On the performance limits of TCM in fast-fading multipath channels with combined equalization/decoding

We present some analytical performance bounds that point out the key parameters dominating the performance of symbol-by-symbol combined-type maximum a posteriori equalizers/decoders for trellis-coded modulation (TCM) transmissions over fast-faded intersymbol-interference-impaired Rayleigh-channels with diversity reception. Guidelines are also provided for the design of good TCM codes matched to the statistical features of the multipath transmission links and application examples are developed that support the actual effectiveness of the presented results.