An Optimized Pilot-Assisted Channel Estimation Method for Low-Dispersive Channels

In this paper, we present a novel pilot-assisted channel estimation algorithm for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless communication systems. The proposed method uses fewer pilots, which helps to increase the bandwidth (BW) efficiency while maintaining the adequate bit-error-rate (BER). A systematical approach for optimization of the pilot pattern applied in the low-dispersive channels is proposed and the performances using both the proposed and conventional estimation methods are quantitatively compared the performance in terms of BER for a case study of DVB-T/T2 system in 2K mode. MATLAB simulations are performed to evaluate the methods in the cases of the specific channel models (urban and rural models). From the simulation results, the novel estimation method gives out mostly the same BER while requiring only about 25% pilot number per symbol, compared with the conventional methods. © 2021, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.