Permeable-layer receiver for reliable multicast transmission in wireless systems

In this paper, forward error correction (FEC) on the application layer for reliable multicast transmission over wireless is investigated. A wireless channel model is introduced and analytical performance bounds for FEC on the application layer over wireless are given. It is shown that with state-of-the-art receiver strategies the residual application layer packet loss rate exceeds the required target loss rates and that sufficient quality-of-service (QoS) cannot be achieved. A simple receiver modification, called permeable-layer receiver (PLR), is introduced, which exploits traditionally useless information at the receiver, while the transmitter is kept unchanged. The PLR is shown to outperform the traditional receiver, allowing the efficient support of many wireless receivers in a multicast environment at the same time. Simulation results with LDGM staircase codes are provided, being consistent with theoretical findings. Future work items to support and extend the conceptual findings are discussed.