Coordinate interleaving TCM for flat fading and AWGN channels

Previously (Jelicic and Roy, 1993), a new algorithmic approach for designing QAM-TCM schemes based on coordinated interleaving was introduced. Simulations performed under ideal assumptions showed significant coding gains with respect to standard TCM schemes. In this work, we undertake a more thorough investigation of code performance including the effect of finite interleaving and imperfect channel state information (CSI). We show that despite being more sensitive to the above impairments, coordinated interleaving TCM largely preserve their coding gains and have a much lower error floor than standard symbol interleaving TCM. Finally the coding gains observed in simulations are substantiated by cut-off rate computations.