A multi-channel spread-spectrum system separates a data stream, for example from a convolutional encoder and an interleaver, into sub-channel data-sequence signals. For each sub-channel data-sequence signal, m bits are translated to one code of a unique set of orthogonal chip-sequence signals. The other k bits of the same sub-channel data-sequence signal are translated to a distinct phasor. Each phasor is used to modulate the respective chip-sequence signal. A complex-signal combiner combines the real and imaginary components of all the phase-modulated chip-sequence signals into in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) spread-spectrum multi-channel signals, which are spread by a cell-site specific signature-sequence. The receiver decorrelates the received spread-spectrum signal, preferably with a bank of matched filter (MF) joint-detectors, to recover the bits from all the spread-spectrum sub-channel signals for remultiplexing into the transmitted data stream. The multi-channel spread-spectrum system supports constant data rate throughout the cell by maintaining a large processing gain, at the demultiplexed sub-channel data sequence level, thus a code-reuse-one type spread-spectrum system can be deployed with the aid of power control.