Blind Symbol Timing and Carrier Phase Estimation for PCMA Satellite Signals via Cyclic Statistics

For the design of a blind receiver for paired carrier multiple access (PCMA) signals in satellite communications, several detection schemes have been proposed that require knowledge of the channel. In a frequency-nonselective environ-ment, the overall channel is determined by the synchronization and transmit signal parameters of the respective carrier signals. In this paper, schemes for estimation of the carrier and symbol timing phases at the receiver are proposed, assuming that knowledge of the frequency offsets and symbol rate is obtained by previous estimations. Two different approaches for inferring the desired parameters are introduced. The proposed schemes exploit the cyclostationary nature of the respective carrier signals and the difference in their frequency offsets, and are based on estimates of the time-varying moments of the received signal and their cycle coefficients.