A system and method for estimating channel characteristics in orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems with transmitter diversity is presented. The disclosed approach is compatible with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) "Wireless Local Area Network (LAN) Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specification." In the disclosed system and method, an additional training symbol is transmitted during the data period. This provides additional information that may be used to more accurately estimate channel characteristics.