A system and method for communicating data includes an inner encoder for encoding data with the recursive inner rate one code. A modulator coherently modulates a communications signal that carries the data that has been encoded. An interleaver is operative with the inner encoder and modulator to aid in removing correlation of multipath fading channels on consecutive bits. A convolutional encoder is followed by a random interleaver. The modulator can be operative with mini-probe sequences. An equalizer and decoder receives the communications signal and iteratively decodes any recursive inner rate one code and convolutional code in a turbo fashion.