A communication device constructed according to the present invention detects impulse noise in a preamble sequence. In detecting impulse noise in the preamble sequence the communication device first receive a preamble sequence that includes a plurality of preamble symbols. The communication device then divides the plurality of preamble symbols by at least one known preamble symbol to produce a plurality of preamble gains and/or a plurality of preamble phases corresponding to the plurality of preamble symbols. Finally, the communication device determines, based upon the plurality of preamble gains and/or the plurality of preamble phases, that at least one preamble symbol has been adversely affected by a impulse noise. The communication device may discard at least one preamble symbol that has been adversely affected by impulse noise from the plurality of preamble symbols. The communication device may combine non-discarded preamble symbols of the plurality of preamble symbols of the preamble sequence to produce a composite result.