A Rayleigh Doppler frequency estimator derived from maximum likelihood theory

Reliable estimates of Rayleigh Doppler frequency are useful for the optimization of adaptive multiple access wireless receivers. The adaptation parameters of such receivers are sensitive to the amount of Doppler and automatic reconfiguration to the speed of terminal movement can optimize cell capacities in low and high speed situations. We derive a Doppler frequency estimator using the maximum likelihood method and Jakes model (1974) of a Rayleigh fading channel. This estimator requires an FFT and simple post-processing only. Its performance is verified through simulations and found to yield good results.