Evaluation of rate compatible block turbo codes for multimedia application in satellite communication network

In this paper, we evaluate the performance of the hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) scheme combined with adaptive coding in satellite communication systems. A cross-layer design which combines the ARQ scheme in the data link layer and adaptive coding and modulation in the physical layer is very important to maximize system throughput and/or performance. Due to the long round trip delay in satellite systems, the strategy to adopt may need to be different from that is used in the terrestrial systems. A rate compatible code is a desirable scheme for adaptive coding and hybrid ARQ. In this paper, we propose an adaptive coding scheme with hybrid ARQ using rate compatible block turbo codes, and demonstrate its performance on a mobile satellite channel for multimedia applications. The proposed rate compatible block turbo codes are a very effective tool to improve the performance of satellite systems using adaptive coding with hybrid ARQ. The simulation results presented in this paper reveal that the hybrid ARQ scheme combined with adaptive coding can improve the system performance by effectively compensating for the various channel attenuations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.