Error probability of bit-interleaved coded modulation in wireless environments

The bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) method is efficient in mitigating multipath fading by providing time diversity. In this paper, union bounds on the bit and packet error probabilities of the BICM are derived. In the derivation, the authors assume the uniform interleaving of coded bits prior to mapping them onto the signal constellation. This results in a random distribution of the error bits in a codeword over the transmitted symbols. This distribution is evaluated, and the corresponding pairwise error probability is derived. Union bounds are functions of the distance spectrum of the channel code and the signal constellation used in the BICM system. The authors consider BICM systems operating over additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), Rayleigh, Rician, and Nakagami fading channels. Results show that the new bounds are tight to simulation curves for different channel models. The proposed bounds are general for any coding scheme with a known distance spectrum.