Forward error correction media access control system

1. A method of compensating for information not received in a communication system, the method comprising:

creating an encoded signal comprising N protocol data units from a source signal comprising K protocol data units using a forward error correction technique prior to transmitting any of the N protocol data units, wherein N is greater than K and K is greater than, and wherein the source signal can be decoded from any K protocol data units;

transmitting, at a transmitter, a first set of protocol data units comprising at least K but less than N of the protocol data units of the encoded signal, wherein each protocol data unit in the first set of protocol data units includes an indication of a total number of protocol data units sufficient to decode the encoded signal, and wherein each protocol data unit is transmitted independently of other transmitted protocol data units;

determining the receiver has not successfully decoded the source signal from the transmitted first set of protocol data units based upon not receiving an acknowledgement from the receiver, wherein the receiver only acknowledges a successfully decoded source signal rather than individual protocol data units;

transmitting, at the transmitter, a second set of protocol data units comprising unsent protocol data units of the encoded signal to the receiver based on the determining the receiver has not successfully decoded the source signal from the transmitted first set of protocol data units;

receiving, from the receiver, an acknowledgement indicating the receiver has successfully decoded the source signal after transmitting the second set of the protocol data units; and

terminating transmission of the protocol data units based on the receiving of the acknowledgement from the receiver, wherein at least one protocol data unit of the encoded signal is not transmitted to the receiver, and wherein a total number of protocol data units sent to transmit the source signal is less than N.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the acknowledgement is received during scheduled transmission.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first number is determined as a result of a noise characteristic of a system comprising the transmitter and the receiver.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the first number based on a successfully completed prior transmission.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forward error correction technique comprises a Reed Solomon encoding technique.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the acknowledgement is received at a first time based on a slot start time and a first random timing offset, and further wherein the acknowledgement is received from a first node while at least a portion of a second signal is received from a second node, wherein the second signal is received at a second time based on the slot start time and a second random timing offset.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting a cyclic redundancy check.

8. A node comprising:

a processor configured to:

create an encoded signal comprising N protocol data units from a source signal comprising K protocol data units using a forward error correction technique prior to transmitting any of the N protocol data units, wherein N is greater than K and K is greater than one, and wherein the source signal can be decoded from any K protocol data units; and

a transmitter operatively coupled to the processor and configured to:

transmit a first set of protocol data units comprising at least K but less than N of the protocol data units of the encoded signal, wherein each protocol data unit in the first set of protocol data units includes an indication of a total number of protocol data units sufficient to decode the encoded signal, and wherein each protocol data unit is transmitted independently of other transmitted protocol data units; and

wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine the receiver has not successfully decoded the source signal from the transmitted first set of protocol data units based upon not receiving an acknowledgement from the receiver, wherein the receiver only acknowledges a successfully decoded source signal rather than individual protocol data units, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit a second set of protocol data units comprising unsent protocol data units of the encoded signal to the receiver based on the determining the receiver has not successfully decoded the source signal from the transmitted first set of protocol data units;

receive, from the receiver, an acknowledgement indicating the receiver has successfully decoded the source signal after the second set of the protocol data units was transmitted; and

terminate transmission of the protocol data units based on the receiving of the acknowledgement from the receiver successfully decoding the source signal, wherein at least one protocol data unit of the encoded signal is not transmitted to the receiver, and wherein a total number of protocol data units sent to transmit the source signal is less than N.

9. The node of claim 8 , wherein the first number is determined as a result of a noise characteristic of a system comprising the node and the receiver.

10. The node of claim 8 , wherein the first number is determined as a result of a successfully completed prior transmission.

11. The node of claim 8 , wherein the acknowledgement is received during scheduled transmission.

12. The node of claim 8 , wherein the forward error correction technique comprises a Reed Solomon encoding technique.

13. The node of claim 8 , wherein the acknowledgement is received at a first time based on a slot start time and a first random timing offset, and further wherein the acknowledgement is received from a first node while at least a portion of a second signal is received from a second node, wherein the second signal is received at a second time based on the slot start time and a second random timing offset.

14. The node of claim 8 , wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit a cyclic redundancy check.

15. A system comprising:

an access point comprising:

a receiver configured to decode an encoded signal; and

a node comprising:

a processor configured to:

create the encoded signal comprising N protocol data units from the source signal comprising K protocol data units using a forward error correction technique prior to transmitting any of the N protocol data units, wherein N is greater than K and K is greater than one, and wherein the source signal can be decoded from any K protocol data units; and

a transmitter operatively coupled to the processor and configured to:

transmit a first set of protocol data units comprising at least K but less than N of the protocol data units of the encoded signal, wherein each protocol data unit in the first set of protocol data units includes an indication of a total number of protocol data units sufficient to decode the encoded signal, and wherein each protocol data unit is transmitted independently of other transmitted protocol data units; and

wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine the access point has not successfully decoded the source signal from the transmitted first set of protocol data units based upon not receiving an acknowledgement from the access point, wherein the receiver only acknowledges a successfully decoded source signal rather than individual protocol data units, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit a second set of protocol data units comprising unsent protocol data units of the encoded signal to the receiver based on the determining the receiver has not successfully decoded the source signal from the transmitted first set of protocol data units;

determine the access point has not successfully decoded the source signal from the transmitted first set of units, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit a second portion of the parity units to the access point without the systematic units based on the determining the access point has not successfully decoded the source signal from the transmitted first set of units;

receive, from the access point, an acknowledgement indicating the access point has successfully decoded the source signal after the second set of the protocol data units was transmitted;

terminate transmission of the protocol data units based on the receiving of the acknowledgement from the access point, wherein at least one protocol data unit of the encoded signal is not transmitted to the access point, and wherein a total number of protocol data units sent to transmit the source signal is less than N.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the first number is determined as a result of a noise characteristic of the system.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the acknowledgement is received during scheduled transmission.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the first number is determined based on a successfully completed prior transmission.

19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the forward error correction technique comprises a Reed Solomon encoding technique.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit a cyclic redundancy check.