An optical communication system includes a polarization multiplexed orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing POLMUX-OFDM transmitter for generating a POLMUX-OFDM double sideband signal, an optical processing path for processing the double sideband signal from the transmitter; an analog-to-digital convert ADC-OFDM receiver coupled to the optical processing path for receiving the double sideband signal processed by the optical path; and a block-diagonal multiple-input multiple-output MIMO equalizer responsive to the receiver for enabling correct operation for a completely random incoming signal polarization state without adaptive polarization control at said receiver, which enables complexity.