An adaptive modulated orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) radio transmission scheme that enables efficient data transmission in multipath fading environments is newly proposed. This scheme can be used in standardized multimedia mobile access systems such as ETSI-BRAN, and ARIB-MMAC. It is based on estimating the delay spread and the carrier-to-noise power density ratio (C/N0). The estimation is done using channel estimation symbols that are inserted into the frames of the standard OFDM radio transmission scheme. Computer simulations show that the estimation method results in an average BER close to those when propagation characteristics are perfectly estimated. Furthermore, when the adaptive OFDM transmission scheme is based on BPSK, QPSK or 16 QAM, the average BER is almost close to that when BPSK-OFDM is only used, and the average transmission rate is 1.8 times as high. Using an error-correction code based on convolutional code results in an average BER lower than that with the BPSK- and QPSK-OFDM schemes.

A method for estimating propagation characteristics is described that uses the characteristics of pilot-data-inserted orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal and is suitable for high-mobility OFDM transmission scheme. Several pilot data are inserted periodically along the frequency axis before the inverse fast Fourier transformation (IFFT) process in the transmitter. At the receiver, the received OFDM signal is correlated with a prepared distinctive OFDM signal in which several pilot data are inserted in the same positions as in the transmitted OFDM symbols and zeros are inserted in the other positions. The propagation characteristics can be estimated precisely and used to cancel any interference caused by delayed waves. Computer simulation shows that this method can estimate the propagation characteristics, which can then be used to cancel the interference caused by delayed waves before the FFT at the receiver under fast multipath fading conditions.