Soft handoff with interference cancellation in a wireless frequency hopping communication system

A method of receiving data transmissions at a base station in a wireless frequency hopping (FH) communication system, comprising:

• obtaining received symbols for a plurality of subbands;
• processing the received symbols to obtain decoded data for each of at least one primary terminal, wherein the at least one primary terminal is assigned at least one primary FH sequence to use for data transmission, and wherein the at least one primary FH sequence is orthogonal to at least one other primary FH sequence;
• estimating interference due to the at least one primary terminal;
• canceling the interference due to the at least one primary terminal from the received symbols to obtain interference-canceled symbols;
• and
• processing the interference-canceled symbols to obtain decoded data for each of at least one secondary terminal, wherein the at least one secondary terminal is assigned at least one secondary FH sequence to use for data transmission, and wherein the at least one secondary FH sequence is not orthogonal to the at least one primary FH sequence.

An apparatus in a wireless frequency hopping (FH) communication system, comprising:

• means for obtaining received symbols for a plurality of subbands;
• means for processing the received symbols to obtain decoded data for each of at least one primary terminal, wherein the at least one primary terminal is assigned at least one primary FH sequence to use for data transmission, and wherein the at least one primary FH sequence is orthogonal to at least one other primary FH sequence;
• means for estimating interference due to the at least one primary terminal;
• means for canceling the interference due to the at least one primary terminal from the received symbols to obtain interference-canceled symbols;
• and
• means for processing the interference-canceled symbols to obtain decoded data for each of at least one secondary terminal, wherein the at least one secondary terminal is assigned at least one secondary FH sequence to use for data transmission, and wherein the at least one secondary FH sequence is not orthogonal to the at least one primary FH sequence.

An apparatus in a wireless frequency hopping (FH) communication system, comprising:

• at least one first data processor operative to process received symbols to obtain decoded data for each of at least one primary terminal, wherein the at least one primary terminal is assigned at least one primary FH sequence to use for data transmission, and wherein the at least one primary FH sequence is orthogonal to at least one other primary FH sequence;
• an interference estimator operative to estimate interference due to the at least one primary terminal;
• an interference canceller operative to cancel the interference due to the at least one primary terminal from the received symbols to obtain interference-canceled symbols;
• and
• at least one second data processor operative to process the interference-canceled symbols to obtain decoded data for each of at least one secondary terminal, wherein the at least one secondary terminal is assigned at least one secondary FH sequence to use for data transmission, and wherein the at least one secondary FH sequence is not orthogonal to the at least one primary FH sequence.

A processor readable media for storing instructions operable to:

• obtain received symbols for a plurality of subbands;
• process the received symbols to obtain decoded data for each of at least one primary terminal, wherein the at least one primary terminal is assigned at least one primary frequency hopping (FH) sequence to use for data transmission, and wherein the at least one primary FH sequence is orthogonal to at least one other primary FH sequence;
• estimate interference due to the at least one primary terminal;
• cancel the interference due to the at least one primary terminal from the received symbols to obtain interference-canceled symbols;
• and
• process the interference-canceled symbols to obtain decoded data for each of at least one secondary terminal, wherein the at least one secondary terminal is assigned at least one secondary FH sequence to use for data transmission, and wherein the at least one secondary FH sequence is not orthogonal to the at least one primary FH sequence.