This paper addresses the optimal number of simultaneous data transmissions that maximize the system throughput in an MIMO WLAN. To facilitate simultaneous packet transmissions, both transceivers have to exchange preambles to calculate the channel state information. This exchange is combined with the RTS (request to send)/CTS (clear to send) handshake which is used to contend for the channel in WLANs. This study presents an expression for the optimal number of simultaneous data transmissions under the distri...