Multi-rate QC-LDPC scheme for narrowband powerline communication system

In this paper, a new channel coding scheme for the narrowband powerline communication (PLC) system employing quasi-cyclic (QC) low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes of multiple code rate and multiple code length is proposed. Combined with proper constellation mappings, 4 transmission modes can be supported, which provides different error correction capabilities. A comparison with the coding scheme in the G3 specification is performed, confirming that the proposed scheme is superior to G3 in terms of both flexibility and reliability while the efficiency is higher than that of G3. A study on the implementation complexity on FPGA is also conducted to prove the feasibility of using the proposed scheme in future practical narrowband PLC system.