Patent ID: 7359311

Claim:
A method for determining channel state information (CSI) in an OFDM radio receiver the receiver for receiving packets of OFDM data comprising subcarriers as a result of OFDM data being transmitted the method comprising the steps of: forming an estimate of the channels of the subcarriers for received OFDM data to provide frequency responses of the channels of the subcarriers; forming a measure of quality (“channel state information,” “CSI”) for the channels of the subcarriers based on the relative strength of the frequency responses, the forming of the CSI not requiring estimating the relative amount of noise or interference in each channel; and using the formed CSI in demodulating and decoding received OFDM data, wherein the forming of the CSI uses the relative amplitude of the frequency responses and wherein the forming of the CSI includes: determining a measure of the average amplitude of the subcarriers; and scaling the relative amplitudes of the frequency responses according to the average amplitude measure to produce a scaled relative amplitude.