Revisiting the Interface between Error and Erasure Correction in Wireless Standards

TL;DR

This paper explores replacing traditional error correction methods in 5G with network coding to reduce delay and resource use, providing a mathematical framework and simulation results that support its advantages.

Contribution

It introduces a mathematical model for delay in network coding and compares it with existing reliability mechanisms, advocating for more modular protocol designs for 6G.

Findings

Network coding reduces in-order delivery delay.

Network coding improves goodput for applications.

Resource utilization decreases with network coding.

Abstract

Modern 5G communication systems implement a combination of error correction and feedback-based erasure correction (HARQ/ARQ) as reliability mechanisms, which can introduce substantial delay and resource inefficiency. We propose forward erasure correction using network coding as a more delay-efficient alternative. We present a mathematical characterization of network delay for existing reliability mechanisms and network coding. Through simulations in a network slicing environment, we demonstrate that network coding not only improves the in-order delivery delay and goodput for the applications utilizing the slice, but also benefits other applications sharing the network by reducing resource utilization for the coded slice. Our analysis and characterization point towards ideas that require attention in the 6G standardization process. These findings highlight the need for greater modularity in protocol stack design that enables the integration of novel technologies in future wireless networks.