Bit error estimates from pilot signals

A method of estimating link quality in a radio telecommunications system using pilot symbols, said method comprising the steps of:

• transmitting a number of known pilot symbols to a radio receiver in said radio telecommunications system;
• calculating a channel estimate for each pilot symbol based on the transmitted pilot symbols;
• for each channel estimate, calculating a contribution associated with the corresponding pilot symbol;
• adjusting each channel estimate by subtracting the contribution associated with the corresponding pilot symbol;
• and
• generating a link quality measure based on the adjusted channel estimate.

An apparatus for estimating link quality in a radio telecommunications system comprising:

• means for receiving a plurality of control signals in a radio receiver;
• means for deriving a channel estimate for each control signal;
• means for modifying each channel estimate as a function of the corresponding control signal's contribution to the channel estimate;
• and
• means for deriving a link quality measure based on said modified channel estimates.

An apparatus for estimating link quality in a radio telecommunications system using pilot symbols, said method comprising:

• means for transmitting a number of known pilot symbols to a radio receiver in said radio telecommunications system;
• means for calculating a separate channel estimate for each pilot symbol based on the number of transmitted pilot symbols;
• means for each channel estimate, calculating a contribution associated with its corresponding pilot symbol;
• means for adjusting each channel estimate by subtracting from each channel estimate, the contribution associated with the corresponding pilot symbol;
• and
• means for generating a link quality measure based on the adjusted channel estimates.