Joint synchronization, channel length estimation, and channel estimation for the maximum likelihood sequence estimator for high speed wireless communications

The performance of channel-estimation-based maximum likelihood sequence estimator (MLSE) depends on the accuracy of the channel estimate. Conventional least-squares channel estimators preset a fixed length for the channel. For wireless communications, however, the actual length of the channel is environment-dependent and in general unknown. It is therefore desirable to modify conventional channel estimation algorithms so that the length of the channel estimator adapts to the actual channel. We propose a least-squares algorithm for joint synchronization, channel length estimation, and channel estimation. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme is robust against propagation environment and achieves the best trade-off between performance and complexity.