Low-cost integer frequency offset estimation for OFDM-based DRM receiver

In this paper, we propose an improved and low-cost integer frequency offset (IFO) estimation method by partitioning pilot symbols effectively in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing based digital radio mondiale (DRM) system. To this end, the time reference cell (TRC) symbol for frequency estimation is grouped into a number of pilot clusters, so that the TRC subcarriers in each cluster are closely spaced to show approximately frequency-nonselective characteristics. The performance of the proposed IFO estimator is compared with that of the conventional estimator, and shows that the proposed technique can effectively achieve lower estimation errors in frequency offset estimation as well as can be implemented with reduced computational complexity.