A system and method for disintegrated channel estimation in wireless networks. The system provides a disintegrated channel estimation technique required to accomplish the spatial diversity supported by cooperative relays. The system includes a filter-and-forward (FF) relaying method with superimposed training sequences for separately estimating the backhaul and the access channels. To reduce inter-relay interference, a generalized filtering technique is provided which multiplexes the superimposed training sequences from different relays to the destination by time-division multiplexing (TDM), frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) and code-division multiplexing (CDM) methods.