Blind joint soft-detection assisted slow frequency-hopping multicarrier DS-CDMA

A novel multiple-access scheme based on slow frequency-hopping multicarrier direct-sequence, code-division multiple access (SFH/MC DS-CDMA) is proposed and investigated, which can be rendered compatible with the existing second-generation narrow-band CDMA and third-generation wide-band CDMA systems. Blind joint soft-detection of the SFH/MC DS-CDMA signals is investigated, assuming that the receiver has no knowledge of the associated frequency-hopping (FH) patterns invoked. The system´s performance is evaluated over the range of Nakagami multipath fading channels. The results show that blind joint soft-detection achieves the required bit-error rate performance, while blindly acquiring the FH patterns employed. This is advantageous during the commencement of communications or during soft handover