Synchronization of turbo codes based on online statistics

Turbo codes are sensitive to both (timing) synchronization errors and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) mismatch. Since turbo codes are intended to be deployed in environments with very low SNR, conventional synchronization methods often fail. This paper introduces a solution for jointly estimating the SNR and achieving timing synchronization based on the statistics of the received signal. Simulation results show only a small loss in coding gain relative to perfect timing and SNR estimation while requiring only slightly more complexity and latency.