  The effective rate is an important performance metric of real-time
applications in next generation wireless networks. In this paper, we present an
analysis of the effective rate of multiple-input single-output (MISO) systems
over $\alpha$-$\mu$ fading channels under a maximum delay constraint. More
specifically, novel and highly accurate closed-form approximate expressions of
the effective rate are derived for such systems assuming the generalized
$\alpha$-$\mu$ channel model. In order to examine the impact of system and
channel parameters on the effective rate, we also derive closed-form
expressions of the effective rate in asymptotically high and low
signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regimes. Furthermore, connections between our
derived results and existing results from the literature are revealed for the
sake of completeness. Our results demonstrate that the effective rate is a
monotonically increasing function of channel fading parameters $\alpha$ and
$\mu$, as well as the number of transmit antennas, while it decreases to zero
when the delay constraint becomes stringent.
