OFDM communication chain performance assessment under realistic measured narrowband PLC channels and noise

This paper evaluates the performance of narrowband Power Line Communication (PLC) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transceivers which comply with the ITU-T G.9955 recommendation. The performance assessment is based on realistic conditions namely when considering measured PLC channels at low frequencies and in presence of measured stationary and impulsive noise. Channel estimation using pilot OFDM symbols is also compared to channel estimation based on pilot subcarriers and it is shown that the first one provides lower bit error rate (BER).