  In this paper, we propose a novel joint coding-modulation technique based on
serial concatenation of orthogonal linear transform, such as discrete Fourier
transform (DFT) or Walsh-Hadamard transform (WHT), with memoryless
nonlinearity. We demonstrate that such a simple signal construction may exhibit
properties of a random code ensemble, as a result approaching channel capacity.
Our computer simulations confirm that if the decoder relies on a modified
approximate message passing algorithm, the proposed modulation technique
exhibits performance on par with state-of-the-art coded modulation schemes that
use capacity-approaching component codes. The proposed modulation scheme could
be used directly or as a pre-coder for a conventional orthogonal frequency
division multiplexing (OFDM) transmitter, resulting in a system possessing all
benefits of OFDM along with reduced peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR).
