Linear equalization of frequency selective channels using space diversity

We present, by extension of some earlier results, the expression of an upper bound on the bit error rate (BER) of a digital communication system operating on a frequency selective channel linking N mobiles to an M^th order space diversity receiver using optimum combining and linear equalization. The bound is then used in conjunction with a Monte-Carlo simulation to emulate the time varying realizations of the channel and evaluate the corresponding outage rate. An explicit dependency of the performance bound on the system parameters is then obtained (using multipath Rayleigh fading model) together with its relationship with the so-called “optimum” bounds of the matched filter and information theoretic capacity types. Our results seem to indicate that, in general, such a linear equalization procedure falls short of exploiting the full potential of the time diversity coding gain available with such time dispersive channels