Patent ID: 8306012

Claim:
A method of performing channel estimation at user equipment operating in a mobile communications system, the method comprising: receiving a signal; analyzing the signal to detect a signal component from a neighboring cell; determining, in any order, one or both of the following: whether a power level of the signal component from the neighboring cell exceeds a power threshold level; and whether a difference between a timing parameter of the signal component from the neighboring cell and a timing parameter of a signal component from a serving cell is less than a timing threshold level; if it is true that both the power level of the signal component from the neighboring cell exceeds the power threshold level and the difference between the timing parameter of the signal component from the neighboring cell and the timing parameter of the signal component from the serving cell is less than the timing threshold level, then performing a joint channel estimation process, and otherwise performing a single channel estimation process, wherein: the received signal is generated by an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing process, and includes one or more symbols, each including a cyclic prefix; and the joint channel estimation process is at least in part a function of the difference between the timing parameter of the signal component from the neighboring cell and the timing parameter of the signal component from the serving cell.