Patent ID: 8811517

Claim:
A method of transmitting a data signal from a transmitter to a receiver in a multi-antenna wireless communication system, the method comprising: transmitting information on a number of transmission antennas of the transmitter and reference signals respectively corresponding to the transmission antennas to the receiver; receiving information on a number of effective communication links between the transmitter and the receiver and information on effective transmission antennas of the transmitter which establishes the effective communication links, from the receiver; determining a precoding matrix based on the information on the number of effective communication links, wherein the number of effective communication links is less than the number of transmission antennas; mapping the data signal to the effective transmission antennas using the precoding matrix; and transmitting the mapped data signal to the receiver, wherein each of the effective transmission antennas establishes an effective communication link with one of reception antennas of the receiver, and wherein the number of the effective communication links and the effective transmission antennas are determined based on the reference signals.