Channel estimation for a communication system using spectral estimation

An apparatus operable to perform channel estimation for a communication channel in a communication system, comprising:

• a detector operative to obtain a first channel estimate for the communication channel;
• a spectral estimator operative to perform spectral estimation on the first channel estimate to determine at least one frequency component of the first channel estimate;
• and
• a processor operative to obtain a second channel estimate for the communication channel based on the determined at least one frequency component of the first channel estimate, wherein the second channel estimate comprises at least one channel tap delay for an impulse response estimate for the communication channel.

An apparatus operable to perform channel estimation for a communication channel in a communication system, comprising:

• means for obtaining a first channel estimate for the communication channel;
• means for performing spectral estimation on the first channel estimate to determine at least one frequency component of the first channel estimate;
• and
• means for obtaining a second channel estimate for the communication channel based on the determined at least one frequency component of the first channel estimate, wherein the second channel estimate comprises at least one channel tap delay for an impulse response estimate for the communication channel.

A method of performing channel estimation for a communication channel in a communication system, comprising:

• obtaining a frequency response estimate by a detector for the communication channel;
• deriving a correlation matrix based on the frequency response estimate;
• obtaining T noise eigenvectors based on the correlation matrix, where T is an integer one of greater;
• and
• obtaining a channel estimate for the communication channel based on the T noise eigenvectors.

An apparatus operable to perform channel estimation for a communication channel in a communication system, comprising:

• a detector operative to obtain a frequency response estimate for the communication channel;
• and
• a spectral estimator operative to
• derive a correlation matrix based on the frequency response estimate,
• obtain T noise eigenvectors based on the correlation matrix, where T is an integer one of greater, and
• obtain a channel estimate for the communication channel based on the T noise eigenvectors.

An apparatus operable to perform channel estimation for a communication channel in a communication system, comprising:

• means for obtaining a frequency response estimate for the communication channel;
• means for deriving a correlation matrix based on the frequency response estimate;
• means for obtaining T noise eigenvectors based on the correlation matrix, where T is an integer one of greater;
• and
• means for obtaining a channel estimate for the communication channel based on the T noise eigenvectors.