Techniques to transmit data on a number of transmission channels in a multi-channel communication system using multiple transmission schemes requiring less channel-state information (CSI). These schemes may include a partial-CSI transmission scheme that transmits a single data stream on each transmit antenna selected for use and a “beam-forming” transmission scheme that allocates all transmit power to a single transmission channel having the best performance. Each transmission scheme may provide good or near-optimum performance for a specific range of operating conditions (or operating SNRs). These multiple transmission schemes may then be combined in a piece-wise fashion to form a “multi-mode” transmission scheme that covers the full range of operating conditions supported by the MIMO system. The specific transmission scheme to be used for data transmission at any given moment would then be dependent on the specific operating condition experienced by the system at that moment.