Chip-level channel equalization in WCDMA downlink (Q1854231)

Summary: The most important third generation (3G) cellular communications standard is based on wideband CDMA (WCDMA). Receivers based on TDMA style channel equalization at the chip level have been proposed for a WCDMA downlink employing long spreading sequences to ensure adequate performance even with a high number of active users. These receivers equalize the channel prior to despreading, thus restoring the orthogonality of users and resulting in multiple-access interference suppression. In this paper, an overview of chip-level channel equalizers is delivered with special attention to adaptation methods suitable for the WCDMA downlink. Numerical examples on the equalizers' performance are given in Rayleigh fading frequency-selective channels.