A new adaptive FEC scheme for wireless ATM networks

This paper describes the design and performance of a new adaptive FEC scheme (Yurie FEC) for wireless ATM. The wireless channel is characterized by higher error rates and burstier error patterns in comparison with fiber-based links for which ATM was designed initially. The purpose of the Yurie FEC scheme is to provide a capability to dynamically support ATM-based communications over noisy wireless channels. The Yurie FEC scheme is based on Reed-Solomon coding to protect the ATM cell payload and payload type indicator/cell loss priority (PTI/CLP) fields in the ATM header. In order to enhance error tolerance in terms of framing and correct delivery, the Yurie FEC scheme functions within the existing LANET framing and addressing protection protocols. The proposed Yurie FEC scheme has been validated using a software emulator based on the simulation setup for an ATM network with low-speed wireless links. From the simulation results, the performance of the Yurie FEC scheme agrees with the benchmark results using a random BER injector when the wireless terminal is stationary. At the channel BER of 10^-3, the final BER after FEC correction is about 10 ^-6, low enough for TCP/IP operation