Exploiting error-control coding in blind channel estimation

Despite the widespread use of forward-error control (FEC) coding, most channel estimation techniques ignore its presence, and instead make the simplifying assumption that the transmitted symbols are uncoded. However, FEC induces structure in the transmitted sequence that can be exploited to improve channel estimates. Furthermore, soft-output decoding can improve decision-driven techniques. We propose a technique for exploiting FEC in channel estimation that combines iterative channel estimation with turbo equalization. We present one example showing that an estimator that exploits FEC can attain the same accuracy as one that ignores FEC, but with an SNR that is 6 dB lower