AbstractA general linear precoding space‐time‐frequency bit‐interleaved coded modulation (GLP‐STF‐BICM) is presented. By expanding the dimensions of linear precoding (LP) matrix we achieve the correlation between the adjacent code matrices, and further time diversity is realized, and by further time diversity higher diversity gain is realized which effectively avoids possible burst errors in block fading channels. Also, the Singleton bound, channel capacity and BER performances are theoretically analyzed. Then the optimum criterion of the precoding matrix to maximize both diversity and coding gain is given. Furthermore, to reduce the decoding complexity, we present an efficient sphere iterative decoding (SID) algorithm for our scheme. Finally, we consider the downlink multiuser system model for GLP‐STF‐BICM, the scheduling and capability of the three multi‐access methods TDMA, F/TDMA, and S/F/TDMA are analyzed. The simulation results prove that the performance of the new scheme improved greatly in the frequency‐selective block fading channels. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.