A process for estimating a speed of movement of a mobile terminal operating in a wireless communication system and communicating with a base station via a transmission channel includes estimating fading of the transmission channel, and performing an autocorrelation on the fading for providing a first autocorrelation result. Reference autocorrelation results are calculated for predetermined values of speed of movement of the mobile terminal, with the calculating being based upon a known autocorrelation function performed on the fading. The process further includes comparing the first autocorrelation result to the various reference autocorrelation results, and estimating the speed of movement of the mobile terminal based upon the comparison.