Phase-precoding without CSI for packet retransmissions over frequency-selective channels

In this paper, we present a simple and effective precoding technique to mitigate inter-symbol interference from multiple transmissions of the same packet in automatic repeat request (ARQ) protocols over slowly time-varying frequency-selective channels. We minimize the power of inter-symbol interference by introducing phase-precoding transmission diversity among subsequent ARQ transmissions. For each packet retransmission, only the phases of the modulated symbols are changed according to a specific pattern. In order to find the best precoding phases assuming that no channel state information is available at the transmitter, we first derive a performance criterion on the precoding phases for a maximum likelihood receiver. Then, we propose a low complexity periodic precoding solution. Simulation results show that the proposed precoding scheme provides a substantial gain in terms of frame error rate performance of the joint detector without significant increase in receiver complexity, leading to enhanced throughput efficiency and better dropping rate in comparison with the non-precoded system.