Method of reconfiguration of radio parameters for power-aware and adaptive communications

A digital radio capable of adaptively reconfiguring in response to changes in the characteristics of a communication channel, comprising:

• a channel monitor which produces estimates of the communication channel's signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-interference ratio (SIR), and channel impulse response characteristics;
• a programmable processor arranged to receive estimates from said channel monitor, and compute a preferred signal processing configuration based upon said estimates;
• at least one reconfigurable digital signal processing module, including at least one decision feedback equalizer (DFE) with an adjustable number of taps, arranged to receive commands from said programmable processor and to reconfigure in response to said commands;
• said processor further arranged to:
• determine a delay spread from said channel impulse response estimate by setting a system adjustable threshold over which signal power is not considered in determining a time dispersion of a signal;
• and
• set the number of taps in said at least one DFE to the length of the delay spread normalized to a symbol rate;
• and
• a radio transceiver, with inputs from said reconfigurable signal processing module and outputs to said channel monitor, for sending and receiving radio signals.