  The huge and increasing demand of data connectivity motivates the development
of new and effective power line communication (PLC) channel models, which are
able to faithfully describe a real communication scenario. This is of
fundamental importance since a good model represents a quick evaluation tool
for new standards or devices, allowing a considerable saving in time and costs.
The aim of this paper is to discuss a novel top-down MIMO PLC synthetic channel
model, able to numerically emulate a real PLC environment. First, the most
common channel modeling strategies are briefly described, highlighting
strengths and weaknesses. Afterwards, the basic model approach is described
considering the SISO scenario. The implementation strategy is then extended to
the MIMO case. The validity of the proposed model is proved making a comparison
between the simulated channels and channels obtained with measurements in terms
of both performance and statistical metrics. The focus is on the broadband
frequency spectrum.
