection: Beamforming prevails over internal and external co-channel interference (CCI) by taking advantage of the antennas’ spatial properties.
- Higher network efficiency: By substantially minimizing CCI, beamforming allows much denser deployments compared to single antenna systems. The possibility of operating high-order modulations (16QAM, 64QAM ) greatly improves the overall capacity.
