Network coding schemes for the multiple-access relay channel

We examine and compare four different joint-network-channel-codes (JNCC) and three reference systems for the multiple-access relay channel (MARC) with block Rayleigh fading channels for symmetric and asymmetric setups. Two of the JNCC’s were presented previously in the literature and the other two are novel approaches. The JNCC’s outperform the reference systems and achieve a diversity gain for symmetric and asymmetric channels, where the performance differences are greater for increasing asymmetries. An optimization of the symbol allocation using statistical channel knowledge is used, which generates a small gain in the theoretical bounds and for some of the practical JNCC’s for asymmetric setups.