Soft combining hybrid ARQ schemes application to reliable communications within 3G wireless networks

This paper deals with the application of hybrid automatic repeat request (H-ARQ) techniques to reliable data communications in wireless 3G networks. Basically, retransmission of coded data is endowed with soft combining schemes applied, respectively, to packet replicas, or to decoding algorithm outputs. By means of analytical derivations and simulations on UMTS environment, a noticeable bit error rate (BER) and, then, frame error rate (FER) improvements have been shown. A significant link throughput increase is also pointed out with a consequent reduced packet delivery delay and power wasting.