Performance analysis of generalized selection combining with switching constraints

Generalized selection combining (GSC), in which the best L-c out of L indep endent diversity channels are linearly combined has been recently proposed and analyzed for Rayleigh fading channels. GSC is a less complex alternativ e to maximal ratio combining (MRC) that provides a performance gain over tr aditional selection combining (SC). Both MRC and SC are special cases of GS C, with L-c = L and L-c = 1, respectively. In this letter, we show that GSC also dramatically reduces the impact of switching rate constraints, whereb y a selection must be herd for the duration of a packet.