Estimation of a frequency selective channel in a MIMO environment with parameters that vary within a transmission block

摘要

In an environment where a block transmission takes place via a frequency selective channel that is characterized by channel parameters that change with time in the course of the transmission of a block, an arrangement employs pilot signals to ascertain some of the parameters, and estimates the remaining parameters through an interpolation process. In some embodiments, channel coefficients estimates are improved by employing estimates from previous blocks. In an OFDM system, the pilot signals are advantageously selected to be in clusters that are equally spaced from each other in the time or the frequency domains. This approach applies to multiple antennae arrangements, as well as to single antenna arrangements, and to arrangements that do, or do not, use space-time coding.