A radio communication method and system for transmitting multiple-user
digital data information in a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) format
over multipath and mutual-interfering channels to a receiving terminal
with diversity antennas and equalization signal processing. At the
receiving terminal, diversity antenna signals are grouped into time
blocks and replicas are generated of the user-unique CDMA sequence
signals for a set of K mutually interfering users. Within each time block
the multiuser channel is estimated, equalization parameters are
calculated, and decision-feedback equalization is used to produce
multiuser estimates associated with a subset .lamda. of the K users.
These estimates are deinterleaved and error-correction decoded to recover
transmitted digital data information for the subset of .lamda. users. The
invention includes embodiments for a CDMA sequence period that is equal
to or longer than the transmitted data symbol interval with applications
to current CDMA reverse link and forward link standards. Also embodiments
for both decision-directed and reference-directed channel estimation are
given.