Application of generalized minimum distance decoding to hybrid-ARQ error control

Generalized minimum distance (GMD) decoding is modified to allow simultaneous error detection and error correction. The soft-decision information retained by the generalized minimum distance concept is used as a source of reliability information which determines when a retransmission of the received packet should be requested. The performance of hybrid-ARQ GMD decoding is shown to be comparable to the ideal reliability metrics proposed by Loeliger (1990) and superior to the performance of hard-decision decoders. Performance expressions are derived for low to moderate signal-to-noise ratios and bounds are derived for high signal-to-noise ratios which are loose by 0.5 to 1.0 dB