Unequal error protection design using convolutional codes

The introduction of adaptive multi-rate (AMR) speech coders in wireless standards, such as GSM, imposes new challenges for forward error correction (FEC) design. Traditional FEC techniques of providing unequal error protection (UEP) may not maximize performance for a given set of design requirements, such as complexity limits. This paper introduces a new FEC technique that improves error correction performance while satisfying complexity constraints. This technique is applied to the new wideband AMR standard for a performance and complexity comparison.