Bit error rate estimates are used for measuring link quality in a radio telecommunications
system. Unbiased, raw bit error estimates are produced from existing pilot symbols.
The bit error rate estimates may be generated without incurring extra signaling
overhead. More particularly, an estimation of link quality is obtained by receiving
control signals in a radio receiver, where each control signal may include one
or more pilot symbols deriving a channel estimate for each control signal, modifying
each channel estimate as a function of the corresponding control signal's contribution
to the channel estimate, and deriving a link quality measure based on said modified
channel estimates.
