A receiver may comprise: a symbol receiver configured to receive a first modulated symbol at a first resolution and thereafter a second modulated symbol at a second resolution greater than the first resolution; an output path coupled to the symbol receiver and configured to forward the first modulated symbol; a decision device coupled to the symbol receiver and configured to determine a most probable symbol represented by the first modulated symbol; a phase detector coupled to the decision device and configured to compare the first modulated symbol and the most probable symbol to generate a phase error value; and a phase modifier coupled to the decision device and configured to determine a phase correction value based on the phase error value and to adjust the phase of the second modulated symbol based on the phase correction value.

A method and apparatus for performing residual phase noise compensation is described. A coarse carrier compensation of a received modulated signal is performed to obtain a coarse carrier compensated signal and a trellis-based residual carrier recovery is performed to estimate a residual phase noise of the coarse carrier compensated signal. The coarse carrier compensated signal is compensated based on the estimated residual phase noise.