Patent ID: 8532082

Claim:
A network element for use in a wireless communication network, the network element comprising: at least one antenna; and at least one signal processor coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to: apply a first fourier transform having a first number of points to pilot symbols corresponding to at least one pilot block to produce a transformed pilot block; apply a second fast fourier transform having a second number points to data symbols arranged in a cluster and corresponding to data payload block to produce a transformed data payload block, the second number of points being greater than the first number of points; output the transformed pilot block for transmission by the at least one antenna during a first time duration; and output the cluster for transmission by the at least one antenna during a second time duration using a first frequency sub-band in a first transmission time interval and using a second frequency band in a second transmission time interval, the second frequency sub-band being different from the first frequency sub-band.