A method and communication system for selecting a mode for encoding data
for transmission in a wireless communication channel between a transmit
unit and a receive unit. The data is initially transmitted in an initial
mode and the selection of the subsequent mode is based on a selection of
first-order and second-order statistical parameters of short-term and
long-term quality parameters. Suitable short-term quality parameters
include signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), signal-to-noise
ratio (SNR), power level and suitable long-term quality parameters include
error rates such as bit error rate (BER) and packet error rate (PER). The
method of the invention can be employed in Multiple Input Multiple Output
(MIMO), Multiple Input Single Output (MISO), Single Input Single Output
(SISO) and Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO) communication systems to
make subsequent mode selection faster and more efficient. Furthermore the
method can be used in communication systems employing various transmission
protocols including OFDMA, FDMA, CDMA, TDMA.
