Patent ID: 8194808

Claim:
A communications receiver configured to receive a plurality of communication signals from a plurality of antennas, wherein the plurality of communication signals represents a single stream communication signal or a multiple stream communication signal, comprising: a multiple stream carrier detection module configured to determine if the plurality of communication signals received from the plurality of antennas includes the multiple stream communication signal and to provide a multiple stream indication signal indicative thereof; a single stream carrier detection module configured to determine if the plurality of communication signals received from the plurality of antennas includes the single stream communication signal and to provide a single stream indication signal indicative thereof; a switch module configured to select a corresponding one of the plurality of communication signals based on one or more signal metrics of one or more of the plurality of communication signals; a multiple stream decoder module configured to decode the plurality of communication signals when the multiple stream indication signal indicates that the multiple stream communication signal is present; and a single stream decoder module configured to decode the corresponding one of the plurality of communication signals when the single stream indication signal indicates that the single stream communication signal is present.