Estimation of fading distribution parameters in noisy channels

The problem of estimating parameters of two main fading distributions, Ricean and Nakagami-m, is considered. Unlike most previous estimators which use samples from a noiseless channel, new estimators which use samples from a noisy Ricean or Nakagami-m fading channel, respectively, are proposed. In contrast to the previous work, the noise power in the channel is assumed unknown. Both maximum likelihood designs and moment-based designs are considered. The performances of the new estimators are examined and compared with those of previous estimators derived in the literature. Numerical results show that the new estimators outperform corresponding estimators in the literature when both are operating in noisy environments.