MAP symbol decoding in channels with error bursts

In this paper, we analyze the forward-backward algorithm for the maximum a posteriori (MAP) decoding of information transmitted over channels with mem ory and propose a suboptimal forward-only algorithm, We assume that both th e information source and channel are described using hidden Markov models ( HMMs), The algorithm lends itself to parallel implementation and pipelining . We apply the algorithm to MAP decoding of symbols which were trellis-code modulated and transmitted over channels with error bursts.