A conceptual study of OFDM-based multiple access schemes: Part 2 - Channel estimation in the uplink

This paper deals with the design of channel estimators in the uplink of an OFDM based multi-user system. First, we propose a user allocation scheme that is based on the aim to use the correlation of the radio channel for channel estimation purposes. Further, we present the linear MMSE channel estimator based on a few pilot tones. We present an error analysis that proves valuable in the evaluation of linear channel estimators under mismatch. Finally, we present some results on the design of linear channel estimators and pilot patterns, showing by means of examplesthe importance of careful pilot positioning.