Abstract: In a cellular network, randomness is introduced into a transmitted signal at each transmitter, and the resulting received signal, which is the sum of all received signals, fluctuates more in time than a signal transmitted without the introduced randomness. While the introduction of randomness can diminish reception of some parts of the signal at the receiver, the transmitted signal can be encoded using forward error correction coding techniques, which allows the receiver to recover all of the signal information despite some diminished reception. Such randomization provides time diversity so that receivers can have more consistent performance. For broadcasted data, where users with the worst channel condition dictates the overall performance, having consistent performance across users can improve the overall network performance.

Abstract: In a cell of a cellular wireless communication system, the SIR of at least one user in a sector of the cell is altered by temporarily reducing transmissions on a forward link in at least one other sector of the cell or a sector in another cell in accordance with a pattern.

Abstract: Error flags are generated for use in source decoding of a source-coded bit stream transmitted through a channel of a communication system. The source-coded bit stream is channel coded using at least one channel code, and the channel code is decoded in a soft-decision channel decoder to generate a received version of the source-coded bit stream and one or more reliability measures associated with a designated portion of the received version of the source-coded bit stream. The reliability measures are processed to generate one or more error flags indicative of the presence of an error in the corresponding portion of the received version of the source-coded bit stream. The invention allows different detection capabilities to be used for different portions of the received version of the source-coded bit stream, and further allows these detection capabilities to be changed dynamically at the receiver. The error flags may be used to trigger an error mitigation/concealment algorithm in the source decoder.

Abstract: Capacity enhancement schemes are described for forward and reverse links of distributed cellular base stations consisting of a central unit and one or more remote units. In general, in one aspect, reverse link capacity is shared among remote units. The capacity sharing can be determined dynamically. The forward link capacity can also be enhanced by estimating the location of the mobile stations.

Abstract: By controlling reverse rates among mobile stations to reduce reverse-link interference, reverse-link throughput can be increased.

Abstract: Packets are generated for delivery over a forward communication channel from a base station to a remote station, in which a parameter that characterizes the packets being generated is determined adaptively based on factors not limited to the data rate of the channel.

Abstract: In a cell of a cellular wireless communication system, the SIR of at least one user in a sector of the cell is altered by temporarily reducing transmissions on a forward link in at least one other sector of the cell or a sector in another cell in accordance with a pattern.

Abstract: By controlling reverse rates among mobile stations to reduce reverse-link interference, reverse-link throughput can be increased.

Abstract: Improved techniques for multilevel coding of a stream of information bits in a communication system are disclosed. The stream of information bits is separated into portions, and each of the portions is associated with a different level of the multilevel coding. At least one code is applied to the portion of the information bits of each level in a designated subset of the full set of levels, such that the portions of the information bits for levels in the designated subset are coded while the portions of the information bits for levels not in the designated subset are uncoded. Both the coded portions of the information bits and the uncoded portions of the information bits are used to select modulation symbols for transmission in the system. Advantageously, the invention provides improved coding gain relative to conventional techniques, and can be configured to provide unequal error protection as well as time diversity for transmissions in the system.