US Patent 7590181 Adaptive modulation and coding

In an adaptive modulation and coding method one or more adjustable values are created (S1), each corresponding to at least one of a plurality of available modulation and coding levels applicable to a signal transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver, and each representing a change to the level(s) to which it corresponds. One or more of said adjustable values is/are adjusted in dependence upon whether or not the signal is received successfully by the receiver (S2-S5). One of said available modulation and coding levels is selected (S6-S8) to apply to the signal based on such an adjustable value. Such a method can enable the appropriate modulation and coding level to be selected even when the path and channel conditions vary. The method is applicable to selecting modulation and coding levels in a high-speed downlink packet access system of a wireless communication network.