Adaptive transmission with discrete code rates and power levels

Throughput maximization of an adaptive transmission system with a finite number of transmission power levels and code rates for communication over slow fading channels is analyzed, based on the concept of information outage. Properties of throughput maximizing policies lead to an iterative algorithm that yields good system designs. Numerical results show that carefully designed discrete adaptive transmission systems with a small number of power levels and code rates can achieve throughput values close to ergodic capacity.