On The Performance of Random Block Codes over Finite-State Fading Channels

Abstract: As the mobile application landscape expands, wireless networks are tasked with supporting various connection profiles, including real-time communications and delay-sensitive traffic. Among many ensuing engineering challenges is the need to better understand the fundamental limits of forward error correction in non-asymptotic regimes. This article seeks to characterize the performance of block codes over finite-state channels with memory. In particular, classical results from information theory are revisited in the context of channels with rate transitions, and bounds on the probabilities of decoding failure are derived for random codes. This study offers new insights about the potential impact of channel correlation over time on overall performance.